The weekly Thibodaux sentinel and journal of the 8th Senatorial District. [volume] (Thibodaux, Lna. [i.e. La.]) 1875-1898, 1880-04-03
The Peabody Fund.

lie Education aud Agent of the
Peabody Fund in Louisiana, in
reply to an article in the SENTI-
MEL OF the Saturday previous.
We also printed a letter writ
ten by Nj. Sears previous t" or
about the time in which the De
mocratic nominations for State
Officers was made, stating what
would be dOne in certain cOntin~
gencieS.
In that circular he says:
II DO not think we. shall do anything for
schools i'll Louisiana unless she sky there
lights up and brightens."
The contingency which this Cir
cnlar apprehended has occurred
The State Tue afforded by the rev
enue law of 1880 will amount to
very little in the way OF maintain
ing public free schools.
On the 2lst. of April 1879 when
there was a proposition in the
Convention, then framing a new
constitution, to abolish the Office
of Superintendent of Public Edu.
cation, and place the duties of
that Office in the hands of the Sec
Rotary of State, Mr.. Sears wrote
a letter to Mr.. LuSher which was
sent ont into the State, as a circu
lar, in which the following Ian
guage was used:
If your Convention makes no provision
or leaves no room, tor a State SuDerinten
dent, it will be a fatal blow to your public
schools. =
II Louisiana goes backward instead of
forward, We shall withdraw our aid from
the schools. The object of the Peabody
Fund is to promote Education By building
up u good system OF public schools. If a
State strike at the vital part of the system,
we take no share in the work of destruc-
ton"
These two letters published as
circulars, form the foundation up
on which u criticism was based.
The State Legislature has not es-
tablished any system that will
keep mp free schools for all her
educable children twO' months in
the year, aud it was upon the
coming Of just such Il contingent
CT that Dr.. Sears wrote on No
vember Is, 1879.
Il do not think we shall do anything for
schools in Louisiana"
Suppose the State Convention
had given charge OF the distribu.
ton OF the school mOnies to the
Secretary Of State, as was pro.
posed, did not the Agent say in
his letter of April 81 1879 that
1--WE shall withdraw our aid from
her schools p
1t is very probable that the
earnestness of the Venerable Agt.
of the Peabody Fund intended
his letters aud opinions to be ad
visory only, bnt to onr mind his
method OF advice looks very pecu
liar and is rather pointed.
We firmly believe chat if those
letters had never been written,
that Nj. Lnsher would have been
nominated by the Baton Rouge
conventions, almost without Oppo-
sition, and reelected State Super
intendent Of Public Education.
Mr.. Lusher quotes in substance,
a resolution PASSED by the Parish
Board of School Directors which
declared that, he was the caudi-
date Of that Board, eminently
worthy of support by white and
colored voters without distinction
Of party" That resolution was
written by the writer OF this arti-
Gle, presented by him to the
Board where it was unanimously
adopted. He would do the same
thing to day were the c,rcumstan
ces similar.
His long experience in the Of
flee Of Superintendent of Public
Education and his extraordinary
energy therein, proved that nc
better man could have been selec
ted. But that had nothing to dc
with our criticism. If DIR. Sears
believed Nj. Lusher to be the
most suitable person to fill tina,
Office, We agreed with him exact.
~.
We gave the reason why We
honestly believe he was not noni
mated and Mr.. Lnsher's letter
does not change our opinion.
That eminent Philanthropist
Mr.. Peabody left a large sum OF
money, the revenues from which,
were to be used for the promotion
OF free education in the Southern
United States. A Board of Trus
tees are appointed to distribute
that fund. That Board OH June
p, 1872 ordered that
For all regulated public free schools, con
tinued about ten months in the wear. AM
having y regular attendance of not less thar
!Oo pupils sverag. IS per csfif We pay $3.50
lou 4" - a50
200 " q /" 500
Soo $40
WO " /" 1000
The people are to pay. for current expen
ses, at least twice, and usually three time.
as much as they receive from the fund
and are to bear all the expenses of erect
ing and repairing. aud furnishing schoo
houses"
This is what the Bourd W::Tru.
tees require, to. obtain aid from
the Peabody Fund. There is moi
a word said as to how that mon
ey Ia raised which the neonla nay,