The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1899-12-28
Her Defence.
Miss Allen Tells Teachers
Convention Where
Money Went.
EXCURSION FUNDS UNTOUCHED
No Constitution Whereby As
sociation Was Authorized
to Use 1t.
EXCURSION FUNDS UNTOUCHED

| City, and it is not known now much
/ more widely with intent, 1t is be-
/ lieved to influence the action of this
4 association at this meeting ana cal-
cuated so TO do; and
| Whereas The before mentioned pub
i lished attack includes in various con-
| nections the words 1.-THE State Teach
| ers Association, thereby assa1llng Z
the honor Of this association i'll the
person of this member; now therefore
/ be it
Resolved. That the member referred
| to, Miss Elizabeth A. Allen, Of Hobo
/ KEN be given not to exceed tnlrty
minutes at the close OF tomorrow 5,
4 Thursdays, forenoon session TO make
such statement as she may desire rs
| garding the before mentioned Wldely
| published attack.
According to above resolutions, shortly
after noon today, when the morning ses-
| sion Of the Teachers Convention had
| been brought to close, Miss Allen took
the platform to answer her accusers. She
was heartily applauded from time to
time throughout the whole of the follow
ing address,
/ MIR. President, Ladies and Gentlemen
I greatly appreciate the privilege you
fhaye granted me, not because feel that
/ need any defense, but because your ac-
ton marks a forward step in the deter
mination of the rank and file of the teach
that this association shall be in fact as
well as in name teachers association
That this shall be a teachers congress,
the teachers parliament. the assembly
where the voice of the teacher shall be
heard regarding all matters that concern
the interest of teachers.
II have long been a member of this
| association; seldom does year pass that
gross outrages are not perpetrated upon
some member or members of our body,
and yet, so far as can recollect, i have
never known this association to take the
slightest cognizance thereof. or enter q
protest against.
ssYou doubtless are all aware of the
reason of my being before you this MORN
ing 1 hold in my hand a clipping from
yesterdays paper, a. story which has come
to me from papers from all over our State
and from many of the papers of Philadel-
phia and New York have no idea how
much more widely it has been published.
ssAs for myself, though it is most
4 unpleasant matter, especially for wom-
an, to be brought into notoriety Of this
| kind yet nevertheless am glad of it.
Providence has a long fixed habit of turn
ing the designs and attacks of malicious
and wicked men into weapons LOT LIE
defence of the right
..The published story arises from the
action of the Board of Trustees of the
Teachers Retirement Fund at its meet
ing in Trenton on Tuesday of this week,
when committee was appointed to in
vestigate the disposition of certain
moneys raised in this county for the ben
eft of the Teachers Retirement Fund
through a concert given in Jersey City
in 1887 and an excursion given last May.
There is in my mind no doubt that the
action was instigated to influence the ac-
tion of the association.
by implication, If not by direct
| charge, it is made to appear that have
in some way been guilty of making use
of these funds in a manner not contem-
plated when the moneys were secured.
sIn regard to the proceeds Of last
springs excursion, would say that they
are intact in the possession Of the treas
urer of the Retirement Fund department
, of the association.
81 was present at the meeting of the
Board of Trustees and voted for the reso-
luton for the appointment of the investi-
eating committee, well knowing that
. and my associates would be elevated ir
the esteem of this association and of the
! public generally if all the facts were
made known. 1t can never be wholly
agreeable, however, for the innocent te
, be brought to trial by the guilty, but We
, were not entirely unprepared for some
thing of this kind, as we knew that such
insinuations were rife.
"The charge seems to be that the mon
les raised by the concert and excursion
were to go directly into the treasury OF
: the Teachers Retirement Fund This Is
: not the fact, as you will observe from ex-
: tracts which shall read from circulars
issued in connection with the organiza-
!. tion Of the concert, which was given un-
!, der the direction of committee of teach
ers embracing almost every district Of
: Hudson county and several places outside
this county.
THE concert was given June 8, 1897. II
a circular dated May 10 occurs thes'
words: The proceeds to be devoted tt
furthering the work of the Teachers Re
tirement Fund In a circular dated MAJ
d s. addressed to prominent women in th
4 northern part of the State, asking then
I to serve as patronesses, are these words
! The public school teachers of Jerse.
e CITY are organizing concert, to b.
Il given at the 18DefIls1cle 71uuESddy even
$ ing, June 8, 1897. to provide funds fol
: the continuation of the work of the New
= Jersey State Committee on Teachers
Retirement Fund Our reason for using
this title instead of Teachers Pensions
Committee was because we had dis
covered tina the word pensions was il
: disfavor, and because the law, already
n secured, provided, not a system of pen
e sions, but a teachers retirement fund
S Therefore, the title given in the quoted
e circular was precisely in accord with ex
listing facts.
II have here oiginals OF the circular,
quoted from.
Il hold in my hand also copy Of a re
port, signed by four representative teach
n ers of this city In their official capacit.
e in connection with this concert, from
d which shall read few extracts
e This is in the nature of a report sub
mitted to Hon. Otto Grouse of the Boar,
Of Trustees Of the Teachers Retiremen
Fun, and others, nearly two years ago, n
response to question In the Board O.
it Trustees as to what had been done wItl
n these monies. explained the matter u
i that time; requested the preparation an,
submission of this report, and supposed j