The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1899-06-27


assertion, he produces a bundle of man
uscript half a foot high, consisting of
letters from former professional and
business associates teStifying to his
high character; affidavits from numer-
Gus persons denying absolutely the
charges in former circulars; and reso-
lutions from executive boards of two
school governments testifying that the
accusations, after full investigation,
have been proven groundlesS.
when a man has been pursued as I
have been" said DR.. McNaughton, he
finds it we'll to come prepared"
The accused principal does not pro-
pose to put in this proof before the
Alumni Association. He thinks that the
best plan will be to allow the asSocia-
ton to sift the matter and then, If it
finds that there is ground for the
charges and makes them formally to
the Trustees of the Normal School, he
will come forward to refute them. He
purposes, however, while the Alumni
Association is going along with its
work, to let no grass grow under his
feet. In justice to himself, he says,
he wishes that the members of the
Board of Normal Trustees should be-
come familiar with the history of the
charges and the fate that has befallen
them, and for this reason will submit
what documents he has personally to
each Trustee he can reach within the
week that interveneS before he as
sumes the duties Of his new position.
In pursuance of this plan DR.. Nc
Naughton called yesterday morning
upon State Senator Leavitt and sub
mitted his papers. He will reach the
others as quickly as possible.
oh sni6 Dr ION tOp
ton yesterday, ARE not new and they
are not true, but they are annoying.
A brief history of them will not be out
of place. I had been unanimously re-
elected Superintendent of Schools at
Council Bluffs in May, 1890, as 1 had
been for seven years before. In Au
gust, 1890, the principal of the High
School. man addicted to the free use
of liquor, refused to respond to require
ments of the School Board and was
dismissed. Members Lucius Wells and
John Schoentgen of the School Board
his special friends and associates, were
offended at the action of the majority
and declared that since the principal Of
the High School was dismissed / should
be dismissed also, they assuming that
because I did not approve of the con-
duct of the principal that the board
would be divided while I remained. Mr.
Wells said after his faction had asked
me to resign: I believe Professor Nc
Naughton does not want to throw OBJ
stacles in the way of the schools: he
is an innocent victim Mr. Schoent-
gen said: / have the utmost respect
for Professor McNaughton; I have
nothing to say against him.
Immediately thereafter they en-
ployed attorneys, who formulated
charges, securing the statements in
questionable ways, on which the said
charges are purported to be based.
There was never an opportunity given
me by that board to be heard on these
charges before a tribunal having au-
thority to pass upon their validity, and
at no time was there majority of the
board willing to give these charges any
official recognition on account of the
notorious fact that they were false and
malicious and truMped up as a justin
cation for asking for my dismissal, an
act that great majority of the people
of Council Bluffs were severely censur-
ing. Neither was there a majority of
the board willing to permit these men