COUNTY SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENTS.
Mr. Stucker's bill [H. R. 186] to amend Section 33 of an act providing for the election of County Superintendent of Schools, by providing that elections shall hereafter be by popular vote, coming up with amendments, recommended by the Committee on County and Township Business.
Mr. SMITH moved to strike from the bill all after the enacting clause. He belived that the present mode of electing County Superintendents was a just and good one and should be continued. He considered the Township Trustees representative men of fair intelligence, and was not in accord with the statement that they were not refined men. He did not wish to cast any reflection on the electors of the State in his advocacy of the present mode of electing County Superintendents. Should this q question be made a political matter and the nomination of County Superintendent be left to a political Convention, he feared that the nominee would as often be selected because of the geographical position he held in the County as because of his fitness for the place to be filled. He looked upon politics as the science of Government and not a dirty pool as some persons ex- pressed it. A few years back he had been an opposer of the system that he now favored.
Mr. MELLET desired that his amendment should not prevail. He would hate to see anything done by this General Assembly that would weaken or in any way destroy the effectiveness of the County Superintendent system; but he believed that this being an office of the people should be filled by the people. He was not one of those men who feared to leave the filling of any office in the hands of the people. He did no con- sider it a political office, and felt that if it was placed in the hands of the people it would often be filled better than many of the offices are to page: 149[View Page 149]day. No office is too pure or too high to trust it in the hands of the people.
Mr SHOCKNEY insisted that the people ought to nave this right of selecting County Superintendents since they had to hear the expenses of the office. He believed that the bill should be adopted and that the amendment should be rejected.
Mr. SHIVELY considered the power of a County Superintendent almost unlimited, and that in many respects the County Superintendent was an autocrat. It is an office, in his opinion, that should be filled by the people. He thought, that the bill should prevail, and that the amendment should be rejected.
Mr. STUCKER could not see any reason why the election of County Superintendents should not be in the hands of the people, as are all other officers of the State. He believed that the office was as far in politics as it could be if the present bill should become a law.
The motion to strike out was laid on the table.
A motion by Mr. SMITH to change she time of election from November to April 1884, and a motion by Mr. GREENE to recommit the bill with the amendments of the Committee to the Committee on Education were severally laid on the table.
A motion by Mr. GORDON that no County Superintendent would be eligible to that office for more than four years in any period of eight years, was agreed to by yeas, 50, nays, 33.
Mr. JEWETT offered an amendment that no County Superintendent should be allowed for more than 120 days services in any period of twelve months.
Mr. Jewett thought 120 days sufficient for the performance of the actual services of any County Superintendent in the State. If 120 days was not sufficient time for the performance of his duties, Mr. Jewett would favor granting more days than expressed in his amendment.
Mr. SHOCKNEY staled that under the law as it now exists, and as the provisions of the present bill will leave it, the work of the County Superintendent could not be performed in the time allowed by the amendment offered by Mr. Jewett. He believed that the work could not be done in less than 200 days.
Mr. HEFFREN did not favor the amendment. He believed that if the time of a Superintendent was to be limited the result would be some foolish fellow would be elected to the office, who would not be competent to fill the position and that the office would not be accepted by a competent person. Tacking on these amendments, he thought would eventually kill the bill by making it so ineffectual that its friends would vote against it. He moved to lay the amendment on the table.
The motion was agreed to by yeas, 52; nays, 36.
A motion by Mr. HANSON to limit the time of service to 150 days, was laid on the table by yeas, 46; nays, 35.
Mr. STEWART moved that the bill with all amendments be recommended to a Special Committee of Three, who should incorporate all amendments and report, the bill so amended to the House not later than Tuesday next.
Pending these motions the House took a recess until 2 o'clock.
