Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1909-03-20

would not tHOSe text boohS eoii'oiiA 'No
ries he never told and sayings he never
said and things he never did? And. with
the tendency that We always find to IDEAL
ize, if not to deity our great men OF the
past. as it has been with Washington,
would it not be true that they would trE
to make of him another kind OF man
who with ma jestic tread walked TINS
earth and not one of the common people
whose pride and glory it will ever be that
he, for all his greatness, was one OF
them? l believe that it would fail of its
!, purpose. .
Again, it costs the State of Maine
about two millions and a half for its pup
lie schools, including that which is con-
tributed by the State and that which the
municipalities raise on their own account,
including schoolhouse repairs, text books
and the whole cost of running our
: schools. If we We're to divide that by the
average number of days of the public
! schools we would find that it costs the
: State of Maine about $4,000 day to run
: its public schools. This bill practically
: asks of us that we make an appropriation
| of $1,000 for this purpose, not only Tor
this year. but an increasing sum as the
expenses of our schools increase, for each
and every year. If this is once
embodied in our statutes, VINO can take
it out: Who is there that Will be bold
enough to ask for the elimination OF
Washington's birthday, with its tar
buckets and its tin horns? Does IT
serve its purpose-Wlth its oVerWorked
story of the cherry tree? Does it do
us any good: Does it do the memory
: of Washington any good? Would this
do the memory of Lincoln any good?
Further than this, it is a tax upon
the precious time of our scholars
l their brthright, which although they
! may not always appreciate. and their
parents ana teachers may not always
: appreciate. is it not our business here,
l in sober thoughtfulness, to make the
most of this school time for the Schol-
airs. 1t is a school tax of tWo-thlrds
Il OF one per cent. upon their precious
school time, which is to them worth
more than money.
, We already have more holidays than
We ought / think, and | have noticed
& a tendency to shorten the school time
, to d lesser number Of weeks in the
year, a lesser number of days III the
week, a lesser number of hours In the
day and to stop schools for fairs and
conventions and all that sort Of thing,
which we ought not to encourage
Our schools are not for ourselves;
they are for the future. and our fu-
D ture will be largely what our public
schools make it. We ought to be very
G thoughtful and very cautious in what
= we do in that matter. The memory OF
Lincoln needs nothing Of this kind. 1t
is not Of him, of ourselves. but of our
children that we should think. If the
bill, aside from this, contains any mer-
it's in the matter of bank holiday,
= would like to say that the bill, as
\ see it. eliminates the first day of jan
uary as a bank holiday; and that,
O think, VIC would like to retain; and i!
understand it Alright, the bill has
been amended to make that bank
holiday, but if the bill fails [ under
stand it will drop back to where il
is now, and the first of January vii
q be a bank holiday; and if there is
nothing in the bill to save. further
: than that. ] shall vote against its
II passage to be engrossedi
: Mr.. HAMILTON of York: Mr.. Pres
ident: AS / remember this bill, it was
before the committee on legal affairs
We heard it discussed there Il long
time and ! took somewhat the same
position that the senator from Cum
berland does on school holidays, anC
: there are three or four days taken by
: the schools for holidays. And / Oh
ject to this for the reason that as il
now stands it turns the scholars out
upun the street for a day and it takes
: a day or two to got them back. / know
our school superintendent do have
y this trouble. and | speak of the days
when they have Il, teachers convention
in the county. Then it costs the State
$4,000 as he says.
As | understand the measure. Lin
coin day was not to be a school holi-
day, but it was designed in that bill
u that that day was to be Il day of patri-
otism-that they We're to read the life
and discuss the life of Abraham Lin
. coin that day and that it was not
to be an absolute holiday, but schools
were to be kept during the day, anC
I in that day q special course should
be pursued with reference to the char
e acter and life of Lincoln and all the
surroundings that led UP to his being
t q. great man; and for that reason
4 was in favor of the bill.
t Mr. KNOWLTON of Piscataquis: Mr.
S President: This bill is too indefinite
J | am heartily i'll favor of the bill, pro.
(. vided / know exactly what the bill
l means; but T cannot tell whether o,
not this may be true: That a Schoo
t may be called together on that day
Y and they may have a few exercises
. in homer of Lincoln and the schoo
: then dismissed and the scholars run
. ming around the street and making il
= holiday per Sc. If that is the idea
| Of the bill, | object to it. If the bill
Q means, or if it can be changed so as
S to mean a recommendation that or
e that day the exercises shall pertai.
t mostly to the life and character OF
!, Lincoln, | am heartily in favor of it;
s ard therefore, Mr.. President. / move
f that the bill lie upon the table. I think
t We can fix that bill better than it is
F. now, 50 that we can know exactly
+ whether it is a holiday or whether it
is a day of exercises.
The motion prevailed, and the bill
was tabled