Connecticut western news., 1879-06-18

this high grade of school. The opposition was to thls rider, which. as think, is ille- gal and robs the children of this district of ,i. thelr rights; mt We are all interested in the 1t sacrificed to any personal ends. A pub lie school cannot legally be made prlvate. A scholar without one cent to pay with has just as much right there as the scholar who and the public has it's rights, which 1t ought to demand. When I speak of the public do not mean the rich or poor, high or low, but l mean everybody; had 2 25 cents week for each scholar in the dis trict was illegal and wrong. As am small part of the public n this district. had right to ask for the legal authority for putting on thls tuition of 25 cents 8 week. and 1 was very sorry that any man there should so lose his personal dignity as to give personal insults instead of manly answers.
 ot perhaps 50 pupils who attended last year those of only two were disatfected and re- fused to pay.' Let us see about thls. 1st, Who does this mean to hit? At the school had pad the 25 cents week tuition except MT. Shields and myself. Therefore, that | means us, but there are not one-half of 50 families in this district who have sent | scholars to that school during the past year. And End, l have never refused to pay tho l 25 cents a week tuition, and no one can truthfully say that Il have refused to pay, but to the contraryI have sad am ready to pay when you show me that am legally or morally obligated to pay. take this ground. There are four hundred dollars of public money appropriated to tbat school annually; it is public school house, and now, so long as this tour hundred dollars of pubic money will run that school, just SO long must 1t be free common school. or l else there IS 8 mIsappropriation of the pub lie school funds. The law says this money shall be used for public schools. All that1 | asked and all that l said at that school meeting was nothing more than citizen IS | in duty bound to say and to do for the pub l ic good l was anxious that thus school should be governed by the legal principles of right ln general, and not by the special convenience of few. Mir. Conformist says ''Of course much will be sad about the propriety of charging tuition fee m free common school, but the law as read at this meeting plainly directs it," I ask, can Q school be free common school which ad- | nlits no scholar except that scholar pays Q tuition fee? AS l read the law such thing cannot be, and the law does not direct any such thlng. The law says If any district { maintains school of a higher order than | IS required by law, the cost of such school above the sum received by such district from the town, snail be paid by tax laid | by said district" Ilthink this law is good and right. Public schools should be open and free to all those who have no money to pay tuition fee.
 MT. Conformist says, "Any man of common sense will see at once the advantage of school of high grade in this place.' O yes, I see that, but l do not see the common sense of your theory of free, common school. Mir. Con- formist says, And what can be said of the principles of honesty which prompt man to consult the statute book to ascertain whether or not he is legally bound to pay for an article or privilege of which he does not deny having availed himself?'' At the school meeting the question was put to me, Has your daughter attended, and had the privileges of this scheol?" I answered s'yes and will pay all that I am legally or morally obligated to pay" So suppose that 1t is plainly understood by all who attended that school meeting, that this fling at the principles of honesty of q man, means me, and think it too low, to contempt ible to say much about. Notwithstanding I may be ln the minority, have not just as good right to what is nline by ldac, as any. body else? Have no right to ask for myself the individual interest coming to me from the great public, without being called dishonest Have no right to try to secure to u0 in this district the common rights2 The weakest ones in the district have their rights, which we all have a right to demand constantly and righteously. Might does not make right pop ular opinions are not always wise ones. have no right to be a conformist to popular opinion just because 1t Is popular opinion; l am in | duty, bound to do what can towards securing to the public what are their rights. An indiv:d. ual is, on the one hand representative of the public welfare, and on the other hand an in- dependent parsonage. I try always to act with view of my responsibility to God and man, careful always not to conform to the world, the flesh, or the devil
 And now word to MT. Conformist. When you contradicted the statement made by the reporter of the NEWS in his report of the school meeting, you contradicted what you knew to be the truth, that is. if you were pres ent at the meeting. You say ''The sentiment was clearly tested in the vote for district com mittee, which stood 31 to D." I ask, what had this vote for the committee to do with the vote which virtually changed free school to private school2 Were there two distinct par ties there? Were there 3l on your side and 5 on our side? I did not know that you had the school meeting packed in this way, but a man that publishes an article full of personali- ties and withholds his name, is always ashamed or afraid to be known-a coward.
 P. o. CUMMINGS