The morning call., 1893-04-05
%UT WITH THE TRUTH.

Mr.. Carew is to decide to-day whether he
will assist the Grand Jury in getting at the
truth on the subject OF the bribery Of School
Directors or whether he will screen a GRIM
NAL through a mistaken notion of the obi
cations of friendship. Presiding Judge
CARRIER is understood TO mean business, and
it is due to Mr.. Carew to say that his friends
are sure he will recede from the untenabe
position he took last week. He might 5
well do so first as last. Even in these loose
days it is not safe to set the law at defiance.
II Inere were any reason for supposing
that the attempt to bribe Mr.. Carew was an
Isolated instance there might be some poor
excuse for overlooking it. But there is evil
dence that the street rumors about the sale
of teacherships in the schools rest on foun-
dation of fact. Director Clinton makes no
secret of his opinion shat in quite nun Der
of cases, teachers procured their appoint
ment by the use of coin. President Hyde
tsstlfes that on one occasion he was offered
bride Dy some one whose name lie unfor-
tUaatsiy does not remember. Secretary
Beansten has letters from a woman who
offered 20 buy leadership. Director Max
Brooks says that the buying and selling Of
positions in tie schools was no new thing
z: seea he went into the board. Mrs. Mac
il lonald. who tried TO get her daughter into
The schools, was told that it was useless to
perseveTe in the attempt without using
money. Supervisor Denman, who was once
County Superintendent of Schools, says
that during his term ten or twelve teachers
were dismissed for having bought their DO.
sitions. Engineer Marsden Manson knows
of case where a girl got position of
teacher through friend who. without her
knowledge, paid $500 for it. Here is direct
rufi l,ora
belief that considerable share of Buckley's
f5fyund was derived from the sale of teach
erships, and that Crimmins and Kelly had
a regular tariff which applicants had to pay
s..tiisJ wanted to succeed in their applica-
tons.
All these things have been town talk for
years, but never till now has there been
chance of getting at the facts and punish
ing the guilty. Mr.. Secretary Beanston
even now pOOh-poohs the Investigation and
intimates that it will come to nothing, be-
cause the witnesses viii either forget facts,
names and amounts or. like Mr.. Carew,
will declins to testify for fear Of compro-
missing friend. Well, we shall see
Where two or more people engage in an lille
gal act it is always difficult to get one of
them TO give evidence on which the others
oaS.- - ieGed. Bat aecomplices are apt
to let on bits of evidence which are harm
less in themselves, but which in the hands
Of a skilliul lawyer may be pieced together
so as TO constitute body Of proof.
There is no risk in saying positively that
school-teacherships have been sold. They
must have been sold By School Directors or
sy Their friends or their political hackers.
Th9sa School Directors. or most Of them,
are here in the flesh. and so, also. are most
OF those who bribed them. 1t ought to be
possible to get evidence in at least one OF
two cases to establish to the satisfaction Of
jury the commission of the crime by GER
tain known persons. II with the great
body OF general suspicion and the waits and
estrays of evidence now before the public
none Of the guilty can be convicted and
punished there must be delinquency or
inefficiency to an alarming extent in the
Office of tie District Attorney.
If the Wallace Grand Jury had been
allowed by the Supreme Court TO work out
hts task blow would have been dealt TO
nuniciral and legislative corruption which
robably have cleared the air for
ears. That jury was knocked out
supreme Court and the boodlers got
JC free. Now. another jury is hot on
trail Of the corrupt School Directors.
Il is hardly likely that the Supreme Court
win interfere on their behalf. Here the
difficulty is to find proof that brides were
given and received. 1t ought to be possible
TO obtain that proof. There must be scores.
not to say hundreds. Of people who know of
the transactions. A careful sitting of the
school appointments for few years back
sEght to narrow the circle of inquiry. All
The SchJ6l Directors were not corrupt. 1t
should be possible to pick out those who
probably were, to find out the applications
they fathered and to follow this lead to such
openings as Providence may make. Every
Onest citizen should assist in the work. A
leaner act than robbing poor girl of six
lonths' or q years salary as the price of
yher appointment as teacher cannot well
be imagined.