The star. (Reynoldsville, Pa.) 1892-1946, 1893-03-22
THE SCHOOL QUESTION.
Walter Spry Answers Citizens Letter Q
Last Week.


tion and American institutions and
citizenship, has not made good use OF
one Of the three RS he refers to or he
would calculate the cost about to b.
placed upon the borough by erecting
two twenty Thousand dollar school
buildings. Two thousand dollars to the
architect. four Thousand dollars to the
heating system and the purchase of
sites. The furniture and expense OF
running sixteen or twenty-four rooms.
also a fund to pay these bonds as they
mature, and see If it will fall below ten
thousand dollars Il year. Are the peo-
Pile able to pay that amount In school
tax alone? Ninty-hve per cent, or
about that many tax payers, say no.
While he refers to the one school
building people AS being of the narrow
gauge. they are believers and broad
minded enough to stand for the rights
of the people and to grant the privilege
of building two primary buildings on
the east and west ends Of the borough.
but not costing 100000 or $4,000 Take
the two thousand proposed to pay the
architect and the four Thousand for the
heating system. and the narrow gaugcrs
all say IT will build all the school room
needed in this town for years to come.
Citizens estimation has naturally inn
proved upon the condition and value of
the old building. He would not make
Il good judge, reversing himself too
often. If ever the broad gauge Citizen
used frivolous argument, 1t is in his
comparison of the voters with the in
fants OF the town. It has been shown
by ballot that Of 3i3 that voted on in
crease Of debt 3l2 voted on location. 2Sl
for old site. Since the two building
matter came up Of 22j asked there We're
only about 10 in favor of two buildings.
upon last election day they were again
consulted and still Il higher percentage
expressed themselves the same.
While it is admitted by all that we
need more school room. let us have the
primaries at once with the money that
is proposed to be taken away from
home, as / said before. and have been
told by men who have the ability of
building two primary schools, that will
have to help pay the debt of the same,
that will supply Reynoldsvillc for 10 or
II years TO come. We agree with Citi-
zen that with ordinary repairs the old
building would last for 20 or 30 years
Where did citizen get the news of pull
ing down the old building or saying it
is idle talk? / think it must be some of
his own broad guage composition. as
the narrow gaugers he talks SO much
about have never thought Of such DEM
agogism on idle talk he speaks Of. for /
believe a good deal in what prominent
preacher preached in our town few
weeks since, "What Il man thinkcth in
his heart so is he" and | know of no
other one that thinketh such nonsense
as Citizen or else he would give us his
name. | guess Citizen has not meas
tax payers of this town. know that
about three-fourths are poor. hard
working men and nine-tenths Of the
buildings that have been erected the
past three or four years have been built
by men who earn their bread by the
sweat of their brow. and they have
built little homes Of their own and most
of them by the assistance of the Build
ing and Loan And they ave all willing
to give their little ones all the cduca-
tion they can afford. And I say. Mr..
Editor, to bond the borough unneces-
sarily for $4,000. when about what |
have said il would cost for II Pttsburg
architect and for heaters for same would
build two primary schools. But | am
afraid it would put great check to
building in the future. Again of late
our town papers have talked great
deal about establishing board of trade
would ask of Citizen what encourage
ment would it be to induce any indus
try to come into place that is swamped
with forty or fifty thousand dollars
school taxes? / think If Citizen was
one of those looking for IA location he
would drop his stakes some where bet
ter. Again | can say that nine-tenths
or more of the tax paXers of the east
end of town, If we have to get modern
school, that the site already located is
the last place the narrow gaugers would
choose. To think of the idea of build
ing school next door neighbor to Tom
Reynolds hog pen and manure heap,
and just about 100 feet from the r. &
f. G. r. r. and weigh cabin where they
are weighing coal six hours day at
least, there is the clinking Of couplings,
the smoke of the locomotives, the whis-
tling OF the same, and the worst of all
1t is nothing but a swamp all the year
around. i would like to ask Citizen II
we narrow guage demagogues have any
reason for kicking OF having erected
500, 900 school in such place as that
and after about two or three years at
least our east end modern school will
look just like an old abandoned found
4 ,.,hn hr