Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1878-08-07
Few Nuts for the School Board to
Crack.

Any body Of men, ignorant of the fact
that FIVE is a majority of eight cannot be
expected to know much about law or any
thing else; hence it is not surprising that
the school board should have acted illegal
ly in contracting to build school house at
this time The law specifically says that
1.-THE board shall be governed in its expen
d:tures by the amount of money subject to
its order for the particular purpose it is
proposed to use it," 1t is we'll known
fact there is not dollar in the treasury
which was raised for the purpose of erect
ing school buildings, and further that there
has not been any tax levied this year for
that object. Funds raised for a specific
purpose cannot be diverted to other uses.
Suppose there were no such Limitation to
the powers of the board. 1t might expend
money which should 60 towards paying
teachers, to the erection of costly edifce
or any other purpose it saw fit, and in tina:
way find itself without means to keep the
schools running. The intent Of the law is
to guard against any such contingency, aod
the wisdom OF such provision is strikingly
manifest at this time. Such school board
as we have now cannot be too severely
muzzled.
At the Indignation meeting held at
Turner Hall last Friday evening, Prof.
Gaebler. was called on to explain his posi-
ton in the school shanty matter. He did SO,
but made iamentable failure in satisfying
any one with his action. He admits that
there is a vacant room in the 9Th ward
school building which might be used. but
claims that his constituents would not be
satisfied to have their children sent there.
But he is perfectly willing to compel the
18th ward children to travel three or four
times further, to reach the lst ward, or be
denied school privileges entirely. How Is
this for consistency? Mr.. G. is afraid his
popularity will suffer in the I'd ward by
doing what common sense suggests should be
done, but the gentleman need give himself
no further uneasiness on that score. He
stands better chance of being struck by
lightning than he does of reelection
When his term expires he will be permitted
to retire to private life. The school ring"
of which he is prominent member. has
received a staggering blow from which it
| will II 70 ha bod
Smash the ring" is now the watch
word with reference to school matte rs. The
"you tickle me and I'll tickle you" process,
which has been so long in vogue among the
ringsters, must be stopped. "You vote to
and I'll vote for your sister," has been the
bane Of the school system too long. The
people must take the matter in hand and
'clean out" the fellows who trade and
dicker in positions this way, and who seek
elections as members of the board for no
other purpose than to quarter their rela-
tives upon the city as teachers, to the eX-
clusion of those Who are better qualified
and more deserving. This has been doue
and every body knows it.
AT one Of the special meetings of the
SCH DOL board, called to consider the remon-
stance against the 1st ward shanty school
house, there were five members present, TO-
wit. Messrs. Specht, WILDER, Reubhausen,
Chadwick and Supt. Ninman. They decid-
ed that it required another member to con :
stitute quorum, and consequently trans
acted no business. But section 10 of the
school law says that ia majority Of the
board shall constitute quorum We SUP
posed that five is a majority of eight, bu
according to the school board this is mis-
take. A bright lot of fellows, that school,
board is!
Miss Josie Reubhausen, daughter o.
Mr.. C. Reubhausen, is engaged as one of the
teachers in tbs public schools P. S.-Mr
Reubhausen is member of the school
board, and we may add, of ''the ring also
Whatever else may be said of WILDER
and Reubhausen with reference to their
action in the school shanty business, they
have been frank and straightforw
throughout in their meanness and inconsis-
tency. They have not, as other members OF
the school board have, straddled the fence
and played double. WILDER has shown
himself to be communistic blatherskite by
declaring his qualification at 'seeing the lst
ward aristocrats squirm, d-n EN-" We
suppose he alludes to people there,
who, unlike him, put on clean shirt every
day or two, and, unlike him again, have
some regard for their personal standing and
appearance But to dub them as arstocrats
and betray the animosi:y he does, shows
the meanest of dispositions, and provokes q
pang of regret that such creatures as he
should occupy official positions where they