The pioneer express. [volume] (Pembina, Dakota [N.D.]) 1883-1928, 1886-04-30
Communication

Having been absent from home good
deal lately and having had much more
important matters to attend to, l had
not leisure until now to take notice of
the naive, amusing and very "gentle-
manly" effusion Of the Olga commits
sioner which appeared in your pape, a
few weeks ago and which was also pub
lished in the Courier with all the adj
ditional literary graces which are char
acteristic of that sprightly" sheet. 1
would not take the trouble now to refer
to the yilifications of a person who seems
to have had but limited experience with
the English language, either as reader or
writer if the matter under discussion were
not of such general and pressing impor-
lance. Having sought and found occa-
sion for public agitation of a great
moral question it would never do for mo
to allow any such feeling as contempt or
disgust towards any one engaged in the
liquor traffic to deter me from ferreting
out and exposing the much worse than
CROOKED nonsense" upon which it is
based and through which it thriyes.
Perhaps this determination on nv part
will be sufficient evidence to all Thought
full men here that 1 am not, as has fire.
quently been insinuated, expecting to be
candidate for any political office in this
county or territory. 1 am not even a
half bred politician" for Dakota politics
is game tina! have no taste for what
ever. Unlike the learned and honorable
gentleman who forsook lucrative positions
i'll order that they might help us out in
starting this new county. l came here
as an ordinary settler and have been SO
busy i'll trying to get mere living that
have had no time, even if 1 had the in
clination, TO initiate the habits of the fox,
postum and pole cat. Consequently l
would stand no chance with the thorough
breds who are SO proficient in all that
sort of lore. The three animals mention
ed above represent three degrees in
modern political science. The degree of
the fox is the highest of these. As far as
we know there is but one man in this
county who has taken this degree. Those
who follow the "possum are more
numerous. They are in full sympathy
with the fox and always ready to share
in the plumber, but when cornered they
are helpless. They lie still and keep
their mouths shut. This is good policy
too, and for while it seemed to work
lirst-rate. We would recommend it to
the Olga commissioner and men of his
grade. fla man cannot open his mouth
without giving himself away" he had
better keep it slut all the time. The
lowest degree i'll the order is that of the
pole cat or skunk, which is distinguished
from the other two very conspicuously by
its mode of defence. The skunk has no
wit and therefore cannot bite. 1t has no
caution and therefore cannot play Oft
dead. tits easily alarmed and then it at
once shows its tail and-well, every one
knows what it does. The anger of the
skunk is to be dreaded, not because it is
fatal, oh no! but for another reason. Fox
hunting is az ancient and honorable
sport. The "possum too is respectable
game. But who ever thought of chasing
a skunk? There are but two excuses for
such CROOKED nonsense" First, because
it is thief, and second, because the
children are apt to mistake it fora decent
cat. Where is the harm then in u quiet
parson taking down his gun OH week
day and going out for little recreation?
The killing Of such game cannot but re-
suit incidentally to the benefit of the
people, but the pastimc itself is I'LL the
reward that l want. To those readers
however, who may fancy that the fun is
all there is i'll it, would say that have
i'll my possession long letter from one
OF the leading papers in North DaFota
wherein the editors speak of the present
officials of this county as Il "bad lot" a
"bad crowd" and wherein they express
the opinion that unless the people here
"stand solid next fall the county is iinan
cialiy ruined" This is the disinterested
opinion of outsiders who have beer
watching the course ofevcnts. Too many
half bred" politicians, wllo,. while good
men i'll some respects, are ready to sell
their honor for chance to make grail
at the public till. When saloon keeper
goes to county commissionerandp pleads
the fact that he did political work for him
and that therefore the commissioner owed
him a favor in return the granting oil
which would rob the school fund of one
hundred and fifty dollars year, and
when as a matter of fact, the obligation
is acknowledged and acted OH according
ly, it does seem as if the above unpre.
JUDGED opinion was not wholly without
reasonable foundation. This may call
out some "blabber" or some blubber but
as far as am concerned it matters not
which. l may be poor preacher but l
have always understood that mark Of
good effective preaching is the calling out
of the devil. We must first see him YOU
know before we can take good aim at
, him. 1t seems to me that he has boep
made to show himself pretty plainly, his
horns, his hoofs, and his tail with which
he lashes the mud-ali these are in sight
and now tits for the people to say what
shall be done with him. Being compell-
ed to close, l reserve for another letter
my solution to the astute commissioners
riddle as to how the saloon is q dangerous
institution, but hope that some ten year
old youngstcr will in the meantime save
me the trouble. ]. f. BERRY.
Osnabruck, April "a.