Instead of this farce the principal of this ward school could make this
announcement:
“It is customary in this school for pupils to make good the damage done
in a case like this. If the cost of repairs is too large for them they
may come to the office anyway and we will hit upon some plan of getting
around the difficulty.
“Now I know that seventh graders are responsible for this accident. I
have traced that down to a certainty. But I don’t want to know who
actually smashed the case. Please order Mr. Selfredge, the hardware man,
to make the repairs, and then you settle for the expense and that will
end the matter according to the standards of gentlemen.”