Daily Republican., 1881-05-25
T,e school BOARD Changes.


The Gazette has all at once walked
up to the fact thar the"one manpawer rs
il calls it, in tie Board of Education Is
disgusting and therefore gives Nr. Ken
ney credit for oroverthrowing 1t seems
that our neighbor has only now found
out that there is so much danserin per
mitting the President of the Board OF
Education to appoint the standing COM
lnittees, as every President from time
immemorial has enjoyed that privilege
without let or hinderance. 1t is true
that the President was elected by Demo
cratic votes, but he could not help that
1t could hardly be expected that in re-
turn for few votes he would break
down voluntarily an old established
usage and say, "now that you have eleC
ted ne President of the Board of Edu-
cation, You may construct all the stand
ing committees as you see proper,
The Gazette should have had the Demo-
cratic members OF the Board better in
struCted before the election took place
for President so that the humilitiOn of
having them to go back upon their ac-
tions might have been avoided. The
fact is, that no injustice was dreamed
of in the appointment of the committees,
until after Mr.. Kenney had wormed
himself by Bailiff Daley'S double illegal
vote back into the Board, when he and
Mr.. Kyne, at the best enemies of the
public school system, found that in
justice had been done in the appoint
ment of the committees, and the Board
was governed by cone man power" ."
There is nothing Objectionable in the
principle of the Board of Education con-
firming the appointments of the Presi-
dent of the Board, but there was a Way
by which this could have been reached
without such extreme diSCOurteSy to
the President in making change in an
Old established custom. lfthe construC-
ton of the committees were so offensive
to the sensitiveness of Messrs. Kenney
and Kyne, those gentlemen could easily
have had rule adopted requiring all
committees to be approved or confirmed
by the Board. AS the committees are
now constructed there is really not
much difference to an outside observer,
but personally some individual mem
bers of the Board may feel somewhat
aggrieved that they We're displaced
from one committee and placed on
another. The public don't care a plea
yune whether Mr.. Lobdell or Mr.. Nc
lntire is chairman Of the committee on
teachers; whether Mr.. Morrow or DIR.
Shortlidge is chairman on the commit
tee on Books; whether Mr.. McIntire or
Mr.. Kenney is chairman Of the COM
mittee on Finance or whether Mr.. Ruth
or Mr.. Lobdell is chairman of the COM
mittee On Normal School, but the pub
lie has reason to be alarmed at the ag-
gressivene>S and the dOmineering spirit
shown by such members as MeSSrs.
Kyne and Kenney, and the means they
resort to without previous notice of any
kind being given of their intention to
execute certain purposes by crack of
the party whip. If the Board of Educa-
ton has at last, at this late day, after
such eminent gentlemen as Judge Hall,
DIR. Bullock and many others Of promi-
nenCe have served as Presiding officers
has just found out through the foresight
of Mr.. kenney that they have all along
been pursuing 4 wrong course, then let
Mr.. Kenney introduce q resolution in
the Board and let it be adopted and in
corporated as one of the rules of the
school, that the Board and not the Presi.
dent shall hereafter appoint all com
mitteeS.