Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1882-12-23
HISTORY THAT'S NOT HISTORY.
A Big Fraud Pcrpetrated on the People of
Rice County.

HISTORY THAT'S NOT HISTORY.
"A Big Fraud Pcrpetrated on the People of
Rice County.
Some time last summer the agents of
certain publishing concern in Minneapolis
under the management of one Mclean or
McLain, or some other similar name, Wis
tied Faribault and Rice county gener-
ally, representing that they were under
taking very large work which would
involve great amount of time and
expense, being none other than the com
pilation and publication of very exhaust
i've history of the early settlement and
subsequent development of Rice county
| and its several cities and villages.
The book was, to be IL mo. in size
leather bound, sand to contain over 900
pages, and would of course require long
time of preparation. It was to be fur
nished to subscribers only at the moderate
sum of $40, a mere bagatelle for a work of
such mammoth size and elaborate prepar-
alton. t9c;
The guileless solicitor would cautiously
approach his viction, detailing the impor-
lance of his. grand work, and amid gen
eral questions concerning the early or SUBJ
fequent history of the county or town
would contrive, to acquire all the principal
| facts in the life of the individual, which
would be presented the next day written
up as ga biographical sketch of -, one
of the earliest Or most influential residents
of Rice county," Very rarely did the taffy
fail to take the cake and the subject of the
| sketch became ten-dollar subscriber to
this most elaborate and invaluable work
| to be delivered long months ahead.
Early in the fall, however, new set of
agents appeared on the scene with the
| lists of subscribers on their hands
| and book bound in cloth
and containing about 400 pages, which they
presented to the aforesaid subscriber as
the promised great work, the history of
| Rice county. Regardless of the merits of
/ the work itself. as a manufactured article
it would be worth to lie on the shelves and
| to look at without reading about two dol
lars. On its merits as valuable history
1t is worth about two cents. It is neither
complete or correct. Except for the at
tempt to make heroes and heroines out of
commonplace people with which the bio
graphical sketches abound, there is little
| real merit in it as literary
production, while its errors
and omissions of objects of general inter
est renders it a source of universal dissat-
isfaction and annoyance to its victims.
For instance, while pretending to give a
| review of the manufacturing interests of
Faribault city they purposely omit even
the bare mention of the Polar Star Touring
mills, the largest in the city, operating with
| either steam or water and turning out 450
barrels per day, thereby reducing TO the
| amount OF this very important figure, TIE
daily product of the milling interest in the
! city. Again, the first church
| built was wooden building.
since destroyed by fire, which was erected
by the Catholics on spot near the one
now occupied by the imposing stone struc-
| ture known as the Church of the ''Immac-
uiate Conception" which. from its COM
mandlng pOsitIol is the first and last OBJ
| ject de-ce nabie as you enter or leave Far
ibault by tue ears. They give the First
! Congrega oHai hat credit. In mentioning
t the educational installations, too, the very
. important Catholic schools are entirely ig-
nored.
OF these there are two. The free paro-
chlai school IT the parish, just mentioned,
" hich np2cys seven teachers, and adj
iiiits !o.h se-es. and Bethlehem academy,
foF ladies, which employs eleven teachers.
The former IS Grated in neat stone build
ing adjoining the church lots and cost
over S4.oo0, and IS supported by subscrip-
( tion.. The !attef IN sthe next block is
/ Leaf three st"r; brick building supplied
/ aish - modern appliances, gas and water
iIsclndued. aad eoSi over $4,000. II con-
+ issins accommodations for forty boarders
! AMI al unlimited number of day scholars,
and where all the arts and sciences, music,
drawing aild tie languages are most thcr-
oughly taught. and all corrupt or immoral
, Influences excluded.
These are Only brief mentions of a few
Of :he glazing Misrepresentation
alid oDI s7i0us with which this fraud
at,nands, s.Hd Il IS no wonder the people
OF Rice caialy very justly refuse to quite
general eEtAat t. be swindted out of their
none1. Sos2e u t.te best lawyers in Fari-
baalt declare Impossible for them to
eompei subscribers 70 receive a work so
vastly inferlre the one agreed upon, and
which Is - full q misrepresentation and
Holiday Presents.
Cau be fcu, ia fis.'5c, i0c, Csc, SOC and $40 }
/ counters, a. uae-t.;la the Usual price charged