Few paid much attention to Samuel S. King, fire-breathing editor of The Chariton Democrat during the 1880s --- in large part because of his tendencies toward exaggeration, overstatement and sometimes downright hysteria. He was described after his death during the 1920s on the west coast as "brilliant but erratic" by a former colleague.
Those tendencies all came to the fore during November of 1889 when Mr. King attempted to inflate what actually were relatively minor personnel issues in the Chariton Public School District into a full-blown crisis. His opening salvo was fired in an editorial on the local news page of The Democrat of Nov. 21, 1889.
Among those targeted in the editorial were Joseph A. Brown, school board chair who also was an influential (and prosperous) entrepreneur, and his brother-in-law, Laban F. Maple, school board treasurer and operator of Maple's Book Store on the north side of the square. The two men were married to sisters, Bella and Ella Wright, daughters of Dr. James D. Wright, a Quaker physician revered by nearly everyone. King refers to Brown as "Barnacle."
At the time, the Chariton scholars were housed in three buildings --- South (later Columbus), above, the largest and home to the high school and upper grades; East (later Garfield) and North (later Bancroft), located on the current site of Johnson Auditorium and the Chariton Community Center. The latter two buildings contained four classrooms each and house elementary grades.
Here's the editorial:
THE CHARITON SCHOOLS
A Roaring Farce and a Miserable Failure
Last spring when the Democrat saw where our public schools were drifting it sounded the alarm and made the best fight it could for the schools. A horde of conscienceless scoundrels and gibbering idiots of both sexes raised the cry that we were fighting against the schools, and thereupon set in to cry down the Democrat and its editor. By a preconcerted and well arranged system of lying they succeeded, no doubt, in making a few weak-minded men and decrepit old women believe their falsehoods.
So this fall after the board had made a cowardly surrender of principle in order to placate the malcontents, and had employed their Superintendent and teachers, the Democrat resolved to keep aloof from the school question and see it work out its own success or failure. We very well knew which it would be. In the nature of things, it could not be otherwise than a failure. A cowardly compromise with Wrong never has been and never can be a success. And the failure has come.
For weeks past the parents of the district have been filling our ears with stories of the worse than useless waste of time to their children while attending. While but poor advancement is being made in any of the grades, in the Grammar and High School departments the pupils appear to be "advancing backward," and disorder runs riot throughout. Miss Shepherd has been compelled to resign from the Grammar department, and Mr. E:vans will doubtless be compelled to give up the High School. Like horses with the bits in their teeth, the pupils have run things to suit themselves, utterly refusing to respond to the drawing of the reins which the teachers have unsuccessfully tried. In several of the lower rooms the pupils have no respect whatever for the fledgling Amazons who nose as teachers, and several resignations will doubtless occur there, or the board will be compelled to turn them out.
It is a lamentable condition of affairs to be earnestly regretted by all. Yet, in the nature of things, it could not be different under the cowardly and vascilating course pursued by the board. A stream cannot rise above its fountain. A school cannot rise above the business sense, courage, honesty and intelligence of the brain and heart that direct it.
Look at it a moment. There is Barnacle Brown holding on to a place on the board although repudiated by the people by a vote of two to one. Although repudiated and spewed out by the people three times in one year in his three several efforts to get some little office where he could fleece the people and serve his relations. Barnacle Brown has grown immensely rich on tax-titles, subsisting on the misfortunes of others as a toad feasts on the vapor of a dungeon. He was anxious to keep his brother-in-law, Maple, in as treasurer in order that he may have the district money to run his business on, and thus be in a position, by reason of special favors shown him, to monopolize the book trade of the district at his own prices. Barnacle Brown had his faithful servant Routt on the Board to help him. Last year he had a principal who would kindly assist in running all the book trade to Maple. This last year's principal, who was lacking in education, never having taken even a high school course, became extremely jealous of her subordinate, the high school teacher, who was a college graduate. So these persons all conspired to defeat, and so far as they could, disgrace the high school teacher. Then the Democrat showed up their villainies, and the unprincipled principal was forced to resign. The high school teacher was vindicated and re-elected. Then the conspirators howled.
The board surrendered. At the demand of Barnacle Brown the high school teacher was asked to resign and the present one elected in her place. At the demand of Barnacle Brown, brother-in-law Maple was again elected treasurer in order that he may have another year in which to line his pockets and fleece the people. It was a complete, disgraceful and cowardly surrender of the Board, and the men who compromised with Wrong for the sake of peace can now see the result of their action.
Now, what is to be done. It costs about $1,000 a month to run the schools. It is worse than a waste of money to run them as they are now. Insubordination runs all through the schools. The children understand the situation as well as their parents. They have no respect for the board, and consequently they have no respect for the teacher. All the clubbing that the principal and the janitor can do, and they do a deal of it, can't beat into Young America a spirit of obedience and good behavior. No man ever worked worthily who was not moved by a love of his work. No child will ever study worthily who is not moved by love. No changes of teachers now can accomplish much, if any good.
Perhaps the best thing to do would be to close the schools and thus save the money that is now being wasted. The children will do no good this year. That matter is firmly settled. There being three directors to elect next spring, there is hope that the people will see to it that next year's board shall have at least three members fit to conduct school matters. Whether or not the closing of the school would be the best to do, we are not quite certain. It would be a humiliating position to place our little city in to say that by reason of the conspiracy of Barnacle Brown and his satellites we are compelled to close our schools, but it may be the best.
One thing, however, we are certain of. The board should promptly and unconditionally resign --- every many of them. There is no a man among them who is fit for the place --- not one. Every one has contributed his full share toward the present unfortunate and disgraceful condition that exists ---- some ignorantly, perhaps, and others designedly. But no matter how.
They should resign and give the people a chance. Then if the people every again elect any of them to a position, the people will deserve all the suffering they will have to bear.
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Editor King's campaign seems to have been inspired, in part, because he hoped to help elect three new school board members more to his liking during March of 1890, when those positions opened.
And he did show up at the nominating convention that spring with a slate, rejected by those who attended. Instead, the school board seats went to three more prominent (Republican) males: N.B. Gardiner, George W. Larimer and Albert E. Dent.
According to the editor of the competing Chariton Herald, Mr. King was heard to mutter as he walked away from the tally site after votes had been counted, "Those damned Methodists are still on top."
And actually, obscured by the editor's overstatement, some of his concerns were justified. Most likely the fact that board treasurer Maple operated the book store at which a majority of Chariton scholars purchased their texts would be recognized today as a conflict of interest.
And some 20 years later, when the county presented Mr. Brown with a bill for $55,000 in back property taxes, it became evident that he had been cheating for decades.
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