Newspaper Page Text
OLUME XY. XO 2&
:0ITED OVER THE SCHOOLS
Tremendous Mara Meeting for the
Purpose of Electing Bh^Qjp&s\
V'fjSff
Throng Which in Itg Variou^PI^&Ji
Beggars Description. *&"" ^"S
0. Strickler and A. F. Eeim Elected by
1
an Overwhelming Majority.
leer Methods Employed
Voters.
to Excite the
Saturday night witnessed^in New Ulm
ie most exciting and bitter public
eeting ever held in New Ulm. The two
icancies on the school board, caused by
expiration of the terms of O. C.
rickler and F. Friedmann, were to be
led and it was war on either side as to
ho should fill them. Strickler was a
jididate for re-election and he seemed
""pally bent upon ousting Friedmann.
eim was put up in the latter's place
id an opposition party then took up
name of Friedmann and coupled
with tha! of Frank. For days he
re the faction first referred to labore
rd and quietly. The other side was
""t awakened until Saturday and then
fur flew. Claims and counter claims
je made all day and at night it cul
minated in a seething, surging multitude
ngregated about the hall, anxious to
'te •'-*-''*&
an interesting sight, fit for an
rord picture^,, Candidates grew
Men rushed too and fro. Worn
rushed to the polls and then
Lmec^ofl! after more. Not until every
I'te was safely in the ballot box did the
citement cease. ^^S^?4A^|*^
tin the hall the scene was tumultuous.
leakers sought to get the floor but
re pushed down by a moving, restless
Wd. Men tried to talk, but the stamp
2 of feet and the yells of excitement
awned every voice. The chairman
ft &/ almost powerless. Over chairs,
"riches and even people the crowd
rged on and hovered around the polls,
last they were opened and then what
rush! Only a photograph could pic
re it.1 Words have no meaning to de
.ribe such a surging throng.
"""When the ballots were counted it was
and that Strickler and Reim were
erwhelmingly victorious. In the neigh
rhood of 560 votes had been cast for
?se two candidates while the others
received less than 300. The reason
aa& apparent. Notwithstanding the posi-portion
of director of the public schools is
one to be sought after but should
her be thrust upon the man who is
lored therewith, rigs were being run
the interests of certain condidates and
scheme or effort was spared to get
the voters, whether all Qf them knew
at they were voting for or not. It
tters. not who practiced these methods.
people who were standing around
rner Hall are the best judge's as to
it and it is only neeessary for the RE
y.w to say that they are far from being
)per. Calm deliberation should direct
ucational movements and not wild ex
rtation .and heated excitement.
he combination which was made in the
LOOI fightSaturday night will win every
"""""le, but it is a conundrum that bothers
to know how they are going to ad
matters after they have won.
•I 'V
Deputy Auditor Jorgenson as he stood
I watched the strange mingling of peo
__ constituting that peculiar multitude
jally remarked that even S. D. Peter
would find difficulty in determining
to handle such a crowd.
3
lie REVIEW doesn't believe in allow-
Tumers, Lutherans Catholics or any
else to run the puplic schools,
tner does it believe in stirring up strife
there is no need for it, just to
.3e two or three men who want to
mountains out of mice and whogiven
ess to have great wrongs to right in
to accomplish personal ends.
the meeting an individual whose
is professedly that of saving souls
spreading the doctrine of charity
fellowship among all men, made it
wsiness to create discord by un
"•'ant references to his neighbors (for
he» creed of charity: -j&ll men are
'hbors,) and also to laugh ando scorn,,
kp^e who. were disappointed by de
tfefe^bV showing that coarse-part of
fyfe Tifitixre which, gloats over anoth
_.l4wnfall. Do^you know^jk'e^ .$*
crh a-rasing He is utterly lacking
m-A
%m
in those traits which his teachings should
inspire, and were we thoroughly imbued
with the worst qualities of a bum politi
cian, we do not believe we could show
morerofithe spirit of- narrowness and
selfish exultation* .^jEven Ingersoll, un
believer that he is, might read such a
man a lecture on charity and on the duty
that one owes to another, that would
bring the blush of shame to his1 cheek
if a spark of manhood were'left smould
ering within him. _-.
Frequently we have been told that a
newspaper should not be afraid to speak
its views, nor should it deviate from
what it believes to be right. The RE
VIEW is honestly endeavoring to do this
in all that comes up, be it. scandal, poli
tics or school matters*
No one should be on the school board
because he is a Turner, Lutheran, Catho
lic, Methodist or Congregationalist. He
should be there simply because he be
lieves in the public schools as an Ameri
can institution, teaching American loy
alty and love for the government under
which we all live and thrive. We have
no time for any other doctrine than that.
The claim is made since the election
that if there hadn't been so much lying
on the side of Friedmann and Frank that
there wouldn't have been such a big
meeting,and yet the friends of neither of
those gentlemen knew anything of a
school fight until Sathrday morning.
Why, then, was there so much agitation
at certain places by the other side on the
night before?
The Review has stood by Mr. Reim in
every matter in which he has been inter
ested and proposes to do so this time.
We have confidence in his fitness to
make a good member and we do not be
lieve he will do anything to injure the
public schools as somein their excitement
have dared to say. Neither do we believe
that, had he known what wasbeing done
to advance his cause on Friday evening
that he would have. countenanced the
the methods.
The REVIEW wants to be fair to all
who took a well-meaning part in the
contest. The Lutherans who were pres
ent were led into it because one of their
men had been put in nomination—and
he is a good man too—and because they
had been made to understand that great
issues were at stake.^':They are a large
of our tax-paying citizens and
are entitled to an equal voice with all
other factions, if factions there must be.
They were honest and justified in their
advocacy of Mr. Reim, and under ordin
ary circumstances no one could justly
criticise themfe- As it is, it is only the
alliance of conflicting elements which
they were drawn into and which was
started by others outside of their society
with a motive that is open to censure.
For that they were hardly to blame, not
knowing at the time the real olyject of
the prime movers.
One of the excuses given b'jPthe agita
tors for the unnecessary demonstration
of Saturday evening was to the effect
that the Tumverein was running the pub
lic schools. The REVIEW has absolutely
no interest in the success of any society
but it would liice to call a halt to all
such prattle as this of the politicians
who out of their desires to win are
shrewd enough to bring to their aid the
various church societies who are at war
with the Tumverein. It is true the ma
jority of teachers as well as the superin
tendent belong to a certain society. That
makes no difference. As long as tb»
schools are properly conducted and pro
duce good results, no fault should be
found whatever. The moment the pre
dominating influence attempts to isntil
its own ideas into the school instruction,,
then should objection be raised, and
not till them This has not been: done
so far and there is no valid excuse to be
for the issues raised in the recent
fight. It was a contest solely of men a
contest of selfish interests that never had
as its motive the advancement of a" sin
gle principle or the betterment^ of any,in
department of the schools. The REVIEW
is-pained therefore to be compelled to=
report its occurrence,in NewTJlm Since
our earliest childhood days the public:
school has-been held up to usasthefpuur
dation of our superior intellegence aa-Va*
nation and the mainstay of the institu^':
tions that are 'dear to every, true Amerk*
canV-, To have them made the plavthing
of two ortthree scheming politicians i£
^naturally. lfeere|c
regret.f
piimpLMv^mow^-coinfiniv
^Here's a predictionI Watch and see
how near it comes to being: true The
$400 appropriation is to be secured' and
in course of time Nix is- to\ be7 ousted
from the'schools. wSPIIl^fP
We would impress upon all woo are
apt to read these articles that the E -.
VIEW doesn't care one cent who gets- on
the school board so long as personal
spite is kept out of its councils and the
welfare and progress of- the schools is
kept constantly in view^J,
***iP
i^Air, wJib"noticed the calm and1manfy
manner in which the Lutheran ministers
and their candidate conducted- them
selves at the hall and compared their
action with that of a certain other gen-
tleman of the cloth, were bound to re
spect them. No one can make .us be
lieve that Reim and his true friends
would ever endorse all of the methods
that were used to indirectly advance
their cause.
Here is what Prof. Searing,. ,pf the
Mankato Normal School says:'"'^The
graduates of the New Ulm schools are
among the best we receive* They show*
evidence of careful and thorough trail
ing much aboye the average. I have a
full appreciation of the educational
work that is being done in our neigh
boring city."-, Prof. Searing is an edu
cator of long experience and pronounced
merit, and his opinion should weigh
well in the balance when compared with
that of those who seldom visit a school.'
The story was started by one of the
agitators that if Turner Hall was loca
ted on Front Street, State Street would
not have been graded. The story has
nothing to- do with the school question,
as we can see, but to illustrate its absur
dity it is only necessary that the petition
which brought about the grading of State
Street was headed by A. F. Reim and
that the improvement waspaid for large
ly by people residing along the said
Street.^ Furthermore, Mr. Strickler. as a
member ot the Board of Public Works
voted for the improvement, and' certain
iy no one thinks of accusing him of be
ing run by the Tumverein.
It is a bad sign of popular corruption
sufficient to cause fear, when liquor is
employed in the ordinary political strug
gle after office where 'money is at stake,
and perhaps a living, but when men are
so anxious to secure control of educa
tional matters in order to execute selfish
desires- and vent personal spite, that
they will spend whole nights in a sa
loon and even tarnish the sanctity of
what was once a place of religious wor
ship by employing the fasset to destroy
the more upright and patriotic influen
ces that would guard the sacredness of
the public schools, then it is enough to
cause one to think that Americanism
and loyalty to American institutions
have lost their weight with some people
and are as nothing compared with per
sonal greed and individual ambition.
Heavpn forbid, though, that all of us
should ever come to fall so low. Rather
be losers always than to taint the citi
zenship of which we are proud by re
sorting to ward politics to run the
schools which are to fit the youth of this
'land for the responsible duties of gov*
eminent.
The gentleman1 who made the speech
es at the New Ulm Brewing Co's saloon
on Friday evening and who for the first
time in the history of New Ulm intro
duced beer as a motive factor in settling
educational interests* gave it' out in
boastful terras that if it hadn't been for
him the lower part of town would never
have secured the 3,500 school house.
People, who lived here before the town
was blessed with, the presence of this re
markable ward worker vaA educational
beneficiary, will remember thatC. W. Hi
Heidemanin years gone by introduced'
a resolution: at the meeting of. the school
board and impressed upon the members
at'that time the necessity of setting aside*
lots for the purpose of a school building
that section when one became neces
sary. The board agreed to, the resolu
tion and now.that the need is1, apparent
Jthe members, whom the CSncinnatT-'ora
tor would so much like to down and who
have all along beenin. the majqrity,.
voted to let the people,, sav'liow much,
money/they,^wanted".,to-^s^fend^ for
thfe buildings The. ^eoptefjp^rbted
and the gentlemati whio,!nowCclaims alL
the credit had notmor^'todo'iw|th.,i^aian
|e og 'feeliag' thfe^maflLiwho. &&3&?'We di^-&**, after-Ma
^^^^4^:w,ife:-Kiia-^atedIfa&K^y.'JFhftkPi KHUhffi
facte in rn*tter
a
tM^
ewis!
The special school ta^for 1891 the
three leadiinr/^wm pf£tle*ounty wAsas
follows: Hei^U§ftV t^ ^^m^lSiSleepy'
Eye, 21 mills Springfield 39 2-10 mills.
Does-it appew froin tlu^tKat our^schools
are hot being^ffftr upoa^&-^.economic
a
For two year*Prof .Nix through skill
ful letter writing.8ecured.tiie, state, .aid
when.ouxsenoMi^were-rwt. entitledto it,,
and also lowerjed the cost of education per
capita by changing'jthe^metiioS of in
struction. N^^comes his reward^ His
enemies woul^j&ttthinu down and out,
simply becausev:they cannot have their
own way abouti^erything. it right?
fa it just and
t&s board fFhWy ^3Mel
the- appropriation' tha only reason given
was that the number of pupils was less
than that required by lawv%/ The work
of the school .-ma highly commended
and pronounceo/^xcellent by the High
School board. ^ow, what are we to
conclude. Simply this that the New
Ulm schools are doing just as good
work in the eye^of the state" board now
as they did und|r^the old syster&aad are
doing it at less expense. Why^icfnn&t
the.voters appreciate tbis^-
In 1884,,the si^cialschotvl taxiindud
interest and sinking fund, was 29 9-10effect
mills in f885 it WHS 20 3-10 mills in
1886 it was lflTM^ mills in 1887 it
was lS^-lO^j&iUsjrijr 1888 it was 16
3-10 nulls in ,188f"it~was 16 2-10'mills
in 1890 it was:t5 |-10 mills and fn
1891 it was t«jB-10 mills. The in
•crcascin 189rwaf-due to the sinking
fund as appeals Kom ^the official re
ports,, so that tl»e decrease has been
steady,While tb^ progress of the schools
has been rapidHf How do the would-be
reformers expect tojget aron^d^hjLf^when
thev argue for-a change? t'^m^'A'P^
i~*
r?'|Mr. Silverson, wjio is a member of the
school board and whose^solemn. duty it
is to attend its meetings was absent on,
Friday evening audit has since come to
light that he spent that time amongst a
crowd of voterst wjaere beer flowed with
unaccustomed frequency, telling, them
that the school board .'was disposing of
lots without h^siknowledge and without
reporting to him th«k manner in. which
the receipts hadlbetsrthandled. Had Mr.
Silverson been fktfk other meeting in
stead, which hadleen called according to
lawtb examine theftreasurer's books and
report,hewouldhaveheard in the regu
lar routine of business wjhat had become
of all that money §nd why the lots had
been sold. Two ^q«estions|v therefore
arise. Had Mr. |$I|»rson any right by
such statements nt^Re a direct slap at
the integrity orf^^-^nefr, as Peter Scher
er, E Gt. Jfeoc^ r^edmaniHt^|)r.
Strickier and F^,\$j,ttrg/and 'has. y£v.
Silversojn any rigl|t to. criticise the: fic
tions of the Board wheh he. don't 'attend
the meetings anddo]esn't keep: tracks of
what is going otkfpf
bug-bfar Whicn Messrs. Sil-
he chjel
and StricM^r|have tried to place
before the people to lead themto«hangfe
the present nianagQtfent of the' schools
is that of the anntwl state high schoolf Schell.
appropriation off This the schools
have not been receiving.farthe past three
years and before th^ft people accept this
talk it would &og|$e showing justice
to the accused if the matter was thor
oughly 9 4
ii a ii a a 0 3 ii a 3 a
come nearest to the tax-payers. While
not. of so much re importance as the
ertheless strike deepw and have more
weight. Statistic therefore, gathered'
fromrth# oj^iaLrefioxpa, and which peif
haps have never heettj. examined closely
by the gentlemen who: are so anxious to
father a change, so
bathe subject. "V,-- v.- -V,*»L ,^^-AJ'l
In the year *85|#^f8
9
board and.r€«»iV!
tion^^TBal? yea&45$$«
the, attccdance
efiopioy
studies fei,4 f«i%
*nd'
to tbe thirteen
bej lie*
flevedlittipipefeie*^ have
made New^Ulhi what
it iir tBiui4|Kfie
ened with?imp
..^threat-
hn«r »«a ™«»«»A *K„ fti^ouglifciward'the close it Wavered*
nt amounted to #8,750. Of
th|» i|^6:wa»^ar^fro the current
3cbool fund of the state, set aside by law
'^^l^.pWyineAt^ofiteietitexa wagesr only
lo that the district really paid onlv $T,-
WSfi§£m&m 'jSl^Tbis beg)m to* apaear bnrdensome
for 189 1 the (to.fta-Wrdy^SL at meeting it
was unanimously agrejed to^ change the
4ysfemM atlthe recommendation of- tile
8uperintendent.vi? What is known as the
xievblviiigi system of divtdingthe teachers
And classes was then introduced and a
high school course, equal! to the demand
altbougbnot under the, supervision of
the state high school board,was pursued.
It worked satisfactorily^f'and for two
years! more,iPtot Njbc through hi» own'
efforts secured the state aidt^ difficulties'
that wereentirely uncalled for on the
part of the state board arose' and since
then the state: aid has been denied,, ex
cept onone condition that the high
school afford two distinct courses, which
are to fit the pupils for the college de
partment of literature, science and arts
in the University of Minnesota. From
avcommbn sense viewthis is not required
and its adoption, while bringing in $400
from the state, wouid necessitate an ex
tra teacher if not two, at a cost of $800
and perhaps $1,300 for salaries and the
addition of another room,- Men, of such
good business ability as E. ?. Koch, E.
Gfc Fahl, F. Burg, Geo. Doehne, F.Fried
man,andWm. Hummel's saw the folly of
such an expenditure and the utter in
necessity of a classical course when pu
pils could hardly be forced to take it, and
acted according to their best judgment.
Such stories as those circulated to the
that they were influenced by pre
judices or whims are groundless.
WS^^^T^m^ NUMBEB
7 58,
includij?g5tiie
+They
are given out merely to estrange the vot
ers, and the REVIEW invites careful con
sideration from all as to the good sense
of a change. «^•:&•: £-,-. ,y-'
A comparison may'alsV'be of interest
and of aid in refuting the seemingly
plausible arguments that are poured in
to the ears of the taxpayers:^-In '86, we
have said, the sum of salaries paid to
teachers and superintendent was $7,814.
The school, bear in mind, then numbered
551 pupils. Now in the school year of
'91 to '92 the sum of salaries paid for all
the teachers and superintendent was $7,
735 and deducting $2,111 obtained from
the current school fund, we. have a de
crease over '86 of $2,200 and the pupils
number 557..». In '86 they were receiving
state aid and thereby gained $400. Now
they do without state aid and save $2,200
in salaries by a careful and intelligent
adjustment of classes. Which do the
taxpayers, whom the politicians so mueh
desire to reach, prefer? It strikes us that
Prof.Nix and the old school board were
n't trying to bleed the people so very
bad after all. In fact we find that they
have been saving us money all along,and
that facts and figures, generally give the
lie to street talkv.
A Woman Takes Poison.
Last Wednesday, in the town of West
Newtoa near Fairfax a married woman,
named Mrs. Wm. Dickmeyer, ended her
life by taking poison. The dose consis
ted in two teaspoonsful of parisgreen and
the agony lasted for several hours before
it resulted in death^She had been trou
bled with melancholy, it seems, during
the past few years and her life was far
from a happy one. To New Ulm peo
ple she will be best known by her mai
den name of Sophie StarJet For several
y^sars she worked at the home of August
Illlli' A jPhflnomsnon.'
Thdee who were out of doors about
ttto" o'clock Wednesday' night witnessed
one the strangest sights in the heavens
that was eve*^ seen. Different people
have diflerent ideas of it, but it appears
ti^t a slender column, of. light arose
Itowly from the east and continued^ to
^seuntil^it had crossed the zeaith. Then
it halted for a while, and finally exten
itself down to, the western' horizon,
tad remained-f or a half an hour or more
s^teetched across, the) sky from east to
west^ and brightest on the, western half
likearibbon of the purest
caused wonder and awe among
aBw|^ iKa^it||^ome.of^he:/ morersu-,
.p^i^dafens-'were frightened at the* sight
a a 4 a northern^lightj
©^ater andL has a'lBof!sup$Ked
passes witfi^power. tt jSjlhei
id'taiexecuteigodd^ wojfe- ahdr
tt^&ufejabrwjhtn dispatch,Tandi at^less
this
TWELVE TH0USAHD KILLED
of a Volcanic Eruption,
on the Idand of SangisJ ij-
lh
A special of- yesterday says:
The steamer Catterthnn, which has ar
rived at Sidney, K. S. W., reports that
when she touched at the island of Tim
or there was a rumor current that the
island of Sangis in the Malay archipela
go had been destroyed by a volcanic
eruption and that the whole population,
comprising 12,000, had perished. The?
Catterthun steamed for Miles through a
mass of volcanic debris*^
A native from the Talantz islands,who
was at San Angelim four weeks ago,
brought a remarkable story that several
other natives had just returned from a
voyage. They had intended to land on
the island but were prevented by the
sight of mountains belching forth smoke
and fire. They reported "that the whole
island was on fire. The water along
the coast was covered, they said, with
half-burned wreckage, pieces «of houses
and charred bodies. The whole popula
tion, estimated at 12,000, seemed toSjgJ
have been swept into the sea or burned,
as not a living soul was to be seen. I S
Streams of lava were still flowing to-
ward the shore, showing that the activi- ^y-Vife)
ty of the volcano had not abated. ^'•Vv^-^'#^
The steamship Catterburn brought a irf.^W^
similiar story into port with her yester
SMBJ Will Debate.
W. R. Hodges of the Sleepy Eye Her
ald was a caller at the REVIEW office on
Monday.
The good people of New Ulm wear
diamonds|^They own four, times as ma
ny as our people. The assessor of that
place found just one hundred dollars
worth, while we could produce but $25
worth. And still the papers up there
kick while we are not saying a word
St. Peter Herald.
In referring to the Democratic con
gressional situation, the Mankato Review
says!1' Very few names have been sug
gested, so far, but as time advances and
the prospects as to the outcome devei
op they may become more numerous.
C. W. H. Heideman of New Ulmis being
urged in his own. county, and is willing,
we understand, to accept the honor, in
which case he would make a persistent
canvass^
The annual re-union of the society of
the second regiment Minnesota veterans
will be held at 8t. Peter on Friday, Sep|
tember l«th. Qapt. E. St. Julien. Cox
and A. A. Stone are appointed as a local
committee of arrangements with, power
to. add to the committe-such other veter&J
ans as may be available forservice there'r^
am, Gen. Jfennisortwift be the orator
Parade, banquet, fh^-wtris£visit to plaff!
cis:ofiinterest andfaiK'gi otifi% ..during'*.,
fair reception*. 8peech'T)y|sru%^ E, St"g|
^ttlie^Cor^dcth^iit^tion^-si'ili be?
«V'fr
$3
•4'M
:V
5 :I'
it |rs f. 5?
and sides of huts were mingled
such utensils as the natives of the Phil-, -.i\- ^?v ,v«rf"P
lipjmes use cooking. Many unre- *^'^}ii'^^t^M.
cognizable objects, resembling charred- l^'^i^i^iifi'-f^
human trunks, were also seen. Articles%&?%,%$m^',5.^
of head dress in the wreckage were iden- @^?|^t!?.-" %t
tified by a sailor, who had lived in thef«i'1^NviJ^^.i'cti
Pliillippines, as belonging to the natives.^
The vessel was passing through the a7
wreckage from 10 a. m. to 10:30 p. m. A
These reports are partially credited here
although they are believed to be exag-V
gerated. The formatian of Sangis is vol
canic and several small craters near the'"
centor of the island are known to have
threatened activity during the last ten li
months. 'J.
Friends of Ig. Donnelly have chal
lenged Prof. J. T. McCleary to meet the *i)'l
former in debate upon the politcalissues V7',„
of the day, the same to take place at i'^-'^': uWv'iWl
Slayton sometime in August, and the
Professor has accepted the challenge
Mr. Donnelly has a national reputation
as a speaker, writer and politician,and is
the acknowledged national leader of the
People's party, and the fact that he has
consented to meet Mr. McCleary in de
bate is an acknowledgement that he
deems him a foeman worthy of his steel.
He will find the Professor a courteous
gentleman, fair in every respect and well
versed in every point under discussion,
who will confine himself to the facts,
and compel the sage to discard the ramb
ling discussions he has-been carrying on
of late and resort to matters of fact, pro
vided he has any such ammunition in
store, or retire in disorder from the field.
Sfc,':
-im
/.--
•-.it'^i
•-Sfl
vii-
'0i
& &
Vir,
