STATEMENT OF HON. H. B. F. MACFARLAND, PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

Commissioner MACFARLAND. I am asked by the Commissioners to make a statement for them, as president of the Board, and also as the Commissioner who has had immediate supervision, so far as the Commissioners have had supervision, of the public school system of the District of Columbia. As you are aware, the Commissioners have reported upon the bills respecting the public schools introduced in the House of Representatives at this session and referred to them for report by the Committee on the District of Columbia, and we would be very glad to have those reports made a part of this record, and we solicit your consideration of them. I will not take the time to read them, but shall try to sum up briefly and rather generally our conclusions respecting the propositions involved in the bills.

I may say for the record, what is perfectly well known by the chairman, that the bills pending relating to the public schools are, first, what is called the Commissioners' bill, H. R. 8472, prepared by the board of education

Mr. MORRELL. Introduced by Mr. Babcock?

Commissioner MACFARLAND. Yes, sir; introduced by Mr. Babcock, prepared by the board of education and the Commissioners, and transmitted by them, to fix and regulate the salaries of teachers, school officers, and other employees of the board of education of the District of Columbia, and to provide for a proper system of promotion. The bill was prepared in pursuance of the desire, not only on the part of the Commissioners and the board of education. and those specially interested in the public schools, but of the entire community, for a better schedule of salaries for teachers and other employees of the public school system, who are not sufficiently compensated, especially those in the higher grades of the public schools, in comparison with teachers elsewhere.

Mr. MORRELL. How much does the aggregate increase the present salary list, if any?

Commissioner MACFARLAND. I should not be able to give that exactly at this time. It will add about 16 per cent to the appropriation.

The other bills relating to this general subject are introduced by Mr. Foster, of Vermont, and Mr. Goulden, of New York. There are five of them altogether. Three bills were introduced, two by Mr. Goulden and one by Mr. Foster, and then, after the Commissioners had reported on the Foster bill and on the Goulden bill, another was introduced by Mr. Foster and then still another by Mr. Goulden, and the Commissioners have in turn reported on them.

Besides these there is a bill proposing to amend the act making appropriations to provide for the expenses of the government of the District of Columbia, introduced by Mr. Olcott (H. R. 9738), upon which the Commissioners have also reported. I should like to speak of that bill first because the Commissioners consider that is quite different from the others, and, in regard to that, it proposes to increase the board of education to nine members, without compensation. We have suggested that an increase in the number of the members of the board is contrary to the tendency and best practice elsewhere, which

is toward a reduction of the number of the members of boards of education. Boston, which in many respects leads in public school work, has reduced its board from 24 to 5 members, and a small board rather than a large board seems to be indicated by the wisdom of experience.

As to the suggestion that the members of the board of education should serve without compensation, the Commissioners raise no objection, stating in their report that it is not believed that any of the members of the board of education have been influenced in accepting service on it by compensation allowed them or would fail to render equally good service without compensation.

Mr. MORRELL. What is the compensation now?

Commissioner MACFARLAND. It is limited to $500 per annum, $10 for each meeting attended by the individual member. I am informed on that point that that provision was made by Congress, without suggestion by the Commissioners, five years ago, when the reorganization of the public school system took place; that the Commissioners saw no reason for it and would be entirely willing, so far as they are concerned, to have it dropped. I should also say that that could be done, as Mr. Olcott suggests, by an amendment to the appropriation act; it can be done by the Committee on Appropriations.

The other features of his bill were with respect to dealing with cases of illness in the schools, and as to those we made certain suggestions, stating that a larger number of medical inspectors would be required to do what he desired; and then, in respect to the proposed addition of a school nurse, it was suggested that the more pressing need is for women, to be called matrons, or whatever, to look after the girls' departments of the high schools, and certain statements were made as to how the work is done at present.

Then in respect to the suggestion that the board of education should hold its sessions openly it was stated that the matter had better be left to the regulation of the board of education at the present, in the belief that the board will take due notice of any necessity that may exist for having its meetings and those of the committees open to the public. And since then the board of education has taken notice of the desire for open sessions, which had not been manifested, so far as I know, up to that time, and has by rule opened its sessions to the public. I do not know that the public has taken advantage of that; but, at all events, the sessions have been opened, and that suggests a general remark, which I might as well make at this point, and that is that many things suggested in these different bills can be and should be, in our judgment, regulated by rules of the board of education.

Mr. MORRELL. You mean rules within the board itself? Commissioner MACFARLAND. Yes; within its present power. not necessary to put those in an organic act. Congress in 1900 gave certain large general powers to the board of education, under which, it can make rules and regulations which will cover practically all the points of detail, such as the opening of its sessions, and many other things which are covered in these proposed bills, and it is unnecessary to put those things in the statutes.

Now, as to the general propositions in the bills commonly known as the Foster bill or bills and the Goulden bills, the Commissioners say in general that a fundamental objection lies to the proposition to

take the public school system out of the government of the District of Columbia and place it under the National Government, which is practically the effect of these propositions. Historically the public schools of the District of Columbia have always been the schools of the people of the District of Columbia. They were not founded by the National Government. They were not founded by Congress. They were founded in 1804 by the people themselves, and supported by their taxation and their personal contributions, without help from Congress, until 1878, when the organic act of 1878 for the government of the District of Columbia was enacted and the half-and-half plan of maintenance was adopted.

Since that time the people have always indirectly, as formerly they did directly, had a voice in the management and administration of the public schools through the Commissioners. The board of school trustees before 1900, and the board of education since 1900, have always been appointed by the Commissioners. The Supreme Court of the United States, as the chairman knows perfectly well, has, in a series of uniform and unanimous decisions, defined the status of the District of Columbia to be a municipal corporation formed by Congress to be its executive agent for the government of the District of Columbia (since there must be an executive, and Congress must have an agent for that purpose), with the Commissioners as its executives. It is provided in the organic act that the two civilian Commissioners shall have been for three years preceding their appointment residents of the District of Columbia, and shall have claimed residence nowhere else.

That was to insure the selection of men of the District of Columbia who should be in every possible sense representative of the people of the District of Columbia, acquainted with the history and the conditions and the needs of the people of the District of Columbia, and responsive to a proper expression of the public opinion of the people of the District of Columbia, and in confiding to them the appointment of the board of school trustees, and afterwards the board of education, Congress undoubtedly meant to recognize to that extent the desire of the people of the District of Columbia to have some say in the selection of those who should administer the public school system. Moreover, it is part of the District government in respect to its finances, and with respect to its construction of buildings. The estimates for the public schools are and ought to be submitted to Congress by the Commissioners.

They ought to be considered by them in connection with all their estimates, and with relation to the general financial conditions and relations of the District of Columbia, and the construction work of buildings, etc., ought to be carried on as part of the construction work of the District generally for reasons of economy and efficiency. The people feel very strongly-I think I can represent them in this that the measure of what might be called self-government, which they may have through public opinion exercised upon the executive part of their government, is important to them and ought not to be taken away, but, on the contrary, ought to be maintained as it is; and in respect to the public schools, I think that feeling is stronger than in respect to any other interest that we have here. It is, of course, our largest interest in every respect. Over one-sixth of the population, in round numbers, is in the public schools. It is the largest item in

our budget, and in sentiment it is the most important of all, because it comes home to the people-to their homes and their hearts.

I may say at this point what I believe to be true as manifested by all our organs of public opinion, and that is that the people generally are satisfied with the present public school system of the District of Columbia, and do not desire the enactment of any of these reorganization propositions. One after another the associations of citizens, which are numerous and intelligent and active in the formation of our public opinion here, have considered these measures and have adopted resolutions respecting them which have been sent to us, and I presume to your committee, and so far as I know, there has been no indorsement of any of them by any of these associations, with the exception of one proposition for the creation of a colored superintendent of schools of equal jurisdiction with the superintendent who now administers the whole system, which has been indorsed by an association of colored citizens at Hillsdale. Moreover, the Board of Trade and the Business Men's Association, which are our two largest organizations of citizens, numbering perhaps 700 in each, have not indorsed any of these propositions.

The Board of Trade, in the public school committee's report, at a meeting last week, made no recommendation in favor of them; and the Business Men's Association is considering the matter, but has not as yet shown any disposition to indorse these propositions. I speak of that because I think it ought to have weight in view of the fact that the people are more sensitive on this subject to anything that needs improvement than they are to any other. You may perhaps remember, Mr. Chairman, in 1889 and 1900 there was a great dissatisfaction among the people here with the then public school system, and that the different organs of public opinion expressed themselves very strongly in favor of change, and the change that was then made was made largely because of that expression of the public opinion of the people whose children were in the schools.

Mr. MORRELL. So I understood; yes.

Commissioner MACFARLAND. At that time the most of the trouble Iwas that the board of school trustees, because of its constitution, which was that of a representative board of 11 members, each representing a separate division of the District of Columbia, had very little executive power or authority. Therefore the practical administration or affairs was largely in the hands of the superintendent of public schools, a very able man and a very fine man, a friend of mine, but who held very advanced and radical ideas with respect to education, which were not acceptable to the people. He thought that the teachers could get along without certain books, which are considered essential in most public schools and most other schools, and he made a new terminology for the public schools, and altogether he had what people called fads, which, they thought, seemed likely to seriously affect the public school education. Personally, I think his ideas would have been all right for a college of which he was the head, or for a private academy of which he was the proprietor; but they were not perhaps suitable for a great popular system of education.

Be that as it may, I pass no judgment upon it, for I am not competent to do so. Be that as it may, Congress, after a thorough investigation of the matter, was satisfied that a change should be made, and the essentials of the change it made were the creation of a board of

education which should have real executive authority, which should not be split up into representatives of separate divisions, but which should represent the whole district as nearly as possible and which should administer the public school system in the name of the people, giving due place to the professional educators, its subordinates, and due consideration to all proper suggestions from them, but at the same time taking the responsibility of the administration.

Now, I am well aware that some professional educators think that the board of education should be very largely limited in its powerseverywhere, not here especially, but in general-and that the professional educators in the schools should have greatly enlarged powers. I am not competent to pass upon that, either, but I will only say that in our experience a régime in which a professional educator did have practically absolute power was not such as to make us believe that that is a wise course to take. But again, I say that if it is desired, if it becomes apparent that that comparatively new theory of administration of popular education should be adopted it is entirely competent for the board of education, without any change in the law, to give enlarged powers to its superintendent of schools or to any other member of its staff.

I think I ought also to say at that point that the superintendent of schools, ever since the creation of the board of education, has sat with the board in all its sesions, and while he has no vote he has undoubtedly a voice in all its deliberations, and I think his advice. has been freely taken and followed as often as anyone could reasonably expect. The complaint that his advice has been taken too often has been made by those who think that the board of education should not pay attention to the professional educators, but should carry out what are called the practical and common-sense views of the average citizen. I may say, if you will allow me, that one of the bills-I don't remember which one now-proposes that the superintendent of education shall sit with the board.

Mr. MORRELL. I remember that provision.

Commissioner MACFARLAND. And that is already done. Now, I would like to say a word about the board of education personally, because that is necessary, I think, in view of the obvious intention of these bills to legislate the board of education out of existence. I have been told by one or two of their supporters that that is a prime purpose of this proposed legislation, and as to that I want to say this: If the board of education has done anything which is wrong the way to secure its removal, or the removal of any member of it, is to bring a statement of that fact before the Commissioners in the form of charges or otherwise and prove it, whereupon the individual, or the entire board, will be promptly removed. But no charges of any character have been brought before the Board of Commissioners against the board of education or any member of it. The board of education, like the rest of us, is fallible, and undoubtedly would admit it had made mistakes in the course of five years' administration of the public schools. It would be very strange if it had not. But those mistakes, whatever they may have been, have certainly not been grievious enough to stir up any considerable public sentiment. I am safe in saying that the desire for a change of any important character in the public school system is limited to a very few individuals. They have been active, but they have not been