The Guthrie daily leader. [volume] (Guthrie, Okla.) 1893-1996, 1902-04-12
rate schools as hereinafter prov

eu.
This section. as you willsee raakes
IL mandatory upon the board Of coun-
ty commissioners to permanently
maintain separate schools in such dis.
tricts as are hereafter provided for in
said law.
TO maintain. as / understand it,
means to hold or keep in particular
condition and to continue and not to
suffer to fail or declina That is my
understanding OF section i OF this
act And, hut FOR the fact that this
section is afterwards modified, in the
same act Of the legislature. # WOULD
undoubtedly be the duty of the obard
Of county commissioners to erect al
maintain. and by that : mean TO perm
anently maintain. a school and suit
able school house, in the district for
separate schools. Section Of the
same act provides. IF, upon the re-
ceipt Of such report. (meaning the re
port Of the county superintendent re-
fered to in section and 4) the board
Of county commissioners of such coun-
ty End from such report or any other
legal evidence that they may desire
to consider, that any Of such districts
so maintaing. or that are entitled un-
der this act or existing law, TO main
tain separate schools for white
colored children have not furnished
or acquired a school building for that
elias sof children, either white or col
ored, that are the fewer in numbers
in said district and that such children
can not be transferred to adjoining
districts as provided herein, then
such board of county commissioners
slha lcause the county superintendent
G fschools to make a statement in
writing, with the specifications of the
kind of a school house needed by the
class of children that are fewer in
number in said districts" The sec
tion further provides then that, when
the board OF county commissioners
have settled upon the plans and speci-
fcations for s0ch building, suitable in
their judgment Tor such purpose; they
shall proceed to build school house
in the district. ! call your attention
especially to the language of This sec
tion which delegates the power, or
rather the duty. to the board of coun-
ty commissioners to erect these
school houses and especially with ref
erence to the kind or quality OF hous-
es to be built by them which is suit
able in theie Judgment for such pur-
poses." It seems to me from the
language here used, that the Intention
OF the legislature was to leave that
matter entirely in the hands OF the
hands of the board OF county commits
sioners and the only limitation ! am
able to find in this law, is in the lat
ter part of section 8. which is that
no contract shall be let or allowance
made for building such houses in any
sums in excess of the moneys or
bonds of such district expended for
the building OF a school house in such
district for the children Of the other
class" Following that language the
law also leaves entirely in the hands
Of the board ~ county commissioners,
to establish the location of the school
house in any part Of said district
which. in the Judgment Of the board
Of county commissioners, viii be
most convenient TO the greatest mum
ber Of children for whom it was in
tended
From the foregoing statements o.
the law, it seems TO me to be appar-
ent that Il was the intention of the
legislature to leave the matter OF
building school houses for separate
schools very largely If not entirely.
in the hands Of the board OF county
commissioners Of the respective coun-
ties IN which these schools are situ-
ated, subject however to the limi-
tation which is found in a subdivision
Of section following that part Of the
section just referred 20, which is as
follows
Such county shall not be at any