New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1894-03-21
the spot was that the pin won ld produce

~ y : Viii Has
in the habit Of sticking it to the. people.
But, my friends, who is. there that would
want togo back to that condition of
things? And yet this is the Shirt Of the
age. Why, the false opinions, notions,
ideas as to science, as to the world, as
to facts, that Lave been swept away in.
the last $50 and 900 years would fill this
threatreto the roof. You can't shut
out this spirit of the age. You might as
well try to exclude the atmosphere with
barbed wire fence. It permeates every
thing, it flows into our conversation, our
newspapers, our books, our table talk:
everywhere the very signs on the wall
are redolent Of it. Why should we turn
our back upon it? <
Convince me that the public school
system is, in danger and will take the
stump and ,fghtfor it until the last gasp
for it is the Il spool mans college. They,
talk about paternalism in government.
Where was there ever such paternalism
as this, where the august government
puts. its hand into the rich mans pocket
to educate the poor mans child? Why
my friends, there is something sublime
in it. was pleased to hear few davs
ago in st. Paul from school teacher
about the kindergarten system there and
the primary school and / was told that
they made it an essential principle to
teach in these schools, and 1 have no
doubt that you do here also, the princi-
pie of love to each other. One of the
teach hers said to me when she began her
teaching, there were some of the scholars
who.were poor, and ragged and dirty
and offensive to the eyes, and her dispo-
sition was to ignore them;. naturally
enough her heart went out more to the
cleanly and bright.face and the beautiful.
One of the head teachers said ssNo.'' She
says, "These little people need love most
for they have least Of it." This is the
great beauty of the public school system.
| grew up among generation that had
not been raised in public schools. I sat
in the night upon the roof of my moth
er's house and saw the churches of the
Catholic blazing in the midnight and fill
ing the heavens with their sparks and
their clouds of smoke. I saw men killed
right on the public street for nothing
but religious differences. What was it
changed it? The next generation. The
little ones went into the schools together
and the Catholic and Protestant. the Jew
and the Christian, and all classes mingled
side by side, X
This great republic is mighty stom-
ach; IL digests anything. I sometimes
think when I hear the denunciatio.,s of
the poor Italians, wretehed, with their
hand organs, going around making a
miserable living III our cities, or working
upon our canals and railways, poor de-
graded wretches; when [ read of the de-
nunciations of them, I say to myself:
"Ah, yes, but out of this race came some
OF the greatest spirits that ever have
adorned manhood, d race of artists,a race
OF orators, a Cicero, Caesar, and all the
rest OF that immortal galaxy, and who
can tell when this great republic takes
IN It's arms these poor, ignorant brown
faced people and gives them the public
schools and free institutions whether or
not in another generation or two there
may not spring from these degraded rae
es noble spirits that will be the pride of
our common countryg'
My friends, let us widen our hearts :;
let us remember the greatness of our
country. Why, it is NOT one-tenth set-
tied, 1t IS not one-tenth occupied. We
are almost gs much on the Threshold of
things as the men Of xl776 We're. A fu-
ture grander in proportion than theirs
rolls out before our posterity. But let
that future be one in which this country
will be land Of friends, of fellow citi-
zens; trained as little children, side by
side IN the same paternal schools, hatred
eliminated, good feeling engendered,
race Of men willing to live aud If need
be to die in defense of their common
country. This my friends is destiny
worthy Of America. Not 20 be torn into
vretchsd little feuds, not to be filed
with passions based on the periuries Of
documents, but united as one people;
and for this, my friends, I appeal to YOU
this evening in kindness. The men who
have gone into the ASSOCIATION are, / be-
lieve, i .lll. IN the main good, honest, true
hearted men. They believe that IN doing