Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1944-05-22
behind
THE News
BY Paul
Mallon


cation bulletin.
What happened there is a
typical example applicable IN
varying degrees TO the rest OF
the country.
The trust crowd apparently
was powerful and dominant and
went after me roughly for my
persistent proofs that they had
broken down discipline and
scholarship in the schools and
weakened the country intellec-
tually with their disregard of
facts-and-fgures education, and
their greater fr e d m for
pupils system.
AN ASSISTANT superintend-
"A ent. Theodore R. Wright,
went before a First Methodist
Church forum with the most
preposterous conceivable accu-
Sations against me-although l
received my fundamental edu-
cation in his elementary schools
there 30-odd years ago. He went
to the right place 10 make such
scurrilous and pitiful defense OF
his new system, because the
crime of progressive education
is equally great against all
churches, and all religion.
You cannot teach free-run-
ming children to practice self
indulgence in the schools. and
expect them to be good Metho-
diSts or good anythings. The
theories of self-indulgence and
religious self-discipline are in
compatible.
I will handle him and his
kind later-in detail.
THEY turned my newspaper
l. there against me with de-
ceptions. A local columnist
named Feidleson wrote that l
was a rather despicable person
anyway because l was against
the New Deal presumably the
one Mr.. Roosevelt announced
was dead many months ago..
One editorial writer twisted
my remarks TO make it appear
l was against the teachers, try
ing to get the teachers to turQ
against me. Although the news
paper has published my column
page one, column one for Il
years, the editors were forced
or induced TO remove it to an
inside page.-as- if to-let-the
trust say:
THAT will finish you, young
fellow"
Do you recognize these tac-
tics? They are the common
practices of villiany. the cor
rupt tactics of political ma
chimes, the kind of intellectual
dishonesty you hardly expect Of
men assigned to teach truth and
honor to the children of the
nation.
DUT they are also signs of
- weakness. If they had any
sound ground on which to stand,
they would have displayed it,
yet not a single inclination for
honest denial of my facts APP
peared.
After all that campaign, the
Birmingham Teachers Associa-
ton bulletin has just completed
poll of teachers there on the
question:
"DO you I'm general agree or
disagree with the Paul MallOn
article on education that have
recently been appearing In the
daily PRESS"
Every tenth teacher whose
name appeared in the telephone
book was called and assured her
name would not be divulged.
The bulletin says:
-Four Of the teachers hest
tated to give their decision. un-
til reminded no names would be
used, then said:
oh UeU, l agree with Mr..
Mallon then
THE poll showed 70 per cent
l. of the high school teachers
in agreement with me. % out
of the 70 polled. Only three
disagreed and three would not
commit themselves.
OF the so elementary grade
teachers called, % were favor
able to my position, Is unfavor-
able and nine on the fence. The
BTA bulletin comments:
an general, those who taught
the lower grades were nearly
unanimous i'm condemnation Of
the Mallon articles, while those
who taught the higher of the
elementary grades were more
likely to agree with him."
AS a whole, So per cent Of
the teachers agreed, "a per cent
disagreed, while 10 per cent
said they were not familiar
with my articles or that they
were on the fence and could not
say either way. In short Mr..
Wrights' own teachers deny
him.
TNHE BTA bulletin published
L its poll under a heading: