Waterbury Democrat., 1902-01-18
AS YOU LIKE IT
Some Stray Leaves from Reporters E Note Book.

An assistant foreman in one of the rooms of the New England watch shop and one or two of his friends were the victims of a joke during the past week, and as a result they were the butt of considerable jollying on the part of the other employees of tine room. One of the young lady employees of the room is very fond of oranges IA day never passes unless she brings at least one orange to the shop to eat some time during the morning or af- ternoon. For the past week or two she has not had the pleasure of eating an orange True, it was no fault of her own. She brought the orange each day, but some person, as joke. stole it. There were four or five jokers all dn the same gang. What belonged to one belong to all, was their maxim. The young idy had her suspicious and she determined to reverse the joke. One day she brought bag as usual In it were two potatoes. She let a number of the other lady employees IT the room into her secret. AS usual, the bag was stolen by one of the men, who summoned some of his friends. ill- cluding the assistant foreman. The latter had the knife to cut the oranges. Imagine their disgust when they opened the bag and found the pota toes. Great was the laughter of the young ladies. Revenge was sweet but more was to follow. The next day an orange was brought by the young lady as usual. She ate it unknown to her tormentors. She cut the orange in halves and after eating the contents filled them with sawdust orange p.aels and machine oil and fixed it so that t looked like real one. And then It was wrapped in paper. When the ls- Sistant went to cut the orange, after his comrade had stolen 1t. he received a few drops of oil. It is probable that the foreman or his assistants will nc. steal any more oranges.
 
 The As You Like It man heard rather lively discussion during the past week on the question of punishment which a school teacher should admin lister to a pupil. There appears to De wide difference of opinion on this subject. Many persons believe that teacher can influence a child; can deal out more severe punishment than by strapping him; for instance, by keeping him for an hour or two after school, by making him write about 800 or 1000 words after school hours, or by some such method. Among teachers the same difference of opinion prevails. Some teachers do not believe in strapping child, but the majority of teachers do strap their children. As to the discussion referred to above, both principals in it believed in strapping child, if the teacher saw fit. but it was their opinion that many teachers use the strap too freely, maS- ing a child more sullen and bold than more order 1y. One of the men engaged Tn the discussion stated case that nnd reached his ears within a few days. child in one of the city schools had been unruly. The teacher puniSheI him, giving him 15O slaps on the palms and backs of both hands The boys hands were rather discolored when the 150 slaps had been given. That afternoon he was kept home from school by his mother as result of the punishment. On Monday, when the child went back to school. he was again punished by the teacher. When the mother of the child heard of 1t she was incensed and demanded an inyes- tigation on the part of the principal. The result of the investigation was that an apology was made by the teacher. A member of the board of education is said to have heard of the case and is said to have expressed his feelings upon the subject in no mild manner. This is case, so the speaker said, where corporal punishment was used to excess.
 The people of Waterbury are still talking about the reception tendered to William Jennings Bryan by the Hon William Kennedy in Naugatuck last Monday. Among those who gathered at the banquet table were some of the truest and best men in the democratic party in the valley, but this must not be understood as saying that they all voted for him in '96 or 1900 But that's not what we wanted to call at tention to. We started out to say something about Bryan's retentIye powers and his marked ability to re- member faces and names. Among the prominent republicans introduced to Bryan during his stay in the Rubber town was one of the nabobs of the re- publican party of this city, Frederick w. Chesson, an alderman from the third ward and a member of the com missioners of the board of public
 
 works Mir Chesson was presented to Bryan by that sterling democrat. Ed ward G. Kilduff. mayor of Waterbury. After handshake with the boy orator from the Platte. MT Chesson remarked: Pm very much pleased to meet you, even though I am black republican. 2 Bryan smiled, bowed his head grace fully and replied, That's all right. You're only one of them" Half an hour later, when some one else also reminded the visitor that he was a re- publican, Bryan laughed and said: That's all right. Mir Chesson is an other" Considering the number of people that had been introduced to MT Bryan in the meantime 1t astonishe,I those about him to hear how readily he recalled Mir Chesson's name. This trait was further Illustrated by a chat between Selectman Disley and the emil nent Nebraskan. 'I saw you before. g said Mir Disley. q heard you speak in front of the hotel you were stopping at in Atlanta" q remember your face" said Mir Bryan "You stood in the rear of the throng, smoking a cigar and leaning against a pillar" This was just exactly the position Mir Disley occupied at the time, though this part