The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1876-05-18
TIE KENoSHA TELEGRAPH
KENosHA, WIS.,, MAY 18, 1875
PROF MARYATT REPLIES TO CUR
ARTICLE, SCHOOL SESSION OF
FIVE HOURS .

Session of Five Hours, of two weeks
ago. The Prof. commences by saying,
"Thls afternoon my attention was called
to an article entitled School Session OF
Five Hours, in your last issue" From
this we infer that Prof MaryatS speaks
partly for those who called his attention
to the article rather than for himself
only, and we shall give him the benefit
of it.
The Prof. calls our attention to what
he calls errors in regard to matters OF
fact in our article. The session of the
High School is now five hours and a
half and not five hours as we gave If, and
before the change, there were not two
sessions of three hours each, but two
sessions, the last of VIII CHI was only two
and one half hours. If the SchoolBoard
had kept the press and the people inform
ed of their doings these errors would not
have appeared. They are however of
comparatively little Importance.
The Prof's 3. and 4 errors in regard to
matters of fact, as he considers them,
being of great importance, we shall con-
slider then separately. His 3. is as
follows: That the high school pupils
have not a right to petition the board of
education for any change they may de-
sire" In this the Prof. commits an
error in regard to what he would call
matter Of fact. In our article we no
place spoke of the High School pupils.
We spoke of the School Board having
granted the petition of the High School
to have but one School session a day, &c.
But by the High School we meant much
more than the pupils of the High Scnool'
We thought that the teachers constitut
ed very important part of the High
School and included them. But it APP
pears from Prof. Maryatt that the pupils
only petitioned and that the change was
granted on their petition only. We are
glad to be thus early set right in this re-
spect, for it shows the case to be worse
than we had even supposed
We deny emphatically that it IS an
error to hold "That the nigh shool pupils
have not the right to petition the board
of education for any change they may
desire" They have no right to petition
for anything wrong however much they
may desire it. Does Prof. Msryatt hold
that they have? Does he and they fol
whom he speaks hold that they would
have right TO petition for the estab-
ment of whisky saloon III some room
of the High School House?
We acknowledge the right of petition
We know that the people have the right
to peaceably assemble, and to petition the
government for redress of grievances
to assemble to consult upon the public
good, ard to petition the government Oh
any department thereof But who are
the people who have these rights? Are
they the unborn babies9 Are they the
infants of infant schools? Are they the
pupils of high schools? If the pupils OF
high schools, and not unborn babies,
where does the right come IN between?
The State of Wisconsin and we believe
all the States have provided by law When
- oE nd NO
authorized to act for himself. Prof.
4Iaryatt says: "All the pupils in the
high school on the day the petition was
sent to the board had signed it, and
nineteen-twentieths of them were en-
Enthusiastically In favor oft" He neglects
however to inform the public how many
of these were of age and had the right
to act for themselves. We will venture
the opinion that over one half were uE-
der age-peIhaps all the nineteen
tWentieths who were so enthusiastically
in favor of the change, And we will
ask just here, what right have pupils of
the High School or any other persons
under age to petition the School Board
Before the days of Young America it
would have been thought that common
mSdesty and self-respsct would
withhold the names of all the pupils
under age from the petition. But Young
America had entered theHigh School and
captured the teachers. Wanting a change,
it deigned, for TIE time being, to petition
the Board of Education, and the Board
hastened to grant the petition, without
deigning to inform the public. Young
America rules the High School.
Prof. Maryatt says: 81. Tt also seems
to me an error te maintain that the
board of education had not the right to
make the change" This is not fair
representation of our position. Our
position was and is that the board had no
right to make the change unless the
public good required it. This is our
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