Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-10-06
AGREE ON ESTIMATES
Members of Board of Educa-
ton to Ask for $4,730,340.
SUM NEEDED NEXT YEAR
Appoint Regimental Officers Of High
School Cadets.
CRITICAL OF COMMISSIONERS
Announce Number Of Appointments,
Promotions, Transfers and Other
Changes-Dismissal of
Janitors.
CRITICAL OF COMMISSIONERS

| Janitors.
| The board of education, at a meeting
in the Franklin School building yester-
day, passed on the estimates covering the
| financial needs of the school system for
| the fiscal year beginning July 1, 1909.
deciding to ask Congress for appropria-
tions aggregating s4,73O,34O.
Regimental officers for the High School
Cadets were appointed as follows: Colo
| mel. H. A. Cobaugh of the Mckinley Man
ual Training School: lieutenant colonel,
F. L. Weaver of the Eastern High School;
major 1st Battalion, A. D. Trudgeon of
the Central High School: major, I'd Bat
/ talon. II. G. Chase of the Eastern High
School; major. Sd Battalion, Georges NJ.
Weber of the Mckinley Manual Training
School; regimental adjutant. with the rank
| of captain. A. j. Sinclair, Mckinley Man
ual Training School
| Incidentally the board INDUCED in criti-
| cism of District officials. especially the
| Commissioners. Among the assertions is
| one that they are Withholding official re-
| ports or trying to withhold statements
which contain information which the
| board of education should have in order
| to properly provide for school buildings
| and school children.
Mention of "Incendiary" Report.
| letter was read, in which Maj. ]. J..
| Morrow, Engineer Commissioner. charac-
terizes reports by Fire Chief Belt on fire
| danger in school buildings as 'incen-
diary" and setting forth that report
| of the fire chief containing recopmenda-
| tions for making the Gage School build
| ing safe was called for against his ad-
| vice. In the same letter Maj. MORROW
| recommends minor alterations in the
building in question, which, he thlnkS, Will
| make 1t safe.
| The difference of opinion was based on
| conditions in the addition to the Gage
| School. When the addition was designed
no exits were provided The board OBJ,
| jected. When committee of the board
visited the building few days ago 1t
kfound that two doors had been cut in the
basement. to reach which the pupils must
pass the furnaces, around which f1re
| is said to be most liable to break out.
! The committee asked Fire Chief Belt to
say whether or not the addition was safe.
Engineer Commissioner Morrow investi-
gated. In his letter to the president OF
the board he recommends that one addi-
tional exit be cut in the basement leading
| from the girls playroom and one exit
| from a corridor between the old building
| and the addition.
What Maj. Morrow Says. 2,
1T is believed that these changes will
make the building entirely satisfactory
to your board he concludes. regardless
of any incendiary reports that may be
made by the chief engineer Of the fire
| department. The matter has already been
| referred to him by the commission against
my recommendation.
| The report Of Fire Chief Belt. to which
reference is made, submitted to the
/ nr1n 6y-f hn n n ha
| Commissioners. After reviewing condi-
lions in the building, he recommends that
| in the old building the ceiling In the pas
! sageway on the girls side over the hot
! lined; to obviate the necessity for the
| boys passing the two furnaces, that the
doorway leading from the boys playroom
| in the old building TO the furnace be
In the addition be not used: that an exit
be cut from the girls playrOom."
Further he says: lone of the rooms
on the second floor of this building is to
order for these small children to make
their escape from the building they will
have to go down hallway approximately
fifty-three feet long in order to reach the
stairways in the old building. This is
true also of the pupils on the third floor
have the honor to recommend that prop
err fire escapes be erected on the east wall
of this addition so that pupils in four
class rooms will not have to enter the
halls in event of fire. These fire escapes
| should be in the nature of outside iron
stairways, with broad treads. easy rise,
| wide platforms and hand rails OH each
| side of the stairs
| The board members expressed approval
| of these recommendations.
Board Not Satisfied.
In commenting on the report Capt.
| Oyster pointed out that the board is
not satisfied with conditions in the new
| Ketcham School. which was first used last
| year. He said that four-foot stairway
of wood is the only exit from the assem-
bly, room on the top floor of the build
| ing.
| II don't think We ought to use that
| stairway or the general assembly room
! until it is safe for the children" he re-
! marked. Further. We asked for a report
! on the sanitary conditions of the new
| building report has been made by the
| health inspector. but the Commissioners
refuse to give il to us.
| They have pigeonhOled official business.
! 1t contains information about which the
board ought to know if it is to take
proper care of the school children, and
they have no right to pigeonhole 1t.
| Then there is another matter which
they also have apparently pigeonholed.
| Some time ago a commission of represen-
| tative citizens and experts was appointed
| to revise the building regulations. Now. I
! understand that if the suggested regula-
| tons were in effect we would not have
| the trouble with defective school buildings
| such as We have had. But that report
seems to be pigeonholed."
Wants School Architect.
When the recommendation in the esti-
mates for a school architect was read
| District officials came in for more atten-
| ton.
Il hope the necessity for this officer
will be presented to Congress" Capt.
OYSTER declared. The District officials
| who are now drawing the plans for school
buildings do not know what We want"
| Again when the estimate for money for
| enforcing the child labor law was read
| board members stated they thought the
work under the law was not properly i'm
posed on the school officials. but should
be carried out by District officials
/ If this work had been transferred To
some a the globe chasers II would nave
been Properly placed Capt. Oyster COM
mented. 1T belongs to the District Com
missioners. Those drawing large sala-
ries and globe chasing ought to do the
work.
The board decided to ask Congress for
appropriations amounting in all to 81, 73O.-
$40. sum which. they declare. is very
modest. Last year the board asked for
; ,l6l,2lO, and was given $2697. AT.
Asks Special Appropriations
Among the special appropriations re-