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Show lo Hie the luifsf-loi k School Teachers-They Will Be the Last JDnes To Strike. The Big Question Before the People is tlie Training of the, Boys and Girls . the Real Asset of the Nation ' Iu a recent public addresy tho id-ltor id-ltor of this paper compaied the na tiouul wealth of this country wltn the wealth of our allies In thu great war, also showed the pcicentagu of dobt in each Instance, picscntlng Homo figures that were UBtoundlug, and showing conclusively that the UnTud States Is nut only thu bniiKut nation of tho world, but thoonnor of tho treasure vaults of the orUI. Tho statement was nlso made that notwithstanding thin groat wealth this tremendous showlug of assess, they wore but a dtop In tho bucket when compaied to the real nsecits of tho nation, tho bos and glrh). Tl a fuithui tilatumont was made that the training of tlicao icnl assets, tho bojs and gills, was In a groat, many Instances In-stances lots sight of In tho mad run to caro for tho worldly assets, tho niouoy wealth of tho country In tho course of that address the HUf-inont HUf-inont was inadu tha unless """ thing was (lono nnfl that Epeidlly, thu United Stales Avouid fin J ItbHf without capablo school tCach ;s, iu fact In tho haudsf of tho "scum of tho oarth" fiom th fact that tho ituu'l toachcru of totlay under piosjrtt m-dltlona m-dltlona canncit stay In tho piofcs siou, but nuist Toole nflor othor llta of work. Tho statoracnt wtti futt.'iur nsndo that tho "cchool teacher .ill he tho last to strike," and since imt tlmo wo uotlco thut tho distinguished editor amd scholarly Goorgo Uiu(.y In his weekly has wrltton a vi.- timely nrtlclo under tho h:a uum "Who Aro tho Qulttcra?" which we havo pluasuio to herowlth print: "School teachers in Kansas nnd elBOwhqfro havo rctusod to organize- into uiloua, with America i Vcdoia-tlon Vcdoia-tlon of) Labor nfllliatiunB, on iho Ground' that their dullo? to parcitR, to pudtls und to tho pu'jllo arc In consistent with coorclvo action by Btrlkoti. They refuso to surrender tlujlr Individual freedom of action in posslbio iiatuncca where ' obedience to a Btilico command would conflict with their consclcntloWcbnvlctlons conoornlngi their duties na citizens. All of whf(ch iB highly commcndablo as a principle. It ehoujd havo Ub V lewaid In full public appieclatlor.. That apple elation nhould take a more substantial fornf than" more rorbal eulogies. It should take the font of payment fur mm vices lundered In genoiouH pioporllon to tho vnlue of those services. And what seivlce Is inoi o yuluablc to tho country, muio italto tho enduring wolfaro of tho AmericanTuJoplo, than tho proper ed ucation of our American children? .-oy tho men. and women on whom falls this grave responsibility, "Hud who, In tho Instance cited, havo Lhowii bo patriotic an appreciation of thoao responsibilities, aro entitled to such- payment for services as will enable them to live ns well as those In tho country's Industrial mechanism. mechan-ism. Suiely, It thcro is any group of workers whoso pay should pormlt them to Hvo with bohio approach to comfort nnd personal dignity In theso days of sovero stress, theloachers on whom rests the responsibility for the light mentnl guldanco and direction di-rection of tho oncoming generations aro foremost. But this Btariddrd at payment is precisely what Uio toachora aro not Getting. In many cases their pay Is so low that they simply cannot llvo on It Toi such as these, tho innttei' .resolves Into thvt Plain' question of ighlng up toaCi'ilug or dragging out an CNlstonco ofhaif arvod squr. So, It Is not surpTlBlng'to learn that many hundreds of teachers aro nnj-worlng nnj-worlng thlo question by throwing up their woik. lTTtho last thrco years, according to a locont survey of Chicago Chi-cago trade conditions, 40 per cont of tho toahers havo abandoned the pro- febinn solely on account of tho Impossibility Im-possibility of living decently on tho salaries paid. Theso teachers' salaries are bucIi as wasnerwomen, Janitors and tcam-stora tcam-stora would ecorn." A brlcklayor, whoso craft demands nn obviously low order of skill and intelligence, may earn noarly aa much In a wee' mi n teacher Is paid In a month. The average school teacher, aayH tho Chicago Chi-cago trade survey report) la under n twenty-flvo year liandloup on tho bas- is of lifetime earnings. The averr.se teacher will havo to live to bo 70 bo-foro bo-foro her total earnings nro as much as a plumber can mako by tho tlmo ho Is 40. Blacksmiths, shoo store clorks, coda fountain clorka, under present wago scales, will havo carnod na much at 40 years of ngo as n school teacher would at 52. Tho teachers will not form unions. They will not strike. They regard such action Incompatible with their Ideas of self-respect, personal independence inde-pendence and tho duties they owo to tho American public. Hut llWtig lives of half starved pauperism 1b also at vailanco with their Ideas of self reaped. re-aped. So they resign .and take to occupations by which they can mako enough to Hvo on In tho way they bhould live. They recognize their duties du-ties to tho public, but thoy do not' recognize staivlng to diath as among thoso duUos. The case o&Chloago i.by no niaans singular. Teaehers In many other lo-cnlltloa lo-cnlltloa aro being oonplralnod. to abandon ab-andon their toBkB. Chlago happens to havo furnished ub with tho latent statistics sta-tistics on tho subject; that is all. Possibly tho glaring ovldenco of vacant va-cant school rooms nnd thousands of toachorlcBa school children tnay Borne day nrouso us to tho fact that if tho teachers iccognlzo tholr dutlou to thj public, It may ho tlmo for tho public fo rccogtiiico lta duties to the, teachers. teach-ers. Tho school tcachera aro quitting. That Is undeniable Hut, 'In present conditions, Is it, thoy who ary tho "contemptible quitters," or Is It the public which will not iny them enough en-ough to provldo a decent living?" |
