Dodgeville chronicle. [volume] (Dodgeville, Wis.) 1862-current, 1866-06-28
What Shall be Done ?

.ng village, awake 70 soeK Vwh "soIssss
and the interests Of the rising raes, made
great efforts 10 secure the loestion ia our
village Of the seminary which the Netho-
dists propose to erect in some part Of the
southwestern portion Of the state. Men
of enterprise and Of public spirit pledge
their hundreds Of dollars in order to raise
fund large enough to induce the commit
tee to locate it here. The committee ap-
pointed to represent the claims of Dodge
vile before the conference committee,
showed the superiority Of eur place over
those which competed with Us: and from
Whist We can learn, they presented strsng
reasons Why this seminary should bs 10.
Gated in Dodgeville. There srs- hsrs no
conflicting interests which wseld oppose
the influence and usefulness Of school Of
that kind. Our people, with hearts snd
hands, and pursss too, would, ~ the heart
II one msn, unite in building up end in
swstain;nq such IN institution. We hats.
in eur village end the surrounding country,
. greet many youns men end women, who
must be educated, and who win be sduca-
ted by their wealthy parents. We would
not underrate the offers made by Mineral
Point, and by Darlington; but we do be-
lieve that the people Of this place made by
far the best offer, SO far as dollars ard cents
are concerned; and any one acquainted
with the three places, can but admit in
all candor that this place offers advantages
that neither Darlington or Mineral Point
can offer. It is true that we have no rail-
road, which advantage is offered by each
of the other places. This is serious
thing, but we are not to blame. Ws hope
and expect to have railroad too, and that
before great while.
AS our readers are aware, the commit
tee decided to locate the seminary at Oar
iington. While we can not see the pro-
priety of SO doing, yet this decision settles
the aftair-at least for the present.
The question aris ses, What shall we do !!
Shall we, though defeated in this enter
prise, abandon every effort to improve our
village, and benefit our children? Shall
we be deprived Of all the advantages we
expected to receive! By no means
Should the matter rest here. We are the
better for agitating the great subject Of
education.
If We have failed in this project, We can,
and we ought, to turn our attention to
the bettering Of our schools. We need,
and must have, better school houses than
we now have. 1t is well known that our
school rooms do not afford ample accom-.
mcdations for the vast number Of children
that attend our district schools. No one
will claim that better ones are not needed.
There are in the district about SIX hundred
and fifty children, between four and twen-
ty years Of age. Our school houses can
accommodate no. more than three hundred
and seventy.fivs children, and yet during
the past year we have had nearly, If not
quite, .Jsus hundred children in school,
Think Of this, ye fat, putting men and
women, and tell us how you would like to
be boys and girls again, and bs obliged to
attend such crowded schools tl-elgh the
hot. summer days. Think of the head.
aches, toothaches, heartaches and all the
other aches that these pupils have to en-
dure on account of being overcrowded in
the school rsom.
When ysu see your own children and
your neighoors' childr "a suffering these in.
convsniences while you pity the little
darlinss, and complain Of the schools, acd
the teachers, as well as Of everybody else
why not try to remedy the matter, end
provide them comfortable school houses,
50 that instead Of disliking to 60 to school
il will b. a delight! II you would hAvs
pour children :leve " assead sshssi, end
sssdy shils there, ~ should strive TO
.sssutify cur school hssss. Lss ths chill.
drsn feel that II is on done for them and
they will appreciate your kindness. Let
them see that you are interested in this
great work Of educating them, and how
long will it be before they too will become
interested? . - ~.
Our neighboring towns are doing or
have done great things for their schools
Lancaster intends to build "a twelve thous
and dollar sehooishoase: 'aPlatte&aie, Mir
era1 Point, Boscobel, and Maao: Msnic! !havs
each better ionss thar oSSs..,s rtass greal
discredit to oar village. that we bavenc
respectable buildings. for. our Schools
We spend thousands of dollars in building
good and pleasant homes and in 'beautify
ing them. We have built nice public
buildings and yet have neglected ouI
schools. Shame on us.- We hope tha
our citizens will agitats this question be-
tween now and tho time Of our annua
meeting in August, and by that time We
shall be prepared to act. Let US 60 T.
work Immediately; have house built as
soon as possible, and show that We are
what we claim to be,-an energetic. enter
prising people 1t can be done, and VI
believe .nat it will be done. Will not tbs
spirit which prompted men 10 subscribe Sc
largely toward the erection: of . seminary
+ lead them In nroviaaf fnr tbs: better sccem