The Carbon advocate. [volume] (Lehighton, Pa.) 1872-1924, 1888-09-01

and spoke for nearly an hour on what the
school had done for the young men of the
community. He said that when he started
the school, eleven years ago he did It sim
ply to spend part of long vacation in a
useful way, and to help some young men
In the community in their studies. He
said he had been both pleasantly and un-
pleasantly disappointed The school had
accomplished some things which he did not
think It would accomplish, aud failed of
accomplishing other things which he had
expected it would accomplish.
tn the first place the school has aroused
a greater interest among the young men
than had expected. 1t has sent more of
them to college and normel schools than /
had thought II would Five young men,
three of whom lived within mile of the
school. have gone through college. One
of these afLerward took special course in
a technical school and now holds good po
sition in the west; another was afterward
graduated from the Lutheran Theological
seminary of Philadelphia, and is now teach
ing in large institution of learning; an
other was afterwards graduated from the
Union Theological seminary in New York
and is now minister in the Presbyterian
church; another graduated from the Uni
verslty Of Pennsylvania in the medical
course and is practicing medicine in large
city; the fifth is teaching the ancient lam
guages in a good preparatory school for
college. Besides these, two other young men
have been graduated from the jefferson
Medical college in Philadelphia. one from
the Theological seminary at Lancaster and
two others still from one of our State Nor
NAL schools. This school is to-day repre-
sented by thirteen young men in seven diff
feIent colleges in three different states, as
follows: Franklin AMI Marshall college has
three, the Lancaster Theological seminary
has three, Muhlcnburg Icollege has three,
Ursinus college has one, the jefferson med
ical college of PHILADELPHIA has one, Ill
liams college at Williamstown, Mass, has
one, and Yale college, New Maven, Conn.,.
has one. OF these thirteen young men,
six have been brought up, and still have
their homes within one mile of this school,
and five others live only five miles from it.
Now happen to be pretty well acquaint-
ed with the schools of Carbon county, and
will tell you what probably not one Of
you is aware of, namely, that al, the High
schools in Carbon county combined are
not represented in as many colleges to-day,
not by as many students, as this one school
right here in your midst is. More than
this, this school has for eleven years been
the highest grade school in this county.
There is no high school in the county to-
day in which Greek is taught. and there
is none in which is taught one-half theLat-
college. l know of no private school in
the county that is of as high grade Now
these are facts of which any Intelligent
community should be proud, and of which
a few of you are proud, and the rest ought
to be. 1t is disgrace to Mahoning that
there are still people who are opposed to
this school and would cripple it If they
could
ltI a significant fact that this meeting
must be held in the open air on these
grounds. 1t shows that this school has
giown faster than The liberality of the pa
rents whose children are being educated
soon be, that there is no better building
provided for this school, no building to ac-
commolate its friends on occasions like
these. This school cannot invite its friends
in fraternal hospitality under its roof; it
has not roof enough tonight TO cover them.
1t can only offer them the kindly shelter
of the frmameLt of heaven. Let us all
pray that this state of things may not long
continue, and then reach our hands in our
pockets and answer our own prayers.
am disappointed that this school has
not regenerated the public schools of the
district. had hoped that good school
during the summer might create demand
for better schools during the winter, but it
has not. Your public schools are wretch
edly poor. We ought to be proud enough
of our beautiful Mahoning valley TO be
ashamed OF such schools. Mahoning needs
an educational revival. No, not a revival,
but resurrection from the dead. 1t be-
longs to what is known as the poor school
districts of the state There is no excuse
for this state of things. Twenty-Five years
ago you paid your teachers $40 month,
now you pay them - will not say IL in
public Let us keep it to ourselves. But
let me ask you, where will the schools of
Mahoning be fifty years hence at this rate2
Mahoning is not too poor to have good
schools. Your school tax is low. Only
twenty-eight men in the township pay oy-
er twenty dollars, school and building tax
combined. No resident pays as much as
fifty dollars. About one hundred persons
pay from iYe to thirteen dollars, and about
two hundred and fifteen pay less than FIVE
dollars tax for school and building puipos-
es, and you will find that two hundred and
fifteen citizens-a majority at the ballot
box are paying from one to three dollars
to educate their children. Now If you
have two children too send, and send them
to private school it would cost at the
very lowest one dollar month for the
two. For six months that means six
dollars. If you haYe four children it means
twelve dollars. You can get all this fol
one or two dollars If you are poor man
The rich pay for educating the children o.
the poor. Every time you raise the schoo
tax you take money out of the rich mani.
pocket to educat the poor mans children
Is it not then to the interest of the two.
thirds majority in Mahoning who IpaY
less than four dollars school tax If not les
than three (deducting the building taxi, Il
have high school tax ? Have working
men ever thought seriously of this ? Ye
these men who pay less than four dollar
school tax are often the loudest in declaim