The Semi-weekly leader., 1922-11-08
HOW WOMEN FIND OUT ABOUT
THE LAWS.

The Leader published a full ac-
count Of the awful tragedy on the
A. G v. Crossing when seven young
lives Of school children were crush
ed out by the train in Warren coun-
ty, when the oliver OF the school
truck loaded with liking freight. is
said to have tried to beat it., to the
crossing.
Mrs. Stanford N. Collier. who was
not among the stricken mothers
writes the following interesting and
Informative letter to the Yicksburg
Herald which the Leader hopes. ev-
cry woman. at least. will read
Il am writing this letter. says
Mrs. Collier, ''solely in behalf Of the
children Of Warren county who at
tend the county schools and their
parents who may be ignorant Of the
law. as was, before this awful ira
gedy at Bovina occurred in our
midst. Naturally everyone was an
xious to know who was responsible
for such a catastrophe and our coun-
ty superintendent informed us of the
law on this subject.
According to law, he vas forced
to accept the lowest bidder as driver
on this route, without regard for his
fitness for the place. Also, accord
ing to law, the trustees were obliged
to accept him.. even if they knew he
was not capable, unless some COM
plant was made against him by one
or more of the patrons. I understand,
though I do not state it as fact,
that three families whose children
were in the Bovina district, were
sending their children to Culkin
Academy because they considered
this driver incompetent.
lone of the Bovina trustees stated
in a meeting at Bovina, held Friday,
October 81, that only one complaint
had ben made to him and that by
a lady who did not desire her name
mentioned and who said she did not
care to push the matter. The other
two trustees said nothing, so 1t is
presumed there were no complaints
made to them. If any or all Of these
trustees had known Of the un1tness
of this driver for the responsibility
placed upon him and had refused
to give him the contract, and were
sued by the driver in consequences,
venture to say there is not a court
in the United States that would not
have upheld their action in striving
to protect and safeguard the 29 little
lives which were daily placed in jeo-
pardy.
However, one of the Bovina trus-
tees at the Bovina meeting said that
the patrons on this route were di-
rectly responsible for this tragedy,
and I, as one of the patrons, wish to
say that if those stricken parents who
lost their children and those OF us
who were spared this sorrow, had
known the responsibility was ours.
and not the trustees who accepted
him, the tragedy would not have oc-
Cured. never saw or heard OF this
man until he was put in charge OF
my little girl and other children
along this route, and naturally sup
posed, as think other parents did,
that if he, was acceptable to the
county superintendent and our trus-
tees. he was man capable of full
filling his trust, as from the very
meaning of the word trustee, we
had imposed this trust in them. We
had nothing to do with the bids or
the contract when 1t was let, and as
private individuals, had no way OF
his fitness for the re-
sponsibility given to him, SO I think
that, if in spite of this fact, we are
the responsible ones, we should all
know it, and take drastic measures
to change the law.
when any building or road con-
tract is let, the law provides for its
being let to the lowest and "best"
bidder. We had no such protection
for our children, as we are informed
that the word best is not in our
school contracts.
eff such condition of affairs ex-
lists in Warren County as this, hope
all our good citizens, who have the
interest of the children at heart will
take immediate steps to correct such
a law and protect our children in
the future, so that these seven little
lives may not have been given in
T..