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
