The morning news., 1888-04-04
CHURCHES In A SKIRMISH
GUYTONS SCHOOL WAR STIRS UP
THE TOWN.

|
cademy-Two School Boards Trying
to Gust Each Other-A Mass Meeting
Tonight to Consider the Present
Status and Future Disposal of the
Academy Property.
Guyton is rocked from center to circum-
ference over question as to whether the
town is to have an anti-denominational or
a denominational school supported by the
taxes collected for educational purposes.
incidentally the title to the site upon which
the Guyton Academy stands, and to the
building itself is in dispute.
Charles Guyton, from whom the town was
named, donated lot for a Baptist CHURCH.
Subsequently he enlarged the boundaries
OF his donation to include a lot for academy
purposes, making the deed to the trustees
of the Baptist church, and it is said that
this is the only deed of record. He also
built an academy on the lot about the year
1867. Here school was taught for years
without any conflict.
AN Observation-Disclosures
| A gentleman representing the anti
| denominational faction, in an interview
with MORNING NEWS reporter yesterday,
related the incidents leading up to the pres
| ent situation. The situation is briefly told
When it is said that there are now two
schools, two school boards, and there will
! soon be two school houses in the thriving
| little village.
| In 1884 the Methodists of Guyton were
| about to establish a district high school, aud
erect building, but as desire was mani
tested to keep the school separate from di-
rect denominational domination, pub
| llc meeting was held in which the members
OF all the churches and, in religious par
lance, the heathens participated. The re-
suit OF the meeting was the abandonment
or the project to establish the Methodist dis
trict school, and it was decided to enlarge
and remodel the Guyton Academy. This
was done, but it is SAID that Mr.. B. j. Cub
bedge, prominent Baptist, had to foot al
most the entire bill, some $500 of
the about 5000 of the cost of remodel
ing. A new board of trustees
composed of Methodists, Baptists and
Christians, or Campbellites, was elected
Prof j. H. McGehee, a prominent young
Methodist, was elected principal, and Miss
Lawrence, another Methodist, as assistant
! for the session of 1885,
BEGINNING OF THE TROUBLE.
The Baptists made wry face over this
scoop of the Methodists in the way of teach
ers, so that for the session of 1867. while
Mr.. McGehee was reelected principal, Mrs
Lanler, wife of the BAPTIST minister, was
elected assistant, the latter teaching one
| term, but McGehee reduced her salary at
the end of the first term, and the Rev. Mr..
Lanler objected to her accepting the posi-
tion for the second term, and especially in
face of the fact that she was one of the best
educators the town had ever had MIR. Nc
Gehee's sister succeeded Mrs. La
| nier. The excuse for re iucing
the latter's salary was that the
attendance had fallen off, but the Baptist
contingent held that the falling off was Oh
MIR. McGehee's side of the moral vineyard,
and that when the term closed there was
larger attendance of the Baptist than of
the Methodist persuasion.
Meantime at the close of the session the
board could not agree upon a principal.
| The Methodists insisted upon re-eIectiug
Mr.. McGehee and the Baptists did not want
| him, as he could not control even the
| Methodist patronage. Failing to elect, the
Method!stS, it is said, called public meet
| ing In the interest of an anti-denomina-
tlonal school, and to incorporate the town of
| Guyton, at which Mr.. S. Elsinger pre-
sided. But it appears that the Baptists
! Christians and no church members learned
that the Methodists had previously caucused
| at the residence of Mr. c. d. Rodgers. and
that Mr.. Elsinger had presided over the
caucus which decided upon the employment
of Mr.. McGehee as teacher, and had guaran-
teed him a salary.
THE BAPTISTS ALARMED.
There was a mastering in hot haste of the
opposition, which soon learned that the
mass meeting was to ratify the action of the
| secret caucus. The opposition came in such
overmaSterIng numbers that the MethodistS
didn't count noses long before they found
that they would be badly showed under so
no allusion was made to the school matter,
and nothing but Incorporation of the town
of Guyton was discussed.
The MethOiistS then went off and eStab-
lished another school, renting the town
hall and electing Mr. McGehee principal.
They called it the Savannah District High
School under the control of the South
Georgia NJ. +. Conference, and as both fac
tions claimed the academy, a compromise
was effected by closing the academy. Col.
r. j. Davant, President Of the Board, re-
tanning the keys.
ANOTHER SCHOOL STARTED.
Shortly after the Baptsts and others in
tereSted in the anti-denOminational school
| employed w. H. Cone, formerly a law stu
| dent with Col. r. e. Lester as principal of
the new school and Mrs. Lanier as assist
ant, Mr.. Cubbedge renting the academy for
Sl25, which was applied by the chairman
of the Old board to the support of the Meth
odist school.
The Legislature having abrogated the
power of county school boards to that ex-
tent that each academy could elect its own
| board, the anti-denominationalis thereto
fore having been handicapped by the action
Of the County School Board, called mass
meeting on March "a to elect a new board
of trustees, the Baptist church having pre-
viousy rclinquished all claim on the
academy property to facilitate the anti
UNCONVENTIONAL school.
ANOTHER MASS MEETING.
The call for the meeting was taken to the
Guyton ChroHicle for publication, but Mr..
McGehee is the editor of the paper.
and it went the way of spring
poetry-into the waste basket. The
call was then tackled on trees fences and
buildings, and then McGehee turned hi
het ~, editorial guns upon it, holding that
the Old board could not be so retired al
though he had visited the confcrence at
Sander ,villc in the interest of the Savan-
nah district school, and the Presiding Elder,
Rev. T. r. Christian, had oloquent,y
pleaded for the conference to take it under
its p,o-ccting wings.
But the Chronicles bombardment didn't
frighteu the anti-donominational SITS They
had n rousinC meeting, and it is said the
Methudists were out in full force, and Mr..
| McGeheo was one OF the most frequent and
I