The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1904-01-28
TAKES ISSUE WITH THE PILOT
ON THE CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL
Student Does Not Believe The City System Would In Any Way
Sacrifice The Majority" Fails To See Any Good
Reason Against Proposed Plan.

To the Editor of the Manitowoc Pilot
In yonr issue of December 81, 1903 ap-
peared an editorial discussing the cen
trail high school question with reference
to Manitowoc While aiming to be fair,
the general tenor Of the article was ad
verse to the proposed system of central
lied schools. an attitude which, if based
upon the reasons set forth, appears nm
founded. Having ~ a matter Of person
al experience realized the inferiority OF
the preparation afforded by our schools
az contrasted with that given by those
Of cities Of similar or even smaller size,
and believing that this weakness Is at
tributable entirely to our present sys
TEN, ask the privilege of your columns
for further consideration Of this timely
subject
Using the article aforementioned as a
basis for discussion, we find that the loss
of popular mana cement, and the inabll'
ity of adaptation Of u central high school
to the needs Of the different sections OF
the city. are the two great points relied
upon.
Popular Management
That there is an elimination Of popu-
lar management under the proposed sys
TEN cannot be gainsaid. Practical pur-
poses could not be subserved by public
meetings called to consider matters of
school policy Resort would NECESSARY
" be to the polls; but would the intro
duction Of political aspect be, rs was
claimed, the very worst thing that
could happen. For an answer specna-
ton need not be resorted ton fact 1t
has been the belief Of the great majori-
ty Of the friends of "A central hi h school,
that this field has been the province pc
culiar to the opposition. The cities Of
the land abound with examples from
which deductions can be made. The
facts are public, the results obvious to
all. 1t is "a most unwarranted assump-
ton to fear the probability Of corruption
merely because the expression Of the
people il Indirect The direct removal
Of popular restraint may afford oppor-
tunity for evil, but it is an opportunity
practically determined by the communi
ty itself. Specific Instances IF gross
mismanagement Of schools exist, par
ticularly in the larger cities, but this is
not the fault of the necessarily political
aspect of the central high school system,
but il due to the natural Indifference of
the people concerned Where public in
terest continues active, thing to be
predicated Of all small cities, the results
need not be feared, a. is well borne
out by our neighbor schools if an oc-
casional scandal does appear, it is of II
character such ~ our present system
has not been entirely free from, In
short, popular management serves its
purpose asa slogan, but stops short
there. Under our present system Of al
miniatration we find that direct crit
cism of school work is rare the people
~ rule are couhlent that, with the
knowledge which can only be game d
through service their school boards are
in IL position to, aud do judge wiIel y.
are made privately, and
are, if anything more effective baclu 50
of that. It is certain wherever the cen
tral system Of schools has been adopted
that there has been no decrease i'll eff.
Cheney because of IN inability t. gun Il
public expression except at the polls As
aaid before, if anything, one finds he
graduates Of these schools better equip
ped, aud II con, liberation OF the reasons
for this leads naturally to II proof of the
fallacy Of the argument that n central
high school is unable TO conform closely
to the precise and peculiar needs of the
various districts OF city