The Connecticut labor news., 1924-01-19

me SCHOOL InuSS IS so developing thdd 1t is gaining much support for the move ment for the direct election of thenen- bers of the board, even as aldermen are elected, which was started by the New Haven Trades Council after States Attorney filling, one of the members, had taken it unto himself to decree that the high school auditorium could not be used for and Organized Labor meeting. The reason for that was perhaps that Mir. filling scented censure for himself and his actions in the preliminaries to the trial of Ernest Schliefer in the shop men's strike
 Shortly after that episode the board of education decided that 1t couldn't be bothered with the city board of finance any longer, so went to the Supreme Court and asked that body to decide 1t separate and distinct taxing district in the city, with sole powers over the tax laid and collected and how when and where the money should be spent The court did and the board of education sim ply told the city to get off it's porch and fork over what money was needed pend ing the collection of the school tax The city proper officials however had ideas
 
 School District had nothing to do with the city then the city had just as much to do with the school board and declined to come across. with the result that the teachers pay checks may be held up It IS possible however that to save the tea chers financial embarrassment Mayor Fitzgerald and the board of finance will
 make a loan" to the cshool board this month although the corporation counsel says 1t cannot legally be done
 Several vacancies in the janitorships of the various schools also occurred and the board asked the civil service com mission to hold an examination as has formerly been done Buty evidentl someone on the board had some favorite he wished to put into one of the jobs and, in the face of an opinion by the cor poration counsel that the janitors are under civil service, the board had its private attorney, who happens to be Walter M. Pickett, MT. filings assist ant state attorney, decide that the jani- tors were not under civil service. The examination was held anyway but the re- suits have not been announced. Mean while temporary appointments have been made to the berths
 The high hand actions of the board had turned the eyes of the entire city unto the fact that the city has no con trol over 1t except through the appoint ment of members by the mayor and the charter provisions are such that the ma yor and city's wishes can easily be over ridden If the members closely affiliated with him are not on the job every sec ond. The board acknowledges no re- sponsibility to anyone but itself and the impression is fast gaining ground that the charter should be promptly changed and the board put back where it belongs with the other city departments and its members elected by direct vote of the people The aldermen have no say whatever as to school buildings, matters or anything else, although they are the chosen representatives of the people who pay the bills. Unless the mayor and board of finance find some way of car rying the teachers over on the pay ques- ton this will promptly be brought about 1t can be wagered.
 The contract system at the jail was generally supposed done away with until the escape of three prisoners a week ago through the negligence of the off, cials of the firm which 1t now develops has contract to use prisoners at the jail to make wicker" work such as bas- kets, cribs, chairs and the like. The con- victs simply broke out strong bars while the forernen were not looking although 1t must have taken some time to do SO Two were caught when they didn't know enough to leave New Haven but the third and most notorious is yet at large. It also developed that during "his leis- ure" on the jail contract job he had managed to separate other prisoners | from what cash they had by various crap and other gambling games. All the sat- isfaction the public got from the coun- ty commissioners about the contract jobs | or the escape was that new rules would be laid down for the guidance of the
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