New-York tribune., 1901-01-06
THE SCHOOLA POLITICAL TOOL
BOSTON WOMEN WILL NOT HELP TO MAKE
THE SYSTEM MERELY DECENT,
SAYS JOHN GRAHAM
BROOKS.

The sacred school system of Boston rudely
assailed and Boston women ruthlessy charged
with gross derection of duty yesterday by Bos-
tonian. John Graham Brooks, in his opening lecture
on social conditions before the League for Politi-
cal Education, No. % West Forty-fourth-st.
lit thought century ago." said Mr.. Brooks.
"that increase in the number of schools would
solve the problems that troubled society. Well. we
have the schools but not the Improvement Massa-
chusetts. where the public school system has been
a source of pride, so plagued by vice
and crime as now. The schools cannot keep even
themselves free from the corrupting Influences of
the time and the women. who clamored for
vote in order to aid them, have utterly failed TO
help. In Boston they making desperate ef-
fort to save the schools, to make them merely
decent, and begging the women to help-but they
won't! The school has become mere political
tool Men who were rejected as teachers some
years ago because of their fragrant incompetency
have been appointed of late, and nothing is done.
Yet could change the conditions in week
If they would vote. Just once, in meany pas
man % Cathoiics' they rose " and carried everything
their own way, Since, then they have shown no
twelfth part of them win take the trouble to regis
Mr.. Brooks began by saying that social discon-
tent. when 1t becomes powerful enough, makes
rious periods of social unrest IN European coun-
tries and reviewed similar periods in this country
He showed that century ago the thinking men
of the country viewed the conditions with gravest
quoted Justice of the Supreme Court the pres-
dents of Harvard. Yale and Princeton universe
ties. Fisher Ames and Josiah Quincy, in fore
bOdngs that sounded like utterances of to-day.
Such expressions as THE awful dishonor of our
boasted Republic from the president of Prince
ton; Horrible visions of the bloodthirsty mob of
Fisher Ames; I'VE live in times that have no paral
lei in past history and are full of despair Of Chan
Ming among those quoted. "ln 1910 there
a strike in q Massa achusetts town In which
thousand women stood for hours in the Streets"
the lecturer said. 'The principles afterward
pounded by Henry George were expressed on fam
ing placards in protest against the excessive taxa
tion and unjust laws" Alluding to those periods
serving for a perspective in which to view pres
ent conditions correctly. Mr.. Brooks said:
Discomfort gees hand in hand with progress.
There is little in Oriental countries. The servant
question has not been raised in Austria Ger
many There was woman question until col
reyes opened to them. But IL is necessary to
take note of the disadvantages of modern progress.
An easy optimism may be than grouty
pessmism. Literature is burdaned with exultation
over the century's achievements in science and
humant aria nism with the startling, almost
miraculous advances in surgery and the complete
ness and number of reformatories and hospitals.
Does any stop to inquire why many
formatorfes are needed. and how IL comes TO be
desirable that people should be cut to pieces and
put together again.
1.-THE Tragic Element i'm Industry.