Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1913-09-13
THE NIGHT SCHOOL

The board of education has author
lied Superintendent H. q. Blackmaf
and Principal F. M. Hammitt to work
out a night school for Ottumwa people
who feel that they would like to
brush up on their knowledge or add
to 1t. but who are engaged In earning
living and are unable to attend day
schools or colleges. Some of the de-
tails are already worked out. The
school will be opened at the high
school building October 6, and there
will be three sessions each week. NO
respectable citizen over IA years OF
age will be barred and the courses
will be provided according to the de-
mand. The regular high school teach
ers will be the instructors and there
will be no expense to the students
other than the cost of text books.
Night schools are not innovations
in the educational field. They have
been In existence for years in the
larger cities and of late years have
been installed in many of the smaller
cities. For the most part they are
both popular and successful, for they
reach the class OF people who want
higher education but who would
be otherwise unable to secure it.
The Woman's club Of Moline, Ill.
last year established night school
with amazing results. Hardly enough
teachers could be secured and the
ladies had to call for volunteers after
the high school faculty had been en-
gagged almost in its entirety. One rea-
son for this was that there is large
foreign population In Moline which
wanted to learn the English language
and nearly half of the students were
aliens.
While Ottumwa has no large
foreign population, 1t, like every other
city, has people who are ambitious to
learn more than they already know
and who will welcome the oppor-
tunity to attend night school.
UNNECESSARY NOISE
Owning an automobile confers upon
no one the right to make noise that
annoys the whole neighborhood.
Morally this was SO apparent that the
law has taken cognizance Of 1t as is
shown in section nine Of the Iowa
state law regarding the regulation OF
motor vehicles. This section reads:
1T shall be unlawful for the operator
or owner Of any motor vehicle to
operate or permit to be operated upon
the streets of any city or town any
motor vehicle which has not a suit
able muffler insa proper and efficient
working condition and 1t shall he
further unlawful for any person to
drive or permit to be driven on the
.streets of any city or town any motor
,svehicle with the muffler cut out or
gnot In operation"
This law is being violated every
day. Violations occur in the down
town districts, tn the residence dis
tricts and more especially along billy
streets, It would be deplorable If no
worse harm was done than the an.
noyance it causes residents, but un.
fortunately the evil does not stop
there, for there are autoists who show
an absolute disregard of both the law
and comfort OF others in driving past
the hospital. The hill to the west Of
the institution which houses Ottum'
was sick and injured, is nightly the
scene of "auto scorching." Machines
tear UP the hill Withdrawing exhausts
as though bound on q mission OF life
or death or engaged in an interna'
tional race. The mirthful, often
boisterous, sounds that mingle with
the roar of the engine show clearly,
however, that the trip Is little more
than. "joy ride"
It Is within the province Of any
citizen of the state to cause the arrest
of these noisy JOY riders and 1t begins
to appear that autoists will have to be
compelled to obey the laws by some
such drastic action as causing whole
sale arrests.