Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1900-05-23
The SCHO0L BOARD.

Feeling confident that the school
boards elected by the people are en-
dowed with ability, good judgment and a
sense of fair play, the Inter Mountain
has steadfastly refused to interfere with
their work. With scarcely an exception,
as the years come and go, our people
have shown exceptionally good Judgment
in placing upon hat board men of the
proper caliber to handle the educational
interests of this city with credit to them
selves and their constituents. This be-
ing the case, the Inter Mountain. having
mo fish to fry" in the work of h Ia
~board-and approaching the satisfaction
with which the patrons of the public
schools view the course which it's men,
bers have pursued in the performance
of their duties-has made no attempt to
interfere with the deliberations of that
body.
At best, the position of a school trustee
is a delicate one, and moral courage of
high order is required to properly per-
form the duties of the office, as conflict
ing opinions and factionai interests and
personal ambitions are continually
thrust upon the attention of the board.
Under conditions of this kind, the cleo
ton of good men as school trustees ought
to be a guarantee of their protection
from any subsequent political pressure
from a partisan press. So strongly was
propriety of keeping our school affairs
absolutely out of any complications of a
political character, that it refused to
take sides in the recent school election,
and thus make either the victors or the
vanquished feel that political agencies
had projected themselves into the edu-
c%ational interests of our people.
The recent action of the board, how
ever, in displacing Superintendent Hem
bricks from the management of our city
schools, has led both the Anaconda
standard-published in a neighboring
city-and the Butte Miner to publish
covert criticisms of that body. Each of
the morning papers assumes-by what
authority we know not-that the present
board was elected for the purpose of re-
tanning Mr.. Hendricks in the superin-
tendency. From their standpoint il
would seem that the election of school
trustees is not a question of securing a
board of intelligent, high-minded men to
control the school affairs of this CITY. as
their best judgment may direct. but a
question of enabling somebody to hold.
down a job as superintendent, The
tandard even goes so far as to cast dis
creditable reflections on the board in the
following language:
Whether some member with a pull has
seahe !avorite or friend that he wishes to
Work INTO the position, or whether some
members of the board have some, petty
personal grievance against the recent sl--
perintendent, Or whether some other rea-
son is back of 1t all is left to the people
at large to guess. 2
There Is nothing In the circumstances
to justify the assumption that the men,
bers of the board are actuated by mo-
tives of a discreditable character. or are
taking any steps in his matter which
their duty to the public does not justify.
They were not elected either to retain or
to remove from positions of responsible
ity any one under their authority, but
to exercise a discretion purely their own
in all matters pertaining to h best in
terests of the school work in this city.
The inference Of the morning press thai
the position Of any one subject to the
action of the board was In issue in the
late chool election, Is to cheaper the
dignity Of our educational interests and
convert a non-partisan school board into
a political agency.
It lies wholly within the legitimate du-
ties Of h board to make any change
which it may determine to be for the
! best interests of the schools. ard criti-