Teachers v. Charwomen

In Denver 2,000 irate Colorado schoolteachers marched straight up the Capitol steps to ask Governor John C. Vivian a question. Why did he plan to spend eight of the state's $10 million surplus on roads, none on schools? They had some statistics to hurl at him: over 300 of Colorado's schools failed to open this fall because of a teacher shortage. There was a shortage of teachers because--as one marcher put it: "On the western slope of Colorado, they're paying sheepherders $140 a month, schoolteachers $110."

The Governor wasn't in. Across the U.S. last week, other schoolteachers, also seeking more pay, were convinced that parents, politicians and people were "not in" to them either. The National Education Association started a nationwide campaign with a few figures of its own:

P: About one-fourth of the 850,000 U.S. schoolteachers get less than $100 a month; 25,000, mostly in rural districts, get less than $50.

P: In 30-odd states, teachers' pay averages less than that of charwomen.

P: Teachers' incomes increased 11% between 1940 and 1943, while industrial workers gained 56%. Said a New Jersey schoolmaam: "Teaching is the steadiest job in the world. It never gets you anywhere."

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