, 1891-05-02
A Preliminary Meeting at the City
Hall Last Night.
Discussing Various Phases of the
Coming School Meeting.
Demand for Representation on the
School Board.
Nominating Meetings and a Mass
Meeting Tonight.

day, between the hours OF 10 a. m. and 4
D. m. The hall was fairly filed.
Judge Bergman was called upon to pre-
side as chairman and John f. Carroll to
act as secretary. The latter, in response
to a request, stated in a general way the
purpose of the meeting. 1t was first to
take such steps as might lead to the Sc
lection of one man from the South Side
and one from the West Side of the city,
and second to consider the advIsability
OF voting the $2l 900 in bonds
asked by the board and the manner of
the subsequent expenditure of this
money. The board was now aud had been
for Years composed of one class of citizens
only. They all resided east of Ferguson
aud north of Eighteenth streets. The re-
maInder of the city was entirely without
representation. Whether due to this cir
cumstance or not the fact remained that
in certain schools west and south the pu-
pills were divided in to two parts, one-half
of them attending in the morning and the
other in the afternoon. 1t was also
known TO be true that previous to this ar
rangement having been made in one
South side school at least a score of pupils
were left ~unprUvided with seats and the
teacher was therefore forced to seat them
on the floor. When 1t was considered
that a school to cost 100000 was beng
built in the central portion of the town to
accommodate 100 it was only natural to
inquire why adequate provisions for the
comfort of the children was not also made
in other quarters which we're now uurep-
resented on the board.
Judge Bergman then followed with a
statement to the effect that a special
school tax of Al mills levied last year had
raised about 500 300 The usual school
tax of 2 mills in the county raised about
$4,000 more for this district. The entire
amoun thus placed at the disposal of the
school board was between $32. 900 and
$33, 000, to which was to be added $4,000,
balance in the treasury, making in all
$500 This was quite a sum of money
IN itself. but in addition there was voted
at the annual meeting $35. 900 IN bonds
for the purchase Of sites and the erection
of such buildings as might be necessary.
Last summer 10000 OF these bonds we're
sold at a premium of about 5 per cent.
a few weeks ago, owing to the ~strlngency
OF the money market. the remaining sI5,-
600 worth were sold at par. OF the
money realized from the sale of the bonds,
over $50, 500, there was paid for a block
on the South side So, 100. and for W lots
on which the high school is being erected
$500. Everything was left by the an
nual meeting to the discretion of the
school board, with the single reservation
that no money which had been
raised or was about to be raised
in taxes should be devoted to
this purpose, except what might he
derived from the sale of the South Side
school property then and now occupied.
II now a deficiency of 5000 exists in
building the high school the board. he
thought, had gone beyond the authority
delegated to them. Last year there was
a desire on the part OF many people to
have a school erected IN the extreme east
end of town. The board decided that
there was no necessity Tor this and decided
to build the hlgh school Tins at the
utmost VIII accommodate lo2 pupils
Since that time the greatest accessions to
the population had been in the South and
west side oil the city particularly In the
hrst NJ locality. II 1t was a TACT that
the pupils on the South Side were com
PEELED to sit on the hoo7 or ever denied
the privilege OF attending full days
sessions then the plan to build
in the east end seemed premature.