Pawtucket tribune. (Pawtucket, R.I.) 1890-189?, 1894-01-25

mensgerie, dou btless to be bought in due
order and succession, prove extensive and
varied enough. The consensus OF opinion
seems to be that there should at once be
taken such action as would make IL pos
sible to say In regard to this su ubject, In
all its ramifi fications, " hat was said In that
celebrated chapter about the snakes In
Ireland. Besides the immediate benefit
and saving that would result. from such
action, the proper authorities could also
dispose at public vendue of the "material"
on hand including the hen -oupboards
Aforesaid, which perhaps would be
eagerly (f) snapped up for "use as tables"
In restaurants and ice- cream pariors, and
OF which IL may not be amiss to state that
there are ten at a cost Of something over
seventy dollars, not "some five at cost OF
thirty Ave dollars" as has been repre-
sented, and the funds thus realized could
be appropriated advantageously in tiding
over the present financial stripgency. A
little more care and exactness would also
be praiseworthy In estimating" the sums
to be received for schooli purposes from
dog licenses for instance, which the books
show to have been on the average for the
past six years u 500 instead OF q, 10000
a. given, and from poll-taxes, which the
same official books show to have averaged,
ever since we have had such a tax, q, ,46O.-
90 instead Of 81 10000 as figured. In these
two items alone is a saving of over $4,000,
to say nothing of another source of In
come OF $4,000 according to the Trsasu-
rer's books,) OF which absolutely no men.
ton at all Isl made by the Committee In
their estimate of what is needed. Then
too In regard to teachers wages, the
Treasurer's books show that a little over
t71 90 was paid last year, although we
are told quite fippantly that they "footed
up" something over ga, 10000. Some
people are Just unreasonable enough to
insist that this S3,OOO.0O discrepancy or
overestimate may az well be saved, and
that In addition to all these items IL 10 by
the night school teachers twice, as has
been dene, once being considered enough
for all practical purposes.
There is probably no department of
public administration where there are so
many unmitigatsd, incorrigible cranks as
there are In the department OF common
school education. IL fGnyone has doubts
upon this point, attendance at one or two
teachers institutes, local or national, will
modify and settle his views to a consider
able extent. Theories and schemes and
visionary plans innumera BILE are there
annually presented and ventilated, and
their originators claim that In their pet
projects Is to be found, and only to be
found, q remedy for all the Ills that
schools are heirs to. But after all ths
stern fact remains that the ordinary
school room, containing from 35 TO 80
children, born of all sorts Of parentsge
and brought up under all sorts of diverse
circumstances, is placed under the direc-
tiop and control generally speaking,) Of
one woman possessed of greater or less de-
gree OF common sense, and upon her tact,
judgment, discretion and requirements,
more or less interfered with from the
outside, It depends whether these 35 to 80
children become able to earn their own
livings and perhaps something more, or
not. II they are well grounded In read
ing, writing and spelling, have a good
knowledge of arithmetic, command of
the principles of grammar, and q fair
amount OF geographical information, they
will In large majority of cases succeed.
II not, they. will fail. These then are the
requirements that should be met. To
meet them every community, every tax
payer is ready and willing to spend money
freely. When the work passes these
limits, the question at once arises, how
far can the limit be passed and still keep
the profit and advantage greater than the
costf The citizens of Pawtucket, through
their authorized representatives. the City
Council, have recently spoken plainly,
emphatically, decisively on this point.
Will their utterances be needed? II they
are, 1t will be well. II mott X