Not So Cjean Slate

Somebody dynamited William H. Johnson's back porch in 1944, but that did not dislodge him from office. Mayor Ed Kelly's stooge Superintendent of Schools was a hard man to oust--so long as Boss Kelly stood for him. The accusations of the National Education Association (TIME, May 28, 1945) couldn't do it, though their charges were serious: that Johnson transferred 600 teachers to reward his friends and punish his enemies, for a juicy fee tutored teachers who wanted to be principals, and terrorized teachers by a network of spies.

In March the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools threatened to disaccredit Chicago high schools unless they reformed. Reluctantly Kelly appointed the presidents of five Illinois colleges and the N.C.A. to investigate Johnson's regime. Last week the committee reported. Findings:

P:";. . .The loss of public confidence in the superintendent of schools is acute and widespread .. . the mayor [should] secure [his] resignation. . . ."

P:... The board of education has become the subject of so much controversy that its usefulness is seriously impaired. The board should make it possible to start with a clean slate."

Chicago newspapers clapped when Kelly "secured" Johnson's resignation. But they started howling again when ten of the old, Kelly-picked eleven-man school board announced that they were sitting tight. Their decision to stay meant just one thing: Boss Ed Kelly was ready to throw one man to the wolves, but he was still bossing Chicago's schools.

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