The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1896-04-07
H CITY LIBRARY.
The Voters Are Responsible for the
Character of the school Board.
indianapolis Sentinel.

Indianapolis Sentinel.
Presumably the action of the School Board
in removing Miss Browning will aid in adj
vancing the movement recently inaugurated
by the Commercial Club for an Improvement
in our system OF school government. The
evils of the present system. are similar to
those of the old city charter. but worse. In
the old charter there was not a complete
separation of legislative. executive and ju-
dicial powers. In the school system there is
none at all. The powers which. according
to the American theory of government, ought
to be separated are all joined in one body.
That body estimates expenses. levies taxes,
makes contracts, has custody of its funds,
audits it's own accounts and is responsible
to no one but the people. and the people have
no knowledge of what It is doing beyond
what it reveals to them. Any person Of or
binary intelligence can grasp the fact that
the educational affairs of a large city ought
to be controlled by people who have some
personal knowledge of education and some
real interest IN 1t. and there are very few
members of the present board whom any
one will suspect of having either such quail
fcations or such motives. They nave not
even the controlling influence Of party al
l~egiance, for they are self-nominated They
seek the office because they want it and the
people Of Indianapolis have only themselves
to blame for perpetuating this system which
must, inevitably, lead to the worst results.
This is the strangest feature of the whole
matter, for it would naturally be assumed
that the people would consider their common
educational interests something of the high
est value, to be guarded with the utmost
care, to be preserved as a sacred heirloom
to their posterity, not to be soiled by pro-
fame hands. What can be Of greater i'm
portance to any citizen than the education
Of his children? What can be of more i'm
portance to the public than a proper control
of this vast educational interest? What can
be of more Importance to a taxpayer than
at least a business management of the year
~ expenditure OF hundreds of thousands of
dollars? And yet simple business manage
ment is out of question under this sys-
tenn. No sane man would put his private
control as the School Board exercises over
the business interests of the city schools.
The people of indianapolis are considered in
teiligent. They have shown a broad intent
to protect their own interests in other mat
ters. Their seeming Indifference in this is
one OF the mysteries Of popular government.
come an educational factor scarcely second
TO the public schools. That it has so devei-
librarians and the citizens advisory commit
tee. No thanks are due to the School Board.
1t is a matter of history that the board has
librarian 1t has had. and In each case. with
possibly one exception. the librarian has been
right and the board has been wrong. In con-
sequence the city has obtained the reputation
among the librarians Of the country of nav
ing its library controlled by an aggregation
Of cranks. The changes are usually made
under the pretense of improving the library
service and are usually due. i'm fact. to the
librarians failure TO observe the conditions
of slavery on which employment by the
board are based. In. the present case there
Is M advance made by the change. . "
But it is needless to debate the question OF
desire of improvement on the part OF the
board. The idea thai when IL has confessed
~ run its financial affairs into the ground.
when Its school buildings are falling down.
when II has pressed taxation 10 the limit.
when IL has on hand a large debt. when hnan-
cial institutions decline 10 take its loans ex-
cept at increased interest rates, Ii deliberate
" increases its expenditures to improve a de-
partment that was giving entire satisfaction
to the public. is too preposterous for consid-
Grafton.
There is nothing to be gained by crying
over spilled milk, and little 10 be gained by
contemplating the horrors of the present
board. You must go back OF that IL any
thing Is to be accomplished. 1t is the peoples