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Show WHAT THE BOND ISSUE IS. If the people of this city vote the school bonds asked by the board of education, edu-cation, they "will -do so becnuso of the need of a high 6chool building, condoning con-doning the graft certain to onsuc.'for the sake of getting some kind of a sehboj-btiilding on some kind' of a programme pro-gramme that so far is not disclosed. Afi wc have said whenever dismissing this question, thero is evident need of the high school. There is also a disposition disposi-tion oti the part of this city, and al-wnys al-wnys has been, to vote needed money for school purposes, the taxpn3'crs recognizing recog-nizing the need and advantage of having hav-ing good public schools. But in this enso the solf-sockihg, grafting propensities of those in control of tho board of education have been mado so manifest, their brn 7.011 effrontery effron-tery in' whitewashing and condoning graft in the case of the ex-superintendent of buildings and among thenipolvos. that (hero is absolutely no trusting them. They have been peculiarly unfortunate, unfor-tunate, too) in their making of contracts con-tracts for school buildings. In the matter mat-ter of the Onequn school, north of the fair grounds, tho contract was taken away from the lowest, bidder and given to a bidder .$0000 higher, for no reason that has over been explained. . Tho natural nat-ural inference is that somebody got a rake-off on account of that $0000. In letting the contract for the 'Jefferson school,- there- waf difficulty, bidders defaulting, de-faulting, and nobody- sooms to know much about how the school was put up. It was under Mr. Bridwell's superiu-tondencj', superiu-tondencj', and that supcrintondency is by no means a guaranty of. good work. Quito the reverse. It guaranteed noth ing except that certain favored ones were admitted into illegal participation whore they had no right to figure at all. Tho Tribune 3'eslerday morning printed print-ed from tho records certain items-of supplies furnished tho board, partly without, any competition, although the sums wcro .considerable, and the money was paid to a then foreman of ono of the members of tho board, Mr. Giau-quc. Giau-quc. It appears also that Mr. Newman continues his nepotism right along to the present time, and that a number of his eons and relatives were on tho pn3'-roll pn3'-roll even as late as December at extravagant ex-travagant prices for. the services rendered. ren-dered. Mr. Martin- also continues his suppb' of coal to tho schools, ho being a member of the board and s.uch supply b3' him being in diroct violation of tho law. The fact that this nepotism and graft control in the board is evident from the passage of the resolution whitewashing cx-Superinlcndcnt Bridwell, though he was plainly guilty of irregularities and of conniving at nepotism and graft on. his payrolls. It was, in fact, exceeding ex-ceeding difficult to get some of those payrolls at; all, Bridwell claiming that they had been lost, and afterwards explaining ex-plaining that one or two of them had been found in an extraordinary and unusual place. Mr. Mat. Thomas acted tho. part of a stalwart, honest public, official in trying to get to tho bottom of these Bridwell mysteries. But ho was not supported by the board. In fact, the board sccmod from-tho first more disposed to persecute Mr. Thomas for his zeal in the service of public ofiicicnc3' and public honest than to' deal with the unfaithful official who was under investigation; and finalb', as the' inquiry began to get hot about ono or two other members of tho board, tho prevailing sentiment in that body was that the investigation must "proceed no further and it was stopped. Later b3 reason of that cowardice and dereliction dere-liction to public duty the board had the gall a couple of weeks ago to give its unfaithful superintendent a clean bill of health because nothing had been adjudged ad-judged against him. Tho board did not dare to-pursuo tho investigation to its legitimato conclusion, for fenr certain other members of tho board would be involved in public shamo and disgrace, and it actually had tho audacit3' to plead this dereliction on its own part ao a reason why Bridwell should be exculpated. ex-culpated. We do not see how it is possible for any taxpayer to vote in favor of theso bonds under theso circumstauccs. Tho onto' reason imaginable is that such taxpayer so voting considers, the urgency urgen-cy of having a high school building sufficient to take the risk of the graft certain to ensue, and to condone the stealing -if only tho high school can be bad. But since. tho control of the board is. . evidently under grafting influenco and is also incompetent, the hope of getting a worth3' high school is so very poor that it snreb" is not worth while to take the risk. Bettor wait a year or two until tho board can bo purged of iis graft, propensities, and then wo can .have a high school .honestly built and pue worthy of the cit3" and of the school work to be done therein. |
