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(Nation Suffers Scarcity *****
;0f Competent Teachers
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By BAUKHAGE
Netcs Analyst and Commentator.
WSV Service, 1616 Eye Street, N.W.,
Washington, D. C.
WASHINGTON. D. C.?Less than
'? year and a half after the question
.? ?kUk
UI WIUCU WUUJU
triumph, naziism
or democracy,
was settled, the
United States is
being forced to
meet a crisis in
its competitive
struggle to main
tain its way of
life. -
Two years ago
the prediction,
based on trends
ui uiai momcm,
was made that Baukhage
our school sys
tem faces one of the greatest crises
in its history?American schools
have lost 200,000 competent, well
prepared teachers since Pearl Har
bor." (That was in June, 1944.)
At that time only one out of a hun
dred school teachers held "emer
gency certificates"?certificates is
sued to persons admittedly not in
the "competent, well-prepared" j
class.
Today, according to an estimate ,
made In an article in the October
issue of Coronet magazine, one out
of every eight hold such certificates
and out of the 200,000 teachers lost
to war industries, the draft and oth
er wartime activities. Coronet finds ,
at least 75,000 of those teachers
"lost" for good. Stuart Chase, econ
omist, sets 500,000 as the number
needed before the present teaching
staff of the nation is brought up to !
what he calls "adequate."
Ralph McDonald, executive sec
retary of National Educational as
sociation in Washington, who has
been busy trying to wake the edu
cational world to its danger, quotes
reports that Russia today is spend
ing 20 per cent of her comparatively
low national income on education,
while we spend only two per cent of
ours for the same purpose.
And not satisfied with what is now
being done, the Soviets are demand
ing still higher standards of "ideo
logical and political" knowledge for
their teachers. The party paper,
Izvestia, announced in a recent arti
cle that students from Bulgaria,
Czechoslovakia and other Slav coun
tries were being brought into the In
stitutions of higher learning in Mos
cow, Leningrad and other cities.
Tha office of education of the
United States government is fully
aware of the danger facing our pub
lic schools. Its functions are strict
ly limited, however, to the acquisi
tion and distribution of information.
Actual promotional activities are
forbidden and improvement of con
ditions rests fundamentally with the ,
states and local communities. The
office of education is deing all it
can. Full co-operation in the gath
ering of data is provided and for
the last six weeks or so special ef
forts have been made to bring in
formation on this subject up to date ,
for distribution. Actual statistics of
the varying needs of various com
munities now are being compiled.
National Education association,
which began an intensive campaign
twq years ago to assist in the re
cruitment of teachers, improvement
of working conditions and higher
salaries, has renewed its efforts as
a result of action taken at the or
ganization's convention this July. A
slogan which they have adopted
runs: "We must have federal aid be
fore we can have equalization of op
portunity." But federal "interfer
ence" in America's school system
has always been a bogey.
Chant Pupila Out
Of Propar Education
Meanwhile, as Charles Harris
says in the previously quoted Coro
net article, "are are cheating our
boys and girls of their right to the
kind of an education they desire,"
by permitting this teacher short
age which has closed more than 7,000
class rooms and over-expanded
classes so that Individual attention
to pupils has virtually vanished.
'Many vital subjects have been
dropped.
The worst phase of the situation is
the turnover. As is evidenced by
the number of "emergency certifi
cates" issued, the standard has fall
en sharply. Harris mentions one
school which permitted a convict
to be released from jail because no
one else could be found to teach the
pupils. I was told of a case where
a teacher teaching sixth grade pu
pils had never had mora than a
fourth grade education herself.
Low pay is, as it has always been,
one of the chief difficulties. It is a
strange paradox that the business
and industrial groups, who are most
anxious that the principles of de
mocracy and free enterprise be thor
oughly taught, are the greatest com
petitors of the schoolhouse.
Here in Washington the minimum
wage of teachers is below that of
lower grade clerical assistants and
Die clerks in the government. In in
dustrial centers, the gap is wider.
In business, there is more of a de
mand today for college-trained per
sonnel. Many teachers, both male
and female, who went into the serv
ices, held college degrees, and when
discharged were eagerly snapped
up by businesses requiring higher
education.
Chambers of commerce, dis
turbed by the threat of untrained
minds in their communities, have
appealed to the government to pro
mote special teachers' programs as
a part of the veterans' re-training
programs but here again the fed
eral government would be treading
on thin ice. That isn't in the law.
Private institutions and the com
munity itself are responsible for this
type of effort, and congress always
puts its foot down when there is any
thing that even hints at federal ac
tivity in connection with the public
school system. The office of edu
cation leans over backward to keep
away from anything that might be
labeled "interference."
Not only poor pay but also lack
of social life drives many prospec
tive teachers into other fields. That
Is something that only the commu
nity can change.
If the teacher's position is not
changed for the better and the pub
lic school system is not restored to
its normal place in our democracy
we will have lost the one thing with
out which democracy cannot grow.
Democracy cannot renew itself, it
must be renewed in the hearts of
each new generation. Otherwise,
weeds aplenty will take its place,
? ? ?
Slip* Ovmr Fatt
On* on Cwuor
One of the few joys left to ? news
paper correspondent in one of the
foreign cities where censorship still
prevails is trying to beat the censor.
One of the most amusing "beats" of
this kind was scored by Drew Mid
dleton writing from Moscow for the
New York Times.
Perhaps it fooled many American
readers, too. It reads:
"Ilya Ehrenburg, writing in Izves
tia, continued his long series of arti
cles on the United States, a group
of articles which for depth and un
derstanding are superior to anything
written on these lines since the
works of Charles Lutwidge Dodg
___ ss
ion.
The dispatch was passed by the
censor who didn't know that Dodg
son was the real name of Lewis
Carroll who wrote, "Alice in Won
derland," some of the most delight
ful nonsense ever penned.
I do not know whether Ehren
burg's articles as published in Mos
cow differed from those which he
published in the United States, but
I must say that some of them re
flected life in America as truly as
the scene at the Mad Hatter's tea
party followed the pattern of an
ordinary tea party in England. You
remember that there was a table
set under a tree in front of the
house and the March Hare and the
Hatter were having tea at it; a
Dormouse was asleep, and the oth
er two were using him as a cushion,
resting their elbows on it and talk
ing over its head.
"Very uncomfortable for the Dor
mouse," thought Alice; "only it's
asleep, I suppose It doesn't mind."
The Hatter was the first to break
the silence. "What day of the
month is it?" he said, turning to
Alice. He had taken his watch out
of his pocket and was looking at it
uneasily, shaking it every now and
then and putting it to his ear.
Alice considered a little and said,
"The Fourth."
"Two days wrong!" sighed the
Hatter. "I told you butter wouldn't
suit the works," angrily looking at
the March Hare.
"It was the best of butter," the
March Hare meekly replied.
Although Middletoo's comparison
between Dodgson and Ehrenburg
was probably well-chosen, I doubt
if the censor would have passed the
comment had he ever read "Alice
in Wonderland."
BARBS . . . by Baukhage
OCviruii 7 nuuci sun say 9 wc uu|iu
to b? glad the hogs and cattle are
on the ranges putting on more
freight?even if we aren't.
? ? ?
If you read both the Republican
and Democratic bona* organs, you'll
be da. uoiifyaod as Alice was when
the Red Quaa asked her what re
mained when you took a dog from
phone. >
i/uu ? uc cuusive wiui aogs, just
polite. Too much familiarity may
breed refcntment, and mud on your
front.
? ? ?
The Archbishop of Canterbury
told hla motorcycle escort that it
1 thrilled him to go through red
lights. A good American traffic cop
could get a bishop through the eye
of ? needle. ,
BREAK WORLD'S NON-STOP RECORD . . . Crew members of the
"Truculent Turtle" navy twin engine. bomber which landed at Colum
bus, Ohio, after a 11,?36 mile non-stop trip from Perth, Australia,
smashing old mark by 3,300 miles. Left to right, Lt. Comdr. R. H.
Tabeling, Jacksonville, Fla.; Comdr. W. S. Reid, Washington; Comdr.
E. P. Rankin, Sapulpa, Okla., and Comdr. Thomas D. Davies, Cleve
land, pilot and flight commander. Trip took 55 hours and 17 minutes.
Navy officials ordered the erew to land at Columbus instead of at
tempting try at Washington.
WINNING PEN OF HOGS ... Leo Hulbey, 18, of Chatsworth, IU.,
exhibit* his winning pen of three Chester Whites *t the Chicago
junior market hog show and sale. In addition to first ribbons, young
Hulbey received the Pilisbury award. With more than 1,004 hogs
exhibited from four states, winners faeed stiff competition. Hulbey
and hundreds of other 4-H club boys and girls have made a paying
business out of their various farm enterprises.
SAN ANTONIO BIT BY WORST FLOOD IN HISTORY ... Sao
Antonio eitiscni are occupied by trying to make tome tort of order
out of the ehaot canted by the wont Sood in the hiatory of the city.
Nearly a tcore of lirea were loaf and damage waa reported at aix
million dollart. Photo ahowt crowd on bank looking at the wreckage
of a bridge which waa awept away and waa waabed along for a
quarter of a mile by the raging Sood watera.
w., au oanuHi w*kim va.a. ?vuu^u ? a ? UMiUtuW VI UUin*
bora, N. J., high school are shown picketing after they went on strike
In protest of a school board rale forbidding students I* years old
or orer to play on the school football team. The rale directly affects
stadenU who enlisted when they were IT and hare new eome back
to dniah their edaeatioo. Striking students mat the raling changed
as (nt tha reteraaa again can play football.
SUPERIOR GENERAL OF DO
MINICAN ORDER . . . Father
Emannel Soarex of Spain, profes
sor of canon law, newly-elected
superior genera! of the Domini
can* order pictured following his
arrival at Castelgondolfo to be re
ceived by the Pope.
?KXSIK:
BOB HOPE WINS HIGHEST
AWARD . .. Bob Hope, left, "per
sonal court jester" to the mil
lions of V. S. servicemen on bat
tlefronts of World War n, shown
as he received the American Le
sion's highest award, the Legion's
Distinguished Medal.
LEO GETS HIS SHARE ... Ap
parently aware ol the crisis which
has made millions of Americans
meat-starred is Leo, star boarder
at the Bronx zoo. The cagey king
of beasts retreats to a corner
to enjoy his meal of the scarce
food.
CLEARED OF NAZI CHARGE
. . . Constance Drexel, 51, once
indicted by a federal (rand jury
as a traitor to the U. S. for
broadcasting Nasi propaganda, is
shown as sbe arrived at New Fork
City cleared of all charges made
against her.
TIGER TURNS BOUNTIFUL . . .
Gen. Clair* Chrnnault, retired ex
eommaader of China's lamed Fly
iaf Timers, and later commander
ef the U. 8. 14th air force, la
hack la China to head aa airline
lor ljla| relief rallies la China.
FAR EASTERN REPORT?
Here's what members of the house
military affairs committee reported
to General Eisenhower, following
their return from an inspection of
our military bases in the Far East.
1. Morale of oar Far East oc
cupational troops is being en
dangered by the army's delay in
sending wives and families to
officers and enlisted men.
2. The army is doing little to
set np facilities for the proper
housing of army wives and chil
dren who want to Join the
troops. On Okinawa, for in
stance, snrplns army stoves and
plumbing supplies?badly need
ed in quonset hats where army
families will be housed?have
been sold to the Chinese.
3. Another demoralising fac
tor is the shortage of cigarettes,
fresh trait and vegetables.
Eisenhower promised to look into
these facts immediately.
Congressmen reported that an es
timated 350 Jap soldiers are still
at large on the island of Okinawa,
living a Robinson Crusoe existence
in the hills. American authorities
are not seriously troubled. ... A
lone Jap fugitive was picked up a
couple of months ago on Saipan, aft
er having been at large for over a
year. When asked where he had
been getting water on the very dry
portion of the island to which he had
been confined, the Nip replied that
he had gone at night to a large house
in an isolated sector, drinking from
the tap and filling his canteen. The
home was that of the American
commander.
The returned congressmen
are worried that lower ranking
commissioned officers are "tak
ing the Japs to their hearts."
Congressmen tear that mtal
occupation officers hare forgot
ten that the Japs were onr ene
mies only a year ago. Japs,
the congressmen say, have not
forgotten their dead, but some
of our men have forgotten the
Americans who died battling
these same Japs.
One of MacArthur's difficulties is
the great shortage of Jap-American
interpreters. Result: In Japanese
towns without any interpreter re
ports on conditions, written by Jap
authorities, are sent to U. S. head
quarters as official reports.
Plans to recruit 50,000 Filipinos
for our army have fallen through
because of lack of money. The pres
ent goal is 35,000, with the training
now under way.
Worst areas in the Pacific for
troop morale are Korea and the
Aleutians. Korea is the center of
political intrigue and, because it is
at the end of the supply lines, the
food served our troops is hardly bet
ter than field rations. In the bare,
treeless Aleutians, the big wish of
U. S. troops is for a 12-month rota
tion system. They now are sent on
a two-year hitch with scant chance
to get back to the comparative gay
ety of Alaska.
? ? ?
STALIN'S WAR OF NERVES
Most interesting fact about Sta
lin's recent widely broadcast and
widely-hailed-as-conciliatory state
ments to a London newsman is the
date. The date was September 24.
For on exactly the same day Sta
lin was telling the world that there
was no danger of another war, he
was sending a note to Turkey which
sang another tune.
The note to Turkey was not made
public until four days later. Thus
Stalin publicly put fears to rest,
while simultaneously warning Tur
key that she must yield to Russia
on the Dardanelles and that she
must permit Russian troops on
Turkish soil. If not, the implied
threat was war.
Thus, despite Stalin's attempt
to woo the world, his alms re
main exactly the same. Fur
thermore, they remain exactly
the same as those of the czars
before him. Finally, they re
main today, with his allies, ex
actly the same as with his old
sparring partner. Hitler.
For, in 1940, when Russia and
Germany were under a non-aggres
sion pact, the same Molotov now
dickering in Paris went to Berlin to
dicker with Ribbentrop for* terms
under which Russia would come into
the war against England. The
terms Molotov wanted were the Dar
danelles, Iran, Iraq, the Balkans
and the mouth of the Red sea. Hit
ler wouldn't give these terms, and
Russia finally was forced into the
war on the side of the Allies, not
against them.
Now that the war is over, Stalin
and Molotov are right back where
they were in 1940?trying to get the
Dardanelles and other long-range
Russian objectives.
? ? ?
CAPITAL CHAFF
Undersecretary of State Dean
Acheson picked an ideal time for
his vacation, the moment of the
Wallace-Byrnes feud. He was the
happiest man in the administration
to have missed the fight. . . . Sighed
Mildred Eaton, one of Wallace's sec
retaries, when informed her boss
had resigned. "We haven't got
through unpacking from our last
move yet." . . . Mrs. Truman re
fused to use a White House car
while vacationing in Missouri, driv
ing her own car in Independence.
CLASSIFIED
DEPARTMENT
BUILDING MATERIALS
CONCRETE BLOCK MACHINES (NEW>
8x8x16. Hand Tamped. 828.00
FRED MURRAY. Oakdale. New Ink
FARMS AND RANCHES
BUY AN ESTABLISHED business Big
income dairy farm for sale. Price in
cludes all stock, crops and machinery.
Good buildings. Cozy farm home. bath,
electric, and water. Immed. poss. Price
821.000. Write P.O. Bex 74, Thompson. Pa.
81 ACRE farm with good house and farm
buildings. Located on concrete highway
about 2 miles from town. Land excellent
for strawberries and all kinds of truck.
Apply MRS. WILLIAM 8. MARVEL.
Delaaare. Delaware. Telephone St.
REAL BARGAIN. WON'T LAST LONG
NEAR KUTZTOWN, BERKS CO.. PA.
140-acres, 7-rm. brk. house. Also 8-rm.
frame house, each elec. and water; bam
adapted for steer feeding, can easily con
vert to dairy: outbldgs. in fine cond. good
soil, all tractor worked, meadow, stream
with splendid water supply. Price asked
won't pay for bldgs. $13,000. half cash.
WM. H. LECHNEB, Realtor
lm HAMPTON BLVD.. READING. PA.
HELP WANTED?WOMEN
GIRL. Mothers helper on farm. Girl
wanting home rather than high wages.
Write. Describe self. MR8. FLORA
BAKER, Bernville, Pa. (Berks Co.)
REGISTERED NURSES needed for 400
bed hospital. Good salary and full main
tenance. Write Superintendent. NORFOLK
GENERAL HOSPITAL. Nerfelfc. Virginia.
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free with $2.00 and $5.00 kits. Free
catalogue. HERBERT DIAMOND COM
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WANTED TO BUY
WANTED?U. 8. GOLD COIN8
for my collection. Will pay following
J>rices for coins in fine condition. $32
or $20. $16 for $10. 88 for 85. 87 for 83.
84 for 82*4. 82*4 for 81. Write for details.
P.O. Box 8646, Baltimore 15, Maryland.
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WNU?4 42?48
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IsORETONEg