Bennington semi-weekly banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 1894-1902, 1895-04-12
Major Valentines Opinion.


Major Valentines Opinion.
Editor Of the Bdnner:-DEAR SIR
1t is far from being my wish to add fuel
to the controversy relating TO our recent
school meeting; l would rather say some
thing to stop what consider intemper-
ate utterances and the Obscuring of the
true issue. Our people went to the
school meeting, not to charge anyone
with corruption or inability, but to ex-
press their conviction by their votes,
that, under the circumstances, our super
intendent has occupied his position as
long as it was for the interest of the viii
lage. AS lines were drawn, one vote
seemed to mean his retention, another,
the carrying out of the convictions OF an
overwhelming majority, such majority
as to place it beyond the charge of ignO-
rance or malevolence. For some years
majority of the patrons of the school
have felt that a change in its head was
desirable. For nearly year majority
of the trustees were opposed to the reten-
ticn of the superintendent, and the effort
to elect with reference to changing that
majority, of course aroused counter eff
forts, much as such an issue in school
meeting may be deprecated. No one
went to the meeting to prefer charges
against anyone. No charges were pre-
ferred, consequently no charges were re-
| frtoJ 10 ndnpt did nOt ra
fute, or attempt to refute anything.
Everyone was willing that he should
make what statement he wished. He is
a citizen of our village and voter in
school meetings, and had right to the
floor, and right to speak under the
proper conditions; but some thought
| that the motion made to allow him to
speak in self-defense, species of acting,
and that, at time when other questions
were before the meeting. He proved no.
thing and refuted nothing, as before
said, and said nothing that changed
vote; the question he discussed was not
an issue and needed no answer. Posing
before an audiecce, defying anyone to
make charges, proves nothing and
amounts to nothing; the meeting was
not for that purpose, it was not court,
and nobody was on trial. Probably no
personal allusion would have been made
but for the aggressiVeness of The Super
intendent, and few of his friends. |
cannot help criticising our trustees for
not recognizing the overwhelming senti-
ment of our people long before now. l
know that years ago he (the Superintend-
ent), was requested bv trustees, who
were hardly prepared to vote for his dis
missal, to resign his position; other
friends of the school, and his friends al
so, urged him TO recognize the feeling of
the community, and withdraw from the
school, believing that his reputation
would be injured less, than by letting
matters drift along until the question
was decided by public meeting. He
pleaded for delay and declined to act on
the advice. Especially was this the case
a year ago, when he stated that if he
could accomplish specific purpose he
would willingly retire. It was accom-
plished, and yet he went into the canvass
for trustee, with special reference to
what he thought such candidate would
do relating to his retention. Can anyone
blame our people for accepting an issue
forced upon them; and by what right has
anyone to claim that 300 out of the 400
voters, as expressed by the ballots, we're
wrong, that the 100 were right, and that
the majority disgraced themselves and
disgraced the village by voting in accord
ance with their convictions? Who gave
this small band of critics wisdom so
superior to a majority of their peers?
That majority was made up of our best
school men, our business and profession
al men, and not least, the masses whose
children are at school and have a right
and ability to do their own thinking, and
in school matters are quite as likely to
be right as their defamers. l make no
criticism on the motives of the minority,
they are good school men, many of them
were opposed to the retention of the Su-
perintendent, only very few of their
number, by their intemperance in Ian
guage and criticism, are subject to CEN
sure. These intemperate utterances are
wrong, and while they change nobody's
views here, they are liable to give an i'm.
preston to some non-residents that 300
out of 400 men were disreputable set.
Here let me add that do not believe in
anonymous communications Anything
that is worth saying is worth signing,
and that which is not worth saying
should not be published without some
body making himself responsible for it.
l never have noticed such communica-
tions and never intend to, and should
not write this in reply to the - and
other articles, had not one paper ap-
proved of them and the other paper rec
ognized them by comments. In our
school matters 1 have disapproved the
course of the Reformer in years past, for
its personal attacks, and now deprecate
the attitude of the BANNER in its charges
| or fVnuf tha out &c