THE HESPERIAN
1
I
made to what tho constitution provides. "Wo
supposed the authors quoted from memory.
As many times as tho present secretary has
called for the constitution and treasurer's
books, he has been put off by excuses. Wo
supposed tho records were lost; but within
the last week McMullen has found them.
Then too, it has never been customary to
instruct our delegations how to vote. The
outside schools said they were satisfied to
stand by the will of the majority of the
delegation until it became too late to call a
meeting of the oratorical association. Then,
they said, "instruct," in order to furnish an
excuse for becoming the dupes of the Johns
ton faction. A fine set of dupes the
"Christian gentlemen" were.
This is the sum of tho whole matter. If
we have misrepresented any matter we will
acknowledge it.
We have begged no
question. We acknowledge that we were
beat. We simply tell by what means. It
is time that the student world knows who
the wolves are, among them in sheep's
clothing. And the Ncbraskan can put it
down in a little book for future reference,
that the Hesperian says this and in saying
it lights for the rights of the students, and
for their good government.
COMMUNICATED.
Fillet, Neijr., April 14, 1894.
Alumni Editor Hesperian:
Yon ask mo to "collect my thoughts", in
.time for the next edition of the Hetperian
and I will try to do so. The members of
the class of '93 are naturally modest and
averse to exhibiting their thoughts and I am
not an exception to tho rule. But tho
alumni department must be upheld, no mat
ter how the readers of the paper are tortured.
The occupation of country school teaching
gives one plenty Of time for thought, but
most of tho aforesaid thoughts would not be
interesting to the average student. The
University has a fine list of elective courses,
but there is one which could be yet intro
duced in tho curriculum to advantage. I
refer to a course in "Rural Pedagogics."
Such a coui'do would have a full attendance
from seniors, if wo have many more seasons
of financial stringency, I see that many of
my own class have succumbed to tho inevi
table and are now "teaching Young America
how to shoot."
A country school is one place in a thou
sand for studying character. The average
youth in the country does not exhibit nearly
the amount of "hay-scedincss" which is at
tributed to him.
One thing which lightens the burdens of
the pedagogue and makes him work with
renewed efforts is the thought that he may
be educating some future president, senator,
governor or school teacher. A second
reader class composed of a Bohemian, a
Dane, an Irishman, and an American, offers
untold possibilities in future greatness.
In a former issue of the Hesperian, our
military contemporary, Eager '93, was be
moaning the fact that he was a teacher of
sciences in a college. Let him change his
position to the one I am occupying, let him
teach everything from janitor work up to
physiology, let him endure the loneliness of
a country school house and then he would
have something interesting to grumble about.
Teaching one branch of study wTould be very
acceptable to your correspondent, but hear
ing twenty-eight classes in six hours is not
my ideal of a pleasant occupation.
I would like to urge that the alumni de
partment be kept alive at all times. The
locals, editorials, etc., in the Hesperian of
to-day have to do with students and ques
tions new and strange to the average former
student or graduate. But the alumni column
treats of pa6t personages and events and is
far more interesting to one not in school now.
I have not a very definite idea of what
territory a letter in the department should
cover, so I had better conclude before I get
too personal.
Hoping that some one of the great "classi
cal triumvirate" (Stroman, Lord and Larson)
should read this letter, I affix my address.
J. Ceojl Graham.
