Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1917-06-02

Directors Bacon. Boil, Bretz, Boyer,
| Enders and Stamm voted for Mr..
Werner.
Mr.. Bretz next nominated DR.. Keen
as president Mr.. Boil seconded
and the vote was unanimous. The
suggestion was made by MIR. Boyer to
postpone electing a successor to DR..
Yates until June 15 and this was
agreed to.
Another brief pause followed and
Directors Boil, Boyer, Bretz and
Werner anxiously waited when Mr..
Enders took the floor and handed
Secretary Hammelbaugh a slip of
paper to be read. 1t was written
resignation as chairman of the build
ing committee. This was referred to
President Werner.
Mr.. Bacon's motion to adjourn was
seconded by Mr.. Bretz and was voted
through.
Mr.. Stamm's Statement
Mr.. Stamms statement follows:
Harrisburg, Pa, June 1, 1917.
ITO the Board of School Directors
of the City of Harrisburg:
Gentlemen hereby resign the
office of president of the Board of
School Directors of the City of Har-
risburg. My reasons, briefly stated,
are these
AS the official head of the Board
its president Is generally. and per-
haps properly, looked upon as the
exponent of its policies and the rep
resentative of it's accomplishments,
and he assumes q corresponding re-
sponsibility. In my judgment the
| recent action of a majority of this
Board in selecting four achitects to
design five units of what Is actually
single educational plant must in
evitably result in a waste of the pub
lie money, in architectural mediocri-
ty, in buildings indifferently adapted
to their proposed uses, and, worst
of all, in the denial to the boys and
girls of Harrisburg of much of SUI
perior educational opportunity and
advantage that it was intended they
should have, and that 1t is their right
| to have. The whole proposition in
Volved in that action is to my mind
so absurd, so harmful and SO hope
less, that 1 am unwilling to take, or
to even appear to take, any further
responsibility for the proposed
building program.
Further, the Board as now or
ganized has divided. and l have no
doubt hopelessly divided, into two
views as to most of the principles,
policies and ideals that should con-
troll in the management and devel-
being in the minority group.
Under such circumstances it is
obvious that a minority presi-
dent, attempting to exercise the legi-
innate functions of leadership that
attach to the office, could only have
his labor for his pains. He would
find himself in the impossible posi-
ton of planning, pointing, initiating
in one direction, only to find that
the majority, with different purposes
and policies, preferred to go in the
opposite direction; and he would
become merely a presiding officer, a
figurehead.
ALSO, in even so inconspicuous a
| legislative body as a School Board
the democratic principle of majority
rule, with it's correlative of majority
responsibility, should obtain. If l
can be of any service to the schools
on the Board of Directors, I can be
of more service on the floor, with
the perfect freedom to take part in
the discussion of matters before the
Board that a presiding officer does
not have. There is nothing that d
minority member can do in the of
flee of president that he should not