The sun., 1910-06-10
SCHOOL BOARD SEEDGDDLES
100 TEACHERS MOTT JERSEY
CITY MEETING.

q cut IN summer Yaeatlons Beard
Flees Upstairs. LRcils the Deer and
Hstes 70 slAck % the New Ruie.
Seven hundred public school teachers
Stormed the City Hall Of Jersey City last
night and invaded q meeting Of the Hoard
Of Education In protest against a new
rule of the board ourtAiling the summer
vacation. The board retreated 20 its
rooms upstairs and stayed there while
the women waited below. now and then
threatening IN charge upon even the
sacred precincts above hut restraining
themselves by advice OF two lawyers
whom they brought along 10 SEE that
nothing was done that ought not To he
done
The new rule was adopted by the board
Last week. By ia provisions the summer
vacation In the public schools Or the city
begins on June - and ends September
/. This is about two weeks shorter than
usual. The cut h partly compensated
for by tho lengthsninE Of the Easter
vacation. but the total result Of the new
rule ia to ieRgthen the working time Of
lhe year Dy I'VE days.
As soon a. the new order Of things had
been made public the teachers began to
get busy. They prepared = petition
signed by practically all the public school
teachers Of the city asking that the old
vacation rule he maintained and asked all
the teachers to be at the City Hall last
night, when Mise Mary Kelly. teacner
l IN No ~ Nk -.
petition.
The meeting began at . olook. The
board passed upon bids for ashcans and
coal and one thing and another for ten
minutes and then George q. Tenant.
president Oi the board. asked II any one
had anything tO say Miss Kelly got up
and read a brief prepared speech giving
the teachers side Of the case and in
sisting that the best interests Of the pupils
was not conserved by the change. She
handed In the petition and all the teachers
applanded loudly.
The applause seemed 20 nettle the mem
bsrA Of the board President Tenant
said that there Was ~ much business be-
lore the board that there was no time for
ceremony and applause WhersupOn he
adiouTned the meeting and the board re-
tired upstairs into executive session.
The teachers were chARrined. They
stood around and talked and criticised
President Tenant for not az least getting
Out Of his chair Whsn he made his httle
speech 20 them. and threatened all sorts
Of things
Then somebody started a report that
the board wished % see a delegation of
the teachers. Four vice-principals were
selected 20 20 upstairs aud treat with the
enemy When the four got 20 the boards
chambers and knocked they were in
formed that nobody wanted to $50 them.
The four returned 10 their supporters and
the attitude Of all hands downstairs be-
came more bOlliaerent.
Az 1000 O'Clock q. Fred Eye. secretary
Of the boaTd. came dOwnstlirs. All TOO
crowded around him ~ once He an
nounced that the new rule Hs 90 vac9tions
would stand an that there would ~ no
further meeting last night. After which
he returned n his collea gles
Mr. Eyes announcement was greeted
with Kisses and oatcalls which followed
him all the way upstairs The women
consulted a. we'll a. they COuld with all
talking AZ once and decided unanimously
TO stay a while The mOre warlike were
In favor of going upstairs and st0rming
the very citadel % the board gaining adj
mittanoe peacefully u possible, Otherwise
II necessary
Al that point two lawyers. John Mul-
vansy and J.. Edward Hermann. were
called in They advised against such
procedure Il not only would h. Criti-
cIsed but would permit the hoard to
single out individual teachers and d,sci-
plne theW. This temperate counsel pre-
vailed
NlI.n'o'clock when u was pretty Ger
tain that the thirteen members ~ the
board did not intend 90 come out from
hehind the closed doors until the coast
was clearer the majority n thu invaders
gave uN the night Tor the moment and
started home II was raining hard and
most of them had no umbrellas The
rest followed in groups NJ twus and thr~@-
. Then, an outpost reporting that the night
was rainy hut that all was we'll the board
b filed out ~ the city Hall
Richard Jensen. a grocer receutlv put
/ On the hoard. presented the resolution
| for the adoption Of tho new rule For
/ several days the tsa'hers have l'ssu
asking their frienCs rot b give him their
| trade
| sixteen of the Citys teachers had
| planned 20 spend their vacJ tons m
/ Europe They petitioned the huard as
Enon a. they had learned of the change
and the directors agreed thFt 5ny tea"h"fs
I going abroad should be Pllows.d ~ he
away the full time allowed by the old rule
without loss of ray
WhereupOn the original sIgteen with
| European plans increased 20 between
/ fifty and sixty Meanwhile tho ra-t ~ the
4 teachers want to know why they should
| he diacrinnatsd against
/ Before Last nights party tn teachers
I tired TO get the hoard b treat with them,
| but the request wBNTefused