Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1886-04-25
ADMIRAL.
How Americans Who Boast Of Their
Excluslyeness Manage Amerl-
can City Schools,
The Man Selected by The Medical
Fraternity Of tho United states as
Their Representative.
The Lntcst ftyiss FOR nfer Given 90 Answer
20 g oaiveascn Covrospondent
RebccoR Hnrdfng Dods.


ADtsLPKrA, Pa, April2l ut Is on,
of the boasts OF tho people of the Quicker
CITY that theirs is city Of Americans
who govern themselves. That rs 70 cay
there are here perhaps a larger American
element In proportion to those OF foreign
birth than in any other OF the principal
cities Of Inc Union Conservative as old
time lhllndolpklans are, they have so faI
been able TO prevent the inroads Of tkc
foreign population into the domain OF The
onlcc.holding class. II Is therefore true
That the controlling element among the
city officials Is almost exclusively hmerl.
can. This fact Philadelphans regard
with no small degree OF satisfaction, and
are fond OF referring TO New York and
Boston as being under the domination OF
The Irish element, and 10 Cincinnati aud
Chicago as being IN the hands Of the
Germans. SO far as the claim that
philadelphia Is the great American city
governed wholly by Americans is CON
cerned, II Is Ia effect true Lot us see
how one OF the chief departments OF the
clty's affairs is governed by these Official
Americans who are unhampered by any
objectionable Foreigners.
II II Is true that public o1lcois n public,
not political, trust, IL followe that the
control OF the public school system Of the
city ought TO be as tnr removed from
political influence az possible II upon
The public schools rests the hope OF our
national government Of the future, then
the less politics, as usually administered,
have 10 do with them the better. Some
weeks ago q well-known New York law
yer succeeded In bringing down upon his
rtaaH tbn 81
~ keystone state newspapers by deliver.
ing lecture In this city upon the oscar.
city Of Great Men In Pennsylvania The
plth OF the matter was, though, that the
New Yorker proved the truth OF his
premise, Tho chief reason In his
opinion Tor our lack OF great men was
the Cameron Influence, He was more
than half right and yet he might with
ugna truth have accounted for the lack
81 great men IN this city, Ht leaRt, by our
nmeutQblY poor public schools The
present school law Of Pennsylvania wns
enacted Ia 1864. Ono Of the provisions
Of that lnw WAS one empowering the
school directors they are called trustees
~ most OF the atntca-u Of the several cities
ana counties 20 elect q superintendent OF
the schools whose duty II should be 60
give hin whole Time and attention TO the
task Of seeing that they were brought 10
the highest state OF proficiency, and kept
mere. WIN lts usual promptnoss rhll0-
delphia waited oxac lily twenty.ulne yenrs
before putting this important provision
OF tho school law Into effect Durlnp Ia
time che schools OF the city ran themselves.
Az last even Philadelphia Americans saw
That something had to be done. Accord.
~ q man was brought here from Wlacon.
sin.--nota that m Eastern city went West
~ sentch OF Rn Oducator--whO was given
Carte blanche permission TO turn things
inside out and upside down.
lie began work IN the fall OF 1888, and
ever since that date tho school COMMITTEES
VI the city has been in.more on less OF A
row. AZ the present moment there are a
score or 50 OF the school board who won't
speak to The city superintendent OF public
schools, and tho two combined are having
SORT OF O monkey.and-parr time. In
addition TO the other troubles there ~
lyely scandal on the carpet IN connection
With certain members of the board.
whoin, IT'S alleged, whaekod up with the
publishing houses IN the purchase of
textbooks, al OF which nre provided for
by the city authorities, paid for at retail
ratssi hut, II Is charged, are furnished
originally by the publishing.houses az
wholesale rates Who pockets the differ
enee ~ not Yet determined, 80 IL would
ne unfair 70 openly charge any one with
doing so, AZ any rate, nearly every one
has something TO do With the AFFAIR ak
cept that always forgotten individual the
taN-payer The whole mattor IA on 4 pnr
With the city gas-worlss, which are owned
by the municipality but which have been
stolen blind for years. Now Il II pro-
posed 70 sell the gas plant and devote the
proceeds TO much-nc0ded improvements,
but there appears no lob In the transao.
tom NO chance for any American onical |
TO steal anything, and so the sale hangs
hre, anu VIII 40 hong until some shrewd /
bwlndle can be connected.
some months ago vacancy occurred
N the chair OF history In the Boys' Cor,
trail High school, which ia the college of
the city, having fifteen professors, and
the power 20 confer literary degrees. Thoi
vacancy WAS followed u few days later hy !
~ similar one IN the chair OF English lit /
creature. The proteHsorships pay from !
$4,000 20 $1,000 year. The hoard dc. /
eided TO llll the former hy e0mpotliivo
examination. That fact was horaided
fur and wide, and Horace Howard Fur.
ness, the groRt Shakespear0nn scholar.
and Hon. Henry N, Hoyt, an ON, gnyornor
OF the state, were selected as the cxamin
ing committee Eighteen candidates, dc.
ceived by the show Of falr-play, presented
themselves for examination when Che
result WAS asoertained Il was found thar
u Follow IN the University OF ponnsylya-
MIA stood tlrst, Follow OF John Hopkins
second, one from Harvard, third, aud so
on down the list When the board met
10 take action on tho matter, the result ~
the examination was coolly set aside
Without as much as by your leave, aud
man named Wallis, who stood seventh on
The li1t, was promptly elected 80 the
chair. Were The people much surprisodg
OH no. because Il was asoertained
that wills was n hrothcr.in-iaw az
one OF the high city officials,
who, 10 afterwards transpIre8'
had exacted a contract IN writing that MS
.elatlye shOuld he giVca the place regard.
eHs % the result OF the examination, BE-.
ore 10 mad permitted that specious farce
a so on. Meanwhile the man from tho
university OF PENNSYLVANIA who had stood +,
irst WAS askv,f 10 take the chair IN En-. |
sush literature until IL could be perma- (
loNily provided fOr, Being assured that I
possible he would be given the position {
permanently he accepted, He was found d
o be q frst-class educator Rnd was there 5
ore strongly urged for the chgir be che o
eiorm superintendent. Thls fact comlnr h
Q ihs ears Of certain members Of tho D
oatd II was immediately vet MP among =
hem thai he should not be engaged In II
lead Of ceiling him 40 nc once another X
Irre IN the shape OF another competitive D
yalninatlou was ordered. This time a
NV two candidates Drekanfed III rnselvaa n,