The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1902-01-22
HOW PROF. wAssoN PUNISHED
STALWART STUDENTS AT
ST. PETER
STORY OF AN ANCIENT FEuD.
Lads Played Hockey to See TornsA
men Play Rag With LIE sueur-
ties in Wood Bucking
Contest.
AN APPROPRIATE CLASS MOTTO

Chaplain Chounard, Of the Minnesota
state senate, one of the most popular
officials Of the legislature, was at the
capitol yesterday, and he brought with
hlm story which has not for some pc
cullar reason, got into print thus far.
According to this story, Prof. " r. Was
son, the well-known superintendent Of
the st. Peter schools, is entitled to ad-
mt1onal fame as a diplomat and states
man.
There is considerable rivalry between
the towns of LIE Sueur and st. Peter.
the asylum city having the champion
football team of the state, while Le
Sueur has a claim on Roger Denzer.
Whenever St. Peter man does any
thing of moment, LIE Sueur always has
someone who can do the same thing
Just little bit better, and vice versa.
The two towns have long contended for
supremacy in various departments OF
skill, from craftsmanship to potato eat
ing contests at county fairs.
One cold day last winter some good
citizen of st. Peter, after reading VAN
divers Hot Tamales," went out and
sawed a cord of maple wood before
breakfast. The news got noised around
and the LIE Sueur people sent word back
that they had any amount of men who
could do better than that, and before
the challenge was an hour old a wood
saving contest between the two towns
had been arranged.
Fifty stalwart LIE Sueurites went over
to St. Peter to put their strength to the
test against tEeir rivals. 1t was q great
day in st. Peter. The event was adver-
tised more extensively than Barnum'a
circus, and farmers came many miles to
witness the fun. The st. Peter stores
closed, the churches declared the mid
week prayer meeting off, and the occa-
sion partook of the nature Of a public
holiday. But the schools did not close.
At this many of the students took UNI
bragg, deening it little less than sacri-
lege to attend school when so momen-
tous an event was going on in town be-
tween the two old-time rivals.
Five Of the senior boys, who had
played on the star football team, stood
on their dignity and Skipped school,
to take in the wood-sawing contest.
Next day Mr. Wasson visited the par
ents Of the five, and asked why they were
absent. The parents could not account
for it. When he learned what had kept
the youths from their classes he asked
the parents permission to punish the.
truants, which was readily granted, all
belt the parents had some doubts as to
Wasson's ability to carry out his part OF
the contract, with the boys all towering
a head above him, and weighing zoo
pounds each.
Next day Mr.. Wasson, with a porten-
tCus grim smile on his cOuntenance in
vited the boys to visit him in I--sp private
office. He there informed them that he
had secured their parents permis sion to
punish them for their breach of school
discipline and told them to follow him
into the basement. On the way down,
the boys looked at Wasson and then
whispered among themselves, asking one
another whether they should submit to
the punishment about to be inflicted, or
throw the little schoolmaster out of the
basement window.
Laid FOR the Professor.
Arrived in the basement, the professor
looked very severe, took a long breath
as if something hurt him, and said:
Boys, kindly remove your coats" The
boys did so reluctantly, looking one at
the other for sign to pitch into the
Prof" and casting sly glances about the
room to get size on the war club with
which he was about to chastise them. /
Then Wassan said: Boys, / greatly re- 4
gret to inf1ict punishment upon you, but 4
am obliged to maintain discipline in this
school. In order that you may not be
humiliated more than is necessary,
will punish you one at a time-please step
this way One of the boys followed tho
professor into another room, and the
door was shut. In a few moments the
professor appeared and called another
boy into the adjoining room, and so on
until the entire five had received their
turn. A..
Just then the janitor appeared at the
door and he broke forth in a hearty
guffaw as he beheld the five young men
with coats off, vigorously at work on;
three cords of maple wood with buck
and saw. f-
The boys sawed the wood, went back to
Prof. Wasson and swore undying loyalty
to him, and the class adopted as it's
graduating motto: Just tell them that
vn11 saw me and WAS saving wood Y 1