Morris tribune., 1922-11-17
CHOKIO EXTENSION
PETITION DENIED
County Board Renders Decision After
Two Days of Hearing
and Argument

to include considerable portions of
districts No. 62, No. 55 and No. 81
and also small portions of districts
No. SO and No. 80, thereby increas-
ing the area of district 27 from about
12 sections to 38 sections.
The petitioners were for the most
part residents of the present district
No. 27, while the other districts af-
fected furnished the objectors
The petitioners we're represented
by James Ormond of this city and
L. D. Barnard of Renville. The OBJ
jectors we're represented by c. J.
Gunderson of Alexandria.
Thruout Tuesday and Wednesday,
the court rooms were crowded to ca
pacity while the hearing was in
progress. The petitioners presented
the advantages of the consolidated
school system and several prominent
educators testified on their behalf.
The objectors brought out the hard
ship of the additional tax burden.
Wednesday evening, eloquent
speeches for the objectors and the Pc
titioners were made by Mr.. Gunder-
son and Mr.. Ormond. The best Of
good feeling prevailed and both Pc
titioners and objectors enjoyed the
battle of these oratorical giants.
Mr.. Gunderson attacked the pres
ent system of education, and paid
glowing tribute to the little country
schoolhouse~ as the place where the
men who are leading the nation to-
day received their education.
Modern education educates away
from honest labor, and it is also re-
sponsibfe for the lack Of respect for
law and the decadence Of religion.
He wanted more exertion in educa-
tion, and thought it better for chill
dren to walk to shool than ride in
dren to walk to school than ride in
he claimed, the mill tax would be
doubled, and he further claimed that
while some land owners in tn dis
trict affected had joined the petition
ers for various reasons, yet there
was not one man who lives on his
land to favor it in all the 2S Sec
tions.
Mr.. Barnard made a short argu-
ment for the petitioners and then
Mr.. Ormond made his reply to Mr..
Gunderson. He stated that Senator
Gunderson's own career refuted the
bitter and vivid denunciation of the
American system of education which
he had made America has the
grandest system of education that has
LI~croIon1 fv1 tho +3Snc nP ffTN0
buses. If the petition were granted
This universal system allows all who
will to go on thru the high school
and the university. Mr.. Ormond
pleaded for the tenants who should
not be denied voice in such hear
ing as this.
He recalled the generosity Of Cho-
kio in charging no tuition, and stated
that some Of the signers of the re-
monstrance had received their edu-
cation in Chokio, and now when Cho-
kio asks for bread from those to
whom it generously gave an educa-
tion, it receives a stone.
Mr.. Ormond then answered the OBJ
jections to the roads and paid tribute
to the farsightedness of the commits
sioners in providing the county with
good roads; he spoke approvingly of
the buses which convey children to
school: he pointed out the superior
education given in the consolidated
school and the nationwide reputa
ton enjoyed by the Alberta school;
and finally said that the only real is
sue is the increase in taxation. Un-
fortunately Chokio had had to make
heavy levy to meet bond and that
together with the poor return from
the farms for two years had induced
a panicky feeling, but that 1t would
not always be 80. ..
After the arguments, the county
board retired and deliberated for a
considerable time, and then returned
a decision denying the petition.
Benson Defeats Aggies
Fortune smiled rather wryly on
the West Central School of Agricul-
ture last Saturday when they met the
fast Benson high school at Benson.
With three new men in the backfield
and a man at left end, playing his
first game, the Aggies were in no
condition to meet the team from
the neighboring county seat Until
the first touchdown by the Bensonites
near the close of the first quarter,
the game was nearly air tight, but
that tally bewildered the green Ag-
gies and their opponents registered
30 points before the close of the fes-
tivities. The team from Morris did
not score.
The Benson high school team Is
much faster than It was earlier in
the season and had several deceptive
and cleverly executed fake runs and