Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1907-10-16
Divided the High School Fund.

Lodge in August, between the Medicine
Lodge and Kiowa districts in proportion
to attendance In the respective high
schools. The result will be that neither
Of the high schools will have funds sufh-
cient to defray their expenses for the term.
AS has been repeatedly stated in the
columns Of the county papers, when the
commissioners met as board of levy in
August they found that the Medicine
Lodge district was the only one in the
county that was qualified to take advan-
tage Of the Barnes High School act and
conduct county high school, and there
fore only mill and half levy was made
and it was ordered that this levy was for
the maintenance Of the county high
school in this city. This order was made
on the advice Of the county attorney who
is citizen Of Kiowa. He advised the
board that kiowa did not maintain the
course last year, which was prescribed
by law, and was therefore not eligible to
maintain county high school this year.
The order of the board seemed satisfac-
tory and agreeable to all parties concern
ed until last week when Prof. Stout, ,prin-
cipal, and two members Of the kiowa
school board asked the commissioners to
divide the levy. This was two months
after the levy was made, the tax rolls
had already been written up and it was
too late to make an additional levy, the
result of which is that Medicine Lodge
loses part Of what righfully belongs to
her, to kiowa, whose high school prin-
cipal failed to make his claims, if he had
any, before the board Of levy in August.
There is no word Of censure to at
tach to the Kiowa board for this imposi-
ton. They were guided solely by the
advice Of their principal or superintendent,
and were no doubt acting in good faith
in their demands, not having heard Of
the irregularities. Prof. Stout, however,
did not deport himself at the hearing in
very commendable way. He was sore
at the county superintendent, the county
clerk, Superintendent Major, and he
was particularly bitter in his remarks con-
cerning at least one Of the members Of
the Medicine Lodge school board. His
conduct was not suggestive Of his profes-
sion. A high school superintendent,more
than most other people, is expected to
deport himself with dignity and courtesy.
There is nothing especially brilliant in
loud and boiaerous talk, nor is it a signal
Of exceeding wisdom to pound a table
and impugn the motives Of those who
entertain opposing ideas. The learned
Professor should have recognized that if
kiowa has been ignored in this matter
it was because he himself failed and neg
lected to make it known that he had
maintained the course last year, prescrib-
ed by the Barnes act. He had studious-
ly avoided enhghtening either County
Attorney Cloud or Commissioner Flana-
gan both Of whom he had seen many
times before the meeting Of the board of
levy. Moreover, Prof. Stout's conversa-
ton with leading educators Of the county
when the county high school proposition
was before the people in 1906, lead the
general public to believe that he made
no effort to become eligible to install the
course provided for in the Barnes law
before the l907-08 term and his own
annual report shows that no more teach
ers were employed in the kiowa district
in the term Of lo06-07 than in the
term Of l9O5-06 and yet the high school
work Of the former, he now claims, was
in compliance with the high school act
while that Of the previous year was not.
If the annual school meeting at Kiowa
IN August 1906 duly authorized their
new board Of education through their su- |
perintendent to prepare course Of study
which would place their high school on
an approved basis with the University Of
Kansas, as Prof. Stout claimed. why was
it not done at that timea Why was it
not done before the opening Of school m
September 1906 SO that the people Of
kiowa. in general. should know it9 Ger
tainly that much ought to have been
done as reasonable r,a,fo.