Page:History of Southeast Missouri 1912 Volume 1.djvu/465

 HISTORY OF SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 405 soon as necessary and the children of the poor shall be taught free." When Missouri was finally admitted into the Union in 1821, the act of admission set aside every sixteenth section of land within the state, together with seventy-two sections of saline land for school purposes. The lands thus granted amounted to 1,254,200 acres and it was directed that the land was to be sold and the proceeds invested for the use of the schools. This was a princely donation and coupled with the direction to establish town- ship schools seems to have been enough to put a system of education in actual operation within the state. Several things prevented this, however, one of them was the inherent difificulty in creating a system of schools at a single stroke together with the fact that the lands, although vast in extent, were at that time not very valuable. The lands thus granted, however, have since become exceed- ingly valuable, but at that time it was prac- tically impassible to sell them at even a nominal price. These things prevented any rapid progress among the schools for a number of years. In 1825 the state legislature made the first con- tribution to the school law of the state. The act was designed to carry out the provision in the congressional act of the admission and provided that each congressional township should form a school district to be imder the control of the county court in school matters. A further provision set aside all rents from school lands and all fines, penalties and for- feitures as a school fund. In this same period extending from 1820 to 1833 the legislature established about fifty schools similar in character to the one estab- lished in the city of St. Louis. The support of these schools, however, was a very great problem and a difficult matter owing to the circumstances which we have mentioned. In almost everj' ease they had to depend upon private donations and tuition fees. The State Commission In the year 1833 a great forward step was taken in the matter of public education within the state. On the 26th day of January of that year the legislature passed an act author- izing the governor to appoint a commission of three persons whose duty it was to study pub- lic education and to draw up a plan for public schools. This was during the ad- ministration of Governor Daniel Dimklin of Washington county, and he appointed as .such commission Joseph Hertich, John J. Lowery and Abel R. Corbin. Hertich was the famous teacher of the private school called the Asy- lum, near Ste. Genevieve, and was perhaps as well informed on matters pertaining to ele- mentary education than any other man in the state. This commission made a report in 1834 to the governor and through his efforts it was adopted by the general assembly in 1835. This report, as adopted by the assem- bl}^, provided for a system of schools. Among its provisions were the creation of a board of commissioners for literary purposes ; it was to consist of the governor, secretary of state, auditor, treasurer, and attorney general. This was really the first state board of edu- cation, though it was not known by that name. It was further provided that schools should continue at least six months in each year and that school expenses should be paid from the school funds of each county, these funds to be the sums derived from the rent of the school lands and from fines and forfeitures, and the people of the county were authorized to vote, by two-thirds majority, a tax of three and one-third cents on each one hundred dol- lars for school purposes. The schools were to