Los Angeles herald., 1909-02-06
TEACHER WHIPS
FATHER AND BOY
PARENT OBJECTS TO SONS
PUNISHMENT
GOES TO TAKE ONE PUNCH AT
PRINCIPAL
Pedagogue Proves Athletic, and AL
though He Had Two Opponents,
He Gave Irate Man Se-
we're Beating

Three hundred school children Of the
Washington school, Pasadena, were the
witnesses this morning of fist fight in
which their principal, c. S. Thompson,
and j. J. Hicks, president of the Pasa-
dena Plumbing company, struck each
other repeatedly, clinched and rolled
over on the ground. Mr.. Hicks admits
he got the worst of the fight, but the
school principal did not escape without
injury, his nose having been bruised
and cut and a large lump raised on his
head by some of the blows received.
Men living in the vicinity finally sep
arated them, although Mr.. Hicks
claims there was partiality in their
separation, inasmuch as when he got
on top they pulled him off, and when
Mr.. Thompson was on top the bystand-
ers were slower about coming to his
rescue.
The trouble had its origin in the pun
ishment of one of the Hicks boys, Eu-
gene, years old, who was spanked
yesterday by Principal Thompson for
throwing stones in the school yard.
Both sides of the story agree in the
main, although there are slight differ
ences of opinion. These led to the
fight
Eugene and his brother Leslie, the
latter Is years old, have, according to
the school authorities, given trouble not
only at the washington school but on
previous occasions at the Lincoln and
Roosevelt schools, because of their
miSchievouS natures
Mr.. Thompson has been trying par
ticularly to stop the throwing of stones
iE the yard, and yesterday saw Eugene
in the act. Mr.. Thompson says he took
the child to his office and spanked him;
that the older brother, Leslie, inter
fered, demanding to know why his
brother was being punished, and other
wise was impudent, and that he, Mr..
Thompson, shook Leslie. In neither
case, according to the school authori-
ties to whom the matter has been re-
ported, did Mr.. Thompson exceed his
authority or give excessive punishment
Children Give Story
Mr.. Hicks aid his children declare
that the first stone was thrown by Mr..
Thompson's own boy, who is pupil at
the school, and that Eugene simply
threw the same stone back at the
Thompson boy. Then the principal
seized Eugene and carried him to the
office, where the spanking began. Les
lie, accompanied by several of the larg-
er boys of the school, who had wit
messed the whole affair, followed Mr..
Thompson to his office and endeavored
Thompson would not listen to them and
pushed them out of the room, at the
same time, according to Leslie, seizing
him by the neck and shaking him back
and forth. Leslie says he was choked
during the shaking.
Further, Mr. Hicks says, when his
wife went to enter a remonstrance,
Mr.. Thompson talked to her in what
she considered and which Mr.. Hicks
believes to have-been an insolent man
ner, telling her he has taught school
for twenty-five years without her as
sistance and he thought he could con-
tinue so to do.
This morning Mr.. Hicks, accompanied
by his sons, drove to the schoolhouse
from their home at 1898 North Fair
Oaks avenue. Mr.. Hicks says himself
he fully intended to start fight, that
he expected to get whipped, but wanted
the satisfaction of taking at least one
punch at the principal.
When Mr.. Thompson approached
Hicks asked him if he was the principal
of the school, and on Mr.. Thompson's
replying that he was, Mr.. Hicks struck
at him with the buggy whip.
Mr.. Thompson closed ia, smote Mr.,
Hicks violently on the jaw, and then
the two clinched. Neither of them is
big man, yet the fight, from pugil-
istic standpoint, is said to have been a
good one while it. lasted. Both men
were bleeding at the nose when they
were finally torn apart.
Leslie, according to the school au-
thorities, to whom Mr.. Thompson made
his report, assisted his father in the
fight by twining his arms around the
principals legs and hanging on like a
little bulldog.
Neither Mr.. Thompson nor Mr.. Hicks
will take the matter into the courts,
although the details We're given the po-
lice this morning with that end in view