Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1919-04-21
W|TMER WOULD TEST
SCHOOL BOARD MINDS
University Professor Proposes
Psychological Test Of Mental
ity Of Archaic" Body

' DR.. Lightner Wilmer, professor of
psychology at the University OF Penn
sylvania, offers to have the members OF
what he terms the "archaic Board of
Education" examined psychologically to
determine their Intelligence, intellec-
tual capacity, general information and
initiative"
The offer is made in statement is
sued by Doctor Wilmer in which he
pleads for reform in the method of in
structing backward pupils N the schools
Of this city.
School teachers here will never get
adequate salaries froW the Board of
advises them to organize FOR higher
salaries.
All the funds derived from an in
crease of S3,000,000 in school taxes
would advance teachers salaries As per
cent, he said, compared with a IS per
cent advance in the cost of living since
1915. ....
Doctor Witmer's Statement
Doctor Winners statement, in part,
follows:
"It is cannouaage for Doctor CARRIER
and Doctor Wheeler, propagandists of
the Board of Education and probably
acting under Mr.. GRATIS orders, to pre-
sent an array of public school activities
showing that our public school system
Is not lacking in kindergartens, classes
for backward children, high schools and
other features which are an integral
part of the public school system every
where. When you are inquiring into
the productivity of field. you will not
be satisfied by the exhibition of bushel
of potatoes, even though they are big
potatoes and of good quality. You will
ask how many potatoes the field pro :
duced to the acre and at what cost in
time, labor and money. The efficiency
Of the public schools is to be measured
IN terms of it's product--the school
children of Philadelphia, the majority
Of whom leave school to go to work at
or before the age of sixteen.
"You are losing $S,O0O,OOO year,
largely because of the control exercised
over your schools by privilege and
wealth in the person of Simon Gratz,
their most powerful and conspicuous
agent.
The Backward Children
FIFTY per cent of your children who
20 to work at or before the age OF
sixteen have either failed to complete
a six year course of instruction IN eight
years or more or. they have completed
this course only after they have lost two
years or more. These are the back
ward children of the Philadelphia public
schools. 1t is camouhage to call the
orthogenic classes, of which there arc
100 in Philadelphia, classes for back
ward children, for at least so per cent
of these children are feeble minded, anC
many of them are imbeciles OF low
grade:. .-,..":-' -. .,.'. =,
''From the report of the superintend
ent of education I obtain the fact
from which estimate that at least-VO.
900 children begin work every year. Al
least one half of these-10,0 900 chill
dren-are two years late in getting t.
work because they are two years OF
more backward in their progress. If {
boy or girl can earn $S week, Of
$400 a year, each and every backward
child produced by the Philadelphia
school system is costing the workin,
people of the city $500 in two years
loss of wage.
Assails Compulsory Study
'"The total loss to the wage Garner
Of Philadelphia is $S,OO0,0 900. Put thi
down in the bill when you take tn
control of the schools from the agent
of privilege and wealth.
"An elaborate survey is not necessar
to establish the relative competency O
the fifteen members of the Board O
Education. Very simple tests. which
would be glad to make without expens
to the city, enable an examining psy
chologist to assign each and every mem
ber of the board to his relative ratin
with respect to intelligence, intellectua
capacity, general information and init
atiSe. =
Turn from Mr.. Gratz and his asso
ciates on the Board of Education to tn
SUPERINTENDENT Office and learn to un
derstand and appreciate the significanc
and value of your superintendent re
port for 1917. Do not ask the Phila
delphia Board of Education for an in
crease in wage to compensate you fo
the increased cost of living, but joi
the union recently formed in affiliatio
with the American Federation of Labol
"You will never get just wage fro
or through the Philadelphia Board I
Education. You will get it only whe
you unite to demand it from the relut
tant hand of privilege and wealth.
"And again; I. ask the workers I
Philadelphia to listen, Mr.. Gratz hi
control over the assessment of Il
houses which you own or in which yc
live and pay rent. He says that Phils
delphia is city of homes and
doesn't like to raise the tax rate c
your homes. He also controls the al
sessed values of the homes and busine
houses of the rich, and is just as an,
ious not to raise, the assessment {