The Washington times., 1911-09-18
OPENING OF THE PUBLIC
SCHOOLS.

ny Inc eAu VI lhC piSSSHG "SCh ~
may be possible for the authorities of
the public school system to determine
with approximate accuracy how
serious will be the deficiency in school
room accommodations. For the present
it is beyond accurate estimate. The
only thing that can be said confidently
is that there will not be room enough
in the school houses to take care prop
erly of the number of pupils that will
demand admittanee.
This is a condition which, having be-
come chronic in Washington, stands as
one of the gravest reproaches to the
whole municipal administration of the
city. If there is any town in America
that ought reasonably to expect ample
facilities of this sort, it is the National
Capital: the city that has been denied
the privilege of voice in its own gov
ernment, in order that something bet
ter may be handed down to it from the
paternal hand of national authority.
In securing DR.. w. NJ. Davidson, late
of Omaha, as superintendent of the
school system, the authorities have
been peculiarly fortunate. DR.. David
son has made an excellent impression
since he has been in Washington. On
Saturday he served notice on a big
gathering of colored patrons of the
schools that it would not be worth
while for them to go about aligning
influence and putting 'pulls" into oper-
alton; he was going to run the schools,
and would not require assistance of
that sort.
That is the right attitude; and the
best part of it is that DR.. Davidson
comes here with a record which is
earnest of his purpose to make good
on such a policy. In Omaha he took
charge of the schools when they were
almost as much a political as an edu-
cational establishment. He proved
both the diplomat and the administra-
tor. He got the politics eliminated and
the schools put on a solid business
basis, besides developing the educa-
tional work to the point where the
system was recognized as one of the
models of the country.
Washington's schools present a
unique problem. There is no other city
in the country where so large a pro-
portion of the pupils are in the colored
schools. There is none where the
colored schools may be compared for
efficiency and quality with those of
Washington. This necessitates ratio
of expense which seems high in com.
parison with other cities. The expense
ratio of Washington street car COM
pany would be abnormal, too, if it had
to run four tracks on every street, in
stead of two. Imagine Congress de-
manding that special cars be provided
for colored riders, running on separate
tracks, parallel to those used by the
tracks on which white people might be
hauled. That would present, in the
transportation realm, a condition COM
parable to the one which obtains in
our educational system. Is it remark
able that the per capita cost of edu-
eating children is high in Washington
But there are other special Difficult
ties about organizing the Washington
schools. For the next ten weeks chill
dren will be coming to Washington
from all parts Of the country, repre-
senting the families of the Congress
sional element in Washington's popu-
lation. Something like 5000 children,
it is estimated, are brought here by
parents of the Congressional set: the
members, employees, and staffs of Con-
gress. These break into the school
year at irregular periods; room must
be provided for them. They represent
one of the most expensive incidents to
the conduct of the school system.
| Moreover, because 20 many do not be-