Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1906-11-22
GRAND RAPIDS GETS THE
COUNTY NORMAL SCHOOL

CUUNI1 NUkMAL SCHUUL
The County Board Appropriated
$4,000 for Building to be
Built in this City.
The new s15. .OOO.Teachers Training
school, will be located on the site
donated.by the city of Grand Rapids
to the county, for the purpose OF
erecting the building that the
county board ordered built Friday
afternoon.
This is the final conclusion reached
after several years of delay, anu
the many months of successful fill
clustering OH the part of the Marsh
| field end of the county board. There
were four votes to spare by the mem
bers who favored the location offered
| by this city, and the only com
mendable fact in favor of the routed
faction. was that they died game. In
the record given below will be found
the names of the parties as they
voted on the Training school matter
When the meeting of the county
board was called to order by Chair.
man Germer at two O'Clock Friday.
Deming of Marshfield rose, and pre-
faced his remarks with the state
ment ''that he, for one, could not sit
silent after the remarks that had
been made in the meeting the pre-
vious afternoon" He stated that he
had never said that the Training
school was not good thing, but how
good thing it was he was unable to
state. He felt that if it was not bad
! thing-and no one claimed that it was
that it must be good thing, but
that he did not believe that it was
good enough to warrant the eXpendi-
| ture necessary for the carrying out of
| the recommendations of the majority
report. He offered no facts in sub
sanitation of his position or in re-
butal of those offered by Mr.. Goggins
at the previous session, but in closing
he moved chat the matter be laid
over until the next regular session,
and that the matter be submitted to
a vote of the people. AS soon as the
motion was made by Mr.. Deming,
MIR. Lindemann was on his feet to
second it, but Mr.. Goggins rose to a
point of order and the chair sustained
him, over ruling the motion as offered.
Mr.. Goggins then explained that
there was no provision made for the
submitting of a proposition of this
kind to a vote of the people, but
stated that the people had elected
Representatives to act for them and
he called upon them to do their duty
| without fear or favor. ''God hates a
coward, quoted Mr.. Goggins, land I
for one am prepared to act as my
heart dictates, and am not afraid to
meet my constituents and explain my
action.
| Mr.. Hooper, of Nekoosa, then arose
and stated why he had opposed the
appropriation for this Training school
on former occasions. 1t was not,
according to his statements, because
he did not believe the school good
thing, for from his personal observa-
tion and study he has learned that it
was invaluable as means of raising
the standard of the teachers in the
rural schools: but he did desire that
the people be given all the chance
possible to study the matter and in
dicate to him their desire. Not one
word of criticism had ever come to his
ears, and he for one was ready to do
his duty, and go back to his con-
stituents with the knowledge that
his conscience was clear. He ap-
pealed to the rural members, and
pointing to himself stated, "If / had
the training that the teachers of this
institution are taught to give the
children of the present generation, 1
would be much better equipped to
tell you gentlemen just how I feel on
| this matter. The greatest heritage
we can leave our children is a good
education, and we owe it to them and
to ourselves, to give them the very
best opportunity that we can. ! for
| raody- t0 fnr hi
and for the location of the school in
the place that can best serve its pur-
pose-Grand Rapids
Mr.. Iverson. of Sherry, followed Mr..
Hooper, with practically the same
argument he made the day before.
He stated that the old teachers could
not get schools now owing to the pre-
ference give the Normal graduates.
This argument was used effectively
later by Mr.. Goggins in refuting the
logic of the position taken by Mr..
| Iverson. He stated that the gradu-
ates recommended by Prof. Jackson
were not satisfactory, but later Mr.,
Arpin showed the falacy of the state
ment, by wringing an admission that
| Mr.. Jackson had not recommended the
| parties that Mr.. Iverson referred too.
Mr.. Iyerson's argument was effect
lively used in substantiation of the
grounds taken by those who favored
the establishment of the school in
Grand Rapids.
Mr.. Brown, Of Pittsville, arose to
explain his reason for opposing the
Training School. He stated that he
had been instructed by some one in
his ward to vote against the PROPOSE
tion, and he threw a letter on the
table for the peruSal of the Scentical