St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1892-08-05
1T WAS GILBERrsoN1AN.
Singular Treatment of Miss Tay.
Ior-Let Her Case be Heard

IOr-Let her Case be Hea rG.
SIN the case of Miss Taylor, the committee
recommended that the case be not reopened.
The committee notified Miss Taylor of a
meeting to give her hearin but She failed
to appear. Pioneer Press.
This statement, like all other proceed
ings in the case. is an injustice to Miss
Taylor. That she has at any time been
given an opportunity for fair hearing
is not true.
On the night of July Ia she received
the following from Supt. Gilbert:
"a meeting of the committee on schools
will be held at the Office of superintendent
of schools, on Thursday, July Is. at ) p. M,
for the consideration of your request for
reappointmeut.''
This notice. it will be seen. is Gilbert
sonlan i'll nature, i. e., it admits of a
double construction. What Miss Taylor
had demanded was hearing before the
board of education in the presence of
the principal of the school. She had
asked that Mr.. McGee be compelled to
state his charges, and that she, by the
aid of testimony, be allowed to refute
them and present her petition, which
has been signed by hundreds OF the
patrons of the school.
But this request was not respected. as
will be seen by the wording of the COM
munication from Gilbert. Miss Taylor's
request was not for reappointment,
but for hearing. She believed, how
ever, that Mr.. Gilbert had either inten-
tionally used the above misleading lam
suage. or else that he had intended this
as notice for her to appear in her own.
deTenSe; but. as is apparent in most of
his etfusions, that he had not the ability
to express himself clearly. She accord
Ingly notified q member of the board,
who is lover of justice. that she could
not. on so short notice, be prepared
With all the necessary testimony. where
upon the member at once notified the
superintendent, and asked him to notify
the other mem berS OF the committee by
telephone. In the afternoon Miss Tay-
lOr'S attorney telephOned to the Office to
ask if the request had been granted,
but he was told that the committee was
already in session. As it was in the
midst of dreDching storm, and i'm
portant witnesses absent from the city,
Miss Taylor declined to open the case at
such disadvantages SO Mr.. Erwin sent to
the superintendent Office demanding
a stay of proceedings. When the IN as-
senger arrived he was told by the super
intendent that the committee was i'll
secret session. and that he could COM
HluillIdlO ONly tuIUuSu tllG SuptIlli-'
tendent. Upon being asked whether
Miss Taylor was transferred or dropped
he replied that she had been dropped
from the list. He then stated that she
had been offered transfer, and that
the committee felt no further response
bility in the matter. He was then
asked whether she had ever officially
been rendered position, whereupon
Gilbert again contradIcted himself, and
admitted that she had not.
Gilbert claimed that they were in
secret session-indeed, it was quite i'm
perative that 1t should be secret, for it
was aScertained from reporter who
called to see how the matter was pro-
ceeding, that only two members of the
committee were present, and there
being no quorum no business could be
transacted. 1t was also stated that Nc
Gee failed to put in an appearance d.
That oracle, the Pioneer Press, is quite
right in stating that the case will not be
reopened. How case that has never
been opened can be reopened is prob
lem which nothing less than c. b. Gil
bert'S psychological brain can solve.
Public justice and the honor of the
school system demand that Miss Taylor
be given fair hearing and be confront
ed with Principal McGee.