Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1901-05-31

or the constituting of the laws. An
election occurred in the normal school
city on Dec. 5. He was away at the
time and did not hear of the result I'M
til his return. He and his teachers
have no official part in these govern
ments, not even an honorary one.
These institutions are the young peo-
pies own.
The nearest approach the teaching
staff makes to contact with the cities
and the state Is that by school, city
and state statute law the faculty con-
stitute the state court of appeals, with
the principal the presiding justice.
Any citizen has the right to appeal
to this court from the decisions of the
ordinary courts, but no one ever has.
Then, too, this court of appeals has the
right to reverse any decision of the
lower courts.
One of the most curious things about
school city and school state is the way
arrests are made. The policeman
touches the criminal on the shoulder
and says, You are under arrest"
Then, if the boy or girl is new and
does not know, the officer explains
that he or she must appear at the
next session of court and stand trial
The prisoner can be represented by
counsel and can demand q Jury. A
panel of 80 jurors is drawn by each
city council, and juries of six are pick
ed by drawing out names on slips of
paper from a hat. Both prosecuting
and defendants attorneys have the
right of challenging.
Now, speaking in the study room
over the required one minute, and then
in whisper is a serious school city
offense. The cities are rigorous in
the keeping of discipline. Their police
keep it better than any teacher ever
could. The force is inhexible. Only
the other day policeman actually ar
rested his own chief, and the prosecut-
ing attorney, haling this erring head
of the police force to court, actually
convicted him, and the judges inflicted
the extreme penalty-nne days ban
ishment from the study room. That
means that the boy or girl on whom
this sentence is inflicted must gather
up books and papers and not step over
the sill of this door again until the term
Is up.
So powerful is the force of public
opinion here that no one ever thinks of
evading a penalty. The scorn attend
ant upon it would be too high price to
pay. Thus the school city works for
abundant good. The newly elected city
attorney is now under sentence of ban
ishment from the study room, and he is
at present studying under difficulties.
His case was fairly heard he was rep
resented by counsel, and he was legally
defeated.
But to turn from McGrath, the new
attorney, to Maurice, who is likely to
bring this test case before the normal
school city's court of appeals. When
he was arrested, he said he would re-
fuse to go before the school city court
But public opinion" brought him
there. He saw upon reflection that il
would ruin his school life not to 60
The judges acquitted him.
He will now institute a suit for dam.
ages against the normal school city for
the time it made him waste. He has
fixed his damages at 81, it is said, and
will carry the case to the court Of ap-
peals.
81 am beginning to wish l had read
law" said Principal Scudder to me the
other day. II foresee l shall need il
from the questions these boys and girls
are commencing to ask me. We are
getting some complicated points up"
Ten minutes later one of the officers
buttonholed me in the hallway.
"Say, you live in New York, don't
you? Would you mind looking this III
for me? / want to know just the way
to draw up this paper" And he named
a certain legal document.
Naturally the boys are proving the
most active officials. The girls, who In
the normal department comprise three
fOurths of the population, are not as 9