The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1927-11-25
The Real Intent.


American Legion, the Daughters and
the Sons of the American Revolution.
He further declares that it will be
the policy to investigate not only
volumes of pro-British bias, but also
those of pro-Geman, pro-Fascist and
pro-Communist. The true intent of
this committee is made clear by the
fact that the third member is the
president of the Illinois Manufac-
turers' Association, Colin c. II. Fyffe.
Manipulating the School System.
Tax lodging by the big corpora
tons has depleted the Chicago city
education fund. The schools operate
under terrible overcrowded condi-
tions. There are in numerous schools
throughout the city as many as three
classes meeting simultaneously in the
same room and as many as $4,000
children not now provided with seats.
The platoon system of teaching is
being established. This means a fac
tory system of education; housing
about 1,20b children in schools built
for about 800; keeping tneT.l rotating
from one class room to another for
the various lessons; one teacher
handling as many as 200 to $50 chill
dren day. At the end of 1925 there
were already over sixty schools
operating under this system.
Rockefeller Education.
Both the platoon system and the
junior high schools have been pushed
by the Rockefeller foundation and by
the bankers and employers repre-
sentatives Of the School Board. Both
are designed to, restrict education of
workingclass children. They are
merely to become workers anyway
and less education will make them
better objects of exploitation. Twelve
city schools have so far been con-
verified into junior high.
Destroying Teachers Councils.
The destruction of the Chicago
teachers councils went a long way to-
ward furthering the educational re-
struction schemes imposed by the
capitalist representatives Teachers
councils had existed as a recognized
part of the school system since 1913,
the teachers forming a council with
in each school without the participa-
ton of any of the administrative Of
ficers.
The councils naturally took up the
issues of effective education and made
recommendations but they also
served to help protect the interests
of the teachers, hence the campaign
for their destruction; a campaign
which was by no means resisted as
militantly by the Teachers Fedora
ton as the protection of their own
interests should have dictated
Real Issues in The Present Situation.
AS the smoke clears away from all
the hypocritical, patriotic bunk shoot
ing the real issues stand out. The
big corporate interests want to econ
omize on educational expenditures, as
far as it concerns the broad masses,
so they may continue to escape taxes.
These Chicago plutocrats want to as
sumo full control of the educational
system; the city government is the
tool to carry out these plans.
Sailing the Teachers Federation.
J. Lewis Coath, Mayor Thompson's
man, the president of the school
board, threatens to cut the wages of
the several thousand school teachers,
under the plea of depleted treasury;
yet holding them in suspense. On
June 5th he promised wage in
crease by September LIST. On June
Both he declared that a 20 per cent
wage cut would be necessary. On
July 9Th, he stated that it must be
either wage cut or bankruptcy. On
July 9th he hoped it would be pos
sible to avoid a wage cut. On August
21st he again declared a wage cut to
be necessary and on September Both
he stated that the teachers pay would
be safe from a cut. The intention
is evidently to keep the Teachers
Federation guessing and as little pre-
pared to fight back as possible.
The Taxation Issue.
The Chicago Teachers Federation
as well as the organized labor move
ment have maintained time and again
that there would be no depleted treas
ury for city educational or any
other useful purpose if every corpora
ton and wealthy individual were
made to pay taxes according to the
value of their properties. But tax
lodging on grand scale is permitted
and tax fixing has become a regular
profession.
Millions of dollars now remain in
the pockets of the big exploiters
which should go into these treasur.
les, because of the altogether too low
valuation of the big taxable proper
ties. The valuation of taxable prop
critics is in the hands of the Board OF
Assessors and the Board Of Review
of which Charles V. Barret, who is
big Bills" political sidekick, is the
head. The full valuation of taxable
property in Chicago as determined by
| these bodies in 1926 was less than