ECONOMY AND EDUCATION.

Press, Volume LX, Issue 18128, 18 July 1924, Page 11

ECONOMY AND EDUCATION.

TO TEE EDITOR 0? "THE PRESS." Sir, —Permit mo to express appreciaaon of your—may I say it?—moro reasonable attitude towards myself. The fact that you do not find any sentences in mv letter to quote against me will co far to satisfy your readers that L hha not written anything very outrageous, while the passage you do quote gives me an opportunity to draw attention to what I really said viz: "lliat the taxpayer has plenty 01 cash in hand:' with which to ;meet the modest demands made upon him for Jie education of the growing members ot the community." Please observe that I was writing of the needs of. education and nothing else. I was writing in opposition to a demand for a. reduction in expenditure on eduction. There was nothing m mv letter that had anything to do w!th "increased demands" or '-'teachers' salaries, or anything of that nature. lou speak of "endless requests for. more money but there was nothing of that nature »n my letter, nor anything that could lead anyone to infer that I meant, ''there is plenty of money to meet the demands of teachers." are not at present making anv demands, though they, have resolved to ask for reconsideration of the reductions 111 ■ palarv made, and submitted, to. when th© country was in financial straits two vears ago. The present discussion regarding . salaries has, nothing to, do with the a.roonnt of navrrient. but only with the method of: distribution. . The other question is .different. What is of importance at present is that-the education system must rot be curtailed because of a temporary financial stringency. To do that would be .to impose permanent and irreparable injury on. a whole generation of the voung people of the nation—in fact, to lnnke the youth of to-dav pay in all their- later lives the debt that th ?> war of..yesterday imposed on us. That is riot an exaggerated view of-the case at all, and it demands the fullest: consideration. Nothing but education cap .enable our future, nation to do. its best for; its own,people, or for humanity, and when this community spends only one-tenth of its cross revenue on the making of its future, life, and' demand is made that even th»t fraction should- be re.duepd.. then it .is time for: those who tliink in other than financial terms, to make/some of their 'thoughts -known to the community. ' ' 11l this discussion I -have not made any "demand for increased expenditure, "-but- --have - confined- -mvself to showing how important it is that what has been-gairfed should be maintained : the country cannot afford' to spoil it:wlf, tl?at part of itself that is to l>e the country of the future.—Yours, etc.. . H-. A. PARKINSON.' - ■ ■ Secretary N.Z.E.I. Wellington, July 16th, *1924.