People's Pilot, Volume 2, Number 40, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 24 March 1893 — GOODLAND. [ARTICLE]

GOODLAND.

Oats 28@30c. Corn 33@34c. More snow Sunday. Dr. Pratt has been on the sick list. Mr. Mitchell has moved back to Goodland and will soon take charge of the Central again. Mr. William McCurry is visiting friends in the southern part of the state. A couple of horse buyers, from Rensselaer, were in town Saturday and bought about six or eight head of good, heavyhorses. Drs. Pratt and Crouk have dissolved partnership. It is rumored here, and with some foundation too, that Judge Wiley will soon issue an order for a new court house at Kentland.

Mr. Barney Conlin, of Chicago, for many years shoe-maker at this place and brother-in-law of town clerk Carpenter, was visiting old acquaintances here the latter part of the week. Little Miss Rouse, aged about twelve years, of Union township, Benton county, won the prize as the best speller last Friday evening. Mr. W. A. Harrington, manager of the Straight farm, has been dangerously ill with inflamation of the stomach, but at this writing is getting some better. It is said a spelling match between the old “vets” and the W. R. C. will soon take place at McCurry’s Hall. It’s very doubtful if the boys would be in it any great length of time. The ladies went to school while the boys were following Sherman, Grant, Logan and Sheridan. Boys, surrender. It is said the dressmakers of Goodland will soon put up the price of dressmaking because they allege there will be better times under Mr. Cleveland’s administration. Mr. Jakaway, a former business man of this place, is visiting friends here the fore part of this week. Mr. Colborn is reported to be confined to the house on account of measles.

Mrs. John Cook, with the little fellows, is at Brookston visiting friends this week. Fred Weeks was on the streets Sunday before he died Wednesday. Mr. John Johnson, of the Keeley institute at Lafayette, was in town Saturday. Mr. John Thomas, conductor on the La Crosse C. & I. C., with his wife, visited their daughter in Chicago last Saturday and Sunday. “Jack the Ripper” is frequently asked: “What are those school ‘fads’ spoken of in the PILOT so often.” In reply we will say they are the teaching of how to stand shoe pegs on end and the making of mud birdnests, pies, etc., which the educational board of Chicago has just knocked out. Indiana has had these “fads,” so has Goodland, but where is the newspaper that dares array itself against them. Township Trustee Jenkins had a rather peculiar incident to happen on his ranch near Mt. Ayr a few days ago while hauling hay to his stock. It appears that he and another man had loaded up a load of hay and driving to where they wanted to unload, stopped the wagon just over where a brush heap had been burned the day before. After Mr. Jenkins had pitched off near one-half of the load the man on the ground sounded the alarm of “fire in the hay, George,” when Mr. Jenkins noticed flames rolling up from the front end of the wagon near the team, when he jumped and both endeavored to loosen the team, which by this time had become frightened and started to run with wagon and hay at a terrible speed across a field. After running some forty or fifty rods the team struck a stump, breaking both breast straps and cross reins and letting the tongue to the ground but not loosening the team from the wagon. Mr. Jenkins and his man ran as fast as possible after team and wagon but could not overtake them until they struck the stump and after a fearless effort succeeded in freeing them from the burning wagon and hay. But one horse was burned, while hay, hay-rack and wagon was an entire loss. Smoldering embers in the ash pile was supposed to have been the cause but no fire was visible at the time they drove over with the load. A very narrow escape for Mr. J. and his team, indeed.

Mr. Theo. Carew is lying dangerously ill with typhoid fever, at his brother Neal’s, two miles south of here. “The man of destiny” now in charge of our public schools raves and rants at “Jack” and everybody else, in the last issue of the Herald. In reply to this man who is allowed by a law of the state to occupy a position that he is as incompetent to fill as Balem’s ass is to fill the presidential chair, we will say that we did not tell all by a long shot. It is true there was some sickness in the vicinity of Wadena at the time he was teaching at that place. But does any sane person suppose for one moment, that there would be thirty or forty school children in one school district all sick at one time that not one single scholar could attend for days and days? And don't you suppose, Mr. D., that the people of that vicinity are intelligent and reasonable enough that they would have excused you from teaching until their children and the “roads” got better. But no sir, they waited and watched for just one act or failure on your part to not appear at the school house just on time or not at all, so they could prefer some charge against you and have you dismissed from the school. So long as a teacher appears at the school room at the usual hour each day it makes no difference whether you send your children or not they can draw their pay for the time and if discharged can collect for the whole term they were employed by the trustees or school board. Incompetency won’t dismiss them so long as they have license. All such questions are decided upon by the county and state superintendants. You may say they don’t teach the children anything. This is nothing; you must prove all this before this august (?) body and “the man of destiny” knew well all these points and guarded them with, the strictest care. In conclusion we will ask the Professor to explain the following questions in next week’s Saturday Herald. Please don’t leave the explanations quite as “fishy” as your last ones were:

1st: Didn’t the school board ask Trustee Liman Barce for a recommendation? Did they get it? 2nd: Didn’t the graduating class that you are now teaching, about all leave the school room one morning with the avowed intent of never returning? 3rd: Didn’t Mr. John Sapp, one of our town trustees, present to you a petition signed by about forty or forty-five of Goodland’s best citizens asking you to resign? 4th. Didn’t the school board have a called meeting for the purpose of dismissing you, but found the same law confronted them that did Trustee Barce? 5th. Is it not a fact that not much of your last slush was original matter? 6th. Is it not a fact that you could not get a school in Jefferson township? See Kentland Enterprise last year. Professor, if you will answer the above six questions we will give you six or a dozen more to crack next week. We already have them on file, and have statistics to back us. Mr. Sapp’s affidavit will appear next week, if necessary, in the PILOT. JACK THE RIPPER.