of the provisions of this act shall be fined in any amount not exceeding one hundred dollars ($100) for such offense. The state superintendent of public instruction is hereby authorized to bring action against any school officer violating any of the provisions of this act.

[Acts 1903, p. 101. In force April 23, 1903.]

5996a. Conveyance to school township.-1. That any trustees who have held property continuously since December 7, 1859, for seminary purposes, which property was formerly used for county courthouse and jail purposes, and is located in an unincorporated town from which the county seat was removed at the time said trustees received said property, and a part of which property has been condemned and taken from said board of trustees for public school purposes by the school township in which it is located, are hereby empowered to transfer to said school township all property still held by them consisting of the lot on which the county prison formerly stood, school furniture and apparatus, money and debts.

5997. Annexation of territory, title to property.

Where school property was annexed to a town prior to the passage of the act of 1899, the school corporation of the town did not become liable for the unpaid purchase money on such property. Maumee Tp. v. School Town, 159 Ind. 423.

5997a. Unpaid purchase money.

The act of 1899, rendering school corporations liable for the unpaid purchase money owing on school property that is annexed to cities or towns, does not apply when the property was annexed before the passage of the act. Maumee Tp. v. School Town, 159 Ind. 423.

[Acts 1903, p. 431. In force March 10, 1903.]

6001a. Joint districts, school house for. 1. That whenever a majority of the school patrons of two or more adjoining school districts, located in two or more adjacent townships, may heretofore have petitioned, or whenever they may hereafter petition, in substantial compliance with the provisions of section 1 of an act of the general assembly of the state of Indiana, in force March 6, 1877, being section 6001, Burns' Revised Statutes 1901, to the trustees of said townships for the establishment of a new school district and the erection of a joint schoolhouse for a joint or joint graded school, at the place named in said petition, for the accommodation of the school children residing in said. school district, and if said trustees shall have granted, or may hereafter grant, the prayer of said petition, or if an appeal may have been taken, or may hereafter be taken, to the county superintendent, from the decision of said trustees, refusing to grant the prayer of said petition. under the provisions of section 6028, Burns' Revised Statutes 1901, and if on such appeal said superintendent may have granted, or may hereafter grant, the prayer of said petition, then, in either of such events, an emergency shall thereby exist for the procurement of a site and the erection of such schoolhouse at the place named in said petition, and

for the expenditure of the money necessary to procure said site and erect such schoolhouse, as contemplated by section 8085f, Burns' Revised Statutes 1901, and if there is not sufficient money on hands for the purpose, the trustees and the advisory boards of said townships shall proceed to raise the money necessary to meet such emergency, as provided by said section, and shall also procure the necessary site for the erection of said schoolhouse and erect and maintain the same as provided by law.

[Acts 1905, p. 157. In force April 15, 1905.]

6024b. Library commission - Office - Duties - Employes. - 2. Said public library commission shall be assigned a permanent office room in the state house, with storage and shipping rooms in the basement of the same sufficient for the performance of its duties. It shall have the custody, control and management of the traveling libraries hereinafter provided for, shall purchase the books and collections of books therefor, and the equipment for the same; shall adopt rules and regulations for loaning such books and collections of books to library associations, and to the persons entitled to borrow the same, and shall provide for and require such security and guaranty for the safe return of such books or collections of books as may be deemed advisable; shall prepare lists of books suitable for public libraries and obtain prices for the same, and furnish such lists when required; shall furnish information or advice as to the organization, maintenance or administration of any library in the state. It shall also provide courses of library instruction, print lists and circulars of information and perform such other service in behalf of public libraries as it may consider for the best interests of the state. The said commission shall employ a secretary and such other assistants as shall be requisite for the performance of the services above specified, who shall serve under the direction of the commission. The commission shall each year obtain reports of all libraries in the state, and on October 31, 1906, the commission shall make a full report to the governor as to the library conditions and progress in Indiana. This report, when printed, shall be presented to the general assembly of the State of Indiana, and biennially thereafter a like report shall be made. These reports shall be printed and bound by the state printing board, the same as other public documents, and shall be distributed by the public library commission.

This section amends section 6024b, Burns' R. S. 1901. It was sought to amend this section by the act of 1903, Acts 1903, p. 179, but the title of such act did not refer to this section.

[Acts 1903, p. 179. In force April 23, 1903.]

6024c. Appropriation for books.-3. There is hereby annually appropriated from any funds in the treasury not otherwise specifically appropriated the sum of seven thousand dollars ($7,000.00) to carry into effect the provisions of this act. All bills incurred by the commission or by its members and assistants under the law, when approved and certified by the president and secretary of the commission, shall be presented to the state auditor, who shall issue warrants therefor upon the state treasury, which shall be in lieu of all sums now provided by the law for the carrying into effect the provisions of this act.

This section amends section 6924c, Burns' R. S. 1901, and it was sought by this act to amend section 6024b of such revision, but the title of the act does not properly refer to such section.

6028. Appeals from township trustees.

If a township trustee improperly refuses to establish schools, the remedy is by an appeal to the county superintendent and not by a writ of mandate. State v. Schmetzer,

156 Ind. 528.

School corporations to which children are transferred for school purposes may ap peal to the county superintendent and obtain his decision as to the correctness of the transfer. Weir v. State, 161 Ind. 435.

[Acts 1903, p. 334. In force March 9, 1903.]

6030a. Public improvements, lien.-1. That all common school corporations of this state shall hereafter possess the same powers and be subject to the same duties and liabilities in respect to municipal assessments for the cost of public improvements affecting their real estate that private owners of real estate possess or are subject to, and that the real estate of such corporations shall be subject to liens for such municipal assessments for public improvements in all cases where the same property would be so subject had it, at the time the lien attaches, been owned by a private owner, except that no penalty or attorney's fee in respect of any such municipal assessment shall be collectible from any such school corporation.

6030b. Payment of assessments.-2. Whenever any such public improvement has been heretofore made and it has been paid for by a common school corporation out of its special school revenue, the act of the corporation in making the payment is hereby validated, and in every case where such an improvement has heretofore been made, but the cost has not yet been paid, where, if the real estate had been at the time in private ownership, a valid municipal assessment lien would have existed for the cost thereof, and such a lien has been sought to be

taken, which lien would, as against a private owner, be valid, the same as against such common school property, is hereby validated and made as enforceable as it would be had the property been, at the time the lien was sought to be taken, in private ownership, but no penalty or attorney's fee shall be collectible; and it is hereby made the duty of every such common school corporation to pay and discharge such lien out of the special school revenue, and not otherwise appropriated.

This act was published twice in the session acts of 1903, being inserted on pages 334 and 357.

CHAPTER 56A.

EDUCATION-COMPULSORY EDUCATION.

Section numbers to notes refer to Revised Statutes of 1901.

The provisions of the statute requiring children of designated ages to attend school for a specified period during each school year are complied with when persons having control of such children have them instructed by private teachers in the branches taught in the public schools for the length of time each year that the statute requires them to attend school. State v. Peterman, 32 App. 665.

6033b. Truancy board, truant officer.

Truant officers must take the oath of office, as prescribed by law, before they are entitled to assume the duties of their offices. Featherngill v. State, 33 App. 683.