The Washington herald., 1921-05-30
FOCHT CRITIClzES
DELAY YN MEETING
,NEEDSOFSCHOOLS
House Committee Head
Urges $40, 100000 for
- District.

The position taken by the board
of education in asking congress for
an appropriation of s2,0o0.ee0 at
present for school purposes and de-
laying the more comprehensive ex-
pansion of the schools until a future
date was vigorously censured by
Representative B. X. Focht, of Penn
sylvania, chairman of the house
District committee. last night in an
address at patriotic exercises in the
Luther Place Memorial church.
Education Needed Now.
You cannot educate five years
from now the pupils who are on
part time now or who are not at
present receiving the kind of edu-
cation they need. Five years from
now a great portion of them will
have completed their schooling. 1t
is said that there are s5.OOo.O OOe be-
longing % the District in the fed
eral treasury. At the capitol they
tell me this is not so. 1 do not
know. but if it is. favor the gov
ernmcnt matching it with another
s5.oeO.Oee. totaling a sum of s10.-
100000 for District schooling. l re-
matter of education
Down in Pennsylvania" con-
tinued Representative Focht. I'VE
have just appropriated $4,000. 900
for schools We give free school
books and some of the pupils we
feed and some we wash. am amaz-
ed at conditions in the District"
Suggests Work for Army.
Representative Focht added an
other suggestion relative to the ad-
Vancement of the districts interests.
IF Secretary Weeks wants another
$4,000 men for the army. why not
take this number and quarter them
in Washington. Let them work
here for the Identification of the
city at decent wages. instead of
spending their time idling in bar
racks"
"POorhouses should all be burned
down" said the congressman They
are disgrace to an American COM
munity. In Pennsylvania, we give
pensions to the unfortunate mothers
who in other parts of the country
are consigned to poorhouses.
am for the widows and children.
We must extend the pension prin-
ciple."
Warns of Broomstick Drills.
Touching the question of military
preparedness. Representative Focht
warned against the recurrence in
any future wars of "brOomstick
drills"
The army is asking for several
hundred millions added appropria-
tions. If this is granted, let il be
used. and on the floor of the house
] will so suggest, for the produc-
tion in appropriate quantities of the
arms necessary for war. They should
be turned out like Ford automO-
biles.. We should by all means save
ourselves the embarrassment and in
efficiency that revealed itself in this
respect during the late war"
Glory in I. =. Citizenship.
The glory of America the con-
gressman said, is the right of citi-
zenship. You may be a subject of
an empire. but in America We are
citizens Europe will have to work
out its own salvation. 1t will take
some years. but finally a new pro-
gram. better adapted to the needs
of its people will be put into force.
The nobility will have to look for
other jobs. and the land will be re-
stored to its people. The Hapsburgs.
the HOhenzOllerns. and the Roman
offs have gone. The constitutional
monarchs are of considerably less
Importance. Theodore Roosevelt is
reported to have said that he would
rather be a vice-pTesident of the
United States than one of the con-
stitutional crowned heads of the
t.nntlnanf :,