Connecticut western news., 1879-07-16
Thnt school Question Again.

MR. EDITOR In my last gave my deter. | imitation to leave the field to my worthy op- ponent, but l see he has taken pains, without attempting to reply to my questions, to place | me in such a light as to render my retreat in- 1 glorious Here are substantially some. of the | Drs. arguments :'-"Conformist is without l backbone, Q sneak, & coward, calumniator, | lunatic, n liar, cheat, a tIief," etc. He syR- moral obligation, and docs not recognize any district authority. He opposes the straight | forward question of moral right with . lot of | puerile invectives and whining "explanatio Ho built $5,000 school house. etc., entitling | him to free pass' through college. Should the .tdct that the school house cost 5,0O0 be l considered an equivalent for the services of | the teacher? The Dr. says, "In consideration of our building S5,000 school house we were | to have all these advantages, ,"-that is, the | higher branches. If we had $100, QUO school | house we would necessarily need Q teacher | whose services are worth just so much neither l in a palace or log cabin.
 | The Dr. wants the district to pay for his daughters education, but he burnishea up the phraseology of the demand to exprss an in- | born yearning to do "the greatest good to the greatest number" He has of course the sym- pathy of the class without one cent to pay with" just so far-refuse to pay the obligation. There this sympathy ceases, When he pro- poses to unjustly impose a tax upon the very class he proiesses to champion, and that n0t through blind zeal for their welfare, but
 
 open to the belittling charge of resorting to the Dr's. own weapons.-I say when he at- tempts to impose tax upon his own "sympa- thizers" CD he Is ut once shorn of whatever credit might be due him for assuming the role of Moses, with an honest purpose of leading the class without one cont to pay with" to victory, and a complete restoration of what he is pleased to call their 'unalienable rights, '- of which, in fact, they have never been de. prived Take as an illustration part of an rI hptwppn nn-- one day laborer-just after the much talked of school meeting, which was about as fol- lows:
 business into their own hands again.p
 would be present to carry the meeting the other way. Why wasn't you there p'
 "ol, lts nGtmng to me, my childrene don't go into that department"
 This was representative of the "greatest number" The issue of the meeting could be of so little importance to him that he did not attend. Suppose however the meeting had been called "to see about laying tax on the district to support the room of high grade" It is safe to infer that this man (who owns little place) would see very quickly that the Issue was of importance to him, and he would be present to enter his protest.
 In my last l said that the district was large- y in favor of the present method. Cummings says ''I doubt that" Of course such an an. swer is altogether satisfactory, but it doesn't alter the tdct. The plan IS in favor with that part of the district which is effected by it and who alone could be excusable for protesting. Show mo one disatfected one and will point out ten warm supporters of the plan, He says he has never been asked to pay this obligation. If the sending of bill of indebtedness is not solicitation of its payment, then he speaks the truth. He goes on to tell about what the teacher has been doing, and asks if it is right. My last article cautioned him thusly :-SDo the teacher to bias your convictions of the legality or ilegality of the districts meas ures." The doings or lnisdoings of the teacher are altogether foreign to the question It Continued on next pagel l