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About The courier. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1894-1903 | View Entire Issue (June 8, 1895)
" r w i'' JS ?i Pr C m -- -u uVOb.JO, No.25. - -. ' 'I - PRIGE FIVE CENTS m T . 4 1 i r OBSERVATIONS. IT ia reported that Superintendent Strong took bis contract with the board of education, drawn by him self, to a prominent lawyer for an opinion as to its binding quality. The lawyer looked the document over carefully and handing it back to Mr. Strong, said: "Inasmuch as the board is opposed to you I would advise that you tender your resignation." Mr. Strong promptly acted on the advice. As 1 said a couple of weeks ago Mr. Strong is not of the submissive or giving up kind, and the fact that he resigned when his contract period is only two thirds expired is pretty good evidence that he was convinced he could not hold hi& position. The retiring superinten dent has an abnormal capacity for making himself objectionable, and par ticularly in the last year, this capacity was bound by no limitations of wisdom or propriety. He was apparently actu ated by a desire to arouse the board and every member of it to a course of earnest opposition, and he succeeded. At the meeting Monday night it is doubtful if Mr. Strong could have induced one member to support him. LINCOLN, NEB., SATURDAY, JUNE 8, 1895. . I asked one of the members if it was not a fact that, admitting ail that had been said about the manner in which Mr. Strong bad conducted himself, he had made a fairly good superintendent if his methods were not practical and effective. "That's just it,' he replied. 'Mr. Strong hasn't any methods. He didn't do anything at all. He did not visit the schools, and made no attempt to acquaint himself with the efficiency or inefficiency of the teachers. He just let things take care of themselves. All day long he sat in his office with his feet on the table, reading some magazine or newspaper. We thought that $3,000 a year was a pretty big salary for this skind of work. If Mr. Strong had made i anything like a reasonable effort, had 4 shown any disposition to take hold and manage the affairs of the school district, the board would have been perfectly willing to allow him to stay the three years out. But he did nothing at all and it's a jjood thing he resigned." Asked if a change in superintendents would not cause much inconvenience to the teachers he said he thought not. The board will make au effort to tind some energetic, able man, who will dis charge adequately the duties of superintendent- for a smaller salary than 83,000. The teaching equipment of the district will be cut from 111 to 100 or less. The board has, by rearranging teachers and rooms, made a saving of approximately 25 per cent This reduction of tie teaching force will make a still further reduction in the expenses. The old lady with the motherly face who rides up and down on the Four teenth street car line, looking for souls to save, had an experience the other day that furnished some amusement to a number of people who happened to be in a position to observe it. Tlie car was about leaving O street when the old lady, Bible in hand, accosted a big, burly young fellow with the query "Young man, are you a Christian?." The young man turned his rather heavy German face toward his interro gator, and witn a look of sublime inno cence, replied, "No mom, I am a guard at the penitentiary.' Bill Dorgan, who sat near by, was so overcome that he had to be carrieu into Harley's drug store and treated. This experience of the Lincoln Salvationist was something like that of another co laborer who stopped a man on the street with "Are jou working for the Lord, young man?," and received as a reply. "No. I am working for Dick Jones just now." The people of Lincoln have probably heard all they want to about Croan by this time, and Ihe Cockier doesn't pro pose to waste much more space discuss ing this man. I cannot refrain, however, from some expression of amusement at the Journal's peculiar and ridiculous attempt to give the departing "prof eesor" a character. Self-interest oftentimes draws the Journal into a position of such unalloyed absurdity that the peo ple who conduct the great morning newspaper, must be themselves amused at the funny capers they cut. But it is doubtful if it was worth the Journal's while to whitewash Croan, especially at the expense of reputable Lincoln citi zens. Nobody believed what it said. The Journal so often acts as apologist for men of the Croin type, from various motives of self-interest, that it ought to be able to make a far better job of it than it usually does. It is true Croan is not an easy subject. But if it could not have made a reasonable vindi cation it miht better have kept its peace. There is no u.e courting ridi cule. When the members of the executive committee of the state republican league, sitting in this city, refused to send E. Rosewater to the Cleveland convention as a delegate from Nebraska, they did not realize that the pudgy little man would suffer so extensively. Mr. Rosewater must have desired this recognition very much, for seldom has he been in a more excited frame of mind than since the meeting of the committee. He has broken out several times, once in a signed editorial, one of his special ties, and the members of the committee are classed with the howling dervishes, and called a number of names. Mr. Rosewater courted the humiliation put upon him. and his ravings will not help the matter any. His present state may be in part accounted for by the business depression which has settled permanently in the Bee building, that much adver tised "pride of two continents.' Driven out of Iowa by the Chicago dailies, and by Mr. Rose waters own admission, ex cluded from Nebraska towns by the State Journal, the Bee has lost, possibly one-half of its former circulation; and the revenues from all sources have been very materially reduced. The best men on the Bee are being discharged to meet the demands of the counting room, and those who remain are compelled to do double duty. So that Rosewater is not in a sweet frame of mind. Things annoy him. The News which has always been strongly tinctured with Rosewaterism, ambiguously says: 'It is an axio matic fact that the man who assumes to criticise politics and politicians, who wages battle against them or defeats their schemes for personal advantage at the expense of the public, has no busi ness seeking favors or honors at their hands. The politician is essentially selfish.. and the man who Joins with him in anything must make concessions to him. No man can therefore assume to be fighting for the general good when he is always scheming to get some honor or emolument from the politi cians. It is an anomaly that cannot exist." T. J. Pickett, a leading republican of Ashland, was in the city Monday. He has purchased a controlling interest in the Wahoo Wasp, and will take charge of that paper July 1. M " l