The Democratic advocate., 1901-10-19
The Public Schools of Carroll.

The ADVOCATE last week showed how tne
Republicans during Lowndes' administration
seized upon the public school system OF the
State and used it to give places to partisan
Republicans, replacing every Democra'ic
School Commissioner whose term had expired
with Republican. AS soon as the Repub-
licans obtained control of School Boards tney
proceeded to put inexperienced Republicans
il the places of experienced Examiners ana
Assistant Examiners. In some counties the
School Boards even Republicanized the boards
of school trustees SO that Republican teachers
could be employed, And in order to secure
genuine partisan Republicans for school trus-
tees. members of the Republican Central
Committee were appealed to to furnish names
Of such to act as trustees. Some school
teachers, all Republicans, had their certih-
Gates as teachers renewed without being ex-
amined. and Of these come were advanced 10
higher grades.
Il is not matter susceptible of proof, but
in some counties during Republican suprema-
ey from 1896 to 1900 Republican bosses man.
aoed the school book contracts, receiving
considerable ..rake-off" for doing so.
Now we will go back to the time the he
nublieans controlled Maryland in the Sixties,
through wholesale disfranchisement of Demo
Gratis and the aid of Federal bayonets.
Mr.. Jacob FL. Christ, OF Uniontown, was
School Examiner, and the following IS part
of his report on the schools of Carroll in 1866:
sThe larger portion of the school houses In
the county are unfit for any civilized man 70
teach in. and the furniture is in worse con-
d;t;on than even the houses themselves. In
these old buildings, with benches without
backs. and desks of pine boards extending
around the sides, fifty or sixty children are
eompelled to spend the day, crowded so thicK-
lv that comfort is entirely out OF the quesuoh.
Perhaps one. fourth of our houses might be
made to answer the purposes Tor whicn tney
were intended. but the rest are mere apologies
for school houses, and yet, bad as they are
the most of them are claimed to have been
built by the citizens of the respective districts
for their own uses, and have never peeh
decided to the county. before we can ac
complish much, we will be compelled to Duiio
new houses in the majority OF the schooi as
tricts. Some of the schools were kept
omen six months in the year; others two, three
and fonr months < No. OF pupils at
tending schools, 3,O93; salaries paid to teach.
ers, S., ,047. .87; incidental expenses, S326.62
No one has contended that the picture was
overdrawn, and Mr.. Christ, Republican,
perhaps drew his report as mildly as he could,
consistent with the truth. In his time the
whole system was partisan Republican, ana
none but Republicans were employed as
teachers.
Let us look at the condition of the schools
TODAY. Instead of schoolhouses "unft for
civilized man to teach in" and "benches
without backs and desks of pine boards ex-
tending around the sides," the county has SO
brick schoolhouses, 80 frame, log, stone
and | concrete Ofthese IA are rented and
loaned, and all the schoolhouses in the coun-
ty, except six or eight, are in good condition.
While the population of the county has in
creased since 1866 only about "a per cent
the attendance at the public schools has in
creased over 100 per cent. The attendance
in 1866 was 1908; in 1900-01 1923.
Last year there were 1853 white teachers and
13 colored employed and their salaries ag-
gregated SAL, ,91s59, fully $1,000 more than
was ever before paid. In 1866 teachers sal
aries amounted to but s3,o47S7.
Books were not free in 1866. Today they
are. by an act introduced in the Legislature
by Senator John Walter Smith, now Cover
nor of the State.
There we're no libraries in Mr.. Christ's
time. Today some schools have local libra
ries. to which the School Board last year
contributed $l39 80, and circulating library
has been started for teachers.
Today the politics of school teacher is
not inquired into. Only his efficiency is
matter of investigation. And the same is true
as TO school trustees. Efficiency not politics
is the standard by which they are measured.
We ask patrons of the public schools to
consider the facts above stated, and consider
whether they want the schools put under par
tisan Republican control again. Twice have
the Republicans made partisan machine OF
the school system-from 1864 to 1867 and
from 1896 to 1900. They will certainly do it
AGAIN if they have the opportunity.