The Washington times., 1923-06-09
GUARDIANS HIT
\. BACK !. At
! ~ett~sa.Hv. la
AGENT

Issue Statement Declaring
Mrs. West Was Asked to
Resign Her Post.
CONTINUED from Page 1s.J
cial record OF the action taken un-
Hess 1t should become necessary to
| take further action to make that
i already taken effective.
Kindly let me know your wishes
@in this connection as early as pos
sible. Very respectfully.
80 5 w. w. MILAN
Il Letter was Ignored.
Receiving no reply to the fore
going letter, on June 6, 1928, !
wrote the agent as follows:
Washington, D. c., June 8, 1928.
Mrs. Ella III. West, agent Board Of
| Children's Guardians, Municipa!
| Building, Washington, d. G.
Dear Madam:
On the s1st of May, last. adj
dressed you q letter Of which the
| following IL copy. VIZ:
| TIeret the letter of May 81, above
was quoted.)
Not having heard from you and
| feeling that much more than q
reasonable time for reply has been
! allowed, / now report to you Official
ly the information given in the
letter quted above, and officially
request that you favor me with q
reply to said letter and to this
letter, mailed or sent in time to
be- in my hands by the Sth instant
at noon.
Every respectfully,
/ wv. w. MILAN,
President. Board OF Children's Guar
/ dams, District of Columbia
The President presented the sub
| ject Of q change in the office OF
agent to the board in executive
session on May 26, 1923. Three
members OF the board had then ex-
pressed themselves to him as fa-
voring q change and being fully in
accord with them. he made q fourth.
| Although the result was then
clearly indicated, action was post.
poned because OF the absence Of
one member. On May 20. with all
the members present, 1t was ascer-
tanned that Messrs. Aukurn, Doyle,
McReynolds, Strasburger. Mrs.
change and that Mrs. Marshall.
Mrs. Grosvenor, and DR.. Warfield
were opposed.
Step Taken Reluctantly.
The action Of the board In thus
demanding the agents resignation
was taken reluctantly, and after it
had been assured by members sup
posedly In the confidence of the agent
that she did not intend to resign at
present and after the subject had
been discussed with her by the Presi-
| dent and one other member with Ike
| result.
Criticism OF the board and its work
| has been growing In volume for very
much more than a year. These
criticisms. except as to the closing
| OF the Industrial Home School, have
been more against administrative
methods than against policies
Indeed, there is not now and has
not, been In recent years any
divergence Of views among the
members Of the Board Of Children's
Guardians as to placing children In
homes rather than in institutions,
but 1t has long been apparent that
some Improvement in administrative
| methods and in the details OF the
boards work was necessary
parent since the legislation of
February last and the re-organiza-
| ton OF the board as to be no longer
| ignored, and 1t has seemed to a
majority of the board that the Inn
proyement could be brought about
only by g. change Of its executive
officers.
Declares Homes Best.
All intelligent people concede that
| a home is better for child than
an institution. but many, including
a majority, IL not all Of the present
board, do not subscribe to the
doctrine that any home Is better
than any institution. They think a
good institution is better than q
poor home. -
some Of the, attacks directed
against the board last summer pro.
ceeded upon the assumption that all
the homes 1t had selected were bad
and that the situation would we. com.
It's 1900 wards In the Industrial
Home School. .
On the other hand, now that the
board intends to make q rational use
Of the school; In accordance with the
will of Congress, the criticism has
shifted, ant" the advocates Of the pri-
vate home policy, including most of
the so-called trained social work
ers," are apparently greatly dis.
turhed at the thought that the
board, by placing few Of it's wards
| temporarily and until good private
homes can be. found, in a school
whose total capacity Is about 1876,
has turned it's back upon the private
home policy and intends, as was
stated In recent article, to ICON.
fine its wards in institutions"
One criticism was as unfair as
the other. In the unfortunate con-
| troversy concerning the Industrial
| Home School, the zeal of the ma
1ority Of the Board of Childrens'
Guardians, as then constituted, to
remove all children from that in
stitution Immediately, was so great
| that it is probable that some mis-
takes were made in the selection of
homes.
Recalls Congress Hearings.
| represented to the committees
on appropriations Of the House and
Senate thaG the condition as it ex-
listed prior to February last, with
the school under the control of a
separate board, was an impossible
: one.
1 do not know whether this state.
| L.