The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1924-07-01
BIG BUSINESS
INFLUENCE ON
TEACHERS Seen
N. E. A. Considering
Federal Secretary

Especial to The Daily WorkeC
WASHINGTON, d. c., June 3d.
One of the three most engrossing sub
jecls that the thousands of delegates
to the National Education Association
convention here are discussing is that
of the establishment of federal
department of education with a
secretary sitting in the Presidents
cabinet The two other chief subjects
are the teachers retirement allowance
and the permanent tenure guarantee.
DR.. George D. Strayer, professor of
school administration at Colombia
University, and William R. Siders of
Idaho, chairman of the board of
trustees of the N. e. A., are both in
terested in the passage of the Sterling
Reed educational bill, which would
establish the new federal department.
They say that it would greatly assist
by research work in the establishing
OF better curricula in the states and
would tend to set higher general
standard of qualification for teachers.
Another Chance for Influence
Directors to the education bill claim
that it must be carefully handled or
the seoretaryship will become another
Presidential plum to be awarded to
some approved representative of big
BUSINESS. The chances for standardizing
propaganda in behalf of the nations
plundering business interests" are
too great, these DIRECTORS say, thru the
proposed federal department Of educa-
ton. The idea of centrally directed
education itself is not fault, the
opponents admit, but they point out
that under the present capitalist
system, with the financial and indus
trial trusts controlling government,
there are grave dangers to watch for.
The opponents of the federal depart
ment also show that organized labor
fought for a secretary of labor IN the
Presidents cabinet, blindly thinking
that the interests of the workers would
be aided by such representation" in
government. What labor got was an
open-shop, anti-union representation"
that has done infinitely more harm
than good to the workers of this
country.
The pensioning of superannuated
teachers is not seriously questioned by
delegates, of course, altho there will
be a fight to get these benevolent !.
business interests to pass the proper
legislation in the states. The matter
of permanent tenure is raised to Sc
cure teachers against being turned out
Of jobs for political reasons, changes
in the trustees, for instance.
Would Teach Business MoraIs"I
Payson Smith, state commissioner
of education of Massachusetts, adj
dressed the teacher delegates from the
Capitol steps with blurb about demo
cracy and not letting "any agency that
seeks to array class abainst class, the
people Of one creed against another, or
citizens of one racial derivation
against citizens of another" interfere
in educational work. If he meant the
Ku Klux, why didn't he say so? Leon
w. Goodrich of New York talked in a
similar vein. Business morals" instead
of the Political" standard of "any-
thing to get by" should be taught,
according to William B. Forbush, Of
New York. Critics of reaction have
not been able to discern much differ
ence between Business morals" and
political morals, except that the
latter are is still in the crude and the
former have been made slicker.
Olive M. Jones is president of the
Association.