Twenty-nine
“There is not the slightest doubt, Miss Wynn,”
Senator Smith was saying, “but that the schools
of the District will be reorganized.”
“And the Board of Education abolished?”
she added.
“Yes. The power will be delegated to a
single white superintendent.”
The vertical line in Caroline Wynn’s forehead
became pronounced.
“Whose work is this, Senator?” she asked.
“Well, there are, of course, various parties
back of the change: the ‘outs,’ the
reformers, the whole tendency to concentrate responsibility,
and so on. But, frankly, the deciding factor was
the demand of the South.”
“Is there anything in Washington that the South
does not already own?”
Senator Smith smiled thinly.
“Not much,” drily; “but we own the
South.”
“And part of the price is putting the colored
schools of the District in the hands of a Southern
man and depriving us of all voice in their control?”
“Precisely, Miss Wynn. But you’d
be surprised to know that it was the Negroes themselves
who stirred the South to this demand.”
“Not at all; you mean the colored newspapers,
I presume.”
“The same, with Teerswell’s clever articles;
then his partner Stillings worked the ‘impudent
Negro teacher’ argument on Cresswell until Cresswell
was wild to get the South in control of the schools.”
“But what do Teerswell and Stillings want?”
“They want Bles Alwyn to make a fool of himself.”
“That is a trifle cryptic,” Miss Wynn
mused. The Senator amplified.
“We are giving the South the Washington schools
and killing the Education Bill in return for this
support of some of our measures and their assent to
Alwyn’s appointment. You see I speak frankly.”
“I can stand it, Senator.”
“I believe you can. Well, now, if Alwyn
should act unwisely and offend the South, somebody
else stands in line for the appointment.”
“As Treasurer?” she asked in surprise.
“Oh, no, they are too shrewd to ask that; it
would offend their backers, or shall I say their tools,
the Southerners. No, they ask only to be Register
and Assistant Register of the Treasury. This is
an office colored men have held for years, and it
is quite ambitious enough for them; so Stillings assures
Cresswell and his friends.”
“I see,” Miss Wynn slowly acknowledged.
“But how do they hope to make Mr. Alwyn blunder?”
“Too easily, I fear—unless you
are very careful. Alwyn has been working like
a beaver for the National Education Bill. He’s
been in to see me several times, as you probably know.
His heart is set on it. He regards its passage
as a sort of vindication of his defence of the party.”
“Yes.”
“Now, the party has dropped the bill for good,
and Alwyn doesn’t like it. If he should
attack the party—”
