Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-11-26
HIS HEARING BEGUN
Trial of Dr.. Chancellor by
Board of Education.
FURTHER DELAY. REFUSED
Renewal of Petition for Permission
to Argue Issue in Court. =.
VIEWS nE SENATOp nATTTNnCp
VIEWS OF SENATOR GALLINGER
Believes Congress Should Thorough.
ly Investigate the Conditions Of
Local Public Schools.

Testimony and documentary evidence in
| support of the charges of incom2etency.
| exceeding authority and insubordination
| against DIR. William E. Chancellor, super
intendent of public instruction, were pre-
sented to the board Of education this aft
ernoon, at its special meeting, held In the
| Franklin building According to the pro-
gram adopted at the board session last
Saturday, the trial of the superintendent
! began shortly after . o'clock. Assistant
| United States Attorney Stuart Mcnamara
was present the legal representative
of the board. and Attorneys Leckie. Full
ton & Cox were present for DIR. Chan
| cellor. The trial attracted a large num-
| ber of persons, the boardroom being filed.
One of the most important pieces of evil
| dence. it Is stated. which is to be pre-
sented in the trial of DR.. Chancellor is the
| draft Of the article criticising the District
schools. which appeared last February or
March in the Educational Review, in the
handwriting and bearing the signature of
DIR. Chancellor. This is claimed to be the
original draft of the article, the author
ship of which DR.. Chancellor positively
| denied.
| When it became known that this draft
| had been found there was a mild sensa-
ton. On the strength of The denial of
DR.. Chancellor, the members of the board
have defended him against those who
the author. but now 1t Is realized that
they must reverse their attitude in the
matter.
In behalf of DR.. Chancellor. Attorneys
Leckie Fulton have taken another move
in court, and hint that the courts will be
further appealed to should the decision of
the board of education at the conclusion
of the trial be adverse to their client.
THE board Is having its innings now but
''Dr. Chancellor will have his some time
soon," declared one of the law firm this
morning.
Petition to Be Fined in Court.
A petition has been prepared for pres
entation to the District Supreme Court
judges by Attorneys Leekie, Fulton &
Cox, asking permission to argue be-
fore them a question growing out Of
the decision yesterday. as to their
powe. to remove the members Of
the board of education. Attorney
Leckic stated this morning that he
thought the point in issue which it
was desired to present was not clearly
before the judges when they decided adj
yersely to DIR. Chancellor yesterday, and
for that reason they ask for permission to
make their contentious clear.
tits not contended, It was stated by At
torney Leckie. that the District Supreme
Court could remove the board as. a board,
but 1T is contended. that the Supreme
:ourt can remove Individual members of
for cause. Charges have been filed spe-
cifically against Messrs. Evermann and
Horner, and upon the basis of those
charges, 1t Is contended. the Supreme
Court has power TO remove the two men,
bers. While the petition filed with the
court sets out an alleged prejudice on the
part Of the entire board. Attorney Leckie
declares. their position is that this general
prejudice is due TO the acts Of the two ac-
cused members. Why they are prejudiced
is set out in the petition. and it is asked
that these two individual members Of
the board be removed.
That the District Supreme Court, which
has the power of appointing the members
Of the board Of education, has the right
to remove any individual member of that
board for cause shown Is the contention
of Attorneys Leckie, Fulton & Cox in be-
half of DR.. Chancellor. and it is this point
which the lawyers ask they be allowed to
argue.
The petition for this hearing will be
| He'd with Chief Justice Claibaugh as soon
as it is revised
Further action by the court on the
part of DR.. Chancellor will not be re-
quested until after the board shalA make
a decision upon the charges against him,
according to the statement of the super
intendents attorneys this morning.
Views of Senator Gallinger.
Senator Galllnger chairman of the
Senate District committee. who had
much to do with the passage Of the new
law governing the school system, stated
last night that the present controversy
between the board Of education and the
superintendent which they appointed
was a cause Of regret and threatened
to do much harm, and he added that the
best way out of the tangle seemed to
him to be a thorough investigation Of
| local conditions by Congress.
| In this regard he said:
| Under the terms of the existing school
law the superintendent has supervision
! in all matters pertaining to instruction.
anC, the board of education has a right
| to try the superintendent upon charges
affecting his character and efficiency, but
| in this instance 1t seems grotesque for a
| board that condemned him in advance to
be prosecutor. judge and jury In the pro
posed trial of the superinte ndent. For
that reason it occurs to me that Congress
should take cognizance of the situation,
and as chairman of the committee on the
District of Columbia Of the Senate 1
shall. unless an adjustme mt is reached
before Congress meets. bring the matter
to the attention of the Senate. and ask
that full investigation of the contro-
| versy shall be entered into by the COM
mittee. That seems the only feasible and
practical way to get at the facts, in the
hope that conclusion may be reached
that will save our schools from the dan
gers that now threaten them
As for Delay.
Another move TO delay the trial of Dr.
Chancellor was made by his attorneys
when the board met this afternoon to
hear the evidence. 1t was stated that 1t
was physical fnpossibility for them to
be ready to conduct the defense of DR..
Chancellor today. The time has been so
short, it was contended. and the records
of the school board so long and the con-
duct of the schools under DR.. Chancellor
had been of such duration that they can
i not prepare for the defense. If they were
given the proper time, 1t was stated the
"chaff could be separated from the
wheat in the records and the trial could
proceed rapidly.
The board, however. opposed any fur
ther delay in the trial, and in response to
that attitude the attorneys for DIR. Chan
cellor stated that they would conduct a
. | cross-examination of the witnesses pro-
, duced by the board.
J Motion to Dismiss Charges.
A formal motion to dismiss the charges
was made by Attorneys Leckie and Full
ton for DR.. Chancellor in the following
words:
William E Chancellor, superintendent