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TI1E HEK: OMAHA, FIJI DAY, PrXTlMBKU 31, 101.').
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Disrespectfulness
and Indication of
Shiftlessness in
Absence of Rea
sonable Care in
Spelling and Pen
manship. : : :
Ry On- CHAKLEt n. PAR KJTCR8T.
A letter was received yesterday from
man who wanted a line of Introduction
some business house, with a view to
ccuring a position, ine name signed
a m mn 11 Iniltu 4 hlii..Jlnalu
that in order to reply to :ny correspond
ent I had to cut off the signature and
paste It on t'.ie return envelope. A writ
ing school Is the place for such a man,
and not a business house.
It was a small thin, bJt smsll things
often afford the best evidence. It Is
proverbial that straws make the bent
weathervanes. A person's penmanship
need not be like copperplate, but It la
disrespectful to one's correspondent, and
a distinct sympton of a certain kind of
shiftlessness, not to shape one's words
in a way to make them at least fairly
leKlble.
Bad spelling' Is another symptom, point
ing In the same direction. Our language
Is more difficult than some In that re
spectmore so than the German, for
example but it Is no more pardonable
for an American to write with a brogue
tliun It is to speak with, a brogue. Besides
that, dictionaries are cheap, and If one
needs an orthographic crutch he can
kpI on i for a few cents and conceal his
deficiency even if he is not a scholar
enough to correct it.
I. imp spelling and ambiguous chlrog-
pliy tire a mild form of Illiteracy, and
re scarce' ex?usable in tt'ese days of
Lugo opportunity. Liberal allowance
should be made, for such immigrants as
1 ue conn: (rain regions where opportun
i ie arc more meagre. But even so,
AhMluv native or alien, one has not at-
tnii.ed the Ideal slandaid of Americanism
till l.r cai read Knaiish Intelligently and
- tc I'. with l-cspccl.ible accuracy.
T..ls matte: of illiteracy ami the extent
to v.lilih II prevail In our counrty Is a
mmIouYi one. Mr. Winthrop Talbot, who
l.o s I ecu employed by our government
to Hndy into the matter, reports that
we have 5.-K0.O0O il'ltcrates and many
mll'loii more that are pract'.rally such, j
t'ivin;, a young fel'.ow juet sufficient In- j
structiun in our language to enable him (
to get a Job is not teaching hlin KngUsh. ;
In fact. It 's the most dlricl way of'en- ,
courngin'j hin to le stipciticiul. J i
llllteiai;v And popular Ktg'ernmenJ are '
incompatible. Our Individual life retires (
to bo bound tip n the !llo,of our couiiu ,
h'ch !l cannot be unlese.we think and
lead in our country's vernacular. To be
A-.nrilcan conaiiits in !nrgi part In being
borne alons In the current of national
Mear, national affections and aspirations
uir flio.io mu lt re interpreted to us
through the medium of the nation's lan- j
;;urre.
Such as hive not nttalned to this are
hp resntrd Into comniiinlties !rt, and
have net been dl-rreted by the national
life, and not become assimilated Into
elements constituent ef tiie body politic.
They are in America, but not of It. They
subsist on the nation i life, but wunoui
.Vrnmlnr forces contributory to that life;
ire members of the order of clvlo
"parasites, feeding on the body that they
ought themselves to help feed. Closely
connected with that Is another matter
that can properly be brought within the
compass of this article and which has
to do with college students' ignorance of
past and current events, especially the
latter.
It la suggested by what has recently
leen developed by a certain college pro
fessor upon examining members of his
(lass concerning the location of places
that have been made Important and con
spicuous by events In the Kuropean war.
One such place, which has been for
months the scene of sharp struggles be
tween the warring powers, and which haa
had emphatic attention called to It In al
most every issue of the dally papers
since September, not a single member of
his class could geographically locate.
It Is safe to conclude that that entire
class of collegians knows very little I
shout what has been going on in Eurone j
during the last sixteen months. Its mem-
wra have probably been studying Roman
snd Greek history of the ante-Chrlstlan
age. and familiarising themselves with
the languages snd literature of that
period, but as Indifferent, as though resl- .
dents of another planet, to events of a
magnitude and seriousness that eclipse .
...wi .1 At In rlnuln !
n ji j Lliilia - " y V. i 1 1 utovutvi .
ecoras.
Without speaking disparagingly of the
value of a knowledge of the events that
are past, no matter how long past, yet
there Is an educating significance In i
studying history that is In tne making
that there Is not In studying history
that Is made and finished and that. In
one sense of the word, Is dead and gone.
Those students, and all studenU. are
today In the midst of a tremendously lle I
world. Its historic processes are laid i
bare before their very eyes. They can I
hear the clanking of the machinery of '
events, and It la difficult to conceive how .
a mind that is really a student mind ca.'i
face the great tragedy, more Immense
than the combined tragedies of all the
dramatists, and not succumb to its educa
tional and Inspirational pressure.
And these students are expected soon !
.to quit the retirement of college life and
enter Into the great world and become ;
part of it. But what can such recluses ;
as the one described know about the j
great world? The study of th ologles I
haa been the means perhaps of accumu- I
latlng for them a certain amount of gray j
mittAr mnA thev will need It: hut tiw t
about the adaptation of that gray matter
to the actual conditions and requirements
rt lh mimmm tirwin which thev ari
pecttbg to play a role?
This war Is calculated to develop a
crop of great men, made such by the
magnitude and Intense vitality of the
times In which their mental and moral
possibilities are getting their impulse and
training, and those university boys. If
they want to be reckoned among the
magnates, had better spend a part of
th"iv time standing out on the highway
hil I lie pi ocvaatio 4 '- ruing by.
1 ney a 1
subsist
-hppnmlri
Tiey ar
Quaint Little People in Quaint Little Frocks
Republished by Special Arrangement with Harper's Bazar.
In deep blue velvet, with collar
nd cuffs and a band at the
bottom of beaver fur a lit
tle maid can keep warm
In spile of wintry winds.
J Fashion says capes are popular, iT' j rHlk
If for the old. why not for the ' jf fiTVCS
young, enpeclally when they V , jf JS'
can be edged with little SsV3v f ' X sv
linen tabs of white. 'Sk j j
f u i rs
Is it a boy or a girl who wears this double-breasted
frock with double collar and cuffs of heavy
linen embroidered in dots to
match the material?
Plaits In the front and plaits in
the back and each one held with
feather stitching, to trim a
frock of handkerchief linen
that has a linen collar to
complete lta prettiness.
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Rare and Priceless Jewels of Russia
Wonderful Specimens of Greek Art Found in the Crimea
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Terra-cotta vase, Sphinx, 500 B. C. A silver vase, found in South Russia.
A rhyton, found in Crimea.
By GARRET P. SERVIS8.
In the peninsula called the Crimea Rus
sia possesses one of the richest sources
of ancient Oreek Jewelry and other mas
terpieces tn all the world. The great
palace of the Hermitage tn Petrograd la
remarkable for the number and splondor
of these art gems, some of which are
figured on this page. Three large vol
umns. prepared by order of the imperial
government, are devoted to the contents
of the magnificent hall containing these
treasures. It Is regarded as a most re
markable fact that no other region In
cluded In the ancient world la which
Greek civilization reigned has yielded so
vast a collection of specimens dating
from the senlth of Greek art as haa this
remote spot on ths northern shore of the
Black &ea.
And yet it was so far from the center
of human affairs at that time, that to
visit it was an Incomparably greater and
more venturesome voyage than for us to
travel round the globe.
The Crimea was known to the Greeks
as the Taurtc iliersonesus, and also aa
the country of the legendary Cimmerian.
Greek settlements were finally formed
there several hundred years before Christ,
and the city of Pantacapeum, -or Bos-
phorus, now Kertch, seems to have at
ta'ned considerable Importance.
The money value of the collection la
ery great, for many of the things are
nnmnoaed of solid gold and silver. But.
their artistic value Is still greater, while
their beauty of workmanship Is un
rivalled by anything done today. Maxima
Colllgnon. a French authority on Greek
archaeology, ssys that It must be ad
mitted that on certain points the secrets
of these ancient goldimlths have not been
discovered or disclosed, and that it Is
still a matter for inquiry bow ths artists
managed to give to their work such Inim
itable beauty and finish.
He also rays that "granulation,'' a kind
of decorjtion which unsits in covering
;h surface of g jld leaf uilh aluuut in
visible bosses of gold. Is one of the secrets
that modern art despairs of discovering.
One of the most famous pieces In the
great collection Is the "rhyton," or
drinking horn, shown In one of the photo
graphs. This Is In the form of a bull's
head, exquisitely carved, with a repre
sentation around ths cup of the assassi
nation of Priam's son, Polydorus, by
Polymnestor, the king of Thrace, while
Hecuba, queen of Troy and mother of the
murdered youth, attacks the assassin.
- The great silver' vase seen in another
of the illustrations Is a fine example of
the tireless' attention to details which the
artists gave to their work. The origi
nality of the figures of the centaurs
forming the handles, and the animation
of the circle of battling figures round
the center of the vase, make this an
object of special admiration.
Great numbers of coins and rings are
Included in the collection, some dating
back not less than IMO or t.OOO years.
One small cylinder of cornallne attached
to golden chain and carved with fig
ures representing the guardian spirit of a
king battling with two lions, la supposed
to have been the private seal of Mithrl
dates the Great, who died at Pantaca
peum In the year ti B. C.
Mlthrldates, who was a great patron of
art as well as a great soldier, was re
garded in Rome as the most dangerous
enemy that the conquering mistress of
the world ever enoountered. Many of
the finest treaaures In the collection come
from the ruins of what has been called
the tomb of Mlthrldates.
The women of those days, In that dis
tant part of the world, decorated their
persons, as these discoveries show, with
Jewels of such artlstio beauty and origi
nality that no money today could pur
chase their equals. There are, for In
stance, many earrings of gold exquisitely
shaped In imitation of heads of cup'.da.
of goddesses, of lions, of lynxes snd other
animals, snd of inimitable workman
ship. Collsrs, bracelets, table ornaments,
cups, Jeweled mirrors, fantastic buttons
or other objects for vestments, of gold
and sliver, or precious stones, abound.
Some of the objects, according to medals
accompanying them, date from the time
of Alexander the Oreat, and there are
gold coins struck in his reign.
Little Stories of Big Men
BjH.IL BTANSDURY.
Representative W. A. Cullom of In
diana was standing with a group of
politicians at the headquarters ef the
national democratic committee in Wash
ington a few nights ago when an en
thusiastic young reporter approached and
asked:
"Congressman, what do you think about
the president's preparedness program?
How many battleships do you think we
should built each yearT"
"Well, young man," replied the gentle
man from Indiana, "I am not greatly In
terested in preparedness and battleships.
We haven't any deep water In Indiana.
Why, a school of fish In the Wabash
liver could raise a dust."
Henator Chilton of West Virginia likes
a Joke and likes better to tell one. This
is his latest:
An liinhiuun and un Anuikan entered
a place where liquid refreshments were
sold and announced that they Would like
to have a drink.
"Wl at sort of a drink will it be?" aked
the polite attendant.
"h, give me a home's neck," said the
American.
"Faith. Mid then you can give me a
horse's tall, and you won't have to kill
two horses," said the Irishman.
In-Shoots
The Joy-laden auto Is no respecter of
persons.
Home fellows appear to smoke Just for
the pleasure of wasting matches.
No actress can expect ti be recognized
inVf slio keeps a dog of some kind.
Representative Ren Jo!nson of Ken
tucky, while shaking hands with Chair
man Hay of the house military af.alrs
committee on the opening day of con
gress, asked:
"Po you believe, Mr. lla. this will be
a long session?"
"I am afraid we are In the same plight
aa the darkey who recently had the mls
fortune to appear before Judge Crutch
field, In the police court of Richmond,"
replied Mr. Hay. "The defendant was
charged with having participated In a
cutting affray the night before, and waa
asked whether he desired to plead guilty
or not guilty. This was his answer:
" 'No. sah. Mr. Jedga: I wouldn't be
have in dat way. I knows bettah. Tou
see, I b'longs In New York. I don't mix
wld deee Virginia darkeys.'
" Tou'll mix with Virginia darkeys for
the next six months.' said ths Judge.
" 'Next cane.' "
Why Not Practice Kindness?
By BEATRICE FAIRFAX.
I wonder why moat ot us are so af raid
of being kind? Ws seem to conduct life
on the principle that to be kind la to be
misjudged. We set for the most part ss
if kindness and weakness were synono
mo us. The world would be for the most
of us an infinitely happier place If we
frankly lived up to our kindly Impulses.
'Ths new family at the end of the block
seems very pleasant," says iirs. Smith.
Hints About Pets
To keep canaries In song a frequent
change of diet is necessary.
Flageolets are sometimes used In order
to teach bullfinches to whlstls.
During the winter the cage of a canary
should never be hung in a room without
a fire.
A little brimstone put occasionally In
the milk given to cats Is a preventive of
disease.
("I'd realty like to eall. but Tin afraid
they'd think I was Intruding.". And Mrs.
Smith does not cslt. Bhe conquers her
Impulse to be friendly and neighborly lest
she be misjudged and she Is misjudged!
Says Mrs. Brown, head of ths nsw fam
ily, "Oh, I wish we had never come Into
this neighborhood. It's so snobbish and
exclusive that I'm really very unhappy
here."
Multiply the Instance a hundred fold.
Dally each of us. because of some foolish
self-conscious and selfish personal fear
that our actions will be misinterpreted,
neglect to do the little kindness It lies
In our power to offer to soma one elss.
It is very cowardly to fall in a manifest
duty merely because there is a chance
that motives may be questioned.
Be honest with yourself where there
arises such a situation. Ask yourself
quits frankly, "What would I want done
for me If I were In his or her position?"
And then with a fins frankness and a
simple honesty offer the best servioe you
have In your power to give to friend-ship.
FLORENCE
is to be given next and
believe me she is a very
pretty dolly. She lias
such sweet winning
ways that we would like
to havo her go to some
little girl that didn't get
a doll for Xmas. bhe
would make that little
girl fo happy.
Put on your thinking
caps little Busy Bees,
and see if you cannot re
member some such little
girl, and try to make
her happy by collecting
a few pictures to help
her win Florence.
Florence will be given
free to the little girl un
der 12 years of age that
brings or mails us the
largest number of dolls
pictures cut out of the
Daily and Sunday Bee
before 4 p. m., Friday,
December 31.
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Remember, vou must
send your pictures in
ONE DAY EARLIER
this week, because Saturday is New Year's Day, so the
CONTEST WILL CLOSE AT 4 P. M. FRIDAY, instead
of Saturday.
Florence pictures will be in The Bee every day this
week. Cut them out and ask your friends to save the
pictures in their paper for you too. See how many pic
tures of Florence you can getj and be sure to turn them in
to The Bee office before 4 p. m. Friday, December 31.
You Can See Florence at The Bee Office