Los Angeles herald., 1908-06-19

Last Sunday a letter was received by Inc
Herald from woman who has three Snilu ~.
In the public schools OF Los Angeles. ine iee
ter bore the woman'a full name ana ADDRESS,
and as she complied In other ways with ,ne
rules of the Letter Box her communication
was printed in that department under tne
usual disavowaI of any responsibility on the
part OF the editor for the opinions OF corre-
spondents. The signature printed was Mrs.
:. A D." Since Monday scores OF letters nav. nase
been received on the subject. Most OF them
from parents who have children IN local
schools. With a single exception these CORE,
spondents have supported Mrs. s. A. DIS
contention that there is a constant and BURDEN
some demand upon parents for money Tor
extras and gTatuities Many OF these letters
have not been printed because correspondents
have failed to give names and addresses. Some
writer's explain they are afraid to give their
names, fearing they might be published Fol-
lowing is a statement by DR.. 70. G. Moore
superintendent of Los Angeles public scnoois'
TN THE first place I want vehe-
mently to deny the charge of graft
Il on the part of the teachers and
school authorities, and to challenge
and one to produce a single instance
OF the kind In the city schools. The
manifest injustice of such a charge
without sufficient warrant, launched
against public servants who serve the
city as faithfully and well as the teach
ers of the city schools, needs no COM
ment. 1t is true that education Is some-
what expensive. and not entirely with
out cost to parents of children, but 1t
is not true that any money is misap-
propriated by teachers, and nothing can
be more demoralizing to the schools,
more dispiriting to the teachers, or
more subversive of discipline and that
fine respect that pupils must have
toward those who instruct them than
the careless bandying about of such
charges. II the people want good
schools they must see to 1t that they
are not reviled and illuminated when
they are in fact above suspicion.
Further, / want to say that the office
of the superintendent of schools is the
complaint department of the school sys-
tenn, and tnasmuch as we make spe-
cial effort to give careful attention to
every matter that is brought to us,
and have received no complaints what
ever such as are here alleged, 1t would
seem that the evil complained of Is not
sufficiently serious to make itself known
in the regular and established way.
The school department is certainly the
most sensitive of all the public depart
ments. 1t deals with children, and
through children with their parents, and
children do not always succeed in re-
porting matters correctly. Every morn
ing when I come to my office face the
possibility of having to adjust 10000
difficulties during the day, for there are
34,S00 children at school, and each child
has two parents, and each child runs
the risk OF being misunderstood by the
teacher and each teacher of being mis-
understood as many times as there are
parents represented at the school room.
Then there are all the other difficulties
that come from vicious and unwar-
ranted attacks. When all these things
are considered 1t will be seen that 1t is
quite impossible to educate the chill
dren of the city without generating
heat from the friction of misunder-
standing. And the surprising thing,
after all, is that so great work can
be accomplished with so few difficult
ties and SO little ruffiing of the spirit.
Nevertheless, the schools ought not to
be talked about. They ought to be SO
good that no evil can be said of them.
The people ought to be SO good that
they will not invent any evil concern
ing them. Free books will not prevent
their complaining. for where free books
exist the murmuring rises to heaven
Just the same.
I am thoroughly in sympathy with
the view that no money should be re-
quired of the children in the schools
LOT any purpose, ana I1dI no money
should ever pass from the pupil to the
teacher. I happen myself to have been
one of the poor boys who could not
muster cents on occasion, and am
not old enough to have forgotten the
bitterness of being put at such q dis
advantage in my own eyes and the eyes
OF my fellows. No, the poor boy and
the poor girl must never be even in the
slightest degree Inundated and handi-
capped in the work of the schools, and
the poor parents heart must never be
wrung because her child cannot get the
things that are Indispensable to an
American education.
It has been our endeavor ever since
coming into this Office, and at the same
time 1t has been the earnest endeavor
of the board of education, to reduce the
expenses of both high school and ele-
mentary school attendance to a mini
mum. It is possible to reduce COM
mencement expenses. and something
has been done in that direction. Much
more could be done IL the members of
the graduating class were put into cap
and gown--the academic uniform that
the young lords of the middle ages were
put into when their vanity over their
fine clothes became too pronounced.
High school societies have been cur
tailed, and high school entertainments