Omaha daily bee., 1899-10-15
RESULTS OF INVESTIGATION
Populist Committee Looks Into Affairs Of the
Deaf Mute Institute,
REPORT MADE TO CENTRAL COMMITTEE
Institution Is Found TO he Conducted
In u Very SIipshod Mnnncr-su-
perintendent Dawes Receives
Scoring from the Pupils.

At the Douglas county convention OF popu-
lists, held September &c. among the resolu
tions adopted was the following:
Whereas, The management Of the State
institution for the Deaf and Dumb is Il
sacred duty; and
Of Douglas county Is in large measure re-
sponsiblc to the public for its management,
the institution being located in this county,
and
Whereas, The present board of trustees
and superintendent have made a demo-
cratic foot ball of said institution. very
greatly to its injury for good service, en-
plOying persons from three states outside OF
Nebraska apparently and i'm effect giving
preference to persons living outside Of the
state and disCharging competent Nebraska
help without cause, employing nonunion
dollars, when every one knows that this
party has repeatedly in its platform eX-
pressed preference for union labor at all
Whereas Such conduct is most detri-
mental TO the school and our party; there
Resolved, That this convention demands
of the governor the immediate discharge of
said board of trustees and superintendent
trustees and superintendent possessing
competency and honesty enough to conduct
the institution in a proper manner and
with credit to our party.
At the convention which passed the above
resolution a committee was appointed in ac-
cordance herewith to investigate the af-
fairs OF the Nebraska School for the Deaf
and Dumb. The committee, after carefully
performing It's work, prepared a report
which was presented last evening to the
county central committee of the people S
party. The report is as follows:
Report of Committee.
OMAHA Neb, oct 4, 1S99-To the
County Central Committee, Peoples Inde-
pendent Party of Douglas County, Ne
braSka: In pursuance of a resolution
passed at the last county convention, which
appointed a committee to investigate the
condition of affairs at the State Deaf and
Dumb Institute we, the undersigned, who
We're appointed on that committee, submit
the following report:
First-We find the institute is now closed
and ther" is no prospect of same bein.
opened until the middle of October, or pos
sibly until November ], and that the in
stitution should have been opened at the
beginning of September. The superin;
tendent excuses this delay on the ground
that the new boilers for heating were de-
layod in construction. We are of the opin,
ion that the Board of Public Lands ant
Buildings is responsible for the tardiness
In giving the order for these boilers, fully
aware Of the fact @ that the s school sh9Hl[ ftl
such carelessness on the part of state Off
GERS is the cause of inficting a wrong OF
the deaf and dumb pupils of the institute
and that such incompetency is mos
humiliating to the populist state admins
tration of Nebraska.
Second-We find, from various testimony
given to your committee that employe!
have been brought from outside of Ne
braska, both as domestics and teachers
This fact is admitted by the su2erinten
dent, II. E. Dawes, in answer to Guer!
by, the committee, This being the case W.
submit that as this Is a state institution
supported by taxes levied in Nebraska ant
for the purpose of taking care of the dea
Cedure Is not to be commended, as we are
fully aware that the board of trustee!
from people who are real residents of thi
state, without importing either teachers o
domestic help from other states. We mote
the fact that nepotism seems to be an i'm
portant factor in the selection of teacher:
at the institute, two. of the teachers belnt
management did not understand the sigr
language and knew nothing about the
training of unfortunate deaf and dumi
children Under the existing circumstances
and as "A remedy for the present state, o
of civil service rules governing the employ
ment of all teachers and helpers in the in
stitute. BY making such a change politics
and nepotism would be eliminated, anc
employees and teachers would hold thei
positions by merit and not by favor of thu
The superintendent, in his report to thu
committee, makes the following statement
81 would prefer to employ Nebraska peo
pie in all of the departments of the school
but | am determined. and the board o
trustees supports me in this, to bring tn
school up to such a standard that If IL
graduates wish to go to college they vii
not be handicapped by failure on the par
of their teachers or the management OIL III
school to have fitted them to receive
higher education" Your committee, II
commenting upon this statement, canno
but call special attention to the fact that th
superintendent and trustees cannot carr!
the above plan into execution as long a
neootism and politics are introduced int
the method of selecting teachers.
Third-In reference to the question o
whether union or nOnun!on labor was EN-
ployed we find follows: That while th'
boiler work and some of the carpente
work was done by union labor some worl
was not done by such labor: that one non
union carpenter was employed and that tn
greatest part of the plumbing and painting
was given to nonunion men. This action
in not giving all work of every description
undertaken on or about the institute L
union labor reflects in an unenviable ligh
on the Board of Trustees and superintendent
and will surely call the populist administra
ton of Nebraska into disrepute with suCl
independent voters who believed that 1t wa
genuine reform party that respected it
platform pledges, made prior to election
when 1T got into office.
Statements of Pupils.
Fourth-As all schools exist primarily 70
the welfare of pupils and not for the pur
pose of enabling boards of trustees to set
lie political debts or pay superintendent
and teachers large salaries, your commit
tee deeply regrets the deplorable fact that
as the institute is not formally opened, the!