Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1903-01-20

us nails every year classical scholars
and professional men that do honor to
the Institution and to the state, and
with her 1000 students in annual at
tendance is spreading the light of in
telllgence from one border of the
state to the other. The Iowa state
college at Ames, partially supported
by an endowment from the national
government is one of, If not the best
OF its kind in the United States. Some
OF the strongest mechanical and cleo
tr1cal engineers in the United States
have been graduated from our own
Iowa state college. | am told Mr.
Shankland, of the class of 1878, pass
ed upon the strength, of every piece
OF iron and steel that entered into the
construction of the Worlds Fair build
ings at Chicago. A Mr.. Grant of the
class of 1875 revolutionized the meth
DDS and process of smelling ores and
by his fair dealings with miners and
operators in Colorado was elected gov
ernor of the state few years ago al
| though his party was largely in the
minority. The last of these three
great institutions is our state normal
school at Cedar Falls, the largest insti-
tuition of it's kind in the United States
but one. 1t is this institution that is
more closely allied to the people
| through the public schools than all
others. 1t prepares the teacher for
public school work. Two thousand
teacher pupils are annually enrolled
| in this institution. The mission of
| this school is to provide an education
and to furnish the best methods of
| imparting that knowledge to pupils
| Another important factor in the
educational interests of the state is
her libraries. In the early history of
our state when the foundation of our
public school system was established
there were no public libraries and but
| few private ones. There were then
but few newspapers and periodicals.
An occasional book would circulate
through a neighborhood and be read
over ana over again and it's contents
thoroughly digested. The higher
schools of learning at that time were
not well supplied with books, but
there has been a wise progression all
along the educational line. The pub
| lie library buildings have multiplied
rapidly. The colleges and all higher
institutions of learning are well sup
piled with books. The public schools
in both city and country are building
up libraries, adding to their supply of
books each year, until there no longer
exists that dearth of books to read
that there was fifty years ago.
"There are now over two hundred
public libraries in the state contain
ing about 100000 volumes. The state
library has about $4,000 volumes, the
State Historical library, $4,000. The
State University 10000, Iowa State
college 10000, and the Free Masons of
Iowa $4,000, being the largest library
of it's kind in the United States.
There are $4,000 volumes in the libra
ries of the public schools in the state,
5000 of which are in Wapello county.
| All this and more has been done in
the interests of education by the
comparatively young state of Iowa.
1.-THE wealthy man has always been
able to educate his children. He can
buy them books of all kinds. He can
pay for their tuition in private
school. He can surround them with
such environments that they do not
need state aid. But the great and
magnanimous state of Iowa has gen
erously provided for the education of
the great majority-the children of
| the poorer classes.
1
1 lie schools and the public Libraries are
the friends to the poor man. They
are levelers-they bring education
within the reach of all"
HI. Waterman.
The POSTMASTER, in allotting H. L..
| Waterman to the toast, 1.-THE Upper
World of Iowa Coal Felds,' stated that
Rev. Father O'Farrell had told of the
heavenly regions and that now the re-
gions below would be heard from.
Mr.. Waterman spoke in part as fol-
lows:
4 Mr.. Chairman and gentlemen: l
didn't have any say regarding the as
signment of toasts. If | had | should
have cut myself off the list, but un,
fortunately the matter was arranged
without my aid. When I was assigned
to this toast I thought the matter
!. over and decided to divide my talk
into two parts, to take about thirty
minutes for each part, but afterwards
thought had better leave out both
parts. The POSTMASTER, in introduc.
ing me, stated that you had listened
, to Rev. Father O'Farrell tell of the
heavenly regions, and now l will tell
you of the regions below; but | want
. to say that nowhere has the hand of
God been demonstrated more clearly
than in the coal fields.
eve in Iowa employ 12,400 men in
the Iowa coal mines. We supply the
coal which runs the machinery for the
Iowa industries.
During the past few months, when
the coal famine has been felt and the
eastern operators have been held III
: for public censure, there has been
nothing heard of the misdeeds of the
Iowa operators. Coal mining has gone
merrily on, and there has been nc
kick in Iowa. There has been no charge
against the Iowa operators that they
were raising the price of coal to ex
orbitant rates. Recently at the state
convention in Des Moines one of the
operators tried to raise the price, anG
he was blacklisted by the convention
The coal operators in Iowa are free
from the charges which have beer
alleged against the operators in the
other states"
S. P. Hartman.
S. P. Hartman responded to the