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EXCHANGE:
The Northwestern in its latest issue is clntl in mourning.
President Cu minings, I). D., is (lend. This is a heavy loss
to Northwctcrn.
ll is announced that the great new Haptisl university at
Chicago has been seemed. This institution will stmt out un
der favorable auspices if ever one did, for it has $1,000,000,
besides a site of ten acres.
The Hrown .inivcisily minsticlshavc, according loom ov
changes, intiodiiccd sonic innovations upon the rcgulai pio
gram of college miustclsy. A burnt coik joilication and a
ballet dance are said to have been the noticeable fcatuies on
their programs. What next? This is worse than the Wis
consin State univcisity minstrels did. Verily the effete East
leads!
The College Student thinks it can admiic the spirit Unit
pervades Tin: Hkspbrian but that this spirit often develops
into daring and audacious effrontery. It feels that "when
Tub IIbspbuian choscs to be cvcilastingly damning fraterni
ties, it is wasting its spleen". We are happy to say that we
have been d d much more than we ever d d. And .sonic
of the d ning too has come from papers leprcsenting each
colleges as the Student docs. It is sad but we still
live and hope.
The Free Lance is laboring under the imprcssson that if
it were to judge from Tub IIbspbuian it would conclude that
the theory, that there arc two sides to every question, was
fallacious. That is barely true. Hut if the Free Lance will
kindly consider that for several ycais hardly a word was
given on the side we take, and that today but few college pa
pcis dam to say a word for,thc side we champion, then it may
perhaps perceive that its gibe falls flat. Moreover, Mr. Free
Lathe, this is not simply a petty misunderstanding, but a mat
ter of principle. Nor are principles always settled by "peace
and good-will" but often by war.
Often of late the question has been aSked, "Why arc theie
no oiatois now like those of filly ycais ago?" Many reasons
have been assigned for his lack of real orators. It has been
said that the materialistic tendency of the age is not conducive
to oratory, and again that there is no great moral issue of
overshadowing importance before the people, to inspire the
impassioned eloquence of the orator. But another reason,
greater than at first sight appears, may be assigned. Ucforc
giving this reason, let us lay down a proposition that will have
a direct bearing upon it. It is this. If the colleges of this
land do not train orators, there is little icason to hope that any
other source will furnish them. From the colleges orators
have come; from the colleges they must come, it they come at
all. If colleges contain within themselves influences not only
not r conducive, but positively detrimental to the growth of
oratory, orators will be a rare college product. In proof of this
note the fame of some colleges foroiatory colleges that give
special attention to that branch of woik. The influence for
oratory within the colleges produces and develops the orator.
About a year ago, the picsident of one of our litcraiy societies
made the remark, in his inaugural, that he believed that the
reason for the lack of orators at the present day is the decay
of the open literary society, destroyed by everyone knows
what. It was a bald statement, but there was much truth in
"it. Some time since, the Shurtleff Review contained an ar
ticle lamenting the lack of oratory. Likewise the Tutonian,
shortly afterward, spoke in its exchange column of the small
amount of enthusiasm over oratory felt in its section of the
country. Anil so "tlie college piess gcnciallyN recognizes that
oratory is a minus quantity. Oratory is lacking, and there is
a reason for it. The great colleges have changed from, the
open literary societies to secret societies which arc far from
having oratory, or any literary woik, as their aim. Their
chief aim seems to be that revealed in the Nortlt American
Review article entitled,' "The East Set at Harvard." Our,
great universities, being dominated by non-literary soclcics,
do not produce orators. That is the long and short of It.
Hut "Tlterc is a tendency to return to the old method," snys
the Boston Advertiser. And on this subject the New York
Tribune has this: "Discussion has already been provoked as
to the influence which fiatemities exert on the purely literary
phase of undergraduate activity. The experience of Prince
ton, which lias tried both systems, would seem to indicate
that a large college can easily get along without adjuncts
whose identity is veiled in mysterious symbols and letters."
Oberlin and Monmouth also are flourishing with only open
literary societies. Other institutions of ptoniincncc have seen
lit to prohibit fiatemities. Upon the fraternity, then, which
has destroyed in so many colleges the open literary society,
we may lay the blame for the lack of interest in college oratory
and hence in oratory in general.
The Muhlenberg jumps at the conclusion that Mr. Fergu
son is a student of the U. of N., and makes various unkind re
marks about Tub Hbspbkiak. It accuses us of jealousy be
cause it thinks we don't denounce our Nebraska plagiarist in
sufliciently strong terms. Now the Eccritean, at Nebraska
Wcslcynn University, where Mr. Ferguson hails from, (please
note your eggrcgious error, Muhlenberg), is howling mad be
cause we arc bringing unjust charges of plagiarism against
said Ferguson. Homebody is traducing our fair name. We
did not swallow the "unconscious absorption" defense any
moi c than you did, Afuhleubc.g. In view of these facts, we
fail to sec the necessity to 'change the cut on our cover,' by
'clipping the wings of the angel,' or 'putting under a cjoud
the star.' The Muhlenberg's most ridiculous statement is that
it "comes to the conclusion that Nebraska's 'would be' orator
is a 'barb,' for had he been a 'Greek,' Tub IIkspkkian would
have heralded the news to the college world with all the rhet
oric and satire at its command." Now before this nonsense
is copied as sober fact by all the frat papers of the country,
we wish to say that we never inquiicu into Mr. Ferguson's
opinion on the I rat question, and futhermorc whether he is
frat or barb would make no diflcrcncc in our attitude toward
him. Because we sec evil in the fraternity system, and there
fore fight it, it docs not follow that we aic unreasoning bigots.
Our sine reason for not exhausting our "rhetoric and satiic"
on Mr. Ferguson, is that we thought he had been sufficiently
"roasted" by the city papers that made the exposure, and as we
had been unjustly charged with stirring up the fuss, we thought
to let the matter icst. The publication of a lot of falsehoods
by the Wcslcyan paper at lust brought foith the mild rejoinder
piintcd in the fore part of this issue. The Muhlenberg owes
us an apology for its wild accusations.
DIRECT POINTERS.
Call on Edddd. Ccrf & Ooooo.
Skinner lets good rigs at low prices.
Hats and caps at Ed. Cert & Co's.
Cadet suits, gloves and caps at Ewing's.
Call on Ewing for cadet gloves and caps.
Clothing foi everybody at Ed. Ccrf & Co's.
Go to Ed. Cci f & Co. for furnishing goods.
The latest styles in hats at Ed. Ccrf & Co's.
Special prices to students at T. Ewing & Co's.
Go to the Capital City Shirt Factory for your shirts. 939
O street.
Skinner keeps gentle and stylish hoiscs. Students pat
ronage solicited.
Get your shirts and underwear at the Captal City Shirt
Factory. 939 O street.
$75.00 to $250.00 a month can be made working for us.
Persons preferred who can furnish a horse and give their
whole time to the business. Spare moments may be profit
ably employed also. A few vacancies in towns and cities.
B. F. JJOIINSON & CO., 1009 Main St., Richmond, Va.
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