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The Commoner.
-VOLUME 12, NUMBER 49
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The Commoner.
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THE COMMONER, Lincoln, Neb.
abuses and usurpations, who can bo heard to
complain if the state asks less and the court
acquiesces in giving less than the full scope of
the drastic remedy furnished by the ancient pro
ceeding in quo warranto?
The advantages of the limited judgment in
quo warranto are obvious. It is much better
than an injunction, because an injunction can
only be granted by a court of general jurisdic
tion. An Injunction case could only find its
way Into the supreme court by appeal or writ
of error. Seeking only a limited judgment of
ouster, the state may begin its quo warranto
suit in its court of last resort. Disobedience or
contempt of an injunction would have to be
called to the attention of the court which,
granted the injunction, and a punishment for
such disobedience or contempt would have to go
to the higher court for review. But a violation
of a judgment of limited ouster may be called
directly and summarily to the attention of the
court of last resort. It amounts to governmen
tal supervision of the great corporations which
exercise, lawfully or otherwise, the powers,
scope and commercial supremacy of a monopoly.
Kansas wants to keep these giant corporations,
and it is determined to rule them, and we have
arranged matters so that they must do busi
ness under the eye of our supreme court forever.
Such, in substance, is the Kansas limited judg
ment in quo warranto which has called forth
such high encomiums from one of America's
foremost politicians. JOHN S. DAWSON.
PERSONAL GUILT
Organized Play
The United States supreme court declared the
Union Pacific and Southern Pacific merger to be
illegal. The New York World says: When Mr.
Harriman defied the law in this matter he did
so with the court's interpretation, of it in the
Northern Securities case before him. In that
judgment the court stood five to four. In the
present -instance there is a unanimous opinion,
one justice not participating. Chief Justice
White and Justice Holmes, who dissented in the
Northern Securities case, now subscribe to the
interpretation of the anti-trust act that was
then made. Thus it is no longer possible for
those who would monopolize transportation to
base their presumptions upon the uncertainties
of a divided court. There was this pretense of
doubt in the Harriman case, and there was the
further misrepresentation that as the lines
merged were in some cases a thousand miles
apart they were not competitors. The summary
manner in which the court dismisses the sophis
try proves tho strength of the law as well as
the disposition of its members to enforce it. As
in the Northern Securities, Standard Oil and
Tobacco proceedings, if this action had been
under the criminal sections of the Sherman law
there would have been an affirmation of per
sonal guilt and somebody would now be on his
way to the 'penitentiary. How many warnings
like these must American business men have be
fore .they refuse longer to bo misled by highly
speculative lawyers?"
It will go on until it shall bo demonstrated
by the prompt action of the executive depart
ment that "guilt is personal."
Prof. G. W. A. Luckey, head professor of edu
cation, University of Nebraska, has written tho
following article on "Organized Play":
I am aware that criticism is apt to follow any
change in the established order of things. This
is especially true with the attempt to reorganize
the public school system established by years
of custom and tradition. Whatever is, is right
seems to be the accepted thought of many
people. To overcome the inertia of existing con
ditions requires unusual effort, but progress
necessitates change, and truth is void of fear.
The thoughts which I bring to you on this
occasion are meant for sympathetic ears. I be
lieve them true, but they are still crude and
lack the careful organization necessary to con
vince the less observing public. They are but
chips from a student's workshop indicating, it
may be, the direction of the current, and the
nature of the material upon which he is work
ing. Different as some of the thoughts are
from, present practices, if true, they can not be
denied a place, if false, they will exert but little
influence.
If we turn in our thought to the period that
represents the highest civilization of the Greeks
(500 to 350 B. C.) we find that then, more than
at any other time, the entire boy went to school.
Besides the attention given to education in the
home, there were pedagogues, special tutors and
at least two schools which the son of every
citizen attended daily. The one school, known
as the paleastra was devoted to physical train
ing; the other, known as the music school, was
devoted to literary and intellectual training.
These schools were sometimes conducted in the
same building and many of the exercises like
dancing and drilling with the accompanying
music developed both the physical and mental,
moral and religious, body and soul. Both
schools were In session from early morning until
evening, usually from sunrise to sunset. The
smaller boys, 7 to 14, went to the paleastra in
the morning and' the music school in the after
noon, while the larger boys, 14 to 18 or 21, re
versed the order. The reason is apparent, with
the younger children the physical development
is first, with the older, the intellectual becomes
more essential. Each thus receives the most ap
propriate training at a time of day and of life
best fitted for it.
The early Romans, likewise, in building up
their highest and best civilization laid special
Btress on the development of the physical along
with the mental and moral. Whether In the
home, the field, the camp, or the forum the
Roman youth was taught to exercise, think and
do as though they were but parts of one and
the same act. It was only in later years, after
the Romans had accepted the Ideals of the more
cultured Greeks, that they became indolent,
immoral and impotent. They had made the
mistake of adopting ideals without adapting
them.
It is true that the -Greeks with their excellent
Ideas of education did not succeed as a nation.
But many causes combined to make them an
easy prey to the more virile Romans. Chief
among these were the loss of faith In the ideals
of the fathers, the lack of a common purpose,
the degradation of the masses, and Internecine
wars. As the Greeks gave way to the Romans,
so the Romans, in turn, were overcome by the
Germanic tribes of the north physically strong
and aggressive but intellectually weak and
barbarous.
It was at this stage of civilization that oc
curred one of the most remarkable events of all
history the life and teaching of the Nazarene.
It was a new spirit bestowed on his disciples
and exemplified In a life without "spot or
blemish." It taught the universal fatherhood of
God, the brotherhood of man, the 3acredness of
marriage and the purity of the home. It also
demanded health and purity of the body the
temple of God. and elevated nhilrLnfo hv nn
celving children as the gift of God and not as
the property of man. If not the first, it was by
far the clearest expression of the doctrine that
we learn to do by doing "whosoever heareth
these sayings of mine, and do-th them, I will
liken him unto a wise man, which built his
house upon a rock." It was not the destruction
of the law but the fulfillment; the living embodi
ment of tho law of service. "Not by might, nor
by power, but by-my Spirit, saith the Lord of
hosts." "Whatsoever y would that men should
do to you, do you even so to them." "if thine
enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him
drink."
Broad and inspiring as these thoughts were
to the down trodden masses, they had to make
headway, if at all, through the civilizations and
the governments as they then existed. What
ever the nation, whatever the people, the first
and all important thing was to establish the
new doctrine in the hearts of the people: "Sock
ye first the kingdom of God, and His righeeous
ness." It Is not an easy matter to change the ideals
of a nation under the most favorable circum
stances, but the conditions under which tho
early church fathers had to work were appalling.
Nation gave way to nation, empire to empire.
There was no stability anywhere, and for the
first thousand years nearly every change seemed
for the worse. Under these conditions educa
tion was out of the question, besides to increase
knowledge without adding also the spirit of the
new life, seemed but to add to the strength of
evil. Hence it should not create surprise that
the whole truth of the Master's teaching was
not seen, or if seen was not given forth in its
true meaning.
At first all attention was given to the spiritual
life, "You must be born again." Which means,
I take it, that you must be inwardly awakened
and aroused to the necessity and beauty of tho
higher social and spiritual life. Asceticism so
prominent in the early church, due to the con
dition of the times and the failure to grasp the
full meaning of the Master's teaching, was in
different to the development of the body if not
wholly antagonistic.
As governments became more stable there
was a revival of learning which in the period
" of the Renaissance covered many activities and
spread far and wide. But everywhere built
upon the false hypothesis that the development
of the mind Is distinct from and unconnected
with the development of the body. In fact, it
has often been advocated that complete develop
ment of the body hinders or interferes with the
highest development of the mind. Built upon
such premises our schools have continued for
the most part as mental factories, cramming
institutions, where a dilletante intellectualisra
is propagated, and where desiccated knowledge
warranted not to ferment or cause mental dis
turbance is kept inviolate, and through a pro
cess of memory passed on to future generations.
This may seem like a strong arraignment of
the public schools, but is It not true? There was
a time when, as a people, we knew no better
but that time is past. We -either know better
now or ought to. Science has enabled us to dis
' cover many truths whether we use them or not.
One of these truths is that mind and body are
but parts of one and the same whole. What
ever affects the one affects the other. Neither
can the one be truly developed without de
veloping the other.
Under normal conditions mental hunger is as
natural as physical hunger. The soul in order
to live and grow must be fed as well as the body.
How different this seems in our schools. Tell
the normal boy that owing to the health of the
cook he may have several days rest from eat
ing; note his disappointment. On the other
hand, tell him that owing to the sickness of the
teacher he may have a few days vacation, and
hear his ejaculation, Good! Why is this? wny
do normal children dislike school? Is It not be
cause we are not truly feeding them, and sup
plying the real needs of life? Feed the child
on husks and he will no doubt tire of the eat
ing. The best material may prove husks if"
is not assimilated and made a part of the liv
ing tissues.
The thought Is becoming more and more
general that our schools are not meeting as com
pletely as they might the needs of the times.
We have followed too slavishly the subjects ana
methods of the past and have not made sum
dent knowledge in adjusting ourselves to too
conditions, of the present. The blame does not
rest with any particular institution nor with any
class of our citizens. The home, the ocnoo.
the press, the church, organized society, ana
Btate, must all share in the criticism. P"aD y
two-thirds of the time and energy &sef
public education is wasted. 1st. because or uu
scientific methods, 2nd. because we do not nav
the whole boy In school. 'When we awake rroi
our slumber and remove some of the ?ec:
sary ignorance we will eradicate this waste ana
put a dynamic force into the civilization thai
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