Morning journal and courier., 1884-07-01
Five to Four.

interested in the matter of the appointment of the principal of the Winchester school. l After the minutes had been read a motion was | made that the matter of supplying the coal ! for the district be referred to the finance committee. This motion caused MT. O'Brien to make some strong objections to the mat
 ter of allowing the committee to have the
 entire charge of the matter. MT. Pond ap- proved of the objections, and MT. Zunder and MT. Harrison thought the committee
 could do the business. MT. Parmslee said
 that it would be impossible to get as low
 rates if they were going to be publicly ! known. MT. O'Brisn moved that the esti- mates be sent to each member of the Board. MT. OBrien said he thought it was time l there should be reform in the matter of rum I ming the affairs of the Board by committees. The matter was finally referred to the con- ! mittee and the estimates be open to the in | spection of the Board before the contract is l msde.
 l Mir. Harrison read report of the commit l two members of the Board. The report | was as follows:
 The undersigned, members of the commit 1 tee on schools to whom was recommittsd the appointment of 8 principal for the Win l chester district, would respectfully report | That the committee have had the same under ] careful consideration and have given a pub
 lie hearing to such persons as have appeared I before them upon the charges made by them. They have also heard from MT. Gile such statements as he saw fit to make in reply to ! these charges.
 That parents resident in the Winchester
 district have also appeared before them, act \ ing as a committee in behalf of the residents ' of the district, and have renewed the request
 made to the Board that MT. Gile might be
 continued as the principal of the district. Were the school districts of New Haven separate districts instead of subdivisions of
 the one New Haven city school district. the request of the Winchester district, meriting
 as it does respectful and careful considera- tion, would show in light different from
 that in which it now appears to the under
 signed. But the consequences of the action
 of the Board affect not the Winchester dis
 trict only, but also the peace and the reputs-
 ton of the entire district of which it is a
 part. We find ourselves, therefore, obliged
 to consider the question before on broader grounds than are involved in the request of
 the committee that MT. Gile may be retained
 for the coming year as their principal. Since the report of your committee was first made, attention has been publicly called to various matters involving Mir. Giles ca pacity of self-government in connection with
 the discipline of the schools under his charge. Vu
 charges made in the public prints, or in the { meetings of the Board farther than to say ! that, SO far as they have been investigated by ! us, they have been but partially sustained, we still find that there has been at times l such lack of self control on Mir. Giles part l since his appointment to the Winchester dis l trict as to give occasion for the good offices of the superintendent, or of private individ. l uals, or to call for subsequent private ex- plantations on his own part to prevent the al legged facts from coming to public notice and
 to preserve quiet in the district at large. No such state of affairs is known to exist in the other sub-districts of the city.
 In view of these facts the undersigned as members of the comnittes, would withdraw | che recommendation heretofore made for the | appointment of MT. Gils as principal of the Winchester district, and submit the question \ to the Board with this recommendation,
 namely: That if, in deferenoe to the wishes
 of the parents of the Winchester sub-district
 as expressed to the oard and the commit tee, the Board shall see fit tO appoint Mir. Gils to the position of principal of that dis I trict that such appointment shall not be
 made fer fixed term, but subject to the pleasure of the Board. All of which is re- spectfully submitted.
 Signed, MAYER ZUNDER, F. E. HARRISON. Senator Plunkett said he had not signed the report for various reasons. He corrected
 8 statement that was misrepOrted in the Pal ladium and which did him great injustice. He then stated that he had not acted as MT. Giles attorney. 2 The only action he had
 taken was with the consent and advice of the Committee on Schools and the superintend-
 ent. No consideration had passed between
 Mir. GiIe and himself, nor had there been any promise of any. He said that the report
 was not the one he had expected to have heard read and did not contain some state
 ments he had hoped to see in it.
 The report of the committee was accepted,
 MT. O'Brien voting against it.
 MT. O'Brisn then moved, and MT. Zunder
 seconded it, that MT. Gile be appointed prin- cipal at the salary of $2,OOo. MT. O'Brien spoke at some length and with considerable
 warmth in support of his motion. He said:
 "When this committee first reported they recommended MT. Giles reappointment and praised MT. Gile for the work of the year, notwithstanding his characteristics in the past were well known. I think the com- for his work. The committee found there was little nothing in the Gile-Barber matter. Then from that and newspaper | controversy came up all the cases charged to | MT. Gile. AS to these charges know little | about them. The committee exonerated | Every case examined fell to the ground. | Mir. Gile appeared before the commit tee and made a manly statement. I don't l think it is right and proper because the papers make hue and cry that we should discharge MT. Gile. It is wrong to rake up point MT. GiIe tonight. I take exceptions to | Mir. Dutton's part in this controversy. He has not acted as a disinterested party in this matter. When the committee had examined Mr. Gile at it's last meeting in MT. Dutton's presence and after MT. Gile had left, the su- perintendent brought up various matters against Mr. Gile which he should have had 8 hearing on. The superintendent's statement made at that time, that other principals had said to him that it was for the interest of the district to have Mr. Gile removed, was unjust and un- manly. am not seeking to be member of this board any longer, but am only trying to do my duty by those who sent me here. I think MT. Dutton has been laboring to re- move MT. Gile.''
 Mr. Zunder wanted it understood that he did not champion Mir. GiIe or any other principal He said that Mir. Dutton had been perfectly impartial in the Gile matter. He favored the appointment of MT. Gile.
 Mir. Parmalee said he was surprised to hear the charge against Superintendent Out ton. tI have formed an opinion of this mat ter," said MT. Parmalee, ''and have some times been puzzled to see why MT. Dutten has not agreed with me. I have heard peo- pie say that they blamed him for not putting his foot down and taking stand in the mat ter before. The only fact which remains is that MT. Gile has an unfortunate faculty for stirring up scandals. I was early impressed with that fact from my own observation of Mr Giles career. had been approached by