The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1897-09-24
THE GIRLS SIDE.
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Bevy of Bright High School Misses
Call on the Free Press.
Relate Their Grievances and Tell
What They are Going to Do.
They Were Merely Acting in Spirit
of Fun.-Appeal to the Board.
The School Committee Acts as Peace
maker This Afternoon.


this forenoon by dozen young
misses from the high school, includ-
ing sit of the eight who are now
taking an enforced vacation on &C
count OF their little plan to regale
their instructors with that old song,
s'Good Night, Teachers" The young
ladies called to give the FREE PRESS
their side OF the controversy with the
superintendent in order that the
public might know what they did, or
rather didn't do, and what their
motives were. 1t would be difficult
to get together brighter and more
charming bevy Of young maidens than
those who formed this party, and if
they manifest the same enthusiasm
and energy in mastering geometry
and Cicero that they are displaying
in the present case the high school
will have reason to be proud Of them
as class as well as individually.
The young ladies who are out of
school now are Misses Edith Pau,
Mildred Fletcher, Gertrude Graham,
Inga Johnson, Caroline Sundt, Pearl
Boehmer, Jessie Mitchell and
Vivian Motwei!er. AS the party
came up the stone steps to the editorial
sanctum, one or Two laughiDgly ex-
claimed that they had come to. be
interviewed, and it did not take long
to jot down the points which they
desire that the public should know.
{: In the first place the young ladies
expressed themselves as srory that
the matter had gotten into the
papers, but inasmuch as it has been
made, public they desired that a
statement of their side of the case be
published, as they had been mis-
represented. They declared, to begin
with, that the talk which Supt. Var.
ney had given the school in regard to
the girls dancing in the Railways and
the boys smoking does not enter into
this case at all, being entirely an
other matter. They said that they
agreed with all that the superintend'
dent had said On this subject.
The present trouble first arose, the
young ladies said, from remarks made
by Mr.. Varney before the school. day
before yesterday morning, in which
he said that the scholars were remiss
about saying "Good morning" and
"Good night" to the teachers, ano
cautioned them that IT would be well
to be more thoughtful in this regard
The young ladies considered that they
we're being talked to as though they
were little girls instead Of young
ladies, and thought that their home
training in etiquette was sufficient tC
cover the ground. Yet, while having
this feeling, they had no hard feelings
in the matter, but in spirit of fun
and frolic decided during the forenoon
to sing "Good Night, Teachers" as
they marched down into the lower
hall at the close of school that after.
noon. They declare emphaticaliy
that there was no thought of spite
work in this, and that they had not
the least idea hut that the teachers
would take it in the spirit of fun in
which it was intended.
Someone, either teacher or pupil
overheard this planning and reported
it to Mr.. Varney. The young ladies
do not know who reported this, but
feel that it was not the right thing
for the person to have done, an6
strongly condemn the act. When the
school was called in the afternoon
Mr.. Varney called upon those who in
tended to Join in the singing to stand
up, and thirteen stood up and were
asked to repair to the Office. There
Mr.. Varney talked to the young
ladies, seemingly under the impress
sion that their planning was an act
of antagonism or insubordInatior
rather than one of jollity and out
pouring Of that life for which Man
kato girls are everywhere noted