The Newtown bee., 1909-12-10

Of course, this band helped to make Washington, Conn.,, known as a musical center, as the Gunnery, Ridge, Wykeham Rise and the public school system make it famous as an intellectual center. The speeches at the celebration of the opening of the canal referred to the changes taking place in Washington and what our ancestors would say if they could return to earth and see the in- ventions and happenings of the last
 50 years. Steep Rock, which was once a Io'al celebrity, became un- limited in its fame for picturesque beauty. The United States govern ment decided it was just the spot for a national fortification, so that is just the reason for the immense structures on it's summit. The canal from Massachusetts to the Sound opened up passage from the ocean. Thus the government could constantly be on the watch for the invasion of any foreign enemy.
 One matter in which the people of Washington had their own way was in regard to the trolleys. The line extending to l.itchfeld from Waterbury was.lald out through Washington but the local opposition was so strenuous that the trolley company was obliged to do a most unusual thing. The tracks and paraphernalia attached to trolleys were abandoned at point below the Hollister homestead to a spot two miles north of Washington Cen ter. Passengers were transferred fror The trolleys to elegant automo- piles which always stood ready for use at each end of the route. These automobiles were pleasing in ap- pearance as they passed through the town of Washinston. So none could criticise, the trolley companies went to q great eXpence to equip the auto mobiles with every o1'fCrt for pas sengers. It might well be added that two prominent members of the Home and School Associations were stockholders in the company
 Let us compare the li and latest methods ot conveying tn the schools those children living at long dis tance. Later when these schools were all consolidated into one at Washington Depot, school to be proud of, with it's equipment and fine teaching force, the school board caused omnibuses to be built espec- ially for school children. This mode of conveyance was really a necessity. The parents were relieved of the responsibility of getting their chil- dren to school. They were always punctual and appreciated all their advantages. It was suggested that the time would come when children would be transported in airships to school. Some thought it an insane delusion. It certainly did look like big expense to the town and the taxpayers at that time as the follow ing items from daily paper dated December 1, 1909, will show:
 Twenty-Five dollars for a days travel in an airship and $5 an hour for shorter trips is the.lowest esti- mate, according to the committee, at which the business can be made re- munerative. An airship of the Par seval type, capable of carrying IS passengers would cost S100,0O0. The cost of running it 200 days in the year would De $75,000. This would mean S374 day, or nearly S21 passenger. Counting on a shortage of passengers occasionally, the cost of a days travel for each passenger would have to be placed S25. The committee believes, however, that operation will be greatly lessened both the cost of construction and within the next few years and that the airship may yet become a serious competitor of railways.
 Time proved that the airship be- came a less and less expensive mode of travel. When the matter was first agitated of conveying the chil- dren to school by airships, the school board, which consisted of six ladies as vel as six gentlemen, felt like the man who had made two unsuc- cessful attempts to commits suicide but finally getting again desperate he decided to end all thought about it. He went to the river which was frozen over, finding an opening in along advanced lines, has now estab- lished a permanent manual training department which gives every pro mise of great success. Of all that has been accomplished in advanced methods of education, in the erection of beautiful new buildings and in other ways, nothing can compare with the value of the work in char acter building. It has been said that schools fail to produce noble characters. The tendency now it to study that particular phase of edu- cafton ond roomhprc of thp Accncia-