Putnam County herald. (Cookeville, Tenn.) 1903-1922, 1913-05-08
MAYORS FIRST MESSAGE
His Honor Discusses Matters of
Vital Importance to City


Vital Importance to City
At a special meeting of the
Board of Aldermen held Friday
night Mayor o. X. Holiday
transmitted his first written
message, which we take pleas
ure in publishing in full.
10 the Honorable Members of
the Board of Aldermen of the
Town of Cookeville:
In accordance with the char
ter and ordinances of our town,
as we'll as the custom of the va
riOns municipalities of the state
l transmit to you the following
message:
There are some few subjects
which l regard it proper to call
specifically to the attention of
the Board of Aldermen, for the
reasons that, in my judgment,
proper attention, management
and control by the oycers of the
town will very materially ben
eft our citizenship, and add
much to the general welfare
and happiness of our people.
City Schools
Standing prominent among all
the questions to be considered
by the Board Of Aldermenis that
of the education and enlighten-
ment of the youths of our town.
The hope of future advance
ment and prosperity is contin-
gent upon the proper training
CT the minds of our youths. If
we expect our boys and girls to
grapple with the complex prob
lens of our modern civilization
we must give them the proper
educational advantages. If we
do not furnish the proper edu-
catiOnal opportunities here, we
cannot expect good citizens
from this and surrounding coun
ties, who have children whom
they desire to educate, to move
into our midst and become cit
izens of our town; nor can we
expect a great number Of our
present citizens to remain a.
mong us, unless we furnish the
proper moral and educational
advantages that are expected
in the present age. We may
rest assured that other towns
will outstrip us in prosperity
and growth, as we'll as in NOR
ality and enlightenment, unless
we do our whole duty along ed
ucational lines. We greatly
pride ourselves on the fact that
we have one of the purest towns
in the South from a standpoint
of morality, and this has been
as much, if not more
by the good city school system
that has been carried on in our
midst, than from any other one
thing. We have supplied our
people in the past with the most |
ample opportunities for self i'm
provement, and the acquire
ment of those qualifications SO
essential to the highest degree
Of efficiency, and have continu-
ally improved our city schools
since their establishment. This
las come largely as the result
Of election to the Board of AL
lermen in the past of some of
he best citizens of our town,
which former Boards have seen
it to elect a School Board of ex-
.raordinarily high character,
md composed of men of ability,
Ind men who are interested in
he education and advancement
ind good health of the youths
If our town. 1t has been the
custom of former Boards to be
reasonably liberal in appropri-
ltions for education, and our
present Board of Aldermen
should continue generous ap-
for the city school
o the end that our facilities
or educating the youth may
continually grow better. Lib
'rality of our appropriations
or this, the greatest of all our
public interests, should only
'e limited by the financial abil-
ty of the town, and a due re-
sard for the other necessary ;
'ublic expenses.
High Schools
| believe that if the Board of
aldermen could establish a ;
Ugh school in connection with