Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1893-02-16

Confined from Isl page


il was Catholic school. II is Is . sectarian
school 10 any Way. want to be placed on
record against the money of the State going
to support that school. II the gentlemen is
correct. the anne ndmenf can do No HARM
Mr.. Pratt of Turner ! move that the
amendment be printed, and that both the
amendment and resolve lie on the table and
that Wednesday of next week be assigned
for It's further consideration.
Mr. Diekey Of Ft- Kent: That resolve
has been on the table nearly two weeks nd
il Is of grea, Importance that If !, passes
the Legislature, il should pass at once. This
work has all OF il to be completed before
the 18th day Of September. when the fall
term of school commences, and there is a
large amount Of work to be done, and
hope the matter will be considered now.
Every body knows what il is. do not OBJ
jec, to this amendment. / want no sec;a-
rianism in the school But hope il will
no, he laid on the table
Mr.. Brown Of Wa,erviile: This school
at For; Kent is well-known institution.
It has been aided by the State by frequent
donations. There is a building there in
process of construction and the question is.
what will you do with it? Major Dickey
I do not see any propriety in delay. think
we are carrying this matter about sectarian-
ism a little too far. They need the money
there at once and think the resolve ought
to pass nov.
Mr. Dickey of F0rt Kent: have lived
IN that section for long number of years,
and have taken great interest in the e'iu-
cation Of those deccndents of the old Area
4. 4 r&k.. 4
the M u he frst-ciass people. have been
as intimate with them as any man could be.
had charge of all those schools for some
years, and We could not carry out system
of decent school education there, for the
want of teachers; and finally We hit upon
this plan of educating our French scholars,
and Americans. as teachers, AMI We estab-
lisIle,l this school, and it has had most
salutary and wonderful effect. We now
have as good corps of teachers there
are in this State. We have furnished
teachers for Augusta far the last four years
We furnished number TO 20 to New
Hampshire; a number 10 90 to Ninncapo-
lis there are a number that teach the
high schools; and no school has
sent forth better teachers than this one.
We received about 1000 of those old Aca-
dian French that had been driven off by the
English government and hunted down with
hounds and every thing else. They settled
there in 1865, before we became nation,
aud their children have come down to ms.
Lord Ashbarton objected to the st. John
river a boundary because, as he said it
would divide the people that the English
government had abused so much, but he
finally consented on the condition that a
clause be inserted in the treaty of Wash
ington that The two great nations should
treat those p oplc in the most liberal
terms of equity and justice. They have
been handed down, half to the State of
Main and the other to the Province of
New Brunswick and we found them with
ont any education, without any knowledge
of anything. J. c. Ma!igan was the first
teacher that ever went there and SO it has
worked along, and finally we have got
foundation in this school. AMI We have out
grown our building. Two years ago we
had an appropriation of 5000 TO BULL 4
boarding house. and we thought we could
build the boarding house for $1,000 and
that $1,000 might repair the schoolhouse.
But the architect who furnished us the
estimates only reckoncd from the stills, up;
and We found we had not enough money to
complete the boarding house.
We are differently situated from any
other portion of the State. We have very
large number of scholars so poor that they
cannot go there and pay their boarl. In
the upper half story of the boarding house.
there are SIX large rooms provided for those
children to board themselves. There is one
thing about our scholars-we never have
any trouble about their government. They
are always at their station; and ! have u
letter now from one of the scholars, boy
whom | took three years ago, who did not
understand a single sound of English and
today he writes AS good letter as most any
of US ran, and as good English and
~ well-spellcd. Now we have 30
boys, nearly one-half of them rs large
as Il man. When we commenced that
school we had six boys who did not know
that they wanted any education. We built
Il $500 school house in the first place, and
thought that was big enough. Now we
have - scholars. And all the scholars,
boarding and day scholars. are in one little
room - - feet one way by % feet the
other; and it is unhealthy. 1t is sanitary
matter that we should have the schoolhonse
built large. The oil building cannot hc
made large enough 1t is proposed to move
il back. divide it into two recitation rooms,
and build a schoohouse i'll front.
The engineers estimate of the
total expense ia S79sj. All ask is, if
We are to have this appropriation. that We
have it at once. ns we have but short time
to do great deal of work.
In this section up there, shut of as it is,
we now have more than 10000 inhabitants
That are dependent on this school. We
have scholars from Seven Islands - miles
above, We have them from Van Buren, be
low and from Cyr, and from all over that
country. Ii is not confined to Fort Kent.
1t is an educational advantage for all our
children | assure Won that it is doing more
good than any other school i'll this State,
aud more good than any other school ever
lid do, AMI that say | know, AMI you
can ask Superintendent Luce CT anybody
who goes there, and they viii all tell you
that they are astouished
Mr. Merrill of Pennington: have no
reason 10 doubt any of the statements tina;
have been miir but wish TO say that the
members of the board, rs board, with the
means given them by the State to visit these
FORMAL schools, ar" utterly unable to give
any attention personally to that. anil can
make only one visit annually To the other
three schools.
Mr. Shaw of Batli-The gentleman from
TT. Kent has correctly statad the case. The
committee on education looked carefully
into the matter and were unanimous in ia
sor of this appropriation. The sectarian
Influences in regard to this ST hool were also
I looked into. and there is no sectarian
influence there whatever. One thing is in
portant to all the citizens of the State of
Maine, and that is the fact that English IS
taught in that school in all its branches.
think We can act on this matter as Intelli-
gently now rs nj future time.
/ Mr.. Powers of Iloulton--I did not int MI
~ participate in this discussion, hut ! viii
say u wor Is I Use in Aroostook county
and kuos something about Fl. Kent and
this school aul Mr. tAr. Who has charge of
it, He was graduated at the Kicker CLASH
cal Institute in lIoulton. In regard to this
Madawaska Training School. think | can
say from personal ledge that those of
us who live near it understand fully that
there is nothing of a sectarian character
about i, any more than there is about Colby
University or Kicker Classical Institute Mt
HouIton or any other school in this coup-
try There is nc school in Maine that,
for the money appropriated, is doing
more good than is that There
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