Evening star., 1935-11-15
Rules All D. C. School En-
pI0yeS Must Turn in State.
ments Monthly to Draw
Their Salaries.
BOARD OF EDUCATION
TAKEN BY SURPRISE
Law Requires That Instructors
Must Vow They Have Not
Taught or Advocated Any Rad.
ical Theories, but Varied Inter-
pretations Had Been Given.

All teachers and other employees Of
the public school system must sign a
written statement that they have not
taught or advocated communism"
before they may receive Government
pay check, under ruling made to-
day by Controller General sIcCarl.
The ruling, served on the Commis-
Sioners, affects some 1000 school en-
ployes, of whom are about $500
teachers.
Todays development came at the
height of the controversy occaSioned
by the Interpretation made by Dis
trict and school officials concerning
the legislative rider attached to the
current appropriation act This for
bade the use of any part of the appro-
priation for public schools for the SAL
ary of any person teaching or advo-
eating communism.
Representative Blanton, Democrat
of Texas, some time ago demanded
that McCarl make such a ruling.
Corporation Counsel E. Barrett
Prettyman had ruled some weeks ago
that under the legislative rider in
question, teachers might outline the
facts of Communism so long as they
did not advocate it or give any
shadow of favoritism to that philos.
ophy of government.
Accepted by Board.
That opinion was adopted by the
District Commissioners and later was
accepted by the Board of Education
as its policy.
A group of citizens led by Mai.
Gen. Amos A. Fries. U. S. A.. retired,
has been campaigning to have the
ruling upset, eontending the inter-
probation was wrong.
Gen. Fries reaction this afternoon
when told of the McCarl decision was
a hearty Three cheers for McCarl!"
That's just fine" Fries continued.
nothing else to do but observe it.
I don't see why we should teach
communism or any other ism in our
schools but Americanism. We've got
ten along pretty well on that basis
since the Constitution was adopted"
McCarl required that employees OF
the school system sign a statement
that they had not been teaching or
advocating" communism for the
months of September and October, for
which salaries already have been paid.
This was taken to mean that a ques-
tion might be raised as to the legality
of the payment of the salaries for the
past two months If any teacher or
other school employe refused to sign.
Furthermore, the McCarl statement
of policy said the pledge Of not hav-
ing taught or advocated communism
applied not only to schools, but else
where"
Ruling Proves Surprise.
School officials were taken COM
pletely by surprise by the McCarl re-
quirement. but several board members
stated they had requested and obtained
legal advice and had approved an
opinion as to the effects of the legis-
lative rider.
1t was recalled that the author Of
the rider. Representative Cannon.
Democrat, of Missouri, who is chair
man of the District Subcommittee Of
the House Appropriations Committee,
declared it had not been intended to
ban mere statements of facts as TO
communism.
Representative Blanton, member
Of the same committee, however, took
the opposite view. He declared the
rider was intended to prevent any
teaching of communism. Cannon was
the author of the rider.
When informed of McCarl's ruling,
Cannon indicated he was surprised,
but said he had no comment to make
at this time. He explained, however.
(See McCARL, Page g.