New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1920-04-14
Sweet Defied
AS 81 Demand
Teachers Raise
Non Partisan Committee
Led by City Republicans
to Tell Speaker To-day
Direct Tax Is Necessary
Precedent Established
Assembly History Has No
Record of Any Such Open
Rebellion Against Chief
From a Staff Correspondent

from StGU Correspondent
ALBANY, April 13.--Under the lead
ership of New York City Republicans,
the sixty-two members of the Assem-
bly, from the greater city to-day cast
aside all party lines to demand that
Speaker Sweet give the teachers of the
state, and especially those from the
city, a square deal.
The Assemblymen had their indigna-
ton meeting in the Ways and Means
Committee room, and after adopting a
tentative program of action appointed
a committee to wait upon the Speaker
tomorrow and demand that he with
draw his opposition to giving the
school teachers of the state enough
pay to make both ends meet.
The committee, which is headed by
the only woman member from New
York City, Miss NJ. l.. Smith. Repub-
lican, will ask Speaker Sweet to agree
to one and one-half mills direct tax
for teachers salaries.
Precedent Established
The committee also will demand that
the Speaker agree to the essential fea-
lures of the Lockwood-Donohue bill,
which has the Endorsement of the ma
jority Of tho teachers Of the state and
practically all Of New York City's
$4,000 teachers.
The committee, which calls itself the
Non-Partisan Conference Committee of
the Assembly, will call on Speaker
Sweet at 1880 o'clock tomorrow
morning to make it's demands
l., ~
ference established precedent in the
Assembly. 1t was the first time in the
history Of the state, so far as any one
could recall, that members of the
Speakers own party called confer
ence and invited the opposition to join
with it in undoing the work of the pre-
siding official
The conference was called when it
was learned that Speaker Sweet had
held q meeting Of his own here yester-
day and decided not to ave the teach
crs anything like what they had been
demanding.
Lockwood Donohue bill overboar I'd
lock, stock and barrel
While the one and a half mill tax
will raise only about s2o,O00,O00, it is
proposed that the rest of the money
needed be met by the localities.
At the Assembly non partisan con-
ference it was agreed that any legisla-
ton passed should mandate the locali-
ties to raise the necessary additional
sums, so that New -ork City teachers
will receive $500 increase and other
localities proportionatc increases.
Teachers Encouraged
BY virtue Of the mandatory pro-
visions, it is felt that Mayor Hylan,
who is opposed to salary increases for
teachers, cannot defeat the purposes Ct
the bill in so far as it affects New
York City.
The action Of the greater New York
members gave considerable encourage
ment to the school teachers who have
been in Albany making every effort to
stem the attack against the full in
crease proposal, and which was led by
Senator Henry NJ Sage, chairman of
the Senate Finance Committee: ma,
jority leader j. Henry Walters an ]
Speaker Sweet. The Men York mem
bers believe that the lower paid teach
ers should be favored in the apportion-
ing of money, and that the principals
and high paid teachers will consent to
this arrangement