THE COURIER
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em and bK
It was counted a noteworthy thing:
in the latter part of the eighteenth
century that a man might stand with
in the shadow of the Edinburgh cross
and in a few minutes take fifty men of
genius by the hand. The list has been
somewhat shortened by time, but al
lowing it face value it is to be ques
tioned whether the entire fifty con
tributed as much to the comfort and
convenience of their fellow-creatures
as any one of several individuals' who
were present at the breakfast given by
several prominent men in New York to
Prince Henry.
In this gathering of one hundred
noted men there were none who had
not "in some way contributed to the
progress and prosperity of the coun
try." As they represented commerce.
Industry and finance, there was
naturally a preponderence of men of
wealth, but it was not their wealth
that secured them admission to that
notable assembly. And it shows how
shallow Is the thinking, and how
groundless is the prejudice which stirs
up class feeling that so many blazing
headlines heralded this breakfast as a
fete of nabobs who represented noth
ing but money.
Mayor Low was there officially, and
it is therefore not necessary to speak
of him, except to mention that no one
ever thinks of his wealth aside from
his gift of a million dollars to Columbia
university. There was Alexander Gra
ham Bell, famous for conferring the
gift of speech upon the mute long be
fore the telephone made him rich;
there were men like Professor New
comb and Dr. S. Weir Mitchell and
Professor Langley, whose names are
linked with the record of the
country's scientific and sanitary
progress. There was Cornelius Van
derbilt. who would be eminent
as an engineer and inventor if he were
not handicapped by his name andthe
fortune which he Inherited. Yhere was
an Armour, representing a family
which may be said to have created an
industry which has given to the north
west such wealth that their own share
is as a drop in the bucket. There were
many other men who were managers
of industries which not only promote
progress, but which give employment
to thousands of workmen and render
possible thousands of comfortable
homes and the rearing of thousands of
industrious and intelligent families.
There were other men to whose efforts
are due the fact that a woman or
a child may travel in comfort and
safety anywhere In the land, men who
are constantly berated and abused by
a generation who do not know- what
were the conditions of travel when one
had to change cars and get out and
look after his baggage and purchase
tickets half a dozen times between here
and Chicago. There were other men
so well known for the ability and up
rightness of their public service that
their financial status is never thought
of save by a few pessimistic decryers
of prosperity in every form. No one
who has the broadness of vision to be
fair and honest can fail to give credit
to the men in that gathering who have
patriotically come forward to the help
of the country in times of panic and
financial distress. We may well con
gratulate ourselves that this Is a land
where men not only rise from penury
to become "captains of industry." but
where their rise to this honorable rank
is invariably accomplished through
service which benefits other men be
sides themselves.
C
The southern students who are re
ceiving an education at the Nebraska
university have not yet given sufficient
evidence of their narrow-mindedness
and provincialism, and the Booker T.
Washington fight goes merrily on. Af
ter voluntarily entering a northern in
stitution, attracted no doubt by the fact
that no foreign tuition fees are exact
ed, they are trying to infect the whole
senior class with their ante-bellum
class prejudice, while simple courtesy,
which is the- average southerner's
greatest charm, demands that "when In
Rome he should do as Romans do."
Especially when in Rome without the
formality of an invitation which the
Nebraska taxpayers would be slow to
tender. Meanwhile a negro has been
chosen class orator at Harvard univer
sity. In the great universities the color
line has no existence.
Roscoe Conkllng Bruce is the name
of the young man who has won the
distinction of being chosen class orator
at Harvard. Although this is not the
first time that class honors have been
conferred upon a colored student at
Harvard, it is doubtful if a more prom
ising representative was ever sent out
from Its halls. He is one of the finest
orators of his years in America, and Is
never more eloquent than when speak
ing for his race.
A good verbal memory Is sometimes
a great convenience, but It also has
disadvantages. Dr. Hlllis, pastor of
Plymouth church, Brooklyn, .vas one
of the men who found this out to his
sorrow. So deeply hnd certain strik
ing passages from his masters Im
pressed him that they crept. Inadvert
ently, no doubt. Into his recent book,
"The Influence of Christ In Modern
Life." Whereupon his enemies pounced
upon him charging him with plagiar
ism and proving It by quoting the
originals.
Students, both young and old, depend
too much upon their memory of other
men's words, and do too little thinking
for themselves. Their minds are
steeped In a solution of other men's
thoughts until their most fervid sen
timents, when cooled, invariably crys
tallize into the original forms and thus
betray their lack of individuality. The
development of mental alertness and
independence is ignored in modern
school rooms. Even where the system
of correlation is given widest range,
the object Is still a knowledge of the
subjects themselves and. their relation
to each other, with no distinct effort
to develop that acumen which -enables
a student to appreciate all relations
and values. Said Robert Browning,
with one of his flashes of intuition.
"Truth is within ourselves; it takes no
rise from outward things, whate'er you
may believe." Yet "within himself" is
the last place where the average stu
dent would look for a truth. Instead
he would go to the class room, the li
brary or to the dally paper. And IT
by accident he did catch a gleam of
the "imprisoned splendor" he would
ignore it or reject it as scholastic an
archy unless it conformed to some "sys
tem already laid down in books. With
out doubt literary work Is of great
advantage to students who are self
reliant; but In the average college
there are few Indeed who follow the
advice of Shakspere. "Take each
man's censure, but reserve thy judg
ment." Not alone in the university of Ne
braska should the regents arous?
themselves to an intelligent compre
hension of conditions in the various
departments. The recent suicide of
Miss Agnes Inglls. the direct result of
overwork in the medical department
of the university of Michigan, ought
to impel the regents to a careful In
vestigation of methods employed by
both students and teachers, especially
In the medical department. This de
partment is notorious for the unreas
onable amount of work required from
Its students. The famous specialists
pile up the laboratory requirements
unchecked, until good students are
compelled often to work in the labor
atories as early as ." in the morning
and as late as 10 at night In order to
complete the required work. This, too.
In addition to the regular text-book
and recitation requirements. One of
the professors last semester warned
the students not to resort to powerful
stimulants like strychnine to help
them through the double task of ex
cessive laboratory work in connection
with the severe examinations. Surely
the medical department of all depart
ments should show some regard for
the health of its students, and no great
reputation for discoveries can com
pensate for such a condition as too
evidently exists In Ann Arbor.
The Tillman episode has a touch of
opera bouffe. When the senate de
prived Tillman of the privileges of a
senator. President Roosevelt canceled
his Invitation to the Prince Henry din
ner, to which Tillman had been invited
only because he was the senior demo
cratic member of the committee on na
val affairs. Then Tillman's nephew,
lieutenant-governor of South Carolina,
acting, he said, on behalf of the' sub
scribers to the fund for a sword to be
presented to Major Mlcah Jenkins, a
South Carolina hero, canceled the In
vitation to President Roosevelt to pre
sent the sword, on which was en
graved a sentence from a Roosevelt
address. Next Major Jenkins refused
to receive the sword unless the presi
dent should present it. The sword has
not yet been heard from.
Senator Tillman Is greatly worried
because only the English language is
taught in the Philippines. He declares
that the government Is forcing the na
tives to accept a language that they
do not want; that they are not given
a chance to study their own language.
This seems almost like clear reason
ing at first sight, and Is eagerly swal
lowed by the Tillman democrats
whose bumps of logic are still Imper
fectly developed. Senator Tillman neg
lected to mention, however, that each
of the eighty or more tribes has a
language distinctively Its own; that
there Is not a letter or character of
any description by which any of the
different languages can be written or
printed. What language then would
he teach these tribes? Through our
language they can hold Intercourse
and business relations with the out
side world. The natives themselves
show remarkable eagerness to attend
the public schools 'aught by the Amer
icans; every one of these schools Is
crowded, and often the parents come
with their children and beg the privi
lege of instruction. Then what rights
are we taking from them, what wrong
are we doing them by granting them
this privilege? We do not force them
to attend school, but simply give them
the opportunity and they eagerly seize
It. This is the way we have taken
away their rights; we have taken
from them smallpox, yellow fever, bu
bonic plague and leprosy, and given
them in place thereof a clean bill of
health. This is the only way In which
we have abridged their liberty.
It Is interesting to note how the idea
of election reform is taking hold of
politicians all o-er the country. In
Michigan the Detroit Journal has come
like a comet into the field of discussion
and with Governor Bliss is shouting
for purity in the preliminaries to elec
tion. The governor does not seem to
see, however, that it will do no good
to put the screws uion the cities and
let the country remain a prey of the
political vultures, made more numerous
and ravenous because shut out from
the carrion of the large towns. A pri
mary election law confined to the large
cities is not what is needed. The im
portant demand is from the smaller
precincts; the reform should reach ev
ery polling precinct in the state.
A writer in a recent magazine made
the assertion that the Amalgamated
Engineers and some other labor unions
frequently expel members for chronic
laziness. Tell it not in Chicago, ": re
the bricklayers pick up a brick, turn
it about, squint at it, reverse it, apos
trophize it. write a poem on it and
only lay It when their ingenuity can
invent no further excuse for delay.
While the citizens of two countries
have been throwing fits over the
launching of a yacht, there has been
launched at the Cramps' yards, with
no further ceremony than the presence
of a few friends verbally invited and
the usual christening, one of the finest
passenger veels atloat. This vessel
Is the Kroonland. of the Red Star line,
the third of the four new twin screw
steamers to ply between New York
and Antwerp.
The vessel Is larger than the St.
Louis and the St. Paul, und Is finely
equipped with all conveniences for
travel. When the launching of such
great vessels attracts no more atten
tion than a paragraph In a dally pa
tter. It looks as If shipbuilding had be
come one of our great national Indus
tries, ami that this country U In the
business to stay.
c
The Poles of Chicago, not knowing
just how to express their disapproval
of Prince Henry's reception by that
city, resolved to go to their churches
and pray. That was much more cred
itable than to gt up a riot, ami the
example may be commended to the
disgruntled generally.
A robin sat singing high up In a
tree, as happy as ever a robin could
be, till a boy came along, down be
low, with his gun; one tlash! And the
song of our robin was done. A violet
blossom so meek and so fair bravely
held up Its head In the cold April air,
till a horse, coming down to the river
to drink, crushed the life from our
violet, there by the brink. A bicycle
rider Just new to the art started out
on the street with a sad. trembling
heart; met iu cow by the roadside
what could you expect? The wheel
and the rider and cow all were
wrecked. Do you ask why I tell such
u pitiful tale at the sound of which
strong men and maidens grow pale?
Why of woe and of death and destruc
tion I sing? 'Tls a twentieth century
poem on "Spring!"
By a clever manipulation the modern
photographer produces your picture
with two faces looking In different di
rections at the same time. The poli
tician who has heretofore had only the
cartoonist to fear may now be shown
up true to life and left to wonder how
the camej-n caught him at It.
:denies differences
Because the contemplated pro
duction of Camille with James K.
Hackett and his wife. Mary Man
nerlng. In the leading roles has
been abandoned, unkind rumors
are going around that there are
domestic differences between the
famous couple. Mrs. Hackett or
Mary Mannerlng Indignantly denies
these rumors stating that she loves
her dashing actor husband better
than anyone in the world.
s?C$?n69i&
Cycle Photographs
Athletic Photographs
PhototrraDhs of Babies
Photographs of Groups
Exterior lew
V.
The Photographer
129 South Eleventh Stmt
