Evening star., 1952-07-25
Foes Of Transfer
Of Eliot Urge
Reconsideration
Proposal to Shift
Mckinley Prompts
Demand to Board
By Jones 6, Deone

Oy JoWeS ~. Deone
The Board Of Education TO-DAY
was asked to reconsider the trans.
fer Of Eliot Junior High School &
Negroes on the basis Of new evi.
dence.
The evidence. opponents said, /.
School Supt. Hobart M. Corning,
confidential report, proposing 8
future racial switch for McKinley
High School. DR.. Corning tool
the wraps of this proposal after
the Eliot decision.
Nearly $50 white citizens votec
the new plea at a meeting last
night. The meeting created 9
Citizens Committee for Com.
munity Action to battle the Eliot
move and other school changes.
Eliot'S transfer was ordered only
two weeks ago in a reversal of a
previous School Board decision. II
the, board takes the matter up
again, it will be considering a Sec
ond reversal. q
Requires Special Meeting.
A special meeting would be nee
essary. John M. 'Curran, leader
of the dissident group, said he was
sure Board President c. Melvin
Sharpe would call it.
Mr.. Sharpe said today he had
told Mr.. Curran he would call a
meeting only on the basis of Sub
Stantiap new evidence. He said
he had not received the commit
tees request yet and hadn't de-
cided what action to take.
Citizens sought, two weeks ago,
to get Mckinley switched instead
of Eliot.
Both Mr.. Sharpe and Board Vice
President Albert E. Steinem favor a
Mckinley switch. Mr.. Steinem
withheld his vote at the recent
Eliot meeting, and Mr.. Sharpe as
president didn't vote, either. The
vote was 6 to /.
The citizens are hoping to per-
suade two new members to change
their votes. The new members,
Walter N. Tobriner and Miss
Mary Harriet Parker, swung the
reversal.
Mrs. Edna Quantrille, an out
spoken critic of Supt. Corning,
was elected temporary chairman
of the new committee. She an
nounced the group would work for
a better break for white school
children not only in the Eliot
matter. but elsewhere in the city.
Curran Calls Meeting.
John NJ. Curran, president of
the Southeast Washington Citi-
zNns' Association. called last
nights meeting.
Mr.. Curran said the committee
probably also wifi fight a new
Negro move to obtain the white
Stanton Elementary School Annex
at Alabama avenue and Naylor
road Sc.
4 Negro committee earlier this
week demanded the annex in place
Of Negro school, Birney, which
is scheduled to take students from
overcrowded Turner and Garfield
schools this fall. Offlcials haven't
acted on the Stanton request.
Mrs. Quantrille saidi the new
committee will cover the whole city
If residents in other areas want
its help.
The group sent its plea in tele-
grams to all nine School Board
members today. Another citizens
meeting will be arranged next
week to consider the boards re-
action. Mrs. Quantrille announced.
Corning Bitterly Criticized.
Mr.. CurIan told last nights ses-
sion, at the outset, that we're not
going to threaten any strikes or
injunctions." Later, however, he
said that if the School Board
doesn't act, the group can then
go to court. Funds will have to
be raised for that purpose, he
added.
The meeting brought bitter
charges against the School Board
and DR.. Corning.
One woman asserted that DR..
Corning had it in mind to inte-
crate the schools and was doing it
step by step. Il
Somebody's got to step on him
and stop It," she declared.
Mrs. Robert Colson, 118 Four
teenth street Sc, said citizens
"have right to know his plans for
our schools"
Mrs. Quantrille said DR.. Corn
ing should make public his plans
for the next year at least.
The chairman urged citizens to
write and telephone School Board
members.