The public ledger. [volume] (Maysville, Ky.) 1913-1968, 1919-09-16
SCHOOL PRINCIPAL
IS EX0NERATED OF
POLICE COURT CHARGE
Prof. W. T. Berry Proven Innocent Of
Charge Made Against Him by
School BOy-ImaglnatiOn All
That Could Substantiate
Charges.

There has not been a case tried in
the local police court in recent years
that has attracted the attention of the
trial of Prof w. T. Berry, principal
of the Forest Avenue School, one Of
the Oldest, in point of service, and
recognized as one of the best school
teachers in Maysville, which was held
before Police Judge John l.. Whitaker
Monday afternoon after school hours.
Prof. Berry had been charged in
warrant with Breach of the Peace for
an alleged injuring of Stanley Nichol-
son, fourteen year old son Of Mr.. and,
Mrs. William Nicholson, of the Fifth
Ward
The evidence in the case as given
for the defendant through the defend
ant himself and Miss Gray, the grade
teacher In whose room the disorder
for which the boy was punished was
committed, was that young Nicholson
had failed to keep a seat in the front
row. where he had been placed by the
teacher for punishment. In the rest
room the boy met the principal and
evidently he thought that Prof Berry
was going to paddle him for he started
to run out Of the room. The principal
tried to grab the boy but he was too
fast and lodged him. The boy ran
across the wide hall and started down
the stairway, when he fell and rolled
down the steps knocking out a tooth
and bruising his neck. He was carried
back into the rest room by the princi-
pal and later given padding. The
evidence showed that when the boy
fell down the steps, Prof. Berry was
at least 27 feet from him and in giving
his judgment, Judge Whitaker pointed
this out, saying that 1t was physically
impossible for Prof. Berry to have
been guilty Of pushing the boy down
the steps as he had charged.
Stanley Nicholson, the boy who was
injured, stated the case almost as the
teachers had stated 1t except that he
said Prof. Berry pushed him down the
stairway.
| William Poor, a little boy who had
told about the neighborhood that he
had seen Prof. Berry push the boy
down steps, broke down on the wit
ness stand and admitted that saw none
of the trouble except that he heard
the noise and saw Stanley Nicholson
falling down the stairway.
Judge Whitaker, in giving his opin-
ion, made 1t very plain that school
teachers had perfect right to admin
lister punishment for misbehavior in
the schools but that this punishment
must not be brutal. He said that all
the facts in the case proved beyond a
reasonable doubt that it would have
been a physical impossibility for Prof
Berry to have pushed the lad down the
steps as was charged and dismissed
the case.
After the decision had been given
Prof. Berry made short talk In which
he assured both the boy and his father
that he had no i'll feeling in the mat
ter and City Attorney Charles DAILY
made a short talk In which he praised
the great American free school system
as the highest type of Democracy In
i the world and advised the school chill
dren present that they must obey the
school rules or suffer punishment and
when that punishment became brutal
they had access to the courts. Mr..
Daily stated that there was nothing in
the case to warrant a fine and ap-
proved Judge Whitaker's decision.