™ AMERICAN Federation -of Teachers i ~ TEACHE JANUARY, suas ; Con es] [a OO es) fe Co] ris ty [mm GooDoD 8) [88 COO os} fe COO ee) [ee OOD ee) [ee Co we) [i Cc & OOOO The Fourth Convention The New Child Labor F Problem : 38 The Report of the Com- Ho mittee on Resolutions A Impressions of the Fourth Convention COOOL bs ps COU eB} [6 COC ae] [ee COO ee} [ee OCD ee] fm Oo a) fe COO a} | aR COCO as] [ee COO as) fe COO es] fee Co Democracy in Education Education for Democracy The American Teacher Social Reconstruction thru Education ey gives me very great pleasure to address a gathering of this kind, representing as you do, the most progressive movement in education, as I see it, today. I am glad that so many have interested themselves to come out on an occa- sion of this kind, a delegate body, as I understand it, representing the teachers who are progressive enough to initiate things worth while. The biggest thing that I know of in our social life today $s concerned with the educa- tion of our young people. + * EDITORIALS ON RESOLUTIONS The history of all past wars has shown that education has suffered more than anything else following such a_ state. I don’t know whether it is be- cause it is easier to take it out of the weaker people. But it is a fact that following all great catastrophies education has been sadly neglected. Were it not that certain groups of people, such people as you represent, some of the better citizens of the country, realiz- ing that situation, I am afraid that the same thing would happen again. Children, I say, have paid in a great _ measure the costs of carrying on AMENDMENTS . DELEGATES CONTENTS THe New CuHiLp Lasor PROBLEM . THE REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE IMPRESSIONS OF THE FouRTH CON- VENTION ; THE JANUARY MESSAGE great wars, for the most part. We have always had a time of very high cost of material and labor. At such a time, if the family is existing, one of three things must happen. First, the head of the family should be better qualified, better prepared to earn a larger income; or, second, the children and the women of the household must be requisitioned into service, in or- der to help eke out the scant family income; or, third, the children of the household must suffer from lack of food, from improper cloth- ing, and drop under the incu- bus of mal-nu- trition. God forbid that either of the last two should be re- sorted to in this great country of ours. The child must and shall be prepared to meet the battles of life. That means better preparation; it means better technical training; it means a better trained and better developed mind; and these things can be brought about only thru education. —From the Address of Welcome by Dr. Peter A. Mortenson, Superi: of Schools, Chicago, Tll., at the Opening Meeting of the Fourth Con- vention of The American Federation of Teachers, December 29, 1919. Volume IX, No. |! 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. ‘Volant 1X, No. 1 JANUARY, 1920 One Dollar a Year EDITORIAL COOPERATION The Report of the Committee on the “Official Organ” printed elsewhere in this issue, announces the method adopted by the Convention for select- ing a staff of associate editors. Four associate edi- tors are to be selected, one each from the Eastern, Southern, Western and Central sections of the country. The locals are to nominate and the Executive Council is to elect. In a democratic movement there are good reasons why a national organ should be managed by several rather than by one. One of the best of these rea- sons is that democracy requires leaders, and many of them, each presenting his contribution of ideas and service to the common cause. It is only thru capitalizing the joint intelligence of many workers that strength may be developed for overcoming au- tocracy. Another very good reason is that one editor, just as any other single factotum, may grow over-conceited, believing himself to purvey all there is of wisdom and enlightenment. Besides, it is un- fair to a well-disposed worker to expose him to the ruinous effects of single-handed control. We wel- came the new order. THE FOURTH CONVENTION When the members of groups of workers come together and learn their power along unaccustomed lines, the result is an emotional state of no mean im- portance. This is especially true when the emotion is linked with an intellectual conviction of signifi- cance. We have under these conditions a driving force which carries far, and gives the union move- ment a vitality that tends to insure continuance. That we have this vitality will be evident to any- one who reads the symposium entitled “Impres- sions” printed in this issue of The American Teacher, It will be worth our while to attempt to analyze the work of the Convention in order to save forfu- ture use whatever of good there was in method and accomplishment, as well as to avoid pitfalls in the future. The Convention lasted four whole days. Nearly two days of this time were given to the re- ports of officers. One of the bits of evidence tend- ing to show that tradition had not gripped us in its deadly thraldom was the decision by the Con- vention that in the future the reports of officers are to be prepared and copies forwarded to the locals in time for them to be considered before the convention. This decision was in no sense made as a criticism of the reports of the officers, but purely as a means of saving the time of the national con- vention. An additional point of value will be the wider and fuller discussion that may be given to propositions which the officers may have to offer to the membership. It would not be fair to the move- ment if propositions which the officers alone had thought to make should be thrown before the dele- gates, and the responsibility be placed upon the delegates of voicing the interests of the membership without being sure of what the membership might want. On the first day of the Convention the usual method of nominating candidates for the offices was modified by the adoption of the plan of the preferential ballot. This plan involves the listing of all the nominees for an office, or for a group of offices which are related, on the same ballot ar- ranged in alphabetic order. For example, candi- dates for the office of president and the candidates for the nine positions in the list of vice-presidents were arranged in a single list with places at the left of each name for indicating the order of choice of the electors for the various positions. Elector A would mark numeral 1 opposite the name of his choice for President, the numeral 2 opposite the name of his choice for First Vice-President, and so on down the list. In this way there is no candidate contending with any other candidate for the same office, at least in the form of the ballot. The 4 T choice for the President will depend on the judg- ment of the electors as expressed in the total sum of the ranks in choice as indicated on the ballots. Mr. Stillman was elected President because his to- tal as indicated in the sum of all the ranks of choice given him by the electors was the lowest. To be specific it was 119, while the total of the ranks of choice given the nearest technical competitor was over 1,000. Thus, the choice of the Convention for President was expressed clearly and by a method scientific, as well as democratic. Our correspondents have referred in the sym- posium to the fact that recommendations of the Executive Council were considered on_ their merits, and were neither approved nor disapproved because of their origin. For a time it seemed that this principle of action might not be worked out, but the good sense of the whole Convention finally expressed itself to the satisfaction of all apparently, and certainly to the lasting benefit of democracy in the union movement. Another evidence of devotion to which the cor- respondents have referred is the willingness of the delegates to work, and to work hard, on commit- tees. It would have been impossible to hold ses- sions of the convention if all the committees had been in session at the same time, hence committee conferences were held early in the morning, at noon time, or at. night, or whenever the opportunity offered. So much for devotion. There is noth- ing that so nearly takes the place of the “acid test” for the love of a cause. than the degree of faithfulness to doing hard committee work in a movement involving ideals. But still more impressive, at least to the profes- sion, than the matter of devotion is the product of the labor of the committees. In spite of the hard work done by the committees, their reports were no surer of generous treatment by the Convention than were the recommendations of the Executive Coun- cil. Every recommendation had to pass the gauntlet of criticism. Some minority reports became the re- ports of the Convention, and some unanimous reports of committees were replaced by opposing views by the whole body of delegates. The ultimate de- cisions cover a wide range of ideas. The greatest conflicts raged about the reports of the Committee The American Teacher 1X, No. | Volume on Laws (amendments to the Constitution), ‘I ie Committee on .the Official Organ, the report of which was adopted and is printed in this issue of the American Teacher, and the Committee on Reso!u- tions. The matter contained in the latter Report is so voluminous that it must be printed in two parts. The Resolutions proper are printed entire in this issue, as well as the section of the Committee’s report on Professional Ethics. The section of the Report dealing with the Platform will appear in the February issue. When the entire report of the Committee on Resolutions is assembled in the Annual Report of the organization, it will comprise a body of accomplish- ment which probably has never been surpassed in the history of any American teachers. organization of In closing this review of the work and the spirit of the Fourth Convention of the American Fed- eration of Teachers, the Editor desires to express his gratification at the many indications of approval given at the Convention of the best work which this periodical has attempted to do. It has been a prob- lem of unification to conduct the magazine which a more experienced magazine manager might not have attempted. On purely practical lines the making of the American Teacher into a unifying force, and a medium for the expression of ideals with which all might not agree, as well as a forum for the discussion of debatable issues, constituted a problem which was impossible of solution. About the only reason we can see for its turning out a success up to this point is the fact that our movement gets its fundamental stimulus to being from the wellsprings of idealism. The American Teacher Education for Democracy Published monthly, except July and August, by THE AMERICAN FEDERATION OF TEACHERS at 70 Fifth Avenue, New York City Henry R. Linvitte, Editor Max Rosennaus, Business Manager Democracy in Education 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, express order, draft, stamps or check (New York exchange). SUBSCRIPTION PRICE, ONE DOLLAR FOR THE YEAR— FOREIGN, $1.10 The New Child Labor Problem RutH McIntire National Child Labor Committee January 26th is the day set aside for the observ- ance of Child Labor Day in the schools of the country. In a recent letter to the National Child Labor Committee Miss Jane Addams, of Hull House, Chicago, said: “Because certain states have secured satisfactory legislation for the protection of children, it is easy to assume that it is no longer necessary to push child labor reform and similar measures, forgetting the wretched conditions still obtaining in vast areas of the United States. One day set aside for the discussion of the needs of chil- dren viewing the subject in its higher moral aspects and urging a furtherance of child welfare as a re- ligious duty would, to my mind, be most valuable.” The federal child labor state regulation and administration where such regu- lation exists. And with regard to the relative ef- fectiveness of local law enforcement, the remark ot a tobacco-factory manager is illuminating: “We can get around the state law,” he said, “but Uncle Sam, well, that’s different.”” It would be a good thing if Uncle Sam, as an impartial friend of all the children regardless of whether they were born it. New Mexico or New York, could take a hand in seeing that they have an equal opportunity in edu- cation, in play, in freedom from exploitation. The first step was the passage of the federal child labor law; the second step, it is to be hoped, will be the passage of the Towner education bill. But child labor regulation law which went into effect last April 25, has, it is re- ported by the Internal Rev- enue Bureau, served to re- duce child labor materially. Many plants, particularly southern cotton mills, have discharged all children under 16 years of age rather than adjust the operation to an 8-hour day. The federal law lays a 10 per cent tax on the net profits of establishments employing children below cer- tain standards; factories, mills, canneries and manufac- turing establishments may not employ children under 14, nor children between 1+ and 16 years for more than 8 hours a day, and mines and quarries may not employ children under 16 years of age. But this law, admirable so far as it goes, leaves large groups of working children out of account. It does not apply to the vast numbers of children regularly employed in agriculture, nor to those working in street trades, in department stores, grocery stores, laundries, amusement places, hotels, restaurants, in the messenger service, and other trades. These are subject only to local or is a negative movement. It is to the schools and the teach- ers in the schools that we look for the positive work in behalf of children. The child labor cause is closely allied with the teachers’ cause. If the United States is to make good her boast of “universal free to all,” the must be education, teaching profession made attractive enough for trained and women to enter it as a life profession. The the and of the community must men sense of country THE COST OF CRANBERRY SAUCE be awakened to realize that the best is none too good for the children who are to create the future of the country. More than all, the schools must be liberated from formalism, and quickened with a new spirit of experiment, which is the very heart of true education. In Kentucky, where the National Child Labor Committee recently made a statewide survey of the conditions and the laws relating to children,* it was *See Child Welfare in Kentucky, National Child Labor Committee, New York, for discussion of Schools, Health, Child Labor, Rural Life, Juvenile Courts. 6 The American Teacher found that the state and county superintendents are elected, and in order to secure and retain tenure of - office, must campaign for support at the polls. Thus a conscientious man, who devotes himself to his work in the schools, may be put out of office almost as soon as he has become familiar with his duties. Local taxes are so low that good schools generally are an impossibility. It was found that in one county of the state 24 out of 87 teachers had not gone beyond the eighth grade themselves. Of this number 8 had not completed the common school. In another county, 70 out of 101 had re- ceived a common school education only. Salaries are so low as to result in a constant shifting. The state law sets as a minimum $45 a month, but actually the salaries range from $35 to $70 a month. The school term is commonly but the six months required by law in rural districts. As an illustra- tion of the attitude in this respect we may quote a trustee who said, “She doesn’t need any more money. Her father keeps her.”” Many teachers, it was apparent, were chosen for the very reason that they lived at home. Under such conditions it is no wonder that ability seeks rewards in other professions. The situation is in large part responsible for the fact that absences from school among the children are principally due to employment, indifference , and illness. The in- vestigators came to the conclusion that, ““When the school makes a stronger appeal to the child, when his instinct to work—to create with his own hands —-is made a larger part of his school program, we shall see the school functioning with better results. Vocational education may largely meet the needs of the child over 14 but the boy and girl under 14 as well must have a ‘better balanced ration’ if they are to be kept happy in their school work and unspoiled by the competition of the small job.” In order that the schools may make this appeal to children, it is essential that the teachers be free to work out the ideals of liberal educators; an awak- ened community feeling is essential, together with the realization of what democracy in education means —not opportunity for all children to be forced into school in order to learn the contents of text-books, Volume IX, No. but the opportunity for a preparation for life—no the chance to be molded into a common form, bu: the chance for individual expression that will free the future workers from the great enemy 0! democracy, exploitation. Child Labor Day this year includes in its observ- ance this broader thought for the whole child. The National Child Labor Committee will be glad to send suggestive programs and information to schools and churches upon request. THE GLAD HAND OF LABOR The war has led some exclusive group, composed of those previously well satisfied with their superior position, to recognize that the horny hand had after all adopted the proper method for their protection by organizing along, trade union lines, and then federating their organizations for the mutual support which came thru federation. Little did we dream, a few months ago, that the great majority of our country’s most famous actors and actresses would organize for a purely trade-union purpose, go on strike and then give the public free performances whi'e they exhibited the various styles and methods by which artistry did picket duty. The actors of England have organized. The actors of France have formed their trade union, and not only this, but have also cooperated with the other trades such as the electricians and stage hands, in endeavoring to secure improved conditions. So far as France is concerned this is not the end of organization. The painters, the sculptors, the poets and the story writers are not only organizing, but are endeavor- ing to become members of the Confederation General du Travail, the French Federation of Labor. Our American actors discovered that while it was quite impossible to prove the justice of their case, which in the recent instance was a form of contract that did not leave both handles of the jug in the managers’ hands, it was an altogether different matter to have these rights conceded by the managers. It was not until they quit work as a body and went on strike that they began to secure those conditions, which, had the managers been wise and fore- sighted, would have been granted a long time ago. We heartily welcome our new brothers and sisters. May they live long to entertain us, and may they above all things develop practiced methods in conducting their or- ganization, now that they have secured recognition. They can make no greater mistake in. the future than to premit artistic temperament to influence them in their trade-union policies instead of common sense—From 7 International Molders’ Journal of October, 1919. Report of the Committee on Resolutions of the Fourth National Convention of the American : Federation Among the most serious aid vital of the greater problems which post-war reconstruction brings to the American people is the problem of public educa- tion. After nearly every great war education has suffered for a long period of years. Can this be avoided by the American people in the present in- stance? The causes of post-bellum neglect of edu- cation are various but may be summed up in the words of Superintendent Mortenson in the address which he delivered in welcoming the convention at its opening meeting. He said that the children of the nation were its most helpless element and that, to our shame be it said, in the apportionment of depleted national resources they were made to bear the heaviest burden due to deficiency of funds. That this has been true of the past has been clear- ly shown. That it is shortsighted and dangerous is apparent to every thoughtful man or woman. That it may be fatal to the development of well equipped leadership during the critical period upon which America and the world has entered is equally evident. The most vital requirement for national well-being and progress is an educated citizenship. The draft brought home to us as a nation that we are not adequately accomplishing the task of education. Seven hundred thousand of the youth of the nation included in the draft were unable even to read and write. That proportion, if it extends to our population outside the draft age, means that about seven millions of our population are in the same state of ignorance. But even if it does not so extend, the conclusion that we are now failing to educate our youth is inevitable. The figures recently made public by the National Education Association show that a large proportion of teachers in rural schools have no training beyond an elementary one—no profes- sional training at all. There are states and sec- tions of states in which compulsory laws are not enforced because of the paucity of schools and the lack of funds to provide them. During the lifetime of at least two generations the teachers of the na- tion have been notoriously underpaid. This has of Teachers been a national sin, confessed but unatoned for, and like other sins is bringing with it its own punish- ment. This punishment falls most heavily again on the children and youth of the nation. It consists in the fact that individuals of high personality, ability and preparation, men and women of idealism and char- acter, are refusing every day in greater number to enter a life work in which the sacrifice demanded is so great and the reward in dollars and apprecia- tion is so small. The recent decline in the purchasing power of already inadequate stipends for teaching has only accelerated two tendencies already marked among teachers and those who might become teachers. The former are leaving the schools for other occupations, for in almost all other occupations they see oppor- tunities of much greater material success under more satisfactory surroundings. The latter are simply declining to make the unwarranted sacrifices de- manded of teachers, as the records of normal schools thruout the country abundantly prove. This accel- eration in the rate of loss would not have been so great if school authorities could have met the de- cline in the purchasing power of teachers’ salaries with a corresponding increase in the amount paid, but even where they were willing to do this it has rarely been possible to get funds. Under these conditions what is the duty of teach- ers to the public? Especially, what is the duty of our federation? Is it not to raise a strong cry of warning to the nation before such warning shall be too late? Merely because we shall personally profit by adequate financing of public education must we be too sensitive to point out the danger—yes, the certainty—of ruin to the schools if they are not adequately financed? Surely the judgment of the public is not so narrow and mean as to deny the teachers’ deep and genuine interest and responsi- bility for the welfare of the schools! Let us boldly point out that there are three pos- sible courses which the public may take with re- gard to financing public education: The American Teacher (1) The public may decide to do nothing ade- quate, to let matters go substantially as they are in the vague hope that economic conditions will change and that the teachers will adapt themselves to the hard conditions forced upon them by a forty-five cent dollar and an inflexible salary schedule. This decision will involve several results: (a) The deterioration of the schools will go on at an increased pace; (4) The whole force of teachers, nearly a million strong, will be angry at a plain in- justice to deserving public servants. They will be- come increasingly convinced that the present social order is unfit and must be displaced. They can- not fail to pass on their views to the youth under their charge, and the oncoming generation will also be opposed to the present social order; (c) The more brilliant and capable of the teachers now in the system will get out into other occupations where there are more attractive opportunities. This will be a deadly blow to public education in two ways: It will leave the less capable teachers in the schools and will leave them without intelligent leadership which looks beyond the necessity for change to a constructive program of reform that shall deserve the support of the entire public. The only favor- able soil for the propagation of destructive radical ideas is the soil of economic injustice. Our schools are the bulwark of social order against destruction. Can they so continue if the just claim of the teacher is further neglected ? The teacher can be trusted far. He is patient, long-suffering, reasonable. We expect him to take the alien and the child of the alien, a mingling of all the world’s races in our cities, together with our own children, and to train them all alike to an ap- preciation of America’s ideals—to show them that America stands for human opportunity. Can we expect him to do this if for him America does not mean opportunity, if he works under conditions that spell unappreciated self-sacrifice and finally a just indignation? We cannot afford to have sullen, em- bittered teachers in our schools. (2) The public’ may listen to the plea of the teachers to the extent of insisting upon such in- creases in educational expenditures as will barely re- place them in the very modest economic position which they held in 1914. This will involve a Volume IX, No. | This response would be a make-shift and a half- measure at best, but it would in marked degree, re- lieve the smart of injustice which all teachers feel at being left to shift for themselves with salaries cut to half of their pre-war value. (3) The public may recognize the necessity of developing real professional standards for teachers. This will mean fixing the financial reward for teach- ing at such a level as will hold the well-trained and capable already employed and attract into the sys- tem the best of the young men and women to whose idealism and desire to serve teaching appeals as a life work. This cannot be accomplished by adopting the plan of giving teachers a “living wage.” The financial reward must be high enough to vie with those to which the efficient and successful in other professions may hope to attain. The establishment of such standards will involve nearly tripling the salary fund for teachers. It would enable school authorities at once to demand and secure properl) equipped teachers. It would remove teaching from its present status as a “stepping-stone,” a conveni- ence used to tide over a few years at most, a source of pin-money for the young woman who expects soon to marry and give up teaching, or for the young man while he studies law or medicine. It would make it unnecessary for the greater part of elementary education outside of large towns to be left in the hands of girls and boys not yet of age. It would stop the continual flitting of teach- eds to new fields where they think to find a few dollars more pay per year. To secure the nation-wide establishment of such standards in public education is the most important social problem of our people. The necessity is critical and immediate. The public must be edu- cated to appreciate this by thinking men and women in every community. To them we must appeal for support. The following resolutions adopted by the conven- tion have some bearing upon-this important matter: Whereas, The educational funds available for proper maintenance of efficient schools generally thruout the United States are very insufficient ; and Whereas, American teachers in many communi- ties, including our own members, are now engaged in campaigns to direct the attention of the public practical doubling of salary funds now available. \¢o this deficiency of funds; January, 1920 Be it resolved by the American Federation of Teachers in convention assembled that its officers be instructed to make an earnest effort to have the let- ter cancellation stamps in post offices thruout the United States for a period of six months, if possible, show the words “SUPPORT YOUR SCHOOLS.” GREETING TO THE PRESIDENT Be it Resolved: That we, the delegates of the American Federation of Teachers, in annual con- vention assembled at Chicago, this first day of Jan- uary, 1920, extend our heartiest good wishes to the President of the United States for a speedy and complete recovery to his usual state of health; and Be it Further Resolved: That we extend to the President our very best wishes for a happy new year: and Be it Further Resolved: That we urge upon the President and the people of the United States the necessity of making adequate provision for the cause of public school education in this country. England and France expended large sums for edu- cation during the war. The United States cannot, in our opinion, afford to do less in these days of reconstruction. Resolved Further: That this convention respect- fully urge upon the President and the Congress of the United States, the passage at this session of Congress, of the Smith-Towner Bill Revised which provides for the creation of a Federal Department of Education and the Federal appropriation of $100,000,000 to encourage the states in the promo- tion and support of education. As a practical method of securing adequate reve- nues for educational purposes the convention after long discussion adopted the following: Whereas, the taxation of buildings tends to de- crease the number of buildings and so to raise rents and to fall heavily upon the masses of citizens who afford to pay. Whereas, the taxation of any goods which are produced by labor tends to discourage their produc- tion and so raise their prices to the people, Whereas, the taxation of land value tends to en- courage building and production by making un- profitable the holding of land out of use for specula- tion purposes, and so operates to reduce rents and prices, " Whereas, the holding of land out of use for speculation makes rent high, discourages produc- tion, limits opportunities of employment, and so raises the price of land as to make home owner- ship difficult for the masses, W hereas, the value of land as distinguished from The American Teacher 9 the value of the improvements on it is chiefly a mat- ter of situation and of population growth and is in no considerable degree due to any activities of the owner, and Whereas, the private enjoyment of this value is the cause of our present gross economic inequality, Therefore, we recommend that the funds neces- sary to maintain and increase educational efficiency should be secured by taxes on land values rather than. on buildings or other goods produced by labor. The matter of a decent financial recognition of the value of the teacher’s service to the community is primary, and until full justice is done to the schools and the teachers in a financial way, no one has a right to utter a word of criticism of our efforts to obtain that full measure of justice. We desire to point out to But we are unwilling to stop there. the public that there is large room for reform in school affairs apart from the matter of pay. In this our American school leaves much to be desired and striven for before it can be said to approximate democracy’s ideal. What voice has the class room teacher today in the determination of school policies or of school administration ? What effective word can the teacher say about the text books and other tools with which he works? What chance has he to reform out-worn and time-consum- ing methods of record-keeping imposed upon him from above? system The utter and unqualified Prussian- ism under which the great majority of American teachers are doing their work today is simply amaz- ing in a country which professes to be democratic. Some progress has been made by the organization of teachers’ councils toward correcting this spirit- quelling system of dictation from above. Yet even this measure of reform is confined to a few cities and is so recent as to seem a daring innovation. The truth which the American people must learn if public education is to be saved is that they have allowed the control of their schools to escape from the public and to fall into the hands of special groups in the community. These groups are sometimes political but much oftener financial. Their interest in the schools is that they shall not cost more than these interests are willing to have them cost, or that they may be used to repay political henchmen. As long as this condition exists the schools cannot perform their true function in an 10 The American Teacher effective way. ‘The only safe place to keep the interest of all is in the hands of all. ‘That means that school boards should be elective and subject to recall. Appointed boards are too often made up of the representatives of other interests than that of public education. To remedy these conditions the American Federa- tion of Teachers offers the following proposals: (1) That there be established a minimum salary of $2,000 for teachers. (2) That there be teacher-members of all boards of education, because none other has the first-hand knowledge of the needs of the pupils and of the teachers. (3) That there be a council of teachers in each town or city elected by the body of teachers with legally recognized right to initiate and participate in the determination of policics. (4) That there be a teachers’ council in each Oy “That the school become in spirit and actuality a part of the community, cooperating with civic organizations, not only in affording places for pub- lic meetings, but also by providing in the course of study the means of becoming acquainted with the economic environment of human beings. To this end the American Federation of Teachers strongly urges upon educational authorities the introduction of instruction in industrial history. This should lead to a clearer understanding of our social condi- tions and institutions on the part of the public than now exists. A course for high schools should in- clude a minimum of one year of civics and economics and one year of American history. (6) That high standards be maintained in all normal and other training schools for teachers, and that all appointments of teachers be made proba- tionary for not more than three years so that effici- ency may be guaranteed. For the improvement and advancement of our organization the convention adopted the following: Resolved: That a committee be appointed for the purpose of studying teachers’ union tactics thruout this country and abroad to the end that the most feasible plan for getting results be formulated and put into practice. Tue Triat Boarp Whereas, there is widespread apprehension among teachers regarding tenure of office, Resolved, that this organization, through its af- filation with labor, use every effort to secure laws granting tenure of office along the following lines: (a) After a reasonable probation period, perma- nent tenure during efficiency. Volume IX, No. | (6) All dismissals both during and after pro- bation to be for causes definitely embodied in the educational law such as gross insubordination, inef- ficiency, conduct unbecoming a teacher, etc. (c) After a period of probation, dismissal for any cause (including inefficiency) to be only by a tria! board, of seven chosen as follows: three by the school board, three by the teachers, the six to elect a seventh, who is not to be either a member of the school board or of the teaching force. . At all. hea:- ings teachers shall be represented by counsel. Ap- peal from the decision of the trial board may be made to the civil courts whose decision shall be final. SUFFRAGE IN THE District OF COLUMBIA Whereas, the people of the District of Columbia are striving at the present time to obtain for them- selves the right of suffrage, and W hereas, the American Federation of Teachers believes in the principle that all American citizens should enjoy that right Therefore, the American Federation of Teachers, in convention assembled, urges upon the Congress of the United States, the passing of an act granting the right of suffrage to the people of the District of Columbia. Funps ror Howarp UNIVERSITY Whereas, the Trustees of Howard University, Washington, D. C., have asked the Congress of the United States to appropriate for the institution, in- stead of the $100,000 customary in recent years, the sum of $1,580,000, to enable the University to carry on a constructive educational program of vast importance to the colored people of America, the items of which have been submitted thru the Secre- tary of the Interior. And Whereas, the Howard University Teachers’ Union has requested the support of the American Federation of Teachers, in presenting this matter to members of Congress. Be it Therefore Resolved, that the American Federation of Teachers in convention assembled ex- press its approval of the proposed appropriation of $1,580,000 for the extension of the work of Howard University as submitted thru the Secretary of the Interior, arid urge its locals to bring this action to the attention of Senators and Representatives in their various districts. WorKMeEn’s HEALTH INSURANCE Whereas, the illness of the wage-earning father often means hardship to his family, especially under- nourishment for the children; Whereas, as teachers we see children taken from school during the illness of the father, to go to work in order to help support the family ; ~~ ie —_—- © - - fw. ~~ DD ws oe On January, 1920 Whereas, sickness is the greatest single factor in compelling families to seek charitable relief ; Whereas, American wage-earners regard universal workmen’s health insurance as a remedy for these conditions ; Therefore be it Resolved, that the American Federation of Teachers endorses universal work- men’s health insurance and that it instructs its of- ficers, where such legislation is pending, to do all in their power to promote the passage of such a measure. To THE OFFICERS Resolved by the A F of T in convention as- sembled,.that we recognize with pride and gratitude the effective work of the national officers and other members of the Executive Council during the time since the last convention. We partially realize the difficulties under which they have performed their arduous duties—the confusion and distraction due to war conditions, the adverse situation caused by influenza epidemics and the resultant closing of schools, the’ popular reaction against the labor cause due to misinformation of the public as to the true issues involved in strikes. In the face of these really tremendous disadvantages our officers have main- tained a steady and rapid rate in the growth of our organization, and we wish to express to them ou: hearty congratulations and thanks for good work well done. Cope or Eruics In the various relations into which human be- ings are thrown by the exigencies of life and work, two dominating ideals prevail, namely, the ideals of human rights and human duties. ‘Teachers, by vir- tue of their high office in the training the youth of our country for effective citizenship, not only recog- nize the principles involved in these ideals, but em- ploy them in their work, and foster them in the youth they train. The two outstanding bodies to whom teachers are responsible are the children and the public of our country. These must be recognized at every stage in educational situations and procedures. The principle of division of labor is recognized and em- ployed in the social organization under which we live. Implicit in this scheme of things, is the con- sciousness that to the teacher is left the large and important task of fashioning out of the crude ma- terial upon which the school exercises its function, The American Teacher 11 a product, not only acceptable to the social organi- zation, but prepared to carry the work of civiliza- tion to higher planes. ‘This duty to the child in- cludes within its scope all those children who vary from normality, and embraces every aspect of the child’s physical, mental, and emotional life. It ex- tends beyond the schoolroom to all those agencies and formative influences that contribute to and sup- plement educational and ethical ends. As the educated class, par excellence, recognizing the need for social reconstruction of wide-reaching signific- ance, teachers especially feel their responsibility to the supernormal child who must provide the future leadership of the race. Engaged as they are in the most altruistic of professions, they accept the high responsibilities which these relationships and func- tions entail and pledge themselves to their fulfill- ment. The teachers have duties to the public also, for their work is with the citizen-to-be. Because their responsibility is to the public, they must account to it, giving value received in tangible evidence of the promise of a future virile citizenship. The author- ity of accredited representatives of the public, who intrinsically and by virtue of effective public service, merit respect, must be recognized. When, in un- fortunate situations, this ideal condition is violated, their final appeal for reform and relief must be to the public. In the many serious adjustments that should be made in order that they may serve the public in the fundamental ways implied by their office in civic life, they recognize that only those methods which are accepted as legal and ethical shall be employed, that their campaigns for im- provement shall be characterized by dignity, sanity, justice, and moderation, and that their demands for constructive changes must always be based on their fundamental rights as human beings and their social rights as trainers of the young. The great principle lying at the basis of law and order in general, shall, at no time, be sacrificed to tempor- rary gain. As a logical supplement to this recogni- tion of duty to the public-in-process-of-forming, they pledge themselves to favor and foster all educational movements with adults undertaken under public auspices. - The teachers in their relations with each other 12 The American Teacher feel the need of a generous sympathy and an un- mistakable loyalty. They should support each other in constructive work, and collectively uphold the principles for which they stand, particularly when these are jeopardized by reactionary influences. The teacher recognizes in the insufficient material rewards of teaching and in their economic inequality, a social injustice; in the deplorable lack of peda- gogical standards and dearth of trained teachers, the blighting hand of political and administrative in- competency ; in elimination of them from administra- tive participation in school work, the power and pressure of moneyed and political interests; in the many deplorable conditions calling for school re- form, the clarion call to a larger fulfillment of their duties. These conditions they pledge themselves to improve, correct, and eradicate without fear or com- promise. Furthermore, and finally, they pledge themselves to conserve, promote and perpetuate all those ideals that emphasize human rights and to further, in every legitimate way, the progress of our beloved country toward its high destiny here and in the councils of the world. The Platform adopted by the Convention will be printed in the February issue. This will complete the Report of the Committee on Resolutions.—Eprror. THE CHILD LABOR COMMITTEE The interest of organized teachers in the welfare of exploited children will deepen with understand- ing. Altho many of us are very near these children day by day, nevertheless, we shall be able to see them and the social problem which their existence creates if we but realize that the children and we ourselves are victims of the same unjust conditions. Of late, our attention has been drawn to the identity of those who grow rich thru the activities of such “cranberry” boys as the one shown on page 5. These are the owners of the canneries in whose interest Speaker Sweet of the New York State Leg- islature caused the defeat of every one of the women and children welfare bills that were presented be- fore that body early in the year 1919. More re- cently Speaker Sweet and his friends has been active in denying representation to a body of voters who have directly or indirectly harmed his private busi- ness. Volume IX, No. | FROM ROOSEVELT “If | were a factory! employee, a workingman on the railroads or a wage-earner of any sort, | would undoubtedly join the union of my trade. If | dis- approved of its policy | would join in order to fight that policy; if the union leaders were dishonest | would join in order to put them out. ! believe in the union and | believe that all men who are benefited by the union are morally bound to help to the extent of their power in the common interests advanced by the union.” Here is a message from a great American, well worth heeding. In these words, terse and to the point, and thoroly characteristic of the man, the late. Colonel Roosevelt went right to the heart of the matter. No standing aloof for him. The place of every wage-earner—government employee or private employee—is out with his fellows on the fir. ing line. There must be no shirking of responsibility. If the union is in the right, uphold its course to the end. If in the wrong, get to the helm and do a man’s part in steadying the ship in its course. Above ali, do not stand aside with carping criticism and superior airs, complaining that things are no better while doing nothing to make them better. ORGANI. ZATION is the foundation of progress. From the Federal Employee, of November 29, 1919. A SWAN SONG By ONE oF THE Many Those fellows who antagonized it (the organiza- tion of teachers) and those doubters who formed the majority ought to have a change of heart, or sur- render all claim to the independence and progressive quality of their profession. Boards of education ought to feel that the demands of teachers cannot be disregarded at will. ‘The question is not merely one of salary. It is a greater one. A union of teachers ought to insist that any policy should be abandoned that hampers a teacher by an unfair distribution of work by the principal, or by an unfair distribution of pupils by those who are delegated to do the principal’s work. A union ought to give publicity to those petty acts of a principal which are destruc- tive of good school spirit, and are the characteristics of the political boss. That publicity, supported by a union, would destroy the man whom “politics” created—a man who more than likely regards the school as something that he owns rather than a place for cooperative effort. The blatant “My Orders” attitude would fade away. Still some teachers like that attitude. If the majority wants it, let it have that kind, if the necessary adjustment can be made. None of it for me. I don’t want to be advisor to a class any more, so I am going to practice law. Impressions of the Fourth Convention Within the first week following the Convention of the American Federation of Teachers held at Chicago during Christmas week, the Editor sent letters to ten members of the national who were present at the convention. These ten members were urged to state their impressions of the “Work and the Meaning of the Fourth Con- vention.” ALLENE GREGORY Associated Teachers of the University of Illinois, Local 41 The definite accomplishments of the A F of T Convention will doubtless be reported in detail by delegates more competent than I. My word shall be, therefore, one of personal gratitude for the vision and stimulus I received at the most inspiring educa- tional gathering 1 ever attended. I was literally born and brought up among uni- versity faculty. ‘The atmosphere of scholarly fu- tility in which pedagogues foregather to pass wist- tully idealistic resolutions from which they them- selves expect no practical result has been familiar to me from my childhood. But the A F of T Con- vention was something absolutely new in my ex- perience of Educational Conferences. Here was keen, close, creative thinking; here was a demand for accuracy and practicality in the formation of demands; here was intense alertness, resolute inde- pendence of thought and speech, freedom and toler- ance in discussion. Here, above all, was the group mind which is the ultimate realization of democracy. Out of all the clash of opinion on every issue there emerged a conclusion which truly represented the mind of the delegate body as a whole. mere majority opinion to which the minority gave an unconvinced assent for the sake of order. Our group mind included the minority as well as the This was no majority. It was a whole to which we each con- tributed as parts. At the close of each debate we somehow felt that the conclusion reached was more truly what we desired than the individual opinion with which we entered the discussion. To my mind the A F of T illustrates the truism that the highest intellectual and social development comes only with power. Thought divorced from power to act becomes futile and unsound. Because our affiliation with the labor movement gives us practical effectiveness, so that we expect something At the present time we are able to present the statements of but seven. to happen as a result of our demands, we begin to realize for the first time those ideals of intellectual leadership which are the source of our professional dignity. Ciara K Stutz Grade Teachers’ Union, Washington, D C, Local 16 One who had attended both the third and fourth conventions of the American Federation of ‘Teachers could not but be impressed with the growth of the There three times as many delegates at Chicago as there had been at Pittsburgh. covered a vastly greater area. organization. were approximately The states sending delegates At Pittsburgh the only large cities represented were New York, Chi- cago, Washington and St. Paul. The fourth con- vention drew delegates from the North and far South, from the Atlantic and the Pacific coasts; from Minneapolis and New Orleans, from Boston and San Francisco. At Pittsburgh our little group was composed of elementary and high school teach- ers, at Chicago we added Normal colleges and uni- versities. We have become truly national. Better than the growth in size was the interest and devotion manifested by the convention. Of apathy there was not the slightest trace. Delegates who spent their evenings as well as their lunch and dinner hours in committee meetings followed with alert attention and took a lively part in the dis- cussions from the floor. We teachers have critized ourselves as being too prone to follow, but surely at Chicago there was no indication of the sheep- like attitude. number of minority reports, or a greater number Few conventions can boast a greater of committee recommendations that failed of adop- tion—and always the decisions were in favor of de- mocracy and progress. This, to me, was the significance of the conven- tion—the rank and file have at last found the op- portunity for self-expression and they are raising their voices for progress! 14 Harry GUNNISON Brown Missouri University Teachers’ Union, Local 126 It is not an easy task to grasp the full significance and forsee all the possible consequences of the actions taken and the resolutions accepted at the ’ Annual Convention just ended. The present low remuneration of teachers is due primarily to a change in the general price level with which teachers’ wages have not kept pace. This, without doubt, is a considerable part of the explanation for the union movement among teachers. And such a condition, at least in its present extreme form, is found to be tem- porary. If, therefore, the union movement is to continue and is to grow in strength it must, prob- ably, have a broader basis than this narrowly eco- nomic interest; and it ought to become in large degree idealistic and to take upon itself the func- tion of fostering and safe-guarding the democracy of the schools as the most essential factor in the maintenance of political democracy. And so, the thing that most impressed me about the gathering was the large amount of attention devoted to and interest manifested in the importance of having teachers free from the control of special interests and able to express their opinions on_ social, economic and political questions without thereby putting their positions in jeopardy. It is unquestionably important that teachers be well enough paid so that children may be taught by men and women of high ability. But perhaps noth- ing is more important, for the future of our de- mocracy, than the full, free and frank discussion, in economics and civics classes, in current events classes, and in historical studies of the rise and fall of civilizations, of economic and political institu- tions and policies and their effects on national and community well-being. It was encouraging to note, at the Convention, that the delegates not only ap- preciated the importance of providing for untram- meled discussions of these problems, but also that they had themselves, in large part, thought intelli- gently upon them. If all American teachers were equally well quali- fied for the tasks ahead, and equally determined to resist control of education by sinister interests, the future of American democracy would indeed be bright with promise. The American Teacher Volume IX, No. | FLORENCE Roop St. Paul Federation of Women Teachers, Local 2% The work and meaning of the Fourth Conventio: of the American Federation of Teachers—one migh: find these in its business-like methods; its norma! tone, as opposed to the over-enthusiasm and confi dence of new organizations which too often spel! failure, in the fair-mindedness which made it pos- sible to win thru to harmonious conclusion despite: some extreme differences of opinion; in the recogni- tion of the principles of democracy thru which rep- resentatives from many sections of the country wit! varying viewpoints as well as those who might be expected to be biased by nationality or color could sit in friendly conference; in the spirit of quict courage and determination which refused to be in- timidated by whatever might appear to promise hindrance to progress if it did not hint disaster, or to make use of policy for immediate gain where principle was involved. Good business practice, fair-mindedness, a spirit of democracy, courage and determination were, then, characteristic of this convention; but above all and greater than these was the growing con- sciousness among us that we teachers have been satisfied to feel that we have discharged our ful! obligation by a faithful performance of classroom duties while we neglected others equally vital and important in the community, and for which we, as stewards of education, can no longer refuse to render account. Among workers has there been another group in which the members have been so slow to recognize their responsibilities, one to the other; or one com- parable to the teaching group in the isolation of interest not only of individuals but of its compo- nent parts? Only since we teachers have realized that we have duties outside the classroom as well as in it has there been a growth of anything like professional spirit, and it is in this new view-point: an under- standing of our unity of interest not only with the members of our profession but with all those who work, no matter whether it be with hand or braii; a desire to accomplish our own worthy aims; and a high purpose to render such service that the as- piration of the whole group shall be realized—it is in these that I find a rich significance in the move- ment of the American Federation of Teachers. January, 1920 Epwarp H Lawson Washington Elementary Teachers’ Union, Local 27 Arrived in Chicago early holiday week for con- vention. Go into session Tuesday morning neither for God not against him.. ..Chemically free of all illusions of sentimental optimism as to the signific- ance of my presence... They come from all horizons. I see women of various sizes...men of diverse ethnic character. ... and souls of men and women bigger than race or . Souls representing the spiritual identity of all peoples. I see a roomful of human nature. Room- ful... .brimful....behind a dam called procedure. Reports of officers and committees hold up the barrier for two days. Tension. The flow of de- mocracy threatens violence. Human nature will not sex. . be dammed. Lefkowitz is over the barrier! Defrem and Stecker! Follows Jablon- ower, Kroger puts his prevocational foot against the wall, gives a super- craftsman’s push, and the full current bursts thru and beyond. Miss Colby and Miss Busch shoot the rapids with Californian smile. Col. Phillips of Atlanta (he called me Doctor) expands in the whirl like a heliotrope in the sunlight. The con- vention is off and away... .downstream to the ocean of democracy. We begin to distil our own aesthetic. There is tacit admission that analytic thought and construc- tive criticism is the beverage of real men. I begin to be fed up on the plan to incubate the American Teacher. I learn that I have caused the tide of democratic idealism to rise too high. That “Teach- ing How to Riot” has made the tide flow even into the backwaters, the marshes, the estuaries and pools of prejudice, and has brought downstream a bitter and stagnant current... .predestined for bitterness and stagnation eternal. It is the zero hour. We move to the attack. We are resolved that, on such issue, the official organ shall not be incubated. Our opponents are on the inside, ‘They are supermen and crafty. In the The American Teacher 15 street outside there is an alarm of fire. Wild bells ring! Teachers rush to windows. Lessons are lost....and then....We come back to the issue. Men in action everywhere. Women vitriolic— women consoling. ...soothing. Epithets! Apologies ....Reckless irony of Jablonower....Finesse of the Field Secretary. .. . Showdown! Decision. ...The American Teacher shall not be incubated! Political, and economic, and social issues, the threatening violence to our system of status, shall not be taboo for editorial comment. The personality of Linville shall not be debased. Conciliations. Handshakes. Happy ending. Har- mony. HeLeng R CuMMINGS Jersey City (N J) Teachers’ Union, Local 82 The bigness of our movement was fully empha- sized by the bigness of the members, who with set standards gained by different environments, at first would not accept what seemed like fundamental no- tions stated by some. But later, upon the merging of the varied opinions, conclusions acceptable to all resulted. This fairness of mind cemented by feel- ings of good fellowship produced a solidarity which to me made the Convention a wonderful experi- ence, JosEPH JABLONOWER. Teachers’ Union, New York City, Local 5 About one year ago, the Executive Board of Local 5, New York, brought in at a general meet- ing of the local an almost unanimous report in con- nection with a matter of vital importance to the local and to the union movement generally. The Board was confident that its report would meet with the approval of the Union. Much to the sur- prise of the Board, but not all to its dismay, the the rank and file rejected the report after criticizing it most unmercifully. And the hearts of the officers were glad, for they saw that the Union was not a cut-and-dried affair, that the rank and file did not leave to the officers all the joy and pain that go with the pushing of a pioneer movement, ‘od The American Teacher The recent convention of the American Feder- ation of Teachers at Chicago proved very much the same thing to be true of the national movement. No report of the Executive Council was adopted merely because of its origin. Every report which the Council submitted, every recommendation which it made it had to face a heavy fire of criticism, and in many instances these reports and recommenda- tions succumbed to the fire. The number of min- ority reports which were submitted and whigh were accepted in place of the majority reports would have shocked the machine politician in the political or labor world. The proved its vitality to itself. national movement showed vitality and The national movement found its bearings because of the self-criticism to Volume IX, No. | which it was subjected at the Convention. Amon, other things, the Federation has adopted definit: policies in the matter of the American Teacher a an open forum, in the democratization of boards o: education thru teacher representation, in the de mands for a two thousand dollar minimum wag for teachers. Shortly after Local 5, New York, had re jected the recommendation of its Executive Board, an outsider reproached the Board, saying, “You people don’t seem to have much of a grip on you: organization.” Quick and sharp was the answe: which he received from one of the members of the Board: “That’s the best compliment which you could have paid the organization.” May similar reproaches always be justified in the case of all our locals-and of the national movement! The January Message F G StTEcKER Secretary-Treasurer, The American Federation of Teachers The fourth convention of the American Federa- tion of Teachers is now a matter of history. It was, of course, the most important event affecting our organization during the past month. The list of delegates in attendance published elsewhere. in this issue is well worth your attention. They rep- resented all sections of the country and all lines of educational work. ‘The real value of the conven- tion can be understood and appreciated only as time passes. There is a growing feeling that publicity of facts is invaluable. This pertains not only to educational data, but to events and conditions in the external world concerning which teachers need information. The lack of this information is taken unfair ad- vantage of by publicity promoters for selfish inter- ests. The subject with which every member of the American Federation of Teachers should familiar- ize himself is the plan of organization of labor. There are one hundred thirteen national and inter- national unions, each a sovereign body. The Amer- ican Federation of Teachers is one of these. In the alphabetical list it stands between tailors and team- Each union is made up of locals chartered In order to sters. by the national or international union. promote common interests and secure greater unit) and avoid cross-purposes the national and interna- tional unions have federated. The general body is known as the American Federation of Labor. The latter meets in annual convention where each na- tional or international union is represented by dele- gates in proportion to its membership, for which per capita is paid at one cent a member a month. The American Federation of Labor is directed between conventions by an Executive Council of eleven members. Mr. Samuel Gompers is President. Mr. Frank Morrison is Secretary. The jurisdiction of the American Federation of Labor is naturally such as may be delegated to it by consent of its con- stituent bodies. Its objects may be set forth best by quoting Article 2 of its Constitution: “ARTICLE 2.—OBJECTS Section 1. The object of this Federation shall be the encouragement and formation of local Trade and Labor Unions, and the closer federation of such so cieties thru the organization of Central Trade and Labor Unions in every city, and the further combina January, 1920 The tion of such bodies into State, Territorial, or Provin- cial organizations to secure legislation in the interest of the working masses. Sec. 2. The establishment of National and Inter- national Trade Unions, based upon a strict- recognition of the autonomy of each trade, and the promotion and advancement of such bodies. Sec. 3. The establishment of Departments composed of National or International Unions affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, of the same in- dustry, and which departments shall be governed in conformity with the laws of the American Federation of Labor. Sec. 4. An American Federation of all National and International Trade Unions, to aid and assist each other; to aid and encourage the sale of union label goods, and to secure legislation in the interest of the working people, and to influence public opinion, by peaceful and legal methods, in favor of organized labor. Sec. 5. To aid and encourage the labor press of America.” ’ Groups of workers not belonging to trades or- ganized into national unions may secure charters from the American Federation of Labor as directly afiliated bodies. There were several locals of teachers thus affiliated previous to April 15th, 1916. The American Federation of Labor also charters state federations of labor and central labor unions which are composed of delegates from all bodies within that jurisdiction who hold charters either from national and international unions or from the AF of L itself. Naturally each union is very jealous of its pre- rogatives. No powers have been delegated to the American Federation of Labor which will limit th: power of each national and international union to formulate its own policies and determine its own course of procedure. It is obvious that the teachers would not wish to have their method of dealing with educational problems determined upon by men of other occupations regardless of their interest in school affairs; nor does any other craft wish to have the teachers decide upon their course of action. Were is not for this autonomy of the national and international unions each craft would lose its identity. Failure to understand this has caused untold harm not only to organized labor, but incidentally to all other democratic movements. Every effort has been made by the undemocratic interests who are hostile to organized labor, to create the im- pression that labor is undemocratic in its form of organization. Newspapers and public speakers have intentionally and repeatedly referred to an imagi- American Teacher 17 nary strike to be called by the American Federa- tion of Labor which would involve every. member of every national union. They have done this so often that they now almost believe it themselves. The American Federation of Labor obviously has nothing to do with the calling of strikes. The strike is a weapon used by a national when it feels that all other methods for obtaining the de- sired results have failed. In most national and international unions the strike of a local is legal only when ratified by the national convention or No doubt millions accepted, by its Executive Council. of people have _ innocently careful investigation, the perverted statement that strikes can be autocratically called by the of- fiicers of national organizations, or by the American Federation of Labor. Labor leaders themselves recognize that the strike without is a weapon most indispensable in the cruder crafts, and especially where the employment is far remote from the eyes of the public. The belief is rapidly gaining ground that in certain lines of employment and especially in public service, whether national or municipal, the workers have far better methods of gaining consideration in public opinion than the strike affords. The National Federation of Fed- eral Employees, though a young organization, has already acquired considerable influence. Its consti- The same ap- plies also to the National Association of Letter- carriers, the National Federatiion of Postal Clerks, the Railway Mail Association and probably other national unions. tution contains a “no strike” clause. This provision of course meets with the approval of the Executive Council of the American Federaton of Labor. That President Gompers approves of the “no strike” policy on the part of the American Federation of Teachers is shown in the following telegram: “Washington, D C, December 16, 1919. Mr S G McLean, Pres., California State Federation of Teachers, Oakland, Califonia. The American Federation of Teachers is an international union having absolute control over its own policies and actions. No local or State Central labor body nor the American Federation of Labor has the right or the power to call upon the teachers, under any circumstances, to strike. Therefore, since The American Federation of Teach- ers does not use the strike, the affiliation with it of local federations of teachers cannot in any way involve the teach- ers in a strike. While it is a matter outside the jurisdiction of the American Federation of Labor, the non-strike policy 18 The American Teacher of the American Federation of Teachers meets with our approval. (Signed) Samuzt Gompers, President, American Federation of Labor.” Another example of the irreparable harm caused by the perversion of truth, lies in the case of the coal miners. The “six hour day, five days a week” demand on the part of the miners was for a mini- mum requirement in employment of miners. In spite of the angry protest over the miners’ strike be- cause it interfered with the production of coal in a most important season of the year, the fact remains that the curtailment of production by the operators themselves has been a common practice. We have suffered in previous years for lack of coal due to the intentional shortage. The blame for this has always been attributed to railroad companies or someone else. The miners had been suffering during 1919 from lack of employment. Work was permitted so few hours a day or so few days a week as to make their monthly pay check far less than living condi- tions required. The miners, therefore, formulated their demands for a minimum amount of employ- ment. The operators, not wishing to yield to this, knowing it would increase the supply of coal and tend to force down prices, took advantage of the public alarm caused by soviet propaganda to set forth these demands as maximum demands. This made it appear that the miners wished to establish a thirty hour week. In reality they were asking at least thirty hours a week of employment in order that they might live. It is encouraging that a large part of our mem- bership has desired information in connection with the two matters just referred to. We believe the American Federation of Teachers has attracted those teachers who are fair-minded and anxious to learn the truth concerning conditions in the great world in which they live. They realize that the truth can- not be learned passively. Their search for facts should be assisted by the work of the Bureau of Information authorized by the convention to be created as soon as finances will permit. AMENDMENTS The following amendments to the Constitution were adopted at the Fourth Convention of the A F of T: Article III, Section 2, replacing present Section 2: This organization may admit to membership associations of public school principals, assistants to principals, heads Volume IX, No. | of departments, or other supervising officers, except supcr- intendents, provided there shall have been established in the same jurisdiction (city, town, township or county) a union or unions of public school classroom teachers for a period of six months, and further provided that the union or unions of classroom teachers thus existing shall by a vote of a meeting or meetings especially called and publicly an- nounced for the purpose, decide by a two-thirds majority of all members voting in each local to agree to recommend the granting of a charter to those applying under this section. Article III, Section 3, replacing present Section 3: Classroom teachers with supervisory authority may be admitted to membership by any local, whose constitution permits, by a two-thirds vote at any meeting held after such local h pember of Educational Recordsin your | Woolworth Building, New York City School on trial, without cost or o | Please send the following Literature: tion to you, a Se what perse to (Check subject desired) your own satisfaction at great ser- vice Columbia material may do in your Grafonola Catalog f ] schools. | Educational Record Catalog [ ] Send the Coupon for Educational” | Literature and Music [ ] Literature. Columbia School Grafonola EDUCATIONAL DEPARTMENT ae i bile . Doors fitted with lock nd key. Columbia Graphophone Co. | Town Renreducer,windine grank and tw Woolworth Building, New York City |<... table be locked in pushmo . > : ne Ba fy Mekoese. Canadian Factory: Toronto ae