Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1870-12-15

Taking the smaller OF above sums, and
estimating according to census of 1860,
Frederick county is entitled to s4.748, SO,
and the town Of Winchester alone, to
$1,147 SO, Oeaving $3,000,64 for the
country districts) for the support of free
schools. Shall We receive this ourselves,
or shall we, by refusing, or simply DELAY
ing to comply with the cond itions of the
school law, return it to the State Treasury
for the benefit of other counties more
public spirited, and less prejudiced than
4 ours !?
! Again, the Public School system is no
longer optional with US. The Constitution
as ratified by our people and Legislature,
has made 1t obligatory upon us. and we
can no treject tiff we would It is the dc
1 tate of common sense to accept it, and
direct it to good ends. In the light of
recent events the free SC hool is necessary
aud progressive. Itwas bad enough for any
liberal-minded man to advocate ignonrace
of the masses in the good old times, when
we had pure and patriotic public men to
protect the interests of their constituents.
Surely, now that our people are at the
mercy of any demagogus who may be
shrewd enough to take advantage of igno-
rance and easily deluded artlessness, it is
of unquestionable Importance that all
voters shall have sufficient education to at
least read and write, that they may thus,
and OTHERWISE have every facility for iud e.
ing wisely for themselves. The Public
School system is then fixed fact, AMI if
we who have been appointed to organize
it in our county do not succeed in intro
ducing it, another set of officers will be
appointed in our place, and the system
may, by default, assume less agreeable
status among US than to some it now
exhibits. Let US then throw aside every
prejudice against the free school and
waive all objections to it, and determine
to give it a fair, promp:, and cheerful
trial. am convinced that once adopted
Gas 1t has beeu) in our State, we will
never give it up. No instance of the
abandonment of it is on record; and the
time will soon come when no public man,
or phlanthropist will dare to oppose the
education ofthe laboring classes Ia many
parts of Maryland free schools, though at
first obnoxious to large majority, have,
IN few years, attained wonderful sue
cess, and ron the commentator Of many
of those most bitterly opposed to them.
In Richmond these schools are already
| doing good work, and in many other
parts Of the State they are ready to go
into operation, while we still hesitate
Tue State fund above is to be expended
exclusively for the salaries of teachers,
while school houses; and school furniture
and apparatus, fuel and books. for INDECENT
| children must be furnished by the coun-
ties, or school districts themselves. In
addition to this, small amount has to
be PROVIDED for the payment of the clerk
of each district board for taking the school
census, and for keeping the books of the
board. The most expensive outlay of the
schools is thus met by the State Treasury
for payment of salaries Of teachers 1t
would probably have been better to have
made the free schools entirely independent
Of all local tax Or subscription for
sufficiently long period to test them
thoroughly, and remove, In a measure. the
prejudice existing against them. But
this would have reduced the number of
schools very greatly, or have necessitatsd
the imposition of more onerous tax, to
raise the proportionaby greater amount of
funds. After few years the free school
will doubtless elicit here, as they have
done in other States, donations an requests
which will enable them the more readily
to meet all the demands upon them
With the amount now provided for tie
organization of so comprehensive system,
it was, doubtless, decided to be bes to
require each locality to assist in estab lish-
ing its own schools, and thus ensure
greater interest in them than they might
otherwise command. They will also thus
be less liable to become political or in
dependent of local CONTROL
Let US then, be up and a doing. that
we may secure our full proportion Of the
School fund. For the Winchester dis
trics it will be comparatively easy to com
ply with the conditions of the law. Let
the trustees for the town make an est-
mate of the amount needed to put the
schools iuto operation, and then make the
application to the town council for an ap-
nroprlation to meet this amount The
4ayor of Richmond first made tour of
inspection through the Northern States.
to make himself familiar with the praotl-
cal working f the free schools there, and
then, on his return to Virginia, lmmedi-
ately organized full set of schools for
our capital The Board of Education ex-
poets US, as the metropolis of the Shenan-
doah Valley, to lay the foundation for a
large, graded school, that viii set lber-
al example to the whole of our section of
Virginia. If We can build up school of
Que hundred pupils, the Peabody fund
promises to give to it $500
1t will be more difficult for the county
districts to comply with the prerequisite
OF the law. as they have no permanent
representative body authorized to make
the necessary appropriation. But, if the
difficulty Of obtaining the requisite money
10 the country be greater than in town,
the sum needed is also very much less.
In every country school district can be
found suitable schoolhcuses, to be had at
nominal rent, with fuel convenient.
Let the school census be taken as soon as
possible, and using this as a basis for cal
culation, would suggest that the trus-
tees for such district estimate the amount
to be contributed by each adult resident
of the district in order TO start the chools
This amount will be so small that it can
be readily collected, even from those who
have 20 direct interest in the schools.
The contributions can be paid in at stores,
postoffices and other convenient place, to