The Saint Paul globe., 1898-07-27
PAIR OF SMALL SENSATIONS.
MAR THE MEETING OF THE
SCHOOL BOARD
Seats to BE Contested by an I'm
nuccessfuI Bidder-A Secretary's
observation-disclosures of the Super
intendent and President of the
hoard.

observation-disclosures of the Super
hoard.
The board of education had a short
meeting yesterday, which developed a
couple OF small sensations. The first
was in connection with the purchase of
school seats. The contract for the
seats was awarded to the Minneapolis
School Furniture company at 81 each,
and amounted to about $4,000. The
bids Tor the seats were not given to the
press, but G. w. Turnbull made the
claim, and it was not denied, that his
bid on Manitowoc desks was 20 cents
lower on each than that Of the Mime
apolis company for their desks. He
further claimed that his desks are as
good, or rather better, than the ones
accepted. He further alleged that he
had been treated in the same manner IN
previous years. and that he had not
intended to bid this year, but that Di-
rector Quinby assured him that he
would be accorded fair treatment If he
did so. He notified members OF the
board and the public that he would at
once bring action against the board to
compel it to accept the lowest bid.
The second innovation was made by
Mrs. Crays, the president. A motion
was made that the clerk of the board,
Hugh Marchbank, be given two
weeks vacation. Since A. c. Sanders,
clerk Of the superintendent, had been
already granted a months absence
without loss of salary, Mrs. Crays
probably presumed the motion implied
the same procedure in the case in hand,
and she raised an objection to the mo-
tion. She said that when the teachers
have had to lose six months employ
ment and the janitors have been laid
off for a month during the summer, IL
would seem just that the employees of
the board desiring vacations should
take them on the same terms as the
teachers aid janitors. The motion.
however, prevailed. nothing being said
in il concerning the matter Of salary.
In justice to Mr.. Marchbank it may be
said that he had not asked for vaca-
tion and did not care about the SAL
ary.
A committee from the Bryn Mawr
district. including J. U. Barnes, J. c.
Oswald, c. l.. Smith and others, wait
ed upon the board and asked that ac-
ton in the matter of disseminating the
Bryn Mawr school be reconsidered.
Their petition was referred to the build
ing committee and the superintendent.
The school Is one for the accommoda-
dren who live in an unsettled country
from a half to a mile distant from any
other schools.
The question of erecting building in
South Minneapolis, near the Augsburg
seminary, to accommodate overflow
pupils, was referred to the building
committee.
A motion was carried to renew the
loan of 500, 900 from the sinking fund.
The superintendent and president of
the board read their annual reports for
the school annual to be issued soon.
The superintendent gives the enroll
ment of the year as 33,673, an increase
OF 1853 The shortnesS of the school
wear was given as the cause Of the
small increase. Of the enrolment one
half was in the first three grades, while
only one-fourteenth was in the four
wears of the high schools. He referred
to the small cost of the Industrial Work
IN the schools, and declared himself in
favor of all the so-called fads." He
recommended that the board try the
plan of assigning a principal to two or
more buildings to supervise the work.
He thought that better results would
be secured thus than by having prin-
Gipal teach half of her time, as the
board has arranged for another year.
Another recommendation was that
printing press be purchased. and the
reading lessons for the primary grades
be printed and supplied to the schools
as they are needed. He also recon-
rnendtd that a substitute be assigned
20 two or three buildings and report
each morning, helping the principal,
in return for which she should have all
the substitute work Of those schools
to do. He briefly recited the history of
Ghe past school year.
The president, in opening her annual
report. said: Another mile stone has
been reached in the history of this
board A year fraught with anxiety,
turmoil and uncertainty Is closing, and
while l cannot congratulate you upon
any remarkable achievement, or any
brilliant stroke of finance, I think 1
may offer congratulations that out of
the stress and storm of the past win
ter we have come into more peaceful
quiet waters-but waters still suffici-
emily agitated to preclude all possibil-
ity of stagnation. Let us hope that
history will not repeat itself, or at
least the unpleasant experience of the
board the past year. One OF the Spe-
cial causes of trouble, and which led
to the early closing of the schools was
the law relating to the payment of
taxes ON real estate, passed by our
last legislature. This law had not been
= in force long enough to establish
precedent as to What proportion OF such
taxes would be paid, but the tax pay
ment this year will establish such a
precedent-hence that difficulty will be
obvlated in the future.
"But the great difficulty Is the fact
that the average increase of income
for the educational department Of our
city is not in proportion to the average
increase of pupils. We have already
come to the point of collision, and have
been obliged, in arranging for the
coming year, to apply the surgeons
knife very vigorously in our efforts to
cut down the body to suit the garment.
I feel strongly concerning the great
advantage of industrial, or motor,
training to the youth of our land
cannot forbear expressing my regret
that such a training is to be eliminated
to any extent from our course of study.
Motor training is rapidly passing be-
yond the experimental stage. It has
been sufficiently tested to warrant some
definite conclusions as to it's effect
which tend to show the necessity and
the possibilities OF such training Then
too. the moral effect is no light con-
sideration. Crininologists are coming
to believe that lack Of Industrial train
ing, more than any other factor, is
largely responsible for crime. and one
of the best means for diminishing
crime is to swell the ranks of skilled
labor While we have not attempted
to turn out skilled artisans from our
schools, I believe the simple course of
industrial training, for both boys and
girls. as practiced in our schools,
would help in choosing their life work
would give them the oportunity to find
themselves, to find that their inclira-
tions were toward the Industrial pur-
suits, the manual rather than the
strictly mental. And so we should be