The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1896-05-08
WHO is TO BLAME
THIS IS THE QUESTION NOW BEING
SOUGHT AFTER

Committee. Attorneys and a Large Num-
Der of Witnesses are Trying TO Locate
the Blame for Bessie QuFf1in Leaving
Schooi-Large Number of Witnesses
Examined-The Mother Tells Her Story
Father of the Child That was sus-
pended Brings the Charges and Intro
duces His Evidence.
When the examination committee me:
last night In Professor Dyer's little
room and had got ready for business
Mr.. Quintin moved that representatives
of the press and patrons Of the school
should be admitted 10 hear all testi-
mony and after a whisper consultation
this was agreed to.
The hallway was filed with children
who were there for the purpose Of CIV
ing testimony. Miss Stuckey was rep
resented by her attorney Mr.. Stanley,
End her brother Fred was also present.
Aside from this there were several Ia
Giles and the father and mother of the
little, Bessie Quintin, whose father
brought the charges against the princi-
pal of the Webster school.
Mr.. Quintin acted as his own attorney
and the great point of the testimony
given was uninteresting and there was
but little cross questioning or objections
made and the principal thing done by
Stanley was to pick like an Indian at
his upper lip, which is habit he has.
The following children gave testi-
mony: Ida Wightman, Earl Jewett,
Charles Glover, Winnie Barnes, Morris
Barnes, Berry Wall, Paul Wall, Laura
Newall, Pearl Day, George Pechin and
Willie Dean.
But little important testimony was
brought out except that they were men,
bers Of the school, and saw Bessie on
the day Of the trouble and that Miss
Stuckey brought Bessie to the room
and told the school that she had sus-
pended Bessie. Paul Wall and George
Pechin testified that they had been alb
sent and tardy and had brought no
excuses and were not suspended.
Mrs. Rodolph was sworn to testify
as to the condition of Bessie when
brought home, but Stanley objected on
the ground that Miss Stuckey was not
responsible for the condition of the
child after she had been suspended from
the school and the board sustained the
objection but said they would conceed
that every point which Mrs. Rodolph
was asked to swear to was correct and
that the child was in a, sad condition.
Mrs. Quintin, the mother of the child,
then gave the following testimony,
which is given in full:
Thursday morning Bessie went to
school at o'clock as usual She found
that she was going to be late just few
minutes, and rather than TO go into the
school house, she preferred to return
home; but instead OF doing so she went
down town, but finally came home and
confessed TO me that she was tardy and
afraid to go into the school / told
Ter that / was sorry that She had acted
es she had, but she told me that she
preferred to come home and be punished
rather than being punished in the school
/ said to her, 4 viii be obliged TO pun
ash you, and for some time 10 come l
will not allow you to have any pleas
ures al ALL She said, Mama. l did not
care about going to school this morn |
ing anyway; my head ached.'
MY husband had been sick, and if IL |
mad not been for that 1 should have |
gone to the school house with her. but |
it was Impossible, and 1 said to Bessie: |
L cannot write an excuse because I |
cannot explain why you stayed away |
/ received a note from Miss Miller re- |
Earding Bessie's absence, and her father
wrote on the note that Bessie had been
sent at the usual hour. 1 said that I
did not know just what kind of an ex-
cuse 1 could write, as l had TO state
the cause. I said that il would be i'm
possible, because 1 could not tell the
teacher that 1 had kept her at home. |
l said to her, You go to your teacher
and confess what you have done but /
/ never thought that my child would be |
suspended.
she went 10 school in a perfectly |
cheerful and pleasant frame of mind. |
Never refused TO go. About O'Clock |
a little boy came to the house with a /
note from Miss Stuckey, saying that she |
had suspended Bessie for playing tru-
ant We sent our eldest boy to the
school to bring Bessie home. When he I
entered the schoOl-house Miss Stuckey
was forcing Bessie into the sixth grade /
room. He said that Bessie would be
home in minute and that Miss Stuckey |
was talking with her. I waited a few
moments and she did not return. then
sent her youngest brother for her. He
returned and said that he had found |
her books on the floor and Bessie was
not there.
Il then went in and talked to her faith
er and be got up and was going after
her. but I advised him rot to do it.
! sent gentleman after her. but she
tad simply disappeared in that short
time. That evening we kept on hunting
for her. / sent little girl up to Miss
Stuckey's and she told the little girl that
she had suspended Bessie and didn't
Know where she was, that she had left
her books on the floor and gone home.
went TO Miss Stuckey's house, but she
had gone 10 the dog show.
AT about half past ten. Miss Stuckey
Failed at my house. She refused 10
come inside the house. / asked her
about the occurrence between her and
Bessie, and she refused to tell me. l
asked her IL Bessie was cryink at any
time during the afternoon. She said that |
she had not / asked if she had used
any violence with Bessie. and she said
that she had not. DO you thing that
suspending my child was perfectly
rightF 1t certainly was she ssid.
Very well. them 1 said, 1 feel that |
this suspension rule Is A disgrace
Then she said that we would not discuss
that matter and left, slamming the
screen after her.
II went 10 Miss MiIler's the next
morning. She treated me very nicely.
and l went from there to the school |
house. Miss Miller had treated me very
kindly, but when Miss Stuckey ster.
ped into the room, she seemed fright
ened. I then directed my conversation
10 Miss Stuckey, and of course I do not
remember just what ] said 10 her; but