The daily morning journal and courier., 1902-03-01

a petition to be presented to the com mon council asking for the abatement of all existing assessments against all school properties.
 An important matter was that of the claims of the George M. Grant compa- | ny, contractors for the erection of the new high school building, for extra ex- cavations Mir. Chatfleld, representing l that concern, was before the board and at some length stated just the reasons for this charge. He claimed that his | interpretat tion of the specified tions with reference to extra excavation gave him l the right to charge for the work done. | This claim was not allowed by the su- | pervising architects, Brown & Von Ber- en, and hence MT Chatfield came di- rectly before the board. He stated that in order to get. suitable ground on which to construct the foundations of such building it was necessary to go much deeper in certain places by reason l of the presence of unknown and uneX- pected old cesspools, eisterns, etc, and that in consequence of this his firm was entitled to recompense for the expense
 
 in building the walls MT. Von Beren in a letter which was read admitted that the contractors slfould be allowed for the extra excavations, but not for the building of the walls. MT. Chat field stated that, since MT. Won Beren had admitted this, it carried with 1t the fact that they should also be allowed for the construction of the necessary walls. i9+1
 The members of the board asked a number of questions, gaining considera- ble information and enlightenment on the subject, and took it under consider ation.
 A very lengthy petition, in fact, one covering twenty one pages of legal-cap, was received from Alberto c. Fisher, of 249 Howard avenue, asking for the abolishment of the custom of reading the holy Bible in the public schools. The petition was placed on file. The petitioner set forth that the Bible had been placed there as an infallible guide and as such denies the authority of all other books of like character; and that the teachings of the Bible were contra dictory to the demonstrated facts of science, especially where it denied the spherical shape of the earth. In the petition were numerous quotations from the Bible with reference 10 this when it speaks of "the ends of the earth, the foundations of the earth" and that the foundations cannot be moved" It was further stated that though for hundreds of years we have known that the earth Is sphere yet there is still the old the ory in the Bible that "the earth is sup ported by pillars" It Is also charged that the Bible teaches doctrines which are anti-democratic and unrepublican- uphods monarchs, plygamy, slavery and subjection of women. The use of the Bible in the schools, so the petition CT also stated renders it sectarian, which violates the American idea of the complete separation of the church and state, as we'll as the letter and spirit of the constitution. It practically denies the right of private judgment in all matters of religion.
 In closing the petitioner stated that, 'in behalf of justice and peace, I again urge you that the change contemplat- ed in our demand, making our public schools conform to the true spirit of American liberty, be unfinchingly and promptly made"