The Nebraskan. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1892-1899, February 01, 1893, Image 2
iWl The Nebraskan Vol. I. Lincoln, Nebraska, February, 1893. No. 5. Tme Nebraskan. T - . . -f ,ni A Monthly Paper, Issued at the University of Nebraska. thoritative dictionary. Wake up, good peo ple, and keep abreast of the times. SUBSCRIPTION, ONE YEAR, $1.00. Entered as second-class mail matter. RAiiiMi E. Johnson Editor-in-Chief II. G. WniTMOitK Business Manager The Representative College Paper. (Editorial. This is your valentine. Charter Day comes but once a year and all should prepare to celebrate. February 15th is the date. A world revers a truly great statesman. Ever' civilized nation has recognized the noble work carried on bv Blaine, Gladstone and Bismark. The death of America's fore most leader leaves a vacant chair in the world's university that will be hard to fill. The Hesperian takes exception to our style of versification. We wish they would pass a real, honest, unbiased judgment upon their own poetic "productions" of recent date and publish the verdict in their next issue. If they will guarantee a sober, intelligent opin ion we will predict a scathing invective. We admire the enlightenment of whoever wrote a recent editorial in our "esteemed con temporary" complaining because Webster's Unabridged is not in the Library. Everyone who does or knows much of anything in a literary line has discovered that the Century, which we have in the library, is the only au- We need a teacher of elocution in this uni versity and "need it bad," too. Our contests show clearly the need of systematic instruc tion in the fundamental principles of oratory. Then when anything like a contest comes along, a little special training by the in structor will enable an' student in school to make a presentable appearance before an au dience. In the local contest just held the orators, almost without exception, spent from ten to twenty-five dollars apiece for private lessons . from outside teachers. Two-thirds of this instruction was on primary principles such as how to breathe, how to develop sustaining power, enunciation, pronunciation ; neces sarily on these because none of the contest ants knew the first principles of elementary elocution. This is too bad. For seven stu dents to pay one dollar per hour to enunciate their words, how to stand on a platform, and how to make the simplest most fundamental gestures, seems extravagant when one in structor at ten or twelve hundred dollars a year might instruct two hundred students as easily as seven. It would, at least, be cheaper for the students. We are not complaining of our present department of Rhetoric and Oratory. We want a bigger department though, with a stronger accent on the Oratory. Of course there is great difficulty in getting a profes sional elocutionist who has all the desirable qualities without any of the undesirable ones. We don't want a cheap ranter who can make agony to order. We do want an instructor in elocution and oratory who shall devote his time exclusively to thtse two things. The regents ought to provide one. 1 1