Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1889-06-06
A CARD.
To the Good People of Ironton and
Vicinity.

students from Washington University, st
Louis, to be followed next day by clever
more students. They came among you will
the most friendly feelings and the mos
worthy motives. They came to spend foul
weeks in making practice surveys, as is theil
custom every year. Many other cities 10 the
State have extended cordial invitations te
this summer school, but for the purpose OF
combining surface and underground work
Ironton was selected. Although not form.
ally invited here, yet they hoped to be hos
pitably received. Their experience for the
first three days has been as follows:
The eleven students who arrived on Fri
day evening had scarcely been in the city an
hour when they were suddenly, without the
least warning, put under arrest by the con-
stable..who had called to bis aid the deputy
city marshal. The students had started out
about O'Clock to find the post office for the
purpose of mailing postal cards which they
had all written home, telling of their happy
arrival. They marched in file and sang their
college songs, as is the custom of students
the world over. For this alone they were
| arrested, marched into a saloon at the point
of revolver, and given their chance to plead
guilty of disturbing the peace before hasti-
ly summoned court, or giving a bond in the
sum of five hundred dollars, each, or going
| to Jail! All being strangers in your city
| they despaired of being able to give such
bonds, could not think OF going to Jail, and
| SO thought the easiest way out of the scrape
was to plead guilty. They so decided, and
court was summoned in the city hall, where,
oh tbaxy a.,l fIt,tx
fined Zone dollar and costs" by Il great In
justice of the Peace. The total cost to each
of these eleven students was four dollars and
a half. 1t is TO be hoped the city will get the
benefit of the eleven dollars assessed for the
disturbance of the peaceful slumbers Of its
citizens.
The acting prosecuting attorney contented
himself with one fee, although the Great
Injustice of the Peace tried to force eleven
upon him, and did assess them for the other
court officers, for single arrest and single
plea of guilty as body. Having thus levied
and collected tribute from these boys to the
amount of $3.50, they graciously allowed
them to proceed in their search for the post
office.
No doubt these hungry officers were great
y chagrined next day to find they had sprung
their trap on only half the class, since, If
they had only waited till Saturday night,
they might have doubled their profits.
1t may have been very unreasonable and
improper feeling which prompted the stu
dents and their instructors, on their return
to the hotel (for the latter had arrived on
the scene just in time to witness the real
int i,,f lox I11o xl.a% =. l.,
collection of the fees;) but it was at once
decided to leave without further disturbance
the slumberous peace of this happy city and
to go to Bonnie Terre, where they had been
strongly pressed to come. They had their
grips all repacked and ready to leave on the
same train they came on, at 80 next morn
ing, but at the very earnest solicitation of
their good hostess they consented to remain.
On Saturday several of your good citizens
called on these strangers and assured them
of the almost universal regret for the prev
ious nights proceedings, and of the cordial
good will of all the better class of people. |
This helped matters very much, and if the
annoyance had stopped here this card would
not have been written. On Monday even
ing, however, they received a formal visit !
from one of your merchants, who came in
company with the afore mentioned Great |
Injustice of the Peace. Now this merchant |
was unfortunate in not being an officer of |
the law, and hence was unable to enjoy the |
fruits thereof. But he did own certain
poor piece of rocky ground, largely oyer
grown by young saplings. 1t had so hap
pened that in the progress of the work of
these incpient surveyors, one Of them had |
inady erdently cut one of these saplings, not
larger than ones wrist, to be used for flag
staff to be set up on this same ground at a
particular point. The mel chant owner of
this ground now came in great temper, de-
handing of the student five dollars, cash
down. for this valuable tree, or else be pros
ecuted for trespass on his premises,
1t seems your people have strong way of
putting things. 1t did not seem quite right
to pay SO much money for SO small q shrub,
and vet this man evidently had the law on
his side, and the tresspasser could doubtless
be successfully prosecuted 1t looked very
much like what is commonly called black
mail, but then this merchant had a very
fair precedent and pattern set him in the
legal proceedings of Friday night. Further
more, this merchant doubtless considers
himself one Of the best citizens of the place,
and these lawless students had outraged his
private rightsand destroyed his property.
Now In the naine of all that's reasonable,
what are these poor fellows to do? They
are further charged with killing pig which
has been found dead near their hotel, and
are savagely threatened with dire conse-
quences.
Surveying cannot be learned except by
doing it, and this practice cannot be confined
Ia the public streets. II so, the class could
rs we'll have remains sd in st. Louis, Neither
IAN they afford to take the time to find the
owner and get permission to enter every
piece of property in the region. They de-
,troy nothing wifully, and in fact do very
little damage of any kind. Any actual
damage they may cause to property or to
crops they are willing at all times to pay for,
put they do not care to be black mailed.
Neither are thess men to be treated as
coughs and hoodlums. They come from
he most refined and intellectual families in
It, Louis, but they are students, and have :
certain practices in common with all stu. Y
tents in all ages and countries, one of which
8 the singing of college songs. The only {
lime they are usually together and off duty
s in going and coming on the streets, and \
privilege of singing. They have done no
more IN Ironton than they do Constantly on
he streets in st. Louis, and there they are
never disturbed IT, however the aufhor1-