The Irish standard., 1903-07-04

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Miss Haley and her work appears in
the last issue of The Republic:
Within two weeks Boston will be in
her best bib and tucker. all primped
and smiling, and extend her hands to
a vast army Of teachers from all parts
Of the United States and some corners
of Canada and Mexico. 1t will be the
first time in 80 years that the Hub
has been fortunate in greeting this in
teresting body of men and women, or
rather of women, with a few men,
which is known as the National Edu-
cation Association.
Despite the fact that the organiZa-
ton is composed almost entirely Of
women, and that the feminine visitors
will outnumber the masculine by al
most three to one, the executive COM
mittee with the conv,ltion in charge is
composed of six men and the advisory
committee and the special committees
and the state managers and most of
the speakers at the convention are to
be men. Woman, as one has said,
seems to be the silenced partner.
Among the hosts of the invaders there
is one woman whom usually no
amount of shelving can obscure. She
is Miss Margaret Haley of Chic" go,
president of the National Federation
Of Teachers. Miss Haley is the living
example of an obscure Western school
teacher who awoke one morning to find
herself celebrated throughout the
country, and dear to the heart of every
school teacher within the hearing of
her exploit.
One Of the COCO grade teachers of
Chicago, not an officer in amy of their
organizations, and with no special
claim to prominence or leadership,
practically alone, she had dared to
take up the cudgels for the teachers
and start fight to enforce the pay
ment of their salaries by an indiffer-
ent board of education bent on cutting
down the school year and reducing
wages already in arrears.
That fight will long stand in the
municipal history Of Chicago. Mighty
adversaries were arrayed against this
brave woman. John P. Altgeld, then
governor of Illinois, called her the
modern Joan of Arc, and the citizens
of Chicago and the teachers Of the
West hailed her as their deliverer.
When, in December, 1899, she and
Miss Catherine Coggin, then president
of the Chicago Federation of Teachers,
began to look around to see what they
could do for the school teachers Of the
Windy City, who thought they were
oppressed, they had TO idea Of the mag
nitude of the work which they were
undertaking, or of the far-reaching re-
suits. They only knew that the agree
n,ent which the board of education had
made in 1897. to the effect that all
teachers Of ten years experience would
receive the same pay as the firemen,
policemen and letter carriers, had not
been lived up to. This body had voted,
after great pressure Of public senti-
ment, to raise the teachers salaries by
S115 year. making them $1,OOO-$75
to be paid in March. 1898, $50 on
January I, 1899. and $50 on January
l, 1900. The $75 was paid on schedule
time. but when the first $50 fell due,
1t was not Forthcoming. The city
treasurer announced however, that it
would be paid, together with the other
$50. on January !. 1900. On the
Christmas Eve before that date the
teachers received as Christmas pres
ent the announcement that they were
not going to receive, t1le $1OO, and that
the school year was to be shortened
and all salaries scaled down.
This announcement stirred Miss
Haley and Miss Coggin to action. They
had no money, no influence and no ex-
perience in public affairs, but they
were not dismayed. They did not re-
sort to the conventional weapons of
their sex, and appeal to the board of
education, nor did they SOD their
troubles to the public and attempt to