Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-04-13
A SANDER Conspiracy.

OF the Educational Review, Superintendent
ChancellCr's recognized newspaper organ.
and reprinted in yesterdays Star. marks
another step in the campaign of defama-
ton directed against this community in
DR.. Chancelor's behalf. 1t supplies an
other anonymous communication to &C
company that previously appearing in the
Educational Review to be investigated by
the board of education for the purpose Of
ascertaining to what extent the superin-
tendent and his lieutenants have partici
pated in and are responsible for these
ISLANDERS.
This publication sIurs discontinued teach
ers and officials incompetent and flag
rantly immoral" slurs some of the people
OF Washington as hackers OF the 'incompe
tent and fiagrantly immoral and slurs
''the old-time political methods of school
administration for which high profess
sional educational ideals and standards
being substituted (as alleged by DR..
Chancellor
This defamation of discontinued teachers
and officials is peculiarly cowardly and ma
lignant because the school authorities here
In Washington dncluding DR.. Chancellor,
disclaIm any action on their part in relation
to these teachers and officials which is in
II ,rality No one of them has been thus
accused and tried before dismissal. 1t
woulu simplify matters If some Chancellor
ite would in a responsible way make the
specific accusation of immortality against
some teacher or official. to the end that
through the courts the accused may have
indire thy the trial which DR.. Chancellor has
denied and to the end that some one may
be convicted and punished either of i'm
morality or of SANDER.
The Star does not believe that any one
OF standing in Washington would seek to
appoint or retain teacher in our
schools person fagrantly immoral, or
proven to be immoral. But it also be-
ieyes that the community demands fair
play and a square deal for all teachers,
whenever accused. and that it detests the
spiteful lying slanderer, the assassin of
reputation. The cancer of immortality. if 1t
is found to exist. and the cancer of malig-
nant SANDER of the innocent, II it is found
to exist. must both be cut out relentlessly
from the school system
The board of education Ordinarily in
response to the peremptory urgency of Dr.
Chancellor) has dismissed a teacher ac-
cused of writing anonymous, mildly
defamatory letter. The community ex-
poets il to investigate promptly and vigor-
ously and with the same even handed JUS
tice into the connection of it's employee the
superintendent with the anonymous SLAM
ders in the Educational Review, and with
other slurs upon his associates or su-
periors in interviews and speeches This
is the right course the just course, the
one to which the board is committed by the
precedent in the Cardozo case and which
if ell. F,lIr
ton and in self-defense
The board has never publicly (Whateyer
its members may have done privately dis
associated itself from the vicious defam-
atory attacks made by the superintendent
or anonymously in his behalf slurring and
discrediting our Commissioners, our courts,
our young men, our teachers our school
system. our institutions, officials and the
community in general. There is in evidence
n nest of vipeIs splitting venom at all
things pertaining to Washington. The
board OF education is with and of the COM
munlty. VIII II not extrpate the vipers?
The people Of Washington have been pa
tent and long suffering with Superint end
ent Chancellor. They have seen him enter
upon his labors here with u total miscon-
ception of local conditions and needs and of
his relation to the schools and the conlmu-
nifty. They quickly perceived his basic
error in his assumption that Congress by
the school legislation had condemned our
teachers. schools and the community in
general; that nothing good existed here and
that if anything sound and wholesome and
progressive was 10 prevail it must be i'm
ported from Paterson and be injected by
Dr. Chancellor
On the basis of this error they have seen
him perpetrate a series of blunders, inflct
ing cruel injustice upon individual teachers
and upon the teachers as a whole, and an
tagonizing and slurring in succession Of
hcials and institutions which the commu-
nifty has held in deserved respect They
have him, they believed, demon
strate his incapacity, as a practical admin
istrator. to deal an executive with men
and women. His associates and subordi-
mates have found him, now extensively dom
ineering, now Sinking responsibility. tact
less and selfshly inconsiderate at all times
There has been every disposition on the
communitys part to give him full oppor-
tunity TO make good; failing 10 do SO. he
has requited this consideration on Wash
ington's part by wanton and baseless at
tacks upon the community, its officials, its
institutions, its people. Washington is
growing very tired of DIR. Chancellor.