Omaha daily bee., 1881-08-29

SOME OF THE CEREMONIES ATTENDING
ITS DEDICATION.

In oSIIOOA
SOME OF II CEREMONIES ATTENDING
ITS DEDICATION.
At an early hour Friday evening
the citizens of Council Bluffs mani.
tested their appreciation of the grand
work accomplished by our schools
by vending their way to the new
Boomer school building. Prof.
Olkers' band had preceded them, and
as the crowd filed in played a beauti.
full air. Promptly at 1880 o'clock the
band entered the building and took
up a position in the real of the spac.
ious platform, and were immediately
followed by the presidentof the board,
l.. Il. Murphy, ~escorting Hon.
James Il. Wilson, Hon. w. III. M.
Pussy, Hon. ID. @. Bloomer,
Judge Loofborou and Col. Daley.
The following gentlemen we're after.
wards invited by Spencer Smith to
take seats upon the platform: Hon.
j. =. Cassidy, Herman Brown, @.
i. Driscoll, Charles Straub, Charley
Crawl. The band played an opening
piece, after which the president of the
school board, L. Il. Murphy, IN a very
pleasant and unassuming way deliv-
cred the welcoming address briefly.
At the conclusion Of Mr. Murphy s
remarks Rev. +. II. Webb invoked
the divine blessing. Mr.. e. e. Ayles-
worth was then introduced and spoke
briefly, giving tho audience some idea
of the inception and contamination of
the grand work. Mr.. Aylesworth
was frequently applauded and con-
Guided in paying n beautiful tri-
butte to Hon. ID. G. Bloomer,
after whom the school building
had been named. 1t was then an
nounced that Mr.. and Mrs. l.. M.
Treynor would favor the audience
with vocal music. They sang a selec-
ton appropriate to the occasion. At
ter the duett MI. ID. G. Bloomer, the
gentleman whose untiring zeal in be-
half of the building of schools in this
city has been ever recognized, was in
PRODUCED. Mr.. Bloomer was heartily
applauded. He thanked the audience
for the honor bestowed upon him and
briefly reviewed the school work that
had been done in this city, in conclu-
sion Mr.. Bloomer said:
"There have been criticisms of late
upon u whole public school system,
and IN II of the leading periodicals
common schools have been declared a
failure. Such a declaration is simply
absurd and preposterous. They are
not failures, but a great success. They
are educating a nation of frecmen for
the higher duties of American citizen
ship. They may be improved, and
should be, and will be. Each year
they will extend wider their beneficial
influence and grow better and better.
They are tho colleges of the people,
open alike to all; and that they may
ever prosper throughout the extent OF
our broad land is certainly the prayer
of ever true lover Of his country and
of humanity"
Prof. Farnham, superintendent of
our schools, WAS then introduced, and
spoke briefly OF our schools and teach
ers. As we gathered all the different
materials and had them fashioned
into this building by skilled
workmen, so we must en-
ploy skilled teachers to fashion
the minds of our children. The work
accomplished in building this edifce
was grand, but there was still n more
important work to be done by the
teachers of II city. For what they
had done in the past he commended
them to the favorable consideration of
the citizens of Council Bluffs. At
the close of Mr.. Farnham's address,
the Misses Hewitt and Messrs. Pen.
nell and Westervel rendered n charm.
ing q%uartette. Hon. w. IL. NJ. Pussy
was then introduced. Mr.. Pusey
seemed in good humor, and delivered
a very eloquent address.
Hon. James F. Wilson was the next
speaker. Mr.. Wilson is a medium
sized man, with short gray hair that
stands up from his forehead as An
~" ""Sooh 10 iSpiSScllteu IS
thinks a great deal of his country and
her schools, and doesn't, we think,
forget Wilson. There was not a par
ticle of politics mixed with the ad-
dress, but from the beginning to the
close it was filed with rich, pointed
thoughts, a little abstruse at first, yet
it was excellent. He gave a full his
tory of our state school system, and
an idea of what the taxpayers have
to carry when we consider the edu-
cation of children is costing g
ly four millions per n u We
never met Mr. Wilson, but really be-
lieve he would make a very good
United States Senator.
MIR. COLLINS, of the Methodist church,
pronounced tho benedictIon, and the
large audience dispersed, having en-.
Ioyed an evening long to be remem
bered.
THE HORSEPOWER.
Both the lady contestants for the
big prize to be given to the winner
next Saturday have arrived in the