The Washington herald., 1911-02-07
SCHOOL CHARGES
NOT BORNE OUT
DetractOrS Absent from Meet
ing of Trade Board.
OYSTER THERE WITH FACTS
Attends Session of Subcommittee
Primed with Affidavits to Refute
Statements of Irregularities in
Purchase of Desks-Ashford IL Not
Present, but Sends Letter.

That school desks are not only up to
specification, but in some cases excel
the requirement. was proved before the
subcommittee of the Board of Trade, at
its meeting last night.
The board of education was on hand
ready to vindicate itself and to disprove
the allegations that had been made in
that matter before the school committee.
But there was no one there to back
up the charges, and while Issac Cans. the
chairman of the subcommittee, deplored
the fact, Capt. James f. Oyster. presi-
dent of the board of education, did more
than that. He had something to re-
mark about those who, he said, would
make charges of such serious import
on the members of the school board, and
who lacked either the courage or the
courtesy to give the accused a chance
to prove or disprove the truth of them.
Samples Exhibited.
Capt. Oysterwas ready with other
school officials. experts on woods. and
affidavits from janitors which told of
the methods that had been employed to
gather information regarding school
desks by some persons not connected
with the school board
There were samples of desks brought
as exhibits for the committee to examine
in the light of the Specifications. There
were other samples from which pieces
had been gouged by agents of other per-
sons, and affdavitS to tell all about that,
too
Percy NJ. Hughes assistant superinten-
dent. showed that the specifications,
which call for a cherry box in the desk.
do not call for an entire box of cherry.
From this he deduced that the bottom
might be of cheSnut or of other wood.
j. A. chamberlain, supervisor of
manual training. who knows lot about
woods. and whose duty it is along with
other officials to examine the new desks.
said that to insist that a CHERRY desk
should have Il cherry bottom was un-
reasonable as to insist that mahogany
bed have mahogany Stats.
Desks Up to Sample.
J. 5. Parsons. an expert in woods. call
ed in by the committee. after examining
the desks and listening to the evidence.
gave it as his opinion that the desks
were in every way up to sample. He also
said that a desk with chestnut bottom
might easily bc more expensive to make
than one with cherry bottom
". B. Moses x Son. who as agents of
the American Seating Company supply
many Of the desks. w"r" represented by
Joseph hummer who stated that all
desks supplied were like sample and he
Vas willing to make affidavit TO the truth
of his statement A letter from the
American Seating Company to the same
effect WAS read. with the additional offer
to replace with 1ew desks anv that could |
he found as having been supplied by them !
other than according to sample, 10 mat
ter how long ago.
other scnoo officials and wood experts |
added their testimony to the weight of |
evidence to exOnerate the school board |
from either incompetency or dishonesty. |
1t was also shown by the disinterested |
wood experts that tie difference in cost |
between an al!-cherry desk and one with !
a bottom of othcr wood could not. under
any circumstances. exceed few cents if |
at all. Some desks that mad been in use
for over twenty years We're shown to
have hal chestnut bottoms.
Judgment by Default.
TIL" general impression was that the
board of education had made out a
case, and Capt. oyster felt that the
school board was entitled to judgmen,
by default
The Subcommittee will report its
findings in the case to the public school
rommitt"e of the Board of Trace in
A day or two. Other members q: the
were II. *. Simpson and
Walter II. Acker.
\ letter was read from Snowdcl,
Ashford. municipal architect. saying
mat he would not be present at the
meeting. as the allegations which he
made related to so much more important
matters that he did not care to take
up a minor point.