The record-union. [volume] (Sacramento, Calif.) 1891-1903, 1897-05-17
OFFICIAL BUSINESS AT ARMS
LENGTH.

The incidents of the meeting Of the
Board of Trustees of the Preston
School of Industry of lone on Satur-
day. which was held in hotel in san
Francisco demonstrated that the proper
place of meeting for an official board
having charge of a State institution is
at the institution itself, especially
when a change of administration is TO
be effected, and old employees are to be
removed and new ones installed in au-
thority. Going off TO one side long
distance to hold a board meeting, away
from the institution governed, is not
to be commended except there is some
pressing and economic need for It, In
this case trustees travelled over hum
dred miles out of their way, passing by
and away from the school to meet IN
San Francisco and there transact BUS
mess directly related to a complete
change of administration of the insti-
tuition. Obviously and economically
the place for the board when it official
" convenes is at its official seat
At the meeting referred to the Super
intendent was removed and his sue
cessor elected. a citizen of MERGED, who
came to San Francisco to be thus hon
ored. but of course could not be there
installed as he should have been by the
Board Of Trustees in their official char
acter The Assistant Superintendent
was removed by the new Superinten-
dent and citizen of Sacramento named
in his place.
At this juncture the board was con-
fronted by news communicated by the
outgoing Superintendent who had been
notified two weeks before that his du-
ties would cease on the 18th. that most
if not all OF the subordinate officers and
heads Of departments at the school I'M
der him had resigned their places, to
take effect Immediately. This put the
board in the dilemma of having a re-
form school of some 225 inmates on
hand 1870 miles distant, with possibly no
one at the institution to care for and
guard the inmates. Messages were sent
in hot haste begging the heads of de-
partments to hold on until the new Off
| Gals are Installed. Whether they have
done so has not been made public. For
| the good name of the State
| it is to be hoped that they
remained at their posts. But
| clearly the incident proves that the
place for that Board of Trustees to
| have met was at the institution, the
administration and care of which the
| there was any other business than the
removals and installment of employees
and which required the presence of the
board in San Francisco, certainly the
most important and first business was
that which should have been transacted
at lone and in the institution. That is
the official seat of the board. There it
could have audited the bills, made it's
orders and pursued its examination and
installed its appointees. This doing of
official business at arms length is the
poorest possible policy. 1t is uneco-
nomic and worse than that it is demon
| alizing What might have taken place
at the school because of the facts re-
cited ii is not pleasant to contemplate.
There is simply no answer to be made
to the statement already made, that the
only proper place for such a board
meeting as that of Saturday. Is at
the institution Of which the board has
charge.