The Andrew County Republican. [volume] (Savannah, Mo.) 1871-1876, 1874-01-30
It Might Have Been.
TO the Editor Of the REPUBLICAN,:

40 the EuitOE Oh Le hkPCpLtCAS:
God pity them both, and pity rs all,
Who vainly the DREAMS Of youth recall;
For, OF all ssi words Of tongue or pea,
The saddest are these: II might have been.
-Whiffier.
Had the good old Massachusetts, Qua
ker selected Savannah and the Normal
School as the subjects of his poetical
effusion, instead of the hay-raker and
Judge, the closing paragraph of his
beautiful poem. ..It might have been."
would have produced quite as deep and
thrilling = sc nsation. The citizens Of
Savannah and Andrew county might
listen, with interest and profit. to .
short sermon. preached by some learned
ID. d.. with the above motto for . text.
The doctor might ask his audience to
allow their minds TO take u backward
shoot for about twenty years, and recall
to mind the fact, that at that time a
young, modest and u~nassuming gentle
man came to Savannah from somewhere
down east, and offered his services As .
teacher; and, after giving him u short
trial. and allowing him to invest his ''bot-
tom dollar in q school building,i 1t began
to be whispered round that the fellow act
ually had strong symptoms Of . new dis
ease, which had made its appearance in
some OF the Eastern States under the
name OF Normal School on the brain"
Now. as this disease WAS known to be
contagious, it WAS thought best
to adopt measures by which the nui-
sance could be abated in the shortest
possible. The victim of the strange
disease ''smelt a mice" and applied to
his eastern friends for aid to take him
to a more congenial cline.
On arriving there. and obtaining med
ical advice, he found that the disease
had shown no abnormal effect whatever.
but. on the contrary, the brain, the seat
Of the difficulty, had become greatly en-
and strengthened. The doctor
advised him to continue in just that
kind OF work which would be calcula-
ted to keep up the strange cerebral ill.,
liuence during the remainder of h,s life;
and, therefore, he obtained access to
One of the best Normal Schools in Penn |
sylvania, and, in due time, received q
diploma at the hands of its honorable
ike our hero President, being
determined to fight the battle out on the |
line he had commenced, he again bent
MS steps toward Missouri. Having q
preference for the northern part of the |
State, and not = very pleasant recOllec-
ion of the Northwest, he directed his
course this time to the Northeast. and
up at kirksville, the county
seat Of Adair county at that time A.
most the counterpart of Savannah in
Sc. Here he a ain invested
his bottom dollar in q school building.
But this time he nailed his flagstaff to
he mast, and threw his motto 10 the
Normal School, now and for
What do We behold to-day a. the re-
;ult of this mans labor On a beauti-
nj eminence overlooking the city stands
|. Normal School building, which has
,ost more than two hundred thousand
Its external adOrnments are in
rood taste and keeping with the perfec-
ion of its internal arrangements. In
single room of this magnificent edifics
nay be seen, ut this time, five hundred
,oung ladies and gentlemen, assembled
morning and evening for chapel exercise.
md to listen to the words of wisdom
which fall from the lips of their beloved
PRESIDENT. j. Baldwin. Now this Presi-
lent Baldwin is the same fellow who
vas rejected. some twenty years ago.
the citizens Of Savannah. ut might
been" Yes. had the citizens Of
Andrew county been confederate
n making up their diagnosis and prog
losis of q certain brain difficulty. the
School building of kirksville
be standing, TO-DAY, on some Of
he beautiful sites with which Savannah
8 surrounded. Five hundred oil the
cry best young insellec4s Of our State
vould be making their homes. for ten
months in the year, in our city; and
with III citizens. as compensH-
ion for board and other accommoda-
ions, from eighty TO mt hundred thou
and dollars in cash.
Having missed one opportunity, shall
We not now stir ourselves to ecu the
rize which is again offered? That there
be a Normal school located some
,here in Northwest Missouri. at q day
ot far distant. is almost certain. Why
ct at Savannah? The reasons that you
ave, Mr.. Editor, in favor of this place.
! your last weeks issue, are relevant }
nd to the point. You might have
dded that. In order to direct tho atseu-
ion of the locating regents to our place.