The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1883-06-20

1--WE lIutll-tS.
Any member of the Association can at
any time dissolve his connection With
said association by paying to the Trcasu-
rer the sum of twcnty dollars.
MEMBERS OF THE SCHOOL ASSOCIATION:
VIM. II. Parker, S. MCGOWAN,
j. S. Cochran, w. a. Lee,
NJ. p. DeBruhl, J. Fuller Lyon,
g. a. Nisanska, P. Rosenberg,
b. w. Barnwell, Is. S. Barnwell,
4. R. Wardlaw, Geo. White,
L.. w. White, w. Joel Smith,
r. p. Quarlcs. W. A. Templeton,
Saml. G. CasOn, Hugh Wilson,
Thos. Thomson, f.. II. Mcbride,
J. II. Cunningham, Jacob Miller,
C. V. HammQnd, II. c. Seal,
J. w. Sign, Jas. L. Martin,
W. G. Benet.
RESOLUTIONS LEvYING AN ASSESS
MENr OF TWENTY DOLLARS
ON EACH MEMBER.
The following resolutions were adopted
by the Board of Trustees, of the Able
Vile High School at the meeting held
June 5tll, 1883.
There being a deficiency in the school
fees and public shool money sufficient to
require the full payment Of the amount
subscribed by each member of the Asso-
citation to the Sinking Fund.
Resolued, That a call be made upon each
member for the payment Of tVei,ty DOL
lars, the amount subscribed.
ReSolrcd, That the Treasurer Of the
Board Of Trustees proceed to collect the
above mentioned sum from the members
of the Association in accordance with the
obligation creating tho Sinking Fund.
WM. Fl. PARKER,
Chairman B. IT.
In order to unity public sentiment and
to make the management of the High
School, if possible, acceptable to every
body, the Association resolved to elect q
Board of Trustees, in which each of the
Churches in town should have two repro
sertativos. and one member which should
be identified with neither of the Church
es. Under this resolution the following
gentlemen were elected at that time and
hav We served up to the present time:
w. II. Parker, Chairman, Episcopal.
w. G.. Benet, Secretary, Episcopal.
S. G.. Cason, Treasurer, Methodist.
j. Fuller Lyon, Methodist.
Rev. J. J.. Martin. Presbyterian.
l.. w. White, Presbyterian.
Rev. r. n. Pratt, Baptist.
Jacob Miller, deceased, Baptist.
G. A. Visanska Jewish faith.
THE WORK OF THE BOARD OF TRUs-
TEES.
Under their authority, tho Board of
Trustees elected as the Principal, for two
years in succession, Mr.. S. j. Graham, Of
Virginia. His first year of services, we
believe, gave universal satisfaction, and
he was regarded as a most excellent
teacher, though he seemed to take less in
terest in the school for the second year,
and at its close, he did not desire re-elcc-
ton. At the beginning of the third year,
Mr.. d. B. Johnson, Of Tennessee, was
elected to the position of Principal, which
had been made vacant by Mr.. Graham's
action. He grew IN public favor as long
as he remained with us, 1.-TWO years. and
at the end of that time he was elected
Principal Of a school in North Carolina at
a higher salary thar we could offer. This
brought us to the beginning of the fifth
year. AS usual, when vacancies had &C.
CURED, the Trustees advertised for teach
ers. A large number, perhaps some thir-
ty or forty, responded to the ADVERTISE
ment, presenting their claims and their
recommendations for the place. We be-
lieve that all of the applicants were un-
known to the Board personally, and they
had nothing but the recommendations
and the written applications upon which
to base an opinion. Professor II. w,
Beall, of North Carolina, was recon-
mended in the most enthusiastic II
by the Rev. James F. Latimer, and his
cause,i it has been said, was championed
by a member of the Board, although 9TH
er members of that body favored the elec-
ton of another applicant. When the
vote was taken it was ascertaincd that
four out of seven Of the votes had been
cast for Mr.. Beall. The vote was made
unanimous, and Mr.. Beall declared the
choice of the Board. .
AS a rule, except the Office Of School
Trustee, the position Of village school
master is the hardest office in the world
to fill acceptably, and neither office nor
position in Abbeville is any exception TO
the rule. The public mind at Abbevllle
may not have been at that time in a con-
dltion to have been pleased at any body,
but whether this was so or not, certain it
is, that there were individual instances
where our people were not prcpossessed
in Mr.. Beall's favor, at the very begin
ming, while the mode of e~lecting him
may or may not have contributed to the
lack of a hearty cooperation on the part
Of all our citizens, and thus without be-
Ing able to assign any tangible reason for
the effect, yet it is true that the school
~,
= : S3sa not prosper, and the Inherent mem
bers of the Association are called upon to
pay the full limit to which they could be
assessed. To say that each and every
member of the School Association has
paid or will pay this amount c%heerfully,
would perhaps be a slight draft on the
credulity of the public, and such a state
ment would no doubt be somewhat at
variance with the exact facts.
In many instances the public can easily
enough see exactly wherein lies all error
and can justly place blame where it be-
longs, but when the thoughtful mind
tackles the school question, it would GER
tainly require the full average amount OF
presumption, if he should be willing to
say exactly wherein error lies, and then
propose to point out who alone is respon-
sible for that error.
Assuming that the Board of Trustees
erred in the election of Mr.. Beall, is it
at all probable that a similar Board COM
posed of different members of the School
Association would have conducted our
affairs 80 long before making an error ?
And if anybody should he disposed to
blame the Board, let him not forget that
the present Board have managed the
school so we'll that four years out of five
no assessment was made and let it not
be forgotten that this same Board voted
away as much of their own money as
they did Of ours.
If the meeting, which is advertised for
next Monday should determine that the
Association shall be confined, it might
not BIO amliss to suggest some questions
for it's members to think over:
fave we enough children in town to