Clarke courier. [volume] (Berryville, Va.) 1869-1997, 1906-12-19
For Better Public Schools.

recent Educational Convention:
As / stand here tonight to par
ticipate in these exercises and TO
deliver an address, the shadows of
former years and the pleasing
recollections of my childhood crowd
my mind and heart. In memory
am once agian a schoolboy, pos
sessed of all his joys and delights;
the old country schoOlhouse, with
its PLAY ground. its happy boys and
girls and its good teacher, appear
to me in departed but deepened
beauty. In sweet memory / seem
to be once again boy standing in
the old dictionary class by beau
tiful. black-eycd girl, to whom my
young heart was pledged. and in
different whether | went up or
down the class provided | might
stand beside her and squeeze her
hand behind the line. 1t seems to
me that young blood is once again
rapidly coursing through my veins,
making my heart pulsate with lofty
purposes and my mind thrill with
high ambitions. How lovely those
days of childhood when we viewed
life through a gilded veil and
everything looked so bright and
happy. Tonight | recall and can
not refrain from repeating those
lines of a poet:
Blessings on thee, little man,
Barefoot boy with cheek of tanl
With thy turned up pantaloons
And thy merry whistled tunes.
Let the million .dollared ride
Barefoot, trudging at his side.
Thou hast more than he can buy
1nthe reach of ear aud eye,
From my heart give thee Joy,
was once barefoot boy"
Ny friends, | have a more SER
ious and important duty TO perform
tonight than recalling the halcyon
days of childhood and youth, We
have assembled here to undertake,
earnestly and actively, the i'm
provement of the public schools of
this State. The purpose of this
meeting is to bring together all the
school authorities of Virginia and
to induce them 20 unite in a deter
mined effort for the betterment of
our schols. We realize that the
future progress of our schools is
largely dependent upon the local
officials, who have the control and
administration of school affairs.
The Boards of Superviors in the
various counties must be depended
upon for local school taxes TO sup
plement the State appropriations
in order to provide sufficient funds
for efficient and capable schools.
No comfy in this State can ever
be blessed with prosperous public
schools so long as they are starved
by the parsimony of splendid pub
lie schools and / will show you
county where supervisors have
been favorable and generous TO the
system of public education. Show
me a county whose schools are
wretched failures and have be-
come a subject of ridicule and con-
tempt and | will show you a county
whose schools have failed to receive
the proper sustaining support from
the Supervisors. The Boards of
the counties and the councils of
the cities have vast powers and
opportunities in connection with
our public schools system, and the
friends of education should see that
those selected to these responsible
positions are friendly and generous
to the cause of public education.
We should let Supervisors and
Councilmen of this State know that
they, equally with the members of
the General Assembly, are a part
of tbs public educational system,
and, hence, equally responsible for
Its success or failure. The mem
bers of these bodies who arc gen.
erous and helpful should be given
their full measure of praise. reward
and support; those who are hostile
and stand as obstacles in the path
way of education al progress should
be exposed and have directed
against them the antagonism of the
entire educational forces of this
State.
The efficient administration OF
the schools, the honest and wise
expenditure Of the provided funds
largely depend upon the division
superinIendents and trustees. They
select teachers. fix salaries, builC