The record-union., 1899-12-28

Inc second day S session OF the state
Teachers Association began in the AS
sembly Chamber yesterday afternoon,
the room being filled and every seat
taken in the gallery also, showing that
many teachers had arrived since the
night before. There was manifest in
terest taken also in the address and
arguments, showing that all We're alive
to the Importance of the matters to
come before the association. Alert,
eager faces, turned constantly toward
the speakers; the hands holding pencil
and paper, of which frequent use was
made in taking notes, showed that the
attendance was not merely a perfume
tory one. but arose from a desire to
gain information and secure action that
would benefit the educational system of
the State
!. State Gardener Dunn had decorated
the room tastefully with palms and
potted plants, but he had not stopped
there, and the corridors were lined with
similar plants, making them more at
tractive.
President Burke called the association
to order at 100 p m. and announced
the Committee on Resolutions as fol-
lows:
John SWEET j. w. Linscott, James
Foshay, Miss May L. Cheney and Miss
Agnes Howe
A fine vocal solo by Mrs. Walter
Longbottom opened the exercises, be-
ing sung with much expression and
feeling, and she had to respond to an
encore.
The topic for discussion during the
afternoon session was very interest
ing one, Personal and Political Inter
ference With the Administration of Ed
ucational Institutions and AFFAIRS and
the assembly was prepared for it by
the singing Of America" all joining,
in it.
President David Starr Jordan CT the
Stanford University was to have II ad
the opening paper, THE Problem
Stated but owing to his being called
to Salt Lake Unexpectedly, the Taper
was read by Professor Elwood Cubber-
ly of Stanford, and was as follows:
POLITICS IN THE SCHOOLS.
The conspicuous failure of Democracy
in the United States has been in it's in
ability to conduct local business on
business principles. In the government
of Great Britain just the reverse has
been true In the management of local
and municipal matters the people of
England have been most signally sue
cessful. 1t is in this part of the Brit
ish Government that government by
the people and for the people has had
fullest play. Without going into de-
tails as to the failure of county and
city government in America, we may
accept a classification of the causes of
such failure as lately given by DR..
Walter F. Wilcox of Cornell
There are says Mr.. Wilcox, three
fundamental evils in the government of
our cities. The first is economic and
consists in the waste of public funds.
The second is political in the true sense
and consists in the inadequacy of mu-
nicipal service. The third is moral and
consists in the corruption of civic au-
thority for the furtherance of individ-
ual ends. The chief Importance of this
third evil is that it throws politics into
disrepute and degrades civil ideals, thus
rendering cooperation for the attain
ment of truly political ends we'll nigh
impossible
To this analysis of sources of evil,
which exist in all countries and under
all forms of government, we may add
three others, which are more or less pc
culiar to America and scarcely less
baneful in their influence These are.
the influence Of private control of pub
lie functions, the federal organiza ton
of the city, and the lack of serious in
terest on the part of our people. AS TO
the first of these. the use of public
franchises by individuals and corpora
tons and their corrupt control of the
officers of city and State is already the |
basis of a vast amount of discussion. |
Its natural remedy is the public per-
Torrance of public functions, a system |
which has also its dangers and difficult |
ties, which it is not my purpose now to
discuss.
In the next place we have been mis- |
led by false analogies in forming our
municipal charters. We treat our cities |
as if each was confederation of wards |
and precincts in the same way that the
United States is confederation of self
ruling commemorative. This is not |
true in fact and it therefore works |
badly in practice. The city is not a
confederation of wards. 1t is an asso-
citation of men and it is citizens and
not wards which should be represented
in its councils. The principle of pro-
portional representation is therefore es-
sential to its government by the people.