The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1876-06-30
The Eacaltx ulimeu,tx.

There seems to be an intermina-
bic war urged by some members OF
fthe late faculty of the Normal school
against other members. The fighters
have not grown weary, and have
carried the war into Africa, as the
saying is. We have from time to
time been urged to take this unfor-
tunate, and to us perfectly unreas-
{ enable and unjustifiabIe faculty
fight" into our paper, but have stead
lily refused to do SO, believing tha'
"the least said the soonest mended,
was the true policy. We have even
refused to be interviewed in regard
to it, desiring to hear as little about
it as possible. And we want to say
right here that it is our firm conYic-
ton that had other people, who had
nothing to gain by taking sides in
this business, refrained from doing
so, there would have been no "fac.
ulty war;" Personal controversies oil
this character feed on the fuel sup
piled by the public tongue. If the
public turns the cold shoulder, as il
always should DO, they die. We
call this q personal quarrel. Il
amounts to nothing more than that,
so far as we can ascertain, and has
been mostly one-sided. We are glad
to know that the President of the
school has ignored it as far as laid
in his power, and has not visited
the boarding houses or taken the
streets for his side. We are glad to
believe he is above such conduct.
Az tho school is not now in ses-
sion, and as the matter has already
been dragged int print" in the
other paper published here, we pro-
pose to say just what we think
about this difficulty, claiming to be
free from partisan feeling on the
one side or the other, We write
more with a hope of preventing
such disgraceful affairs in the future
than with the expectation of pleas
ing either side in the present con-
test.
To begin with, we think the fight
made by two members of the facul-
ty upon the President, not only I'M
called for, but vicious, malignant
and harmful to the school, and to all
parties concerned. As near as we
can ascertain, it has been continued
unnecessarily, after the first stages,
through motives of personal ambi-
ton, and has been urged on, to some
extent, by that most devilish of all
evil spirits, sectarianism.
A writer in the last issue of the
Ledger shows the animus of this
whole fight. He admits the Presi-
dents administrative abilities, and
the thoroughness of his discipline
and scholarship" Then, what is the
trouble = Simply that two of the
late teachers have private griev-
ances. That's the whole of it. Pres
ident POmeroy's ability, his scholar
ship, his high-minded character, his
gentlemanly department, his uni
versal practice of attending strictly
and industrio usly to the duties of
his position, are not called in ques-
ton. The fact is, not a thing can
be said except that he has not walk
ed to suit the notions of certain
teachers. We have never heard any
complaint except from two of them.
The same interest, to great extent, |
which has backed these two in their
senseless war upon him made it $50 |
hot" for a former President of the |
school, good and competent man,
that he resigned. They are trying
the same game again. We believe
they have got something more of a
contract than they had before. They
are now understood, and they will
be apt 10 get all the war they want.
Their "rule or ruin policy" may in
lure the school for awhile, as it has
injured it, but unless they
can sustain themselves with Just
charges the public will decide for
the right and in accordance with
facts. Bat one side has been heard
yet The Board of Regents and the
President may be denounced for
doing the best they could under the
circumstances, but the people want
the facts.
The unwarrantable assumption,
that the statements of the Ledger
writer are the judgment of this
community, will do for cgotism, but
will not do for truth. This people
believe in fairness, and will render
q verdict when the evidence is all
in. Not a charge has ever been
made against the President, that we
have ever heard of, but that was too
TO receive serious thought,
except one or two that ought to
have been taken before the Board
for settlement. Strange to say, no
attempt has ever been made, that we
have ever heard of, to bring these
difficulties before the proper author
tiles. An appeal has constantly
been made to partisan friends, who
have as constantly made the matter
worse. 1t may please the warriors
and their friends to insinuate that
the Board holds its sessions in Sc
cret, but the statement is too absurd
to tell sensible people. There has
never been a time when the Board
was not open to receive complaints,
and whenever spoken to about the
troubles we have urged them to 60
there with them. This course evil
IDENTIFY did not suit the promoters of
the trouble, as they knew they could
sustain no charges.
Now, we do not claim that the
President has made No nisfsI-aS 7,