Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-12-11

sons given in his speech are as fol-
lows:
Il know that ] am treading on thir
ice when l make any reference TO
change or any intimation that ! woulo
like to change existing conditions re-
speeding the pay of teachers i'll the CIT!
of Washington, but under the present
law there is absolutely no merit ~
promotion. 1t is automatic and nerel!
means time Teachers appointed, fol
instance, in Il grade. when first APP
pointed. may be appointed to posi-
riOn Of $500. Later there may nt
twenty-five new teachers. as tins pii
carries thirty. Each one of these teach-
ers receives the next year under this
law an increase of $50 in their sa laries
and the next year an additional S"o
and so on until they have reached seo'
in that particular class.
Promotion Only Automatic.
The teacher who shows aptitude. IN
dustry and capacity for promotion cam
not under this law be promoted 'any
more rapidly than that teacher whe
merely does enough TO keep from be
ing discharged. There is no merit abb
solutely in promotion and it is auto
matte. When they reach $50" OF tha'
particular class they are. by recon-
mendation of this school board. put
$500 and their pay is increased Sloo Il
year until they reach $1,000. and then
again. when that is exhausted, theV
are put in the next class. ana they al
81, san. absolutely without any exam
nation or any regard paid to the ell
cheney of the teacher.
"All you have to do under this syS-
tenn as a teacher of the District of Co
lumbia is to do Just well enough not
20 ~, nj n "a DTtmOt ed
Just as rapidly as the most efficient and
Industrious teacher there is III the
school. I say that Il system that does
that is not good system at least ana
ought to he abolished. I believe that
there are instances innumerable where
teachers employed in the city schools
of Washington at $500 year for the
first year. showing aptitude. industry
and Il capacity to teach, ought TO DC
promoted possibly the very next year
to the one Thousand dollar grade.
whereas there are many, and ! am
afraid a majority. of those who are en-
ployed at $500 ought never to receive
another cent of compensation because
they are not worth it.
Impossible to Compute Excess Pay.
But this system automatically car
ries them all up. and it is a drain upon
the Treasury. and il ought not to be
allowed Why. we carried the first year
this WAS inaugurated an extra appro-
priation of $4,000 to pay this excess
of longevity pay. The estimate sub
mitted to the committee and the Con-
eress upon which this bill was prepared
asked this Congress to- appropriate
$4,000 to pay this excess of lonEev-
ity pay. There is no man on earth VINO
can state whether it is the proper
amount or some other amount. The
does not live who can
figure out with accuracy at the end OF
the schol year what they shall have to
pay, and no man can tell me- have
not been able to find any one. the su-
the chairman OF the school
board, the Commissioners of the Dis
trict of Columbia. all have never been
able to give this committee any in
formation as to when we are gong 10
reach the maximum possible under this
law.
II believe if it were in the power
of this committee handling this bill,
without the provision being subject
to the point of order, if we could leg
islate there would have been contained
in this bill provision to repeal the
statute placed upon the books i'll 1906
/ believe it ought to be repealed and
Just system inaugurated into law that
takes cOgniZance of merit of those who
have charge of the children of the Dis
trict of Columbia