New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1896-02-26
NEW YORK'S SCHOOL SISIEM'
ITS DEFECTS POINTED OUT TO LEulo-
LATORS.
SPEECHES IN FAVOR OF THE PAvEY BILL %
NICHOLAS MURRAY BUTLER MRS sCH0'
LER VAN RENSSELAER, AND OTHERS
ROBERT MACl-AY AND LAWSON
~ FULLER AGAINST 1T.
10y TELEGRAPH TO TIE TRrBUNE.1

ROBERT MAClAAl AND Law C.'
~ FULLER AGAINST 1T.
10y TELEGRAPH TO TIE TRIBUNEl
Albany. Feb 25-The Senate Committee on C''e'
gave hearing this afternoon on Senator Pave!
New-York School Reform BIZ and the bill o. IAN, am.
many Hal. introduced by Senator Page wiz.
perpetuates the ward-trustee system lhele
present from New York to support Senator raw
bin Mrs Schuyler Van Rensselaer, school inspector
OF the Seventh District; Miss Damen, schoo .i''
tee of the Twenty-nrst Ward; Mrs. Gordon en- -,
DELI school inspector of the With District MIS- W.
S. Rainsford. school trustee OF the Elsh'ee"'
Ward; Miss Martha l.. Draper. Mrs. G. VI. Ie,.,'
Miss c. E. Marshall MIS-. Charles H. Lee MIS- ~.
ward r. Hewitt. Professor Nicholas Murray pu
Ter, ex-Assemblyman W. w. Niles, ex-senator -
Hampton Robb. James B. Reynolds. trustee Oh 0"e
Seventh Ward; James W. Pinchot and School Com
missioners Charles b. Hubbell. Nathaniel a. f'e"-
tss. Henry y. Rogers. and J. ". Mack lheie We"
present to favor the Tammany bill the foiio""'s
members Of the Board OF Education Chaf','
Strauss. Charles L. Hot Robert Mac.ay ana D. .
Little.
President Macay, the first speaker. argued t"
the Commissioners must be paid II the Pavcy Oh,
should be passed. Extraordinary power was asAeu
for the School Commissioners. The advocates Va
advanced thought alone favored the Dill Inc,
were people not wei acquainted with the sc"o''
system If the trustee system should be done away
n,
in his opinion New-York had a peculiar popu'a-
ton made up OF men OF ali national!ties IL "dS
the effort OF the school authorities TO get boys Anu
girls OF every nationality In the schools
Nicholas Murray Butler then said In support OF
the Pavey bill This is purely question OF ou''-
ness. 1t is not a political or personal one '
ator Pavey's bill is introduced a; the request OF
many taxpayers and lovers OF the schools. Last
year the bill was full OF details. This year We
only deal with broad principles. II attempts 10
create a directly responsible Administration anu
We say that the passage OF the bill would pu, inv
educational system OF Ncw-York on the same BASIS
as that OF other cities
The school system OF New-York consists OF
twenty-four ward or village systems. That system
will not work efficiently in New-York We cannot
obtain that responsibility which is necessary TOT
good school system. 1t is a system when exists
nowhere els
senator Nussbaum inquired whether one body OF
ward trustees could not act as check upon
another.
Yes" replied Professor Butler. and they can
blockade one another. and no part Of the system
will work we'll with another. Make the Board OF
Education the responsible body. Its members are
known. Let the teachers he taken from an eligible
LIST, No layman can determine the Qualincatiohs OF
a proposed teacher School buildings also shouia
be in charge OF experts. competent business az
mln!s,ration is needed In every such matter
Chicago has a complex population and an enormous
territory and yet her school admih'suauo" eH
penses are far less than those OF Ne~-forK
Chicago has such system as We "'sh 10 e'''
in New York.
'Mr Maclay would have you think that the trus-
tees give nil heir time 70 school work That Is
hardly tho It has been said that this Dill OF
Senator Pavey would give tho Board OF Education
900 appointuents yearly. on the contrary i
will give only about 80 Mr.. Maclay says the lavey
hill will take the schools far away from the peo-
ME on the contrary. II brings the schools near
10 them Every newspaper in the city OF New
York favors this bill. Thc.. 1t seems TO me- repre-
sen,s public sontimen; there In favor OF retofa-
ton Of the school system
II never have discovered any person south OF
Four,eenth-st who favored this idea" said sena-
tor Ahearn
"oh. there are many there" replied Mr. Butler.
smiling Then he added This = practical bill.
Would you have policemen appointed by captains
Of each precinct? Would you have the Fire De-
pa-,meat organized on that basis
rs there any publication OF the proceedings Of
those boards OF trustees" inquired Senator Siran
ahan
None whatever" replied Professor Butler. He
read extracts from reports ma 10 the bcerd o, OF
Education. showing the wretc1ci sanitary condltion
OF many schools IN NE care OF me "a:d rus ,
the trustees personally. You Senator's could not do
any better under the present system The system
Lawson ~ Fuller followed with a speech exiol.
Ing present system He thought the schools or
-
thought ought be paid TO newspaper opinion. The
papers mad opposed an extension OF the elevated
r n,sGo1 system lh'' was PROOF o' '"s lack OF
Charles f. Hubbell said he had been for seven
vearS a member Of the Board of Education. and the
root OF all the evils which afflicted the school sys-
tcm In his opinion was the trustee system Tho
wants Of every child should be considered and every
child ought to receive uniform. good education.
Don't they get that now" Inquired Senator
They do not" replied Mr. Hubbell. because
Joness sister cousin is appointed. not because OF
her qualifications. but because OF her having en-
listed the sympathies OF the trustee not necessarily
in pontical Inc. but in a social line. There are
teachers who have failed to get certificates In one
ward who have obtained employment in another.
but does not remove the evils of the present
system. There must be some concentration OF re-
Mrs Schuyler Van Rensselaer, ead there was a
W WIN aas caused by the raining Of Of
the principals and the difficulty OF placing response
bilny. The teachers sought only to please the
trustees who appointed them Permission had been
Trusees She had been asked to sign teachers
been summoned to attend. The law required in;
spscors to attend sugh examinations she ,n na
~ we obeyed all The school laws we could not not
teachers Superintendent Jasper had told her that
he had been unable to remove an incompetent prin-
nsy noi %ve n1 pull h the snoo
miesioners?" asked Senator Guy Van po.ss,er
with twenty one men sitting in public as VITA
| 1875 men sitting in private
Mr. w. S Rainsford argued that the worst part
OF the present system lack OF Uniformity
| Mrs Edward Hewitt said that the members OF the
Womcn's Public School Association had found that
teachers bound down By cumbrous system
which fixed no responsibility.
Henry p O'Ncil. principal Of School No. !. OF the
Fourth Ward; presented petition from fyeiEh. s OF
| In favor of the Page bill. There were defects IN
the present school system, he said. but they couid
he renedied by the Page bill The hearing closed