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"Ye Gods, I'd be graduated from college and holding a big position now if it hadn't been for Greek," exploded Mr. Murphy, letter-carrier extraordinary of the Yard in a recent interview. "Those teachers made me keep on taking Greek and Greek and more Greek until I just couldn't stand it any more, so I ups to the principal and says, "I can't do this stuff, I never wanted to, and still don't and never will. I quit this school right now, and to the devil with you".
Here the modern Mercury paused to read a postcard from Carcassonne, France, but as all he could see was "Having a swell time, wish you were here," he discarded it into a mailbox and shouldered his bag anew. "That is the trouble with education; they try to fill you full of a lot of stuff that never will do you any good. I suppose Greek and Latin are going to help you make money, or Shakespeare to do a good job delivering letters? My son isn't going to take any of that stuff--he's going to take practical subjects, Chemistry, Physics, Manual Training, accountancy, and things like that. His old man would be an A.B. if they had known how to do things then.
"Politics were better then, though," he continued, as he perused somebody's paper, obviously oblivious to the hurrying footsteps of time bringing in the next mail, "I remember when they had a bunch of good men in office. Look at Hoover there, he's just too yellow to start anything. He's so afraid that somebody will jump on his neck that he won't do anything about the depression or prohibition or national debts. What this country needs is an Irishman in office. He would show them how to take things in hand and stop this shilly-shallying around issues. Personally all I am interested in now is a nice big beer!"
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