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
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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
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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
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