The silver state. [volume] (Unionville, Nev.) 1870-1903, 1880-07-12
THE LOvELOCK SCHOOL FURNITURE.
what the Comfy superintendent Of
schools has 10 say about 1t.


tice lately inserted in your columns, l
see that the Board of Trustees of Big
Meadows School District No. propose
selling enough of the school desks to
seat 80 or 40 pupils This matter of
school furniture at Lovelock is getting
to be quite haekneyed subject, but as
a strained effort has more than once
been made to cast the veil Of censrre
over an innocent party, | deem it
duty owe to myself as well as to the
public to state certain facts bearing
upon the case, as corroborated by let
tiers, documents and figures on file in
my office and open for the inspection of
anyone DESTROYS Of satisfying himself
upon the subject. | was authorized by
the acting Trustees OF Big Meadows to
negotiate with A. L. Bancroft & Co.
for the purchase of the furniture needed
to supply the two houses then being
built. Before that furniture was or
dered ! made careful estimate of the
number of seats required to fill the
houses, exclusive of aisles and space for
Rotations, and took the precantion to
send the schedule to the Trustees for
approval. 1t was returned to me, with
instructions indorsed thereon, to go
ahead and carry out the suggestions /
had made. The order for supplies was
made out from this approved statement
and Bancroft's original Invoice bills
now in my possession conform to this
statement in every particular. His bill
charges the upper house with IA single
and Ii double desks, and the lower
house with 10 single and 10 double
desks. The former, it will be observed,
gives a seating capacity of ~ and the
latter OF 80 pupils. The funds of Big
Meadows School District paid for just
that number--no more, no less. The
house at Lovelock is 40 by p feet, and
anyone capable of making mathemati-
cal calculation can demonstrate that it
has capacity for four tiers of Triumph
Seats, with seven in each tier, and then
have ample room tor aisles and recita-
tions, Il properly adjusted. From this
it will be seen that if the Board dispose
Of the maximum number advertised,
they will have seats for just two pupils
left. 1t seems to me that one of two
things is eertain-either Mr.. Bancroft
sent the Trustees more furniture than
was ordered by me and never charged
for the surplus, or else the Boards ad-
vertisement is gross exaggeratlon OF
the quantity on hand that they cannot
use. Now, if there are more than %
desks at the upper and 20 at the lower
house, it necessarily follows that the
surplus is not the property of the Dis
trict, bat belongs of right to Bancroft
& Co., who, by some mistake Of the
shipper, sent them more than was or
dered. There is some mistake and
blame resting somewhere, and the pub
lie have right to know where it be-
longs. I, for one, am prepared to ex-
onorate myself Ii they only have
the number charged to them, then it is
questionable as to whether they have
the right to sell it, unless by vote of
the citizens they are instructed so to
do. Citizens will bear in mind that
when this yell about an overstocll of
furniture was first set up, dispatched
note to the Board stating that would
take off their hands all they did not
need, 1T prices that would preclude
their losing one cent. In response to
this notice / was informed that they
had decided to keep their furniture.
At that very time two other districts
were needing the furniture and were
ready to pay them the cash for it. In
view of these incontrovertible facts,
the pablic will not fail to recognize in
all this parade of 'snrplns furniture, j"
and the mourning OF the expense of adj
vertis,ng the same fer sale. something
less coumendable than the mere spirit
of economy. Ia conclusion, l deem it