Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-05-07
MAYOR HEARS WOMEN
Female Teachers Plead Their
Cause Before Mcclellan.
SALARY INCREASE, BILL
Belief That Gotham's Executive Will
Veto the White Measure.
HEARING AT THE CITY HALL
Twenty Policemen Present to Preserve
order-only an Hour Of Talk
Allowed on Each Side.
HEARING AT THE CITY HALL

NEW YORK, May Mayor Mcclellan
was timekeeper and referee yesterday In
what may or may not have been the last
battle which the women school teachers of
this city have been waging to get equal sal
aries with the men in most Of the grades
of the public schools.
Inc mayor held public hearing on the
"nite Dill. which went through the legis-
lature with only four votes against It after
some campaigning on the part Of the wom-
en- that will long be remembered at the state
capital At Albany they simply bowled
over every man that showed I'D In opposi-
uoh and yesterday they moved on the
mayor with enthusiasm. notwithstanding
ominous reports from the city hall that
'ne mayor mas decided to veto the bill.
To protect his honor Commissioner ping.
nam thoushtfuily sent twenty iarge-sized
poncemen The council chamber was Sc
lected as place that would insure safety.
q. least TO the mayor. The mayors chair
was placed so as to overlook q large horse
snoe pit. the walls Of which could be scaled
WIN difncuity. The approaches to the left
ana right are ordinarily unprotected. but
s ene mayor engineers threw up on the two
hanks a line of breastworks consisting Of
some heavy desks and an abatis of chairs.
me nearing was set for go O'Clock.
A .aH's WITH the women came some men
AAISAi was "fBdI the teachers called
them- Most of the aldermen found 1t con-
Venient to show up and get listed as such.
Rules Of the Contest.
Lieut.. Kennel arranged that the oppo-
nents should sit on the right side of the
nan ana the proponents On the left The
raised seats in the rear were for the friends
of either side When the doors were cnened
at O'Clock the army swept into the haIi
inc mayor announced that he would give
eacn side exactly one hour Mrs. N
Gs s,hn men was the first speaker for the bill,
one was dressed in black and wore an old
rose nat She said that en- appeal to the
BOARD or education for higher salaries tho
teachers had found that they could not cot
any reoress unless the words male and
law. VI 'he present
the left pp'e iiom
Bang! Bang! went the mayor.s paye,
Il must insist" said His honor .,h.4
tnere be no manifestations of either or
prevail or disapproval" "p
Oh. isn't that too bad" said one woman
mayor. '"'u the
Miss Margaret F. O'Connell spoke for the
women principals. whose maximum nav ia
$2,ooO against $500 for the men.
Want to Cheer.
Again the women Seemed to be dying to
make demonstration such as the Albany
solons had quailed before, but rap. ran
rap. went the gavel, and around them were
the police
Then came Lima E. Gano Of the Wadleieh
hieh Schooi; She told In solemn voice
how the call had come to her one dark
night to join the Interborough Associa-
ton. I'VE were informed" she said. that
there was disposition to raise salaries at
o9th street. but that We had better not say
anything about It.. went home that night
and thought the matter over, and 1t came
to me that there was an association where
there was a broader field and where one
could work from under cover. / became
that night member of the marlborough
Association"
What do you mean by place where
you could work from under Govern asked
the mayor.
Because we were told not to do the work
openly" retorted Miss Gano. while the
leaders of the left on the front seats nodded
approval
some of the women. When a primary
teacher got up to favor the bill the mayor
wanted to know how 1t affected her. 1t
has been said that the bill works an in
justice to these teachers because there are
no mems salaries to equalize them with.
The reply of the women to this was that
the bill helped the primary teachers by
raising the minimum salary in q teachers
first year from 800 to $40.
The last to speak for the bill was Miss
Grace c. Strachan. superintendent. Miss
Strachan has been the associations big
gun in Its legislative campaign. She was
becomingiy dressed in black. relieved by a
pearl necklace and several diamond orna-
ments. She swept forward to the bar, her
hands filled with notes and clippings. She
replied to the charge of favoritism in the
pending measure by saying that the only
schedule at present in which the board
departed from the requirements of the pres
ent law was in favor Of the men teach
ers.
The Opposition.
Commissioner Harrison started in to at
tack the teachers propaganda. but the
mayor brought him up with a round turn
by saying:
Miss Strachan has made an exceedingly
good arguments on this bill and its merits,
and you haven't got to the point at ALL"
President w. L. Ettnger of the Male
Teachers and Principals Association de-
nounced the bill and denounced it as based
"It will deprive boys Of men teachers
and will complete the DENOMINATION Of the
schools, he said. 'The women have not
based 1t on the ground that their salaries
are insufficient or on the increased cost of
living but simply to assert the principle
that O woman should get as much as q
man."
Representatives of several taxpayers as
sociations also spoke In protest on the
ground Of the cost.
Mayor Mcclellan escaped down the pri-
vate stairway at the close of the hearing,
but the teachers still had the aldermen,
who were very nice to them. -
1t Is generally believed that the mayor
will veto the bill on the ground that II dis