Valdez daily prospector., 1917-08-21
CITIZENS MEETING
THURSDAY NIGHT
DISCUSS QUESTION OF
NEW SCHOOL. BUILDING
Ways and Means to Induce Federal
Government to Proceed With Con-
struction Of Signal Corps Building,
Which Is Needed Badly.

A meeting of citizens of Valdez
has been called for Thursday night at
O'Clock in the town hall TO consider
ways and means Of inducing the fed
eral government to proceed with con-
struction of the signal corps commits
sary building in Valdez which was or
,lered last year but has been placed
ON the waiting list with many other
public buildings because OF the big
war.
The meeting will also consider the
question of issuing city bonds to
raise money for new schoOlhouse
for Valdez. This will require special
authority from Congress. 1t is be-
lieved that this will not be difficult
to obtain through the aid of Dele
secured enactment of special act Of
Congress for the same purpose by
sending a special lobbyist to Wash
ington.
A preliminary meeting was held
yesterday evening in the Prospector
office, at the call of DR.. Merritt. presi-
dent of the Chamber of Commerce.
Mayor Patterson was made chairman.
After discussion it was agreed that
the only way to achieve any result
Oil the comm;ssary would be through
congressional influence and that the
matter should be put up forcibly to
Delegate Sulzer. A committee was ap-
pointed to prepare statement and
have it signed by everybody in town.
John Lyons. c. c. Rudolph and w.
A. Dolan were named as the commit
tee.
The matter of the school bonds was
also discussed but it was agreed that
it ought to be subject of a generally
attended meeting of the people. The
desirabilty of new schoOlhOuse for
Valdez is admitted to be beyond argu-
merit. the only issue being how far
a new one The old Broadway school
house is very nearly one Of the things
that were 1t has been patched and
doctored until it requires as much at
tentiOn as a chronic invalid. 1t needs
a new roof as badly as most folks
need money. Extensive patching of
the roof this fall will be necessary to
keep out the wet. The building is al
so old, shabby, poorly ventilated and
hard to heat steadily.
1t is also considered desirable to
have all the schools together AS all
old residents know the Sherman
street schoolhouse was built as an ad-
dition to the Broadway school,, 1911.
That was before the Reservation was
annexed. At that time Reservation
pupils were attending the town
schools and the money allowed for
the Reservation was put in with the
city fund and the Reservation school
board and the town school board act
ed together in managing the joint
schools. About 1912 some wisenheim
raised the point that the federal gov
ernment couldn't legally furnish mon
ey for a school conducted within the
limits of an incorporated town. so
the town loaned the schoolhouse an
mex to the Reservation and the build
ing was moved over to the Reserva-
ton, whero it has remained.
An interesting feature of this red
tape fuss is that after the school,
house annex was showed over to the
Reservation the schools were con-
Quoted as before, all pupils from both
sides the line being united accord
ing to grades, the lower grades going
to the annex on the Reservation side.
and the two school boards managing
the schools as before.
But red tape was saved, unripped,
unraveled. and only slightly SCARED.
In 1914 the Reservation was annex
ed to the town and red tape dropped
into the ash barrel.