The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1907-06-04
Mrs. Walter Caldwell Will
Teach in Lane School.
STARTLIVELY DEBATE
Attention Called to Wife of
Deputy County Attorney.
She Has Long Held a Place as
Teacher.

hour every conceivable side of the
question and a number of extraneous
propositions not connected with the
question in any way, the members or
the board of education at regular
meeting last night decided to rescind
its action of couple of weeks ago by
placing Mrs. A. G.. Caldwell negro,
on the teaching force of the Lane
school for the next year In doing this
the board abrogated one of it's rules,
which by the way is not enforced on
all occasions and also took position
as teacher in this school away from
Miss Smith, also a negro, who had
been elected to the position that Mrs.
Caldwell has held.
For some time a rule has been in
force in the management of the To-
peka schools to the effect that as soon
as a teacher marries she is forced to
leave the school service. This rule
became applicable to Mrs. Caldwell
when she married young DR.. Walter
Caldwell, the former Washburn foot
ball star, a few months ago, and when
the board of education made up its
list OF teachers for next year Mrs.
Caldwell's name was dropped and Miss
Smith was named for her place.
Now it seems that there are three
other teachers in the city schools who
N,Fe married but who were not drop
ped from the rolls. One of these is
Mrs. w. 1. Jamison, negro, and the
wife of an assistant county attorney.
Col. John Norton, who brought the
matter before the board last night,
said that the colored people through
out the city could not understand why
the board had Disseminated against
Mrs. Caldwell as in favor of Mrs
Jamison. He insisted that Mrs. Cald-
well was most worthy of having the
place that had been taken from her
inaSmuch as she was not only a COM
petent teacher but was also the wife
OF a young negro doctor, who needed
lsv,--
practice. Col. Norton said the rule
ought to be abolished or Mrs. Jami-
son dropped or Mrs. Caldwell re-em-
ployed. Mr.. Norton called attention
to several petitions from the negroes
of North Topeka in which they pro-
tested against the dropping of Mrs
Caldwell and asking for her rein
statement.
Every member of the board had
two or three speeches to make on the
subject and Mr.. Wilson finally made a
motion that Mrs. Caldwell be engaged
as supply teacher for the negro schools
and classes and that she be given the
first vacancy that occurs. Some more
talk was INDUCED in and this motion
was withdrawn and a motion was fin
ally put, and carried by an almost
unanimous vote, restoring Mrs. Cald-
we'll to her old place in the Lane
school. This vote of restoration also
involved the discharge of Miss Smith,
who was appointed to Mrs Caldwell's
place.
Considerable discussion was also in
dulged in at the meeting on the ques-
ton of adopting supplemental readers
for the city schools. 1t was finally de-
cided to postpone action on the mat
ter until the August meeting of the
board. Mr.. Jordan precipitated the
question in a rather sudden manner
Ny moving that the readers compiled |
by Miss Lizzie Wooster, be adopted as
A11e lam FOL
schools Judge Carver suggested that |
this was too important a subject to be !
disposed of at moments notice and |
suggested that the consideration of it |
be postponed until the August meet |
ing. motion to this effect was car
ried without further discussion
But the effort to give Miss Woos- |
ter's readers at least the endorsement |
of the Topeka board of education |
would not down. Miss Wooster was |
present in the building during the |
meeting but did not enter the board |
room.
Mr.. Roudebush followed the Jordan |
motion with a motion that the board /
of education purchase a set of the !
Wooster readers for each room in the |
grade schools of the city, for use as |
sort of library books or impromptu |
readers At the start of the general |
discussion which followed on the |
question of supplemental readers Mr.. |
Whittemore, the city superintendent |
pointed cut that a complete set of |
these books would not be needed for |
each room as the advanced readers |
would be of no use in the primary |
grades and the primary readers would |
not attract much attention from the |
pupils in the higher grades Mr. |
Roudebush then moved that seventy |
sets of the Wooster readers be pur- |
chased and distributed among the |
school rooms. These readers cost |
S1.S3 set.
In discussing the S11biac+ Mr. ziyor,ar-
man brought out the fact that supple |
mental readers constitute an imposition |
of the worst kind on the parents of the |
school children. According to the state |
law the pupils are required to purchase |
certain books, adopted by the state text /
book commission, and on which a low |
price has been made. In addition to |
purchasing these state text books the |
board of education has required the |
SsIpils to purchase supplemental read |
els. which are used as the actual text /
books instead of the ones adopted by /
the state text book commission. So in
stead of getting their books cheap as
was intended by the trainers of the state
text book law, the pupils of the city
schools have paid VIVA the publish
ers desire. Mr.. Zimmerman also said |
that ii was ridiculous to decide on a sup
Elementary reader before the board had |
even looked at new readers which had |
been adopted by the state text book
commission.
MI zimmerman SAID, however, that if |
the board was going to purchase books
for the school rooms to be used for Ii
brary purposes he would like them to
buy copy of DR.. William A. Quayle's
book, In Gods Out of Doors for
Zach school room. Mr.. Zimmerman said
that DR.. Quayle was friend of his
and his book was a most valuable one
Mr. Roudebush said he was agreeable
to buying these Quayle books. Then a
most general discussion was INDUCED in
for a considerable length of time with
the result that the matter was put over
until the August meeting by a vote of
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