The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1888-02-02
Our Washington Letter.

THE BALTIMORE BANQUET.-THE RLAIE
BILL.-AN EFFORT LOOKING TO THE
HIGHER EDUCATION OF THE Blind
PERSONALS. &C.
Especial Correspondence of the vIRGINIAN]
A number of Republican senators and
members attended the banquet given on
Wednesday night last by the Young Men,
Republican Club of Baltimore, going over
to the Nor umental City in a special train
provided by the Committee on Invitations.
The banquet was one of the most elegant
ever served in that city so famed for its
canvas-b back and terrapin and will be
as a genuine Republican love-
feast. Leading representatives from every
section of the Union. from Maine to Ore
gon, were there and did full justice to the
splendid hospitality so abundantly pro-
vided. The speech making was inaugu-
rated by an address of welcome from Mr..
Geo. T. Baggs on behalf of the club. The
responses were by Senator Evarts, fol>
lowed by Senators Hawley and Chandler
Gov. Beaver, of Penn. Charles Emory
Smith. of the Philadelphia Press Presi-
dent Foster, of the Republican National
League Representatives Phelps, Boutelle,
Burrows, Cannon, McComas, and num-
Der of others. For five or six hours the
feast ran through various courses of var
iOus kinds, and when the time for adjourn
ment came, after o'clock in the morning,
the program was still incomplete and the
enthusiasm undated. The young Repub-
licaDs of Baltimore have just cause for
upon the success of their
1t was worthy of the
name they bear, worthy of their city and
worthy of themselves. And may the seeds
sown on that happy winter night bring
forth a harvest of blessings to their State,
their section and their country.
Congress has made its usual record dur
ing the past week, the time of the House
being occupied with diatory motions, and
in one instance an open resort to fillibus-
tering on the part of the Democrats. Mr..
Dibble wanted day set for the considera-
tion of bills from the Committee on Public
Grounds and Buildings and was supported
by large majority of the Republicans.
But Mr.. Randall, backed by many mem
bers from his side, ayailed of the rules to
stave off action and finally secured an
When a bona fde effort is
made to relieve the treasury of it's idle
and diffuse the money among the
people for the benefit of the common
good, it is met with an opposition as
determined as if the opposers were called
upon to contribute the amount from their
individual purses.
In the Senate last week Mr.. Frye de-
livered one of the strongest tariff speeches
ever heard in congress. Last summer Mr..
Frye visited Europe and personally
inquired into the condition of the working
classes. The pictures he presented of the
work, the wages and the wants of the
laborers there. will arouse the people of
America to the true meaning of open
foreign competition. His speech should
be in the hands of every man who lives
by his wages. 1t contains just the infor-
nation demanded for thorough under
standing of the tariff subject.
Senator Blair is still carrying on his
noble fight in behalf of the education of
the people. Last Thursday he presented,
among others, letters from various super
intendents of public schools in the 10th
District of Virginia. These letters were
addressed to Representative Yost. and
set forth the real condition of the public
school system in the Old Dominion. Mr..
Carson, the superintendent of Cumber-
land county. in the course of an able let
ter on the subject, says:
Teachers are paid from 500 to $50, according to
the grade of superin tendent's certificates held
by the teacher. 1t is difficult to secure compe-
tent, efficient teachers for the meager pay we
can offer. The short five months session re-
gard the most Objectionable feature of our pub
c-school system.
Improvements demanded: More and better
school-houses, with good furniture, longer ses-
to furnish INDECENT pupils with text books
The Blair bill would give us the money to rem
guy I'LL GI0So ueI6CIS ana enable us TO IQaK6 our
public schools what they should be-tIhe pride
and glory of our land. = i The pu bile
schools are the only hope for the education of
the children of the people, and an earnest zeal
in behalf of this great cause is, to my mind,
the strongest evidence of true patriotism Vir-
ginia is doing all she can to educate Or chill
dren, but il would require double the amount
annually appropriated to meet the pressing
needs of her public schools.
are able to educate their children in private
schools, and such schools are entirely out of
ucatiop Of the negroes is greatly retarded on
account of the extreme poverty of this race ;
the parents are too poor to buy the necessary
ing the colored schools / find from three to
half dozen pupils trying to prepare their les
sons from one book. The public funds are so
limited that the district boards do hot feel
to expend more than few dollars
each year to furnish books to INDECENT pupils.
Congress who works and votes for the Blair
bill will be honored in Virginia
and his memory will be cherished and lrevered
TO the latest generations. 81
Superintendent Jordan, of Augusta,
says:
''* We need trained teachers, skilled
teachers. Skilled labor is always expensive
1t has high value; to secure these trained
teachers we must offer such compensation as
will enable them to qualify themselves for the
work. We can never have pro fessionaI teach
ers until we can pay salaries large enough to
induce professional teachers to teach in our
Hence the first thing we need is more money.
1t shonld be borne in mind that our public
schools have superseded great many good
private schools, and unless 9s good instruction
Is given in the public schools as was given in
these private schools the adoption of th e pub
lie school system will be great sim 3
What we need Is money. We have tue ma
terial; we can utilize 1t if we san pay q eason-
able sum to get what we must have to d. good
work.
After giving the statistics, Su perrin
tendent McCorkle. of Allegheny Co.. says
1.-THE condition of our school-houses rs very
bad and no money to improve them. Our
school system is in very bad condition and is
very unpopular, all because we have n OF the
funds to improve it.
One of the most valuable letters ,of the
series is from Superintendent lG. E.
Caskie, of Nelson county, 1t prese nts an
accurate picture of the system in its pres
ent impoverished condition, and demon
strates the utter impossibility of e,lucat-
ing the masses without additional funds.
Mr.. Caskie writes:
So e =, There are now in this county
ninety schools, of which about twenty five
houses belong TO the school board: the I esidue
are cabins, log houses. ETC., which the people
let us have. OF the twenty-five which W g own.