The department has issued a twenty-one page bulletin containing the address of Dr. John F. Woodhull of Columbia University which was read before the last meeting of the Wisconsin Teachers' Association and entitled "How the Public Will Solve Our Problems of Science Teaching." This may be obtained free upon request and should be in the possession of all teachers of science. It is a most valuable treatment of the subject at hand.

State Superintendent Cary, under date of January 12th, sent out a circular letter to the superintendents and principals of the state asking for the number of persons under their jurisdiction who would be affected by the passage of a teachers' retirement fund law. Superintendent Cary seeks the number of teachers (1) who have taught twenty-five years or more, eighteen of which have been in the public schools of the state, (2) who will have completed twenty-five years' of teaching, eighteen of which have been in the state within the last five years, (3) and the number who have stopped teaching within the last five years who had taught prior to their retirement twenty-five years in the public schools of the state.

The monthly letter of the State Superintendent to Wisconsin teachers, under date of January 4th, calls attention to recent literature bearing upon the teaching profession. Among other things, emphasis is placed on the system of vacuum cleaning for school houses, which was fully explained and illustrated in the January issue of this publication.

Judge Lueck of the Dodge county circuit court has ruled that the common council of the city of Beaver Dam was not obliged to grant the requisition made upon them by the school board for funds for carrying on the public schools. The Beaver The Beaver Dam board this year asked for about double the amount usually granted by the council. Eminent Eminent

attorneys claim that the supreme court, to which this decision has been appealed, will reverse the judgment of the lower court.

Attention is called to the article herewith by Superintendent Weldon of Pierce county who answers the critics of the special law for the benefit of district schools. This attack seems to be most unwarranted, as the cry has always been that the university, normals, and high schools have been receiving too much money every year as compared with the needs of the rural schools where over fifty per cent of the children of the state are being educated. The law has worked admirably and we are satisfied that the criticism does not come from educators who know the great benefit conferred upon this class of schools by the enactment of the law.

THE NEW MEMORIAL DAY BOOK.

Probably the best Memorial Day book yet issued from the State Department is for the year 1909. It is somewhat larger than previous issues, consisting of one hundred pages with a large amount of material devoted to the celebration of the Lincoln centennial and Washington's birthday. Numerous cuts, songs, and other material bearing upon the celebration of Memorial Day make this a most attractive annual for the use of teachers in the schools of the state.

This book is distributed free to teachers in Wisconsin through the city and county superintendents, to whom application should be made for a copy at once if not already received.

SUPT. WELDON ANSWERS THE CRITICS OF THE SPECIAL AID LAW FOR RURAL SCHOOLS.

Two articles, one by L. B. Nagler, and one clipped from the Madison Democrat, appeared in last week's issue of the Spring Valley Sun, both of which attempted to demonstrate that the last legislature had made a serious blunder in passing

Chapter 600, the bonus law for improving conditions in the rural schools.

The statements made in these articles diclose a very meager knowledge of existing conditions in our schools on the part of the writers, and it is evident that they have considered only one side of the question. I should be pleased to know how many of our rural schools the writers have inspected since these have met the requirements of the law. Have they any definite knowledge of the efficiency of the heating and ventilating systems that they sarcastically designate "A cross between a sheet iron warming oven and a half dozen joints of stove pipe?" Have they the interests of the eight hundred thousand school children of the state at heart, or are they simply courting popular approval by giving expression to the sentiments of those who consider only one side of the question?

The Madison Democrat hints that the manufacturers of ventilating systems were chiefly responsible for the passage of the above law. Had the writer taken a very little time for investigation he would have refrained from making this statement. Nearly all of the leading educators of the state, including the County Superintendents' Legislative Committee, one of whom was the author of the bill, gave this bill their enthusiastic support and I am confident that you can't find an educator in the state who is familiar with conditions who will not willingly testify that this law has done more for the children of this commonwealth than any other law enacted in this state.

I stated in my annual report to the county board that school boards were not obliged to install a patent system in order to meet the requirements. They were at liberty to install a furnace or a homemade system providing it met the requirements fixed by the state superintendent. Adequate ventilation was the only aim and I fail to see how it was a piece of graft or how the state was creating a monoply.

When the cost of the basement is considered, a furnace would cost at least three or four times as much as one of the patent systems. A homemade system complying with the requirements might have been installed for about seventy-five dollars but there would have been so much extra work for school boards that not one in five would have taken the initiative and installed one, and the majority of our schools would still be without ventila

tion. I am not claiming that the heating and ventilating companies didn't get a good round price for systems, but tests show that though simpler in construction, they provide about as satisfactory ventilation as the furnace or homemade system. The anemometer tests show the velocity of the air in the twelve-inch foul air shaft to be between three hundred and six hundred feet a minute. This means that the air in the school room is be

ing completely changed from two to six times an hour, depending on the size of the room and climatic conditions. These are actual tests, not guesses.

The drowsiness, nervousness and headaches caused by breathing foul air from nine o'clock in the morning till four in the afternoon have nearly all been eliminated and our teachers and pupils now feel more like active work.

To be entitled to the bonus, districts must not only provide a ventilating system, but must provide good buildings and all necessary equipment and maintain an efficient school.

For several years Minnesota has had a similar law but they give one hundred twenty-five dollars a year to districts that employ a first grade teacher and fifty dollars where a second grade teacher is employed and the time is not limited to three years. Wasn't it about time that Wisconsin made an extra effort by way of fostering its rural schools?

The statement reported to have been made by State Treasurer Dahl "That he expected every rural school in the state to be on hand January 1 with a claim for fifty dollars," will not look well when a report is made on the number of drafts issued. We have reasons to believe that Pierce and

St. Croix counties take first rank in the number of first class schools, and in these counties eightythree and eighty-one per cent respectively of the school boards applied for the extra state aid. In many counties less than half of the schools had met the requirements.

Had the writers been fair and given a fair estimate of the benefits of the law together with their criticisms, this article would not have been written, but in this important matter the taxpayers are entitled to have the facts presented by those in the field who can give them from actual observation. G. W. WELDON, Co. Supt. of Pierce Co.

A Point in the Enforcement of the Compulsory Educa▸ tion Act:

A parent refuses to comply with the provisions of the compulsory attendance law, although he has been duly notified of the delinquency of his boy, who is ten or eleven years of age. The reason for not sending his boy to school is that the teacher is incompetent and also that his child is receiving the necessary amount of instruction at home. The question is, is the parent to be the final judge upon these points?

No. If he insists that the teacher is incompetent, it is his privilege to make a formal complaint to the county superintendent, stating definitely the points of incompetency and asking for annulment of the teacher's certificate. In this case he will secure a formal hearing before the county superintendent in which the father will be the plaintiff and the teacher the defendant and the evidence elicited will either prove or disprove his claim. His mere statement to the effect that the teacher is incompetent can not be considered a sufficient It is also incumbent upon the parent to show to the satisfaction of a court, if the case is brought into court, that the instruction given to his child at home is equivalent to the instruction given in the regularly organized school in his vicinity.

excuse.

The Board Is Authority But Should Never Destroy Discipline:

The principal of our school made a rule that the pupils should not come back to the building at noon until a quarter of one o'clock. We, the school board, told the pupils to go back when they pleased. Were we right or wrong?

The statute very clearly gives the school board authority to make rules and regulations governing

the school. In a case where a rule of the teacher and a rule of the school board come in direct conflict, the rule made by the board is to be considered the rule governing the school. In such a case as this it is always best for the board and the teacher to get together. Giving independent orders direct to the children is bound to destroy the discipline of the school.

The Payment of Tuition by Towns Means the Approval of the County Superintendent:

Are those pupils who complete the city grade course of study entitled to enter any free high school without the approval of the county superintendent?

No. Pupils who graduate from the eighth or ninth grade below the high school in one school district and who move from that school district into some school district in which a free high school is not maintained can not enter the high school and have tuition paid by the town until a certificate of approval has been obtained from the county superintendent of schools. His approval is one of the requisites in cases where it is proposed that the town shall pay the tuition of the pupil attending the high school. Pupils who finish the grades below the high school are, of course, entitled to attend the high school in the district in which they reside without the approval of the county superintendent. In that case the tuition law has no force.

If pupils live outside the high school district and the county superintendent does not approve their work and grant them the certificate accorded them by law, but the city superintendent does, who pays the tuition, the pupil or the town?

The county superintendent's certificate is an essential when tuition is to be collected. The city superintendent's certificate is not.

Three Sites Chosen: the Last Must Be Used:

A school district has purchased two different sites for a school house and the electors at a recent special meeting selected another and a different site. On which of these sites should the school house be erected?

On the site last chosen. It is within the power of the electors to give the board authority to dispose of the two sites previously selected.

When the School House Is Overcrowded Additional Room Should Be Secured:

Our school has too many pupils for one room. Is it within the power of the electors to authorize the board to lease a building for school purposes during the winter?

Yes. There can be no question upon this point and it should be done at once and the house be well seated and made as comfortable as possible for the pupils. It is also in order for the electors of the district to begin to think about erecting a school building having at least two rooms for the accommodation of the district.

The Limit to a Sub-District:

If a sub-district under the township system originally contained thirty persons of school age but at the present time has a population of less than ten, is such sub-district entitled to representation by subdistrict clerk elected at a sub-district meeting as a member of the town board of school directors?

No. The statute plainly provides that no subdistrict shall be organized or maintained unless there are at least fifteen persons of school age residing therein. A branch school may, however, be maintained for the accommodation of the children. still living there. The territory must be attached to an adjoining sub-district or to adjoining subdistricts.

An Unreasonable Rule Which Can Not Be Enforced:

Is a rule made by the teacher and officers of a country school district refusing children admission to the schoolroom if they are not there at ten minutes past nine in the winter a reasonable rule?

No. Courts have held that a rule of this class was unreasonable and unlawful and should not be permitted.

The Teacher Must Be Paid When the School is Closed on Account of Epidemic:

Our school was closed for one week on account of cases of diphtheria in the district. Do the teachers have to make up that week or can they draw their salary for that time the same as if the school had been in session?

The teachers are privileged to draw their salary for the time the school was closed the same as if it had been in session. It does not appear that the school was closed through any fault of the teacher, neither can the teacher be compelled to make up the week at the close of the term.

A School Board Member Can Not Legally Sell Goods to the District:

I wish your opinion of the duty of the district clerk in the following case. The district treasurer sold goods from his store to the school district and presented his bill to the school board for the goods sold. The bill was allowed by the school board by a vote of two to one, the director and the treasurer voting to allow the bill while the clerk objected. Is the clerk justified in refusing to draw an order for the amount of the goods sold? Is there any way to force him to draw the order?

There is no way by which the clerk can be forced under the circumstances to draw an order in favor of the treasurer for the goods which the latter has sold to the district. The treasurer can have his account allowed at the annual meeting, if a majority of the electors present vote in favor of it. The account must be presented in itemized form. If a

majority of the electors vote in favor of paying the bill then it is the duty of the clerk to draw an order upon the district treasurer. If the account is allowed by the electors, then the clerk could be compelled to draw the order or to suffer some penalty.

What to do with the Balance of the Building Fund:When a district raises a sum of money to build and furnish a school house what can the few dollars that may be left be legally used for?

The remaining money still belongs to the building fund. The electors at the annual meeting should vote to transfer it to the general fund. When so transferred, it may be used for general purposes.

The Source of the State School Fund:

Is the fund of the state aid a direct tax upon the tax payers or has it some other source from whence it is drawn?

Part of the fund is a direct tax upon the property of the state. There is what is known as a permanent school fund. This fund is, as far as possible, kept loaned out at a three and one-half per cent rate for the purpose of erecting school houses and other public buildings. The annual income from this source is about $172,000. The constitution provides that the clear proceeds of all penal fines shall be paid into the school funds. The income from this source is about $20,000 each year. The amount received from the sales of the school land also becomes a part of this permanent fund. The rest of the money distributed is derived from what is known as the seven-tenths mill tax. Originally a tax of one mill upon each dollar of assessed valuation in the state was provided for by the statute. In 1903, however, a bill was introduced asking for a reduction of this one mill tax and the legislature provided that an amount equal to seven-tenths of one mill for each dollar of the assessed valuation of the taxable property of the state as determined by a state board, and exclusive of the property of the corporations which pay license fees, shall be appropriated annually to the common school income. The legislature also provided that of this amount, whatever it might be, $200,000 should come from the license fees or taxes paid by corporations. This clause relieved the tax payers of the necessity of raising $200,000. The amount of the tax derived from the assesed valuation is about six-tenths of a mill upon the assessed