The Washington times., 1906-01-24
Outsiders" and Our Schools.


have asked for a reorganization of
the District Board of Education in
connection with the grant of more
pay to its teachers. The only persons
and institutions TO whom those terms
have any application, which is ap-
parent today. are these:
Senator Jacob II. Gallinger, chair
man of the Senate Committee on the
District of Columbia.
Senator Shelby NJ. Cullom of IIIi-
nois.
Representative J. Van Olcott of
New York, a member of the House
Committee on the District of Col
umbia
Representative David ]. Foster of
Vermont
Representative Joseph A. Goulden
Of New York.
Practically the whole body of teach
ers who hold positions of any admin
istrative importance.
The Times.
It is difficult TO argue patiently the
manifest truth that no one in this
list can rightly be classed as an
outsider Every member of Con
gress, not those in the District Com
mittees alone, is a councilman for the
District of Columbia. The members
or the District Committees are an
executive committee of the common
council. The teachers are not resi-
dents merely-and so not outsiders
at all-but cOgs in the machinery of
the public schools, a machinery
which, in their judgment, is losing
effectiveness every day. And The
Times is a local newspaper, so oc-
cupied in deserving the support of
Washington that It mas again and
again disregarded opportunities 10
extend its circulation elsewhere.
What the North Capitol and Eek
ingtOn Citizens Association has TO
say on the subject of our schools.
or on any other subject, invariably
commands a respectful hearing every
where in the District. It has been
extremely active and unusually pro-
ductive in a srOup OF similar bodies
which have been too generally neither
active nor productive. But the reso-
lutions which even such a body
passes can have weight only as they
are based on accurate knowledge oh
tanned by a careful inquiry into the
subject of the resolution on all its
sides.
In this case there was no inyestisa-
ton whatever. save that embodied
IN two speeches-One by Commits /.
sioner Macfarland and thu other by
superintendent Stuart. However fair
both those officials may have tried
10 be (and no doubt did try 10 bel .
the one appointed the present Board .
OF Education and the OTHER is the
chief officer of that board. in the light
of which relations it will hardly be
contended that the resolutions sDrang
from a careful inquiry into this sub
Ject on all its sides.
As a matter OF fact they were based
largely upon a speech in which the
president of the Board of District
Commissioners said such things as
this:
Let US work together for what we can
al hH
example, let us work for the better nav.
ana promotion of teachers -upop which
We an ae.ree-and let us oppose tsle few
VINO want 10 tear mp our public school
system by the roots. take in out az In.
Dlsulct government. remove il from our
q 5 ,utonoihy, so that our citizens will no
longer nave voice la the matter dearest
10 them. as thev had ALWAYS 6er,lt.'f',,o
ana so that outsiders might be set over
our PUBIC schools as trustees and sIlncr-
intendents
NO enc in the knowledge of The
Times wants 10 do these things.
TO tear up our public school system
by the roots" so that outsiders
might be set over our public schools"
surely not Senator Gallinger, or
Senator Cullom. or Representative
Olcott. or Representative Foster. or
representative Goulden. or the whole
body of advanced teachers, or The
Times. Indeed, The Times has never
heard any one of those things pro-
posed. But il has heard from every
one of these sources proposals that
our teachers should be given more
pay, and that Board of Education.
which has imperiled the discipline of
the schools and weakened the whole
structure, should be disbanded.
To those two proposals The Times
thinks all those who have been mark
ed as outsiders" and "meddlers" in
this connection are willing TO sub
scribe. And not abuse. especially
impudent and short-sighted abuse.
will change their convictions on that
score If they are wrong, but such an
exposition of the facts as will ap-
peal to the interest represented in
the five bills now pending and in the
protest against the present board.