2 *
THE DULUTH RIP-SAW
Zenith Telephone, Grand 108.
Entered at Postoffice atDulnth, Minn .fas Second Class Matter.
A WORD WITH OtJR READERS
Some of the Rip-saw’s valued
and esteemed readers make the
criticism that the previous issue
was too dry. At other times,
6till other readers have made the
criticism that the Rip-saw was
too lively and breezy. 4
To strike a happy medium is
an editor’s exacting task. If he
takes one course, street and news
stands sales fall off. If he takes
another course, prospective sub
scribers side-step the subscrip
tion list and disappoint the pub
lisher. ,
The average reader, too, is
prone to judge a publication by
some particular article in one is
sue out of the entire year of is
sues. The average reader is
quite apt to find fault with one
little paragraph, in one little ar
ticle, and fail to praise or ap
prove the many interesting, in
structive and carefully prepared
articles over months of time.
The Rip-saw is a genuine one
man sawmill. The entire work,
snaking out dead-heads, filing
the saw, piling the product, get
ting it to market, even loading
and billing it, falls on one man.
It often takes eighteen hours a
day and seven days a week to do
all that half way creditably, to
say nothing of brilliantly.
The head sawyer invites crit
icisms and takes pleasure in re
ceiving words of approval for
an> thing creditably done. No
one knows so well as he how far
short this undertaking comes of
measuring up to the high stand
ard he has set. lie has great
hope and desire of attaining that
standard, despite these troublous
and stringent times.
A big, paid, loyal list of sub
scribers will do more to bring
the Rip-saw nearer perfection
than any one thing. If you can
see more of good than bad in
the great family journal, push it
onward and upward by getting
your name on the roll of honor,
the subscription list.
‘r T County auditor Halden has been
saved from defeat a couple of
times by the votes of democrats.
Usually those votes came chiefly
from democrats who think more
of a place at the political pie
counter than they do of official
efficiency and principle. Pick-
1
if!;
mg being poor in democratic pas
tures, they were willing, even
anxious, to swap votes for a seat
for themselves or their followers.
The courthouse carpenter, for
example, who put on and took
off oounty auditor Halden’s
storm windows at expense of
county time and money, origi
nally secured his place through
the efforts.of a democratic ward
boss.
Under existing state laws the
office of county auditor is non-
partisan, therefore men of any
party can legally and properly
vote for a candidate without ref
erence to his party affiliations.
But what is legal often cannot
be done with consistency and
good taste.
If Odin Halden, for example,
were at least half-way nonparti
san, no question could or would
be raised as to good taste and
consistency on the,part of any
party man voting for him.
But there is nothing nonpar
tisan about Odin Halden. He is
a partisan of partisans. He even
imagines, he is the local boss of
the party with which he affili
ates. He never winks an eye or
I
takes a step without considering
party politics. He looks on any
voter outside of his own party as
a mercenary, hired and paid for
in cash, place or promises.
Any consistent party man, dem
ocrat, republican, prohibitionist
JOHN L. MORRISON,
Editor and Publisher,
No. 221 Fargusson Building,
SATURDAY, JULY 13, 1918.
HALDEN IS DOOMED.
or socialist, who votes for a man
like Odin Halden, shows poor
taste and encourages a man who
plays the people as counters to
enable him to jump into the king
row on the checker board of
county office and politics.
There is no good excuse for
any democrat to vote for Odin
Halden this fall, no matter what
his inducements or arguments,
and there are logical reasons why
every real democrat should not
vote for him.
Halden’s political doom is
sealed.
DEFECTIVE VENTILATION IN
PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
Every patron of the public
schools should read the expert
report on ventilation systems in
several of Duluth newer school
buildings.
For reasons which no one need
now be blamed, the ventilation fa
cilities in several of the newer
buildings are poorly planned and
entirely inadequate to the re
quirements .of the law and the
■needs of thej pupils.
Perhaps the prime cause for
these deficiencies is due to an ear
nest and honest desire to save
money* Secondarily, they are
presumed to be due greatly to a
policy of saving money by leav
ing the work of experts to a nov
ice pr apprentice in the profes
sion of yentilation engineering.
Nothing is so vital to good
health and mental efficiency as
an ample supply of pure air.
Nothing is so harmful to the mu
cous membranes of the respira
tory tract as super-heated, ex
cessively dry air. Colds, catarrh
and even more serious disorders'
are directly due to improperly
heated gpd ventilated school
rooms.
We Bbow that this report,
printed in another column, was
made because of direct orders
from the board of education. We
believe that it was made impar
tially, in good faith, according
to best judgment and with a per
fect desire to be fair. We can
not concur in a fear expressed
by some that it was made to put
some on§ in the hole, so to
speak.
But these flaws in ventilation
are facts, not theories. They
should be heeded. Defects should
be remedied as soon as time and
means will permit. The mem
bers of the board of education
should avoid short cuts to econ
omy in such an important mat
ter in the future, and if they
fail to do so, the people should
lift up their voices in a way
to secure members who can fend
will.
Incidentally, these serious and
harmful defects, due to false
economy, turning a task for ex
perts over to novices, and, per
haps, due to a desire to exalt a
worthy but too inexperienced a
man, cannot be laid at the door
of the new members of the board.
The entire responsibility rests
with the autocratic members of
the Old Regime.
BURNQUIST AND WHEATON.
The loyalty issue carried Gov
ernor Bumquist successfully
through the recent primaries.
His supporters succeeded in con
vincing a larger number of
pie that Mr. Lindbergh was not
whole-hearted in his support of
the war. .Mr. Lindbergh wrote
a book on the war. That was his
misfortune. In his zeal to attack
the profiteers he did not meas
ure well his language when refer
ring to the great issues involved
in the conflict and the govern
ment’s relation thereto. His lit
erary carelessness was his down
fall.
Governor Bumquist is making
loyalty his chief political asset.
Has he spent his ammunition in
the primary contest? What will
he have to say when he meets
Fred E. Wheaton, the democratic
nominee, in the big fall cam
paign? He cannot question Mr.
Wheaton’s loyalty, for Wheaton
was actively supporting the gov
ernment at the very outset of
the war when Governor Burn
quist was setting quietly snd hes
Duluth, Minnesota.
SATURDAY
itatingly in his office and making
no move to rally the patriots of
Minnesota to action. The situa
tion was such that throughout
the state men were asking:
“What kind of a governor have
we?” Nearly two months had
passed before Governor Burn
quist became the ardent loyalist
he is today.
We shall he pleased to meet
Governor Burnquist in cam
paign wit# “loyalty” as the is
sue, and knowing the people as
we think we do, we sincerely be
lieve President Wilson will have
a real American to depend on in
the state capitol at St. Paul and
that man will be Governor Fred
E. Wheaton.—The Labor World.
GOODBYE, BILLY SUNDAY.
, Billy Sunday has been to Du
luth and gone away. After weeks
of wrestling with old Satan, De
mon Rum and other Imps of
Darkness, about tf,ooo people,
hiked down the famous sawdust
trail and announced to the world
that they wished to improve on
their past lives.
The Rip-saw has only words of
encouragement and . congratula
tion for any fellow who wishes
to lead a better life. It is a ter
rible thing to put a stumbling
block in the way of anyone seek
ing to travel the straight and
narrow path. If only a small
number adhere closely to their
professions of religion may not
even that be worth many-fold the
cost in dollars ?
While we certainly do not
think exactly as Billy Sunday on
many things, and while we may
not, individually, enthuse over
some of his methods, that is a
matter chiefly for him and his
disciples. If his views and his
methods get results for the bet
ter, then strength to his body,
heart and soul. It is not for us
to put obstacles on the track.
The Rip-saw? did not specialize
on Billy Sunday’s campaign here.
When it came to handling it from
a news standpoint, the daily pa
pers did it fully and effectively.
When it came to writing some
thing with individuality and out
of the ordinary, condition of
health, demands of daily work
and various other things seemed
to make it impossible to under
take such a task.
The Ripsaw begs to offer good
wishes and encouragement to
Billy Sunday’s converts. May
they and the community in which
they live be the better for the
epochal experience of their lives.
Billy Sunday came here to do
good, not harm. There is every
indication that much more good
than harm came from his minis
try to this community. May long
life, good health and a heavy
measure of success be given him
in his chosen field of endeavor.
THE GRIM REAPER.
The Grim Reaper certainly has
laid heavy toll recently on men
near and dear to St. Louis county
and the city of Duluth.
Senator E. B. Hawkins was
hardly past his prime. Many a
man has done his great life work
after the age of fifty-four years.
The ways of Nature are past un
derstanding of poor mortals.
Death certainly loves shining
marks.
Senator Hawkins was literally
a self-made man. With great
business success and wealth to
his credit, he loved nothing bet
ter than to share his good things
with friends and deserving ac
quaintances. There was nothing
miserly or selfish in his big heart.
Loyalty to a friend was a religion
with him, and his word, once
given, was as good as his bond.
It was not our good fortune to
possess a personal acquaintance
with Senator Hawkins, but we
count as our friends many who
were near to him and who loved
him like a brother. To all such,
we beg to extend our deepest
sympathy.
W. W. WalEeffc Smother man
right in his prime and with great
success ahead of him as well as
behind him, in the railroad world,
was cut dorm at a time when his
services were needed by his coun
try and when his thousands of
friends and admirers little ex
pected it. He was a favorite son
of this city and his departure for
that Far Country will be mourned
and his memory revered for many
years.
We. personally knew, admired
and appreciated J. L. Greatsinger
who recently died at Elmira, N.
Y. He was a popular man while
he resided in Duluth, president
of the D. &L R. He was a mas
ter hand in managing men and
he had a heart that ever respond
ed to the calls of those who were
worthy. He had a rare, likable,
even unique personality. Knowl
edge of human nature and a sense
of humor helped him to go far
and easily, Peace to his ashes.
THE DULUTH RIP-SAW JULY 13, 1918.
' ■-j
.
“TOWNLEYISM” IN DULUTH'S PUBLIC SCHOOLS
The dear old News Tribune recently stated editorially that, in
the coming school election, “It is for Duluth to put an end to«Town
leyism in its schools.”
As is his habit, good old Doctor Mitchell diagnoses the case
without feeling the pulse or looking at the tongue of the patient.
Ethical, successful practitioners carefully seek all the many
symptoms of a case, thereby minimizing the danger of prescribing
for chicken-pox when the patient is coming down with small-pox,
or mistaking dread scarlet fever for harmless hives.
A great majority of the patrons of the public schools and fully
95 per cent of the teaching force, believed a year ago that an edu
cational Frussianism, hacked and maintained by a local Autocracy,
seriously afflicted the Board of Education and the public schools.
Under an infusion of red, healthy blood, from the plain, unselfish,
common people, the sufferers have greatly improved and, after an
other treatment on Saturday, July 20, a complete and permanent
recovery can be assured.
If that he Townleyism, great good and little harm can come
from it.
For several years, up to a year ago, Big Interests were danger
otisly near monopolizing the membership of the hoard of education,,
through trusted heads of departments, attorneys and complacent com
moners who sought crumbs that fell from their table. A favored
inner circle practically controlled the trade of the school district of
Duluth. The election badly battered that condition and once more
brought democracy and business fair-play into the running.
If that outcome was Townleyism, at least 99 per cent of the
people seemed well pleasd with it.
Up to a year ago, the divine right of petition was rapidly be
coming obsolete with the board of education. New directors, put
there by the patrons of the schools and the plain, common people,
bluntly announced that anyone, high or low, rich or poor, patron,
teacher, or even pupil, under proper conditions, should and could
feel free to petition the board, either in person or in writing.
‘ -If that was Townleyism, it filled a long-felt want and made
everyone feel that a constitutional right no longer was beyond their
reach.
During the past year, under the influence of the new blood, pull
and favoritism have been lessened in their power with the board of
education. Little leaks have been stopped, when seen, on the prin
ciple that many a mickle makes a muckle.
If that is Townleyism, the taxpayers will clamor for more of it.
The teachers, those consecrated nuns without a convent, now
feel, for the first time in several years, that they stand a better show
for increased salaries, consideration, appreciation, common justice
and even freedom from necessity to curry special favor with com
mittees and superiors.
If that be Townleyism, then every teacher holding a position
by virtue of actual merit will pray for its continuance.
Under the watchful and critical eye of the democratic mem
bers of the board, the Autocrats have carried on a great propa
ganda for the purpose of informing busy business men about the
local school system, thereby permitting them to really know that
Duluth has a most excellent public school system, something that
the rank and file, as well as educators of national prominence, have
known for a quarter of a century.
If this influence of democratic members he Townleyism, it has
wrought much good.
By virtue of positions taken by some of the Democrats on the
school board and, possibly, a bit of publicity by the Rip-saw, high
school graduates, teachers and principals, seeking higher and ad
vanced education, no longer are arbitrarily tied and delivered to
a favored and distant university. The present administration, by
help of these influences, has at last discovered the nearby University
of Minnesota and other western institutions of learning, such as the
University of Wisconsin and the University of Michigan. Even the
Duluth Normal seems to be emerging from a fog of obsourity and
neglect.
If that be Townleyism, every independent mind and every pos
sessor of the broad spirit of the great West, will rejoice and urge
its continuance.
Owing to this recent infusion of blood from the sane, healthy,
normal, vigorous middle class, excluding paupers and pampered Au
tocrats, there has been a watchfulness against expensive and un
timely fads and fancies. Enthusiasts in things excellent, but not
highly necessary in these troublous times, have been somewhat
checked in the expenditure of public funds. A safe, sane, solid
foundation of fundamentals has been favored, especially for aliens
of adult years, who may never become legal citizens, rather than a
dabbling in moulding of mud, basketry and art jewelry.
If that be Townleyism, no serious harm can come from it.
The honorable board of education, under the influence of the
healthy Bourgeoise blood, infused only a year ago, has broadened
its interest in the different communities. The remoter and smaller
suburbs now are receiving greater consideration. Surrender to the
Smithville malcontents a year ago may have been heavily influ
enced by the pre-election necessity; but, since then, a broad, sincere
policy certainly has influenced the erection of the U. S. Grant
school, heed of the legal requirements in connection with the Cobb
school addition, promise of the central building on Park Point,
pledged improvement of the old Franklin school, and other cases.
If all that be Townleyism, the people hunger for more of it.
v The great middle class predominates in this city. It embraces
the many who own their little homes, furnish children for the
schools and pay heavy taxes to maintain the schools. They properly
propose to possess a majority of the board of education and if that
be Townleyism, the Autocrats, Aristocrats and Plutocrats must make
the best of it.
THE PENALTY MUST FIT
THE CRIME.
There must be no German
peace, and we cannot conceive of
any loyal, patriotic American har
boring such a thought for a sin
gle minute —the patriotic Amer
ican who is giving his all to the
cause of world freedom will not
be swerved one jot from the
course of duty.
The German'kaiser is entitled
to nothing, and so long as he
is permitted to run s 0 large just
so long will he menace the free
dom of the world.
It will be the American sol
dier that will first march into
Berlin and it must be the Amer
ican soldier that decides the fate
of the mad dog of Europe—and
the penalty will be made to fit
the crime.
The surrender must be abso
lute, with the wicked kaiser upon
his knees begging for the mercy
he has never shown anyone but
the members of hi§ own family,
which does not include hn
mother.
There can be no German peace,
and it is foolish to entertain such
a notion—the kaiser and his
damnable bureaucracy must be
forever destroyed. So long as
Bill the Damned is at large, de
mocracy can never come clean
to the world. —The Mesaba. Ore.
DROUTH WAS BROKEN.
While excavating under a store
at Willow River recently, work
men exhumed a buried case of
beer. Willow River is a dry
town and the workmen also were
dry, therefore they proceeded to
absorb the beer, which they de
clared was far superior to any
thing procurable in these trou
blous times.
About 20 years ago a saloon
stood on the site. It is thought
that some lumberjack or saw
mill man buried the beer there
for a Sunday spree and then got
so booay ahead of time that he
forgo* About the buried case,
POETS’ CORNER
THE BAREFOOT BOY. /' *
BLESSINGS on thee, little man, ~~
Barefoot boy, with cheek of tan!
With thy turned-up pantaloon*,
And thy merry whistled tune*; -
With thy red lips, redder still
Kissed by strawberries on the hill;
With the sunshine on thy face.
Through thy torn brim’s jaunty
grace;
From my heart I give thee joy,—
I was once a barefoot boy!
Prince thou art, —the grown-up man
Only is republican.
Let the million-dollared ride!
Barefoot, trudging at his side,
Thou hast more than he can buy
In the reach of ear and eye,—
Outward sunshine, inward joy;
Blessings on thee, barefoot boy!
O for boyhood’s painless play,
Sleep that wakes in laughing day,
Health that mocks the doctor’s rules,
Knoweldge never learned of schools,
Of the wild bee’s morning chase,
Of the wild flower's time and place,
Flight of fowl and habitude
Of the tenants of the wood;
How the tortoise bears his shell,
How the woodchuck rigs his cell,
And the ground-mole sinks his well;
How the robin feeds her young,
How the oriole’s nest is hung;
Where the whitest lilies blow.
Where the freshest berries grow,
Where the groundnut trails its vine,
Where the wood-grape’s clusters
shine;
Of the black, wasp’s cunning way,
Mason of his walls of clay.
And the architectural plans
Of gray hornet artisans! —
For, eschewing books and tasks,
Nature answers all he asks;
Hand in hand with her he walks,
Face to face with her he talks,
Part and parcel of her Joy,—
Blessings on the barefoot boy!
O for boyhood’s time of June,
Crowding years in one brief moon,
When all things I heard or saw,
Me, their master, waited for.
I was rich in flowers and trees.
Humming birds and honey-bees;
For my sport the squirrel played,
Plied the snouted mole his spade;
For my taste the blackberry cone.
Purpled over hedge and stoned
Laughed-the brook for my delight
Through the day and through the
night, •
Whispering at the garden wall,
Talked with me from fall to fall;
Mine the sand-rimmed pickerel pond,
Mine the walnut slopes beyond,
Mine, on bending orchard trees,
Apples of Hesperldes! *
Still as my horixon grew,
Larger grew my riche* too;
All the world I saw or knew
Seemed a complex Chinese toy,
Fashioned for a barefoot boy!
O for festal dainties spread,
Like my bowl of milk and bread,—
On the door-stone, gray and rude!
O’er me, like a regal tent,
Cloudy-ribbed, the' sunset bent,
Purple-curtained, fringed with gold,
Looped in many, a wind-swung foM;
While for music came the play
Of the pled frog’s orchestra;
And, to light the noisy choir,
Lit the fly his lamp of fire.
I was monarch; pomp and joy
Waited on the barefoot boy!
Cheerily, then, my little man,
Live and laugh, as boyhood can!
Though the flinty slopes be hard,
Stubble-speared the new-mown
sward,
Every morn shall lead thee through
Fresh baptisms of the dew;
Every evening from thy feet
Shall the eool wind kiss the heat;
All too soon these feet must hide
In the prison cells of pride,
Lose the freedom of the sod,
Like a coltfs for work be shod,
Made to tread the mills of toil,
Up and down In ceaseless moll;
Happy if their track be found *
Never on forbidden ground;
Happy if they sink not in
Quick and treacherous sands of sin.
Ah! that thou could know thy joy,
Ere it passes, barefoot boy!
—John Greenleaf Whittier.
WHAT DID YOU DO?
When the war has been won,
When out duty Is done,
When our sailors come sailing the
foam:
When our men of the air
And the guns over there
All the Nation Is welcoming home;
They will come to your door,
The young winners of war,
They will look you up, over and
through,
And in word, or in thought,
They will ask, like as not:
"Well, we did quite a lot—
What did you?”
When the years have gone by,
And the pages are dry
That the story of struggle record:
With democracy sure,
When we’re living secure
In the strength of our soul and'our
sword —
In that glorious time
To your knee there will climb
Then a boy, or a girl, or the two.
And will aay, “Some were bravo
On kmd and the wave,
- Some they everything gave—
What did your >
■» i *''•»*. * v mI
it may be at night .
I To it will sit by the light .
jOfm:firein a home that Is free;
You will sit all alone
’Neath a roof of your own
In some year of the future to be,
And a voice down inside
Will say, “Some of them died,
Or they suffered their duty to do,
And the ones who could not
Give their all, gave a lot,
Gave their money—say, what,
What did you?”
—Douglas Malloch.
EARTH IS ENOUGH.
We men of earth have here the stuff
Of Paradise —we have enough!
We need no other stones to build
The stairs into the Unfulfilled —
No other ivory for the doors —
No other marble for the floors—
No other cedar for the beam
And dome of man’s immortal dream.
Here on the paths of every-day—
Here on the common human way
Is all the stuff the gods would take
To build a Heaven, to mold and make
New Edens. Ours the stuff sublime
To build Eternity in time!
—Edwin Markham.
TROOPER ON THE TRANSPORT.
Oh, the sea’s all right for the sailors,
With their suits of navy blue,
But the trooper on the transport
Has a different sort of view.
I can't get used to slanting decks,
The motion makes me pale;
And I do my exercising
With my head hung o'er the rail.
Oh, I roll out in the morning,
Maybe roll a cigarette;
And I roll up in the mess room
My rolled oats there to get.
Then I roll around until
The sun is westward drowned,
And I roll into my bunk again
First time it rolls around.
Oh, a boat drill’s not exciting,
Tho’ we do it on the run.
I want to hear “Trot” “March”
again;
That’s my Idea of fun.
Or when out on scouting duty,
Taking ditches at the lope
Is a better job than watching
For a German periscope.
Oh, give me my good steed again,
, I'm tired of bucking berths;
When my saddle starts to slide
around
I can tighten up the girths.
But when old “Hor” starts stirring
up
The waves with mighty hand,
Oh, the sea’s all right for sailors,
But I’ll take mine on land.
—Sergeant Traxton.
MY BONNIE LAD.
"My lad,” I said, "ye must not ask
The men who look to you
For anything on God’s green earth
That ye would never do.”
He tilted up his chin and said,
"Yes, I’ll remember, Dad.”
And, oh! the braw look on ills faco
Will always make me glad.
Ye ken I had my doots about
War being right or wrong,
But not a doot about the boy
I’m loving In my song.
I took his hand and said goodbye,
And kissed my bonny lad,
Who pledged himself in hearty word,
"I will remember, Dad.”
So long as we could see a bit
Of that old dock in sight,
We saw him waving to his Dad
That everything was right.
We sailed away—we left him there,
To go his way alone;
The days were long without the lad.
Who was our only one.
My bonny lad, my bonny lad,
He’s faded from my sight;
A wee bit road is left to me,
I want to make it right.
While God shall let me hold the flag
And gie me strength to sing,
I’ll have a care for other lads
And comfort to them bring.
My bonny lid, your Dad’s old heart
Is well nigh broke in two
The while he sings to other lads
The songs he sang for you;
For in each boyish, upturned face
He sees the.other lad,
Who signals from an unknown port,
"I did remember, Dad.”
—Mrs. John Palmer Nye, Shenan
doah, lowa. ,
CIVILIAN SLACKER FINED.
- Down in Pine county Ole Sohl
berg lives on a farm of 120 acres,
Last year he failed to cultivate
the land and he started on the
same policy this year, possibly
thinking that he could make A
living by the use of his mouth,
just like J. Adam Bede. Thifli
year he also permitted his herd
of ten or twelve cattle to rui*
wild.
Sohlberg was recently pulled
up on the charge of being a civ
ilian slacker and was prosecuted!
by direction of the state safety;
commission. The recreant plead-*
ed guilty, paid a fine of SIOO
and promised to get to work.
If you do not see it in thei
daily papery you probably will
find it in the Rip-saw,
V
I
%
'S
V.
f
f i
\ t> v
H
V