The Wahpeton times. [volume] (Wahpeton, Richland County, Dakota [N.D.]) 1879-1919, 1889-02-28
TEACHERS WAGES.

To the Editor Of The Times.
notice in the Dakota Globe, OF
Feb. 14h. an article antagonizing
Tax Payer in the matter of pecuniary
reward of teachers. He says that
"when we consider the Importance,
Of the work the pay is not sufficient >
That's all that is claimed in Tax
Payers article.
Then this intensely wise critic
goes to work and arraigns the
teacher in general for his Ignorance
and charges him with having only
mercenary motives, and with hav.
ing no other earthly aim in life than
to pass the time away and get his
pittance. Says they "prefer to
teach than to do house work." etc
Well, the writer of that article is
evidently very jealous, for he too
would go into the school room if he
did not unfortunately lack the
necessary brains to insure success.
i 1t all people worked in the house
OF on the farm We should like to
know how such fellows us he is
would ever have acquired the re-
markable brilliancy of intellect that
he has caused to scintillate from the
columns OF the Globe. 1t is really Il
pity that such Il bright and promis-
ing individual should lie obliged to
drag out his existence in the capa-
city of newer of wood and drawer
OF water. His article is simply the
very primest quintessence of gigan-
tic impudence, begotten by lad
training both at home and abroad,
for I cannot convince myself that
lie has ever attended school. What
he knows, or thinks he knows he
has just picked up. He narrates
couple of old clestnuts i'm order to
help the Globe out on it's issue. and
does not present one single item of
convincing argument, in his effort
to damage Il class of the most useful
workers in society. His digestion
must he very faulty. Think he had
better take a dose Of grammatical
drill at any rate.
The two problems he so Affection
atcly refers to as having been worked
out in Richland county schools,
were. as Il matter of fact solved long
before Dakota was pc opled by the
white race, and by teachers that did
not claim to have one-lalf the
blains he does.
That kind of argument won't
work.
We read Taxpayers article and it
was sensible and reasonable, and
was not addressed to the opp0sers
Of. the public school but to it's
friends. We know thoroughly wei
that there are elements that bitterly
oppose the public school as a Republl-
can institution,and not only wish it
were rooted out of existence, but do
everything in their power to accom-
pl;sh it's run. :
If the teachers are not it's cham
pions and the people are not it's de-
tenders. it is only a question of
time when the public school, with
all other precious gifts that this
government has and enjoys will
totter and fall, and be buried be-
meath the crumbling ruins of a
once proud and dignificd nation.
We will repeat that it comes in
very poor taste for any one to ridi-
cule the public school teacher. If
he knows Of any delinquencies on
the part of teacher, he may also
know what the law is regarding the
case. No teacher has any right to
a certificate who is SO ignorant as
he represents them to be in his ar
article. Hence we arrive ut our
own conclusions in the premises
which are that the fellows imagina-
tion was fearfully disordered. Or|
he May possibly be one of those ''pu-
pills from a frontier school taught by
a frontier teacher" to whom our
county superinte ndent would not
grant certificate to teach. Hence
his nose is out of joint. and he thus
seeks to vent his spleen on the pro-
fession.
Yes, there are teachers in Rich
land county to-day, who are holding
second grade certificates, but who
have nevertheless been in the
teachers work for Is and 20 years
in other states, some longer. But
according to our worthy superinsen-
dents rule. they can get nothing
else from him until they have proven
to his entire satisfaction that they
are competent to teach. AS soon as
he finds incompetent teachers they