SCHOOL OFFICERS' DEPARTMENT.

Appeal from Clayton County.

E. A. Rush vs. District Township of Mallory.

At a meeting of the board of directors of the above-named district township, held on the 26th day of March, 1881, the board made an apportionment of school-house taxes. From their action E. A. Bush appealed to the county superintendent, who affirmed the action of the board, and Mr. Bush appeals to the Superintendent of Public Instruction.

A question has arisen in our mind whether cases of this kind can be decided by appeal. But in the case of The Independent District of Lowell vs. The Subdistrict of Duser, 45 Iowa, 391, the Supreme Court held that the action of the board in making a division of assets among the several newly created districts was subject to appeal, and that the decision would be binding upon the parties, to be enforced by action of the courts if necessary.

This seems to establish the precedent upon which we can assume jurisdiction in the present case.

The attorney for the board raises the question whether the vote of the electors and the action of the board are not null and void, because no proof has been established that there are fifteen persons of school age who are to be accommodated by the contemplated school-house in subdistrict number 5, and no vote of the directors is recorded providing such a school-house. We do not regard this as an obstacle to the voting and levying of taxes in anticipation of such want.

Before entering upon the merits of the case, we desire to enter our protest against the illegal action of the board in cutting out, in violation of law, $475 from the amount voted by the electors at their annual meeting. Since this matter has not been complained of, we wish simply to take cognizance of it in recording this censure.

Subdistrict number 5 voted to raise $600 for the erection of an additional school-house. The district township meeting voted to raise $400 of this amount. By section 1778, the board of directors were authorized to apportion this $400 among the subdistricts as justice and equity might require. The $200 not granted by the electors of the district township must be certified to the board of supervisors and levied by them on the subdistrict, in accordance with the provisions of section 1778. The apportionment of school-housetaxes among the several subdistricts must be based upon the respective amounts previously levied upon said subdistricts. We have in evidence the auditor's certified copy of "Levies made by the County Judge and the Board of Supervisors of Clayton County, Iowa, for school-house purposes in Mallory township, for the years 1858 to 1880, inclusive." We find from this document that the average levy upon the subdistricts in existence since 1858 is about 49 mills on the dollar. In this estimate we have omitted subdistrict number 8, which has been in existence only four or five years. We find also

from a copy of the valuation of the subdistricts in 1880 that it will require about 5 mills on the aggregate valuation of the district to raise the $900 certified to the board of supervisors by the board of directors. We have equalized, as nearly as we could from the table of levies above referred to, and the valuation of 1880-the only facts in our possession,-the amounts to be raised from each subdistrict by the tax of this year, and have added to the general tax to be raised from subdistrict number 5, the $200 voted in excess of what was voted by the electors of the district township.

The amounts to be levied upon each subdistrict are as follows : No. 1, $270; No. 2, $175; No. 3, $55; No. 4, nothing; No. 5, $300; No. 6, 180; No. 7, 835; No. 8, $85. Total, $1,100.

This apportionment will not yet equalize the taxation upon the subdistricts as required by law, but as in the future new schoolhouses are needed, the board should continue to equalize until all are taxed alike, and the levy can thereafter be made pro rata upon the whole district township.

For the above reasons, the decision of the county superintendent is hereby REVersed.

C. W. VON COELLN, Superintendent of Public Instruction.

DES MOINES, September 13, 1881.

Sundry Rulings.

1. A school order can be recalled, if not in the hands of the payee. If in his possession, the payment of the order may be stopped, if a question of legality arises in the mind of the president; and the treasurer is not authorized to pay such order, without judicial action, or a new order from the president.

At their September meetings, or soon thereafter, boards of directors in district townships should claim all the territory belonging to their civil townships, except such territory as has been included in the formation of independent districts under secs. 18001801, or attached for school purposes to other districts, under the provisions of sec. 1787; and they should provide school facilities for such territory. See 53 Iowa, 663. C. W. VON COELLN,

Superintendent of Public Instruction.

DES MOINES, September 16, 1881.

We send out with this issue several hundred bills for subscription due. Owing to the fact that our subscriptions are received from a variety of sources it is possible that there may be a few mistakes. If so, they will be gladly corrected.

Any old subscribers not wishing their Journal continued should notify us, as it will in all cases be continued till ordered stopped, and until all arrearages are paid. In writing to us, be sure to give your postoffice address, that we may know where to find your name on our books. Address,

IOWA NORMAL MONTHLY, DUBUQUE, IOWA.

OUR QUESTION BOX.

Questions whose answers may readily be found in ordinary text-books will not be noticed in this department. We shall, however, be glad at all times to answer questions which present any real difficulties, or whose answers may not readily be found in such books as al teachers have access to.

1

DEAR NORMAL MONTHLY:-I notice in your last excellent article on practical grammar the words, cupful, spoonful, &c., written with hyphens, thus, cup-ful, spoon-ful, &c. Is there good authority for this? I write for information and not for the purpose of criticising. J. M. G.

A.—This was one of the first things our eye fell on after the September number was printed. It was unintentional and is incorrect. Please don't infer from the statement in the first sentence that the editor has only one eye. He has two heavenly orbs, and evidently needs one or two more.

MR. EDITOR:-Can the following problem in Longfellow's Kavanagh be solved? If so, how? "A tree one hundred cubits high is distant from a well two hundred cubits; from this tree one monkey descends and goes to the well; another monkey takes a leap upwards, and then descends by the hypothenuse; and both pass over an equal space. Required the height of the leap."

A.-Let x = the height of the leap; then 100+ the perpendicular. The first monkey had to travel 300 cubits to reach the well (supposing that he started from the top of the tree), and since both travel the same distance, the hypothenuse must equal 300 cubits.

The hypothenuse

=

200+ (100+x)2,

100 Cubits.

PEDAGOGUE.

(250 Cubits.)

200 Cubits.

or vx2+ 200x + 50,000. Then x + √x2 + 200x + 50,000 = 300. Transposing, and squaring both members of the equation, we have x2 + 200x + 50,000 90,000 600xx2. From this we find

x = 50.

=

MR. EDITOR-Is a county superintendent authorized to renew a teacher's certificate without a re-examination in case he (the Superintendent) is satisfied with the teacher's work? VICTIM.

A.—At the Fifth District County Superintendents' convention, held at Red Oak, March 19, 1879, State Superintendent von Coelln said: "Competency to teach can be seen in the school-room, and when an entirely satisfactory examination has been passed in the required branches, and corroborated by satisfactory school-room work, a CERTIFICATE MAY BE ISSUED THEREON AGAIN AND AGAIN."

EDITOR NORMAL MONTHLY:-Please give the chemical composition of dry air, and oblige,

A. Recent experiments give the following:

J. M. J.

There are also traces of other gases, such as ammonia, carbureted and sulphureted hydrogen, sulphuric acid, nitric acid, &c. As the air is never dry, there is always more or less watery vapor. The amount of this last varies from less than of 1% to more than 11%.

STATE NEWS AND NOTES.

All of our readers are respectfully requested to send in at any time educational news items of general interest for publication in this department.

In the last number of the Normal Index, Bro. Eldridge closes an article on the State Superintendency as follows:

Give Bro. Akers a fair chance by giving him your hearty support, and if he is successful keep him there, not four years, party custom, but as long as he fills the measure of a first-class Superintendent. Nothing is more detrimental to our school system than this plan of now you have had a nibble at the public crib-step down and out and let another have a turn. Brother teachers, Rayforrum is necessary, and let permanency begin at the top with the State Superintendency and descend through the county and city superintendency and all grades of teaching to the lowest. We can improve our own condition by this, and at the same time advance the general good. Shall it be done? Aye. Carried. We suggest Sabin, Lisle, Grumbling, Crocker, Baker, E., Baker, O. H., Fellows, Cullison, Butler, Harkness, et al., as a committee to carry out this resolution; and further, we suggest that they report biennially, on the second Tuesday of October. You who favor this say Aye. Carried.

We heartily sanction the above, but would suggest the name of Bro. Eldridge as chairman of the committee with the recommendation that hereafter he practice as well as he preaches.

In our next issue we shall publish an Educational Directory, giving the names of all the graded schools in the state employing three or more teachers, the population of the city or town in which the school is situated, the number of months in the school year, the name of the principal or superintendent, with the name of the institution at which he was educated and his salary per annum, and the number of assistant teachers employed in the school with their average salary per month. If county superintendents or others will send us the names of any schools in this state employing three or more teachers, NOT given in our last year's directory, they will greatly oblige us.

The schools of this state were generally closed on Monday, the 26th, in accordance with Governor Gear's proclamation, that the children and youth might attend the memorial meetings held in honor of the late lamented President Garfield.

Superintendent Boyes of Dubuque County has been re-nominated by both Democrats and Republicans. He will now be the senior superintendent of the state.

The latest Report of the U. S. Commissioner of Education has the following: "The Iowa NORMAL MONTHLY, a useful and well conducted educational journal published at Dubuque, is the official journal of the State Superintendent. Besides his rulings on school questions and much information as to education in the state, the MONTHLY publishes many excellent papers for the instruction of teachers."

Owing to the rapid increase of his business, Mr. A. H. Thompson, publisher of the Teachers' Examiner, has decided to change his place of business from Davenport to Chicago, where better facilities are offered for the publication of his book. His address will be 12 Third Avenue, Chicago, Ill.

Supt. D. C. Chamberlain of Bremer County has been unanimously re-nominated by the Republicans of his county.

Prof. H. C. Hollingsworth, formerly principal at Morning Sun, is re-elected to his old place after working at Knoxville for some time. Mr. Moffet, who succeeded Mr. Hungerford as principal last March, re-establishes and assumes management of the Morning Sun Acad

emy.

The Oskaloosa schools have opened with a very much increased attendance, over 150 enrolled in the four high school classes.

Supt. J. W. Stewart of Butler County retires from the superintendency after ten years' faithful service. He is the oldest superintendent in the state and one of the very best.

The West Des Moines schools are crowded to their utmost capacity and a new four room building is being erected to relieve the pressure.

Mr. J. P. Hendricks, high school principal at Tama City for several years, and more recently principal at Montour, is the Republican nominee for superintendent of Tama County. Tama has been unusually fortunate in her superintendents of late, and Mr. Hendricks will be no exception to the rule.

Mr. W. B. Waterbury, formerly principal at Centerville and at Hampton in this state, conducts an educational department in the Minnesota Radical, published at Waseca, where he is now the very popular principal of schools.

Miss S. Blackburn, superintendent of Benton County, has been re-nominated for the fourth term, by the Republicans, without opposition, and the Democrats have endorsed her name on their ticket. This is a well merited compliment and one of which Miss B. may feel justly proud.

Penn College enrolled 120 the first week. President Trueblood and his faculty will make a school worthy of the name.

Supt. Sterrett retires from the office at the close of his present term, after having done very much to promote the educational interests of Tama County. His teachers, at their late institute, testified their appreciation of his character and work by presenting him a gold watch. His wife was also complimented with an elegant cake-basket.