VA A Statement of Convention Issues - - - George Davis Convention Number May-June, 1936 Teachers Unions in the Headlines Politicians Wreck Memphis Union—St. Louis Local Fights anti-Union Rule—Discrimination in Wisconsin Rapids— A Victory in Cleveland John Brophy on Industrial Unionism - - - - Sara T. Walsh “Unprofessional Conduct” - - - - - - + + Victor R. Jewett The National Youth Act - - Representative Thomas R. Amlie Taxation for Schools - - - - - - + + + Harold M. Groves Security in the Professions - - - - - - Albion A. Hartwell Resolving a Dual Situation - - - - - - - John H. Walker Armaments vs. Social Security - - - - - Warren D. Mullin OFFICIAL ORGAN of the AMERICAN FEDERATION of TEACHERS — ee ee Y ene ee ee The School Activities Magazine Dr. Harry C. McKown, Editor Offers you an invaluable educational engi- neering service that no progressive school, educational director, or teacher can afford to be without. Each issue will be of material assistance in your work of vitalizing all educational procedure. It will enable you to attain with greater ease the true objective of all education—a better citizen, a more whole- some life. Subscription Price $2.00 Special offer to readers of American Teacher One year subscription to School Activities and one year subscription to The Cooperative Builder, both for only $2.25. You save 75 cents by answering this ad promptly. THE ‘SCHOOL ACTIVITIES MAGAZINE TOPEKA - - KANSAS The American Federation of Teachers welcomes to membership the following locals, whose charters were issued since the last issue of the magazine: Mankato Federation of Teachers No. 450, Man- kato, Minnesota. San Jose Local No. 451, San Jose, California. Modesto Federation of Teachers No. 452, Mo- desto, California. W.P.A. Teachers of New York City No. 453, New York, N. Y. Marion County Federation of Teachers No. 454, Jasper, Tennessee. Santa Monica Federation of Teachers No. 455, Los Angeles, California. Leng Beach Federation of Teachers No. 456, Long Beach, California. Monterey County Federation of Teachers No. 457, Monterey, California. Pierce County Federal Teachers Association No. 458, Tacoma, Washington. St. Clair County Federation of Teachers No. 459, Port Huron, Michigan. North Shore Teachers Union No. 460 (Chicago suburbs). Tacoma Federation of Teachers No. 461, Ta- coma, Washington. Pioneer Youth Camp | In the Catskills RIFTON, NEW YORK A cooperative community for children in which the methods of progressive education are combined with the ideals of the labor movement. SPORT - HIKES - CRAFTS SWIMMING Nime weeks.......... July 1st to September 2nd Six age groups....... Boys and girls, 6-16 years of age Interracial Established 1924 Walter Ludwig, Director Special rates to children of members of the Teachers Union Inquire of Pioneer Youth of America, Inc. 219 West 29th Street New York, N. Y. Tel. Pennsylvania 6-3055 Edito It’s E Labor 7 2 | fF = gare z =? be ; te AMERICAN TEACHER VOLUME XX MAY-JUNE, 1936. NUMBER 4. = <== © | ConTENTS guised attack on the right of teachers to organize in trade Declarations of Confidence..........++....seseeceeeeeeteres 3 unions. We must face outward to meet our common prob- The Washington Hearing................00....0 George Davis 4 lems as a united organization. Teachers Unions in the Headlines: Politicians Wreck Memphis Union through Board............ 5 : = a ie ‘ecrienination in Wisconsin Rapids............... lona Giles 6 Teachers Unions vs. A number of articles in this issue St. Louis Local Fights anti-Union Rule... .... Paul W. Preisler 8 Company Unions of THe AMERICAN TEACHER Bloomington Teachers Organize 100%....... Portia Alexander 9 indicate that some members of A Victory : on = oe eeccccerecccccccess H. R. Hasel 10 Boards of Education, legislators, and Superintendents, rep- A Statement o onvention MID. wacdccvcstens + George Davis 11 resenting the forces which stand for economy, retrench- Security in the Professions................. Albion A. Hartwell 12 A “Unprofessional Conduct”.................... Victor R. Jewett 15 ment, and lack of freedom in the school system, do not The American Youth Bill...... Representative Thomas R. Amlie 16 like Teachers Unions. The methods used to keep teach- Resolving a Dual Situation.................... John H. Walker 17 ers from organizing effectively vary. In Memphis, Ten- Progress in Cooperation. Keene seesececcoccces Arnold Shukutoff 18 nessee, for example, the teachers have been ordered out- John Brophy on Industrial Unionism............ Sara T. Walsh 20 right to give up their membership in the American Fed- TT SEED, os'scccusddbadesesonece Harold M. Groves 22 . . . Pennsylvania “Investigates” Its Schools...................06. 24 eration of Teachers if they wish to get contracts for the Armaments vs. Social Security............... Warren D. Mullin 26 coming school year. In St. Louis, there is a Board of The National Legislative Front....................2..eeee0e 27 Education by-law forbidding teachers to belong to a Union. Controversy in San Diego....... seseecececceeccverecrses eee 28 In Wisconsin Rapids, the formation of a local has been Code of Ethics or Statement of Objectives?...Benjamin Davidson 33 attended by the charge that members of the Teachers DEPARTMENTS Union create disharmony, coerce fellow-teachers into join- ODS 0. i sasacaneivds Gecsbaseseepincutednes 1 ing, etc. Thirteen members of the local have not received cecshaidevoncetidhenscbesshcadsiathaie 30 contracts for next year. In some instances the attack is ST <(h «Jes cl hacasdsvadddam ands soc diedvechs cine 32 indirect. The school authorities do not dare to attack the base 80h 4s edebdene ebeesacktaeen 35 Union as such, and resort to punishing teachers for trumped ee. te ytd by sebwebvah aut soe 6s.6ees aber Ode bandeee 37 up charges of “inefficiency,” “conduct unbecoming a I TINNED <5 5 ic cis disbtis veka pieaibddlens webanlbansacen 41 teacher,” etc. Representative Andrews, chairman of the = legislative committee in Pennsylvania, referred to the Union as a “nuisance organization.” The most widespread and Investigation of An A.F.L. committee set up in accord- insidious method of keeping teachers from organizing is the A.F.T. ance with the resolution to investigate the encouragement of a type of teachers’ organization closely the A.F.T. for “anti-labor policies” akin to company unions in industry. Every state has its introduced at the last A.F.L. convention by Miss Selma Bor- state teachers’ association, which it is often obligatory to chardt, met in Washington on April 27 and 28. Such an in- join. These are generally dominated by supervisors and vestigation of the internal affairs of an international is con- unconcerned with the needs or wishes of the classroom trary to the tradition of autonomy which exists in the A.F.L. teacher. Teachers are told that as professionals they However, our delegates accepted the resolution because they should join these “professional organizations.” The Cali- felt that we had nothing to hide. The New York local, fornia State Teachers Association actually attacked the which was the main target of the investigation, has made teachers who were fighting for tenure. Effective organization tremendous strides since last October. Its membership has and activity on the part of the American Federation of increased from 1500 to 4200. Its relations with the State Teachers will make the teachers of this country recognize Federation of Labor and the Central Trades and Labor Coun- the difference between company unions and genuine trade til of New York are very friendly. Our national organiza- union organizations. tion has made great advances in organizing new locals and in making itself felt as an effective national organization. Program and If the American Federation of Teachers In all parts of the country it enjoys the cordial cooperation Membership is to play a leading role in preserving an of organized labor. To continue and broaden this effective adequately supported system of free pub- Work, unity is imperative. In Memphis, St. Louis, and Wis- lic education, in achieving democratically ‘controlled and tonsin Rapids our locals are struggling for the very right academically free schools, and in promoting social democ- ‘| Wexist. The attack on our locals in these cities is an undis- racy, its membership in existing locals and the number of tr at ee eee ema entab ened locals must be increased. We need 100,000 members in 500 locals to be really effective. . . . In “A Statement of Conven- tion Issues” appearing elsewhere in this magazine, is out- lined an area plan for organization which if adopted will do much to promote the unionization of unorganized teachers. But that is not enough. Our locals themselves must cham- pion programs attractive not only to socially minded teachers imbued with something of a missionary spirit, but to the mass of teachers not particularly interested in social change. . -- What has happened to the teacher during our contract- ing economy? Outright salary cuts, shortened school years, and losses of increments have lowered his standard of living. Restrictions of sick leave and sabbaticals; increased pupil- teacher ratio; withholding of contracts—all these and many more “economy” measures have made for poor working con- ditions and increased the teacher’s feeling of insecurity. To a lesser extent, loyalty oath laws, professional patriot attacks on citizenship rights, and unjust dismissals have added to the employed teacher’s discomfiture. These are the things which get under the average teacher’s skin, and are issues on which he is willing to put up a fight. . . . This recital of grievances in no way minimizes the importance of a broad social program. Tom Mooney should not be behind bars; the Scottsboro Boys had an unfair trial; an adequate pro- gram of social legislation should be supported. But teachers can not be unionized on those issues primarily. They will line up with an organization if it puts up a fight for their standard of living, working conditions, and tenure of posi- tion. . . . If the above observations are correct, our unions must be built around a program well balanced between immediate teacher and educational needs and a broader so- cial program,—with emphasis on immediate needs. Revision of A.F.T. Changing conditions necessarily Constitu call for changes in organization. The years of depression have cre- ated a situation in which a large percentage of the teachers of the country consists of substitutes, W.P.A. workers, and unemployed teachers. Our constitution makes no provi- sion for these categories. Substitutes who have passed ex- aminations and are engaged in regular teaching at substi- tutes’ salaries are generally admitted to our locals. In Chi- cago and New York there are separate W.P.A. locals, but no provisions for unemployed teachers. The constitution should recognize the existence of these groups and it should provide a uniform procedure to deal with them. . . . The great increase in the number of new, small locals has made some of our members dissatisfied with our method of ap- portioning delegates. It has seemed to them that our small locals are given a number of delegates out of proportion to their membership. The proposed change in voting pro- cedure was printed in the last number of THe AMERICAN ‘TEACHER and is now before the membership in the form of a referendum. . . . In addition, greater definiteness and clarity seem necessary in certain sections of the constitu- The American TEACHER tion. It seemed clear, at the A.F.L. investigation of oy Federation, that much of the disagreement arose as a re. sult of differences in interpretation of loosely-worded seg. tions. . . . There was general acceptance of the suggestion that the constitution be revised in the interest of definite. ness and clarity and to suit the needs of a growing organiza. tion. This will insure smoother functioning in the futur and will safeguard our officers from the criticism which may result when several interpretations are possible. ° S§Seesyure Education [Education seems to be the retarded child Comes First in the widely publicized rapid progress group racing toward recovery. While the National City Bank reports that nearly 1500 large indus. trial corporations show a net profit increase of 49.7 per cent over 1934, the statistics on school conditions show no such remarkable gains. The number of public school teachers employed in 1934 represented a decrease of 42,000; in 1935, that decrease was still 40,000. In 1934 nearly 2000 rural schools in 18 states were closed for lack of funds, In 1935, with 2400 schools closed in 18 states, the situa- tion by states had improved somewhat, but the number of closings had increased. Alabama, in particular, is evi- dently determined to be non-educable. By March of 1933, public schools in 50 counties of that state had closed. A similar condition existed in March, 1936, when 40 counties THE AMERICAN TEACHER] Official Organ of THE AMERICAN FEDERATION OF TEACHERS 506 South Wabash Avenue, Chicago, Illinois. Organized April 15, 1916. AFFILIATED WITH THE AMERICAN FEDERATION OF LABOR ———>>—___ President Secretary-Treasurer RayMonp F. Lowry Grorce Davis Vice- Presidents R. J. AHLSTROM Maynarp C. Kruecer Water G. BERGMAN Aue B. MANN Anna C. Dart W. T. McCoy MERCEDES NELSON W. B. SATTERTHWAITE R. WEINBERGER Mary Forey GrossMAN FLorence Curtis HANSON C. J. Henpiey Mary Herrick Cotin G. WELLES CLaupe WILLIAMS ——————>————_ Board of Editors Epwin Berry BurcuM Ceuia Lewis I. R. KiincsBerc Sara T. WALSH Editorial Offices Business Offices 72 Fifth Avenue 506 S. Wabash Ave. New York City Chicago, Illinois ——=<———— ENTERED as second class matter Octo- SUBSCRIPTION: $1.00 for the ber 18, 1933, at the post office at Chi- — Foreign $1.10 — Single . Illinois, under the act of March 3, | 25c. Subscribers are “a . at special give prompt notice of changes 4 See Le ee See dress. Remittances should be ; . . je in or express money 3, 1926. Fy AR. > j 1, T olut WH. ter the ma loc ~4 g a S426 ES distr of Tea afiliat. Exe and ‘BE | oe-eorPraaTy aowtren “= 8 > J May-June, 1936 in 53 of the state’s 67 counties. their sponsors. Recently Governor Hoffman of New Jer- sey checked in with a special report showing a decrease of teachers bore the brunt of the reduction, while the school system itself is accumulating a large liability in the form of deferred maintenance of school plants. In Kansas, Alf Landon, another of the bright hopes of the Liberty League, gets answers from Sam Simeon while he does his budget balancing homework on the back porch. In that state 444 rural schools have, as the Secretary of the Kansas Teach- ers Association elegantly phrases it, “found it more prac- tical to temporarily close and send the children to near-by districts.” Kansas, has, by virtue of the same budget ' Dear Brothers and Sisters: As you probably already know, the committee appointed by President Green to investigate the American Federation _ of Teachers, held hearings in Washington on April twenty- seventh and twenty-eighth. One of the only two specific charges mentioned in the resolution passed at the 1935 “convention of the American Federation of Labor was that the American Federation of Teachers “is now controlled by those openly hostile to the principles of the American Fed- tation of Labor.” The undersigned, of the American Federation of Teach- @s, in order to help the committee to get a clear picture '0f the attitude of the members of the American Federation ti Teachers and the local bodies of labor to which they are ihiliated, have agreed upon the following steps: _ 1. To present at a meeting of their local the following ‘solutions: _ WHEREAS, The American Federation of Teachers, un- et the administration of the present Executive Council, made great progress in the past year both in establishing lew locals by increasing membership and by adding to its BE IT RESOLVED, That this local endorse the pres- | Executive Council of the American Federation of Teach- and its policies. closed their schools, and when school funds were exhausted In other states certain politically ambitious pupils of the Liberty League were able to exhibit records of efficiency for the commendation of 20 per cent in school costs in three years. New Jersey 3 balancing, dropped from fifteenth to twenty-seventh place in state rankings for school expenditures . . . 31,672 school districts in 24 states have shortened the school year. 200,- 000 teachers are earning less than $750 per year. . . . How- ever, one of the hopeful signs is the mounting recognition of the necessity for Federal aid for schools. Most of the 8000 educators present at the N. E. A. Convention of Super- intendents favored continuance of Federal aid to education. In Washington this recognition has taken positive form. Congressman Ernest Lundeen has introduced a bill (H. R. 6360) to provide Federal aid to impoverished school dis- tricts to the extent of 25 dollars per pupil. Unfortunately the bill has little chance of passing at this session. Prepar- atory to the next session, however, the bill deserves study and wide publicity. The obvious lack of progress in im- provement of school conditions indicates that the passage of such a bill at the next session will be essential. Declarations of Confidence A Communication to All Locals 2. To introduce into its local central labor body and State Federation of Labor the following resolution: WHEREAS, The American Federation of Teachers local or locals affiliated with this body have indicated their wholehearted cooperation with the American Federation of Labor, BE IT RESOLVED, That this body endorse the Ameri- can Federation of Teachers local or locals affiliated with it as loyal to the principles of the American Federation of Labor. 3. To urge that each local in the United States present these resolutions as indicated and send the results to the National Office of the American Federation of Teachers, 506 S. Wabash Avenue, Chicago, Illinois. Fraternally yours, Central Labor Union of Philadelphia Pennsylvania State Federation of Labor American Federation of Teachers, Philadelphia Local 192. The Teachers Union of New York, Local 5. BSTAU 18049 See oe ee ee es aghrtgen ao a a eee ae aes 4 — OR cee re ec Be = orn a ‘ -— A A a SE SO ge em Et Office of Sec.-Treas. May 6, 1936. AMERICAN FEDERATION OF TEACHERS 506 S. Wabash Ave., Chicago, II. To: Members of the Executive Council: This informal report of the April 27-28 hearing under the resolution introduced at the last A.F.L. convention by Selma Borchardt is for your information. (1) The investigating committee made up of G. M. Bug- niazet, of the A.F.L. Executive Council, John P. Frey, Metal Trades Council, and Thomas E. Burke, Plumbers and Steam Fitters, conducted the hearing in a very agreeable manner. With personal feeling so evident in some quar- ters the hearing might conceivably have been an unpleas- ant affair. (2) The charges were (a) Irregularity in the seating of delegates and voting procedure at conventions and (b) Fac- tionalism in the New York Teachers Union Local 5. (3) Supporting these charges were representatives from Locals 3, 8, 27 and 28 representing 1386 members of the A.F.T. In addition, communications were received from representatives of Local 111 with 40 members and Local 246 with 523 members. Henry R. Linville and Max Kline of the New York Teachers Guild also made representations at the hearing. Answering the charges were the President, Secretary- Treasurer, former Secretary-Treasurer, and Legislative Rep- resentative from the National, and three representatives from the New York Teachers Union. (4) To the charges and specific examples cited of ir- regular seating of delegates, the National officers took the position that while delegates whose credentials were open to question were seated at both the 1934 and 1935 con- ventions the number of allegedly illegally seated delegates had been exaggerated, that no deliberate attempt to stack the convention was proved, and that measures are being taken to tighten the machinery for the 1936 convention. (5) The charge of illegal voting procedure hinged on bal- lots cast by delegates not entitled to vote and therefore was not separated from (4). The AMERICAN TEACHER The Washington Hearing (6) The factionalism charge against the New York Teach. ers Union was practically a repetition of the hearings at our 1935 convention. Henry R. Linville and Max Kline made the same speeches using the same material used last summer to show Communistic control of Local 5. Local 5’s representatives admitted that various groups worked as units inside the union, citing the Organized Union Majority led by the Linville-Lefkowitz faction, late of that local, as one of the groups, but denied that any of these groups were Communist controlled. The activities and publications of Local 5 since its reorganization in October were pre. sented as evidence of its compliance with labor practice, (7) While not intended as official in any sense and pre- sented solely as personal observations, these conclusions are presented for what they may be worth. (A) Most of our difficulties on convention representa tion and voting procedure have resulted from the vague ness of our laws. Our constitution needs clarifying—per- haps the whole should be rewritten for definiteness. (B) The New York factional situation is an open ques tion. Labor men to whom I have talked universally agree that a group working as a unit within a local is not for the best interests of that local. Factions have existed in the New York Union for many years. It is too much to e& pect them to disappear within a few months after reorganiza 7 tion, but evidence points to a less sharp cleavage between the groups and it is my opinion that the democratizing of the conduct of business is doing away with the incentive J for factions and in time will eliminate them. Because of the progress New York is making in mem itr bership and legitimate unified activity it seems little short of criminal to me to subject those people to quarterly it quisitions as has been done this year. (C) No detailed account of the five session hearing will be attempted. (D) The Committee conducting the hearing will make its report either to the Executive Council of the A.F.L. & to the A.F.L. Convention in November. You will be seit the Committee’s findings as soon as I have them. Fraternally yours, i, GrorcE Davis. — « May-June, 1936 t : ‘| Politicians Wreck | Memphis Union ' through Board ‘ AKING ONLY nine minutes to pass a resolution that FE [ inwive problems of economics, civil rights, personal liberty, and pedagogy that many others have found baffling after years of study, the Memphis Board of Edu- 4. | cation recently decreed that it would not renew the con- tracts of those who remain in the Teachers Union. eT. While the Board’s attitude had never been over-friendly, its action was as sudden as it was drastic. Many teachers were at a loss to understand it, though many others explain iton political grounds. It is significant that the only oppo- sition within the Board came from Mr. Simpson, a man of labor sympathies. The Mayor of the city has not deigned to conceal his hatred of labor organizations. At one time he warned truck- drivers, “There will be no labor unions serving this city.” ‘On January 31, city officials fired fifteen city firemen for ‘organizing a union. Said the Mayor at that time, “We ‘Won't have anything connected with the city government '... which may result in strikes and walk-outs.” Yet the Firemens Union had a clause in its Constitution forbidding “rikes or walk-outs. The fifteen firemen have not been re- instated. The small City Building Custodians Union also ‘was banned. Mayor Overton was questioned about the Board’s ruling. “certainly approve the action of the School Board in re- wil Piard to the School Teachers Union,” he said. “There is more place for a School Teachers Union than there is wake { a union of policemen, firemen, or American soldiers.” . | Claude Williams came to Memphis to aid the local in its |) From Chicago, Mr. George Davis stated: “The ‘} Memphis School Board ruling clearly abrogates civil rights @aranteed under the First Amendment to the Constitution. opinion in any enlightened community will not sup- a Board of Education in using this method of intimi- zgeBb PRRERE SF » & 8 | 1 Teachers Ontons tin the Headlines Important Gains Consolidated; Several Boards Go on Union-Busting Rampage dating its employees in this un-American suppression of their right to free assembly.” At a Board hearing held on April 13, a 2200 word plea was presented, requesting the Board to reconsider their action. Within 15 seconds they voted No. The Teachers Union had carried on its fight on a clean, high level at all times. A conciliator, Mr. Richardson, sent by the United States Department of Labor, at the request of Mr. George Davis, made an investigation but nothing came of it. The Memphis Teachers Union, having recently added to its ranks a number of younger teachers, includes over 50 per cent of the city’s teachers. The Memphis local re- sisted this discriminatory ruling with all the forces at its command. Because of the expense and time involved in court procedure, the teachers concerned are at a distinct dis- advantage. Memphis has one of the best labor movements in the South. It is small but militant. Organized labor is the one institution in Memphis that has dared to challenge the The AMERICAN TEACHER In 1915 the Chicago Board of Education passed a law for- bidding teachers to join trade unions. An injunction stopped the board from this action. The teachers at that time worked under one year contracts, and the board dismissed 40 active union leaders at the end of the year. These teachers later regained their positions. In 1928 the Seattle Board of Education presented the teach- ers with a yellow dog contract containing the clause: I hereby It’s Been Tried Before a declare that I am not a member of the American Federation of Teachers, nor any local thereof, and will not become a member during the term of this contract. Teachers, on advice of lawyers, signed the contracts. Only members of the staff of the Uni- versity of Washington remained in the local. The case was lost in the local court and in the State Supreme Court. However, the State Court was divided in its opinion, and while a further appeal was pending in the Supreme Court of the United States, in January 1931, the Board changed its stand. political machine. When the administration strikes at jobs, it strikes at liberty. At its meeting on May 19, 1936, the local voted to re- turn its charter to the A.F.T. It is understood that the group will continue to function as a teachers’ association, since certain interests, such as insurance, credit union, etc., must be protected. The evidence to date indicates that the Memphis local is a victim of political chicanery of the most abominable sort. Not content with dominating ordinary public offices, the Memphis political machine had previously kept its fingers in the labor movement. When the Central Trade and Labor Council of Memphis rejected the politically- controlled candidate for president and elected as its choice Mr. McCann, a fighter and a man not politically controlled, the political machine, through the Board of Education, cracked down upon the Teachers’ Union, because it thought that the delegates of that union had supported Mr. McCann. Teachers’ organizations, and particularly teachers unions, as well as public-minded groups, see in this discrimination an attack upon the basic right of labor to organize and can fight back by communicating to the Memphis Board of Education a protest in no uncertain terms against its union-wrecking tactics. Discrimination in W isconsin Rapids But Teachers Union Seeks Recall of Board IONA GILES FTER newspapers had reported that a five per cent salary increase was planned for teachers in Wis- consin Rapids, Wisconsin, contracts were issued with no raises for the ensuing year. This was in April 1935. Ina feeble attempt at adjustment, representatives of the Wisconsin Teachers Association interviewed Super. intendent Julius Winden and the Board of Education. They received no satisfaction whatsoever. The need for an effective teachers’ organization became obvious. Shortly after this a few teachers met with former secretary Florence Hanson and Henry Ohl, President of the Wisconsin Federation of Labor, both of whom advised the group that it was not too small to organize. Since that time one teacher after another has attached himself to the Federation until now a majority of the faculty is in the Union. After determining what the policy should be as to our local difficulties (salary, type of contract, and sick leave, etc.) we formulated a fair salary schedule, one based upon experience and training, to take the place of the unfair policy then in effect. Furthermore, in order to relieve those in the lower salary brackets we made an attempt to put the minimum of our schedule ($1400) into effect in Janu- ary. With the aid of the Central Labor Union, we suc- ceeded in having an amount appropriated by the City Coun- cil for that purpose, only to be forestalled by the school administration, which presented the teachers with a pallia- tive bonus, distributed with no more rhyme or reason than the existing salary schedule. While our committee was working on the salary sched- ule we made various attempts to have a hearing with Su- perintendent Winden and the Board of Education but no satisfaction was granted us until E. G. Gilbertson, local organizer of the A.F.L. intervened, and an indifferent prom- ise was made that we might present our case at a board meeting. In the meantime Superintendent Winden sent 4 letter to the Board of Education telling its members that, although he had planned to resign, he was again present- ing himself as a candidate for reelection, in order to te store “harmony” in the school system. He also recom mended removal of those who had caused “the lack of harmony,” meaning, of course, those in the Teachers Fed- eration. His letter was published in the local paper. As to our attendance at the board meeting, which we had been promised—nothing came of it, for we were pur of t for ; At candic the o' ¥ = Cap ow, May-June, 1936 y not informed as to the time of the meeting. Further demands by the Central Labor Union finally opened the door to our committee. At a rather stormy session it was voted that a representative group of teachers as well as a delega- tion from the C.L.U. be present at a subsequent meeting of the Board of Education. At this time, too, we asked for the establishment of a salary schedule and received a promise that it would be considered. Nevertheless, at sub- sequent meetings the teachers were assailed by the Super- jintendent. The committee’s questions were met with only evasions, denials, and accusations. The “restorer of har- mony” did not function. So far as we know, the Superin- tendent did nothing toward arranging a salary schedule; at Jeast he had nothing to present at meetings, as he was sched- uled to do. Our only hope lay in the coming spring election at which we hoped to elect two labor candidates to the Board of Education, and in the attitude of the citizens, who, whether they were in favor of the Teachers Union or not, largely agreed on one point—that the present administration must be changed for a more constructive one. At the election on April 7, one of the two school board candidates supported by the Central Labor Body was elected; the other failed to poll the necessary votes. These new members do not take office until July 1; therefore, they could not affect the current situation, which finally cul- ' Minated in a definite issue. _ On Friday, April 10, contracts were mailed to all teachers “except eighteen—seventeen union members and one non- “tion teacher. On Monday morning, April 13, at a special "meeting, Superintendent Winden tendered his resignation “ind left the city, reportedly the victim of a nervous break- town. On the evening of the same day, before an audience ¢: about 125 citizens, the Board of Education, at its regu- “4 open meeting, stated that in the absence of Superin- “lendent Winden, it was unprepared to explain why these hers did not receive contracts. It was further asserted t the eighteen had not been definitely dismissed. Dur- the course of the meeting, upon close questioning by a 7 member of the Central Labor Body, a Board member was forced to admit that the Board had never before issued contracts to a certain group of teachers before it considered the cases of the others. George Davis, Secretary-Treas- urer of the American Federation of Teachers, was present and suggested that a definite time be set for an open hear- ing, at which time Superintendent Winden could make pub- lic his charges against any teacher, so that the teacher would have an opportunity to reply. The suggestion, how- ever, was not acted upon. At a subsequent meeting of union teachers, a resolution was adopted asking that charges against each teacher not receiving a contract be made in writing at least three days before he was to come before the Board for a hearing. The public hearing suggested, however, was denied. The Board’s next move, to make an appointment with each in- dividual to consider his case separately, was opposed by the teachers, who planned to send to the Board a committee of citizens to intervene in their behalf. In the event this failed, the teachers planned as a group, with counsel, to present their case before the Superintendent and the School Board. The Board of Education, however, had its way, and in- terviewed separately each teacher with his counsel to pre- sent Superintendent Winden’s charges. The latter did not appear at these interviews to substantiate his accusations, the excuse being that he was physically unable to be present. The charges, many of which were ridiculous in the extreme, were for the most part trumped up and dug out of the past; misdemeanors, if they could be considered such at all, that should have been cited against the teacher four or five years ago, if at all. In short, the hearing disclosed a neg- ligence on the part of supervisors in their duties (some teachers had not been visited for years), and a definite, though not yet admitted, prejudice toward the Teachers Federation. Though most of the instructors concerned were previously rated highly, such trivial charges as the following were given as reasons for dismissal: “too timid,” “too forward,” “misspelled words occasionally,” “weak in discipline,” “too strict,” “strong bent of mind,” “argumentative,” “nervous after union meetings.” Some of these poor qualities were attributed to teachers who are especially known for their excellence in that par- ticular characteristic. One accusation of “weak discipline” was particularly amusing, for the term was applied to a teacher of the first rank in that line. These teachers have been in the system from three to fourteen years. The majority of the Union’s Executive Committee was found to be “disloyal, discourteous, abusive, and coercive.” Undoubtedly only “Yes” men are wanted in this system. Several days after the meeting five of the eighteen teach- efs were given contracts, no one knowing on just what basis they were rehired. The members of the Executive Com- mittee were offered their positions on the basis of merit alone if they would promise to give up their union activi- ties. And still the Board at that time denied that this was a union issue! The Central Labor Body had been of utmost assistance to the teachers. It guaranteed a necessary $1000 bond, and passed a motion to honor all bills in connection with the teachers’ fight. /t took away the union card of William Schroeder, member of another labor union, because as a Board of Education member he had voted the wrong way. The thirteen ousted teachers and their fellow union mem- bers continued the determined fight for their positions in a bitter controversy. With the leadership of the Central Labor Body, a well-planned ‘mass meeting was scheduled for the evening of Monday, May 11. The same organiza- tion was instrumental in having recall petitions circulated and is finding no difficulty in securing the necessary num- ber of signatures. Advised by the Milwaukee law firm employed by the State Federation of Teachers, the Central Labor Body’s Educational Committee requested Mayor W. T. Nobles to suspend the School Board, thus saving the city the expense of a recall. However, he refused to take such action, but granted a public hearing for May 12 and ordered the Board to cease hiring teachers to fill the positions of those dis- missed. Preceding the Mayor’s decision, nevertheless, the Board of Education had hastily issued contracts to at least nine new teachers, some of them, it is understood, persons without the two years’ experience hitherto required in this school system. These despicable actions were aired on Tuesday, May 12, at the hearing before the City Council. The attorney for the Board of Education admitted on the part of the Board discrimination against the Union, but claimed that the Board had acted within its rights. Furthermore, seek- ing to discredit the local, this attorney charged the national organization with Communism! The Union has decided that to press for the dismissal of the Board is undesirable, since the Mayor might appoint in its stead a Board equally unfavorable. The decision is, rather, to drop the charges against the Board and bring the issue to a recall election. As this is being written, the thirteen teachers are still without contracts. A fighting campaign is under way, with the vigorous support of the Central Labor Union. All citizens are being urged to register immediately and to take part in this recall election. It is believed that recog- nition of the Union will be the outcome of this controversy. The AMERICAN TEACHER St. Louis Local Fights anti-Union Rule PAUL W. PREISLER capacity in the Instruction Department, who is a member of a trade or labor union or of any or- ganization affiliated with a trade or labor union; and any person employed in the Instruction Department who be- comes a member of such organization shall be subject to immediate dismissal from the service.” "N © PERSON shall be employed hereafter, in any So reads the anti-union rule passed by the Board of Education of the city of St. Louis nearly fifteen years ago by a vote of 11 to 1. At that time there was considerable sentiment in the existing teachers’ organizations through- out the country to affiliate with the then recently formed American Federation of Teachers, and school executives were trying every means to prevent the alignment of teach- ers with the labor movement. This rule naturally served to dampen the enthusiasm for organizing a union, until early in 1935 when a group of labor-sympathetic university, public school, and FERA teachers decided to form a local of the A.F.T. A repre sentative of the union appeared before the Board’s Sub- committee on Instruction in April, and inquired regarding the exact status of the rule. In committee, he was told that the rule was unconstitutional, had never been en- forced, and was carried in the printed forms only because of the expense of changing the plates. Later, when he asked for a statement to the press, he was told that the committee’s minutes were not open to the public. After a charter was issued to the group by the A.F.T, and Local 420, in August, affiliated with the Central Trades and Labor Union of St. Louis, the Chairman of the Board and another prominent member, as individuals, gave statements to the press along the same lines as the above statements of the committee. Immediate steps were taken by Local 420 to have labor unions request the rescinding of the rule. Protests to the Board from about twenty-five organizations finally resulted in a motion being made, at the November meeting, to rescind the rule. The by-laws provide that such motions must wait for thirty days, but sixty days were allowed to pass before it was again discussed, to give parties op» — =: posed to the rule a chance to present their case. Finding no opponents of rescinding presenting themselves, the com mittee on instruction proceeded to go out to get some; it consulted the heads of the existing teachers’ organiza tions (company union type) regarding the feeling of their | oo trie env = YF ™ i i ad May-June, 1936 membership. Needless to say, it was claimed that these officials stated that the majority of their groups were op- posed to any change of the rules. So the Board passed over the question again at their January and February meetings by referring to committee for further investiga- tion, although the unions and Local 420 had asked for a decision in February. During February, labor organizations continued to send in requests for rescinding and by March about seventy- five requests for rescinding had reached the Board and only one from an organization, the Association of Bonded Con- tractors, against the rescinding of the rule. Throughout the last months of the controversy, the Board tried to side-step the responsibility of handing down a de- cision on the rule, by trying to induce the union to take the matter to the courts for a ruling. This the local refused to do, contending that the Board had taken the same oaths of office as the judges of the courts to uphold the federal and state constitutions and was equally responsible for removing or declaring invalid an unconstitutional rule. On March 10, 1936, the Board passed the following mo- tion by a vote of 11 to 1, “The Committee has carefully considered the reference to it of the resolution to repeal the third paragraph of Sub-section (1) of Section I of Rule 44. In view of the factors involved, the Committee has reached the conclusion that the Board of Education should confine itself to the suggestion that those who regard the rule as illegal resort to the Courts for determination of the Board’s authority in the premises.” The one member who voted against the motion explained his vote, “I vote no, because I believe that the resolution which I handed in (for rescinding) was the only type of resolution which could be fairly handed in to do justice to the citizens of this community. I believe we have no right to deprive anyone who wishes to enjoy the privileges of any organization, and as a labor union is generally ap- proved, I think this resolution (for rescinding) should be passed and I therefore vote no to this change in the recommendation made in my resolution (for rescinding) .” In this manner the Board of Education of St. Louis, _ after nearly a year, tried to escape from making a deci- 9 sion on the question regarding the rights of teachers to belong to a labor union. Local 420, at this time, refuses to take the matter to court, taking the stand that “A Board of Education has passed this rule; let a Board of Education remove it.” The local is asking all organizations sympathetic to labor in the country to pass resolutions calling on the Board of Education to rescind this infamous rule and to permit teachers to belong to a labor union and to send copies of the resolution to The Board of Education of the City of St. Louis, and to inform Local 420 of their action by ad- dressing Paul W. Preisler, Pres., 4274 Shenandoah Ave- nue, St. Louis, Missouri. By showing the Board that their anti-union rule is bringing the school system of St. Louis into criticism and disrepute throughout the country, they may be brought around to the view that they themselves must accept responsibility for removing the rule. Bloomington Teachers Organize 100% PORTIA ALEXANDER which has organized the teachers of Bloomington, Illinois, 100% , was formed only recently, in Janu- ary, 1934, following an address by W. B. Satterthwaite, or- ganizer from the national organization. This meeting was sponsored by the local Trades and Labor Assembly, and the teachers of the city were invited to attend by a mem- ber of the Board of Education who is also active in the labor movement in the city. Two members of the Board of Education are members of the trade unions and gave help and encouragement to the new Teachers Federation. Be- fore the organization was formed, other members of the board were contacted by leaders in the movement and plans and purposes of the union discussed with them and with the superintendent. As a result, there has been no opposi- tion from the board, and suggestions and requests of the teachers have met with respect and cooperation. Some of the most important work of the federation from the beginning has been its support of the legislative program of the Illinois State Teachers Association. This has consisted of petitions and personal letters to legislators asking their support for school bills, questionnaires sent to candidates to state offices to determine their attitude toward school legislation, and a report on each candidate compiled from these answers and the record of those run- | OCAL 276 of the American Federation of Teachers, a a SS See 10 ning for re-election, copies of which were distributed among teachers in the country. Locally, the federation has furnished the unit of organi- zation for group accident and health insurance, a project of great value to the members. Members played an in- conspicuous but effective part in the campaign to increase the tax rate for educational purposes in this school district. A committee worked with the board in revising the rules and regulations of the Board of Education, and a standing committee acts as a medium of communication by which teachers’ problems, requests, and suggestions are presented to the board. At the anniversary banquet this year, guests were invited from several other cities to hear the speaker from the national organization and learn of the work of the federa- tion. As a result, the federation has been asked to send a representative to speak on this type of teacher organiza- tion at the City Superintendents Association in Spring- field in November. We believe that one or more new locals may be organized in the state as a result of these A Victory in Cleveland Thwarts Chamber of Commerce Control of Schools H. R. HAZEL HE CLEVELAND Locat has recently been engaged in two campaigns which have resulted in important gains for the schools. The failure of the taxpayer to meet his delinquent tax obligation was a factor in the severe salary cuts suffered by Cleveland teachers. A group of Union members undertook an educational tour of the city, visiting delinquent taxpayers, with excellent results to the city treasury. It was then that the teachers and the residents of Cleveland first realized the need and value of concerted action for the welfare of their schools. Many of Cleveland’s wealthier citizens, like those of many other cities, had moved beyond the city limits so as to live in more pleasant surroundings and have schools more worthy of the task of educating children of so ex- clusive a group. This withdrawal of so much wealth from the city’s tax duplicate was serious enough, but that was not all. The Chamber of Commerce, whose membership is made up almost entirely of suburbanites, exerted an in- The AMERICAN TEACHER fluence in purely city matters, such, for instance, as the conduct of the schools, entirely out of proportion to their numbers. Until last fall’s school board election, they had exercised effective control over school finances. During the last five years, the indebtedness of the schools had been decreased ten million dollars, and teachers’ salaries have been cut nearly nine millions. The net effect of such policies was to keep taxes low and the big taxpayers happy. They gave small thought to the fact that the schools were being scuttled. Though teachers realized that they could not escape the general misfortune of the depression, they did feel that a fair method of adjustment could be found. Their plan was to return all teachers to their respective places upon the salary schedule and then to institute a uniform percentage cut from that point for everyone. This request, until the last day of March of this year, had been consistently dis- regarded. The effect of increments withheld, arbitrary minima established, cuts instituted, and a few attempts at inequitable partial restoration, had worked great injustice, with losses in salary ranging from 16 to 33 per cent. The former president of the Board of Education, now State Director of Commerce and still a board member, ap- pointed as his manager of properties the man whom many hold largely responsible for the defeat of a two-mill school levy a year ago last fall. This member and another were accused by the county treasurer of not having paid their city taxes. At the school board election of last fall, a “Citizens’ Slate,” selected by these same “best” people of the community, ran on a platform of continuing the “business-like policies” which were then in operation. However, the Cleveland Federation of Labor and the Teachers Union were not asleep. They worked assidu- ously to rally round the cause of the schools those citi- zens of Cleveland who had previously shown their interest by cooperating with Local 279 in its campaign for the col- lection of delinquent taxes. A “Labor Slate” of candidates for the school board was prepared and vigorously supported, and, with the aid of the school-conscious citizens, elected. A real victory for labor and the schools! A significant product of the election was the tie created between our local and the Cleveland Federation of Labor. Organized labor was most helpful and cooperative, and the results should assure facility of contact between teachers and other labor groups. Another important by-product of this election was the resignation of the clerk-treasurer, who had been the dom- inating influence in financial affairs of the board for the past fourteen years. It had been at his insistence that the — board refused to take any of the numerous legal steps which | would have aided the schools. May-June, 1936 The board authorized a return to the salary schedule. This action, even though a severe cut of 15 per cent was thought necessary to bring payroll expenditures within the limits of probable tax receipts, was a source of satisfaction to Local 279, since the union had advocated such a plan from the beginning. Mention must be made here of the valu- able assistance rendered by George Davis, National Secretary of the American Federation of Teachers, in bringing about the present settlement of the vexing salary problem. It is to be noted that the percentage of the operating dollar which goes for teachers’ salaries is still too small. ll Reference to the Cincinnati school survey disclosed these startling facts: last year, among the cities listed, Cleveland stood fifth in cost of operation of the plant; sixth in main- tenance; fourth in general control; and fifteenth in the cost of classroom instruction. Toward a fairer division of the school operating dollar, as well as for the general improvement of the school situa- tion, the Cleveland Teachers Union is determined to con- tinue the fight, urged on by the conviction that labor and the citizens of Cleveland are actively interested in better schools. A Statement of Convention Issues GEORGE DAVIS convention delegates will express themselves on many internal problems confronting our organization and on policies to be pursued in labor and public relations. In store for action are the following: I’ IS HOPED by the National Officers that at the coming Organization More than anything else the American Federation of Teachers needs 100,000 members, representing as many communities throughout the country as are organizable. The August convention should put the regional organization plan recommended by President Lowry into effect. This plan ' calls for division of the whole country into ten to fifteen areas. One vice-president should be elected to the Executive Council from each designated area on the basis of that vice-president’s willingness to devote some effort to organizing the teachers in the area for which he is chosen. _ Enabling vice-presidents to carry on this work would possibly _ necessitate reducing full time national organizers from two to one and appropriating national funds thus saved for ' supplementing the work of vice-presidents in poorly organ- } ized and financially weak areas. Such a plan definitely worked out will be presented to the convention as the pro- _ cedure most likely to give us the greatest returns on our ' organization dollars. College Teachers With the increased membership and growth of locals in colleges and universities, it is time that we create a national college section with representation on the Executive Coun- cil and machinery for extending the advantages of unioniza- ' tion on a national scale to teachers of college rank. Laws At the April 27 and 28 hearing conducted by A.F.L. representatives, it was clearly brought out that sections of our constitution dealing with eligibility for membership, seating of delegates, convention representation, and author- ity to be exercised by officers are either vague or out-moded. As one member of the investigating committee put it, we need laws that can be interpreted and authority delegated to somebody to interpret them. Broadening the Base of the A.F.T. A member of the Executive Council in a recent letter called attention to the fact that the A.F.T. was founded by and for regularly employed public school teachers and invites us to “look at the darned thing now.” A recent in- quiry from a local asks if college graduates not certificated and not employed but regarding themselves as potential teachers are eligible for membership. Just how far we can and ought to “spread” ourselves must be determined and laws should be written to define our membership. Frequency of Convention Attention has been directed to the tendency in older unions to encourage more active and frequently meeting executive councils, with general conventions held less fre- quently—alternate years as a rule. Along with that, the “inside man,” generally the Secretary-Treasurer, has been made directly responsible to the executive council. Whether such tendencies should be followed by the A.F.T. in the interest of efficiency merits consideration. The American Teacher The present Secretary-Treasurer asked that a temporary 12 editorial board be set up. New York and Philadelphia have generously assumed responsibility for the two final issues. The machinery is not entirely satisfactory and con- sideration of a permanent editorial arrangement is in order. Headquarters At the past nineteen conventions, the re-location of the National Office has been discussed either publicly or pri- vately. It is felt in some quarters that moving headquarters to Washington, D. C., would have advantages in contacts and in legislative work. To move or not to move—let’s decide. Cleavage The division in ranks, which started in New York, all but disrupted our 1935 convention, and now permeates the National, is in need of “ironing out.” Members of the A.F.L. investigating committee indicated as their personal opinions that many of the issues presented to them were problems for our own organization to solve. A new plan of proportional representation may be the meeting ground Security in the Professions The AMERICAN TEACHER on which the majority and minority grouped locals can get together. The feeling on neither side has improved since our 1935 convention. An intensifying of that feeling can but lead ultimately to smashing tactics. Let’s hope it does not happen. AFL. The A.F.L. Education Committee welcomes material from us for inclusion in its educational program. Our conven- tion should present constructive material on educational policies to that body. Resolutions which condemn officers of the A.F.L. and which are critical of A.F.L. policies without being con- structive do not help our relations with labor. This in no ou way limits us in supporting such progressive measures as industrial unionism and independent political action, but they can be urged without creating the impression that we are trying to dictate to organized labor. The point is that we should emphasize what we believe labor can and should do for education and the teachers union. ; SESE STYAP Aa AaBb eases a FRETFEBEES BPeaB ALBION A. HARTWELL I HE SOCIAL and economic wellbeing of workers in the teaching profession is of foremost concern to a society such as ours which is committed to universal edu- cation. It must be clearly realized that the duties which devolve upon teachers in training youth for work and liv- ing in our society command an important stake in the broad social service which must be made available to all who are in need. Workers in all the professions must be particularly con- cerned with the problems involved in preserving adequate living standards for teachers. It is clear that teaching is the “basic industry” in the professions. The special training which is the source of the particular skills, attributes, and functions of any single profession is basically acquired through the efforts of teachers, beginning with those in the elementary. schools and continuing up through highly special- ized university training. Since, in the broadest sense, pro- fessional work makes social services available and fosters technical and cultural development, society must provide safeguards for the welfare of those who play a basic role in training the “technicians” of social, cultural, and technical services. For this fundamental reason, the social and who economic security of teachers is the problem of our whole wor! society. oa Many factors tend to lower the living standards of teach- ‘an ers in addition to that of unemployment. Increased enrol- poe ments, school budget reductions, lack of tenure, inequitable th salary standards, and inordinate teaching schedules are res some of the many factors which teachers faced even be- eligi fore the last seven years of economic depression. All of struc these factors have been accentuated as the crisis deepened. of de Even though today a widely heralded “return to prosper- they ity” may be noted in the earnings of large corporations, been if we follow the newspaper accounts, and even though some The cities may have restored parts of pay cuts which were in- | Porte stituted during the last three or four years, by and large | inves the teaching profession has received little or no benefits | fill v A cursory examination of some of the facts which have | the 9 been gathered by various agencies during the past fouror ~ five years gives a broad picture of the conditions that 7 State teachers have faced. > in the Although no accurate figures on unemployment among @ Trenc workers in the teaching profession on a nationwide basis — ome are available as of the present date, rough estimates have — May-June, 1936 been made. One or two states such as Massachusetts have taken unemployment censuses, but on the whole we must rely on general estimates. In 1933 the United States Office of Education issued figures showing estimates of unemploy- ment in eighteen states totaling roughly 85,000 teachers. The Office of Education has estimated that there are be- tween 150,000 and 200,000 certified teachers unemployed in the country at the present time. As early as 1933, the National Education Association estimate placed the num- ber of unemployed at approximately the same figure. Dur- ing the period of the last five or six years, if we recognize 1931 as the year when the present depression began to affect the educational system most severely, normal schools, technical schools, and universities have continued to turn out graduates, many of whom have qualified for licenses and have been seeking positions in the teaching profession. The number of such persons, which has never been ascer- tained, must be added to any general estimate of unem- ployment among teachers. In the specific case of college and university teachers, apparently similar conditions prevail. Reductions in the size of faculties began in 1931-32 and while wholesale re- ductions, such as have occurred in the staffs of elementary and secondary schools, have not occurred in colleges and universities, substantial numbers have been laid off. The Amerian Association of University Professors has estimated that the total reduction has averaged about 10 per cent throughout the country. It has been the younger university and college teachers who have borne the brunt of reduction, but other prac- tices have been instituted by colleges and universities which work additional hardships ultimately upon younger faculty members. Some colleges have adopted the practice of one year appointments only. Some colleges, instead of making promotions to assistant and associate professorships, have devised new names for teaching posts such as “fellows,” “research assistants,” or they have merely kept persons eligible to higher appointments within the category of “in- structor”. Furthermore the current practice of many colleges of denying advancement to their faculty personnel, unless they have published books or written articles extensively, has been increasingly used as a reason for lack of promotion. The American Association of University Professors re- ' ported that during the year 1933-34, out of 96 institutions investigated, 25 failed to reappoint instructors; 41 did not fill vacancies above the category of instructor; and 47 of the 96 gave one year appointments only, regardless of rank. _ Examination of the salary scale of teachers in the United States is a hard blow to the popular opinion that workers } Trends In Public Education published by the Joint Com- ‘Mittee on the Emergency in Education in Washington, D. C., October 1934, pointed out that one-third of the teachers 13 in the United States receive less than $750 a year. The report said, “About 250,000 teachers to whom is entrusted the education of some 7,000,000 children receive annual wages below the minimum for factory hands under the blanket code (of the NRA).” While teachers have been able to secure better salaries in some of our city school systems through organization and raising demands for higher standards, the vast majority of our teachers work in rural or semi-urban communities where they have not as yet organized sufficiently to demand a living wage. When it is realized that more than half of all the approximately one million school teachers in the United States who con- stitute about one-third of all workers in the professions are located in rural school systems, the magnitude of the prob- lem becomes strikingly apparent. Non-payment of teachers’ salaries is another phase of the problem. In 1933 the National Education Associa- tion reported that teachers’ salaries in some of the school systems of fourteen states went unpaid. The situation in Chicago, for example, is too well known to deserve more than mention here. The American Association of Uni- versity Professors estimates that the median flat reduction of salaries in colleges and universities was approximately 15 per cent in the period between 1932 and 1934. Some colleges have experienced a much more severe reduction. During this period, while general school budgets were re- duced, there has been a constant increase in enrolment fig- ures. The size of enrolments has been broadened because of the depression itself. During this period the youth have not found opportunities for work and in some cases have continued their schooling in the hope of future opportunity. The closing of schools has contributed to the burdens of teachers in other schools in the same vicinity. The reduc- tion of the length of the school year by two months (or six months in some cases) in rural areas, has meant a greater burden on teachers during the period when the schools are open. These and many other factors of similar nature place the worker in the teaching profession in a posi- tion which is practically the same as that of the worker in industry under the “speedup” or “stretchout.” The effect of speedup in education not only exerts physical hardships on teachers but demoralizes the individual and detracts from the best service which he or she has to give. In the face of the factors which have been only briefly touched upon here, the need of teachers for social legis- lation is most obvious. Social insurance for teachers is necessary to guarantee continuity of income in times of un- employment, temporary disability, permanent injury, periods of maternity, and in fact all of the hazards of our present day economic life, which contrary to prevalent opinion are not confined to workers in industry and agri- culture, but are suffered likewise by all workers in the pro- fessions. Social insurance is not enough; teachers must if . ‘5 oe a = a 14 demand tenure laws, compensation benefits, reduction in hours, in the size of classes, better school facilities. But social insurance must be available in order to offer a safe- guard while these special protections are not available. In 1935, the present administration passed the ‘Social Security Act.” At the time of the passage of this act, it was widely heralded as a step forward in giving security to the people, but to teachers it offered nothing, and “se- curity legislation” remains for them something to be achieved in the future. Not only does this act deny bene- fits to all of those who are at present unemployed, but it is specifically not applicable to charitable, religious, edu- cational, or scientific institutions, nor is it applicable to employees of the federal or of any state, county, or local government, thus specifically excluding teachers. For teachers, this appears to be a double disbarment. While the Administration’s measure was in process of formulation and passage, a different type of social insurance plan was presented to the Congress in the form of the Workers Social Insurance Bill introduced by Congressman Ernest Lundeen of Minnesota in 1934, and more recently introduced into the Senate by Senator Lynn J. Frazier of North Dakota. This bill has been supported by wide groups including trade unions, parent teachers associations, fraternal societies, political groups of all shades, profes- sional associations. It received the active endorsement of at least five million American citizens. The reasons for such broad endorsement are readily apparent. The Workers Bill is all-inclusive instead of exclusive. It specifically includes workers in the professions, the self- employed, farmers, those at present unemployed. It pro- vides benefits during the entire period of unemployment due to whatever causes, including old age, industrial disability, and other hazards. It would furnish benefits to working mothers, including teachers, during periods of childbirth. Above all, it would make the costs of the insurance sys- tem directly available out of the national treasury through higher income taxes and through other means, thus serving to redistribute the surplus accumulations of the product of our national economy, which according to recent studies of the Brookings Institute is a vital necessity for a more even functioning of our economic system. Whereas, at the same time that it denies them benefits, the present “Social Security Act” will force teachers as consumers to bear a share of the cost through higher prices, since pay- roll taxes are considered production costs and thus raise the prices of commodities. No one today can suppose that even a beginning toward genuinely protecting the vast masses of the American peo- ple has been made in the “Social Security Act.” The ques- tion remains before us as vitally today as it did in 1935 when the present act was passed. For teachers this means The AMERICAN TEACHER vigilance in watching future legislation and in being as- sured that they will benefit under it. It further means that teachers must be concerned with broadening the pres- ent act to include them within its provisions. At the same time, teachers must give careful study to the Workers Bill in mapping their demands concerning future legislation, because there they will find the principles which they must insist upon. Social security for teachers, or for any other group in our economy, cannot be assured even with the passing of legislation in their behalf. Such legislation is necessary and always provides one more step toward achieving se- curity, but no one or even all of the steps along the way can be looked upon as having achieved security. Teachers in America under the leadership of the American Federa- tion of Teachers have made progress in the understanding of the fact that our economic life today is highly organized. This complex organization demands that particular groups within it with similar or identical interests must themselves organize, in order better to map out their own economic stake in the total product of our economy, and to play a part in developing the social basis for the practice of their par- ticular work. Just as doctors must give leadership in de- termining health standards for the community and how best to put them in practice, and architects must play an im- portant role in developing housing programs, so teachers must become active in determining the standards and de- velopment of our educational systems. They cannot do this effectively without organization. As teachers develop in- creasing consciousness of the problems involved in attain- ing social security and of their part in developing the whole process of education, they will more and more seek affiliation with the broad masses of organized workers in industry, agriculture, and the professions through affilia- tion with the American Federation of Labor. [Note: For more comprehensive treatment of the pres- ent status of teachers in the United States consult the tes- timony on the Workers Social Insurance Bill, S. 3475, of Professor Ralph J. Bunche of Howard University, member of the National Council of the Inter-Professional Associa- tion and of the American Federation of Teachers, before the Senate Committee on Education and Labor, Washington, D. C., Senator David I. Walsh, Chairman. | Industrialists Please Note “First things must be put first if second things in importance are to be put anywhere in the future. For, what shall it benefit us to perfect our educational system so that youth leaves our insti- tutions of learning, prepared to the hilt to do something fine in the world, if the great mass of these trained young people can find nothing to do, and are finally sent to fertilize the battlefields of @ new war?’”—J. W. Srupesaxer, U. S. Commissioner of Education. an! —— —- . 7 - NS ae eee eee eo = May-June, 1936 “Unprofessional Conduct” VICTOR R. JEWETT ALIFORNIA LAW does not define unprofessional con- duct. Although the term is much used in connection with education, other professions also have codes of ethics to which respect is paid in words, if not always in actions. Take journalism, for example. Is it not “unprofessional conduct” for a newspaper to cast aspersion upon a citizen, even a teacher, yet refuse to publish any answers offered by the person attacked? Various professions are represented on Boards of Educa- tion. Is it unprofessional for a Board, without explanation, to transfer a teacher, after five years of teaching social studies, to mathematics? Certainly it is against the best interests of the pupils. Is it unprofessional to cut one teacher’s salary 20%, illegally and without justification; to suspend him and withhold his salary without a complaint required by law; to require fellow teachers to give false testimony against him? Consider the legal profession. An attorney, in need of an issue in his campaign for political office, slanders this teacher while pretending to oppose un-American teaching; secures publication of false charges, but avoids the respon- sibility of signing and filing them himself; induces pupils ‘to sign affidavits including distorted descriptions of class- room activities. Are such acts permitted by his code of ethics? Is it unprofessional for deputy district attorneys repre- senting the Board of Education, to prosecute such unveri- fied, hearsay charges; to coach pupils to misinterpret a teacher’s words; to offer prejudicial testimony unrelated to the specific charges or obviously manufactured; to present evidence which could be secured only by vigilante raids or similar lawless means? If a judge rules out without justification a cross-com- plaint listing numerous illegal acts of the complainant Board of Education; refuses evidence of such official law- breaking; upholds prosecution objections and overrules defense objections with equal uniformity; disregards specific provisions of the tenure law; and signs a judgment con- taining an assertion by the Board which its own letters proved untrue, and listing testimony entirely irrelevant to the charges supposedly on trial—what becomes of his oath to administer the law impartially and to observe the ethics of the bar? As the teacher involved in this case, I expressed, both in school and out, my frank opposition to war. I disapproved of blind nationalism expressed in perfunctory flag salutes. Hearst’s “Buy American” campaign I condemned as eco- nomically unsound and his militarism as anti-social. School library pamphlets and the Nation, New Republic, and Living Age magazines were used for reference in my classes. My social studies pupils were helped to understand present social relations. Although minor, my role in a local lumber strike was sympathetic to the workers. Charges against me were labeled “unprofessional conduct” and the Superior Court upheld my dismissal as a permanent teacher. The findings list “utterances outside of classroom” that I never uttered anywhere, and declare that defendant “was seen in the picket line maintained by said Union and made derogatory remarks to one of his former pupils who was employed by one of the lumber companies affected by said strike.” Although I was not an official picket, but a friendly observer of the picketing, I did not call “scab” or anything else at any of the “loyal employees.” That testi- mony was purely fabricated. What attitude should professional education organiza- tions take toward this situation? Throughout my profes- sional career I have been a member of the California Teachers Association, the all-inclusive administrator-con- trolled, company union type of organization. It was largely responsible for the present tenure law and might be expected to show keen interest in strict enforcement. It could pub- licize the details of the case in its magazine with 35,000 circulation, provide competent counsel, raise funds for de- fense. Instead, calumny against me has been spread by officials of that association. The fact that my colleagues were too intimidated to protest openly against the actions of their own Board of Education is made an excuse for refusing even to answer several requests for aid. Conversely, members of the American Federation of Teachers promptly organized a defense committee, collected funds, and provided an attorney. A.F.L. Unions are con- tributing a major part of the cost of carrying the adverse decision to the appellate court. The Association of Cali- fornia Classroom Teachers has given full publicity in its progressive magazine and‘ repeatedly donated generously to the defense fund. When the interests of education conflict with their own, newspapers, administrators, and other influential persons often resort to all manner of “unprofessional” conduct. Such spokesmen for the status quo frequently warn teachers that independent classroom teacher or union organizations are “unprofessional.” Actually, the most dependable sup- porters of teachers’ rights and of professional standards in education are the classroom teachers and organized labor. iY : wig ia aR) —- See mee ==> = he St : 16 The AMERICAN TEACHER The American Youth Bill REPRESENTATIVE THOMAS R. AMLIE HEN conditions completely beyond their control decree idleness for between 5,000,000 and 8,000,000 young people in this country—the people upon whom the future progress of the country depends—it is time to take steps to correct the conditions. We have the authority of Mr. Aubrey Williams, director of the National Youth Administration, for the figures on unemployment among young people. We have Mr. Williams’ authority also for the statement that nearly 3,000,000 young people are obliged to live on relief. Such conditions have had many socially bad results. During the year 1932 the marriage rate in the United States fell 34 per cent, reflecting an unwillingness on the part of a large section of the young people to assume the responsi- bilities of marriage under existing economic conditions. It should be pointed out, incidentally, that those who refuse to marry are generally those with the greatest sense of re- sponsibility. Another result is that the talents and abilities of young people are being wasted, if not permanently destroyed, by disuse. It is said that 500 college-trained young men are driving taxicabs in the city of Washington; that not five per cent of the architects graduating from Columbia Uni- versity are able to get jobs; that in almost every direction the doors of opportunity are closed to those who are at the beginning of their careers. Still another result is an increase in crime among young people who are not criminal types by any of the old stand- ards. Church workers, social workers, police officials tell us that the average age of criminal offenders is steadily grow- ing lower, and that the depression has produced an entirely new type of offender, having none of the characteristics of the old-time criminal—a type, presumably, which would develop into a useful and law-abiding member of society, but for the conditions which have been imposed upon him by the depression. Among the most striking and challenging facts brought out at the hearing on the American Youth Act before the Senate Committee on Education and Labor, was the effect of condi- tions such a3 have prevailed for the past six years in driving young people into lives of crime. According to Howard W. Oxley, educational director of the Civ- ilian Conservation Corps, the nation’s crime bill for persons in the age group covered by the proposed legislation is $3,500,000,000 annually. This is the estimated total cost of the proposed bill. Another witness, Franklin Harbach, director of a com- munity center in New York, testified that crime among young people is growing, and that it is closely related to the economic conditions affecting them. His own organization, he told the committee, had been brought face to face with this problem. In 1928 his community center had 10 court cases among its charges. In 1932 it had 161. M. B. Schnapper, former statistician for the Federal Emergency Relief Administration, testified that 27 per cent of all arrests are of persons under 25 years of age. Hays Beall, director of boys’ education of the Methodist Episcopal church, appearing in favor of the measure, made it clear that this increase in crime is not limited to settle- ment house districts, nor to young people cast adrift from home connections, and he cited records of actual cases in which he had been interested, to show the relationship of economic conditions among youth to crime. A large propor- tion of the so-called “transient youth,” he told the commit- tee, are church people. According to another witness, the largest amount of all criminal activity is to be found in the group 19 years of age. These are some of the problems which the American Youth bill seeks to deal with by giving young people oppor- tunities for socially useful activity and providing a sub- stitute for the opportunities which were taken away by the depression. In brief, the measure provides the following: First: The Act authorizes and directs the Secretary of Labor and the Commissioner of Education to provide for the immediate establishment of a system of vocational training and employment on public enterprises for the purpose of providing regular wages for youth between the ages of 16 and 25. These regular wages shall be equal to the prevailing rate of wages for the work per- formed as established by the recognized organizations of la- bor in each community; in no case shall wages be less than $15 per week, plus $3 for each de- pendent. Second: The Act provides for — the payment of fees plus the — May-June, 1936 average weekly living expense of needy students in high schools and vocational schools, providing that such compen- sation exclusive of fees shall not be less than $15 a month. Third: The Act provides for employment on college projects for needy under-graduate and graduate students in colleges. These projects shall be of academic nature in accordance with the educational purposes of the institution of higher learning in question, and the wages shall be equal to the prevailing rate of wages for the work performed and not less than $25 a month. These modest proposals represent what the young people themselves have asked for, through their various student, 17 church, and social organizations. They are, it seems to me, reasonable in every particular; and they deserve the support of every citizen who is concerned about the future of our country. The greatest wastes incident to the depression cannot be measured in terms of money. They are the waste of human resources, of talent, energy, ability, waiting to be put to useful employment, but unable to find any place to function. The Youth bill recognizes that this is a social waste which we cannot afford to continue, and that society, through the national government, has a responsibility to stop this waste. Resolving a Dual Situation JOHN H. WALKER N 1931 it began to appear that the Chicago Board of Education was by way of being insolvent. Salary pay- ments to its employees became irregular and cash pay- ments ceased. An occasional payment was made in tax anticipation warrants. The employees were obliged to ac- cept these if at all, at face value, but if sold for cash, they were discounted from five to fifteen per cent. Thus preyed upon by the investment houses and banks and being in dis- tress from need of ready money, an increasing number of teachers were gradually driven into a state of ever greater irritation. Then a new Board of Education, in July of 1933, at one fell stroke, separated some 1300 teachers from _ the payrolls by the simple expedient of abolishing their jobs. This was accomplished by abolishing manual train- ing and household arts from the elementary schools, by greatly reducing kindergartens, and by abolishing the junior college and the junior high schools. At the same time this Board cut one month off the school year and made a flat cut of fifteen per cent in the face values of all salary checks. These circumstances drove a considerable number of teach- ets from irritation into desperation. Meanwhile, what was the teacher organization situation? In spite of the fact that there were among the Chicago " teachers nearly a dozen welfare organizations, six of them ® being unions directly affiliated with labor, destructive things were done to the schools. One of these organizations was } the Men Teachers Union, Local No. 2 of the American ® Federation of Teachers. A considerable number of its mem- bers who were elementary and junior high scrool teachers were victims of the Board of Education’s retrenchment pro- gram—and the union had been unable to save them. Some _ of us knew then, as most of us know now, that no organi- zation then existing could have prevented what happened, because the trouble was not merely local, but national. Nevertheless, there arose among the men teachers a move- ment based on an entirely different theory from that of bona fide unionism. It may be described thus: There were among the men teachers a few men with political contacts and whose notions of how to get help from powerful politicians were wholly realistic. These men let the idea spread among the teachers that, since the or- dinary type of organization had obviously failed to save them, a different and more realistic technique was indicated. Of course, no specific procedures were mentioned. It was only proposed to form a new and vigorous organization of men teachers. The movement was taken in hand by two or three men of skill and determination in organizing and was pushed with vigor and success, notwithstanding the fact that the Men Teachers Union was open to all of these men. Its yearly dues, however, were much higher than those asked by the new organization, which called itself The Subscribers. It was early apparent that the new organization desired affiliation with Labor, but it could not get a union char- ter, because the Men Teachers Union, to membership in which all of the school men were eligible, already had the field. Hence it was that, over a period of two years, rep- resentatives of the Subscribers repeatedly approached the officers of the Men Teachers Union with the proposal that the two organizations amalgamate. The Union had mean- while passed a rule that no Union member should be also a member of a non-union rival organization. At these con- ferences the Union officers replied that membership in the Union was open to every man who would abandon mem- } | { Wl ! } 18 bership in the rival organizations. The Subscriber repre- sentatives always countered with the proposal that their membership be taken into the Union as a body. Thus matters stood until the late fall of 1935. While the Union officers recognized that these men who had joined the Sub- scribers were high-intentioned and were more or less catch- ing at straws at that time, they also felt that the situation should continue long enough to convince a majority of them that a single strong union of all the men teachers was the only hope of protection. We wished also to wait until the feelings of bitterness at the failure to protect them had largely subsided. Last November, we decided that that time had come. Our procedure was first to sponsor a meeting open to all the school men, making a special effort to get Subscribers there. This meeting was a pronounced success. It was formally addressed by Brother George S. Davis, Secretary- Treasurer of American Federation of Teachers, Brother Reuben G. Soderstrom, President of the Illinois State Fed- eration of Labor and a member of the Illinois legislature, and Brother John Fitzpatrick, President of the Chicago Federation of Labor. We followed this meeting a few weeks later with a joint dinner-meeting of the Building Representatives of the Union and those of the Subscribers. This was primarly a good-will meeting, but general out- lines of ways and means of uniting were discussed. The final formal step was taken by both organizations at their regular February meetings, which were held on the same night. At its meeting, the Men Teachers Union passed unanimously a short series of resolutions, providing speci- The AMERICAN TEACHER fied concessions for a specified period of time, which period was later extended to the end of the present school year, Those concessions were: First, the regular ten dollar reinstatement fee for former mem- bers of the Union would be waived. Second, application cards need be signed by the applicant only, (The regular requirement specifies also the signature of the Build- ing Representative or of two other Union members.) Third, the Union would furnish the Subscribers with Union application cards and would vote into the Union at one time all of the applicants whose cards, together with one-half year’s dues, were in the hands of the Financial Secretary of the Union at any meeting of the Union. These resolutions were at once taken by the Business Representative of the Union to the Subscriber meeting and there presented. They were enthusiastically accepted by that body. The Union immediately took the necessary steps to comply with the conditions proposed and these conditions are now in effect. Under the active and skil- ful push of a large Membership Committee, composed of former Subscribers and Union members working together, the Subscribers as an organization have now disappeared. Enthusiasm and determination are spreading among the men to make membership in the Union approach and re- main 100%. There have been about 250 new members taken in by the Men Teachers Union during the last six weeks. About 100 of those had no previous connections with the Sub- scribers. These were reinstatements of old members of the Men Teachers Union and new members who had never been affiliated with any union prior to this time. Progress in Cooperation The A. F. T. and the A. A. U. P. ARNOLD SHUKUTOFF $ FAR BACK As 1919, members of the American Asso- ciation of University Professors felt the need for supplementing their membership in the A.A.U.P. by membership in the American Federation of Teachers. The question became so important at the time that Pro- fessor Arthur O. Lovejoy, President of the Association, de- voted his annual message in 1919 to the subject of “Pro- fessional Trade Unionism.” In his speech, he indicated that the A.F.T. was gaining rapidly in college members as a result of the “deplorable situation of not a few of the younger teachers,” and that some members of the A.A.U.P. had written to the national office inquiring about the propriety of joining the A.F.L. President Lovejoy’s — response to these suggestions that college teachers ought to link themselves with other teachers and with the labor movement was twofold. First, he feared entangling alli- ances which might bias the professor’s thinking: the pro- fessor, he felt, should “refrain from identifying himself with powerful bodies representing organized special interests, whether of capital or labor.” Secondly, he suggested that — Ss Oo SPERPGReaSaeP2eRVPrBtHnOFrears2 S83 7 SERSEE _ \o — ERFES = a § May-June, 1936 college teachers did not need unions, as laborers did, for college teachers were not employed by institutions conduct- ing business for private profit. Since 1919, and particularly during the last five years, events have demonstrably refuted President Lovejoy’s ob- jections to professorial trade unionism. His fear of entang- ling alliances has been answered by the many attempts of chambers of commerce to regiment teaching, and particu- larly by the appearance of Big Business-inspired Loyalty Oath Laws for teachers in the legislatures of 22 states. These laws suggest that, if college teaching is to avoid, not merely being biased, but actually being shackled, the col- lege teacher must ally himself with a force capable of op- posing the passage of such laws. Organized labor has already raised its voice against these laws and is patently such a force. As to President Lovejoy’s distinction be- tween college teaching and private employment, the col- lege teacher has discovered that, while he may be han- died with more courtesy, he suffers the same economic hardships as employees in private industry. The A.A.U.P. itself indicated at its annual meeting on January 2, 1936, that college professors had received salary cuts as high as 50% in recent years and that the average slash through- out the country had been 15%, and the United States Office of Education has shown in its latest survey that median salaries in 76 private colleges dropped as follows between 1929-30 and 1934-35: For Presidents: from $5469 to $2708: or 32.2% For Deans: from 3375to 2500: or 25.9% For Professors: from 3030to 2336: or 22.9% For Assoc. Prof: from 2646to 2156: or 18.5% For Asst. Prof: from 2235to 1864: or 16.6% For Instructors: from 1775 to 1559: or 12.2% Recent events have thus forced the college teacher to the conclusion that he must ally himself with labor in order to avoid having his thinking limited and his living stand- ards lowered by capital. President Lovejoy concluded his address by suggesting that the A.A.U.P. lower its membership requirements in or- der to attract the younger teachers to it. Accordingly, two years later in 1921, the A.A.U.P. reduced its teaching ex- perience requirement from ten years to three years. At the time, however, the A.A.U.P. did not alter its aims or pro- cedures. Nor has it done so since. Founded originally in 1915 as an organization of specialists in the college teach- ing field comparable to the American Medical Association and the American Bar Association in medicine and the law, the A.A.U.P. has never regarded itself as a protective asso- ciation, or union. This fact is readily noticed in numer- _ Us committee and presidential reports. In December 1933, for example, the Committee on Academic Freedom and _ Tenure stated: 19 “The Association considers a knowledge of these conditions (i.e., on the conditions of tenure prevailing at an institution under inves- tigation) to be of far greater importance to its membership than the facts underlying the threatened dismissal of Professor X. In fact, as explained many times before, the Association is not a ‘Professors Union’ where the object is to protect the professor against the ad- ministration. . . .” The A.A.U.P. has thus devoted itself mainly to investiga- tional work, and has produced what are undoubtedly some of the most accurate and competent studies of conditions prevailing in American colleges. No one can minimize the importance of this work. Neither, on the other hand, can one disregard its limita- tions in the present situation when the interests seeking to shackle education and to curtail it are so active. To com- bat these interests, college teachers like the men who found the A.A.U.P. inadequate in 1919, today require an or- ganization of a more active type. They need an organiza- tion that will recognize in the attack upon any one teacher the portents of a wider attack, and that will therefore ac- tively defend every teacher’s economic and academic rights. They need an organization that will work to secure favor- able and to combat unfavorable legislation. They need an organization that will seek to win public opinion to their side on every vital issue, and that will be affiliated with the organized labor movement of the country in order to do this effectively. One may feel that the A.F.T. is today indispensable for college teachers and recognize equally well the need for cooperation between the A.A.U.P. and the A.F.T. Both or- ganizations are, after all, very much concerned with the problem of academic freedom. In the light of the increas- ing introduction of Loyalty Oath Laws in the various legis- latures, academic freedom looms as a major problem. Both organizations are very much concerned with the question of tenure, with the encouragement of research, with the economic condition of the profession, and with the place and function of faculties in university and college govern- ment. If the A.A.U.P. tends to be interested mainly in investigating these problems, and the A.F.T. in studying and acting on them, there is good ground for cooperation. Furthermore, cooperation between these two organizations means bringing together elementary, high school, and col- lege teachers, in other words, bringing the concentrated energy of the entire teaching profession to bear on the solu- tion of mutual problems. The value to be gained is patent. Toward the achievement of’ such cooperation, the seventeen college locals of the A.F.T. can do much. Cooperation between these two organizations on a local scale will un- doubtedly do much to stimulate and prepare the ground for cooperation on a national scale. Exchange of delegates at annual conventions ought to be helpful in developing mutual understanding. Today, more than ever, such understanding and cooperation are vital to the teaching profession as a whole. 2 Sa NS SR ae — PSS RS SS ea a 20 The AMERICAN TEACHER John Lrophy On Industrial Ontonism SARA T. WALSH unionist that I see in the weavers’ hall close to my home in Philadelphia. His intonation is not def- initely English, Irish, or Scotch, but vaguely British. This little, restrained man seemed incongruous as the right hand of the dynamic Lewis and as the director of the newest force in the trade union field today, a force essen- tially youthful and vigorous; yet before long we realized that the case for industrial unionism is under capable and far sighted direction. We left the outer office in which the most conspicuous object was a table piled with stacks of the pamphlets issued by the Committee for Industrial Or- ganization, and sat down in the plain chairs facing his desk. He leaned forward. Ji Bropuy looks like the old time British trade “What do the teachers want to know about industrial unionism?” ‘There was no annoying waggishness about the lack of ability to tell teachers anything. “Let’s begin with you,” I replied. “Why do you be- lieve that industrial unionism is the necessary form of or- ganization?” He spoke quietly and slowly. “Industry has undergone a change in the last quarter of a century. There has been a constant change in processes and employment conditions, and with it a great concentration of capital represented in the great industrial establishments. Our primary need today is a form of organization to deal with large aggre- gations of capital. To parallel this concentration and to combat it effectively, the workers must organize on the same basis—industrially. ‘These combinations of capital have such tremendous power that they are almost 100 per cent effective in obstructing labor when it organizes under the old method.” He paused, and I made a mental note of the reason why John Brophy does not hesitate to assume the role of in- structor. This is familiar material to him, his stock in trade, but he treats it well. He speaks thoughtfully, not glibly. He folded his hands and continued. “With such a set-up, I can’t conceive of a score of dif- ferent groups of workers bargaining separately with one employer. It never has worked out. What have been the results? There is disintegration within the labor move- ment itself. In 1934 there was a gain of approximately 350 federal labor unions; in 1935, 110 of these were either disbanded or suspended. This is inevitable when the work- ers find that their form of organization is ineffective. But there is something more significant. Disintegration within the ranks of organized labor prevents that which is funda- mental—the organization of the unorganized.” He paused to give his words greater weight. ‘What raises the issue of industrial unionism is the necessity for organizing the unorganized.” He pointed to the paper on which I was taking notes. “You can repeat that ten times in your article,” he said, and continued emphatically. “The chief problem before the labor movement today is the organization of the unorganized. I am not being dog- matic. We are forced to face a situation that has grown out of the failure of the A.F.L. to take any decisive action in organizing these workers.” I was about to ask him the extent of this failure, but he anticipated me. “There are approximately 39 million organizable workers in this country. The A.F.L. has a constant record of un- broken failure in organizing these workers, the majority of whom are in mass production industries. What have we accomplished? Out of these 39 million we have within the ranks of organized labor only 3% million. The craft unions have not only consistently failed to gain any foot- hold in the mass production industries where the poten- tially organizable are, but have stood aside while anti- union management, which is not so slow, has fostered intensively the formation of company unions.” At this point, one of the typists entered from the outer office. “Those steel men have come and are waiting,” she an- nounced. I glanced outside. These were not the executives the term usually implies, but workers a little uncomfortable May-June, 1936 in their best suits. I thought of the impending conven- tion of steel workers in Pennsylvania, and guessed at the nature and importance of this conference. ‘Here goes the interview,” I thought, and looked doubtful. Brophy no- ticed it. “T’'ll finish this,” he said and told the girl to send the men into the adjoining office. “Take these men in steel,” he continued. “Like the men in the newer mass production industries, radio, metal, and rubber, these men think in terms of plant unity. Craft distinctions have died out for them. Organization by crafts is antagonistic both to the nature of their work and to the outlook that modern production methods have de- veloped in them.” “How great is the demand for industrial organization on the part of these men?” I asked. He smiled. “The last A.F.L. convention gave a clear indication of that. The industrial unionism resolution re- ceived a vote representing forty per cent of the member- ship of the international unions. The vote of the federal and local trade unions shows a proportion of 20 to 1 in favor of industrial unionism. You can get further evi- dence of the demand by the steel workers in the results of a house to house canvass which the Pittsburgh Post- Gazette conducted recently in Allegheny County. Sixty- eight per cent of those polled favored industrial unions. The results by districts show an industrial unionism vote running from 80 to 94 per cent in the sections where most of the mass production workers live.” “What is your attitude toward craft unions in general?” I asked. “We do not want to invade certain protected crafts, nor those like the building trades or transportation which are relatively established. The question of amalgamation is something that the workers in the outfit must take their own time in solving. However, the men in steel and in the newer large scale production industries have recog- nized their problem. They want a policy which flows out of the needs of the industry. They want a policy which will enable them to add to and integrate their forces ' against the increasing opposition on the part of capital to the expansion of the labor movement.” His voice took on a warning note. “Don’t forget that _ the organization of these industries is of deep significance to the future of the labor movement and the country in general. Steel can be the center of reactionary govern- ment as it affects the right of self-organization and self- determination on the part of the workers. The problems in steel, in turn, create problems for related industries, for the seamen in the Lake service, for the men in the cap- ' tive mines owned by the great steel companies.” 21 I was interested in the implications of this statement. Lewis and the United Mine Workers had given Roosevelt enthusiastic endorsement not so long ago. Would Brophy like to move off the Roosevelt reservation? “You imply that the question of industrial unionism goes beyond the bounds of mere trade unionism, that it is a matter of great political importance. What is your attitude toward the formation of a Labor Party?” He was not hesitant as I had expected him to be. “The great issue before the country is unemployment, and neither of the two major parties has touched it. We have had palliatives, but no real attempt at solution. At the same time, the fascist-minded outfits like the Liberty League are becoming bolder in their opposition to the in- terests of labor and in their renewed open shop drive. Unquestionably, labor needs a party of its own. The need for industrial unionism and a Labor Party has the same basis. By industrial unionism, the influence of workers’ organizations will be strengthened immeasurably and will flow over into the political field.” I wanted to know how the C.I.0 had been functioning, and he said that they acted as a clearing house for pub- licity, with the permanent policy of securing industrial union charters. “Our aim is to propagandize and educate in favor of the industrial unionism resolution. We act in an advisory capacity,” nodding to the next room where the steel dele- gation waited. “During the rubber strike we sent field workers into Akron, where the morale was at a low point. We saw to it that the position of the strikers was clearly stated. We used a local radio station to answer charges against the strikers. The fact that the C.I.0. was back of the strike gave the strikers prestige before the public, and solidified industrial unionism sentiment within the ranks of the workers. Our field representatives emphasized our message of plant unity. The success of that strike shows oe 22 again that plant unity must be achieved, before there can be any progress in organization or action.” I wondered if he applied to schools this idea of the necessity for plant unity. “Do you believe that the mod- ern school is a fitting place for industrial organization?” I asked. “You can question whether this form of organization suits. Not being a teacher, I don’t know your specific problems. It is obvious, however, that the school is one institution from the teaching staff to the maintenance de- The AMERICAN TEACHER partment, with one employer, the state. The main issue, once again, is organizing the unorganized. This is not an academic question. Where the craft form has succeeded, it should be continued. The form doesn’t matter. What is important is that the form of organization should be the one that provides the maximum organization within your industry. You should make that your chief consideration in the solution of your problem.” (The drawings printed with this article are taken, with permis- sion, from The Case for Industrial Organization, published by The Committee for Industrial Organization, Washington, D. C.) Taxation for Schools HAROLD M. GROVES EMBERS of the American Federation of Teachers are accustomed to think of themselves as citizens of a profession as well as of a state and nation. As citizens of their profession, they are deeply concerned with how that profession is financed. Central versus Local Support for Schools First of all, teachers are concerned to know what pro- portion of school costs are borne by local units of govern- ment (school district, town, village, or city and county) and what proportion is borne by central units (state and federal government). Extensive facts concerning this mat- ter have recently been published by the Research Divi- sion of the National Education Association. They show a range of state and federal support from 2% in Kansas (.3% federal and 1.7% state) and 2.3% in Iowa (.4% federal and 1.9% state) and 4.5% in Illinois (.3% fed- eral and 4.2% state) to 90% in Delaware (.5% federal and 89.5% state) and 69% in North Carolina (3% fed- eral and 66% state) and 63.7% in California (.2% fed- eral and 63.5% state). In only six states does central support amount to one half; in eleven states it amounts to less than 10%.. These figures illustrate the wide range of practice in financing education; they also indicate that the support for education is still very preponderantly local. Advantages of Central Support Undoubtedly the trend is toward more central support for education and very properly so. It need hardly be argued now that education is a matter of state and na- tional interest. It may not be of as much concern to New York as it is to Arkansas, that the children of the latter state have a proper educational opportunity, but it is of great concern to both states. The United States is an economic and political unit, and no part of the unit can get very far ahead or behind the other parts. Inter- course between states is of increasing proportions. What holds between states is, of course, more true and more important between the districts within a state. It has been demonstrated many times that there is an enormous range between districts in their ability to support educa- tion. We cannot hope for anything remotely resembling a national minimum standard for education, unless the state and national governments are willing to underwrite a substantial part of the program. The issue of central versus local support is tied up closely, of course, with the question of what taxes should be used to finance the schools. Local support of schools means their support by the property tax. It is the only tax which is tolerably well adapted to local administration. Income taxes and sales taxes are far better adapted to state than local administration and many favor turning these sources of revenue over to the federal government. Most students of public finance are of the opinion that the property tax, as a source of support for public education and otherwise, has been substantially overworked. If this is true, it af- fords another strong argument for central support. It is not to be supposed that central support does not bring with it difficult problems of its own. There are problems of division (formulas of state aid) to contend with, and there are problems of division of control to insure taxpayers that when their money is spent for education in a foreign school district, it will not be wasted. Space will not permit more than calling attention to these problems. An alternative to the increased central support for edu- cation is the enlargement of the school district or the unit which directly supports the school. This program would have the effect of equalizing to some extent the ratios of ability to need, in the local areas of school support. Whether or not we are to favor a program of consolidation of school districts, there can be no doubt that many of our school ° a UVP TI ae ell ei‘ ’ May-June, 1936 districts in many states are a matter of historical accident rather than planning, and cannot be defended as to size and shape on any rational grounds whatever. If, in the future, we are to rely less on the property tax as the bulwark of school support, what alternative source shall take its place? Undoubtedly, the alternative which has made greatest advances during the depression is the sales tax. It is a way of heavily taxing relatively poor people without their knowing it, and, as a result, it has been the road of least resistance in many states. Most students of public finance take exception to the sales tax, on the ground that it bears with far greater relative weight on the poor than on the rich; also on the ground that it undermines the consumer’s purchasing power, which badly needs support. It is contended, to be sure, that the sales tax, as one element in a tax system, is far more defensible than a sales tax as the sole source of support. The sales tax can be coupled with an income tax, it is said, and the two more or less offset each other. There is some truth in this contention, but it ignores the fact that the con- sumer already pays a very large tax bill through the tariff and the special sales taxes on such objects as tobacco, liquor, and so forth. Students of public finance, as a rule, would much pre- fer to see the income tax more heavily relied upon as a source of school support. It has strong support on equita- ble and economic grounds, and as a personal tax, it appears well adapted to use for educational purposes. On the other hand, the income tax is not the easiest tax from which to raise large revenues particularly during depressions. It is a direct tax, and, as such, makes the taxpayer very tax conscious. It requires a high degree of discipline to levy and collect large amounts of revenue in this way. More- over, the income tax requires high-grade administration. SOURCES OF INCOME OF INSTITUTIONS” OF HIGHER, LEARNING “” IN U.S:1931-1932 MILLIONS OF DOLLARS 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 0 RECEIPTS FROM 41, PUBLIC SOURCES TUITION FEES is; 160 23 Its machinery is most complicated and it is one of the easiest taxes “to beat.” Finally, many states have tied themselves up in knots with state constitutions and the income tax cannot be inaugurated in these states with- out the arduous task of amending these constitutions. With all of the limitations and difficulties which lie in the way of income tax revenues for schools, it can be ac- cepted that this is the most socially desirable alternative to the property taxes. Socially-minded citizens of the teach- ing profession and the community need to be constantly at work, clearing away the obstacles to income tax devel- opment. Indeed, the general sales tax is so objectionable, as an alternative to the property tax, that its substitution for the property tax might well bring more evils and hardship than it would relieve. The property tax bears very heav- ily upon small owners of property, especially those in debt. The sales tax bears upon those who are even lower in the economic scale—those who own no property at all. Moreover, there are property taxes and property taxes. There are property taxes which are so badly collected that large and able property-owners pay interest and salaries and dividends, while they put off the government tax col- lector or circumvent him altogether. There are property taxes so badly administered that one half of the community is heavily robbed for the benefit of the other half. On the other hand there are very efficiently collected property taxes and there are efficiently administered ones too—pro- vided an impossible load is not put upon the shoulders of the local assessor, and the law is written with some regard for possible administration. An alert and well informed citizenry can do much to make the property tax a far more equitable and efficient instrument for raising revenue than it has usually been. Most of what has been written concerning the financ- PERCENTAGE DISTRIBUTION OF SOURCES OF INCOME OF INSTITUTIONS” OF HIGHER. LEARNING ~” IN U.S:1930-1931 pea CENT 190 RECEIPTS FROM PUBLIC SOURCES TUITION FEES INCOME FROM 4; INCOME FROM END OWMENT ae : _ a PRIVATE GIFTS $ oe ' ALES 4 SERVICES area " WH ana 3 mm OTHER RECEIPTS * 13860 REPORTING we BIENNIAL SURVEY *f EDUCATION — 1930-1932, » 32 © 1380 AEPORTING ae GIENNIAL Sutvay ef EOVCATION 1950 - (952 24 ing of education concerns elementary and secondary edu- cation only. There are also important problems in financ- ing higher education. Few people realize that less than half of the total cost of higher education comes from public taxes of any sort. The accompanying charts present the figures on sources of higher education support. The his- tory of education has been one of evolution from religious and other private support, voluntarily contributed, to pub- lic support through taxes. It is apparent that our higher education still lags considerably in this development. More- over, the student still contributes very heavily to higher education, not only in time and living expenses, but also in the cost of the education itself. Education and educators have not infrequently been criti- cized because they accept too uncritically the existing so- cial and economic order. If the criticism is justified, and I think it is, much explanation can be found in the accom- panying charts. As long as higher education has to pass the tin cup to secure such a large part of its support, it can never be expected to criticize very aggressively the economic institutions which are popular with its donors and the source of their donations. Harvard University is reported to have an endowment The AMERICAN TEACHER of $126,126,368 and an annual income from this endow- ment of $5,294,823 which constitutes over half of its total current anual income of $10,355,812. When this annual income is compared with the $7,109,090 provided mainly by public sources for the University of Minnesota (one of the better supported state universities) it can be seen that Harvard can well afford a few educational luxuries. On the other hand, an institution thus financed must live in great and constant fear of inflation. Incidentally, it would be difficult for a Harvard economist to take an objective view of this important economic institution. Teachers more than anyone else, perhaps, should be well- informed on the subject of taxation. Taxes are the source of their livelihood; they are an important factor in the effectiveness of their profession; they are an important as- pect of modern economic life, upon which the schools must condition the future citizen; they affect the standard of living and with it the home environment of their pupils. Perhaps a good course in public finance should be a re- quired part in a teacher’s training. Better still, if all teach- ers belonged to a wide-awake union and it made them properly tax-conscious, they could and would learn much about taxation for themselves. Pennsylvania “Lnvestigates” [ts Schools oO REPRESENTATIVE Hiram G. Andrews, Chairman of the Legislative Committee investigating school costs, the American Federation of Teachers is “uncoopera- tive” and a “nuisance group.” The genesis of both this outburst and the Andrews Com- mittee itself is worthy of note. Schools in Pennsylvania are supported solely by taxes on real estate. This has led to a persistent campaign on the part of Real Estate Boards for a reduction in school taxes, and an equally steady pres- sure on the part of educators for the passage of a graded income tax bill for school purposes. The supporters of schools seemed to have won the first victory at the last legis- lative session, where a bill was passed providing a graded income tax for school purposes. The Mellon-Grundy Re- publican machine, core of reaction in Pennsylvania, retained its composure. They awaited the decision of the State Su- preme Court imperturbably and, meanwhile, watched with the satisfaction of the far-sighted the appointment of a leg- islative committee to investigate school costs. Their assurance was justified. The graded income tax bill was declared unconstitutional. That these advocates of so-called “economy” indulged in no wasted satisfaction was obvious when the Andrews Committee set to work. Having the entire field of unbiased experts in costs of edu- cation from which to choose, the Andrews Committee never- theless selected as its impartial fact-finding body the repre- sentatives of the National Economy League. With the appointment of the committee, the Philadelphia Local, ready to assist any worthwhile inquiry in the field of education, wrote to Representative Andrews offering co- operation. The letter remained unanswered. At the sub- sequent announcement of the identity of the fact-finding body, the Philadelphia Local again addressed the committee. The National Economy League has continually agitated for reduction in governmental expenditures, including those for education. Such an organization could scarcely be consid- ered impartial in a study of school expenditures. The local, therefore, registered a protest with the committee, and re- quested all other Pennsylvania locals to do likewise. When the Andrews Committee held hearings in Phila- delphia, Mrs. Mary Foley Grossman, in testifying, em- — phatically re-affirmed the opposition of the Teachers Union => @Qee gp pce mee wo = a a May-June, 1936 to the employment of the National Economy League as investigators. However, Mr. Andrews retained the services of this group, and has maintained an unbroken silence as to his reasons for doing so. In preparation for the next legis- lative session, the Pennsylvania locals proceeded to estab- lish a State Federation of Teachers. At the preliminary conference of this body in Harrisburg, the delegates learned that the Andrews Committee was on that day holding hear- ings on tenure in the Capitol. The delegates decided to attend the afternoon session, and their entrance apparently disturbed the placid course of the meeting. During the session, Mr. Andrews announced the appoint- ment of a teacher advisory council to assist his committee. Pennsylvania has only three teacher organizations. The other two were designated by him; the American Federa- tion of Teachers was ignored. Mrs. Grossman was permitted to testify. She presented the position of the Union on tenure and, at the expiration of the two minutes allotted to her, asked why the A.F.T. had been excluded from the advisory council. At this point, Senator Brownfield, a member of the An- drews Committee and Chairman of the Senate Education Committee, became aroused. His questions drew from Mr. , Andrews the statement that the advisory council had been appointed only that morning and had been appointed on the sole authority of Mr. Andrews. Senator Brownfield turned to Mrs. Grossman and em- phatically disclaimed previous: knowledge of the existence of the council and any responsibility for its appointment. Thereupon Chairman Andrews turned belligerently to Mrs. — Grossman. “T'll tell you why your organization has not been included. | Protests have been coming from every- where in the state concerning the work of this committee. Your outfit has pre- judged the work of this committee, has been uncooperative, and is nothing other than a nuisance group.” There was a momentary hush, after | this outburst. Then the entire Union } delegation rose and left the committee _ room. _ The meeting within broke up in dis- | order, while the A.F.T. delegation gath- ered outside. Immediately, the commit- tee room doors flew open, and members of the Andrews Committee hurried forth to make personal denials of responsi- bility, and to assure the delegation that _4n investigation of the matter would _ be made at once. 25 Representative Andrews, however, remained intransigent. In addition, on the following day, through the columns of his newspaper in Johnstown, he attempted to salve labor organizations by affirming his faith in the A.F.L. and at the same time to smear the Teachers Union with denuncia- tions verging upon vilification. The protests of the members of the Education Commit- tee were, to a certain degree, effective. The A.F.T. was, the next week, unofficially invited to attend a preliminary tenure conference of the advisory council. A representa- tive was sent, and the position of the A.F.T. on tenure received attention and thorough discussion. In the mean- time, the Philadelphia Local was vigorous in the enlistment of reserves in its campaign for official inclusion of Labor in the advisory council, and for the dismissal of the Econ- omy League as investigator. The Central Labor Union of Philadelphia sent an immediate protest. The State Fed- eration of Labor in convention voted censure of the An- drews Committee for its slur upon organized labor and demanded the inclusion of the A.F.T. on the council. These expressions of resentment caused Mr. Andrews to indulge in further efforts at justification. His response to the communication of the Philadelphia Central Labor Union ran to two typed pages and afforded that body its lightest note in months. The first page exuded praise for the A.F.L. in all its phases. The second page indicated a somewhat restrained admiration for the Teachers Union, and ended on a note of inexpressible gallantry. The Teach- ers Union, it seemed, was very emphatic in its statements. It would, in addition, if it were appointed to the advisory council, send as its representative, a Mrs. Mary Foley Grossman, who was “a very combative woman.” This placed Mr. Andrews in a very anomal- ous position, for he preferred to de his fighting with men! Outbursts of laugh- ter interrupted the reading of the com- munication, with the comment that the teachers apparently knew how to take care of themselves. The teachers intend to continue to do so. Can a fair investigation be con- ducted if Mr. Andrews is to select the National Economy League as fact-find- ers, and if he is to hand-pick his teacher advisers? The actions of the Andrews Committee in these respects can only . serve to create distrust toward the whole investigation. The teachers are deter- mined that, not the high-handed Mr. Andrews, but the interests of education shall prevail. 26 While the war budget mounts, the needs of the people are not met. A quarter of a million babies die annually in the United States through lack of proper medical attention. There are 4,283,753 illiterates in continental United States among our population above 10 years of age. There were 42,000 fewer teachers in the school year 1933-34, but the ones that were employed were instructing 114,000 more public school children. The average cost per child per year in United States public schools dropped 9%, from $73.25 in 1933 to $66 in 1934. It is estimated that from 5,000,000 to 8,000,000 young people between the ages of 16 and 25 are wholly unoccu- pied. They are neither working nor attending school. Almost 3,000,000 young people are on relief. In the face of these facts, our national defense budget increases year by year at an alarming pace. Huge sums are spent for more military defense while the people are left unprotected against immediate dangers of sickness, illiteracy and idleness. We can never have social security without peace. The present plans of the War Department call for an expenditure of 10 billion dollars a year if the United States should become involved in another major war, stated Colonel Charles T. Harris, director of the planning board of the War Department. This 10 billion dollars a year which will be spent if the United States goes to war, in addition to the funds appro- priated each year for our national defense is paid for by taxation upon the people of the United States. The tax burden to pay for our billion dollar budget last year mounted to $8.00 for every man, woman and child in the United States. Voters must utilize the power they hold in electing men and women to Congress who will support peace-making policies, the curtailment of our war budget and a program which will mean social security for the American people. Remember: Mere renunciation of war is not enough. Organized political action against war must be the first The AMERICAN TEACHER Armaments vs. Soctal Security WARREN D. MULLIN step in our efforts to keep America at peace with the world and to attain social security. Write to your Congressman, Senators, and the President that the prevention of war is necessary to social security— that huge amounts for our war machine never have and never will prevent war—that the sums now spent for weapons of war are needed for the weifare of the people, —Warren D. Muttin. Time Table Time table under which the enormous 1936 $531,000,000 peace time naval appropriation bill was pushed through without a rec vote: April 29—Naval bill printed. April 30—Bill presented to House. May 1—Bill rushed through House. May 4—Bill sent to Senate. May S—Senate sub-committee on appropriations ended he after refusing to hear the opposition. May 6—Bill reported to the Senate in recess May 8—Bill rushed through Senate. —Frepericx J. Lusy. f ] i ce A Oe ee Oe lUltlC Compare the expenditures for Social Security with the expenditures for weapons of war: Expenditures for Fiscal Year 1937 (Estimates from the Budget) _— PDN ow pation asset $ 175,000 Chemical Warfare Service... ... $ 1,400,000 Maternal & Child Welfare....... 316,000 Seacoast Defenses ............ 1,750,000 Services for Crippled Children.... 2,500,000 Forage for Army Horses, etc... 3,158,900 Maternal & Child Health Service. 3,000,000 Reserve Officers’ Training Corps 4,008,900 U. S. Employment Service....... 4,120,000 Organized Reserves ........... 6,500,000 Children’s Bureau .............. 7,714,000 National Guard Bureau........ 34,000,000 Office of Education............. 4,611,000 Marine Corps .............++: 24,970,000 Public Health Service........... 21,417,000 Se Ce caches nonaces 61,250,000 Department of Labor........... 24,319,000 Replacement of Naval Vessels. . 230,500,000 Navy Department appropriation. . 609,097,400 | War Department appropriation... 374,769,566 | TOTAL FOR U. S. ARMY AND } TE Vi ces ccdabivebees $983,866,966 | — si May-June, 1936 “WASHINGTON RELAY” A series of legislative fliers bearing this title is being issued by the American Federation of Teachers. The Relays appear frequently and contain important national legislative news classified under the following group headings: Federal Aid, Civil Liberties, War, Youth, and Social Legislation. A copy of each Relay is sent to each local for posting and additional copies are available on order at nominal cost. At the foot of each Washington Relay are boxed instructions for action to be taken by the members of the various locals. They include ] | letters and petitions to Representatives, Senators, Committee nel er _ F Chairmen, and the President; post-card campaigns; enlistment of support by Central Labor bodies, civic organizations, parents’ associations, and teachers’ organizations. Federal Aid UMEROUs bills were introduced in the Spring of 1935 calling for Federal Aid to education. The pro- posed appropriations ranged from $1,000,000 to $100,000,000. Most of them called for emergency appro- priations for the fiscal year ending June 1935; one or two for the fiscal year ending June 1936. Two or three called for annual appropriations to continue indefinitely. H.R. 6360, introduced by Representative Lundeen in August } 1935, provides for an annual appropriation to impoverished } school districts of $25 per pupil. It is at present in the Committee on Education. To date, no hearings have been ® held on the bill; no consideration at all has been given it. ' Another bill, H.R. 10795, introduced by Mr. Ayers, pro- vides that money allotted to school districts for “the con- ' struction, etc., of public school buildings” should be con- sidered an outright grant by repealing the section relat- ing to recoupment by the government. Thus, local funds '} would be liberated for the expansion of local school sys- tems. Both bills received approval in the Relays. War and Civil Liberties S. 3309 (Mr. Nye). This bill makes enrolment in # ROTC units elective in all State supported institutions, ® and removes the compulsory feature now existing in cer- tain such institutions. Tydings-McCormick Disaffection Bill. This bill has been finally shelved as a result of pressure by liberal forces. The : The ational Legislative Front forces of reaction are now concentrating their entire sup- port behind the Kramer Sedition Bill, still under consideration. A very dangerous bill, it should be fought particularly because of its potentialities as a powerful weapon against organized labor. A handful of progressive Congressmen have thus far prevented a vote on this bill. H.R. 10662, introduced by Representative MacSwain, Chairman of the House Military Affairs Committee, would create under the War Department an Air Reserve Train- ing Corps for those between 17 and 24. Such a bill extends military training for youth, already established in the ROTC and the C.C.C.; it creates a large reserve army for war purposes; it provides in effect a huge supplement to the present National Guard for use in “national emergencies,” which principally, of course, means strikes. H.R. 11035 has passed the House, and provides for the National Guard $1,513,004 more than the President’s budget recommendation and $9,929,525 more than the 1935 appropriation. Documents from the War Depart- ment show that of the 84 times the National Guard was called out between July 1, 1934, and June 30, 1935, they were used 36 times on strike duty. Youth and Social Legislation The Social Insurance Bill, S. 3475, introduced by Sen- ator Frazier of North Dakota, is an elaboration of the principles embodied in H.R. 2827, introduced by Repre- sentative Lundeen and known as the Workers Unemploy- ment Insurance Bill. The bills provide for insurance for present unemployment and for professionals, both of which groups were specifically omitted from the Social Security Act passed by Congress last summer. This bill had a public hearing in the Senate on April 13-14. Hearings on the American Youth Act were held on March 19, 20, and 21 by the Senate Committee on Education and Labor. This bill, introduced by Senator Elmer A. Benson and Representative Thomas R. Amlie, has the endorsement of the American Youth Congress. It establishes a perma- nent program to provide opportunities for employment and education for young people between 16 and 25. The bill has the endorsement of many labor leaders, and is in the Senate Committee on Education. 28 The AMERICAN TEACHER Controversy in San Diego On February 21, our president, Mr. Lowry, received the following telegram from William Green, President of the American Federation of Labor: Joseph Casey, the duly accredited and official representative of the American Federation of Labor, has been authorized to reor- ganize the San Diego, California, Central Trades Council and place it upon a sound American Federation of Labor basis. Your local union of teachers at San Diego has manifested opposition and re- fused to cooperate. I call upon you to instruct the officers of your local union to cooperate fully with Organizer Casey in his efforts to place San Diego Central Trades Council upon a sound Ameri- can Federation of Labor basis. There are 40 labor unions in San Diego. Our local is one of 33 which finds itself in difficulties with Organizer Casey. There should be a full investigation of the situa- tion by the American Federation of Labor and a democratic settlement which will meet the wishes of the vast majority of the labor movement in San Diego. Mr. Lowry wrote to Mr. Satterthwaite, who was in California, asking him for information. We print Mr. Satterthwaite’s letter in full because it gives a clear view of a difficult situation. Long Beach, California March 7, 1936. Mr. Raymond Lowry, President American Federation of Teachers 506 So. Wabash Ave., Chicago, Iil. Dear Mr. Lowry: Your letter of February 25 reached me, after having been for- warded, upon my arrival in Long Beach last Monday. As I was only a hundred miles from San Diego at the time and had a pressing invitation to visit our local there, I thought best to visit the scene of the controversy, make an investigation, and then reply. I was unable to get to San Diego until Thursday of this week due to previous engagements in Long Beach and Los Angeles. I had very little knowledge of the San Diego situation except what I had read in the newspapers of California. I was in- clined to believe that we had a very small local in San Diego which was probably so progressive or “radical” that the majority of the teachers in California would fear to the extent that further growth would be impossible. A brief report of the situation as I found it follows: In connection with the situation, I interviewed first Paul Schar- renberg, Secretary of the State Federation of Labor, last Friday in permitted. Each local union was requested to elect the proper number of delegates and reorganize the council. In the mean- time the officers of the council were removed and temporary ones were appointed by Brother Casey. The local unions elected the legal number of delegates, for the most part electing those who had been serving. Several of the officers of the council were later told by Mr. Casey that they would not be eligible to serve as council officers again, including Dr. Steinmetz. The council has not met for a number of weeks, except for one brief meeting when the officers selected by Brother Casey were installed by him. Organizer Casey has declared that four of the former council officers would not be accepted even as delegates to the Central Labor Council. These officers include Dr. Steinmetz and Daisy Worcester of our local. Thirty-three of the forty local unions affiliated with the San Diego Central Labor Council have protested the actions of Mr. Casey. They have appealed to President Green for an investiga- tion independent of Casey, and have brought injunction actions in the local courts endeavoring to restrain Casey from removing of- ficers of the Labor Council, from taking over the funds of the council, etc. Action is still pending. The rest of the story is controversial and I shall endeavor to quote authority for each succeeding statement. Steinmetz and other former officers of the council claim that Casey made no real investigation of the situation when he came to San Diego; that he did not consult any of the officers before taking action; that the real reason for what they call the attack on the San Diego Council was the fact that at the convention of the State Federation of Labor last fall, Secretary Rogers of the San Diego Central Labor Council was nominated for the office of Secretary of the State Federation of Labor, an office long held by Paul Scharrenberg of San Francisco (he was nominated by Stein- metz); that the accusations made by Scharrenberg and others against the San Diego delegates to the State Convention that they were “red” and Communists because Rogers was supported by Bridges, a radical San Francisco labor leader, are false; that Bridges probably would have supported anyone opposing Scharrenberg as he and Bridges have been bitter opponents in the labor movement of the State. Steinmetz and the leaders of the thirty-three unions opposed to the actions of Brother Casey insist that they wish to obey all the laws and the constitution of the A. F. L., but that Casey is acting in contravention of that constitution; that court action was re- sorted to only after appeals to Casey and to President Green failed; that the “caucus” of delegates which they claim was only organized for the purpose of protest is not in any sense at attempt to organize a “dual” council. Brother Casey claims that he believes the caucus does constitute an attempt to set up dual union action, that the court action is a violation of the constitution of the A. F. L. in ignoring the proper appeal to authorities in case of local dispute, which is the Execu- tive Council of the A. F. L.; that he believes Brother Steinmetz and Brother Rogers are guilty of conduct unbecoming officers in attempting to organize such a caucus or dual organization. Casey also accuses the deposed officers of the council of at least being the recipients of radical or communistic support in the con- troversy now waging as evidenced by anonymous publications praising Steinmetz et al of their actions. Casey insists that court action should be dismissed and that the deposed officers should not cece o on °c U “} =] B, GSERGP“ 2S, 2S SEFETSEES 2H _ BSESREE EBEYEeS wy | cE Bo & a aa 43 May-June, 1936 be admitted even as delegates to the Central Labor Council if elected by their locals. I shall not tire you too much with endless details but summarize briefly in giving you my opinion of the whole situation. The San Diego Local of the A. F. T. is about a year old. It has more than sixty members and is growing steadily. It does not have the reputation among the teachers of San Diego of being a danger- ously radical organization. It has among its members officers of the large professional improvement organization of the city teachers. Dr. Harry Steinmetz, the President of the Local, is a member of the faculty of the San Diego State Teachers College and has been a resident of the city and a teacher in the College for six years. Until last spring, he had not been active in the labor movement of the city. His “radical” political activities have consisted of activities in organizations advocating municipal ownership and the “EPIC” movement headed by Upton Sinclair during the past two or three years. I consider Dr. Steinmetz one of the ablest men connected with the labor movement I have ever met. I believe him to be not only able and courageous but level-headed and diplomatic. He possesses qualities very much needed in the labor movement and particularly in our own part of it. Ability such as he possesses is most rare among our group and it would be a major calamity, if anything should happen to deprive us of his continued affiliation. I believe the accusations made against him as a “subversive” influence, etc., etc., to be without foundation. I know from ex- perience that anyone who has opposed the power monopoly by activity in municipal or any public ownership agitation has stirred up a hornet’s nest for criticism. And Dr. Steinmetz was the candi- date for Mayor of San Diego last year of a municipal ownership organization, and while not elected made (to the power trust) a dangerous showing. It is regrettable that his opponents in the labor movement have used against him and his associates these damnable whisperings of red activities begun by the power people. The best proof, to my mind, of the fundamental conservation (in the best sense) of Dr. Steinmetz and his associates is the solid support given them by the thirty-three unions of San Diego. Among those are all the building trades, certainly not listed as radical groups. Many of the leaders of these unions have been active leaders for thirty or forty years. All expressed confidence in Stein- metz leadership. These unions represent 85% to 90% of the mem- bership in San Diego unions. No one can ever make me believe that 85% of the members of organized labor in any city (particularly in Southern California) would follow communistic or radical leaders. The question of craft or industrial unionism is not an issue. With one possible exception all the craft unions are behind Stein- metz and his associates. Several of the veteran building trades leaders, when questioned as to why they stuck to Steinmetz and their officers as against a representative of the A. F. L., answered substantially the same. There is resentment against undue interference with a local situa- tion by the higher authorities. There is resentment against the actions of a local representative they believe to be acting unfairly and unconstitutionally. Then there is tremendous loyalty to officers whom they believe to have given their organization an active and unselfish service. Dr. Steinmetz has been investigated as to his fitness to continue teaching in the College as a result of charges made by a local “patriotic” organization. He has been approved by the State Board of Education. Incidentally the bringing of the charges has caused strife in the organization bringing them. Steinmetz is extremely well thought of in the community, a local newspaper (not a labor paper but one having the largest cir- culation in San Diego) having supported him fully, in the matter of charges brought against him before the State Board. I attended the annual dinner of the large teachers’ organization in San Diego. Most of the members of our local belong to the Organization and are popular with the membership. As a matter of 29 fact, I talked to several non-members who assured me they intended to join and believed that due to the activities of Steinmetz and others in the Federation of which the teachers generally approved, that practically all of the teachers of San Diego would eventually become members. I am not a constitutional lawyer on the constitution of the A. F. L. I express no opinion as to the constitutionality of the con- troversial points. I know that there are controversial issues in nearly all labor groups, even in the A. F. T., and yes, in the A. F. L. I believe individuals, local unions, central labor unions, and inter- national unions have a right to express their opinions on these issues. I believe that the members in any given locality understand their own situations better than any one else, and short of dis- loyalty to the labor movement itself (not any faction or any group of officers) or violation of the fundamental law of the A. F. L., I believe the local groups should have freedom in working out their own problems. I believe that any possible pressure exerted by the A. F. T. upon our San Diego local at this time would do what you wish to avoid, put us definitely on one side of a controversial issue in the labor movement. ~ I find no reason why our local should be reprimanded or in- structed by the Executive Council of the A. F. T., but many reasons for commending it for constructive, aggressive, and intelligent or- ganizational progress in a part of the United States well known for its organizational backwardness, Southern California. In replying to President Green, I should say that our San Diego Local is willing and anxious to cooperate with the A. F. L. in any way, but that, in common with 90% of the labor movement of that city, it says that it cannot cooperate with Organizer Casey. I should suggest a full investigation of the situation by the A. F. L. Thanking you for your letter and wishing you success in every way, I am Fraternally, (Signed) W. B. SatrzrtHwatrre. The following letter was received shortly before we went to press: May 7, 1936. Mr. Raymond F. Lowry, President American Federation of Teachers 2018 23 St., Parkersburg, W. Va. Dear Ray: I have just had word from Roberts that Steinmetz and the progres- sives in San Diego have been returned to their positions in the labor movement there, so no further action on Mr. Green’s communication will be necessary. Fraternally yours, Georce Davis, Sec.-Treas. American Federation of Teachers Nine Ways to Kill an Organization 1. Don’t come to any of the meetings. 2. But if you do, come late. * 3. If the weather doesn’t suit you, don’t think of coming. 4. If you do attend a meeting, find fault with the work of the officers and the members. 5. Never accept an office; it is easier to criticize than to do things. 6. Nevertheless, get sore if you are not appointed on a committee; but if you are, do not attend the meetings. 7. If asked during the meeting to give your opinion on some impor- tant matter, have nothing to say. After the meeting tell everyone how things should be done. 8. Hold back your dues as long as possible, or don’t pay them at all. 9. Don’t bother about getting new members. Let George do it. J % 5 ‘ “ i, Interment Requested—and Granted “CHILD labor is an abuse which no longer exists,” said Dr. Nicholas Murray Butler at Albany during a recent hearing on the child labor amendment. “Let it lie in the graveyard where public opinion buried it many years ago.” That the corpse so glibly interred by Dr. Butler has been regenerated and is stalking the land is revealed by a recent report of the United States Children’s Bureau. A complete survey of 6 states and figures from 102 cities in 23 other states show that, in the seven months following the NRA, 58 per cent more children secured work permits to leave school for jobs than during the entire preceding year. . . . The New York State Legislature, after the stated hearing, refused again to ratify the Federal Child Labor Amend- ment. Scratched IN the days when Herbert Hoover was wont to speak of “the American system” as a race where the success of the runners was limited only by their ability, 16-year-old Walter Huston of Seattle was picked by a group of lead- ing industrialists as “America’s brightest boy” and sent, with much publicity, to the nation’s most prominent tech- nical college. He was graduated in 1933 with high honors and more publicity. However, industry was firing, not hiring. Walter Huston found none of the numerous cor- porations to which he applied willing to take on a chemist of unusual brilliance. The nation’s “brightest boy” is to- day working in his home town as a laborer, and is quoted as saying that he “was glad to get that.” Nationalist Mania FURTHER symptoms of the new industrial disease af- flicting the law makers who absorb the yellow particles of Hearst propaganda directed at the legislatures appear in a bill introduced in the New York Legislature. This provides that school buses shall be patriotically painted red, white and blue. An amendment should certainly be in order to have the buses stop only at red, white and blue traffic signs. . . . The Assembly has voted that the American flag must be displayed at all meetings of more than 15 persons. Vagabond Trade Unionist RUDY Vallee wouldn’t pose with a picket in the recent strike of elevator operators in New York because he was “neutral” about such matters. However, after a “labor dispute” with his own boss, George White, Brother Vallee remembered he is a trade unionist himself and rushed off The AMERICAN TEACHER Tt 5 Hayapen in g Now for settlement to Actors’ Equity. Mr. Vallee apparently forgot that Actors’ Equity today enjoys the closed shop that the elevator operators demanded, only because of a highly militant battle with the theater managers. Subsidy to Union Busters INDICATIONS that the National Guard has made its mark in its role of governmental strike-breaking agency are contained in the recently adopted Army Budget for 1936-37. This branch of the service, which was used 36 times last year for strike-breaking purposes, is now to have its personnel increased by 5,000 at a cost of $500,000 and its equipment modernized at a cost of over a million. The Sheppard Bill, recently passed by the Senate, dips into relief funds to the extent of $80,000,000 to provide for the building of armories. Fifty Percent Off for Propaganda THE Institute of Business Research reports that the actual number of unemployed in Germany increased by nearly 50 per cent more than the officially registered unemploy- ment figures indicate. The numiber of jobless increased by 1,240,000 from August to February. The report states that while total industrial production is now only 9 per cent below the volume of 1929, the production of con- sumption goods is still 21 per cent below the 1929 level. Germany’s so called “recovery” is not a matter of recovery in retail trade, but is due to the rearmament program and government financing. Happiness in Every Bomb LEAFLETS dropped by Italian airmen over Ethiopian na- tive villages near the front, end as follows: “None but the Italians are capable of caring for your welfare and happi- ness. Have faith in them and fear nothing.” S. Baldwin, Inc.—Destruction Prepaid IN March, Stanley Baldwin emphatically rejected a pro- posal in the House of Commons to legislate for imme- diate conscription of private wealth in the event of war. Having thus insured the existence of future war profits, Mr. Baldwin prepared to get down to brass tacks. In April, came the announcement of the new budget, the revenues of which are to be used for armaments. Sur- taxes in the upper level remain the same, about as high as those in the United States. The new budget strikes hard at the middle class, the $1,100 to $5,000-a-year group, by increasing the basic tax rate to 2334 per cent, 4 over five times the United States rate. By ending the so — May-June, 1936 called “education trusts,” the arms budget delivers a second blow at 250,000 middle class parents. Becoming democratic- ally comprehensive in the lower limits, the announced budget levies a contribution on the poorest by hoisting the tax on tea to 12 cents a pound, thereby doubling the present tax on the most popular item in the market basket of the poor. Miners’ Children Strike PUPILS of Hazle Township, Pa., forced the retention of the athletic instructor of Sheppton High School after a four day walkout. Striking students assisted by a “wash boiler” band of sympathetic mothers closed ten other schools in this mining area in an effort to secure contract renewals for 12 teachers slated for dismissal at the close of the term. Remember That Mass Buying Power? NET profits of automobile manufacturers in 1935 increased 148 per cent over the previous year. Workers’ wages in- creased 32 per cent. Massachusetts Saved THE three “baby pacifists” of Belchertown, Mass., have | been ordered committed to reform school for refusing to | violate their religious principles by saluting the flag in | school. The children remain in the custody of their father, | a member of the sect known as “Jehovah’s Witnesses,” | pending his appeal of the order. While the Massachusetts | state law does not set a punishment for children who re- i fuse to salute the flag, the Attorney General has ruled | that local school committees have the right to impose dis- | ciplinary measures. . . . Danger from the other end of | the age scale was averted when Miss Cora Foster, 58, who has taught for forty years in Lynn, Mass., was dis- charged for the same refusal to salute the flag because of _ feligious scruples. : Not Much On the Record _ THE American Federation of Labor stated in April that the country will still have 7,000,000 unemployed when _ business reaches its 1929 level. The total figure for un- | employment was placed at 12,184,000. The net gain in twelve months has been less than two per cent. ee RE es — + weg me i. intasta3 ~— Americanism vs. Hearst H. B. CHAILLAUX, the “Americanism” expert of the American Legion, objects to the pamphlet issued by the 4 New York County branch of his organization, on this ® alarming topic, chiefly on the grounds that the pamphlet ‘Tecommends free speech. The author of the pamphlet announced that he derived most of the material “from a Man named Washington,” but that carried no weight with 31 Mr. Chaillaux, nor with A. Cloyd Gill, leading red-hound for Hearst’s New York American. Reporter Gill, who warned the committee to “withdraw the pamphlet or else—,” is the Hearst hireling who admitted last year that he had misquoted statements of New York college pro- fessors in order to raise a red rumpus and Hearst circu- lation. No Nazis WILLIAMS College, of Williamstown, Massachusetts, has terminated its system of exchange scholarships with Ger- many. This decision is a result of the announcement that the Reich Ministry of Education will give special training to all young men going abroad to aid them in spreading the ideology of National Socialism. Alabama’s Knight SCHOOL funds are exhausted in 53 of Alabama’s 67 coun- ties. Forty counties were forced to close schools in March, according to the state superintendent of instruction. A bill designed to put the schools on an equal footing with other departments of the state government in sharing revenues was beaten in April, chiefly due to Lieutenant-Governor Knight, who used his power as presiding officer of the Senate to delay action until it was too late for concurrence by the House. “I did it deliberately, and I have no apolo- gies to make,” Knight told reporters. Eyes on the South AN investigator sent to Arkansas by John L. Lewis reports in the United Mine Workers Journal that yellow dog contracts, wholesale evictions, and threats to stage another “Elaine massacre” are being used by landlords to break the Southern Tenant Farmers Union. The United States News reports that an undisclosed reason for AAA offi- cials’ objection to publication of individual check pay- ments to farmers is due to a belief that it would stir up strife between tenant and landlord. Sailor's Friend SECRETARY Perkins, who intervened unasked to per- suade striking seamen on the S.S. California to take the ship to New York, promised that she would use her good offices to get them a square deal and that there would be no discrimination. Upon arrival in New York, sixty- four of the men were immediately logged and many of them blacklisted. Familiar Crack “THE main issue with the workman is not his ridiculous wage-pennies but the dignity of his position. It is ridicu- lous for people to begin to haggle about such little things.” —Dr. Robert Ley, head of the German Labor Front, Nazi governmental “company union”. 5 ‘q ae td ee 32 Labor Notes LABOR SPIES An investigation of the strike-breaking and espionage systems of the large corporations is being conducted in Washington at the present time by the LaFollette Sub- committee on Education and Labor of the Senate. Al- though the surface has barely been scratched, it has already been brought out that many of the country’s large cor- porations have been storing up veritable arsenals of muni- tions and arms, and have been organizing a private army and industrial spy corps that exceeds the 100,000 mark. All of these preparations for “war” mean, of course, at- tacks against the trade unions, and against attempts to organize in the hitherto unorganized mass production in- dustries. The investigation should be continued until every branch of this net-work of potential violence is exposed. AKRON BLAZES A TRAIL The 14,000 workers of the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company at Akron have recently achieved a victory which is of significance to the entire American labor movement. Supported by organized labor in Akron and throughout the nation, they struck the Goodyear plants 100% and maintained this complete walkout for five weeks. This was no sudden move; unrest had been widespread among the underpaid rubber workers for many months. Many inside or “sitdown” strikes and departmental stoppages had taken place in the plants of the various rubber com- panies located in Akron. It was when the Goodyear Com- pany countered such a departmental strike with wholesale discharges that the general walkout developed. In answer to threats on the part of employer interests of Akron to reopen the Goodyear plants by force (a “law and order” league was organized by the former mayor) the Central Labor Union set up a Committee with full authority “to call on all orgainzed labor in Akron to come to the defense of Goodyear Local 2 by a general strike, should any move be made to use force to break the Goodyear local union’s peaceful picket line and reopen the plant by force.” Thou- sands of workers employed by other companies came down to the Goodyear picket lines and added their strength to that of the strikers. Nor was this support limited to local unions. The Committee for Industrial Organization took an active interest in the strike, and supplied the United Rubber Workers Union with organizers and financial assist- ance. . . . In the face of the determination of the strikers, and the solidarity of support evinced by the labor move- ment throughout the country, the company was forced to capitulate. While not all of the demands of the strikers were granted, they returned to work with full protection against discrimination, and with several other concessions "dealing with hours of work, seniority rights, and collective The AMERICAN TEACHER bargaining. The question of wages, on the other hand, was left for future adjustment. The union demand for the withdrawal of all company aid to the company union was not realized. No written agreement was secured. Yet, the demands won constituted a sufficient advance to justify hailing the settlement as a victory. . . . Several important points must be noted in connection with this successful strike. First, this represented a trail-blazing effort in or- ganization in a mass production industry. Here we see demonstrated the power of the industrial union form. The United Rubber Workers is an industrial union; 3,000 of the strikers were personnel and office workers. Second, it was the militancy of the strikers, and their refusal to re- turn to work until certain gains had been achieved, that made it impossible for this strike to be turned into another “lost strike.” Last, it was complete support of organized labor in Akron and throughout the United States, with the threat of a general strike always in the foreground, that finally forced the company to yield. THE TAMPA CASES This might be a page out of the Brown Book of Hitler Terror; it might be a sample of Mussolini’s culture. But it actually happened here, in the state of sunshine and the Ku Klux Klan. Joseph Shoemaker, E. F. Poulnot, and Dr. Samuel D. Rogers, of Tampa, who were planning a new political party (“Modern Democrats”) were arrested at a meeting in a private home and taken to police head- quarters. The men were actively interested in the unem- ployed in Tampa. They were released after questioning and were kidnapped directly in front of the police station by parties of lynchers. The three were taken out into the country, where they were flogged with chains, straps, and clubs, and then tarred and feathered. Shoemaker died as a result of his injuries; Poulnot and Rogers recovered. An attempt was made to conceal the entire affair, but the crime was too crying and the public too aroused for such obfuscation. Ten men were indicted, including the Chief of Police, who has since been removed from office. Three men are now on trial, charged specifically with the kid- naping of Poulnot. The trial was forced by pressure from labor groups all over the country. The influence of the Klan can be discerned throughout the proceedings. Point after point has been conceded to the defense because of this influence. Only continued pressure from organized labor and other groups from all over the country can force the conviction of these forerunners of American Fascism. WHoOsE CourRTs? On March 24, Federal Judge John P. Barnes declared — the National Labor Relations Act unconstitutional. This ~ opinion was handed down in connection with injunction 7 proceedings instituted by the Bendix Products Corporation — BPRGLRS FFSesesare att May-June, 1936 (Indiana) against the National Labor Relations Board. The company was seeking an order to enjoin the Board from conducting an election among the Bendix workers which was to determine whether Local 1, International Automobile Workers, or the Bendix Employees Associa- tion, a company union, would represent the employees in collective bargaining. The injunction order was granted. . According to Judge Barnes, the employer’s constitu- tional rights are infringed upon by the Act because under it the employer “must eventually enter into a closed shop agreement.” To the employees’ constitutional rights to organize not a thought is given. But “if the act be con- strued as to interfere with the control of the corporation’s relations with its production employees, it is in violation of the Tenth Amendment as an invasion of control over 33 purely local affairs.” It is clear that in the opinion of this jurist not all constitutional rights are to be considered as of equal value. That the constitutionality of this Act, which was approved less than a year ago, should be so soon challenged is not surprising; the ambiguity with which much of it is phrased involved it at once in court suits, and sooner or later a decision declaring against its consti- tutionality was to have been expected. What must be noted, however, is that this decision of Judge Barnes is definitely anti-labor in character, and must be condemned as one more attempt, in a rising series of such efforts, to smother the constitutionality guaranteed rights of the American worker to belong to a union which is not under the domination of his employer. What will the Supreme Court do? Code of Ethics or Statement of Objectives? BENJAMIN DAVIDSON Freedom includes official representatives from six teachers organizations of national scope, including the A.F.T. To this council has been submitted a draft of a proposed Code of Ethics for Teachers. The Code of Ethics would have the teachers agree to assume certain responsi- bilities toward the children and the community and to in- sist on certain rights and a definite status. That is as it should be, but the very promulgation of a Code of Ethics not only has a certain wrong approach on the matter of responsibilities but is predicated on a wrong premise. It creates the impression that teachers do not have a proper attitude toward Education and children; that they should agree upon a Code of Ethics that shall act as a determinant of their conduct and action in that regard. Ts NATIONAL Apvisory Councit on Educational In the very first section of the “Framework for a Code of Ethics for Teachers” dealing with employment, the prob- lem is placed incorrectly. The formulation is such that it would seem it is a matter of the interests of teachers as against the interests of Society, consideration for the teach- ers as against consideration for the child. In actuality the problem is not that. It is rather the interests of the chil- dren against those of the bankers, real estate interests, pub- lic utilities, and those who place property values above human values. The great mass of teachers in the country take their work and profession seriously and are vitally interested in the welfare and education of the children. The responsi- bility for the ills, shortcomings, and failures of education in our country does not lie primarily on the teachers, but rather on the Boards of Education and the Boards of Trus- tees, and the powers that stand behind and above them. What is required, therefore, is not a Code of Ethics to serve as a mechanical disciplinary form for teachers on a matter which is at present essentially beyond their control but rather a determination on their part so to organize their forces as to be able to exert sufficient and effective pressure. The teachers must take their place vigorously on the side of the children against the retrenchment, “economy” advocates and their policies. Teachers should insist upon appointments based on a fair examination system; adequate training and educational requirements for the right to enter examinations that should be open to all without discrimination; definite tenure after a limited probationary period; adequate compensation; a regime where teachers will not work on the basis of fear but on the basis of interest in the children and love for their work; educational freedom; a method of work where teach- ers will have a voice in determining educational policies and practices, where their initiative will be drawn upon and en- couraged; and a very much enlarged appropriation for edu- cation that will enable problems to be taken up in real earnest and for progressive policies to be introduced. Def- inite provisions must be made for the protection of the probationary teacher. A Statement of Objectives is needed, rather than a Code of Ethics which would have it appear that the fault lies with teachers and not elsewhere. Weeding out incompetent teachers is not the problem. See \ to it that competent people are attracted to the profession — rather than that it should be necessary to figure out ways © and means of getting rid of incompetents. Let there be adequate requirements for the profession; have training and 34 educational methods of teachers improved; let conditions be such as to attract capable individuals; have regimes that will draw out and encourage the best that is in teachers, let it be realized that alertness cannot be compelled but can be stimulated. It is extremely important to protect teachers against trumped-up charges of inefficiency. Teachers should have the right to open trial, with the right of counsel, with the right to records and minutes, and with the right to know charges in advance. Teachers should have the right to ap- peal to a jury of their peers. We cannot consider Boards of Trustees, Boards of Superintendents and Boards of Edu- cation as made up of abstract, idealized, and perfect edu- cators. Such groups too often have certain connections; too often are answerable to vested and powerful interests, political or religious; have insufficient background for the facing of educational questions. To depend upon these as _ judges of whether teachers are efficient or inefficient would be not to solve problems but rather to create new ones. We must not forget that the automobile corporations of this country insisted upon their right to discharge workers on the ground of merit, and then used this as an excuse to get rid of workers who raised questions, were critical, or insisted upon the right of organization. Needed now in the Statement of Objectives are planks to raise the working, living, and professional standards of the teachers; a Bill of Rights that will enable teachers to function as teachers and citizens; a procedure that will en- able teachers to express their opinions and influence policy affecting the children, teachers, and education; the right of teachers to organize, and have their organization recognized and dealt with; the application of the Bill of Rights as embodied in the first ten amendments of the U. S. Consti- tution; a greater recognition of the importance of Education and social services in the budgets of the federal, state, and city governments; the election of Boards of Education by the people of the community with representation for edu- cators, parents, labor, and teachers. What is needed is con- trol of education by the people, more consideration and ap- propriations for education, no discrimination in education, education for social ends and to help solve major social problems of the times, educational freedom for those en- gaged in teaching and learning, with ample protection for minority views so as to guarantee democratic and critical discussion of problems and permit fresh and new views to be presented. The aim must be to apply the general ap- proach outlined above in the various localities in a man- ner that will be practicable and yet raise educational levels and teaching conditions in such communities without lower- ing in any way standards attained in others. Too great centralization in education is dangerous; the idea of the totalitarian state symptomatic of Fascism must be resisted. The idea of a Code of Ethics for teachers has very def- inite dangers. Once the idea is accepted, certain forces in the educational world (and in the economic and political The AMERICAN TEACHER world) and certain sections even of the teaching profession might demand the insertion, in the code, of points that would emphasize conformity and reactionary ideas, and might be powerful enough to get their views adopted. Methods contrary to educational freedom might be insisted upon. A code without general support would have no val- idity. A code applicable to the general mass of teachers would have to be acceptable to them and hence would re- flect, possibly, a quite conservative tone not necessarily tol- erant of progressive and liberal minorities among teachers, Such a code would become not an instrument for educa- tional freedom, but rather one against educational freedom. Furthermore the code might in time serve as a quasi-legal instrument with consequences and effects not realized at present. Teachers may be victimized because they have come into conflict with a certain provision of the code. This will become a danger as the code idea, once accepted, be- comes institutionalized and takes on greater validity and force. Under such conditions, even a liberal code, which many organizations affiliated with the National Advisory Council on Educational Freedom would tend to support, might become an instrument for victimization and against educational freedom. We must recognize the fact that the brunt of pressure and persecution usually falls upon those who defend the rights of teachers or others who do not conform with pre- vailing economic, political, social or educational views. This is bound to be more so in view of the times we are living in, where so much is in a state of flux and undergoing rapid change. Children must be educated (if education is to have real significance) for living in a changing society and for effective participation in such a changing society. Hence the importance of insisting upon educational freedom for the non-conformists as well as for the conformists. In this regard Sections III and V of the proposed Framework for a Code of Ethics, dealing with Social Relations and Obli- gations, and Professional Relations and Obligations fall short, for they may lend themselves to such an interpretation and application that would result in the victimization of those holding minority views and the placing of obstacles in the way of the presentation of such views. There are many fine ideas in the draft proposed to the National Advisory Council on Educational Freedom. These could very well be included in a Statement of Objectives which I believe the National Advisory Council or its vari- ous affiliated organizations should or might adopt, if they have not already done so. The coordination of efforts on behalf of educational free- dom on the part of the various organizations affiliated with the National Advisory Council on Educational Freedom has tremendous significance. The reinforcement of this with — a Statement of Objectives, that would make clear the con- ditions under which educational freedom would more effec- — tively obtain, would be very valuable. So rOAst 2m ae lo tic Ss & aE ERR Saa> rey May-June, 1936 The Teachers Union in ction NATIONAL NEWS Referendum To date, a few more than thirty locals have voted on the referendum to change membership representation at conventions. Thus far, a majority of the votes favor the change, but it is too early to make any predictions. Organization California has set up a state organization with four- teen locals participating; Minnesota and Pennsylvania have done likewise. Mr. Lowry is now in West Virginia; he spent the winter in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Mr. Sat- terthwaite is in Washington, following extensive work in California. Compliments go to Claude Williams of Ar- kansas, Arthur Elder of Michigan, and Local 192 for or- ganizing work in their areas. Finances and Dues Have you noticed the latest reports on finances and on locals in good standing? Your officers have them. Convention Plans Complete arrangements have now been made for the na- tional convention of the A.F.T. to be held at the Hotel Sylvania in Philadelphia, on August 16 to 22, 1936. The tentative program of the Convention appears elsewhere in this issue. Matters Treated Elsewhere Many of the questions which have been facing your national officers since the last issue of the magazine were of sufficient importance to merit separate articles in this issue rather than cursory treatment here. NEWS from LOCALS Local 3 Exposes Chicago Salary Backwardness.— A study published by the Federation of Women High School Teachers (A.F.T. Local 3) shows that of the fourteen largest cities of the United States, only three (Chicago, Buffalo, and Los Angeles) have failed to restore teachers’ salaries even partially. Chicago is the largest of the three and presented ' its teachers with the heaviest cut. The report points out further that other public employees in Chicago received _ half-restoration in July 1935, and goes on to demolish various “reasons” advanced for the present situation. . . . The gloom of this picture is further increased by a decision lately handed down by the Superior Court of Cook County, sustaining a law introduced into the Illinois Legislature last June by the Chicago Board of Education, and railroaded through by political pressure from Chicago. This law reduces the retirement age of Chicago teachers from seventy to sixty-five years, and cuts their annuity pension from a possible $1500 to a flat $500 annually. Teachers between the age of 65 and 70 were summarily dismissed without warning, and teachers already retired also came under the provision of the act. The retired teachers, whose income was cut drastically, filed suit in the Sv~rior Court to restrain the Board from applying the law to them. The Court ruled in favor of the Board. The case will be appealed. Teachers “Ordered” to Campaign.—The Federation of Women Teachers of St. Paul No. 28, has sent a resolu- tion and a letter of protest to the Commissioner of Edu- cation, Irving C. Pearce, in which they charge him with coercing teachers to campaign for his election to the Coun- cil. Teachers were “invited” to report at a meeting spon- sored by the “Pearce for Council Volunteer Committee” and were assigned residential blocks to canvass for certain data. The record of the information was to be signed by the canvassing teacher. Teachers Investigating Library Conditions in New Orleans.—A committee has been appointed by the New Orleans Teachers Federation Local 353, to investigate sal- aries and working conditions in the public libraries. A number of women’s organizations are likewise interested in this question, and have passed resolutions urging a number of improvements in salaries and working conditions. Local 246 Active in State Field.—Chattanooga-Hamil- ton County Teachers Federation, Local 246, is enjoying the most rapid growth, the greatest internal harmony, and the greatest outward effectiveness of its existence. Sixty new members have been taken in this year, making a total of eight hundred members out of a teaching force of approxi- mately one thousand. More are paid up and in good stand- ing than ever before. . . . In the last session of the state legislature, the local succeeded in having excellent tenure and salary schedule bills passed for Chattanooga and Hamil- ton County. The tenure bill has already saved several good teachers who would have been dismissed for political reasons. The city. and county administrations chose to ignore the salary law in this year’s budgets. However, the local has launched mandamus proceedings and has been upheld in chancery court. Prospects seem bright for a like decision in the State Supreme Court. Such a victory would mean that the salaries of many lower paid teachers would be increased by fifty per cent. . . . The local is furthering teacher SS | ae eee eee 36 organization in the state through its organizing committee. It has already been instrumental in establishing locals at Elizabethtown and Jasper, and has made excellent con- tacts with union-minded teachers at Knoxville and Nash- ville. Strong support is being given the Memphis local which is under fire from a labor-hating city administration. . . . The local is taking an active and outstanding role in the labor movement of this section. President Stanton E. Smith is a trustee of the Labor World, organ of the Central Labor Union. Virginia Munsey is recording secretary of the Central Labor Union and secretary of the Chattanooga Label League. A step toward a Labor Party, known as Labor’s Political Conference, has been formed by local unions. In this organization, C. C. Burgner is treasurer and Stanton E. Smith a member of the all-important Com- mittee of Seven. Other prominent positions held by mem- bers of Local 246 are: vice-president of the Chattanooga Label League, Mrs. Ruth McCafferty, and chairman of the legislative committee of the Central Labor Union, C. C. Burgner. . . . Last spring, C. C. Burgner was chairman of a Labor Institute on Social Security which brought such speakers as Spencer Miller, Edward F. McGrady and Abraham Epstein to Chattanooga. . . . Immediate plans of the local include a drive for a state-wide tenure law (the aforementioned tenure law applies only to Chattanooga and Hamilton County) with the assistance of the Ten- nessee Federation of Labor Convention. This should be of invaluable aid in organizing the teachers of the state. Toledo Local Wins Public Support——When the Toledo Local 250 was first organized, it laid the teachers’ troubles frankly before the voters and received their warm backing. Last November, again, the people of Toledo elected the members of the Board of Education who were recommended by the Union. They also passed the five-year two-mill levy for which the Union had campaigned. One of the news- papers said: “The success of the public school levy while the others were failing was ascribed to the active campaign made in its behalf by members of the teaching profession.” Two New State Federations of Teachers——Two addi- tional states, Minnesota and Pennsylvania, have taken steps toward setting up state organizations of the A.F.T. The Minnesota convention was held in St. Paul on April 7 and 8, with representatives present from a number of locals. Seven officers were elected, who will serve as the executive council. The convention went on record against loyalty oaths, for a state teachers’ tenure law, against the Young- quist Amendment providing for elimination of the state . property tax levy (this would result in a loss of $9,000,000 in state aid to schools), against sales tax legislation. . Pennsylvania held its conference in Harrisburg on April 18 with representatives from all locals but two. The formation of a State Federation of Teachers was unanimously endorsed. A provisional committee was formed to draw up plans and a program of recommendations to be acted upon at the next The AMERICAN TEACHER state convention, and proceed with a legislative program for presentation to the special session of the legislature. The legislative planks include a Milk Bill to provide funds for supplying milk to undernourished children; the con- tinuation of all WPA projects and the educational projects specifically; a salary bill; sabbatical leave and tenure bills. . . . A comprehensive plan for state-wide organiza- tion was adopted, whereby each present local will act as a center in a radial organizational drive. A subsequent con- ference is planned for the first week in June. Trenton Teachers Protest Cuts.—Local 437, the Mercer County Teachers Union, called a mass meeting of the teach- ers of Trenton, N. J., to protest against cuts in the school budget for the coming year. The new City Manager and Council are allied with the State Taxpayers Association, which is out to “economize”’. Philadelphia Teachers Seek Full Restoration.—On May 8, hundreds of teachers appeared at an open meeting of the Finance Committee of the Board of Education, to hear the spokesman for the teachers United Committee urge com- plete salary restoration. Although the time of meeting had finally been set, at the Union’s repeated request, at a time when teachers could come, the Finance Committee refused to meet in a room large enough to accommodate the assembled teachers. About thirty witnessed the proceed- ings, while hundreds of others were forced to stand in cor- ridor and courtyard. Figures were presented by the United Committee, to which the Union belongs, pointing out imme- diate sources of revenue to finance restoration, and a strong plea was made by Dr. Holmes, president of Philadelphia Local 192. Later that same day, 1000 people, including members, non-members, and friends, met at the annual Union dinner. A contagious spirit of enthusiasm pervaded the huge dining room, and a magnificent address by Roger Baldwin of the American Civil Liberties Union drew pro- longed applause. Two resolutions were unanimously ap- proved: one urging complete salary restoration, and the other strongly protesting the refusal of the Finance Com- mittee to meet in a larger room. . . . The Philadelphia Union is at present in the thick of convention preparations and intensive organizational activities throughout the state. Trades Assembly Quizzes School Board Candidates.— Candidates for election to the Galesburg, Ill., School Board unanimously answered “Yes” to two questions recently submitted to them by the Education Committee of the Trades and Labor Assembly. First Question: “Do you favor the Board of Education immediately starting in motion a legal movement, whereby the admitted flaws in the legal : status of the Board of Education will be corrected, espe cially the matter of the Board’s right to issue bonds?” Second Question: “If you are elected as a school director will you stand for and protect the right of the teachers and | janitors to exercise their constitutional rights of free speech, ~~ ie, ee 2 A, mii. @& -« 2S sas > o Po oe n° ee I-FFARSRBRSE BE STetsog SS ERO g< > May-June, 1936 37 free assemblage, and to discuss their rights and privileges tion of the members in bringing the Union program into as American citizens, regardless of who should attempt to the schools, the membership has increased from 1500 in interfere with these rights?” Charges had been made that October to 4200 in May. This is almost twice as large a janitors and teachers were not free to assert their rights as membership as Local 5 ever attained in its twenty years American citizens without fear of persecution. of existence. . . . To meet the needs of the large number of W.P.A. teachers in the city, a separate W.P.A. local was California Is Humming.—The California State Federa- organized. This local has a membership of 2500. tion of Teachers has been reborn and is now living an active career. 25% of the state dues are allocated to a defense fund for aiding individual members under fire. . . . The Palo Alto local conducted a most intensely interesting Corr espondence symposium after the Superintendent of Schools advised his teachers not to join labor’s ranks. . . . Dr. Steinmetz has been reinstated as head of the San Diego Federated Trades Letters dealing with issues of interest to union teachers and Labor Council after an amicable settlement of a pro- will be printed in these columns. Inclusion of a letter does tracted struggle. . . . The Instructors Initiative Tenure not necessarily mean that the Editors endorse tts sentiantuts, Amendment will be on the ballot in the fall, and if passed ill nail Tenure to the Constitution, whe hostile legis- . ” : A dipwrendonge Explanation lature will find it hard to pry loose. California locals are . shouldering the task of getting this passed and all the °° ‘*® Baton: <- Pm : _— . In the March issue of Toe American TEACHER a letter from nation’s teachers are waiting as this constitutional route Secretary Davis was published in which he states that records in is being charted. the national office show that the Treasurer of Local 3 stated on a number of reports that the report on per capita payments a had been made under orders and were not in accordance with her New York Local Forge 4 Ahead. In October 1935, judgment. The comment of Secretary Davis was that this was Local 5 emerged from an investigation and a split. The “unpleasant.” Linville-Lefkowitz group left the Union with about 700 Local 3 desires to clear itself of the seeming implication that it members, and organized a rival association. In addition was using dishonest methods of avoiding full payment of per capita. the “red scare” had been raised by the investigation. How- The disagreement in judgment between the Executive Board of ever, Local 5 reorganized quickly and set to work. It has Local 3 and the Treasurer was the result of the extreme diffi- -—= . ‘ , . culty in estimating the amount of per capita due the National been active in the salary restoration campaign, in rallying —quring a period when the salaries of Chicago teachers varied from many labor and civic organizations against loyalty oaths, month to month due to the loss of salary for holidays. The Execu- in seeking smaller classes and an adequte number of a tive Board ruled that the per capita should be estimated on the . 8 ‘ . tia s basis of the deduction in the year’s salary. As the January and pointments, and in the pension election. . . . Local 5 has February reports had been accepted by the National office, the taken up the defense of teachers threatened with the loss Treasurer objected to making the revision for these months. of position because of union or other worth while activity. The financial secretary calculated the per capita payments for The position of Mrs. Blanche Horowitz was saved through the yore ae a — per — —— for the . . year and found the difference between that and the amounts paid the efforts of Local 5. Mr. Morris U. Schappes of City for the months to which the treasurer had objected amounted to College, active in union and anti-war work, is being actively $24.30, which was paid October 10, 1932. defended. The Union has rallied other organizations to The correspondence regarding per capita payments during the his defense, and the chances for his re-instatement are very — —— — to “yy fey : oi — = April *. aeapr , an ement was given to him and to the orial com- good. Many other cases of teacher victinmsation have been mittee of the American Federation of Teachers on April 28, with dealt with. A general campaign for changes in the rating the request that it be printed in the May-June issue of Tue system, and for the right of accused teachers to open hear- AMERICAN TEACHER. : ° ith | hos acl t of th individual Mary Herrick, President ings with counse arisen out of these individual cases. Luces Arsen, Financial Seereiars A series of well attended open meetings with prominent 4} speakers has been held, covering most of the issues men- Letters on the Controversy } tioned. A weekly mimeographed bulletin is distributed free May 7, 1936. to about 12,000 union and non-union teachers. At first To the Editors: ™ 5,000 were printed weekly, but the demand for them in- Pee we ee omagegy ns le 2s ee. ow 230 of the ° . o Be be wishes to comm upon e communications published creases steadily. An excellent monthly magazine, the New in Tum Anampeneis Tadenmn Ser Mdedb-Aeell. 1606; an snee ae - 4 York Teacher, reaches about 7,000 teachers. Leaflets on cluding the letter of Mr. Stanton E. Smith of Chattanooga Local : salaries, pensions, and teacher victimization, and an or- 246, and the replies of Mr. F. R. Kennell, Local 293, Bridgeport, f § ganizational folder, “Why Join the Teachers Union,” have ee and Be. George Davin, Secoctery/Temeea a Sp a _F.T. _ been widely distributed. As a result of the activity of the _ Local in defending teachers’ interests, and the loyal coopera- At the time of the last convention of the American Federation of Labor at Atlantic City, members of Local 230 went on record SFOS SEE a ~~ ——s as expressing our confidence in the national officers elected at the last convention of the A. F. T. and our unanimous approval of the action taken by the last convention of the A. F. T. in refus- ing oke the charter of Local 5, New York. We communi- action to President Raymond V. Lowry by telegram. the cated In fact that these same issues have been raised again in the communication of Mr. Stanton E. Smith, we wish once more to go on record expressing confidence in our national officers and in the action of the last convention. We also wish to take this occasion to voice our view on the general question dealt with in Mr. Smith’s communication under Part Il, “Differences of Opinion as to the Function of the A. F. T.” Involved in this point, we believe, is a basic principle which vitally concerns the labor movement today. Mr. Smith declares that. an issue confronts the A. F. T. as to whether it is to be characterized by what he terms a “radical policy vs. a functioning liberal policy.” Mr. Smith makes this assertion despite his own statement in the same letter, “It is true, of course, that no such program as suggested above (under his point A. ‘Radical Policy’) was actually before the convention.” Then Mr. Smith goes on, “But it follows as a reasonable assump- tion from our knowledge of the leaders of the group in power, RE Whatever Mr. Smith’s intentions, the net result is that he labels as “radical” the “group now in power,” namely, our national officers and executive committee. Does Mr. Smith hope thereby to increase confidence in our duly elected national officers and to build up the union? He cannot, knowing as he must that many union members and potential members would be prejudiced by his statement, and with absolutely no cause. Experience has shown that “raising the red scare” in this manner is always disruptive in its effects. In our view, it is a mistake of the gravest kind for any trade union member to be guilty of “raising the red scare.” The attacks now being made upon the teaching profession and upon the whole labor movement by reactionary forces in America are too serious an indication fascist tendencies are at work among us. Teachers’ loyalty oaths are a prime case in point. We believe that members of the A. F. T. should be careful lest they lend aid and comfort to these reactionary forces. They do this when they directly or indirectly join in the attacks on the radical sections of the labor movement. We have but to see what has happened in Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany to know that while the radicals farthest to the left—Communists and leftwing Socialists—were the first to be attacked, it was not long before the entire trade union movement was attacked and suppressed. In our opinion the political affiliations of our national officers is their own affair. Officers and members of the A. F. T., national and local, should be judged upon their merits, not upon the so- cial views they may or may not hold. We believe, from the actions of our national officers and executive committee, that they bave the interests of the American Federation of Teachers at heart, and are making successful efforts democratically to forward the principles for which the A. F. T. stands. So long as they con- tinue to do that, we believe that they should be given the loyal support of every local. Houpa Ress, Sec.-Treas. Western Massachusetts Teachers Federation 230 54 Green Street, Northampton, Mass. April 20, 1936. To the Editors: Enclosed please find copy of a report of a committee appointed by Local 360. This report was accepted by the local on April 12. “Your committee has given careful perusal to the letter of the Chattanooga Local 246 reproposed constitutional changes and embodying severe strictures on the conduct of the national office and recent conventions of the A. F. T. We have also given careful consideration to replies to this communication writ- The AMERICAN TEACHER ten by Frank Kennell and George Davis which are published in the March-April issue of Tae American TEACHER. “We recommend that Local 360 go on record as endorsing the sentiments expressed in both of these replies. “We further recommend that copies of this report be for- warded to the Secretary-Treasurer of the A. F. T., to the Chat- tanooga Local 246, and to the Board of Editors of THe Amert- CAN TEACHER for publication.” Ruts SHapmo, Sec.-Treas. Wisconsin Workers Education Local 360 Public Library, Milwaukee, Wis. Reactions to Changed Magazine April 10, 1936. To the Editors: The current March-April issue of Toe AMERICAN TEACHER marks a significant advance. . . . The contributions of Representative Lundeen, Jerome Davis, and Henry Harap seemed to me to be outstanding. Would it not be possible to include in every issue one brief article by a leader of American thought, to be written in popular style and calculated to appeal to teachers outside the trade union move- ment, as well as those within, not yet developed and activized? . . . There is a tendency in the editorials and news to write for inter- union circles. In an expanding movement such as ours, must we not be communicating with all honest teachers, and not alone with those who have been actively participating in the work? .. . The format is good, although somewhat limited by brevity of the material. Hotitanp D. Roserts. School of Education, Stanford University. April 8, 1936. To the Editors: Your March-April issue is attractive and excellent. Did you issue a January-February number? I did not receive it. If you have one, please send it to me. M. B. Rovner. 295 Ashland Avenue, Buffalo, New York. (The January-February issue was omitted to release additional funds for organizational work.—Eptrors. ) April 6, 1936. GEORGE DAVIS PLEASE SEND FIFTY COPIES OF MARCH APRIL EDITION OF AMERICAN TEACHER AND A LIKE NUMBER OF ANY NEW ORGANIZATION PAMPHLETS WHICH MAY HAVE BEEN ISSUED THIS YEAR STOP AM PLANNING AN OR- GANIZATION TRIP TO NASHVILLE THURSDAY STOP CONGRATULATIONS ON EXCELLENCE OF NEW AMERI- CAN TEACHER SETUP. NANCY LEA SMITH CHAIRMAN ORGANIZATION COMMITTEE CHATTANOOGA LOCAL 246 April 17, 1936. To the Editors: We had considerable difficulty in complying with all the requests for this issue of Tae American Teacuer. We were 1200 short on — the original mailing list. Three thousand more copies were than of any previous issue and they are all going to be used up...- — Gerorce Davis. Secretary-Treasurer, American Federation of Teachers. FEZSGPESSEGRREE ESS BEESEce