The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1899-02-07
Seek Teachers Salary
" Indebtedness.
THE SCHOOL TANGLE GROWS
PROBABLE MANDAMUS SUITS
FOR AUDITOR WELLS.
Merchant Creditors Threaten to Tie
Up All Moneys if the Teach
o.. ers Do Not Compromise
With Them.

=. Sec. 50, Consolidation act-No de-
mand upon the Treasurer shall be
allowed by the Auditor in favor CT
any person or officer in any manner
indebted thereto, without first de-
Quoting the amount of such indebt-
edness.
- This Is the authority by which Auditor
Wells declines to allow the teachers jan
uary warrants. Judge Seawelrs decision
was that about $4,000 had been illegally
paid during the first part of this fiscal
year in settlement Of d deficit incurred
in the previous year.
AS the sum of the salary demands Of
November and December is about Sl77, 400,
there would still be left to the teachers
LOO However, President Bergerot says
that this sum, or any remaining sum, will
be distributed pro rata to all creditors
alike, consequently the teachers small
:Eope is further depressed.
Not only are the unfortunate teachers
racing the Auditor and his decision, but
the city's other creditors as we'll The
merchants are still in the ring They
claim that they can prove that about
$4,000 in salaries of the year 1898 was
paid out Of the fund OF 1S9S-99 that not
more than 50 per cent OF their own bills
were contracted illegally, and that the
remaining 90 per cent of their claims
should be paid out of this years fund
Ol TINS subject Attorney Powers, for the
merchants, makes the following state
'ment OF his clients theories:
- The practical effect Of the decision is that it
SIMPLY forces the merchants TO go in and es-
taollsh the dates Of the contracts for which
they furnished their goods and show that less
sthan one-twelfth had been contracted for at
the time OF their contracts, which in a great
majority Of the cases was in the early mart of
July, and will force them 10 establish the
TACT that the contracts of the fifty-three teach
'ers that have been appointed since that time
are void 1t Will mean the marshaling of sew
eral thousand items and several hundred ac-
counts. The law requires that the claims
SHOULD be paid in the order in which they are
auaited and ultimately the merchants Will get
tnelT money IN full, but instead of being enti-
tied to get their money at once they will be
loIced TO prove that the board acted according
TO authority of law in ordering the materials
%hfch were furnished which will cause a de-
lay. OF five or six months.
q. Necessarily, the courts will REQUIRE the
teachers 10 put up a bond to make good any
Judgment which we might obtain hereafter
In the meantime we will go to the Supreme
Court on behalf of some of the smaller credi-
tors TO attempt to get reversal of Judge Sea-
prns judge to take 1t upon himself to over
rule the practice Of the last thirty years with
reference to the one-twelfth act, but we feel
certain as soon as the Supreme Court has the
matter properly presented to II that 1t viii
verse the decision We hope to be able TO get
TO the Supreme Court before the final trial
IN the meantime all the mooted points with
reference to the teachers salaries Will of neces-
sity be discussed and all the weak points OF
the present system will have to be developed.
The merchants have nothing TO lose and every
thing to gain by litigation, and the teachers
have everything to lose and practically moth
ing to gain, and so all we can do is simply
TO proceed on our even course toward obtain
ing money. Hereafter need not sell
goods to the Board Of Education but as the
teachers have a life's employment before them
any mistake they make will be repeated every
year tor The rest OF their natural lives They
make no question about the fact that the
SCHOOLS have used our materials.
1t is going TO be very difficult matter for
the teachers to get a bond. for whoever should
go on the bond would be obligated to pay such
Of the bills as were proven to be within the
act, the great bulk OF materials
were furnished under contracts which were let
IN. july ana, therefore antedated everything
but the July salaries of the teachers; they are
bound TO be obligated on the bond to the
amount Of several thousand dollars, and as
the final Judgment cannot be reached until all
the money in the present fiscal year is used
up, they will have nothing but the teachers
credit as means to recoup themselves, and
II ultimately the Supreme Court decide that
the one-tweifth act does not apply TO the
School Board they viii be compelled to pay
$4,000 and expenses of litigation.
In other words, if the teachers do not
effect some compromise with the other
creditors the merchants will enjoin all
Quoted from such demands sufficient
money to pay all the merchant claims in
full As 1t is well known that for years
teachers have received salaries out OF the
revenue of the subsequent fiscal year, this
is no empty threat.
Deficit has followed deficit, and if the
Auditor begins to figure back from one
fiscal period to another he will only be
stopped by the statute of limitations It
might be possible to find teachers in the
department who would be forced to work
~ al n1. oil H1,. IL
fiscal year.
The consensus of opinion is that the
Auditor should not have brought the
January salary matter into the question
as Judge SeawelTs order holding back the
ember-December money eXempted
the warrants of last month from any de-
lay in settlement
While the moneyless teachers are strug-
Cling along on nothing a year and owing
the city 900. with no glowing pros
poets OF ever getting out of debt except
from the evil work of its predecessor Is
head and shoulders above water, as II
has S6OS,57O, plus about $4,000, to work
with.
Some Of the wiser teachers are wondar-
Ing how 1t has happened that their in
junction suit has only materially helped
the board out of the mud at the expense
OF their own salaries.
The Committee on Judiciary heard arer-
ments in the case of Fitzpatrick, the ex-
principal of the Business School deposed
by the old board. 1t Is intimated that the
appeal TO the Supreme Court will be with
drawn on the ground that members of the
board that ousted him were witnesses in
the case and that fitzpatrick was improp-
erly removed.
A number of teachers called upon
Auditor Wells yesterday, and that official
states that he expects several man
damus suits will be commenced against
him. However. he will not recede from
his present position on the January salary
matter until further developments.