The advocate. [volume] (Charleston, W. Va.) 1901-1913, 1909-07-08

Il ltpGsof charges against Prof. Roscoe
sDnkiing Bruce. Assistant Superin-
ssxS Sndent Of Public School, alleging
~ bat he is unfit to hold the office.
Eh8 charges are preferred by Messrs
SSSsd 3. Marshal and James l.. Neill,
rho are said to represent an organi-
3atiop known as The Citizens AS
q ISOLATION of Washington" The text
4 6f% tue allegations are closely in line
N with several articles which have ap-
8 peared In the Boston Guardian, over
i the signature of Mr.. F. H. M. Muir
ray, OF Alexandria, Va.
4 II sSs The charges have been read by the
7, Board OF Education and referred to a
& 4pBciHi committee, which will have
Il Them examined by a competent at
q torney to see what they amount to-
u IA the meantime, Prof. Bruce is keep
h ING his own counsel, declining to dis
] pnss the matter, pro or con. Asked
sSRer q statement, he said:
,s s3s II feel that it would not be pro-
}1essional for me to make any ex-
u plantation at this time. l have moth
q ing to say"
u Prof. Bruce does not appear to
A be worried over the situation, and
n HIS friends intimate very strongly
that mountain is being made out
sfof a molehill; that the "Association"
acting In the matter Is composed Of
& only i've or six persons, each having
I, O. personal grievance; that the Board
I EVN<1f tot prx,o Of
q that at the proper time it would be
shown that the Superintendent ha l
done, nothing for which censure
should be directed toward him. The
q people generally seem to be standing
3 by Bruce and as the charges be taken
4,8p for several weeks, there Is be-
q N9f that before the times comes for
h q further hearing the skies will be so
clear that the case will attract little
fSOT no attention.
s$ The basis Of the trouble seems to
4 lie In a certain rivalry that has ap-
, parantiy grown up between the
friends OF M Street High School on
{ the one hand and the friends Of
Armstrong Technical High School ON
d the other. The complainants aver
that Prof. Bruce has been comparing
y the Armstrong School with M Street,
so the disparagement of the latter,
II and that when a competitive exami-
nation showed the work OF the pu-
y Oils OF the M Street School to be as
food, IL not better, than that of the
students Of the Technical School he
failed to make the result known. The
GOmplainants further allege that
s Prof. Bruce delivered several ad-
dresses before pupils Of the colored
I, grammar schools and invariably put
I'm good word for hte manual train
fhg school. Among the other causes
for dissatisfaction are that Prof.
Bruce was discourteous to the prin-
V Gipal Of NJ Street High School, limit
IA ed the latter's power Of suspension,
/ end subsequently charged him with
/ Iailure to maintain discipline Prof
, Bruce is also blamed by the Asso-
\ citation for allowing Congress to ap-
pfopriate 100000 for the mainte-
nance Of Washington white schools,
while the colored schools got only
$4,000. They think Bruce should
have gone to Congress and fought
81 with that body until proper equaliza-
tipn had been made. Something is
said, too, about the lowering Of the
3 ideals of the schools under Bruce
administration, and there are ear
1. marks, here and there, of the old
Il atrnggle between the adherents Of the
Bo-called "higher education" and the
81 advocates Of industrial training. -
d THAT argument has been so thor
i 0ughly threshed out in this communi-
5 w and q system Of correlation Of the
81 sAwO Ideas has been so generally
/ agreed upon that no considerable
1 number Of local educators can be in
\. duced to become excited over the
i subject now. Prof Bruce is known
Ito Believe In emphazing the manual
d training for the masses Of the Negro
a Face--and for the masses of any
d race, for that matter-and while he
b has been friendly to the development
laE Armstrong School, he has moi
3ghown 1t any favor at the expense Of
me academic training, represented BY
.. HE courses at M Street. The Boart
*
SsS5 rstands this and is satisfied will
B methods he has pursued, and the
81 dsrk Of public thought in the city
49, aM lakewise In accord with him, al
as your correspondent has beer
s. ~ skos observe.
q EftDtish the charges aver tina
ESsg Brtce 10 unit to longer serv,
i j!s sbstant superintendent In charg
Il Esl0red sehools, his dismissal il
ascifcally asked for. The ex
condition of the coloret
0le and the improvements tina
81 5heet made In them since tn,
; q Of Prof Bruce are regarde,
y friends as a good and SUN
nswer to all that is being alleg
4 ssihst him.