USA > Massachusetts > Bristol County > Dighton > Town annual report of the offices of the town of Dighton 1922 > Part 5
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May 27 Ruth Eleanor Cook
May 27 Carl Leonard Parrott June 7 John Barros
June 8 Rita Thelma Markey June 14 Raymond John Frappied Russell J. and Blanche Frappied June 26 Arthur Thomas Davis June 20 Sylvia
June 21 Alfred Corey
July 10 Alphonse Alfred Cote
July 16 Thelma Agnes Costa
July 19 Elsie Rebello
July 20 Jerda Anna Anders
July 23 Joseph Dwier O. Connell Jos. D. and Mary V. O. Connell
July 27 Edward Andrew Silvia
Antone S. and Mary F. Silvia Wilmarth and Gladys E. Peirce
July 29 Arlene Elizabeth Peirce July 29 Howard William Bowker Howard S. and Dorothy G. Bowker Aug. 3 Makin
Aug. 3 Loretta Ida Ducharme
Aug. 4 Lucy Bernice Smith
Aug. 6 Robert Chisholm
Aug. 12 Marie Jeanette Moquin
Aug. 17 Anita Edith Strange
Aug. 16 Doris Louise Babbitt Aug. 24 Leo Joseph McMann Aug. 30 Evelyn Frances Marble Aug. 30 Natalie Pierce Hammond Geo. A. and Pearl L. Hammond
Aug. 31 Raymond Joseph Costa
Sept. 1 Dorothy Enis Martin
Sept. 9 George Martin
Sept. 11 Albert Arthur Robeira
Sept. 14 Frederick Gracia
Sept. 18 Muriel Louise Waterson Sept. 15 Fernandes
Sept. 19 Cosmo Antone S. and Annie E. Cosmo
Sept. 20 Ellis Clayton Phillips
Sept. 25 Richard Irwin Astion
Oct. 3 Felice Rosalie Morin
Oct. 5 Louis Sousa Manuel and Mary Sousa
Oct. 14 Lorraine Albertine Goslin Leonard and Elizabeth Goslin
Oct. 15 Florence Lorraine Santos Albert and Annie Santos
Oct. 18 Sybil Baxter Baxter
Carl L. and Helen M. Sawyer John and Elizabeth M. Cook Carl V. and Mary L. Parrott Louis and Augusta Barros T. James and Sara Markey Thomas and Julia Davis Manuel F. and Mary Sylvia Antone S. and Mary L. Corey Alfred E. and Beatrice Cote Manuel and Eva Correia Antone and Virginia Rebello Hanns R. and Anna Anders
Arthur and May Makin Arthur M. and Ida E. Ducharme James W. and Rose May Smith Alex and Mary Chisholm
Arthur J. and Sidonia Moquin Donald D. and Lillian M. Strange Clifford and Eleanor A. Babbitt John and Anna McMann
S. Palmer and Frances M. Marble
Manuel and Mary Costa Manueal E. and Mary Martin Tony and Matilda Martin Frank M. and Mary Robeira Manuel S. and Lena Gracia Edgar and Sadie Waterson
Manuel and Rosa Fernandes
Russell H. and Helen M. Phillips Frank F. and Florence Astin Philip and Bertha Morin
John and Sybil Baxter
105
ANNUAL REPORT
Oct. 19 Alvin B. Green
Oct. 29 Russell Warren Bridge
Oct. 19 Alfred Curtis Hallock
Harry B. and Maud Green Charles H. and Violet Bridge Earl J. and Agnes Hallock
Oct. 21 Raymond August Auclair Henri Lewis and Eva Isabella Auclair
Oct. 23 James Francis Bolger Oct. 27 Shirley Jean Briggs
Oct. 31 Maria Rosario Abreu
Oct. 31 William Joseph Sheehy
Nov. 1 Alden Dary Ridley
Earl L. and Alice E. Ridley
Nov. 1 Elory Dahlstrom Champ- Emort D. and Jane E. Champney ney
Nov. 15 Madeline Abbie Atwood Herbert F. and Sadie C. Hathaway
Nov. 21 Juliana Neves Perry
John and Perdina Perry
Nov. 28 Irving Lester Babbitt
Lester E. and Madeline W. Babbitt
Dec. 2 William Edward Wilkin- John J. and Mary R. Wilkinson son Everett W. and Anna M. Borden
Dec. 5 Barbara Borden
Dec. 11 Martin Winthrop ThurberLeon and Florence F. Thurber Dec. 12 James Louis Grandfield John and Anne M. Grandfield Dec. 23 Robert Edward Staples William George and Helen A. Staples James and Alice Breton
Dec. 16 Celia Agnes Breston
Dec. 28 Pachesco
Dec. 30 Felxi Andrews
Feb. 9 Bessie May Pierce
Feb. 16 Gomes
Feb. 27 Breedon
May 12 Howard
July 19 John Lynch
George and Rose Pachesco Philip and Gloria Andrews
Harold L. and Maud E. Pierce Jos. and Rose Gomes
John and Dora Irene Breeden
Walter H. and Elsie N. Howard Waldro and Augusta Lynch
John and Rose E. Bolger
Lyman E. and Alma F. Briggs
John and Maria E. Abreu
James J. and Elizabeth Sheehy
106
ANNUAL REPORT
DEATHS RECORDED DURING YEAR 1922
Date
Name
Age
Cause of Death
Jan. 5 Lillian T. Hathaway
Jan. 7 Charles F. Emerson
75 10
4 Acute Indigestion 1 Valvular Heart and Bronchitis
Jan. 14 Edith Quinlivan
33 10 8 Broncho Pneumonia
Jan. 23 Mary Emma Grinnell
Jan. 26 Eunice Martha Wood
22 7 19 Puerperal Pyosalpinex
Feb. 5 Margaret Donlon
99 10 7 Arterio Scleroses
Feb. 9 Still born
64
4 1 Tuberculosis
Feb. 10 James Newell Smith
79
5 10 Arterio Scleroses
Feb. 13 Maria Nunes
85
Bronchites Arterio Scleroses®
Feb. 14 Charles E. Westcoat
67
7 Arterio Scleroses 1
Feb. 16 Lillian W. Horton
Feb. 18 Still Born
Feb. 22 Maria Clarice Martin
Feb. 24 Michael Murphy
56
5 25 Lobar Pneumonia Carvinoma of Stomach
Feb. 28 Still Born
49
Mitral Obstruction
54 11 20 Brights Disease
April 10 Benedict Angell
Burlingame
79 3 10 Carcinoma
83 27 Heart Disease
April 30 Jose Costa
59 26 Cerebral Hemorrhage
April 30 Orrin E. Haskins
May 6 Julia Kennedy
86 50 10
2 Acute Brights Disease
May 26 Delena Williams Hathaway 3 10 6 Chronic Nephritis
May 27 Frank Wilbur Woodward 16
May 8 Antone S. Cosmo 34
June 1 Etta F. Johnson 67
June 11 Elizabeth A. Rose
64
2 1 Organic Heart Disease
June 17 John P. Heath
46
7 6 Septicoemia
June 22 Roxalina A. Emerson
64 10 26 Nephritis
July 1 Margaret M. Boothby 51
61
9
April 15 Robert D. Brown
69
8 25 Cerebral Hemorhage
Mar. 9 Alice A. Fahey
Mar. 30 Rosalie Annetta Potter
77 3 24 Cerebral Hemorrhage Cancer of caecum
May 15 Winnifred S. Haskins
8 18 Tuberculosis Accidental Heart Disease
8 Gall Bladder Operation
Feb. 10 Ruth A. Tew
38 5 21 Chronic Nephritis
107
ANNUAL REPORT
July 17 Mary A. Waldron July 19 Still Born
83
4 12 Dilitation of Heart
Aug. 29 Emma D. Blake
Sept. 15 Fernandes
62 10 23 Accidental 5 Gastro Enteritis
Oct. 2 M. Anna B. Swift 65 3 5 Carcinoma
Oct. 5 Alfred Andrada 1 2 Broncho Pneumonia
Oct. 7 Walter F. Wheeler 72 7 15 Accidental
Oct. 28 Andrew B. Simmons 81 1 16 Heart Disease
Nov. 3 Antone Almeida 5 5 Broncho Pneumonia
Nov. 6 Catherine E. Armstrong
14
3
Encephalitis Lethargia
Nov. 11 William Jefferson Grant
59
7 15 Tuberculosis
Dec. 20 Etta Taber
34
Nephritis
108
ANNUAL REPORT
PUBLIC LIBRARY REPORT
I herewith make my twelfth report as Librarian :
Number of Volumes in Library, Dec. 31, 1921, 5,590
Purchased during year, 159
Number of Volumes presented during year,
25
Number of Volumes discarded,
28
Number of Volumes in Library Dec. 31, 1922,
5,746
New borrowers,
70
Circulation during year,
11,762
Adult fiction,
6,097
Youth's fiction,
2,768
Non-fiction,
2,897
Magazines,
694
Number of persons using reading room,
2,114
Money received from fines and turned over to Town Treasurer,
$37 08
LYDIA J. COLE,
Librarian.
109
ANNUAL REPORT
FINANCIAL REPORT OF PUBLIC LIBRARY.
RECEIPTS.
Unexpended Jan. 1, 1922
$138 24
Appropriation
1,100 00
Receipts
81 90
1310.74
EXPENDITURES.
Librarian Salary,
$300 00
Labor,
65 73
Janitor,
139 85
Gas Light,
59 31
Fuel,
155 40
Supplies,
94 28
Magazines,
48 75
Books
214 58
Book Stack,
95 24
Unexpended Jan. 1, 1922,
137 60
/
/
$1,310 74
Respectfully submitted,
DWIGHT F. LANE,
Chairman of Trustees.
110
ANNUAL REPORT
List of Books Added to Dighton Public Library 1922
ADULT FICTION.
Adams, Samuel Hopkins, Success.
Altsheler, Joseph A., Free Rangers.
Altsheler, Joseph A., Hunters of the Hills.
Ames, Joseph, Torrance from Texas.
Anon, Return of Alfred.
Anstey, F., Brass Bottle.
Bermett, Arnold, Mr. Proback.
Benson, E. F., Peter.
Bindloss, Harold, The Man from the Wilds.
Boothby, Guy, Fascination of the King.
Browne, Belmore, Frozen Barrier.
Buckrose, J. E., The Privet Hedge.
Burnett, Frances Hodgson, Head of the House of Coombe.
Burrough, Edgar Rice, At the Earth's Core.
Burroughs, Edgar Rice, Tarzan the Terrible.
Burt, Katharine Newlin, Chamberlain, George Agnew, Cobweb.
Connolly, James B., Tide Rips.
Connor, Ralph, To Him That Hath.
Cullum, Ridgewell, Night Riders.
Curwood, James Oliver, Country Beyond.
Dawson, Coninsby, Kingdom round the Corner.
Dawson, Coninsby, Vanishing Point. Deland, Margaret, Vehement Flame. Evarts, Hal. G., Settling of the Sage.
Footner, Hulbert, Woman from the "Outside".
Gartland, Hannah, The House of Cards. Gibbs, George, The House of Mohun. Gibbs, George, Youth Triumphant.
111
ANNUAL REPORT
Grey, Zane, To the Last Man. Hawes, Charles B., The Great Quest. Hay, Ian, The Willing Horse. Holmes, Mary J., Bad Hugh. Holmes, Mary J., Dora Deane. Holmes, Mary J., Leighton Homestead. Holmes, Mary J., Lena Rivers. Hough, Emerson, Covered Wagon. Hutchinson, A. S. M., This Freedom. Hutchinson, A. S. M., If Winter Comes.
Kilpatrick, Florence A., Our Elizabeth. Kyne, Peter, Pride of Palomar. Lewis, Sinclair, Babbitt. Lincoln, Joseph C., Fair Harbor. Lutz, Grace L. H., City of Fire. Lutz, Grace L. H., Girl from Montana. MacGrath, Harold, Ragged Edge. Marshall, Archibald, Big Peter.
Marshall, Edison, At the Sky Line of Spruce. Mccutcheon, George Barr, Quills Windows. Miller, Alice Duer, Manslaughter. Moroso, John, People Against Nancy Preston. O'Brien, Edward J., Best Stories of 1921. Oemler, Marie Conway, Two Shall be Born. Oppenheim, E. Phillips, Nobody's Man. Oppenheim, E. Phillips, Profiteers.
Oppenheim, E. Phillips, Great Prince Shau. Pearson, Henry Clemens, Her Opportunity. Pearson, Henry Clemens, His Opportunity. Rice, Alice Hegan, Quin. Ruck, Berta, Arraut Rover.
Ruck Berta, The Subconscious Courtship. Sabatini, Scaramouche. Sinclair, Bertrand, Hidden Places. Sinclair, May, Mr. Waddington of Wyck. Streeter, Edward, Beany Gangleshankss and the "tub." Sterrett, Francis, Amazing Inheritance.
112
ANNUAL REPORT
Sterrett, Francis, These Young Rebels.
Tarkington, Booth, Gentle Julia.
Tarkington, Booth, Alice Adams.
Thayer, William M., Tact, Finish and Principle.
Vachell, Horace Annesley, Blinkers.
Van Vorst, Marie, Queen of Karmania. Watts, Mary S., House of Rimmore.
Wells, Carolyn, Vanishing of Betty Varian.
Wharton, Edith, Age of Innocence.
Wharton, Edith, Glimpes of the Moon.
Williamson, C. N. and A. M., Brightner.
Willsie, Honore, Judith of Godless Valley.
ADULT NON-FICTION. 1
328
Gaines, Charles Kelsey, New Cushing's Manuel of Parlia- mentary Law Authorized Revision.
540
Slosson, Edwin E., Creative Chemistry.
573
Van Loon, Hendrick, Story of Mankind.
590
Underwood, William L., Wild Brother.
610
Emerson, William R. P., Nutrition and Growth in Children.
113
ANNUAL REPORT
641
Christian, Eugene, Corrective Eating.
645
Peabody, Henrietta, Inside the House Beautiful.
750
Roberts, W., Paintings from old and modern masters. The Famous Catholina Lambert Collection.
821
Foullse, William D., Lyrics in War and Peace. Smith, J. Thorne, Haunts and By Pathes. Wynne, Madeline Y., Si Briggs Talks.
824
Burroughs, John, Under the Maples.
900
Wells, H. G., Outline of History.
909
MacDonald, John F., Paris and London.
330
Gilbert, C. W., Mirrors of Washington.
910
Feuger, Frederick A., Alone on the Carribean. Landor, Henry Savage, The Gems of the East. Thurston, E. Temple, The "Flower of the Closter".
114
ANNUAL REPORT
920
Paoli Xavier, Their Majestics as I Knew Them.
921
Asquith, Margot, Memoirs of Margot Asquith.
Bok, Edward, Americanization of Edward Box. Cantacuzene, Princess, My Life Here and There. Martyn, Charles, Artemus Ward.
Robinson, Corrine Roosevelt, My Brother Theodore Roosevelt.
Strachey, Lytton, Queen Victoria.
943
Cramb, J. A., Germany and England.
962
Cooper, Elizabeth, Women of Egypt.
974
Addison, Albert C., Romantic Story of the Mayflower. Hale, Louise Closser, We Discover New England. Bureau of Military, Mayflower Descendants
and Civic Achievement.
990
Mawson, Sir Douglas, The Home of the Blizzard Vol. 122.
940
Price, Julius M., On Path of Adventure.
115
ANNUAL REPORT
YOUTH'S FICTION.
Barbour, Ralph, Over Two Seas. Coe, Ida M., Story Book Reader, Book II. Dyer, Franklin B., Merrill Second Reader. Dyer, Franklin B., Merrill Third Reader. Ewing, Juliana, Jackanapes and other stories. Fassett, James H., Beacon Third Reader. Gregor, Elmer, The War Trail.
Jacobs, Caroline E., Blue Bonnett, Debutante.
Jacobs, Caroline E., Blue Bonnett Keeps House. Knipe, Emilie and Alden Arthur, Diantlias Quest. Morton, Guy, Rangy Pete. Perkins, Lucy Fitch, Puritan Twins. Richard, Lela H., Blue Bonnett of Seven Stars.
Ray, Lillian E., Girl Scouts in the Adirondacks. Roy, Lillian E., Girl Scouts at Dandelion Camp. Roy, Lillian E., Girl Scouts in the Rockies. Seaman, Augusta Huiell, Dragon's Secret. Skinner, Ada M., Tale of Tibby and Tabby. Sneath, Hersey E., The Golden Door. Sneath, Hersey E., The Golden Path. Spear, Raymond, Driftwood. Swift, Jonathan, Gullivers Travels. Taggart, Marion Ames, At Green Acres
Taggart, Marion Ames, Bottle Imp.
Taggart, Marion Ames, Poppy's Pluck. Taggart, Marion Ames, Queer Little Man.
Taggart, Marion Ames, Sweet Nancy.
Tomlinson, Everett T., Mysterious Rifleman.
Theiss, Lewis E., Young Wireless Operator. Treadwell, Hariette E., Primer. Van Sidckle, James, Second reader. Warde, Margaret, Nancy Lee. Warde, Margaret, Nancy Lee Namesake. Warde, Margaret, Nancy Lee Lookout.
-
116
ANNUAL REPORT
Warde, Margaret, Nancy Lee, Spring Term. Wheeler, Francis Rolt, Boy with U. S. Secret Service. Young, Ella Flagg, Literary Reader.
YOUTH'S NON-FICTION.
304
Brown, Bertha Millard, Health in Home and Town.
385
Brigham, Albert Perry, From Trail to Railway.
398
Judd, Mary Catherine, Classics Myths. Wilson, Gilbert L., Myths of the Red Children.
570
Patri, Angelo, White Patch.
590
Burgess, Thornton W., Burgess Animal Book. Ghosli, Prince, Wonders of the Jungle. Long, William J., Wilderness Way.
900
Estes and Lauriat, Christmas in Many Lands.
904
Mason, Perry, Ship of State.
117
ANNUAL REPORT
938
Shaw, Charles D., Stories of Ancient Greece.
FAIRY TALES.
Gordon, Mary, Crystal Ball. Apjohn, Fannie, The Enchanted Island.
ANNUAL REPORT
OF THE
School Committee
OF THE TOWN OF
DIGHTON
Year Ending, December 31, 1922
2
ANNUAL REPORT
SCHOOL COMMITTEE
Lyman E. Briggs, No. Dighton, R." F. D., Term. expires 1923
William P. Eddy, Dighton,
Term expires 1923
Ralph Earle, Dighton, R. F. D.,
Term expires 1924
Roy F. Walker, No. Dighton, R. F. D., Term expires 1924 Mrs. Sara C. Hamilotn, No. Digh-
tpn, R. F. D., Term expires 1925
Henry W. Horton, Dighton, R. F. D., Term expires 1925
ORGANIZATION.
Roy F. Walker, Chairman Mrs. Sara C. Hamilton, Secretary.
SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS.
Walter K. Putney, North Dighton. Telephone, Taunton, 2429J
ATTENDANCE OFFICER.
Howard C. Briggs, Dighton. Telephone 41-12 Dighton
SCHOOL NURSE.
Alice B. MacIntosh, 390 Cohannet St., Taunton. Telephone, Taunton, 697R.
DRAWING SUPERVISOR.
Mercie V. Nichols, Cohasset, Mass.
MUSIC SUPERVISOR.
May H. Hanley, East Weymouth, Mass.
3
ANNUAL REPORT
1
SCHOOL CALENDAR
Winter Term, 7 weeks, Tuesday, January 2, to Friday, February 16, 1923.
Late Winter Term, 7 weeks, Monday, February 26, to Fri- day, April 13, 1923.
Spring Term, 6 weeks, Monday, April 23, to Friday, June 1, 1923.
Fall Term, 16 weeks, Monday, September 4, to Friday, December 21, 1923.
Winter Term, 7 weeks, Wednesday, January 2, to Friday, February 15, 1924.
Late Winter Term, 7 weeks, Monday, February 25, to Fri- day, April 11, 1924.
Spring Term, 6 weeks, Monday, April 21, to Thursday, May 29, 1924.
HOLIDAYS.
New Year's Day, Washington's Birthday, Patriot's Day, Memorial Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day and the day following.
DATE OF SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEETINGS
The regular monthly meetings of the School Committee are held at the Town Hall, Segreganset, at 7.45 P. M., on the last Thursday of each month.
4
ANNUAL REPORT
SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT
January 25, 1923.
To the School Committee of Dighton :
I herewith submit to you my second annual report as superintendent of schools. Appended to this report are the various tables of age, grading, attendance, etc., and the reports of supervisors, attendance officer and school nurse.
In general, the conditions in town are good and the schools are in excellent working order. The spirit of the teachers has been of the best and you are to be congratulated upon your good fortune in having such good co-educators in charge of the various schools. Dighton pays a very moderate wage and it is often very difficult to obtain suitable candidates as vacancies occur. We have had some weak spots in our system, but we have been able to secure fairly competent teachers to fill those vacancies. How long this condition will last, I can not say, for with the present scarcity of good teaching material in the state, we must raise the minimum salary in order to keep our shcools on a satisfactory basis and obtain good results.
THE FINANCIAL SITUATION.
It may seem odd that any superintendent of schools in Massachusetts should criticise the financial problem of the state-that is, the apparent policy of those who frame our laws and cause the expenditure of moneys, such expenditure being really out of the jurisdiction of local committees. As a matter of fact, the school committee of Dighton has no choice in the way more than eighty-five percent of the
5
ANNUAL REPORT
outlay shall be spent. The salaries of teachers, superin- tendent's salary, that of the school nurse, high school tuition and transportation and to a certain extent, the cost of books and supplies are all set and these set costs must be met. There are certain reimbursements, but we all know that these reimbursements are almost inconsiderate when we take the entire appropriation into account. This year, because of the increase in valuation of the town, as set by the state, Dighton has lost the reimbursement for your superintendent of schools.
I think that the general feeling in the smaller towns of the state is that those towns have been pushed to a financial limit and that some united action ought to be taken to force an issue and either obtain a greater reimbursement from the state or have no more set costs that shall increase the already heavy burden upon those towns.
Unfortunately, there are only five towns in the same predicament-and I use the term advisedly-in that special legislation was passed many years ago, allowing Dighton to send pupils to other towns or cities for their high school education. Today every one of these five towns is feeling the burden of that high school cost, for tuition and trans- portation. Added to that fact, we find that last year the old laws were repealed and today we must get the permission · of the State Board of Education if we are to continue the old plan of not maintaining a high school and send our pupils elsewhere.
The cost of construction is prohibitive-we think we can not afford to build a high school; but the attitude of the State Board of Education is to require towns, that were formerly exempt from maintaining a high school by special acts of the Legislature, to make a definite contract of at least five years with other cities or towns to care for the pupils. The question is, can we make such a contract?
Taunton is now approaching the limit of accommodation and it may be only a short while before that high school will not be able to take care of any pupils from out of town.
-
6
ANNUAL REPORT
Fall River has the same story and last spring made the en- trance examinations so complex and difficult that it was next to impossible for pupils from the small towns to gain admission-an excuse, it seems to many, for excluding our pupils.
Obviously, it is out of the question to make any definite contract with either of the above cities. Our geographical position makes it impossible to send elsewhere, so that we face a serious problem and one that the Dighton School Committee should consider at once.
Added to the phase of accommodation is that of the com- ing junior high school. Taunton will probably erect one in the near future. If this is done, Dighton will have the added burden of expense of sending pupils to that school before they can enter the senior high school, and that ex- pense, together with that of the senior high school, will be more than the tax payers should be asked to incur.
At the present time we have 56 pupils in the high schools of Taunton and Fall River. Of this number there are six to graduate next June. In going over the grade lists of those to graduate from out town schools, I find that 20 in- tend to enter high school next September. If all of the present pupils should remain in high school, our total would be seventy. This means a cost that is ever increasing every year because our grades are sending more and more to high school each September. Of course there are a certain num- ber who will drop out and this helps in our finances. But we are now paying as much as we would if we had our own high school to maintain today and from now on, it would be a saving to the town to maintain such a school.
I mention these facts, not to make your finance a burden, but to place before you the problem that must be met within a comparatively short time. The natural tendency is to let somebody else do the worrying and when the pressure becomes too great, to let somebody else step in and handle such a proposition; but I honestly believe that the best policy is to let the people of Dighton know exactly how
7
ANNUAL REPORT
matters stand and to make some sort of preparation so that when the crisis comes, the citizens shall be prepared to meet that crisis in a sensible, thinking manner.
Therefore, I would recommend that a committee be ap- pointed to study this problem very carefully and bring in definite recommendations at the next town meeting.
THE SALARY QUESTION.
You may be somewhat surprised and disturbed at my suggestion of a higher wage schedule for your teachers, in view of my criticism of the financial situation and my thought of decreasing expenses. In explanation-we are not paying a salary of $850 per year for the teachers who first take up the work in our schools. Since Christmas, I have had three vacancies to fill in the district-two in Dighton-and it was impossible to get a teacher at even $900 per year for the rural schools. I was obliged to take young ladies with only a high school education and with no experience whatever and this does not help at all in keeping up a standard needed for preparing pupils for high school. Other towns of the size of Dighton have had to pay at least $1000 for such teaching as we require for those schools. This is due to the fact there are not enough teachers sent out each year from the normal schools to provide a surplus, as was the case a dozen years ago. A superintendent is not in a position to tell a candidate that she can accept a mini- mum wage or go without work; the shoe, so to speak, is on the other foot, and the teacher can say to the superintendent that she will not come for less than a certain sum, and he must meet her demand.
A dozen years ago, we thought that the present state minimum of $850 was enough to attract the best of talent and we could get teachers of two, three or four years experi- ence for that sum. Today, if we were to advance the pay and get teachers with training for all of our schools, we should be obliged to set a maximum of at least $1200 so as to keep the best teachers for a period of at least three or four years.
8
ANNUAL REPORT
We have been fortunate, thus far,in securing teachers from Taunton and Fall River, who, without the needed training and experience to go to work in those cities, were willing to work for a lesser wage and have the advantages of living at home. I hope this same fortune favors us for some time in the future; but I do think that our efforts should first be to give the pupils of the schools a "square deal" and all the benefits of a good, substantial education-this to be the chief consideration.
THE POSITION OF THE SCHOOL AUTHORITIES
The above comment upon the financial situation is to show to the people of Dighton that neither committee nor superintendent is responsible for the continued increased cost of education in this town. We all have to face the problems with common sense. We all know that the de- mand of today is for a boy or girl to receive either a high school or vocational school education, else he or she cannot make a decent living in this world. The number of high school pupils in Massachusetts has increased 16.5% during the past year while the grades have had the normal increase of 2.3%. This shows too plainly what we face.
I ask that the citizens of Dighton give hearty and sensible consideration to the estimate as prepared for this year. Parents can not afford to allow the education of their child- ren to be neglected. Citizens who do not have children in school, can not afford to allow the same condition to exist and reflect upon the town later. I assure you, as your superintendent, I shall put forth every effort to keep the costs down to a minimum and yet obtain satisfactory re- sults in the schools. I know that the committee has the same attitude and I trust that the results may be satisfac- tory.
9
ANNUAL REPORT
SCHOOL AGE LAWS.
Again we must keep our eyes open and defeat the bill that is to come before the legislature to raise the school age from 14 to 16. A similar bill was defeated last year, but such is the persistence of those fostering this movement, that it is only a question of time when some act will be passed if we are careless in the matter. Our duty is to oppose such legislation strenuously until the time comes when the actual demand of child education is such as to require attendance up to the age of 16. I trust that some member of the com- mittee be appointed to attend the hearings in Boston and fight against this bill. In justice to the Commissioner of Education, I would say that he opposes the bill-or rather does not favor it at this time-owing to lack of suitable accomodations, financial conditions and need for more vital things that should come first.
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