New Ulm review., January 24, 1894, Image 1

About New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961

Image provided by: Minnesota Historical Society; Saint Paul, MN

                
I
A
A
1
CHAKACTERS PICTURED.
The Masqaeiade Bail at Turner
Piesents Laughable/Featuies.
Hall
Tew Costly, but Many Good Character
Masks
The Fliagende Blaetter and the Local
School Wai Furnish Much
Inspnation.
It \v is good masqueiadc. It wis full
of lun It told rainy stones th it a whole
nevvspipei couldn't 11 The audience
is 11 ge one Galleiy and hall were
•well filled with lookeis on d,nd tew theie
who did not teel well paid foi then at
tend inco
One of the first laughable sights to ap
pear a& the In idea found in the
Fhegende Blaettei In as few WOJ ds as
possible it can be discnbed as follows
A &heeny and a coipulent German Shee
nj in habit of taking life ea*y. Catches
idea fiom shape of German. Causes lat
tei to he flat on floor, face downward
bheeny pillows and stretches himself on
top ot Geiinan, back to back Rotund
nituic of abdominal po'tion of Geiman
cicitcs an easy locking motion Sheen)
enjojs himself with a quiet smoke Im
mense laughtti thioughout the hall
Vnothei excellent gioup is a band
of coloied minstrels. Seven young men
enteied into the gioup, with blackened
faces, fl islnng diamonds and long linen
coatb with capes. It was an mteiestmg
season spent in watching them match
about the htll to legular negio minstiel
step, and playing a tune that was as near
like Benn Sackett's Theatre Band as a
dium major, three instruments, two
drums and a pair of cymbals could make
it- Their lendition of the new song to
the old tune, which has been so popular
here the past few weeks, wa*. such as to
bring forth round after lound of ap
plause. The programs too, which they
distributed, were inclined to be rather
humorous and particularly appiopriate
On the stage the groupings weie of
an ingenious order. The two had boys
with their kite episode, excited consider
able mernment, particulaily the scene
where one of the little urchins is lifted
by the flying kite across the stage and out
of sight
The effort of the old woman to make
the sun revolve about the heart instead
of vis versa, as is the natural order of
things, was taken up at once by the
audience in the proper spirit and started
ripples of laughter among the more per
ceptive. Local application was necessary
to a humorous understanding.
The take-off on the public school fight
was a masterpiece of caricature and per
fect representation. "Words cannot pic
ture the scene. The characters were in
some instances evidences that the actors
had studied the originals with particular
Everybody recognized the like-
ness and all appreciated the truth of the
portrayal. The whole scene was like one.
ol those political caricatures of brilliant
Tom Nast. A column of editorial
matter could not express the idea half so
well
Th adventuie of the patent tourists
who so cleverly bridged a yawning gap
in the mountain cliffs was equally amus
ing, while a group of four old ladies de
served attention throughout the hall in
their unique portrayal of an old fash
ioned "Coffee-BIatsch A group of
wandering gypsies, a couple of English
tounsts at the World's Fair, an equal
number of hod carriers, a happy colored
family of ten, doininoe groups, old men
old women and representatives of differ
ent nations added to number of masked
chai xcteis that ailed for notice and com
ment
The music was delightful, the com
pany sociable and the affan on the whole
a splendid one.
A Just Tribute.
The Blue Eaith City Post, one of our
ablest local exchanges, credits the fol
lowing veiy just tribute to the defenders
of New Ulm, as eminatmg fiom Judge
Sevei mce. of Mankato*
I considei the defease of New Ulm
to have been one of the bravest deeds
in the annals of wai. Go back as far as
you please in the history of the^orld,
jret there is nothing in my estimation
that, for stubborn bravery, outshines the
heroic defense of that town and its in
habitants. Think of it! Less than 200
men, poorly armed, undrilled in the art
war, with buildings burning on every
side, from 700 to 800 savage, blood thirs
ty savages dancing around them, or
sneaking in upon them from every side,
wa'g&b¥
the roar of the flames, the crashing of
fallino- buildings, and the blood-cuidling
yells of the led devils, came the crj of
flightened childien and the weepings
and prayeis of motheis, daughters and
wives Think of it' Was ever man called
upon to make a moie hopeless fight
against great odds? Was ever a braver
defense successfully made' For thiee
days and nights these men, hastily thiown
togethei, many of them with their own
families fai out upon the prames, at the
meicy of the savages, fought like Spar
tans against ovei-whelming odds and
against an enemy cruel and relentless
Every school child should be taught the
whole cucumstance of this battle, that
they may more fully know of the hero
ism of the pioneei settlers of Minnesota.
Tom Johnson, Monopolist.
"That I am a monopolist is a charge
to which I plead guilty." Having said
this in congress, and said it in sad earn
est, Mr Tom Johnson is stopped from
pleading in the character of"a friend of the
people." The circumstances leading to
Congressman Tom's confession are these,
Tom had offered an amendment to the
Wilson bill, said amendment being that
steel rails should be admitted fiee of
duty. Tom himself is a manufacturei
of steel rails, and it mounded in a tonp
of self-sacufice when Tom asked for re
peal ©f a duty on an aiticle made by
himself.
But Mr. Dalzell cliarged that Tom's
steel rails weie protected by 102 patents
none of which weie used by his compe
titois intiade. Theiefore, argued Tom's
leal purpose was to bieak down his Am
erican rivals by subjecting them to com
petition with free English-made rails,
and then to hold a monopoly over such
English goods by his own patents. Tom
was cornered" and pleaded guilty in the
words quoted by us.
Mr. Dalzell did not rest here, he made
Tom confess that h- was paying his
workmen one-third in cash and two
thirds scrip, such scrip being pur
chased at a discount from Tom's needy
workmen by a relative of Tom, and by
Tom redeemed at par from Tom's rela
tive.
Things, being thus, by Tom's open
confession, we submit there arc forms
and methods of "robbery" in the steel rail
business as conducted by Tom far more
"infamous" than any imagined by the
most visionary free-trader to be made
possible by the McKialey law.—Chicago
Inter Ocean.
Captain Jack Crawford, the 'Poet
Scout'' who is gathering bright laurels in
the encertainment field, is in the habit of
doing very effective missionary work in
hi. own quiet way. He responds to fre
quent calls to talk to the pupils of pub
lic and Sabbath schools, and in eloquent
and impressive language warn the young
people of the ruinous results of reading
the sensational, flashy literature with
which news stands are flooded. But a few
evenings ago he was billed for an enter
tainment at the Opera House at Pontiac,
111., and on the afternoon of the evening
of his appearance accepted an invitation
from Superintendent McClaughry to vis
it the State Reformatory and talk to the
boys confined there. After entertaining
the boys for an hour with bolder stories
and politioal recitations he launched
forth into the subject nearest his heart
and delivered an address so eloquent aDd
so touchingly pathetic on the evils of
dime novel reading and youthful vices
generally that tears trickled down every
youthful face as the burning words fell
from his lips. On his return to Chicago
Captain Crawford received the following
letter of thanks fiom MajorMcClaughry,
"Illinois State Reformatory, Pontiac,
Jan It.—Captain Jack Crawford, Chi
cago, 111 My Dear Sir: I wish to thank
you most heartily for the entertaining,
amusing and instructive talk that you
gave to the inmates ot this Refoimatory
yesteiday. To heai a man who has real
ly been 'on the trail' and has had pergon
al enccunteis -with live Indians' dispel
as happily and completely as you did,
the dime novel ideas of western life with
which so many of these boys are imbued
was indeed helpful and refreshing, The
warning you gave them against vile lit
eiature, whisky and evil associations
came with special force from your lips
and made an excellent impression. You
will always be a welcome visitor here.
The True Policy of Florida.
If the Mitchell-Corbett fight shall
prove to be so unprofitable an undertak
ing as to lead to the bankruptcy of the
Duval Club and to the impoverishment
ot the spoiting gentlemen who ha-ve
been raising s*uc ha pother of late, it will
be a fortunate outcome for the State of
Florida ct large, and foi the city of
Jacksonville in paiticulai.
The class of Northerners who have
improved Floiidato its present point of
impi ovement, and who must be depend
ed on tor its further improvement, aie
not of the Duval Club's kind. They
are not admneis of the trade of puze
fighting They object to association with
toughs, and a laige, po°sibly the largei,
pait of supporters of what was called
"the manly ait" befoieit had degeneiat
ed into a biutal money making fake are
toughs Had Governor Mitchell declined
to mteifere, it is possible that Jackson
ville might have been tempoianly en
nched bv the expenditures of seveial
thousand visitors to the piojected fight
But the ultimate loss would far have ex
celled the piesent gain The Duval Club
would have been encouraged to ariange
for new exhibitions of brutality, the city
would have become disieputable and the
well-to-do, well behaved and liberally
spending influx of steady visitor* A ould
have been checked.
It is the policy of the cities and IU'AI
communities of Florida to uphold the
action Gov. Mitfhell to discourage
lawlessness in all its forms, and to make
the State attractive to Northern visitors
and investois If Florida is to be pros
pet ous it must be as the wintei garden
of the United States. Chicago Inter
Ocean.
VOLUM E XVI KQ 5. N E W ULM, E O O COUNTY, MUSHST., WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 24, 1894. WHOLE NUMBER 837
and a poor
It has few
Florida is a pooi State,
State it is likely to lemain
matenals requisite for the establishment
of manufactuies, much of its -.oil is thin
and unadiptel to agnculture, its fimt
growmgcapdcitj, though gieat is limited.
It is upon its reputation as a wintei resoit
foi invalids and pleasuie shekels that it
must depend foi the gieat part of its le
venue But foi Noithein investors the
average value of land in Florida would
not now far exceed $5 per acre. But for
the constant stream of Noithem visitors
the hotels of its cities new would be
empty, and its rihoads and steamboats
unprofitable.
Farmer's Institute.
It is to be hoped that the farmers of
Blown andNicollet]county willnotfail to
avail themselves of the instruction that
is to be given at the coming Farmers'
Institute.
In conducting these meetings Supt.
Gi egg keeps a sharp eye to the want of
the farmers in the locality where the in
stitute is held. If the dairy interest is a
dominant one, then information is given
freely on dairying. If the pork interest
is a dominant one, then much informa
tion is given on the feeding and rearing
of swine. But information is given
more or less on nearly all farm topics at
every institute.
The institute corps this season is com
posed of the following members, viz O.
C. Gregg, Dr. C. Curryer, Theodoie
Louis. W. L. Carlyle and Prof. Thomas
Shaw. O. C. Gregg, the superintendent,
usually presides at the meetings. He
also speaks upon such topics as dairy
cattle, with special reference to their
points, and on the conservation of the
soil moisture. Dr. J. C. Curryer presides
in the absence of Mr. Gregg, and talks
upon the subject of training horses and
on the points of a good*horse. Theodore
Louia talks on brooding, feeding and
rearing swine, and growing clover and
corn. W. L. Carlyle tests milk and
churns in the presence of the people. He
uses the Babcock tester and carrier with
him, a complete outfit forchurning.Prof.
Shaw speaks upon such subjects as weed
extermination, rotation, humus in soils,
rearing calves, sheep husbandry, potato
culture, growing roots, farm buildings
and agricultural education.
The farmers present are encouraged to
ask questions of the various speakers
while they are speaking. And in addi
tion a question box is kept open during
all sessions. The questions put in the
box are carefully answered by the van
ous speakers on the afternoon of the sec
ond day. They usually relate to almost
every phrase of farming.
The favorite topics at the different
meeetmg vaiy with the locality.
Sometimes training horses is the fa~vor
lte theme. |at other times daily cattle
and dairying. In some instances pork
raising is the most important and in oth
ers potato or corn culture, But a very
encouraging feature of the interest man
ifested is the evident desire everywhere
to get information which bears upon
mixed farming. Everywhere the con
viction seems to prevail that mixed hus
bandry will prove the salvation of the
farmers.
It is very encouraging to notice the
eager attention which is given at these
meetings to everything that is said. The
order is simply perfect. At the end of
th« second day when the time for closing
comes many of the people seem loth to
leave and it would do one's heart good
to hear the sincere invitations to the
members of tho institute to come again
as soon as possible.
TEIAL ON AWFUL CHARGES.
The Great Madigan Legal Fight Com
mences.
Attorneys Peck and Pierce on Hand
Madigan takes an Active Interest in the
Case.
The Number of Witnesses is Large and the
Interest Intense.
The tiial of County Attorney Madigan
of Redwood. County on the serious char
ges of perjury, biibery and forgery was
to have- commenced yesterday but was
adjourned till this morning. The rea
son was that Clerk Byramforgotto bring
down the origin.d indictments and when
the Judge rapped the court to order, At
torney Peck asked to see the originals,
claiming that the copv that had been
served on him was so chopped up with
interlineations that lie could make out
nothing trom it. Byram accordingly re
turned te Redwood and was to have been
back this morning with all the necessary
papers.
The Judge suggested the nnpan
elhng of a jury, but Madigan objected
to any such proceedure before the origi
nal indictments were read.
S. S. Pieice has charge of the case for
the state and H. J. Peck of Shakopee
will defend the accused. Madigan takes
an active interest in his own behalf and
appears to have charge of all the evi
dence and papers that are to be used in
his defense.
Witnesses are numerous indeed Near
ly a whole car came down from Redwood
yesteiday and more are expected.
The court room was crowded from the
start with people who are anxious to
hear the evidence in this important case,
and it can be truly said, that nothing has
transpired in the Brown county couit in
years that has excited jsuch general in
terest.
A Portrait of Eiley.
Hamlin Garland writing in McClure's
Magazine for February, describes a dia
logue with the Hoosier poet as follows.
After a few minutes' chat Riley said,
with a comical side glance at me:
"Come up into my library." I knew
what sort of a library to expect. I was
a pleasant little upper room, with a bed
and a small table in it, and about a do
zen books.
Mr. Riley threw out his hand in a
comprehensive gesture, and said: "This
is as sumptuous a room as I ever get. I
live most o' my time in a Pullman car or
a hotel, and you know how blamed lux
urious an ordinary hotel room is."
He is a short man, with square shoul
ders and a large head. He has a very
dignified manner—at times. His face is
smoothly shaven, and, though he is not
bald, the light color of his hair makes
him seem so. His eyes are gray and
round, and generally solemn, and some
times stern.
His face is the face of a great actor—
in rest, grim and inscrutable. in action,
full of the most elusive expressions, cap
able of humor and pathos. Like most
humorists, he is sad in repose. His lan
guage, when he chooses to have it so, is
wonderfully concise and penetrating and
beautiful. He drops often into dialect,
but always with a look on his face which
shows he is aware of what he is doing.
In other words, he is master of both
forms of speech. His mouth is his won.
derful feature—wide, flexible, clean-cut.
His lips are capable of the grimmest and
the merriest lines. When he reads they
pout like a child's, or draw down into a
straight, grim line like a New England
deacon's, or close at one side and unco
ver his white and even teeth at the other,
in the sly smile of "Benjamin F. John
son," the humble humorist and philoso.
pher. In his own proper person he is
full of quaint and beautiful philosophy.
He is wise rather than learned—wise with
the quality that is in proverbs, almost
touched with humor.
His eyes are near-sighted and his nose
prominent. His head is of the "tack
hammer" variety, as he calls it. The
public insists that there is an element of
resemblance between Mr. Riley, Eugene
Field, and Bill Nye. He is about forty
years of age and a bachelor—presumably
from choice. He is a man of marked
neatness of dress and delicacy of man
nei. .&T3tg JUT
"Well, now, I want*l a
that patent-medicine peddling."
Something in my tone made him reply
ifJl
"That has been distoited. It was re
ally a very simple matter, and followed
the sign-painting naturally. After the
"trade" episode I had tiied to lead law
with my father, but I didn't seem to get
anywhere. Forgot as diligently as I
read. So far as school equipment was
concerned, I was an advertised idiot, so
what was the use? I had a trade, but it
was hardly what I wanted to do always,
and my health was bad—very bad—bad
as I was
"A doctor here in Greenfield advised
me to travel. But how the sufferin' Mo
ses was I to travel 2
was just at this time that the patent med
icine man came along. He needed a
man, and I argued in this way 'This
man is a doctor, and if I must travel,
better travel with a doctor.' He had a
fine team, and a nice-looking lot of fel
lows with him so I plucked up courage
co ask if I couldn't go along and paint
his advertisements for him."
Riley smiled with retrospective amuse
ment. I rode out of town behind those
horse* without saying good-by to any
one. And though my patron wasn't a
diploma'c doctor, as I found out, he was
a mighty fine man, and kind to his hor
ses, which was a lecommendation He
was a man of good habits, and the whole
company was made up of good straight
boys
"How long were you with him?"
"About a year. Went home with him,
and was made same as one of his own
lovely family. He lived at Lima, Ohio.
My expeiience with him put an idea in
my head—a business idea, for a wonder
and the next year Iwent down toAnderson
and went into partnership with a young
fellow to travel, organizing a scheme of
advertising with paint, which we called
'The Graphic Company.' We had five
or six young fellows, all musicians as
well as handy painters, and we used to
capture the towns with our music. One
fellow could whistle like a nightingale,
another sang like an angel, and another
played the banjo. I scuffled with the
violin and guitar."
"I thought so, from that poem on
'The Fiddle' in 'The Old Swimmin'
Hole.'"
"Our only dissipation was clothes.
We dressed loud. You could hear our
clothes an incalculable distance. We
had an idea it helped business. Our
plan was to take one firm of each busi
ness in a town, painting its advertise
ments on every road leading into the
town. 'Go to MooneyV and things like
that, you understand. We made a good
thing at it."
"How long did you do business?"
"Thiee or four years, and we had more
fun than anybody." He turned another
comical look on me over his pinch-nose
eyeglasses. "You've heard this story
about my travelling all over the State as
a blind sign-painter? Well, that started
this way. One day we were in a small
town somewhere, and a great crowd
watching us in breathless wonder and
curiosity and one of our party said:
'Riley, let me introduce you ds a blind
sign-painter.' So just for devilment I
put on a crazy look in the eyes and pre
tended to be blind. They led me care
fully to the ladder and handed me my
brush and paints. It was great fun. I'd
hear them sayin' as I worked, 'That fel
ler ain't blind.' 'Yes, he is, see his eyes,'
'No, he ain't, I tell you, he's playin' off.'
•I tell you he is blind. Didn't you see
him fall over a box there and spill all
his paints."
Riley rose here and laughingly re-enac
ted the scene, and I don't wonder that
the villagers were deceived, so perfect
was his assumption of the patient, weary
look of a blind person.
"All I got of farm life I picked up
right from the distance—this town this
old homestead. Of course, Greenfeld
was nothing but a farmer town then,and
besides, father had a farm just on the
edge of town, and in eorn-plantin' times
he used to press us boys into service and
we went loathf ully, at least I did. I got
hold of farm life some way—all ways in
fact, I might not have made use of it if
I had been closer to it than is
••Sometimes some real country boy
gives me the round turn on some farm
points. For instance, here comes one
stepping up to me: You never lived on
a farm,he says: 'Whynot?' said L. 'Well*
he says, 'a turkey-cock gobbles, but he
don't ky-ouck as your poetry says.' He
had me right there. It's the turkey-hen
that hy-oucks. 'Well, you'll never hear
another turkey-cock of mine ky-oucMn'
saysl. S£ S S
While I laughed, Riley became seri
ous again, "But generally I hit I the
right symbols. get the frost on the
pumpkin and the fodder in the shock,gfe
and I see the frost on the old axe they 9 I
split the pumpkins with for feed, and 1
get the smell of the fodder and the cat
tie, so that it brings up the right picture
in the minds of the reader. I don't
know how I do it. It ain't me."
His voice took on a deeper .note, and
his face shone with a strange soit of my
sticism which often conies out in his
earnest moments. He put his fingers to
his lips in a descriptive gesture, as if he
held a trumpet. "I'm only the 'wilier'
through which the whistle conies."
The School Question.
Intelligent reasoners are gradually
awakening to the defect in our public
school system. In a late number of the
Forum we read the following very true
conclusion by Dr. J. M. Rice, continued
by a commentary compatible with his
initiatory assertions.
The public school system of the United
States as at present constituted, says he, is
entirely without a foundation. The board
of education of each locality is practical
ly vested with absolute authority to con
duct its schools in accordance with any
whim, and consequently it is not far
wrong to say that there are in our coun
try as many school systems as there are
cities, towns, and country districts. Are
the results of a system which grants these
privileges to lay boaids of education so
flattering as to justify us in the belief
that the ideal system of schools lies in
absolute local control? I believe not. It
is claimed by the advocates of our pies
ent system that absolute local control is
ideal, because it offers the most favorable
opportunities for advancing the schools
and that the opportunities for introduc
ing radical reforms would be greatly di
minished, if the local officials should be
hampered by laws which would limit
independent authority. But those who
use this argument leave out of consider
ationthat absolute local authority affords
as much opportunity to unscrupulous
members of school boards to plunder the
schools, as it does to conscientious per
sons to raise the standard of these insti
tutions. And, as under existing condi
tions, there is nothing to prevent a new
board of education from destroying at a
single sweep, all that may have been
done for years by faithful workers to
plai the schools upon a proper founda
tion, the system has a dangerous feature
of leaving the interests of the children
without any protection whatever,beyond
the good will of ward politicians. In a
number of our cities the schools have
reached a degree of excellence that, all
things considered, places them among
the best schools in the world. But if by
a turn of politics these schools should be
brought under the spoils system their
downfall is almost sure to follow.
The danger which threatens the latter
has already been made manifest by in
consistent changes in the curriculum for
the sole purpose, as it has been hinted
at, to aid booksellers, and those who
bring about these changes. Can we look
for true progress where the motive for
a change in the curriculum is to rob the
parents rather than to look after chil
dren's interest? Let our citizens forget
party in this as well as in other matters
of equal importance, and invite the guil
ty ones to spend a few summers at those
resorts known as penitentiaries for in
our public school system lies the hope
of our nation—our future prosperity,our
liberty, everything we hold dear to our
hearts. Let it be free from all that
which threatens to mar its progress as a
practical educator of the masses. Let it
be fostered as the dearest institution in
the land, and to all who are not in favor
of this, cry hands off'
Teachers Express Begret.
The following communication from
teachers and ex-teachers in our public
school was received yesterday
"We, the undersigned, who now are or
in the past have been teachers in the
Public schools of New Ulm, feel called
upon at the present time to express our
deep regret and sorrow at the removal of
Mr. Robert Nix from his position as su-t
perintendent of the New Ulm Public^
schools. We take this occasion to tes
tify to the extraordinary ability shown
by him in the management of his schools
we appreciate what he has done, and we
herewith publicly thank him for the kind
assistance rendered to us while associa
ted with him." *^$fc*3®&
The signatures of the followihgleachers
are appended: Fr.Forster, Tory Oleson,
Albeit Steinhauser, W. T. Eckstein,
L. A. Fritsche, Alwina Scherer, Be:
Fischer Graner, iGustav Fischer,
McCaughin, Helen George^Bertha
horn, Clara M. Rehfeld, AlbertPfaender,
Emma Schapekahni andPauline
"A"*
is
JfJ
,&J