The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1906-01-28
High School SophOmOres Denied
Reinstatement Last Night.
Board Decides They Must Wait
Until Feb. 5.
EARNEST PLEA
Said That They Had Violated
No Rule.
Present a Signed Statement and
Apology to No Avail.


At special meeting of the school
board last night, called for the n,1r-
pose of considering the suspension of
Is members of the Sophomore. class
OF the high school for smearineg paint
on the asphalt on Harrison street. it
was decided that the boys cannot re-
turn to their classes until February K
L. - Whittemore, superintendent of
the city schools, presented the matter
! 20 the BOARD and his reason for the
suspensions. The boys We're represent-
ed by three of their members. Lee w
Johnson, Berthe w Barstow and Ben
Bear The matter was argued out at
length.
Mr. Whittemore detailed the story
of how Harrison street in front of the
school building was found smeared IN
with yellow paint He related the
manner IN which he got the boys to
assume responsibility and admit to the
| o1ense. He said. that to keep order and
discipline such actions cannot be toll
Grated A good many pranks have
| been played around the high school
building IN recent years, and Mr.. Whit
/ temore felt that the permission of such
actions to go unpublished would result
IN more serious misdemeanOrs
The boys presented a statement to the
| board in which they assumed respon-
slPlllty for the act and asked to be
ielnstated in school They all signed
their names. The statement follows:
Topeka, Kansas, Jan. "A, 1906.
To Supt. Whittemore,
Topeka Schools.
We, the undersigned students of the
Sophomore class, who were suspended
from the high school on Jan. % do
! hereby make the following statement
and request, and do hereby subscribe
our names as pledges OF. the same sin
cerity with which we assumed the re-
sponsibility of splitting the yellow paint
on Harrison street, for which as we
understand, we have been suspended.
AS we have pledged before we agree
to assume sole responsibility for spill
ing of said paint and agree to abide by
whatever penalty said responsibility
may bring upon US, and further agree
to follow to the best of our knowledge
the superintendent instructions in re
gard to conduct during period of sus-
pense.
AS the high school is our place of
business, and our attendance there is a
part of our business, we ask to be per-
m1tted TO return to our regular classes
until the board of education or proper
authority shall have acted upon our
sO-called misdeneanor.
If we are allowed to enter said
school, we pledge our honor that, until
said board OF education or other au-
thorities shall have acted, we will abb
stain from painting the street or from
any other act the principal may dis
approve of.
Signed. Andrew Graham, George w.
Plat, Jr., Lee w Johnson, r. D.
Dickinson. Bert Gillespie, Frank Sny-
/ der, Henry W. Dargitz,, Jr., R. +.
/ Reed, z. n. Spencer, BERTHE W. Bar
stow. Roy R. Shoaf. Francis Bone
/ brake Arthur R Wilson, Leslie r.
/ Lewis (Sub-Soph.), Arthur Ahlstrom,
I Ben Bear, c. B. Penny, Roy He'll.
In behalf of their cause, the boys
argued that no rule or order had ever
/ been made in the school that Harrison
! street cannot be painted. and that this
/ has been the custom for years past.
and that no one has ever been punished
for it. I'VE should not be made the
( first victims" said one of the boys to
] the board. tOther classes have done
! the same thing. Nothing was ever said
! to them about it. Now suddenly we are
called up and suspended. But we are
willing to assume responsibility, to apOl-
| Ogize. We wish to get back into school.
/ 1t is pointed out that we had planned
to paint the building and some of the
| trees. That is not the case. We never
! had such an intention. 1t was an acct
dent that the paint was smeared where
/ it was. We had intended to paint the
! asphalt just in front of the walk lead
/ ing over the parking. But some police
men were out in front and we decided
to run by and drop the paint. The man
who was carrying the stuff slipped just
/ as he was going over the crossing
and the whole bucket was emptied
right there"
Several of the members talked pretty
straight to the boys about actions of
this kind and warned them of serious
/ consequences if ever repeated.
The boys are penitent,- and are ser
ious and sincere in their request to get
/