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A Letter to the Unorganized : 
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From the Locals 


Education for Democracy 





The American 


Teacher 


Vol. VIE, No. 9 





—_- — 





——+ ——— 





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Organized Labor in the Leadership — 


ANY Selb a vision which now ap- 
pears prophetic, the American 
Federation of Labor in its 

first convention in 1881 went on record 


for compulsory education, and has re- 
peated with ever increasing emphasis 
that negligence ‘to pass and enforce laws 
to remove illiteracy would result in a 
crisis. Since 1891 it has called attention 
to the lax condition of immigration, and 
has emphatically 


visible governments have feared the re- 
sults of popular intelligence and have 
studiously sought to stifle every agency 
for promoting intelligence among the 
people. 

Democracy cen succeed only where 
the people are fitted for it. The degree 
of its success depends upon the training 
accorded to every one to share in the 
responsibilities of political, social and 
industrial activities. The increasing em- 


phasis which la- 








declared that an 
open port for im- 
migrants and the 
absence of com- 
pulsory education 
would work to- 
gether to create 
havoc. Great in- 
dustrial organi- 
zations have ex- 
ploited the well 
established A mer- 
ican belief in the 
asylum for the 
world’s oppress- 
ed and save Se- 
cured such classes 
of European pop- 


ulation as_ best 


SEVENTH BIENNIAL 


TEACHER 








CONTENTS 


SIND <n du'wdibue Res awe yeh tein Ba 195 
AN AMERICAN TEACHER IN ENGLAND.... 197 
CONVENTION OF 
NATIONAL WOMEN’S TRADE UNION 


BMRMBUE ). 00s cheb Gre ccehodeck Gcbobehot 202 


A LETTER TO THE UNORGANIZED 


THe OPPORTUNITY OF THE AMERICAN 


THE NOVEMBER MESSAGE..........--0e8% 2 


FRoM THE LOCALS OF THE A F or T...... 215 


bor has laid upon 
the importance of 
public school sys- 
tems and all other 
mae means of educa- 
tion, must now be 
Stressed as never 
before. 

In this critical 
period of confu- 
sion in public 
Opinion and of 
clashing of forces 
some strong dem- 
ocratic organiza- 
tion must assume 
leadership and 
direct the work 
of reconstruction. 

















suited their pur- 

poses in maintaining cheap labor and 
helpless underlings. In spite of labor’s 
protests, both native and foreign-born 
alike have been neglected, and left un- 
trained to take their part as intelligent 
members of society. Lobbyists have been 
ever present to prevent suitable legisla- 
tion. The machinery for maintaining 
schools has been controlled by interests 
more concerned in low tax rates than in 
adequate provisions for education. In- 


That leadership 
must be assumed by organized labor. 
There is no other force sufficiently qua- 
lifed. Having already formulated in 
the past educational policies of the high- 
est standard the Thirty-Seventh Con- 
vention of the Illinois State Federation 
of Labor pledges itself anew to the task 
of reconstructive education. 

—F rom the Preamble of the Report on Education 


of the Thirty-Seventh Convention of the Illi- 
nois State. Federation of Labor, October, 1919. 























The American Teacher 


Entered as second-class matter, Feb. 21, 1912, at the Post Office at New York, N. Y., under the Act of March 3, 1879. 


Published at 70 Fifth Avenue, New York, monthly, except July and August. 


Acceptance for mailing at special rate 


of postage provided for in Section 1103, Act of October 3, 1917, authorized September 27, 1919. 








Vol. VIII, No. 9 


NOVEMBER, 1919 


One Dollar a Year 











ORGANIZE YOUR IDEAS FOR THE 
CONVENTION 


In Mr. STECKER’S “November Message”’ 
printed in this issue announcement is made 
of the National Convention of the American 
Federation of Teachers to be held in the 
week of December 29, 1919, in Chicago. In 
view of the fact that the union movement 
among the teachers is a democratic one, it 
behooves the members to bestir themselves 
and begin the formulation of their ideas con- 
cerning matters that should come up for con- 
sideration at the Convention. 


Information has reached us that a few 
locals will have meetings in the near future 
for the purpose of instructing their delegates 
how to act at the Convention on questions 
which affect these locals. Such initiative is 
commendable, but is it not possible that all 
the locals would profit more if the columns 
of The American Teacher were used to an- 
nounce the particular questions on which 
locals will ask the Convention to act? The 
December issue will go to press on Decem- 
ber 11th. This date may interfere with an- 
nouncements from some locals, but it will not 
interfere with the officers and members of 
locals writing in their suggestions before 
their locals have met: We, therefore, urge 
all members to send in their ideas as informal 
suggestions from their localities. A circular 
letter has gone out to the secretaries of all 
locals to this effect. 


We don’t mind offering a lead to your 
thoughts, but you must not limit your 
thoughts to this lead. 


There will probably come up propositions 
to amend the Constitution, relative to per 
capita dues, to changes in the rules govern- 


ing the organization of new locals, especially 
with reference to admitting principals into 
locals of certain types. We have a-great 
deal to say about carrying democracy into 
education, but as yet we have no clear na- 
tional program as to what an educational 
system would look like if it were organized 
definitely on democratic lines. Let some 
members try to visualize this new institution 
of Democracy for the benefit of the rest of 
us. The crisis in the national field of labor 
is upon us. What shall be our part? Our 
resolutions of the Conventions of 1916 and 
1918 were epoch-making documents in the 
domain of educational idealism. What shall 
we say in 1919? 


Here is your chance if you have held back 
before! 


THE INDUSTRIAL PROBLEM AND 
OUR THINKING 


“You have defeated the labor group 
in its declaration, but we will meet 
you again in conference, and when w 
do meet you there you w:il be glad t 
talk collective bargaining.” 


History does not record whether Judge 
Gary chuckled when he heard this speech 
made by President Gompers at the close of 
labor’s participation in the Iadustrial Con- 
ference at Washington. If Judge Gary had 
any emotions at all on that occasion they 
were probably not accompanied by any more 
discernment than he has shown on other oc- 
casions in the past few weeks. Possibly he 
thought Mr. Gompers meant to threaten. 
In that'case Gary would be ready. But if 
the speech was meant as a social prediction, 
as an interpretation of an evolutionary pro- 
cess working itself out to decision, then Gary 


195 





196 


would not be ready, for he would not under- 
stand. 


After all, it does not matter so. much 
whether Judge Gary understands or not. 
Possibly too much ¢oncern has been ex- 
pressed over the fact that this particular boss 
of industry refused to confer with labor 
leaders, or to agree to the organization of 
an arbitration board at the invitation of 
the national government, or its represen- 
tatives. While we are reviling Gary for his 
attitude, we are thinking in the’ terms of a 
short-handed, narrow-minded psychology. 
Not only is this true of those who condemn 
Gary as an individual, but it is also true of 
those who support him. Many good cit- 
izens, or those who believe themselves good, 
stand by Gary in the faith that he represents 
American institutions. Neither view is the 
true interpretation of Gary, for he is nothing 
more than the personification of that cruel, 
unintelligent and relentless force in nature 
that uses human beings as it uses lifeless 
matter. If he were a tornado we would try 
to build to withstand him; if he were a tiger 
or other dangerous wild beast we would seek 
to destroy him. But in the form of a human 
being the problem he presents is not ultimate- 
ly difficult, and not at all dangerous. It 
only requires intelligence. 

We need only to realize that one man 
has set his will against the composite will of 
several hundred thousand men who perform 
the useful labor of manufacturing steel for 
all the people. The chief function of Gary 
in the transaction is to see that profit is made 
out of the work of these hundreds of thous- 
ands of men. Gary has also set his will 
against the good intentions of the national 
government in offering its services to ar- 
range an arbitration of the differences 
between the contending parties. For the 
sake of the profit which very few get any- 
way the rest of us permit a menacing crea- 
ture to play fast and loose with the general 
welfare, and to defy the social will. This 


The American 


Teacher Vol. VIII, No. 9 


does not seem very intelligent on our part. 
And when our position is examined it appears 
to have very little to do with maintaining 
our democratic form of government and our 
Constitution. 

Our chief difficulty seems to be that our 
intelligence has not kept pace in development 
and adjustment with the growth of our in- 
dustrial greatness. We can only see that 
greatness as a thing by itself. We cannot 
yet make efficient connections in our minds 
between it and the rights of one man, and 
particularly with the rights of all men. Our 
courses of study in the schools contain few 
references to this point, and our college 
teachers did not tell us to think that way. 
It has been the function of a philosopher 
here and there to propose social thinking as 
an intellectual process, and it has been the 
function of the workers to give it iene 
sanction. 

When the rest of us grow a little more 
we shall set Judge Gary and his type to one 
side with as little difficulty and concern as 
we now drain marshes to eliminate mos- 
quitoes. 


ON ACCOUNT OF THE LOCKOUT 


On account of the lockout of the members of Tocal 
51, pressmen, and of Local 23, press feeders, in the 
City of New York, the November issue of The Ame- 
rican Teacher has been delayed in appearing. The 
December issue also will be Somewhat behind in 
schedule, but will go to press on December 11. 

TO THE LOCAL SECRETARIES 


Have you sent to the Business Manager the names 
of all your new members? 


The 








American babe x 


Democracy in Education 
Published monthly, except July and August, by 
THE AMERICAN FEDERATION OF TEACHERS 


at 70 Fifth Avenue, New York City 
Henry R. LInvitte, Pditor 
Max RosENHAUS, Business Manager 





Education for Democracy 








At the time of expiration, a bill will be found in the 
copy. Subscribers are requested to give prompt notice 
of changes in address. 

Remittances should be made in postal money-order, 
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An American Teacher in England 


WILLIAM I HELLER 
Member, Local No 5, New York 


My business plans called for a stay of 
only two weeks in London, every moment of 
which was crowded with work. Still I re- 
membered the promise I had made to the 
Editor of the American Teacher, before 
leaving for Europe, that I would not miss 
the opportunity of visiting the headquarters 
of the National Union of Teachers of Eng- 
land, of which he is a consistent admirer, and 
on my own account I wanted to obtain a lit- 
tle first-hand information of the workings 
of that body, as well as to gather some lit- 
erature which. might be useful as a guide to 
our own teachers’ unions in America. 

During a temporary lull in my own busi- 
ness, I set about locating the address of the 
teachers’ organization. At first I made the 
error of confusing the London Teachers 
Association with the National Union of 
Teachers, as anybody else, unfamiliar with 
the situation, might have done. The head- 


quarters of the L. T. A. are in Pilgrim 


Street, one of the many crooked lanes 
branching off Fleet Street, near Ludgate 
Circus, honeycombed with offices of news- 
papers and other publications. When I en- 
tered the office of the L. T. A., I imagined 
myself in our own Teachers Union office at 
70 Fifth Avenue, New York. The place 
was extremely business-like in appearance, 
and there were stacks of literature, chief of 
which were new salary schedules. At the 
time the teachers of England were in the 
midst of waging a salary campaign, and 
there was evidence that they were determin- 
ed to carry it to a successful conclusion. The 
pleasant girl stenographer, in the absence of 
the secretary, informed me that I had been 
mistaken in thinking that this was the office 
of the national union, but in the same breath 
told me that negotiations were being car- 
ried on between the L. T. A., with a mem- 
bership of 20,000, and the National Union 
of Teachers, whereby the two bodies would 
amalgamate. I expressed surprise at the 


large membership of the organization, and 
explained the difficulties which we encoun- 
tered in America in organizing the teachers. 
She herself was a member of the Steno- 
graphers Union, and she remarked that she 
had noticed the tendency of teachers to con- 
sider themselves as a class apart, somewhat 
superior to other workers. This was very 
significant to me, as it seems to be the at- 
titude of many teachers to consider it be- 
neath their dignity to organize. Member- 
ship in the L. T. A., which is 50 cents a year, 
entitles the teacher to participate in a kind 
of buying plan whereby the teacher may pur- 
chase at various discounts merchandise at 
certain stores. The stenographer rather rue- 
fully remarked that were it not for this priv- 
ilege, the L. T. A. would probably have a 
much smaller membership. 

She gave me a trading circular, issued by 
the association and it certainly was an ad- 
vantage to be a member, especially in these 
days of the H. C. of L. She also gave me 
the address of the National Union of Teach- 
ers, which is a building called Hamilton 
House, on Mabledon Place, in the Western 
part of London, near Euston Square and 
the imposing St. Pancras railway station. 

I went out in quest of Hamilton House 
the next day, and after some fruitless in- 
quiries for Mabledon Place, due chiefly to 
the fact that I had addressed myself to sev- 
eral bobbies who did not known their Lon- 
don, I finally came across one who, after the 
manner of his kind, snapped out, “two turn- 
ings to your left,” and I was there. Mable- 
don Place is one of the small side streets 
leading to Euston Road, part of a quiet 
neighborhood given over chiefly to boarding 
houses. The Unity House, the home of the 
National Union of Railwaymen, the scene of 
the recent bitter contest between the English 
government and the railway workers is also 
in this vicinity. Opposite Hamilton House 
is a large park with tennis courts, which were 


197 





198 The 
being used to their capacity that day. 

I did not expect to have very much suc- 
cess in meeting any of the officials of the 
union inasmuch as the school vacations had 
already begun, and was more than pleased to 
learn that the General Secretary of the N 
U T was in the habit of visiting his office 
daily between twelve and one. I therefore 
made an appointment to meet Sir James 
Yoxall, the General Secretary of the Na- 
tional Union of Teachers, the following day. 

Sir James expressed his pleasure at being 
able to be of assistance to American teach- 
ers. He is a man of very dignified bearing, 
somewhat past sixty, it seemed to me, but 
displaying in every motion and gesture the 
alertness and vigor of a much younger man. 
His ruddy cheeks indicated the habitual love 
of the Englishman for an outdoor and ath- 
letic life. He is tall with hair turning white 
and a short Van Dyke beard, giving him the 


American 


Teacher Vol. VIII, No. 9 
appearance of the professional man. I[n- 
deed, Sir James Yoxall has been of service 
to the teachers of England, chiefly as Liberal 
member of the House of Commons for over 
twenty-three years, in which body he has 
consistently represented the teachers and up- 
held their cause. He was also a member of 
the Royal Commission on Secondary Educa- 
tion. A good deal of the successful up-hill 
struggle of the English teachers for recog- 
nition may be attributed to his efforts. Sir 
James Yoxall talks quickly and wastes no 
time with his interviewer, with the knowledge 
of a man who is familiar with every phase of 
the educational situation. 

“In answer to my first question he took 
pains to explain that the word “Union” in 
the title of their organization did not refer 
to any labor affiliation. The prospectus 
states that “the Union is neither an Incor- 
porated Professional Institute nor a Trade 





THe HomE oF THE NATIONAL 





x 
TEACHERS 


UNION OF 





November, 1919 


Union, but it combines the best features of 
each, with certain functions peculiarly its 
own.” The National Union of leachers was 
organized in 1870, and since then had grown 
to a membership of 104,000. It exerts its 
influence largely in advocating the election 
to Parliament of men who are pledged to 
look after the welfare of teachers and of 
education. It differs from our own National 
Education Association, in that it is com- 
posed wholly of class teachers, while the 
latter to all appearances is dominated by 
superintendents. The strength of the Eng- 
lish organization lies in the fact that it has 
always fought the battles of the class-room 
teacher, and with such success and general 
satisfaction that it has not officially joined 
hands with the British Labor Party. Many 
of the members, however, are in hearty sym- 
pathy with the aims of the party, as in- 
dicated by a recent vote on the question of 
affiliating when out of about thirty thousand 
teachers voting, about fourteen thousand 
voted to afhliate with the British Labor 
Party. 

The will of the National Union of Teach- 
ers is expressed at an annual convention, 
when thousands of teachers assemble at a 
stated meeting place to discuss the issues for 
the coming year. Only recently, on October 
10th, newspaper despatches inform us that 
a special convention was held in Birming- 
ham, when the National Union of Teachers 
passed resolutions calling for 100 per cent 
increase in salaries above pre-war rates. The 
teachers were discontented with the recom- 
mendation of the Joint Committee appointed 
by the Government. The Government had 
recognized by its recent award to the rail- 
way men that 100 per cent was the least ad- 
dition that could be made on pre-war sal- 
aries and wages, but it was trying to force 
the teachers to consent to a 10 to 50 per 
cent increase. It was the sentiment of the 
teachers that if the Government offered the 
teachers a minimum of less than £200, it 
would put its hand on a hornet’s nest, and 
the whole profession would be aroused. 


The American 


Teacher 199 
Failing to get satisfaction, the teachers de- 
clared that they would organize every force 
at their disposal for the purpose of compell- 
ing that increase. The use of the strike as a 
weapon of last resort was even advocated by 
speakers at that convention, and it was also 
suggested -that parents be warned to keep 
their children out of a profession in which 
an advance of salary could not be obtained. 
These sentiments indicate clearly, I think, 
an affiliation with the Labor Party in the 
near future to fight the battle for justice in 
one common cause. 

One of the latest victories scored by the 
National Union of Teachers, and Sir James 
Yoxall’s face beamed with pride and satis- 
faction as he told me of it, was the fact that 
Joint Boards had been established of which 
the teaching body, as represented by the Na- 
tional Union of Teachers, furnished half the 
membership, the other half consisting, of 
course, of the local bodies or educational au- 
thorities. These joint boards were at the 


time considering the matter of salary legis- 
lation which was then pressing for a solution 


and were also to be a court of last resort in 
all matters concerning the teachers’ welfare, 
including the dismissal of teachers. I fairly 
gasped as I heard this, for the idea of 
teacher-representation is taboo with our edu- 
cational authorities. On account of advo- 
cating the introduction of such a plan in our 
methods of school administration, the 
Teachers Union of New York has been de- 
nounced as radical and revolutionary. Yet 
here in England, the birthplace of consti- 
tutional government, teacher representation 
on local boards of education is now an ac- 
complished fact. Can America afford to lag 
behind England in its development towards 
a complete democracy ? 

What do certain boards cf education in 
our country think of the fact that several 
hundred members of the English union oc- 
cupy seats on local educational committees 
and other bodies engaged in administering 
or advising upon the administration of 
schools under the Education Act of 1902? 








200 


Freedom to teachers, to serve as members 
of local educational committees has been se- 
cured to the teachers by an Act of Parlia- 
ment. The Union has a Tenure Committee 
which considers any difficulty involving the 
tenure of office of any of its members. A 
representative of the Union is always sent 
to advise the member and to appear before 
the Local Education Committe on his behalf. 
And finally, the Union goes so far to protect 
its own members that it supports those who 
suffer in defense of professional rights when 
acting in accordance with the advice of the 
Executive. To protect its members, the 
Union is served in the Law Courts by two 
standing counselors, a General Solicitor, and 
over 400 local solicitors. 

Sir James was kind enough to take me 
thru the various rooms of the national head- 
quarters building. I remarked the deep 
respect with which all the office help, and 
there seemed to be quite a large number of 
employees, regarded him. In every office 
into which I went, I was given literature per- 
taining to that department. When I was 
thru collecting all the material, it seemed to 
me as if I were converted into an office my- 
self, and the amount I had was certainly the 
best testimony of the volume of business 
which the Union transacts during the year. 
There are several particularly large rooms, 
imposingly furnished, and having the ap- 
pearance of directors’ rooms in which the 
executive committees hold their meetings. 
A large number of portraits of officials of 
the union, extending back to the beginnings 
of the organization adorn the walls of these 
rooms, and I noticed that at one time a 
woman was president. Finer types of men 
than the portraits betokened I have never 
seen. There are also large group pictures 
of the teachers at the annual conventions 
taken from year to year. Two pictures, over 
which Sir James lingered long were those of 
the girl’s and boy’s orphanages, at Sheffield 
and at Sydenham. These are supported 
from the benevolent and orphan fund of the 
National Union. 


The American 


Teacher Vol. VIII, No. 9 


The orphanages have been established to 
care for the orphans of deceased teachers. 
The total amount to date expended by the 
National Union of Teachers for benevolent 
purposes has been £472,958. Is there an 
American organization that can boast of 
such a record of faithfulness and devotion to 
its teachers? 

It is very interesting to note the financial 
extent to which the teachers support their 
organization in England. It seems an ex- 
ceedingly difficult task in America to get 
teachers to contribute any sum either to be- 
come members of an organization, or to be 
interested in projects concerning their own 
welfare. The admission fee to the National 
Union is five shillings and the annual subscrip- 
tion one guinea. This charge corresponds 
pretty closely to the dues paid to the Ameri- 
can Federation of Teachers. And in Eng- 
land there are 104,000 teachers paying such 
dues, while here in America we have but 
11,000! The aggregate: accumulated funds 
of the Union, the Benevolent and Orphan 
fund and the Provident Society on Decem- 
ber 31, 1918, amounted to £1,388,052, ex- 
clusive of Hamilton House, and the orphan- 
ages with their furniture and fittings. Of 
these funds £157,128 is for general legal 
and parliamentary work and sustentation of 
members; £57,853 is for benevolent pur- 
poses; £1,173,071 is for Provident Society 
benefits. The Teachers Provident Society 
is a very interesting branch of the union’s 
work, over 90,000 teachers having joined it. 
It enables members to secure benefits, such 
as sick pay, life insurance, endowments, at 
very low rates of contribution. The Nation- 
al Union of Teachers thus cares for its mem- 
bers not only while they are performing their 
duties in the classroom, but concerns itself 
with every phase of their welfare. 

Another feature of the work of the Na- 
tional Union of Teachers was the securing 
of a Pension System called the Superannua- 
tion Act of 1918, which the English teachers 
claim is the best in the world. Sir James 
particularly emphasized this in his conver- 





November, 1919 


sation with me. Under this act, pensions and 
lump sums, or in cases of break down, dis- 
ablement allowances, or death gratuities in 
cases of death before pensionable age, or in 
cases of death shortly after pensionable age, 
are payable. Let our New York teachers, 
who have recently gone thru a most bitter 
pension fight, take a leaf from the English 
way of doing things. Pensions in England 
are absolute, and do not depend upon and 
are not associated with any contributions by 
teachers ! 


The work of The National Union of 
Teachers has been great indeed, but it will 
be just as vigilant in the future as it has been 
in the past. Education in England is now 
about to be administered under the new Edu- 
cation Act of 1918. The aims of that act, 
disappointing as it is in some respects, can 
only be attained by the teachers working in 
cooperation with the Labor Movement. It 
is still thought that questions of educational 
administration are beyond the understanding 
of the plain man, that only “experts” can 
solve them properly. The National Union 
of Teachers is drawing closer to the Labor 
Party. Over there they have begun to ap- 
preciate the meaning of the fact that those 
who control the minds of the children, con- 
trol the coming generation of men and 
women. Hence the interest of the Labor 
Party in education. The ideals of the indus- 
trial freedom towards which the English 
are striving, including social equality, can be 
realized only in the schools. The Labor 
movement of England is determined in the 
future, from an examination I have made of 
their literature, to pay a great deal of atten- 
tion to education. 


Nearly all of the Education Act leaves 
wide discretion to local educational author- 
ities. The Act requires the local educational] 
authorities “to consider any representations 
made to them by parents or other persons or 
bodies of persons, interested, and shall adopt 
such measures to ascertain their views as they 
consider desirable.” This creates an oppor- 


The American 


Teacher 201 


tunity for democratic opinion to bear upon 
educational administration. The Labor Par- 
ty has resolved that in every area there 
should be created vigilance committees to 
determine upon the educational policy of that 
district. The Act requires local authorities 
to establish nursery schools; an adequate sys- 
tem of medical treatment; playgrounds and 
allowances to enable children to remain at 
school without becoming a burden to their 
parents. 

Sir James Yoxall smiled as he saw me 
leave the building weighted down with all 
the circulars, booklets, leaflets and annual 
reports that I could carry, including a stack 
of mimeographed salary schedules. It was 
worth the trouble of carrying away with me 
for here were evidences of work of a real, 
live, agressive teachers’ organization, the 
finest of its kind anywhere. - If we could only 
accomplish for our teachers here in Amer- 
ica, what it is doing successfully in England! 
Must we still battle in America, for rights 
which the teachers of England already en- 
joy? Only recently I have learned that the 
National Education Association has at last 
raised a feeble voice to demand that teachers 
be given a chance to participate in school 
administration. And I, always a lover of 
America, its people and its institutions, am 
still wondering whether we have not many a 
lesson in democracy to learn even from mon- 
archical, autocratic, class-ridden Europe! 





A more democratic management of the schools 
is another essential to educational progress. Too 
many petty oligarchies are holding secret ses- 
sions, even sometimes when the law prescribes 
otherwise, and are deciding behind closed doors 
large questions of vital concern to the entire 
public, and reaching, in strictest privacy, deter- 
minations relating to the administration of public 
policy. The establishment of teachers’ councils 
would bring to the service of the schools the 
benefit of the fresh initiative growing out of 
actual teaching experience, and would tend to 
eliminate autocratic and secret methods. 

Henry Sterling, in address on “Labor's Atti- 
tude Towards Education,” N E A Convention, 
July 1, 1919. 








The Seventh Biennial Convention of the National Women’s 


Trade Union League 


Ciara K Srutz 
Delegate, The American Federation of Teachers 


The Seventh Biennial Convention of the 
National Women’s Trade Union League 
met in Philadelphia, June 2-7, 1919. The 
discussions revealed a breath of vision, con- 
structive thinking and such a spirit of tol- 
erance, that no one present could escape a 
feeling of pleasure and encouragement. 

The teacher delegates felt it to be of 
supreme importance, that our locals take 
advantage of such opportunities by sending 
delegates to all conventions at which we are 
entitled to representation. We were unani- 
mous in thinking we had learned more about 
the questions with which the country is grap- 
pling, and the relation of our problems to 
these questions in the six days at Philadel- 
phia, than in as many months of university 
study. A resolution offered by Mrs. Trow- 
bridge expresses this feeling. 

RESOLUTION No. 34 
By Lydia J Trowbridge, Federation of Women High 
School Teachers of Chicago 

WHERBPAS, Teaching has been too long a cloistered 
profession, and the time has come when the trainers 
of the future citizens of this republic must Know at 
first hand the problems of citizenship, 

RESOLVED, That we urge upon all boards of edu- 
cation that they encourage teachers to act as delegates 
to state and national conventions, and to other gather- 
ings of representative citizens, to the end that the 
teachers’ efficiency shall be increased by actual parti- 
cipation in public affairs, while the public shall at the 


same time become informed of school problems from 
the viewpoint of the teacher. 


A paragraph from a recent letter from 
the president of one of our locals testifies 
that the necessary expenditure is well worth 
while to the organization. The letter reads, 
“TI am anxious to see more money spent in 
sending delegates to labor and allied con- 
ventions since I see what Philadelphia did 


for our delegates. I believe it is the best 
means of making real workers of our mem- 
bers.” 

Perhaps the educational program adopted 
by the convention may fail to inspire interest 
because we have little faith in any accomplish- 


ment. But had it been your privilege, as i 
was mine, to be present at the convention, 
and to realize that. we have not only th 
sympathy but the cooperation of the League 
you would share my enthusiasm. Thru or- 
ganization and affiliation we have found a 
tool that we can use to help us realize our 
aspirations. To pick out but two points in 
our program: a smaller class unit and an 
adequate salary, knowing as teachers must 
what the realization of these two points will 
mean to the child, the teacher, and the coun- 
try, our hearts beat with new hope when we 
really understand that in every state of the 
union we have friends, who will actually do 
something to make these dreams facts. 

The first part of the report of the Com- 
mittee on Education deals with a most in- 
teresting experiment of the League in fitting 
a school to the needs of the students. I was 
present at the meetings of this committee, 
and no experience was more illuminating to 
me, than hearing the suggestions made by the 
students for improving the school. While 
their enthusiastic praise of what the course 
had meant to them must have been ver; 
gratifying to those conducting the experi- 
ment. 

Resolution No. 37 by the New York 
League surprised me, showing as it does a 
greater interest and a greater knowledge of 
our problems than perhaps some of us exhibit 
ourselves. 

REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION 


Miss Agnes Nestor, chairman, and Miss Leonora 
U Reilly, secretary, reported as follows: 

Your committee has read the report of the Com- 
mittee on Education for 1917, sifting therefrom the 
suggestions made for the future usefulness of tle 
school to pupils and labor movement, and we found 
the recommendations for 1917 to be a3 follows: 

(a) That all pupils be given a clear understandinz 
of the purposes and needs of the school before enter- 
ing the department, and we believe the department is 
doing its utmost toward this end. 

(b) That an educational committee be formed to 
consist of three persons—the National President, the 


202 





November, 1919 


National Secretary, and cne trade unionist. This has 
been followed out. 

(c) Full directing power for the school to be in 
the hands of one executive. This has been tried out 
and has worked weil. 

(d) That the National League continue a cooper- 
ative flat and that the living in said flat be optional. 
The flat was found unsatisfactory and discontinued. 

(e) That where possible to save time and money, 
pupils be given both academic and field work in their 
home locations. This has been found impossible. 

(f) That a standing educational committee be form- 
ed, to consist of one member in each local league, this 
educational committee to keep in touch with the edu- 
cational department work to stimulate educational 
work in women’s unions and prepare recommendations 
for the next convention. This work has not been un- 
dertaken. 

The students and director were asked to appear be- 
fore the committee to offer criticism of and suggestion 
for the further development of the educational depart- 
ment. The pupils present at convention declare the 
work was as well done as any work could be. Yet 
there is room for improvement in finding out how best 
to teach some subjects, and what distribution to make 
of the allotted time at the student’s disposal. The 
students all testified that the course meant very much 
to them; it had helped them to get a grip on them- 
selves mentally. The director of the educational de- 
partment put special stress on the need of cooperation 
between the local leagues and the educational depart- 
ment. Foremost amongst these needs is a constant 
watching out for the raw material of which good or- 
ganizers can be made. A new leaflet for the informa- 
tion of prospective students has been provided. Will 
the delegates bring this leaflet to the active attention 
of all league members in all States? 

The Educational Committee urges anew upon the 
National League the appointment of a standing edu- 
cational committee to consist of one member in each 
local league. The members of this committee should 
keep their leagues informed of the educational depart- 
ment’s work and workers. They should encourage 
educational activities by the local leagues in coopera- 
tion with the central labor bodies through the estab- 
lishment of educational councils made up of delegates 
from affiliated local unions and thru cooperation with 
various agencies of public education. This suggestion 
is based on an experiment undertaken and reported 
on by the Chicago League and recommended by the 
National President. 

A motion was made and seconded to adopt the re- 
port of the committee. 


Mrs. Robins: I want Miss Nestor to ex- 
plain what we mean by educational councils. 
EDUCATIONAL COUNCILS 

Miss Nestor: For a number of years we 
tried to organize classes in the public schools 
thru the Board of Education. We were pro- 
viding classes for women workers only. Last 
summer we proposed to work out plans for 
the men as well as for the women in the trade 
union movement. In this joint way we got 


The American 


Teacher 203 
the benefit of the men’s suggestions, and we 
got the entire co-operation of the Chicago 
Federation of Labor. After we had planned 
the courses we asked the Chicago Federation 
of Labor to send out to all its affiliated 
unions, asking them to send delegates to a 
permanent council. The delegates met and 
an educational council was organized. 

In the Chicago Federation of Labor meet- 
ings so many things happened that when the 
delegates go back to report to their unions 
they are not inclined to emphasize educa- 
tional plans, or such plans are reported with 
so many other things they are lost track of. 
Having a separate educational delegate tends 
to keep the question before the union mem- 
bers. These delegates are the connecting 
link between the rank and file and the Edu- 
cational Council. We do not want to sit off 
by ourselves in committees and plan out 
things that we do not know our members 
want. We feel that the Educational Coun- 
cil is a very democratic way to work this out. 
When we decided we would need money, the 
delegates asked for contributions from their 
own unions. The Educational Council does 
not go out to get money, some one in each 
of the unions is getting it. Our Educational 
Council worked during the fall, but we did 
not get our classes started until January. 
Now we are planning for the next term and 
our classes will open at the same time as the 
public school night classes open. 

We conducted a class in public speaking 
and engaged one of the professors from the 
Chicago University. We paid him $100 for 
the course of ten lessons. We charged $5 
for the course, and said we must have twenty 
people to make it successful. It was success- 
ful. We had lectures from the professors 
of various universities and from young law- 
yers. Then we planned a course in parlia- 
mentary law. We found that while we were 
planning that, and also announcing a course 
in citizenship and a few other things, the par- 
liamentary law class turned into several 
things. The students not only learned par- 
liamentary law, but they studied city govern- 











204 


ment, and it turned out to be a very interest- 
ing class. 

Miss O'Reilly: We have certain things we 
believe all the league members should get for 
themselves for home consumption, and we 
recommend the reading of Miss Henry’s 
book, “The Trade Union Woman’”’; Helen 
Marot’s book, “American Labor Unions,” 
and her book called “Creative Impulse in 
Industry,” and the League’s latest book of 
poems by the league members. 


RBSOLUTION No. 37 
By New York League 
Resolutions on Education 


WHEREAS, The movement for the democratization 
of industries is the most precious result, to working 
people, of the world war, in which seven million 
workingmen laid down their lives; and 

WHEREAS, The citizens of tomorrow must be pre- 
pared for a democracy, political and industrial, which 
is the outcome of this world war; and 

WiHEREAS, Such preparation for democracy can be 
given the cit’zens of tomorrow only under conditions 
and in schools which are democratic today; and 

WHEREAS, The teachers’ unions in the various 
parts of the country, affiliated with organized labor 
thru their national organization, the American Federa- 
tion of Teachers, are striving to establish democracy 
in education and education for democracy; therefore 


be it 

RESOLVED, By the National Women’s Trade Union 
League, in convention assembled, at Philadelphia, on 
June 2, 1919, that we give moral and all other effective 
means of support to the American Federation of Teach- 
ers and to the locals chartered by it, and 

That we urge the teachers thruout the country to 
organize locals of teachers’ unions where such locals 
do not yet exist and to join the locals where such 
locals already exist. and 

That we commend the School Committee of Boston 
for the foresight and social vision which it displayed 
when it welcomed the plan for the unionization of the 
schools of Boston, and that we condemn the policy of 
ruthlessness and vindictiveness pursued by the educa- 
tional authorities of the cities of Washington and New 
York in their inquisitorial investigations into the pri- 
vate views of teachers, in their arbitrary punishment 
of teachers, and in their Prussianistic insistence on 
blind, instinctive obedience on the part of both teacher 
and pupil, and 

That we call upon educational authorities every- 
where to recognize the right of teachers, as weli as of 
all other working people, to organize, along labor union 
lines, and 

That we urge teachers everywhere to insist on their 
right to organize along labor union lines, and that we 
demand for the teachers a voice in their government 
of the schools 

1. Thru representation on the school boards. 

2. Thru teachers’ councils in every school, consist- 
ing of representatives chosen by the teachers them- 
selves to be consulted in all matters affecting teachers 
or pupils. 


The American 


Teacher Vol. VIII, No. 9 


8. Thru the election of.school boards by popular 
vote. 

4. Thru the establishment of teachers’ courts where 
teachers may be tried by their peers for unprofessional 
conduct. Be it further 

RBSOLVED, That copies of these resolutions be sent 
to all labor bodies and labor federations in the United 
States of America; and be it finally 

RESOLVED, That copies of these resolutions be 
sent to all education boards of municipalities, towns 
and counties, to Commissioner of Education of the 
United States of America. 

The committee recommended concurrence. The rec- 
emmendation of the committee was adopted. 


RESOLUTION No. 38 
By the Boston League 
Misuse of Schools 
WHEREAS, It has come to our attention that the 
meat packing interests and other large organized con- 
sumers’ interests are using the public school system of 
our country for advertising their products; and 
WHEREAS, We consider it is a body blow to all 
honest democratic education that private interests 
should be allowed to use the educational system on 
the country for its benefit; and 
WHERDAS, Honest and democratic education is the 
greatest asset that the workers possess; therefore 
be it 
RESOLVED, That we vigorously condemn all use of 
school or other public machinery for advertising or 
promoting private interests, and call upon the National 
Bureau of Education and the ‘National Education As- 
sociation to bring these facts to the attention of edu- 
cational authorities in all the States and cities, and to 
see that the practice cease absolutely and at once. 
Miss Nestor: Your committee concurs in Resolution 
No. 38, with the explanation that the first “Whereas” 
refers to the moving picture houses where the pictures 
are used to advertise the Armour Company’s special- 
ties and certain chocolate companies’ products. 
Mrs. Rantoul explained that the pictures referred to 
were used in the Boston schools. 
The recommendation of this committee was con- 
curred in. 
RESOLUTION No. 33 
Educational Plans 
Society is never static; it is forever changing. But 
the change may not be for the better. It can easily 
pe for the worse. What, then, shall the next American 
generation be—progressive or reactionary? The schools 
and the teachers stand in the gateway and the critical 
period of reconstruction places the greatest respon- 
sibility upon them. What we have won, we may easily 
lose, if we are indifferent and without a constructive 
program. That “eternal vigilance is the price of lib- 
erty” is just as true today as in the time of Wash- 


‘ington and Jefferson. The side which is vigilant and 


untiring in its work is the side which wins—either for 
progress or for reaction. 

Upon the schools, then, will depend in a large meas- 
ure the kind and degree of industrial democracy we 
shall achieve in the next generation; upon them, also, 
will even more directly depend the kind of citizenship 
we shall attain—whether it be a citizenship easily 
influenced by a transitory emotional appeal or whether 
it be one actuated by that basic ideal of all healthy 
political activity—self-government. A spirit of vin- 
dictiveness and of selfish aggrandizement of party and 
class is abroad. If it should prevail, it is by no means 





November, 1919 


impossible that, in the words of H G Wells, “the world 
may welter in confusion for many generations thru 
such ruinous and impoverished centuries as close the 
Roman imperial story before it develops the vitality 
for an effective reonganization.” 

That the teachers of the country plus the other 
workers of the country aided by the constructive vision 
of the motherhood of the country may have a common 
and unified purpose in these potential days of recon- 
struction; be it therefore, 

RESOLVED, That this body go on record as favor- 
ing the following resolutions: 

1. Better enforcement thruout the country of the 
Compulsory Education Laws, and the raising of the 
schoolteaving age to sixteen years. 

2. The establishment of a complete system of 
modern physical education, under specially trained 
instructors. 

3. We believe that the educational interests of 
the children and the future welfare of the state de 
mand that it be made unlawful in our public schools 
to assign more than twenty-five pupils to a ciass. 

4. The organization and equipment of special 
classes for children who are subnormal, either men- 
tally or physically, and also special classes for chil- 
dren who are found capable of making more rapid 
progress than is possible in the standard school. 

5. The immediate passage of a child labor law 
that may remain on the books so that no child in 
America can be exploited for the selfish aggrandize- 
ment of any one. 

6. The standard of equal pay for equal work 
should be established thruout the country. 

7. The securing for teachers thruout the country 
tenure of position during efficiency. There should be 
no dismissals without full and fair hearings. 

8. The placing of the basis minimum salary of 
all teachers at $1,500 immediately in order that the 
enormous shortage of over 100,000 teachers be re- 
duced and an increasing number of more competent 
and better trained teachers may be secured and those 
now in tthe service retained in our schools. There 
must be a thoro-going revision upward to teachers’ 
salary schedules to meet the increased cost of living 
and the growing appreciation of the value to the 
community of the teachers’ services. 

9. The establishment of a satisfactory system of 
pensions so that those who by illness or as a result 
of age need to retire from active work can do so. 

10. That the coming of a twelve-month school 
year may be properly safeguarded in the interest of 
teacher, pupil and community, who urge a provision 
for the withdrawal of pupils or teachers for one of 
the four quarters of the school year—such with- 
drawal to be without penalty to the pupils in loss 
of class standing, or to the teachers in loss of salary 
or position. 

11. The requirement that all our children shall 
be taught in the English language, in both public 
and private schools, a foreign language to be taught 
only as a subject in the carriculum. 

12. The provision of adequate facilities for the 
teaching of English to non-English speaking people. 
and the utilization for this purpose of classes in 
shops and other places of employment, as well as 
in schools, under the direction of public school au- 
thorities. 

13. The provision of ample playground facilities 
as a part of tthe public school system, to be open to 
the public thruout the year at such hours as do not 
conflict with school purposes. 


The American 


Teacher 205 


14. Continuous medical and dental inspection and 
care thruout the schools of our country. 

15. The wider use of the school plant, securing 
increased returns to the community thru additional 
social and educational services to both adults and 
children. 

16. Courses in history, civics, economics, health 
compensation laws, and other iaws affecting labor, 
should be offered by the public schools at such hours 
as will make them available to the workers, so that 
labor may be able to exercise intelligently its full 
political power. 

17. No activity savoring of militarism should be 
tolerated in our public schools. 

18. The establishment thruout the countrv of a 
free text-book system for all pupils in public elemen- 
tary and high schools. 

19. We especially urge that instead of the ap- 
proved unsatisfactory “board of education” of to- 
day, whether appointed or elected, that a commit- 
tee be formed to care for the schools, such com- 
mittee to be composed of teachers and lay-citizens. 

CLARA K. STUTZ, 
Delegate, American Federation of Teachers. 
MARY BRENNEN-INKSTER, 
Fraternal Delegate. 
ELIZABETH DRAPER, 
Fraternal Delegate. 
LYDIA J. TROWBRIDGE, 
President, Federation Women High 
School Teachers of Chicago. 

Miss Nestor The committee, with one added 
recommendation, concurs in this resolution as coming 
from specialists who know their business, and in a 
democracy ought to have a right to say what they 
think, would be the proper sort of education aud 
the proper sort of department to carry on that eu- 
eation. The addition we recommend is legisiation 
to prohibit the employment of children under the age 
of sixteen. We concur in the resolution as amended. 

The report of the committee was adopted. 

(Signed) 

AGNES NESTOR, 
Chairman ; 

LEONORA O’REILLY, 
Secretary ; 

OLLIE KING, 

LYDIA TROWBRIDGE, 

AIMEE GUGGENHEIMER, 

MOLLIE GUINAN. 

The report of the committee as a whole was 
adopted. 7 

Almost all the resolutions adopted by the 


convention are of interest to teachers deal- 
ing as they do with government ownership 
of public utilities, taxation of land values, 
freedom of speech, cessation of the propa- 
ganda of hatred, the Russian and the Irish 
situations, etc. Of especial interest were the 
discussions on the domestic servant problem, 
child labor law, and organization of the lib- 
rarians, but lack of space forces a selection. 
The resolutions below are included because 
they are so closely allied to the educational 
program. 








, 


The American 


RESOLUTION No. 35 
ORGANIZATIONS FOR TEACHERS 
By Lydia J. Trowbridge, Federation of Women High 
School Teachers of Chicago. 

WHEREAS, Self-government can be taught only 
by those who are themselves self-government, 

RESOLVED, That we recognize the right of teach- 
ers to organize in any way that they see fit, and we 
urge the establishment of self-governing school and 
district councils of teachers, thru which the exper- 
ience and initiative of the teaching body shall be 
utilized to the utmost. Such councils shall be in 
direct communication with the superintendent of 
schools, and their recommendations should be mat- 
ters of official public record. 

RESOLVED, That the National Women’s Trade 
Union League in convention assembled. favors the 
passage iby Congress of the Smith-Towner bill re 
vised, introduced in the House of Representatives 
by Congressman Horace Mann Towner, of Iowa, at 
‘the request of the American Federation of Labor, 
the American Federation of Teachers and the Na- 
tional Education Association. 

1. Creates Department of Education. 

2. Authorizes the annual appropriation of: 

$7,500,000 for the removal of illiterary. 

$7,500,000 for the Americanization of foreigners. 

$50,000,000 to encourage the states in the equali- 
gation of educational oppurtunity, by partial payment 
of teachers’ salaries, providing better instruction, ex- 
tending school terms and otherwise providing equally 
good schools for all children. 

$20,000,000 to encourage states in the promotion of 
physical and health education and recreation. 

$15,000,000 for teachers’ training. 

The committee recommended concurrence. 


The report of the Special Commission 
to the Peace Conference Meeting, Paris 


Teacher Vol. VIII, No. 9 
(Committee: Miss Mary Anderson, Miss 
Rose Schneidermann) was read by Miss 
Anderson. As a result of the committee's 
report, the convention decided to call an in- 
ternationtal conference of working women to 
further the consideration of questions con- 
cerning women. 

The call was issued August 15th, 1919, 
thru the National Women’s Trade Union 
League to the working women of thirty-four 
countries. The conference will convene in 
Washington, D. C., October 23, 1919, six 
days before the International Labor Confer- 
ence called by President Wilson. 

Many of the addresses delivered before 
the Convention were of absorbing interest. 
This was especially true of Mr. James H. 
Maurer, President of the Pennsylvania State 
Federation of Labor, who outlined the co- 
operative movement in England. Mr. 
Lampson, our national organizer, who hap- 
pened to be passing thru the city, was invited 
to address the convention. He predicted 
that “The union movement among the teach- 
ers of the nation is going to spread to the 
proportions of a tidal wave.” 

May the prophecy be realized! 


A Letter to the Unorganized 


L V Lampson 
National Organizer, The American Feder- 


ation of 


The American Federation of Teachers, 
a nation-wide, business, protective, and edu- 
cational organization of the classroom teach- 
ers, has at present 126 locals. At the pres- 
ent rate of increase it is not unlikely that it 
will have fully 500 teachers’ unions on its 
roster by December 31, 1920. The move- 
ment is making great headway not only 
among the public school teachers, but also 
among the faculty members of the higher in- 
stitutions of learning. Examples of the lat- 
ter are Wilson Normal, Normal School, 
Normal, Ill.; Whitewater Normal, Méil- 


Teachers 


waukee Normal, Superior Normal, Uni- 
versity of Illinois, Howard University, 
Washburn College (Kansas), North Da- 
kota Agricultural College, Boston Trade 
Union College, Columbia, Baltimore City 
College, the University of Montana and the 
University of Missouri. There are over fifty 
educational experts in the Bureau of Educa- 
tion and over 1,200 scientists in the Federal 
Government who belong to the Federal Em- 
ployees’ Union. They are thoroly in sym- 
pathy with the union movement among the 
teachers. 





November, 1919 The 


Now, there are certain objections which 
you will want to consider and settle to your 
own satisfaction before forming a union. 
One of these is that teachers belong to a 
profession and therefore should not affiliate 
with organized labor. Union teachers feel 
that they are employees and can therefore 
properly affiliate upon this economic basis, 
if upon no other, with the other employed 
people of the country. In view of the pit- 
iable compensation of the teachers and their 
lack of voice in determining matters of edu- 
cational concern, they do not belong to a 
calling in which the conditions of a real pro- 
fession exist. It is the object of the Amer- 
ican Federation of Teachers to bring about 
such a change in the conditions that affect 
teachers as to make teaching a career for 
strong men and women. 

Another objection is that it would be un- 
dignified for the teachers to affiliate with or- 
ganized labor. Union teachers feel that tak- 
ing the teachers of the country as a whole 
they have very little dignity to lose. No 


group of persons has any dignity in the real 


sense that is unable to protect itself. Of 
all persons those least able to protect them- 
selves are the teachers of the country. The 
facts are that we have not been accorded 
that respect, whether measured in terms of 
money or public regard, to which the char- 
acter and value of the services which we 
render justly entitle us. 

A third possible objection is that of the 
strike. To union teachers, this objection 
has no weight whatsoever because they are 
cognizant of the fact that the American 
Federation of Labor grants to the American 
Federation of Teachers a charter of com- 
plete autonomy. No labor organization can 
call us out on a_ strike sympathetic or other- 
wise. The A F of T does not endorse 
the strike as a means of getting results for 
teachers, but depends upon publicity, organi- 
zation and political action. There have been 
no strikes among the union teachers. There 
have been several this year among non-union 
teachers. In this connection, it should be 


American 


Teacher 207 
stated that such a thing as coercion of union 
teachers by organized labor is utterly un- 
known. The fundamental principle of the 
American labor movement is the autonomy 
of its locals and the freedom of its mem- 
bers. 

What is the situation which confronts the 
teachers of America? We are in some 
respects the most highly educated group of 
people in the country. We certainly per- 
form as important work as is done by any 
group; yet we receive the lowest financial 
returns and have the least voice in determin- 
ing the conditions of our work. We are in 
fact subject to a form of economic oppres- 
sion and intellectual repression. 

What is the explanation of this situation? 
We teachers have been individualists. We 
have been working in the class-room apart 
from the real world, in the realm of adol- 
escene. We have been working in fhe class- 
room apart from our fellow workers. We 
have not learned to work together. As a 
group, it can hardly be said that we have de- 
veloped either a business or a collective 
sense. We have not learned how to help 
ourselves or to help one another. We have 
either been unorganized or organized into 
the form of pedagogical associations. These 
associations have been made up in large part 
of persons who do not vote. Even if they 
did vote, they would not constitute ‘a suf- 
ficient proportion of the voters in any given 
community to enable them to get results. 
Now, our salaries and school laws depend 
upon political bodies whose membership and 
policies in turn depend upon the voters. 
Hence our present condition. 

What is the remedy? There is only one 
way out, and that is to build up a nation- 
wide, business, protective, and educational 
organization of the teachers of the country 
as embodied in the American Federation of 
Teachers affliated with the American Fed- 
eration of Labor whose thousands of votes, 
let us say for example, in the city of St. 
Louis, whose tens of thousands of votes in 
the State of Missouri, and whose 4,000,000 














208 


votes thruout the United States will be avail- 
able for the betterment of educational con- 
ditions. There is no subject in which the 
members of organized labor bodies are more 
interested than in better schools, and better 
paid and more efficient teachers. They need 
our cooperation in bringing about these re- 
sults and we need theirs. The effective and 
willing support of organized labor in behalf 
of the teachers has been demonstrated upon 
numerous occasions recently, e. g., Norfolk, 
Madison, Memphis, St. Paul, Chicago, 
Washington, and New York. Washington 
teachers have been able to get the minimum 
salaries of grade teachers raised over 100 
per cent, besides getting increases for the 
high school teachers. They have been par- 
ticularly successful in securing administrative 
reforms, such as the reduction of the size 
and number of classes, the simplification and 
improvement of the system of rating teach- 
ers, etc. The New York teachers, largely 
thru the support of organized labor, 
were able to get $15,000,000 added to their 
Perhaps the most substan- 


salary budget. 
tial contribution of the American Federation 
of Teachers to the welfare of the teachers 
and the improvement of the schools has been 
the amendments which it has been able to 
secure in the great educational bill now pend- 


ing before Congress. The original Smith 
Bill vested the Secretary of Education with 
autocratic control over the schools of the 
country. It made no specific provision for 


federal aid in the payment of teachers’ sal-. 


aries. At the suggestion of the representa- 
tives of the A F of T amendments were 
agreed upon providing for federal aid in the 
payment of teachers’ salaries and in safe- 
guarding the control of the states and local- 
ities over their schools. Largely by reason 
of the vigorous support of the American 
Federation of Labor, this bill, now known 
as the Smith-Towner Bill Revised is expect- 
ed to pass. 

A national organization of teachers, con- 
solidated for protection and service, and 
backed by organized labor, will command 


The American 


Teacher Vol. VIII, No. 9 
the attention and deserve the respect of 
political parties, of capital, and of the public. 
With the great mass of teachers joining the 
movement, it will have members in every 
community who could, it is conceivable, in- 
fluence every family in the land. It is bound 
to be a potent agent for the promotion and 
guidance of public opinion. Upon its mem- 
bers, who necessarily would do much to 
mould the political thought, and develop the 
economic efficiency of each succeeding gen- 
eration of citizens, will depend to a large 
extent the future of the republic. 

It is the fundamental philosophy of the 
union movement among the teachers that 
there can be no real democracy in govern- 
ment or in industry unless there is democracy 
in education. Our ancestors knew what bod- 
ily slavery is. They fought it, and so have 
men ever since the beginning of time, until 
it has been generally abolished thruout the 
world. Democracy in government has been 
a conception of men for thousands of years; 
yet it has taken the greatest war in history 
to drive it home to the general conscious- 
ness of mankind. Democracy in industry— 
and by that I mean that those who are em- 
ployed shall have some voice in the determi- 
nation of the conditions of their work—has 
been a conception of the last generation. De- 
mocracy in education—and by that I mean 
that the teachers shall have some voice in 
the determination of text-books, education- 
al policies, and the conditions of their work, 
has been a conception of the past few years. 
The thought which: they impart to the youth 
must not be imposed upon them. The teach- 
ers can hardly train the youth in the ways 
of free men if they themselves are not free. 
The last stand of autocracy, or rathc: 
plutocracy, will be in the dominion of the 
minds of men. The world can not be made 
safe for democracy unless the schools are 
kept safe for democracy. 





While this issue was going thru the press 
the number of locals has increased to 131.— 
Editor. 





The Opportunity of the American Teacher 


HAroLp J Lask1 


Lecturer in History and Government, Harvard University 


HE movement for the unionization of 

American teachers has its root in ob- 
vious economic circumstances which cry to 
heaven for remedy. They will not be chang- 
ed until the governing bodies of the Amer- 
ican school system are convinced that behind 
the demand for better wages and conditions 
of work there is a pressure that is ultimately 
irresistible. Those bodies will not be con- 
vinced until they are brought to understand 
that behind the teachers’ demands there lie 
not merely the integrated power of labor’s 
approval, but, what is more important, the 
political influence that labor alone can exert. 
Private unions will do no good. They are, 
by the very fact of their privacy, out of touch 
with the dominating stream of modern 
change. They are hampered by a genteel 
tradition which makes them unwilling to face 
the obvious facts of the situation in a realistic 


spirit. There is too much in them of a sense 
that intellectual labor somehow makes their 
position too “dignified” for alliance with the 
workers by hand. School committees will re- 
gard them with the approval which derives 
from the knowledge that they can never be 


dangerous. And it is a fundamental axiom 
of politics that what is without danger is in 
every real crisis without power. 

But it is less of the importance of the aff- 
liation of teachers to the American Federa- 
tion of Labor that I desire to write than of 
the teacher’s function as members of that 
body. They are therein given an opportunity 
of service such as falls to few men and wo- 
men. Foreign observers of Americar labor 
can hardly fail to be impréssed by the divorce 
of interest in this country between brainwork- 
ers and handworkers. The distrust of the 
former is in large part. responsible for the 
comparative failure of American labor either 
to evolve a philosophy that summarizes its 


general outlook or to secure an alliance with 
its sympathizers in other classes of workers 
which enables it to count upon a widespread 
understanding of its attitude. Yet both of 
these are essential to the progress of the 
movement. Labor will be able to do little 
towards an effective control of the state until 
its claims can be supported by the same kind 
of organized knowledge as is now available 
to the capitalist. It will be unable to obtain 
that material until it attracts into its service 
trained thinkers with a full equipment for us- 
ing the technique of modern economic re- 
search. It seems to me that the teachers have 
a special service to render to labor in this 
regard. They are the liaison officers between 
the workers and an important section of the 
general public whose vague sympathy can be 
turned into active support. 

For the teachers’ influence in American life 
is bound to grow with the years. American 
labor has discovered that without education 
it is handicapped at every turn. In bargain- 
ing with the employer, in appealing to the 
public, in pressure upon legislatures, it is 
meeting a skilful antagonist trained in the 
presentation of his case. The material of 
labor’s future lies in the schools; and it is 
only as labor befriends the teacher that the 
schools can grow to understand its aims. 
There is, that is to say, a reciprocity in the 
relationship between the teachers and the A. 
F. of L. which may well be decisive for the 
future. There are few subjects in which the 
proper appreciation of labor problems is not 
significant. The teacher of civics, for exam- 
ple, has a vital task to perform in explaining 
the relation of labor problems to the more 
general political issues; and the same is true 
of history and economics. That does not 
mean that the teacher is definitely to regard 
himself as the advocate of labor. It simply 


209 




















210 The 
means a realization on his part of the duty 
properly to emphasize the significance of 
labor problems. Everyone who has taught 
in a university knows how difficult it is to dis- 
sipate the unconscious prejudice against labor 
that is the outcome ofthe normal middle-class 
environment. The worker’s life is largely 


American 


Teacher Vol. VIII, No. 9 
unknown; his problems are misunderstood; 
his aims go without analysis. Yet the future 
of America most largely depends upon train- 
ing the youth of this generation to a sym- 
pathetic understanding of trade-unionism. 
That task seems peculiarly incumbent upon 
the American Federation of Teachers. 


The November Message 


F G STECKER 


Secretary-Treasurer, The American Federation of Teachers 


T may interest you now to know that when 
the October Message was prepared a 
month ago our train seemed to have shot in- 
to a tunnel and the bright outlook which had 
been anticipated was momentarily obscured. 
Discouraged Secretaries who found that va- 
cation months had played havoc with the 
careful plans of last May and June for the 
fall season, were reflecting their own feelings 
accordingly. Various reactionary interests 
that were seeking to discredit the labor move- 
ment which had occupied a position during 
the war period too prominent to suit them, 
had succeeded in creating considerable hys- 
teria. To this the teachers in general were 
very sensitive. A large number of groups of 
teachers who had expected to affiliate with 
the American Federation of Teachers were 
holding off. Even some members of the loc- 
als were uncertain about continuing their 
membership. Happily we have again passed 
into the bright sunlight. Only memories re- 
main of that shut-in feeling. The scenery 
appears better than ever by way of contrast. 
Perhaps a review of the past year will be 
helpful. On October 17, 1918, a year ago, 
29 locals had been chartered. The member- 
ship was two thousand one hundred fifty. 
No. 126 is the last charter issued. If we 
deduct two charters, Nos. 30 and 37 which 
were never issued due to misunderstandings 
during the epidemic of last fall, we have a 
net increase of 95 locals. Per capita tax for 


September has been paid to the American 
Federation of Labor on a membership of ten 
thousand. The membership today is, of 
course, considerably higher. Ten charters 
were issued in the month of September de- 
spite the period of discouragement already 
referred to. Eight charters have been issued 
up to October 15. This is the least that can 
be said in summary of the year’s progress. 
A year ago Mr. Stillman was at work single- 
handed. The epidemic forced him to depend 
upon correspondence almost entirely. Now 
he is in the midst of a ten weeks’ trip covering 
all the western states. He is meeting with a 
hearty response from teachers who are now 
awake to the importance of organization. 
Attention has already been called to the or- 
ganization of the California State Federation 
of Teachers. It would be difficult to find a 
finer group of locals and leaders than those 
in that state. Their program is a compre- 
hensive one. We may look to them for de- 
finite results. 

But there is much competition for the 
center of the stage. Missouri is manifesting 
its old “show me” gpirit. Six strong county 
organizations have been organized in the 
present school year in addition to the St. 
Louis high school teachers already reported. 
A meeting at Warrensburg, Mo., Oct. 25, 
at which Mr. Lampson will speak, has been 
planned to add momentum to the movement 
in that state. The members of the faculty 





November, 1919 


of the Central Missouri State Teachers’ 
College at Warrensburg, have joined in the 
Johnson County Teachers’ Union No. 108. 
The encouraging letters from that state are 
pushed aside by a report of activities in the 
prosperous Philadelphia local. With a fine 
understanding of the means to success they 
have formed a state organization committee 
with a purpose in mind of organizing 
enough locals thru the state to make the 
teachers’ influence in Pennsylvania felt. 
These are but three instances which are cited 
at the risk of making it appear that there is 
less activity in other sections. We shall 
hear from all of these and other situations 
will be referred to at other times, all of 
which goes to indicate that a spirit of deter- 
mination has at last come to the classroom 
teachers of the country to build up an organi- 
zation in keeping with their importance in 
the educational system. 

It had been the intention to prepare a 
summary from the reports received from 
all the locals. The blank calling for the de- 


sired data has been returned from twenty- 
four locals, too small a number to make a 


definite report. This failure reveals a strik- 
ing weakness in our organization. The Sec- 
retary, who cannot find fifteen minutes time 
to supply a half dozen items is not only 
failing to represent properly the local but 
is also seriously injuring the machinery 
which is being constructed at so great a cost. 
It is encouraging, however, to find that all 
but two of these reports show affiliation with 
the Central Labor Union and the majority 
give evidence of other helpful support. Half 
of the reports show affiliation with the State 
Federation of Labor. At least six locals 
have sent delegates to the State Federation 
Convention. Complete returns would doubt- 
less show a very general affiliation with Cen- 
tral Labor Unions and perhaps one-fourth 
of all the locals affiliated with the State Fed- 
erations of Labor. These are important 
items. At critical times when a helping hand 
is needed it is more natural to expect as- 
sistance where affiliation already exists. 


The American 


Teacher 211 

Reports on salary increases for the pres- 
ent school year are varied. Boston reports 
no increase while some locals report 25 per 
cent increase. The average increase is $100 
to $150 a year. ‘The local reports that it 
worked out its own salary schedule which 
was adopted by the Board of Education. 
Nearly all the reporting secretaries testify 
that the increase secured was largely due to 
organization, and in many cases to the as- 
sistance of labor. 

Another ray of sunshine is the ever in- 
creasing interest in our movement among 
college teachers. Many of our readers 
may not have followed the entire roster. 
Attention is called, therefore, to the locals 
already existing among college men and 
women. The first was Howard University 
in the District of Columbia. Then came the 
University of Illinois, No. 66, the first 
local in Boston, composed partly of college 
teachers; The Associated Teachers of New 
York City, which has recently become a very 
active organization; North Dakota Agricul- 
tural College, Washburn College (Kansas), 
Baltimore City College, and the University 
of Montana. Watch this list grow. Nor 
is less importance to be attached to the 
growth among normal school teachers. Here 
is the list: Wilson Normal School, Wash- 
ington, D. C., members of Local No. 8; Il- 
linois State Normal University at Normal, 
Milwaukee; Whitewater and Superior Nor- 
mal Schools in Wisconsin, Central Missouri 
State Teachers’ College at Warrensburg, 
and Edinboro State Normal School, Penn- 
sylvania. The record of the Canal Zone 
Chapter in its isolation is now shared with 
the Hawaian local. 

The fourth convention of the American 
Federation of Teachers will be held in Chi- 
cago during the week of December 29. The 
Secretaries will receive complete informa- 
tion. It need scarcely be added that all will 
be anxious to make this a thoroly successful 
convention. All locals should send repre- 
sentatives if possible. The resolutions to 
be offered for adoption as a part of the plat- 











212 


form of the American Federation of Teach- 
ers should receive careful attention. Doubt- 
less some amendments to the constitution 
will be presented. There are several trouble- 
some question. To bring about “Democ- 
racy in Education” is more than a slogan. 
The first convention which met in Chicago 
in April, 1916, consisted of delegates from 
three locals in Chicago and Gary local. New 
York and Washington were represented by 
telegrams only. Th second convention, 
which met in December, 1916, was attended 
by representatives of the Chicago, Gary, 
New York and Washington locals. The 
third convention which met in Pittsburg in 
July, 1918, was attended by representatives 
from ten locals. These conventions laid a 
solid foundation for a vast super-structure. 
Their policies have made a strong appeal. 
Their plans have brought fine results. If the 
fourth convention is to be in every way as 
important, accordingly, in proportion to its 
present size and its widely scattered member- 
ship, it has much to achieve. 


The American 


Teacher Vol. VIII, No. 9 

May I call attention once more to the 
importance of frequent and informal reports 
and communications from the officers of all 
the locals? It is frequently discovered that 
officers have struggled along with some loca! 
problem or difficulty for which assistance 
should have been asked. The members ot 
the Executive Council stand ready to lend 
all assistance within their means. Nor does 
support depend upon them. There are now 
many strong locals and many strong leaders 
who stand ready to reach out to those who 
need their assistance. Perhaps some lit- 
erature among the new teachers or non- 
members or lukewarm members may help. 
Perhaps a rally or a speaker for one of your 
meetings will be helpful. The increase in 
the office mail gives evidence of a spirit of 


_cooperation that is rapidly growing more ef- 


fective. And don’t forget the Editor of the 
American Teacher. Help him to make the 
paper helpful to you. Send stories of ac- 
complishment, or of plans to conquer. 


From the Locals of the American Federation 
of Teachers 


FROM LOCAL NO 16 
(The Grade Teachers Union, Washington, D. C.) 


REPORT OF THE PRESIDENT. 


The Grade Teachers Union was charter- 
ed January, 1918, in the stress of war times, 
when the industrial, economic and social con- 
ditions were changing with staggering rap- 
idity sweeping with them things that had 
been thought fundamental and permanent. 

Like every other institution, the schools 
felt the tremendous pressure, and a collapse 
of the whole educational system seemed im- 
minent. Organized, earnest and immediate 
action was imperative. Money was the vital 
need. Salaries had to be raised. Simultan- 
eously with the formation of the Union came 
the announcement that the new organization 


would work for a $1,000 minimum. This 
policy brought us both friends and enemies. 
The first apparent effect was criticism from 
the teaching force itself. We were told we 
were degrading the high ideals of the pro- 
fession in openly proclaiming so selfish and 
sordid an aim. True, we were underpaid, 
but teachers should not ask for adequate 
compensation—that was the business of the 
School Board, the community, or public spir- 
ited citizens. But threatened evils so rapid- 
ly became realities that by the time the $750 
minimum was assured, many critics had be- 
come our friends, had joined our ranks and 
were fighting with us. 





November, 1919 The 


Pitiful and pigmy as is $750 compared to 
the monster H C of L, it breathed encour- 
agement into our souls for it was more than 
an economic gain. Our fight for it had 
proved that union teachers can stand to- 
gether. We had been told that advocating 
a flat minimum was madness; upper grade 
teachers would never consent to placing 
primary teachers on the same salary basis as 
themselves. To the credit of the upper 
grade teacher be it said, that not one voice 
was raised in objection, but, on the contrary, 
the upper grade teachers contributed unstint- 
ingly of their time and strength in promoting 
a measure that brought them personally no 
gain. Again, it was said that the primary 
teachers had little professional interest in 
their work, and the. union would fail to se- 
cure their cooperation. But some of our 


most devoted workers and leaders have come 
from the ranks of Kg. and primary grades. 
This demonstration to all skeptics that there 
is solidarity among all grades of -teachers, 
has been one of the happy achievements of 


the Union. 

Not only have we shown an esprit du 
corps as elementary teachers, but thruout 
the sixteen months of our existence, we have 
been cooperating happily and successfully 
with our friends, the high school teachers. 
And, in spite of the present misunderstand- 
ing between the Board of Education and the 
teachers, it would be unfair not to say that 
the teaching force, and the administrative 
authorities have been drawn into closer re- 
lationship in many instances. 

The Union has made it possible for us to 
take an active part in the life of the commun- 
ity. It was our organization that acquainted 
the public of Washington with the salary 
situation in the schools. We have sent del- 
egates to the Baltimore and Lanoconing 
Conventions of the Federation of Labor of 
the District of Columbia and Maryland, 
and have secured representation on their 
Educational Committee. Beside our affilia- 
tion with the American Federation of Teach- 
ers, the American Federation of Labor, and 


American 


Teacher 213 


the Central Labor Union of Washington, we 
have recently become afhliated with the 
Women’s Trade Union League, an organi- 
zation that was quick to prove itself a friend 
in need. ~We have contributed our share 
both in workers and in money to the national 
movement. The W G T Union thru its 
delegates took a part in the legislation and 
the formulation of policies at the Pittsburgh 
Convention that has made possible the rapid 
spread of unionism among elementary and 
secondary teachers and college and university 
professors. 

Thru work of our legislative, pension, 
and reconstruction committees, we have pro- 
moted our professional aims. To cite but 
one example: We have enunciated the prin- 
ciple that the first grade teacher is as valuable 
as the eighth grade teacher, and that begin- 
ning classes should be as well taught as the 
graduating class. Already we have prac- 
tically reduced from 5 to 3 the so-called 
“classes” of elementary teachers. In the im- 
mediate future we expect to abolish all 
“class” distinction. 

The work of that future already looms 
large. The work for the Committee on Re- 
classification of Salaries which has recognized 
the Unions as representing the teachers’ in- 
terest, will continue until the Commission 
makes its final report in January, 1920. 

The present largest issue is the (Miss) 
Wood case—a case that has attained national 
significance, and which will be far reaching 
in its effect. 

On behalf of the retiring officers and exe- 
cutive committee, I thank the members of the 
Union for their effective cooperation. To 
serve an organization that is doing really 
vital and constructive work is a privilege. I, 
therefore, on behalf of the incoming admin- 
istration beg you to be less modest about your 
own capacity for work. 

Volunteer your help. Stand behind your 
organization |! 

Ciara K. Stutz, 


President. 








The 


FROM LOCAL No 50 
(The Murphysboro, Illinois, Teachers’ 
Fellowship Society) 

In December, 1918, the Public School 
teachers of Murphysboro, Illinois, organized 
a Fellowship Society to improve the condi- 
tions under which they worked. In order to 
give themselves strength to accomplish their 
ends, they decided in March, 1919, to affiliate 
with the American Federation of Teachers, 
enrolling every teacher as a charter member. 

For a number of years the Murphysboro 
teachers had worked under a contract, which 
withheld ten per cent of each month’s salary 
until the close of the school year, which 
amount was to be forfeited in case the teacher 
married during the life of her contract, even 
tho she would be willing to continue teaching, 
or if she failed in any way to meet the re- 
quirements of the contract. Since the law of 
Illinois is .‘“Teachers shall be paid monthly” 
the teachers felt that they should not be forc- 
ed to sign this illegal contract. The teachers 
also felt that a city of 15,000 inhabitants 
should have a school term of at least nine 
months, rather than one of eight and one- 
half, as had been the custom. Since the grade 
teachers had been paid only $67.50 per 
month, ten per cent of which had been with- 
held according to contract, the teachers felt 
justified in asking for at least a $10 increase. 
These three requests were placed before the 
Board of Education on the first of April, 
1919, by a committee of teachers, in order 
that the Board might have time to revise the 
contracts to meet the teachers’ requirements. 

After a number of meetings of Committees 
from the teachers and the School Boards and 
a month’s time had been consumed, the Board 
met and re-employed all teachers of the force 
offering them contracts identical with those 
they had signed hitherto. These contracts 
were to be signed or rejected within ten days’ 
time. Since each teacher had been offered a 
contract the organization felt that there was 
no criticism on any individual teacher’s quali- 
fications. At a called meeting of the organi- 


American 


Teacher Vol. VIII, No. 9 


zation the teachers voted to place all teach- 
ers’ contracts in the hands of the Secretary 
pending negotiations for a favorable con- 
tract. By this time the teachers had affliated 
with the Central Labor Body of Murphys- 
boro, and had taken up the case with that 
organization. 

The Central Labor Body advised the 
teachers that it was right and proper for the 
teachers to draw up their own contracts, since 
they were the ones who had to work under 
them. By the efforts of the Central Labor 
Body of Murphysboro the School Board ac- 
cepted the contract drawn up by the teachers, 
thereby granting all requests that had been 
suggested previously, in this article. 

At this time the prospects looked very 
bright, but during the exchange of contracts 
the Board tried once more to break the spirit 
of the organization by refusing to employ 
two of the teachers. Within a week’s time, 
however, the two teachers were reinstated, 
contracts the teachers had drafted were given 
out and signed, harmony was restored, and 
now one of the teachers who since married is 
teaching. During all this controversy the 
teachers were advised and encouraged by the 
officers of the American Federation of 
Teachers and their Attorney. 

SIDNA MULLINEAUx, 
Secretary of Murphysboro Fellowship 
Society. 





‘This is the Official Organ 


of the 


American Federation of Teachers 
ORGANIZED APRIL 15, 1916 


Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor 


OFFICERS OF THE A F OF T 


President: CHARLES B STILLMAN, Chicago 
1620 Lake Avenue, Wilmette, Il. 


Secretary-Treasurer : F G Strecker, Chicago 
1618 Lake Avenue, Wilmette, Ill. 


National Organizer; First Vice-President : 
L V Lampson, Washington, D C 
1336 Otis Place, N W 





November, 1919 - The 


at practically wholesale prices. 











Call or Write Without Delay. 


American 


mux Youn FURS 


FROM 
The Teachers Cooperative Co., 1181 Broadway, N. Y. 


N ATURALLY every woman likes furs. 

herself in her ambition to wear that article on account of the 
present high prices which it brings. 
the leading fur manufacturers, we are enabled to sell to the teachers 


How Would You Like to Save from 25 to 35 Percent? 


The Teachers Cooperative Co., composed of a group of New York 
city school teachers, is studying the problem of solving the high 
cost of living for the teacher. We have begun with furs, which to- 
day is a woman's necessity. We help you buy and save. 


Teacher 215 


SSS 


Yet she is liable to stint 


By arrangement with some of 











Furs of Every Quality and Description. 


Out of Town Orders Filled 














STATEMENT OF THE OWNERSHIP, MANAGEMENT, 
CIRCULATION, ETC., REQUIRED BY THE ACT 
OF CONGRESS OF ANGUST 24, 1912, 


of The American Teacher, published monthly, except July 
and August, at New York, N. Y., for October 1, 1919. State 
of New York, County of Queens. 

Before me, a Notary Public, in and for the State and 
county aforesaid, personally appeared Henry R. Linville, 
who, having been duly sworn according to law, deposes and 
says that he is the Editor of the American Teacher, and 
that the following is, to the best of his knowledge and 
belief, a true statement of the ownership, management 
(and if a daily paper, the circulation), etc., of the aforesaid 
publication fo rthe date shown in the above caption, re- 
quired by the Act of August 24, 1912, embodied in section 
433, Postal Laws and Regulations, printed on the reverse 
of this form, to wit: 

1. That the names and addresses of the publisher, editor, 
managing editor, and business managers are: Publisher, 
The American Federation of Teachers, 70 Fifth Avenue, 
New York; Editor, Henry R. Linville, 36 Terrace Avenue, 
Jamaica, N. Y.; Managing Editor, none; Business Manager, 
Max Rosenhaus, 70 Fifth Avenue, New York, N. Y. 

2. That the owners are: (Give names and addresses of 
individual owners, or, if a corporation, give its name and 
the names and addresses of stockholders owning or holding 
1 per cent or more of the total amount of stock.) The 
American Federation of Teachers—President, Chas. B. 
Stillman, 1620 Lake Avenue, Wilmette, Ill.; Secretary- 
Treasurer, F. G. Stecker, 1618 Lake Avenue, Wilmette, IIl.; 
approximate numer of members 10,500. 

3. That the known bondholders, mortgagees, and other 
security holders owning or holding 1 per cent or more of 
total amount of bonds, mortgages, or other securities are: 
(If there are none, so state.) None. 

4. That the two paragraphs next above, giving the names 
of the owners, stockholders, and security holders, if any, 
contain not only the list of stockholders and security 
holders as they appear upon the books of the company but 
also, in cases where the stockholder or security holder 
appears upon the books of the company as trustee or in 
any other fiduciary relation, the name of the person or 


corporation for whom such trustee is acting, is given; also 
that the said two paragraphs contain statements embrac- 
ing affiant’s full knowledge and belief as to the circum- 
stances and conditions under which stockholders and 
security holders who do not appear upon the books of the 
company as trustees, hold stock and securities in a ca- 
pacity other than that of a bona fide owner; and this 
affiant has no reason to believe that any other person, 
association, o rcorporation has any interest direct or in- 
direct in the said stock, bonds, or other securities than as 
so stated by him. 

5. That the above average number of copies of each 
issue of this publication sold or distributed, throug the 
mails or otherwise, to paid subscribers duing the six 
months preceding the date shown above is. (This in- 
formation is required from daily publications only.) Henry 
R. Linville. Sworn to and subscribed before me this 23rd 
day of September, 1919. Alvin M. Dunham, Notary Public, 
Queens Co., N (My commission expires March 30, 
1921.) 


LARGER SALARIES FOR TEACHERS ABSO- 
LUTELY NECESSARY 

Pressing as are the material needs of the colleges, 
the necessity of paying the members of the instruc- 
tional staffs salaries which will enable them to meet 
the increased cost of living cails for primary ac- 
tion. It is significant to note the wave of senti- 
mcat all over the United States in favor of decent 
financial recognition of the services of college pro- 
fessors. Wisconsin has an opportunity to take a 
defnite leadership in this nation wide movement. It 
is observed itthat the demand for a “living wage” for 
the college professor is being made for him rather 
than by him —From Wisconsin’s Challenge, salary 
“drive,” a pamphlet issued by nine Wisconsin col- 
leges. 


























The 


American.. 


Teacher 


What Does Music Mean 
to Your School? 


Heo’ many lives does music influence? Not all pupils will learn to sing or 


to play some musical instrument. 


All can enjoy or enter into, thru 


listening, the greatest music the ‘world has produced. 
Thru music, your pupils are stimulated to a deeper appreciation of the 


true and the beautiful. 

There are five episodes from the life of a people 
suggested by the music of Tschaikowsky’s “The 
Overture 1812,” Record A-5874, 

Your Knowledge of history will be stimulated as 
you listen to this music. 

A poem by Henri Cazalis is paralleled by Saint- 
Saéns’ music, ‘“Danse Macabre,” Record A-1836. 

Your Imagination will fill the picture to your 
complete satisfaction when you hear the music. 


Each episode and repeated theme in the 
“Rondino” by Vieuxtemps, Record 36523, has a 
counterpart in bits of the poem, “Culprit Fay,” 
by Joseph Rodman Drake. 

From your Experience you will enlarge upon the 
mood in each group’of lines,as the music will suggest. 

Gounod has done a clever trick in tone combina- 
tion in his “Funeral March of a Marionette,” 
Record A-1211. He plays upon your fancy with a 
burlesque in music. 

Your sense of Humor cannot resist the appeal of 
the little burlesque and its story. 


The analyses of many other selections of splendid music, and 
suggestions of what they may mean to you, are found in the 
Columbia Educational Catalog, ‘““The Grafonola in the Class 


Room.” 


This catalog contains an abundance of 


material for Kindergarten, Grades, and High School, 
carefully graded and classified. 

Any Columbia Dealer will gladly place a Grafonola 
and Pushmobile with a number of Educational 
Records in your School on trial, without cost or ob- 
ligation to you, so that you may 


prove,thru your own satisfaction, 


Clip this coupon and mail today 


what great service Columbia ma- 


terial may ‘be in your schools. 


| CoLumsia GRAPHOPHONE COMPANY 
ucational Department 


Send the coupon for Educa- | Woolworth Building, New York City « 


tional Literature. 


EDUCATIONAL DEPARTMENT 


Columbia Graphophone 
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locked in Woolworth Bldg., New York City 

Londen Factory: 102 Clerkenwell Read, EC. | State 


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| (Check subject desired) 


[ Grafonola- Catalog i 
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Musical. Measurement Manual CJ 


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2 (AMT 


Grade Nov.) 


=>” 





Vol. VII, No. 9