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VoL. LXXVII. new YORK, JAXI.'AIIY 5, IDlS. No. 44(5:5. 
The New York School Law 
A Critical Study of It 
[Tims far tho discussion of tlic school law lias fallen 
into three lines. Over 00 per cent of the letters to us 
oppose th<‘ law. and give delinite facts and figures to 
suiiiiort their elainis. A few people argue on the theory 
of the law and what it uiif/hl to. do. and a few others 
say the law is a benefit to tluMii. Thus far practically 
all fanners who write us an' opi>osed. Those who favor 
ai'C usually teachers or otticei-s. Wi' now giv<‘ a critical 
oliinion by a lawyer who knows country people and has 
stutlied the law.] 
.\ TW.IUST SECTION.—I should like to .sec ii do- 
laib'd explanation as to bow Sec. of the law 
works out. It looks to mo as though the unbonded 
districts will turn in their jiroperty and the bonded 
districts will turn in their eipilties (over their 
lionds) and then tlu' whole town will be taxed to 
pay those honds. d'he result will be that the uu- 
bonde<I districts will have to help pay for tlu? snp('- 
rior scluadhouses tlu^ bon<h'<l distric'ts hav(^ built, 
with no jiossible la'iietit, wlu'rc' tlu' bomb'd district is 
simid.v a common .sclnad district, and only a little 
henetit when it is a high school district. Of cour.se, 
district that has been relic'ved of its bonds. I should 
like to hear of some unhomU'd district whose taxes 
are lower. .\sk the State Dep.-irtment t(» name one! 
I’ut taxes are not the all-important thing. 1 have, 
never sch'U anything in the township system that 
promised any improvement of an.v district sclnad I 
('ver knew, and I havt* known (piite a numbt'r in two 
counties. 
(iRAXCE I^ECO^r^rENI)ATIOXS.—I sui>p<»se the 
T,egisl:itlire may have thought that the State Orange 
I'udorsed this bill. It did not. If you will n'.ad the 
report of the standing committi'e of the State 
Orange on (lage (is of the l!il7 lU'oci'cdings, ;iud of 
the session committi'e on ji.-ige 114 on education, you 
will .see that the law disregards four out of the 
seven (page 11 I » rccommcndjitions which the .session 
committi'e and the St.ate (ir.an.ge declari'd to be fun¬ 
damental, i c., the second, fourth, sixth and .sev¬ 
enth, and three out of the si.x recommendations of 
the standing committee, •/. c., the first, fourth and 
sixth. 'To be sui'e, the Oriinge committed large di.s- 
cretion to a committee, but not as to the fundamental 
principles enunciated, page 11(5. Had the State 
tendency in all government departmetd.s. The dis¬ 
trict .school was the last bulwark of pun* democracy, 
and it was a sorry da.v when it was destroyed. It 
should be restored, if it can be. by peaceful methods. 
A central hoard miglit imiu'ove conditions hii a ioU r 
able ta.rdiion in a few schools, say om* in five. 'I'hat 
is a liberal estimate. 'I'hat one I'ould be brought up 
to standard wittiont upsetting the other four, 'riic 
ph.vsician is not called to, nor dons he expect to ]ir('- 
scribe for, tlie well memlicrs of a famil.v. 'riic .-idvo- 
I'ates of tile township s.\st('m re\erse the usual com¬ 
mon-sense iiolicy. 
KIldJ.\(! LOCAL IXTEKEST.—In my own dis 
trict thi'ie was an active, pr.blic interest in im|irov 
in.g the sctiool eipiipment and beautifying the 
grounds. It did not get a n'presentativc on the 
hoard. '^I’he former trustee bec.-ime .a janitor of tin* 
school, local interest was killed and then' is sullen 
discontent ovei‘ the excessive tax without bi'in'tits 
and the destruction of local control. I Wiis at tin' 
State (Jninge and tiave followi'd this movement closc*- 
l.V and think I see the true inw.irdness of it. To par 
aphrase a remark made by the secretary of tin* 
evcr.v high school Inis its ('l(*gant eleinentar.v depart- 
mi'iit built b.v tin* iiroci'i'ds of bonds, which the un¬ 
bonded districts will help pa.v for, but not ('n,jo,\. I 
can only .see it as a plan to unload the bonds uiion 
the thrift.v districts that have been conti'iit with 
more humble eipiiitmeut. That Section d.Tl ought to 
condemn the whole sclieuie and bring about a reiieal 
of the whole .system. I dislike to think th.at mi'ii in 
the bonded districts would support this so-called 
township system of schools for that ri'ason, but there 
has b(*en a pi'rsistenci' about establishing this s.vstem 
and a strength to tlu* support .given that seemed to 
be insiured b.v .somethin.g other than improvi'inent of 
rural schooLs. 
AHDEl)' EXPEXSE.—Ai.art from the bond fea¬ 
ture the system involvi's lU'W salaries and expenses 
that are inevitable, and which the district system 
did not reipiire. I do not .say that the men who get 
tlu'.se .salaries do not earn them, and that the ex¬ 
penses are not iiecessar.v under the town system. 
Tlu'.v undoiibtedl.v do and are. Taxes would he hi.gher 
under this townshii) s.vstem if there were no bonded 
districts. When the department sa.vs .some taxes are 
lower than before, it of course refers to .some bonded 
A First Class Home Market for Milk. Fig. 2 
(iran.ge known th.-it those recommendations were to 
he disri'garded, even that report would never have 
bi'i'ii adopted. I venture to say that had a single 
one of the recomnu'iidations lieen omitted, or had 
the projiosed action as to bonds been included (and 
many other details of the law), the State (Jrange 
Avould never have given approval to the township 
systi'in. That illustrious camoutlage artist. Senator 
Elon U. I’rown, appi'ared before the State (Irange 
and represented that the Legislature was just wait¬ 
ing for the (trangi' to sjieak and its recommendations 
would be enacted into law. It’s a long story how the 
action of the State (irange was obtained. l>ut the 
law does not follow the essential recommendations 
of the (irange. and that condemns it. 
(IL.IIK’TIOXS 'I'O (’EXTltALlZ.VTIOX.—I believe 
in the district .school, niandf/cd hi/ tlir diHtrid. I re¬ 
ceived my first education in one. and when mv chil¬ 
dren came to school a.ge I returned to the countr.v 
and both of my children went through the district 
school. I do not lilce the tendency toward centrali/.a- 
tion. (’arried to its utmost hideous length and you 
have modern derman.v. and its logical fruits—the 
Iiresent cataclysm in civi!i'/ation. It is a decided 
State (irange, "It is the jieople who will m.iki' tin* 
.schools good, not the department at Albany." 'I’hosi' 
few communitii's who do not do their diit.v in pro¬ 
viding i»roper schools could Ic dealt with by the 
supervising department, Imt put it up to Jlir lofdt 
people firxl. 
IIAIII) W()IIK AHEAD.— I reali/,<* that frying to 
repeai the whole systi'in is like attemiiting to move 
tiie cajiitol, hut 1 lielievi* it can lie doin' if you can 
arouse the jicople to ri'alize tin* invasion of their 
rigiits and tiie burdens jiroposed to be laid upon 
them. Of course, all sorts of concessions ami fan 
tastic schemes will be jiroiiosed in order to snve the 
township s.vstem. P.ut as a ri'buke to those ivho iiavi* 
put this thing over, and as a return to sane demo¬ 
cratic management in tiie political unit of lowest 
denomination, the school dixtriet should he reslore<l. 
K. X.-Y.—^In order to make clear what this writer 
sa.vs about the school law. we have printed, on page 
(I. Section on outstanding bonds. Tiie statements 
aiiout the draiige are correct, and tiiere .seems little 
doubt tliat Senator Elon It. Itrown was largely re- 
s])onsible for the camoutlage wliich put the endorse¬ 
ment over. 
