The Cambria Daily Leader

TEACHERS AND POLITICS. Is it a iftet -.hat, at a. pmate em1" mifrte £ meeting of the Swansea EduclttltAl Authority this \veek—and in passing may T.ve protest agaftist staffing appointment being madft behittd closed doors "-is it a fact that a .prominent Labour ccmneillor commented on the political ad-tivitv, in their own hours, of leathers who it so kirns out to be ÜH case, clo not happen to be attached to the 1. L.P. ? If it is a fact, and we arc) assured that it is. then it riÍ; time, ip the name of political freedom, to protest gRinf, a new form of in tolerable tvrannr. Teachers are as much entitled as other men to hold, an4 expound, political eonv.'etions. It is as open to a, teacher who is Conservative or Liberal in social creed to support the political views he embraces on the platform elsewhere, any- where, outside the sehoal, and school hours, as it is to a teachor who belongs to rhe labour move- ment. It is just as right for Mr of Sketty or Mount P'ea^aBt, I.. 1. lo work in politics, m his own time. as it i$tor Mr. —— of Land ore. if Mr. LYindor(t is permitted, without let or hindrance, to interest himself actively in Labour propaganda, why should fCTOment. be made about the energetic actions of 3Xr. Sketty or lr. Mourit Pleasant, on the L ,t, 'J' I other side? Let ps have elemen- tary justice in this matter. But the question hV» deeper im- plications. If i^nbour—rT let us say extreme Labour which leads its brethren by the nose—is going ti) be tyrannous over th) political actio vities of teachers who are opposed i to them. if I?bouv is going to en ?) i ii c, t r,, deavour to muzzle men who do not agree, with them, we shall have to watch carefully the developments of policy on the Education Autho- rity and in t.he Council. We shad have to -seè that appointments arc not dictated on any score but value of teaching service. Let us say at once that we have no evidence that thifi safe and only rule has been vio- lated—we are concerned, here, with prirciples and not personalities- but, if such comments as we have referred to aro to be continued, then we appeal to the- cont^lling major- ity on the Council to exercise the .\eenest Vigilance. The eoutrolliug L! 1 po?joit'tv must be called upon to a? • end meetings as faithfully ths Labour bloc, ?ud to hold a watch- in? bri? f'-? the principles d h?rty. It must be roaue for n i teacher s to promcation to be I considered seriously apart from every virtue but merit as a teacher. As we have said, we. have no can!g > to think that this golden rule has been disregarded; and we hope that it will be in the future as in the past. It will be the end of our respect for the teaching professioni if it has to display a particular political bias in order to command advancement; in" deed it will he thA- end of the influ- ence the profession now exercises if it has to go in for bread and butter politics. But we bolievo, the pro- fession itself will stand flt-$t ag4140 sqtl a descent, 4md that it will s&»w 4 proper refeefetme^t of any sooi;tf, to persuade it to eftibrade this or that political creed. .<* We have dealt incideut^Uy with the »eed cf inore regular atteadanca an tbo patt af the three groups sit in the Council Chamber opposite the Labour members. Were the. piuaieip^l electic^os -imear,. wa would make the test questions to be put to candidates these: Are you "able to, and will you, attend all the cam- mittee and council meetings io which you are called? Will you I' ecme to the meetings in time, and stav to the end? We would make these the test questions because there is a regrettable laxity to-day; and we cannot afford to be lax in view of the direction in which a solid Labour group-—voting on es- sential questions like, a machine •—would take town politics. A minority rules ihs Council, to be I plain, because the majority does n(,)1 I do its dutyT and lacks cohesion. \V«? are. candidly, no lovers of the party ¡ system in municipal affairs; but we j I cannot help ourselves. It is either a disciplined party on the ether side ako; or else the absolute gov- ernment of Swansea by th"õ I.L.P. The t:me n?y con-io j when it will be ne?s?a?y in the bos' I interests of the town, to gi n, pru minently, a list of the Council mem bers who arrive late, and leave early, or are absent during import- ant dpci?ibns—there has been far too. much of the latter—and of th I good cause, do not attend at all.

I I "SECRET DIPLOMACY." In the years wh.n ?'e wpM J bp?a?d to negotiate a. peace with j undefeated Germany, the I.L.P. and the Union of Democratic Coo. trol were great advocates ef open I diplom?y. Mr. SmilHe. Mr. Robert WiUtams, and men of their group, II 1 )?xh?u5ted all their p&WM's of vitu I peration against the policy of secret diplomacy'—the source, according I to their arguments, of all political evils. But jHth these men it is do as I tell y6u and not as I do: At the Triple Alliance meeting litt votes to 84 were cast in favour of a secret meeting, and the names of the leaders present showed thai nearly all or them were most promi- Q@?t durir)g th? war at neetrng? <'? protest against eret diplomacy' Wh? this amazing inconsistency? Is the answer to this inquiry to be found in a statement of one Labour correspondent that if this meeting of the Triple Alliance had been open to the public and the Press everyone would have seen who were pulling the string?. They; have learned," says this spcrdent, "that t hes.e political de- mand? of thn TripleALljanúe did ¡ not emanate jrom the Trade Unions, I but from small political factions I that, like parasites, live and thrive I lirm the Trade tnioo. movement-

— I THE PROFITEER. | I "The profiteer to-day is more dangerous than the burglar. We bave readied the stage when pro- fiteering should be treated as a crime. Concerted action between dealers to keep prices up unduiy should be regarded and treated as criminal conspiracy. We want legis- latiou having as its object, first, the exposure of such conspiracies, and second, punishment of the crimi. rial." Thus the Daily Chronicle," and we cry kgrpc-d But we wan; this legislation quickly. We can- not wait for a leisurely report by J the Select Committee after the autumn holidays. We want a re- port M expeditiously as the Sankey j Commission made theirs. The mis- chief will ha* e gone too far to be remedied if we delay until th" autumn. If the Government were alive to the exasperation of the pub- he over the manner in which it being fleeced—it does hot know the villain, but it does knew that som, I villain (or villains) at sc-me point between produHcn and purchase, ib holding it to ransom—it would move speedily to compose an irritation which is to-day affecting every household in the country.

I SWANSEA GUARDIANS. I S*<i.u«ea Bos.rd of Guardians met 6n I Thursday, Mr. Day id Grey presiding'. The proposal to erect a verandah at Tave I.odtP. decided on hy the Visiting Comrnittet, w", en tht proposal of Mr. Bart Crown, referred to the Building Committee. The Board decided to support a resolu- Hot)., of tho Hoi beck Boar d of Guardians asking for an increase in old age pen- sions, Mitt. R. J. Williams rematking that fhey should not be content witJi paesinjf but should go and feee locAl M.P/s and urge them to take ttp tho bilitt.!kr at Westminster. Every. one, she said, agreed that was not en<yogHt for .61d people to exist on. Anbt-her rItid)D. faAwriej the pay- meat of; ont-of-pocfeet, of Ouard. lapH ,Mn ó puhtio batinesfli rapport^d. A letter fivtvm the Swansea. Towrp Glwk etate<§ that the eótt Talgarth Asylum wou!d b* im-feased from 2?. to per ?i?tt a$from .T?ty 1t =

I TUMBLE STOPPAGE. A wjiierT1 at Tumble is at a etandtetill curias to ft dissute on the mil*w. -It.

RECOLLECTIONS; ] L-SO, Years of School Memories. J By Mr. J. Williams, BryttmillA A feyiew of our educational prdferess should include not only an account of the work ut schools and colleges but also of the activities of those Institutions and Societies which have dons so much good in the dirsemination nf kmm ledge in the town. In this category are the Royal Institution of South Wales, with its valuable library and museum incl affiliated Geological, Scientific, and Art tiit Public Library, rviili u priceless collection of books in its ence department and its popidar series of Saturday night lectures; the high class literary and pailiamentavy D0- j bating Society of former days, in which j some of the most intellectual and cated raombers of the community took j pn active part; and Science and Art! Classes which did excellent pioneer work j in tile promotion of Technical Education j at a time when but few of the facilities I nf the present day were available. 150 Years Ago.  50 Years Ago. j Half a century s^o and for years previous to, and after, that time I the Royal Institution of South Wales ) of much importance, securing, i among other things, the first visit to the Winl d the British Association. Inclu- ded in its member Mfre many distin- gni?hcd men of !?tt?r?. and ?cit'?c?. sucb Q$, Justice Grm'e, Drs. Tom '\Vi)!iaa?. j Nichoft and Pad!ey, Messrs. Lewis Wstün Diiiwy-n, Moggridge, :hlrJing Dcn?on, J. G vyn Jeffreys, Colonel Geo. Grant Francis and many ethers, ?ho, by th?h' learned i?ctfr?s and p;per, contributed UI make it much more of I a Philosophical and Literary Institu- ¡ tion (as its founders designated it.) than it is at present; and the town possessed a nunbe-r of private schools and colleges, including the Grammer School and Nor- mal College, in which there was a more or leas advanced curriculum, with mod- crii and classical languages etc., -trd (very few compared with to-day,j public elementary schools. Among the latter were Geat St. School, ,hid) is still re- membered by some of the old inhabi- tants cithsr a?. "Hairnet' e)ch<x?t" or I A'.iams' School," after respective Head-masters of thoi" names, York Place School; the National School (now ) i ths Oxford Streot- Churh d England I School,), Ha tod SchoolKilvey School; and Street School. These in most cases, taken over in due course by t-he School Board, subsequently the LocaJ Kducatieu Authoriiv, whoie acti--jxies have naturr,.iiv bFan most im- portant in the advancement ot public education and tú-day practically con- trolK its admmiairAticu. 14 Board Schools." Before, however, dealing with t h ;• i i operations of this body re nould be in- torst i ng J,t) cl»at with our subjects in a more dh-curs>ve an<i general w ay, and then to touch oh such points in the rj1 and growth of the Board or Council Schools as$eem to be trl-ot suitable to the reader who cannot be expected t4 oe as interested in such aspects of the ques- tiqjj. as members of the teaching profes- sion, leaving a review oi the work cf what may be terme<l the Yietorinn-era private schools, and the other educa- tionai Institutions I have referre d to. for such i--s oue may have time to deal with. r The Three R's. I Klemeutury j-»u-.?aciou in Swansea 50 years a^o wa? in a state ot transition iU respii.t tu its nature, supervision ami udm.iust;avion laoeed, tfiw process may hardly said to have commenced until ^uaic year^i ihere vveve, compara- tively, but tew elementary acnoois, and .•some of thole had not lopg Daen aubjec- '•dti to a tegular anti gystematie rorni oi runcial or governnj»av ui^ptH-tion and .■xnmmac.ioii, ami tne conation oi aftau s in the town was very iitile m adraneo in thin rc'5p.'K-t; of Wttaz it was tliroHgt- uiit the •• nnoipalitv. i iv1 orw;~ subject; that had been taught to any extent wore tile t'iree »\ aiiu ^tp.ircy .vith sui; T^nent teaoftnig, ou- ui a very rudimentary manner the teachers, witil some notable exceptions, were not fully qualified to impart instruetion andifl inaoy cases wcte not certificated until later, while their training for the work was of a still later date. iVluch 01 the teaching was performed by women, a survival tiL the old dame fiehool system, and in •*ome cases tiy men who, possessing a little more book learning than the aver- I age a no OruXert-down or unsuccessful in other sphere.; ot occupatIOn, bad taken it up as -iKiiioi 1 or hi of earning a liveli- I bond. Among l;ie;>v, however, were in- <iivi'iuaife fii s-io. 'ing character and un- doubted a.Kj exceptional ability,—burn tenchcrs, tH1 III advance of tneir day bMh :n j;:¡H".J"dgü and in powess of li- fetruetion, who irerjuentiv produced cx- csMeiu reftuits, turning oia pupilR who did them infinite oreoit by the pre- positioui they attained to and I ohe pov. er and influence for good which thev exerted. Stern Disciplinarians. This was the only schooling obtained by many of the most promitient public ieaders of our town in past times, as, indeed, has been the case in numerous instances in the present day. As discip- linarians old-time school-masters are said to have been stern and relentless, an u many tales are told of severe eosfci- getions inflicted, not only with the cane bqt also, in extreme oases, with the round, hard, ebony ruler etc., which, however, did not always succeed in quel* ling, sometimes, open rebellion amongst the scholarSj who occasionally took the law mto their own hands by barricading the school-room door and shutting the master in or out, and by adopting other similar drastic measures. These circum- stances notwithstanding, there existed a splendid feeling on the whole between teachers and pupils (including the part ante of the latter,) the old master, though generally but tl pin rich with forty pounds a year." being often looked up to with respect bordering en ven. eration. Besid«s being tme "dominie," he wide, philosopher aad friend all, and waa enable^, especially in tho eountry villtaft retrod, to add te his eipivolunaenti by drawing np willj^ ttc. The schools were almost always mixed," boys and girls being taught together, but the punishments in the daine schools were naturally of a much iqore humane character,— the younger delinquents sometimes having to submit to the disgrace of being pinned to the dress of the school ma'am while she moved about wifeh y gait amongst bar ichplafa. v

TOWN TALK. The coal man's mustard," isn't he? How __cc% The coal cellar is empty bus the seller has no supplies. «■» «r» God Save the King has a new zest for Swansea school-children now. There is a punch about A If Thomas's concert patty at Humbles Pier this week. -.0:- Very, very soon will bid the old tram cars adieu. The only way to pre- vent another war! llie rising generation of Neaih are sporting mecials. Heroes every one after yesterday's bun fight! — CN Monster Fete" ran a headline in a Card1 ft paper to-day. And ihe reader. to think it out had to pause! Ajr— If f'd like to know what it is w p. want to know," remarked one Guardian in the discussion on the Clerk's salary. ■—- w- — No, Inquirer," a charge engineer at the- Electricity Department is not gentleman who make up the bills. — aO r—* Allotment holders at Ne»<h complain that the grubs as spoiling the crops. It &cems that the grubs won't leave the grub alone: -0:- A Swar.sea motliet wants to know if King will now »end her a trouser piece for her little Willie. Irihe. knuns what holidays mean. —so: — A pigeon has built its nt behind t,h<? of a cell window nt the Old Bailey. A case, we presume, of >hor.tsightednes3. Thought it was a bird -;0;- Tlie furniture I1:<P<.I by the Belgian re- fi'gees at Sr»ns«a was sold by auction yesterday. The boots they wore UP"1\ their arrival could not he soled. —:«K — Sfre us from A r from troubled RuK%ia ¡I,B that the price of an egg under the Bolsheviks in -W is n(-iw 16s. And we are grumbling hée! —'e5 — The Garden City much appreciated the public music provided by th e Industrial tk'hool Band. This very important part of the town is not often so favoured, 6a a patriotic resident. —o?— A news item states that 96,390 bottles of eltampagne have arrived in Dover. There much speculation on the Morri«ton car on Wednesdav night a« to what had becoms of the odd bottles. — x> r— Jet ernaments. we are told, are back in fashion, a#t?r years in the back- gTonnd. Will they be superseded by dainlicr set with that valuable mineral of the same colour, very shortly? — The, ("lice rf ul Idiot," writes With teference to your paragraph about Mr. Artemus Jones defending Casement. I take it that, the defendant knew what a verdict of guilty in that case meant? — x»j— A remarkable report reach es the office from the Uplands. It is said that a resi- dent- of the district who returned from his holiday* on Wednesday nd sufficient money left to pay his tram fare into tenru on Thursday morning. -:0- «W• hen a hoy was charged with theft at Sirnn««a recently a h-^k: of sermons was found in his possession. The Clerk (Mr..7. W. Thorpe) suggested that a fit- ting punishment would he to make the told read the hook from end io end. —-<— Cnfi! vsucli tirn* a.s the electric trams can Ive introduced, rnotnr 'buMs will ply between ?»kewen and Briton ferry. Urttfer the new system it will he possible ior Xeafh riople to tolie. a trip to Sfcewen or the^'Ferry and return the -,anm da v —: os — Swansea does not seem emiberantiy happv these days fin ohsorrer remarks. The jolliest sight eon lately, he adds, was the homecoming on the Mumbles train on I Thursday evening and the shout- ing. singing chihlren who had had a good day's nicnic at Cardiff. :0:— » A eorres|K>ndent writes to say he hapM the samples of cosl at t.he Museum will he closely guarded. Tie i,-q afi-aid 'Iirpt in the present shortage they m a,r be "pinched," and then theie will ly noth- ing to show our grandchildren what the precious mineral was like. —zos- Aeroplanes ore still a wonderful attrac- tioll ill Swansea. When two Avro« »p- r?d over TTi.^li-sl tvet en Th;ir-*dny evening, banking and volplaning, hun- dreds came to doors and window* to watch them, and a very lar'»»» number of people gathered at Blarkpill when the? alighted there. -:8- A demobilised Swansea soldie.r who ba* seen qlli a lot of severe fighting—tac-i sArapnel, tear-shells, poison gas, and | Ham?-th rowr-—told a friend l«st night that he still reckons his big fight is yet to come. He Is prying to get married. f course, M he e*pla,ined, by big fight h<s .'H the stru{?sjle to get a house, coal, and the other incidentals of a happv home). C'.ollil'¡! immunity from fatal acci- dents is alwavs a source of justiBable [ pride to management and men. Some of the anthracite collieries hold good records --on the whole, niur-h letter than the steam coal iv4 thst of the Wernos C0itiêr. near Ammanford, has. undoubt- edly. one of th? b?t rf<?)'d?. Th?r< in edly. o of the la¡ ? y?ar?. only one tlio (-?:tixr-e () f fi-,e i, 'onl v ?-,ne :t0o men are emploml. — (Jmler the heading One Man Caught," the current number of the Contw- tioaery Journal says: Of course. i;i'„a lsrjfe town tb<>J' ha-re several other th'nj.'S attend ro. but the fact that up to now only one trader has been prosecuted and fined for illegally filing confectionery after houre as the rosu.; of th.e Swansea A?«oeiat.iopJ6 request to the Watch -Com- mittee and police, imuifl suggest that the latter are not over energetic." — ;oj — The Bit Badge men at Mumbles intend doing groat tilings before the winter ar- rives They have a, scheme in hand of erecting a largre Army hut, in a con- venient place, wherein will ba held popu- lar concerts, etc. Ther also will inrtal billiard table*, reading l'm, and prob- ably a lending library. If the scheme is carried out. tAiero is no doubt that the Projeot will have a good backing, M nt present the young men of the village lounge oobout the street corners, having nowhere to go to spend, the evitillig to .ø- ,he energetic eeerei'ary oi the Swansea Wholesale Confectioners" Aaaeeiation, left woek (Ud a good turn for two tit\Y'. Ba ?M a.t Gaj? C?y ???? sc<?. wh*? two UbUt )nr? of T?rt<t<?o? $c!M?I. ?<t h? a. h?iday -0 "4 94661. wto had a h6lida*y ? or,41i?". fat a M? iB the e?t. ? ?t .'6, <? ? ?4 ?* drove the ljwo <?? ? ? way into t?wa. The elder, aged §. e»y* that ? 1o" ?r'?? 6, WM ? first e?KMwhat teti'. th* speed attained, hut eoon got over it. They had neither of th-ar, ever been in a motor- car before. What made the ride all th. more delightful was that they passed the house, and were sesn in the motof-ear b* another little girl who ia a school aeeo--