Wilmington daily gazette., 1874-04-01
Letters from the People.
Ecrihe Gazette.

Mr. EpIroR:-l parcc,ye in your paper Of the
30ih inst. coinmun cation oysr the signature OF
Justice" in which an attack is made against the
| management Of The public schools ui this ely
To any person Who Is familiar with the workings
OF our public schools, uud-r the charter, and the
laws which govern "lhe Board vi Public L iuca-
tlnn in this city,, 1t will bo readily perceived that
"Justce" is attempting to crlliene " subject upon
which his know ledge Is extremely limited; Tor
| illustration, he says: "Mr. Fraim (who for the
past year has 5eel chairman OF tho committee on
teachers,) does not practice what he breaches.
| lie states that Mr.. Frain, at the last meeting OF
the Board, stated That "teachers should not re-
| ceive situations unless perfectly capable Of per
| forming the duties OF said position" Now what
Mr. Fraim really did say WAS "that the roster es
tsblished by the Board was in his opinion defec-
tive, and looked much better in theory than il
worked in practice, as the roster made seniority
have precedence over educational ability" aud In
his report he recommended that the roster be
| changed TO read "that promotion OF teachers be
made on account of seniority (of employment by
the Board, only where such teachers have proved
| themselves to be competent teachers and success
ful disciphnarans, and whose examination pa
pers demonstrate the fact that such teachers are
educalionay qualified to I'LL the position to which
promotion is to be made"
Now "Jus:ice" charges Mr. Ffaim with favor
| itcism IN appointing Miss = to titli-gfade po
| stion immediately alter her examination. The
| assertion that MIR. FraIm individually appointed
any person to a position of teacher Is simply ab-
surd, and shows that "Justlce' is entirely igno-
rant Of the subject hs attempts to criticise. All
appointments of teachers are first made by the
| Committee on Teachers, consisting of SIX menu
| bcrs oi the Board, Mr.. Fraim beng one OF the
| number. Now the report OF MI. Fraiin AS chair-
man of said committee fully shows that no APP
| pointm ment Of teachers had been made during the
year, which was not unanimously endorsed by
the Committee on Teachers. Such being the fact,
1t shows that 'Jnstce" malcionsiy designed 20
| attack Mr.. FTaim, the chairman OF the comihit-
tee or that he Was entirely iguorant cf the man
ner in which appointments are made; II The lat
| ter, he should have sought information before
| exposing his ignorance in the public press
Again hc complains that Miss - received
| htth-grade appointment immediately aiter her
examination; now what ls the ifth grade? An
swcr-the lowest grade Of Assistant III the employ
| OF the Board 1 presume from the objection made
by "Justice," that ho must have considered the
Gith-gradc OF the most importan. positions IN
our 6choos, il so he again shows entire ignoiance
OF the subject. Now Will Justice please inform
us who Miss - is, that Mr.. Fiam appointed? ?
Why not as well bring her name before the pub
llc as that of the chairman Of the committee, and
let the public know who is the supposed favor1te
In reference to the Superintendent he says. 'do
we need such person? What are the duties per-
formed 10y HIM tor the sum of $500 per annum ,?
The fl st question is certainly, in the estimation
Of the educated portion of the community, aoso
Iutely absurd. Is II possible that amy man can DC
SO ignorant AS TO suppose that III city with over
$4,000 inhabitants, with sixteen public schools,
employing over eighty teachers who have under
their charge about 1000 pupils, We do not neces-
sarily require a tiist-class superintendent 10 ar
range classify, and superintend The workings OF
the schools Without head TO direct our schools
they would soon become Il perfect flrce, each
teacher would govern his or her room alter their
own particular whim or notion; all system would
cease, promotions would be made or deferred at
the will OF the teacher but by having compe-
tent Superintendent every department "f the
schools Is rcducsd 10 system; examinations are
carefully made and promotlon given 10 those en-
titled to the same IT ould bc folly for one to
| enlarge upon this subject, rs good common sense
certainly demonstrates the fact that q SupeTin-
tendent is absolutely Indispensable
Now one word IN reference To the salary
Of the superintendent, with whom ~ ustlce"
draws d comparison with the mechanic.
What mechanic. he asks, can earn 81 500
Dor annum7 Now while l would not for
All instant, attempt 10 undsrrate the service
of our mechanics. i would state that no la
bor Is rs laboriOus as BsltaI labor. The
mechanic finishes his days work and takes
NO thought of it again untii Lo-iacrrow,
whilst the students brain is continually
rack al with labor. Knowledge Is bis siuI.
The hiit OF science Is before him, aud whilst
the mechanic Is enjoying sweet baliny sleep
tne student toiis Ou, and by constant strain
up0u his brain, he falls victim 10 disease
and premature dsal4. In my estimation
brain labor il the least SpErerlated, and Sc
cures The least compensation for sersicts
rendered. l look upon the salary Of the
Superintendent as u very moderate one and
instead OF diminishing 1t, would rather
favor an increase. Perhaps "J4stlce" might
have concluded. (were 1 not to eTplsn,)
that 1t would make but little difference tu
mo what the salaries Of the teachers or
uperintendents are fixed III. so for ~ it
W ouM effect me financially. TIC dispel
such an 4des l would stale tnat my school
tax is no sas all item, but when it is double
whit 1t now Is. 1t woald not cost me one
half as much per RaDnm,as 1t would TO send
one of my sons ~ Daughter TO boarding
school. In conclusGu. would state upon
the education of Lhe massOs, depends the
future destiny of our republic, and tbe only
true plan to educate the masses, Is through
the medium of our public schools, and
am In favor of giving the poor men as good
a chance to educate their children in our
public schools, as the sons and daughters
of miiiionaires can obtain in the highest
grade Ssninaries and Colleges in our land.
Pro Bono PUBLICo.
WnMINGTox, DEL March 81, 1874.
AMERICAN LOCOMOTIVES FOR RUssIA.-Phila-