New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1900-01-06
THE IMPLICATION DIVISION.

The divided report of the Educational Com
mission is now to all intents and purposes before
the Legislature as well as the people, though 1t
cannot be formally transmitted to the Senate
and Assembly until next week 1t is signed by
all the members Of the Commission, but 1t ex-
plcitly expresses, by agreement to that effect,
the dissent of the minority as TO some matters
of the first Importance, and thus discloses irrec
oncilable differences of opinion and as nearly
equal a division possible numerically. -Four
Of the Commissioners advocate the appointment
Of the first Chancellor of the proposed Depart
ment of Education by the Governor, with the
consent of the Senate, and three Of them are OPP
posed 10 that arrangement. 1t is not unfalr,
therefore, TO say that four have consented, pre-
sumabiy without a clear appreciation of the fact,
to let the schools be made the prey of politics,
and three have intelligently endeavored to per
form the most important part of the task the
Governor assigned them by safeguarding the
schools against political influences so far as
legislative act can accomplish that indispensa-
BILE object For, if prediction is ever SAFE it is
now safe to predict that political power affect
ing twelve thousand common schools, more than
thirty thousand teachers and nearly every fam
ily in the State, if it were once lodged with the
Governor and Senate, would never be surren-
dered by the politicians to an independent non
partisan body beyond their reach.
This is the question most deserving of consid-
Grafton in the whole affair. Mr.. Melvil Dewey,
in his excellent letter TO the Governor, which
has the character and force though not the form
of a minority report, gives conclusive reasons
for opposing other features of the scheme that
the majority approve, but he is especially con-
vncing on this point. Enabled by his own re-
cent act in resigning the secretaryship of the
Board Of Regents to take a disinterested view or
the matter, he speaks with his accustomed free
dom and with more than his former weight We
agree with him in believing that the machinery
proposed for the new department which is osten-
sibly designed to simplify and energize as well
as unity the educational establishment would
prove in practice to be unnecessarily compli-
Gated and unwarrantably expensive In those
particulars the scheme is cumbrous and eXtrav-
agant. But those are minor faults which it is
scarcely worth while to discuss so long a
monstrous evil is threatened. There is another
consideration" says Mr.. Dewey, with perfect
truth and appropriate emphasis, lat least ten
fold more important than this uniication and
THAT is that education in this State should be
kept absolutely free from the domination or in
reference of partisan politics" If such free
dom could Unexpectedly be secured at the outset
through the cooperation of the present Gov
ernor and Senate there is grave reason to fear
that it might be seriously diminished before the
expiration of the first Chancellor's term, and no
room to doubt that there would be scarcely a
vestige Of it left thereafter. Mr.. Dewey speaks
from long experience in an office which he has
unselfshly laid down, and from acute observa-
ton of the working Of political forces, when he
says:
While there would very likely come certain
improvements If the plan recommended by the
majority of the Commission should be adopted
l am forced to believe after mature elaboration
that the danger of injury to our educational in
terests, IL their plan should be adopted without
material modification is vastly greater than any
possible good that may come from the improve
ment suggested.
That is the conclusion to which intelligent citi-
zens are already generally committed, and which
il would seem that no impartial mind can long
resist. We hope that 1t will prevail with the
Legislature.