Lexington weekly intelligencer. (Lexington, Mo.) 1871-1887, 1880-09-11
REPLY TO YOUNG MEN,

EpIroR INrELL1GENcER:-It WAS not my pur-
pose to have noticed in any way the article
signed s'Young Men," which appeared IN your
issue of August 18th. purporting to. be an answer
to Lexington - nor should l have departed
from my original intention but for the sugges-
ton of q friend, who thought my silence might,
by some who hau no more sense or discrimina-
ton than the author of ''YOung Men. be con-
sirued into II taclt admission oil the silly charge
OF an intention to Islander and misrepresent the
youth of this town. l venture the assertion that
the author himself is the only individual In this
community who considered himself slandered
and insulted by the article signed Lexington
The truth is that the only motive prompting me
was the interest l feel in the young men and
youths OF the city, and to cx press the pleasure l
felt in the establishment of a permanent instittl-
tion of learning.
The "Young Man, II shall speak of him in
the singular number) is kindly advised to read
the article over again. and l think he will arrive
at the conclusion that he has wholly miscon-
strued the meaning of the writer. Among other
charges 1 am accused of attempting to depreciafe
the merits of former teachers in the High School,
Messrs. Bahlman, Watts. CLANCY and others.
Certainly nothing was further from my inten-
ton. 1 am personally acquainted with those
gentlemen. and would most willingly testify to
their high qua liacations, but such teachers are
not always retained; unforluna tely these gentle
men have ceased to be teachers In the High
School. and what guarantee have We that the
position, so ably filled by them. may not In the
future be supplied by some one as utterly in
competent to discharge its duties rs this Young
Man, ID to %construe the English Language. An
institution Of learning. to be efficient, must be
nornanpnt and oil eynorionca shnua that
nothing so initiates against the success Of a
school and the proper advancement ofthe pupils
as the continual shifting and changing of teach
ers, especially when the change is from good 10
bad. The ''Young Man" accuses me of wishing
to shelter myself from. public censure by assum-
ing a fictitious name. 1 dare say if it had been
very necessary to his comfort to learn who the
writer was he might have been gratifed. But 1
find he is not ashamed of doing the very thing
which he 30 fercely condemns in me. He has
taken shelter behind the Young Men" of Lex
ington the probably considers himself equal to
half a dozen) when he alone is en- titled to all the
credit of that erudite and classic production, in
which the Gods and GOddesses of heather my
thology and the heroes OF the Had are lugged in
by the head and shoulders, with as little judg-
ment and ceremony as the proverbs of Sancho
PanZa. For instance. in addition to the very
serious accusation of SANDER anu falsehood with
which he charges me. he finds a strong re-
semblance to Paris shooting Achilles in the heel.
un,i lcarns melting his wings In the heat of the
sun. But enough; the s'YOung MAN. doubtless
has an object in view; he meant, no doubt, to ex-
cite the wonder and admiration of the COM
munity and to say: ''See how a graduate of the
High School can WRITE - and to show how un
necessary it would be to multiply academies
when such nrodipiea Of learning 40 himselr were