Third:—It is the sense of this meeting that the autocratic assertion of John Whalen is subversive of the proper spirit underlying our educational institutions.
Fourth:—Be it finally resolved:
That the best interests of school administration demand the cordial recognition of the classroom teacher as a most vital influence in the educational system.
This, of course, was a direct challenge to the power of the gang; a revolt which must be put down at all hazards. Superintendent Tildsley came up to ascertain the names of the ring-leaders, and especially of the one who had drafted those incendiary words. The spy department was ready with the information; the criminal was Samuel Schmalhausen, a Jewish Socialist, twenty-nine years of age. It was resolved to drive Schmalhausen out of the system, and with him two other Socialist teachers, Mufson and Schneer. The spy department undertook to get something on these teachers without delay; and we are now going to hear a little story, which shows in detail exactly how a school spy department works.
In a day or two word was brought to Dr. Paul, principal of the school, that Mr. Schmalhausen had assigned to his pupils a theme for a composition, as follows: “Write an open letter to Woodrow Wilson, commenting frankly, within the limits of your knowledge, upon his conduct of the war against the German government.” Almost certainly some East Side Jewish boy would make that an occasion for disrespectful expressions; so Dr. Paul sent the head of his English department, Miss Garrigues, to Mr. Schmalhausen’s room. This lady rushed up in breathless haste and caught the pupils in the act of turning in their themes; she took possession of them, without giving Mr. Schmalhausen a chance to see them, and delivered them to Dr. Paul, who went over them. Among seventy-six themes he discovered one that justified his hopes—a bitter, sneering letter, written by a seventeen-year-old Jewish boy.
Dr. Paul, being skilled in intrigue, saw how this thesis would “go” in the capitalist press; his venom bubbled over and he exclaimed: “Now I’ve got him!” At least, Miss Garrigues on the witness stand testified that he said that. Dr. Paul denied it with asperity, and when asked to explain how Miss Garrigues could have thought she heard it, he described her as “an emotionally energized lady on occasions.” Poor Miss Garrigues—she was new to public life, and did not realize that the first essential to success is to be a fluent and tactful liar.
Dr. Tildsley came, and he also recognized the opportunity. He summoned Schmalhausen, and first pinned him down to the fact that he had written the “Whalen resolution”; then he set for this sensitive minded and idealistic young teacher an extremely cunning trap. You understand, Mr. Schmalhausen had not yet seen the criminal theme; and Dr. Tildsley did not let him see it now. He read him the first page of it—the first page being mild, and all the outrageous statements being found in the latter pages! So Dr. Tildsley trapped Mr. Schmalhausen into saying that he would merely make some minor corrections of expression in the theme; at least, Dr. Tildsley testified that that is what the young teacher said—Mr. Schmalhausen denied it. Later on Dr. Tildsley, consulting the rest of the gang, realized that his case did not look quite right, so he went back to the school, and read the entire composition to Mr. Schmalhausen, asking what would have been his action as a teacher in such a situation. Mr. Schmalhausen undertook to mark the theme as he would have marked it in the due course of his class work. His comments, written along the margin of the theme, were as follows:
Exaggerated, excessive emotionalism.... Is there any sanity in this assertion?... Do you take these remarks seriously?... For a thoughtful student this statement sounds irrational.... Recall President Wilson’s differentiation between the German Government and the German people.... Not accurately presented.... Foolish attitude historically.... Do you believe in its sincerity? (peace offer made by Germany).... Sorry to find this unintelligent comment in your work.... Why did you write this?
Mr. Schmalhausen was suspended from his duties without pay, and in due course was haled before a committee of the board of education. It is interesting to note that the chairman of this committee was none other than John Whalen, Tammany chieftain, who had started all the trouble by threatening to close all the schools! I have before me the testimony at the hearing, as published in pamphlet form by the Teachers’ Union. John Dewey describes it as the most comic document of the age, so it will pay us to read a few passages: first, the testimony of Miss Garrigues, as to why she considered Mr. Schmalhausen’s theme “an unwise assignment.” Do not fail to note from this passage the high standards of English expression which prevail in the English department of New York’s biggest high school:
Q. May I ask why you considered it an unwise assignment? A. I think the reason was that it was a little bit, in the nature of the wording, inclined to lead boys who were either pacific, I think is the real trouble, or were unpatriotic—this boy unquestionably was unpatriotic, I think—to express themselves very freely, which I do not know whether it is very wise for boys of that age to do.