The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1907-02-14
.sAUK CENTRE HERALD
FRANK M. EDDY,
EDITOR AND PUBLISHER
Subscription, $3.50 a Year.
100 If Paid In Advance.
ALvAH'S IDEA

reprints III iIo o"h S"i'o W.
umns editorials clipped from other
papers. We had written an edi'
torial on the question of the semi
centennial exposition, but the fol
lowing from the St. Cloud Journal,
Press expressed our thought so
much better than we could do 1t
ourselves that we cast ours in the
waste basket and reprint the Jour
nal.Press editorial entire:
A bill is before the legislature
asking for million dollars to cele-
brate the half century birthday of
Minnesota.
Minnesota is worthy of high
tribute for what she has accomplish.
ed in the short space of fifty years.
None of her sister states can show
greater achievements.
But let us make the event worth
while 1t of some permanent
value-make it an epoch in state
development.
A million dollars spent in a cele-
bration is spectacular, fantastic,
tawdy, transitory. 1t would give
us a chesty feeling for few weeks,
and then after the powder had
burned there would be only few
black ashes left. 1t is a business
scheme of the Twin cities.
This sort of thing is cheap, COM
monplace and unworthy of this
great state.
Let lis make it worth while.
Make the fiftieth anniversary men,
orable in the educational work of
the state. Spend million dollars
on the educ ational institutions of
the state, and set new pace among
the states for the education and
training of our boys and girls.
That would be something salts
factory and permanent. 1t would
be of benefit to every city, every
village and every town in the state.
Today there is shortage of we'll
qualified teachers for our public
schools. Three of the normal
schools are asking for a few thou
sand dollars that they may have
room to accommodate more students
to train for teachers. They are
also asking for the modest sum of
of $50, 900 for continuous sessions
of the five normal schools, which
would be of great and direct benefit
to the rural schools in every county.
1t is doubtful if these necessary
and modest wants are granted
and yet we are all expected to burn
with atriotic fire and demand the
squandering of million dollars for
semi-centennial jamboree and jim
cracks.
a million dollars used as mem
orial fund in our schools would
mark a new departure along ad-
vanced lines.
And better than mushroom eX-
position would be a million dollars
for public roads of the state. That
sum spent intelligently would be
so much of an object lesson in good
roads that in few years the North
Star state would be famous for It's
excellent highways and every acre
of it's farm land would be doubled
in value.
~ 1t would be appropriate to make
provision for proper observance
of the event by a splendid program
and industrial parade made up by
every section of the state. This
would be proper marking of the
fiftieth milestone. Spend hundred
thousand dollars, or so much as is
necessary, and make it a grand
birthday party.
The celebration of the 2OOth dis
covery of the falls of St. Anthony
by Father Hennepin was in the
right spirit. Something of this
nature grander and more elaborate
would meet general approval
but to spend million dollars is a
waste of good money-when it is
so much needed along other lines
which would be of tremendous
benefit to the people and an inspira-
ton to the whole country.
We hope that the representatives
and senators from the country dis