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About The Omaha morning bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 1922-1927 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 2, 1923)
Colossal Fake Oil Chinese Life Now Confessed Memoirs of Li Hung Chang” Reissued With Preface Ex plaining That It Is Only Fiction. Of the making of books there is no end, but in the annals of book print ing it is rare that a publisher Is re quired to admit that one of his prod ucts is a "colossal forgery.” During 3 911 Houghton-Mifflin company brought out "Memoirs of 'Ll Hung Chang,” by \V. F. Mannix. In a re print of the book by the same publish ers the following explanation is of fe-ed: “This book has now been re issued for what it Is—a work of the imagination—with an introduction by liulpli D. Paine, sketching the strange «arotr of its actual author." Mr. Paine knew Mannix during a fcerjod of years in the United States, Cuba and In China. His 78-page “Story of a Literary Forgery," which precedes the reissue of the "Memoirs,” is in itself a document of absorbing interest. Mannix possessed a spark of genius plus a streak of obliquity, lie was uncommonly intelligent, ur bane anil unabashed. "He was always conveying the Impression that here has a gifted man gone wrong for lack of some moral ingredient that had been inscrutably denied himY Before the Houghton-Mifflin com pany accepted the "Memoirs" in 1911 for publication, the manuscript was approved by scholars, statesmen and sinologue:.:. Mannix had no other con nection with China than as a private in the Ninth U. S. Infantry during the It'iter campaign In 1900. While serving a year in the Oahu county jail at Honolulu, on a charge, of forg ery. he obtained hooks, a typewriter and a desk, and employed an amazing imagination in the preparation of his "Memoirs of Li Hung Chang." "A piece of counterfeit interpretation so liVitH'-intly successful that it seemed to mivnr the mind of the great states man of the orient and faithfully to re flect his moods, motives anil actions In his own words. There was some ihing heroic In his diligence and the magnitude and audacity of his con ception, sweating day after day in •he tropic Jail.” Mr. Paine adds that he extraordinary talent of Mannix had changed the texture of material •ead in the Oahu Jail. Mannix ad roitly expanded a mere suggestion: he would borrow a fact here and there and clothe it in the language of Li Hung Chang; all with infinite pain and finesse. B. B. Drew of Boston, who served JO years with the Chinese government and was with Li Hung Chang during his travels in the United States, raised a large question mark when he read "Memoirs." Mr. Paine wae as signed by the publishers to the task of determining the truth of the Man nix book. Mr. Paine devoted eeveral ears to the work and what he writes in hs "Story of a Literary Forgery," offers interesting sidelights on the re markable career of Mannix, beginning in 1895 when Mannix was a corre spondent during the Cuban revolution. During that hectic period in Cuba. Mannix, according to Paine, wrote a series of brilliant articles to New York and Philadelphia newspapers, pur porting that he was riding with the flying colors of Gomez and Maceo, while in fact "He had agreeably passed the time in the cafe of the Hotel Mascotte In Havana, comfort ably sprawled at a table, where he concocted all these thrilling, persua sive narratives of battles and forages and marches.” For which reason, Mannix was deported by the Spanish captain-general of Cuba to the United States. Mannix appealed to the State department and his case was even discussed in congress. This may Vie accepted: Houghton Mifflin company has turned a literary forgery to a fine advantage by reis suing it with Mr. Paine’s splendid story. Plays by Nebraska Shew Genuine Merit > • rHB LAST OF THE STROZZI" AND "THE LORE." by Carotins Renfaw. Moffat, Yarrl and Co., New York. 1923. In these two plays, especially in the first. Miss Carolyn Renfew has out stripped the promise of her "Songs of Hope” and proven herself a much more effective dramatic poet than she Is lyrist. "The Last of the Strozzi” rings with the true Elizabethan organ tones, and abounds In the fertility and felicity of wording which belongs to that period. It is long, even for a ftve-act Shakespearian drama, and It la very uneven. But at Its best. It Is the genuine article, both as poetry and as tragic drama. Miss Renfew has succeeded In keep ing the love scenes between the doomed Francesco and Marla, and the lighter passages between the ardent Cassio and the teasing Viola, In a moonlit midsummer madness which Is worthy of her originals. Again, in the last terrible scene where the in nocent Marla Is forced to drink poison and writhes In agony at t1fc feet of her bound and helpless lover. Miss Renfew attains to an Intensity of pity and horror which Inevitably recalls Webster and Marlowe. Too often Miss yRenfew's blank verse halts, and sofnetlmes It stum bles. A few random quotations, how ever. will suggest Its Imaginative power at its best. Marts. "Viols, such swrrt dreams do woo my Thst sIMnr waking thoughts srs turnsd tr» moat .... Harmonious action; go, methlnk*. th# morning Hath hud of lata, tti happy dritmi. It \v*a r* So glad a mien.” StreetI. “Th* » longest men ar# but aa quivering a ripen a, W hen from th* hillside* of a lonely age. Tilt. wiiKiH of memory avveep ovar them.’ Marin. "The varly dawn im hut a rhlll companion. Night with her hidden face la not mora cold. . _ 'Twaa her#* the black-browed aplrlta of my dream* Did bonr mf with malevolent delight T.i ki,/(, In /mguleh on my murdered love. The necond play in the book, “Th* Isiiro," folia of a young artist, who |ou\«n hi« country aweetheart to be driven to tho verge of marineee by a heartless beauty, but finally return* and 1* nil rued to health by hi* first love. It 1* n much lighter and If*** nmbitipuH piece of work, but it con lain* Rome delightful pa**ngp*. not ably the charming “Hon* and Dance of the Goblin*,” with it* outdoor fresh n eft* and witchery. The book, by a Nebraska poet, 1* one which Nebraskan* can well be. proud j Meiklejohn Writes Book on Clash Between Freedom and Education By PROFESSOR LEWIS L. Me KIBBEN. I NIVERNITY OF OMAHA. Freedom end thr» Collcne." by Alexander Midkeljohtv The Century Co., 1»2<S. This is a book which I have not the slightest hesitancy in recommend ing very highly to any intelligent American citizen interested in under standing and in keeping in the van of progress of American higher edu cation. It is a collection of nine es says and addresses written by the late president of Amherst college. All except one of them was written be tween the time of the United States entering into the great war and the time when he was retired from the president's chair. When Alexander Meiklejohn writes on the subject of "the teaching and learning of Freedom" (p. ix), espec ially as it bears on American colle giate education, he writes "as one having authority, and not as the scribes and Pharisees.” He writes with authority because he bears In his own personality the scars of a losing light to make an "Intelligent ....pursuit of freedom” the truly vi tal motivating force behind all high er education tbot It should be. The "Amherst scandal” of last June should perhaps be recalled here, for the benefit of those of us who have forgotten it—even as all. have now ceased to remember the Japanese earthquake. Now, one need hold no brief for all of the administrative ac tivities—including blunders, of course —of President Meiklejohn, to say with truth that the "scribes and Pharisees" in his case were certain trustees who opposed him. These in cluded such men as Dwight Morrow, class of 1895, a lawyer connected with the firm of J. P. Morgan and com pany; and a recent mushroom growth —as regards national reputation— known as Calvin Coolidge. This may, on the face of it, seem a sufficient reason to favor the reslg i nation "by request" of the president of one of America's greatest colleges —at least the college has become so within the last 11 years. My point, however, Is that most of those trus tees who were opposed to Meiklejohn knew a great deal less about educa tion than did he—a man who has given his life to higher education. Some of them would probably perish if they could once;see his vision— as one Is reputed to perish when he sees the glory of God. Melklejcfin, perhaps even some of his enemits would admit, has been, during the last eight or 10 years, about the most significant college president In the country. Until the ax fell last June upon the newly blossoming college life of Amherst, he was making that college one toward which all liberal .educators were furtively casting their glances of admiration and emulation. He was making It a place where brilliant minds were laying a premium on in dependent thinking and courageoui utterance, a place In which "freedom of Inquiry” was ,welcomed—as It by no means always Is In Institutions of higher learning In America! 1 Many of his utterances, seemingly radical Books for Children ‘THE IRIQNOIS SCOUT." By Roy D. Lange. Lothrop. Lea A Shepard Co. Indian stories will never cease to appeal to the youth of America. D. Lange writes stories about Indians for boys, and his books are of the better type of Juvenile fiction. This particular book has, aside from Its interesting plot, an exceptional his torical value. "FOUR COUSINS." By Dlk.n Zwilsmsyrr Translated by Rmlle Poulsson. Loth rope. Lee A Shepard Co. Four little girls, from widely sep arated places In Europe, go to Nor way to spend a year with their grand mother, who had been finding life lonely and dull. They succeed In livening things up considerably, an<V In enjoying themselves In quite an animated fashion. The story Is quite a charming one, and the girl readers should get as much enjoyment out of the affair as did the four cousins. f I at the time he made them, have since become academic commonplaces, be cause now so universally accepted. In this book he discusses such cogent problems as: “What Are Col lege Oames For?" “The Theory of the Liberal Coflege,” “The Unity of the Curriculum,” "Reorganizing the Curriculum.” His line of reasoning is always clear and lucid, simple and compelling. The tolerance, scholar ship, and large vision of the man are apparent on every page. One striking passage seems es pecially prophetic written in 1918): "As Socrates in Flato's Euthydemus, when told that in the process of be coming wise a man must lose ltfs ig norant life, offers himself for sacri fice, so may the college do. A death like that would be a noble ending, the sort of ending from which many splendid enterprises have sprung.” (p. 227.) Melklejohn has, in a sense, died to Amherst college—and another man now reclines comfortably in the president’s chair. Things run on as usual. Wc( can only hope against hope that some day a college would rather die a noble death In the cause of truth than to try to kill the liberal vision of a large-minded administrator —not mentioning college students every year who ars expelled for pi®'1' ing honest statements of their own opinions. Witness, for example, the University of Michigan. Surely the day is not yet: In speaking of college athletics, he says—and it requires unusual cour age, stramgely eflough!—what every high school sopohomore knows to be true, but what few college adminis trators will admit: "Our athletic sit uation is fundamentally dishonest." (p. 75.) By this he means that while, on the one hand, athletics is sup posed to be an "outside activity," car ried on for the pure joy of compete tion, it is in reality a very highly commercialized and often profession alized activity of the college. It is usuully fostered by administrations because winning teaniH make the ad ministrative machinery run more smoothly. The book is full of such lucid and courageous analyses. And to those who snivel and cry for more "con structive criticism,” let us reply that this book will not altogether disap point them—for Meiklejohn was a constructive force in Amherst college, and his writings will continue to bear fruit, even though the Pharisees have done their best to kill him. Children* Cry for lIHrl IsBua MOTHER:— Fletcher’s Castoria is especially prepared to relieve Infants in arms and Children all ages of Constipation Flatulency Wind Colic Diarrhea To Sweeten Stomach Regulate Bowels Aids in the assimilation of Food, promoting Cheerfulness, Rest, and Natural Sleep without Opiates ^-. To avoid imitations, always look for the signature of Proven directions on each package. Physicians everywhere recommend it AHVEBTIHKMKNT. .iUVKBTIhKW KVf. \ Child's tongue shows if bilious, constipated GIVE “CALIFORNIA FIG SfflUr _ Dependable Laxative for Sick Baby or Child — Harmless! Hurry Mother! Even a fretful, peevish rhlld loves the pleasant taste of -."California Fig Syrup" and it never fails to open the bowels. A teaspoonful today may prevent a sick rhlld tomorrow. Ask your druggist for genuine ‘'Cali fornia Fig Syrup" which has dlrec tionil for babies and children of all ages printed on bottle. Mother! You must say "California" or you may get an imitation fig syrup. SAY “BAYER” when you buy-<y0nuine. Unless you see the “Bayer Cross” on tablets, you are not getting the genuine Bayer Aspirin proved safe by millions and prescribed by physicians over 23 years for Colds Toothache Headache Lumbago Neuralgia Neuritis Rheumatism Pain, Patn Accept only Bayer** package which cyntains proven directions. Handy “Bayer” boxes of twelve tablets Also bottles of 24 and 100—Druggists. Aspirin is the trade mark of Bayer Manufacture of Monoaceticacide&ter of Salicylicacid | / Singing Canaries $5.50 I Cake Doughnuts 20c dozen Toy land Is Open With Santa Claus in Charge A Wholesale Stock of Toys at One-Third and One-Half Oue of the largest wholesale concerns in this vicinity opened an extremely large and most complete stock of toys—not realizing the tre mendous floor space this stock demanded and not having the necessary room—they decided to immediately dispose with the entire stock— llayden Brothers Were Offered the Kirst Opportunity to Huy for Cash. Buy These Toys Tomorrow at XA and XA Price Wheel Good* Doll* Games Toilet Set* Traveling Set* Boudoir Damp* Ivory Finished Comb* Brushes *. Mirror* I'erfine Bottles < oaib and Brash Sets foliar Bags, etc., etc. Oar regular stock of these lines %vere already pur chased, so we most move this great purchase at once. This sale begins Saturdap at one-third and one-halt regular standard prices. Kiddie Car* Wagon* Traction Toys Veil O Taxi Cali* Toy Block* (•nine* Toy Hishea H lieelbarrowa Toy Furniture Kid Holla Rubber Holla Rama Holla The K K Holla Roll < aba Tin Hlahea ReohanJoal Toya llorna, llarmonleaa I‘Inn on Laundry Seta *l*oe t'ljs Clack Hoard* •< iittkora DomlBOfa > la tea Sled a « halra, •*(»*« etc. •Onokm' Seta Leather Gooda I r.’Melintt f'timrM. etc., ete. iwy wrpnrI-—r luur. Nothing Nicer Than Good Furniture for Gifts $15.00 genuine Tennessee cedar chests; (PQ copper trimmed, I tf $5.00 foot stools in tape stry, velour and damask upholster- (PQ ing. ipO.UU $5.00 golden oak high chalrs; strong- (PQ (TQ ly built. $2.00 mahogany finished smoker stands (PI (Tfl with glass trays,V-*-e*Jve $37.50 mahogany spinet desks. Very {Tfl special at.... $25.00 mahogany finish 60 inch davenport tables. A real value. (P"| H CQ Special. Eight-Piece Walnut Dining Room Suite It has been a long, long time since we could of fer a beautiful Queen Ann Period dining room suite like this. A special purchase from a man ufacturer enables us to offer this unequalled value. Consists of 60-inch buffet, all dust proof 45x60-ineh extension table, chairs upholstered in genuine leather seats. Regular $175 Value $175.00 Davenport Sure $9750 Consists of large size „ 1 liven port chair and rocker in mulberry velour and tapestry, loose cushions, spring 1 dge; mahogany finish legs; a wonder. of Fine Dinnerware VJlilS and China Are Nice $35.00 Dinner Set, $24.98 100-Piece Pope Gosser china dinner sets; beautiful de signs. Sendee for 12. Special. $24.98 $85.00 Dinner Set, $57.50 100-piece imported china dinner sets. Border patterns. Special at.$57.50 Dinner Set 42-piece Haviland china dinner set; sendee for 6. Very special at..........$17.98 Colored Glassware A wonderful assortment of beautiful colored glassware in pretty shapes. Handsome and useful as table decora tions. Some have black stands. Included are footed bowls, candle sticks, qompotes, footed bon bous, vases, flower bowls and centerpieces. 50c Hand-painted Plates.25^ $5.00 Smoker Stands.$2.50 $3.00 Smoker Stands.$1.50 $2.00 Cut Glass Salt and Peppers; pair.75C $2.98 Sendee Trays; large size; special.$1.50 Faarth Floor Grover Shoes Soft Shoes For Tender Feet Nurses, teachers, mothers. 41 styles. Exclu sive sale of Grover footwear. An ideal Xmas srift for Mother. Every Mother wears and approves of Grover Shoes. Prince Albert Side Gore Low Heel Grover Hand-turn $3.95 High shoes; Grover seamless lace; low h e > 1, hari turned sole; like cut— Hand-turned two strap pump, rubber heel. For street wear. Grover qual ity— Remember mother with a pair of Grover shoes. She will never forget them. Felt Slippers tiift suggestion for women ami children. '_’'J colors. Wool felt, ribbon trimmed slippers; packed in QJT Xmax boxes Mail orders filled at same price; pr.c/OC/ __ d i Gift Lamps In a Special Sale Monday Floor Lamp Attractive floor, junior and bridge lamps; fin ished In antique gold, polychrome and mahog any: fitted with fine tail ored ellk and georgette ehadoa; all wanted colors: values to 135.00; com plete at. only .ePl.iJ.OU Boudoir Lamps Boudoir lamps in polychrome finish; hexagon and round shades; shades lined in rose, blue and QQ gold. Values to $6.00; *U»wO Monday Sales of Underwear Union Suits Ladies’ supreme quality union suits. Dutch neck, elbow sleeves, ankle Ieiuyth; lijrht fleece with silk striped. Sizes 34 to 44. Silk Chemise Silk chemist orchid, f 1 c s a n d apricot bodice t o p Sizes 36 to 34. # P :xed Jewelry Priced As a “Special” for! Monday ] Boxed Jewelry Highest grade gold filled links, key rings, bar pins: many PA other items; very special OUv Boxed Jewelry Velvet bos; gold filled euff links, baby lockets and chains, bar pins enameled links. Many AA other items; very special^ I •UU Gift Suggestions Are Numerous in the Hardware Section, Downstairs Electric Toasters High - grad'’ nlrka! plating; clamant gnnc antacd for unt year; with ti ff. cord and all a t t achmenta. H • iuiarly $3. DO. Bpaclfl Monday— 0 $2.88. lion ttftfnlr* Canister Sets Flour, sugar, coffer, tea. Keg ulnrly $1,00; special Monday, Ut/L Bird Cages Famous “Hendryx" bird cages. Ivory enamel, 12*2 inches diameter with enamel wire seed guard. (lO Special for Monday.tpO*«fO § Boys’ Wagons 4% Regular $10.50. Steel >\ heels, roller bearing1 rubber tires. Spe* einl for Monday — $8.00 IHm n»(alra ErBEE WANT ADS All BUST BUSINESS BOOSTERS