USA > New Jersey > Essex County > Essex county, N.J., illustrated > Part 18
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From 1867 to 1877, Dr. Barringer held the prin- cipalship of the Chestnut Street School. When Mr. Sears resigned, Dr. Barringer was called to the post of City Superintendent of the Public Schools, and has held the office ever since. By virtue of his superintendency he is one of the Trustees of the great Public Library of the city of Newark. In 1892 Dr. Barringer visited the educational insti- tutions of England, France and Germany, and delights greatly in the recognitions he received from educationists abroad. The fair fame which the Doctor had earned as an educator, preceded him and prepared the way for that cordial reception which to him was awarded, as a representative of American Educators, and the Doctor has often said repaid him doubly well for the oil it cost.
115
ESSEX COUNTY, N. J., ILLUSTRATED.
Few indeed are the number among us who seem to have been designed more surely for the road in which they are travelling, than the City Superintendent of Public Schools. William N. Barringer. For nearly a quarter of a century has this faithful servant gone in and out of the public schools of the capital city of the County of Essex, and always, so far as the writer has been able to discern, with satisfac- tion to pupils, parents and teachers, and honor to himself. When Mr. Barringer took hold of the city superintendency of the public schools of the city of Newark, he was no novice, but he came to the work with a fullness of years and com- pactness of character which eminently fitted him for the place. That he was prepared for the great work to which he was called by education and practical experience, none who knew him questioned, and the results of all the long years that he has heroically toiled, so that when his steward- ship would end, he could hear the well done, and enjoy the blessed privilege of carrying the certificate of having been a good and faithful servant. Not alone did they who went in and out each day with William N. Barringer, come to a full understanding of his eminent qulifications for the post he held, or the solidity of his learning, but the facts were carried to Princeton College, New Jersey's grandest educa- tional institution, which honored him with the title of A. M., and across the Hudson, and found a lodging place in the rich educational soil of Gotham, and they took root over there and bore for him the rich fruit of a Ph. D. from the University of the City of New York.
Now, at this time when the three score years and ten encircle his brow with its silver rim but not without his mind being as clear and physical strength all unabated, the honors and emoluments of his position are continued. While it is no put of our duty to eulogize where true worth does not commend it, we find all that is necessary when we reach the gentleman and scholar, Mr. U. W. Cutts, who for the past decade has been superintendent of the public schools in the city of Orange. That Mr. Cutts has such qualifications, which eminently fit him for school supervisor, none who know him will deny. While county superintendent of public schools, it became our duty. together with Superintendents Cutts and Barringer, to conduct examinations for the State scholarship. It was during these
T.
GREEN STREET GERMAN AND ENGLISH SCHOOL ..
examinations that it was learned how thoroughly they were devoted to the work, and how eminently worthy they were of the places they filled, and how well qualified for their calling.
Much of that musical taste found in the Orange public schools, is due to Superintendent Cutts, but we would not for one moment detract an iota, or attempt to, from others who it is well known have taken a deep interest in securing proficiency in this beautiful branch of learning. Indeed in nearly every school in the county of Essex, music is now taught. and in many of them the pupils are making such progress that many of the children on leaving school will show commendable proficiency. From one of Superin- tendent Cutts' late reports to the State officials, we learn that vocal music has been made a part of the regular course, and under a special instructor, and this has been going on for twenty years, and for the past few years the schools have adopted what is termed the tonic sol-fa system, which is receiving, in some places, very high commendation.
Connected with every Catholic Church there is the parochial or church school, where the children of Catholic parents are expected to get their schooling, especially in their earlier years, when those seeking higher academic or collegiate edu- cation are transferred to the Catholic academics, colleges and seminaries. As both St. Benedict's and Seaton Hall, and many others, are located in this county of Essex, the advantages of schooling under church influences for their children are un- constrained.
Patriotism is a branch of education which has come into the schools since the war of the southern rebellion, and in pursuance thereof, the stars and stripes, as one of the regulations, shall float from
TENTH WARD GERMAN AND ENGLISH SCHOOL ..
116
ESSEX COUNTY, N. J., ILLUSTRATED.
flagstaff or school-house peak every day during school hours. The children are to learn patriotic lessons and to sing patriotic songs. The flags were usually presented by citizens and patriotic associations, until the session of the State Legislature of 1896, when a luiw was enacted entitling every public school in the state to an American flag and pole.
THE TOWNSHIP SYSTEM.
The township system of public school education has taken a strong hold upon the educational minds of those engaged in con- ducting public school matters in the State of New Jersey. That Dr. Poland, late State Superintendent of Public Instruction, is the father of the system in this State, there is no doubt. In bis preliminary report to the State Board of Education, he pays a tribute to the system in an exhaustive review of the laws of other States, twenty-six in number. which had already adopted the system, and in copies of the opinion, on the subject, of many of the most noted educators who had placed their veiws on record, and calls par- ticular attention to the fact that in the opinion of the State Boards of Education, State School Superintendents, the Com- missioner of Education of the United States and all other educationists who had experience, that there is no question in their minds as to its superiority over all other systems or forms of school organization, and particularly so in regard to the old-fashioned school district system. He gives pecu- liar emphasis to the fact, that as far back as 1839. Horace Mann, one of the greatest educators ever raised, made use of the following emphatic language in one of his reports : " I con- sider the law of 1789, authorizing towns to divide themselves into districts, the most unfortunate on the subject of common schools, ever enacted in the State of Massachusetts."
This unbiased judgment, says Dr. Poland, of the most dis- tinguished of American educators, pronounced over fifty years ago, has been affirmed over and over again by the highest educational authorities throughout the United States and world.
VAILSBURGH PUBLIC SCHOOL.
That this essential weakness of our common school system has been clearly apprehended by foreign educators, is shown by the following, from the valuable work of Hon. Francis Adams, Sec- retary of the National League of England, on the free school system of the United States, in which he says : " Although at first sight the area of a school district may appear to be an un- important matter of detail, yet upon it, as the experience of the United States has proved, the efficiency of any school system largely depends. The most formidable difficutly which the American system has encountered, has arisen out of this ques- tion. This is what is known in the United States as the District System. Wherever it still exists it is the subject of the most bitter complaint and condemnation amongst school superin- tendents and officers.
" Most of the states have, after an extended trial of a district system, re-organized under the township plan, and the complete abolition of the former system, if it can be secured by the almost unanimous condemnation of school officers of all grades, would appear to be a ques- tion of time only." The United States Com- missioner at Washington reported as follows : " The oldest American educational idea was that of Massachusetts, which looked to one elementary school in every town containing fifty house-holders, with a grammar school where there were fifty more house-holders. A some- what recent but more widely spread idea, was to have ordinary schools in every township, a higher school for each county and a college or university for every State.
"The township was the unit of the whole school system, and many thoughtful men are questioning whether it ought not to be restored to that position, instead of being broken into incohesive fragments called school districts, as is common now. These being invariable characteristics as results of the two systems, a number of the States are endeavoring to get rid of the district and substitute the town- ship system, The voice of the State superin-
PARK AVENUE PUBLIC SCHOOL ..
117
WILLIAM A. GAY, PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION.
theory at least, the State guarantees to every child equal school opportunities. This guarantee has amounted to nothing in the past, so far at least as the rural schools are concerned. The State school moneys raised by uniform tax, have been distri- buted to the several districts of the State upon the presump- tion that they would be intelligently and economically dis- bursed. but evidence is not lacking that in scores, if not hund- reds, of the small districts into which the State was formally divided. State school moneys have produced comparatively small returns.
By consolidating the school districts of a township and there- by unifying their administration, are making them a charge upon the taxable property of the whole township, and by opening them to all children residing therein, the first great step toward equality will be taken. Every child may then enjoy the best that the town affords. It equalizes school burdens. There is raised annually, by State tax, for the support of schools, an amount equal to $5.00 per capita for each and every child of school age, five to eighteen years, residing within the State.
ESSEX COUNTY, N. J., ILLUSTRATED.
tendents is beheved to be uniformly in favor of this change." Dr. Poland goes father and fortifies his advance by concise and easily understood statements as to its advantages. First, it equalizes school privileges. Under the old system the schools of the State have for many years presented the widest diversity, ranging from the most praise- worthy excellence to the most deplorable mediocrity.
The village and large graded schools have, as a rule, been constantly improving. The majority of ungraded rural schools, on the contrary, have gradually but surely deteri- orated. This result is traceable to the absence of one or more of the following con- ditions : suitable buildings and appliances, efficient grading and courses of study, school year of necessary duration, properly qualified teachers and efficient expert supervision favoring local conditions. Under the old DR. HENRY I, ANDERSON, KA-PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION. system this inequality of conditions was bound to exist, hence, anything like equality of privileges was out of the question. In Of the amount so raised, there is returned to each county ninety per cent. The remaining ten per cent. is distributed among the poorer counties by the State Board of Education, in their discretion. Here there is the principle established of taxing the wealthier parts of the State for the benefit of the poorer.
PRESIDENT WILLIAM A. GAY.
No ward in the city of Newark is more fortunate in the rep- resentatives she has in the Board of Education than the Eleventh. One of her representatives, William A. Gay, Esq., having not alone the confidence of the people of the ward, in honoring him with an election to the Board in the first place. but also of the body itself, in awarding to him the distinguished consideration of its elevating Mr. Gay to the presidency. Is our readers will understand, but a single member of the Board can reach the place, it is no light honor his having been selected for the exalted position. As well as the writer has been able to judge, there was no lack of tact and business acumen exercised when the selection of Mr. William .A. Gay was made, as one among their number who should preside over their deliberations, guide and direct their movements and wear the honors of the first position within their gift. William A. Gay is one of those kind of men who have the faculty of making friends without an effort, and when once won they cling with magnetic tenacity, it mattering not how rapidly the wheel of life may turn or how great the changes, as in all public positions, places of honor and trust to which he has once been called, it is but his determined objection alone, to be awarded a recall or re-election when his first term shall have expired.
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HON. JAMES L. HAYS, MEMBER OF STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION.
That Dr. Henry J. Anderson, the predecessor of President Gay, was a man in the right place, and was looked upon as an honorable. careful and painstaking presiding officer, since we ever found him in his place, and engaged in conduc- ting the business of the Board, un- selfish in all his appointments, and in order to carry out his determi- nation to be non-partisan, he more often erred, if he ever erred, against the party where he had his own political affiliations. Excellent · photos of President Gay and Ex-
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LAFAYETTE STREET PUBLIC SCHOOL.
118
ESSEX COUNTY, N. J., ILLUSTRATED.
President Anderson are seen among the beautiful illustrations in this work, every page of which sounds its own praises,
THE BOROUGH OF VAILSBURGH.
It is but a few moons ago, or indeed not many. since the pretty village of Vaulsburgh, so named in honor of the writer of this work, was a part and parcel, not quite so insignificant as some might deem, of the school district known as Colum- bia, South Orange. After this it became a district all by itself, and known as Vailsburgh No. 29 of Essex County. Under the district system it grew and prospered until the suburban village took on city dignities and became the borough of Vails- burgh, with a Mayor and Board of Aldermen, and had to itself all the customary dignitaries and city (borough) officials. The new township free school law increased its Board of School Trustees, so that now, and indeed ever since the city's birth, the Board of Management of its very excellent public schools, has been increased to nine men bers, consisting of the following named gentlemen, citizens of the borough: William Welsher, Frederich A. Mock, Charles H. Smith, Rev. R. H. Gage, Alex- under Volheye, John G. Aschenback, James Hampton, Borough Clerk Wilham Billington and Alderman E. Nagle. William Welsher is President of the Board, and Frederick A. Mock, District Clerk.
ST. PETER'S PAROCHIAL SCHOOL,
Among the largest and one of the very best conducted of the parochial schools of the city of Newark, where the young are taught, is that in the parish of St. Peter's, the immense build- ings of which are seen on Livingston Street, and is known as the Parochial School of St. Peter's Church. In all probability, this is the largest German School in the city of Newark. The teachers having charge are selected as being particularly gifted and thoroughly well prepared for their high calling before being
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PLAUT'S MEMORIAL HEBREW SCHOOL, ON PRINCE STREET.
permitted to take hold of the classes in St Peter's and attempt to guide them through intricate mazes of their early school life, therefore it is that the pupils who have had the advantages in early life of the systematic training which is found within the walls of St. Peter's, mark high in the race of life.
ST. JOSEPH'S PAROCHIAL SCHOOL.
As the reader passes the corner of Wallace Place and Warren Street, his attention cannot help very well from being called to the massive buildings in which, if he make inquiry, he will be told is housed the great primary educational interests of the hundreds who make St. Joseph's Church their religious home. Those buildings to which we refer being none other than those pertaining to St. Joseph's Parochial School, the largest Catholic school in the State of New Jersey. Like all other schools under the care of the Catholic Church, every care is sought to be taken. not alone to have the children thoroughly well educated in all the secular branches of learning, but also that the pupils under their instruction shall also be well rooted in spiritual affairs, it being a cannon of the Catholic Church that learning, both secular and religious in char- acter, shall go hand in hand in life's journey.
ST. PATRICK'S PAROCHIAL SCHOOL.
On Central Avenue, ad- joming the St. Patrick's Cathedral, is located the parochial school of the cathe- dral. This institution is very large as well as being very popular, being under the care of the Christian Brothers.
Reading Room
READING ROOM OF THE FREE PUBLIC LIBRARY.
119
ESSEX COUNTY, N. J., ILLUSTRATED.
Many of the young men of Catholic parentage take great pride when they leave for promotion, or to take their place in the busy world, in saluting this school as their Alma Mater. The Sisters have charge of the primary department, where probably a greater number of children attend than any other parochial school in the city, except St. James'. St. Patrick's is the successor of St. Mary's Hall, which was formerly conducted on High Street, where the womens' department of St- Michael's Hospital now stands, and was founded by the venerable Father Senez, who at that time was pastor of St. Patrick's Church.
ST. MARY MAGDALEN.
In a little frame structure on Lister Avenue the Rev. Father Wiseman, with heroic Christian devotion, is meeting with marked success in his endeavor to build up a parish from the outlying districts immediately surrounding this church. By turning to page 67 of this book, the reader will see a photographic picture of the modest structure in which Father Wiseman is carrying out the beautiful injunction which the Master gave to St. Peter, of " Feeding my Sheep."
THE NEWARK FREE PUBLIC LIBRARY.
Never since the history of the world began has there been perpetrated, against the learning of mankind, a more henious offense or a more dastardly crime, than was perpetrated by the Moslems after the capture of the renowned city of Alexandria, when the commander-in-chief of the capturing army of the infidel horde, wantonly committed to the flames the great
Main Room.
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MAIN ROOM OF THE FREE PUBLIC LIBRARY.
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NEWARK TECHNICAL SCHOOL, ON HIGH STREET.
library of the city, which contained the greatest collection of books, pamphlets and manuscripts in the world. It was not the audacious crime alone of burning the library, of committing to the flames the literary treasures of all preceding ages, but the fact that many of the volumes which had been gathered at a mighty expenditure from all parts of the globe, many of which were of the greatest value and could not be replaced, there being no duplicates, when their precious contents had crumbled to ashes and had gone up in the and smoke, amid the exultations of the savage hordes who made up the army of destruction and loot,
Which danced around this funeral pyre of history,
Where the wreathing smoke left the world in mystery.
The half million volumes of book lore furnishing the fuel,
To feed the fire consuming, earth's beauti- ful jewels.
"I was there, through this unheard of Mahommedan dastardy,
That Mahommet's deluded converts sought the mastery, Wading through blood, fire and smoke, to rob the world,
And leave the flag of ignorance 10 the breeze unfurled.
Among the black pages of his- tory, and there are not a few, it would seem that there are none more wantonly and cruelly be- grimed or to compare with that one page whereon is written the history of the horror known as the sacking of Egypt's capital and the burning of the Alexandrian Library, For quite five centuries of time, the war which the followers of Mahommet waged was so relentless in char- acter that historians tell us, that
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120
ESSEX COUNTY, N. J., ILLUSTRATED.
it did seem at one time as though the flashing cimeters of the Moslems would cut down all Christendom. But the world gradually recovered, and with its recovery new librarys were established, and among them is the Newark Free Public Library, exterior and interior views of which are presented on the pages of this illustrated souvenir, and which contains up- ward of fifty thousand well-selected and neatly bound volumes and according to the report of the able and courteous Librarian, Frank P. Hill, Esq., the institution is doing a work of which every citizen should feel proud. The library is handsomely housed in the well constructed and imposing brown stone structure located on West Park Street, between Broad and Halsey Streets,
The Board of Trustees for 1897 consist of Hon. James M. Seymour, Mayor of New- ark ; Superintendent of Public Schools Gil- bert, Messrs. Edward H. Duryea, James Taffe, William Johnson, James Peabody and James E. Howell. These gentlemen are in love with their work, and aim to so manage the affairs of the free library that the greatest good may accrue to the great- est number.
THE NEWARK TECHNICAL SCHOOL ..
To the man who nourished the thought out of which grew the fact of a technical school for the city of Newark, belongs an honor which nobody would ever attempt to gainsay or cause it to pale for one moment. in the sight of any true citizen of this great industrial city. The good which this institu- tion has already done, the grand work it has accomplished in the contracted quarters in which in lived and added new luster to the conception of the promise of the erec- tion, at an early date, of buildings suitable for the purpose of conducting a technical school in a city of more than 200,000 in- habitants. Although but a single decade of years have gone into the impenetrable haze of the past, the school not having been organized until 1885, yet an amount of work has been accomplished which coukl hardly have been expected, since the quarters in which the techniques were for the most of the time housed. So contracted have they been that to have made such wonderful progress would seem almost impossible,
Since the technical school came into the educational arena for maternity honors. eighty-two students have passed the pre- scribed industrial educational course, all of whom delight to recognize the young insti- tution, their Alma Mater. These graduates having the same kindly feeling toward their mother institution as the graduates of nearly all other educational institutions do. have organized an Alma Mater Society in order to keep strong the tie which binds. It is not because their deeds are evil that they do their work after the dark sets in. The sessions of the school are held in the evening in order to give those attending, opportunity " to work to live." as the masses who wish to climb ind keep on climbing the hill of knowledge, while working by day, must needs study at night or not study at all.
The same kindly cate which the State extends to kindred institutions she does not fail to extend toward this, and were
it not for the support which comes from the treasury of the State, men who have won fame and were permitted to cultivate the talent they possessed, and which needed but the develop- ment which came through the technical school, would have lain dormant perhaps, for years or lost forever had it not been for the blessed opportunities offered by the evening classes. The Governor of the State is President Ex-Officio. Hon. James M. Seymour, Mayor of Newark, is also Ex-Officio. Its corps of instructors, with Charles A. Colton, E. M, at the head as director and instructor in chemistry and physics ; Fred W. Fort, A. M., Cornelius S. Thatcher, C. B., and Albert B. Wilson,
Entrance Hall & Stairway.
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ENTRANCE HALL AND STAIRWAY OF THE TREE PUBLIC LIBRARY.
mathematics : Albert Jacobi, descriptive geometry and theory of cutting tools; James Kinselli, free-hand drawing : Maurice A. Mueller, M. E., mechanical drawing and mechanical engin- eering ; Fred S. Sutton, architectural drawing : William Kent, M. E., lecturer on steam engineering, will compare most favorably with the faculty of any similar institution in the State or nation. It will be a glad day for the scientifically in- clined among our young men, and women too, for that matter, when the new home shall be completed, that they, one and all, may have opportunity to satisfy their craving for more light, along the ways where they have been groping in semi-darkness.
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