28．既然这些学校对于共和国来说不可或缺，那么它们就应该尽可能办好。除此之外，支付校园建筑花费以及教师工资的钱，都属于全体人民所有。因此，被人民选出来花这笔钱的地方教育董事会，就应该负责把这件事做好，以便所有百姓的付出都有所值。而如果校园建筑破破烂烂，或者任命的教育能力不强，老百姓的钱就白花了。不过，如果地方教育董事会成员不正直，或者不知道什么样的建筑算合格、什么样的老师算称职，那么人民就会觉得受骗上当。没有哪个部门比管理学校的政府部门更重要了。
29．村官。村庄由一小群住得很近的人组成。城市和农村的唯一区别就是城市要大一些。像城市一样，农村也必须有一级政府。村长所处的位置和城市的市长差不多。此外，村里也有会计，负责管理村里的钱款；一个警员，有时候是几个警员，就是村里的警察；此外还有其他一些官员。有时候，村子里还有消防部门和管理水的部门，当然了，同样也必须有官员来管理这些部门。所有这些官员都是村民的公仆，而且每个人都有特定的职责。
30．学区。学区是一个县（有时是一个村）的一部分，学区里有一所公立学校，向居住在学区内的人提供教育服务。学区不太大，这样所有孩子就可以轻松步行上学了。学校的事务由一个委员会管理，叫做校委会，有时候叫做理事。他们都是学区内的百姓选举出来的，其权力与职责和城市的教育委员会相同。美国的学区学校一般都是一栋很小的建筑，只有一名教师：夏天一个，冬天又会换一个。较大的男孩很少会在夏天去上学，因为那时候他们都会在田地里忙碌。正是在这种最不起眼的学校里，我们许多最杰出、最伟大的人物受到了教育，平生第一次有了向老师和书本学习的机会。美国的学校应当拥有尽可能优秀的教师，让老百姓掏的钱发挥最大效益。而对每个学区来说，力所能及地把自己的学校办好，也应当是他们的荣耀。
31．瑞士的学校。瑞士的公立小学是世界上最好的。人们觉得他们应当把学校办得像现在这样好，并且自始至终对它们极为关注。学校里发生的事是瑞士学区百姓日常谈论的话题，人们发现，这些话题像天气或政治那样有趣。当然，这种对智育的持续关注，对于老师是极大的帮助，对于小学生则是极大的鼓舞。如果我们对于自己的学校也有这样的关注程度，那肯定也是一件好事。
How Laws Are Enforced in the States
1.The Governor.Just as there is a president of the United States，whose duty it is to see that the Constitution and the laws made by congress are obeyed，so each one of our fortyfive states has a governor .His duty is to see that the laws of the state are obeyed.He lives in the city which is called the capital of the state，and is usually a very busy man.However，the governor of a state does not have so many powers as the president of the United States.The governor is elected by the people for a term of office which varies from one year to four in different states.
2.Departments.The departments of the state administration are very nearly the same as those of the national administration.But there is this difference：the president appoints the heads of departments，and they are accustomed to hold regular meetings with him“cabinet meetings”at which they give advice about important matters.In the states the heads of departments are usually elected by the people，and they do not form the governor’s “cabinet”that is，they do not habitually hold meetings for the purpose of talking over public business，and are not supposed to be the governor‘s advisers.
3.The departments are not the same in all the states.There is usually a secretary of state，who keeps an exact record of all the laws made by the legislature，and who keeps other state documents，and does some other state business.But this officer of course has nothing to do with foreign nations，as has the federal secretary of state.
4.There is always a state treasurer，who keeps the money of the state and pays it out as the legislature may direct.Then，there is another officer called the “auditor，”whose duty is to examine bills against the state，and make sure that they are correct before they are paid.
5.The attorneygeneral is the state lawyer.He tells the governor and other state officers his opinion of the meaning of the laws which theyTHE CONNECTICUT STATE HOUSE AT HARTFORDThe state capitol at Hartford，finished in 1880，is of white marble，and cost about2，500，000.It is one of the most tasteful buildings of the kind in the Union.
are enforcing，so that they may avoid mistakes by having wrong notions.Then，if the state has a lawsuit，the attorneygeneral takes care of it for the state.
6.The states have no war or navy departments.Still，each state has an army of soldiers，usually called the national guard .The national guard consists of men who are busy about their own affairs most of the time，and drill only occasionallyonce a week，as a general thing.In the summer they sometimes spend a few days in camp.If there should be a riot which the police could not put down，or if an enemy should invade the state，the governor has the right to call out the national guard.They then give their whole time to military duty until the danger has passed away.
7.Some states have still other business，much of which is managed by groups of men，each group being known as a board .Thus there is often a state board of education，which has the oversight of the public schools，or of some of them.Sometimes，instead of a board of education，these duties are put in charge of one man，the superintendent of public instruction，and sometimes the board chooses a superintendent.Then，most of the states have normal schools，insane asylums，schools for the deaf and dumb，and prisons to which are sent persons who have broken the laws.These institutions are also usually managed by boards.The members of the boards are often appointed by the governor.
8.The LieutenantGovernor.It will be remembered that one of the officers of the United States is a vicepresident，who presides at the meetings of the senate，and who becomes president if that officer should die.Most of the states have also such an officer，the “lieutenantgovernor.”He presides over the state senate，and becomes governor in case of the death，or，sometimes，in case of the absence from the state，of the governor.The lieutenantgovernor is elected by the people，for the same term as the governor.The state of Maine，however，and several others，have no lieutenantgovernor.In these states the senate elects its own chairman.
