. gs by those who are the quiet recipientsand passive auditors in our now journal-trurnpeted institutes, which, by legis-lative enactments, can draw to the extent of $200 from the county treasurer tohelp pay instructors from other parts of the world for what could be as well ob-tained from our own teachers. It will be understood that the breaking out ofthe war in 1861 was terribly inimical to school interests in Frpnklin County. *Duiing the burning of Chambersburg, Mr. McElwain was living two and a half miles west of the s
. gs by those who are the quiet recipientsand passive auditors in our now journal-trurnpeted institutes, which, by legis-lative enactments, can draw to the extent of $200 from the county treasurer tohelp pay instructors from other parts of the world for what could be as well ob-tained from our own teachers. It will be understood that the breaking out ofthe war in 1861 was terribly inimical to school interests in Frpnklin County. *Duiing the burning of Chambersburg, Mr. McElwain was living two and a half miles west of the soldiers stopped in large numbers at his house. Among them was a chaplain who inquired of thesuperintendent whether he had ever been a teacher of niggers. Mr. McElwain replied that he had occa-sionally been. This was enough. When the troops retired, they fired his house, and permitted nothing to beremoved under penalty of death. The loyalty, honesty and philanthropy of the school-master caused theloss of his property. The offense was—he had taught HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 309 The attention of its citizens was too much engrossed with the threatened destruc-tion of their property and their government to be easily gained to school inter-ests, and on entering upon my duties of county superintendent I foundmyself handicapped in my efforts to secure attention to school interests, in theface of superior claims upon the attention to homes and property. I insti-tuted no new policy, except that I declined to accept the proffered help offledgeling attorneys of the law and politicians to build up an institute of pro-fessional teachers. I regarded it then, as I do now, an opportunity for devel-opment of the qualities which the teachers need, if only they could be trainedto do as all other professions do—hold their own conventions and conductthem themselves. The first institute held during inj incumbency was held in theWashington Street School building, in Chambersburg. Stat
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