Justice Prevails in Union Centre Township

[W. Gray]

Western Park was in Union Centre Township. Depending on the needs of the township, each township had two justices of the peace working for or out of the township seat, in this case Union Centre the town. These judges presided over cases that were considered minor in nature. More major cases were referred to the 13th Judicial district court, which convened regularly in Howard.

The Industrial Journal began publishing in Howard in August 1878 and at the time was one of three newspapers in Howard. The name changed to the Howard Journal in 1880 but the paper stopped publishing in 1883.

From the Howard Journal, February 11, 1881, originally submitted by Lois Morgan on the Kansas Trails web site.

An interesting case came up for trial before Justice Coil of Western Park, on Tuesday. John Nelson has been teaching school near Bascom's and was arrested on a states warrant on assault and battery on a boy by the name of Smith. The prosecuting witness was a Mr. Gardner, the step-father of the boy. It seems that the lad from the testimony of the pupils was a very unruly boy of about 12 years of age. A few days since the boy on being up with his class to spell, refused to do so. Upon his repeated refusal to spell, the teacher struck him four times with a whip, bringing the blood each time. Mr. Scott as county attorney prosecuted and Dan Carr defended. The verdict of the jury was for the defendant. The prosecuting witness, Gardner, had to pay the costs of the suit, $42.25. We are glad to chronicle the above decision. It has got to be a very common occurrence for school children to defy the authority of the teacher, to misbehave in every possible way, and through the mistaken leniency of the teacher, backed by a mawkish public sentiment to almost ruin the school. Moral suasion is all very well, but with the average boy a good cowhiding well laid on will discount these months of moral suasion. We are personally acquainted with Mr. Nelson and know him to be a young man who would never punish a pupil unnecessarily, and we are glad he came out ahead in the trial.

[srkruzich]

A very effective means of establishing control in a classroom
My grandpa used to tell of a couple boys in his class 8th grade i think it was, that were disrepectful of the teacher and disrupted class.  The teacher had the boys of the class to hold him over the barrel and use a belt on them.  Stopped the disruption of class and the kids learned. 

BTW 8th grade was as high as you could go in school back then you went to college afterwards.  AND most people today could not pass the graduation exam these 8th grade students took.  Shows how abysmal our education system has become!

[W. Gray]

During six years of grade school, I recall two boys who were whipped. There might have been more but that is all I remember.

There were no male teachers in my school. In each case, the boy came back to class and had a huge look of defeat on his face. Even though they were trouble makers, the class as a whole seemed to sympathize with them. As far as I know, the problem in each case was not repeated.

[Ms Bear]

While going through some papers of my mother's I found a Certificate of Award for attending school for 5 months, neither absent nor tardy.  This was in 1928, he would have been 16 years old.

[Diane Amberg]

If I had had to resort to that I'd have been arrested by some child's parents for battery on their darling! Everyone thinks hitting some child other than their own is just fine.

[srkruzich]

If I had had to resort to that I'd have been arrested by some child's parents for battery on their darling! Everyone thinks hitting some child other than their own is just fine.

And thats a direct result of liberalization of education.  Used to be you didn't have problems, now your kids can't even go to school safe without someones darling shooting them. 

[flo]

During my beginning school years (1st and 2nd grades) both grades were in the same room and had the same teacher.  I will not mention any names because this teacher is still living.  Remember I graduated high school 54 yrs. ago so this was 12 yrs before that.  When the teacher would leave the room for something, there were always 2 or 3 boys that disrupted the class.  The teacher would come back having heard the noise but never caught the guilty parties.  Why, I don't know, but no one ever tattled on the boys.  Sooooooo, every student in the room had to stand up, bend over their desk (boys and girls) and the teacher went up and down the isles swatting each student with the limber end of a cane pole.  Much later in years after unification of Howard and Severy and the Jr. High was at Severy, there were problem students.  We had a substitute teacher one day and of course the trouble makers done their best to get on her last nerve, and one did.  She started to back hand him and he informed her that it was against the law for her to strike him.  Her reply was "watch this" and wacked him with a book, grabbed him by the shirt collar and marched him to the principals office, told the principal what she had done (while the boy stood very quietly), and the principal said okay, now we'll call his parents and tell them.  The boy didn't like that because he knew he was in BIG trouble when he got home.  Just a couple incidents that come to mind of corporal punishment in the earlier days.

[srkruzich]

During my beginning school years (1st and 2nd grades) both grades were in the same room and had the same teacher.  I will not mention any names because this teacher is still living.  Remember I graduated high school 54 yrs. ago so this was 12 yrs before that.  When the teacher would leave the room for something, there were always 2 or 3 boys that disrupted the class.  The teacher would come back having heard the noise but never caught the guilty parties.  Why, I don't know, but no one ever tattled on the boys.  Sooooooo, every student in the room had to stand up, bend over their desk (boys and girls) and the teacher went up and down the isles swatting each student with the limber end of a cane pole.  Much later in years after unification of Howard and Severy and the Jr. High was at Severy, there were problem students.  We had a substitute teacher one day and of course the trouble makers done their best to get on her last nerve, and one did.  She started to back hand him and he informed her that it was against the law for her to strike him.  Her reply was "watch this" and wacked him with a book, grabbed him by the shirt collar and marched him to the principals office, told the principal what she had done (while the boy stood very quietly), and the principal said okay, now we'll call his parents and tell them.  The boy didn't like that because he knew he was in BIG trouble when he got home.  Just a couple incidents that come to mind of corporal punishment in the earlier days.

ROTFL  now thats how it should be done!  I know when i went to school, if i did something, they called my parents too and i got it twice.  Once from the principal he used a board paddle and again when i got home.  
Todays problem is they molly coddle these little delinquents!

[Wilma]

Flo, I could make a good guess as to who the student was.  But he wasn't the only one that needed it.