Perth Amboy evening news., 1910-10-18
THE ATTACK ON II SCHOOL BOARD

A man never rises higher than his W thoughts. Therefore, wher
the candidates for the Board of Education IN the straight republican ticket
criucise the announcement of the present nonpartisan board that they
will investigate the physical condition of the school children rs well a
attend to their mental condition. claiming that it is merely a political move
they simply announce to the people THAT SUCH WOULD BE THEIR
OBJECT IN MAKING SUCH AN ANNOUNCEMENT WERE THEY IN
OFFICE.
The issue before the people of Perth Amboy this fall, as far al the
election Of school commissioners is concerned, is whether or not the public
rchools shall be taken out of politics. No better argument TO. the election
of the present nonparusan board has been produced since the campaign
began than the meeting in the first ward Friday night when the republicans
tried o show why a straight republican ticket should be chosen. We want
to keep politics on of the public schools. yet the candidates Oh the straight
republican ticket see only politics in everything that is proposed. The
reasons they gave for eecttng republican candidates was not so much to
benefit the people, the city, or the state or country. but to benefit the re-
publican party. 1t was politics, politics, politics from beginning to end
The argument was to elect the republicans so that they could uset their office
10 play politics.
John D. Lang, n of the census numerators of the fourth ward,
called attention to the census and declared that it is probable that the
population of New Jersey has increased to such a extent that the state will
have several nor congressman, and that new districts will have to be
formed. Mr.. Lang urged a republican legislature Sc that these districts
might be drawn favorable to the republican party. Has Mr.. Lang any inside
information that there is to be garry-mandering? We know that "Dory"
Strong attempted it when the assembly districts wereb being formed before
the law was declared unconstitutional, but here is a nw proposition and
advocated o. the stump, too. We are asked to elect republicans to office,
s-for7 To lesnlate >Vartiany TO- the interes of the whole people?
No Elect REPUBLICAN legislature, this stump speaker says, so THAT THE
REPUBLICAN PARTY CAN GET SOME ADVANTAGE IN THE REDas-
IRICTfNG FOR CONGRESSMAN.
But take the attack o the school board. How pcayune seems the
argument that the school board is playing politics n attempting to provide
for the pupils physical as well as their mental welfare when ALI the facts
are known For instance, not only have people in all parts of the city
expressed their approval OF the idea, but a local clothing house has already
offered to give twelve suits OF boys clothing and twelve garments for -girls
tor the use of the Board of Education in the work. This only shows the
hearty response made to the latest move by the Board of Education to
better the condition of the children of the city.
That we have poverty in this city cannot be denied. All cities of this
size have plenty of it, That this poverty lnterferes greatly with school
attendance is well known to those who are acquainted with the facts, Harry
Wilson, one OF the straight republican candidates for the school board, told
the audience Friday night that, in his opinion, 1T was the duty o. the board
TO provide for the mental, not the physical capabilities of the child. That
only shows what limited ideas Mr.. Wilson has OF the actual work being done
In the most progressive cities by the Boards of Education.
What would Mr.. Wilson do with a child that has tainted in the class
room from sheer physical exhaustion due o lack of proper food and
nourishment9 How much learning does he think he could cram into that
ehiids head under such conditions? When he learned the actual cause of
the collapse. would he deprive the child of the education that it is entitled
to merely because he considers it If the school boards business?
Another child comes to school clad in the thinnest kind of garments with
face and hands blue and the little body pinched with the cold; or perhaps
the child does not come to school at all and, upon investigation, it is found
that it has NJ shoes, or perhaps 40 coat, and there are a half-dozen other
children in the family in the san plight. while the parents are barely able
70 oy coal to Keep the house warm. What, W would ask, would Mr.
Wilson do with such cases? The overseer of the poor an do nothing as the
father is working. Are these children to be deprived of an education that
is open to them because they lack proper physical attention?
TO DENY THAT SUCH CASES EXIsT IN THIS CITY is TO ADMIT
THAT YoU DO NOT KNOW THE FACTS. Well might Thomas Lucas.
another candidate on the straight ticket, who also criticised the school
board at that first ward meeting, say that he is able to provide for his own
children That is to beggar the question. The problem is, what are we
soing to do with the pupils whose parents are not able to provide for them?
lei the aim of the present non-parttan Board of Education to adopt
some OF the methods of the most progressive cities in educational lines
These men are making a study of public instruction. They have found that
many pupils are far behind from where they should be. They are ascertain
ing the cause and then they arr endeavuhng to apply the remedy In Mont
clair and other places they ven g 20 far as to establish outdoor classes
for children who are inclined to be consumptye, thus keeping them in the
fresh air all the time. In some of the cities free lunches re provided the
children, There1 is a great work. being lone all along this line and W ga
without fear IF contradiction that there is 10 city in the country that needs
such attention more than Perth Amboy. 1t is a matter of eongratuiatior
that we have a school board composed of men who are capable of taking IL
such problems. Modern educators, those who have made a study ofth,
matter. know that it requires more than mere book learning to make
wenrounded man or woman.
It is petty politics to ask why the school board did not inausurate THU
plan of assisting the worthy poor pupils before. We all know that the non
partisan board did not take charge Of the schools until last winter. 1t hal
not been in existence a year yet. Everything cannot be done ato once TIT
members must learn actual conditions first.
But thsidea is not the only one the board has. If the people of peril
Amboy are wise they will give the present members a fair trial They viii
return every one of them to office and give them a free hand to proceed will
their modern and up-to-date ideas that the children of this city may hav
avery advantage for al education. When stump speakers cry politics a
such movements al this they are only behtting themselves before th
voters No better example than this is needed to show how necessary ii
to keep the schools out of politics.
Hardly a day passes but what we read of some automobile skddmg IN
the wet payements in New Brunswick and doing some damage. Perhaps ii
New Brunswick would clean her sheets once n a while to get some Of that
,.r naA ow tha no.tx. 41 80,