PAGE 445 - PICTURE OF SAMUEL PATTERSON

PAGE 446 - PICTURE OF JANE PATTERSON

HISTORY OF HARDIN COUNTY. - 447

CHAPTER, XIII.

EDUCATION-SCHOOL LANDS-PIONEER SCHOOLS-GROWTH OF EDUCATION

SCHOOLS FOR COLORED YOUTH-PRESENT GOVERNMENT OF SCHOOLS.

THE men of to-day who were familiar with the olden time which they made and of which they were a part, and who grew up with the ever-enlarging civilization, are living in a changed atmosphere. So suddenly and so strangely has the genius of change and alteration waved his charmed wand over the land, that the early settler has changed and kept pace with the changing years. and the unwritten history of the early days is recalled, ;is one remembers a fading dream. The sharp rind hard conflicts of life make heroes, and the fierce struggles of war and bloodshed develop them into self-reliant, stubborn and aggressive men, as fierce and sanguinary as their bitter foes. We are living in the age of invention and machinery. These have destroyed the romance of frontier life, and much of the strange, eventful realities of the past are rapidly becoming my mythical, and the narratives of the generation that settled the Scioto Valley, abounding in rich treasures of incidents and character, are being swallowed up and forgotten in the surging, eventful present.

The most casual observer cannot but have noticed, notwithstanding the privation and discomforts attending the lives of the early settlers, the zeal they manifested in education, and that, as soon as a sufficient number of pupils could be collected and a teacher secured, a house was erected for the purpose. The period just preceding the Revolution was characterized by its number of literary men and the interest they gave t6 polite learning; and the patriots who were conspicuous in that struggle for human liberty, were men not only of ability but of no ordinary culture. We can readily understand that the influence of their example had its weight in molding public sentiment in other respects, besides that of zeal for the patriot cause. To this may be added that, for the most part, the early pioneers were men of character, who endured the dangers and trials of a new country, not solely for their own sakes, bat for their children. and, with a faith in what the future would bring forth, clearly saw the power and value of education. Then we find, from the beginning, their object kept steadily in view, and provision made for its successful prosecution, and the express declaration of the fundamental law of ,he State, enjoins that " the principal of all funds arising from the sale or .:her distribution of lands or other property, granted or intrusted to the St-t-a for educational purposes, shall forever be preserved inviolate and and finished, and the income arising therefrom shall be faithfully applied to he specific objects of the original grants or appropriations, and the Goner 1 Assembly shall make such provisions by taxation or otherwise, as, from the income arising from the school trust fund, shall secure a thorough and efficient system of common schools throughout the State."

SCHOOL LANDS.

The act of Congress providing for the admission of Ohio into the Union, offered certain educational propositions to the people. These were, first, that Section 16 in each township, or, in lieu thereof, other con-

448 - HISTORY OF HARDIN COUNTY.

tiguous or equivalent lands, should be granted for the use, of schools; second, that thirty-eight sections of land, where salt springs had been found, should be granted to the State, never, however, to be sold or leased for a longer term than ten years; and third, that onetwentieth of the proceeds from the sale of the public lands in the State should be applied toward the construction of roads from the Atlantic to and through Ohio. These propositions were offered on the condition that the public lands sold by the United States after the 30th of June, 1802, should be exempt from State taxation for five years after sale. The ordinance of 1787 had already provided for the appropriation of Section 16 to the support of schools in every township sold by the United States; this. therefore, could not, in 1802, be properly made the subject of a new bargain between the United States and Ohio; and, by many, it was thought that the salt reservations and onetwentieth of the proceeds of the sale of public lands, were inadequate equivalent for the proposed surrender of a right to tax for five year. The convention, however, accepted the propositions of Congress. on their being so modified and enlarged as to vest in the State, for the use of schools. Section 1(3 in each township sold by the United States, and three other tracts of land, .equal in quantity respectively to one-thirty-sixth of the Virginia Military Reservation. of the United States military tract and of the Connecticut Western Reserve; and to give 3 per cent of the proceeds of the public lands sold within the State to the construction of roads in Ohio, under the direction of the Legislature. Congress agreed to the proposed modifications, and, in March, 1807, offered to the State, in lieu of the one thirtysixth part of the Virginia Military Reservation, eighteen quarter townships and three sections of land lying between the United States Military tract and the Connecticut Reserve. On the 14th of January, 1808, the State accepted these lands and released all right and title to the school lands in the Virginia Military District. We here have the basis of the common-sehool fund of Ohio, never Probably conjectured or intended to be sufficient for the purposes of education, but adequate to encourage broader and more liberal views.

We have seen in the foregoing how Congress by a compact with the people, gave them one thirty-sixth, part of all of the lands northwest of the Ohio River for school purposes. The lands for this purpose set, apart, however, were often appropriated by squatters, and through unwise, careless and sometimes corrupt legislation, these squatters were vested with proprietorship. Caleb Atwater, in his History of Ohio, in speaking on this subject, says: "Members of the Legislature not unfrequently got acts passed and leases granted, either to themselves, their relatives, or to their partisans. One Senator contrived to get, by such acts, seven entire sections of land into either his own or his children's possession." From 1803 to 1820, the General Assembly spent a considerable portion of every session in passing acts relating to these lands, without ever advancing the cause of education to any degree.

In 1821, the House of Representatives appointed five of its members, viz., Caleb Atwater, Loyd Talbot, James Shields, Roswell Mills and Josiab Barber, a committee on schools and school lands. This committee subsequently made a report, rehearsing the wrong management of the school land trust on behalf of the State, warmly advocated the establishment of a system of education and the adoption of measures which would secure for the people the rights which Congress intended they should possess. In compliance with the recommendation of the committee, the Governor of the

HISTORY OF HARDIN COUNTY. - 449

State, in May, 1822, having been authorized by the Legislature, appointed seven Commissioners of Schools and School Lands, viz., Caleb Atwater, Rev. John Collins, Rev. James Hoge, N. Guilford, Ephraim Cutler, Josiah Barber and James M. Bell. The reason why seven persons were appointed was because there were seven different sorts of school lands in the State, viz., Section 16 in every township of the Congress lards, the Virginia Militiary lands, Symmes' Purchase, the Ohio Company's Purchase, the Refugee lands, and the Connecticut Western Reserve. This commission of seven person, was reduced by various causes to one of three, Messrs Atwater, Collins and Hoge, who performed the arduous duties incumbent upon them with but. little remuneration, and (at the time) but few thanks.

The Legislature of 1822-23 broke up without having taken any definite action upon the report presented by the commission, but, during the summer and autumn of 1824, the subject of the sale of the school lands was warmly agitated, and the friends of this measure triumphed over the opposition so far as to elect large majorities to both branches of the General Assembly in favor of its being, made a law. The quantity of land set apart was ascertained, in 1825, to be a little more than half a million acres and was valued at less than $1,000,000.

Having now briefly related the facts connected with the school lands, we will pass on to the Legislative enactments through which they were dis hosed of. On the 17th of February, 1809, the lands belonging to tile Virginia Military District were authorized to be leased and the proceeds there of paid into the State Treasury for the future us of the schools. From 1810 up to 1821, acts were passed at nearly every session of the Legislature more fully describing the condition of those leases and disposition of moneys accruing therefrom. In 1827, a law was enacted directing a vote to be taken in the district as to whether these lands should be sold or not. The vote decided in favor of selling, and, January 28, 1828, the Legislature ordered them to be sold. In 1829, an act authorized the distribution among the several counties, or parts of counties, in said district, the sum of $54,000 of school moneys, then in the State Treasury, Harden County receiving her shareof these moneys. This distribution, however, was for some cause postponed by an act passed January 21, 1830. until May 1, 1830. The manner of apportionment was as follows: The School Directors delivered to the County Auditors a list of white children in their respective districts, between the ages of four and sixteen; the County Auditors transmitted said lists to the Auditor of the State, who divided the school fund among the several counties, or parts thereof, according to the foregoing enumeration. From that time up to the present this principle has been carried out, each county receiving annually its quota of moneys derived from this school fund. The reader must bear in mind, however, that the school age was changed whenever the General Assembly saw fit to do so, or considered such a change necessary or judicious.

PIONEER SCHOOLS.

In the early development of Hardin County, a great variety of influences were felt in the way of general education. The settlements were, and for years continued to be, sparse. The people, as the pioneers of all new counties are, were poor and lacked the means of remunerating teachers. Their poverty compelled all who were able, to labor, and the work of the females was as important and toilsome as that of the men. Added to these. both teachers and books were scarce. This condition of things continued

450 - HISTORY OF HARDIN COUNTY.

perhaps for more than a quarter of a century. Taking these facts into consideration, it is surprising that they had any schools whatever.

The interest awakened in literature and science immediately after the Revolution, followed the pioneers to their Western homes; but, to make their efforts productive of useful results, time became absolutely necessary. Just as soon as the settlements were prepared for the experiment, schools were opened; but at every step it was the acquisition of knowledge under difficulties. Everything connected with them was as simple and primitive as were their dwellings, food and clothing. Houses were built in the various neighborhoods as occasion made necessary, not by subscription in money, but by labor. On a given day, the neighbors assembled at some place previously agreed upon, and the work was done. Timber was abundant; they were skilled in the use of the ax, and, having cut logs of the required length out of it, the walls were raised. The roof was made of clapboards, kept in place by heavy poles reaching the length of the building. The door was of clapboards and creaked on wooden hinges, the latch of wood and raised by a string. The floor was " puncheon," or trees split in the middle, tolerably true. the edge and face being dressed with the ax. The crevices between the logs forming the walls were filled with " chinks,'' or split sticks of wood, and daubed with mud The fire-place was equally rude, but of ample dimensions, built on the outside of the house, usually of stone, to the throat of the flue, and the remainder of the chimney of split sticks of wood. daubed with paddled clay within and without. Light. was admitted through the door and by means of an opening made by cutting out one of the logs, reaching almost the entire width of the building. This opening was high enough from the floor to prevent the boys from looking out, and in winter was covered with paper saturated with grease to keep ,)at the cold, as well as to admit the light.

In the rural districts, school "kept" only in winter. The furniture corresponded with the simplicity of the house. At a proper distance below the windows, auger holes were bored in a slanting direction in one of the Ions, and in these strong wooden pins we°e driven, and on these a huge slab or puncheon was placed, which served as a writing-desk for the whole school. For seats, they used the puncheon, or, more commonly, the body of a smooth, straight tree, cut ten to twelve feet in length, and raised to a height of twelve to fifteen inches by means of pins securely inserted. It has been said that not infrequently the pins were of unequal length, and the bench predisposed to "wabble." Many of the pioneer "masters" were natives of Ireland, who had fled from the cruel oppression of the English Government, prior to and succeeding the struggle for Irish independence, in 1798, and here in this land of freedom were putting to good use that education obtained in their native isle. Thus did the oppression of England inure to the benefit of the young Republic; and the literary ability of Irishmen, like their military prowess in the Revolutionary war, do much toward founding and building up this great, free and enlightened nation. Dr. Johnson's notion that most boys required learning to be thrashed into them was practically carried out in the pioneer schoolhonse. The pupils sat with their faces toward the wall, around the room, while the teacher occupied the middle space to superintend each pupil separately. In some rooms a separate bench was furnished for those too young to write. Classes, when reciting, sat on a bench made for this purpose.

The books were as primitive as the surroundings. The Now Testament was a common reading book; the "English Reader" was occasionally

HISTORY OF HARDIN COUNTY. - 451

found, and sometimes the "Columbian Orator." No one book was common in all the families. The reading class recited paragraphs alternately, and the book in use was made common property, passing from hand to hand during recitation. It was not unusual for the teacher to assist a pupil in one of his "sums." discipline a refractory scholar, and hear the reading class while the reading was going on. Deibold, Smiley and Pike's Arithmetic were commonly used. with the examples for practice almost exclusively in pounds, shillings and pence, and a marked absence of clear rules and definitions for the solving of the different divisions. Webster's "American Speller" was the ordinary spelling-book, which afterward made way for Webster's "Elementary Speller." This latter book maintained its popularity for half a century. The spelling class closed the labors of the day. All who could spell entered the "big class," and the rivalry was sharp as to who should rank first as good spellers. The class was numbered in. the order in which they stood in line, and retained the number until a "miss " sent some one above them. Spelling-matches were frequent, and contributed largely to make good spellers. Grammar was not often taught, partly for the reason that books were hard to get, and partly because some of the teachers were not proficient in this branch of learning. When the science was taught, the text-book was the earlier and larger edition of Murray, which by the close of the first quarter of the century, was largely superseded by "Kirkham," which though of little real merit, stimulated a taste for grammar. The boys and girls went to the same school, but sat on opposite benches. It occasionally happened that teachers were employed who lead learned that an elephant may be led by a hair, or more probably were blessed with gentle natures. and won the hearts and life-long affection of their pupils by their pleasant and loving ways; but these were exceptions. The standard of excellence was often measured by the abilitv and swift readiness to thrash the scholars on any provocation. Disobedience and ignorance were equally causes for the use of the " hickory." "Like master, like boy." The characteristics of the one tended to develop a corresponding spirit in the other. and the cruelty of the one, with the absence, too frequently of all just discrimination in the use of the rod, excited animosities which lasted through life. There were few boys of that day who did not cherish the purpose to " whale " the " master" on sight at some future day.

The schools were supported by subscription, the charge being from $1 to $3 per term of three months, during winter, to begin at 8 o'clock in the morning. with an hour to an hour and a half recess at noon, and close at 5 o'clock. One-half of Saturdays, or alternate Saturdavs, made part of the term. Writing was taught to all the larger pupils. and the only pen used was the goose or turkey quill, made into a pets by the skillful hand of the teacher. Mending the pens was an essential part of the work. Copy-books were made of sheets of foolscap paper stitched together. and copies were "set" by the teacher during recess, which were commonly taken from the maxims in use from time immemorial. Sometimes the teacher was partly paid in produce or other commodities, which were the equivalent to him for money, while his support was often obtained by "boarding around." Money was scarce.. and to make change it was usual to halve and quarter pieces of silver coin with an ax or heavy chisel.

The introduction of schools in one settlement was an incentive to their speedy adoption in all. The above description applies to all the earliest schoolhouses erected. The building of saw-mills and the opening-up of wagon roads brought about a better order of things, and plank, weather

452 - HISTORY OF HARDIN COUNTY.

boarding and glass took the plate of clapboard. puncheon floors and log benches. For the history of the pioneer schools in the different localities of Hardin County, the reader is referred to the history- of Kenton, and the several townships thereof, where the subject is fully written up from the recollections of the oldest living pioneers.

GROWTH OF EDUCATION.

The gradual development and progress of education in Ohio was encouraged and fostered by State laws that were the germs from which came forth the present common school system, and, believing that a brief synopsis of these enactments would be of value in this article, we have culled the following facts from the Ohio statutes, which we trust will assist the reader in understanding snore thoroughly the history of the schools in the Scioto Valley, up to the adoption of the new constitution. On the 2d of January, 1806, three Trustees and a Treasurer were authorized to be elected in each township, for the purpose of taking charge of the school lands or the moneys arising therefrom, and applying the same to the benefit of the schools in said township. In 1810, this act was more fully defined, and. in 1814, every scholar was entitled to his or her share of said school fund, even when attending a school outside of their own township. In 1815, these moneys were distributed according to the time of school attendance, an account of which each teacher was required to supply to the Trustees, and the apportionment made accordingly. No act of any importance was then passed until January 22, 18'21, when a vote was ordered. to be taken in every township for the purpose of deciding. for or against, organizing the same into school districts; also, for the election of a school committee of three persons, and a Collector, who was also Treasurer in eactl district. These committees were authorized to erect schoolhouses in their respective districts, on land donated or purchased for that purpose, said schools to be paid for by donations and subscriptions, together with the taxis raised for such purpose. This act authorized that all lands located in said districts liable to State or county taxation, were also liable to taxation for erecting schoolhouses and for educating the children of those enable to pay for schooling Parents and guardians were assessed in proportion to the number of children sent to school by them, but those unable to pay had their assessment remitted, and such deficiency was paid out of the, fund raised by taxation. Of course, the moneys accruing from the school lands went into the school fund held by the Treasurer of each district.

The first general school law was passed February 5, 1825, and it provided "that a fund shall hereafter be annually raised among the several counties in the State, in the manner pointed out by this act, for the use of common schools, for the instruction of youth of every class and grade without distinction, in reading, writing, arithmetic and other necessary branches of a common education." This was in harmony with the constitution, which asserted that schools and the means of instruction should forever be encouraged by legislative provision. This act provided for a general tax to be levied for the fostering of common schools throughout the State, which was to be collected annually and used for general educational purposes. Three School Directors were to be elected annually in each district, to transact the business of said schools, erect buildings, employ teachers, receive and expend all moneys derived from any source, etc. The Court of Common Pleas in each county was authorized to appoint annually "three suitable persons to be called Examiners of Common Schools," whose duty it was

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to examine teachers for qualification and grant certificates; also, to visit and examine the schools throughout the county. If any district neglected to keep a school therein, at any one time for the space of three years, its proportion of the school fund was divided among the other districts in said township that employed teachers. The school fund of each county was taken charge of by the Auditor, who distributed the same between the several townships. In 1827, this act was amended. The Directors were instructed to appoint a Treasurer for each school district. Fines imposed by any Justice of the Peace, for offenses committed in any given district, were to be paid to the Treasurer, to be used for the support of education in said district. Taxes were levied to build new houses and repair old ones. Every householder, whose tax was less than $1, had to pay that amount, or give two days' labor toward the building or repairing of schoolhouses. The number of Examiners was increased, but at no time were they to exceed the number of townships in the county.

In February 1829, a law was enacted providing more fully for general education, but the children of black or mulatto persons were not permitted to attend these schools, nor were such persons compelled to pay taxes toward the support of the same. The official term of Examiners was designated as two years, and their number to be not less than five in each county, nor more than one in each township thereof. Whenever the regular school fund ran short, the teachers, if not paid by voluntary subscription, were to be paid by those sending scholars to said schools. Often the regular fund did not pay for more than three months' schooling annually, so that even then the schools, though slowly improving, were anything but flourishing. The act of 1830 did not materially improve them, and, in March, 1831, the following clause appears in a law relative to raising the school fund. It says a general fund shall be raised " for the instruction of the white youth of every class and grade," so that, although Ohio was a free State, a black man was debarred from the educational advantages accorded to his white brothers and, though his body was not kept in slavery, his mind was kept in ignorance, as far as the State laws had the power to do so. With all this injustice, the property of negroes was exempt from taxation for school purposes, which was at least a small grain of justice to the despised race. The school age was chanced so as to include those between four and twenty-one years, and the number of Examiners read "not less than five in each county, nor more than two in each township."

On the 2d of March 1831, an act was passed authorizing the establishment of a fund to be designated "The Common School Fund," the income to be used for the support of common schools. All moneys arising from the sale of school lands were to be put into this fund, and the State guaranteed a certain interest on all such moneys paid into the State Treasury. The County Auditors were authorized to draw said interest and distribute it among the several districts in their respective counties, to which said lands originally belonged. Donations and bequests were also put into this fund and used for the same general purpose. These moneys, however, were to be funded annually, until January 1, 1835, after which date the interest was divided among the several counties in proportion to the number of white males over twenty-one years of age residing therein.

Up to this time women were not eligible as school teachers, for we find that an act was passed December 23, 1831, allowing Directors to employ female teachers, but the Directors had to signify in writing to the School Examiners that it was the desire of the inhabitants of said district to em-

454 - HISTORY OF HARDIN COUNTY.

ploy "a female teacher for instructing their children in spelling, reading and writing only."The Examiners were then empowered to give the lady "a special certificate" to teach those branches. It is unnecessary for us to comment on this injustice; we take it for granted that the most illiberal of men will agree with us that this discrimination against women was a grievous wrong and unworthy of this great commonwealth. In 1833, other provisions and amendments were made to the school laws, whose object was to increase their influences, but no material changes were made in former ones.

The office of State Superintendent of Schools was created March 7, 1837, and made permanent a year from that date. He was elected by the General Assembly for a term of five years, but, on the 23d of March, 1840, the office was abolished, and the Secretary of State required to perform the duties thereof. In 1838, a fund of $200,000 was provided for, to be annually distributed among the several counties, according to the number of white youth, unmarried, between the ages of four and twenty-one. It was known as the "State Common School Fund," was reduced, March 7, 1842, to $150,000, and again raised to $300,000 on the 24th of March, 1851. By Article VI of the New Constitution, it is declared that the principal of all funds accruing from school lands, donations or bequests. "shall forever be preserved inviolate and undiminished." It was enacted by the law of 1838 that the Township Clerk should be Superintendent of Schools within his township, and this law remained in force until the re-organization of the school laws under the new constitution in 1853. By this same law, the Countv Auditor was endowed with the position of Superintendent of Schools throughout the county. The number of School Examiners was reduced to three members for each county, who were appointed by the Court of Common Pleas.

On the 16th of March, 1839, an act was passed providing for the establishment of night schools :n towns, wherein male youth over twelve years of age, who could not attend school in the daytime, might be instructed. This law also enacted that scholars could attend German schools, and yet receive their quota of school money. Subsequently, the German language was introduced into the schools as a part, of the regular studies.

SCHOOLS FOR COLORED YOUTH.

On the 24th of February, 1848, a law was passed authorizing the establishment of separate schools for colored children. This law was amended in 1849, and was thought by many to be contrary to the spirit of the constitution, but the Supreme Court declared it constitutional. Separate school districts were authorized to be organized and managed by Directors chosen by the adult male colored tax-payers, whose property was alone chargeable for the support of said schools. Colored children were not really debarred under the constitution at that time from attending the schools of white children, but it amounted to about the same thing as the objection of any parent or guardian whose children attended said school prevented the attendance of colored youth. Thus the law existed until 1853, when the schools for colored children were placed upon the same basis as these four white. By the law of 1853, boards of education were directed, whenever the colored youth in any school district numbered more than thirty, to establish a school for them. This law was so amended in 1864 that two or more districts could unite for the same purpose. Much trouble has been caused in different towns by the colored people insisting on sending their

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children to the school for whites. In some place; little or no opposition has been manifested. while in others a bitter struggle resulted. In the country districts, white and colored children usually attend the same school, and, as far as we have investigated the plan, it seems to work harmoniously.

PRESENT GOVERNMENT OF SCHOOLS.

The school law of 1853 made ample provision for the education of every class and grade of youth within the State. We have seen in the preceding pages that those who participated in the organization of the Northwest Territory, and subsequently the State, recognized religion, morality and knowledge as necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind. We have also seen the gradual development of education from its earliest inception in the State up to its present permanent foundation through the law of 1853. Under the present law, the State is divided into school districts as follows: City districts of the first class, city districts of the second class, village districts, special districts and township districts. To administer the affairs of the districts. and to look after and promote the educational interests therein, the law has provided for the establishment of boards of education in each district. These boards may acquire real or personal property for tile use of their districts. and are required to establish schools for free education of the v oath of school age, and may establish schools of a higher grade than the primary schools. They are to determine the studies to be pursued and the text-booksto be used in the schools under their control; to appoint Superintendents of schools, teachers and other employes, and fix their Salaries. Thev are authorized to make such rules and regulations as they may deem expedient and necessary for the government of the board, their appointees and pupils.

The State Commissioner of Common Schools is elected by the people, and his official term is three years. He is required to superintend and encourage teachers' institutes, confer with boards of education, or other school officers, counsel teachers, visit schools and deliver lectures calculated to promote popular education. He is to have a supervision over the school funds, and has power by law to require proper returns to be made by the officers who have duties to perform pertaining to schools or school funds. It is his duty to give instructions for the organization and government of schools, and to distribute the school laws and other documents for the use of school officers. He is required by law to appoint a Board of State Examiners, consisting of three persons, who hold their office for two years. This board is authorized to issue life certificates to such teachers as may be found, upon examination, to have attained " e eminent professional experience and ability." These certificates are valid in any school district in the State, and supersede the necessity of all other examinations by the county or local boards of examiners. Each applicant for a State certificate is required to pay a fee of $3.

There is in each county in the State a board of examiners appointed by the Probate Judge, their official term being three years. The law provides that "it shall be the duty of the examiners to fix upon the time of holding the meetings fox the examination of teachers, in such places in their respective counties as will, in their opinion, best accommodate the greatest number of candidates for examination. notice of all such meetings being published iv some newspaper of general circulation in their respective counties. and at such meetings any two of said board shall be competent to examine applicants and grant certificates and as a condition of examination,

458 - HISTORY OF HARDIN COUNTY.

,each applicant for a certificate shall pay the board of examiners a fee of 50 cents."The fees thus received are set apart as a fund for the support of teachers' institutes.

In city districts of the first and second class and village districts, having a population of not less than 2,500, the examiners are appointed by the boards of education. The fees charged are the same as those of the county boards, and are appropriated for the same purpose.

There are in the different townships, subdistricts, in which the people elect. annually, a local director, whose term of office continues for three years. From this it will be seen that each subdistrict has a board consisting of three directors. These directors choose one of their number as clerk, who presides at the meetings of local directors, and keeps a record thereof. Ho also keeps a record of the proceedings of the annual school meetings of the subdistrict. The board of education of each township district consists of the Township Clerk and the local directors, who have been appointed clerk of the subdistricts. The law provides that "in ever district in the State, there shall be taken, between the first Monday in September and the first Monday in October, in each year, an enumeration of all unmarried youth , noting race and sex, between six and twenty-one years of age, resident within the district, and not temporarily there, designating also the number between sixteen and twenty-one years of age, the number residing in the Western Reserve, the Virginia Military District, the United States Military District, and in any original surveyed township or fractional townships to which belongs Section 16, or other land in lieu thereof, or any other lands for the use of schools or any interest in the proceeds of such land: Provided, that, in addition to the classified return of all the youth residing in the district, that the aggregate number of youth in the district resident of any adjoining county, shall be separately given, if any such there be, and the name of the county in which they reside." The clerk of each board of education is required to transmit to the County Auditor an abstract of the returns of enumeration made to him, on or before the second Monday of October.

The County Auditor is required to transmit to the State Commissioner, on or before the 5th day of November, a duly certified abstract of the enumeration returns made to him by clerks of school districts. The law pro vi vides that "the Auditor of State shall, annually, apportion the common school funds among the different counties upon the enumeration and returns made to him by the State Commissioner of Common Schools, and certify the amount so apportioned to the County Auditor of each county, stating from what sources the same is derived, which said sum the several County Treasurers shall retain in their respective treasuries from the State funds; and the County Auditors shall, annually, and immediately after their annual settlement with the County Treasurers, apportion the school funds for their respective counties, according to the enumeration and returns in their respective offices."

The law provides that the school year shall begin on the 1st day of September of each year, and close on the 31st of August of the succeeding year. A school week shall consist. of five days, and a school month of four school weeks. The law also provides, in relation to common schools, that they shall be "free to all youth between six and twenty-one years of age who are children, war's or apprentices of actual residents of the school district, and no pupil shall be suspended therefrom except for such time as may be necessary to convene the board of education of the district, or local di-

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rector of the subdistrict, nor be expelled unless by a vote of two-thirds of said board of local directors, after the parent or guardian of the offending pupil shall have been notified of the proposed expulsion, and permitted to be Beard against the same; and no scholar shall be suspended or expelled from the privilege of schools beyond the current term: Provided, that each board of education shall have power to admit other persons, not under six years of age, upon such terms, or upon the payment of such tuition as they prescribe; and boards of education of city, village or special districts shall also have power to admit, without charge or tuition, persons within the school age who are members of the family of any freeholder whose residence is not ,,within such district, if any part of such freeholder's homestead is within such district; and provided further, that the several boards of education shall make such assignments of the youth of their respective districts to the schools established by them, as will, in their opinion, best promote the interests of education in their districts; and provided further, that nothing contained in this section shall supersede or modify the provisions of Section 31 of an act entitled an act for the re-organization, supervision and maintenance of common schools, passed March 14, 1853, as amended March 18, 1864."

Provision is made by law for the establishment and maintenance of teachers' institutes. which are established for the professional improvement of teachers. At each Session, competent instructors and lecturers are employed to assist the State Commissioner, who is required by law to superintend and encourage such institutes. They are either county, city or joint institutes of two or more counties, and the examination fees paid by teachers to boards of examiners are devoted to the payment of the expenses incurred by these institutions.

It is said that a State consists of men, and history shows that no art or science, wealth or power, will compensate for the want of moral or intellectual stability in the minds of a nation. Hence, it is admitted that the strength and perpetuity of this Republic must consist in the morality and intelligence of the people. Every youth in Ohio, under twenty-one years of age, may have the benefit of a public education, and since the system of graded and high schools has been adopted. may obtain a common knowledge from the alphabet to the classics. The enumerated branches of study in the public schools of Ohio are thirty-four, including mathematics and astronomy, French, German and the classics. Thus the State, which was in the heart of the wilderness one hundred years ago, and has not been a State but eighty years, now presents to the world, not merely an unrivaled development of material prosperity, but an unsurpassed system of popular education.