The Republican journal., 1874-01-01
Letter from Boston.

The choice oil tour women to the School
Committee at the recent municipal cleo
ton has produced no little uneasiness in
the minds of some members OF the pres
ent board which has finally eliminated in
an "opinion' from the City Solicitor, in
response to q question addressed to him by
q member Of the committee, i'll which he
declares that women cannot legally serve
on the board. Section 50 Of the city char
ter, authorizing the establishment of this
| body, commences, 1.-The School Commit
tee shall consist Of the mayor of the city,
| the president of the Common Council, and
of the persons hereinafter mentioned" and
| elsewhere in this section and those follow
| ing on the same subject the members are
designated as persons eight other times
and nowhere by any other word If a
woman be entitled to be considered u per
| son, ii would seem that she We're eligible
| to Il position on the committee, the solicit
| or's opinion to the contrary notWithstand-
| ing. And his opinion will have very little
| w III inc IlltlilJt1S Oh inc incoming
board if they desire to retain the ladies in
| their body. The solicitor has heretofore
| decided many matters coming before the
| City Government to be Illegal. but which
| failed not for that reason after enactment by
the City Council nor the mayor approving
| signature-notably the question of open
ing the Public Library on Sundays, which.
| though Illegal it may be, has proved of
| great convenience to many persons who
! had previously no place in which to spend
| their Sabbaths better than the dismal and
not always refining boarding house, and
who were thus forced to see con@enia!
spirit in the streets and not unfre0uently
| the bar-room Last Sunday week the at
| tendance in the central reading room was
SO great that at no time between half-past
two and half past eight We're there less
than one hundred readers present
But, to return to our muttons, the School
Committee, after asking for and obtaining
| the views Of the City Solicitor all at once
awoke to the fact that the matter did not
properly concern them, was none of their
business, but belonged to next wears
board, and they accordingly dropped the
subject as hastily rs they had taken it up.
And now for a little episode in the
| usually tedious proceedings in another
| branch of the municipal government For
some time past the discussion over the
soup question has been both earnest and
long, and while the Common Council
voted III favor Of appropriatinG the money
necessary for dispensing the food the
Aldermen, in Difference of the Solicitors
opinion that the appropriation could not
legally be voted, indefinitely postponed
the whole subject. Now there is a certain
councilman who had, it is ayerred, secured
a denomination on the strength. not Of the
soup proposed to be dealt out. but of his
advocacy of the measure; and on FRIDAY
evening of last week this gentleman
brought forward Il resolution rejecting
somewhat pointedly on the action of the
other branch and reaffirming the belief of
the Council in the right and Justice of
their vote in favor of the soup distribution.
This, it is whispered was part OF care
fully considered scheme, of which this, in
effect, censure Of the upper branch OF the
City Government was but the entering
wedge, and the same tactics heretofore
pursued pN llt soup party were IT, BE re
neWcd with unabatcd vigor il the new
Council. But the best laid schemes. etc, and
when our worthy friend had read his resolve |
and vented himself Of n portion Of his bot
tled-up cloqncnce, he was suddenly taken
all abatk thusly: This Councilman, be it |
known has a rather precarious domicile in |
Boston. While his home, where his fam |
lily reside, was formerly in Brookinc and |
is now in Melrose, his own residence he |
claims to be in this city. lie formerly |
occupied 4 room in the United States
Hotel, which he claimed rs his domiclc, |
though during an investigation some two
years since in Il contested election case.
in which he WAS the sitting member, it
could only be ascrrtained that he slept in
the hotel but one night, the night before
registration. which was held to be sufficient
to cntitle him to retain his seat lie now
hires and occasionally occupies u room in
4 court leading from Washington street the
rear of the premises extending to Chicken
ing place, \ narrow lane inhabited almost
entirely by representatives Of the demi-
monde. Remembering this fact 4 member
from the Highlands quietly asked the gen
tleman ifhisabe efforts and earnest appeal
We're wholly behalf of his friends and fe!-
low dodgers oiChickering place which had
amost depressing effect on the elo1uence of
this queer champion OF the poor, and al.
though he male feeble attempt to retail
ate by remarkng that he did live i'm the
neighborhood Of Chickerng place and
had often seel the gentleman from the
Highland going in and coming out Of the
houses there, ye, the shot was SO well
aimed that the laughter which followed
completely upset him, and he was forced
to withdraw his resolv,, his comrades in
the enterprise they hac hoped to inaugu-
ate 50 auspicously not caring to share in
the discontinue of thdr spokesman; and
we shall probably her no more OF soup
this winter, the di>pnsing of which in
the opinion OF those best qualified to
judge, been productie Of more harm
than good, and that 10 obvious reasons.
The faction endeavorins TO run this soup
business through the Cit Government had
as another part Of thei programme the
resurrection next year olhe order for the
establishment Of publ park or parks,
a bill looking to that Ell having been
slaug htered by the Aldermen at a recent {
meeting but whether theownfall Of soup
will cause the park to gombling after,
remains to be SEEN