The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1871-02-11

The President of the Public School
Board, DR.. r. G. Mukall, has his say in
answer to our remarks or structures, if
you pIease-on Public School affairs, last
week, and we trust the public are, as the
DR.. doubtless is, satisfied with the Report.
We have only to remark on that part of
the communication which refers to pre-
vious notice in The Wing, OF the fact that
the Report was published three times in
The Democrat, and but once in The Wig.
The failure to exculpate the President of
the Board, by explaining that it was not so
published by his orders, in the next issue,
was an unintentional oversight on our part,
which we humbly hope the Doctor will
excuse. We would also state that our
remarks, in regard to courtesy" alluded
to in the following protest, were intended
to apply entirely in public sense and we
hope that no such construction as a want
of courtesy to aus, on the part of the School
Board, or any member Of it, will be placed
upon any published remarks of ours.
The Eccentric School Report.
To the Editor Of Tile Cecil Wig:
Permit me through your columns to
make short reply to your attack upon the
School Board of Cecil County, and upon
my Report as its presiding offic +.
l prefer giving my swer to the public
through THE Wing, as do not propose to
follow your example by giving it partisan
turn, or to provoke a war of words
l am entirely responsible for the manner
and form, be it eccentric and discourteous,
or otherwise, in which that Report was
given to the press. Authority was given
to the President and Secretary to make out
and publish the Annual Report. The Sec
rotary sent me his report, with the sugges-
ton that could give it to the press in
such shape as deemed advisable. With
no small amount of labor, prepared, in
duplicate, full report of the number of
pupils in attendance upon our Public
Schools, and of the cost of the schools in
each District. did not give the cost of
each school, but did of each pupil. To
this was added a statement of the finances
of the Board, which was an exact copy of
the Treasurer's Report, as examined and
passed by the Board at its last meeting.
You demand that every item of expense
shall be given to the public. If the Board
orders the Secretary to publish his account
books, shall not "grumble, but GER
tainly shall not help to "dole" out its
pages, either with good or "bad grace -
As to the manner of this eccentric Report,
why this is a matter of taste The School
Board is perhaps unfortunate in having
'rather eccentric officers" yet think you
are the first to discover want of lberality
or courtesy" in these "officials' and
"public servants 1t may be true, as we
but intentional discourtesy am not aware
of being guilty of, either towards the good
people, our masters, individuals, or even
the Editor of Tile Wig.
Recently, when attacked in your Locals,
for favoring The Democrat, by ordering this
offensive Report to be inserted three times
in that paper, and but once in Tile Wig, I
called and explained that such was not the
fact; that my orders for publication were
precisely the same in each Office. Have
you been corteous enough to correct your
error?
l do not propose to answer your attack
upon the Board, covering ground prior to
my connection with it. Into the Board
have not carried my politics, and do not
intend to be made party to this attempt
to drag the School Board into the purlieus
of the political arena. l have now been a
member of the Board two years, and can
safely assert, that not single action of the
Board has been influenced by tho political
bias of either the majority or minority.
l do not claim either for myself, or my
colleagues, any special administrative or
financial abilities; but do claim, both for
myself and them, honesty of purpose, and
an earnest desire to do our full duty to the
best of our capacity. Our "incapacity"
is not our fault, but the fault of the people
who elected us. Our extravaganza may be
very great, but it falls far short of the
demands our masters make upon us.
The office of School Commissioner is
neither so lucrative or honorable as to make
it particularly attractive, and when gentle
men consent to be public servants, do not
think it is either ''liberal or corteous" to
insinuate that they are knaves as we'll as
asses, and are afraid to let their acts see
the light.
This may be a very eccentric" notion,
nevertheless it is the opinion of one who
fears but one Master-over either his public
or private acts.
With all due courtesy,
ID