The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1908-01-29

.
/ school situation was taken yesterday,
when the subcommittee appointed by Sen
/ ator Gallinger TO investigate the school
question decided unanimously to report
4 favorably the bin Of Senator Dolliver.
/ proposing to abolish the board and the
Other executive position created by the
present school law.
/ one Of the most significant features OF
| this decision was the fact that Senator
Burkett, chairman of the subcommittee
and author of the District school law,
was one of the warmest advocates Of the
step which was taken.
! The Deliver bin will come up on Fri
/ day next ia the regular meeting of the
! District committee, and it is understood
/ TO bee practically assured that the COM
mittee viii vote TO report il 10 tho Sen
ate with "a recommendation that st pass.
/ one or two changes may be- made in the
/ bin as il now stands, however. before it
reaches the Senate. one that is sdvo-
Gated, and one that would have the in
/ dorsement of the citizens of Washing
I ton, is that the power OF appointing and
removing the director Of education which
/ the bill proposes 10 create be vested in
/ the District Commissioners. instead Of
/ IN the government commissioner of edu-
cation. The bin now provides that the
commissioner of education shall appoint
the director Of the local schools. but SEN
alor Deliver himself pointed out before
/ the subcommittee that It contains a de-
4 lect Ia making no provision for the re-
Iaovai Of the director for cause before
( The expiration Of his four years term OF
Office. and stated that he would be sat-
ished should the power DE transferred TO
the District Commissioners.
Sentiment Fayors Change.
/ 1t is known that there is some senti-
ment 10 the District Committee for the
proposition that the Commissioners be
given the power 10 name the proposed
director, but whether this sentiment viii
prove strong enough 70 amend the bill
TO this effect before il reaches the Sen
ate cannot be stated.
That the bill with its main features in
tact In their present form. viii pass the
Senate is the opinion or the Senator's
VINO are behind the measure and those
who have conversed with members Of
the House on the subject have gathered
the impression that it has a good chance
Of getting through the other body also
without any very radical changes. other
than the possibility that the Commis-
sioners may be given The power 10 ap-
point the director
The action Of the subcommittee yes
I terday avcrts the necessity for an in
Nesugaton of the recent wr8ngle between
the board and late superintendent. which.
in the opinion OF the members Of the sub
committee. could do little. if any. good
and would only lead to a rearing OF the
soiled linen which was spread before the
people OF the District during the c0utro-
versy and the sO-calied trial Of the super
intendert. The members Of the sub
committee. since their appointment. have
/ become convinced. all and seyerallv. that
there Is no likelihood that any board
could be selected which would be proof
/ against the faetional differences which
I have caused the present trouble They.
/ therefore. decided TO abandon the priu-
/ cipal Of school board I'm favor of a
more centralized form Of government for
I the local schools and when that decision
/ was reached after the hearing yesterday
/ il became unnecessary 10 have the in
/ quiry.
Those who addressed the board sub
committee yesterday were Senator Dol
/ liver. author of the bill. and Admiral
/ Baird. former president of the board OF
education.
senator Delivers Statement.
Senator Deliver informed the sub
! committee that ne had no technical know
ledge Of the questions involved. but that
he had very strong personal interest
! in the schools, both as a parent with
children attending the schools of the
District. and as tax payer in.the Dis
trict. His only concern. he said. was for
the welfare Of the institution
1t is very great institution" he
said. greater, think. than several Of
our greatest universities put together.
It deals with sixty thousand children. il
/ has seventeen hundred teachers. and IL
has current fund Of several million dol
lars 20 dispose Of These facts alone
would make il a very great Institution
''The thing that has worried me for
several years has been the fact that our
schools here seem 10 be in a continuous
( turmoil of some sort. ] have never
had time TO inquire into the reason for
1t. and I have tried to get used to the
noise and disturbance of IT, But in
these latter months it has in a way got
on my nervous system.
7 have been interested especially I'm
the difficulty that this great corps OF
t teachers-very splendid teachers. as.
think, everybody testihes-labor under in
performing their work i'm the constant
noise Of discussion and public con-
trOveTsy, a controversy that has extended
not only TO the local newspapers. but has
been carried on in the metropolitan news
papers Of the country. so that your at
tention Is directed by editorial articles I'm
New York newspapers TO the condition
of public education in the National Capt.
tai.
City Example TO Nation.
Now. I have felt that this is ma
tional city. Of the S40WC00 which the
schools require annually, the country at
large contributes one-half. Besides that
it is a center Of people generally. There
are thousand strangers who walk
through this Capital every day. and
very remarkable proportion Of them are
teachers from every section. interested In
what the government Of the United States
can do In the way of a public school sys-
| TEN. My general opinion is that our ad-
vertisement has been bad.
II have watched the development Of
school government in the United States
as an old teacher naturally would. and I
| find that nearly everywhere the old sys-
| tenn of education has become obsolete
/ Cities all over the United States have
awakened TO the fact that a large school
| board is a failure as a part Of the mech
anism OF school administration. The re-
| suit is that the tendency in the larger