ceeds derived by said unit from other sources named in this Act. The State Superintendent of Public Instruction shall certify the amount so withheld to the county auditor of the county in which said unit is located, and shall at once turn said amount over to the trustees of the Teachers' Retirement Fund.

Provided, that for such state normal schools as do not receive their public money through the county auditor and which come under the provisions of this act, the board of trustees of the Indiana State Teachers' Retirement Fund shall send the required notices to the State Auditor instead of the State Superin

tendent of Public Instruction. The State

Auditor shall then withhold, from any money to which such schools or institutions may be entitled for the payment of teachers' salaries, the amounts shown by said notices to be required in addition to the assessments on teachers' salaries in such schools or institutions to meet the requirement of teachers' annuities under this act, and semi-annually between the first and the fifteenth days of January and June each year the State Auditor shall pay to the said trustees of the Indiana State Teachers' Retirement Fund all moneys withheld by him to date under provisions of this

act.

Sec. 16. The board of trustees of the Indiana State Teachers' Retirement Fund shall determine what part of said fund may be safely invested and how much shall be retained for the immediate needs, demands and exigencies of said fund. Such investments shall be made: (1) in interest-bearing bonds of the United States; or of the State of Indiana, or in any bond, lawfully issued by the state or county, township,

city, or other municipal corporation within the United States; (2) loans secured by first mortgages upon improved real estate, which loans shall not be in excess of fifty per cent. of the appraised value of such real estate. All bonds, mortgages, and other securities shall be deposited with and remain in the custody of the custodian of said fund, who shall collect all interest due thereon, all the income therefrom, as the same shall become due and payable, and deposit same to the credit of the current fund of the Indiana State Teachers' Retirement Fund. Section 17. Said Indiana State Teachers' Retirement Fund shall be

used and devoted in the manner and

for the purpose as follows:

Any person coming under the provisions of this act who shall have ren

dered thirty-five years or more of teaching service in the public schools, twelve of which may have been in the public schools outside of the State, who ceases to be in the employ of the public schools of the state from any cause, shall be entitled to an annuity in accordance with the following schedule:

For 35 years of service, $600.
For 36 years of service, $620.
For 37 years of service, $640.
For 38 years of service, $660.
For 39 years of service, $680.
For 40 years of service, $700.

Provided, that any teacher in the service of the public schools of the state may be temporarily or permanently retired for disability on an annuity in accordance with the schedule in this act after he or she shall have served as such teacher as per the conditions of this act for a period of twenty-five years or more, and provided further,

that when a teacher is retired for any disability before he or she has met with the conditions for permanent retirement under this act, such retirement shall continue only until such disability is relieved or removed, and no further annuity or benefit shall be paid to such teacher after medical examination made on the demand of the board of trustees of the Indiana State Teachers' Retirement Fund and at the expense of said teacher shall establish that such disability is removed. No benefit or disability shall be paid for less than one-half of a school year.

The schedule according to which disability benefits shall be paid follows: For 25 years of service, $350. For 26 years of service $375. For 27 years of service, $400. For 28 years of service, $425. For 29 years of service, $450. For 30 years of service, $475. For 31 years of service, $500. For 32 years of service, $525. For 33 years of service, $550. For 34 years of service, $575.

Such annuities shall be paid upon the order of the board of trustees in four equal payments as follows: On January first, April first, July first, and October first, of each year.

In the event that any teacher coming under the provisions of this act for any reason leaves the services of the public schools of any unit of this State operating under this act, before said teacher is entitled to withdraw from the treasury of the Indiana State Teachers' Retirement Fund, such a sum as will equal all payments made by such teacher into the treasury of this fund without interest.

Provided, that any benefits which

such teacher may have received for disability prior to the time of such withdrawal, shall be deducted from amount to be so withdrawn.

Provided, further, that in the event that such teacher subsequently returns to the employ of a school of a unit under this act, such teacher shall be required to pay to the fund of the unit in which such teacher is employed the amount so withdrawn with interest thereon at the rate of five per cent. per annum from date of withdrawal. Such sum to be paid within one year from the date of his or her return to service in the schools of the state. In the event of the death of any teacher coming under the provisions of this act, before such teacher has been retired upon an annuity, then and in that case, the heirs or legatees of such deceased teacher shall be entitled to a sum out of said fund equal to the sum paid into said fund by such deceased teacher, without interest, and after deductions for whatever benefits have been paid such teacher have been made.

Section 18. In computing years of service, as provided in this act, the board of trustees may include service as public school teacher rendered outside of the state, not, however, in excess of twelve years, as a portion of such services necessary before any teacher shall be entitled to any of the benefits of this act, provided, that nothing in this section shall affect the amount or amounts to be paid into such retirement fund by teachers before being entitled to an annuity. Any teacher may be given a leave of absence for study, professional improvement, or temporary disability not exceeding one year in seven, and shall be regarded as

a teacher and entitled to the benefits of this act, provided that during such absence he or she continues to pay into such fund the amount of assessments payable by such teacher as provided by this act.

Credit shall be given under this act for all years of service rendered under its provisions before, as well as after, the taking effect of this act. And the full term or year of school in the corporation in which such services was rendered shall constitute a year of service under this act.

Section 19. All the annuities granted and payable out of said State Teachers' Retirement Fund shall be and are exempt from seizure or levy upon attachment, supplemental process, and all other process; and such annuities. or any payment of the same shall not be subject to sale, assignment, or transfer by any beneficiary; and any such sale, assignment or transfer shall be absolutely void.

Section 20. The beneficiaries of this fund shall include any legally licensed and regularly employed teacher, teacher clerk, supervising principal, principal, supervisor, superintendent of schools, person in charge of teaching any special department of instruction, or training, or any other teacher or instructor legally licensed and regularly employed as such in any of the schools of this state, in any public state normal school of the state, supported by public mon

ey and devoted to the preparation of teachers, provided, however, that no institution which is operating under any pension or annuity system not provided for by the laws of the State of Indiana, may come under the provisions of this act.

Section 21. Whenever any person receiving any benefits from said fund shall be convicted of any felony or of any misdemeanor of which he or she shall be adjudged to be imprisoned or shall fail to report for examination as required herein, unless excused by the board of trustees of the Indiana State Teachers' Retirement Fund, or shall disobey the requirements of said board of trustees in respect to said examination, then such board may order that the annuity allowed and paid to him. or her shall cease.

Section 22. Any teacher teaching in any unit of the State at the time such unit elects to come under the provision of this act who does not at that time make application as provided under this act, may make such application at any subsequent time, provided that with such application there is submitted full payment of all arrearages for time to which such teacher is entitled as credits under this act, together with five per cent. compound interest on same from the date at which such teacher had first opportunity to come under the provisions of this act.

The extent to which school attendance acts as a preventive of delinquency is an open question at present. The school constitutes only one of the many influences surrounding a child, an influence that is positive and in the right direction, but probably of somewhat less importance than the popular imagination conceives it to be. The schools as at present organized are to some extent strainers only, that sort out and discourage the misfits and driftwood, the miserably poor and the embryo delinquents, while at the same. time, the more fortunate, who happen to possess the required qualities, are kindly received and are given adequate assistance.

This conception has recurred to me many times since the passage of the school attendance law of 1913. Day after day, as the little chaps come into the office for their work certificates, the conviction grows on me that they have not had their share of attention nor their share of the school funds either. A few days ago, I went over the records of Madison children given certificates since the law went into effect and was not surprised to find that 80% of them were more than a year older than the normal age for their grades. I considered 12 normal for the Fifth, 13 for the Sixth, 14 for the Seventh, 15 for the Eighth. 30% were from two to three years over age, 12% from three to four years. Over 65% of them had withdrawn before entering the Seventh grade. These figures would indicate clearly that

whatever the child may think of it, the underlying reason for his withdrawal is generally his failure to meet successfully the requirements set up by the schools. I believe it would be fair to assume that approximately the same conditions exist in most communities. It is distressing that the child most needing guidance and help is the first to be thrust upon the world.

It seems clear that many of these children are the slag and waste of the schools. There are doubtless many others now in the schools duly waiting for the Fifth grade and fourtenth birthday to pass. While these laggards of one kind and another do not comprise a very large percentage of the entire school attendance, yet they constitute an important problem that school men are now seriously beginning to consider. The law holds in school pupils who do not belong with children of normal age and ability. In the schools of Madison, for instance, there are today almost enough mental defectives to form a special class. There are enough subnormals to justify an ungraded room. There are enough unprepared children at work to demand a continuation school of some sort, and this is a state-wide condition.

The question naturally arises: Why not at least partially solve the question by making use of the vocational school law? Well, the most important work open to the schools is the regular school work now being pursued, which must not be slighted be

cause of minority needs. This basic work absorbs nearly the whole school income. Then, too, the vocational law in its present state of development is being applied mainly to the high schools and is absorbing, for the present, all excess funds. I do not wish to be considered an opponent of this law when I say that the vocational work now required in the high schools has very little effect on the control of dependency. Remember that a large majority of our prospective laborers, delinquents and dependents are culled out of the schools before the high school is even entered.

The development of special and continuation schools is a crying need in every city in Indiana. Given a free rein I should tackle it and the vocational high school problem both, or, if funds were lacking, I should sidetrack the high school problem until

the other had been solved.

Remember this, that the public schools direct their atention, construct their courses of study, train their teachers, purchase their equipment, plan their buildings, on the theory that their pupils are not far from normal in mentality, character, physique and age. Fortunate it is for the state that this theory is correct, as fas as, say four-fifths of the children are concerned. One capable teacher can handle forty such children with a fair degree of success. It would be possible to reorganize the grade schools on a basis of twenty pupils per teacher and secure much better results, but the public does not at present care to pay the cost. A subnormal child in a class of forty is hopelessly lost, beside being a drag on the class and an

excessive absorber of teacher energy. It is imperative that such a child be placed in a special class of not over fifteen to twenty pupils, in charge of a specially trained and interested teacher, who will give each child careful attention and who will make a careful study of each individual. This is also true of delinquents, over-age children and abnormals. In other words, if such children are held in school by law and are to be any considerable extent benefited, they must be taught in the same manner that all children should be taught.

In Indiana, the school attendance law requires all children to attend school until past the fourteenth year and the Fifth grade, yet after careful inquiry, I find just six special classes and two special schools in the state.

There are a number of factors deter

mining the extent of school prevention of delinquency but we have time to consider only the administration of the truancy law before closing this discussion. It is generally admitted that this law is excellent. The more I study and use it, the more do I realize its far-reaching possibilities for social betterment and the more do I regret that its state-wide utilization is years off. When township trustees and school boards, school teachers and principals, judges and prosecutors, realize its possibilities and importance, when attendance officers are adequately paid and properly qualified, when the state inspects the administration of the law in every community, then we can look for adequate results from the law.

To bring definitely before you the present status of the administration of