The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1914-04-09
FranktOn'S High School

April o, lJl4.
To the Editor: In answer to Mr..
Forden's letter in last weeks Glacier
| want to say that Frankton has for
some time maintained very creditable
high school, and that we can maintain
it still. That even if the standard is
raised, and if the legislature were to
enact blanket school tax law, that as
we are so poor, and have such a large
school population that we should get
that railroad money about all back
again. But even if we did have to
double our school assessment, it would
still be cheaper than consolidation with
lot of other districts that are heels
owe head in debt, and then helping to
build perhaps hundred thousand dol
lar school house for it would have to be
BUILT with the view of meeting the de-
mands 20 years hence and then we
should only be able to send part of our
high school students to it part of the
time. 1t would be costly luxury,
wouldn't it? Then we should have to
vote a transportation tax, and there are
some people here who oppose high
school altogether, and others who
would have no children to send, and
again others who would not send to
Hood River. And how many of those
people would be willing to.vote trans.
portation for those who could be some
times hauled, and board for those who
could not? Now, did Mr.. Forden, and
the other consolidationists, not know
what terrible pickle our high school
was in before Churchill, who knowing
% Oh kA 80 H..
roads here at times in the winter, came
up here and made his great spell about
consolidation? Since which the Frank
ton high school has sank terribly in
their estimation. Now, the expert ad-
vice that Mr.. Forden speaks of, could
not from the very nature of things go
any farther than the school room. 1t
might be a little more convenient for
the teachers to have fewer classes, but
the greater cost and the difficulty, Of
ten imp0ssibility, of getting there
make the scheme too improbable to be
considered.
Pm the oldest continuous resident in
this district, having lived here almost
80 years and don't need any expert to
tell me anything about the condition of
the roads here in the winter time.
have seen q passenger train stall in
the snow atsViento and stay there in
the snow for q days before it could get
out, and it took several men with
hand sled for two days to get to them
from Hood River with provisions, and
they also killed and ate up some calves
belonging to Locke and myself that
were running down there in the viii.
lows. | have often seen the snow so
deep that | could not get down to the
river with horses for days at time,
and often the mail man cannot make
his rounds even with his light load.
How then haul load of children? Now
when | took an oath to do my duty as a
mean the schools of this district, and
to all parts of it like, and not that
should do all in my power to discredit
and tear down our own high school and
throw the remnants of it into the lap
of Hood River at great cost to the
tax payers and to the loss of high
school education to great many of our
own children who would otherwise have
taken it.
But it is useless to multiply words in
long drawn out discussions. In the first
place, transportation is impractical, in
the second place, consolation would be \
both costly and improbable, and in the
third place, having made a quiet can
vass of the district, know that we
are not going to vote consolidation. 1t
is not desirable, and so what are you
going to do about it, MIR. Forden!
f. K. Austen,