Image provided by: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Lincoln, NE
About The courier. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1894-1903 | View Entire Issue (March 3, 1900)
y y VOL. XV., NO. IX ESTABLISHED IN 188(5 PKICE F1VECBNTS fc iVBMLirx f LINCOLN. NBBR., SATURDAY, MARCH 3. 1900. Entered in the postoffice at Lincoln as second class mattes. THE COURIER, Official Organ of the Nebraska State Federation of Women's Clubs. PUBLISHED EVERY SATURDAY BT THE COURIER PRINTING AND PUBLISHING GO Office 1132 N street, Up Stairs. Telephone 384. SARAH B. HARRIS. Editor Subscription Kates In Advance. Per annum fl 00 Six months 75 Three months 50 One month 20 Single copies 05 The Courier will not be responsible for vol untary communications unless accompanied by return postage. Communications, to receive attention, must be signed by ttie fall name of the writer, not merely as a guarantee of good faith, but for publication if advisable. : WWQQW'V ..... i o nDCPDVAT nws a n w do IB IV. r iwhb. o The Stotsenburg Fund. If everyone in Nebraska who ap preciates the services rendered the state by Colonel Stotsenburg will con tribute to the fund for his widow and children the sum will doubtless be sufficient to support, them. Up to the time that Colonel Stotsenburg went to the Filipinos he was a lieu tenant in the army receiving only a lieutenant's pay. His income was not large enough to permit him to lay aside much in case of death, but his qua'ifications as an otlicer justi fied him in hopes of future promo tion. As soon as he was actually in command of a regiment, in active service his unusually brilliant powers as a military commander were ap parent. Stern and exacting with his men and otlicers, but sterner and more exacting with himself, the dis cipline in Colonel Stotsenburg's camp was that of a regular army in the neighborhood of a savage, treacherous enemy. His camp was never sur prised, his soldiers were always alert and prepared. After a few months of Colonel Stotsenburg's training there was nothing in the camp of the First Nebraska to remind one of the ordinary laissez faire shiftlessness of a volunteer camp. By his final charge at. Quingua he saved the lives of his soldiers who had been led into a trap. Colonel Stotsenburg after a glance at the situation and a few words with the otlicers, immediately on his arrival ordered a charge and the First Ne braska sprang to its feet and plunged over the rice lields cheering their colonel who was in the habit of car rying trenches this way and whom they were in the habit of following.IIe died doing his whole and first duty as an otlicer and soldier The state whose citizens lie led so gloriously, will doubtless accept the obligation to look after the helpless ones whom he supported. Since last week many have intimated a desire to contribute to a Stotsenburg fund, but have re frained on account of the insignifi cance of their contributions.The nine ty eight thousand dollars contributed by Californians to the Lawton fund is made up of small sums from many thousands of people.Therc is no reason for believing Cal fornia more generous than Nebraska .To Colonel Stotsenburg more than to anyone else is due the glorious record of the First Nebraska. The regiment responded intelligently to his leadership, but to his forma tive inspirations, educated military convictions and characteristic devo tion to a single purpose the noble history of the First Nebraska in the Filipines, is really due. Contributions to this fund will be received by The Courier and names and amounts published from week to week. Degenerates. Philanthropists and criminologists have instructed us for years that crime was the result of degeneracy and that a degenerate could be easily distinguished by his imperfect ears, or his onesided head or his shovel or spatulate lingers and hopeless thumb. There Is, therefore, nothing for sen sible people to do when such a baby is born, but to kill it. A writer in the current number of the Popular Science Monthly, the Rev. Samuel G. Smith says ' that the sense of personal responsibi'ity is still the foundation of social order, and that if indeed there is no such thing the world is, at last, awake from its dream of morality." Mr. Smith ask ed the warden of a pentent'ary to give him eleven pictures of criminals selected at random which were in turn submitted to a lawyer, a physi cian, a railway president, a criminal judge and a college professor. They were unable to designate, the acci dental from the born criminal, or the most depraved from the milder crim inals. While they were examining the types, Mr. Smith examined them and discovered, lie says, more an omalies of organization in these dis tinguished citizens than were ap parent, in the photographs of the criminals they were examining. Only, by constant battles with suggestion they had been able to overcome the evil one or at least defeat his purpose in so tar as to keep out of prison. Confronted in their boyhood by the evil prophesy of a short thumb, a onesided head, or a "criminal" car the possessors instead of yielding to predestination and thus strengthen ing the reputation of Lombroso, re solved to fight their, thumb, car and head and become the president of a railway, a great advocate, or the pres ident of a trust. D. A. R. Annual Convention. The Daughters of the American Revolution adjourned at midnight, last Saturday evening in Washington after a very exciting session. About half of the business was left unfinish ed. It was supposed that, the session would be quiet because only ten vice presidents general were to be elected. But a row inside the Warren chapter of Monmouth Illinois, was carried to Washington and its discussion oc cupied about one-balf of the time (f the congress. There were three dele gates from Monmouth who clamored for recognition: Mrs. Besler, Mrs. Webster and Mrs. Porter. Mrs. Burns was finally recognized and admitted to the congress as the lawful delegate from the Warren chapter, but Mrs. Burns herself was not present and was represented by her alternate, Mrs. Besler. The latter says that on the first day when the roll was called she answered to the name of Mrs. Burns exp'aining that she was an alternate and acting in Mrs. Burns' place but no one heard her. The sergeant-at arms of the congress and every one of the three or four pages on the floor knew Mrs. Besler and Mrs. Burns, and at least three members of the committer which investigated the Monmouth contest said Mrs. Burns appeared before them and made an argument in her own behalf. Mrs. Besler appears to have been unconscious of the deception. She explains that she supposed her an nouncement was sullicient, and that everybody knew she was not Mrs. Burns, but her alternate. Neverthe less, the mistake has caused an inde scribable amount of trouble and many delegates are not yet able to compre hend it. Mr. Curtis, the able and very in teresting Washington correspondent of The Chicago Record says that: "It is the unanimous opinion of those who have attended the congress, that while the Daughters of the American Revolution individually are nearly all intellectual, refined and attractive women, collectively they are an un controllable mob. "I could control them if I was the presiding office-," declared one of the Illinois delegates to whom that re mark was made. I could keep order in that congress. The whole trouble is due to the president-general. She is not firm enough; she is too amiable. Every time anybody gets up to do anything she turns helplessly around to her parliamentary advisers to be prompted. As soon as we see the side of her face we realize that she has no control over us and then everybody breaks loose and the trouble begins and continues until we are ex hausted." It may be their thoroughly demon strated warlike ancestry influences the daughters of the American Re volution never to haul, down what ever Hag, however insignificant they have cared to hoist, but certain it is they meet to scrap rather than to do business. It is very unfortunate for the name and reputation of clubs and assemblages composed of women that these dames of ancient lineage should have su little conception of the no blesse oblige principle. Correspondents of every large paper in tliis country are stationed in Washington and the annual congress of the I). A. R convening in Wash ington is excellent copy for the face tious correspondents. As there are chapters in every state the topic is interesting. The irrepressible com icality of several hundred women, come from all parts of this immense country to attend an annual meeting of the descendants of the minute men, wrangling half the week over unim portant points, amuses the corres pondents and they send the reports of the meetings, just as they are con ducted to their papers. And the world amuses itself for a half hour reading about the congress of the D. A. R. Feeders. The authorities, and the alumni of the State university are naturally anxious that it should rank with other higher institutions of learning throughout the country. Vet this ambition has a tendency to force a different and not so useful a cur riculum upon the high schools of the state from which a comparatively small fraction are graduated into the state university.The curriculum of the high schools and grade schools should be deduced from the attendance as it is, from the number of years ninety eight per cent of the school children go to school, from the callings and place in society, those children, grown men and women, take. Since the Lincoln high school became an ac credited school, that is, since its graduates entered as freshmen with out examination into the university, the curriculum has been arranged not with reference to the needs of the large majority whose schooling ends with the high school, but for the small fraction preparing for the uni versity. These circumstances are the same in every accredited highschool in the state. The university is of course the completion of the school system. If it were not for the university the system would be headless and formless. But in striving to rank with institu tionsof otherstates.I think the univer sity has left the state too far behind. At any rate, if the high schools of the state cannot fit for the uni-
