The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1920-03-18
UPHO[DSA ACTS
Of ALICE WOOD.
Mrs. Margarita Gerry Tells Sen.
ator Teacher Only Commit
ted Error Of Judgment"

Strong defense of Miss Alice Wood.
who was suspended BY the Board OF
Education for alleged preaching or
,Bolshevism In the public schools, was
made by Mrs. Margarita SpaldinS
Gerry before the Senate investigating
subcommiseae today.
She declared that tho Board OF Eo-
ucation should either have dismissed
Miss Wood as disioyal to the nation
or rested with q reprimand FOR her
error OF judgment"
Under a fire Of questions from SEN
ator Harrison Mrs. Gerry went into
all aspects of the Wood case, main
tanning her ground that the board
had made q great mistake In dealing
with the case and that she believed
the District Supreme Court had done
the proper thing in reversing the
Boards action on the matter.
.Errsr Of Judgement"
do you think Miss Wood advc'
Gates Bolshevism as a form of gov
eminent or the United States? asked
Senator Harrison.
"I do not think So" replied Mrs.
Gerry. Undoubtedly she committed
an error OF judgement in trying to
give to immature minds OF school
children some idea of the conflict that
was raging in Russia and In trying
to make them see both sides Of the
question.
Mrs. Gerry stated that she and DR..
Learned had agreed in their recon-
mendations to the Board Of Education
and that Superintendent Thurston, the
third member of the committee ap-
pointed to investigate the case, had
never taken any positive stand SO
far as she knew.
was Not At Meeting.
81 regret exceedingly that / was
not present at the board meetings
at which the action in reference to
Miss Wood was taken" she said. Il
believe that 1 could have convinced
! the board that 1t should take diff
ferent line Of action"
Mrs. Gerry created a small sensa-
I ton when she declared that DR.. Van
Setback, in order to attend to his
duties as president of the Board Of
Education, had paid the salary Of an
assistant pastor of the Church Of Our
Father out of his own pocket.
81 do not think that Is generally
known" she said. but it ought to be"
She said that the business men on
the board, whom she named as
George "A. Hamilton, John b. Larner,
w. II. Galliher and E. H. Daniel,
were generally Conservative" while
the other members of the board she
described as progressive
She stated, however, that Mr.. Ham
, ilton was responsible for ''the most
I distinct advance" made in the public
schools during her term on the board.
This was the establishment OF
teachers council. .H.r
Sure Thnrsto. Inadequate.
Che declared that she had become
convinced that Superintendent Thurs
ton was an inadequate superintend-
emit through lack OF administrative
ability. She was about to open her
bill of particulars against the super
intendent when the hearing closed.
There were many complaints tnat
we had" said Mrs. Gerry. land the
superintendent seemed to pc uhaole
to act upon them"
She referred to the lack OF unity
in the high schools here as q defect
in the educational system She de-
cIared that pupils often fitted from
high school to high school merely on
within and were permitted to do So
'@The curriculums are different, the
hours are different, and IN some cases
the system Of teaching is different"
she said.
senator Harrison announced that
the textbook problem in the schools
would be thoroughly Investigated by
the committee.
Mrs. Gerry was questioned At
length regarding her own views on
Boishevism. She stated that she was
absolutely against 1t as 1t had devel-
oped in practice In Russia. but that
it's ANNOUNCED principles" seemed to
be purely democratic
81 am interested in 1t as an intel
. lectual proposition. and as great
human experiment" she said. Il
think that defines the position OF Miss
Wood Also
Mrs. Gerry stated that she was ap-
poin,cd to the board in 1916 at the
request Of Justice Siddons-
81 knew that 1t would be a horrid
ungrateful task" she said. but ac-
cepted out Of a sense of public duty
and also out of a sense Of compii-
ment"