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Show free Schools. Salt Lake City, April H, 1S75. Editors Herald: The caption of this letter is causing caus-ing considerable comment among our citizens just now, many being in favor and some opposed to it. I look upon tho visit ot our territorial superintendent superin-tendent of common schools, in company com-pany with Mr. Dwyer, as being quite an ovation in respect to their agitation agita-tion of freo schools; and it is certainly certain-ly apparent that the wave of education educa-tion will sweep over tho territory sooner or later. I happen to be a school trustee in one ot the school districts of this city, and have given the matter some consideration. con-sideration. Naturally in favor of the free school system, having received my education partially at a school supported by endowmenta, I would be pleased to see our Bchools placed upon some footiug that all parents could send their children without any feeling of dependence on another person's bounty, or the fear of a teacher's bill biding sent in at an ugly time; yet, I must express myself my-self as being opposed to a general or territorial law or system to meet the emergencies ofthe ciLse. The strong advocates of this school matter urge the necessity of a tern-tori. tern-tori. 1 law. I maintain that this is impracticable. In many settlements the children are scattered overa large extent of country, and the farms not being highly assessable would not guarantee more than one school-house school-house and teacher for many of those settlements, and children would have to travel four or five miles to school, or their parenU pay taxes for nothing. noth-ing. This, in stormy or cold weather states its own objections, say six months in the year. Some to whom I have Bhown thii point concede its correctness, but want a general city school tax. I also can see feasible objections to that. True, in some districts the amount ot tax collectable is much more than in others say, the first and fifteenth ai8iricLs,as examples, aua me uenenis in reach of the children woula, of course, vary proportionately; but if a uity tax were imposed and collected and four or five large district schools were to be erected and kept running, this would necessitate a large outlay, firstly, for the erection of these houses and consequent purchase of ground, and, secondly, for the salaries of two or three supervisors. Then, there might be leakuyts, and auditor's reports re-ports and many other things, incidental, inciden-tal, that finally the schooling portion would be small. Of course I have a remedy, or I would not occupy your columns. I would suggest that at the next elections elec-tions for trustees in each district (and if the elections are too far oft, have a special meeting for the purpose,) the: taxpayers get some persons to makej and second the motion, and warmly advocate too, that the property in each district be taxed on the figures ofthe city assessor, and amounts collected, col-lected, placed in the hands of the ; trustees in each district, and try it for two or three years, then it it is a failure fail-ure fall back on our present system. sys-tem. It would give the trustees much more labor, but for one I am willing to try it, rather than hold an office which is a mere sinecure, as I do now. The large majority of our children do not attend school regularly, only because the parents think and feel that they cannot pay the school bills. The Mormon people value education their faith imbues them with aspirations of greatness for their children, hut they feel they can-DOt can-DOt meet the demands of the teacher. Make the payment obligatory, and you would soon see them eager to get the money's worth in tuition for their children. Let the trustees have a chance to demonstrate the life of the matter now dormant with them, and you may rest assured it will reach a point that emulation will oring benefits to our children who now are growing up without an education. Respectfully, Trustee. |