Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-01-17
Let the Schools Alone.

Let the Schools Alone.
Through the many legislative rider.
proposed to be attached to the Dis
trict appropriation bill and through
the many separate bills to the same
effect submitted to the House Distric,
committee, the District Commission
ers disclose definite and compre-
hensive campaign of determination
against the citizens boards which
under existing law are permitted to
participate with definitely limited
powers and responsibilities in the
performance of certain important
municipal functions. The Commits
sioners do not merely seek to take
from President or District Supreme
Court or Attorney General the power
which these officials now possess to
appoint these citizens boards, but
they propose as in the public interest
to strip all the boards, including those
like the Public Library trustees which
they already appoint under existing
law, OF every power of appointment
and indirect control and to make
them purely advisory, irresponsible
and negligible. The Commissioners
thus. for example, monopolize the
power of appointing directly every
school teacher, and take from the
librarian OF the Public Library the
appointment of the library force. from
chief assistant to charwomen.
This campaign to eliminate the
Washingtonian from indirect partici-
patton through responsible citizens
boards in important municipal con-
Germs is to be considered in connec-
ton with the attempt to repeal the
law which requires the civilian Com
missioners to be Washingtonians, and
with the recent Supreme Court de-
eision which renders this law practi-
eally imperative and unenforcible.
1t is also to be considered in con-
neetion with the movement to ma
tionalize" the District government in
to mere bureau of some federal de-
partment, thus perfecting the cam
paign for the elimination of the
Washingtonian from the last vestige
OF responsible participation in his
municipal concerns.
Washington wants greater, not less,
participation, direct and indirect, in
its municipal concerns, and will re-
sist and is resisting every attempt to
deprive it OF any of the meager priv
ileges of participation which it now
enjoys.
The public schools constitute BY
far the most important municipal
function affected by the immediate
campaign OF the Commissioners, and
the injury threatened by this revolu-
tionary change, both to the schools
and to the community. is so great that
the fercest struggle is over the at
tempt to abolish the board of edu-
cation.
These citizens boards with powers
and responsibilities, and especially the
board OF education, should, in the in
terest OF the general community, be
preserved. Washington has no rep
resentation in its sole legislature, and
lacking direct representation every
device OF indirect representation
should be retained or established
which will foster local public spirit
and civic loyalty by enlisting in the
performance OF municipal functions
the interest and self-sacrihcing en-
thusiasm of unpaid and unselfish
Washingtonians.
Ii the appointment OF teachers and
Public Library employees is placed in
the hands of the Commits sioners these
ofices, now protected by unpaid
acknowledgements citizens boards
against political and partisan Office
seeking pressure, will be exposed to
the full force Of the fierce pressure to
which the Commissioners are SUBJ
jected in filling the Offices under their
direct control. In respect to such
offiees the Commissioners are unable
TO interpose the barrier Of the civil
service law, and only the most vigor-
oas and sometimes desperate per-
sonsl resistance suffices to withstand
this pressure. 1t is unnecessary to
SUR as spoilsmen the District Com
n'issioners in order to demonstrate
the unwisdom of this change in the
appointing power. The effect of the
change would be to subject appoint.
ments, now out of politics as they
should be, to the hercest kind oil
oshee-seeking political pressure. The
good motives of the Commits sioners
and their intent to resist as we'll a:
they can this pressure would no,
prevent the change from being a
municipal disaster.
The people of Washington wish
that the schools might be let alone
by Congress to perform undisturbed
their vitality important function. We
have good board of education and
a fine teaching force; and there are