Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1889-01-27


Striking.
r. j. Biudens.
These strikes by the school children are
nothing new. But they don't develop and
bring GU. aud down the strong hand cfthe
ruling power IS they used to. Among the
sunny memories of my own school days
there glOws, bright and soft rs o summer
sunset, the picture of the great strike at
Humans, ia Peoria, away back in 1853
Higmau's was the greatest ech0ol IN the
West The dear ed man was superintend-
emit Of public instruction, board OF educa-
;io0, school truetse, couaty superintendent,
ptiocipal, assistant and ,ni,or. He had
a pleasant smile, firm teuper and slate
frame. He also carried about his person
grin that would make flacksmiIh's vise
crawl into the scrap heap and hide itself.
We used % have general exercises F.lday
afternoons, at which We were won't TO re-
cite. ia 70 ,iferou3 concert the mulipl'ca-
ton tables, the States ana capitals, and
such thrilling rhetorical exercises as, "Will
you ,calk2 OF rider" and They tell as 10
be MODERATE, but they, THEY-are to re-
vel IL pro-FU-sion!' 1t WAS thrilling.
Butsf.er W. had learned all these chants
''by heart" and could chant them off
with our eyes shut, "Old Human intro
duced an innovation" speaking pieces. "
Uuon that we srack. We endured it three
weeks. and then we determined to boycott
the whole business. All the boys went
into it. Bill Smith and Hub Tuttle, Bobb
Gregg, Ed. EastOn, S.. We Dlnu, Bill Ro-
decker, Hen Keener, and all the big
BOYS, too. The first hoy called
On TO Speak" was TO announce the
strike. As my name came pretty well
up the alphabet, l stood good chance of
being a leader, a distinction for which |
was not at all ambitious, being Of tender
years and Of a rudy couutensnce and SEN
,itiye feeling But boy named Allen,
WI o was called ahead of me, funked, and
said his piece, "Hohenlinden" although
we made such suggestive gestures to him
that he forgot half CT it and brose dawn
and cried. When | was called refused to
speak. Being pressed for reason, said,
in falte1ing accents, that there wasn't
going to be any more speaking" When
the old man with unfeigned surprise,
asked me who said so, said, ''sll of ia
did" Then he said there would be "a
little mere spsakin' before the close OF
the session, and so he led me out on the
rostrum. Then and there, with feelings
which l shudder TO recall, did my first
song and dance act had often performed
nv solitary cachuca to the lasciyiCus
pleasing of cod Humans" slate frame,
but never had accompanied myself with
words. Boyliks, l had lected for my
piece poem expressive of these peaceful
virtues l most heartily despised, 20 that
my performance at the inauguration Of the
strike ran somewhat like this
Oh, not for me (whack9 is the rolling (whackD
drum,
Orthe lwhack, whackD trumpets wild (whack9
appeal (BOO-hOoD
Or the cry (boo-hOOD Of (whack9 war when the
(wheckD foe i come,
or the COxD brightly (whack) flashing steel
(whack, whack9
Icannot convey to the most vivid imsg.-
nation the gestures which accompanied
the seven stsnzss of this beautiful poem.
Suffice it to say that they kept pace with
the cid mans peculiar system Of punctus-
ton, until al last, overcome with conflict
ing emotions, went sobbing to my sect,
and wondered why an inscrutable Provi-
deuce had gwen to the rhinoceros the hide
that the eternal fitness of things had evil
IDENTIFY prepared for the schcolboy.
Bat forgot my Own sOrrows and died
my teirs, IN the enjoyment Of the pay, rs
my cOmpatriots developed it. Mr. Hin
man, who had been usually gentle and
self-Iestrained with me lost his temper
with the boy who fol o we'd me, and there
was sound ofrevelry for the next hour. He
shook boys until their teeth ratified so on
couldn't hear them cry; he hit NJ ckey
McCann, the tough boy, one whack with
a skate strap and Mickey ran cut and
rolled in the snow tc cool of; he hit Jake
Bailey across the thighs with the slate
frame, and il hurt so that Jake couldn't
howl-iust opened his mo1th and forgot
his owa name He pushed Bill Hs' kell
into a seat and the bench broke; ne shook
Dan Stevens so that his feet didn't touch
the fl1oy for five minutes; he ran across
| the room and reached out for Lem Har-
kins and Ism had a fit before the
cid man touched MIN; be whipped the
two Krowltons with beth hsnds st the
same time, ard the Gihbon family
five hOys ard big giTl-he hit sill
at once with the girls skipping rope, and
they raised such nnited vail the clock
stopped. He kept the atmosphere Of that
Old echoC room full Of dust and lint weep
ing, wailicg and gnsshiug Of teeth, until
his old arms ached and all hearts weRried
of tie inhuman strife and wicked conten-
ton, and then he stool up before us in a
sickeninS targle of strap and cane, and
slate frame, rattan, and skipping rope, and
asked, in clear, triumphant tones:
"Who says there is lent going to be any
more epeakin ?n
And tie boys Of that rchOol rose up as
one being and shrieked in tones Of anguish:
Nobody