, 1870-04-25

Here WIS an expenditure of over $780,
tsA' Of which over $500. 600 were expended
for large four-story buildings The lot of
the Franklin School belonged to the city.
Tue total sum expended includes the heat
:1g apparatus. furniture, and out-houses
These buildings contain an average school
accommodation for 400 children each, or
an aggregate Of 5,40o children.
During the same period, the agent OF the
board built several primary school build
inys. each capable Of seating $50 children,
at q cost, intending that Of lots aud furni-
ture. OF about 81, 900 aaeh.
Tho children who attend the public
schools Of Chicago are, upon entering tho
schools, graded into ten classes, of which,
Nos !. Q, 3, and arc called gram
u,a- grades and the other si1 arc primary
c!asses, commencing at the *infants" in
the tenth grade. No child has access to
grammar. or geography, OF to any arith-
nletic beyond the rudiments, until he en-
ters the fourth grade. Ofthe children who
per cent never enter the grammar grade,A
and only Is per cent ever 60 beyond the
primary classes The demand for school
accommodation has been, and is under our
system, exclusively by children Of the
primary classes The number Of children
attending rooms devoted to the other
grades does not average one-fou1th the
number which can be accommodated A
very large proportion of tie expense
OF teaching is IN furnishing teachers
for these grammar grades, Of which
there are no classes ever full, and many Of
the schools have very few scholars. The
Clarke School was built in q mud hole in
the prairie, at IN expense all told OF nearly
S15,W0, and the number Of grammar pupils
attending it ut the close Of 1869 was twenty
si1. The Holden School hAd seventy eight.
During MI these years that this Board OF
Education were e1pcnding the S3on, 900 OF
borrowed money for building these four.
story buildings. there were .o,OM children
waiting for seats in primary schools, whicf
tina, board olstinasely refused to build
They had half q million Of dollars Of public
1uoney to erpend; they spent on these
hi1 buildings about S775, 600 for patent
beating apparatus, fans and rentilators,
and few nights ago member of The
hoard declared that one of these So, ,O0(
Heildings WIS such 4 complete botch, tht
walls so cracked and broken, that it WAS i'm
possible to keep it warm. So reckless ami
defiant uns this board in the refusal to fur
nish school accommodations to the onl,
class needing it, that the suspicion of job
lery and speculation attached to the who'll
proceeding, and explicit chargesof fraud i,
the heating apparatus were preferred, bu
were never noticed by the public authori
t;ea- What has been done with til,
S:n,000: Whit is there to show for it
SIX mammoth school buildings, designed
for class Of children who do not attend tn
public schools, and who, as soon as the,
e"n road words OF two syllablcs, and writ
their names on their States, lo&va the publ
schools to attend other schools, where thei
parents voluntarily pay for their tuition
With - per cent Of the children in tho yer
: lowest grades OF scholarship, and, for h
most part. under years Of age, it waa n
e1trayagant waste Of public money, Wal
ton disregard Of the public wants and
: hiSh-handed abuse of power, to build thes
four-stoy buildings ut this immens
outlay, and leave &C, 900 children standin
in the streets for the want of school room
There is not a competent physician
!: Chicago who will not protest in the nan
, of humanity against tho system Of con
pelling little boys aud girls to ascend an
: descend the stairxays Of these high bulk
:. ings sir times each day. 1t is barbasit
: which Is disg1aeeful to al persons who a,
responsible for it. Had this $500. 900 bee
i; expended by the board in the erection {
primary buildings, like the Cottage Gros
J; School there would have been given seal
to 1e,Wn or l4.0oo children But tn
:, would have admitted Of no jobs IN
;. no combinations, and no e1pe,
: Five heating apparatus. 1t would ha,
: been q literal performance OF
: rlain and direct duty-an Actu
= pressing public want.
+, Having expended half million
| dollars in the manner indicate
additional authority had to be o
:: tniued to spend another half million II
>. frst thing :he board proposes to do WI
= hi. money is to expcnd Sl50,ooo to co
:, ktruct ragola On lot estimated by Il
: board to he worth over 5000. 900. In Il
: meantime, schools for theittle Arabs in u
.. streets must be postponed. The Boa
:. Of Education has shown itself IN
= 10 lie trusted with the e1penditu
. Of this building fund. In the Il
= report Of the Board OF Education, L
President Of the board advocates and d
= ftnds this policy Of building monster schc
= 1.,uyes, while children are waiting +
school accommodation. He puts hin,s.
forward as the champion Of this policy,
:. which Messrs- Runyan, Bond, and Bonfe
! hare co-operased with him; aud We Ia
:, thought it due to the public, who par t
' money, that, il the Common Council
:. elect these men, il shall be done with +,
!, knowledge of how they have executed I
= trust heretofore reposed IN them.
: Probably many Of our readers have ney
=: heard Of such an article Of commerce
Il t4eox.hair cloth" There il 6uth m ar