The weekly Arizona miner., 1882-03-10
Communication From c. c. Bean.
PRESCOTT, March 8th, 1882.

the magnificent school house erected at a cost of SIP, 900 cannot be used for school purposes, and what kind of economy it is, or public necessity, or remarkable instinct of humanity, that thrusts Mir. Martin with thirty or forty of the most advanced school children into den that is about capacious enough for a good sized cell in the County Jail? A year ago last winter called at tention to the fact that this school house in one particular was nuisance; and I now call attention to the fact once more, and say that if any man in Prescott wants to get pleurisy, pneumonia, lung fever, bronchitis, laryngitis or lumbago, or rheumatism, and wants to contract one or all of these com plaints in three minutes by the watch, all he has to do is just to go into either of the school rooms of cold, windy day, when the gentle zephyrs from the San Francisco range on the north or the Hassayampa range on the south are on bender through the town of Prescott, stay in either of these rooms for an hour until he gets reasonably we'll warmed up, and then step out into the de- lightful hall, and if the gale that sweeps through there don't freeze the marrow in his bones in 3 min. by the watch, then its be- cause his bones are filled with something be- side marrow. These hall doors are north and south, and if. the wind ever blows in this country it IS from north and south, so that if you want to find the most exposed and most unprotected place in the coun- try for band of children, it is this spacious hall where the winds are in full blast, and there is not only the sound of revelry by night" but where, throughout the day, if you want te breathe in icles and snow drifts with every breath, you cando so by inhaling the atmosphere of the Free Academy hall it's all free; wont cost you cent and wont keep you waiting but minute. Colds, coughs, consumption, pooryoung ones, they can't dodge the chances, for there are no ladders at the windows, and no outside stair case; they must face the music, and that music is the whistling wind. The scripture saith, ''the wind bloweth where it isteths- and ye hear the sound thereeeif,but canst not tell whence it ceMeth nor whither it goeth." ltthhst verse had not been written long -3sfore the erection of the Prescott Free Academp, I should say that it was mistake, it comes from the north or from the south, and it goes for the school house and its occupants. Cannot this thing be remedied? If the doors of the building were east and west, instead of north and south, iiture would be all the difference in the world; then hall doors would be closed and kept closed against the ''po-go-nip" or any other nip, and the children could get in and out. 4 great many of these poor little creatures are thinly clad. It has been a hard winter-what call tough wagging for even robust, sinewy and resolute men, and morning and evening have passed through the throng of little folks on their way to or from the school room, and noticed iR good many instances how insufficient was the scanty shawl or covering of some of the little girls as they rugged through the snow and mud. A large wooden porch, front and back, with swinging blanket doors, opening only to the right, so that those who were going out could not. obstruct the entrance of those coming in, would be of very great benefit and convenience, and help to won derf4l degree ill ministering to the comfort of teachers and scholars. These massive hall doors a child cannot handle even in calm weather; and the female. teachers can= not handle them when the wind blows no more than they could handle the mainsail of eiiPeer ship in gale, so the doors must be closed in bitter weather, and when one of these little creatures rises up and says, ''please may I go out" because he or she is in great disconfort, and must go out, the question is, how shall they get out, and, once being out, how shall they get inl The male teacher, who is undoubtedly perfect Sampson in physical ability, eaa open and shut these doors all day long in spite of the gusts, and, who being upstairs, is de- lighted to have the opportunity of opening and shutting them, and of a run up and down stairs to do 1t whenever one of the boys or girls in his room wants to go out; but how about Miss Merrill or Mrs. Gull lumber, neither of whom could possibly be mistaken for giantess, and who, is called upon, to let one of their scholars out on a windy day, can no more handle one of these doors than they can handle the north wind or the north stqE No! there is but one thing to do;you cannot five lR the hall for
 minute when the winds are out, so the doors must be bolted, and, no janitor to open and shut them, the children, if they suffer phy- sical discomfort and loss of health, must grin and bear it. and so must their parents.
 Gentlemen, School Commissioners: Let us have the school building for school pur- poses; let us have ample room to begin with, and if this cannot be done without disturb ing the peace and dignity and comfort of the Territorial officials, then let us dis turb it.
 These children have a right to the school