The San Francisco call., 1897-07-26
THEY MEET
TN THE
NIGHT
How School Directors and
Politicians Compiled the
Blacklist.
TO PURIFY THE DEP lRTMENT." "
A Gyclery Near the Park Was
the Favorite After-Dark
Rendezvous.
BIG BROTHERS NOW OUT IN FORCE.
They Threaten to Punch the Heads of
Some of the Directors if the De-
capitation Is Attempted.

1t was all Matched up out at Supervisor
Devany's.
Devany's is a quiet place, away out BY
the park, and one of the last spots to b.
picked out, off hand, as a rendezvous TO
downtown politiclans-some OF whom ar
in Office and the others content with jus
pulling the strings. The sign over tn
front door simply proclaims the place t.
be 'cyclers' rest" but it is said that tn,
sign inside-in the little back room-coulC
tell another story if it had ever beer
tackled up.
Ii was out at Devany's that meeting i!
said TO have taken place one night, durinE
which the chief topic of conversation was
the annoying com bination of circum
stances that prevented the gang" wnict
is alleged to be in the ascendency JUS
now at the City Hall from placing it:
friends. The outfit had made many prom
ises during the campaign, had found then
extremely difficult of fulfiIlment and was
naturally in a kicking humor.
If the memories of some o: those who
attended this meeting serves them cor
rectly the corpulent Sam Rainey presided
over the little gathering, and it was sam
who, louder than anybody else, growled
about the scarcity OF places to either give
out Dwell, loan"
According to the unwritten minutes of
one OF the earliest of these meetings it
was suggested that, lnasmuch as the
Supervisors had traded off every thing in
sight, II was incumbent upon those who
were in charge OF tie machine TO make q
hole in the School Department" The
suggestion is said to have been voted a
good one, and that was the nucleus of
what has since turned out to be one of the
most daring political coups that has been
attempted here in years.
But what is interesting the curious most
Just now is whether or not the solid"
contingent will dare to carry out their
bold programme TO summarily oust q hun
dred or more school teachers on the pre-.
text of inCompetency, in the face OF the
Normal School and other certificates of
efficiency that they all must carry as Gre
dentials. The general opinion is that
they will not, even though some of the
men who are said to have engineered the
scheme proclaim that the work of rid
ding the School Department OF barnacles
and cobwebs," Will go ahead according to
programme.
The sudden and apparently unexpected
publicity given the plan which is said to
have been Matched up at Devany's seems
10 have somewhat ratified the promoters
OF the place-hnding scheme, and few of
them are willing to come out openly and
discuss the situation with sincerity. Sew
eral Of them-the supposed ringlesders-
had quiet little meeting yesterday and,
1t u true, arr aued TO each other that de-
spite public opinion and the expose, they
would carry out their plan anyhow
The tenor of the debate is said to have
been that, as an effort was merely being
made to purify the department" dis
cordant public opinion should be accorded
no attention. But. just the same. they
were not overtowing with enthusiasm
over their own project when the meeting
broke up-that is, not enthusiastic to the
outside world. They were OBVIOUSLY
troubled. They were annoyed that such
a well-n ursed and original job should be
nipped just when it was ripening into the
lusciousness OF life.
And then public opinion is not all that
is Just at :his moment worrying the men,
bers of the ''solid nine" There has sud-
denly developed an overprod uction OF big
frothers, each OF whom seems to have Sc.
lected some particular School Director to
trail and threaten with all sorts of tor
ment, and even bodily harm, unless his
sisters name is expunged from the re-
ported black list. And those pedagogues
who are not fortunate in having big
brothers have influential friends and rea-
t.veS who sOlemuIy VOW that something
will be dong" if any attemp is made to
carry out the promised pruning bee.
Few of the teachers who are said TO be
marked for removal by the "solid nine'
are willing TO discuss the chances of their
losing their pos tons. but all say that
they cannot believe the board will throw
them out Of employment in order to give
favored ones places. at the same time
they are not losing any chances of pro-
tecting themselves, ana all are preparing
for vigorous fight should the majority
in the board attempt to carry out the in
tentlons that are ascribed TO it.
None are willing 10 be quoted as saying
that the move is purely political one,
bat all are firm in that belief. Several CT
the teachers have prepared for trials.
should the matter go that far, and will
have witnesses to prove not only their
ability as instructors but their efficiency
as disciplinarians.
Those who have taken the pains to pry
into the secrets, as lar as they could. OF
the Solid Nine" say that in making M
the roll OF teachers who were to be decapi-
tated on the charge OF being deficient in
some particular requirement the list of
The employed was diligently searched for
those who were supposed to be Just rug
Cling along for living, and therefore
would be less likely to have potent friends
or relatives who could come readily to
their rescue. There are people in the de-
partm mt whom not even the "Solid
Nine" would have the audacity TO after m pt
TO unseat. SO it was clever cunning On
somebody's part when rocks of this sort
were steered clear OF.
1t is rumored that four members of the
Board OF Supervisors are mixed up in the
school board deal. and were TO have been
gwen a proportion OF the places that
would be ready for distribution as soon as
the propo ed vacancies were created.
Ihose men also met with the others out
at Devany's.
The Board of Supervisors has to make
appropriations for the School Board. -"
said one OF the ward politicians who
hangs around the Baldwin Hotel last
night, land why shouldn't 1t caucus with