Evening star., 1924-06-15
0USTING OF ACADEMY
TEACHERS ASSAILED
Admiral Wilson Breaks Law and
Personal Pledge by Action,
Says Dr.. Lovejoy.
LONG SERVICE SEEN IGNORED
Secretary Of Navy May Be Asked
to Review Dismissals.
SPECIAL Dispatch to The Star.

Special Dispatch to The Star
BALTIMORE, Md, June 14-Ois
missal OF certain civilian teachers At
the Naval Academy by Rear Admiral
Henry b. Wilson. superintendent. is
plain violation of the naval an
preparation bill as passed by Con-
gress, 1t was charged today by DR.
arthur 0. Lovejoy, professor of phil
osopny at Johns Hopkins University.
Dr. Lovejoy in letter to the Balti-
more Sun also asserted that the dis
inlssals violated a written pledge
given by Admiral Wilson to CON
Eressional committee February q
mat he would dismiss no CIVILIAN IN.
Structor without six rnoutbx' notice
except for cause
rive or the more than a scDre Of
tne clSlllan staff slated for dismissal
| nave been notified their services will
not De needed after June 80. Admiral
allegations
DR.. Lovejoy is a former president of
| the American Association of I'M
versity Professors and now is 4 mem
Der or the executive committee Prof
A. Q. Leuschner of the University or
California, president of the organiza
tlon, has requested DR. Lovejoy 10
aoVlse him of the circumstances Cr
| the dismiSsalS
May Appeal 10 Wilbur.
| DR.. l.oVejoy said the association .T
| pody may request Secretary of tEe
navy Wilbur to review Admiral VII
| son action. The association a1eo
may take the matter up with the cor
gresslonal committee on naval af
| lions, he declared
| Dr- l/oyejOy'S letter foIlnus
| . 70 the Information already given
m the sun concerning the wholesaIe
DISMISSAL or civilian teachers at the
naval Academy it is perhaps do
sirable that certain further fscts he
aoded, In order that the public may
understand the significance of this
incident.
The dropping of five professor.
.il. .iiree OF them Of more than twenty
years service, without more than three
weeks notice. is plain violation ar
an act OF Congress. The naval appro-
prIauons bill as passed contains the
Io5I IIoo55lIoWlng provision: Until June 90
1870, II for any cause the number or
civilian professors or instrnctors ON
pioyed in the United States Naval
academy on January !, 1924. shall
pe reduced in reducing the
number of civilian professors no ex
Islng contract shall be violated No
ciNlllan professor, associate or assist
ant professor or instructor shall no
dismissed except for sufficient cause
"ilhout SIX months notice to him that
ms services will no longer be needed,
Written Pledge Alleged.
Ihese dismissals also conflict with
d personal written pledge given III
the superintendent of the Naval
academy to a congressional commit
tee on February 81. 1924 ADMIR-
wilson wrote to E. L. French. chair
nan OF the House committee on ap-
propriations:
sirs: 1t has been my practice. and
TO sever the connection of am.
clvilian Instructor from the Nayat
academy except for cause. without
sivlns MN six months notice that
ed.-Congressional Record. March
II, iva, House Pam, Page 4SlS.
No sufficient cause for sunuar,,
dismissal in the sense which the tern,
Is commonly understood to have in
such context has been stated and
none appears to exist IT is true tbaT
the present terms of appointmept NJ
these five professors Technically eY
pre- on June 30 next. But it was
OBVIOUSLY not the intent of Congress
10 provide merely that professor
should not be dismissed before tbr
expiration of their contracts without
SIX months notice, for the same
| Paragraph provides that eycent g
cause none shall be dismissed ~ Iii
before the expiration of their COW
| tracts.
Action Declared ILLEGAL
! The manifest purpose Of the arr
| and this especially clear to anv ons
who will read the hearings ana d.
oates preceding its enactment, was
TO forbid precisely what has been
done in this case.
! ''ENypn
actlon IS indefensible No resnecta-
pie CIVILIAN institution of lear1in-
could conceivably have dealt in such
q manner with men who had given il
many years of faithful service
Certain OF the professors disrnfsr
eo! apparently four of them, have re
| celFed SIX months notice. but hold
appointments for five, years, ending
jIdnt. 5ule 81, 1923. An opinion Of the
9udge advocate general of the Neyy has
held these documents to be Duly Cxc-
cuted and binding uniIateral con
tracts Furthermore. as above noted
congress has expressly forbidden
that any existing contract be X;o-
lated.
Not Believed Necessary.
No such reduction in the number
of civilian teachers as has occurred
is made necessary by the limitations
OF the congressional appropriations
for salaries. 1t is true, as already
mentioned in the Sun, that the an
preparation for this year is $50 600
less than that for last wear: but the
total of $275,000 is only $1,000 les
than the actual expenditure last year
as reported by Admiral Wilson 10 the
subcommittee of the House commit
tee on appropriations.
''This small difference would
largely be covered by the normal
number of instructors. In any case,
no dismissals in violation of contract
or of statute were unavoidable
Here. again, the considered purpose
of the committee on naval appro-
priations embodied in the act as pass
ed has been disregarded.
THE superintendent of the
academy has recommended that the
appropriation for salaries be reduced
by S9SOO0, involving the elimination
of some twenty eight civilian teach
ers. This the committee, after hear
ingS. refused to approve, actually
adding $4,000 to the budget expressly
in order TO prevent the proposed dras-
tic reduction. of the staff of trained
teachers Of non-naval subjects
Nevertheless, approximately the re-
duction which Congress deliberately
refused 10 sanction has occurred.
Efficiency Seen ImperiIed.
THE incident thus involved ques-
tions of practice to individuals, of
respect for contracts and of suprem-
acy of the civil power in the conduct
of the Naval Academy. 1t also effects
vitality the academy's educational
efficiency The instruction given
there in ordinary academic subjects
can be efficient only in so far as it is
given. not by a constantly changing
succession of naval officers tempora-
rily detached from sea duty. without
teaching experience and without spe-
cial (some times virtually without
any) knowledge of the subjects
taught, but by a permanent body Of
competent professional teachers
thoroughly trained in their subjects
while also keenly interested in adopt