Hammond high school had placed a ban on Shakespeare's works. The story undoubtedly had its origin in an item. printed in this paper yesterday, dealing with the meeting of the Dramatic club, in which, upon information given by Robin Amoss, a member of the club, and several others, a reporter for "The Times" was told that the club would not stage a Shakespeare play because Shakespeare was immoral. It now develops that Amoss' Dramatic club was. a creature of his own imagination, and that he wanted a little notoriety. How the Chicago paper referred to succeeded in twisting the story to make it appear that the high school itself had placed the ban on the Bard of Avon is unknown.

From the Lake County Times' issue of October 26, 1911, Hammond, Ind.

R. Edwin Amoss Issues Statement. Wednesday noon at about twelve o'clock while in the company of Prof. Ralph Wicks and Milan Stiles, I met Harold Cross in the Maine restaurant. Cross, being a friend of mine, asked me if I could give him any articles of news pertaining to the high school. I, perfectly willing to help him out, as it seemed that he was having a hard time getting news, replied that the high school was going to give a play, and that "She Stoops to Conquer" had been selected as a play. Cross then asked me if I had any idea as to just who would be likely to take the leading

parts. I replied that I had not much of an idea, but supposed that members of the public speaking class would be the most likely candidates, as they had been having work along this line. Cross then mumbled in a joking way something about Shakespeare, to which I made no answer. He then left the lunch room.

The contorted view which Cross had of things in general was evidenced. when an article appeared in the Chicago Tribune that I had been the leading spirit in the Hammond high school against Shakespeare, claiming that he was too immoral. This article written and sent to the "Tribune" by Harold Cross was entirely without foundation. and an utter falsehood. It was plainly a yellow article sent in simply for the space writer's price per column. When the "Times" people saw what a bad mistake their reporter had made, instead of retracing and taking back such damaging articles they came back with a story, putting the entire blame on my shoulders. They stated that the whole thing was a creature of my imagination and that I craved notoriety. The idea that any one should wish to claim the notoriety of a fool, that one should wish people to think that he believed that Shakespeare, the greatest author of any time, should be thrown out of the high school curriculum, is beyond belief.

(Signed) R. EDWIN AMOSS. From the Daily News, issue of October 27, 1911, Hammond, Ind.

October 17, 1911.

Hon. Chas. A. Greathouse,
Supt. of Public Instruction,
Indianapolis, Ind.

Dear Sir: In reply to your letter of Oct. 17th, 1911, in which you ask:

“Can a county superintendent legally

take the teacher's examination as an applicant in his own county, while he himself is conducting the examination?"

I beg to say that while there is no statute prohibiting such an examination, in my opinion it would be against public policy, and that such superintendent cannot legally take an examination for teacher's license before himself, while conducting an examination.

In reply to your request for my opinion, under what conditions a township trustee can transfer a pupil from the elementary schools to a graded high school, I beg to say that the question is not entirely free from uncertainty. Section 6583 R. S. 1908 provides that: “The elementary schools shall include the first eight years of school work. ✶ ✶✶ The commissioned high schools shall include not less than four years' work folowing the eight years' in elementary schools."

Section 6410 R. S. 1908 provides:

"That any trustee instead of building a separate graded high school for his township, shall transfer the pupils of

his township, competent to enter a graded high school, to another school corporation."

Section 6387 R. S. 1908 provides that:

"The county superintendent shall provide for the examination of all applicants for graduation in the common school branches from township, district or town schools, during the months of March, April and May, and furnish them certificates of graduation, if in the judgment of the county superintendent they are entitled thereto, which shall entitle the recipient to enter any township, town or city high school of the state, if he be otherwise entitled to the privileges thereto."

Under the authority of the latter section a certificate of graduation, issued by the county superintendent, is sufficient authority for a pupil to enter high school who has been properly transferred by the trustee.

"Section 6583 requires the four years of high school work to follow the eight years of elementary work. Section 6410 makes it the duty of a trustee, where he has no graded high school in his corporation, to transfer the pupils of his township, competent to enter a graded high school. In my opinion a pupil who has comepeled the first eight years. of school work is competent to enter the high school and it is the duty of the trustees to transfer such pupil, as no

other qualifications are required. The certificate of graduation issued by the county superintendent is evidence of the completion of the eight years' work, but, in my opinion, as the law stands, it is not the exclusive evidence of the completion of the eight years' elementary work, but that such competency may be tested by proper examination, other than the examination provided

for in Section 6387.

In my opinion it will be legal for the township trustee to pay transfer charges for pupils who have completed the eight years' elementary school work, and are competent to enter high school, and have been transferred by him to a graded high school of another corporation, although such pupils may not have certificate of graduation issued by the county superintendent, as provided in Section 6387."

In compliance with a request from you to answer the question submitted to you by W. A. Price, Secretary of the School Board of Nappanee, Ind., asking how his school board can raise money to build a $30,000.00 school, where the total taxable property is $966,000.00 and where there is only a surplus fund on hand of $5,000.00, I beg to say that the indebtedness of said school corporation cannot, in any event, exceed 2 per cent. of such taxable property. There is, therefore, no legal way by which such a school debt can be created at present.

It is possible for the civil town to assist in the erection of a school house under subdivision nineteenth, Revised Statutes, 1908, Section 9005. The two corporations together might build a

school house provided they would work in harmony. I would suggest that the town and school authorities consult their attorney and prospective bond purchasers and see if they can sell sufficient bonds to erect the kind of a building desired.

In response to your request for my opinion, concerning the right of a superintendent of city or town schools to pay for the time such teacher is sick and unable to attend to his duties as such superintendent and teacher, I beg to say that in my opinion such teacher is not legally entitled to his salary while voluntarily absent from his duties on account of sickness or other

cause.

In reply to your request for an answer to the following question: What is the dut yof a county superintendent in regard to issuing license to persons who began teaching in the public schools since 1908, and who have not completed four years' work in a high school, or its equivalent, and who have not had twelve weeks of professional training, b ut who have made grades sufficient to warrant the issuing of a license? I beg to say that it is my opinion that under the provisions of Section 2 of the act of March 2, 1907 (Acts 1907, page 147), the county superintendent would have no authority to issue such persons a license.

In reply to your inquiry concerning the school privileges of persons living in territory which has been disannexed from the city of Alexandria, I beg to say, that if the city council of

said city made the proper order disannexing property from such city, and a person resides in such disannexed territory, he is not a resident of said city, and is not entitled to school privilege of such city. I do not understand that the county recorder has anything to do with such disannexation. The city clerk is required to transmit a transcript of such disannexation to the county auditor, whose duty it is to see that the real estate disannexed is properly listed for taxation. The failure of the clerk to transmit such transcript cannot affect the fact of disannexation, which is accomplished by the order of the city council disannexing said territory.

In answer to a letter of A. O. Neal, referred to me by your department, will say:

Under the act of March 4, 1911 (Acts 1911, page 244, et seq), Section 5 provides: That the license fees required to be paid to the county treasurer shall be paid into the tuition fund of the county.

Section 25, relating to wholesale license fees, provides: That one hundred dollars ($100.00) of such fees shall go to the tuition fund and the remaining to the respective city or town where such business is to be conducted.

Section 23 provides that the license fee, for retail licenses, which belongs to a city, town or township, shall be paid into the treasury of said city, town. or township.

There is no provision in this act which provides that the license fees, or any part thereof, which belongs to the city, town or township, shall be paid into the tuition fund of said school city, town or township.

It is my opinion, therefore, that such fees are paid into the treasury of the city, town or township, and not into the tuition fund of said city, town or township.

I have the honor to be,

Respectfully yours,

Attorney General.

THOS. M. HONAN,