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About The courier. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1894-1903 | View Entire Issue (March 2, 1901)
THE COURIER. W H rs women of one city divided into groups by churches, clubs and various artilie Sal and temporary sccial accidents, at work with each harmoniously, sympathetically and energetically. City pride and combined effort have made Chicago and Kansas City great. City pride and combined effort can change the aspect of Lincoln. From a neglected, somewhat squalid city with dirty streets and dirtier alleys combined effort can transform it into a neat, well kept, prosperous looking place, attractive to the eastern or western emigrant. Any organization which quickens, as the Improvement society has, interest in the city and a desire to adorn and clean it, is worthy the patronage which the auditorium celebration is receiving. FREE SPEECH NOT INVOLVED. The committee appointed by the Stanford alumni in San Francisco to investigate the Roes matter has present ed a report to the Alumni Association after interviewing and corresponding with every one who could afford it direct information. The report is based on a volume of confidential testimony from met. on both sides of the contro versy. When the committee was ap pointed a majority of its members thought that the right of free speech had been restricted in the university. The report follows: The committee appointed by the San Francisco alumni of Stanford to inter view the parties concerned in the Ross affair and obtain, if possible, the confiden tial facts in the matter, made its report at a meeting of the alumni last Saturday night. The men of the committee have Been every one they believed could give information in the matter, members of the university and outsiders, about twelve in all, and have received the con fidence of both sides of the case, gather ing a mass of testimony ou which they have been working for over two months. The committee confined itself strictly to the principle involved in Mrs. Stanford's action and her motives have been care fully analyzed. Its decision is given ad ditional weight by the admitted fact that when the committee was appointed a majority of its members believed that the right of free speech had been re stricted in the university. The report is as follows: Your committee elected at the meet ing of the association November 20, 11)01, to ascertain the confidential and other reasons for Dr. Ross' enforced resignation beg leave to report: That inasmuch as those interviewed, on both sides, have stipulated that the detailed information received should be treated as confidontial,your committee is able to report only the ultimate facts. These are as follows: First Mrs. Stanford shared in the opinion general in University circles in 1896 that Dr. Ross' pamphlet entitled "An Honest Dollar," illustrated by po litical cartoous, signed by him as "Pro fessor of Economics in the Leland Stan ford Jr. University," and published and circulated by one of the political parties during the campaign of that year, was undignified in its form and manner of treatment, and that it was unwise in the point of the time and manne'r of its publication, because jeopardizing the university's right to a reputation for political non-partisanship. This inci dent, together with Dr. Ross' general conduct throughout that campaign, was deemed by Mrs. Stanford a symptom of unfitness for the responsible position of head of the economics department of the university. Second The justness of the criticism then expressed must be deemed to be conceded by Dr. Ross, since it has been admitted by him to your committee that ho would not again pursuo the same course under similar circumstances. Third Your committee is unable to find that Mrs. Stanford's objection arose because Dr. Ross opinion differed from hbr own, since it is in evidence that she had at that time no opinion upon either side of the particular finan cial theories then at issue, and Bince she has not abandoned her objection to his conduct in he campaign of 1S9G, al though his views upon the silver ques tion thereafter radically changed. Fourth That from December, 1896, when Dr. Rjss chair wa9 changed from economics to social science, until the time of his dismissal, his position in the university was probational. Fifth That the want of confidence engendered by the incidents of 1S0G was nevered removed from Mrs. Stanford's mind, but was accentuated by other in cidents impairing her faith in his good taste and discretion. Among these your committee has found: The use of slang in his public and class room lectuies, brought to her attention by friends pres ent, and by lampoons in the college an nuals, and reports that his class room lectures contained references derogatory to her deceaeed husband. Sixth Your committeo has been un able to find any evidence that Mrs. Stanford ever took exceptions to Dr. Ross' economic teachings. Seventh That her ultimate demand for his resignation was not due to opinions expressed in his speeches on "Coolie Immigration" and the "Twen tieth Century City," but was because she deemed that her original estimate had proven correct, and that he was displaying, after throe years of trial, those qualities found objectionable in the instance of her original action. In passing upon the question whether Mrs. Stanford's action involved any abridgment of the right of free speech, your committee has considered very carefully the published statement of Dr. Ross, and the proofs upon which it is founded. In deliberating upon these, however, your committeo has been un able to escape the force of the following facts: First Dr. Ross was not in the position of one able to remain in the university who chose to resign, but of one who, willing to remain, was forced to resign. His etatement, therefore, necessarily attempted to tell Mrs. Stanford's reasons for forcing him out and not his own for going; hence it can not have the pro bative force of his own reasons for his own acts. Second Dr. Ross' statement ignores the criticism arising from his conduct during the campaign of IS96, nowith standing that he knew at the time of publishing his statement that it was one of the operative reasons for his dis missal. Third The established fact that Dr. Ross desired to remain at Stanford, not withstanding Mrs. Stanford's criticism, is inconsistent with the theory that be really regarded those criticisms as in volving any abridgment of his right of free speech. Fourth The admission of Dr. Ross to your committee that he would not re gard a university rule against the par ticipation in politics by a university pro fessor of economics during the progress of a political campaign as impairing the proper right of academic freedom dis poses of his contention that the criti cism of his conduct in 1896 is capable of that construction. From the foregoing facts and upon the testimony as a whole your commit tee concludes that the action of Mrs. Stanford in asking the dismissal of Dr. Ross involved no infringement of the right of free speech. IHHOHOIHIIHMimilllMIMIMMU I . UflB3- Edited by Miss Helen G. Harwood. I Z OOOWMMM6MMMMIIMIH00HIM CALENDAR OF NEBRASKA CLUBS March I, Afatinec Musical, Souks of Sorrow Lincoln I, W.s. c. Household Economic. Omaha I, Monday c. Paris French Cooks ...... Way no I. W's-c Open Meetins Norfolk 3, Century c, Egyptian History Lincoln ft. Ws.c. Current Events. .... Wakerield f. New Hook Keview.Mantlo of Elijah. Lincoln 7, Lotos c Lincoln s. Self Culture c. Houehold Ec. St. Paul f,"s.c, Nebraska Mlndcn S, Ws.a, Koman Period PlatUmouth !, History & Art c, Fred. Wm. II Seward !, Kound Table. Economics Crete '.: tt'.s.c.. Child Study North Hcnd a. W's-c. Literature Fremont '.. Fin de Slccle c, American History., .teward The first regular program of the Can dle Light club was enjoyed at the Lin dell Monday evening by about thirty members and their friends. Among the guests were two senatorial candidates, Messrs. Currie and Hainer. The meet ing was in charge of Chancellor An drews, who read a scholarly paper on "The Crisis of Political Liberalism." The paper was discussed by the table in a succession of three-minute speeches. The Mail and Times of Des Moines, speaks as follows concerning the recep tion of the Lincoln Woman's club, given February 11: 'Before the close of the current club year why could not the Women's club of this city emulate the example of the Women's club of Lincoln, Nebraska, in a certain matter of hospitality? Last Monday afternoon the latter club enter tained all the literary clubs of Lincoln at Walsh hall. Every club woman who was not a member of the Woman's club received an individual invitation. A musical was enjoyed the earlier part of the afternoon followed by a reception. It would be a very happy plan for the Women's club, leader as it is of club life in Des Moines, to give a reception early in the spring in their club parlors limited to club women. All the literary clubs would thus meet socially for one afternoon with the opportunity to dis cuss informally their year's work and plane for the future. The art gallery project, all the hobbies, hopns of the in dividual clubs could be disclosed and discussed and the result would be a quickening to enthusiasm of many hopes dear to the hearts of local club women." The Fairbury Woman's club met last week. George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and U. S. Grant were discussed. Mrs. Andrews presented the life of Washington, Mrs. Letton the life of Lincoln. Mrs. Steele the life and work of U. S. Grant. Mrs. Freeman sang Columbia and Mrs. Perry played an in strumental number. Mrs. L?et served the ladies with orange ice, macaroons and wafers. Mrs. Cropsey acted as hostess and Miss Cropsey assisted Mrs. Leet. The room wa3 appropriately dec crated for the occasion with bunting, flags, pictures of the departed heroes and potted plants. Hewitt I don't like to be interrupted when I'm thinking. Jewitt No, it isn't pleasant to have anybody Iteg your train of thought. The National Congress of Mothers will holn its next convention in May, 1901, at Columbus, Ohio, no fewer than eight cities having engaged in fiiendly rivalry for the privilege of welcoming the con gress The invitation to Columbus came from the Mayor, the Board of Trade, and the federation of Women's clubs of the city. Eminent specialists from various parts of the country will be upon the program, which will equal, if not surpass, in interest those of former congresses. A feature of the meeting will be the conferences of mothers upon special topics in which they are vitally interested. In addition to the moth ers' clubs in director ptate membeiship in the congress, by the atliliation clause of the bylaws, another class of club women may send delegates. Any c'tb or department of another organization pursuing work germane to the objects of the National Congress of Mothers is entitled, after approval by the executive committee and the pay ment of an annual due, to sond ono dele gate to tho annual convention. Tho reg ular membership is divided into .active, associate, life members and benefactors. The purpose of the congress is to gather all women interested in the highest de velopment of the manifold interests of the home, and particularly in tho im provement of the condition of mothor hood in all walks of life. The program will be given later. The session will last four days. For further details ad dress the corresponding secretary, Mrs. E. R. Weeks, .'M03 Harrison streot, Kan sas City, Mo. The program of the Fairbury Wom an's club for February 20: Business; roll call, Name some American composor; My Old Kentucky Home, Mrs. Bur leigh; talk, Negro melodies, Mrs. Free man; piano polo, Miss Boyle; Darling Nellie Gray, Mrs. Kesterson; talk", Pa triotic songs, Mrs. Smith; quartette, Old Folks at Home, Mesdamea McCoy, Gre gory, Shelley and Stowe; Maryland, My Maryland, Mre. Simpson; talk, End of the century songs, Mrs. McCoy; Sweet Lilly Dale, Mrs. Perry; recitation, Miss White; piano solo, Miss Boyle. Mrs. Eider of Colfax county, Nebr., has undertaken the unusual task for a woman, of mail delivery. Her contract is to take the mail from Schuyler and deliver it to the post oflices of Wells, Praha and Heun. Each trip involves a distance of thirty miles. On Wednesday evening, February 21, the Avon club of York entertained the ladies of the Review and Art club at tho pleasant home of Mr. and Mrs. Jerome. About sixty-five were present. The parlors were elaborately trimmed in scarlet and cream, the colors of the Re view and Art club while the dining room was handsomely decorated in pink, the color of the Avons. The decorations throughout were effective and reflected the artistic feeling of the Avons. Miss e3 Childs and Jackson gowned iu the prevailing shade of the dining room as sisted in serving refreshments, consist ing of sandwiches, coffee, ice cream and pink confectionery were served. Miss Reynolds sang to the delight of all. Tho art gallery arranged by Mesdames Clark and Hartison, was a feature that not only displayed the ingenuity of the ladies but was highly amusing. The Tennessee state federation is ad mirably organized, doing work under eleven committees, besides four relating to the conduct of the society, as Consti tution and Printing with Reciprocity and Club Extension. Educational in terests are advanced under four depart ments, each constituting a separate committee, with its special chairman. These are: higher, education, public schools, kindergarten and compulsory education. The last committee has been specially active in furthering a bill now before the legislature, to provide for and enforce the education of all chil--dren in the 6tate of Tennessee between the ages of eight and fourteen years. Traveling libraries and free public li braries are promoted by two commit toes, each producing excellent results. Industrial conditions and civics are two more important and active committee?, the list closing with art, philanthropy, and household economics. The federa tion was organized in Knoxville in 1896, holding its first annual meeting in Memphis the following j ear. The meet ings are held annually in April the six