Mark of Greatness

Well-primed with class prejudice, but ignorant of the larger issues at stake, a carefully tutored Cambridge electorate voted on November 4th to hamstring the effectiveness of the Cambridge School Committee and oppose progress in the city government. The Municipal elections degenerated into a muddled class war that obviated any recognition of the merits of Plan E and glossed over the flaws in an antiquated school system. That the city's 55,000 voters chose to maintain four enemies of Plan E on the City Council and return a veto-force of three to the School Committee must stand as a tribute to the sagacity of Cambridge politicians.

By treating an honest desire for progress as a threat of political domination by a small clique of "Tory Rowers,' a few shrewd politicians were able to sterilize a ringing indictment of the present school system. This indictment, in the form of the comprehensive report by eight professors and seven school superintendents, placed the blame for 'Cambridge's thirty-year-old rut" squarely on Superintendent Tobin. It called for his removal and the reorganization of a fumbling, politically dominated administration. Mr. Tobin sputtered magnificently, but could not refute the charges against him. In desperation, be wondered what were the educational qualifications of the men that made the survey. Tobin appealed to the electorate as a victim of personal dislike and three of his political cronies were returned to the School Committee. Since any change of administrative personnel requires a five-to-two vote on the Committee, the improvement, of Cambridge education seems efficiently stalled for another two years.

A similar situation mesmerized voters during the race for nine seats on Cambridge's City Council. Unable to unseat the proponents of municipal government by an appointed city manager on the basis of their record, a few frustrated politicians assailed the C.C.A. candidates as upper class political dictators. The fact that managerial government cut cut the city debt by $10,000,000 in six years became a minor issue in the minds of the electorate. When Harvard voters were thought to favor Plan E. two politicians fought their campaign on a Town and Gown angle. With voters simmering over the possibility of "Tory Row" or Harvard domination, any real recognition of Plan E as a successful experiment became impossible. An aroused but befuddled electorate returned only five of the nine C.C.A. candidates to office and the City Council will limp along on a scant five-to-four majority for two more years. Until the liberal elements in Cambridge can pile up a record imposing enough to knife through class bigotry, they must resign themselves to a never ending battle with those politicians intent on turning the city government into a money tree.