36 ADDRESSES 



aid in the construction of a complete system of inter-county roads and let future 

 generations and all property of the state help pay the cost. 



The Constitutional Convention now in sesion should submit an amendment 

 to the present Constitution to permit the issuing of state bonds, for state aid 

 in road construction, in an amount not to exceed one per cent on the grand 

 tax duplicate of the state, which, when spread out over all the property of the 

 state can be paid off, .both principle and interest, at the end of twenty-five years 

 at an average per capita cost of fifty-five cents. 



In addition to state aid I believe the Congress of the United States has as 

 much right to appropriate money for either money aid to the states in road con- 

 struction and maintenance or in the building of great national roads as it has to 

 appropriate money for the building of public roads in Alaska, the Canal Zone 

 and the islands of the sea. 



THE SCHOOLS OF OHIO. 



BY HON. FRANK MILLER, 

 State School Commissioner. 



Mr. Sandles has asked me to say a few words in behalf of the schools of 

 Ohio. I take it for granted that it is his desire and your desire that I confine 

 my remarks to the rural schools. Some of you may wonder what I may know 

 about the country. Well, I will tell the story that you have often heard from 

 others, "I was reared on the farm." Not only was I reared on the farm but 

 my interest in farm work and farm life have never ceased. In fact my neigh- 

 bors call me the farmer. I can hold the handles of the plow as well as the rest 

 of you, and I still occasionally take the pitchfork in harvest time and jump onto- 

 a hay doodle and toss it on the wagon so that the fellow on the other side must 

 hustle to keep up. 



Ohio has not only given birth to many great men who have acquired national 

 fame but has also given birth to the township centralized school as that term is 

 now understood. This form of rural school is considered by educators as the 

 most efficient school for the rural districts and I am proud to be able to say that 

 it is an Ohio product. "We have in this State many townships that are under the 

 supervision of able township superintendents. Here too we find good school work 

 and the teachers are guided and encouraged to render still more efficient service. 

 There are many faithful teachers in the townships that are not organized and are 

 without a superintendent but by earnest endeavors on their part they too are 

 rendering excellent service. 



You may have observed that some poor schools have been reported as exist- 

 ing in Ohio. Ohio is not by any means the only State in the Union that has 

 some poor schools, but Ohio has awaked to the importance of having an efficient 

 school system, not for a part, but for all of her children. 



That the very worst conditions have been brought to light is a wholesome 

 sign of a better future. The citizenship of Ohio will insist upon giving every 

 boy and girl within the domain of this State an opportunity for an education. 

 It is my earnest hope that within the next few years these neglected schools will 

 be regenerated into newer and better schools. We boast of this country being a 

 land of equal opportunities, then by all means let us get together and make it so. 

 The revelation of school conditions is a boost because it leads to betterment. 

 We must keep in mind also the fact that Ohio has some of the best common 

 schools, and country school buildings to be found anywhere. Ohio has more high 

 schools than New York and Massachusetts combined, and this is saying a whole 

 lot for the schools of Ohio. The country boy hears the city boy tell about hi* 



