The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1894-08-04
Teacher TALKS BACK
One Of The Principals Who Was Scored Rises
10 Explain.
PEDAGOGUES ARE POORLY PAID
For That Reason It Is Necessary for
Them to Seek Outside Employment
to Make Both Ends Msst-Tho
Board Gould Have All Their Time
If 1t Was Willing to Pay for 1t.
About the Principals Petition.

The article in Mondays TRIBUNE re-
ferring to teachers salaries aud pre-
dieting general wedding out of those
teachers who are engaged in business
outside Of their school work, has
ELECTED considerable comment among
the Nom bers Of the pedagogical profss
sion. The principals. in particular,
do not take kindly to the some what
causlic criticism of the mem Der of the
board who is responsible for the senti-
ment expressed in the article. To a
TRIBUNE reporter yesterday one Of the
principals expressed his dissatis "a G tion
with the views Of the controller, In
justice to the teachers eide Of the
question his visws are now published.
while 1t is true" he said, that
the controller is right In con ten ding
that teachers should not devote any
considerable part of their tins to out
side work. 1t seems strange that this
point had no force before the board Of
control some weeks ago, when q petit
tion was presented by the principals 8
asking for an increase Of salaries. It
does not take any great power of an
alysis to ascertain the reason why
teachers resort to means outside OF
their professional work to add to their
slender incomes. or why the Scranton
schools are losing yosr by year some Of
their best and most experienced men.
1t is not because they are lacking in
professional zeal Nor is 1t because they
dislike pedagogical work. It Is because
they are not paid adequately for their
services
SALARIES ARE LOWER.
"As was shown by the petition pre-
sented to the board and the statistics
collatsd by the committee Of teachers
and published at that tins in the news
papers Of the city, salaries here are far
below what they ars in some fifty or
sixty cities Of the United States.
Some Of these cities are larger and
some smaller than Scranton, but the
Electric City is far below the average.
This was made evident to the board,
and yet l dare say the member who 10
so flippant and airy In his criticism Of
the teachers was one of those wh ose
vote Is registered against the Just de-
maud OF the teachers. The board had
it then in its power to take one effect
i've stop toward remsdying the evils
complained Of.
''The controller is decidedly superb
cial when he tries to excuse the action
Of the board 10 refusing the request
for an increase in salaries by saying
that trachers do not devote their entire
time to their school work.
"Hers is radical mistake-a reversal
Of cause and effect. As the matter
now stands, the principals can say
truthfully: We cannot earn enough
money at our school work to give US u
decent livelihood. hence we are Obliged
to 90 outside to add to the slender
stipend We receive as salary. We have
petitioned the board to give as an in
crease. but they have fl ltly refused us
without setting forth even the slight
est reason therefor. On the other
hand, the board stands on its dignity
and says we will not advance salaries
until the teachers devote all their tims
to their professional work.
COMPARED TO PULLMAN.
"Tbis is the language Of the autocrat.
ic Pullman who refuses,t to listen to his
impoverished workmen, and supercil.
iously states there is nothing to arbi-
trate, But the Pullmans Of the board
would like to have the public regard
their course as the proper one Hence
the explanations offered to the news
papers. How long is this deadlock to
continue? 1t is evident that the justice
Of the request Of the teachers deman de
is now generally admitted by the iu.
telligent people Of the city, but for
some unaccountable reason the board
seems impsrvious to this just senti-
ment.
Meanwhile 1t comes with poor grace
for member Of ithe board, who has, I
take it, placed himself on record
against the only practical movement
that has been made to correct the evil
of which he complains, to advance
such views as are given in the article
in Mondays TRIBUNE"