The Palatka news and advertiser. [volume] (Palatka, Fla.) 1908-19??, 1917-01-19
CHILDREN INACCURATE
BUILDING CAMP PA|GN
In Monster Street Parade for
New Public School
Buildings.
Followed by Big Mass Meeting of Citi-
zens at Howell Theater at Night,

business and residence streets of Pa
, latka on Wednesday afternoon.
The parade was the first noise made
in the campaign Palatkans are to
wage for adequate and respectable
school building Accommodations for the
children of the city.
Frederick c. Cochrane, chairman of
, the board of trade committee charged
: with organizing school house senti-
,, ment, and who has been working like
a hired man to get material facts
bearing on the subject to present to
the people, was chief marshal. Seger's
band headed the procession which
started from the high school building
at o'clock and marched down Reid
street to First, thence to Lemon, up
) Lemon to Eleventh, counter marching
to Eighth, to Dodge, to Riverside
; drive, to Wilson's mill, thence back to
Howell theater, where the parade
broke.
1t was something of parade, too,
and don't you forget that; several
hundred children, representing the lit
tie tots from the primary grades in
the lead with the higher grades follow
ing in the order of advancement up to
! the senior class in the high school.
All sorts of banners were carried
bearing inscriptions appropriate to
the occasion: progress in Every
thing Except School Buildings" "Pa-
pa Give us New School House."
Build Them for us Kiddies," Don't
Wait Till we Are Gray" "The Barn
of knowledge is Thing of the Past
"Why Wait, Now is the Time ETC.
One great banner had modern school
depicted with an inscription, "This is
What We Want-We've Got to Have
It,"
Throngs of people lined the streets
through which the parade passed and
there is no doubt that the showing re-
suited in enhancing sentiment in favor
of a new school building. Fond par
ents were out to watch their children
and no one could escape the contagon
of 10y and enthusiasm with which the
children played their parts. Some of
them were costumed to represent typ
ical children of the backwoods. Sever
al boys from the high school drew toy
wagons on which some of the girls
perchcd. 1t was surprise to many
to know that we had so many chill
dren of school age in Palatka. They
now realize that boys and girls con-
stitute our leading crop, and that in
order to preserve the crop and get the
largest benefit from it, it must be
properly sheltered. The banners were
left at Howell theater for the meet
ing of citizens called for that night,
and these were placed conspicuously
about the theater.
The Night Meeting.
The children were nearly all of them
at the night meeting in Howell thea
ter. Any grown-up who was pres
ent will vouch for that statement.
They were seen and heard; heard so
much that the grown-up "first en-
dured, then pitied, then embraced"
not literally, but most of those who
remembered their own boyhood and
girlhood days, certainly felt that way.
The house was packed, the great |
majority being women and children,
though there were many men and vo-
ters.
At given signal Mrs. Mann began
a piano accompaniment and the cur
tain went up revealing a stage filled |
with the smaller boys and girls car
rying flags. They sang couple
songs and were generously applauded.
These children then retired and the
stage was soon filled with the larger
pupils, who also sang couple songs
built expressly for the school cam
paign. These were rendered with
enthusiasm and the melody was catch
ing. They were applauded.
The scene shiftss "and then the JUS
tice in fair round belly, with good
capon lind, with eyes severe, and
beard of formal cut, full of wise saws
and modern instances, and so he plays
his part" AS You Like 1t.
Now for business.
There were two rows of them. In
the front center was Chairman Fred
Cochrane On his right sat Prof.
Geiger; on his left sat f. NJ. Earn 1
est, and Superintendent of Schools, C.
H. Price. Back of these sat Jack {
sonville architect, IL. C. Stephens, {
Rev. R. l.. Bonsteel, Rev. S. Grady,
then another architect (name un-
known). Spread about facing the ,
audience were sketches of modern t
school buildings in other Florida ci- '
ties.
Mr.. Cochrane explained the objects |
Of the meeting; Palatka needed the v
school buildings and needed them |
badly; he had devoted much time to f
getting information bearing on the
subject from other cities of the Pa
latka class which had already built f
schools. People Of this. city might
disagree on Just what was needed; c
one school, two or three; but c
he hoped all could unite on some |
so a bond issue would be I
voted. He urged harmony, and in
vited an expression of views. +
A vote of thanks, expressed in a f
rising vote was given Col. Madison S
If the Palatka sign company for paint b