New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1894-02-21

HOLE NUMBER S39
had voted for Strickle and REIN because
they had been told that Mr.. Nix was in
favor of dropping German from the pub
lie school course; others had voted the
same ticket because they believed in
dropping German. Even the grading of
State Street was made the means of rop-
ing in number of voters. Our three
weeklies, the Post (democratie), Fort
schritt (popullst), and Review (republi-
cam, after obtaining the necessary statis-
tics, corrected the falsehoods that had 4
been circulated,and in Exposing the meth
.ods Of the clique, used language not very
complimentary to the leaders. The Strick-
ler- Albrecht combination was evidently
in need Of an ssorgan." So the German
sVolksblatt" was started in the fall of
1892, the clique furnishing the money.
This paper has successfully had four
imported editors, members of the facul-
ty OF "Dr. Martin Luther College, dom
ming the editorial robe during the inter .
rcigns.
About the same time there came to us
from the Dark and Bloody Ground via
one of the Dakotas an individual named
Harrison L. Henry, to infict democra-
tic paper (News) upon the candidates of
his party. With about 12O subscribers,
only 60 Of these residents, and very fee
ble support in the line of advertisements
the News soon became dependent on the
clique. With its handful of local read
ers, and most of these not believing it's
statements, the local influence of the
News is Insignificant; it seems to be sup
ported merely for the purpose of con-
veying its falsehoods to exchanges and,
by means of marked copies. to prominent
educators of the State.
Some time before the school election of
'93 the Review published replies bysupt.
Kiehle, Prof. FolweH, Pres't. 1. Shepard
Hon. J. T. McCleary, and others, to in
quiries made by its editor concerning
the standing of the New Ulm public school
and their superintendent. The leaders
of the opposition then claimed that the
issue was not on Supt. Nix, and that
they simply wanted to secure stronger
representation of certain element of
our population on the board of education.
A number of the friends of the public
schools decided to call citizens meet
ing for the Saturday preceding the
school election. At this meeting the
principal speakers were. the Hon. John
Lind, Hon. B. F. Webber, and Hon. VIM.
Pfaender Estate Treasurer 1S76-SO). Mr..
Lind SAID, in the course of his remarks,
that he had been pleased to notice that
the language employed by pupils in
their conversation had gradually changed
from the vernacular of their parents to
lhis country's tongue. This remark was
of course, welcome food for the Volks-
blalt, which forthwith accused the pub
lie schools of weaving pupils from the
language and customs of their fathers.
Judge Webber remarked that the only,
charge DR.. Strickler in conversation with
him had made against the public schools
was, that the theory of evolution was
taught in them as scientific truth. DR..
strickler when subsequently questioned
by MI. Nix on this point, could not tell
on what facts his statement was based.
The fact is, that the theory of evolution
as such was never taken up in our
schools. When it became necessary to
touch upon any of its phases (e. g. the
La Place theory it was done with spir-
it of fairness to which the most
narrow-minded anti-evolutionist and
believer in motionless earth could
not object. Ithas been conjectured that
Dr.. Strickler, who, during four years.
membership Of the board of education,
had honored classes with his presence
for nearly thirty minutes, probably saw
on some teachers desk u copy of The
Evolution Of Dodd, which he mistook
for textbook on evolution.
The evolution argument was some
thing new, and was, therefore, extensive
ly employed during the week preceding
the election. This charge was not made
against the superintendent, but against
certain teachers. The leaders OF the op-
position, as well as the candidates whom
they had selected, inyeighsd number
10 III