New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1858-02-12
give the whole support Of his oihs'Ai posItisa TO-
ward carrying it out

oil ABOUT 40U pages Ocuoninoso~
Annual Report" Though prettily stamped on the
outside with the figures 1857 probably to show
that il has tried to keep up with the times), the
Fifteenth Annual Report is year behind the time
being in point Of fact the report for the year 1856
Whether the publication Of this important work
was purposely delayed, in order that the constisu
ents of its authors should not find them out and re-
ward their merits in spite Of their modesfy, or
whether il is intended as specimen Of the prompt
itude with which those guardians Of our destme'
do their business, is matter on which all light Is
denied u.s. But though this needless, hurry -scurry
community may think the report out OF date, stale
and Improbable they cannot call it fat, for It lite
rally teens with lively facts.
The law authorizes Ward Schools for children
and Normal Schools for teachers but it seems that
these devoted gentlemen, not being satisfied with
spending the public money in that way, have con-
trived q daily Normal School for those intending
to become teachers. A part of the plan was, that
certain pupils" probably the ne,es and
nephews of the Commissioners), for coming there
and being educated gratis, and occasionally playing
at teachers, should receive a salary of S25 per
annum. AZ il was found that they could spend all
the money the Controller would give them without
resortiDg t. this, the Commissioners gave up this
part Of the plan, and contented themselves with
employing teachers to the tune of about S25a pupil.
for what in the Ward Schools costs about SO. The
school, however, proved failure for want Of
pupils and had TO be bolstered up by removing the
restriction that it should be for those intending to
become teachers Notwithstanding this liberalty
Young America declined to come in without ths
sos, and the report sadly remarks that without
81 that, the privileges Of the school have not been
" sought with the eagerness which was anticipated
" and desired"
But the report discovers a bright spot-in fact
kindes into glow, over the consumption of fuel
the increased expenditure for which it informs us
is moderate and satisfactory" The cost of fuel
in 1852 was for the Public School Society, less than
IS, 5OO-for the Board of Education less than
$8,OO0-wbile the number of pupils was $4,000.
The cost of fuel in 1856 appears to have been
S24 136, while the number Of pupils was but
$4,000 For about the same number Of pupils, We
are therefore paying little less thsn double the
amount paid four years ago. Add to this the fact
that fuel was great deal cheaper in 1856 than 10
1882 and that coal has to great extent taken the
place of the old wood stoves and it becomes ap-
parent that when the report speaks of the increased
expenditure as moderate and satisfactory" it
means moderate" for the Board Of Education
and satisfactory" to the contractor and inspector
of fuel
But alas the increase for supplies sis very un-
satisfactory" Nobody seems to know why, not
even the Committee on Supplies. The Board OF
Education buys all the supplies, and does them out
to the schools, and keeps everybody on short al
lowance, and yet the increase "a favorite word in
this repOrt) mounts from 800, 2223 to 1897 in
single year. while the number of pupils is less in
stead of greater. The report does not inform us
who the contractors were, nor whether it was the
quantity or the price which increased, nor whether
the Board of Education paid more for supplies
than anybody else did, nor whether any extrava-
gance was ever stopped or even inquired into-sll
of which questions would have required but short
replies, and the replies would have been quite as
interesting as the list of "young gentlemen " who
pstronize the Free Academy.
1t ia humorously stated that one object in annu.
ally publishing the report is that it affords to the
"new Board some degree of benefit from the expe-
"rience of their predecessors" With such adyan-
tsges, the Board of Education ought to have become
about perfect, and at any rate should have left moth
ing undOne Let us see what it says OF itself:
1.-The subject of a census for the children of this
"City who do not attend any school has been for
"sererol years before the Board" The City Su-
perintendent "gave his opinion in favor of some
action and the Board, in November, 1854, " dl.
erected the appointment of a Committee, who
made report on the 22d of the same month, but
"the year closed without the contamination of the
measure" Another Committee reported in favor
of a census in 1856, but it was presented too late
- for fnal action, and "the measure therefore re-
mains unaccomplished. Besides, it seems that,
with mas of false and fictitious statistics, " no
"return is made of the number of children actually
taught"
" Efficient laws have been passed for subjectng
" to the public care children whose best interests
are sacrificed BY their natural guardians" which,
AS We know without the aid of the Board of Edu-
cation are, ike most of the laws in this City,
dead letter Yet it is really refreshing to be in
formed that, while We are paying over Sl,WO,OOO
per annum TO elevate the by education, these
laws must remain nope ratiye until some system is
" mstured by which such Of these children as
- destitute shall have schools opened to them; for,
practically our Ward Schools are unavailable to
" that class" Over one million year for educa.
cation and, practically, no schools for the 80, 900
children who need them most The Board of
Education is. indeed, all deficient arm Of our
Government, and this report, though not very