The Commonwealth. [volume] (Everett, Wash.) 1911-1914, 1913-11-13
THE REWARD OF MERIT. -


bourgeois who live by skinning tn
/ farmers and lumber-jacks are trying Il
d drive out Socialist teachers simply be
> cause they are Socialists, they are il
great sweat over a recall that the!
have started on the two Socialist mem
bers of the school board. The Airing
ton Chronicle, the organ of the Ma
tional Association of Manufacturer
there, and the mouthpiece of the vict
interests and the Bull Moose, has con
Quoted such malicious campaign o
lies and slander against the Socialists
that a reaction has set in in favor o.
the Socialists. Initiating the Seattle
Times the editor of this paper as
sisted by the discharged and discred
tied ex-superintendent of schools has
poured forth a mish-mash of patriotic
gush, palpable contradictions, and
billingsgate that has at last sickened
a patient population.
Seeing the trend of public opinion
this paper recently asked ex-Superin
tendent George Lancaster, who is still
pretending to be connected with the
schools, to resign. This was a grand
bluff to fool the people into voting for
the recall. 1t happens that Lancaster,
through his chicanery in connection
with the Sinclair case and through his
beating of children has a host of en-
emies who, although not Socialists,
will vote to sustain the board in try
ing to rid the schools of his presence.
For weeks this educational buffer has
spent a large part of the time that he
is supposed to be in school, according
to his assumption that he is still SUI
perintendent, in the Chronicle office
cheek by jowl with the editor, Mayor
W. H. Ford, who owns saloon and
whose relations with the houses of
prostitution as a public official have
turned the decent neople OF the, neigh.
borhood against him.
| So this very Ford in the midst of
great shouthings against the Social
lists for being guilty of sanctioning
"seditious disloyalty" in the schools
and with failing to respect the govern
ment that the National Association of
Manufacturers have debauched and
used as tool for years demands that
Lancaster resign.
Lancaster and he did not know that
when they let this slip into the paper
they were working on the powers of
suggestion very strongly. Within a
few days a group of business" men
got together and seriouly considered
the matter of forcing Lancaster to do
the very thing suggested, so that they
could carry the recall and thus gain
control of the schools for the crowd
that sells booze to the prostitutes and
violates gambling laws in real loyal
STYLE Whether they will force out
their miserable tool or not is doubt
full; but as soon as they see that he is
of no further use they will give him a
dose of " seditious disloyalty" that will
fill him with deep and abiding love
for his country.
Here is the fate of a me-too Social
ist. This Lancaster even while run
ming for office on the Republican
ticket was a good Socialist, a revo-
lutionary Socialist behind closed doors.
When the Socialists took their seats
on the school board his "me-too" got
little louder and he wrote the board
long and weary letter telling them
just what to do to keep the Socialists
in control of the schools He also
wrote Sinclair to the same music. AT
the same time he was planning with
the business" men to get the Social
lists out Now, no one, not even Ford
can trust him and his reward hangs
like the sword of Damocles over his
head.
All over the State of Washington
are Just such educational mounte
banks. Lying is the habit of a slave
and these squirming, lodging slaves
are shaping the minds of our children
They are always long on what they
call patriotism and loyalty to flags
Even when known as atheists in theil
homes back East, they contribute
handsomely to churches In the Wesi
when it helps them to do so and theil
religious feryor grows wonderfully il
the fresh sea air of Washington
Though punishing boys for using to
bacco they quietly slip out during
school hours and indulge themselves
I'm a school over on Puget Sound on'
of these educational green goods mel
succeeded ln fooling a Socialist schoo
2 director into voting for him as cit
, superintendent when he had shown hii
? love for law and order by spending
] hours and hours working on a weak
] minded friend 10 start a mob 10 ham
p two Socialist directors who had fire.
him because he was incompetent an
unreliable.