4
i
I
.'
2 THE COURIER
tuck up their skirts and remain in of the high-school boys but en masse, coterie recognized as the best. Ward
rigid petition during the recitation. tLey forget what distinguishes the McAlister counted the members of it
The untidyness of the downtown savage from the civilized, heirs of the once and announced that it contained
blreets and of all public buildings is traditions of Sir Philip Sidney, from just four hundred people. Since his
accomplished by the universal habit boors without breeding or traditions, death, the cumber has decreased. The
of spitting. It is idle to try to reform Unfairness to an opponent robs any pressure on the outside is very strong
men who have formed the habit of game of its pleasure and transforms and occasionally a new man or woman
.pitttng.n .stairs, walks rand; floors,, its benefits, into injuries. Of their slips in. Several years ago Mrs.-Ayer.
The brutal disregard of the crudest courtesy the Omaha high school fac- the wife or the patent medicine man,
nni(nnfif cleanliness nnd of sanita- nltv ratne to Lincoln to nlav the Lin- was very near the outside circle, but
tu.n and the universal ofTense to coin high-school faculty, and both
everyone who wears skirts, are argu- sides played a smashing good game,
ments which have been fruitlessly The young men of both teams are
itod again ani again. clean-limbed college athletes, who
If the boys in the schools and in the but a short time ago were undergrade
university showed the effects of edu- uates themselves,
cation and -reiineflient byaebangeln When the Omaha goal-thrower at-
this oncTrespect 'there'-wouldbe hope tempted to toss the bail into the bas
she was forced back. Mrs. Astor
snubbed her and she went to Paris
where she established herself in great
magnificence. She had a splendid
hotel on the Faubourg, and worked
her way out of the "American colony"
into the society of the haute noblesse.
She was regarded as an eccentric Am-
that the young woman of say 1920 ket, the Lincoln high school boys who ericaine with a plethoric purse that
would not be obliged to walk through lined the hall hissed him. The as
the human slime which revolted her sauit was so unexpected, so concerted
mother and grandmothers. It is a and so determined that the young fel
vcry unpleasant topic but the daily low was disconcerted and missed,
sight of the public buildings and Every time in the first half, that he
thoroughfares of Lincoln is worse, attempted to throw the ball the un
Aod the hopelessness of a change mannerly insult to his race and the
when the boys in the schools are per
mitted to spit on the floors is depress
ing. There are cities, like Denver,
where men have progressed far
enough to refrain from spitting on
floors and stairs, but such a stage of
civilization has not even begun to
glimmer here. Were it not for the
sunshine and the far off clean blue
of the skies, the ugliness and discom
fort of living in a town which has
teen converted into purlieus would
drive aP the women into the insane
asvlum.
Omaha team was repeated. Before
the second half was plared, Principal
Davenport explained the unsports
manlike character of hissing tactics
and Mr. Condon took away the mega
phone which the principal offender
was using to the embarrassment of
women and the discomfiture of the
visitors.
The influence of education on char
acter should be apparent. These
boys have passed through the grades,
and arrived at the high school with
out attaining the beginnings of cour
tesy, manliness or self-control. The
- Sports and .Chivalry. Omaha goal-thrower was a stranger, a
The sight of the lithe beautiful visitor and a Jew. Most of tbeaudi
young women of Omaha and Lincoln ence are residents of Lincoln and
who played a match game of basket Americans. But the Jew, with ad
ball here last Saturday night, was a mirable gentleness and breeding ap-
pleasure to a very large audience, peared not to notice the cowardly in-
ooened easily. Mrs. Astor heard of
her entertainments, and let her
friends know that she was willing at
last to meet Mrs. Ayer. They met in
the salon of a common friend and
Mrs. Astor was gracious. Mrs. Ayer
said, in a tone of gentle inquiry, "Are
you from New York?'' and when she
mentioned the absence of her daugh
ter, Mrs. Pearson, added, ''Yes it is
hard to be parted from an only child.
Have you any children Mrs. Astor?"
J j
Minister Ting Fang's Plan.
The daily papers call him Mr. Wu,
but as Wu is but a title Mr. Wu is
scarcely more definite than Mr. Senor
or Mr. Duke. Wu Ting Fang advised
the Americans who consulted him in
regard to what is best to be done with
the American negro, that the black
must be assimilated by marriage wih
the whites. Somebody suggested that
our advice to the Chinese might be
received by the natives with the same
horror. A foreigner knows nothing
about our antipathies, repugnances,
The young girls whose cheeks and suit. He was one to four hundred, ""s"1-3 ?uu 'vutau? pj"". -"
eyes burned with ambition to do but he bore himself with admirable by the same token we know nothing
credit to their respective nigh school?, dignity
their absolute unconsciousness of
their own good looks, their spirited
carriage, their bravery and indiffer
ence to hard knocks, their quick" obe
dience to tlie umpire or referee and
their physical endurance was a sur
prise and a delight to the adult part
of the audience. The teams were
evenly matched and the score as it
fluctuated between Lincoln and
Omaha, kept the interest undimmed.
Many of the high-schools in this
country have a girl's basket-ball team
and for the old-fashioned people who
have not seen their young Atlantas
play there Is a stimulating spec
tacle in prospect. The plaited
suits, the girls wear, are modest, and
the freedom of the eager, strong,
It is urged that the youth of the
boysshould excuse them. It is because
they are so young that their offense is
so great. Youth is generous, and
easily and unaffectedly chivalrous.
The Lincoln schools have passed
through vicissitudes of which the
severity is now being demonstrated
by the product. To the constant
changing of superintendents and a
of theirs and because of the essence of
this truth can not work out their sal
vation for them.
j j
Florida Freezes.
The new plan of protecting the
orange crop of Florida by providing a
canvas hood for each tree is being
used with success. The hood and
lamp that keep the tree from being
frozen in case of a freeze, costs 812.
recent demoralized state of the high- The cost is large but a mature tree
school may partly be attributed the
low standard of sportsmanship and
manners exhibited by the high school
boys. The bad impression made on
the visitors by the audience is unfor
tunate, just at this time when the
board of education has decided to ask
the people of Lincoln to vote bonds
quick young .creatures, their absorp- for new school-buildings. It is unfor-
tion in the game and their unselfcon
sciousness is proof of the healthful
ness of the game and the propriety of
the costume.
Games and sports have a greater
effect on the character,, than mere
will produce $20 worth of oranges a
year and will bear for years. The ex
pense is, therefore justifiable.
Magazine Literature.
Although the monthly magazines
are occasionally disappointing, their
arrival in Nebraska somewhere be
tween the twentieth and thirtieth of
each month, is very welcome and di
versifying. Perhaps the most inter
esting literature of this kind is Will
iam Allen White's Croker in Mc
Clure's. Mr. White's style is simple
and direct and his conclusions are ob-
tunate,buta more liberal policy to
wards the schools, adequate pay for
the teachers and provision for the
rapidly increasing attendance may
alleviate the conditions which are
now graduating such poorly cultured
book-learning. It is especially true of youth into the activities of life. If
a game like basket-ball where two the tax-payers, not discouraged by the viousand indisputable, when once he
teams play against each other, where evidence mat education does not edu- announces them. He has the fac-
the referee decides contested points cate, are willing to spend what other ultyof interpreting every man's in-
wlthout appeal and where intelligent cities of Lincoln's size spend on the choate and inarticulate impressions
cooperation between the players of a schools, improvement is certain. Prin- (that have not yet become conclusions)
team is worth more than individu- dpaL Davenport of the high-school jnto final syllogism. With temptr-
ally brilliant playing. To keep one's has acquired the respect of the boys ance iie analyses Croker, his relation
temper, not to "get rattled," to keep and his influence is likely to place a to Tammany, Tammany's relation on
constant sight of the ball and of the new Ideal of manliness and chivalry the one side to the city and on the
kaleidoscopic changes of the players, ocrore tnem. nut in order to raise
requires a cultivated heart, a trained Me existing deplorable standard of
morals and manners the active coop
eration of the people of Lincoln is indispensable.
disposition, an educated eye, a clear
head and steel muscles. A good basket-bail
player is therefore well
equipped for the problems, struggles,
accidents and agonies of a woman's
lot.
The Courier has commented before
on the low moral tone of the Lincoln
A Famous Duel.
Every town, however small bas its
good, bad, and unclassable society.
high-school.- Sportsmanlike,- clean, New-York is big enough, rich enough, other beast0 and lives up to a certain
manly virtues are possessed by some old eriough to have a rigidly defined crude but rigid code. The half-tone
other to the undigested foreign ele
ment that if it were not for Croker
and Tammany's claim to their votes
would join the army of the disorgan
ized and lawless. Mr. White agrees
with Mr. Kipling that there is a law
of the jungle as well as of organized
society and that Croker is useful in
enforcing the law of the jungle, that
he Is a beast himself, understands
from a photograph, that accompanies
the article, was taken a week before
the recent presidential election. It
is doubtless only a curious coincident'.-
and has no significance, but the broad
straight nose, with the flattened no
trils, the grave eyes whose only ex
pression is a crouched watchfulness,
the square face, and an additional
stealtbiness of expression unavoid
ably suggest a tiger, with all his steel
springs coiled and out of sight. Clar.i
Morris' recollections of the stage are
appearing in several magazines. She
is an artist after all, though she can
no longer act. Her memoirs have the
indefinable charm of a writer who
knows how to convey an impression
and what finish is and does not con
fuse simplicity with the commonplace.
IJer "Recollections of .Tohu Wilkes
Booth" dare to do justice to Booth's in
herited gentleness, chivalry nnd his
toric ability in spite of his crime
The critics seem to be sure that Kip
ling's strength has returned to him
or he could not have written "Kim.'
a story of a holy man and his dis
ciple an elfish, preternaturally shrewd
small boy. It is mortifying to dis
agree with the critics, because it is a
sure sign of an uncultivated, or de
praved taste; but this story does not
exert the fascination of the Jungle
Book or of Soldiers Three, or of the
Gloucester fisherman's story, "not
down where I live, not in Lincoln
Nebraska."
. The February Century is signalized
by a really interesting psychological
yarn by Mr. Howells, who, I thought
had forgotten how. The kind of a
man that is known in the west as "a
smart Aleck," who accompanies Mr.
Howells, and never lets a story pro
ceed without his impertiment and
conceited interruptions is in tbU
story, "At Third Hand," too. But he
does not spoil it. This objectionable
Smart Aleck is called cousin some
thing in Howells' sleeping car and
elevator and flat farces. I wonder
what New York and Boston people
call their Smart Alecks. I know
they have plenty of them because so
many have come west. Howells calN
his personification of self conscious
ness in "At Third Hand,"Rulledge
The English call him a cad. Chester
Bailey Fernald's story of "The Lan
nigan System with Girls" is an orig
inal, breezy story that one reads with
a smiles, and finishes with a sigh, and
remembers. The heroine is a Miner
va of a girl who bosses her father, but
who is in love with love and accepts
the first little man who tells her she
is the finest girl'he's ever seen. Mr.
Fernald does not write stories accord
ing to old receipts. He's got some
new ones and the women are crazy to
try them. It would pay the Ladies'
Home Journal to set him over a de
partment. The serial in Harper's Magazine of
more than ordinary interest is Gilbert
Parker's "Right of Way." Mr. Parker
is considerate enough of the feelings
and taste3 of the untechnically liter
ary to make his principal character
fascinating, to surround him with
circumstance that attract investiga
tion and offers a foothold and hand
hold occasionally to the unskilled
mind that yet enjoys unraveling a
puzzle for its own sake. A story b
Edith Wharton is a Henry James
story as a woman would tell it. If
you like Henry James you are sure to
like Edith Wharton's impersonation
which Is perfect. "The Recovery" N
an analysis of a wife's gradual realiza
tion that her husband is not the great
artist she supposed he was when she
married him. Her growing convic
tion that he is hopelessly provincial
and the effect of really Inspired pic
tures in dislodging his belief in hi?
