The Monmouth inquirer. [volume] (Freehold, N.J.) 1865-1933, 1923-12-20
Effort to Censure Legislative
Committee for Bad Faith Is
Defeated After Debate.
BRoBE RETIREMENT FINANCE
District School Boards Place RestrIc-
ton on Legislative Group-Feder-
ated Boards Vote Down Crit
ics-Proqressives Active.

NOUS debate preceding an unsuccess-
full attempt to rebuke its legislative
committee were among the features
that marked the business session Of
the federation, held here in the Stacy
Trent.
Other features included the adop-
ton of resolutions opposing the with
drawal of school moneys to increase
the teachers retirement fund and the
proposal to take the appointment Of
the state commissioner of education
out of the governors hands and an adj
dress by former Governor Martin A.
Brumbaugh Of Pennsylvania, who be-
fore holding that Office was superin-
tendent Of schools of Philadelphia.
The effort to rebuke the fedora
TONS legislative committee, which
was voted down, was based on state
ment read by Mrs. A. Haines Lippin-
colt of Camden Part of the state
ment set forth that the missionaries
and other Informative material sent
out by the legislative committee Of
the federation during the 1928 legis-
lative session were preiudiced and
misleading.
Bad Faith Is Impaired
The statement impaired bad faith
to the legislative committee of the
federation and Misrepresentation of
the attitude of the local boards in the
state. 1t was concluded by the offer
of the following resolutions:
Whereas, the legislative commit
tee of the Federation of District
School Boards has exerted its infiu-
ence in favor of certain bills and
against others 'by providing the local
boards with partial and prejudiced in
formation; and,
Whereas, 1t is essential for the
health of our school system that the
local boards be kept in close and ac-
curate touch with school legislation;
BE it resolved, That vote of CEN
sure be passed on the legislative com
mittee and it's chairman, Mr.. Living
ston, and that the president of the
Federation of District School Boards
be directed in future to appoint only
such men and women to the legisla-
tive committee as are capable of
weighing evidence dispassionately
and reporting it correctly"
Question of "PartIzanship"
In the bulletin sent out by the
legislative committee of the Fedora
ton of District School Boards on Feb
ruary "a, 1923, under the heading
Politics in the Public Schools this
paragraph followed:
"'The legislative committee desires
you to know that few society and
club women Of this state and New
York City are strongly seeking to in
ject partizan politics into the public
school system of New Jersey. Their
representatives are appearing at meet
ings in the interest of partizan public
school legislation, and insisting that
they represent over 100000 women of
the state Their special inter-
est this year concerns Senate bill 35,
shifting the appointment of the com
missioner of education from the gov
ernor to the state board of education;
Senate SO, known as the school census
bill, and Senate 81, the county atten-
dance supervisor bill. These bills are
in the hands of the Senate educational
committee and they should stay
there
These statements are untrue. Bills
IS, SO and 81 were Endorsed by the
New Jersey Parent-Teacher Associa-
ton and Mothers Congress, by the
New Jersey Woman's Republican
Club; the provisions embodied in bills
3s and 81 have been sponsored for
years by the State Federation of Wo-
mems Clubs. Furthermore, it would
be interesting to the local boards to
know that these bills were incorpo-
rated as planks in the Republican
platform at the request of the Repub-
lican women.
ITO call these bills partizan is dis
ingenious on the part of a committee
as experienced as the legislative COM
mittee of the Federation of District
School Boards, who are aware that
a bill to be partizap must be Of ben
eft to one political party at the ex-
pense of another. These bills are for
the benefit of the children of the state
and are without partizan significance.
Cites "FIagrant Propaganda"
"The last and most fragrant exam
pie of this misleading propaganda,
which the federation has Endorsed,
was the printing and circulating of
report Of the December meeting of the
Federation of District School Boards
made by Mr.. Livingston at meeting
Of the Paterson board of education On
December Is, 1922. This report was
mainly an attack on the paper read
by Mrs. Seymour Cromwell at the
meeting Of the federation and de-
Tense of the methods which she had
questioned. II the aim of the legisla-
tive committee has been to inform the
local boards of the proceedings of the
December meeting, 1t would not have
confined its circular to the intemper-
ate and misleading statements made
n 4->4~ hsr&