Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1878-12-27

able the young to meet the practical
demands of life? A right method Of
teaching any branch in any school
though the school be in Greenland, is OF
great Importance, educationally, to ev-
cry citizen of Buchanan county-even
to the child yet unborn. The Column
sir, is unprejudiced,' that is, it will
always bow to the weight of argument
will always lend an attentive ear; will
always gladly yield, when it is shown
that any OF its theories are not founded
in fact, in nature. Show us education.
al truth, and we will bow before it, and
even praise the storms and rough hand.
ling which brought us to it and unveiled
it to our eyes. When we approve OF
oppose any special method, we wish nc
candid person to charge us with writing
for or against any book or books. In
this work, textbooks dos.not enter the
lists. If any criticism happen to suit
any one interested in books, we do not
care; that is his business. If they dc
not suit, we care as little. No book
poised at our head, or held temptingly
to view, shall lend the least tinge to the
little we may write from time to time
But we will discuss methods of teach.
ing whenever these are appropriate
Whenever and wherever these are un-
der discussion, we shall not consider
that we are disinterested outsider.
The point of our offending, and the evil
dence that we sold out" or was "de-
ceived," seems to lie in the fact that
out article was thrust in Mr.. Ely's
face" We are sorry that any one
should offer any such indignity to Mr.
Ely. The article was not written for
that purpose. Mr.. Ely never came in
to our mind while the article was being
written, nor in connection with it since,
until the Madison letter. Are we thus
to be censured for insulting Mr.. Ely?
We think Mr. Ely will be very slow to
affirm that the blood of Francis Han
ford was shed in the fight over the
method of teaching arithmetic.
Again, we say, Mr.. Ely, we wrote in
the interest of no book, no one offered
or gave us anything for the work, we
were not misied nor. deceived, no one
attempted to mislead or deceive us; we
reviewed this part of the Chicago Let
ter" of our own free will, in the inter
ests of right methods of teaching and
training the young in arithmetic. IF
Prof. Mahoney or you will show us any
error, or give us a better method to
teach and train the young, we will
adopt it, advocate it in the interests Of
Buchanan county, educationally, and if
any person charges US with selling out
to you, or being deceived or misled by
you, you can truthfully tell them it is
not so.
In the Educational Weekly, of Chica-
go, of Dec. 9Th, we find the following:
" Among several editors of education
al columns, who have responded to Mr..
Mahoney's letter in the Weekly, about
five weeks ago, W. 4. Parker, in the
Independence Conservative defends
what Mr.. Mahoney calls Craze No. L."
So, we see, we are not the only out
slider" We wonder if all those who
saw proper to defend what Mr.. Ma
honey calls Craze No. L." have sold
out, or been deceived and misled?'
Has anybody so branded them? Then,
if any have defended Mr. Mahoney's
views, have they, by so doing, sold out
to somebody else, or been deceived and
misled by somebody else? Or, are they
immaculate because of the side of the
cause they espouse? Are those "col-
umns" which oppose Mr.. Mahoney's
views on Craze No. l." necessarily
prejudiced, and those which defend Mr..
Mahoney unprecedented? Who is to be
the judge?
Is it not fair to presume, that all who
wrote on this subject had views of their
own, and, without fear or favor, honest
ly stated these views?
w. r. PARKER.