The Portland daily press., 1899-03-14

School. per cent 70 yrs. 20, OOJ. 20
June /, 1888, Refunding,
per cent 20 yrs. 100000
school, per cent 20 yrs. 10000. 90
Avenue, 1 per cent 20 yrs. 1900 90
Total Bonded Debt, Feb. is,
1899. S20l, $50 90
Total Temporary Loan, $4,000
SCHOOLS.
Tho schoolhouse for the Park Street
district was closed last June owing to its
unhealthful and unsanitary condition.
The scholars at the beginning of the fall
term were sent to the neighhoring school
houses Two classes went TO the jackson
School, where there were two unoccupied
rooms, one went to Casco Street and one
TO Bracket street. The rest Of the
scholars were distributed among the sew
eral rooms of the Casoo street, Braokett
street Vaughan Street and Mcclellan
Sohoois The effect of this has been to
I'M all The rooms in the lower grades IN
ali these schools so that with the excep'
tion of about fifteen seats In the Mcclellan
SchooI there are no vacant seats west of
the Center Street School In May ew
s.bolars are admitted to the schools,
There were admitted TO these schools in
Nav. 1885. 1l2; in May, 1877, Ill; ana
! i'm NAV. lS9s, i40. Should the pupils
come in this year rs they nave In the PAST
| IL will he necessary to hire rooms for
| tbetr accommodation, and to continue to
do so until the new Park Street school
| honsa shall be- completed. Plans submit
tsd Inv the school Board for new school
! house in the Park Street district have
been examined and approved by the Joint
49, D.,k,1 L. nf,A Inc
and. in january last, the same were re-
ferred TO the present city government
with the recommendation that an appro-
priatiun be made and the schoolhouse be
huilt according to the plans submitted.
Ii is understood that unless contracts for
building this sehoolhouse are promptly
made the new building cannot be ready
for occupancy until the spring or
possllly the faH of 1910. IL Is recon-
mended that immediate action shall be
taken looking to the forwarding of the
work upon this building at the earliest
moment practicable.
By the annual report of the School Com
mittee now before us, 1t Is pointed out
that there exists an unsanitary and dan
gerons condition In the Casco Street
school 1t is recommended that imme-
diata actio be taken to remedy the con-
dirion of that building.
SUPPORT OF THE POOR.
The report Of the efficient secretary of
this department is one Of the few reports
that have been made seasonably for pres
ent consideration. 1t reveals an uDsatis-
| factory state of affairs in respect of the
extent and cost of the support of that
class of paupers called ss"1he Outside
Poor. he informs us that the appro-
priation for the support of the poor last
| wear Was thirty thousand dollars while
the expenditures will probably amount
| to forty-two thousand dollars. his re-
port states that 1.-The increased cost OF the
| support of this class for the few years past
| has been almost alarming. and this is es-
uecially true for the year Tor which we
now report 1t has become burden
well.nigh intolerable. sin spite OF careful
| investigation and wise discrimination II
reaches a point unprecedented in the his
tory of the city, both in the aggregate
| cost and in the number assisted. Their
frequency of application, too, has been
| unparalleled. Even during the summer
months ABOUT l75 families, were assisted
twice "a month, and this fact adds greatly
| to the expense of this class for the year.
= 1--WE believe our LIBERAL
| itv in this direction has reached It's ut
most bounds, and that as al future policy
| of assistance to outdoor poor the placing
of more of them in TIE aims house snoulu
be- unhesitatingly adopted. Hitherto we
| have been 10th to adopt this plan, both
on the ground o: humanity and expense,
| hut we now have the strongest reasons
| for believing that our sympathy has been
abused and advantage has been taken OF
our efforts to do that which We thought
was for the best. both for the city and
those dependent upon Its bounty, e.
/ H., y,rNltfip of fnprpAEp
| in expenditures has been the outside
poor and this has grown from l7O fami'
| lies in 1874 to 543 families in 1899. Ne
are not able to give even their approx
mate cost until the GEAR ending February
| %, 1880, when their cost was s@,Z2'. 10
From that it has increased to the aggre'
| gate of the present year. which is Sl2
| los. rs. In 1850 the number OF families
was 25I. A similar abuse of iherality
| is commented upon in reference to the
| hospital treatment afforded at the Greeley
Hospital
A attentive reading of the secretary s
report leads to the conviction that the de
psrtment for the support of the poor is in
| need of reform as TO methods and super
| vision When the present secretary, who
now closes a term of 25 years of continu-
Gus and faithful service Tor the city, states
| that ait Is to be hoped that some meth
o5s may be adopted that shall bring ex-
/
they were less than ten years ago" 10 be
hooyes US TO direct our efforts In the lines
he mentions uitable MD should be
ungruugingly bestowed upon the worthy
and unfortunate poor, but able bodied
paupers whose necessities are the direct
result of their own willtul indulgence In
idleness and vice should be made to earn,
If possible, their own bread. On this
| self-malntenance equity sternly insists.
1.-THE pauper of the class mentioned
should be- required to support himself in
order that he may not interfere with 9TH
ers' complete livipg-that he may not in
tercept the benefits they earn. For, il
Otherwise, whence must come his food
and clothing? Directly from the public
stores and Indirectly from the pockets Of
all tax payers. And what is the proper ty
thus abstracted from tax payers lt ii
tine equivalent of so much benefit earned
by labor 1t is so much means to com
plete living. And when this property il
taken away--when the toll has been goni
through and the produce it should nav
brought Is Intercepted by the tax gather
er on behalf of the pauper. th9 condition:
TO complete lie are broken. The paupe
commits by deputy a further aggression