Decatur Daily Democrat, Volume 19, Number 57, Decatur, Adams County, 8 March 1921 — Page 4

DAILY DEMOCRAT Published Every Evening Except Sunday by THE DECATUR DEMOCRAT CO. JOHN H. HELLER ..Editor ARTHUR R. HOLTHOUSE, Associate Editor and Business Manager JOHN H. STEWART City Editor Subscrfptlon Rates Cash In Advance Single Coplea 3 cents One Week, by carrier 15 cents One Year, by carrier 17.50 One Month, by mall 45 cents Three Months, by mall $1.25 Six Mouths, by mail 12.25 Ono Year, by mail $4.00 Uno Year, at office $4.00 Advertising rates made known on Application. Entered at the postoffice at Decatur, Indiana, as second-class matter

In the last whirl of the money spending legislature the law makers late yesterday cast off all signs of economy and passed the bill to increase the salary of every county commissioner in the state, In many instances doubling them. President Harding has changed his mind already on two campaign promises, one to immediately declare separate peace with Germany and the other to secure the passage of a new tariff law. Both measures have now been delayed with due excuses to the public. Mr. Guy Brown as chairman of the Red Cross Christinas seal campaign deserves much credit for the wonderful showing made in the recent campaign when he excelled all previous records for sales. He had a splendid organization over the county and was given valuable assistance by the teachers in every section. They are to be congratulated on this splendid work, the proceeds of which is used in lighting the dreaded tuberculosis. Legislature is over and you can now express your opinion of those leaders who at a time when every one is asked to get back to normalcy had the nerve to appropriate twenty-five million dollars which must be paid by the people of Indiana during the next two years. It will be the harder because every one is trying to get by with profits reduced to nothing or next to it. The state tax rate will be increased about two hundred per cent to meet the appropriations. Is that what you voted for? President Harding is holding conferences with his cabinet and the party leaders, looking for a solution of the big problems including disarmament, taxation and the tariff. That he will make his very best effort to solve these, no one doubts but that he will bump into the usual opposition is likewise sure. It is much easier to want to do things than to accomplish them and usually but little credit is given for accomplishments while too many are prone to criticize when failure comes.

============= t Just to make it good the legislature as a final and parting fling, after the most expensive session of the legislature ever held in the state, yesterday afternoon put over three additional bills appropriating money. They provide $25,000 for a domestic science school for colored girls, SIOO,000 for a new school for the blind in Indianapolis where they now have a million dollar school of this kind, $2,500 for the modification of the drainage laws. It’s a lot of fun to spend lavishly the other fellow’s money it seems. + .|..|.4 + 4..|. + 4* + 4>4> + + + > i' * WITH THE BASEBALL CLUBS + ++♦+++*++*♦++♦♦+ (United Press Service) Shreveport, La., March 7 —Babe Ruth started work in the Yankee camp today to knock off about 15 pounds. The swat king was net able to go at training with all his vim being held back by a strained muscle in his right leg sustained at Hot Springs. Waite Hoyt and Harper came down from Hot Springs yesterday with the Babe and they shared in the big ovation which the town game Ruth on his arrival. San Antonio, March 7. — Cozy Dolan, third base star and coach last year with the Cubs, started searching through the Giants' squad for a thirdbaseman. Manager McGraw, it is understood, plans to send Frisch back to scimnd base, use Goldie Rapp at a Shortstop if Bancroft remains ill and 1

i try to develop a new third baseman. The Giants beat the San Antonio club yesterday 15 to 3. ♦ Waxahachie, Toxas, March 7. —The ■ White Sox’s first workout was schcd- ’ uled for today. Thirteen players were in the squad which arrived here from Chicago and the hoodoo squad was given a rousing welcome. Kid Gleason said ho had received word that Dick Kerr would join the squad on Tuesday. ♦ Gaxadona, Cal., March 7—The ('tilts began their first hard work today. The pitchers who have been at Santa Catalina Island for a Week, arrived here on Sunday and joined the second squad. One work-out a day was prescribed by Johnny Evers, but he said it would be a stiff one. ♦ Houston, Te„ March 7. — Athletics hoped to make it three straight today In thoir series with the Cardinals here. The Mack men won the second game yesterday 5 to 2. Jimmy Dykes hit a homer with the bases full in tike second.

CHURCH ROOF GARDEN Buffalo, N. Y. —The congregation of the First Methodist Church of Corning are to construct a roof garden on tho top of the church —for religious purposes. CUT THIS OUT — IT IS WORTH MONEY Cut out this slip, enclose with 5c and mail it to Foley & Co.. 2535 Sheffield Ave.. Chicago, 111., writing your name and address clearly. You will receive in return a trial package con taining Foley’s Honey and Tar Compound for coughs, colds and croup; Foley Kidney Pills for pains in sides and back: rheumatism, backache, kidney and bladder ailments: and Foley Cathartic Tablets, a wholesome and thoroughly cleansing cathartic for constipation, biliousness, headaches and sluggish bowels. Sold everywhere. IN BED EIGHT MONTHS 3ause— Change of Life. How -ydia E.Pinkham’s Vegetable Compound Got Me Up Afton, Tenn. — “ I want other suffering women to know what Lydia E.Pink-

iham’s Vegetable Compound has done for me. During the Change of Life I was in bed for eight months and had two good doctors treat ing me but they did me no good. A friend advised me to take Lydia E. Pinkham’s Vegetable Compound, which I did, land in a short time I

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DECATUR DAILY DEMOCRAT. TUESDAY, MARCH 8. 1921.

IMPOVEMENTS IN SCHOOLS By special writer in tho Indiana Farmer’s Guide.

(> When school consolidation struck Montgomery county, Indiana, it was " like the coming of a thrifty case of s measles into an orphan asylum. It i- caught nearly everyone who had not it hud it before, und even some of n those had another light attack. Crawofrdsville, the county seat, was already provided with a pretty well graded system of schools, and she proved to be immune from the new rever. But several smaller villages 1 with partially graded schools only, 1 combined with outlying territory and 1 built big new schol plants with better facilities and more room. At the 1 same time the rural sections were grouping themselves in various ways, all striving to make some arrangement whereby each might secure better school facilities than was possible individually as of old. There were, I am told, something over 200 schools in tho county originally. Now tlijrre are just 38, of which only 11 are of the old oneroom type. Os the 27 consolidated schools, 12 are fully’graded ant thoroughly equipped and operate high

schools in conjunction, besides havini some special provision in the courst of study for meeting the specia needs of country life. The other IE schols are partly graded, varying from two to four rooms each, have no high schools, and eonfine their in struction pretty largely to the cofi ventional subjects of the earlier district school. Karl C. James, the county superintendent, is a splendid leader, enthusiastic in his interest, and sympathetic with the especial difficulties that surround rural education. Also, he is not blind to some defects of the new system, though he is strong for the consolidation principles. He believes that wherever possible the consolidation of schools should lead toward the country rather than toward the town. > • He pointed out how Montgomeryhad made certain mistakes, just as any pioneer must make in a new field of effort, for Montgomery county was one of the pioneers in the consolidation movement in Indiana. For instance, there seems to have been a drifting to the nearest village as a school center in most cases. As a result, there are some cases where a township has two good schools on opposite sides with some irregular territory left in between, not large enough to provide itself with modern school facilities, too far away to be transported by horse-drawn vehicles to the consolidated school, and having roads that make the use of auto hacks impossible. Again there are cases where excellent schoolshave been erected just across the township line from each other, resulting in needless duplication of equipment for that territory.

A careful districting of the entire . ’ounty before any consolidation of , schools was attempted would have saved much needless expense and j tvould have taken care of everybody , much better than is now possible. It is gratifying to note that some ; newer states, Nebraska for instance, have profited by the mistakes of their alder sisters and are mapping the entire county into consolidation areas before permitting any consolidation. When the vote of the people on the question comes, they vote with this districting in mind, and avoid much confusion, jealousy and trouble. While 1 was in Mr. James’ office, a patron called to ask w'hat could be done for his school. It happened to be in one of the “left out" areas to which we have referred, and the problem is proving a perplexing one for the superintendent and trustee. Shall they spend more money on the little one-room school which has only a handful of pupils? It is a long haul over muddy roads to the big building. If they give these people such accommodations as they want, the whole thing will probably be abandoned in a few years when the improvement of roads makes possible the use of motor busses. A township, though a little large, seems to be the natural unit for consolidation wherever the natural topography of the country will permit, and the best location for the township building is as near the geographical center of the township as it is possible to get it. For then the entire resources of the township can be applied to the developing of a first-class school plant, within the reach of eyeryone. Another result, of the jack of system in consolidation is that Crawfordsville'' is surrounded by a ring of two or four-room schools. A two-room school, as Mr. James pointed out, is better than a one-room school, but is so far short of the fully graded eight-room school in efficiency that there is a great doubt whether the expense of erecting the smaller school building is justified in the re-

suitq achieved, unless the larger building is entirely impracticable. Almost any country that has consolidation at all can duplicate this exhibit of numerous two or four-room schools—unfortunate half steps ou the road to advancement. Compare, for instance, tho opportunity offered by such schools witli the consolidated school at Waynetown, Montgomery county, Waynetown is typical of the 12 completely graded schools in this county to which we have referred. In this school each grade has its separate recitation room. There are 16 teachers including those for the high school.- There are 197 pupils in the grades and* 101 in high school. In all, the building contains 19 recitation rooms, a large auditorium with stage, footlights, and sets of scenery. There is a gymnasium 64 by 47 feet and 20 feet high, well lighted and heated. There are offices for superintendent principal and trustee, here are rooms for the domestic science department, fully equipped with ranges, utensils, dishes, tables, sewing machines, cabinets and liot and cold water pressure system.

There are provisions for instrucI tion in manual training and agriculture. There are 4 acres of ground about the building, which has 234 electric lights with current day and night. The building is heated with steam from two boilers, through 100 ‘ radiators. In five years past not a day has been lost on account of cold weather. A stationary vacuum cleaner is installed in the basement. In addition to the special course mentioned above there is phsical training through all grades to the high 1 school, with hygiene in connection. 1 There is a commercial course that 1 includes bookkeeping, shorthand, typewriting, commercial arithmetic, and commercial law. Music and art are taught throughout the school. This school was consolidated from 8 nine country districts and the Waynetown district. The total cost of the plant and grounds was $48,684.84. The ' per capita cost of instruction in the f grades Is reported as s3l, and $64 in the high school. This covers transportation and everything connected _ with the school management, and may be compared with the cost under - the old system of $23 In the grades for a six months' term and a little over S7O in the high school.

Now that sounds like modern education. Every teacher in that splendid school has university or normal school training. No teacher has more than two grades at most; generally it is one grade or subject per teacher. This is the sort of educational opportunity that our city cousins have been giving their children for many years. It is the sort that every farm child is entitled to. It is man ifestly impossible for a two-room school to offer anything like the facilities here represented. The careful districting of the county beforehand would have enabled most every child in the county to attend a school i like that, instead of leaving small areas here and there to provide themselves with what they could, which in many eases wae merely a new building of two rooms instead of one as before. The fact that tithe grade children here are in constant contact with the high school children and are witnesses of the high school activities will inspire these children with a desire to go on through high school. 1 In fact, it Is the Unvarying testimony of statistics from consolidated districts that the high school enrollment increases. Waynetown in typical. Here the increase in high school enrollment since the erection of the consolidated school is 60 per cent. Attendance at this school is made easier for the majority of pupils than was the case in the district schools. There were last year two motor busses and nine hacks, besides three private automobiles employed in transporting pupils. The cost of transporting these children was 20 cents per day each. With motor hacks the plan is for the driver to furnish the chassis upon which he sets the closed body furnished by the school district. Thus when not busy with the school job he can use his truck for other purposes. The driver receives $6.00 per day and is held closely to account for the manner in which he handles the work. Thus at the beginning of the term he works out his route schedule. After two weeks' trial he notifies each patron by a printed form the exact minute al which! the drive at his place. The driver is allowed 3 minutes leeway from his schedule at any stop. In the hack and in the schoolrooms are also posted card schedules of each hack. Tn addition, the driver makes a ' weekly report of each day's trip on ' a blank. This report is filed with ■ the teacher or principal on Monday of

“lesch week, and is forwarded to tho office of the superintendent. Any laxity of the driver or any misconduct l of pupils while under the driver's care is thus easily detected and immediately steps are taken to correct r the trouble. I Results from hls system vary somewhat with the personality of the h driver, just exactly as results in , teaching vary with the ability of the teacher, but in general Mr. James r finds the plan very satisfactory. A . driver who is willfully lax of careless I does not hold his job very long. There is very little difference no- , ticoable In the punctuality of horse , and motor vehicles. Unavoidable de- ( lays will sometimes occur with either. ; "One of the greatest faults with ! the consolidation plan,” said Mr. , James, “is the difficulty which teachers have to find suitable living accommodations." As a rule the farm- , irs are t-eluctant to take in boarders, and the average farm household docs not keep the sort of hours that tho teacher needs for his own work. If the state board of accounts permit the school district to erect living quarters for teachers on the school grounds, the difficulty would be solved, just as it has been solved in some other states by the erection of “teacherages" as they are called for the use of teachers and janitors. However, the ruling in this state is that the public funds can not be expended for that purpose. Minnesota seems to have found the way in this matter of teachers’ housing, as well as in certain laws definitely restricting the drivers of motor busses to ' schedules and limiting the number , and extent of trips which any bus 7 can make. Two long trips per bus are not desirable, but some districts find it practicable to allow a bus one short and one long trip per day by i making the short trip last in the morning and first in the evening. The illustration of the building and teacherage at East Chain, Minnesota, is furnished us by the Firestone Ship-by-Truck Bureau. Akron, Ohio, and appeared formerly in their bulletin, “Consolidated Rural Schools and the Motor Truck," which we have found s to be a splendid compilation of gen- I eral information on the subject of g consolidation of schools. “What sort of agricultural instruc- g tion do your pupils receive and how B (Continued on page six)

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Start Your Thrift Program NOW! * Right now is lhe time to start a Savings Account. z\ll the world beckons to the man with a little ready cash and your money no matter how small, represents the nucleus of a fortune. A dollar will open a savings account with us and may be the means of your becoming * financially independent. 4% Interest on Savings OLD ADAMS COUNTY DANK | “The Old Reliable” - Decatur, Ind.

Mecca Theatre j The Place They All Go.

LAST—TIME—TONIGHT “THE MISFIT WIFE” A big Metro special featuring ALICE LAKE. A play of great throbs and a powerful dramatic punch. Also —A good western drama featuring Neal Hart. Come tonight Admission 10-15 cents.

WEDNESDAY POOR DEAR MARGARET KIRBY I A big Select feature with Elaine S Hammerstein. Also sixth episode f of serial, “The Son of Tarsan.” THURSDAY-FRIDAY W. S. Hart In “THE LION OF THE HILLS" i SATURDAY Dorothy Gish in “REMODELING HER HUSBAND.” Paramount. X