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Show POLITICS IN THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS. The sche-me of certairT'politicians to obtain control of the public schools of the state cf New York is surely working work-ing itself out. s We are sorry to see that Governor Rocsevelt has become a party to the scheme. Under the present law in the Empire state, the board of regents re-gents is an inseperable barrier between be-tween dejigning politicians and the public school system. The high character char-acter of the beard of regents is sufficient suffi-cient warrant that it can be trusted to safeguard the schools against evil designs de-signs of p'oJiticians in all parties. In order to overcome the obstacle which the board of regents presented to the plans of certain politicians who wish to make the system of education a part of the great Republican machine, a radical change in the present law was imperative. Hence the politicians set to work to bring this change about in a manner that would arouse the least t-,,,..-!: xi. .1 tsx' cTk Vlir- tail the power of the board of regents as to render it practically inoperative as regards the educational system of the state, while at the eame time it would retain the dignity of the name merely. To accomplish this Governor Roosevelt's aid was essential, and results re-sults show that it was readily obtained. The governor appointed! a commission commis-sion with power to report a scheme of education supposedly for the best interests in-terests of the people. Thio commi'tiUon, which was strictly partisan in its com-posiition, com-posiition, had among its members, a minority which under no circumstances could be induced to turn the public schools over to politicians. The majority major-ity proposed and adopted fx plan giving the governor power to appoint an active board of regenti?, the members of which of course, would be Republican politicians, politi-cians, but which at the same time m'ade honorary members of the present highly high-ly respectable board. The plan also provided for a superintendent of education edu-cation who would office for eight years i , ,AAnn m rnu ax a saiiarv oi i.u,uuu imr uuuuiu, jijic scheme further provides that said superintendent sup-erintendent shall be appointed by the board of regents eight years (mark well the point) after the enactment of the partisan scheme into law. The first superintendent with an incumbency of ! office of eight years ia to be appointed by Governor Roosevol't. This is a piece of fine political trickery. We have no doubt Governor Roosevelt and his partisans par-tisans figure that about eisht years from date a Democratic governor may be in office who could hardly be expected ex-pected to re-appoimt. Governor Roosevelt's Roose-velt's creature, in which case the power to appoint a superintendent would devolve de-volve on the board of regents, all good Republicans of course selected by Governor Gov-ernor Roosevelt himself. How very, very fine indeed. It is worthr of note that the one member of Governor Roosevelt's commission com-mission who. refused t'o be a party of the nefarious political scheme of its creator which .5 commission adopted is a Reman Catholic, Judge Joseph Daly of New York. The efforts to inveigle in-veigle Judge Daly into sympathy wish the plans of the romrnuaJion would make interesting reading. The writer of this article has personal knowledge of suggestions made by interested parties to "get Judge Daly in line," because, be-cause, as was affirmed, if he could be induced to vote for the plan "all danger of sectarian bias would te removed." To be very plain the scheme to make the New York public, school system an adjunct of a great political machine i3 cne woithy of an avoved enesny'of American institutions. How little at; heart some men have the welfare of fhils government is evident from the ma.nner in which they would jeopardize and all' for the sake of political advantage. ad-vantage. The man who would turn tlhe educa-'tiional educa-'tiional system of any state in the Union into a political fxtball is unworthy the suffrage of his fellow citizens. |
