Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1882-10-03
For the SPECTATOR.
An Answer to "Peace's'' Queries.


An article appeared in the last SPECTATOR,
signed Peace" attacking the schools and es-
pecially the Superintendent.
An anonymous communication, personal in
its character, 1s always in bad taste. When 1t
assails the personal or official character of a
gentleman, 1t is low and contemplate; and
when it does so under the garb of friendship.
hypocrisy lends deeper color to the infamy.
The purpose and animus Of the article be-
lieve to be political, and If ever the author is
discovered. am sure he will prove to be ell
Their the holder OF or aspirantfor some position
within the gift of the powers that be. 1t sets
out with the assertion that we are now enjoy.
ing comparative quietand rest from political
agitation. hat such proposition could only
have emanated from the brain of some politi-
cal schemer DESTROYS of making the schools a
football for selfish purposes. or from a brain
deliriOus with the use OF opium is too plain
Tor argument
The next assertion, that all parties are inter-
ested in the schools. is solemn truth. lugged
arrow, or to console the author with q single
truth in column Of fiction.
Peace" asks two long and involved cues
tiOns, which any sensible man could have
done in the words, Are the schools improving
or retrogading 2" and then assuming that they
are falling off, proceed to specify in what and
After the full and very recent account of their
condition last year, which published In the
SPEcTAToR, should deem 1t useless to reply
to this part Of the article. we're 1t not that In
his charge of inefhciency, which is aimed al
me, he strikes the teachers and other school
officers. ~
In the first place. / deny the premise in toto.
The schools to. day are more numerous. better
taught, run longer. and do better Work than
ever before. The teachers are, in the main,
may go, the body of them 60 on I. ON year 70
year. They have improved generally in grade
and and have mad ana nsed aes
to greater extent than in former years. hay
ing had during the last school year two insti-
tutes in the county, with q greater attendance
than ever before in the history Of the schools,
and the character of the instruction being, ac-
cording to the teachers, better than In former
years, The district boards are composed In
large part OF the same men who have filled
these places for years, and have the same dill
gence and 00uPiea Will ,1 annsa
from this political adventurer to the teachers
and school officers to say whether there has
7 do not Know the number run under my
predecessor, as was only furnished by him
with the school report for 1873, but from the
q Of schools on gysD %s ~ him
when took charge; but that was January Isl,
1879 the dark year. We had last year III, and
hope this 70 reacn n I ,ncressed oyer sol
larger increase than ever before in one year
since the schools began. found every district
increased number of teachers and schools and
q heightened term, We not owe teachers q
dime and all the districts but one have hand
some balances to commence the year. Unlike
Peace" have enough to do to attend to my
own business-(by the way. wonder what his
is, and how his nelghbors think him fitted for
it?(-and do not know. as he seems to do, the
working of the system in other Counties.
only judge that we pay as much as most Of
them, as frequently get letters applying for
schools from outsiders on the ground that our
pay is better than theirs.
Now, as to graded schools. He says five or
six years ago there were four or nve real
teachers. l find, on reference to the report
Of Superintendent Ruffner, that there were
reported to him seven IN all, Two OF four teach
months and received $500 from the Peabody
fund: one 81 months. and was supported after
the school term as Tee b ran
never received cent from the Peabody fund.
and yet last year we ran twenty-four schools
in the county, as well and thoroughly graded
as the seven SO much Wanted by PEACE
the only difference being that we did not in
clude the neighboring schools, a mile or two
school, and that we only had three that had
three teachers and three grades, the other
twenty one had two teachers and Two grades.
81: one 81, and one ss They were run just the
same length of time the other schools in the
district except that Of them We're
term expired. Since my incumbency we have
had schools in four or five localities OF the
pared for college or successful entry into bust
ness Some Of the teachers of these schools
are the same and in the same places found
whereas 1 found them in houses entirely I'M
fitted for such schools. they are now, in two or
three localities at least. fitted out with houses
pose. In only one of the points where high
grade school had been heretofore had was
there none last year, and this point for the two
the county, and far superior to those Of the
city in the extent and diversity to which in
struction was carried, Al the buildings here
mentioned and as many more since erected,
were last year used for the same purpose. One
handsome one was erected last year, and an
other viii have to be so added to this as to
make room for four teachers.
The next subject of complaint is, the Super
intendent does not do enough. Now, the
amount Of labor necessary for successful per-
Torrance of the duties of the Office Is about
the same whoever may be the incumbent; but
the time it takes to do 1t depends much on
the capacity of the officer for business. Some
men will take five minutes to tell you yes or
no. and then you will not know which they
meant, and take 1t Peace Is one of that kind
from his article.
have never officiously, as hope, thrust my
advice upon the county or district boards, but
do not recall any occasion when l have re-
fused to give it when asked or when thought
1t would be of service. Peace" would leave
sibilities, and devOlved upon the district
boards duties they were not fitted for. This is
not the case and am ready to abide their YER
dict as to whether have shown less 1ndepen-
dence in this particular than my Immediate
predecessor. "Peace" remarks that the schools
started with five month term; and 10, now,
longer? OF course they were started with
five month term, Tor the law, as Peace" very
well knows, though he did not choose to tell,
will n OF allow them to be contracted for for a
less period and only SO many started as could
be run five months. Now, as the funds have
Increased, the number of the schools has
grown and the length of the term.
do not know the number first started. but
venture the assertion we now more than dou.
Bile them, and do not think the fund has
grown in the same ratio. Our district boards
have deemed it wise to increase the num-
Der of the schools rather than the length of the
term although they have done both. SOas fast
as the fund allowed, they listened to the ever
increasing demand for new schools thinking
all it was not fair that some neighborhoods
should have the advantage Of 1t to the exclu-
sion OF others.
Now, why have we not used the district
funds for teachers? suppose 1t is generally
understood there are two levtes-One called .
county and one district. The first goes to
build, furnish, rent, and buy books for indi-
PEACE says 1--WE were told over and over
again by the Super!ntendents predecessors
that as soon as we were done building (Which
virtually was completed, excepting single
house here and there, some three years ago.
that then the district building fund would be
turned over to the teachers fund, and with the
State and county fund would carry the schools
not less than eight and perhaps nine months"
do not, of course, know what my predeces-
sors told any one, and therefore cannot deny
that they did SO; but am disposed to doubt
the fact because nothing else in "Peace's" ar
ticle has led me to form q too high opinion OF
his veracity and further that had given credit
to my predecessors as men OF sense and who
knew their business.
LIST. AS to the statement that building was
substantially done three years ago. In the
year ending July 3lst, 1880, we built 10; in the
next 8, and in the last year IL houses making
80 in three years, or an average of 10. There
are now owned by the county lis and used by
the county 40, showing pressing need now
for 25 and showing that during the last three
years we built more than the average number
per year since the schools started When. in
the face OF these facts, this man makes such an
assertion, what credit can be given to any
thing he says?
But could we use the district or building and
furnishing fund for other purposes If we were
done building? The law does permit us in
any one year If we find a surplus on hand and
are done all our building to use that single
balance for the purpose of teachers pay; but
it does not permit u.s. nor would honesty and
fair dealing, to go to the Board of Supervisors
and tell them we wanted g levy to build houses,
when all our houses were builtand We intended
to use it for other purposes. Such q course
might suit Peace" and his set, but should
exceedingly dislike to be the one to propose it
to the School Board for Augusta county, whose
dutV it is to reOuest. to the Supervisors,