USA > Illinois > Adams County > Quincy > Quincy and Adams County history and representative men, Vol. I > Part 26
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ACTIVE MILITARY BODIES
Besides the Quincy Naval Reserves, there are a number of mili- tary organizations the activities of which eenter at Quincy. Some of them come down from the Civil war; others are products of the awful conflict now raging in Europe, Asia and the high seas of the old world. They inelude companies E and F, Tenth Regiment Illinois National Guard, the Machine Gun Company, the Home Guards and the Chaddock Cadets. The loeal military headquarters is the Regimen- tal Armory, a substantial building on Jersey Street.
Company E was organized in May, 1917, with Albert E. Zoller as captain ; J. Erle Caldwell, first lieutenant; Horace M. Jellison, second lieutenant. It was called over to camp in June and spent three months at Springfield in training. Lieutenants Caldwell and Jellison resigned and Walter Brown and Claire Irwin succeeded them. After returning from camp in September, Captain Zoller resigned and later Walter Brown was advanced to the head of the company, with Claire Irwin as first lieutenant and Ralph Lusk as second lieutenant.
THE MACHINE GUN COMPANY
Muster roll of Machine Gun Company, Fifth Illinois Infantry, of the Army of the United States, from the 1st day of July, 1917, to the 31st day of August, 1917; drafted into Federal service, on the 5th of the latter month. The original officers were: Captain. James P. Beatty: first lieutenant, Joseph A. S. Ehart; second lieutenants, George F. Cumnane and Bennett W. Bartlett: first sergeant, Law- rence D. Smith ; mess sergeant, Carl J. Grimmer; supply sergeant, John H. Pott, Jr. ; horseshoer, Robert J. Hartley ; sergeants, William H. Henning, Chester I. White, Roy H. L. Keller, Robert T. Strick
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land and Otto A. Wurl: corporals, Edward C. Castle, Hugh F. Dehner. Charles L. Edwards, Samuel E. Israel, Eugene Ralph and ('lyde W. Winner; mechanics, Howard Ogle and George HI. Ost ; cooks, Alex Carr and Richard J. Dunham; bugler, Ernest Nelson : first class privates, Ralph T. Buteherle, llarold Leffingwell, Donald L. Manes, George M. Persons and Harry W. Phillips: privates, William F. Adolfs, Warren E. Baker, Arthur II. Belger, Beverly F. Bolling. Harry C. Boyle, Fred M. Bray, John R. Carlisle, Edward W. Church, George W. Cook, James W. Dorsey, Theodore II. Dorsey, Ferdie L. Ferguson, Anthony II. Folmer, George W. Freemyer, Arthur E. Gibbs, William D. Grimes, Gerald D. Grover, Charles N. Hendricks, Kirby L. Hill, Clifford O. Hope, Edward M. Howell, William W. Ilummel. Ceeil G. Kane, William M. Mansperger, Arthur R. Marvin, Alvin W. Michel, Charles A. Miller, Roy W. Pott. Floyd W. Rains.
THE REGIMENTAL ARMORY
LaFayette F. Snapp, Emmett Snider, William C. Stanbridge, Charles E. Stott. Frederick T. Thompson, Robert L. Vollrath, Mitchell J. von Preissig. Panl K. Wells, Roger HI. Wells, Ernest J. Wible. Brant L. Williams, John F. Williams, Joseph L. Williams and James A. Wilson. On detached service-stable sergeant, Arthur A. Reese. and private, Walter E. Randall; losses by discharge-privates, Thomas H. Amburn, Albert J. Heckenkamp. Luis B. Justus, Harold C. Tyner and Floyd W. Bentley; losses by transfer, Edward D. Thompson.
The Home Gnards were organized in May, 1917, by Judge S. A. Hubbard and furnished the nucleus for Company E. John Kelker and C. W. JJarvis were the lieutenants. In September Ilngh E. King returned from a three months' course of training at the Fort Sheridan Officers' Camp and, with the assistance of Indge Hubbard, organized the Adams County Battalion of Volunteer Training Corps, which Vol. 1-16
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was authorized by the State Council of Defense, with Hugh E. King as major. The four companies of the battalion were located at Quincy, Camp Point, Golden and Mendon. Later, J. Erle Caldwell was taken in and he organized two more battalions, which completed the First Regiment, with himself as colonel; Elmer Johnson, lieu- tenant colonel, and Hugh E. King, Claire Irwin and Horace Jellison as majors. In addition to those named, there were companies at Clayton, Mount Sterling, Versailles, Meredosia, Plymouth, Augusta, Rushville, Carthage, Basco, LaHarpe, Hamilton and Warsaw. The growth of the movement became so rapid and so many new com- panies were asking for recognition, that in January Major King was authorized by the State Council of Defense to complete the organization of the Second Regiment. Additional companies had been formed at Loraine, Barry, New Canton, Baylis, Griggsville and Perry, and J. E. Caldwell and Hugh E. King were to command the regiments. The First has been transferred over to the Depot Brigade of the Reserve Militia, and the Second will do likewise as soon as the arrangement can be completed. (Written in summer of 1918.)
The Chaddock Cadets are a part of the Chaddock Boys' School, of which there are about fifty boys. The military work of the school is in charge of Maj. Hugh E. King, and the boys, ranging in age from eight to eighteen years, are uniformed and make a fine appearance when in line. The United States Government recognizes the school to the extent of supplying the cadets with Krag-Jorgensen rifles for use in their military work.
CHAPTER X
COUNTY SCHOOL SYSTEM
FINANCIAL BASIS OF PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM-THE WORKINGS OF THE DUNCAN LAW-PROFESSOR TURNER, FATHER OF PRESENT SYSTEM -INSTRUCTIVE REPORT OF STATE SUPERINTENDENT-STATE EXAM- INING BOARD CREATED-STATE SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC IN- STRUCTION-RURAL SCHOOLS STANDARDIZED-IHIGH SCHOOL TUI- TION ACT-FREE HIGH SCHOOLS-THE SCHOOL SURVEY-STRONG POINTS OF ADAMS COUNTY SYSTEM-THE COURSE OF STUDY- PERFECT ATTENDANCE-BETTER TRAINED TEACHERS-HIGHI SCHOOLS-PARENT-TEACHERS' ASSOCIATION-PIONEER SCHOOLS AND TEACHERS OUTSIDE OF QUINCY-"PERNICIOUS SYSTEM" TO ENCOURAGE IDLENESS-PUBLIC SCHOOL TAX LEVIED IN QUINCY- FIRST TOWN SCHOOLS-THE TOWN SCHOOLS BECOME THE PEOPLE'S SCHOOLS-COUNTY SCHOOLS COMMISSIONERS AND SUPERINTEND- ENTS-PRESENT STATUS OF THE COUNTY SYSTEM.
The county system of public instruction is a plant of slow growth, its basis resting upon the laws of the state, and its development in detail largely depending on the initiative of the county authorities and the abilities and faithfulness of individual teachers. There was really no compaet system, correlated with the State Department of Edneation, until 1854-55. Previons to that time. what improvement in the schools was noted was rather considered a fortunate happening in scattered localities resulting from personal generosity of support or a specially brilliant application of pedagogy. So that although the history of the district and country schools, and that of the vil- lages as well, it is more a narrative of unrelated achievements for a period of more than thirty years after the county was politically or- ganized.
The financial basis of the system was laid with the foundations of the state, and when Adams County elected its first set of officers. the Dunean school law was on the statute books, albeit a dead letter. But the idea had been planted in the minds of legislators and other intelligent men in Illinois that the common schools should be sup- ported by the publie treasury, and not left to individual subscrip- tions and haphazard efforts. Therefore, these general phases of the subject bearing upon the infancy of the Adams County schools call for brief but general review of the public school system of Illinois.
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FINANCIAL BASIS OF PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM
When Nathaniel Pope, the Illinois delegate to Congress, drew the act enabling the territory to become a state, he formulated as the sixth section thereof four clauses referring to the offer of the gen- eral government to donate lands to the State of Illinois for the use of public schools. The first clause provided that section 16, in each township, was to be given to the State of Illinois, to the inhabitants of such township for the use of schools; the second, refers to the gift of the salt lands; the third, provides that 5 per cent of the amount realized from the sale of the public lands in Illinois should be re- served for the state-2 per cent for the improvement of roads leading into the state and 3 per cent for school purposes, of which latter one- half per cent was to be applied to a college or university ; the fourth sets aside an entire township of land for the use of a seminary of learning to be vested in the State Legislature. The first provision gave the state nearly 1,000,000 acres of land, the proceeds of which passed into a permanent township school fund and is the financial basis of the public school system of Illinois.
In Governor Bond's first message to the Legislature, in 1819, he recommended to that body a revision of the territorial laws and ealled special attention to education in these words: "It is our imperious duty, for the faithful performance of which we are answerable to God and our conntry, to watch over this interesting subject." In response to this call of duty by the governor, the Legislature passed laws making it an offense to eut timber from any school lands, the rents resulting therefrom to be applied to the cause of education.
But the time was at hand when a measure was to become funda- mental law which should prove the first step toward a free school system for the entire state. As already stated, its author was Joseph Duncan, state senator from Jackson County, and destined for seats in Congress and the gubernatorial chair. On the face of it the law was a good one. It provided for schools in every county, created the proper officers and the means of electing them. School sites and tax levies for the support of the system were to be fixed by the legal voters in mass meetings. The taxes, which could be paid in money or merchantable produce, must not be more than one-half of one per cent on the assessed value of property in the county, and in no case more than $10 for any one person. Schoolhouses were to be built and kept in repair by a poll tax payable in labor. The local taxes were to be increased by the distribution of a general state fund de- rived from one-fiftieth of the entire state tax and five-sixths of the interest due on the school fund which the state had borrowed.
THE WORKINGS OF THE DUNCAN LAW
The Duncan law nominally appropriated $2 out of each $100 re- ceived by the state treasury, to be distributed to those who had paid
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taxes or subscriptions for the support of schools. But as the aggre- gate revenue of the state at that time was only about $60,000, the sum realized from the Dunean law would have been but little more than $1,000 per annum. It practically remained a dead letter, and in the sessions of 1826-27 the taxing power authorized by it was nullified, and a return and a retrogression taken to the popular subscription plan, or no system at all. No provision was made for the examination of the teacher, who was usually selected by the subscribers to the local school.
This was the condition of affairs when the first schools were estab- lished in Adams County, and so remained, withont radical change, until the foundation of the present system was laid in 1855. But gradually order, under the control of the constituted authorities, got the upper hand, although a consistent county system of schools was not developed until the passage of the legislative acts of 1854 and 1855, the former ereating a state superintendent of public instruc- tion and the latter a uniform state system, including a more com- paet county organization.
Under the previous law no township could sell its sixteenth, or sehool seetion, until it had fifty inhabitants, which provision for many years barred out many townships in Adams County from tak- ing advantage of even that small revenue. Again, the law permitted the people of any school district, by the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the legal voters, to levy a tax equal to 15 cents on each $100 of taxable property for the support of the public schools. In view of the comparative poverty of the people in the early times, when con- sidered as owners of taxable property, this also was an insignificant souree of revenue. Each county was also entitled to a certain quota, based on population, of the state interest on the school. college and seminary funds.
Under the old law the secretary of state was ex-officio superintend- ent of common schools, and each county elected a commissioner, to whom was committed the care and sale of the school lands and the examination of teachers, but he was innowise authorized to superin- tend the schools. There was therefore neither a public system nor publie support, each locality depending on the intelligence and gen- erosity of resident subscribers for the quality of the education sup- plied to the community.
PROFESSOR TURNER FATHER OF PRESENT SYSTEM
But, commencing with the movement inaugurated by Prof. dona- than B. Turner of Jacksonville, which eventnated in the founding of the I'niversity of Illinois, and culminated in the passage of the 1854- 55 laws, which, in turn, laid the foundation of a solid system of free school headed by the state which threw ont tentacles into all the counties and townships of the commonwealth. the present-day era of popular education was born. Now each county elects a superintend-
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ent of schools, whose duty it is to visit the schools, conduct teach- ers' institutes, advise with teachers and school officers and instruct them in their respective duties, conduct teachers' examinations, and exercise general supervision over the public educational affairs of the county. The subordinate officers are township trustees, a town- ship treasurer, a board of district directors, or in distriets having a population of 1,000 or more (in cities and villages) boards of educa- tion. A compulsory educational law is in foree and women are eligible to any office created by the general or special school laws of the state.
INSTRUCTIVE REPORT OF STATE SUPERINTENDENT
The biennial report of the state superintendent of public instruc- tion issued in 1914 contains much interesting and valuable matter, especially covering the legislation relating to the state and county systems for the past decade. Cullings from that report, issued by Francis G. Blair, are especially instructive and encouraging as show- ing the advancement made in the qualifications required of teachers and the specialization in the supervision of the rural schools.
"When the publie school system of Illinois was in its infaney," says Superintendent Blair, "boards of directors examined their own teachers. Later on, the law placed this function in the hands of the township trustees. It soon became apparent that if standards of education were to be established, some greater uniformity in the qual- ification of teachers was necessary. No such uniformity in teaching qualification was possible, unless the certifieating authorities were more uniform in their requirements. This led to giving the county superintendent the power to examine and certificate teachers within his county. At the same time, the superintendent of public instruc- tion was empowered to grant certificates of state-wide validity. The number of certificates granted by the superintendent of public in- struetion from 1855 down to 1914 has been a very small number of all the certificates issued in the state. The great mass of the teachers taught on county certificates. For the last twenty-five years it has been generally known that standards of qualifications for county certificates differed widely in the different counties of the state, as teachers were passing from one part of the state to the other, carry- ing certificates and asking that they be recognized wherever they went. Some of the county superintendents in the state began also to feel the burden of the preparation of questions and the grading of the manuscripts of the candidates examined. It was such a function as usurped much of the valuable time of a county superintendent which should have been spent on the supervision of his schools.
STATE EXAMINING BOARD CREATED
"Finally after many years, a bill was drafted which received the support of the State Teachers' Association and the county superin-
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tendents. It passed the Forty-eighth General Assembly, and became effective on July 1. 1914. It provided for a State Examining Board which should make such rules as were necessary to carry into effect the provisions of the law. The superintendent of public instruction was made ex-officio a member and chairman of this examining board. The law required that three of the four appointed members should be nominated by the county superintendents' section of the State Teachers' Association and appointed by the superintendent of pub- lie instruction. The other member of the board was to be appointed by the same authority.
"In order that the three county superintendents upon the ex- amining board might represent, in a general way. the three large see- tions of the state, the superintendent of public instruction asked that the county superintendents from each one of these sections should nominate a candidate. At the meeting of the State Teachers' Asso- ciation in December, 1913, the county superintendents' section nom- inated Cyrus S. Grove, county superintendent of Stephenson County. for the northern portion of the state: Ben C. Moore, connty super- intendent of MeLean County, for the central section, and Elmer Van Arsdall, county superintendent of Richland County, for the south- ern section. They were subsequently appointed. The superintendent of public instruction appointed as the other member of the examin- ing board lugh S. Magill, Ir., superintendent of the city schools of Springfield, linois, who, as a State senator, had had more to do with the enactment of the law than any other one member of the Gen- eral Assembly. The Examining Board met and organized by elect- ing Superintendent Magill its secretary.
"Very few boards have faced as large a task as lay before this examining board. It had to deal with 30,000 teachers in service and provide means for making the transfer of their old certificates for those under the new law ; it had to arrange for examinations to accom- modate those who wished to seenre certificates before the opening of the school year. The law was, necessarily, extended and detailed. Few laws, covering such broad field and such complicated interests, have been freer from perplexing inconsisteneies in provision and lan- gnage. However, it has been found necessary to interpret some of the language of the law so as to make it consistent with certain other provisions. It has been necessary to issue cirenlars of instruction to county superintendents and teachers, and to provide blanks cov- ering every detail of the inauguration of the law.
STATE SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION
"The history of the movement to establish the office of superin- tendent of public instructions has been told in detail many times. The need of such an office had been felt long before the State took the first step toward its permanent establishment. Three lines of work were assigned to it by the Legislature:
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"The first one of these related to gathering and tabulating statis- ties and data relating to public education.
"The second one related to the giving of legal and educational advice and counsel to all the school officers of the State.
"The third related to the supervision of the State common school system.
"The first one of these functions occupied the time and energy of the superintendent of public instruction for the first ten or fifteen years, along with some advice and counsel to school offieers. The superintendent of public instruction was given no assistance and practically no expense fund. One stenographer helped him in the preparation of all the reports and in the getting out of all his cir- culars. This statistical work has grown rather than diminished, but the Legislature has, in recent years, been more liberal and has pro- vided the office of superintendent of publie instruction with two clerks, who give practically all their time to the collection of this data and the preparation of the statistical reports.
"Advice on legal matters is now given by one assistant, who is a trained lawyer and who has made a special study of the School Law of the State. The advice on educational matters is divided up amongst the heads of the various departments-the persons in charge of rural sehools giving advice to elementary school officers; those in charge of the high schools, to high school offieers. Thus it will be seen that the advisory fuetion of the Superintendent of Public Instrnetion has become more effective through the enlargement of the office force and the plaeing of special men in charge of special fields of work.
"This last result, however, has been made possible, mainly. through the enlargement of the office force for the performance of the third legal duty-that of supervision.
"From the very beginning of the office, the Superintendent of Publie Instruction did whatever supervising he could in the little time which was left over from his other burdensome duties. At the very best, he could do nothing which merited the name of super- vision.
"In 1906 the work of building up the office for the performance of this duty was begun. A supervisor of rural school was appointed, who was to go into the field, work with and through the county super- intendents for the supervision and improvement of rural schools. Two years later, another assistant was allowed whose duties are to supervise rural and village sehools.
"In 1913 the Legislature provided for a high school supervisor. with an annual salary of $4,000. With these three men, it was pos- sible for the superintendent of public instruction to arrange for a systematic supervision of the country schools, the elementary schools, and the high schools. As high school supervisor, the superintendent of publie instruction appointed Principal John Calvin Hanna, of the Oak Park High School. It is believed that the office of snper-
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intendent of public instruction can serve the cause of public educa- tion in no more effective way than through giving advice and coun- sel in directing the growth of secondary education. The last twenty years has seen a tremendous development in high schools. In no other field has there been such a demand and such a need for care- ful, competent advice and counsel. The work of recognizing the high schools, as required by the certificating law, is proceeding with thor- onghness and eare.
"Mention has been made of the appointment of rural school supervisors.
RURAL SCHOOLS STANDARDIZED
"In 1909, a system of standardization for the improvement of rural and graded schools was adopted by this office. In brief, it pro- vides for the visitation by a supervisor from the Department of Puh- lie Instruetion, who, with the county superintendent visits the schools. If these schools meet the minimum requirements in physical equipment, in course of study and in teaching, a diploma, signed by the supervisor and by the superintendent of publie instruction, is granted to the sehool. A door plate is also given by the Department of Publie Instruction to be placed on the front door of the school- house. It was found, in a very short time, that school officers wanted something to work for above the minimum standards already set. It was decided to offer a superior diploma for a one-room country school which should furnish superior equipment, course of study, and teaching, and a superior school plate was made.
HIGH SCHOOL TUITION ACT
"In 1909. the Legislature also passed an act requiring distriets which did not maintain a high school to pay the tuition of their eighth grade graduates in some four-year high school, selected by the parents upon the approval of the directors of the local district. This law, however, in its passage through the Senate, was amended by the insertion of the clause which said, that the tuition should be paid by the district, provided the parents or guardian were unable to pay. It was known by those who were interested in the measure, that this amendment weakened greatly, if it did not destroy the law. Very shortly after it went into effect, it was attacked in various courts on various grounds. Finally, a decision was given by the Supreme Court that it was unconstitutional, inasmuch as a Board of Education was not competent to decide who was able and who was not able to pay the tuition. The State Teachers' Association, which had taken up this matter, again went before the Legislature with a demand for an enaetment of a law withont this unconstitutional pro- vision. Such a law was passed by the Forty-Eighth General Assem- bly and went into effect July 1, 1913."
FIELD DAY AMONG PUBLIC SCHOOL PUPILS OF THE PRESENT
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