Image provided by: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Lincoln, NE
About Hesperian student / (Lincoln [Neb.]) 1872-1885 | View Entire Issue (March 15, 1889)
HI THE HESPERiAN (r said that, and used the name Levcn, it was a slip of the tongue (which is very improbable,) and if he did actually say that the correspondent to whon he spoke ought to have known it was an unintentional use of "Levcn" for "Trousky," and ought not to have allowed "Levcn" to be printed. As it is it looks very much as if some one had been piesscd for copy and had manufactured a bit of news to meet an emergency. It is improbable that such a mistake could have been made by Tolstoi himself. CURRENT COMMENT. MISCELLANY. Especial credit is due to the instructors in the depart ments of fine arts for the progtcss made in the two depart ments. The last three years have seen good results in each. The crrcat increase in the number of students in each of these departments over that of a few years ago, speaks well for the high standard attained. We understand that 106 students arc lcgistered this tcim for chemistry, all of whom cannot lie accommodated at present in the laboratory. When the new science hall is completed there will still be no room to spare in the chenii cal laboratory. Every department in the institution is grow ing rapidly, and it is generally conceded that if the legis lature responds liberally to the demands made by the Uni versity, wc shall soon rank with any stale university in the country. Piofessor McMillan has recently received new casts and pictures for his room. A full length figure of Sophocles, about three feet high, a bust of Minerva Medica, and a charming figure of Artemis arc particularly pleasing. Two large slabs in bas-relief, one representing a portion of the frieze of the Parthenon, the other the figures Orpheus and Eurydice, and a small Bacchante in bas-relief, complete the list of the casts. The material is some kind o( a composition with an oil finish. The shield of Achilles and a has relief of the head of Homer arc wrought in metal. A photogramvuie of Alma Tadcma's celebrated Sappho, a companion piece to his "Reading from Homer," will be in place on the wall in a few days. A delightful copy of Corot, "Dance of the Nymphs" in brown and white, and a panoramic view of Alliens are also among the late acquisitions. Every student interested in art in any form, or in art cul ture in general should belong to the II ay don Art club. The meetings of the club held in the chapel on the second Tues day of each month, arc open to all, and a special invitation is extended to the students to attend. Special rates arc made to students when exhibitions, as that of Piloty's famous picture, are held under its auspices. The final aim of the club,to secure the establishment of a state school of fine arts, should enlist the co-operation of all students in order that this school might be established in connection with and as a part of the University, The following, quoted from their consti tuion, clearly shows the object of the club. "Article II. Object: A society for promoting the knowledge of art. (I) By means of meetings for discussion of art themes; lec tures or readings; the collection of art wooks and books; exhibitions; use of press and other proper means, (n) By means of efforts to extend art education through public, school work; through art normal classes through existing or piospective state institution, viz; a state college of fine arts and a museum of fine arts and industrial arts. Expectation is on tiptoe, so to speak, over the future pol icy of the new secretary of state. It is well known what Secretary Blaine has held in regard to the foreign policy of this country. Our relations with the South American re publics could be improved very much although wc do not attempt to say what measures arc the best to attain that end. If the trade of the South American republics could be divert ed to the United States, a long step would be taken toward rebuilding American shipping. No criticism is intended to be made upon the policy of Secretary Bayard, but Secretary Blaine has a wide field in which to exercise his ability. Unhappy England! Afflicted with LcCarson, Pigott, Balfour, and Jack the Ripper, it seemed as if her cup of mis ery was full to overflowing. But now comes the crowning tribulation. Henry George, the modem npoitlc of laud for the landless, who teaches that all men are born free and with an equal right to make a living, that wealth should belong to those who produce it, that if one man gels something for nothing, another must get nothing for something, that cvety political question is really a moral question, that poverty is not a divine institution, but a product of unjust social insti tutions, that the law of the universe is justice, that as wc conform to this law wc will prosper.that the lesson that political economy teaches is "Do unto others as ye would have them do unto you," this dangerous crank is to stump the United Kingdom in the intcicst of the party of Davitt, Pamell and Gladstone. We may have a protectionist president, elected upon a protectionist platform, by the vote of protectionists. It was to be expected that the representative of the idea that the foreign trade is disastrous to a nation would be consistent. But the expected never happens. Our protectionist presi dent has strayed from his text. In his inaugural address after taking note of the fact that our merchant navy is a memory he recommends that steamship lines be encouraged by the government in order that foreign trade may be carried on to the best advantage. Shades of departed Chinamen! Is the doctrine of icslriction to be denied in this manner by the man sworn to defend it? Is he to be allowed to provide cheap transportation that will, in part, neutralize the blessed tariff? Arc we to be flooded with foreign goods without getting a chance togivc any of our wealth in exchange? Are thc.patiiolic Amciicans, who lately sowed two-dollar bills in blocks of five, to be deprived of their harvest? Con fucius forbid it? How to justly punish criminals is one of the most import ant questions with which this civilization has to deal. The fust question to be answered is, "How sevcrecan the state be without injustice?" The present system attempts not only to secure society against further outrages, but also to furnish an example that will strike terror to others, to take vengeance and sometimes to reform the criminal. Man has certain nat ural rights, as life and liberty. To deprive him of any of these in order that other men mav be terrified into obevine the law is wrong. The state has but human judgment; it cannot read the motives of men; it cannot estimate correctly the enormity of any crime, therefore it cannot avenge any wrong without danger of itself committing crime by being unjust to the prisoner. If then it is a violation of natural right to make an example of any man, and if the state can