The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1893-12-15
NO COOKING GLASS.
President Jones' Position
Upheld by a Majority
of the Board.
A HEATED DISCUSSION
Citizens Heard on the Subject For
and Against-0ther Business
Transacted.

For the first time in many months the
Board of Education last evening began its
meeting at half-past eight O'Clock. The few
visitors seats in the room were all occupied.
Messls. Adam Reid, Theodore Wegman,
Louis Hennemeier, Jr., Major Armstrong,
Winfield G. Dunn and Theodore Smith, the
committee appointed by the Minkakwa Club
of Greenville, to protest against the reopen
ing of the cooking class, was present. The
row over the cooking class began as soon as
President Jones called for the reading of the
minutes of the previous meeting. Big Medi-
cine Man Allen objected to the report of the
Committee ON Teachers Salaries, which gave
the increase to the many teachers as pro-
vided for in the manual. Director Beach
also objected to the report and
expressed much indignation because
he was not notified of the proposed increase
in salaries. Mr.. Beach is a member of the
Committee on Teachers and Salaries, and as
such he said he would refuse to sign the re-
port. Director Cowles, the other member
of the lone three also interposed an OBJ
lection. A motion to strike out the report
was next made, and President Jones declared
the motion out of order or the ground that
the increases as made are provided for in the
manual. A motion was then made that the
rule affecting the increase be laid aside, and
it was defeated.
DIR. ALIENS EFFORT.
DR.. Allen then moved that the order of
new business be taken up. He said that he
left his sick bed to attend the meeting, as he
had a matter of much Importance to
bring UP. The request was granted, and
then the hash mill ghost was called from
his hiding place, DR.. Allen presented a
resolution that the cooking school matter be
reconsidered. This was promptly knocked
out, but Allen came up fresh for the second
round with a resolution that the hash mill be
~re-opened at once, and Miss Henrietta Rowe
~re-appointed teacher. Then the fun began.
DIR. Allen said:-"My presence here to-
night speaks of my earnestness in this mat
ter. l desire to make a last effort to have
the cooking schools re-opened. As chairman
of the committee on manual training I desire
to speak of the treatment | received at the
last meeting. The conference at which it
was decided to abolish the class was
held the night before the meeting. Up to
that time nothing was said about it, but it
seemed to be in order to railroad the thing
through. If there is any fault found with
us, as members of that committee, let us
hear it,. If there is any fault found with
the teacher let us act honorably and notify
her. l consider the action of the board at
the last meeting a personal insult to me. l
like to see men be manly
LETTERS R N CON.
Director Allen then requested Mr.. Beach
to read over a score of letters from promi-
nent citizens regarding the matter, and
which he had received. Among the COM
munications was a letter from the Rev. P.
Hennessy of St. Patrick's r. c.. Church. in
which the cooking school received a scoring
that elected applause from the Green
vile taxpayers. John L.. Scudder, R.
Seymour and Charles Stimetz were the most
prominent citizens among those who advo-
Gated the reopening Of the school. The read
ing OF the letters occupied over an hours
time.
The motion was then made and carried
that the privilege of speaking on the matter
be extended to the visitors present. Poor
master John Hewitt accepted the invitation,
and told the members of the board that his
daughter had learned in the cooking class
how to make tarts that were really palata-
BILE. Blu this surprising statement only
Greenville, and led by Adam
Reid they made a vigorous protest against
the gas job. Major Armstrong said that the
cooking school seemed to only teach the
young ladies how to cook fancy notions that
would drive a man to dyspepsia.
TARTS.
Charts are one of them,n said he. s'The
lady graduates of the High School will never
use the knowledge they received in the cook
ing class. They will go home and very SEN
sibly let their mothers do it, as formerly. As
long as there is a child in your city that is
deprived of the opportunity to learn the
rudiments of the English language, l think it
wrong that a special school be conducted for
the benefit of the High School scholars"
Mr.. Hennemeier then said:-"I have been a
taxpayer of this city for seventeen years.
and now my child is refused admission into
the public schools. We need annex schools
and lots of them, but you gentlemen say that
you cannot secure the necessary money from
the Board of Finance. I nave been to the
Rnor1 of EiponOo ond have 1oo,,oI 4Lz4
your board will receive the money for the
annex schools if you apply for it.
We need an annex school in Greenville
and you, gentlemen, refused to give it to
us on the ground that you had no money
but you can afford to pay a teacher 800 a
year for a cooking school, and pay the ex-
penses of the school besides. We have here
a petition containing over $50 names of tax
payers who are opposed to this school. We
can secure 10000 signatures to a similar Pc
tition If you want to be further convinced
that the citizens are opposed to the school"
PRESIDENT N ANSWERED L
After the citizens had their say Presi-
dent Jones answered the charges of DR..
Allen that the motion to knock out the
school was railroaded through. He said:-
I'm regard to the railroad matter, / would
say that the plan to abolish the school was
brought up at the meeting of the Board of
Finance on the evening before the regular
meeting. 1t was dismissed at length, and we
took the action you all know of. Within
t~wenty-four hours it was before you. When
the appropriation for the new No. 25 School
was made 1t was not known then that three
or four more additional teachers would be
required. In order to secur these teachers
we hadto cut off some expense and we felt
justified that the cooking school expense
should be cut off. There are at present z, 500
children out of school and the first duty of
the n rd iS t0 nroUida n1onac for than -