Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1876-02-03

ConnuxrcArEr.
OAKvILL.. Jan. 81, 1870.
Nesrs Eaitors -Acting under the |
principle which Ahave always held and
win always bold 30 long as this i q
free country, that every American citi-
zen, whether high or Low, has a perfect
right to call in question the public acts
of all public OlIicers, wrote the article
in your issue of the Goth instant over
the signature Of u, which has called
forth such TRADE of low personalities
and gratnitous insinnaticns from your
correspondent, Mr.. Frank N. Holmes.
Personalities in such case as this
proves nothing. II my statements were
erroneous. they must fall-if correct.
nothing that can be said concerning me
will prove them false. and weak indeed
must be the cause that relies upon such
means to bolster it up. Promising TO
indulge limo personalities, unlessforced.
I must again beg for space in your COL
umns TO reply to his article. and to tell
him that his soft handling has done me
no harm.
He says, that my communication was
an unprovoked and malicious attack.
Now it is every mans right TO correct
statements that he thinks are incorrect,
no matter by whom they are made. and
the righteousness thereof deny, though
if any could be proved it is more than
counterbalanced BY the superabundance
of it in his own article. l acknowl-
edged the gentlemen who compose the
School Board to be honorable and in
telligent men. Must I also ackuowl.
edge their views to be correct =? Are
such men infallible Is it impossible
for them to make mistakes? The gen.
tleman certainly has not studied bisto-
~ very closely, and mnst also be ignor-
ant of the common occurrences of eve.
ry-day life if be thinks so. When
used the words honorable and intelli.
gent, ! did not mean to convey the idea
that all wisdom and honor were centred
in the present Board, but used them as
would in speaking of many other of
nv fellow-citizens. He believes that
the School Board is now upon the rag.
ing sea, awaiting the current to serve,
in order to Put in execution their glcri-
ows rie,cs. Would it not be well for
them to paddle little : The current
may never serve, or they may get be-
logged and drift into the wrong one
Methinks (and guess my thoughts are
as good as Mr. Holmes, despite bisego-
tism,) that some such catastrophe awaits
them.
He contends that the schools. nine or
ten in number, were closed under
pressure Of inexorable necessity. He
attempts to prove, by statistics and CAL
culation, that there are too many schools
in the county; that with twenty five
schools no child would have to walk
more than two miles, and states that
the Board Of School Commissioners in
closing those schools carried out their
oath Of Office The same necessity for
closing them has existed over Eve years,
why were they not closed before And
il their oath compelled them to close,
| why has not the present Board COM
piled with it sooner? II certainly takes
If with twenty-five schools no child
would have to walk two miles, how is
it that mine would have 10 walk nearly
four miles to attend one, and there are
men similarly situated in other parts of
the county? Aud why is it, that so
many children were kept at home when
the schools were closed? 1t is not to
be supposed that so many would have
! deprived their children of the benefits
of the schools if they could have avoid
ed it. Apart from these considerations,
was it justice to close them? If there
are nine or ten pupils IN school who
attend regularly and the rest do not,
an inexorab.e necessity perhaps keep
| ing them at home, the nine or ten can
not reach an average attendance of ten,
that school must he closed, aud their
parents must see their hard earnings GO
to support the education of other men s
children. while theirs must stay at home
If this be just, save me from such JUS
| tice! As the School Board are going
TO wait for current, would it not have
been better for them to have waited for
one that would have given them back
the State tax of Is eentsf They could
then, with very little help from the
county, have paid the accumulated debt
and divided the county properly into
school districts without any injustice
to any one.
He then intimates. or in fact states,
that the outburst of sympathy on my
part was for the poor BUSTED teachers,
Of which nigh; have been one. / re-
signed the school was teaching nearly
four Years ago, and the patrons a, d
trustees without one dissenting voice
urged me to continue with them. Con-
corning those who were ousted, | have
nothing to say. 1 presume they can
take care of themselves. pronounced
his statement, that there were no teach
ers holding irst grade certificates in the
county at the time Of Mr.. Tippetts APP
pointment to he incorrect. He now
SAYS that he will admit there were some,