The Age Herald

REYNOLDS REPLIES TO THE COMMITTEE
Denounces Charges in the Report as False and Absurd.

HE IS WILLING TO ARBITRATE
If State Will Share Its Part of Losses as Well as Profits Matter of Board Between He and Pupils

Captain H. C. Reynolds, the former president of the Girls' Industrial school at Montevallo, has written a reply to the report of the finance committee which made an investigation of his management of the school.

He makes explanation of the various charges preferred by the committee. The reply follows in full:

To the Editor of The Age-Herald.

In reply to the recently published report of the finance committee with respect to my management of the Girls' Industrial school I desire to make the following statements:

I do not care to discuss in the public prints the question of our respective legal rights and remedies, mention of which is made in the report, and will confine myself to showing the falsity and unfairness of those statements made which charge in tangible form misconduct on my part.

Worth Nothing to the Firm

The committee have laid great stress on the fact that I deposited with the firm of H. C. & W. B. Reynolds, and that this money was worth much to this firm. They have not correctly stated the situation. In the first place this money was worth nothing whatever to my firm at that season of the year. Any merchant knows that outside money deposited with him during the winter months when collections are coming in is worth nothing. There is one phase of the case they overlook. After the second payment is due by the pupils there is no time during the session that I was not carrying balances for the patrons of from two to four thousand dollars. In many cases the pupils were unable to pay promptly, and my firm advanced these deficiencies, and board bills were always paid whether the girls had the money on hand or not.

I am also charged with having laundry tickets cashed at this store. Would the committee have had a string of wash women for over 300 girls pushing up the college steps to my office with their bills during the whole week to be there cashed by me? Would the bank assume such a task? Would they have had me take a stand on the street corner and become paymaster there? The clerks in the store often asked me to pay them somewhere else. It is a fact well known to merchants that a negro will never trade where he is paid off. The intimation that these tickets were traded out is utterly false.

Acted as a Guardian

I am accused of putting my brother in one of the ramshackle cottages on the grounds, which had been renting for four dollars per month and allowing him to repair it and let the repairs go for rent. It was a well known fact that we had considerable trouble with boys, who would persist in trying to see girls at night. Even at a cottage in my own yard I have been forced to guard against this evil. Other houses have had similar troubles. When the dormitory was built it being so isolated and unprotected, I knew if I was not careful I would have trouble there. My brother was a minister of the gospel. He was honest, watchful and true, and with him and his influence I felt that all would be well.

Frequently I have known of his walking the grounds till 12 o'clock at night to guard the inmates of that building. Yet it must be held up before the people of the state, the virtue and safety of whose daughters I was trying to guard and protect, that I have been guilty of something that deserves the condemnation of all people. I would have willingly paid any rent myself rather than have one of the precious girls entrusted to my care to be submitted to insults. Then the charge is made that my brother actually cut down a few dead trees on the grounds, sawed them into stove wood and sold them. An intelligent committee, looking for the truth, is hard pressed when they go outside my record to attack an humble minister of the gospel for cutting down a few dead trees on the school property at my request.

There were quite a number of trees that needed taking out on account of their dangerous condition. I requested my brother to clear them out, and gave him the wood. He, with his own labor, and the assistance of his own hired hands, cut off a few of these dead trees from the ground. After deducting the wages of these hands, the expense of sawing it into fire wood—and of hauling it away, left him a very small compensation for his own manual labor.

As to the matter of rent, he repaired the premises, as stated by him to the committee, and in addition to this he acted as guard and protector, which I submit was full consideration for the use of the property.

Rent on Piano

The committee refers to the fact that I charged the school with 21½ months rent for a piano belonging to myself.

I charged this amount, and it is just and correct. This piano was put in the school during the first session, and when placed there was in good order and was worth $150. The school was short of pianos, and I had to rent others besides this. When I took it away this spring it was almost a total wreck. I charged four dollars a month for this rent, and gave the piano away afterwards. The school pays four dollars a month for rent of other pianos and freight and insurance. In this connection the charge is made that one of the best new pianos belonging to the school was found at W. B. Reynolds' house, and one at D. M. Shivers', for which no rent we paid. There were sixteen girls at W. B. Reynolds'—and thirty at D. W. Shivers'. A great many of these girls took music. We had no rooms for these pianos on school grounds. In our want for practice rooms for pianos one was actually put under the steps in the hall of the dormitory.

It was an accommodation to the school and to the girls for these houses to have pianos in them. The houses were at expense in keeping up fires in the rooms, and girls were sent from the school every day at regular intervals to practice there.

Properly speaking the rent was due to these parties by the school for keeping the pianos and allowing girls to practice there. I had pianos at other houses, but had to move them, as owners of the houses objected to them remaining.

In making this charge the committee used this language: "We found one of the best new pianos in the residence of W. B. Reynolds and another in the residence of D. W. Shivers, and no account of any rent therefor." Thereby charging by implication either that I had collected rent on these pianos and failed to account for it, or that I had fraudulently given the rent to these parties. Instead of finding these pianos at these places the chairman of the finance committee on stating to my attorney, who mentioned the subject to me, that there were two pianos missing, was informed by him that these pianos were in these residences, where they had been placed for the use of the music pupils of the school, large numbers of whom boarded at these places.

Escaped His Memory

With respect to the charge that I had included in my last unpaid account a charge of $384, which had heretofore been paid me. If that be true, then it should be deducted from my account. Such payment, if made, had escaped my memory, and the only book showing it was in the possession of the finance committee when I made out such account.

In relation to the charge of Miss Gustorf's depositing $25 and remaining only a short while and receiving but $1 back. I have this to say. It is the universal rule of all boarding schools that pupils leaving except in cases of sickness or providential causes will have no money refunded them.

I am quite willing that the school have any surplus that has come to my hands from such sources provided they will also assume the losses. I see from their rules for the next session that they propose to adopt the same methods.

The committee allude to the fact that I charged them $100 for expenses securing legislation for the school. This charge was made necessary by the following facts:

At a meeting of the board just before the legislature met, I brought up the question of how much appropriation we should ask for building purposes. Finally it was agreed that we should ask for $15,000, and the gov. ernor agreed to help secure such appropriation. After the legislature met and the bill for $15,000 was introduced I went down to see after it. Standing in the lobby of the house, I was handed a note from Governor Johnston, stating that if the constitutional convention bill was allowed to pass, he would not consent to the appropriation for the school. I construed this as notice to me to pull off my coat and go to work against the constitutional convention bill, but I did not do it. I took committees to Montgomery and paid their expenses and those of one trustee to assist in securing the appropriation. When the bill giving six hundred thousand dollars to the common schools passed the house the governor announced that he would veto our bill if the bill for the common schools was allowed to pass the senate.

We had to have our bill recalled from his hands to the house to keep him from vetoing it. The records of the house and senate will show this fact. Other schools are allowed to pay for expenses of this kind. If this committee will examine reports from the university they will see where $87 at one time was allowed for expenses of securing legislation.

No, they would have me foot all the bills as I have done in securing 25,000 acres of land.

The committee reports that I was paid $200 for expenses for myself and another to Washington, implying that this was in settlement of the large sums of money I expended in securing the public land donation for the school.

The executive committee authorized me, while this work was in progress—and long before it was completed—to draw $200 on such expenses. It was not intended as payment for all such expenses, the larger portion of which had not then been incurred; and according to my recollection I never drew this money. The committee charges "that Mr. Reynolds now admits that he is chargeable for $92 for invitations sold, and of which he made no mention to trustees or committee until the day after the last statement, leaving an account of $182 which the printers claimed the trustees owe."

This charge is predicated on the following facts: I was notified by the finance committee that it would meet at Montevallo on the 12th of June, where I was requested to present my account. I had this account partially prepared, when I was taken ill and could not complete it, and I inadvertently omitted to place the debit. In this manner my account was presented to the finance committee during the morning of the 13th. In about one hour thereafter my attorney, in going over my papers, recollected that he had omitted this debit, and immediately after dinner on the same day went before the committee and made a statement of the above facts, and requested the chairman to be allowed to place this debit on the account, which the chairman declined to permit. My attorney then made a statement of these facts in writing, and asked that it be attached to the account, which the chairman agreed to do. The mere statement of these facts refutes the charge contained in this clause of the report, and shows the spirit with which the report was made. With respect to this matter the committee further says: "Mr. Reynolds was never authorized to contract this debt."

Yet the chairman of this committee, who was sent a dozen of these invitations, made requisition on me for fifty more, and instructed me to send one to each member of the legislature. It is usual for even third-class schools to issue commencement invitations. I am not aware of any custom by which the presidents of the schools are required to pay for them.

Statement is Incorrect

The charge that I collected from the pupils during the session of 1898-1899 for board, laundry, hack fare and the use of text books $151.50 more than I paid out on this account is incorrect. Where the pupil remained the entire session and paid the whole amount of the charge, there was a small surplus of about two dollars, which went to offset losses incurred by reason of the failure of other pupils paying their dues. There seems to be a desire on the part of the board or the committee to receive the benefit of this surplus and to have me sustain the losses. At the organization of the school and the selection of myself as president, I made arrangements with the boarding house keepers by which I became responsible for the board of the pupils. I fixed the amount of fees to be paid by the pupils. I had of these fees in the Commercial bank of Selma to the credit of the Girls' Industrial school the sum of $1,014 when that bank failed. This loss I made good from my own means to keep the school running. At a subsequent meeting of the board a motion was made to reimburse me this money. This motion was voted down on the stated grounds that this school had nothing to do with this arrangement between patrons of the president, and that he alone was responsible for the loss. At a later and smaller meeting of the board a motion to transfer to me $892 which I had collected on incidentals and other fees for the school to partially reimburse me for said loss was made and adopted. Governor Johnston and others strongly opposed the motion on the same grounds, and on its adoption the governor caused a protest against it to be spread on the minutes. Afterwards in a settlement with the school, on account of the contention and this protest, I gave back the money to the school. From the time of this transaction, yielding to this contention that such transactions were between me as an individual and the patrons of the school, I considered and treated the same as such, and so did the board, as is witnessed by the fact that in all my various settlements I was never called upon for any accounting of these transactions.

Recognizing my responsibility in the premises, I have paid the board of every pupil promptly in all cases, both to the boarding houses and the dormitory department of the school, whether I had their funds in my hands or not, frequently carrying from two to four thousand dollars' shortage on this account, some of which was a total loss. I have always been willing that the school should assume the responsibility of these transactions, receiving the profits and sustaining the losses thereof.

The Millinery Department

In reply to the statement that "he (I) ran the millinery department on his own account, paying all the expenses and taking all the profits, yet we find that the trustees paid the salary of Miss Tall and Miss Hood." The millinery was bought and paid for by myself, and I took the chance of being reimbursed by the sales of the goods after they were made up by the pupils in this department. The sales of these goods have never amounted to their cost and carrying. At the close of the session of '97-'98 I did think that when the goods that remained on hand were sold there would probably be a small profit, and I made a statement on the subject to the board, in which I used this language: "There is still a stock of goods on hand which will in all probability pay a profit when wound up. This profit I will embrace in my next report to the school's credit."

In the face of this statement the finance committee make the above charge. The intimation that the salary of the teacher in the millinery department was not a proper charge against the school is ridiculous and absurd.

The committee states that I had in my possession some of the personal property of the school. Of this the committee was informed by my attorney, with an explanation that the cabinet, file and typewriter were moved to my residence for use during the summer, and that several iron bedsteads were moved down from the dormitory during the smallpox excitement, and I notified the committee that I would, as soon as I could attend to the matter, get this property up and deliver it to the school.

Made Profit for School

By careful and close management I made a profit for the school of over $2,000 in the boarding department of the dormitory for the past session. Yet, because I charged this profit with the rent of $25 per month for a period of six months for a system of water works that I had put in with my own money at a cost of $700. When I make this charge, which was put on the monthly account rendered every trustee the tenth of every month, and known and explained to them fully, the finance committee hold up their hands in horror and I am put in the attitude by them of swindling the state out of this water rent.

After spending this money putting in the plant, I recommended in writing to the board at commencement that this system be abolished and water power belonging to a party in town be purchased, and the school own its own water works. As to my claim of this system, it is conceded by the board, and it has requested me to make them a proposition for its sale to the school.

I did cause water to be conveyed to the houses named, which I had a right to do, as the property was mine. But in only one instance have I charged any rent, and that was to cover the expense of putting in an extra pipe. My object in placing this water in several of these houses free of rent was to provide for the welfare and comfort of the pupils boarding therein—one having thirty girls, one fifteen, another twenty, another ten, and some of these threatened me to leave the school unless provided with water.

I have proposed to the board to arbitrate all matters and differences between us. This they have declined. I then made them a proposition to go into the accounts between me and the patrons of the school, provided they would agree to receive any profits and assume all losses arising therefrom. This the committee declined, but proposed if I would deliver to them my book showing the accounts between myself and the patrons, they would agree to take any profits and assume all losses therefrom except that of the $1,014 lost by the bank failure, or any part of it, refusing, however, to leave the matter to arbitrators to determine what the profits or losses were.

This proposition was declined by me for the reasons that they were to sustain to a portion of what I sustained, and that I was not willing to allow a prejudiced committee to judge between themselves and me.

I make this statement to correct any false impression that may have been created by the publication of the garbled and misleading report of the finance committee.

H. C. REYNOLDS.
Montevallo, July 5, 1899.