Pawtucket tribune. (Pawtucket, R.I.) 1890-189?, 1894-05-21

ever the slightest occasion offered; child
rem who, almost at the extreme school ag'
limit OF rs years, yet could not read Int ei
ligently nor spell correctly, VINO kDev
absolutely less than nothing about arith
metic and grammar, and who have very
unWillingly gone to school the required
so days only In order to get a certificate
that would enable them To stay out tn,
rest OF the year, have wasted their tims
and worn out the patience OF their teach
ers In trying to "outline, proportion, cut
out and paste together" paper models oi
back door steps 50 that bye and by wher
they might want to order q flight OF
stairs made for their own houses they
might know how to do i'll Heaven save
the mark, but that was the reason given
for this bosh,) or have devoted two or
three whole days time (perhaps more
to making pasteboard models OF "trun-
Gated hexagonal or octsgonal pyramids
there were IL OF these delightful and
very valuable productions turned out In
one school, OF which 81 were simply thrown
In the wsstebssket, and only could be
preserved on the score OF being even pas
sable-sll this fol.de-rol has been en-
couraged by Superintendent and special
ist, and approved by Committee, while
one of-these very same boys, almost is
years old, declined to read the news In
the Evening Bulletin, when his mother
asked him TO do so, "because he did not
know how TO pronounce the words, nor
| what they meant; another Of them, not
quite so old but almost, wrote In a SPELL
ing exercise "numeartor", "contient'
"peroid', "demonator", "multipcsnt",
"diysor', "diyiden", "substract", and
'arihemtic;"a girl In the same grade de-
| clared that teetotaller was a sort OF clerk
| or book. keeper In a store, who added up
long columns OF figures to get 1.-THE totals /;
and other equally ss brilliant and sugges-
| tive Instances might be given almost by
the score-all this, be II repeated has gone
| on uninterruptedly and without the slight
est hint at any improvement or change
| for the better, and now comes a request
from the same school Committee for
f23, 900 90 more, 10 be spent In the same
| outrageous and contemplate way, with
an implied threat, or a -oftly spoken hint.
that II IL is not granted, there Will be a
resignation! In the name of 1900 abused
children and more than twice as many
swindled and deceived taxpayers Heaven
grant that there may be, and that right
speedily.
II is not moro than a month or two ago
that the recognized head OF the school
system OF Pawtucket In s"monthly report
to the Board, referred In brief terms to
the need Of economy, admitted that some
ofthe expenditures that had been made
were needless and could readily be dis
pensed with In the future, and even sug-
gested other ways In which necessary i'm
provement could be made. But this was
like one OF those breaks that occasionally
happen in the middle OF a very rainy day,
when the sun shows his face for about
minutes and then the same old swash and
| downpour resume operations. In addition
to other expenditures, some Of which have
been reasonable and proper, others
OF which have been wholly unrea.
sonabls, and highly improper, there
has been paid out of the school
money, appropriated for CURRENT expen-
ses OF '9I be II understood, since the be-
ginning OF the present fiscal year, as fol.
lows:-Sli27, 90 earned by Evening School
teachers before November 30th last, due
and payable from, and that should have
been charged to, the g3 appropriation,
but that could not be SO paid and charged
because the money had been all spent
for gym nsstics, elementary science, nature
study, number work, nd-stories,"
''times- stories," "in- stories," aud other
similar rot, together with a SIN all amount
of half way instruction In reading, spell
ing and other unnecessary y incidentals,
the proportion OF the two incongrous in
gradients OF tue mixture strongly remind.
ing one OF the famed "small amount of
bread 20 a most intolerable deal OF sack"
1851 90 for miscellaneous bills, due, pay
able and chargeable in the same way, and
not paid at the proper time from the
proper source for a like reason; over
=, 10000 for teachers wages, contracted
and unpaid in the same way and for the
same resssn; 1.-THE learned and courteous
chairman OF the Board somew hat proudly
boasts that there has oeen more OF this
model inanciering done under his kDowl-
edge and approval, but these are all the
authentic figures at present at the COM
mand OF the writer;) and besides this
curious and noteworthy "picklng up OF
unconsidered trifies" which space
writer in the Sunday Journal OF May 18th
characterizes as "economiziDg," (it is very
evident that the shade OF the late Geo. w.
Danielson did not read proof OF that para
graph by copy, ,)there has also been paid
out since December 1st last S706,35 for
substitute teachers, all of whose work
could have been done in another ana less
expensive way according to the testimony
OF the Superintendent in his monthly re.
port before referred to; f715,1 to young
girls In the Training School, at the rate
OF f2S.OO per week, as q sort OF bait to
allure and persuade them to attend this
school, In addition to giving them free OF
cost preparatory education as teachers,
to enable them hereafter to earn their own
bread and butter, and which could equal
ly as we'll, and also without cost, have
been obtained by them at the State Nor
| NAL School, to the expense OF maintain
ing which Pawtucket taxpayers contri-
butte their yearly quota; (tnis of course
leaves out OF account the other expenses
OF the local Training School. which are by
no means slight j and sl099,60 for wages
TO young women as assistants In OF the
| grammar schools, whore the pupils do
not exceed on the average, IS to room,
and In each Of which q male teacher, a full
grown man, Is employed as principal at q
salary OF $780, 90 per year. The 9Th gram .
mar school don't need any assistant, be-
Score the principal Is a woman capable OF
doing her own WORK, and doing 1t we'll
and therefore she comes cheaper, only re-
ceiving $4,000 year, and no assistant
Score one for the womanll IL II any sort
OF mystery, IL this state OF things is to
continue, and the Committee evidently