Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-03-17
C. SCHOOL ADMINISTRATION CRITICIZED FOR "SQUANDEFN
SIMMONS SAYS "DOO-DADS"
REPLACE NEEDED ROOMS
Architect Is Accused of Failing to
Keep Faith With House
Subcommittee

9
what they have put in, and / am hoping
we can 60 beyond the Budget Bureau
but every dollar that is squandered on
/ a building is taken away from another
building"
/ Stars Survey Cited.
At this point Mr.. Ballou declared
/ there is no reason why any cnllo snouio
/ be seated at an inadequate or insult
! able desk, and IF that is the case 1t is
| because somebody in the field has failed
| to do his duty" Here Mr.. Simmons
| cited The Stars recent survey of the
/ elementary schools.
You have seen the stories in The
! Star in reference to the Investigations
/ of a Star reporter of Washington
| schools. in one of which at least he
found children using old card tables
| and in which he found children using
chairs that had been made in the
manual training department. in which
he found children using chairs that
! their parents had sent to the schools, in
which he found a child in the tubercu-
lar hospital using crib which had been
brought in because the school did not
furnish BEDS" he declared.
To this DIR. Ballou repeated his as
Sertion that these things were because
somebody in the field failed in his duty
Representative Simmons criticism OF
District school authorities reached an
other height when he denounced the
superintendent and the Board of Edu-
cation for permitting Maj. r. Q. Will
marth to retain the business manage
ment of the school system. Maj. Will
marth himself was condemned by the
Nebraskan as being incompetent to
handle the business affairs, and was In
turn defended by DR.. Ballou.
Discuss Business Manager.
The business manager question was
brought into the hearings when DR.
Ballou defended an item for clerk for
the property accounting division in the
Office of the assistant superintendent in
charge of business affairs, who is Maj.
WiImarth. The subcommittee chair
man asked if last year his committee
had not provided for business man
ager" DR.. Ballou said it had, and
went on to explain that Jere j. Crane
was employed and made first assistant
superintendent in charge of buildings,
grounds and equipment, to whom MAJ
Wilmarth is subordinate officer. The
superintendent explained also that Mr.
Crane has general supervision OF all the
business affairs in the system and that
he is an outside" or contact man" In
the schools relations with the District
Building Offices
At this point in the testimony Mr.
Simmons stated bluntly that he and the
subcommittee had lost confidence IN
MAJ Wilmarth
You knew, DR.. Ballou, and the school
knew" Simmons said, that the thing
this committee wanted done-and we
might as we'll talk frankly about 1t
was to have Mr. Wilmarth released, be-
NJ RnnnnfAnt
to do the work and we wanted to get
somebody who was competent to do that
work"
The reading of lengthy excerpts from
the 1880 hearings were placed in the
record by Mr.. Simmons in an attempt
to show that the committee had made
its views concerning Wilmarth plain
and DR.. Charles F.. Carusi, school board
! president. undertook to explain that
since Maj. Wilmarth is subordinate &c
/ Mr. Crane, he cannot exercise any
! Jurisdiction over the business office. DR.
Ballou addec that the discussion wa:
largely ccnteIcd on the titles of the two
officers.
To this Mr. Simmons replied:
Il do not care what the titles are
Before the hearings are over it is going
to be disclosed, DIR. Ballou, that you
have Just had a wild expenditure Of
public funds in the school system: thai
the expenditures have gone through
with Mr. Wilmarth's approval, and no
Mr.. Cranes, so far as any record have
been able to find, and it is known u
everybody. 1 regret the necessity O.
putting into the record this statement
about Mai Wilmarth. We kept it gu
for two years, but it was known b.
everybody that the committee wanted
somebody in charge of decisions, respon'
sible for the expenditure of public funds
and handling business affairs that wa:
competent and had courage, anC
whether we are right in judging him Ct
not, it was our opinion he is not"
When discussion of the schools bust
ness affairs was continued the SECOND
day Mr.. Crane himself was questioned
about his responsibility for the pur'
chaSes of supplies and equipment, anC
he declared that his had been "just
general supervision"
Undecided on CrippIes.
The crippled children's schools were
brought into the hearing during dis
cussion of bus transportation costs fol
these pupils. Mr.. Simmons asked If il
would not be cheaper and better tt
build two-room schoolhouse at the
hospital, on the hospital grounds. anc
take the children down there and put
them in school in the daytime and lei
the hospital take care of them and give
them institutional treatment" DR.. Bal.
lou explained that that had been thu
attitude of the school officials since the
care of the cripples was becoming in
creasingly a disqualification problem
The question of whether school.
should be built on hospital grounds o.
whether 24-hour hospitals should b,
established for the crippled children
was held in allegiance until the Com
missioners could secure competent ad
vice and counsel. Mr.. Simmons ex
pressed deep concern over the welfare
of the crippled children, and declared
that cost should be considered secondar,
to the needs of these children.