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~ Plush hats, corduroy or tweed hats that sold regu- larly at from $1.25 to $2.25 uitable for small boys or girls. : ; id-Winter le 49¢. { : 5 * & » | Children's Hose | Balances of several dif- ferent lines of cashmere and worsted ribbed Hose, in Black, Cream, & Brown. | Regular 75¢c. pair. gay Sale Price 49c¢. utterick ing B Spring , Coats of Blanket Cloth, Velotr and Tweeds, in smart styles. Reg $8to $12 Sizes 5 years to 14 years. Sale Price $5.00 CLEARANCE OF - WOMEN'S HOSE 95¢. Pr. Broken lines of Hose in Silk, Cashmere, and Silk and Wool, Black or colors. Reg. value $1.25 and $1.50. ; Priced to clear at 95c. pr. F. W. MCINTYRE The Township School Boards Bill No subject is of gr Boards Bill, whic ment, a third follows. On the other hand, the reorganization of the existing schools presents no such difficulties. The schools can be so arranged as to have an attend- ance sufficiently large to do effective work. "The pupils can be given instruction in such special subjects as manual training, household science, and agriculture, in addition to the ordinary course. For this work the regular teachers might be assisted by corps of itinerant teachers who have special qualifications, and who would go about from school to school giving instruction in their particular department. Rural high schools offering courses particularly adapted for farm boys and girls, can be established at strategic points. Part-time courses, especially suited to the needs of those pupils who cannot attend the full time classes, can be instituted at places with- in the reach of all. 3 Need of Greater Opportunity for Co-operataion. The necessary machinery for the re-organiza- tion which I have suggested has been provided by various clauses in the Schools Acts. But though they have been on the statute books for many years, these provisions have seldom been put into operation. The reason is evident. Before ad- vantage could be taken of them, there would have to be co-operation among school sections on a - more or less extensive scale. Individual sections have neither a sufficient numberof pupils nor the necessary financial resources for the establish- ment of a high school or the maintenance of a part-time course. Co-operation among sections for this purpose, as experience has long shown, is most difficult to secure. These educational facilities can be provided for rural communities only through some method that affords a wider pportunity for co-operataion than now exists. Apparently the most direct method of securing this greater co-operative action is to enlarge the administrative unit. The substitution of "township for the section as the unit of school ministration would it possible to reorganize _ the existing rural schools in such : place them on the same plane of effi upefunss gs the urban sehpols, ost SYerage jattandatice in 'one soomed selicols ad- {that have low average attendance. the. there are 3130 rural schools having an average eater importance to rural districts than the Township School may become law in the near future. issued a second letter to school boards on the subject. Premier Ferguson has This the second instal- of a full-time high school course, If an organization of this type were set up, the Department of Education would be in a position to assist the townships in a financial way as it is now doing in the case of technical education in the cities. The provision is already made in the Vo- cational Education Act, and it remains only for the townships to meet the requirements in order to secure generous financial assistance. Under the present arrangement, the Department would pay in grants fifty per cent. of the cost of equip- ment for vocational purposes, and a graded per- centage, running as high ag-seventy-five per cent., of the salaries of vocational teachers. If new buildings were required, the Department would pay fifty per cent. of the cost of a building de- voted exclusively to vocational work, or fifty per cent. of the cost of that part of a high school used for vocational work. However, no extensive building programme would be necessary; it is quite probable that existing buildings could in many cases be utilized. It is not expected, of course, that these things would all be done at once. It would probably be many yeéars before the facilities I have described would be fully established. The important thing is that the setting up of a large unit of admini- stration would make these improvements possible. When they are made possible, we may confidently look to the future for their gradual realization. Reduction in Cost of Elementary Education... Not only would the establishment of a larger administrative unit for the rural schools permit of the improvement of educational facilities, but it would also tend to greater economy in the management of the schools. The cost of main 'taining the existing schools would be lessened and the expenditures on new buildings and equipment would be reduced to a minimum. I should like to 'consider this matter in some detail. ay SL B00 The Minister of Education here quotes statis- tics to show the large number of rural schools It appears attendance of twenty pupils or less, and 1876 | rural schools having an average attendance of Yueniy or over. When we consider that the urban schools have at least 35 pupils per teacher and some teachers have as many as 48 pupils, there is undoubtedly room for the practice of greater economy in the education of rural en, "Tables of giving a summary of the with a statement of the -- be | 8Lven, i e 924 or the maintenace of very Turkey Red Chintz sentation thereon to "Mill Ends 25. Just the thing for com- forters, 36 in. wide, fast colors, paisley designs. Sale Price, per yard 25c. Half Bleached Linen 'Table Damask SL.15 Heavy quality Table Linen 58 in. wide, neat diced pattern, reg. $1.75 for $1.15 OXFORD SHIRTING 43c. Yard English manufacture, correct quality for fine shirts, light and dark grounds. Kegular 6c. From this table it is evident that in the schools with an average attendance of 5 or less, the cost per pupil is three times as great, and in the schools with an average attendance of 10 or less the cost is almost twice as great as the average cost per pupil in all the rural public schools. It cost the Province in 1924 more than a million dollars to maintain nine hundred schools with less than seven thousand pupils: -- Such high costs cannot be defended except in those cases where conditions make the maintenance of a small school unavoidable, The Minister of Education points out the fol- lowing further advantages in the adoption of the Township School Board: (1) the reduction in the cost of building and equipment; (2) the equal- ization of the cost of education; (3) a better dis- tribution of the teaching staff. emer YY Resolutions Regarding the Township Boards Bill During the past year the suggested Bill to Establish Township Boards has been much dis- cussed throughout the Province by trustee boards, trustees' and ratepayers' associations, township councils, and' county councils. I have to thank these organizations for the consideration they have given the question. About 250 resolutions have, as a result of these discussions, been sent to the Department of Education, many of these approving of the principle of the Bill, but the majority opposing it. A large proportion of the resolutions opposed to the Bill offered no criticism and made no alternative proposals. This was disappointing in view of the fact that in my pre- vious letter I had particularly asked that con- structive criticism should be offered, either by suggesting improvements in the provisions of the Bill, or by proposing other plans of dealing with the situation. In a few cases, however, valuable suggestions were offered, for which my thanks are due to the individuals and organizations by whom they were submitted. "Misunderstanding Concerning the Bill I believe that much of the opposition that has been expressed towards the suggested township boards is the result of a misunderstanding of the proposal. It is not a matter of surprise that in so technical a matter as a change in school ad- ministration there should be more or less mis- understanding. I intend therefore to devote the rest of this letter to an attempt to clear up certain misconceptions with regard to the scheme, It will be useful for a moment to review the main provisions of the Bill. It proposes that each township should be divided into school areas not exceeding ten, and that each school area 'should elect a representative to the Board. Upon further consideration, I have come to the con- clusion that it would be desirable to make the school areas correspond to the present sections. | But in some townships this would give a board of more than ten members, which would be too large and unwieldly. Therefore, it has been proposed that in townships having more than ten sections there might'be two or more boards not exceeding ten mem Seangement would give a board of reasonable size, would give elec trustees would be held at the same time e and under the same conditions as ion for he icion fox the muicpl council, and each y hold office for two years. have the same powers and Februrary D each and every section. ef in Men's $18. Suits for $10.00 Just 3 of these left. They are made of cheviot in Brown Mixture, tailored in regular 3 button model. Were priced to sell at $18.00. Mid-Winter Sale--$10.00 All other Suits and Overcoats at 20% off regular prices $25.00 Suits and Over- coats for $20.00. $30.00 Suits for $24.00 $28.00 Suits and Over- coats for $22.40. $20.00 Suits for $16.00 $16.00 Suits for $12.80 elineator 25¢. duties with regard to the schoals of the township as are at present held by the section boards. It is proposed merely to set up the same method of administration for the rural schools as has been in successful operation in urban centres for more than sixty-five years. The first misunderstanding which I wish to correct is that it is proposed to take away from the people the control of their schools and cen- tralize this control in the Department of Educa-~ tion. Nothing could be farther from the fact. I believe in the decentralization of educational con- trol, and in throwing upon local communities greater power and responsibility in regard to the management of their schools. ' The people pay for and own their schools, and therefore must control them. Local control of schools would not in any way be lessened by the proposed changes but would in reality be extended. Instead of con- trolling merely the school of the section, the peo- ple would have a voice in the management of all the schools of the township, secondary as well as elementary, Nobody would suggest that the people of urban centres do not fully control their schools. How then can it be asserted that the same method of administration 'applied to the rural schools would deprive the people of control? Each township would exercise the same control over its schools through the township board as it already exercises over its roads, bridges, drains and public health through the municipal council. A second misunderstanding is shown in another statement that has been frequently made. It has been said that the three local section trustees have more intimate knowledge of the needs of the local school than a man at the other end of the township could have. This assertion might be correct if the proposal were to elect the trustees at large over the whole township. But as I have already stated, it is proposed that each school section should have its own elected representative on the Township Board. The people of each sec- tion would doubtless take every precaution to elect a representative who would be able to keep the needs of the section prominently before the Board. There would be little danger that the needs of individual schools would be neglected. A third 'misunderstanding is shown by the statement that the institution of township boards would be the thin edge of the wedge for the establishment of consolidated schools. In my former letter I took pains to point out that this is not the case, and in the present letter I have already stated that the re-organization of the existing schools would probably in most cases be found to be the more practicable plan. The de- would rest entirely with the people themselves, Nothing is farther from my mind than that any scheme of school consolidation should be forced upon the people against their wishes. A fourth misunderstanding that appears to be widespread is the idea that the township boards scheme would increase the cost of education in rural communities. One of my main reasons for ready in this letter, I have dealt with this matter of rural education as at present carried on would be much reduced by the institution of township boards, I would not- the scheme. I feel confident that the present edu can be secured at a savir FS gtiom] Sorin \ ing your cream cision as to the consolidation of their schools| proposing the scheme is to reduce the cost. Al-| some detail. If I did not believe that the cost] is paying 42, 4lc, and 88 Butter Fat. You van Save Inka and make more money by the 8 PORT PERRY CREAMERY Goode Bros., Proprietors e000 CHIROPRACTIC The Drugless Road to Health J. A. HETHERINGTON CHIROPRACTOR Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 2 to 6 pm. ee OO TENDERS WANTED FOR CEDAR Municipality of Reach Tenders will be received by the undersigned up to Saturday, January 20th, for the following cedar pieces. All timber must be sawn except two round sleepers. 4 pieces 9 x 9 inches, 8 feet long. 1 piece 9 x 9 inches, 15 feet long. 8 pieces 6 x 8 inches, 28 feet long 2300 feet covering, 16 feet long, 6 inches thick. 10 pieces 8 x 8 inches, 18 feet long. 600 feet covering, 18 feet long, 6 inches thick. 2 pieces, (round) 23 feet long and 12 inches thick at small end Arrangements can be made with the Clerk as to delivery. Signed W. F. DOBSON, 2 Clerk, Manchester, Ont. YOUNG PIGS FOR SALE Litter of ten Yorkshire Whites. Ready to wean. Apply H. L. Mitchell, Phone 123 r 3-83. Seagrave, Ont. isin Wain SCUGOG COUNCIL The Municipal Council elected for the present year met on Monday, Jan. 10th and subscribed to the declaration of office. Mr. George Sweetman, Reeve, Messrs. Russell Hood, Russell Carter, George Jackson and Wilfred Mark, Councillors. The Reeve took the chair. The minutes of the meet- ing were read and adopted. Carter-Hood, moved that Mr. Thos. Redman be paid $8.00 for 10 hours dragging road. - Carried: $5.00 was donated" to the Sick Children's Hospital. Mr. Allan Jackson was granted $5 for dragging road. A by-law was pased appointing Mr. Amasa Sweetman, as assessor for 1927 at a salary of $60. Mr. Robert Jackson was appointed a member of the Local Board of Health. : ; Mr. Hood carried through a by-law appointing the following Pathmasters and Fenceviewers: Division No. 1, Thos. Redman, 2 Amasa Sweetman, 8 Allen Jackson, 4 Chas. Samells, 5 Robt. Jackson, 6 Geo. Shunk, 7 Stan- ley Ploughman, 8 J. A. Sweetman, 9 Geo. Jackson, 10 Herb. Leighton, 11 Oliver Williams, 12 Wm. Jeffrey. Poundkeepers--1 Isaac Rodman, 2 Walter Samells, 3 Wm. Jeffrey. Messrs, R. D. Burnham and Mr. * Weir were appointed auditors. : Mr. Franklin Sweetman was paid $16. as caretaker. Messrs. Harris & Harris were paid $11. for attendance at Whitby Equal- ized Assessment Appeal. : On motion the taxes on the par- sonage were ordered to be struck off the collector's roll, Mr. R. Prentice was appointed Truant Officer. 50 The Treasurer was ordered to chase 80 dog tags. 4 The Clerk was intructed to order six copies of the Municipal World. A committee of Messrs. Geo. : son and W. Mark, was app see to the work on Jackson John Burnham was appoin caretaker of the Town Hall : per annum, The Council adjourned to the last Saturday in May of Revision, or at call of a0 0 FURNITURE FOR 8S Oak Dresser, 3 small Couch, Kitchen Chairs. Star Office.