The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1904-06-30
REPLY TO UNIQUE METHODS. .
The Teachers of the Oakland School
Have Something to Say in Reply
to the journal.
To the Editer of The Republican.

Inasmuch as the JOuTnGES malicious
but Yapid utterances last week, anent
the festival held by the undersigned
teachers of the Oakland public school,
are not only misleading but positive
ly and inexcusably false, so far as
coupling our honorable Board of
County School Commissioners with
the movement is concerned, we
deem it meet and proper, and but
an act of simple justice to those
worthy officials to state most EN-
phatically that the idea of holding a
festival originated with us and us
alone, and that the School Board was
in utter ignorance of the project
until after the plans had been
matured. And we desire right here
to enter our vigorous protest against
the Journals contemplate attempt
to strike at the county school officials
over our shoulders and cast aspersion
upon innocent parties on account of
acts for which we were wholly re-
sponsible and for which censure was
due US. if at all.
Ii seems to US that an'editor who is
actuated by sincere and honorable
motives would at least be DESTROYS
of obtaining facts in any particular
case before undertaking to pass an
opinion upon it's merits or dement's,
but it appears that in this instance
the facts which could have been
easily obtained, were not what was
wanted, because they would not have
| served the purpose of the picayunish
editor who never fails to take ad-
vantage of the slightest excuse to
vent his petty spleen against the
present Board of County School Com
missioners, of whom he seems not
only insanely jealous but impotently
envious because of the notable fact
that they have made signal success
of the schools of the county where
he did nothing but make a miserable
failure of school affairs when he was
president of the School Board and
conducted things.to suit himself dur
ing his incumbency of that Office and
under whose direction and manipula-
ton the present school edifice was
built in 1894 and on account of whose
erection we only had SeUen 1CeebS'
school that year, whereas the coming
scholastic term under the present
board will consist of Secen and one
half MONTHS. Besides, the amount
expended for the building was amply
sufficient TO have afforded us an up
to-date structure, modernlY and sani-
tarily arranged, such as would not
have needed remodling so soon as
now imperatively demanded. And in
this connection the question natural
! ly suggests itself to the inquiring
mind why didn't this contentious and
| fault-tinding editor demonstrate his
worth as school official when he
had the opportunity? Because he
/ lacked the ability to make the schools
success he evidently imagines it to
be his just duty to malign those who
are making them among the best in
the State, an act worthy only of the
small and envious mind and which
forcibly reminds one of the words of
the poet
| Base envy withers at another's Joy
/ Furthermore, and to his discredit,
! be it said. an increase from a seven
weeks term during one of the years
of his administration as the leading
school official to a seven and a-half
months term under the regime of the
present Board of School Commission
ers, dosen't seem to be worthy of any
! thing but condemnation in the esti-
nation of this remarkable exponent
of unique methods in journalism,
but envy and jealousy, the twin
weaknesses of human nature, seems
to have proved too much for his frail
mentality and he feebly succumbs to
| their baneful influences and makes
an exhibition of driveling idiocy pain
full to behold.
Again, we are exceedingly astonish-
ed to learn from the same unique"
source that churches are charitable
institutions, but public schools are
not. Shades of departed philoso.
pliers, what an anomaly is here pre-
sented Churches, which get their
support mainly through the volun-
tary contributions of their members
are charitable institutions land in a
certain sense this may be SOY; but
| land here is the rub public schools,
which are wholly dependent upon
the public for their support are hot,
according to this eminent ~ and
unique" authority! The veriest
school boy can see the absurdity of
such a proposition and consequently
an intelligent public haye no difficult
ty in doing so, nor in deciding that
| the Dublic school is mOrdmuch of a