The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1899-06-30


School Board of Council Bluffs. Iowa,
show that at the September. 1880, meet
ing. Mr.. Hunter moved that James Nc
Naughton, superintendent of Public
Schools, be dismissed. The reason as
signed for this action was a petition
filed with the board, dated September
-, 1890, preferring charges against Nc
Naughton. The motion was lost.
On October IS. 1890 James McNaugh-
ton handed to the Board of Education
his written resignation, and it was
forthwith accepted.
Following is a copy Of the charges
against NtcNaughton:
COUNCIL BLUFFS. Ia, Sept. Is, 1890
To the Honorable the Board of Direct
Ors Of the Independent School District of
Council Bluffs Ia.-Gentlemen Your pc
titioners would most respectfully repre-
sent to your honorable body that they
are citizens, residents and taxpayers of
the city of Council Bluffs, Ia That they
are interested in the good management
and government of the public schools OF
this city.
Your petitioners further represent and
aver that James McNaughton the person
who is now claiming to be Superintendent
of said Schools is not a fit, proper or cap
able person TO discharge the duties of said
office, and that he has been guilty in the
two years last past of such practices and
misdemeanors as that he should be at
once dismissed and removed therefrom.
Your petitioners for more particularly
and specificness in the premises prefer the
following charges against the said James
MCNaughtOn, to wit:
First-Your petitioners aver that said
James McNaughton is incompetent for
that he is deficient in scholarship, as IL
Illustrated by false syntaX and incorrect or
biography in his compositions; that the
pedagogical methods pursued by him are
antiquated, as Illustrated by the work de-
manded in the study of the English lam
guage using as a textbook last revised
in 1867; that he is injUdicious, as illustrat-
ed for example by his requiring pupils
from 10 to u years old, who have only
''The sum of three angles of a triangle
is equal to TWO right angles"
Let A b G be a triangle. We are to
prove that angle B plus angle b c a plus
angle equals two right angles. Draw
c E parable. to A B and prolong A c
point on the same side of a straight line
equals two right angles. Now let angle
angle B c E. Substitute for angles 2
F and b G E their equal angles and Is;
Then angle A plus angle B plus angle
C A equals two right angles
F. Second-Your petitioners aver that
James NEcNaughton is unfit for, the office
of Superintendent, for that he is i'm
moral that he is insoent, ungentlemanly
and overbearing in his behavior to his
associates and subordinates; lAat he as
sociates with notorious characters and in
duces them to frequent the public school
buildings during school hours; that he re-
sorts to tricks and practices deceit to
accomplish his purposes. and that. act
uated by sinister motives, he has in the
seven years he has been in the office
managed directly and indirectly to secure
the removal of four worthy, competent
and deserving principals Of the hetoi High
Ballinger, Prouty and Stevens.
Third-Your petitioners further aver
that the said James McNaughton has
been guilty of derelicton in the discharge
of his duties, for that he has been spend
ing part of his time in the prosecution
of his private business, during school
hours that he has failed to attend and
inspect the school rooms and the teach
ers' work as often as the interests of
the school required; tnat he has failed
and refused to make helpful suggestions
prosecution of their work; that he has
failed to respond to reasonable and proper
requests of teachers made to him con-
corning school work; that he has COM
PEELED substitutes to attend to work
which he should have performed himself
as Superintendent: that ne is ignorant of
ings; that he failed to confer at an i'm
portant period with. the teachers com
mittee with reference to school work for
a period of two months.
Fourth-Your petitioners further aver
that said James McNaughton is a Violator
Of the laws of the State of Iowa and. has
been for two years last past engaged in
nefarous and iniquitous practices, in that
he has been cooperating with one Divide
Wien in exacting and receiving eXtortion-
ate and usurious sums of money from the
poor and distressed for loans made on short
time paper secured by chattel mortgages.
That he has eXacted and received scores
Of chattel mortgages from the poor and
weak upon all kinds and characters of
property, such as personal apparel,
calves. hogs, fuel. bedding, sewing ma
chimes, household furniture, BARRIERS ma
terial, chromos. trunks and secondhand
furniture dealers stock-in-trade. That to
conceal his identity and connection with
these disreputable practices he has had in
most instances the papers made out in
the name of his mother-in-law, Mrs. NJ.
A. Wilson, sometimes in the name of jani-
tors of the public schools and once only
in his own name. The amount he and his
| associates received for the use of their
money varied from 8 to IL per cent
month. This may be illustrated by the
fact that he and his associates have re-
ceived as high as $T7 for the use of 500
for little over nine months and the
poor debtor has suffered the pangs of alb
Ject poverty in order TO carry to Mr.
Wen, Mr.. McNaughtOn's partner the 81