The weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1878-1881, 1881-06-07
WHAT IS TO BE DONE?

n dCC W cndule tuc peopic VI Duttc ~
build a school house," This act empowered
the Trustees of this district to issue coupon
bonds to an amount not to exceed $4,000,
which bonds shall become due and payable
in six years, and shall be redeemable IN one
| year at the pleasure of the Trustees after one
year from the date of the issue thereof and
shall bear interest at a rate not exceeding
7 per cent. per mum, interest payable semi
annually. The act also further provides that
the bonds shall be sold by the Trustees or
their authorized agents at not less than 95
cents on the dollar ON the face thereof. The
act was submitted to the legal voters of the
district and was almost unanimously approx
ed by them. In pursuance of one of the
provisions Of the act the trustees were requir-
ed to advertise the time and place for the
sale of the bonds. This they did, but on the
day appointed for the sale no bidders appear
ed. Tie bonds have since been advertised
for sale, but up to the present time no one
has come forward to purchase them. The
absence of purchasers may be accounted for
in the fact that our home capitalists can find
more profitable investment for their money
than in the purchase of 7 per cent. interest
bearing bonds. The simple fact that the
district actually needs additional school facil-
tiles cuts no figure in the sale of these secu-
rites. Men of means view their purchase
from a purely business. standpoint. If 1t will
pay to invest in 7 per cent. bonds they can be
sold, but if better use can be made of the
money they cannot. This is the whole mat
ter in a nutshell. There can be no fault
found with the security. The faith and cred
for their payment. The simple fact is our
home capitalists can invest their means in
enterpriseo that secure for them larger rates
of interest than the bonds afford. While this
fact presents a fiattering commentary on the
prosperity and permanence of the city and in
itself furnishes additional reasons why an
other school building should be erected it
adds nothing to the value of the bonds nor
tempts capital to invest in in them.
The questions that now present themselves
for the consideration of the people OF Butte
are, first: Can the public school in the dis
trict be successfully carried on with the pres
ent accommodations for pupils? If not,
what can be done under the present circum-
stances to increase them? In answer to the
first question we submit the following facts /:
At the last school census this district had 1892
children of school age-that is, youths be-
tween 4 and 81 years of age, and seating
room in its school buildings-including those
of Walkervllle and Travonia for only
about 800 pupils. Again the an
nual increase in school census
children for the past three or four years has
been about 80 per cent. At this ratio of in
crease the number Of school census children
reach about 1850. In 1882 there will be
over l, 100 and in 1883, over 1920. Thus it
will be seen that the district must have addi-
tional school room, or a great portion of the
children in the district will be denied the priv
ilege of attending the public schools. As it
is a self-evident fact that a pint cup cannot
contain a quart of water, it is quite as plain
hat seats for only five hundred pupils cannot
be occupied at the same time by 1000. Room
must be had and the cheapest and surest way
to obtain it is to build another school build
ing.
The second question; What can be done
under the circumstances to increase our
school facilities is not so easily answered. If
the bonds can be sold the question is solved
and the trustees will be placed in possession
of ample funds TO build and furnish the needed
rooms. In view of the importance of secur.
ing means for the erection of this much need
ed building, we would suggest to the public
spirited citizens of this district, that in the
event the trustees or their lawfully author
lied agents fail to dispose of the bonds, that
they themselves form a syndicate and take
them all. If twenty-four of our citizens
would each buy a $500 bond, the bnilding
could be Immediately commenced and finish
ed in time for the fall session of the coming
term. We believe that the public spirited
citizens of the district will take these bonds
rather than see the interests and prosperity OF
the city jeopardized by the absence of proper
school accommodations for the children that
we have and for those to come. Commodi-
Gus school buildings are among the best and
most effective advertisements that can be
made for a place. Their presence invites the
most desirable class of immigrants
Their absence is a warning to par
ents to take their families elsewhere
Can the citizens of Butte afford to turn tha
class of people from is doors whose
presence would contribute to the sta
bility and add to the prosperity o.
their promising city? We think not.
The New York Truth of a recent date, il