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About The commoner. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-1923 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 30, 1901)
u The Commoner. . the people from their public servants but also to moderate disappointment and discontent. The sooner the people can hope for remedy the more patiently do they Biilmiit to that which they con sider error or injustice. A four years term is long enough for a good president and too long for a bad one. The Wages of Sin. prejudiced him in Mrs. Stanford's eyes, he was a favorite not only with the president of the uni versity, but with all with whom he came in con tact. But as soon as the report of his anti-Japanese speech reached Mrs. Stanford she insisted upon his resignation and the resignation was .forth- . ( coming. Subsequently, Professor George E. Howard, of the same university took occasion to r criticise the policy of interfering with the liberty of sueech in univcrsitv discussion. Professor Press dispatches announce that Xcely, the Howard bokUy deolared that ProrC8801. jlo8H ,ijH. ibezKlor of Cuban postal funds, who, by the mis8al WM a blow aimc(1 dire(jU ftt .lcmlomio cmbezzl .i ::.. it. cj r t. : i. . i i UUU1BIUII UL LllVi OliprimiU WUIllb, JH tO UC HC'llt UilUK. to the island for trial, has broken down and is a. complete wreck. If the report is true, it is only another illustration of the fact that the wages of sin is death. Aside from the moral principle involved, nothing pays a larger dividend of suffer ing on the investment than a breach of trust. The gnawing of conscience and the fear of detection rob the offender of happiness before he: is found out and when his wrong-doing is discov ered personal disgrace and the anguish of friends, embitter his life. And yet, in spite of the warn ings which come from every age and from every country, scarcely a day passes but some trusted, employe in private life or in public position is. blazoned forth as a defaulter. Most defalcations grow out of the temporary use of trust funds for personal advantage, wheiu the trustee feels sure that ho can return the amount on demand. Every boy should be taught, the rulgjjiat no one can safely use trust money as. a private fnud, no matter how certain he may be of his ability to majfc good the loan. Trust funds and private mony should never be mingled. Subsidized Instruction. It is a bad sign when the founder of a univer sity seeks to dominate the mind dt the teacher of that university. It is a good sign when the teacher rebels and surrenders his salary in prefer ence to surrendering his principles. Stanford university has lost six professors,. and the upheaval is the result of the attempt of Jtly freedom and to the cause of American education." lie added: The blow does not come directly from the founder. It rcully proceeds from the sinister spirit of social bigotry und commercial intolerance, which is just now the deadliest foe of American democracy. In order that we may attain the highest ideal of social, moral, and intellectual life our university must be the inviolable sanctuary of free inquiry. Soon after Professor Ross' dismissal, Profes sor Aldrieh resigned, declaring that he could not teach in Stanford university under the circum stances. As soon as Professor Howard's remarks became lenown to Mrs. Stanford, she asked for an apology from the professor for his criticism of the uni versity's course towards Ross. Professor Howard defended himself by saying that he had simply made a fair presentation of the influences that resulted in Professor Ross' dismissal, lie declined to apologize, and on Monday of last week, he was informed that his resignation would be ac cepted, but was given the privilege of remaining until the end of the term. He refused to avail himself of this privilege and immediately left the university. On, Tuesday Professor Hudson of the.English department and Professor Little of the Chair of Mathematics resigned. On Wednesday Professor Spencer of the History department tendered his resignation all giving as a reason that they did not care to teach in a university where liberty of speech was curtailed as it was at Stanford. It is significant that the six instructors who thus left Stanford university were among the most the founder's widow to regulate the convictions;, popular .and successful teachers in the' institution. of some of the instructors in the institution. It is no surprise to be told that this university has 'In May, 1900, Professor Ross attended a mass, lost considerable prestige because of the attempt ; meeting held in San Francisco for the purpose of protesting against the coming of Japanese laborers; to this country. , He delivered an address on this, occasion in which he insisted on the exclusion of t Japanese as a measure of wisdom in the light of olh experience with the Chinese. It seems that for many years Senator Stanford, who was usident of the'Southern Pacific railroad, had the 1 m i ..!.?. .,. 1 ! i 1 nl-t s-v r si Pr llilrt li IMVlTi 01 lmiJprnnir UUUUU liiuui, mu iuj uuia uw wis frequently denounced by those opposed to that labor. This, it is said, explains Mrs. Stan ford's sensitiveness on this point. It may have been that Mrs. Stanford was fur ther prejudiced against Professor Ross because she had been informed that he was an advocate of bimetalism and in favor of restricting the power of corporations. It ha.s never been claimed, how ever, that Professor Ross ever carried his politics into the classroom. On the contrary, it is said of him that in his lectures to his classes he was emi to control the convictions of teackers. The student has small prospect of acquiring valuable information when the conscience and conviction of his teacher are dominated by one whose power and authority come' exclusively from financial connection with the school. If the men and -women whose lives are dedicated to the instruc tion of the young are not to speak what they con ceive to be the truth, for fear of offending the university financiers, then little care need be exercised as to the character and ability of uni versity instructors. A college diploma and a post-graduate course in a corporation atmosphere is, then, all that is necessary to fit a man or woman for a college professorship. But if the young people who attend our universities are to make the most of their opportunities, then it is essential that men and women who instruct them shall have the brains to think for themselves and the courage to express their opinions without fear or favor. The policy that resulted in the six resignations mm uiiib m in iwuuch w u - - afc Stanford university may endear that institution eutly fair, invariably presenting both sides ot fifo those who imagiRe that the champions of class every question with which he had to ddal. privilege are the only ones who have the right to Although Professor Ross' notions had greatly independent thought, but among men and women who believe that the successful college must have as it professors men of thought and conviction in order to produce results, Stanford university will not take high rank. And it is no wonder that today all California is blushing for the policy of a university that otherwise might be a credit and advantage to the great state in which it is located. w Shelving General Miles. The Chicago Tribune, a republican newspaper, is authority for the statement that the army re organization bill is so constructed that the Presi dent may appoint a successor to General Miles, and thus force that famous soldier to apply for retirement. According to the Tribune: "General Miles could not be retired against his will untjL August 8, 1U0JJ. By that time both General Otis and Genoral Brooke will be retired under the law, and thus their chances of becoming lieutenant-generals will disappear. It is believed, therefore, that a movement has been set on foot to compel General Miles to retire, it is said the scheme is to persuade President McKinley to withhold the nomination for lieutenant-general from General Miles unless he will agree to retire. This he can do of his own motion on August 8 of this year, two years before his retirement under operation of the law." The Tribune continues: "General Miles will be required to agree to apply i'ov retirement in August of this year, otherwise he will not be up pointed to the grade of lieutenant-general. As a matter of course, if the President consents to the scheme, General Miles will be helpless and will have to retire. If he refuses both General Brooke and General Otis will be made lieutenant-generals and both will be retired." Thereupon, suggests The Tribune, "Adjutant General Corbin, who is at present a major gen eral under the law and who remains such under the reorganization bill, will be nominated for lieutenant-general in command of the army. He does not retire until 1900 by operation of the law, although he may retiro of his motion in Sep tember, 1904. This would give President Mc Kinley the opportunity to create no less than ' four lieutenant-generals." This dispatch appeared in the Tribune of January 23. Plausibility is given to the expose by the fact that the Chicago Inter-Ocean, another republican newspaper, in its issue of January 24, has an editorial in which it boldly demands that General Miles be shelved. The Inter-Ocean bases its demand on the ground that during the Spanish-American war General Miles proved "a complete failure," and it strongly insists that the lieutcnant-generalcy should go to General Otis, General Brooke or General Shafter. It credits Otis with "bringing order out of the Philippine chaos." It credits Brooke with hav ing "distinguished himself in Cuba." It credits Shafter with "having won the only hard cam paign of the Spanish war." In this light it is not difficult to understand why the Inter-Ocean should regard General Miles' record in the Spanish American war as "a complete failure." The fact is, however, that but for Miles the Shafter campaign would have been an ignomin ious one; but for Miles, no protest would have been raised against the policy of feeding em balmed beef to the soldiers; but for Miles the privates in the ranks would not have had, high in authority, a friend who was brave enough to pro test against wrong, even when it was evident that the wrong was being perpetrated by admin istration favorties. It will not be surprising if the plan as out lined by the Tribune is carried out, but when General Miles is shelved, the republican iicw papers will be kept busy explaining it. 19 1, yjjt. 'ft-UCwJvt-lJ.dfr'.W'l . .iK S: 4.j5 hJ!L...-vr,'t. n atoiAM. ---r-vririui Jfr . M 4t t. A 1a. - its Jk ,t, m vs-i 4.J&MJ'Jitot tii