The Duluth rip-saw. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1917-19??, 1918-06-29
SCHOOL BOARD ELECTION
. ONLY THREE WEEKS HENCE
Two Contrasting Tickets and Scattering Candidate
or Two Will Give Ample Warmth to the
Important Annual Event.

ton or special consideration by
currying favor with the teachers
committee. The people believe
that merit. not personal liking,
should determine teachers
standing or success. Many teach
ers, too, resent the idea or the
necessity of being toadles, syco-
plants or maintaining artificial
attitudes.
The opposition to the Old Re-
gime, the so-called Autocrats, be-
lieves that entirely too much
money and effort are being used
to surround Supt. Hoke with
heads of departments, supervls-
ors and assistants who come from
abroad; who are strangers IN
Duluth and have no local ALI
ances; who naturally will be
blindly and actively partisan as
result of owing him everything
for their good positions.
There is dissatisfaction with
the policy of going out Of the
city for help in the administra-
tive departments before ascer-
tanning that proper talent is not
procurable right here. No SEN
sible patron Of the schools ignores
the fact that new blood in any
department. may be most desirable
and beneficial, but when new tai
ent is secured, they believe that
the person should be master in
his line and not some one who
comes here for experience and
to be safe cog in the machine
of school politics. That smacks
too much of Haldenism.
Party politics never has been
allowed to get into Duluth's
school affairs, hence the high eff
ficiency Of the system and free
dom from wrangling and scan
dial. Many see danger from too
much school politics, therefore
will vote for the ticket that prom
Uses the minimum Of school pol
itics.
The people are displeased with
the vague, indefinite but sinister
intimations that Duluth s schools
had gone to ruin before the pres
ent administration and that, in
some mysterious way, miracles
have been performed in the last
year or two. Duluth's schools
have had a national reputation
for over a quarter of a century.
Many noted educators have
pointed out where the local
schools were superior in many
ways to those of Minneapolis and
even St. Paul. Teachers who left
Duluth for the Twin Cities often
were glad to come back. usually
giving the Duluth schools credit
for superiority in a great many
ways. Minneapolis can teach Du-
luth little of value In school mat
ters.
The people sincerely trust that
their schools have grown. broad.
ened and improved in the past
two years. There is every rea-
son why it should be so and no
excuse for it being otherwise.
But they cannot see where any
miracles have been worked:
After two years of experience
there is a broad belief that this
job is too big for Supt. Hoke. All
admire him as a clean, kindly,
cultured man, but cannot con-
vince themselves that he is a
super-man, as his little circle of
intimates and champions feel to
be a fact. Pupils, teachers, prin-
cipals and patrons declare that
he lacks magnetism, energy, adj
ministrative capacity as we'll as
strength to stand erect, squarely
and positively on his own feet,
without side support. That he
cannot strike the divine spark
may be debatable question, but
that he has not, so far as Duluth
pupils and teachers are con-
cerned, is admitted. if not as
serted, by at least 95 per cent.
1t is painful to speak thus
bluntly, but duty and conditions
cOmnel If