The comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1884-1916, 1914-10-29
Goes Anywhere He Pleases.

board has absolutely nothing to say
about how this $3.50 a year shall be
spent. Upon this theory he declines
unless forced to, to stipulate in his
expense accounts to and from what
points he Travelled, where his meals
were taken, and so on. He says the
comptroller doesn't require him to do
it. Maybe the state auditor will.
Since Thompson has been running
the school board he has put through
a resolution giving the school men of
the state-the superintendent, normal
presidents and high school inspectors
absolute authority to go anywhere
they please, whenever they please,
and stay as long as they please, at
the expense of the public school chill
dren of Tennessee. The high school
inspectors charge theirs up to the
high school fund; the normal presi-
dents charge theirs up to the normal
fund, and Thompson slips his in any
old fund where there is any money
left.
Witness the recent trip to st. Paul
Mimi, by Thompson, Brister and W.
r. Bourne, the state high school in
spector, to attend meeting of the
National Education Association.
There could be no reasonable OBJ
lection to such trip, provided the
state board thinks it advisable to send
representative, has some idea of the
probable expense and authorizes the
trip. But this trip was made without
the knowledge of the state board or
anybody else and without the author
ity of anybody or any law under the
sun.
Thompson spent about $3.50 on this
trip, and he lived high. He rode out
SIS or $ worth of hacks, ate and slept
out about $50 worth, and so on. Prof.
Brister and Bourne spent about the
same.
The average salary of Tennessee
teacher in the country schools is $240
year: thus we find that this trip
alone, unauthorized by law or prece-
dent, cost the people of Tennessee
enough to run two first-class country
schools a single year. A little later
on other state officials were walking
up and down Wall Street with their
hats in their hands trying to save the
credit of the state.
Where Robinson Comes In.
But this is just an example of the
account business. Some time last
year they all took trip to Richmond
to some sort of an educational meet
ing. Now nobody knows what they
spend on these meetings. They SIM
ply turn in an unitemized expense ac-
count without pretending to say where
the railroad fare was to or from or
anything of that kind. One M. w. |
Robinson went along on this trip, |
too. Mr.. Robinson used to be chief |
clerk to the superintendent, but |
Thompson got it into his head that |
Robinson was incompetent so he had |
him appointed inspector of industrial |
work in high schools-whateve that |
is-and Robinson trips around at the
unlimited expense of the high school
fund.
The story runs around here that |
when Thompson kicked Robinson out
said Robinson lut it right up to
Hooper that If he didn't give him job
he would tell some things. OF course.
nobody believes this, but the fact re-
mains that Robinson got $166.66 a
month as chief clerk, and he now gets
SITS every month of the year as in
spector of industrial work in the high
schools.
A word about that. 1t used to be
that after making the apportionment
to county high schools the balance
was turned back into the fund to be
distributed the next year. But the
law was amended year or so ago to
provide that this balance should be
used to foster and encourage indus
trial work in the county high schools.
The evident intent of this law was to
allow the state superintendent to en-
courage such work through the coun-
ty superintendents and high school
The attorney general
ought to know whether it can be
to cover an inspector. How
ever, Mr.. Robinson's duties are some
what indefinable. Report are not
available to show what he inspects,
but if he really is what the title of his
office implies 1t is well to remark that
in the good year 1913 there We're only
1877 pupils enrolled in the manual
training grades of the county high
schools, and really, 80 of these were
manual training in t5c Gle
schools of Sevier CO Infy. or
course, it might be proper to a;'point
such an officer to stir the boys up and
get them to studying blaeksmithing
and so on, but Robinson is hardly the
man to do it,
What the Vouchers show.
Robinson had no autho;ity TO go to Z
Richmond, none in the world. He Lad
!, hrrinnce fhnrn !,