lectual, God-given power, and is worth it in the
market; and he takes his value, If one con-
gregation will not give it to him, another one
will give it to him; just as if you have a bas-
ket of apples worth twice as much as my bas-
ket of apples, somebody will give you the
value of it.
Suppose we could secure such a man in this
State as Horace Mann to attend to the public
education of this State; would not he be
worth $3,000? Not because he is any better
man than I am, but because he is worth it,
because he can make it. That is the kind of
man we want in that high office in this State.
In my estimation the kind of man we want,
is worth in the general market $3,000 a year
at least. With that view I sustain the salary
given him by this committee. That is simply
my estimate of the value in the general mar-
ket of the kind of man we want. He should
be a man of such business capacity as to be
worth that anywhere. I want him in prefer-
ence to a man who would be glad to get less,
not because he would be any better man than
the other, but upon the view that a man is
worth precisely what he can make. I sug-
gest that that is about the style of man that
we require for this position.
Mr. MILLER. I admit that this is a very
important office, and that we want a compe-
tent and able man to perform these duties. I
am not one of those in favor of giving com-
petent officers small salaries; but it seems to
me that a salary of $3,000 a .year is rather
too large. I have some knowledge of the
amount of compensation received in similar
offices in other States where a system of com-
mon school education has prevailed for many
years. The State of Connecticut had at one
time a most admirable school system under
the control of a superintendent similar to
this officer, whose duties were well performed ;
and yet he received a less sum than we pro-
pose to give this officer. I know further with
regard to getting competent and able men to
perform these duties, that if we look to the
most eminent New England colleges, we shall
find that the presidents and professors over
the instruction in those colleges, and who are
universally known in this country as the best
educated and most competent men for the
performance of these duties, generally re-
ceive a far less amount of salary than we
propose here to give.
Mr. PUGH. Although eminently qualified
for certain positions, they are not also to
cover the point I make, business men.
Mr. MILLER. In regard to the business
part of the duty we have imposed, any busi-
ness man I presume could disburse the funds
under the direction of the board of education
proposed to be appointed in this bill. I sup-
pose the salary of the superintendent is the
salary which would properly be given to him
for the performance of the duties of devising
a system of public instruction for the State |
of Maryland, and carrying it into operation.
1 suppose the most laborious part of the
duty will be to devise modes to put in opera-
tion that system. When that duty is per-
formed, then the duties of superintendent,
and of monaging the affairs of the schools of
the State will be comparatively a light duty.
It will require, to be sure, a man well educa-
ted, perhaps highly educated, a man of ad-
dress, and a man who will take an interest in
the education of the children of the State in
the public schools. There is a large class of
presidents and professors of colleges who are
just the class of men most competent to per-
form these duties. And they receive for life-
long labor in these institutions a salary from
year to year, very much less than the amount
we propose to give to this officer. I do
not think there would be any difficulty—if I
did think so I certainly would not vote for
the amendment—in obtaining a proper and
competent man for a less salary than the com-
mittee have proposed.
But I should prefer an amendment to strike
out this provision with regard to the salary,
and to insert that he shall receive such com-
pensation as the legislature may from time to
time prescribe, lam aware that the first in-
auguration of such a system in Maryland would
be attended with more labor than any other
period. Such an officer may be selected, and
may be compensated. But I think the
legislature should determine, after seeing
what the man whom the governor appoints
has done for the benefit of the State, what
his salary and compensation shall be. Those
are the views which I entertain with regard
to this question.
Mr. CUSHING, I am sorry to find rather
a low view entertained of the capacity re-
quired for the officer whose salary is under
discussion. The gentleman from Howard
(Mr. Sands) seems to think all that is re-
quired in Maryland for a man to inaugurate
and carry on a system of free common
school education, is that be shall be able to
go into the common schools of the State and
inquire what books are used. Such a man
would not be fit to teach a common school.
Such a man would not be fit to tench the
most ignorant child that the State of Mary-
land contains. Under such teaching, your
children instead of improving, would deteri-
orate day by day. Any man to whom this
office shall come as a God-send, is not the
man we want. We want the man who does
not want the office; who, feeling the sense of
responsibility, and the labor which those du-
ties shall bring, shall take it as a duty,
a labor of love and of patriotism. We want to
make the salary such that such a man may
beable to take it, and may be able to keep it.
The school teachers with whom the gentle-
man from Howard has been brought in con-
tact must have been a rare class if he can
pick out among them even one fit for this |
