The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1899-02-06
EVILS OF A
DECISION BY
AUDITOR WELLS
Teachers Must Give
Up January Pay.
MORE WOE WORKED BY LAW
NOT ONLY NOT PAID, BUT MUST
PAY THE CITY.
Remarkable Fate That Has Befallen
the Pedagogues-Cold Statutes
Make the City
Shylock.
MORE WOE WORKED BY LAW
NOT ONLY NOT PAID, BUT MUST
PAY THE CITY.

The saddest blow the unfortunate
schoolteachers have received was admin
istered yesterday when Auditor Wells ar
rived at a decision which he handed down
orally and which he will proceed to put
into effect to-day.
The teachers will wake up this morning
to face a new legal dragon. according
to Mr.. Wells and General Dickinson the
teachers are not only never to get their
November and December salaries but
they must go down into their ginghams
and pay the city about a months salary
apiece that they spent last August after
technically footing the city treasury of
$4,000. Mr.. Wells arrived at two decis-
ions of Importance.
He decided during a conference with
his attorney, General Dickinson, that he
would not audit the January demands of
the teachers at all except in certain cases,
thus making it possible that the teach
ers will lose three months salary instead
of two.
He also decided that he would recog-
nize the claim of the Board of Education
to the full six-twelfths of the original
appropriation. regardless of the debts
left by the old board. He thus allows the
new Board of Education to start in from
January 1 with clean score and with
more money than the old board ever had
in sight per month during the last six
months of it's existence.
He thus cleared up the situation as far
further COMPOUNDED the confusion of
school affairs, in all probability, for 1t Is
said on behalf of the suffering teachers
that very early in the game mandamus
salary warrants in full will be brought,
thus adding another suit and new issues
to the growing tangle of litigation.
Judge Seawel in his decision the other
day held that the payment of the deficit
of the preceding fiscal year out of the
funds of this one was illegal and that the
amount must be taken out of the Novem-
Der and December salaries, but modified
salaries to be paid. These salaries have
been reduced 20 per cent by the board.
Auditor Wells. however, finds law for
the contention that he has no right to pay
them owe the city anything. He finds
that as the payment of $123, 900 of salary
deficit was Illegal those who received 1t
owe the city treasury that amount AS
when taken together with the other
claims, are not sufficient to meet this in
debtedness, he must hold out whatever
is still due the city from the first claims
presented.
81 am going to deduct from the funds
available for January the salaries and all
other bills paid Illegally according to
Judge Seawell's decision said Mr.. Wells
Yesterday "and ] now roughly estimate
that the balance due will just about equal
the salary account as reduced 20 per
cent"
Several propositions led up to this de-
cision., One is that according to judge
Seawells obiter dictum salaries of teach
ers and others are not preferred claims
so that the claims of teachers, merchants
ct al. will all be Jumped on one side of the
rata. These claims amount to about
$3.50 900 for November and December sala-
ries and about sSS 900 for other claims
These have been approved by the old