The Washington herald., 1908-02-26

schools in this District, and for reasons
any one who cares 10 Inquire. as to the
problems here. can learn readily.
Few Know Situation.
Until recently, few citizens Of the Dis
trlct. and by far fewer people outside.
knew the true situation as TO the board
its singular composition. four white men.
two white women, two colored men, and
one colored woman; its erroneous con-
eeption OF its duties and responsibilities,
as exempllfied in the roaring farce Of the
several trials that it has conducted
which, to my mind, were conducted in a
most brutal, ignorant. and indecent man
ner. their willingness to change the
minutes 10 suit their convenience; their
unloading upon the schools Of thousands
Of dollars worth, Of what I regard, useless
junk; their manufacture of rules, which,
If carried out, would tend TO defeat the
statutes and put to defiance the will OF
the nation as expressed in its laws-these
things have at least been displayed and
the publies attention called TO them.
other Features Recalled.
Since the trial, many things have been
done or omitted by the board that have
multiplied my reasons for satisfaction
with my present manner of life. The at
tempt to force the signatures of all teach
ers 20 petition of approval OF the devi-
Gus course of the board-but happily frus-
trated by the superior character of a
large minority-and it has recently been
called to my attention that members Of
the board have given notice TO teachers
that the friends Of Chancellor must be
put out next June This, to my mind.
shows conclusively the abomination of
moral desolation now visited on the
schools under the government of the
board of education.
Il regret that at present / am not IN a
position to help as 1 would like those
officers and teachers who because they
have borne testimony in public or in pri-
vate as To the kind of work d)ne here
by me. are already the victims of the i'll
will OF the members OF this remarkable
board Of education
Makes Added Charge.
But I am warranted in adding that as
long as a board. of two sexes and of two
races. whose members are irremovable.
and who are absolutely responsible to no
authority not even the authority that ap-
points them. is intrusted with the duty Of
confirming and rejecting the recommend
ations OF a superintendent Of schools as
70 teachers, textbooks, and courses OF
study. while being shut out from all busi-
ness affairs such as buildings sites.
buildings. salaries, and purchases. il viii
be the victim of lOg-rolling. Office grant
ing. and other forms of corruption.
"The remedy for the teachers is not
any special superintendent. but a new
dispensation; a new and simpler system
by which merit snail come TO its own.
and responsibility can be placed where it
belongs.
No Valid Reason for II.
mo one in higher authority can dis
cover valid reason for retaining a
board In control Of the educational work
OF the schools In such a case there
can be but one outcome The Congress
and the President may be busy. very
busy; they are indeed too busy t. be
longer annoyed by n controversy as TO
whether a miscellaneous lot of white and
colored people, without any of the re-
auired Qualifications and without author
Ey, or an educational expert shall con-
troll the schools.
For three months We have all awaited
the investigation by the board Itself Of
its own accused members, some Of
whom demanded that they be investi-
gated Why hasn't the board made such
an investigation? Obviously II is too dan
gerous matter for investigation Wheth-
er superintendent or privats- citizen,
have stood ready to assist in this in
quiry."