The Washington herald., 1907-11-04

Neither I nor anyone else can tell
when conditions at the Emery. Petworth
and Merrat schools. will be remedied. or
when they will be completed. Capt Oys-
ter and the other members of the board
Of education do not know the true oondi-
tions
The work on these buildings is and was
held up by the local building trades
strike. and the present labor troubles.
When it will be Strengthened out. I do
not know. The contractors are paying
penalties every day for The work. and
they do not know I have made the best
temporary arrangement possible"
This was the statement made yesterday
by Mr. Snowden Ashford. inspector Of
buildings Of the District OF Columbia. in
reply TO questions relating 10 the drastic
action taken by the board Of education
in deciding 10 close these three schools.
and to the controversy between the build
ing department and the board OF educa-
tion.
Instead Of putting quietus on the con-
troversy. it is now probable the action Of
the board OF education viii give it added
impetus Where il will end. OF what ulti-
mate settlement will be reached. is in
definite There is a wide range Of views
on the question among the principals. II
was given renewed interest by the un-
earthing Of the original cause OF the
whole trouble. the local labor war over
the closed or open" shop. and the en-
Try into the controversy Of the principals
in this fight
Mr.. Ashford. in speaking Of the board
action. said it was an administrative mat
ter. Of which the board had full charge.
and that he had no suggestion or com
ment 10 make upon their action. If they
took this action after due consideration.
it was a matter apart. and he had moth
ing 10 do with It,
Nobody Can Tell.
Nobody can tell when these buildings
will be finished The truth Of she matter
/ is. they don't know anything whatsoever
OF the true conditions. If they feel JUS
tihed. well and good But the conditions
are not as bad as they would like 10 make
out. The work is being held back by la
Dor strikes. Not only is this city az.
! fected. but in one particular instance. tn,
/ one characterized as the worst, II is
! impossible to get the slate TO complete
the work, for the reason there is a strik,
at the quarry. and there is no slate To b'
| had The contractors are paying tn,
/ penalty for the delay. but they. nor I
can say when the work will be com
pleted."
! Asked to give the names Of these con
tractors. Mr.. Ashford said they were al
affected. He explained the cause Of an
other issue between himself and Capt
/ Oyster-the Anacostia school. He sal,
the work on this building was tied up
and had been for three months past
consequently, the work is three month
behind.
A prominent local labor leader. one o
the principal figures in the building trade
fight. made pointed comment on Mr.. Ash
ford's statement He said he could no
tell offhand what effect the strike ha,
had on the three buildings named. bu
| that organized labor and its member
would. in all probability. If the question
was UP to them, make some sacrifice OF
just basis TO prevent hurt to schoo
children. In hrs opinion. from what n
had read and from Mr.. Ashford's state
ment. he believed il was Mr.. Ashfor
Inv 4
TO blame!
IF the building inspector gives tn
work 20 contractors who cannot carry
on. we regret his mistake; that's ALL" h
said. The statement that all contractor
are involved is erroneous. There are
number, majority, who are fair TO or
ganiZed labor, and whose work has me
with no interruption. 1t is being prose
cuted by union mechanics. whom we hav
always maintained are the best
Startling Statement.
Mr.. Ashford's statement is startling I
view Of the claims Of the Employers AS
sociation that their work is uninterrupi
ed; that 1t is being prosecuted with eN
pedition and without interruption. /
fact, they place before the public III
statement that one Of their reasons fC
maintaining what they call an open sho
is because that with it they can prosecut
their business without interruption an
dictation.
Does the building inspector show pa
tiality to these builders?" he asked sis
, nificantly.
{ DR.. William E. Chancellor. superb
tendent Of schools. said. in reference
: the order of the board of education |
close the schools, that either one or tw
things would have to be done in Il
next two or three days.
I'VE will either have some provisio
made for having the unsatisfactory col
dition remedied before the expiration
= the thirty-day period prescribed by Il
board. or make some provision for hOu
> ing the pulpns elsewhere. One thing
certain: The pupils in these schools wi
2 not be thrown out Come what ma
I some arrangement will be made for COZ
! tinuing their instruction, even should
. be necessary TO rent buildings It wou
be preposterous to suppose the board
education would suspend the instructiC
, of any pupil. particularly in view OF q
= great efforts made to enforce the compu
{ sorry education law and to bring evel
child between the ages Of seven and si
teen into the schools.
Terms Not MOIested.
I'm some way facilities viii be provide