Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-01-02
A Question of Motives.

Recently the Times In the same breath IN
which it severely criticised Superintendent
Chancellor modestly pronounced all other
criticism upon him than its own to he base
less malicious and ineffective. To sustain
Itself in it's curious dual role OF slappins
DR. Chancellor with one hand ana Oh
throwing mud at fellow critics with the
other. the Times now undertakes by
painstaking search of the columns of The
Star to find evidence of malice shown by
this paper toward the superintendent
It's amazing, ponderously constructed.
Long Primer-typed, double-eaded whole
paged. many-thousand- wOrded. editorial
broadsides, devoted heretofore to thunder
GUS Nominations upon the deterioration
in the Life Saving Service; The Lumber
Trust irregularities in Postal Rates ;
"Our American Dressmakers' The Fatal
Gift of Beauty and like thrilling topics.
have on recent occasions been given up to
reprintng extracts from The Stars col
Nmns-editorials, news articles. cartoons
Ind even the quips and rhyming jingles or
Uncle Jasper in his Answers to Core
spondents": all intended to show with what
truly diabolical intent The Star has been
pursuing the Great and Good Chancellor
While men prominent in the public view.
L
fully to their unfiattering portrayal by the
cartoonists. the lynx-eyed Times sees only
devilish malice in The Stars pictures of
the G. and G. Chancellor. And yet The Star
portraits are by means distorted cartca-
lures. but are recognized by everybody as
the most life-like pictures of him ever
made.
But our neghbor has done its readers
a favor by its reproduction of Star sayings
upon school matters and DR.. Chancellor.
1T has never before had in its editorial col
nmns such a presentment of logical argu-
ment. words of wit and wisdom and candid
good sense. The Times would do well to
continue to fill its editorial page with quo
tatons from The Star.
on accumulation The Star finds no mac
curacies. even unntentional or trivial, In
It's statements at Issue. While 1t deprecated
the selection of an outsider as superintend-
ent. it conceded, after Dr. Chancellors
election. that he was probably "a man OF
ability and energy and said that with
all others who have the good of the public
schools at heart, 1t trusts sincerely that
the experiment of bringing him here will
be successful" and emphasized the duty of
the board to stand by him without indie
Cison, now that he had been selected. 1t
rightly held Supt. Chancellor chiefly re-
sponsble' for the -dtsmissals, appointments,
etc. which il criticised Illegal, since the
law gives him the initiative in such cases
and forbids the board to act except upon
his written recomm endation The Star
thinks its contemporary is wrong in intimat
ing that the board violated the law on this
point and usurped the superintendent
powers. relieving him of responsibility and
~ he
viewed the southern trip as made in accord
ance with the expressed desire of Dr. Chan
cellor. and it still thinks, in the light Of
experience. that this trip was untimely and
unwise. 1t considered that the superintend-
ent should have been visiting and inspiring
his own schools. white and black. framing
a printed course of study mot the daily
program which has brought distress to
the teachers) and explaining and advocating
the school estimates before the approprIa-
tons committee instead of spending local
tax money in educating himself in respect
to negro education and in ransackng the
south for colored teachers to import. The
Stars information is that the Times is
wrong in its statements concerning the
origin of the southern visit, and that GER
tain members of the board. colored and
white are indignant that the burden of
primary responsibility for the trip should
be shifted to their shoulders.
The Star has never printed a word con-
corning DIR. Chancellor which it did not be
leve to be true and which it does not now
believe to be true. and not word of CEN
sure which was not prompted by good mo-
t!ves and designed to give fair play to the
teachers, individually and collectively, to
protect them against arbitrary acts and to
promote in every way possible the welfare
OF the local school system.
This paper is gratihed to have public at
teution called to its vigorous and partly eff
fectlve criticism of the misconstruction and
peryersion of the new school law which
caused it at first not much to bless the
teachers with system of automatic pro-
motions as 10 curse them with a system of
automatic annual decapitations; which
brought anxiety and distress upon all the
teachers and unjust deprivation of their
means of livelihood upon few; which
instead of continuing and promoting the
teachers was treated as Diminishing them:
and which Knocked them with the delusive
pretense OF protection against dismissal
without Il fair hearing through failing Qt
was said 10 require that there should be
hearing The Star is glad that largely
through its insistent efforts in this behalf
some intustices have been corrected and O.
heavy burden OF nerve-racking anxiety and
apprehension has been removed from the
teachers.
The Star confidently anticipates that tne
est!mable and greatly respected representa-
tive Neutrality-suspicious. on the board Of edu-
cation. as soon as they are convinced In any
case that their course has been ilI-advised
viii unhesitatingly take the action which,
equity suggests.
For more than half century. dating back
to period very many years before the
editor Of the Times was born The Star
has been in the habit OF expressing its
opinions with candid freedom upon all mat
ters affecting the interests of the people OF
Washington.
Its interest in the welfare OF the schools
has been of the keenest. There has been
no project for the betterment OF school con-
ditiOns for the benefit OF the teachers
or the development Of the public
educational system in which II has not help
fully participated. 1t proposes to continue
to serve the people of Washington in this
capacity, and, whenever necessary In the
public interest, TO criticise without fear or
favor the official acts OF public servants.