Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-01-12
aHIV)L BUARD CHIEF
ASAMS SOWDEN MEN
,dont Edmunds Declares
uoard Will Not Be Coerced
by Mob
!, ,w BROKEN, HE ASSERTS
a. and Parents Committee Ac-
''p' .nssd-Attorney for Patrons
Replies

htHAiNn
u,uy r. Edmunds' president OF me
:, Education today gave the first
hoaiU .,,,er,ent Of the boards attitude In
~" ~, EItler school disturbance and Of
y .,sral method Of procedure since the
T" ,.rs NJ william H. Sowden's removal
~ rrincipalship Of the school.
Ho- ,so arst place" stated Mr. Edmunds,
-aon adherents are defeating their
S. bv the methods they employ.
posrd Of Education cannot he swayed
.,,, demonstrations and mob scenes
,ho one which took place at the
..,lrr of the board In all the his.
,,v service on the Philadelphia
4 w :, Education I have never witnessed
n reasoness action. ..-.., ,..,,-.
I ,be sake Of clarifying the situation
IN outline briefly the Sowden case as
wy bv the board Mir. Sowden was
reoN,oed Of his office in the Fitler School
nse esFe he could not make the grade to
si.S the Fitler School was raised. Econ
shen added to the course Of the school,
anN, enoyyden had no grounding what
w Ea mis- subject Miss GIL the principal
4 ~ ,ooE his place and who is at present
IV,.rtI, alIing it, had the required ground
- and was therefore appointed,
CHILDREN BROKE LAW
srss children Of the school went out on
.,,,ts which act was violation OF the
. AZ which provides that children attend
~, Hence the very beginning Of the
.aosSpre for the reinstatement Of Mr..
s..sdcn was illegal and not based on reason.
~. .hildren were forced to go back to
4 .s,ol A committee from the Fitler School
IN came 10 the Board Of Education and
y. -oforrcd TO the elementary school COM
-n,so The elementary committee saw
4 4, "a Let the decision remain unalterd.
4Th& committee from the school then
.me TO me personally and asked Tor re-
III advised It TO ask the board and to
t,vs subcommittee formed and I myself
f s,omised TO serve on It, The result Of this
,svlce was the appointment Of Mr.. Wana-
r,tsr Mr.. Rowen and myself on a sub
ernmlttee for the adjustment of the Sow
I Al case our final decision agreed with
4 N. first one made by the district supern-
E ,,ndent-that is that Sowden should not be
4 rsinstated in the Ftler School.
TO return TO the mob at the board meet
n on last Tuesday afternoon, ii is Illegal
E Al person not member of the board to
{ Ming UP business at the time of board
seeting That meeting is for the members
cfthe board and not for any man or woman
rho chooses to yell at the chair.
NOT TO BE COERCED .
4 The matter of the Filter School prnci-
nshIp may turn one way or the other so
4 m as It personally concerns the board, but
Ills one thing is certain: Right or wrong,
he Board of Education will never be/co-
erred by the shouting Of random mobs -
Within a half hour after this statement
vas made, Mr.. William g, Lynch, attorney
lor the Sowden followers, gave the follow
+ hg answer TO 1t;
'Mr Edmunds maintained that our chill
aren broke a law in striking, How re-
,ponsible are children for the keeping Of
ioch laws? Remember, they did their strk-
hr entirely on their own decision, The
4 PARENTS had nothing to do with ii. Who
rould come back at little children and
. all their action unconstitutional? Suppos-
nr however, that children are responsible,
the law Of compulsory education orders
4 that children attend school in ordinary
tines When the Board of Education mas
s lsef violated one Of its own laws would
{ 4 Inclined to call 1t an extraordinary time.
s To be brief. the law broken by the board
this quoted from the Pennsylvania stat
E itss page S25 amendment 2229: NO per-
4 nn shall be promoted or transferred to any
E eaueational position i'm public schools in
seh0ol district of the first class whose name
Z does not appear among the three highest
names upon the eligible list provided in
any district of the first class or in one that
s made district of the first class by this
aet No person holding a position at the
tine Of the passage of this act shall be dis
r2ced by the above provision.
Mr. SOwden had been holding his posi-
ton for seventeen years at the time of the
8 passage Of this act and he was displaced by
E IL II may further be added that since Mr..
Sgden's pemova six teachers have been
enehted by this pruviso and have not been
Itated as was Mr. Sowdcn
MOTHER BETTER TEACHER
In regard to the economies course that
. aas added Ia the Filter School, | guess Mr.
Hmunds means the cooking class. Well [
Aappen TO have daughter attending that
4islon at present and | would like to say
nat her mother could teach her more in
& so weeks than all the months that she has
sen dabbling around in school under her
Nesent teacher. The idea of displacing a
nan because he has never been grounded
= ne science of cooking appears very ridic-
s ao1s 10 me.
MT Edmunds refers TO our public dem
thsuauons. When we cannot attain justice
one way we endeavor to get II in an.
eAer However the bringing of the Sow
'.a matter last Tuesday before the Board
Education was not illegal \ motion for
as reeonvenlng of the subcommittee ap-
aaied on the Sowden case was made
y Edmunds entertained the motion and
4en saw fit TO leave the room without fur
,asf notice. When chairman entertains
notion he should look into the question
Us legality first, not afterward How
sf little later, Mr.. Edmunds and his
ashas WIN have all the law they want
~ VIII have plenty of reason and per-
~ not enough of mob scene that they
'Tsld SO easy TO ignore and ridcule."