The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1903-01-22
A SECRET CoNCLAVE.

What is the Board of Education 40
;pp7 II is one of the most important OF
onr public bodies, yet it cuts the small
est possible figure il the pubic prlii rs
The Advertiser doubts that It's reau-
ers have seen more than two or three
renorts of the deliberations OF the boaru
in three years, and those two or three
oana ont at the time this journal was
arousing the public over the CONTRACT
with the American book trust. Meet
ines are held in secret. That IS TO say
the newspapers are not told wheh OF
where meetings are to occar, anu
thew find out, and send reporters, the
Roard scurries into executive session.
Yesterday for the first time in SIX
months the Advertiser heard When
meeting of the Board would be held-
AS the time was at hand it detailed
man to report the event, but he came
hack empty-handed. He had been
warned out of another executive ses-
SION
with the Board of Health the pro-
ceeding is as different as day from
night. Whenever meeting is called the
press is notified and reporters are pres
ent. Executive sessions are few and
far between despite the fact that the
gravity of the business of the Board
of Health exceeds that of the Board OF
Education in a ratio of three to one.
Still there is enough of Importance in
the proceedings of the educational body
to warrant the taxpayers in the desire
spent, schools are being established,
contracts are being made, troubles adj |
justed and benefits acquired. Surely
the people have the right to know about
annual report. We venture TO say that /
there is not another Board of Educa- |
ton in the United States which sys- |
tematicaIIy and by preference does its
business in the dark. Under the cleo
tive system a board that tried it woulu
never get a second term.
The Advertiser does not mean to i'm
ply that there is anything wrong in the
things done by the school directors in
their secret sessions. The members
are above suspicion, despite their one
mistake about the book contract. And
this makes the sub-rosa policy absurd
as well as irritating and one that is cal
cuIated to raise unfounded gossip.
Why keep it dark?" What harm can
light do to the educational question?
These are not the days of the in
quisitor when a schoolman's remark
about the rotundity of the earth may /
him to the nearest dungeon or
the hottest stake. 1t is a prosaic, mat
ter-of-fact day when the humdrum :
taxpayer, having appointed certain /
TO drop in and see how the work is
going on. He likes to see how his
money is being spent and by whom. a..
He has his rights in the premises;
why should they be denied him?
AS the Star pointed out in discussing
some other abuses lately, the surest ,
guarantee of good government is Pub =,
icityi It is one of the things that
Keeps administration pure, officials :
policies prudent and men
honest. The bad things in government
ire Matched in the dark and kept in the
lark. Light disperses them. And so it
comes about that officials, be they never [
30 honest or reputable, cannot afford, r
n their conduct of public business, to q
adopt the methods of conspirators. 1t y
puts them on the suspect list when they b
nay least deserve it. a