Connecticut western news., 1900-04-12
A DEPLORABLE CONDITION
The School Situation in CornwalI.-Ol
 Acts of Ignorance.

Acts of Ignorance.
 Three years ago this town by very pronounced majority voted to consoll' date it's districts and become single school district When this coEsolida- | tion took place the school property of the districts which had existed prior to l such vote became vested absolutely in | the town. The management of our schools was placed in the hands of nine men elected by the town as provided by the statute in cases of consolidation The assumption of office by the men elected placed in their hands and upon their shoulders the task of trying to up lift the educational system of our town. The assumption of office gave these men the control and management of all of the school houses in our town, some l7 Tn number. These had to great extent been neglected under the old district sy stem. From time to time the ques- tion has been discussed by the school board and also by prominent men of our town as to what course to pursue in re- gard to our school buildings which are rapidly falling into delapidation and de- cay, A number have been practically abandoned, there being no scholars in their immediate vicinity. Several of the village school houses are not large enough to accommodate the fast growing needs of their situation, particularly the one in the village of West Cornwall. The more intellectual class of the men of our town recognized the fact that the present stae of affairs could not exist for any length of time and maintain the past reputation of the town. They knew that new school | houses would sooner or later have to be | built to replace the delapidated and antiquated ones, With this in view the | school board of our town consisting of | Leonard J. Nickerson, George c liar | risop, Charles l.. Gold, Frank Whit comb, Minor Rogers, Burritt B. Yale, | Dr William Curtiss and Philo Nj. Kel- | logg voted unanimously at a meeti g | held short time ago to recommend to | the town that suitable school building | be erected at West Cornwall and at | Cornwall Bridge and also to make any | other necessary repairs on the school | buildings in the town that might be | leemed advisable. In view of tho Lr- l gent recommendations of the school | com mittee, the selectmen, by virute of the power given them by statute. called a special town meeting to be held on | Monday, March 26th. Three members of the school board were appointed to lraw a proper vote to be presented at the meeting.
 l Judge George 0. Harrison presented the vote drawn by himself, and which | included in it the erection of a suitable | school building in West Cornwall and ] OornwallB ridge. The subject was | thoroughly discussed and elucidated by different ones present showing the ab solute necessity of some immediate &C., tion by the town if its past honor and i, integrity were to be maintained. Ar | 2ument was useless. It was simply casting pearls before swine" and Corn. wall stood on record for retrogression instead of progression. ss& | Never in the history of the town was there such an out turning to town meeting called for a special purpose.
 5eventy-slx teams were hitched in the vicinity of the building where the meet | ing was held, and from the uttermost 1 parts of the town came men. who blind | d to the needs and demands of the 236 children of our town emphatically recorded themselves as against every measure tending to the developing of our common schools. Appeals were in vain. They came determined that the school buildings of our town might rot to their foundations before single dol lar should be expended for building or repairing. Never in the history of the commonwealth of Connecticut has such g lasting and disgraceful stigma been placed upon our town.
 Cornwall, the town who has offered it's Sedgwick upon the fieldiof battle for the maintenance of our Union; Corn
 wall, who has raised its Ethan Allen to thunder at the walls of Ticonderoga; Cornwall from whose borders went the first missionary. the bearer of education and enlightenment to the Sandwich Is
 lands; Cornwall, who has bred men
 whose voices have been heard pleading for human rights and liberties in its
 temples of justice; Cornwall, who has hitherto been foremost in intellectual
 advancement, placed itself on record by
 vote of 90 to 50 to cease it's progression
 and turn backward in it's course of
 educational advantages.
 Such result was not expected by the
 most conservative men of our town
 Arrayed upon the side of education
 ere men who represented more than
 one-half of the taxable property of the
 grand list. while against them stood
 men, blinded by their own selfish na-
 lures, who could not, would not and
 did not want to see any educational ad-
 vancement. Men who never owned a
 jingle dollars worth of property. Men
 who pay no taxes for the maintaining of
 our schools and public institutions.
 Men who cannot even read or write
 their own names. This was the ele-
 ment which has put this lasting blot up-
 on the heretofore fair name of Corn
 wall.
 As soon as the realization of the act
 had passed over the men who had tried
 in vain to save the honor and integrity
 of our town, petition was drawn up
 addressed to the selectmen demanding
 that another special meeting should be called for the sole purpose of erecting 8
 school building at West Cornwall, To
 emphasize the stigma that rests upon
 our town, let few of the facts regard
 ing the school here be known.
 The school attendance here has ma , terially increased in the last few years.
 Two years ago the school board voted
 to divide the school and hired temper
 arily small room opposite the post
 office in West Cornwall for school pur.
 poses. This room is situated over g
 brook running through the village and under which the water is stagnant for g number of months in the year, particu larly during the summer The dimen. sions of this room are 30 it by 12 it and . 1t in height. and part of this room i' taken up by stairway leading to the room above. It is lighted by three r windows on one side of the room. Into