Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 40, Number 30, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 20 December 1907 — Fined Boys Who Took Clapper. [ARTICLE]

Fined Boys Who Took Clapper.

Ernest (rowland and Edgar Duvall, two nice young men in the senior class of the Rensselaer high school, were Monday afternoon fined $2 in costs each, amounting to $10.60 each, on their pleas of guilty to the charge of malicious trespass. A week ago the clapper of the shool house bell was taken, and the bell rope cut into several pieces. This was a prank that had been played during previous years, a sort of misbhevious heirtage from from year to year, but it was a bad habit and along with other imitation college pranks was responsible for bad discipline and Superintendent Warren and Principal Gray have been trying to break up these things. For a week the school bell did not ring and persons about town who depended on that method of warning to start their children to school were greatly inconvenienced. It is 'said some was “peached” on the guilty parties and their ar rest followed. The hearing was held before Squire Irwin and the boys plead guilty. The act itself was not so bad, and the boys, who are among the very excellent young men of the community probably did not figure on the seriousness of it, but it has been found necessary to resort to radical measures to break up the small things that start class troubles and detract inter est from study. It is hoped the adopted plan will be sufficient warning to others, and that no father trouble will result from pranks of this nature.