St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1891-09-26
A Compromise Agreed Upon
in the Pay of the School
JanitopS,
And the Board May Raise Sal
aries Where 1t Deems
Proper.
Janitops Who Drive About
Like Capitalists With
out Cares.
The Board Is Not Under Obli-
cation, Thank You, to
the Council.

The janitors of the public schools now
of compensation. a schedule was
passed at special meeting of the board
of education yesterday. 1t is COM
promise, striking generally a medium
between that of last year and that
adopted by the new board some time
ago. The schedule adopted yesterday
does not change the salaries of janitors
of the smaller schools, but makes gen.
eral reduction from the salary list of
last year. The attempt was to sys-
tematiZe matters with view to the re-
lative amount of work entailed.
The matter came before the board
from the committee on fuel and jani-
tors. Inspector Pyle moved to consider
the schedule in detail and spoke at
length upon the motion. He wanted to
take such action because he considered
it the proper basis for arriving at fair
solution of the problem of equity.
There are two points that should be
mentioned before definite action is
taken, he urged. 1t was not in his
judgment consistent with the dignity of
the board TO answer any of the reflec-
tiOns upon it made by certain persons,
is fact, that the board enter
tains high respect and esteem
for the assembly of the city council as a
body, and that the board declines to
hold the assembly responsible for the
vaporingS and utteraDceS of member
who secured his position by accident.
The assembly is no more responsible as
body, the inspector declared with unc-
ton, than person is responsible for
boil that attacks and affiicts his body,
and MIR. Pyle had always been told that
the proper method of treating boil is
to wash and cleanse it. He accumulated
his address by asseverating that the
statements that have been made public
and repeatedly iterated and reiterated
that the board had positively PROM
ised to Iaise the salaries Of
the school janitors if the coun-
Gil would pass the disputed
pay rolls. Mr.. Pyle denied in emphatic
language that the board of education
had ever extended any such induce
ment, and declared the proposition had
never been discussed by the board.
What the board had said was that it
was the disposition to do justice by the
janitors.
Inspector Auerbach opposed the mo-
tion to consider the report in detail. He
saw llO LCdoOll XII GilS ottpY anu TIC was
ready to vote for the adoption of the
schedule as it came from the commit
tee.
DR.. Smith inquired if the committee
had made careful and competent COM
parSon of the new schedule with the
one that was in vogue under the regime
of the old board. And he attached some
Importance to a system of grading
salaries in the schools upon business
principles. The janitors should be
paid as much for their services as they
would be paid for like requirements.
training and experience in private ca
pacities. Ii all this had been done, he fa-
vored Mr.. Auerbach'S motion to adopt
as it was.
Mr.. Auerbach interjected that he
fancled that it were better to err in fa-
vor of the janitorS rather than to dis
criminate against them.
Inspector Pyle again took the floor to
insist that the board be given the bene-
fit of the work that had been done by
the committee. The fullest exposition
should be made then and there, so that
each member would have an intelligent
understanding of the conditions. MIR.
Auerbach asked Mr.. Pyle to point out
the Objectionable features in the report.
He explained the committee had gone
over the schedule item by item. and
had made adequate comparisons. But
compromise was reached in the con-
troyersy by reading of the report in
juXtapositon with the salaries paid
last year. Only those that are changed
were read, however. The salaries per
month in the two schedules. are: