The Pascagoula democrat-star. (Pascagoula, Miss.) 1878-1920, 1888-08-24
"OHicial CrOOkedness in Wayne.

7, 1888.
GRAND BAY, ALA, Aug. IL, 1883.
Mr.. Truman Gray:
In reply to your insulting letter
published in the DEMoCRAT-STAR, |
say that the editor is not called up
OH to prove the truth of my state
ments-I am able TO do that my
self,
That | taught the number of
pupils can be proven by the trus-
lees who signed the monthly re-
ports. That | had no assistant can
be proven by the entire town.
| assert that the gentleman who
taught the school before | did re-
celved more pay than | received,
and that he had an assistant /; but
whether he paid her, or go" paid
her, is not the question at all. The
fact remains the same rs | stated
it-that he had an assistant.
| would have employed assist
ance if you had paid money enough,
as you did to him. / offered to
teach longer each day than the
public school law calls for, for the
benefit of the children, if you
would increase the salary. (Lcan
prove this by the letters in my
possession, and the testimony Of
MI. G, Y. Il. Breland).
You said to mo that teachers
could be Jorced to teach longer,
and refused to increase the salary.
You presented your contract to be
signed after the school had been
taught a week.
You said that $40 was what you
paid 'Iady teachers" That was
your oppressed reason. You might
have had OTHER reasons ; if so you
failed to mention them. | said to
you that a lady who did a mans
work, and did it as we'll as a man
could do it, shogld have equal pay.
This was in the presence of the
school. The question was discuss
ed among the pupils repeatedly
afterwards.
Where is there a country school
whose average attendance through
out the public term, is 45? Every
teacher OF public schools, who has
brains enough to teach a child its
letters, knows that country schools
have very irregular attendance,
and yet the pupils coming two or
three days in each week, IN full
force and at other times, there
being, perhaps, half dozen OF each
class present-the result is that
the work is the same for the teach
ers, whether half the pupils lose
ga day in the week or not.n Ii
your brain is not sufficiently active
TO see this, perhaps other teachers
may point 1t out TO you.
That you required me 10 write
an essay for the teachers meetings
can be proven by The family with
whom | boarded. They knowing all
the circumstances and heard one
of the essays read before it was
mailed to you. That you deducted
two dollars from the salary can be
proven by the Clerk of the county,
through whose hands the money
passed. He is a gentleman who
commands respect, and will not
forget that he is a gentleman, as
you did for four months.
My average did not fall below
25 pupils at any time, so you had
no other excuse for deductin9 the
money from my salary, only my
non attendance at the teachers
meeting. | wrote you that | was
not able to be there. When you
sent the money, after no end of
annOyances, you wrote that the
amount was more than I deserved d!
Ii that was not insulting, you must
have a mother and other female
relatives, who are rather hard to
insult.
l have not made a complaint
against the Superintendent OF
Greene county. He acknowledges
that in his letter to the DEMOCRAT
STAR, So 1t seems to the public
that his communication was un-
called for. He stated IN a letter
dated the 10Th of this month that
he feels in a manner responsible
for my having taught that school,
and his sympathies are for me, al
though | first wrote about the
matter to the DEMoCRAT-STAR. He
knew of these annoyances at the
time.
If a lady is to bear imposition in
silence, and allow other ladies to be
treated with equal injustice, simply
because she fails to warn them, for
fear some man vested with a slit
tie brief authority" will dispute it,
then the laws and customs of this
free country are at a very low ebb.
That you can bring other teachers
to say that you did not give them
subjects on which to write ESSAYS,
is no proof that you gave me none.
| am willing to make oath as to
the truth of all | have written. II
necessary, l will do so at once.
ALICE BULL,