The Belding banner-news. (Belding, Mich.) 1918-1973, 1919-11-19
REAL STRIKE WAS
STAGED BY HIGH
SCHOOL STUDENTS
MARCHED ON STREETS OF CITY
DEMONSTRATING FEALTY TO
WAR VET. SCHOOL MATE

Residents of the city were treated
to little variety in life Thursday
morning when they beheld a gang of
High school students, IO4 in number
parading the streets in a real honest
to-goodness strike against the recog-
nized and constituted authority-Supt.
S. j. Skinner, head Of the public
schools of this city.
The causes of the strike and DEM
onstration as we have been able to
find out are practically as follows:
Earl Cowles, a student of the High
school, veteran of the great world
war, had the week previous, given a
talk on his experience overseas, to a
class in public speaking which Supt.
Skinner has and which he takes great
pride in. Cowles made a good talk
and it was thoroughly appreciated by
both the rest of the class and Supt.
Skinner also.
When the Armistice day program
at the school was being arranged,
Supt. Skinner, out of interest in the
class and as a compliment to Oowles,
arranged for the latter to give the
same talk to the entire High school.
On Tuesday morning, November IL,
Armistice Day, Supt. Skinner an
nounced that Mr.. Cowles would be the
next speaker on the program, expect
ing him to come forward when the
announcement was made.
Instead of this, however, it proved
on looking into the matter that Mr..
Cowles was notAin the room and the
program was greatly marred by his
absence. Supt. Skinner took this as
an act of misdemeanor and in explain
ing his position and disappointment in
the matter, he said that he hoped that
Mr.. Cowles' absence was not purpose
ly planned and that he would rather
think that nothing short of serious i'll
ness could have caused Mr. Cowles to
desert the class on this occasion.
The next morning-We Wednesday, Mr..
Cowles was in the class and when the
affair was mentioned Mr.. Skinner
stated that he considered that Earl
had disgraced himself and the class in
absenting himself in the manner which
he had. This apparently made mat
ters worse and Earl Cowles, High
school student, world war veteran and
an all around favorite, left the
room. The strike was not fos-
tered by Cowles, but others in
the school, who evidently misunder-
stood the situation, demanded an apol-
ogy from Supt. Skinner and the same
not being forthcoming from the school
head, they succeeded in getting 104
of the High school students to walk
out on strike. There are 146 pupils in
the High school, of whom 81 remained
n their classes, leaving who were alb
sent from school and could not be
counted either way in the matter.
The strikers paraded the streets and
caused a lot of merriment and talk and
finally assembled in the city hall,
where "Si" O'Connor, Commander Of
Hugo Fales post, American Legion,
appeared before the recalcitrant stu
dents and gave talk on Americanism
and urged the young people to go
back to school, Mr.. O'Connor gave
them lot of good advice and it took
well with the boys and girls who, that
afternoon resumed their classes and
studies in school.
The claim by some that Supt. Skin-
ner had called Cowles a Stacker and
had expelled him from school was de-
MED by Mr.. Skinner and also a num-
Der of the striking students.