Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-12-25

counsel to be guided. In submitting these
suggestions to you I have meant only to
state my own position SO uneQuvocally that
1t cannot be misunderstood
Points to More Progress.
'It would appear to me reasonable that
the Congress never meant to clothe this
board with so much responsibility and
with so little power. The present law Is,
believe, marked advance upon previous
conditions; and it points the way to farther
progress. For many years successive
boards OF education have been appointing
teachers and making no removals. They
nave invest gated many cases, but nave
done almost nothing; they had almost no
power to do anything
Whether by accident or by design or by
the peculiar character of this board, you
nave intended to give this community bet
ter school systems, both white and colored;
better teachers, better courses of study,
better rules and better buildings; but at
many points You have been frustrated in
your endeavors. practical condition con-
fronts us. This condition, l believe, the
present Congress would be glad to rectify.
The good will of this Congress toward the
schools has already been abundantly ex-
pressed
Laws Amendment Needed.
Amendments to the present law. en-
towering the board to appoint trial board
of three salaried persons to determine the
recommended ions of the superintendent re-
garding suspensions, demotions. transfers
and dismissals. to summon witnesses. to
punish them for Contempt of court and to
penalize them for perjury. can be so drawn
as to put this board into proper relations
with the regular courts and to give it the
actual control of the schools Proper funds
must be placed to the credit of the board
for this purpose.
1T would appear to me properly within
the duty and the responsibility Of this
board to present some such amendments
to the consideration of the Congress. Per
haps better plan would be to add thls
duty to those of the board of examiners.
ut would seem that since the board OF
examiners have power to issue certificates
or licenses they should also have power
here as elsewhere to revoke the licenses for
gross misconduct. If such had been the
case here the CardoZo case could not have
arisen.
LAS superintendent. while 1 would regard
his return to the service as a calamity. I
would prefer to give F. L. Cardozo the OPP
portunity of retrieving his reputation by
returning to his school duties rather than
to reopen the case by going into a trial
with so little power and SO few resources
to consider the matter thoroughly and fl
naly: Under an amended law a future
dereliction in the duty of loyalty could be
punished promptly and finally.
Whether, however. to appeal the case
or not seems to me a matter wholly for
the legal counsel to advise. The fact that
the first hearing has been unsuccessful Is
scarcely proof that the full court would
sustain the trial judge upon all points.
ITO this time we have proceeded almost
wholly upon the lines required by our legal
advisers and the controller of the Treasury.
Accepting, of course, the present decision,
it would seem best to follow the advice of
our counsel how best to carry it out in the
interest of the two school systems.
VERY respectfully submitted,
"WM. E. CHANCELLOR"