Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-11-15

RES of the teachers. Even the most casual
consideration of the cost of living TO-DAY
and the fact that some of our best teachers
and principals have felt obliged to accept
positions elsewhere with higher pay aio ons
enables us to realize that the time mas
come when there should be general IN
crease of the meager cOmpensations no"
paid The proposition Is OF nature cei .
ing for the approval of the taxpaylng cru
zens of the District, and as representatives
of them the Board of Trade shoutd, pc
lieye. support. the. District Commissioners
in their application to Congress TOT tI,,, th'I
feel I should suggest that no particular
schedule of pay for these employees shoulo
be recommended until 1t has been mos
carefully studied to accomplish the WlSese
and fairest scale consistent with the ability
displayed and services rendered
"Yo,Ir committee on schools strongly
Endorses efforts toward the enactment OF
an effective compulsory eoucas.o ri+ias n
does also your committee on charities ana
corrections. While there is certainly Tess
need for such law In our community
than. perhaps, any other in the country,
the fact that we have an imperative ia"
on the statute books and that the rela-
tion between lack of education and crime
has been long established. the Boara OF
Trade should cooperate with tne Com-
missioners to secure the passage or q
wise and beneficial measure of this char-
acter. .ss
Compulsory education strictly enforced
will presumably, necessitate more than
usual increase in school accommodations,
and this would make it appear imperative
that at least the present estimates LOT
new graded school buildings and addf-
lions thereto should be appropriated Tor
Manual Training.
"That the recently established Manual
Training High Schools are believed In
and wanted by our people has been evil
denced by the fact that the accommoda-
lions for these schools are already IN
sufficient. In the case of the Mckinley
school but little more than half the num-
Der of it's students are seated in the
building. If Congress again 1aliS 20 pro-
vide for the necessary extension of this
building a very serious embarrassment
will result and the continuation or con-
dition that is greatly hamperlng this
practical and beneficial branch or our
educational system.
"A building Is now required by the Nor
NAL School, which is located on the top
floor of the Franklin School building, and
the purchase of a site therefor deserves
the hearty support Of the Board OF Trade.
In this connection your committee on
schools again urges q change IN the
methods long followed in the purchase or
school sites, it being recommended that
the expense of such sites could be greatly
lessened by buying ground in advance OF
the immediate requirements OF the same
and before built-up surroundings nave
raised land valuations.
I'm January of this year I addressed a
letter to the Commissioners urging that
the wooden stairways existing In so many
of our public schools be replaced as soon
as possible with iron or stone stairs, for
the safety of our teachers and pupils In
| case of fire or panic. The matter was
given prompt attention by the board OF
education, to whom the communication
referred. A reD0rt from the SuDer1n-
tendent of schools Showed large num-
Der of instances where the conditions In
this respect We're BAD six or more three
story buildings andIthfrty odd two-story
buildings having wooden stairways, and
only fourteen being provided with fire.
escapes, out of a total of 12S or these
buildings owned by the District The
board of education recommended that an
appropriation be asked at once to remedy
these deplorable conditions, and an esti-
mate of $4,000 for that purpose was
promptly submitted to Congress by the
Commissioners. However, 1t is with much
regret that l report that this relief was
not granted and theSrenewed appeal of
the Commissioners in this matter I COM
mend to your early Attention and support.
Increase in Board.
I'm order that all sections Of the District
| may have adequate representation 1t is rec
commended by the committee that the board
of education. now composed of seven mem
bers, be increased to eleven.
Il cannot express too earnestly my hope
that the members of the Board of Trade
shall join heartily and actively in the good
work of its school committee in the exer-
cises 1t arranges each year in all the public
schools In commemoration of Washington's
birthday. They form one of the very bene-
fetal influences of our organization toward
good citizenship. The speakers and presid-
Ing officers at these exercises should all be
from the Board of Trade and this has been
true except for the regretted instances
where assignments have not been accepted.
River and Harbor Improvement.
"The deepening and widening Of the Po-
tomac channel between the Long bridge
and Georgetown is reported by your COM
mittee on river and harbor Improvement as
steadily progressing. During last summer
1t was learned that. owing to extra work