The Saint Paul globe., 1904-05-08
SUNDAY, MAY 8, 1904.
THE HIGH SCHOOL FOLLY.


st. Paul property owners COM
plain bitterly of their taxes. If they do
not wish these heavily increased with
out any necessity they will do well to
attend the meeting Of the board of
school inspectors sat for Thursday
evening next and enter their protest
against a scheme of folly that is be-
ing pressed with persistence worthy of
a better cause. The special commit
tee of the board, notwithstanding the
very complete expression of public
opinion in this city on the so-called
high school problem, has reported back
to the board three propositions, not
one of which has any considerable pub
lie following, and not one Of which
ought. to receive serious consideration.
The board is to decide, if this plan
goes through, only upon one Of these
three choices; namely, first, the pun-
chase 81 site and the erection of
great group of buildings for the entire
housing of the high school population
of the city; second, the purchase of
a site and the erection Of a building for
new high school in some locality not
now possessing one, which is known
to mean the building of such an insti-
tuition somewhere in the Sevenh ward
on St Anthony hill; third, the erection
of new high school buildings in the
First and Sixth wards, with additional
ground and buildings for the present
Central High and Mechanic Arts
schools. The first of these contem-
plates total expenditure of certainly
not less than $1,OO0,OO0 The second
would certainly cost before completion
from quarter to a half million dol
lars. The cost of the third would. be
half million dollars at a modest estf-
mate.
We have, then, proposals to add to
the bonded indebtedness and to the
pSfmanent burdens of this city one or
the other of these enormous amounts
of money, and one or the other of these
lines win be followed unless the voice
of the public makes itself heard. There
is the less excuse for this because, as
we have said, the questions presented
have been considered by representative
commercial and business bodies and
thoroughly discussed in the press of
the city. The decision against them
all is pretty nearly unanimous. A cer--
tain number of people living in the
wards where improvements would be
made favor one or another of these
plans, accordingly with the idea that
they would get more than they would
have to pay. A certain number whose
taxes are little or nothing are eager
for the most expensive plan of inn
provement, because it would be snowy
and would cost them nothing. But
the general consensus of opinion as
expressed in the reports and debates
in the Commercial club, the Chamber
of Commerce and the newspapers show
public opinion in st. Paul to be very
The situation. as The Globe has
shown and as the reports referred to
have proclaimed, can be solved with
out costing the taxpayers of st. Paul
one dollar. All that we have to do is
to correct a slipshod and improper
method Of promotion in the public
schools, and to use a test of admission
to the high schools that will amount
to something in order to give relief.
The high school facilities of St Paul
today are adequate to its population if
admission to the high school were.
granted only on terms sufficiently Sc
we're. Raise the standard and thus
keep down the attendance. and existing