Baxter Springs news. [volume] (Baxter Springs, Kan.) 1882-1919, 1899-03-18
SCHOOL MATTERS.

Springs furnish something besides
merely local news. The greatest
educators In the world today are
our metropolitan papers and our
monthly magazines. Why should
not our weeklies do the same work
on more limited fieidI
We were highly pleased and
somewhat amused with articles in
both of our papers last week. Cen.
trails appeal for new blood in our
municipal government meets with
our hearty approval; also Principal
Wright's annual report was an ed.
ucatof for Baxter Springs and Cher.
okee county. Nothing could have
been more appropriate and timely.
The report of the finances of our
school funds was not so satisfac-
tory; because, in the first place, il
reminded us of the person who ren.
dered a financial report two years
ago of our city which was pro-
nounced by forty Of the best citi.
zens of Baxter Springs as the most
deceptive and misleading of any
report that was ever made in any
city in Kansas. There was no false
statement in the report of last week,
but there was no beginning or end
of that report; it was all middle.
No person was any wiser after they
had read IL than before. What was
there in all that report that gave
any information to this community
about the finances of our schools?
Where could you find spark OF
light on the vital question that
Principal Wright so wisely empha.
sised? The patrons should know
how much we are behind in our
finances. They would like to know
how many more years the scene OF
last week must be repeated. Pro
lessor Wright has worked unceas.
ingly for six months to Establish
graded school. He has faithfully
attended to the examinations and
closed his labors for the year with
nine we'll defined grades. Two
hundred of those pupils are now
tirped into the streets and some OF
them will soon be wild Arabs. Less
than one hundred will attend the
select school without any principal.
or without regard to unity of work.
hence the nine grades soon must
become nineteen grades aud when
the doors of our public schools are
thrown open next September wha
can we have but mixed school
again until the principal shall
again repeat what he has done the
past year!
For the good of this community
we wish them to remember few
facts. Last summer when the
School Board made their levy for
the school year of fourteen mills
one mill less than for years, our
city mayor who also was acting at
torney, advised the council to cu'
il down to eight and a half mill-
which would have thrown us back
W iere we were two years ago with
only four months public school.
Some few will remember that one
year ago a private school wac
opened in our city building and
that same attorney pledged with
rosy words at least twenty pupils
to the teacher at two dollars and a
half per month for THREE months
that city official was the first to
break that contract When tina,
teacher was looking for place in
the public school q member of that
attorneys family informed her that
her husband and herself controlled
the school board. Let Baxter re-
member that Il was that year that
our schools stood lower than they
had been in twenty-five years.
Then followed some agitation of
the school question and a woman
was elected upon our school board
and through her influence and the
firmness of some of the colored peo-
pie there were four changes in
teachers and that gave Mr.. Wright
the power to change the compiler
ion of our public schools which he
has manfully accomplished. Let
our people be governed by facts
and not be influenced by the loan
of few dollars, or few honeyed
words. CATO.