Devils Lake inter-ocean. (Devils Lake, Ramsey Co., Dakota [N.D.]) 1884-1905, 1900-06-29
Public School.

lNTER-OCEAN:
Last week the News informed it's
readers, with q great flourish of trum-
pets, that "the people Of Devils Lake
voted almost unanimously" for a new
school principal. We wonder if the
News means to intimate that there are
only 246 men and women of voting age
in this town!
The News is equally accurate when,
it announces saloon disapproval under
the scare-head caption "Public Disap-
prevail" Any one who cares to scan
the voters list, to which he can have
easy access, can satisfy himself as to
the class of people who did the bulk of
the 'disapproving" at our school cleo
ton last week. Saloon disapproval,
we grant, is a weighty matter in this
town, but heaven forefend that it
should ever grow to the proportions of
public disapproval; whether it ever
does so depends wholly upon the de-
cent people who, by their Indifference
or gullibility, often allow themselves to
be used as the tools of the liquor ele-
ment. The latter are never particular
about the means employed to accom-
plish their ends, 80, some time ago,
when they determined that Prof. Haig
must be got rid of at any cost, they be-
gan a campaign of unscrupulous, per-
sistent lying about our schools. It was
nothing Ito them that they injured
our schools for the sake of wreaklng
revenge upon the professor. They
don't care for schools anyway, neither
do they pay the taxes which support
the schools, so why should they care!
Moreover, they have no use the class of
citizens who would be likely not to To-
cate here because of inferior schools.
Somebody once sagely remake ed, tive
are all poor critters"-and we are. We
are all too ready to be led by the nose
by any scallawag with sufficient assur-
to undertake the job. Instead of TAX
ing unlimited pride in the fact that our
high school is n of the six best in the
state, there are actually fairly intelli-
igent people in this town who have
been deluded by these falsifers into
low par. The trouble with Prof. Haig
is doing. He could keep Jul columns
bristling with the many compliment
tary things said about our schools in
teristic modesty he let's the work done
in our schools speak for itself. Prof
Haig is acknowledged one of the best
principals in the state. A thorough
school man, hard working and energet,
ic, he has never spared himself o,
shirked hard work and extra hours
wnen the needs of the school demand
ed it. 7.
LACK of system" is the vague charge
, upon which the News bases its sweep
ing condemnation of our schools. Nc
school in the state can show q larger
average of excellent teachers. All %,
} them are fairly good, and some o.
them are UNUSUAL excellent. 1t is mo-
necessary for any one to take anybody.
word for this. Let him visit our schools
and note the system with which tn
work is carried on; let him observe
the wonderful accuracy and beautiful!
!, neatness Of IS per cent of the test pap
, ers, and let him note the place take1
, in the grades by children coming here
l from other schools.
/ = Our schools follow the rules of grad
ing and course of study laid down b.
the state-and they follow them to tn
: letter. Children entering our schools
from city schools acknowledged to b.
the best in the United states, never en-
ter a higher grade in our schools Will
! 1T is no unusual thing for Devils LAX
pupils to snake q grade" when the
;, enter schools elsewhere.
It would be much easier for GU
corps of teachers to lag behind tn
2 standard. 1t is a herculean task t.
keep to a uniform standard, the stupit