Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1905-02-24
4 new SCHOOL III d BUILDING jjii.
The Necessity for a Larger and More
Convenient Structure is
imperative.

There is evident need for new and
modern school building to meet the
growing needs of the school popula.
ton and which will be provided with
sufficient light and sanitary needs and
all other equipments of an up.to.date
school building.
The utter uselessness of spending
money in any attempt to improve the
existing building, which is generally
admitted must soon be replaced by q
new building, and any money so ex.
pended would be lost as little or no
benefit would thereby accrue.
A school.house at an estimated cost
OF not more than twenty-five thousand
dollars. and such sum bearing inter.
est at FIVE per cent per annum will
only require an annual interest pay.
ment Of twelve hundred fifty dollars.
The bonds can be made to run ten
years and can be refunded at that
time in whole, or in part, as may
seem to suit the interest of the corpor.
alton. BY this arrangement the bur-
den of taxation would not have been
Increased, and the school population
would have within less than year
all tue benefits to be derived from a
modern building. For number of
years we have been paying $4,000
principal annually upon the old bonds,
of this amount S12so can be used to
pay the interest on the $4,000 new
issue and leave $3.50 to reduce the
principal annually.
The old building is inadequate to
the needs of the school, The present
enrolment fills the high school room.
During the present school year the
number in attendance at the high
school, a part Of the time, has filled 1t
to overaowing. AT the close of school,
in June, class Of fifteen will gradu-
ate from the high school, AT the
opening of the school, next September,
class of forty will enter from the
eighth grade. How to dispose of this
increase IS going to be knotty prob.
lem for the administration to solve,
the present. indications point to such
an increase in the high school as,
within two years, will fill two good
sized rooms.
All the rooms are now as full as
they ought to be for the health Of the
pupils, and convenience IN handling
classes. As it is now, the Office and
the laboratory have to be used as reel.
tatisn rooms. and for such purpose
they are not suitable, nor convenient.
The present little laboratory of the
high school Is IN no wise fit for the
work Of the school, It's poorly light.
ed; has no ventilation; pupils become
sick quite frequently, its atmosphere
Is sinking.
The halls of the present building
are cold, and unhealthy for the pupils,
especially as they have to hang their
wraps in these cold halls while school
is in session. The passing of the
pupils from, warm rooms out into halls
at a zero temperature, there to put on
wrsps that have been hanging for
hours IN zero temperature can be
anything but conclusive 10 health; and
the healthful conditions are Of prime
Importance in the education of young
or old. The people of any community
should be ashamed to submit their
children to such barn.like conditions
as are in existence in the old school.
building. The present halls. too, arein.
adequate to the number of children in
attendance; also they are poorly ar.
ranged for purposes of supervision.
Thievlpg, too, and mutilation of wraps
are engendered by the present condt.
tions with respect to the halls. Many,
many, parents pray. "Lead US not in
to temptation" and carelessly leave
their children to conditions unsu,ted |
even to age and fixed character.
Manual training should become an
established part Of the school course.
Pupils need the education of the hand |
and to learn to do and see things. |
Training of the hand, too, is Just as
effective if not more 80, IN appealing
to the soul of the being trained as is
the so.called intellectual training.
Hours might be spent in showing up
the results of manual training, alone,
if such a line of argument were nee.
essary in an intelligent community.
sTis trite to say the material prosper
lily depends upon intelligence. Amer.
icans know from experience that its
true. Why should not the pupils of
the present generation have the bene.
FITS OF manual training3 The next gen.
GRAFTON will have them. Why put it |
Off Are not your children as dear to
you as will be your grandchildren To
any right thinking citizen, no educa.
tional advantage can be too good, even |
for the meaDest in the land The