272 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE Off. Doc. 



Be interested in yoiii* school. I can point you to school district j in 

 which not one of its patrons visits the school, not once during a 

 whole term; not even so much as seek after the welfare of their 

 children. A good teacher desires Jo work hard, but he also desires 

 that the work he and his pupils do is seen and honored. Therefore, 

 it is a necessity that you visit your school, at least once a year, and 

 often seek information concerning its course of study. Do this and 

 you are taking a step that wdll elevate the coming race. 



Let me give to you my own private opinion of rural schools and the 

 manner of carrying them on. Not all of you may agree with me on 

 this point. This, you know should be a free country, and every man 

 should have the liberty to think as he pleases. So if you do not 

 agree with me in regard to the matter it will be all right, and remem- 

 ber it is only the plan of one peaceful, law-abiding, patriotic citizen 

 of this Commonwealth who makes it. To those who do agree with 

 me, 1 ask to discuss this question much in the future, for I am positive 

 that it is for the betterment of schools. 



All of us are feeling that it is about time that some things on 

 tbe subject of agriculture are taught in our rural schools. If one- 

 half of the people of the United States are farmers and are engaged 

 in agricultural pursuits, it is but reasonable that one-half of the 

 education acquired in schools should have direct bearing on that oc- 

 cupation and especially in rural districts. You hear much of graded 

 schools and township high schools, and I believe in them myself. 

 But the chief objection to graded schools not centralized, is the ad- 

 ditional expense they would bring, in that a new house with appara- 

 tus and additional teachers must be paid. 



Take for example. South Whitehall township, for this is the one 

 that I am best acquainted with, not that the same plan could be car- 

 ried out in any other township as well; but I want to prove to you 

 that with a slight additional tax there could be furnished a graded 

 school for all children of this township. Our school tax last year 

 according to statistics w-as .0015 on a dollar. Let that be increased 

 to .002.J on a dollar and all the expense that I am about to make 

 can easil}' be met. The valuation of our township, upon which the 

 school tax is based, was in 1900, .|l,.357,6.ol. Thus is will be seen 

 that at the rate of .0025 on a dollar the tax would amount to |3,394.12 

 per annum plus |582 poll tax, and our State appropriation, which 

 was 12,409.42 could be increased to $3,000, thus making a total an- 

 nual income of |G,97G.12. The aggregate cost of our thirteen school 

 buildings in the township, including land, is $33,800. If we w^ould 

 centralize these schools, with less capital, they could all be accommo- 

 dated in grades. A building in the centre of the township to accom- 

 modate all its school children, could be erected with a cost of from 

 |!15,000 to 120,000. In this building we should have about seven 



