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ward that it is not susceptible of misunderstanding. It has been lived up to in letter and spirit. The theory upon which the trustees act is that the superintendent shall be held to the strictest account, not only for his own behavior and successful work, but for the character, fitness, and success of every subordinate. Hence, they have nothing whatever to do with appoint- ments or removals.
In the Indiana Reform School for Boys, at Plainfield, "all rules are made by the superintendent and approved by the board of con- trol, leaving these matters entirely with the superintendent."
Customs governing appointments, etc. — The president of the Indi- ana Reform School for Girls and Woman's Prison, Mrs. Claire A. Walker, writes :
During the fifteen years that I have been connected with this institution, appointments, removals, and promotions of officers and employes have always been made irrespective of politics. Perhaps this is largely due to the fact that, as women, we have no politics. That factor has never entered into the management of the institution, and no doubt this has been greatly to the benefit of the institution.
It is to be noted that for twenty years the board of managers has been composed of women, and that every person connected with the institution, excepting the engineer, has been a woman.
The blank form of application used by the Southern Indiana Hos- pital for Insane contains the question : "What is your politics ?" An officer explains to us that this " is asked merely that we may keep the appointments equally divided between the parties." This would appear, therefore, to be rather a bipartisan than a non-partisan method of appointment, such as is contemplated in the law which says that only qualification, merit, and fitness shall be considered, and political beliefs or affiliations shall not be taken account of. At any rate, this is the view of another superintendent, Dr. S. E. Smith, of the Eastern Hospital, who, writing of his own institution, says :
A bipartisan management, applying other than to the organization of the board, is only one step in advance of the partisan plan. No recognition of political faith should be made by the appointing power, and the superin- tendent should never know the poll of his institution. It is my custom to furnish the leading political parties with the names of the legal voters and give them opportunities to make a poll of the voters on the condition that under no circumstances must the result be revealed to me, directly or indirectly.
The blank used by the Institution for the Education of the Deaf
