Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1889-03-08
Rockville. Nd.
Our Public Schools.
School Commissioner Manaakee in Their
Defense
JOSEPH WALKER.

| have Just read in the Montgomery Pres
of the 2Sth an editorial critcising the Com
missioners and suppose from its uncompli
mentary reference to the puplic schools the
School Commissioners are included.
If the desire is to lift the curtain and lei
in the sunlight OF truth upon the seeds Of
justice, which may lie hidden beneath an
Imperfect system, which may terminate and
bring forth fruit TO the taxpayers ofthe coun-
ty, the Press will have my earnest support
and cooperation. But il your only object
is to blow party's HttrmOnica, playing the
old song, (There's niger in the wood pile
with neao variations, in notes so shrill and
discordant as to suppress the melodious and
seraphic strains of mo place like home," as
rendered by the commissioners Organ
ette," | shall not join in the discussion, ex-
cept to render account of my own official
stewardship.
The part of the editorial to which | reply
reads thus: "'rhe people are not content
that their children shall have imperfect or
no educational advantages, because they re.
aize that the time has come when a farm
er's son or daughter must be educated in
order 10 be a happy and useful citizen. II il
were not Tor the few excellent private schools
in The county, where, within our bounda.
ries, can young man or woman get even d
fair amount of proper educational training
The favored few who live near the railroad
and can afford it, send their children to the
Washington public schools But the mass
of our people, and especially thespoor, whose
children should have at least equal oppor
tunities with the rich for securing u fair ed
ucation, have few or no school houses wor.
thy OF the name"
The very large per centage OF successful
business men, and their clerks, Of the cities
and towns, the mechanics and Others en-
gagged in the various occupations, graduated
from the poorly conducted public schools,
and are rs HAPPY and as useful citizens" AS
those who hold diplomas from these lex
cellent private schools" IL is also true that
OF the candidates for examination to leach
those from the public schools stand as high
and in some instances higher, especially in
the more practical and useful branches
Washington city has as good public schools
MS there are in the country, Boston not ex.
cepted. Yet in the county Of the District
Of Columbia, where graded schools are i'm
practicable, they are no better than schools
taught by our best teachers-ours costing
80 per pupil and theirs $l7. Many parents
send To Washington public schools because
our school houses are not located at somt
of the villages which have sprung up at the
stations on the railroad. where, if the pub.
lie necessities require, they Will in time be
located.
IL IS true, Il few Of our school houses are
not as comfortable as they should be; many
have been erected in undesirable locations,
little attention paid to ventilation and less
to the disposition OF our people TO adhere to
the motto of our State, but they were built
many years ago, long before we ever dreamed
of having to satisfy the esthetic taste Of such
a heterogeneous population, but since our fu-
ture greatness became apparent some fine
school buildings have been erected. As our
school levy Gncluding interest on and re-
firing school bonds) is 1875, $4,000, which is
more than one third of all the current ex :
penses, 1t would be impossible to build more
than one (what you would term a decent
school house, Il year, without increasing the
levy, which you complain Of being so high.
But our schools, with all their dsadvan
tages, are growing in favor, judging from
the increasing number of pupils and inter-
est shown in them.
VIM u. MANNAKEE,