The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1872-06-22
COMMUNICATIONS.
'UR COMMON SCHOOL
THE rHIRn nuINC

/ our second want was common schoos-not uI-
,. opnsfaPf OF Normal schools The third want is
want OF system. Educational speak and
ts Mrits OF or Common School System, when, in
I common school or to system. Our money is
Sot Spent In uncommon schools and system is al
| most discarded. As friend of the common
schools, object to the manner in which these
| schools are conducted.
i IN regard to want of system, those who know
anything about the mode of levying the school
te tnSS ~ 81, admit that there Is nothing like sys
IN taking the valuation of property in this
nave system In levyilp tax Forty mills on the
uplar is laid II Oil City, Venango county, Cf
WI he only one mill is laid on the dollar in Ches-
ITr Hjr township and city in Delaware county
G5ounty there is often difference, in different
utstIlcts- OF ten mills, or one cent on the dollar
f IN oIoSf 10 secure system there should be uni
aorh H STATE valuation and a uniform State per
cent, o. tax laid. As it is, two men owning the
SitFs Siale moneys worth of property pay vastly
tlnefent UNI amount of tax. Say each one of the
two men owns three thousand dollars worth
9p 9I property, yet ones is valued at eight hun
| Mnrreu, nru, Ihe other at twenty hundred dollars.
hundred, and hfteen mills per cent. put on the
I've hundred making the tax OF the former
Two collars and fifty cents and that OF the lat
| TEN? INV "o1 y
mor Ihe manner of using them. or the seventy
seven county and city supeTintendents in the
~oIate. ~ no TWO examine teachers on the same
system; no two prefer the same text books;
LOW 10 Two conduct Institutes alike; no two have
are correct The discipline in the schools is not
@ sne same The hours for school are not the
iidct, When one go0s from one school to another
ne thinks he has crossed State line. One State
soT rep udlates, and one Legislature makes en-
actments which the succeeding one annuls No
SetsIoie person, then, would call this SyStcmE
AGAIN, the printed statistical reports of the
schools are nothing but bundles of mistakes.
! hours, and many escaped notice for want of
lhe proper aids to enable me to detect them.
I L "a
! schoo! boards, endorsed by county superinten-
! dents, aud overlooked by Sta:e officials. The
| law requires that the school ard budding tax
shall be laid at the same time and in the same
manner and on the same assessed value. Yeti
nnd in hundreds of instances that where the
same per cent. is laid, the result is different.
port of 1s8 Shows In d. Dunmore 9 district. I1
! Zerne county, where thirteen mills were laid
$500. The report of 1870 shows that Oil City.
NenangO county, laid 13 mills for teaching, and
20 mills for building. and the first result is
arc found in Allegheny, Bedford, Berks, Cen
| The report of is71 shows in South Fayette
| district, Allegheny county, where fiy e aud one
suit is SOD and The other is q 81 Berks coun-
ty, Reading district, 10 and InillS are laid yet
! one tax Is three times as much as the other.
Similar mistakes are found in Beaver, Bedford,
Butler, Cambria, and fifty other counties.
In Cambria county, JOhnStown and Wilmore
! districts show discrepancies, and in many coun-
| ties these discrepancies amount to from $500 to
f2,OtJ. Can such statistics be relied on and
are they worth what they cost? Similar errors
exist in regard TO the number of schools of
teachers, of pupils, OF money expended and OF
salaries etc. Can al this be called system: Is
! II not uTiSnomer to call it system 1t is my
-, ROB ROY.
CONT ENTIONS AND OTHER THINGS.
! DEAR FREEMAN-Hearings so much nhout con-
| ventions. and never having attended one, l
m0mntain viIIaye on the a-f6 YiIt in order to
! vention, which was held there thai day We
o. Z t'TPSsDU a o'clock A NJ where "
! to wait till 1915 before the train would start
! for Ebensburg, What pity my good old grand
! parents did not learn me the art of sketching!
| lf they bad done so, what picture woulG
| have taken that morning The candidates for
! the various Offices moved around among the
| delegates SO serenely, smirking and smiling
! like sweet, innocent babes, shaking hands with
! all around, asking for this, that and the other
| ones general health; and said candidates did
| not at the same time care continental. only
| for fashion sa Ike and fOr-vOtes. What q calm.
| gentle, inIuiSitiUs set OF fellows we would have
| all the ye.. round if we had nominations about
Leaving CTesson, we strolled round the
| grounds u the Mountain House whore we saw
| some men boring for well, one said for He
another for whislley, and third for5sater, but
L think the men were boTlnGtOr mpney On our
way TO the Summit we paid a visit to the beau-
! tful and well kept cemetery in company with
| mcant.) The cemetery, church, etc, speaks
| forcibly for the taste and zeal of the good and
| worthy pastor In cnarge. AS we sauntcred in
! silent contemplation around the graves of the
| dead, we conid not help thinking that the Irish
| element Is pretty well represented there, Judg-
| ing from the many Celtic names we read ON the
| costly tomhstones, etc. 1t was indeed with
feelings of awe and respect we knelt and offer
ed up a prayer beside the grand and massive
! monument which marks the earthly resting
| place of the once piouS and talented Father
| Mccullough, born in county Tyrone, ireland,
| June, 1910, and died June 10th, 1853. Though l
| never had the pleasure of knowing personally
| the good and holy Father McC., still from all
heard of his ability, charity and practical piety,
| shrined in the hearts of the faithful, for he
vas the pcrfect embodIment or the good old
| told me with plcasurable pride OF the time
| which was then in its halcyon days.
| Leaving the cemetery, We fouIo ourselves
! table of Capt. VIM. Lint n, who cannot be ex-
| eelled in running FIRST class hntei- 1t being
/ my first visit TO the summit was agreeaoly
| whole-souled fellows there, After seeing all
we made tracks for the station under ii dreuch-
ing rain which put our Greeley hat out OF
venti5n' We were pleased aud satisfied on the
| whole with the nominations, and hope that
| every else is ditto. Let us, like good and
| faithful workers in the old Democritic ranks,
! give the radicals such an almighty squelching
! next fall as will prevent them in future from
singing any more (P) SdQ)nS. This we can and
1 always like to see both sides of picture,
and SO, to see what kind of a thing a radical
pow-wow was, attended their sham Conven-
ton on the 5th inst. 1t was truly ridiculous to
witness their paucity and in fact the utter in
| significance, they met like many black
! sheep in the ,wigwam." The whole thing was
like a broken down minstrel troupe that could
scarcely sonnd good sized tin whistle. Indeed
they must have seen the sorry plight they were
in, for after y fcw cut and dried motions they
adjourned sine die, which means that the radi-
Gals are good for nothing but to sin and die.
Yours, drooly, REAMEGH.
| CONFIRMATION AT ST. FRANCIS coll
LEGE, LORETTO, Pa.
Mr. EDIToR-Wednesday, June 9Th, dawned
in all the golden splendor so peculiar to morn
in June among the Allegheny hills. Each flow
er, each leaf, each verdant blade. decked with
pearls of dew, sparked with brightness meath
Auroras ruddy smile. Surrounding nature,
wrapped in beauty and song, seemed prepared
to Join in the festivity, that was that morn to
| gladden. the beautiful edifice-St. Francis Col
fege. The sweet strains of soul-stirrtng music
| of the Bishops band swept along from hill to
hill, and returning their echoes sweet, told to
all around, how happy were the students OF ST
| Francis College on that day. Y es, twas to be
| a day of unfeigned happiness, Tor comrades
were to be confirmed; and here arrives the long
| expected and eyer-welcome trlend ana father
| Rt. Rev. Bishop Domenec-
The air resounds with a Joyous three times
: | three" to greet his arrival With smiles and