Buchanan County, Missouri - Chapter 9: Public Schools of St. Joseph, 1881

The citizens of St. Joseph are justly proud of their excellent system of public schools, which not only afford a practical and liberal education for their children at home,' but have given the city character and reputation abroad. They have been one of the most important factors in attracting immigration, and have done more than any other institution to add to the population, wealth and general prosperity of the city. They are the schools in which the great masses of the children are educated - the children of the wealthy, of the men of moderate means and of the poor alike - all classes, and frequently many nationalities, being represented in the same school. Colonel Wilder, in an able editorial of recent date, says :

One of the best influences arising from our free schools is the fact that they completely break down the barriers that come from the difference in nationalities and religions. Having four children at school, we are glad to be able to say that the education they have received in this ' respect, has been broad and generous, and is worth more, in many vital respects, than anything to be learned from books.

The scholar is the inhabitant of all countries ; he does not call Horner and Shakespeare and Goethe and Hugo foreigners ; they are his kindred and countrymen. And when your little child is made to imbibe this spirit ; when he is made to start out in life with it, you have broadened his vision and enlarged his heart in such, a way that he will always be a man-^the true American that the new generation is to see and to make.

Until the year i860, no attempt at any system of public schools had been made in St. Joseph. Occasionally a free school would be taught for a month or two, or for a sufficient length of time to absorb what was not wasted or lost of the city's share of the public school fund. But there was' no public school system, and St. Joseph had merely the organization of a country school district. In that year, a few of the most enterprising of her citizens determined to make an effort to establish a system of public schools. They sought and obtained from the legislature of the state a good and liberal charter, which reads as follows :

County, in this state, as the limits of said district now are or may hereafter be established, are hereby constituted a body politic and corporate, by the name and style of the " St. Joseph Board of Public Schools," and by that name they and their successors shall be known in law, have perpetual succession, sue and be sued, implead and be impleaded, defend and be defended, in all courts of law and equity, in all actions whatever ; may purchase, receive, and hold property, real and personal ; and may lease, sell or dispose of the same, and do all other acts as natural persons. They shall have a common seal, and may break and alter the same at pleasure.

Sec. 2. The powers of the corporation hereby established shall be vested in a President and Directors, who shall be free, white males,, at least twenty-one years of age, who shall have resided in said district at least one year previous to their election, and who shall be citizens of the United States, shall have paid a city or county tax, and who shall be chosen or appointed as hereafter directed.

Sec. 3. The Board of President and Directors shall consist of a President, to be elected by the district at large, and two members, to be elected by each of the wards in the City of St. Joseph, as the same now are or may hereafter be established. The first election shall be held on the First Monday of February, A. D., i860, at the usual place of holding elections in the several wards of said city, and the Trustees of said district shall, immediately after the passage of this act, annex those portions of said district situated without the corporate limits of said city to the wards in said city to which they are contiguous, for the purposes mentioned in this act, and appoint Inspectors and Clerks of election provided for in this section.

Sec. 4. No person shall be allowed to vote at any election for President or Directors, unless, he shall at the time of offering his vote be a free, white male inhabitant, over the age of twenty-one years, who has resided within the limits of the district at least one year previous to said election, and who shall be a citizen of the United States, and shall have paid a city or county tax ; and no person holding any office under the provisions of the charter of the City of St. Joseph, or under any act amendatory or supplementary thereto, shall, during his term of office, be elegible to any office under the provisions of this act.

Sec. 5. The Board of President and Directors shall have power to judge of the qualifications, elections and returns of their own members; to prescribe the times, places and manner of conducting the elections of members of said Board, in the several wards of said city ; to compel the attendance of members at the meetings of said Board, and by the concurrence of two-thirds of all the members elected, to expel a member, but not a second time for the same offense ; to make rules for the government of their own proceedings ; to take and have charge and control of the public schools and all the property appropriated to the use of public schools in said district ; to sell or lease any real estate belonging to said district ; to loan upon real estate security for a period of time not exceeding one year any money belonging to said district which is not required for immediate use : Provided, That in case any money is loaned, by said Board, the rate of interest thereon shall not exceed ten per centum per annum, and the real estate security given for the same shall be free from all incumbrances, and valued at the last assessment roll of the county at least double the amount loaned thereon ; and no member of the Board shall borrow any of such money, or become interested, either directly or indirectly, in any such loan. And provided further. That no member of the Board shall be interested, either directly or indirectly, in the purchase, lease, sale, or title of any real estate or other property belonging to or claimed by the corporation established by this act ; and whenever it shall appear that any member is interested in the manner aforesaid, the Board shall declare his seat vacant, and shall fill the vacancy in the manner hereinafter provided. The Board shall also have power to make all rules, regulations and ordinances necessary for the management and control of the property belonging to the corporation, and for the government, discipline and other management of the schools under their charge, so that the same shall not be inconsistent with the laws of the land ; and generally to do all lawful acts which may be proper and convenient to carry into effect the objects of said corporation.

Sec. 6. The President of the Board shall be elected for a term of three years, and shall hold his office until his successor is elected and qualified. He shall preside at all meetings of the Board, of which body he shall be considered a member; appoint all committees, unless the Board shall otherwise direct ; he shall vote on all questions when the ayes and noes are called, or when the vote is taken by ballot, and give the casting vote in all other cases wherein there is a tie, and perform such other duties as naturally pertain to his office, and such as may be assigned him by the Board.

Sec. 7. The Directors shall be elected for the term of three years, and until their successors are elected and qualified, and one-third of their number shall go out of office at the expiration of every school year ; and for that purpose the Board shall cause its members to be divided by lot into three classes, as nearly equal as may be ; the first class to go out of office at the-end of one year, the second at the end of two years, and the third at the end of three years ; so that one-third of the Board shall be elected every year. And whenever the establishment of new wards in the City of St. Joseph shall require the election of new members of the Board, such elected members shall be classed accordingly.

Sec. 8. There shall be at least four stated meetings of the Board in every year, and the times and places of holding such meetings shall be prescribed by resolution or ordinance of the Board ; and the President or any three members of the Board may call special meetings by giving three days' notice in writing to the other members of the Board ; and in all meetings of the Board a majority of all the members elected shall constitute a quorum to do business, but any smaller number may adjourn from day to day and compel the attendance of absent members.

Sec. 9. Whenever any vacancy shall occur among the members of the Board from any cause whatever, the same shall be filled by an election in the proper ward ; or in case the office of President shall become vacant, such vacancy shall be filled by an election in the district at large, and such election or elections shall be held at such time and place or places, and shall be conducted in such manner as the Board may direct : Provided, That all elections for President or Directors shall be by ballot, and no person shall be eligible to the office of Director unless he shall be at the time of his election a bona fide resident of the ward which he may be elected to represent ; and in case any Director shall remove from the ward in which he was elected, during his term of office, his office shalj be declared vacant by the Board, and an election ordered as soon thereafter as may be to fill such vacancy.

Sec. io. The Board of President and Directors shall appoint Inspectors and Clerks of all elections held under the provisions of this a/ct, subsequent to the election provided for in section three of this act ; and the votes cast at such election shall be properly canvassed and returned to the Board in such form and manner as the Board shall direct. The Trustees of said district in office at the time when this act takes effect shall prescribe the manner of canvassing the votes and making returns thereof, at the election held under the provisions of section three of this act, and shall give notice in writing to the persons chosen at said election.

Sec. 1 1. The Board shall have power to appoint one of its members to act as President pro tempore in case of the absence uf the President elect, or in case the office of President shall become vacant.

Sec. 12. The Board of President and Directors shall appoint a Secretary, Treasurer and Superintendent, and such other agents as to them shall seem necessary to accomplish the objects of the corporation and prescribe their powers, duties, obligations and compensation. They shall cause a faithful record to be kept of all the acts and proceedings of the Board, and shall lay the same before the General Assembly, or either house thereof, whenever required, and shall lay the same before a general meeting of the inhabitants of the district, whenever one hundred qualified electors of said district shall, by written application to the Board, require the same to be done, and for that purpose the Board shall have power to call a general meeting of the inhabitants of the district. And the said Board of President and Directors shall, at least once in every year, cause to be printed and published a true statement of the condition of the public schools under their charge, and a true and fair account of all the money concerns of the corporation.

Sec. 13. It shall be the duty of the Board, as soon as conveniently may be, to take possession, charge and control of all lands, lots and other property whjch has been or may be received by or granted to the inhabitants of said city or district, for the purposes of public education, and to that end the title to all such lands, lots and other property, so far as this General Assembly can control the same, is hereby vested in the corporation created by this act, and the District Trustees in office at the time this act takes effect shall, upon being informed by notice in writing, signed by the President and Secretary of the Board, forthwith deliver to said Board all books, papers and records in their hands belonging to said district, and pay over to the order of said Board all the money in their hands belonging to the district, and deliver the possession of all other property in their charge and belonging to said district to said Board.

Sec. 14. The Board shall cause an estimate of the amount of money necessary to be raised for the purpose of building and repairing school houses and furnishing the same, together with the amount necessary to meet the other expenses. of the corporation, to be made out and certified under the seal of the Board annually ; and a copy of such estimate, duly authenticated, shall be filed with the Clerk of the County Court of Buchanan County, on or before the first Monday in August of each year;

^^he County Court shall cause the amount so certified to be levied upon all the taxable property, real and personal, in said district ; and the amount so levied shall be collected in the manner prescribed by law for the collection of state and county taxes : Provided, That the tax mentioned in this section shall not exceed one-fifth of one per centum in any one year.

Sec. 15. The Collector of Buchanan County shall have authority, and it is hereby made his duty, to collect the tax mentioned in the next preceding section of this act, in the same manner, and under the same rules, regulations and restrictions, penalties, liabilities and responsibilities, and with the same powers, as shall be provided by law for the collection of the state and county revenue in said county.

Sec. 16. The Collector of said county shall at least once in every month, and oftener if required in writing by the Treasurer of the Board, pay over to said Board all moneys collected and received by him to which said Board may be lawfully entitled. And the said Collector, for his services under this act, shall be entitled to the same compensation as shall be allowed by law for similar services in relation to the collection of the state and county taxes in said county.

Sec. 17. The Collector of Buchanan County shall, within ninety days after his election or appointment, and before entering upon his duties under this act, enter into a bond, payable to said corporation, in such sum as the Board may require, with good and sufficient sureties, to be approved by said Board, conditioned that he will faithfully and punctually collect, account for, and pay over to said corporation all money received and collected by him under the provisions of this act ; and in case the said Collector shall not within ninety days after his election or appointment as aforesaid enter into a bond as provided in this section, his office of Collector of said County of Buchanan shall be deemed vacant, and such vacancy shall be filled in the same manner as if he had resigned, and he shall not be eligible or re-appointed to said office for one year thereafter.

Sec. 18. The Collector of Buchanan County shall perform such other duties under this act, not herein specified, as he shall be required by law to perform in relation to the collection of the state and county taxes in said county.

Sec. 19. The same assessment within the district which shall be made upon property from time to time for state and county purposes shall be deemed and used as the lawful and proper assessment in levying and collecting the taxes authorized by this act ; and the payment of, the taxes authorized by this act shall be enforced in the same manner and under the same rules and regulations as shall be provided by law for the enforcement of the payment of the state and county taxes in said county.

Sec. 20. The Clerk of the County Court of Buchanan County shall perform the same duties under this act he shall be required by law to perform in relation to the state, county and other taxes in said county ; and for his services under this act he shall be allowed and paid by the Board such compensation as the Board of President and Directors shall deem reasonable, just and proper.

duties of their respective offices, take and subscribe an oath before some Judge or Justice of the Peace, well and faithfully to perform the same.

Sec. 22. The corporation hereby established shall be vested with the powers, charged with the duties, and entitled to- the privileges and immunities of a corporation organized under the provisions of ''an act relating to school corporations in towns and villages," approved December 12, 1855, so far as the same are consistent with the provisions of this act.

Sec. 23. All regulations, ordinances, resolutions and other corporate acts of the corporation hereby established maybe proven in all courtsand places, either by a sworn copy thereof or by a copy certified by the President and Secretary and authenticated by the seal of the corporation. And the General Assembly reserves to itself the power to change, alter or repeal this act whenever it shall appear to have failed in accomplishing the objects for which it is passed ; but no law hereafter passed shall be construed as changing, altering or repealing the whole or part of this act, unless this act be expressly mentioned in such law.

Sec. 24. This act to take effect and be in force from and after its passage, and the Secretary of State shall cause one hundred copies of the same to be printed as soon as may be and forwarded to the trustees of the school district incorporated by this act, for the use of said corporation. And all acts or parts of acts contravening- the provisions of this: act are hereby made inoperative so far as regards said corporation.

This charter has been twice amended by the Legislature, at the request of the Board of Public Schools ; once in 1866, and once in 1872. It is interesting to note how some of these amendments indicate the progress of Missouri in free thought and free government, from i860 to 1 866. The war proved a greater educator than the schools had been.

The first section was amended by striking out the words, " all free white persons residing within the limits of School District No. i," and inserting in lieu thereof, "the residents of School District No. i." The second section was in like manner amended by striking out the words,. " free white males," and inserting the words, " resident tax payers."

All persons who are residents of the district, and who are qualified electors for state or county officers for the time being, shall be entitled to vote in their respective wards at any election fbr President and Directors.

The directors shall be elected for the term of two years, and until nheir successors are elected and qualified, and one-half of the number shall go out of office at the expiration of every school year, which shall be on the 31st day of July.

The present Directors shall be considered the lawful Directors until the termination of their office, as herein provided, and until their successors are elected and qualified, and one of said Directors from each ward, to be decided by lot, shall go out of office on the 31st day of July,

1866, and the other at the expiration of the next school year, so that hereafter one director shall be elected from each ward every year, and jvhenever the establishment of new wards shall require the election of new directors, they shall be classed accordingly.

Whenever, by removal from the district or otherwise, a vacancy shall occur in the office of either President or Directors, it shall be filled by appointment of the Board.

The Board shall cause an estimate of the amount of money necessary to be raised for the purpose of building and repairing school houses, and furnishing the same, paying the salaries of teachers and officers, together with the amount necessary to meet the other expenses of the corporation, to be made out and certified under the seal of the Board, annually, and a copy of such estimate, duly authenticated, shall be filed with the clerk of the County Court of Buchanan County, on or before the first Monday in August of each year ; and the County Court shall cause the amount so certified to be levied upon all the taxable property, real and personal, in said district, including merchants' statements, doing business within said district ; and the amount so levied shall be collected in the manner prescribed by law for the collection of state and county taxes : Provided, That the tax mentioned in this section shall not exceed seven mills on the dollar in any one year.

The County Superintendent of Buchanan County shall not, by virtue of his office as such, have any power or control over that part of the county now under the jurisdiction of the St. Joseph Board of Public Schools.

The words "by virtue of his office as such" were inserted because the County Superintendent of Buchanan County, in office at the time', was Superintendent also of the St. Joseph Public Schools.

The above are the only features in which the charter has been amended. In all other respects it remains the same as when first granted, except that the Constitution of Missouri, adopted since the charter was amended, restricts the annual rate of taxation for general purposes to four mills instead of seven.

By referring to section three of the charter, it will be seen that the President of the Board was to be elected by the district at large, which comprises the city of St. Joseph and certain contiguous territory outside of the city limits on the north, east and south, while the members were to be elected by the voters of each ward. It was an excellent provision of the charter that the President should be thus elected by the district rather than by the Directors, as it makes him independent of the Board, and gives him a freedom of action that he might not otherwise have.

In accordance with the provisions of this same section of the charter, an election was held on the first Monday in February, i860, for a President of the Board of Public Schools, and two Directors from each of the wards of the city of St. Joseph. At that time the city was divided into three wards, instead of five as at present.

Dr. J. H. Crane, then an eminent physician of St. Joseph, now a resident of California, was elected President. He has, therefore, the honor of being the first President of the St. Joseph Board of Public Schools. The following gentlemen were elected Directors : From the First Ward - comprising, at that time, the southern portion of the city - Louis Hax, John Shehan ; from the Second Ward, James A. Millan, John. J. Abell; from the Third Ward - comprising then the northern portion of the city - Wm. M. Albin, Erasmus F. Dixon. Of the above gentlemen comprising the first " Board of President and Directors of St. Joseph Public Schools" the following still reside in St. Joseph: Louis Hax, John J. Abell, James A. Millan, and William M. Albin.

The first meeting of the Board was held in the office of Dr. Crane, the President, on the 7th day of February,, i860, when the oath of office was administered to the newly elected members by Willis M. Sherwood, Esq., a Justice of the Peace. It does not appear from the records that Mr. Abell ever attended any of the meetings of the Board. At that meeting, the Board completed its organization by electing James A. Millan, Secretary, and Joseph C. Hull, Treasurer. It is presumable that one of the first acts of the Board was to submit to the County Court an estimate for the levy of a tax for the erection of school houses, as three small school houses were built in i860, one in each ward of the city. But there is nothing to show that such an estimate was made or any tax levied, nothing to show that the houses were ordered to be built, or that any bids or proposals for their erection were ever invited or received. The school house, in what was then the First ward, was built on the southeast corner of Third and Charles Streets. Mr. Joseph Robidoux, the founder of St. Joseph, in laying off and platting the city, set apart and dedicated three lots on that corner for a city school, and the First ward school house was built on that ground. In 1865, these lots had become valuable for business purposes, and were very unsuitable for a school. In that year Mr. John P. Fink offered the Board twelve thousand dollars for the three lots, but as Mr. Robidoux had dedicated the ground to the city for a school, it was not clear that the Board had a right to sell, and after some negotiations, Mr. Robidoux, in consideration of the sum of three hundred dollars paid him, made a warrantee deed to the Board. The Board then sold the property to Mr. Fink, who built an extension to the house and used it for his shoe factory.

nothing on the records or among the archives of the Board to show how this ground became the property of the public schools. The house built in i860 is still standing, and in use, and is known as the Franklin School.

The school house in what was then the Third, but now the First ward, was built on Second Street, near Cherry, on a part of the ground which had been dedicated by Joseph Davis, in 1846, to the town of St. Joseph, for a public cemetery. In 1867, the City of St. Joseph, through its Mayor, deeded the ground to the Board of Public Schools. The building, named for many years the Madison School, is still occupied, and is known as the First Colored School.

The three houses were built on the same plan. They were built of brick, were 34 by 25 feet in size, and two stories high. They were small, uninviting in appearance, and unprovided with cloak rooms and other conveniences. They had two school rooms, one on each floor, with a narrow stairway in front. Each house could seat from lOO to 120 pupils. They were furnished with common pine double desks, made by a mechanic of the city.

In the Third Ward School - J. W. H. Griffin, principal ; Miss Lizzie Brand, now Mrs. Carder, assistant. It is interesting to note, as showing the liberal ideas prevailing in St. Joseph at that time in regard to popular education, the salaries paid the first teachers in; the public schools, which were for the male principals, fifty. dollars per month, and for the female assistants, twenty-five dollars per month. It was a fortunate thing for the ladies that they lived at home, and had no board bills to pay.

As already mentioned, the schools were opened on the 23d day of April, i860, and in the winter of 1861 it was found that there were in each of the ward schools quite a number of pupils who had mastered more or less thoroughly the branches of study prescribed for these schools, and who were prepared to take up more advanced studies. It was accbrdingly proposed to open a school of a higher order for their accommodation. Mr. Edward B. Neely had been conducting a classical school in St. Joseph for six years, and had recently erected a school building on Tenth Street, between Felix and Francis, for his own school. The Board made a proposition to Mr. Neely to take charge of the new school proposed to be established for the pupils too advanced for the ward schools, and to receive them in his building. Mr. Neely decided to accept the proposition, and opened the school on the first Monday of March, 1861, with about forty young ladies and gentlemen, who brought certificates from the principals of the ward schools that they had successfully completed the course of study prescribed for those schools.

About the same time, Hon. George H. Hall was elected by the Board Superintendent of Public Schools, a position which he held for only the brief period of four months.

In consequence of the disturbed state of society, resulting from the impending civil war, the Board, at a meeting held May 21, 1861, by resolution summarily closed all the grammar and primary schools, but continued the advanced school, taught by Mr. Neely, till the close of the term, in June, when it, too, ceased to be a public school.

From this time till 1864, there were no public schools in the City of St. Joseph, although the Board held occasional meetings and maintained a partial organization, by ordering elections now and then to fill vacancies as they occurred in the directorship. The school houses were sometimes rented for private schools, and sometimes occupied by the military. Here on the border, amidst the clangor of arms and the fury of civil combat, there was but little time or opportunity for the fostering, or development of a system of public instruction.

There are no records showing the enrollment and attendance of pupils in the schools from the time of their opening in April, i860, till their suspension in May, 1861. But the writer, from observation, would infer that there was an attendance of about three hundred in the ward schools, and fifty in the advanced school.

In 1864, the Board of Public Schools was constituted as follows: President Louis Hax ; members, David Pinger, William M. Wyeth, R. F. Maxwell, John Colhoun, J. P. Adolph, Bernard Patton. At a meeting held August 12th, 1864, the President and all the members being present, it was resolved to re-open the public schools of the city.

Mr. E. B. Neely, who had resumed his private school, was elected at that meeting by a unanimous vote. Superintendent of Public Schools, a position to which he has since been elected every successive year, entering in August, 1881, upon his eighteenth year of service. Mr. Neely, has also, during that whole period, discharged the duties of Secretary of the Board.

At that meeting a committee was appointed to confer with the Superintendent and arrange a plan for the reorganization of the schools. At a meeting of the Board, held August 13th, 1864, the Committee submitted a plan in substance as follows :

The schools to be opened at as early a day as possible, and for the present to comprise three general grades - primary, intermediate and high.

One male principal and one female assistant to be employed in each of the three ward schools ; the principals to receive a salary of $8o per month, and the assistants $50.

The Superintendent to be authorized to employ, as speedily as possible, as competent teachers as could be procured for the salaries offered. The Board to establish at once a High School for the city, with the Superintendent of Schools as principal, and one male assistant, at a salary of $80 per month.

The school year to consist of ten months, of four weeks each, to be divided into three terms, the first term to comprise sixteen weeks, and the second and third twelve weeks each ; the salaries of the teachers to be paid at the expiration of each term.

The matriculation fee of each pupil in the primary and intermediate grades to be fifty cents per month, and in the High School one dollar per month, payable each term in advance.

Any one of good character and suitable age, residing outside the limits of the district, to be admitted as a pupil in any of the schools by paying in advance such tuition fee as is usually charged in private schools, provided this can be done without excluding residents of the district.

It will be noticed that the schools were not to be entirely free, a small tuition fee being charged each pupil. This fee had also been charged when the schools were first organized in i860. The rate of taxation allowed by the charter was so small that the schools could not have been run on full time without the aid of that small tuition fee. It was abolished by the Board on the 3d day of February, 1872, since which time the schools have been entirely free.

Third Ward School - B. R. Vineyard, principal ; Miss Alice Bruner, assistant. Miss Bruner was married at the close of the first term, and Mrs. Annie R. Townsend was appointed in her place.

The schools were immediately crowded to their utmost capacity, and many who applied were unable to gain admission for want of room. The reports of the principals at the close of the first term of sixteen weeks, showed that 478 pupils had been enrolled during the term.

It was evident that more and better school acconnmodatfons must be provided. No intelligent and efficient system oF' grading could be' established by the Superintendent with the kind of buildfrags and limited number of rooms at his disposal. The buildings were- altogether inadequate to the accommodation of the children already here, and the population of the city was rapidly increasing. It was plain that the Board must build school houses, and to enable it to do so and also to give it the means to operate the schools efficiently, it must have authority to increase the rate of taxation. At a meeting of the Board, held November 15, 1865, Judge P. Bliss, afterwards one of the Supreme Judges of the State, then a member of the Board, proposed several important amendments to the charter, among others one increasing the rate of taxation from one-fifth to one-half of one per cent. The amendments were adopted, and Judge Bliss was appointed a committee to forward them to our Representative in the Legislature with a petition for their adoption.

On the third day of March, 1866, the President convened the Board at the request of Judge Bliss, to hear and take action on his report. He stated that the act amending the charter had passed the lower house,, but had twice been defeated in the Senate, and as the proposed amendments were, some of them, of vital importance to the efficiency of the school system of the city, he suggested that the Superintendent, Mr- Neely, be sent to Jefferson City as the representative of the Board, with instructions to use every exertion to secure the passage of the act. At a meeting of the Board, held March 31st, 1866, Superintendent Neely reported that in accordance with his instructions, he had visited Jefferson City, and had succeeded, with the aid of the Representative from the county and the Senator from the district, in securing the passage o^ the desired amendments to the charter. The Board had already sold the property on Third and Charles Streets to Mr. John P. Fink, for the sum of twelve thousand dollars, and now, with the prospective increase in its revenue through the amendment of the charter, it was in a condition to begin the work of school extension. Accordingly, in 1866, the Board erected two commodious and handsome school houses, one on the corner of Tenth and Edmond Streets, and one on the corner of Twelfth and Olive Streets. The price of labor and building materials was very high at that time, and the cost of building and furnishing these two houses, exclusive of the cost of the ground, was $36,071.50. The price paid for the ground on the corner of Tenth and Edmond Streets, 120 by 140 feet, was $1,500, and the grading cost $500.84. The sum paid for the lots on Twelfth and Olive streets, 135 by 140 feet, was $800, and it cost to grade them $441.70. Both houses were built on the same plan and were alike in every respect. Their architecture, while neat, is plain and simple, and they are well and substantially built. In all the houses built by the Board since the reorganization of the schools in 1864, this same wise policy has been pursued, to build plain but neat and convenient houses, without extravagant ornamentation, of moderate dimensions, none of them over two stories in height, and located to accommodate) as well as may be, the scattered population of the city.

The building on the corner of Tenth and Edmond Streets was designed for a central high school, and is known as the St. Joseph High School. It was opened for the reception of pupils in 1866. Its first principal was John S. Crosby, Esq., under whose able management the school soon acquired great reputation, ranking second to no similar institution in the West. Mr. Crosby remained at its head till the fall of 1877, a period of eleven years, when he resigned to enter into a law partnership with ex-Governor Woodson. The present principal, Mr. William D. Rusk was appointed his successor. He was an old pupil of Mr. Crosby, and a graduate of the High School, of the class of 1868. He had also been a teacher in the High School for several years. Under his judicious and energetic administration the school has retained the prestige it acquired, and enjoys a fine reputation both at home and abroad.

The house built in the same year on the corner of Twelfth and Olive Streets was designed for a grammar and primary school, and was named the Everett School.

In 1867, the Board built a school house for the colored children, a frame building, one story, 28 by 40 feet, on the corner of Fourth and Michel Streets. This school had formerly been taught in the colored Baptist church, on Francis Street.

No more school houses were built till 1869, but as the schools continued to be crowded, and many children could not gain admittance, the Board rented rooms wherever they could be found at all suitable for school purposes.

Resolved, That the St. Joseph Board of Public Schools, feeling the need of additional school buildings, and for the purpose of securing the necessary means therefor, and also for paying an indebtedness previously incurred in the erection of school houses, do hereby authorize and direct the President and Financial Committee of the Board to at once procure the issuing of bonds to the amount of forty thousand dollars, of the denominations of one thousand and five hundred dollars, with interest coupons attached ; interest payable semi-annually, at the Bank of Commerce, in the city of New York, at the rate of ten per cent, per annum. It is further ordered that the said committee shall take the necessary steps towards negotiating said bonds at not less than ninety cents for every dollar.

trans of Wm. M. Wyeth, Esq., the chairman of the finance committee, they were- all sold to parties in the east, netting the Board thirty-six thousand dollars in cash.

With this money, the Board liquidated an indebtedness that had been incurred in building the High and Everett school houses, and purchased the grounds and built two school houses.

A piece of ground 200 by 140 feet was bought on Fifth and Pouline Streets, for the sum of twenty-two hundred dollars. The sum of eleven hundred and forty-five dollars and forty-three cents was paid for grading these lots. A brick building containing six school rooms and a recitation room, was erected on this ground. The building is two stories in height and is in the shape of the letter T, with a projection in front, forming a tower surmounted by a French roo£ Its cost, including furniture, and excluding the sum paid for the lots and their grading, was $ii,658' It was named the Washington School.

The other house was built on a piece of ground comprising thirty-six lots, or an entire block, fronting on Highly Street and extending from Eighteenth to Nineteenth Streets. The block is bounded on the north by Beattie Street, on the east by Nineteenth Street, on the south by Highly Street and on the west by Eighteenth Street, and is a magnificent piece of ground. The price paid for it was eighteen hundred dollars, and it required no grading. On this site a house was built, similar in plan and design to the Washington School, the main difference being that the rear wing was omitted, so that it contains only four school rooms and a recitation room. The rear wing can be added at any time. The cost of this property, including the furniture, and exclusive of the price of the lots, was $9,928.

The Board had now, up to 1869, built and furnished five school buildings, four of them being substantial and handsome brick edifices, and one a neat frame building. Rented buildings were also occupied wherever they could be obtained, yet the increase in the population of the city, and the popularity of the schools. were such, that the cry of insufficient school accommodations was heard as frequently, and the complaints at the Superintendent's office, of parents who had applied in \ain for the admission of their children, were as numerous as at any former period.

In his annual report for the }'ear ending July 31, 1870, Superintendent Neely called the attention of the Board to localities where schools were most needed, and continued as follows :

From this brief statement you perceive that two new school houses, besides additions to buildings now in use, will soon became a necessity that cannot longer be postponed.

you cannot depend upon the school tax, as limited by your charter, to provide the means for the current expenses of the schools and to erect a sufficient number of school buildings to meet the wants of our growing population. I see but one way to meet the difficulty, and that is to issue bonds running a specified number of years to an amount sufficient to build the needed houses. This seems to be not only practical but right, for it is but simple justice that those who come after us and share with us in their use, should also share with us the expense of erecting them. These houses, if built, will be used by the people of the next generation as well as by us. The people of to-day have paid for most of.the houses* already built ; they will also pay the interest on the bonds that may be issued for the erection of the proposed houses. The bonds themselves, when they mature, will be paid by the people of the next generation. The natural deterioration of the buildings will be more than counterbalanced by the increased value of the lots.

Early in the year 1871, the Board decided to issue bonds to the amount of forty thousand dollars, to enable them, first, to pay off a floating indebtedness incurred in erecting school houses ; next, to build a new school house in the southern part of the city and an addition to the Everett School ; next, to build walks, stone walls and make other needed improvements on the grounds and premises of houses already built, and finally, to remodel to some extent, and adapt to public school use, a school building on the corner of Tenth and Felix Streets, which the Board had this year bought, on time, for the sum of $8,500 irom the "St. Joseph Deutsche Vereins Schule." This valuable property is situated on ground on the corner of Tenth and Felix Streets, fronting 120 feet on Felix Street and' running back 140 feet to an alley. The building is of brick, and at the time of its purchase had two school rooms on the first floor, divided by a hall, and one large room occupying the whole of the second floor.

The association that built and owned it had maintained a'-school in it for some time, but finding its support somewhat onerous, and wishing to incorporate it into the public school system, they deeded it to the Board for the sum mentioned above, with certain provisos and conditions attached, the most important of which are as follows :

The "party of the second part," by which is meant the Board of Publir Schools, is to keep on the property conveyed, or its results, a German-English school, in which instruction in the German and English languages shall be given in equal proportions in all departments of instruction, to meet the demands of the pupils from the whole city for such instruction, according to the capacity thereof

No teacher to be employed to give instruction in the German language in the German-English School, until he or she shall' have adduced satisfactory proof in writing, by persons other than the applicant, that he or she has received a thorough German education, and that German IS the language principally spoken in his or her family, and that of his or her parents, said proof to be and remain open to inspection.

All pupils applying to be received into the German-English School in the same manner and upon the same conditions as into the other public schools of the City of St. Joseph, and so instructed as to qualify them to enter from this school "what is commonly called the High School."

The Board to erect, within two years from the first of September, 1 87 1, an addition of two rooms to the building then on the premises, ^nd to complete the entire building according to the original plan, if the wants of the school require and the resources of the Board admit of it.

Before this property could be at all fit for use as a public school, it was necessary for the Board to expend on it the sum of $1,765.69. Among other things, the lot had to be graded, a stone wall to be built, the large room on the second floor to be converted into two rooms, with a hall between, and stairs to be built leading to the second story, the only means of communication up stairs heretofore having been by means of rough, temporary steps on the outside. The desks in the building were common and uncomfortable, and were replaced with new ones at a cost of $496.

The bonds issued in February, 1871, were sold at ninety cents on the dollar, and were taken, nearly all of them, by the citizens of St. Joseph. They netted the Board $36,000. Two thousand two hundred and sixty-one dollars and sixty-nine cents of this sum, as has been seen> were'applied to making the German-English School ready for use, and for furnishing it.

A piece of ground, 130 by 160 feet, was purchased in the southern part of the city, on the corner of Scott and Twelfth Streets, for the sum of $1,100. On this site, the Board built a brick school house 33 by 70 feet, two stories high and basement, with projection in front, 4 by 16 feet. The basement contained playrooms for use of the pupils in bad weather. School rooms, four in number, two on each floor, each 27 by 30 feet, with six windows to each room. The cost of this building, including furniture, and excluding price of ground, was $9,719.45. This school was named the Neely School.

In the same year, 1871, the Board built an addition of two rooms to the Everett School, making it a six-room building. A stone wall was also built around the premises, at a cost of $544.50. The total cost of the addition and other improvements at Everett School was $6,182.52. Tn July, 1 87 1, a terrific tornado passed over a portion of the city of St. Joseph, which unroofed the Webster School, blew down a portion of the unfinished walls of the Everett addition, in process of construction, and completely demolished the Colored School house, which had to be entirely re-built, at a cost of $1,100.

$3,500 of the amount realized from the sale of the bonds, and, in addition, the Board paid an indebtedness of $11,054.16, contracted in building in former years.

In 1871, the number of pupils in the schools had increased to 2,415, and there were in the employ of the Board thirty-nine teachers. Besides the buildings owned by the Board, six rented buildings were occupied. The expenses of operating the schools had of necessity become heavy, and in addition to the current expenses, provision had to be made annually for the payment of interest on the bonds issued, and for the interest on the notes given for the purchase of the German-English School property, amounting in all to $8,850 yearly. The amended charter gave the Board the power to levy a tax of only one-half of one per cent, for all purposes. It soon became apparent that this tax was insufficient to operate the schools, and pay the interest on the indebtedness of the Board. At a meeting of the Board, held November 23, 1871, on motion ofMr. Charles F.Ernst, himself and Superintendent Neely were appointed a committee to prepare a bill amending the charter of the Board so as to give that body the power to levy a tax not to exceed one per cent, in .any one year, and to present the bill to the member of the Legislature from St. Joseph, with the request that he would endeavor to secure its passage. At a m>eeting, held January 9, 1872, the committee reported that they had discharged their duty, and that the bill had been introduced into the H'ouse and referred to a committee. As some opposition to its passage was being developed, the Board thought it best to send a oommittee to Jefferson City to aid the Representative in getting it through. President Floyd appointed on that committee Messrs. George Lyon and J. J. Wyatt. Mr.. Lyon went to Jefferson, and reported to the Board, April 4, 1.872, that he had been unable to secure the passage of the .amendment giving the Board power to levy one per cent., but that he had succeeded, with the aid of the Re in getting a bill through which would authorize the Boaro .0 levy a tax of seven -tenths^ -of one per cent, each year. This was satisfactory to the Board, as it was sufficient to meet the regular expenses of the schools and pay the interest on the debt.

In 1873, as required by the contract of the Board with the German School Association, an addition of two rooms two stories in height, was built to the German-English School, making that a six-room building, with a recitation room at one end of the hall on the second floor. This was built at the contract price of $3,500, furniture not included.

The Board continued to levy a tax of seven mills from 1872 till 1876 In October, 1875, the State of Missouri adopted a new constitution, which restricted the rate of taxation for school purposes in cities to four mills, unless a majority of the taxpayers voting at an election called for the purpose, should vote for a higher rate of taxation. The constitution gave to School Boards the right to levy a tax sufficient to pay the interest on any valid indebtedness existing at the time of the adoption of the constitution, and also the right to levy a tax to create a sinking fund topay the principal when due.

There was no provision in the constitution by which the' Board could submit to the people the question of an increase of tax, and when the Legislature met and passed an act enabling the Board to hold such are election, it was too late to make it available for the exigencies of 1877. Only a four mills tax could be levied, and, as a consequence, the schools were continued in session that year only nine months, instead of ten as heretofore.

At an election, held April 24th, 1877, the people voted, by a large majority, to increase the rate of taxation for general school purposes, to five mills, and the County Court ordered a five mill levy. But in 1878, when the Board again asked for a levy of five mills, the court refused tO' make the levy, on the ground that the increase voted by the people in 1877 was for that year only. The proposition submitted to the people very distinctly stated that the vote was for or against "annual increase in the rate of taxation " and the ballots were so printed,, but the County Court judges were wiser than Webster or Worcester, and insisted that the tax voted was for 1877 only. The Board at once applied for a writ of mandamus to compel the court to levy the tax voted by the people, and judgment was rendered in the Circuit Court in favor of the Board. Through some neglect the judgment was not entered 00 record, and it became necessary to go into trial again, but a decision has not yet been reached. Consequently, since 1878, only a four mills tax has been levied^ This diminution of the revenues of the Board compelled a reduction ia the salaries of the teachers and all other employes,, which were already sufficiently low, and prevented the introduction and adaption of many and important contemplated improvements.

A history of the St. Joseph public schools would he incomplete which failed to relate the efforts of the Board to maintain, unimpaired its credit by meeting promptly the interest on its bonded indebtedness. The writer cannot do this better than by quoting briefly from the annual reports of Superintendent Neely for the year ending July 31st, 1878, and for the year ending July 31st, 1880.

In his report for the first named year, the Superintendent says : "Thebonds of the Board were issued in good faith, in. strict conformity with law, as was supposed, and after advising with, some of the ablest lawyersin the city. Successive County Courts, from: year to year, have levied a tax to pay the interest on these bonds,, and lately a tax to create 1 sinking fund to pay the principal. No question as to their validity had ever been raised, the amount realized from. their sale had. been invested in. commodious and comfortable school buildings, the use. of which our citi.- zens have been enjoying for years, and our School Board was just in the midst of successful negotiations with the holders of the bonds - many of them our own citizens - for refunding them at six per cent., when the County Court, the same court that had levied a tax the year before to pay the interest and create a sinking fund, made the discovery that the bonds were illegal, and refused to levy any further tax for the payment of either principal or interest.

" The Board has done all it thought advisable to establish the validity of the bonds and secure the means for their payment. It employed ex-Governors Hall and Woodson to examine the whole matter carefully, and give their opinion in writing as to the legality of the bonds. These eminent jurists, after a careful and exhaustive examination of the law under which the bonds were issued, expressed their opinion in writing in terms most positive and decided, that the Board was fully authorized to issue the bonds, that all the forms of law had been observed, and that they are valid and must be paid. A committee of the Board presented this opinion of Messrs. Woodson and Hall to the County Court, and requested the members of that body to give it their careful attention. The court still persists in its refusal to levy the tax, and it now devolves upon the holders of the bonds to take the legal measures necessary to protect their interests and their just claims."

"For the purpose of building school houses, of paying an indebtedness incurred in the erection of the Highland Everett School buildings, and for making needed improvements on the grounds and premises of school property, thfe Board in 1868 and 1871, issued bonds to the amount of $80,000, bearing ten per cent, interest. These bonds were sold at 90 cents, the Board realizing from their sale $72,000. In 1 871, the Board purchased from the German School Association, the property on the corner of Tenth and Felix Streets, for the sum of $8,500. As this purchase was made on time, the debt of the Board was increased to $88,500, and it became necessary to provide each year for the payment of $8,850 for interest, in addition to meeting the current expenses of the schools. This interest was paid promptly out of the general fund every six months, until 1876, when the new constitution of the state reduced the rate of tax that could be levied for the general fund from seven mills to four.

Boards of Education, were, however, authorized to make an estimate for a special or separate tax sufficient to pay the annual interest on their indebtedness, and also for a tax, not to exceed two-fifths of one per cent., to constitute a sinking fund, to be used only for the payment of the principal of the debt. The County Court made the levy for the payment of the interest in 1876 and 1877, and also in 1877 levied one mill to create a sinking fund ; after which it made the discovery that the bonds were illegal, and refused to levy another tax for the payment of either principal or interest.

From the avails of the tax levied in 1877, to constitute a sinking fund, the Board has paid $7,460, thus reducing its indebtednesss to .$81,040. To this, of course, must be added the interest, which has been comstamtiy accruing since the refusal of the court, in 1878, to levy a tax ifor its payment, only a few coupons having been paid since that time from the small receipts from the delinquent taxes of 1876 and 1877.

On the failure of the Board to pay the interest, certain holders of the bonds brought suit against the Board in the United States Court to test the question which the County Court had raised as to the validity the bonds. The Board gave public notice of the suit, and authorized any person desiring to contest the validity of the bonds to appear and defend the suit in the name of the Board. The County Court 'employed counsel, who appeared! and set up as a defense the want of power in the Board to issue the bonds. The question was argued, and judgment given sustaining the validity of the bonds. The County Court, however, still refused to make a levy to pay the interest. The Board then petitioned the Circuit Court of Buchanan County for a writ of mandamus to compel the County Court to make a levy to pay the interest due, and also a levy of one mill additional for general purposes, the latter having been Authorized by a vote of the tax payers of the district, in 1877, and levied for one year. The object of this 5uit was to remove any scruples the County Court might have on account of the ^' Cottey bill," which prohibited the levy of any tax to pay interest on bonds without, an order of the Circuit Court of the County, and also to test the question whether the extra mill tax, voted by the district, was to be levied from year to year, if the Board found it necessary, or whether it applied to but a single year, as the County Court claimed, refusing to levy it after that year. It transpired, however, during the progress of the suit, that the County Court intended to appeal from any adverse decisions in the Circuit Court to the Supreme Court of the State, where a final decision would not be reached for years, and the attorneys of the Board, Messrs. Woodson & Crosby, not desiring to increase the obstacles in the way of the bondholders collecting their judgments, dismissed that part of the suit relating to the bonds, but obtained judgment for a peremptory writ commanding the levy of the extra mill, from which decision the County Court has signified its intention to appeal. The holders of judgments in the United States Court have sued out writs of mandamus commanding the County Court to make a levy for their payment. The 'Court has the cases under advisement, the only point raised being whether mandamus will lie against the County Court, the judgment being against the School Board.

It may be a matter of interest that of the three judges composing the County Court, the one residing in the district votes to carry out the will of the Board, while the two that thwart it, are not residents of the district. Also, that at about the time the County Court refused to levy a tax for interest the Board had begun to refund its bonds, reducing the interest from ten to six per cent., and had refunded five thousand dollars when the action of the County Court put a stop to refunding, and will compel the district to pay over three thousand dollars interest annually, that might have been saved, to say nothing of costs and expenses.''

There is nothing to add to the above, except that up to the present time (1881) the court persists in its refusal to levy the tax, and it remains to be seen what measures will be taken by the United States District Court to enforce the judgment rendered by it in favor of holders of the bonds.

In 1875. the Board built a frame schoolroom in the yard of the Everett School, 27 by 30 feet in the clear, at a cost of $845, making that a seven-room school, and in 1877, a schoolroom on the same plan an,d of the same dimensions, was built in the yard of the Washington School, at a cost of $663.20, making that in like manner a seven-room school.

In 1879, the Board purchased six lots on Sixth and Jackson Streets giving for them a lot owned by the Board valued at $300, and $700 in cash.. On this ground a neat and convenient school house was built, containing two beautiful rooms, a hall in the center, and the necessary closets and cloak rooms. It is built of brick, and so constructed that a second story can be added to it. A rear wing can also be built without obstructing light or ventilation, thus making it a six-room building. It was built for the contract price of $2, 1 68, this sum not including fences, outhouses, walks, nor furniture. These items and the grading and excavation bring the cost of the building up to 13,049.40. The building was named the Floyd School.

Notwithstanding these improvements and additions, the demand for more school rooms continued as urgent as ever, a demand very difficult for the Board to meet with the limited means at its disposal, and the obstructions thrown in its way by the County Court.

By the practice of the most rigid economy, by reducing salaries to a point bordering on injustice, and by dispensing with many things, such as apparatus, etc., that would have been of great assistance to pupils and teachers, and by an unexpected increase in their revenue for the year ending July 30, 1880, on account of the collection of an unusually large amount of delinquent taxes, the Board found itself at the close of that year with a balance of a few thousand dollars to its credit.

It was resolved to buy ground and build more school houses, and during the year ending July 31, 1881, six school rooms were added to those already owned by the Board. A piece of ground 125 by 135 feet was purchased on the corner of Savannah Avenue and Richardson Street, for the sum of $90x3. On this a very handsome and convenient brick school house was built, two stories in height, and containing four beautiful school rooms. The house is built on nearly the same plan as the Neely School. It is the most elegantly finished school building in the city ; has in it water from the St., Joseph Water Company, and is furnished with marble wash basins, electrical bells, etc. It cost, not including furniture, etc., $7,400. It was named the Crosby School.

In the same year a brick school building, one story,. 28 by 38 feet, (13 feet story), 13-inch walls and metal roof, containing one school room, closet and cloak room, was built in the yard of the Everett School, at a cost of $1,235.40. The addition of that room made the Everett an eightroom school.

As the Neely School was crowded to overflowing, the Board decided to convert one of the play rooms in the basement into a school room. This was done in the same year, at a cost of $318.82, not including furniture, and it makes a very handsome, well-lighted and comfortable school room, about 28 by 35 feet in size. This makes the Neely a five-room school, and as the papulation is rapidly increasing in that part of tKe city, it will be necessary at an early day to convert the other play room in the basement into a school room, and also to build a two-story addition in the rear, with a school room on each floor.

All of these improvements made in the fiscal year ending July 31, 1 88 1, were urgently needed, but their construction absorbed all the savings of the Board and some $6,000 or $7,000 besides, and has rendered exceedingly doubtful the continuance of the schools on full time the ensuing year.

The urgency for more school accommodations still continuing, the Board resolved at a meeting held February 1st, 1881, to hold an election for the purpose of submitting to the qualified voters, a proposition for the levy of a special tax to build a six-room school house, in the western part of the city, a six-room school house in the eastern part of the city, and a two-room school house for colored children in the southeastern part of the city. The election was held on the first day of March, 1881. There was a very light. vote, only 363 votes being polled, 322 of which were for levying the tax, and 41 against the levy.

It was the intention of the Board to proceed to build the houses at once, without waiting for the collection of the tax, so as to have theni ready for occupancy by the opening of the fall session in September. But from the delay of the County Court to levy the tax, capitalists were unwilling to advance the money required, and builders were unwilling to take the risk of building, as it was by no means certain that the court would levy the tax unless compelled to do so after a tedious law suit. When, at length, the court did levy the tax, it was too late to build in time for the fall session, and at the date of this present writing (July, 1881,) it is not known when the Board will decide to commence building.

The following table shows the enrollment and attendance of pupils in the schools since their reorganization in 1864, embracing a period of seventeen years :

Before bringing the history of the public schools of St. Joseph to a close, it is proper to add a few words showings the scope and character of the course of study and the methods of teaching used in these schools.

It is apparent to any one who will study the history of the schools from their feeble beginning in i860, and trace their progress from their reorganization in 1864 to the present time, that their growth has been uniformly steady and healthy. Their organization may really be said to date from 1864, near the close of a long and bloody civil war, at a time when almost every branch of industry was paralyzed, and prejudices existed in the minds of a large number against the public school system. Beginning under such discouraging circumstances, with three small school houses and an empty treasury, the results attained in so brief a time cannot fail to be gratifying to every public-spirited citizen of St. Joseph. The facts related and statistics given in the preceding sketch speak for themselves.

To give a clear and succint view of the interior working of the system, we quote from an article written by Superintendent Neely, at the request of the " St. Joseph and Northwest Missouri Immigration Society." We quote only a brief portion of the article :

" The High School is at the head of the system, and the schools-, below the High School are known as the district schools, which include primary, intermediate and grammar. These are subdivided into seven grades, the seventh, sixth and fifth grades constituting the primary, thefourth and third the intermediate, and the second and first the grammar grades. The course of study is so arranged that each grade will' require one year for its completion, so that a child entering school at six years of age will have completed the course by the time he is thirteen. This is the time required for the child of average ability. Children who are exceptionally talented or studious complete it sooner. Let us look now briefly at the course of study.

The young child enters the seventh grade, bringing with him only his slate and pencil. No books are needed at the beginning. The teacher proceeds at once to teach him to read. She does not teach him first his letters and then to spell, but from charts suspended on the wall she points out to him easy and familiar words, such as dog, cat, top, etc., at the same time showing him the pictures of those objects. He soon learns to recognize many of such words at sight, much sooner than he could learn the letters, for the word conveys to him a familiar idea, while the letter does not. Soon the teacher, by skillfully pointing in the proper order, to the words the pupil has learned on the chart, constructs little sentences, and the child almost unconsciously finds himself reading, before, by the old spelling book method, he would have known his letters. These he learns almost without knowing how he does it. In this way a whole class is taught as easily as a single child. Byi the close of the first year, the children of the seventh grade have learned to read all the lessons in the First Reader, (which is soon substituted for the charts) to write legibly short sentences on their slates, to count with and without objects to fifty, and to add, subtract, multiply and divide, no number being introduced greater than twenty. This is the work of the first year, and if the annual examination shows that it has been performed thoroughly, the child receives a certificate, signed by the Superintendent, and is regularly promoted to the sixth, or next higher grade. In this grade the Second Reader is begun and completed, the children commence the study of Ray's Primary Arithmetic, and the studies of the seventh grade are continued. Primary Geography being commenced at the middle of the year.

In the fifth grade, or third year, the same studies are continued, the third reader being substituted for the second. The child finishes the primary arithmetic.

In the fourth grade, the scholar begins the fourth reader, and continues the studies of the preceding year. Primary geography is completed. Ray's intellectual and Ray's practical arithmetics are begun. The spelling book is now put into the hands of the pupils, all the spelling hereto- fore having been done from the readers. In this grade a text book on language lessons is placed in the hands of the scholars for study and recitation. All instruction on this subject has heretofore been oral, the pupil having no book.

In the third grade, or fifth year of the course, the same studies are continued, the advanced text book on geography being substituted for the primary. The text book on language lessons is completed.

In the second grade, the fifth reader is begun and completed, and geography is finished. English grammar is begun and the studies of the preceding grade are continued.

In the first grade, or seventh year of the course, selections from the sixth reader are read. Practical arithmetic is completed from interest to the end of the book. English grammar is finished, attention being given chiefly to the correction of false syntax and the analysis of sentences. United States history and an elementary work on physics are begun and completed. Intellectual arithmetic is completed at the middle of the year, and the class takes up in its stead and finishes an elementary work on physiology. Penmanship, spelling and composition are kept up throughout the entire course. Pupils are promoted from one grade to another by a thorough system of written examinations.

Such, briefly outlined, is the course of study in the St. Joseph public schools. Edward Everett said : " To read the English language well, to write a neat, legible hand, and to be master of the four rules of arithmetic, I call this a good education." Any pupil completing the above course in the St. Joseph schools, should have an education far above that standard, and should be well prepared to enter upon any of the ordinarybusiness avocations of life. But that the system of public instruction may be as complete and thorough in St. Joseph as in any Eastern city, a High School, with a liberal course of study, was organized in 1866, which has graduated 208 young ladies and gentlemen, who are filling useful and honorable positions in society. Of the above number, forty-four are either teaching now, or have been teachers in the public schools of St. Joseph. I can best exhibit the scope and character of the course of instruction in the High School by giving the course of study in full: