The weekly Union times. [volume] (Union C.H., South Carolina) 1871-1894, 1883-07-06
"a @. C.Is%uext paragraph is as follows:

piece OF favorItiSm on the part OF MAJ IoWns-
end. and one that is very uni ust and unfair to ,
other teachers. We know Of two persons teach
| ing at this time in one township without any
| certificate. In n conversation with one Of them
he informed me that Maj. Townsend told him to .
| go ahead. if the trustees were willing and come
| up in July to the examination, get n certificate
and he would get his pay nll the same. This
last is not only n Of favoritism, but one in
which both the Commissioner and trustees have
consented to squan1cr the free school fund
think have already explained sufficiently
in reference to all the allegations contained in
this paragraph, except that contained in the last
sentence thereof, and that allegation pro onoupce
a base, malicious and wiifuL lie.
Ills next paragraph is rs follows
There is q regular school within three miles
| with an average attendance Of, perhaps, ten.
| scholars, with teacher at $50 month The
| other has an average attendance of about two
and nehalf (2l) scholars. the teacher of which
expects to get first grade certificate, with cor
responding pay, no doubt, while one of the trus-
tees will require $40, at least for the use of the
niger cabin in which the lessons are heard"
The precise nature of the complaint contained
in this paragraph is not well defined. 1t seems
to be sort of complaint. and, II order 40 cover
the whole ground in my reply am compelled
70 write some things which otherwise would
When l took charge Of this Office (ccho0f
commissioner in January 1881, l saw the ne
| cessity Of having better school houses, and more
Of them In many places the people had never
had tAe benefit of a single dollar of the school
fund, although they had been paying heavy taxes
| for that purpose for thirteen years. In other
places they had had school now and then,
| sometimes in negro house and sometimes in
some other sort of out house. This was espec
nlly the cnse certain cornors IF towpsb;n.
where, because the children were few in number
aud isolated, from some other cause, they Ind
been entirely neglected, 1 considered this un-
just, and determined to remedy il by quitting
school houses, far rs l was able, within con-
venent reach of every child in the County.
expected trouble, and had plenty of it. 1 was
charged with "s4uandering the public funds
threatened time and agaia with law suits and
indictments but if ever hesitated for O single
momcn in my purpose am not aware Of it, L
have built thirty school houses, and there are
fow more to build and, in the mean time, the
free school School term in Union County has
been steadily increased instead of diminished.
Now, having said this much to the County in
general let us look at the condition of things in
the township of which A. B. c. speaks---his
| own township. There ore only fifty six white
| school children in the whole township, and, of
course, they aro scattered all over the township.
1t is. therefore, simply impossible to have large
schools, and yet it would be unjust to deprive
! the people Of that section Of schools because
| the schools are necessarily small. 1t would be
| equally unjust and foolish to say to them, that
! they must put up with very cheap teachers be-
cause the schools ale small. They pay their taxes
md in MI hov n irbt
| ers, if they can get them and the teachers have
a right to be paid for their services. Now "a
B. c. mentions two schools specially, in his
| township The first he says has IN average
attendance Of about ten, and the teacher gets
$50 month. don't know whether he intends
this as compliment or not, but will say here
that during seven months of the free school term
in 1882 the daily average attendance in that
school was 10 81: SO that its presen. average
is about its usual average. lie mentions ano-
ther school within three miles of the one just
mentioned above, in which he says the average
| attendance is only two and one.half (29).
know the locality and know also that the
| teacher is teaching on his own risk. That is
| the school that causes 4. B. C. so much anxiety
and trouble and, no doubt many sleepless nights.
| That school was organized for the benefit Of
pupils who live in the corner of the township,
also in the corner of the County. So far rs
am now informed those people have never before
had n public school, notwithstanding the fact
that they are, some of them if not all, heavy
tax payers. The trustees did not "squander
the funds" by building them comfortable house,
but allowed them teacher and the uoe Of
negro cabin. If the teacher gets a certificate at
the July examination, he will receive such pay
as the trustees think just and proper: if he gets
no certificate, he will get no pay. This is the
extravaganza which exercises the soul Of "a.
B. CO.. He lives near the first mentioned school
house, which is good one, but it chafes his
spirit to think that then o.hcr PEOPLE should
have the luxury of a "nigger cabin" and be
allowed teacher. But probably the greatest
scare of oil is the $40 which that trustee "will
require" for the "ngger cabin" This is q ver-
liable ghost, and one that WILL not down at his
bidding. WE'LL so far rs know, that trustee
has never for moment thought of charging any
rent for that cabin.
The next paragraph Of "a. b. Cs." article
will omit, as it is nothing moro than an eIIrcs-
sion of his opinion, and a word Of advise to al!
whom it may concern. ga. u. c." concludea
the whole matter with this sweeping declara-
ton
"The whole thing is a farce, any way, and
ought to be ABOLISHED, or the Commissioners and
trustees be made 10 conform to the law govern,
ing them.
This announcement. although directed against
mo no aio ortlo onr 10, ms akara nd