The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1877-09-11

/ the free word, free acting, free thought
| and free schools, we will only answer
we are enemies OF the misrepresented
/ word, arbitrary actions, narrow-mlnded
thinking and degraded free schools"
Here is the whole of it, and again may
the people judge.
Where Is the indiscretion and breach
OF etiquetts2 On my side, who not enter
ing in the abuses got from MIN the day
before, tell my readers in conciliatory
spirit that Mr.. Cochran Is not entirely
lost for our cause? Or was it on his side,
who, with the evident purpose oi Great
ing me enemies communicated To the
public private conversation, mixing at
the same time truth and fiction after his
usual fashion7 s
From the above quoted lines of my
article my asssilant also learned that l
admit to be an enemy to the free schools,
free thought, &C., and that have called
our public schools degraded schools, and
be exclaims, "Let the English speaking
and fair minded German citizens Of this
city know and remember that you have
dubbed our schools as degraded free
schools. and further: "Ah, sir, you are
striking blow at an institution in our
midst that lies close to our hearts and Of
which we have became proud, &C."
This shows 10 the people what inter-
probation my words get from Mr..
Cochran and L ask them If it is fair or
malicious one. As the above lines were
written for my readers who know my
views well, it was not necessary to tell
them that am friend of free thought,
&C., but as l have been charged with
enmity, told them which way my
e1tmaity is directed.
| cannot permit to leave the decision
whether lam an enemy to free schools or
not, and whether l regard our free
schools as degraded ones, with a man
who suffers himself to be carried away
by his evil spirit to SANDER and calumny.
Fortunately l can prove from the evil
dence of men of undoubted standing in
this community, that expressed my
views the day after the slaughter of the
German in our schools in the Board OF
Education, as follows: "Notwithstand-
ing the exclusion of German instruction
in the public schools, l will not favor the
establishment of exclusive German
schools; will be decidedly against any
attempt to devide the school fund, and
will advise the German parents to send
their children to the public schools as
before"
Ii any one should doubt that L made
such declaration, L will have it affirmed
by the proper signatures.
| often declared my admiration of the
American free school system and said
that | considered these Tree schools
among the most important institutions OF
this country. l dare say l have
warmer heart for them than some of our
school commissioners, and it was my
deep interest IN our public schools, with
which l have been connected, that made
me fight against divesting them OF ies-
ture which, in my own candid opinion,
was useful and important one.
Mr.. Cochran takes great pains to
prove from my "piratical" article that l
am not friend OF harmony and peace.
Everybody knows that there are times
when peacefulness would be cowardice,
and it becomes necessity to make war
for the sake OF future harmony.
To come to sn end, l am free to say
that since my reply to Mr.. Cochran in
the MteLLtgencer l have written nothing
that could justify his last scurrilous
attack. He says that he has Il future let
ter in store, and he might intend to pub
lish weekly edition of SANDER for ought
| know. Ii he thinks that he will force me
in such way TO take back word l said
in my articles he will be very much mis-
taken. Such knaves do not grow in my
native Denmark"
My friends and the public will excuse
me il L step out OF this controversy and
leave the battlefield entirely TO my OPP
ponent. While he may misuse his skill
as lawyer in making soPhistic argu-
ments and rack his brain TO find new
ePithets for me, will, after his precePt,
try to live long and be prosperous.
Very respectfully,
6. GUTENBERG.