The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1895-10-16

HE GOES FOR JAMES CREEDING'S
AND PROF. iDOWNEY'S INTEsTINEL
CANALS-HE TAKES THE HAIR OFF
THE HIDE AND THEN REMOVES
THE HIDE FROM THE BoNS.
Editor Representative:
In your issue of Sept 25th, I notice
that one James Breeding pops up as an
ally of Prof. Downey, and it seems the
two men are we'll mated. Breeding de-
clares that some of the country school
teachers that l referred to in a former
article are not fit to clean his hog pen,
and Prof. Downey declares the children
of farmers to be anything else but intel
ligent beings. So far, then, the two men
are very nearly agreed in their estima-
tion of country school teachers and farm
children, though Breeding seems to be a
little ahead of the professor, in that he
owns hog pen, into which no country
school teacher can enter. If we judge
Breeding by the language he uses, his
hog, like poor Tray in the fable, should
be pittied for having fallen into bad COM
pany.
In criticising Prof Downey's articles
that have recently appeared in Farm,
Stock and Home, I have not uttered a
word against any suggestion that might
lead to the improvement of our common
school system; and every farmer would
hold up both hands in favor of any i'm
provement; but, as farmer have only
tried to defend my calling and my chill
dren from the insulting charges brought
against them by Prof. Downey.
Again Breeding says, Country schools
are in many cases not only what they
are capable of being made, but are "a dis
grace to the educational system" Well,
who is running this disgraceful educa-
tional system? Not the farmers; if our
school system is in such a deplorable
condition. why don't Downey and his ally
turn their guns on the State Superin-
tendent of Public Instruction and on the
County Superintendent? These men are
paid liberal salaries for keeping the
school system of the state in good run
ming order; and it might be we'll for
these school superintendent to report
daily to Prof Downey, showing the con-
dition of our schools, and also report the
mental condition of the farmers chill
dren, in which he seems to be more deep
ly concerned than in any improvement
in the school system.
Now does Prof. Downey think TO i'm
prove the schools by trying to lower the
intellectual standing of the farmer 5
family? Perhaps he thinks his triumph
will be the greater when he has raised
them I'D to his ideal of culture and re-
finement,-that of possessing chrome
and shade tree.
The uncalled for and insulting Ian
guage which this Breeding uses in the
last paragraph of his article seems to
stamp him as professional, but his pro-
fession is evidently that of Backyard /;
he should be made to wear gunlock in
his foul mouth, to warn people of the
danger that turks within him, and for
the same reason that danger signal is
raised over a pest house. He imagines
he is a winged terror and he is-of the
skunk order: for his filth is more to be
feared than his logic. His closing
prayer is for Satan to get behind him,
and there seems to be grain of sense in
this prayer, for he feels better qualified
to lead down to lower depths of abuse
than Satan himself. For the first time
in a long life, have felt it my duty to
fight an abusive person with his own
fire, and if l close his mouth it will pre-
vent some other innocent victim from
being wounded by his poisonous fangs.
n NJ DODGE