The San Francisco call., 1899-01-28

general attention. The department is nec-
essarily in a state of confusion and
will remain so until the work of consoli-
dation by the Board Of Education is fin
ished. When the list of teachers who
have been removed or suspended has
been published and the host of vice
principals have been degraded, the de-
partment will again be in an orderly con-
dition. Protests will then be taken to the
courts, and the dismissed teachers will De
compelled to fight their way legally back
into the schools.
There is now absolutely no question tnat
the revolutionary measures of the board
are prompted In some instances by petty
politics and in others for the advantage
of certain favorites who have, for the
time, the ear of those in power. Certain
members of the board accuse Superintend-
ent of Schools Webster of subscribing
private, selfish schemes under the mask
of proposing public reforms. The scheme
of Webster, Stow and Bush to juggle
Mrs. S. w. Mcpherson out of her position
has already been exposed. The Superin-
tendent and his associates fortunately did
not succeed in this affair and exposure
has made any further effort futile.
The Superintendent, Director Wander
lyn Stow and Principal Walter N. Bush
are now accused, however, of having en-
gineered to success another job at the
meeting last Wednesday night. This ac-
cusation is made by several members of
the board, and interesting developments
may be expected. The job to which ref
erence is made was the abolition of the
business and commercial departments Of
the Mission High School. 1t is claimed
that the resolution abolishing these de-
partments was sneaked through the board
on Wednesday night under unquestionably
"a Z
do SO the matter, which is agitating the
people of the Mission, will be reconsidered
at the meeting of the board next Monday
night.
The history of this affair is timely and
OF public Importance. The direction OF the
affairs of special departmentS-High
Schools and Normal SchoOls-is left to the
committee on secondary education. The
abolition of the Normal School, the mod1-
fication of the course of study in the Mis-
sion High School and the dismissal of
special teachers, indicate sufficiently the
great Importance of the Committee on
Secondary Education. Vanderiyn Stow is
chairman of this committee. For some
reason not very clearly explained Director
Stow has delegated his powers as chair
man of the Committee on secondary Euu-
cation TO Superintendent Webster.
When the Board of Education met last
Wednesday night Director Stow had no
report of the Committee on Secondary
Education to submit. AS a matter of fact
Director Stow had not taken the trouble
to call a meeting of that committee,
which should have thoroughly discussed
the revolutionary changes proposed for
the Mission High School. Superintendent
Webster placed in his report, however,
a resolution of most peculiar and slgnln-
cant wording. This resolution PROVIDED
that the Mission High School shall have
the same course of study as the Lowell
High School
Nothing was said directly about the ex-
istence of the commercial departments of
the Mission High School and 1t was not
necessary to say anything. The Joker OF
abolition was hidden by the Superintendent
in his pack of apparently innocent words.
Several Directors voted for the reSolutlon
under a false impression and they WISH
now to reconsider their action. They be-
lieVed that the standard or the schools
was TO be made Identical and that moth
ing else was intended. They are natural
ly indignant and will, If possible, remedy
the evil accomplished by the Superintend-
ent's resolution.
director 10. L. Head is one of the Di-
rectors who declare that they voted toI
the resolution under the false impression
created by the Superintendent. Il never
would have voted for the resolution, SAID
Director Head yesterday, If 1 had known
its true import / did not know that we
were legislating the commercial depart
Tnents Of the Mission High School out OF
the department and were depriving class
of over 100 students of the right TO IN
struction. I was explicitly told that the
resolution was intended simply TO make
the course of study in the Lowell High
school and the Mission High School uni
form. I am heartily in favor now of re-
considering the resolution"
1t is perhaps interesting to know In con
nection with this affair of which the Di
rector speaks that Walter n. Bush.
cousin of Superintendent Webster, is prln
cipal of the Polytechnic High school. Ih'
abolition of the commercial department
of the Mission High School would NEAR
the strengthening of the Polytechnl'
School
A great deal of interest was caused yes
terday by the announcement that the
special department of physical culture
had been abolished in the schools. This i:
a mistake, caused in the confusion of the
PHYSICAL culture will be retained in the
department under the direction of the
present instructors. The department Is
considered to be one of the most essentia
in the public schools.
Teachers whose classes were lost in the
great shuttle of last Wednesday night anC
pupils whose teachers have passed from
the payrolls are waiting in the ante-roon
of the School Superintendent. Heading
the line of complainants is Principa
OConnor of the Mission High School, wht
finds himself without his commercial
class, numbering about eighty pupils
O'Connor alleges that this measure is th
result of the Superintendent's partialit!
toward Principal Bush of the POLYTECHNIC
High School, which will probably catcl
the Mission institutions late commercial
department. Bush has always been jeal
Gus of the Mission High School, say
0'Connor, and wants to deplete its enroll
ment. Superintendent Webster is a rela
tive of Bush, and blood is thicker than tn
boards economical policy, continues tn
irate O'Connor.
MT. Webster, when asked for informa
tion on the subject, stated that he did no
wish to discuss the Mission School prin
cipal or his complaint. He, however, stat
ed that those classes were abolished be
=. cause of the desire of the board to con
dense in some measure the business por
tion of the School Department. Th
classes have become scattered all over tn
city, said the Superintendent. This is
mart of the scheme to get some regularit
into the educational department of tn
city. go,
Iications have the best of feeling for tn
+ Mission High School, and l want to sc
If side by side in academic equality. wit
the Lowell School. Therefore the book
keeping and the commercial law classe
were eliminated. The Board of Educa
ton wishes that school to be what
should be, to wit, an academy, and tina
is all there is to the story. Professor L
A. Jordan, the head of the science depart