Connecticut western news., 1879-07-02
That school Meeting Again.

I
 That school Meeting Again.
 MR. Ep1roR:-I see by last weeks NEWS that M'. Confo1naist IS still disposed to point out, ln this pubic way, what he calls faults in me. while be continues to sneak behind | the word Conformist, and wishes me not to so far depart from the Christian spirit as | to grudge him the benefit of at least a ardioe prompt him to withhold his name. | Well, to accommodate him l will say, pos. slbly he is a little loose in hls mental. moral and legal hinges, and without back bone, poor human nature.
 He says that am suffering from another attack of a chrome allment peculiar to my self. He has no reason and no occasion, or | no excuse for making such an assertion. only. if possible he may make me appear crotchety. MT. Conformist says that he now leaves the school question. I consid- CT our publ llc schools of too much Import. ance to be left until the right is establish ed. notice that in all that MT. Conform lst says, he does not say that they had sny legal or moral right to vote tax of 25 cts. a week, to be paid by each scholar attend Ing the school. Conformist says, Suffice 1t to know that the vote passed, and IS now virtual law" I say the district had no right to pass such a vote, therefore it IS no law: Now let us go back little and look at this matter.
 At town meeting held Oct. 2d, 1876, 8 committee was appointed to consider the
 
 port what action 1t IS advlsabie for the town to take, at 8 special meeting called in November next for that purpose. A speclal town nee: ing was held November 7th. 1878 and adjourned to November ii, 1876, and was neld November 1876 for the purpose of recei ving tue report of the co l. m, Jtee that had been appointed to consider the report of the board of education and make re- pert ln relation to establishing high school. The committee reported On the high school question and thelr report was accepted by the town. The committee says, We arc of the opinion that it would be tor the best interest of the town to es- tablish and maintain a school of the grade | recommended ln sad report of tho board Of education at a convenient poInt in either District No. or District No 9, providing suitable accommodatlons for said school are furnished by the district Tn which 1t Is esta bllshed free of expense to the town" Now the board of education reported as follows: The plan ID general would be the maintenance of what is known in other places as The High School under first rate teacher or teachers, to which children, lbovs and Rlrls) should be admitted from the district schools on examination, when such youths wished to pursue courses of | t''5ct schools"
 On November 27th, 1876 school meeting was called ln thls district, and at the school meetlng these dolrRs ot the town were board of education recommended that this town maintain & high school. The com mlttee appointed by the town to consider the report of the board of education, re- ported to the town that they recommer d. ed the town to establish and maintain a school of the grade as reported by the board of education, providing suitable &C., commodatlons for said school be furnished by. the dlstr1ct.-snd the town accepted this report and at the school meeting this proposition was made to this district Ralse five thousand dollars and build a suitable house for high school. and the | town will malntaln 1t as they have agreed | to do and all will have an opportunity of | fitting your children tor college free of ex- pense. This was urged upon the district | by the same men who are now pressing up- on us unJustly, the tax of 25 cts. week for each scholar. We raised the five thousand dollars and built the school house, expect ing to receive the benefits promised. If | we had been told that we were to have | only common school advantages. we should nave sad at once we will not raise five thousand dollars, for half of that amount would have built as good a house as we needed for common district school.
 ora mf tbs hnnsn says Ihe question now be- citizen, or do you not recognize the authority of the meeting" Well, style myself law abiding citizen and say you cannot show any i thing to the contrary. say further, do not | strictions upon the public school money. And | now, 8 question for you to answer: Has this district any sovereign right to cheat2 When lndlylduals obtain goods upon false pretsnses, punishes it accordingly. If they turn robbers, the law regards them as felons and shuts them up in the State prison. So long as this district | continues to hold our school house in the way in which 1t is now held, it is property obtained upon false pretenses. So long as this district continues to deprive children of their unalien- able rights, they are robbing them. Now then, who is the law-abiding citizen, he that is do- Trarr fhncn l kl,o4 sz humble way to stop such thingsS Mir Con formist says s'Let us look at the policy and le. gality of the doings of this meeting which you question" From this he goes on denying some things that had said, and does not tell us one word about the policy or legality of the doings of the meeting. Please try to tell us all about it, will you2
 MT. Conformist says ssLet us examine vour quotation of that part of the statutes which you select and pervert to argue your side of the question:" But he does not undertake to tell us how the statute does read, which he says selected and perverted. say shame to any man that will sneakingly publish that man has been guilty of perverting the law and | not tell wherein he has perverted the law. | say sneakingly publish, because he withholds | his name. challenge you to show that per l verted one word of the statutes. If this man | behind the bush could have shown that had | perverted any law, he would have shown that | the very first thing. Mir. Conformist says ''Do | you want your neighbors' children to pay for | your daughters Latin, Rhetoric or Algebra | tuition ?" I answer, by no means and I have | never asked any such thing. ask, Do you | want your neighbors' children to pay 25 cents | week for your individual qualification MT. Conformist says 'Let us see whether there IS not legal or moral obligation resting upon you | You sent your daughter to that school, know ing that certain higher branches, entailing in creased expense, were being taught there." Legally, that school is just as much free school as any other school, and no matter what I knew, or what did not know. We will allow that did know what was taught there. and will say 1st, In consideration of our building 8 1000 school house we were to have all of these advantages. 2nd, The teacher of this school has had the privilege of taking into our school twenty scholars from outside of the dis trict, the tuition of which was to go and did go directly to the teacher; and he has taken more or less scholars from out of the district all the time. Now, what was this privilege granted to | him for2 I suppose 1t was in consideration of his teaching our scholars something more than merely the common district school branches Would 8 teacher use our school house in that be right2
 MT. Conformist talks about loophole out of which might crawl, and then goes on and says "You have legally incurred a moral obli- gation of 25 cents 8 week by taking the adyan- tages you have." Now if this is really, truly 90, why does not the district ask me to pay this 25 cents a weekp The district has never
 -'I Th~--- '. V yet asked me to pay incurred no ou- III that I have been asked to pay, why talk lbout my crawling out of a loophole2 Mr. Con- ormist says "The greatest good to the great ast number. not the greAtest good you to l.,