Mower County transcript., 1904-01-06

Vol. XXXVI-Nts ~
FARMER BEN'S COLUMN.
7. So comrade Collins has really and
truly resigned as judge to take up
active canvass for nomination for re.
publican governor of this great and
glorious commonwealth. It's worthy
ambition for any man to want to be-
come chief executor of such state and
if anybody cleaner and more able and
juster and straiter than Collins can be
found for the posish Iaint had my at
tention called to him. Comrade Collins
is pioneer. He struck Minnesota in
1854 long before we had thought of
gettin' population enough together to
manufactur state and in those old ter
ritorial days he showed what kline OF
grit he had. Than when the war came
he enlisted in the old Seventh Mime.
sofa helpin' to organize Company
F under Colonel Steve Miller. After
fitin' Indiansl and protectin' our from
tier out at Birch Coolie and away west
from Mankato into Dakota, thu re-
giment was ordered south and tackled
the rebels at Tupelo and Oxford and
chased Price thro Arkansas and Mis-
souri, and fetched up hard against the
rebels in the mud at the battle of
Nashville finally windin' up in cleanin'
out the Spanish Fort the principal de-
fence of Mobile and soon after heard
of the surrender Of Lee. Now amt
that good war record? Comrade
Collins was in the legislatnr in 1881
1883 and was appointed to the supreme
bench in 1887 and has been elected three
times Judge. tell you there amt any
shenannigan about Collins. He's all
right. He'll make the cleanest kind of
a governor. 1t would be nice COM
pliment to throw to veteran Of the
war and to pioneer and to one of our
most incorruptible and influential and
likely citizens to combine on Collins
and Civ him hurrah for governor that
would land him in the new statehouse
as governor.
I don't know what is to become of
the young America idees in the country
doestricks if this scarcity and corner
on teachers keeps up. When I was
down on the old farm used to be
director of the school a good deal OF
the time and We negsfs had any troubA
in pickin' up ali the teachers we want.
ed and at reasonable wages to- We've
got many good teacher for 1913 and
500 summer wages and $25 winter
wages that was Of the very best to
develop the youthful mind. I'd put up
some of 'em against any that are
Dragged up so high today because
they've got high marks on stifficates.
[ tell you it amt the stitticate that al
wus givs the clew to pickin' out the
best teachers. Real teachers are born
not made. I've seen teachers that had
kind of low marks that could go into
the school room just as handy as an
old hen scratchin' for her chickens and
could just lead the youngsters out into
the fields of learnin' and produce
marvels in the minds of boys and girls
that was backward and discouraged.
And then I've seen some of these high
fallutin, big stitficate teachers that
weren't worth powder to blow up
stump in the school room. They didn't
get down to practical business and
didn't catch on to the needs of the
scholars in a practical helpful way but
ranged too high in theory and didn't
hav any practice much and the term was
wasted. The wages hav been pokin' up
right along, however, until tell you
the school tax on lots of farms is the
biggest item and we amt gettin' one
whit better teachers than we used to
hav at proper wages.
This question of wages is hard
proposition all round. Folks don't get
any better service for the bigger wages
but are in the hole just so much more.
Up in the city, our gal Sarah says that
you can't get hired help in the houses
without payin' slaughterin' pay, besides
putin in all kinds Of extras in the way
of time and allowance. Farmer Ben il
in position where he knows that the
wages for help on the farms is just
swampin' the profits of farmin'. When
it comes to county salaries and city
salaries and teachers wages and all the
rest of the load of taxes !; tell you it's
gettin' to be q serious matter whether
the farmer and tax payer and employer
is goin' to be able to keep his head
above water unless relief comes nifty
nnick. T can't see whv lots Of the smart