•

Cot^U"

and

University
University,

Archives _
Ithaca, K.Y.

fcttell ^ttitrjersiitg §fitaf|
THE GIFT OF
\Z\AJL~ Z<cUJ£&\4U.

.A>.*r$:..J3...ty.

L^.$./tLP.....
9755-1

The date shows when this volume was taken. To renew this book feopy the call No. and give to
the librarian. ,

MM 1 6 1952 R*

HOME USE RULES.
All Books subject to
Recall.
Books not used for ^instruction or research
are returnable within 4 weeks.
.
Volumes of periodi cals and of pamphlets are held in the library as much as possible.
special purposes hey are given out for
a limited time. Borrowers should
not use #their library
privileges for the bene
fit of other persons. Books not needed

ImOTODUPLit^i^1-1 '

the library, or arrange

ments made for their

return during borrow

er's absence, if wanted.

Books needed by

more than one person are held on the reserve

list,

Books of special value 'and gift books,

when the giver wishes

it, are not allowed to

circulate.

Readers are asked -to

report all cases of books

marked or mutilated.

Do not deface books by marks and writing:.

w vo
y -■ ■
_ _~

*i o^ v.2>r

l.^,

I-:-• - ,

- _.

v i'.

Tf>e

Cornell E

4 -Journal of the
tflmwrfity Publifhei
Once £k Month

WHITE & BURDICK
Have Instrument Cases, Students Supplies, and all Remedies
Students Need.
OPPOSITE THE POST OFFICE.

G. DAHMEN,

TAILOR.• • •

•• •

Special attention given to Students work.
REPAIRING, CLEANING.
203 North Aurora Street.

MIEEIGAN'S

Meal Tickets, $3.00.

311 East State Street.

REGUI,4& M8A.I&, 20 CENTS. Breakfast, 6 to 9 A.M. Dinner, 11:30 to 2 P.M. Sapper 6 to 7:30 P.M.

FOOTE & CO.,

Buy of the Maker.

For Cut Flowers and Decorative Plants.
Greenhouse Store, 314 East State Street.

Send your Clothes to Fletcher's when you want
them Cleaned, Dyed or Pressed.

Sweaters, White Vests and Gloves Cleaned.

Good Contracts.

Prompt Work.

Phone.

W. F. FLETCHER,
409 Eddy.

4>
CORNELLIAN EGYPTIAN CIGARETTES.
Warranted Pure Turkish Tobacco.
PLAIN AND CORK TIPS— 20 dS

*^e desigq aqd rqanufacture ^Furniture especially adapted _ for ^Fraternity Rouses aqd Students' ^orrqitories.
Designs and estimates furnished
if desired.

I HAVE THE SOLE AGENCY FOR THE
IMPORTED
SMOKE THE 00M PAUL SHAPE,
Ithaca Hotel Cigar Stand.
SAMUEL ZINBERG, Proprietor.

H- J- BOOL CO-.
ffiouse ffiirnisfyers and jftrt dealers.

Opposite Tompkins County Bank.

INTERCOLLEGIATE
BUREAU.

VAN

BUREN'S

COTTRELL & LEONARD, Albany, N.Y.

Platinum and Platino Portraits

Wholesale Makers of the CAPS AND GOWNS

Are the very Best at Lowest Prices. See our latest ideas in book form. Don't have your Photo taken until you see them.

To the American Universities and Colleges.

All work Guaranteed.

To Cornell, Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Columbia, I^ehigh, Univ. of Chicago, Univ. of Cal., Bryn Mawr, Wellesly, Radcliffe and the others.
Illustrated Bulletin, Samples, etc., upon Application.

ist Door East of Post Office. Both 'Phones.

CORNELL TURKISH BATHS.

(Under same management as Cornell Barber Shop.) Turkish, Roman and Needle Baths. Chiropodist and Manicurists.
jggTOpen Day and Night .-^s
317 EAST STATE STREET.

DR. McCLURE, Dentist.

214 East State Street,

-

Opp. New Ithaca Hotel.

OFFICE HOURS—8:00 A. M. to 6:00 P. M.

Open Evenings.

Telephone 207 K.

yptian
eities

PLEASURE FOUND AT THE

UNIVERSITY BILLIARD PARLORS,

410 EDDY STREET.

PETER MCALLISTER,

-

PROPRIETOR.

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN
Van Order's Tailor Sriop
AND OTHERS IS THE PRICE. 123 East State St.. near P. O.

MEN'S.—Florsheims, $5.00. Burt & Packard, $3.50 and $4.00. "Peer," $3.50.

LADIES.—Jenness Miller, $3.50. "Peer," $3.00. "Ezwelts," $2.50.

A full line of cheaper shoes, exceptionally good values.

8TUEDEVANT SHOE CO.

.* state street.

FOREST CITY STEAM LAUNDRY,
First-class Work. Gloss or Domestic Finish. Both Phone.
209 NORTH AURORA STREET.

QUALITY. iiBiiagiioigmgiili
Tine Highest Degree of Excellence attested by the
ENORMOUS GAINS IN IMPORTATIONS DURING 1901
OF
MOET & CHANDON

CHAMPAGNE.
OVER

A QUARTER OF A MILLION
OR, MORE ACCURATELY, AN
INCREASE OF 252,432 BOTTLES

Over the year 1900, equal to

more than 100 PER CENT of the combined increase of all
the other champagne houses.
{Extract from Bon fort's Wine and Spirit Circular, January io, 1902

MOET & CHANDON WHITE SEAL

Is of the celebrated vintage of 1893, pronounced by the Bon Vivant and Connoisseur the

ACME OF PERFECTION.

DRY, DELICATE, DELICIOUS.

_. •._£;■.

/_£_S
^J^Y.

p^raSrk

, v _-_■__*•

TAILOmNQ.
Direct Importations, Exclusive Designs.
HAND TAILORED CLOTHING, FURNISHINGS.

H_a.ts3
Caps, S-wea/ters,

RAINCOATS, MACKINTOSHES,
SLEEKERS.

Jerseys,
Gym, SuLits.

ffil&TAllU*

REMINISCENCE.
uj CAN scarcely realize that it is twenty-five years ago
-*- that we were students, as young and light-hearted as these fellows," said Schuyler musingly as a gay crowd of students went noisily down State Street toward the Post Office. The old grad., who had come back to Ithaca for the
quarter- centennial reunion of his class, turned to a little group of his classmates who stood with him on the steps of "The Ithaca," and continued : —
"But, then, we are students again to-night aren't we? I feel like asking, 'Has any old fellow got mixed with the boys?' We don't want any old fogies around to-night, so let's be young again."
"They didn't have any electric cars in our day, did they?" said Cameron, as he bit off the end of his cigar, and watched, with careless indifference, the crowd of stu dents who alighted from the "down car" and rushed in various directions ; some to the Post Office, others to the Dutch Kitchen, and others to the Renwick cars.
' 'We have lots of time before the banquet, ' ' said Schuy ler, looking at his watch, "it's only a quarter after seven now, and the affair is scheduled for nine. Suppose we take a ride around the 'loop' , I've heard so much about. I didn't
get in town till afternoon and haven't had a chance to look around much, and as this is my first visit here since I got
my sheep-skin, I'm quite lost ; the place is so changed.
Will you come, fellows?"
All quickly agreed, and hastened with something of their erstwhile buoyancy toward the car on the switch.

2 THE CORNELL ERA
When they had taken their seats, the retrospective conver sation again held sway, and questions were asked and answered with startling rapidity. All six of these men left, as it were, the cares and responsibilities of their busy lives
behind them, and allowed themselves to forget, for the time, that they were dignified, middle-aged gentlemen. On the seat in front of them were several students who eagerly de
voured the contents of the letters which they had just
received, and one fellow cried out for joy when on, opening his letter, a check met his gaze. The old grads. exchanged amused glances ; each one of them had had similar sensa
tions in the old days. As the car started, Mills, the dignified judge, referred to the change of situation of the Post Office, which in the early seventies had been in the Library building on Tioga Street, and his observation led to others of a similar nature, as the car sped up Eddy Street, through a part of the city which had grown up since their day. Soon Cascadilla came in sight ; the old building had been the abode, at some time during his college course, of each one of the sextet, and the sight of it set their tongues going again. As the car passed on by the old landmark, Schuyler looked wonderingly out upon the smooth lawn and attractive flower beds, and, turning to a student who
stood beside him on the foot-rail, queried, in a perplexed way : — "Where is the mill-pond ?"
"The mill-pond !" exclaimed the young man. "Why, sir, I am sure I don't know ; I never heard of it."
The conductor came along just then, and informed the crowd that the old pond which lay just above Cascadilla,
had been filled up several years before. The young man
could not conceive the idea of a pond with a frail bridge, at
the end of Huestis Street, while to the older men, the hill scarcely seemed like the hill of their youth without the
pond. Admiringly they gazed at the solid masonry of the stone arch bridge over the gorge, at the entrance to the campus, and many were the laughs at the recollection of the log bridge over which they had been wont to cross as

THE CORNELL ERA

3

they hurried to and from recitations. The student on the rail became so interested in their conversation that he forgot to leave the car at the Armory ; his knowledge of the place was put to quite a test by the older men, as they plied him with questions. At last he said ; —
"I wonder if you ever knew my father ; he was here
in seventy-one ; he didn't stay till the end of his course
though. My name is Merton." "Dick Merton's boy !" all shouted at once, and vied
with each other in shaking hands with their old friend's son. As the excitement died down, Schuyler asked :—
"Where is Dick now?"
"Father is dead," responded the young man simply. A silence fell upon the parly, a silence that spoke louder
than words ; a silence that had in it much of sadness.
Many of their class had long since joined the great major ity, and these sad recollections formed part of every reunion. The young man it was who at last broke the quiet sadness by pointing out the Veterinary College and very skilfully
did he turn the conversation away from the sadness of his
loss. As the car turned down toward the Library, the site
for the proposed new Medical building was pointed out, and as they neared the Law School, Mills, suddenly recol lecting one of the great pranks of his sophomore days, jumped from his seat and pointing toward the pine tree
above Boardman, exclaimed ; — "Under that tree we buried trig! Wasn't it a lark
though ? What a time we had that night !" The recollection of the funeral of that hated trig.
brought forth a laugh from all the crowd, and young
Merton observed ; —
"I've often heard father tell of that."
The clock chimed out the six strokes for a quarter to eight as the car left the Library, and the sound of the
chimes called forth memories of the time when the bells were
hung in a little, wooden, pagoda-like tower on the site of
the present library. "Our .Library then was in Morrill ;"

4 THE CORNELL ERA

said Cameron in answer to a question from young Merton. "Strange to say, it wasn't quite as large and extensive as it

is

''
now.

"Did you have to attend any chapel exercises?" asked

the young man, who then told how he had heard a Princeton

student say that there were two things that made Cornell

ideal, beside her beautiful campus ; they were, that there

was no chapel each morning, and every time the clock

struck, it played a tune.

With a laugh, Schuyler replied : — "We all had to be in the so-called chapel, the big lec

ture-room, sort of sky-parlor in Morrill, every morning at eight o'clock, when old Professor Willson used to smile

benevolently down upon us and call the roll. He was the

Registrar, too, and he knew every student in the Univer

sity,"

"Something like our Davy, I guess," laughed Merton.

and related some of the wonderful feats of memory of the

present Registrar. "He knows us all, 'every mother's son

of us.' Freshmen are taught to be in mortal terror of

Davy, but we upper classmen know that he will do the

square thing by us, and that the tales of his bullying and

bulldozing and busting are without foundation. He is a

sort of scape goat for some of the professors. ' '

The old grads. looked in vain for the one-time chemical

laboratory ; the Dairy Building now occupies its site. Mor

rill, McGraw, and White Halls were familar ; all the others

were new and strange.

As the car sped along over the bridge toward Cornell

Heights, a group of girls in caps and gowns could be seen coming down the Forest Home path.

"Co-eds," said Merton sententiously. "I suppose they were an unknown quantity in your day."

"No, indeed, there were women matriculated when we
did, I think. At any rate there were a few women in the
university from the very start, although it was not formally opened to women until the building of Sage College. The early ones were antiquities, though."

THE CORNELL ERA

5

"They aren't so bad now ; they are quite an element in university life," rejoined the young man, and then turned the subject by pointing out the beauties and possi bilities of Cornell Heights. In the deepening June twilight, the view of the valley and lake was more impressive than usual, and, once again, sweet recollections were mingled
with sad ones, and a silence fell upon the party. It was
broken as the car approached South Avenue and the hand
some new fraternity houses came into view. Only two or three frats had had chapters here when these men were in college, and they were quite amazed when they learned that the university now boasted about thirty Greek letter socie
ties. The chief diversion of this sort had been found in the
literary societies, while the social element had, to some
extent, been found in the dormitory life. White and Morrill
Halls were then used by a large number of students for
dormitories, and Cascadilla was a regular rendezvous.
It was growing dark rapidly, the lights of the city gleamed and glistened, and, as the car shot rapidly down Stewart Avenue and into the midst of the brightness
which a few moments before had seemed to belong to a
distant and separate world, it was natural that the retrospect
should be interrupted, and the conversation should be turned to the subject of the approaching banquet and reunion. Leaving the car at Tioga Street, the company decided to walk around the business portion of the town until it should be time to go to the banquet. Pausing before the Library Building, Cameron looked across the street and asked :— "What is that fine building over there ?"
"That is the Savings Bank," answered Merton, to whom, of course, this building was the only one to be thought of on that corner, and who wondered what had been there a quarter of a century before.
' 'Ezra Cornell used to live on that corner, ' ' said Cameron
slowly and meditatively, "I can see him now, as he used to look, tall, straight, stern. But we fellows all knew him ;

6 THE CORNELL ERA
we all knew President White too ; there weren't so many of
us then that our president was a stranger to us."
"When I came here," said Merton, "Prexy was in the
Philippines ; and the next year I didn't see him, even to
know who he was till very late in the year. I have never
** met him personally or officially, and have never see^him but
two or three times. If there weren't so many of us,
perhaps we might come into closer contact with all the dig nitaries. The professors judge our work from a few pages
of "blue book," twice a year, they very often have not the slightest idea of the identity of the members of their classes. In fact, I have found my work in the small classes far more
satisfactory, for the instructor, then, to some extent, grasps the student's personality and comprehends his ability much
better."
"That is very true ; in that point lies the superiority of some of the small colleges to the great universities, especi ally to their arts departments," agreed Schuyler. By this time they had walked back up to State Street, and finding that it was nearly nine o'clock, they sauntered slowly out
South Tioga Street toward the Oriental. At the door, the
old Cornellians reluctantly said farewell to the young man, after gaining his promise to spend the following morning with those of their crowd who could remain in the city. Having a theatre engagement with a party of fellows, Mer ton hastened on his way, while the old grads. gaily mounted the stairs and greeted other friends of their college days. One of their number was now President of a large Western university, another was an astronomer of no little fame, a third was judge of the Supreme Court, and still others held more or less exalted positions in their particular little worlds. The banquet was a jovial one, jests and funny reminiscences were rife, and the occasion was most merry. Then the secretary of the class, a member of the faculty of his own Alma Mater called the roll. Of a class of ninety members, eighteen only were present ; some could not come but had sent messages ; some had not responded in any

THE CORNELL ERA

7

way to the invitations, many had passed away from this life,
and one was not accounted for at all. No message to him
had been answered, his whereabouts were unknown ; yet he had been class president in his junior year, and a more

popular fellow would have been hard to choose. Many a

conjecture arose in explanation of his peculiar disappear
ance, but all efforts to find him had been vain, and the

suggestions of his classmates had proved futile.

This little gathering of old friends was very informal ;

the conversation was general ; the speeches personal to

a great extent. "The University," "President White,"

"Seventy

" and various other subjects of vital interest

had been spoken upon, and the last speaker, our friend

Schuyler, arose to respond to the toast "College Spirit in

Later Life." Before he could utter the first word, a crowd

of students down stairs in "Jay's" began to sing, as they

started on their homeward way, the loved Cornell song

"Alma Mater," and our crowd of old students listened

almost reverently, as the clear boyish voices rang out in the

summer night with the familiar lines :

"Lift the chorus, speed it onward, Loud her praises tell,
Hail, to thee, our Alma Mater !
Hail, all hail, Cornell!"

The sound stopped as soon as the students had turned
up State Street, and as Schuyler looked around on his class
mates, he saw many a tear-dimmed eye. A moment he
waited, a moment in which he gathered himself together, a moment in which they all strove with their emotions ; then
he began to speak.
"When first I was called upon to talk upon this sub
ject, I had an idea of giving a regular banquet speech, in which "loyalty" and "devotion" and "love" for Alma Mater should figure conspicuously ; then I thought this evening, as a few of us rode around town together, that I had best give a little informal talk upon the spirit that impels us to have reunions and to wish to see our old

8 THE CORNELL ERA
friends again ; now I have changed my mind again (a woman's privilege I know, but grant it to me for once) and the song we have just listened to has brought to my mind a little experience which I had several years ago and which to my mind illustrates the broadest kind of college spiritthat spirit which makes you welcome a Cornellian anywhere, whether you ever knew or heard of him before, simply because he is a Cornellian. During the summer of '93, my wife and I, accompained by my son and two daughters, started for a tour of the West, and incidentally to visit the
Columbian Exposition. During our stay in Chicago, I was pleasantly surprised by meeting many friends of former years, some of whom I had much difficulty in recall
ing, although I remembered their faces perfectly. Strange, isn't it, how one will forget in the busy present so many
former friends? But I won't begin to moralize now, we
are all too much inclined to be sad to-night. Yet, boys, it
does seem strange that where twenty- five years ago, our
pleasure was nearly all in the present and future, now it
consists almost entirely in retrospection ; we love the past, and live in it, and one's most frequent expression to an old-
time friend is 'Do you remember?'
As I said before, we met mumerous friends whose lives
and interests had become entirely estranged from our own, and these meetings caused us to feel as though we had gone back a score of years and were living again with the old friends, amid the old associations. One day we were strolling about the New York building, reviling the weather, for it was beastly hot, and all seemingly out of sorts with everything around us, when suddenly I perceived that a man who had approached us, was staring at me as though he knew my face but could not recognize me. I looked at him closely ; there was something vaguely familiar about the clear gray eyes and rather large nose, which caused me to wonder where I had seen him. While I was making a hasty surmise as to his idenity, he had evidently succeeded

THE CORNELL ERA

9

in placing me, for he came up to me and said, with some hesitancy : —
"I beg your pardon, sir, are you not Judge Schuyler?" Still failing to recognize him, I answered in the affirma tive, whereupon he extended his hand in a very friendly
manner and exclaimed : —
"Glad to see you, old man ! You used to room in the
same house with me at Ithaca and I was sure I knew your
face, even in so large a crowd." Then noticing my surprise and perplexity, he added, "Why, Billy, don't you know Jack White?"
"Jack White!" I gasped, "Well I guess I do know you. Where have you been all these years?"
I wrung his hand and we vied with each other in asking questions. I hadn't seen Jack since he left college. Of course you fellows all remember Jack, the little fellow in the class of seventy—, that the boys all called 'Shorty'. Don't you remember, his father died when Jack was a Junior, and he had to go home, out to California, and he didn't come back. His family was in pretty straitened circumstances
financially then, but Jack's father left lots of stocks which
turned out well, and he is now a multi-millioniare. At our
earnest invitation, he and his wife and son joined our party, and we all went together to the Rockies. It seemed like old times to be with Jack, for, if you think a moment,
you will recall him as one of the j oiliest men in our old set, and he hasn't changed a bit in that way. Throughout our journey to Yellowstone Park, we regaled each other with college stories and reminiscences of our four years 'down on the Cornell farm.' Upon our arrival in that beautiful district, the young people seemed possessed with a perfect madness for camping out, and, plead gout and every other disease to which mankind is heir as piteously as I would,
they laughed at me and would not be persuaded to relinquish their cherished project, or let me rest under a civilized roof. You can guess the result. We obtained guides and pro visions, and established our camp in the prettiest part of

IO THE CORNELL ERA
Wyoming. Of course you will all remember the fun ol camp life— to young people — so I need not enter into any detailed account of the questionable delights of our experi ment. On the second evening after fixing our camp we assembled on the bank of the river, and after recounting in a desultory manner the various adventures of the day, fell to speaking of Cornell, and comparing the beautiful scene before us with the equally beautiful scenery here in Ithaca. For some reason, boys, my heart was full of Cornell just then ; my mind reverted to my happy life there, and it struck a responsive chord in my soul, when White's son, who had been a year at our dear old Alma Mater, began softly to sing the ' 'Evening Song' ' . The others joined, and in the clear evening air, their voices rang out across the river, awaking the echoes, far and near. When they reached the
last stanza : —
'Welcome night, and welcome rest, Fading music, fare thee well ;
Joy to all we love the best, Love to thee, our fair Cornell !'
White grasped my hand and I could see, in the twilight,
that his eyes, like my own, were misty with tears. It was
foolish, I know, but then, boys, the time and place seemed to make our feelings more pronounced. The melody, which
had so stirred our hearts, reached the ears of some young men camping just across the river, and soon we were sur
prised to hear them singing, 'We'll honor thee, Cornell ; whereupon my daughter, turning to me, exclaimed :
'They must be Cornellians !'
'They are very evidently answering our song, observed White's son, and then he suggested that we sing Alma Mater, and see if they answered that. When the young men had finished their song, they gave the well-known Cornell yell, which out there in the far West fairly set our
hearts on fire, and it was with most intense enthusiasm
that we began to sing that song, so dear to us all. Scarcely had the first words left our lips when we saw, in the deep ening twilight, those four young men launching their boat,

THE CORNELL ERA

n

and as they rowed rapidly across the river, they sang with us the dear old song. As their boat approached the shore,
they shouted, as with one voice : —

'Are you from Cornell, tooV

We needed no introductions, we could have none so satisfactory as that little word 'too.' Wasn't that enough? Well, boys, I see that I must cut my story short, and I will say only a few words more. Those boys were all under graduates at Cornell, and were roughing it out there in the West. They joined camp with us and we spent three happy weeks there in the lonely valley. The friendships formed that summer were not broken, nor will they be. A peculiar thing about the experience is that one of the fellows, who, by the way, is soon to marry my oldest
daughter, is the only son of our class president, who I regret to see is not at the banquet to-night. What happi
ness often results from such coincidences. I have learned

in the last few years in a way I never realized when in
college, what an indescribable and indefinable bond of sympathy exists between men claiming the same Alma Mater, a sympathy which often attracts to each other men who might otherwise never meet. I've talked too long I know, boys, but I hope you'll pardon me. Now, before we break up, can't we try to sing the song we used to

sing—Bingo?"

/. E. M.

12 THE CORNELL ERA
I LOVED.
T CAME ; and all the world a wonder seemed,
^ Where'er I cast my eyes new glory gleamed, Of fame, of friendship, and of power I dreamed.
I grew ; the radiant tarnished to the dull, All men, all women lied, and I, the fool,
Lived but their minds and hearts and souls to gull.
I fell ; oh, not in sinful depths /sank ;
I stood apart ; from vantage on the bank
I scanned the wretches in life's marshes dank.
I loved ; and straight the world I knew had gone, Where clamored shrieks from Hell the angel's tone Rang trumpet-clear ; and bright the rainbow shone.
Vanitas.
THE THOUGHT MIRROR.
WHEN the nineteenth century closed, mental science was yet in its infancy. The correspondence of certain psychological and physical phenomena had been marked, a relation between them had been noted. But it
was reserved for the twentieth century to make as much
progress in discovering and utilizing the laws of psychologi cal action, as the nineteenth had made in the sphere of physical and mechanical activity.
At the opening of the century, among a host of bold experimenters, Ransford Carleton was one of the boldest. His work was known among scientists and laymen, and, though he was only a young man, not yet thirty, his achieve ments gave promise of a future truly great.
Carleton was working upon a discovery the importance of which could hardly be overestimated. It had long been
known that communication between minds without any visi-

THE CORNELL ERA

13

ble or tangible material intervention was at least a probable fact. Telepathy waa a recognized name even in the nine teenth century, and the invention of "wireless telegraphy" had taught men that energy is often exerting itself in ways
of which material evidence is hard to obtain. Carleton
proceeded with his investigations upon a theory based on
the observed similarity between nervous and electrical ac
tion, which in brief was as follows. The energy called into
action by excitation of the mind center was similar to or
the same as that aroused by the electric spark of the Mar
coni system. Now, if a receiver could be obtained sensitive
enough to be affected by this energy, it would be perfectly
easy to communicate with it at any distance by the simple
process of thinking the message one wished to send. But as it seemed from the observed cases of accidental telepathy,
the only receiver sensitive enough was the same as the
sender, that is, the human brain. Carleton' s problem, then, was to find a way to arouse
this sensitiveness artificially. This he believed he had dis
covered. The trouble with former experiments in tele pathy had been that the delicacy of the exciter and receiver of mental energy was strongly affected by the constant voluntary or involuntary activity of all mind centers un less controlled by an overmastering power from without. Carleton proposed to supply this power by hypnotism, to produce an artificial concentration of nervous force. The sender and receiver, both hypnotized, could, after being put in communication by a starting suggestion, easily transmit their thoughts to each other. This scheme Carleton had found by experiment to work well, and he was full of enthusiastic hopes for the future of his idea.
Bold and direct, however, as the young inventor's mind was in matters scientific, when it came to a love affair he was the veriest coward. Carleton loved Gertrude Thorn
ton, but in spite of her uniform kindness toward him and several little indications which a bolder man would have treated as marks of special favor, Carleton felt an agony of

H THE CORNELL ERA
diffidence whenever he thought of confessing his love. How could he avoid the blushes, the stammering, the hesitation which he knew were absurd and did not rightly belong to a love so deep and sincere as his, yet which it seemed he could not rise above. If she should laugh
when he spoke ! He dared not risk it. One day after Carleton' s discovery of voluntary telepa
thy was nearly ready to be given to the world, the idea struck him, "Why not make use of telepathy to tell Ger trude my love? By the aid of hypnotism, I can concentrate my whole force on the telling, I can get rid of all these merely surface embarassments. ' 'The more he thought of it the better the idea pleased him, and finally he decided to
act upon it."
As self- hypnotism was then little known, Carleton had recourse to a friend of his, Herbert Velcy, who had often
helped him in experiments. Gertrude who was also inter ested in Carleton' s work, readily consented to be hypno tized, without knowing what was to follow. Velcy was to hypnotize Carleton, first suggesting to him the one idea of Gertrude ; then, proceeding to Miss Thornton's home, he was to hypnotize her also, causing her, however, to think only of Carleton. The two minds thus en rapport, could then communicate undisturbed by any diversion without or
weakness within.
It is probable that all would have gone well, and Carle ton would have been made happy, had his plan been carried
out in all its details. But the course of true love was not
destined to run smooth, even when leveled and made straight by science. Venus and Minerva together were powerless before fate, which controls even the gods. And the destiny that had caused Carleton to fall in love with Gertrude, had, to maintain its reputation for perverseness brought about that Velcy also should love her, with a passion every whit as warm as Carleton' s. Velcy did not mean to betray his friend. He, of course, had Carleton' s
confidence, and hard though the effort was, meant honestly

THE CORNELL ERA

15

to aid him. For he saw, what Carleton was blind to, that
Gertrude loved the young scientist, with a warmth that
needed only a breath to kindle it into a passionate flame as
ardent as that which burnt in Carleton' s soul. But tempta tion came stronger than Velcy could bear.
The day of the trial arrived. Velcy left Carleton at his home, radiant in the single thought that now possessed his whole being, and proceeded to Gertrude Thornton's house. Something seemed to have told her that this was no ordinary psychological experiment, for her eyes shone, her cheeks glowed dimly, and her bosom rose and fell more rapidly than usual. Her whole air seemed one of expecta tion, half eager, half shrinking and yet, somehow, wholly unconscious. Velcy had never felt his love for her with
such force before, as on that day when he was to help his
friend to win her. How could he go on with his part !
It was then that temptation sized him. No one could possibly know, and surely, surely, Ransford did not, could not love her as he did. For an instant, indeed, all his
sentiments of friendship, of loyalty, of honor, sprang to combat the thought, —the next, all these fell back crushed by the fierce countercharge of his passion. He could, he
must, he should win her. What else mattered !
From that moment, Velcy never faltered. He knew what he was going to do and how he must do it. Out wardly nothing but courtesy and friendly interest, inwardly his whole soul concentrated itself in one overmastering desire, that had made subservient all the other faculties of his being. Gertrude submitted to the hypnotic process, and was completely in the hypnotizer's power. A word or two of suggestion from him was all that was necessary. Then
he aroused the idea of Carleton and left his scheme to work
out. For when the telepathic communication was complete, Carleton was not addressing himself to Gertrude's real self, but to a personality suggested by Velcy. And instead ot the answer which would have made Carleton the happiest man on earth, he received a "No", kind enough,—Velcy

i6 THE CORNELL ERA
was too clever to overdo his part—but firm enough as well to dash his hopes forever.
Carleton went back to his work after that. His diffi
dence had vanished and he met Miss Thornton with a
perfectly natural and friendly, yet somewhat distant air.
She, poor girl, did not understand. At first piqued by
Carleton' s conduct, then hurt, she finally became, at least
outwardly, cold and indifferent. So they drifted apart. Velcy played his game well. A few months later his en gagement to Miss Thornton was announced, and he accepted with outward stiffness and inward shame, Carleton' s ear nest, though none too joyous congratulations. Then Carle ton went on working. It was all that was left in his life.
Science alone was now Carleton' s mistress. At her
shrine he worshipped with all his old enthusiasm swelled by the energy of his love, now pent-up and forced into new channels. And Science was to reward richly her devotee.
Carleton was still continuing his experiments relative to the similarity of mental and electrical energy. His dis covery of voluntary telepathy was now universally known, and bade fair to become of as great importance in the commercial world, as it was in the realm of psychological research. But Carleton paid little heed to such possibilities. He had a private income sufficient to enable him to live comfortably and pursue his studies at ease, which was all that he desired. At this time, the new element, sirion, was just beginning to attract attention from the very peculiar electrical properties it displayed. Carleton was one of the first to make use of sirion in his experimenst, and it was by means of this that he accomplished the discovery which was not only to be among the greatest of his whole career but was to brighten his existence forever.
Carleton was one day using a man named Jones as a subject in one of his frequent experiments. He had been able to get by using sirion conductors manifestations of mental energy working in the brain, and was eagerly following this lead. Jones was seated in a chair with two

THE CORNELL ERA

17

sirion electrodes against his temples, from which wires, also of sirion, led to a very delicate instrument resembling
a galvanometer. Near this instrument stood a large plate
of polished sirion. As the scientist was standing before this plate, he
noticed a strange change in its appearance. The surface
clouded, became oddly mottled with the most peculiar effect of light and shade Carleton had ever witnessed. Then the
markings took shape and Carleton saw as in a mirror a
picture in which he recognized a corner of a well known
city park. But what Carleton saw was more than a picture. For the figures moved, the leaves on the trees rustled
and, —he heard, or at least became conscious of, in some
way, every sound as if he had really been on the spot ! Breathlessly, he concentrated his whole attention on the
sirion plate. He could see two people, a man and a woman, the former of whom he recognized as his subject Jones. They were conversing, and he heard what they
said. A chance remark informed him that the scene before
him had been enacted on the previous Sunday about three o'clock in the afternoon. Suddenly the plate clouded again and Carleton, turning around, saw that his subject had changed position, causing the disarrangement of the elec trodes on his temples.
Eong training in experimental science had taught Carleton' s mind to analyze quickly, and to sift rapidly possible causes for phenomena. What this thing might mean he saw at once. Turning to Jones, he asked, "Where
were you last Sunday afternoon?" Jones, in some surprise, answered, "In Lincoln Park.
Why?" "Was there a lady with you, tall, fair, in a light shirt
waist and brown walking skirt ?' ' "Yes. Did you see us ? I didn't see you. I was just
this minute thinking about last Sunday afternoon. What made you speak of it ?' '
"Oh, nothing," said Carleton, turning again to his virion mirror. ' 'Where were you Sunday before last ? Oh,

i8 THE CORNELL ERA
exactly"—though Jones had not spoken a word— "on the
river ; same young lady. And the Sunday before that ?
In the park again, same companion, eh? Well, I admire
your taste."
"What the devil—" began Jones. "Oh, it's all right. I haven't been following you and as I said, I admire yonr taste. Only—I'm very much obliged for your help to-day, but I don't think I'll need
you for a while." And he dismissed the somewhat dis
gruntled Jones whose resentment was, however, mollified by a five dollar bill which Carleton gave him at the door.
Then Carleton sat down to think it out. He had, it
was perfectly evident seen Jones's thoughts in the sirion
mirror. Examination showed that the sirion wires from
the electrodes on the subject's temples had in some way
become detached from the test instrument and had crossed
immediately before and almost in contact with the sirion
plate. The latter, in a way he was as yet unable com
pletely to work out, had probably reflected the waves of
mental energy as a mirror reflects the light waves.
It was a wonderful discovery. What it might mean was hard to say. There were strange possibilities in such an ability to read men's thoughts. Carleton sat thinking of the immense gain to science, of the great widening of the horizon of human knowledge, which must surely result from his discovery. Yet, he reflected somewhat bitterly, of
what use was all this to him ? He gave to the world power,
and the world gave him,— a chance to go on working.
Was that the fullest life he was ever to know ? Gertrude
but here he stopped. What right had he to complain ? He had chosen his work, and if Gertrude did not love him, well, that was not her fault nor the world's either. So he persuaded himself that he ought to be happy ; but deep within him was a pang that he could not get rid of, a hotly smouldering resentment against he knew not what, which his reason told him was groundless, senseless, but which he

THE CORNELL ERA

19

dimly felt to be but a just reaction against some hostile influence that had blighted his life.
As he was thinking, there was a knock on his labor atory door, and calling, "Come in," Carleton rose. Con siderably to his surprise, the visitor was Velcy. Carleton
had not seen much of him since the announcement of his
engagement with Miss Thornton. Velcy had, in fact, rather avoided him, and Carleton had taken no particular pains to hunt him up. But now Velcy was friendly enough. He greeted Carleton with the old good fellowship, and Carleton responded readily. Velcy, indeed, could afford to be magnanimous. His rival, he felt, was well
out of the race now, and he had rid himself of the uncom
fortable qualms of conscience that had at first embarrassed him. He had persuaded himself that he had only assisted Fate, and that Carleton, whom he thought rather cold
blooded, anyway, Gertrude, and Himself wTere each happier than if he had not interfered in Carleton' s telepathic
proposal. "Rans," said Velcy, "are you in for a little dinner
down at the Club Wednesday night ? My last bachelor
affair, you know." Ransford hesitated a moment. It came a little hard,
but he feared Velcy would be hurt if he refused, and above all he did not want to appear sulking like a cad at a rival's victory. "All right, Herb" he said, "guess I'll be around.
Much obliged." "Thanks," said Velcy, "the invite will probably be on
hand this afternoon. I thought I'd see you myself, be
cause—well, to tell the truth, I felt,—" "Oh, that's all right," hastily broke in Carleton, to
avoid embarrassing explanations. "When a man's en gaged, he isn't supposed to remember old friends. Say, I've just found out something that may interest you.
Look here. ' ' In a moment, Carleton' s discovery which he had intro
duced in order to change the subject, absorbed the scien-

20 THE CORNELL ERA
tist's attention. He made Velcy sit down in the chair, in
tending to demonstrate what he could do before he explained. Velcy, thinking it was one of Carleton' s usual experiments,
submitted with some curiosity to the fastening of the elec trode on his temples. As he sat in the chair, waiting for the adjustment of the wires, he leaned back and closed his eyes, thinking of Carleton and his work, and of the strange
way in which he had won Gertrude. How beautiful she
was on that day when he called to help Ransford send her the message of his love ! He could see her yet, standing, responsive to his will alone, as he commanded her to tell
Carleton that she could not love him. That scene would
stay in his memory, —
"My God ! ' ' The cry was from Carleton. Velcy sprang up to meet the young experimenter's blazing eyes fastened upon him with a passion so fierce and so unexpected that Velcy shrank back as from a blow.
"You damned scoundrel!" said Carleton. Then, as by a tremendous effort, he mastered himself. His voice, when he next spoke, had a steely ring in it, but there was no quiver of passion.
"I know how }^ou brought about your present relations with Miss Thornton, Velcy," he said quietly. "I know how you abused my confidence, and how you took advant age of her hypnotic state to send me a false message from her. I have this knowledge on the best of authority, — yourself. By means of the experiment which I have tried with you, I was able to read your thoughts just now. You know what they were. Now, what Miss Thornton's real answer to my message would have been, I do not know. Nevertheless, it is only fair to both her and myself that she
should know the truth in the matter. I shall see her at
once. You will have to do one of three things, — tell her
the truth, let her learn your thoughts from the Thought
Mirror, or explain to her why you dare not do this. I shall be ready to submit to the test after I have told her my story.
Which will you do ? "

THE CORNELL ERA

21

Velcy was bowed and broken when Carleton had fin

ished. He could make no defence against Nemesis. But

his sole excuse, the mighty passion to which he had sacri

ficed honor and manhood, poured itself out in one despairing cry, "Ransford, I love her so ! "

Carleton 's face softened a little and some gleam of sym

pathy came to his eyes, but he did not speak. He knew

that for Velcy, for Gertrude, and for himself he could do

nothing more than to make known the whole truth. He

could not help Velcy, though he would. Velcy saw and in that moment his honor came back to

him. He stood erect. Quite simply he said, "I shall write

to Miss Thornton at once with a full statement of the facts,

and I shall take to-morrow's steamer for South Africa."

There is little more to tell. Gertrude had never loved

Velcy with all her heart. Carleton, when once free from

the misunderstanding that had separated them, depending no more on telepathic correspondence, and forever rid of all causeless diffidence, soon found that Gertrude really loved

him and him only. The ideal married life of the greatest

scientist of his age is almost proverbial among us now. But few know that to the discovery of the Thought Mirror, the

discoverer owed his life's happiness.

/. F. F.

22 THE CORNELL ERA

THE WISDOM OF MRS. O'TOOLE.

MRS. O'TOOLE was frying bacon. O'Toole guessed as much when he turned from the narrow street side-walk

to his own still narrower one ; he knew it for a certainty a
moment later when the open door way afforded him a view
of his estimable wife. She was just in the act of turning it, bending over the stove the better to accomplish the feat, her blue apron neatty tied at an imaginable waist line and her skirts uptilted to display a trimly shod pair of feet. On the whole Mrs. O'Toole, like her surroundings, presented

the thrifty, well-to-do appearance, which was quite fitting in the wife of Michael O'Toole, head riveter in the Buckeye

Bridge Company Now O'Toole liked bacon, and its fragrance in his

nostrils was what the scent of strong drink is to others.

Then, too, his sponse bending over the low stove presented
a fore-shortened appearance, and in such an attitude one
forgot the latent possibilites of Mrs. O'Toole. The next day when O'Toole had ample opportunity for reflection, he
laid his fool-hardiness to these causes.

At any rate it happened that O'Toole, setting his tin pail on the table, cast discretion to the winds and delivered

himself of the thought uppermost in his mind :
"Mr. Isaac Finch will be a findin' of a strike on his

hands on the morrow noon I do be a thinkin'." O'Toole

tried to make his remark as casual as if he were giving his opinion on the weather.

Mrs. O'Toole gave the bacon a final poke before she

turned to face her liege lord.

"And why should that be?" she queried. fault is it now ye're findin' ? "

"What

In his younger days, Michael O'Toole had been wont
to boast of the musical cadence of the voice of a certain

THE CORNELL ERA

23

Molly Casey. The tones of Mrs. O'Toole had lost none of their mellow Irish notes ; only she did not always choose to
use them. This was one of the times when she did, and O'Toole forthwith opened up his heart, and told his wife all about it, as became an honest man.
She heard him to the end. Then, standing in front of him, arms akimbo, she expressed her opinions. Mrs. O'Toole spoke with conviction and at length, while the head riveter of the Buckeye Bridge Co. listened in silence, nervously turning the tin cup on the top of his pail.
"And it's you, Michael O'Toole," she concluded, "who'd be givin' up a good job just because ye can't be runnin' into a saloon ivery betune whiles to get a bit drap of whiskey. 'Tis a child's thrick, and it's ashamed I am of yez all this day. But I might talk till you were bald as a buzzard ; 'twould do no good, and so I'll say no more."
Whereat she turned to her stove and left O'Toole to
hang up his hat and betake himself to his own reflections
and the wash basin. At any rate she had said all she was
going to say, he mused, and his confidence in his wife's word was not misplaced. With one exception, Mrs. O'Toole
made no further reference to the fact that on the morrow
noon the riveters of the Buckeye Bridge Co. were going to protest in the accepted way against the infringement on their inalienable right to visit, before, during, or after work hours, the saloon lately erected opposite the Works.
That one exception was when O'Toole forgot to return
the soap to its accustomed sardine box behind the door.
" 'Tis no time to be a-wastin' of good soap, lavin' it in the sun, Michael O'Toole, when ye' re a-fixin' to take the bread from the bit childer's mouths ! ' ' And O'Toole meekly
restored the bar to its rightful place. After supper was over and the dishes, properly cleansed,
had been restored to their wonted places, Mrs. O'Toole donned her sunbonnet. Michael had retired with his pipe behind the evening paper, and the various small O'Tooles, having been summoned to their evening meal from the

24 THE CORNELL ERA
highly exciting game of "shinny", had promptly returned
thereto at its close. Mrs. O'Toole hummed softly while she tied her bonnet strings. " 'Tis strange the ways o' some," she remarked meditatively. " 'Twould be a could day whin that Biddy O'Brien would be a-returnin' anything. I'll just step over and get the clothesline she borrowed a week come Thursday, Michael darlint ; 'tis a fine day we'll be havin' to-morrow, and mayhap I'll do a bit washin'."
But Molly O'Toole found other work to do in the
morning. L. S. Morris, chief engineer and manager of the
Buckeye Bridge Co. leaned wearily back in his chair. The shop superintendent's report of the night before still
troubled him. From his windows he could see the tennis
courts of his model plant, and, stretching away beyond them, the long red-roofed shops. There was still some thing else in view, the recently erected wooden building across the way, from which the conventional beer-sign
gleamed. The door opened, and a collarless, coatless figure
appeared. ' 'Pittsburg has 'phoned for instructions on those girders,
Mr. Morris, what shall we tell them ?" "Hold the 'phone ten minutes, and send Finch in
here," and the worried chief went back to his meditations.
Should he withdraw the order forbidding the men to visit the saloon, the only one within a radius of a mile, or should he 'phone Pittsburg that the girders wouldn't be out on time, and fight it out ?
Again the door opened : "There's a lady, I told her you were busy, but she said, — " began the boy. "I just said, I'd come along any how!" The voice was soft, persuasive, fairly vibrant with music. Men had
succumbed to that voice before. The chief nodded dismissal
to the boy, and wondered vaguely where he had hung his coat. He didn't like receiving in his shirt sleeves.

THE CORNELL ERA

25

Mrs. O'Toole removed her sunbonnet. "It's Mrs.
Michael O'Toole I am," she began, "and from my man I be a gatherin' that there's a bit trouble brewin' out yon,"
with an indicative nod of the head.
At the name of O'Toole the chief became all attention.
"You see," went on the persuasive voice, "Michael is
a foine man, but apt to get a bit worked up at times at
what he calls 'the free and aquil rights o' man.' Now I take it some o' the men think those same aquil rights isn't getting their just dues, along o' not being allowed to run to the shop across the way, though it's many a wife does bless
you for that same, Mr. Morris. But that's neither here
nor there, there'll be no strike along o' Michael, he's the one to give the sign he tells me ; you see, though I'm trustin' ye not to tell, for foine shamed O'Toole would be to have it known, he's a heavy sleeper, so I just tied him up in bed wid a bit clothesline, and there he is ; and shure
whin he gets up there'll be no wish for sthrikin' in his
head at all."
The lines in the Chief's forehead had been slowly
disappearing and odd little wrinkles were forming about
his eyes. He arose as Mrs. O'Toole did.
"That's all I'm a thinkin'," she said, "but don't be
too hard on O'Toole, Mr. Morris, for not reportin' to work this mornin', and it's a good day I wish yez."
When Finch, the shop superintendent, entered a few moments later, he found the Chief standing by the window and whistling softly to himself as he watched a feminine figure in a blue sunbonnet and apron tied in an irreproach able bow rapidly disappear down the tracks.
/. A. S.

26 THE CORNELL ERA
COMMENCEMENT REC LECTIONS.
TT ALLUS 'pear'd to me redic'lous that folks should J- think I'd orter call my summer outin' a "June Idle." Why ! 'Twas 'bout the busiest June I ever had ; for, airly in the month my man says to me, says he, "Now, Flory Ad'laide, it's 'bout time you was a-gittin' yer traps t'gether to go down to college to see the boy gradyate, if yer goin'." "But," says I, —an' my heart was in my mouth— "Peleg, I had 'bout give it up, the times is so hard; an', much as for four year, my hopes has ben sot onto it I haint said nothin' 'bout goin', lately." "But," says he, sorter chokin' like, for his heart was a-achin' to be there too, "never mind the hard times ! We haint got but one child, an1 now that we've give him this ere college edication, I want you to go and see him git his stifcate."
So, tickled nigh to death—though I felt kinder sneakin' to leave him, for he's the most onselfishest man, alius a-wantin' me to hev the best, an' we couldn't both on us go—I hurried up an' got ready ; an' you'd b'lieve it was a heapo' trouble, tor I was a-goin' right to the Frat'House— some sort of a big boardin' house, where my son, an' the other boys what b' longs to some secret sassiety, all lives together in grand style—an' there was a-goin' to be lots o' the elite there— as them high up in sassiety is called, young ladies an' ther shaprons— the name they calls the girls' mothers, or the older women what looks after 'em —from all over the United States; an' we was bound
our son shouldn't blush for my clothes. When them
clothes was done, Peleg said they was "Scrumptious" an' made me look "like a girl agin, an' sweet 'nough to
kiss," —he alius was queer 'bout me.
^Copyright, 1902, by Flora Osborn Coffin.

THE CORNELL ERA

27

So one day I started for the East ; an' sich lovely weather you never seen, an' sich scen'ry ! I wish't I had time to tell you all about the hills an' valleys of New York
state. They was jest like picters you seen to the World's Fair, only purtier ; and never ! so long as I live ! will I fergit the daisy-fields ; the buttercup-medders ; an' the rows of elder bushes 'long side the fences, all blow'd out, a-dividin
of 'em off.

Them daisy fields ! !

If any of you has ever seen the

ocean when it is sorter all riled up inter white-caps an'

froth, a-showin' the green water atween, well, that's jest

how they looked, when the wind blow'd on 'em ; an' others,

on the mounting-sides, was jest as white as snow, not

a-showin' any green at all hardly ; whilst close to em',

mebby, 'ud come a buttercup-field, jest as yaller as June

butter, with the bright green grass a-borderin' of it 'round ;

an' jest as like as not, a big piece o' woods 'ud come next,

then a chunk o' nice brown plow'd ground, an' another

elder hedge atween 'em, the tops all feath'ry white. It

'pear'd as though the hull hill-sides was a patch- work

quilt, made crazy-fashion, with all the colors you kin think

of, mixed in jest purty, an' all sot t'gether with strips o'

elder-flowers ; whilst below all, the lakes an' rivers in the

hollers, throw' d back ther shadders, an the movin' cloud-

picters, so grand like ! O, my ! I can never tell you how
purty it all was, an' what queer feelin's it give me. But I must hurry up, an' git there, or I'll never hev

time to tell you all about "Senior Week ;" for that's what
they call the last week in them big schools, when ev'ry body does all they kin to make the seniors hev a grand time. Them is the boys an' girls what hev worked so hard

for four year— an' look so tired—tor the stifcates they're
goin' to git, that 'lows 'em to go out inter the world and earn ther livin' sorter genteel like. For that's what most on 'em has got to begin to do ; and my son says that's why
they call the last end of school "Commencement," 'cause they've come to the end of ther larnin', an' are ready to

commence to use it.

28 THE CORNELL ERA
You'd orter seen that "Fraf House !" So grand an' fine ! With its wide halls, big stoops an' entries ; an' full of purty girls an' women! An', best of all ! The dear boys ! ! How I love 'em.\ With ther capers, ther college songs, ther p'liteness, an' ther college spirits. At any rate that's what my son said they had lots of, an' though land knows ! I don't approve of spirits; bein' brought up a
teetotaler— and, to tell the truth, I didn't see none of it nor smell ther breaths, neither, cioste as I was to 'em too—but
I'm sartin' them college spirits couldn't ben very bad, the boys was all so 7iice.
Well ! The first thing they done to celebrate Senior week, was to hev a preacher come from some big town 'way off somars' and preach what they call a backlowrate sermon to the seniors ; and atween you and me, it was tejus ; but we had to enjoy it, 'cause 'twas one o' the shows. The next night, they had a 'senior' concert to the opry house, a-purpous for us college folkes ; an' we all had to go in full dress, as they call it when we go with our dresses cut low
in the neck ; our hair done stylish ; with gloves on ; an'
cornstarch on our faces.
All the folks a-stayin' in the house, they called the
"house-party," an' we all went in big carryalls, —I guess they was stages, but awful nice—an' all sot together to the concert, so's to make a fine show, you know ; and, if I do
say it, as ortent to, I was so sprigged up, an' my boy's 'tentions so sparkin'-like, we was took for jest married. Aint that a joke? When we got home, we had a dance in them big halls—the stylish name is corrigers—an', if you
b'lieve me, I was as gay as any of the young folkes.
The next day was what they call "class day ;" when ev'ry body in town went to the arm'ry to see the seniors march in, with ther long black gownds an' caps on. Jest to think on't ! Boys an' girls all dressed alike! An', you'd orter seen them caps ! For all the world, jest like what they're called, "mortar boards," with a big tossel onto one side of 'em. Why ! You couldn't tell the boys

THE CORNELL ERA

29

an' girls apart, 'less the boys had moustaches, which most of 'em didn't. The band played, a girl called all the seniors, names right out, the hull of 'em, middle name an' all, no matter how humbly it was—they call it "roll-call."
They sung songs, and they hed speakin' and readin' essys an' pomes ; an' then, they hollered right out i7i meetirC !
An' sich hollerin you never heern ! My boy said they was "college yells," an' showed the college spirit. After that, they marched out doors, we a-follerin', an' sot out a "class
ivy"-—faint like our pizen ivy—near what they call the chapel—that's the school meetin' -house. Then they had ther picters took in front of the lib'ry stoop. After that, we went to a piece o' woods in the campus—a funny name for the school-yard, aint it? But that's what is style now,
to college— an' sung some more, an' read more papers, spoke more pieces, yell'd agin, lots of times, an' give 'em all pipes full of catnip, to smoke. Pipes of peace, they called 'em, though mercy knows what ther was to make up for, an' smoke the pipe of peace ! I don't ! Then they had more "college spirit," an' I begun to like it, if it did most split my tin-pan—the p'lite name for ears. That wound up the "class-day" doin's, an' we went home an' tried to git a leetle rest, for I was purty nigh tuckered.
In the evenin' the big party of the year come off; an' that, they call the "Senior Promenade ;" though, la7idsakes-alive ! I found it was anything but promenadin'. This was the fullest dress party they had. We went agin in a house-party, an' had the loveliest box, they said it was, but I didn't see anything that looked the least bit like a box. It was a raised platform all kivered with rugs, an' couches an' cushions, an chairs, an' screens, an' plants, an' ev'rything lovely ; all rigged up spruce , jest for our houseparty to rest in, an' for the women to set that was too old to
dance, or didn't know how. —I was awful sorry for them that had to set.— A-n-d, the hall! As true as you live!
Not a inch o' the plasterin' could you see ! It was all kivered with yaller an' white cheese-cloth, in the most

3° THE CORNELL ERA

beautifullest draperies you could ever think on ! An', in the middle of the room, from the peak of the roof, was
a-hangin' one o' them strange boats they call a "shell," a "Freshman shell" they said this was,—dear suz ! I was so

mixed up a-learnin' college names for things, an' new meanin's for names, I didn't quite ferrit this out so's to

explain it to you—an' it was jest full of flowers ; an' the

flags o' Havard, Cornell, Columby, an' the Univers'ty of

Pensylvany, was a-floatin'

from it, an'

'
twas

a purty

sight,

I kin tell you. On both sides o' the wall, way up high, was

the two band stands, one of 'em for waltz tunes, an' the

other for 'proms, as they call them new-fangled runnin'

dances.

They never started to play 'till ten o'clock, but after

that we danced 'till half past five the nex' mornin', first a waltz, them a prom, so fast the boys couldn't hardly git ther next partners in time to start in agin. An', sich a jam! An' so many purty gi7ds ! An* lovely clothes! An* hart some boys ! ! You sartingly never sot eyes onto !

You never' d expected one o' my age—up'ards o' thirtyfive, an' the proud mother of a senior— 'ud hev dassed to try to dance in that hurly-burly ; but my son kep' a-askin' me—an' I hadn't ben a-practicin' up all las' winter for nothin' — so I did, lots o' times, and I come out as fresh

when the "Prom" broke loose next mornin', as a mornin' -

glory. When we got home, my son took our picters, all in a group on one of the stoops, and called it, — "After the Ball
is Over. ' ' Wa' nt that cute ?

That afternoon we went a-callin', and in the evenin'
went again in full dress to a play for the seniors, to the
opry house. Seems as though we couldn't git no rest nohow, an' I begun to git a little fagged out.
The next day, Thursday, was the proudest day of my life ! For then, I seen what I come for ! My boy gradyate ! We all went to the arm'ry agin, an' the crowd was
bigger 'n ever. Sich a jam ! I thought I'd never git a seat ; but I seen a nice-lookin' boy that was a-seatin' folks,

THE CORNELL ERA

31

an' I asked him, kinder pitiful-like, if he couldn't find "jest one seat for a senior's mother, what had come all the way from Mich'gan to see her boy gradyate ?—up in front,
where I could see him." An' he said, "If you hev come so far as that, I'll try hard." An' he did, bless him ! — I
wish't I know'd that young man's name, I'd send him some
doughnuts fer a Christmas present— An' I had one of the
best seats in the house, where I could see the seniors all

march in, with ther caps and gownds on —the purtiest sight
I ever seen—an' when ther names was called, see 'em march

up, one to time, an' go acrost that long stage that was kivered with the teachers an' perfessers—they call 'em the

faculty — an' lots of other men that was called alum-al-

u-m

some thin' ! I can't jest think now. Leastwise

they was men what had got their stifcates from this school ever sense it was started, an' had got ther names in the papers so much, ev'ry one know'd they was smart. My ! But I was scairt for them seniors ! And awful glad /wasn't

one ; for they had to come onto that stage to one end, an'
march clean to the middle of it — in front of all them smart

men —a-tryin' to be brave, an' makin' therselves b'lieve

ther wa'nt no one lookin' at 'em, to where the head

teacher— they call 'im pres' dent —was a-standin'. He give 'em a roll of parchment tied with the college colors—that was ther stifcate—an' then they made their best bow, an'

kinder hurried the rest of the way acrost, an' went to ther

seats agin. Oh, how my heart thumped agin my stays when I
heern my boy's name called ! An', mebby it's 'cause I'm his mother, an' love him so, but I thought his bearin', as
he walked acrost that stage, was nobeler than any others ;
an' he made the purtiest bow of all of 'em, when the pres'dent give him his gradyatin' paper; I'm sure he did. I jest wanted to run right up an' put my arms 'round his neck, an' say to all them folks, ''He's my boy! But I dassent, an', when I told him of it, he said "it wouldn't ben adzackly proper," so I'm glad I didn't.

32 THE CORNELL ERA

In the afternoon, when the school pres' dent had ice cream an' cake to his house, for the seniors an' ther friends,
an' wanted us all to come up, my son put on his cap an'
gownd, an' I, proud as could be, an' all dressed up—not full-dress, 'cause he said it wasn't proper in daylight— took his arm, an' we went ; 'cause the pres'dent wanted to shake
hands with us, an' inquire about our health, an' I was
kinder hankerin' for ice-cream. After shakin' hands with

him, an' askin' him how his folks was, we stood 'round, an' I

smiled at every body a little while, talked about the purty day, an' said "it 'peared a leetle like rain," an' "I feared

these pleasant days was weather breeders," an' a few sich

p'lite things. I watched the rest, an' done as they done,

for I wa'nt goin' to hev folks think we didn't hev no recep

tions in Mich'gan. Then we et our lunch. My son said,

if he was me, an', it bein' my first call, he wouldn't ask for

a second helpin' . I took notice the rest didn't neither, —

but my mouth waters yet when I think on't. After lunch

we walked 'round some more, an' come home jest dead

tired out, an' et a hearty supper, an' went to bed.

Now this was the end o' the "Senior Week" doin's ; but

the other fratern'ties had dances, —house-parties, I mean, —

an' of course, we went to 'em, an' receptions, 'till I was

clean done out intirely ; but dretful proud an' happy.

I know I never shall forgit that week ! An' the

scen'ry I seen a-goin' there, couldn't shake a stick to that

there school-yard, that was sot onto the hill-tops, and alius

a-smilin' down inter the purtiest valley in the world, with

its lookin' -glass lake in the middle, so long you couldn't

see the end on't, an' the crazy-quilt hill a-standin' all

'round it on guard, like.

An' them college songs rings in my head yit ; 'specially

the one they call "Aimer Marter." Le's see if I kin

remember to tell it to you :

1 wish't I could sing it, to

the tune of Annie Lisle, like they done, but I aint no

singer, so I'll tell it to you, the best I kin, if it'll come to

me

Far

far

Oh, yes ! —

THE CORNELL ERA
Far above Cayuga's waters, With its waves of blue,
Stands our noble Alma Mater,
Glorious to view. ( Chorus)
Far above the busy humming Of the bustling town,
Reared against the arch of heaven, IvOoks she proudly down.
CHORUS.
Lift the chorus, speed it onward, Loud her praises tell,
Hail to thee, our Alma Mater, Hail, all hail, Cornell.
'Flory Adelaide:
>kl'l<'_.'liF _. 'I. MH»t. '.<■«. ',1-I.Hkt'l.r .<■!.' .<■».
LONG AGO.
A TWILIGHT gloom
■^*- In a silent room, A touch of rain On the window pane,
The rosy glow Of a fire burned low, The murmur of trees as a far-off main, The plaintive sigh As the wind steals by— Then swift from the realms of long ago, In joyous train, The bright-winged memories come and go. Oh fain, too fain They would waft me back on the wings of Time, Oh pillager Time ! To that gentler, merrier, sunnier clime ;
Where the meads were green
And skies were blue,
The flowers the sweetest that ever were seen ;
While soft where the stately forest grew, Mid rustling boughs the breeze crept through ; And a myriad birds sang soft and low— Sweet far-away land of I,ong-Ago !
C. K. Taylor.

34 THE CORNELL ERA
CORNELL'S FIRST HATBAND.
TN 1873 Cornell rowed her first race at Springfield, Mass.,
-L in the Rowing Association of American Colleges, eleven six-oared crews competing. Harry Coulter, of Pittsburgh, was our professional trainer, and his jolly Irish wife Annie, besides presiding in the kitchen and dining-room, rubbed us down and painted our boils with iodine in a very artistic
manner.
Harry had the "rough-and-ready" idea in everything relating to the crew. He lived in an old, dilapidated house at the "Corner of the Eake," and the latch-string was not out to visitors. Our costume was a blue flannel shirt, simi
lar to those worn in machine shops, and the rowing pants were made to match. This garb was, after all, quite appro priate, since the press introduced us to the world as "A
Boatload of Mechanics from Ithaca."
The contrast which we made to the generally smart appearance of the other college chaps can readily be imagined, and, after trying it two years, we firmly resolved to polish up a little. In 1875 we wore on dress parade blue, tailor-made suits and straw hats with red and white hatbands three inches wide, divided into alternate, vertical stripes of red and white one-half inch wide. It fell to my lot to procure the hatbands, and the success of the plan was in doubt for several weeks. Mr. Culver, of Culver & Bates, Ithaca, hunted all over New York to find the ribbon, but it was not on the market. Then the plan of printing red stripes on a white ribbon was tried, but the red blurred, and
the result was a flat failure.
However, our hearts were set on red and white ribbons, and the next experiment was that which succeeded. A lot of needle points were bound together, forming a pad ; these points were dipped in red ink, and then printed into the white ribbon. This made a clean, vertical stripe which could not be detected from the properly -woven article, and enabled us to "sport our colors" at Saratoga with twelve other colleges in a decidedly creditable manner.
fohn A. Ostrom, '77.

A
Tbe
Cornell Era

Vol. XXXV.

November, 1902.

No. 1

Terms :—The subscription price is $2.00 per year in advance, and $2.25 when it has not been paid by April 15th. Single copies, 25 cents, maybe obtained at the
Corner Bookstores.

BOARD OF EDITORS.

Arthur J. Tietje, '03, Editor-in-Chief. Fred Bemis Humphrey, '04, Business Manager.

Edwin Nelson Ferdon, '03. Henry Crane Hasbrouck, '04. Edwin Mitchell Slocombe, '04.

Louise Fargo Brown, '03. Lynn George Wright, '04. Clarence Paul Oberndore. '04.

Address matter for publication to the Editor-in-Chief, and business communi cations to the Business Manager.
Entered at the post office, Ithaca, N. Y., as second class matter.

THE Era, it is said among many students of Cornell in their own unemphatic parlance, is "bum;" it is not

worth the price of subscription. Maybe so ; it would not

become editorial dignity to confute such assertions. Yet, if

so, why is it? Is it not because the very students who

condemn the Era refuse to buy it, are too lazy to contribute

to it? You students of Cornell, you are proud of your

victories on field and stream. Are you equally proud of

the fact that at Yale, at Harvard, at Princeton, whenever

literary work is mentioned, Cornell—not the Era—is

regarded with contemptuous pity ? Of course you will fall

back on the

threadbare

blatancy

that

'
'you

could

if you

wished." As we' said before, perhaps so. But at Yale, at

Princeton, at Harvard, editors do not say "Perhaps so." Far from it ; Princeton considers herself in literary lines far

3^ THE CORNELL ERA

above you ; Yale feels sure that you couldn't if you wished.
Are they right ?
****

With this issue the Era has adopted a new policy. Previous to this year, it has appeared on or near the tenth
of each month ; i. e. the October number came out Oct. io, the November Nov. io, etc. For this year at least, the
Era for each month will appear, as do the leading maga zines, on the twenty-fifth of the preceding month. It is true that this change of policy has necessitated the non-issue of the October number, and has rendered late the appearance
of the November Era. In future, however, we promise
our subscribers punctuality. An extra Commencement number will supply the place of the October issue.
'Pf. >fC if. >fC

It may be asked what function in Cornell's literary life
does the Era fulfill. To those interested we answer : the

two literary journals of the University are the Widow and the Era. The Sun, excellent though it be, is a news paper ; the Sibley fournal is prohibitively technical ; and the Alumni News is devoted to general information. Con

sequently anyone who aspires to "write" must turn, if he

or she be a comic genius, to the Widow ; if he or she be seriously inclined, to the Era. Verse and short stories are

particularly acceptable.

'K-T- -T-

-T-

And now we hasten to the encouragement of interest in
Cornell athletics. We recognize that here a more genuine and spontaneous support must always be given than to literary effort— albeit we do plead for the overflow of such
sympathy. Cornell has an assured right to be glad in her crews and her teams—baseball, football, track. Our
advice, then, to graduate and under-graduate is : Buy a season ticket, if you have the price. If you haven't, go to as many games as possible. And, above all, never climb
up Deadhead.

THE UNIVERSITY
'T^HE football season which opened so auspiciously for -*■ Cornell with encouragingly large scores against the
smaller college teams of the vicinity, has not fulfilled the success it augured. Not only has the record been marred by scoring on the part of Williams College, but the Carlisle Indians have actually defeated the red and white men on Percy Field, and worst of all, Princeton has beaten us. Although this record looks rather disheartening on paper, the outlook for victory over our ancient rival, Pennsylvania, is more hopeful ; she has been bitterly defeated at the hands of a small college, Brown.
In any event, don't blame the team ; they are doing
their best.
When one loops the loop on the trolley car of the model Ithaca street railway and there is a halt of half an hour at University and Stewart avenue while the conductor consoles one with a "guess the power's off, an' it orter start agin purty quick," there is ample time for inspection of the new houses springing up in the neighborhood, and for reflection. Three magnificent fraternity houses are being built on the road ; beyond to the south is limitless space for more. With this little nucleus of fraternity houses established, and the likelihood that more will follow the example, does it not seem plausible that the future student quarter will be nearer to Percy Field than to a site behind the University barns ? In such case, the selection of a satisfactory situation for an athletic field would be a difficult thing.
Again, the students' residence portion is approaching Percy Field rather than drawing away from it. And so

..S TT1F CORNELL ERA
some day the accommodating Ithaca street railway which it is generally rumored wishes to afford additional convenience by running cars up East avenue, may find a method to run cars down University avenue to Percy Field. Perhaps we would better leave "fairly well" alone.

The Freshmen, some eight hundred strong, seem to

have entered into the spirit of Cornell as quickly and as

enthusiasticalh* as even their guardians, 1904, who were

christened the "freshest class that ever entered Cornell" by

one of the "prominent seniors of 1901." This year's fresh

men have obediently donned the neat gray cap which we

hope may become a cherished tradition of Cornell, they have

cast aside their hard-earned prep, school insignia with amaz

ing alacrity, and have taken to drill w7ith delightful serious

ness. But in addition to this they have made an innova

tion, so decidedly distasteful, that it should not go unnoticed.

We refer to the presidency campaign. Some weeks ago

upon wending their way up the hill, the other classes were

startled to find the fences and posts ornamented with fresh

man campaign handbills. In addition, at the various

entrances to the campus the sidewalks were chalked in

flaring letters, "1906 Election. Vote for Costello."

Evidently the freshmen do not know that the right to

chalk the walks was not theirs.
It ought not to be followed.

The example is a bad one.

BOOK REVIEWS
The Strongest Master. By Helen Choate Prince. Hough ton, Mifflin, & Company, New York and Boston.
$1.50. "The Strongest Master" —the most striking piece of
work we have had from Mrs. Helen Choate Prince's
hand—suggests in its intensity the problem novel. Its motive, however, is no less a personal than a social one. The hero, a young Harvard man of good family, begins his life under a cloud, having been expelled from colhge.
Sincere in his regret, his strongest desire is to reform his own character. Under the influence of a visionary labor
leader, this desire grows into a passion to reform existing wrongs tolerated by society, chief among which, in his opinion, is the institution of marriage. The working out
of his theories forms much of the interest of the story.
The characters are unusually well individualized, and, while the theme is a new one for Mrs. Prince, the book has all her usual fine workmanship.
An American at Oxford. By John Corbin. Mifflin & Com pany, Boston. $1.50. Following closely on the announcement of the scholar
ships at Oxford provided by Cecil Rhodes' will, the publi cation of this book comes at a particularly appropriate time. The author is a Harvard graduate who has pursued a course at the English University and tells us about it in a very readable manner. Even without its significance in connec tion with the scholarships, the work would be of interest ; just now when many American University men are debat ing the advisability of competing for those scholarships its
value is marked. Foremost among the conclusions which Mr. Corbin
draws should be noted his protest against sending boys to
Oxford direct from American schools. Such a course, he
says, could only work harm. American students should
not be deprived of the opportunity of forming life-long friendships and imbibing the national spirit offered at their home colleges ; it is only after graduation that they should
go abroad.

THE CORNELL ERA
It is also worthy of note that the part of the book
devoted to athletics precedes that given up to studies, an order perhaps representing the comparative importance
which the author found attached to those branches. It is
all very fascinating reading, though much of it appears almost incomprehensible to the American knowing only the
athletic standards of America. As an index of natural
character some statements are significant. "The English man," says the author in speaking of football, "has on the
whole subordinated the elements of skill in combination to
the pleasantness of the sport, while the American has some what sacrificed the playability of the game to his insatiate struggle for success and his inexhaustible ingenuity in achieving it. More than any other sport, Rugby football indicates the divergent lines along which the two nations are developing."
The greater social opportunities of the English system of small separate colleges are set forth plainly, much space being given to an explanation of the effects which this sys
tem has upon the lives of the students. At the close the
author dwells at length on the evils of the elective system, a subject which seems to trouble Harvard writers just now, and from the English examples along these two lines he presents an attractive scheme for the partial remodelling oi
American Universities.
* ***
The Era acknowledges the receipt of the following
books :
Captain Craig. By E. A. Robinson. Houghton, Mifllin & Company, Boston and New York. $1.00.
Letters from a Self- Made Merchant to His Son. By G. H. Lorimer. Small, Maynard & Company, Boston. $1.50.
A Histo7y of German Literature. By John G. Robert son. G. P. Putman's Sons, New York. $3.50.
Quantitative Chemical Analysis. By John B. Garvin. D. C. Heath & Company, Boston. $1.00.
Virgil's Aeneid. By Henry S. Frieze. American Book Company, New York, Cincinnati and Chicago. $1.50.
Lessing's Nathan der Weise. Edited by Tobias J. C. Diedhoff. American Book Company, New York, Cincin nati and Chicago. $.80.
Cicero's De Amicitia. Edited by Clifton Price. American
Book Company, New York, Cincinnati and Chicago. $.75.

'. .'• ■> ■>"'"',
A Cornell Journal
ON SOME DEFECTS OF OUR SOCIAL SCHEME.
TN his powerful though somewhat eccentric book The Re-*- ligion of Democracy, the Rev. Charles Ferguson gives expression to a great truth : that no state can afford to neg
lect or overlook the needs of even the humblest of its citi
zens. Fairly analogous and equally important is this truth, which we have not all yet recognized : that no institution of learning is doing its full duty toward — or, to put it per haps more fairly —is entirely fulfilling its mission to those who seek its halls until adequate provision has been made for the well rounded development of every student, for the
mens sana in corpore sa7io. Most of our universities and colleges, great and small, have striven nobly to realize this
ideal. They have employed professors and instructors with out stint and have required of them the most careful and rigorous training in preparation for the work of instruction ; they have built large and costly lecture halls, laboratories, and museums ; they have provided, or generously co-oper ated in providing gymnasiums, athletic fields and pla}^grounds, and instructors in physical training and hygiene. Those institutions most favored by fortune have naturally
been able to do most in these various directions. Yet even in
these larger institutions, in the universities which are in many ways the acknowledged leaders, something is felt to be lacking.
Why is it that we hear so much even to-day about the
superiority of the smaller colleges ? Why do the alumni of these small colleges, which do not grow rapidly in numbers,
send their sons to their own alma mater f Ask them and

33 THE CORNELL ERA
you will get pretty much the same reply from them all ; that in these institutions the boy comes into close contact with his professors, and gets to know everybody in college and to regard almost every other man as his personal friend. This intimacy of relations with teacher and fellowstudent is oftentimes rated as actually more to be desired than the privilege of studying under far more noted experts, and swinging dumbbells in a far more costly gymnasium in a larger and wealthier institution. And this is possibly not so great a mistake after all. For because of this intimacy the young man may carry with him memories, impressions,
influences which will do more to mould his whole future life
than any number of courses in Greek inscriptions or advanced chemistry which only the wealthy college could provide for him.
I am not here pleading, however, the cause of the small college. I am merely calling attention to what is alleged to be one of its chief good points ; the superiority in
the social relations of its students with one another and
with the faculty. If this superiority be conceded, it follows that the small colleges offer us an important object lesson.
This lesson educators and college philanthropists are already beginning to heed. They are coming to see that the social life of a great university—of an overgrown col lege, if you will—is a matter of the gravest importance ; that it needs to be fostered and to have able guidance ; that
it must have a centre and an ideal. And this ideal must in
our day and age be that of the purest democracy. One of the most notable attempts to foster better social
conditions has been made at Harvard, where Colonel Henry Lee Higginson's "Home of Friendship " forms the mag nificent home of the Harvard Union. Many of my readers have doubtless visited this building and know something of the organization there housed. Membership in the Union is open to any instructor, graduate student, or undergradu ate, and the dues are but nominal— for the undergraduate,
ten dollars a year. The member thus has access to what

THE CORNELL ERA

39

may now be fairly considered the centre of university activity—the vast living-room of the Union, 120 feet long and 50 feet wide, where, seated in an easy chair, he can gaze upon the portraits of many famous worthies of the past, and " smoke and read and talk and grow." To quote further from an interesting description by Mr. Frederick L. Collins in The Evening Post :
" It is indeed the house of friendship. At five in the afternoon, the winter hour of relaxation, and at seven in
the summer time, a look through the smoke into this great
room would be a revelation to those who believe that
fellowship and small colleges are synonymous. In the
evening there is usually some sort of entertainment, a
lecture by some famous visitor, a class smoker, a glee club concert, or an athletic enthusiasm meeting. The room was
built to hold cheers. It was well. For a week or more
before a Yale game, every evening sees the living room crowded with enthusiastic undergraduates who listen and applaud the words of their great leaders. . . Then
come the songs and the cheers—the effervescence of the
spirit, the bubbling over, which is all the public ever sees. In this house of friendship, so typical in its size and com pleteness, Harvard stores the spirit of its manhood, the crimsom flow of the great heart of the University. ' '
Something of this sort we need here at Cornell ; and we need it badly. It is true that conditions here are somewhat peculiar. The Greek letter fraternities have had here a free and unchecked growth since the very year of the opening of the University. They have thriven perhaps much better
here than at many of the more Eastern institutions. Yet
even if it be conceded that the fraternities do quite enough
for the social welfare of their members, it must be borne in
mind that the proportion of fraternity members to the whole body of undergraduates is not large, as is shown by the fol lowing table taken from Dean Huffcut 's admirable History of the Beta Charge of Theta Delta Chi :

4o THE CORNELL ERA
•90-1 '91-2 '92-3 '93-4M'94-5 '95-6 '96-7 '97-8 '98-9 'gg-'oo
Undergrad. men_H5i 1232 1334 1372 1293 1354 1403 1466 1357 T5o6 Fraternity men.. 410 462 497 511 452 473 464 481 4^3 542
That is, the 23 fraternities represented here in 1900 in
cluded but little more than one-third of the total number of
undergraduates. Since then four or five more fraternities have entered Cornell ; but the ratio has probably not
changed much. It must be clearly understood that I am not advocating
any movement which need in any way change the con ditions affecting the prosperity of the fraternities. They are here to stay. They represent the attempts of students to solve for themselves in the most natural way the problem of social intercourse ; and far from meeting with any sort of opposition they should be encouraged and wisely guided. But as we have seen, the fraternities provide for less than
half the whole number of students ; and inasmuch as all
the best fraternities, with only one or two notable excep tions, are already represented here, it is unlikely that the fraternity system will ever be extended much beyond what
it is now. What we need is a scheme which will afford
social opportunities (I use the word social obviously in its larger sense) not only to the fraternity man but also to the man who is not in a fraternity, whether from choice or from fatal necessity.
This need is no new thing. It was felt by President White twenty-five years ago ; it has been felt by hundreds of alumni and undergraduates ever since. For several years a committee of the Alumni has worked nobly and persist ently to raise funds for a building which should correspond to the Harvard Union, to Houston Hall in Philadelphia,
and to other well known club houses ; and three years ago
this committee submitted several sets of premiated plans for
the consideration of the alumni and all interested. Lack of
funds, however, has prevented the committee from going ahead ; and we are now apparently waiting until some
generous benefactor shall arise who shall endow this noble

THE CORNELL ERA

4i

enterprise and do for Cornell what Colonel Higginson has
done for Harvard.
Meanwhile, is there nothing which can be done, how ever inadequate, to meet the need which has been de
scribed ? It seems to me that the formation of a University
Club, even though it must take up its residence at first in very limited quarters, would be a step in the right direction. If such an organization could prove conclusively that it was needed here and was meeting the need as well as it could, the longed-for patron would doubtless appear much sooner. At any rate I commend the suggestion to those who may read these pages, and I should be glad to see it further
discussed.
C. S. Northup, 'pj.

■IiPIiI'IiM

tlU'I.UH'I.Mn'li Mb (■ I.I H<> l.l'b.' I.I ••

FAIXING LEAVES.

^T^HKRE comes a time when seared leaves gently fall, -*- When fields their bloom of richest color lose,
When crystal streams their gloomy mantles wear, And flowers, rare and wondrous, droop their heads.
There comes a time when weaker shines the sun,
When paler, colder, dimmer, gleam the stars, When birds their nests in mournful silence keep,
And stifle in their breasts sweet songs of love.
There comes a time when darker hang the clouds, When days grow shorter, grayer, drearier, When nights a bleak and lonely vigil keep,
And wearied beats the heart with sorrow filled.
There comes a time when pines the heart away,
When bleak November cools the heated blood ;
Then bow your head and whisper to your friend, "Life's withered leaves are falling by the road."
M.f. Clurman, '06.

42 THE CORNELL ERA
THE PRIDE OF THE FOREMAN.
A S the foreman's deep "Father !" startled the foundry ^ office, the young clerk glanced around half-pityingly. Marlowe could surmise what was coming,—and he had not been with the Vernton Car Co. long enough to grow cal loused. The books—and, as he thought of the confused, stained, dog's-eared accounts he had come to straighten, Marlowe drew a long breath—were in a state that had brought down harsh reprimand from the Superintendent of the Works. Undoubtedly, too, Marlowe mused, it was all the fault of the "old gentleman."
The "old gentleman," as Mr. Ball, the foreman's father,
was known to everyone in the works from Lear, the
president, to "Tippy," the thirteen-year-old skimmer in the foundry, occupied a rather curious position. Thirty years previous, when the Vernton Iron Works existed only as paper plans and a city garbage ground, old Jim Vernton, while looking about for an experienced, fairly-educated young man, came upon James Ball, then thirty-three, and a species of cosmopolite. Ball had seen foundry life from England to Japan ; had poured iron under scorching Ari zona sky at 1300 in the shade; had shivered under raw Edinburgh winds ; and had wound up, by "going broke," strangely enough, in a thriving Ohio town. He was a pastmaster of molding ; worked in both green and dry sand ; could make cores better than anyone in these degenerate days ; and had an ability second to none for outwitting the worst of cupolas. In addition he could, though he had no schooling save such as rural Devonshire in the early forties afforded, decipher chemical formulas and figure the "just what" that was needful to the production of iron, hot, cold or striped. Above all, he had no taste for "the liquor."
When, finally, Jim Vernton cautiously asked this para gon what he would do if the men struck, and Ball straight-

THE CORNELL ERA

43

ening himself flashed back, "Damn them to hell, sir, and pour off myself," his place was assured. Then and there he was installed as the foreman of the still hypothetical foundry.
In the building of the works Ball did good service. It was his suggestion that, in spite of penny-wise directors'
pooh-poohings, came to save the Vernton Co. thousands of
dollars by the separation of brass from iron foundry ; and it was his advice that, some years later, brought machine-
shop and foundry, those constant hotbeds of discord, into
harmony by the constitution of inter- relating checks of dis
missal and receipt. Perhaps old Jim's dying reminder to his college-bred heirs to "look after Ball" was not so unreason able. To the young Eugen's faint interest Jim opposed a
last sturdy "Ball made the Vernton shops ; make him /"
But, as one might have quoted to Horace-nurtured Eugen Vernton, "Other times, other manners"; Ball was so good a man in the foundry that "it would be unwise to take
him in the office." And so, while one after another fore
man, now of the pattern room, now of the finishing de partment, now of the shipping office, climbed up and up, Hall remained foreman— "excepshunly goodfroman," Eugen toasted him one midnight at a garish directors' banquet.
"Excepshunly good fromen," however, seldom com mand exceptionally high salaries. Two thousand a year,
when one has a wife and four children, and a relish for the
society open to two thousand-a-year people, is not so very much ; simple food and simple clothing, if good, and if
united with the microbe of ambition for one's children, de
vour at a marvelous rate working-men's incomes. Mary had to be graduated from the high school and— well of course it was scandalously extravagant, sent to dancing school, while Harry had to receive a technical education in Boston. Technical educations cost. Still, Harry's father had been kindly advised by the head director (whose son wasted twenty-five hundred per annum at Princeton) that,

44 THE CORNELL ERA
if he desired his son to enter the firm's employ, technical
education, etc. By all of which it had come about that, when Harry
had knowledge sufficient to take his father's place, old Mr. Ball was entering the sixties and, minus a bank account above the five hundred mark, the possessor of little prop erty. He was a Mason of high standing, but even the Ma sonic Order limits its aid. Eugen Vernton, the now presi dent of the Board of Directors, softened in "brain" it may be, as the lean and malicious Vice-president said, did pro pose that "Ball be retired on a pension, say nine-hundred a year." The remark was like a bomb-shell in a dove-cote. The directors fluttered agitatedly. "Coal and coke at enor mous prices." "Such a dangerous precedent !" "His salary has been very liberal" (this last from Eugen's own Harvard scion.) "Had we not best lay the motion on the
table?" Such-like cooings sounded from all sides. In the end a "vote of thanks" for long and efficient service" was tendered Mr. Ball. Thus politely was he dismissed. His son, Harry Ball, was made foreman, salary eighteen hun
dred per year.
Whether or no the directors' bowels of compassion were moved by this state of affairs, the son's were. At the Massachusetts Technological Institute Harry had acquired a clear-cut, dollars-and-cents view of life. Rationally re garded, his father was an incumbrance on the Works, as sixty-three in a foundry duelling with up-to-date competi tors always must be. Materially the directors' action was well taken. Sentimentally, on the other hand, a son may
even weep before strangers who seize bis father's sole staff. So, it still is rumored in the Iron Works, Harry did.
Eventually he won a small point. "By the gratitude" (thus let us hope, Harry couched his news to his father), etc. James Ball was desired to assist his son in the clerical work of the foundry office and in timekeeping.
Nevertheless, once and twice Harry half-repented of his gaining. Sixty-three in an office, when mere figures never

THE CORNELL ERA

45

were a specialty, is even more out of place than old-fash ioned sixty-three in a foundry new-fashioned in equipment. No wonder, then, if within a short time, self-made sixtyfour was reinforced by college-bred twenty, the son of a small stock-holder, home for summer vacation. And no
wonder, too, if new foreman and college-nourished twenty had to exercise some diligence in preventing sixty-four's mistakes from reaching the vice-president's confidential clerk, critic of the foundry's accounts.
Until the present, however, in spite of hovering clouds,
no real storm had blown up. Once or twice in Marlowe's
month-and-a-half-old memory, the foreman's brows had
contracted as he glanced hastily at the neat, type-written notices carried every afternoon from the main office by "Boss, ' ' the colored runabout of the shops. Marlowe would
have known, easily enough, even though the next morning
had not overwhelmed him with the yellow estimate-sheets for
various car-orders reported perhaps a month since by the "old gentleman" and now thrown back to the foundry as inaccurate, what was wrong ; some of the neat white papers
were complaints. In a few of the minor offices, notably
that of the pattern-room, these were so common as to pass unheeded ; in the foundry, at least till recently, they had been rare. Once or twice, too, Harry's moustache had
twitched as he read, but one look at his father had always
held back the biting words. The old man, indeed, was worthy of admiration, a
son's or another's. He made a picturesque figure in the general dinginess and soot of the works. Invariably dressed in a long, blue serge coat with trousers of unfashionable looseness to match, with Congress shoes sure to be carefully blacked, and with a straw hat of the time when Marlowe had spun tops and traded marbles, he trotted amiably about the gloomy foundry, exchanging reminiscences with the older workmen or shaking his heavy white beard mourn fully as he observed the wedge the hated unions were slowly pushing into the solid mass of non-union molders. The

46 THE CORNELL ERA
molders frankly loved him where they feared and respected his son ; the other foremen, becoming confidential over their noon pipes, bandied sly hits about "college swells;" and even the thin-lipped vice-president grew less sure that Eu
gen's brain was softened. Errors on yellow estimate-sheets, involving, as they do,
a little investigation and maybe a muttered "damn" are really of no great importance ; but when it comes to paying
this man more, that man less than he merits and has worked
for, authority is inclined to thunder. Beside helping in the estimate-sheet summarizing, the "old gentleman" kept the time of the workmen in the three foundries—iron,
wheel and brass. Twice a month, on the 8th and 23rd, he calculated by a complicated schedule entirely to the be wilderment of Marlowe, the dollars and cents for which
each man had sweated. In the case of day-laborers Mar
lowe now and then caught beams of enlightenment, even in that of fixed pieceworkers he found the fog less thick ; where unrated piece workers were concerned the blackness
of a Tartarus shut him in. Men's wages varied twice and
three times within ten hours ; so much this hour, so much
that, with all the "so muches" depending on experience won years before by Mr. Ball. Is it any wonder that the bemuddled clerk's assistance was useless? Only on rare occasions could he aid by checking up huge rows of num bers. As for the foreman, he was far too busy.
The afternoon, now, on which young Marlowe glanced around, had brought the thunderbolt. It was July 25th. The heat rising in waves from the piles of rusty iron with out may have had something to do with it. "Boss" had just closed the door behind him. The foreman's fingers were nervously holding a white slip headed "Superintend ent's Order No. 4752." Below was the message clearly type-written in blue ; from his desk Marlowe could read it. His breath caught as he grasped the sense. Never before had such a missive reached the foundry :

Mr. Ball :

THE CORNELL ERA

47

The pay-roll for the 25th is utterly inaccurate. Send the man responsible to the office at once.

(Signed)

D. V. Oelman.

As his son's "Father" came to his ears, the "old gen
tleman" looked up. He had been half-dozing in the sun shine forcing its way through a window guiltless of soap and water for nearly a generation.
"Read that !" the foreman went on, his voice harsh
with ill-suppressed rage. Whether or no the relation be that of father and son, thirty- nine is prone to forget things, when sixty-four secures it a stinging reproof.
Old Mr. Ball read the few, curt lines, passed his hand
seamed and knotted with work over his forehead, then read

the summons again. "You could have knocked him down

with a feather," college-bred twenty, who is clever in his way and disposed to revise trite sayings, confided afterward
to the assistant foreman.

After the second reading, the "old gentleman" pushed

back his chair and stood up.
"Where' re you going?"
half-clinched.

The foreman's hands were

"To the office," came the answer in Mr. Ball's slightly

quavering, still bass tones. "No, you're not. Stay here!" The words rang out
as sharp and metallic as the strokes of successive hammers upon an anvil. "But I want you to remember one thing.
I'm foreman now !" Snatching up his hat, Harry was gone. Young Marlowe slid from his stool and crossed to a
rack at the opposite side of the room where were hung some recent "commission sheets." "I'm done with 788", he
vouchsafed to Mr. Ball, "I might as well make out foundry-
cards for the Southern Indiana passengers, hadn't I ?"
The "old gentleman" nodded. He was still standing. Outwardly he yet wore the dazed expression his face had

48 THE CORNELL ERA

put on when the Superintendent's meaning finally dawned upon him ; inwardly
"I guess I'll go home, Marlowe. Tell Harry I don't feel well." A trifle more slowly than usual, the "old gen tleman" vanished around the storing-shed.
*+_ _*f* JC ^> *fi> ^js

"He's foreman now." It was thus Marlowe reported
to the assistant foreman the old man's last words when the

excitement of the accident on the railroad in the front yards had begun to subside. But Marlowe dabbles in fiction. Perhaps he thought these added a literary varnish to the

quarrel.

A. Jerrold Tietje, 'oj.

TO
LOSED in a Vase of Gold, there lie
Flowers of Lavender ; dead and cold
And void of life, as are the walls that hold Their dust. Yet in a silent mystery
They breathe a perfume throughout all eternity And ever in a haunting fragrance, bless A lonely heart with tenderness.
Ashes of Lavender ! And a breath
Can hold forever sweet a Vase of Life,
And smother even Death in Love-in-Death.
T. S. /., Jr.., '04.

THE CORNELL ERA

49

DOWIE—THE MAN AND HIS UNDERTAKINGS.

TTTITHIN the past few weeks a great invasion has come ^ V out of the West, crossed the continent, swept down
upon New York City, spent its force and vanished. Dowie, the self anointed Prophet Elijah III, with long hair and flowing beard, and four thousand of the "restoration hosts of Zion", flushed with many victories in Chicago, came to add the metropolis to their conquests. Despite the much boasted triumph which he expected, this sheik, and his
misguided followers, retreated in defeat and ridicule from a
disgusted city. His coming was unique. He came not with the traditional simplicity and poverty of the prophet of Israel, who was fed by the ravens along the brook and
walked to a small hamlet to share the humble cake of a
poor widow. He travelled in a palatial private car, with
numerous attendants, and drove through the city in a costly
carriage drawn by thoroughbred horses. His hosts came
not with fire and swords, as the hosts of Mohammed ; not
with armor and steel as the Crusaders of the Middle Ages.
But fully equipped with Bibles, tracts and hymnals, they came on special trains, to save New York City from sin ; to redeem the lives of the people ; and, incidentally, to
gather $50,000,000. However successful this ' ' Prophet ' ' had been in
Chicago and other cities, his methods failed in New York. Thousands attended his meetings, drawn largely by curi osity, only to be insulted, reviled and denounced. His speeches were full of the most bitter invective, delivered with dramatic gusto. Against the press he made a scath ing arraignment ; statesmen and physicians he condemned ; churches and preachers he insulted, pouring out upon the
crowd floods of vilification and the filthiest anathemas.
Free Masonry he denounced as ' ' the worshippers of the vilest heathen beliefs, and ministers are apostles, who hold

50 THE CORNELL ERA
office in these lodges of Hell." He denounced rabidly everybody and everything not subject to Zion.
His disgraceful statements brought derision, and jeers from his audience. By thousands they left and Madison Square Garden was the scene of the wildest confusion. When he insulted the churches shouts of "blasphemer," "fakir," "liar," greeted him, and his bold assertions that he was divinely sent were met with cat calls and up roar. He went nearly delirious in his ranting, when unable
to control the New York audience. His anger unmasked
his real nature. He stood no longer the meek prophet, in the garb of his holy office but in the garb of the money seeker, of the arrogant boss, the petulant scold, the man thirsting for notoriety.
He had come to New York primarily for money for he
declared ' ' I want your lives ; and when I have gotten your
hearts, I will get down to your pocket books. ' ' He was no more successful in getting money, than in gaining converts. Scores went to his mysterious red "healing room", to attend his "healing meetings" but all returned disgusted and angry. This man, who had long claimed divine power, and had played the role of the loving prophet, stood at last before an audience with brains, with feelings, with common sense. They looked beyond the "bluff" to the real nature of the imposter ; beyond the ' ' mission ' ' to the
real motive.
II
Dowie is not to be hastily condemned, without a study of his life and work. We must agree with Carlyle in his "Essay on Voltaire" that "no character is rightly under stood until it has first been regarded with a feeling, not of tolerance only, but of sympathy." The present promi nence of the prophet is not to be attributed to the idea
that Dowie is a grotesque fanatic, a picturesque charlatan ;
that the chief asset of his movement is human credulity. This doubtless is the general opinion of the public regard-

THE CORNELL ERA

51

ing the man and his work, but it fails to do justice to either of them. John Alexander Dowie, Elijah III, is no mere mendicant, itinerant healer, no mere drummer for a little,
one horse heaven filled with female angels, no tyro of religious literature like Mother Eddy. He is in reality a multi-millionaire, manufacturer, author, originator and "boss" of the Theocratic political party, founder and head of the Christian Catholic Church in Zion, source of authority in a city of ten thousand ; and religious and temporal ruler over sixty thousand souls.
Of his early life little is known, save the biographical sketches he occasionally gives out. He was born in Scot land nearly sixty years ago. In his youth he was distin guished by his "modest stillness and humility" — qualities which he long since lost, if, indeed, he ever possessed them.
His natural inclinations would have led him to enter busi
ness pursuits, but obeying the "still, small voice", he chose
the ministry for his profession. He studied theology in the University of Edinburgh, and upon graduation, went
to New South Wales. Here he held temperance meetings in the streets, but the "Evil one" evidently triumphed.
He was arrested and jailed for "blocking the streets". The
cross of martyrdom thus early rested upon his broad
shoulders— but not for the last time.
It was in Melbourne that he first became aware of the
fact that he was Elijah III. He says regarding the discov
ery : "It was at Melbourne that a profound scholar told me
I was Elijah III ; John the Baptist being the first. Like John, I denied that I was. I was angry with the man. But a knowledge that like Elijah, I had with prayer cured tens of thousands, came to me and when I thought of it all, a great light came. I knew that I was Elijah." He made this declaration repeatedly, and gained a reputation as a Divine Healer. In a fever epidemic he went among the sick giving the Dowie treatment. Unfortunately the only statistics of the epidemic are to be found in the mortality lists. Nevertheless he gained many followers and estab-

52 THE CORNELL ERA
lished "The Free Tabernacle." In the midst of this appar ent success he left Australia— "to widen the field of his
ministry" he explained ; but it is more likely that "he was
driven out by the authorities" as the press declared.
Dowie left Melbourne and went to San Francisco in 1888.
His work in San Francisco was like that of the ordinary
free lance exhorter.
Dowie' s real career began in 1890 when he went to Chicago— "to fight the Devil on his own grounds." Few will doubt the wisdom of his choice, especially since it has become the favorite recruitive ground for all ologies, isms, and "sciences". Versatile and clever, ingenious and crafty, he sought by all means to gain notoriety. His hypnotic personality, patriarchal appearance, histrionic ability, at tracted crowds of the curious, credulous and idle in the great city. He started his advertising by displaying
crutches and canes of those whom he had healed. To
secure wider fame, he attacked and denounced all phy sicians, advanced new theories in therapeutics and was dis cussed in the medical profession and scientific journals. He turned upon the church and ordained clergy. He reviled them and was mentioned in sermons and religious period icals. Mobs attempted to disturb his meetings and prevent his proselyting other churches. He was arrested as a disturber, and gained more notoriety. Finally he became "news" —the reporters took cognizance of him—and he was
made.
in
In 1894 ne organized the Christian Catholic Church in Zion. His audiences were drawn first from the people who claimed that he had healed them ; later, he drew from the hypochondriac, the superstitious and the simple minded. The congregations grew and he finally rented the huge
auditorium to accommodate the great crowds. In these
meetings he introduced many theatrical effects. Back of the stage he erected a great platform for the ' 'white robed

THE CORNELL ERA

53

choir", which solemnly marched in at the opening of the service. He placed footlights around the stage, which lent no dignity to the service, but aided in attracting the crowds. Here Dowie gave his religious vaudevilles. The choir entered and took their places, followed by Mrs. Dowie, and the six faithful overseers. When all was ready, the stage settings adjusted, the audience expectant, the hero entered. Before the pulpit, and never behind it, he stood and catechized the people, demanded their tithes, explained the glories of Zion, and asserted his own power. This short, broad, heavy man, with high forehead, flowing white hair and beard and patriarchal robes, was indeed impressing. One expected a heavy sonorous voice, but instead one heard a high, shrill, tone, with a decided English accent, penetrating every corner of the room and almost piercing the ear. This was not all—ye Gods — ! the prophet lisps. He used his eyes to show his feelings, shed tears with facility, and held the audience with a hypnotic sway.
When interest lagged he clowned an act and renewed the applause. He varied his services with music, the choir rendering selections from famous oratorios.
One familiar with Dowie and his church says ' ' Dowie
seems to have borrowed something from the creed and
service of every sect. He has some form of attraction for
every one in the audience. He has orthodoxy for the
orthodox : High church ritualism for the Episcopalians : ceremonial for the Catholic : baptism by immersion for the Baptist : good old-fashioned John Wesleyan exhortation for
the Methodist : Mosaic customs for the Israelite : com
munism for the Mormons : religious therapeutics for the Christian Scientist, and a variety of bait for every type of reformer, religious and secular." The creed of Zion, as actu ally written, containing but four articles, is as follows :
First. That we recognize the infallible inspiration and sufficiency of the Holy Scriptures as the rule of faith and
and practice.
Second. That no persons can be members of the church

54 THE CORNELL ERA
who have not repented of their sins and have not trusted in
Christ for salvation. Third. That such persons must also be able to make a
good profession, and declare that they know in their own hearts that they have truly repented, and are truly trusting Christ, and have the witness in a measure of the Holy
Spirit. Fourth. That all other questions of every kind shall
be held to be matters of opinion and not matters that are essential to church unity.
IV
But the religious feature of Dowieism is not all. This is only a method, a means to an end, the cohesive nucleus of the movement. His purpose includes a sociological com munity which shall be religious, industrial, commercial, po
litical and educational. Dowieism is then more than a mere
fanatic sect or religious delusion. It is a co-operative com munity of interests, with Dowie as head "boss" and chief beneficiary. To carry out this plan he purchased 6,400 acres of land bordering on Lake Michigan half way between Chicago and Milwaukee. Upon this site he founded Zion City and like the founders of Washington and Philadelphia, he plans for a great city. Broad boulevards, shaded avenues and streets converge to a large rectangle in the centre of the city. The great tabernacle is now being erected in this
square at a cost of over a half million dollars. Round this
temple has grown up a city of ten thousand in two years— a record even surpassing that of a new county seat in
Dakota.
Zion City is a one man town. "John Alex. Dowie" owns the land, the industries, the business places and public buildings. The Zion hospice or hotel with 350 rooms, the Bank of Zion, with enormous deposits are his. The land he himself leases for a term of 1, 100 years, in order to keep out saloons, tobacco stores, lawyers, physicians and all unde sirable persons. The sale of leases is expected to pay $15,000,000 on the investment and will prove a real estate

THE CORNELL ERA

55

bonanza. He manages all, handles all the money, and is responsible to no one. The industries of Zion City are the features of greatest interest to a visitor. The lace factory,
with machines and workmen brought from Europe, is in successful operation. Five hundred persons are now em ployed, and the products are sold throughout the country.
Many machines weave six breadths of lace curtains each, and other machines weave sixteen hundred yards of lace in a day. "Zion City" candy is well known in the west. He
has provided for the education of the youth by erecting four large schools with a total attendance of 1,500. In addition to these he has established a college, which will meet the needs of his followers for higher education.
' 'Tobacco, Liquor, Profanity and Vulgarity prohibited in this city" This is the sign that greets the traveller at the station and in the city. It is not that Zion has one of
the largest lace factories in the world, or the largest religious tabernacle under construction, or that it is a little world
with a religion, school and currency system of its own that that it differs from other cities. It differs chiefly in the fact that men there do not or dare not smoke—in public. Im agine a council meeting opened with prayer and without the soperific Havana. Yet that is the way they do things in Zion City, the capital of Elijah, the Restorer.
This is the history of the ' 'prophet' ' , who has risen in twelve years from an ordinary exhorter to the post he now holds— "The Phineas Taylor Barnum and J. Pierpont Morgan of religion". But what of the future? The shat tering of his hopes for an Eastern Zion by his fizzle and
failure in the metropolis, increase the speculation on this question. He may perhaps rule his hosts until his death. But what then ? Will the leadership be inherited ? Will the organization remain intact and follow a new leader ? Such may possibly—though chances are slight indeed—be the result, but there is great reason for the prediction that "Dowieism will fall, when Dowie falls : that internal strife

56 THE CORNELL ERA

and dissensions will wreck it from turret to foundation

stone when its leader passes away, and that it will be
remembered only as the shadowy structure of one man's

dream of power."

G. L. Genung, '05.

I ..'•.» "l.M.M I.M.f't.H.M 1 .MW<l_M_<« I. MblMiMll* llf
TRIOLETS.

r\ OOD-NIGHT.
^-*" And may your barque of dreams in twilight
Float beneath a wooded hill
Upon a lake of gold, as still As death. Good-night.
Bleak is the waste swept by the sighing wind That breathes a melancholy sadness for a lay, Bleak is the lake beneath the morning moon That stands above the hills against the dawning day ; So bleak my heart, beating in one unvaried swoon, —
With you away.
So sleep upon my heart, until We reach the shore,
And give to me this moment wild and still
To dream of evermore.
To see, pale in the moon-light eerie
The mists arise ;
And holding you the closer, feel the landscape dreary Transformed to paradise.
Suppose, my hope some spirit should fulfill
And you forevermore
So sleep upon my heart, until
We reach the shore.

THE CORNELL ERA

57

THE SHEKEL OF JUDAS.
U A/ OUR prices are too high for such unsatisfactory goods," said the young American as he handed
back to the curio dealer a handfull of gold coins. "By the beard of the Prophet," replied the Arab with
whom Goodrich was bartering, "there are not the equals of these in Asia Minor unless they be in the pack of Ben Arik and he is hundreds of miles away digging over the ruins of
Kedesh."
"He was, but is now returned," came a voice through the dimness of the dingy shop as a shadow darkened the
threshold.
The young man turned sharply to gaze at the new comer. A typical Jewish face set off by a black beard streaked with gra}^, and deep set, gleaming eyes gave Good rich no favorable impression of Ben Arik. After a few for malities, the shop-keeper re-introduced the subject under
discussion when Ben Arik entered.
"Do I not speak the truth, Ben Arik," he appealed to his friend, "when I tell the young man that only thy lot of
curios excels my own?"
"Thou say est truly," was the answer. "Few men have searched the ruins as patiently as thou hast."
"Your friend has nothing of real value as curios," in terposed Goodrich. ' 'The prices he sets on his coins are too high for such, as they have no especial interest attached to them. Pray, what have you among your treasures?"
The Arab called in a servant who had apparently been waiting outside with his master's belongings, and bade him unstrap a heavy bundle. Goodrich's eyes glistened as he hung enchanted over the heap of gold and silver coins which the Arab piled on a table before him.

58 THE CORNELL ERA
"This," said Ben Arik, choosing from the pile a gold
maneh, "I found in what was the summer home of a gov ernor of the great Caesar. This mite"—he balanced upon
his forefinger a tiny coin— "in a children's play room." And so he passed ardently from one to another telling
its history and the history of those who had, perhaps, han
dled the coins. The task was not half finished when the
setting sun reminded Goodrich that he must hurry to his
lodgings. "Be assured that I will buy of you," he said to Ben
Arik. "Come to me tomorrow at my rooms. No—come
to the home of Doctor Ryerson, the missionary, and I will
be there."
"A child of the desert is not used to orders given to servants," said the Arab proudly. "I need not to sell ; my
fortune is ample." "No," pleaded the American. "It was but my way
of speaking. I meant no insult. You shall dine with us
as with friends. ' '
The mollified Ben Arik consented.
Goodrich was a civil engineer who had lately completed a bridge in the far East. Returning leisurely homewards, he had taken the opportunity to visit an old-time friend, the daughter of Dr. Ryerson, whose labor as a missionary among the Jews and Arabs of a city in Palestine was nearly ended. The old acquaintance was easily renewed and charmed by the grace and beauty of Evelyn Ryerson, Good rich soon found himself engaged to her and lingering until they should all leave for home.
Before breakfast the next morning he visited the Ryersons and found Evelyn and her father just sitting down to their coffee. He joined them and over the cups told them
of Ben Arik and his curios.
"Ben Arik !" repeated Dr. Ryerson. "I knew him
years ago but he has not visited me for three years now,
before Evelyn joined me."

THE CORNELL ERA

59

"So he's coming here this afternoon. Tell me, Jack, what does he look like," said Evelyn.
"The queerest mixture I ever saw," was Goodrich's answer. "You would say from his features' he was a Jew
but from his eyes he must be an Arab."
"A most curious mixture of both," commented Doctor

Ryerson, as they rose. visits us today."

"But we may learn more if he

In the afternoon Ben Arik appeared followed by a slave with his treasure. After an exchange of greetings he re
commenced his stories of the coins. All became absorbed

in examining the relics and it was night before the5^ were

aware of it.

Goodrich noted for the first time as they sat at the din
ner table that the gaze of Ben Arik was fixed upon the face
of Evelyn and his dark eyes seldom left her. Anno}7ed by the strange look upon Arik's face, Goodrich tried to gain his attention for a time but without success. Before he left, Ben Arik presented Fvelyn with the great gold maneh and in spite of repeated refusals, she was at length obliged to accept it. Goodrich finished his bargains with the Arab and the company broke up for the night.
For two weeks the Arab continued almost daily to visit
the Ryersons upon some pretext or other. One day when Goodrich and Evelyn were together discussing the home ward journey Doctor Ryerson who had been closeted with Arik, joined them.
"You have a rival, Jack," he said to Goodrich. "Ben Arik has been pleading for the past hour for permission to marry Evelyn and has offered all sorts of inducements to me if I will only send you away. Of course I explained to him that by our customs, such a thing would be impossible but he seemed less than half satisfied when he went away."
Amused yet withal quite ill at ease at this strange per formance on the part of the Arab, Goodrich secretly hoped for no further appearance of Ben Arik, but to his surprise

6o THE CORNELL ERA
the very next day received a cordial call and the Arab even
congratulated him upon his approaching marriage. As usual the subject turned at last to curios and Ben Arik pro
duced from a fold of his garment, a somewhat timeworn, silver shekel which he placed in the hand of Goodrich.
"Know thou, O son of the lucky star, that thou holdest in thy hand one of the thirty pieces of silver for which Judas Iscariot betrayed the Christ prophet. It was found by Ben Arik far from here, buried with the other pieces and a scrip of parchment. Read this translation and tell me whether thou darest accept it."
The American took the parchment and read ; "To the Stranger Who May Discover This Treasure :
Know that Cleos buries in the bosom of the earth that
which is accursed of God. Years ago my father sold to the
the priests a plot of ground to be a potters field. In pay ment he received these thirty shekels. Since then the
clouds of sorrow have rested on our house. Pestilence has
beset us on every side ; my loved ones have perished. I, now alone and an old man, seek peace for my remaining days by interring these accursed pieces where none shall see them but, lest some one shall discover the hiding place, I place with the money this warning. Beware of the treasure of Judas, the Betrayer. Return it to the earth. Farewell.
Cleos, son of Archios." Goodrich studied the manuscript copy over many times. "I can't see that it makes any difference to me," he finally said to Ben Arik. "We don't believe much in su perstition in our country. I thank you a thousand times for the gift." He placed the coin in an old card case and hastened to show the present to the Ryersons. The Doctor professed much interest in the coin but placed little faith in its genu
ineness.
"It is valuable at any rate, Jack, but I don't believe it can be one of the real thirty pieces. Keep the shekel, though, for as I say it is really valuable."

THE CORNELL ERA

61

The Arab was frequently at Ryersons, offering his as sistance in their preparations for departure. He had estab lished himself in a small house on the other side of the city but told Goodrich that he intended to visit Egypt on an ex ploring trip soon after they were gone. On the day before they were to leave, Goodrich received a note from Ben Arik
stating that he was obliged to leave the city sooner than he had expected and could not bid them good-bye.
"I leave to thee and the fair one who is to be thy wife
a wedding present. If you will go this evening to the house where I have dwelt, you shalt find in the old chest
where my curios were kept, the remainder of the shekels of Judas. Keep them, my friend, for thou art brave, but re member the warning of Cleos. Beware of the curse. If thou dost fear it at all, leave alone the treasure. Farewell,
Ben Arik.
The cunning Arab had worded his note in a manner
well calculated to make Goodrich eager to claim the treas
ure. In the evening in company with Evelyn and the doc tor, he set out for the late home of the Arab. On the prin cipal street of the town they were stopped by a rush of peo ple and stepped to one side, to await an opportunity for passing. Above the loud murmur of the crowd they heard Ben Arik cursing his servants.
"Forty miles back have I rode," he shouted, "on ac count of your stupidity. Oh, friends, saw ye ever such dolts ? Forgot the very treasure chest itself ! They deserve to be quartered ? Perhaps ere this thieves have ransacked
my home ! " And away the excited man raced down the street.
Borne by the crowd that pursued the Arab, the three Amer icans were hustled along, reaching the Arab's former quar
ters almost as soon as he.
At the very door the man had stopped, torn by emo tions. He beat his breast and frantically pulled his long beard. "Fool that I was," he muttered, seeming not to notice the throng about him, "Fool that I was ! It may

62 THE CORNELL ERA
mean death to me to enter. How shall I know but the fire
is already burned close. Allah have mercy on thy servant !
Grant me time to secure my treasures. Take from me the
curse of the Judas money, for it is no longer mine. I have given it away."
Raising his arms as if in supplication the Arab looked despairingly about him and plunged into the narrow door
way.
The crowd stood wonderingly waiting for his reappear ance. Suddenly there was a flash and a mighty roar. The house rose from its foundation, sank into ruins and burst
into flames.
A few days later, Jack and Evelyn stood together on the deck of a Mediterranean steamer, watching a crescent moon rising in a starlit sky. As she leaned back against the breast of him who was to be her protector, Evelyn's arm pressed against a sharp corner in his waist-coat pocket :
"What's that, Jack?" Before he answered, Goodrich took from the pocket a
somewhat battered card case and from that a small shining piece of silver. With a sweep of his right arm, he sent it whirling, gleaming, shining out into the silver path which the moon sent across the waters ; twinkling like an evil eye, it sank with a slight splash into the waters.
"It's the shekel of Judas. Good luck or bad, I'm glad to part with it. Old Cleos may have been right and no one will dig it up now."
R. Leigh Curtis, '05.

Tbe

Voi,. XXXVI.

November, 1903.

No. 2

Terms :—The subscription price is $2.00 per year in advance, and $2.25 when it has not been paid by April 15th. Single copies, 25 cents, maybe obtained at the Corner Bookstores, and the Co-operative Society's Stores.

BOARD OF EDITORS.

Clarence Paul Obendorf, '04. Editor-in-Chief. Fred Bemis Humphrey, '04, Business Manager. Ernest Westervelt Kelsey, '05, Assistant Business Manager.

Henry Crane Hasbrouck, '04. Morgan Bidleman Garlock, '04. William Wallace Gail, '05.

Edwin Mitchell Slocombe, '04. Charles Sherman Cobb, '05. Earl Hewes Kelsey, '05.

Address matter for publication to the Editor-in-Chief, and business communi cations to the Business Manager.
Entered at the post office, Ithaca, N. Y., as second class matter.

IN the death of Professor Robert Henry Thurston the University lost, not only one of its most capable schol ars, but the students and alumni of Sibley College one of their most loyal friends. The students of the University, not in Engineering courses, knew him only from reputation and occasional contact. But even they were impressed with his kindly manner, his direct speaking, his lovable frank-

64 THE CORNELL ERA
ness. The students of Sibley college spoke of his death in husky undertones, and with glistening eyes.
Many men command our respect through their intellec tual ability ; many induce our love through their sympa thetic natures ; but there are few indeed who truly win both our highest respect and heartfelt love. Dr. Thurston was one of those few. We loved and respected him ; we will always honor his memory as a teacher, a helper, and as a
friend .
^ 'H 'r 'f*
The Christian Association seems to have taken a de
cided brace this year and has at last begun to direct its en ergy in the right direction. Heretofore the Christian as sociation has rather been repellant than attractive to the large majority of those who might have been tempted to lend a hand to its undertakings, by the strictness of its regu lations and the general air of sombreness which pervaded the place. Without the slightest intention of casting the least aspersion on those who have had charge of this generally underrated branch of student endeavor, one might say that
for the past two or three years Christian association had
made almost no active progress. Barnes Hall remained as
gloomy, as bare, and as cold as in the days when the pres
ent seniors first marched up to be labeled at the Freshman
reception. The work of the Christian association must be along practical and not theological lines in order to be at
tractive to students. It would seem that one of the smok
ers instituted by President Patterson and Secretary Kent will do more real good than unlimited speechifying and list less singing and the benefit that will come of the new "Prep" school plan, if it is carried out with vigor, will prove a lasting good to future Freshmen and the University.

THE UNIVERSITY

The recent decision of the Library Council regarding

the extension of library privileges to undergraduates, while

not all that might be desired by those most strongly in favor

The Extension of

of a circulating library is, nevertheless, a not inconsiderable step

Library Pivileges. toward that end and one that will

be greatly appreciated by all stu

dents. The plan is two-fold. The Seniors will be given

the privilege, heretofore enjoyed only by officers of the Uni

versity, members of the Faculty, and Graduate students, of

taking books from the Library, the only condition imposed

being that cause must be shown for the need of the books

desired and a statement presented from the professor in

charge of the work. For the benefit of the other under

graduate classes a limited number of books will be set aside

which may likewise be drawn for home use. This portion

of the scheme will go into effect as soon as the special cata logue of these books is completed. That tangible benefits will follow the new plan is not to be doubted, reading will

be stimulated, and research work, in addition to being made

easier and more efficient, will be encouraged.

For two reasons the present year is crucial in Cornell

debate, eclipsing in importance any in the recent past as
well as any that may follow in the near future. In the first

place it will decide whether Cornell

A Crucial Year

is to win back her former standing

in Cornell Debating, in intercollegiate debating, and

secondly, as the first year of stu

dent management and control, it will determine whether

this important innovation is to be permanent.

66 THE CORNELL ERA
There has been a falling off in debating standards and interest, which came to a climax in the disastrous experi ences of last year when Pennsylvania was able to defeat us here at Ithaca, thereby taking the lead in the series, while Columbia, by winning at New York, succeeded in evening up the score with Cornell. To maintain debating prestige we must win both at Philadelphia and at New York. This is a formidable task, hence a strong duty ; and not only should every student interested in debate and public speaking do his part by trying for the teams and assisting
those selected, but those who have hitherto taken no part in these activities should come out, and, as Coach Purcell recently said in regard to football, "let the coaches decide
whether you are any good or not." The success or failure of the attempt to put debate on
the same firm foundation as other undergraduate activities through student control means, likewise, a great deal to University debating. Thus far, indeed, the success of this effort has been so marked as practically to remove it from the category of experiments ; nevertheless that this condition
may be made sure of permanence, there is need of more
active interest in debate than prevails at present.
In addition to the contests named above and the regu
lar interclass affairs debates are being arranged for each of the class clubs with smaller universities and colleges, such as Rochester, Hamilton, etc., the number of these events having been substantially increased. And by reason of the greater tasks ahead there are enlarged opportunities for men to participate and to win honors in this line.
The relatively slight interest in debating is beyond question largely due to the comparative in tangibility of its
glory and reward. The black eyes and broken shoulders that the debater gets are entirely figurative; the "C" he wins as a member of the 'Varsity team is indeed hypothet ical and utterly incapable of arresting the attention of a wondering and admiring "Frosh." Yet with all due re spect to athletics, and ignoring the timeworn phrase that

THE CORNELL ERA

67

debate, like virtue, is its own reward, it may be said that
in the admiration and esteem bestowed upon the successful
debater by thinking people lie an incentive and an honor than which college life offers none more to be prized. Among the older Eastern universities, notably Yale, great as is the homage paid to the athlete, the recognition ac
corded the man who excels in oratory and debate is almost as marked. That such should now be the case at Cornell is

not to be expected, yet it is safe to say that when the in evitable reaction from the present athletic craze arrives, these pursuits will again rise to their traditional and de

served dignity.

W. W. G., '05.

THE IDLER
JUDGING by the new standard recently established at Sibley it is evident that the Faculty are devotees of the strenuous life theory. But do we not now-a-days hear al together too much about this nerve-straining, brain-wrack ing, strenuous life? The Voyage of Life is not an intercol legiate regatta. It is not a strenuous race. Eife should be a pleasant voyage. A definite ultimate aim is assuredly necessary. But there should be and there is, time enough to fulfill our mission in life and enjoy our voyage as we go. There are days when we may rightfully tack (?) away from our direct course and put in at some cottage-fringed cove. There are days when we shall anchor our barque and spend the hours in fishing. Yes, and there are nights when we shall lie prone on the deck and watch the stars drift slowly by. Our ideal men are men of action. Our ideal college men are working towards some ulterior end, they are men with purpose in their lives, and yet they still find time to gather round a table in a smoky room "with a stein on the table and a good song ringing clear."
_» *k *r» *p
The Idler does not like to "knock" the chimes— the
man who plays them does that badly enough. But really, now— well, never mind, I'll tell you a story instead. Those who are not going down to Princeton to yell the team on to victory shall not be permitted to read this story. But once upon a time there was a little boy. There is not anything wonderful in that statement but there was in this little boy. For one thing he was eternally asking questions. His poor little body had assumed the form of an interrogation mark. (Don't cry, kind children, it isn't really true.) Well, one day his mother was teaching him his Sunday school lesson. She was telling him that God could do everything. Little

THE CORNELL ERA

69

Boy listened credulously for a few moments, then a shadow of doubt crossed his big confiding eyes.
'Mummer, tan Dod do everything, weally ?
"Yes, my child."
"Mummer, tan Dod make a clock wot tan strike less
dan one ?"
His mother did not answer him right off quick. She had never been a co-ed and there were some things she did not know. But children (those of you who are going down to Princeton, and the rest of you who've sneaked in on this
story) wouldn't it be a wonderful thing if we could buy a whole set of chimes like that and put them in the Eibrary
tower !
E. M. S., '04.
* * **
The Campus walks are a hackneyed subject and it is with reluctance that the Idler follows in the beaten path. The Sun has just achieved a well earned success in bring ing about the promise for a cinder path from South Avenue to the Eibrary. When the thin sheet of ice in the near
future, first spreads its slippery covering over the pavements there will be a deluge of editorial tirades. But the subject can stand hard knocking and this is the only consideration
which induces us to reprint (with a few paraphrases) an editorial appearing in the Widow last year at this season. Like several things written by last year's Widow board, it bears rereading :
' 'A real piece of Freshman spirit was shown by those yearlings who, the other day made use of the Campus walks for business advertising. It is all very well to be interested in your publication and its doings, but there is something above that. Remember that you are members of a large university, which has been running tolerably well for some years without that sort of thing. Moreover the Campus walks are used to advertise University business and not to introduce the merits of college journalism".
This sort of advertising may be all right but the Idler
thinks we can do "widout" it.

BOOK REVIEWS

J—«MW'OT ■

mill ■!!■

IM1IHHMIBBMWMIII IIIIIHI

'■■■'■

[l ' '

When Patty Went to College. By Jean Webster. The Cen
tury Co. New York.
This delightful collection of college sketches demon strates a very interesting fact : namely that college girls are
very much the same the country over. With evident pur
pose all names of place and local color are omitted while the general atmosphere of college life is brought out strongly. No college woman east or west can read the book without a reminiscent, appreciative smile at many of the passages. Is there a college woman who has not " borrowed sugar and alcohol from freshmen" or "sipped soup from a tooth mug and balanced apin-trayful of baked beans on her knee," at some time or other in her undergraduate days ?
As for Patty herself—fun loving, reckless Patty with her practical jokes and her original methods of avoiding work, we have all known her, for there exists a Patty in every college community, and may there ever be, is the wish of all who know her understandingly. Back of her care less jesting is personality and force and she teaches us at least one thing of value—to go through life with a light heart and smiling face. It's just as easy and so much pleasanter, is Patty's philosophy. Told in a simple and spontaneous style and abounding with real humor, the story should charm all who know and enjoy the modern college girl.
M. M. C, '04.
*# * *

An Easy Guide to the Constellations with a Star Atlas. By James Gall. The Knickerbocker Press, New York.
The author's object has been to prepare a pocket guide to the heavens. His minute volume, comprising less than a hundred pages, contains thirty maps and charts of the dif-

THE CORNELL ERA

ferent constellations. These are explained by concise de scriptions of the stars and their groupings.
M. B. G., '04.
* * >i< >.

The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayydm of Naishapur.
Knickerbocker Press, New York and London.

The

What might be called a watch-pocket edition of Omar is this dainty, little booklet which has just been published by Messrs. G. P. Putnam's Sons. A tiny, thin little volume containing onty a hundred verses, printed on as many pages, bound in light gray boards with appropriately simple or namentation, it is just the thing for lovers of the Persian bard to stick in card case for reading at unexpected leisure
moments.
A. L. A., '05.
*_• *K 'f* "ft

Dillard's A us dem Deutcheu Dichterwald. Edited by J. H. Dillard, Professor in Tulane University. Price, 60 cents. American Book Company, New York, Cincinnati and Chicago.

In any collection of poems, the value rests entirely on
the discrimination made in selection. Professor Dillard's
collection, evidently intended for use in elementary courses
only, shows care and acquaintance with most popular and pleasing short German poems, both lyrical and descriptive. While the majority of the poems are from that rich period of German literature beginning the latter part of the eigh teenth and extending to the middle of the nineteenth cen
tury, several from other times have been inserted. Goethe, Heine, Schiller and Uhland are the authors from whom the
majority of the contents have been chosen, but the well known poems of lesser poets have not been neglected.
C. L. P., 'o3.

THE CORNELL ERA

"We, the People." By Edward Everett Hale. Mead and Company, New York. $1.20 net.

Dodd,

"We, the People," is the title of a collection of articles written by Dr. Hale for periodicals or dailies of large circu lation and now gathered in book form. Dr. Hale's simple, impressive style, which lent such charm and force to "The Man Without a Country" makes the articles delightful read
ing ; his wide experience and deep knowledge make them valuable as the views of a conservative man on timely topics.
The questions which are treated are ' ' Cooperation and Coal, ' ' "Women's Clubs," "The New Century," "Sunday and
Sunday Schools," besides many others. Students, espe cially those interested in debate, will find the volume useful
as a source of sound ideas on controversies of the decade.
O. B. Y., '04.
****

" Money, Banking, and Fina7ice." By Albert S. Bolles, LL. D. Published by American Book Company, New
York, Cincinnati and Chicago. $1.25 net.

There are several good books on money and banking which deal with the subject from the theoretical side ; from the standpoint of political economy. "Money, Banking and Finance" by Dr. Albert S. Bolles fulfills a different pur pose. It was written purely from the practical point of view and is intended for those who are engaged in or who would understand the banking business, rather than for stu
dents of economics. The arrangement of the book makes
this very evident. Considerable space is devoted to an ac
count of the actual organization of a bank, its officers and their duties, method of conducting business in directors' meetings, etc. The make-up of the book deserves mention. The chapters are sub-divided into several main heads which are placed in heavy type at the beginnings of the para graphs and are thus impressed at once upon the mind's eye. The style is what one would expect from the pen of Dr. Bolles, clear forceful, to the point.
E. D. B., '04.

^ Cornell Journal
NEWSPAPER LIFE IN CAMPAIGN TIME.
EEECTION night is a time of wild excitement for hun dreds of thousands throughout this broad land. Every November witnesses stirring scenes in many communities
as the news of the election results is received. While in
terest varies with the importance and closeness of the con test, everywhere the features of the evening are the same. Surging crowds gather about the newspaper offices to watch the stereopticon bulletins or to hear the news by megaphone ; some groups jubilant and noisy, others silent and downcast. At the party headquarters, leaders and workers gather to receive the verdict that shall give them power or retirement. At the political clubs or at their homes wait the candidates, feverishly anxious for the news that shall crown their efforts with victory or defeat.
In the midst of all this seething excitement there is one place, the very center of the maelstrom, where heads must remain cool and passion be restrained—the newspaper office.
The election may mean more to the paper than it does to the
throng in the street. The proprietor may be a political
leader or candidate whose fortunes are at stake. The out
come of the contest ma}' have direct bearing upon the wel fare of the publication, through the favor of the administion. The editors and reporters may have their own ambi tions, for next to lawyers, it is the newspaper men who are most active in politics.
The newspaper, however, must first of all consider its
reputation as a gatherer and dispenser of news. Within
the office there must be no evidence of the excitement which

72 THE CORNELL ERA
may exist. There must be no opportunity for the carefully arranged machinery to go wrong. And so, while outside thousands of hoarse voices and tin horns are creating con fusion and discord, inside there is nothing but order and
system. Typewriters and telegraph machines are clicking madly, messengers are scurrying to and fro, telephone bells are ringing, pencils are hurrying over columns of figures, and experts at adding machines are bending to their work. Upstairs linotype machines are adding to the din, and in the cellar the pressman is oiling his ponderons machine and getting everything in readiness for the next extra. It is the triumph of organization that in the midst of such heart rending anxiety and suppressed excitement, a work so com plicated can be performed so smoothly and efficiently.
Many have written of the charm of newspaper work. The fascination is no less strong to men who have grown gray in the daily turmoil of the editorial rooms than it is to
the young man fresh from school or college who has been drawn to the work by its glamor. The close touch with everything happening in the world, and the never ending variety, are the chief elements of this charm. To the news
paper man it is hard for life to become monotonous. He lives
in a constant whirl of excitement. It is pleasurable and healthy excitement, as a rule, and only very rarely is it harmful. At all events the reporter is constantly in the midst of affairs, always active.
No season of the year is any exception to this rule. Every day are accidents happening, crimes committed, fa mous men dying, affairs of state arising or business deals consummated, events of importance occurring of which the public must be told, and told promptly. There are varia tions in the degree of the intensity of the work, however, and the political season is generally the most active. Then, in addition to the general run of events which maintain a more or less definite average the year around, a new topic of great interest is added. The public is content to forget pol itics during the greater part of the year, but when the pro-

THE CORNELL ERA

73

per time comes, the papers must perforce devote to the sub ject their best energies and most prominent space.
The political writers are the first to feel the approach of the campaign in the fall. Gossip of probable candidates thickens as the convention days draw near, and they must loiter about the party headquarters to join in the talk and ascertain the drift of feeling, or pursue prominent men to obtain their views on proposed action. Much of what they
write during these days is the merest speculation and rumor, for there come times when the politicians see advantage in keeping quiet. The papers, however, make it a rule that when once the subject of politics has been taken up, the
public must be served daily. You can imagine how se verely the ingenuity of the writers must often be taxed.
With the holding of conventions, other members of the
staff become involved. Perhaps the organization of the party requires the holding of district conventions for the election of delegates to the larger conventions, or for the
nomination of district candidates. A dozen or a score of
these minor conventions may be held on the same night,
more than the newspaper has men to spare. All of them
must be reported. Wherever there is a prospect of a contest or excitement it is necessaay that a representative shall be
present. And so it is that the young reporter may get his
first taste of political work, rushing about the city in try ing task of finding out what is going on in several places at
once.
With the big conventions the really difficult work begins. Several reporters are often assigned to "cover" one of these affairs. One man may do nothing but take down speeches,
while another will watch what goes on and write the
' 'story, ' ' inserting his companion's copy. If the convention is of great interest a third man may be detailed to mingle with the crowd of spectators and observe the feeling with which the acts of the delegates are received, writing after ward accounts of incidents not included in the regular story of the meeting. If any demonstration is expected in the

74 THE CORNELL ERA
street outside the meeting hall, a reporter may be stationed there. At the Tammany convention in New York this year, the most interesting part of the story was in the strug gles of an immense crowd to get inside the building.
When the convention is over the reporters must rush to
their offices and dash off their copy. Sometimes a number
of men from an office work in relays, and part of the story and speeches is in type before the rest is written. Contrary to general belief, the majority of reporters do not use short hand, and do not need it. They take down as much of the speech as they can longhand, and expand it from memory if they have opportunity. Only on occasions of particular importance are speeches reported verbatim, and then by the staff stenographer and not the reporters. It is frequently the case that the speaker has manifold copies of his words ready for distribution to the reporters. One of the most popular after dinner orators of the country regularly follows this practice, and his speeches are printed as he has dic tated them to his secretar)', though he hardly ever delivers them in exactly that form.
If the convention hall is far from the office and the
meeting is a prolonged one, it may be necessary for the re porter to telephone in his story. This is a most trying oper ation for the new reporter. If he could simply state the facts to a man at the other end of the wire, who would take
notes and write his own account, as is done under some cir
cumstances, it would not be so difficult. But with only a few minutes to press time and a long story before him he must dictate to a man seated before a typewriting machine. The latter has the telephone apparatus attached to his head, and has his hands free for the machine, taking down each word as he hears it. The liquor saloon is the most likely place to find a telephone late at night, and there in the midst of a roisterly crowd the reporter must frame his ac count, just as he wishes it to appear in the columns of his paper, and tell it rapidly into the transmitter. The young man who can go through this ordeal for the first time with-

THE CORNELL ERA

75

out perspiring profusely or wasting valuable minutes in hesitating and stammering, and yet have a creditable story,
may be sure that he has found his true vocation.
When several different stories relating to one affair are thus coming in, by telephone or messenger boy or from the hands of the reporter himself, the city editor and his assist ants have the sometimes difficult task of piecing the various parts together into one harmonious whole, avoiding dupli cations of statement and contradictions, and arranging the combined story to read smoothly, The newspaper man must
do in five minutes what the scholar may consume hours or
days in accomplishing. Hence the ridiculous errors which
the careful reader may find at times in the newspapers. Fort
unately for the writers, the proportion of really careful
readers is small.
The ending of conventions ushers in the campaign.
If the situation is at all confused, if there is doubt as to the
course which will be pursued by factions or individuals, extra alertness is demanded to see that all sides of the day's
news are covered. Campaign meetings mean the most work for the newspaper men. Many of these are held each even ing. The larger ones are regularly reported. Of the smaller
ones it can never be told where a sensation may occur.
Hence it is necessary to have men at every affair that gives promise of "news" This does not disturb the reporter for the morning daily in the least as the evening is his regular time for work, and he would perhaps prefer a meeting to an
accident or a crime.
The introduction of the automobile has greatly inten
sified its strenuous character for all concerned. A number
of meetings in large halls is arranged for one night, care being taken that reasonably good routes connect them. Then the leading speakers rush from one to another in fast automobiles, the intervals between the appearances on the stage being filled by minor and local orators. Schedules are arranged with the accuracy of time tables, when several prominent men are to make these campaigning tours on the

76 THE CORNELL ERA
same night, and each by following his own itinerary co operates with the others, sometimes without meeting them throughout the evening. This increases the newspaper work necessary, for it makes possible a number of import ant meetings on one night, while it requires that men be sent about with the travelling speakers to describe their
evening's work. William T. Jerome, District Attorney of New York
County, popularized this form of "whirlwind" campaigning in the metropolis two years ago, and now it is very general.
It was the writer's fortune to make one of these sensational
trips with Mr. Jerome's party during the recent campaign. The long silent rides over empty streets or past open fields constrasted strangely with the scenes of excitement at the various halls. The effect was peculiar and interesting, when after a rapid run along a wide boulevard, the speaker and his companions would find themselves thrust suddenly into a circle of red fire and small boys and obliged to seek the aid of the police in forcing a passage into the crowded hall. The idea has caught the public fancy, and he is a poor ora tor who now is content with one platform.
Another sort of campaign trip in an automobile was made last October by William S. Devery, the former Chief of Police, who, as his own candidate for Mayor, was making
a unique canvass, hoping to ravage the Tammany vote. "Big Bill" is a character, and his campaign was as individ ual as he himself. Truth obliges the statement, however,
that he is not the character the newspapers have made him
to be, that he talks as good English as the average man, and that he lapses into slang or wierd figures of speech only
with deliberate intent and on rare occasions.
Devery hired no halls, nor did he secure the services of
a staff of speakers. He made a personal appeal to the voters addressing them wherever he could find them. For this purpose he used an immense automobile, a ' 'doubledecker," much like the country stage-coach. On this he travelled each day about the city with two or three helpers,

THE CORNELL ERA

11

a band, and a party of reporters. Stops were made whereever the time and place seemed auspicious, and to the crowd that always gathered the "Chief" made his speech.
On the occasion on which the writer made the trip, a long journey cross town was the first part of the programme, in order that the workmen of a large factory might be ad dressed during their dinner hour. The route required the big vehicle to go under the Third and Second avenue ele vated railroads. A hoarse cry of "Low bridge ! " from the
candidate on the front seat caused his followers to duck in
time to get safely under the first of these structures, but the
second was impassable, and a coastwise trip of many blocks was made before the railroad rose sufficiently to allow the
automobile to pass under. All the time a swarming mob of boys, with not a few men, was demanding buttons and badges, and the reporters were pressed into service to dis
tribute these tokens about the streets.
The registration of voters, which occurs while the cam paign is under way, gives the workers a foretaste of election night experiences, with the hurried tabulation and compari son of figures it requires. And at last comes the great night. To the men of the morning papers it is not bad, only exciting. But to the staffs of the afternoon dailies it means a long stretch of most arduous duties. The men must work during the usual hours on election day for the day's paper. Then with practically no intermission they take up the work on the election figures as they come in, working all evening and all night on the various extras. By the time the last morning extra has gone to press they are about ready to go to work on the new day's paper. Unremitting labor from early Tuesday morning to late Wednesday afternoon is the demand which the press often
makes upon its servants at this time.
The method of gathering the figures varies with the paper and the locality. Generally the returns at each poll ing place are transmitted by policemen or other officials sta tioned there, by means of messengers or the telegraph, to

78 THE CORNELL ERA
police headquarters or some other central point. There the
papers which do not have a messenger service of their own
for the night, have access to the returns, and from there, or from the polls, the figures go to the office by messenger, tele phone or telegraph. In whatever way they may be gathered , the object in all offices is the same, to get the figures to gether as rapidly and accurately as possible, and to forecast the result as early as possible by comparison with figures of former elections. No matter what system is employed, it is practically impossible to get the totals accurate in the limited time allowed, and the first accounts of the various papers seldom exactly agree. By means of comparison, however, the general results can be announced with re markable speed and promptness.
To do this work, and to get the extras upon the street
quickly, a carefully arranged plan for the night is necessary.
Each man is told his duties in advance. Some receive the
figures at headquarters and transmit them. Others receive
them in the office and distribute them among those who are
to prepare the tables of the vote for different offices. One
or two of the men, with the figures of former years before them, compare the figures of corresponding districts as the returns come in, thus ascertaining which party is gaining.
A typewriter seated before his machine and supplied by an office boy with piles of copy paper alternated with car bon paper prepares these comparisons for bulletins. An other boy rushes about the building with these manifold slips, leaving one copy of each bulletin with the operator of the stereopticon, another with the bulletin board man, a third with the man using the megaphone, and others with
the editors and those who are to write the articles on the
election. All the writing work has been assigned, and at the appointed time several separate stories, describing and explaining the vote in the city, the county, the state, and the nation, and perhaps some individual contest which has attracted attention, are hurriedly put into words upon as many typewriting machines. Before this, however, the

THE CORNELL ERA

19

men in charge of the comparisons have announced the re

sult, and it has been flashed upon the screen.

In this way, while pandemonium reigns without, the

interior of the newspaper office represents the possibilities

of system, the great organization moving like clockwork,

quietly, tirelessly, and efficiently. With the new morning

old conditions are at once restored. The political writers

plunge without pause into discussions of how it happened

and what the result will be. The rest of the staff, with

tired brains, over-taxed nerves, aching eyes and limbs, re

sume their routine duties.

Richardson Webster, '02.

•lilliDiH.rii"

Mb^l.lHIMiMW'M'liHiCU'dl'

POEMS TO ACCOMPANY GIFTS.

A STRANGER I was, and ye took me in And gave me sympathy, could ye more? So now for the sake of what has been
Comes this gift to your kindly door.

May this gift be unto thee
As a pleasing memory Of one who crossed thy path, and then Fared him on beyond thy ken .

Not to win thy praise or blame
Comes this book to thee,
4 « You've pleasured me," is all I claim Of thy sweet charity.

Fashioned fine and wrought,
These have but a transient sweetness,
Passes all their fair completeness
With the fleetness
Of a thought.

g_ ,o/_

8o THE CORNELL ERA
THE VALUE OF CONFESSION.
JOHNSON had been thinking hard for some little time. That his meditations were not particularly pleasant was
evident from the savageness with which he had been assault
ing, one by one, a pocketful of toothpicks. And having hurled the last fragment at an unoffending fly upon the window pane he rose abruptly and strode decisively across the lobby to the telephone.
His remarks there were short and to the point. "47a, please." .... "Hello, is that you, Grace?" .... "Are you at home this afternoon?" .... "Oh, yes, I see; about three-quarters of an hour, you say?" .... Well, may I come over about then ? Have something to tell you. ' ' . . . . "All right, thank you, goodbye."
As he walked over to the cigar stand Johnson seemed relieved. He lighted a fragrant Havana and returned to
his easy chair before the window whence he viewed with
listless indifference the prospect of a dusty street bordered by ill-assorted buildings and untrimmed maples. There had been no change in the time he had been away ; the huge sign on the dry goods store opposite needed repainting as badly as of old, the same uncouth farm wagons went lumbering past, and yonder surely stood the same gaunt, sad-eyed delivery horse which used always to awaken his youthful sympathy. The very people even who had come and gone from the little postoffice yonder were going in and out of it still, and of little interest as they had been to him then, they were now of even less.
Ah ! He suddenly leaned forward —a flash of red had caught his eye. In a moment it reappeared in the postoffice doorway. What was the magic that rendered it so potent with personality, what mystic power in a momentary gleam of color that it thrilled in him such a sudden flood

THE CORNELL ERA

81

of recollection ! Yes, it was she ; he could never mistake those brisk decisive steps nor the grace with which her skirts were gathered in a dainty ungloved hand. Unconsciously his thoughts reverted to the time when with the timorous gallantry of a love-lorn schoolboy he had sent her a couplet
in a box of kisses—
"Who hath not owned with rapture-smitten frame The power of Grace, the magic of a name?"
and afterward suffered two sleepless nights fearing she was "mad." A lump rose in his throat as he watched her now. There was a glimpse of white at the ankles and a glimpse of
white beneath the chin ; nor was the street so wide that he
could not see how the latter heightened the rosy glow of her
face. He had never cared much for red —to him it sug
gested days of barbarism—but then, this red was dark and soft and becoming, very becoming. Johnson never let the
ory override fact.
As the figure disappeared around a corner—rather hur riedly, he thought —Johnson sighed ; and for the hundredth time that day all the incidents of their past friendship trooped in long procession through his brain. He had known her for years ; in his school days he had written her love letters, such as they were, timid lines indeed, yet in the penning of which he had sounded the uttermost depths of his young heart. They had not seemed to displease her ; nay, at times she had answered in a tone of half-playful tenderness. But as time went by a cloud appeared upon the horizon of his hopefulness. She was older than he, a year and a half, and frequently took advantage of the fact to rally him upon his age and call him ' 'kid. ' ' And though his little attentions still seemed a source of pleasure to her he noted that she took his well meant compliments less and less seriously ; and with pride sorely wounded detected in her manner a growing constraint, as if she feared seeming to show him undue favor. With the blindness of youth he dreaded to confess his love, to ask her to wait for him, fear ing she might laugh in his face, and thus it had come about

82 THE CORNELL ERA
that when, with the words unsaid he went away, he had not
seen the disappointment that was in her eyes nor heard the tremor that could scarcely hide itself in the playful tone
with which she said goodbye. They had written to one another often, yet he no
longer spoke of love. A bit of the world goes a long way in teaching the virtue of patience ; he had learned, too, that women are not in the habit of yielding their hearts at the instance of occasional, tentative "dearests" from youths of
eighteen. Instead, he did more, telling her with naive can dor of his hopes and disappointments, his successes and dis couragements, pouring forth to her his whole heart unre servedly. Nor when it came about that she in turn shared
with him her inner moods and confidences did he longer re
sent the motherliness with which she alike chided and en
couraged him. Two years had elapsed when he wrote of his intention
to take a short vacation visiting old friends and living over the old days, and the pleasure she expressed, quiet and ineffusive, had brought him back to the little town among the hills, full of hope and confidence.
Yet when again she stood before him, airy and blithe as ever, the old misgiving had suddenly awakened in his heart. "Why, Bob, I'm so glad to see you ! " she had ex claimed, seizing both his hands in hers and shaking them with the effusiveness of a school girl ; "How well you are looking— and as youthful as ever," she added with a mis chievous glance. His heart sank—it was to be the same old story after all. Yet when he said playfully, though with unfeigned admiration, that she looked sweet enough to kiss, she blushed and turned away confused, but boy again, he
did not understand.
"I've been reading over some old letters," she said smilingly, pointing to a scattered array of envelopes upon the sofa ; "Some old love letters," she added in that bantering tone he knew so well ; but he did not see the pain that was in her eyes. "Yes," he had replied, "I presume some of

THE CORNELL ERA

83

my effusions have been sharing that happy fate ;" and stifling the bitterness of his disappointment he laughed. Then he had read them over with her, one by one, making merry over his frequent terms of endearment and boyish protestations, and though each new deceit had cut him deeper, jesting at what he termed the follies of his youth as if his youth and these, its follies, were of a time long past. After all it was small cost for the certain knowledge that
she did not care, had never cared.
Yet when at last she said with a sigh, ' 'Such good times as we used to have then, but they are all over now,"
he dared think for an instant that some of its memory was
for him. But out in the night air he had scoffed at the idea and called himself a fool. Till suddenly the realization came to him that he had been an arrant coward, a hypocrite, unworthy of himself and more unworthy of her. The
thought fell upon him with crushing force—for the sake of
a silly pride he had made himself mean in his own eyes and forfeited his claim to her respect, even to her friendship. He determined to acknowledge it to her at once ; he would
trample his pride underfoot, confess this defection and with conscience clear say goodbye to her and to all his hopes.
The three-quarters of an hour was nearly gone. John son rose and throwing back his shoulders with a deep breath
strode determinedly into the street.
She nodded to him from a window as he approached and
he went in without ringing. She greeted him cordially, but after a curious glance at his sober face relapsed into silence, keeping her eyes studiously upon the bit of embroidery with which she was engaged. He found it hard to begin.
"I saw you down town this afternoon after I phoned."
"Did you, where were you ?"
"At the hotel."
"I thought I saw you in the window." "You didn't look over that way."
"No, I was in a hurry." Her tone was severely mat ter-of-fact. Johnson could not see that he was making

84 THE CORNELL ERA

much progress with the subject in hand. He began again. "That suit is very becoming," he said, speaking with

the freedom of long acquaintance.
"Do you really mean it? I feared you would not like it. You used to be so critical that I always dreaded to ap
pear before you in a new dress. ' '
For nearly a minute he bent close attention upon the architecture of the window sill. Then he spoke rather slowly, smiling into her eyes to keep up his courage. "There is something I came to tell you this afternoon."
"Well, you may; I'm anxious to hear it—a little
fatherly advise I suppose, on how to choose a husband, or a hat." She laughed as she said it. Again she was laugh ing at him, telling him he was but a boy. For a moment he hesitated. When he spoke his voice was low and tense.
' 'You remember yesterday—last evening—when I was
here?"

"Yes, of course."

' 'We were reading over some letters I wrote you when I

was a — when I was younger. Some old love letters," he

added apologetically, looking up at her with a constrained

laugh.

'
'Yes,

I

know ;

what of

it ?"

She spoke with some im

patience, studying his features curiously, meanwhile. "Tell

me what you were going to."

Suddenly he weakened. "They were "rich," weren't

they?" He tried to laugh, but his throat was dry. He

rose abruptly and walking over to the piano dashed off in

vicious fortissimo a few bars of "Yankee Doodle."

"Bob, what is the matter with you ? Come back here

and sit down. You must tell me about those—about what

you said you would."

Bob returned.
something. ' '

"That's so, I had intended to tell you

"Don't you intend to now? Come, Bobby, that's a

good boy." She leaned toward him in an attitude of play ful supplication, her expression a strange mixture of trepi-

THE CORNELL ERA

85

dation and amusement. Seeing only the latter he neverthe

less went doggedly ahead.

' 'You found them very amusing. ' '

"Wh-y,

I" —

She averted her eyes.

"Anyhow you laughed over them."

"Yes," she nodded an affirmative to the window pane ; "So did you."

Now that her eyes were not upon him he gathered

courage. "You know a man doesn't like to have a woman

laugh in his face because he has said that he loved her. It

hurts his pride too to be constantly reminded of the fact that

to her he is only a child."

A pause. There was no reply from the face at the

window, though her lips were quivering.

He spoke again, in cool, even tones. "I came this

afternoon to tell you what a miserable coward I was last

night. I laughed with you as you say. Now you know

why. It was the act of a child." He rose and moved

toward the door. "I wanted you to know today—before I

went away—that I meant every word I ever said."

She turned toward him suddenly, her face white. ' 'I'm

very sorry ; I did not know.

You

"
never—

"Yes, I know ; it was all my fault, my abominable

pride. I do not mean to censure you. What bitterness I

feel is all toward myself. I merely desired that you know

I was sincere in everything—and I have not changed. It

is not your fault that you have never cared ; I was nothing

but a boy anyhow. Well, aren't you going to bid me

''
goodbye.

going' 'You — you are not

so soon, are you ? ' '

She had

risen and turned toward him, one hand clutching the fancy

work that lay in her lap, the other seeking the mantle un steadily. For several moments she stood motionless, with
drawn breath and a look almost of defiance in her eyes.
When she spoke it was slowly and with an effort. "You never really asked me if I cared." She looked at him wildly as if frightened at what she had done.

86 THE CORNELL ERA

' ' Did you ? Do you ? Tell me!" Johnson took a step forward, his face straining with eagerness.
"If you must hear it— I did." She did not take her
eyes from his.
"And do you not now?" He fairly leaped toward her. She threw out her hand restrainingly. "While you
were away a man asked me to be his wife. I put him off.
When you wrote me that you were coming back I told him I would let him know my answer on the fifteenth of June, that is, today. I wrote him last night after you had gone, after you had— laughed—w7ith me."
"My God ! You have sent the letter?" "Yes, I mailed it this afternoon."
Johnson reeled ; the mist had suddenly cleared from his eyes—when it was too late. And now as the past lay revealed to him in its true light he was staggered by the sudden realization of his utterly wretched part therein, and all the misery of this two-fold revelation surged in a crim son flood upon his face. He looked at the girl in beseeching uncertainty. Lovelier than ever she appeared to him at that instant, his and yet not his. And though the tears she was striving so pitifully to keep back aroused in him anew all the inutterable longings of years, he bowed his
head.

Then, suddenly, like sunshine in the midst of rain, a

smile struggled through the gathering mist. She glanced

at the clock, then at him. "The pouches are closed at

4:20; it is now quarter after." She ventured the words

timidly. "If you care to try—this is the name." She

handed him a card from the mantle.

"The

"
postmaster—

He had not waited to hear more— the office was three-

quarters of a mile away.

Returning he found the door still open as in his haste

he had left it. She was lying on the sofa, her face hidden

in a mass of pillows. Johnson stood at the threshold for

several moments. The possibilities of red had never really appealed to him before. Then he tiptoed across the room
and knelt beside her.

William Wallace Gail.

THE CORNELL ERA

87

THE RUNNING AWAY OF NANCY.
T^vEACON Blake, weatherbeaten, elderly, pillar of the U Methodist church of Paleyville, drove slowly along the turnpike, deeply reflecting on the vicissitudes that life had recently brought him. The reins hung loose on the old mare's rounded back, and she wandered from one side to the other of the road, catching at overhanging boughs or stopping to snap at a fly too far forward for the reach of her tail. Nancy still retained the powers of endurance that had made her famous throughout the country side in her palmy days. Fond indeed was her master of repeating his stock remark : "Nancy's a pore ol' thing now, not much fer beauty but she's jest as durned good a critter to go as she
ever wus."
In spite of her sober, stead3^going qualities that had
endeared her to her master, Nancy formed one of the two changes of Fortune upon which the Deacon was ruminating. Of late Nancy seemed to forget her hitherto unblemished
reputation, and to indulge in behavior quite unworthy of her eighteen years. She would shy at a hen by the road side, as if similar objects had not flapped about her heels since her colthood, and a nearby train whistle would almost cause her to run away. It worried the Deacon, —this going against all that might be expected of her. "Second colt hood," was the only answer he could arrive at, which in the
least satisfied him. The second cause for the Deacon's troublement was his
daughter, the belle of the neighborhood. Nancy Blake, (for she and the mare, born on the same day, a year apart, had received the same name) had many admirers, as was to be expected of so pretty a girl. Moreover, she was sole
heiress of broad acres and the Deacon's tidy sum in the
bank. Her parents discouraged all would-be suiters, saying

88 THE CORNELL ERA
that nineteen was far too young for a maid to be thinking of such things. But indeed what girl could look upon Jim Willis with indifference, especially if he set himself about the winning of that particular girl with all the freshness
and ardor of an elemental nature in the bonds of a first love.
Nancy could not. A rebuff was a thing wholly out of Jim's philosophy, a fact that accounted for the pained surprise and
silence with which he received the Deacon's vehement an
swer to his request for Nancy's hand—no small thing to ask for, either figuratively or literally, poetic propriety to the contrary, notwithstanding.
It was this occurrence, fresh in his mind from the pre
vious evening, that added the last straw to the weight on the Deacon's mind. For his wife, while exactly as discour aging as he during the former period of Jim's courtship, now that the proposal had really happened, and Nancy's heart was found to be by no means intact, had switched over to her daughter's side with a completeness that alarmed the good man when a later curtain lecture discovered it to him. The deacon, however, for obvious reasons, remained obdu rate. "He'd be durned if he'd see Nancy married anyway. She might jest as well settle down to that." Nancy and her mother, with woman's discretion, bided their time.
Nancy opened the door and came dancing out to meet him, as he drove slowly up the lane, her sunny nature ris ing above the troubles of the past. She had a request to make, that was evident, and the Deacon halted his horse on
the way to the barn while she unfolded her troubles. Her
silk had given out and she must have more if she should finish Cousin Maria's wedding present (Nancy blushed)
in time. Couldn't the Deacon and the mare take her to
town that afternoon ? Yes, the Deacon could. He was wil
ling to do almost anything to make up in other ways for his harshness. So, when a comfortable dinner had been stowed away by Deacon and mare, off they went.
When they arrived in Paleyville, Nancy decided to visit for a while, and her father drove to the store to hear the

THE CORNELL ERA

89

gossip of the day. As he neared the store, something in
the way the mare switched her tail reawakened in the Dea
con's breast an anxiety about her which had been lulled to
temporary quiet by her admirable behavior on the way to
town. He cast about for some young man to whom he
could entrust his precious mare while he stepped in to do his trading, but the only one he could see was Jim Willis, standing in the doorway. He hailed him :
"Say, Jim, won't you hold this hoss? I don't quite like the way she's actin' up jest at present."
Of course Jim would. Past incidents of an unpleasant nature became as mist before the opportunity to get in the good graces of his sweetheart's father. The Deacon
climbed out and Jim climbed in, then the Deacon went into the store and was lost to Jim's view.
Suddenly Deacon Blake heard an energetic "Whoa ! " a rumbling of hoofs and wheels, and rushing to the door, and saw the mare flying up the street, the wagon swaying and bumping after her, Jim Willis trying to stop her, and preserve his equilibrium at the same time. Out rushed the frantic Deacon. "Jim Willis's runnin' away with my
hoss," he yelled, and ran up the street, soon to be stopped by rheumatism, reminding that his running days were over. Then, a more sensible plan occurring to him, he
borrowed a horse to pursue the runaway.
Out into the country sped Nancy. Just out side the town
an unusually violent jerk toppled Jim into the grass by the
roadside, where some minutes later, he saw the Deacon
dash by in pursuit, Jim's tangled faculties suddenly
straightened. Nancy was in the village and must get home. What was there to prevent? This was just his chance. There was his pretty bay Firefly, and his brand new buggy.
He sprang up, and started back to town.
Meanwhile the Deacon, who had not noticed Jim, was
lashing his horse, bending nearly double in the effort to in crease speed. His wife was enjoying a chat on the porch with an old neighbor, Eliza Knapp, a spry little, old maid,

90 THE CORNELL ERA
and the most inveterate gossip in the country side. She was just relating the latest choice bit about the minister's wife, when the hot, angry Deacon drove up and stopped long enough to cry : "Nancy's run away with Jim Willis, an' I'm goin' after 'em. They went to Tompkins Centre. "
He whipped up and was gone. His wife and Miss Knapp looked in consternation at each other. Miss Knapp spoke first with a pious horror as she primly folded her work. "Nancy run away with Jim Willis ! Wall, I wouldn't hev' thought it of your daughter, Mis' Blake."
Mrs. Blake groaned. Miss Knapp continued remorse lessly : "Guess I must be goin ; I promised Mis' Hodges I'd give her my recipe for ginger pear, seein' she jest lives acrost the road." Mrs. Blake groaned again, lacking even spirit to reply to her visitor's "good morning." As Miss Knapp disappeared in the door opposite, she sat bolt up right with horror at her last thought. "Eliza Knapp and Melinda Hodges ! It'll be all over the county 'fore night."
About two hours later, a spruce buggy appeared, con taining Jim Willis and Nancy Blake, she rosy with happi ness. "Bold as brass," commented the blinds across the
street.
Mrs. Blake, resigned to the inevitable, tried feebly to be funny. "Good afternoon, Mis' Willis," she snapped as they came up the steps. "Ain't this kind o' sudden ? I sort o think you might hev' give me an invite at least."
Nancy flushed poppy-red. "Mother, what are you talking about. That's not my name—yet," she added, glancing at Jim.
Mrs. Blake gasped and faltered : "Your pa said you'd run away with Jim."
After being perplexed a moment, she laughed merrily with relief. "Oh, mother," she exclaimed, "it was Nancy,
the horse."
Mrs. Blake shook her head doubtfully. "An' you ain't
married at all ?"
At a decided negative from Nancy, her mother's

THE CORNELL ERA

91

wonted decision and readiness for emergencies reasserted

itself. "Well, then, you two git in that air buggy, an' git

to Parson Mills's fast ez you kin trot. The buggy'll hold

three by squeezin', an' I'll go along for a witness an' a

blessin'. I ain't goin' to be disgraced in the eyes of all the

''
country.

C. A. MacGill, '04.

«,I.Mb<,»<M,l'I.M.<">«M.I"..M».«».M.<"»jM.» •» .M._'t.

"AS TO THE SHIP, THE BALLAST IS."

"DENEATH the cloud-winged yacht There hangs a leaden weight—
The iron-ballast keel ; Yet for this burden borne below
The ships scuds swifter overhead.
So to the human life
There hangs sometimes a weight—
The sorrow-laden heart ; Yet for this burden of the flesh
The soul soars higher overhead. E. M. Slocombe, '04.

92 THE CORNELL ERA
WHY TREVOR ENTERED MEDICINE.
TREVOR had been home a couple of days from Cornell when he called around to see his friend Swartout, the editor of the "Informer," one of the local weeklies. Tre
vor had done considerable work on the college publications, had liked it, and had seriously thought of entering newspaper work definitely. He had just taken his Arts degree and his father had offered to send him through the course in Medi cine or to start him in business with a money equivalent of
the expenses of the course. This amount, he reflected, would just about buy out the "Informer." It was partly to inspect the office that he had dropped in.
They had been enjoying a smoke together for perhaps fifteen minutes, when a burly farmer thumped familiarly into
the sanctum.
"Mornin', Mister Swartout," he said, "kem' in town thought I'd step in and pay up fer my paper. I guess its runnin' a leetle behind. I reckoned you'd like some things ofPn the farm jest as well as the money, wouldn't ye" ?
Swartout shifted uneasily in his chair and coughed. "Well," —
"Thought ye'd be willin'," the farmer hastily broke in. "I told 'Tildy that there wouldn't be no use in bringing^ money with me, 'cause I felt sartin ye'd a leetle ruther be paid in kind. So I jest brung along a load o' carrots." Swartout looked blank. Carrots were a drug on the market.
The farmer went on :
"Carrots is mighty healthy fer critters, and that cow o' your'n will do mighty fine on 'em."
Swartout had resignedly turned to his desk and had be gun to write out a receipt. But the farmer had not yet
finished.
"There's one other thing guess I'd better tend to. Guess I'll sign fer the Informer fer darter Mirandy.

THE CORNELL ERA

93

She's gohr out to Bostin to larn Art, and she'll be wantin, to know how the folks is gettin' long. Asferpayin," he suggested, "if ye want any more o' them carrots" —
Swartout made haste to explain that one load was a great plenty.
"Then" said the old fellow regretfully, "guess I'll have
to pay ye the dollar in cash."
At this Swartout's face brightened. "But look here, now. Here I'm patronizin' ye a lot, al most four dollars and you c'n jest as well as not put in a word sayin' that I've got a yearlin' steer for sale, cheap." Swartout began to say something about the value of the advertising columns.

"Aw, yes, I know," said the old fellow with a jocular wink. "But I guess ye'll do that much seein' how I have

patronized you," and with that he left the office.

"Surely, Jack," Trevor spoke up, amused, "you'renot going to run that 'ad' because he has patronised you with a load of carrots and a dollar, are you ?"
"Afraid I must," said Swartout, gloomily. "It's not so much what he has done, as the damage he can do. He's got fourteen children, all about grown up, and every one of
them is a subscriber to the 'Informer.' If I should turn

the old chap down, the whole tribe would drop our paper,
and take the 'Voice.' "

Trevor was looking disturbed.
with which he had not reckoned.

Here was a drawback

Swartout had hardly ceased speaking when there was a tinkle of glasses in the outer room, and Isaac Baumstein, the soda water man a door below, entered bearing a tray filled with glasses. With a magnanimous smile he set his load on the desk, and with a generous wave of his hand to ward the glasses invited Swartout and Trevor to partake. Trevor wondered wherefore the surprising generosity, but

thankfully drained his glass, for the day was warm. "Ik's getting generous, isn't he," asked Trevor.
"He's as cheerful as if he'd made a sale."

94 THE CORNELL ERA

"Well, he has," answered Swartout dryly. "Every hot day he comes up here with a load of ginger ale and passes it around to anybody nearby. And then at ten cents a glass he credits himself so much on his advertising

account."

Trevor was looking very blank now. He was wonder ing where the profits came from and was on the point of putting a question, when he was interrupted by a swish of skirts in the outer room. The door opened and the office assistant politely bowed a woman into the sanctum. The latter was evidently much wrought up. SwTartout looked
up inquiringly, and as he saw the unmistakable signs of trouble, glanced instinctively around for cover. But it was
too late. She advanced with a wrathful tread to the center

of the room, and then asked in angry, deliberate tones.

1 'Sir,

do

you

call

yourself a

?man

''

"Why, as to that, my dear Mrs. Jones-Bluggins," —

the editor began in conciliatory if somewhat trembling tones.

"You need not answer me, sir," she broke in. "You

are not, you are a mean, despicable man. Just listen to this from your paper," and raising a newspaper, she began
to read in concentrated and wrathful tones :

" 'The town party held at Mrs. Jones-Bluggins on Monday afternoon was attended by the social elite of our town. The gowns were the loveliest imaginable. Each

one was a marvel of creation. It would be invidious to

make comparisons, but it was the unanimous sentiment of

those present that the hostess, Mrs. Jones-Bluggins, shone peerless.' "

Up to this point the storm had been only threatening.
With the next words it burst.

" 'Her dress was at once recognized by the ladies pres ent as being of the beauteous design exhibited by our re nowned sartorial artist, Brocking.'
"Sir," said the reader looking with flashing eyes at the unhappy Swartout, "your lying reporter ought to be run out of town. That dress, sir, was made in Paris."

THE CORNELL ERA

95

Her voice was shrill. "In Paris, sir ! how did you dare to say that it was made by that miserable tailor ?"

"But my dear Mrs. Jones Blugging, you are surely

mistaken" — ,

said

the

editor soothingly.

"Mistaken, sir," she broke in. "Mistaken, and is this

a mistake, pray? Listen" ! She again took up the paper. " 'The dress was certainly a marvel of creation. The

yoke was of lock-step lace' " ! fixing Swartout with a fur

ious look, " 'and the body of the dress was made of lovely

sponge material.' Sponge material" ! she repeated wither-

ingly looking up, "what can you mean ? Sir, it was pongee,

do you hear, pongee" !

"I am really very sorry," Swartout answered cautiously, "but really we are not to blame. You" —
"Not to blame" ! she repeated with angry amazement.
"And who pray is to blame for this" ! And she read :
" 'Altogether her make-up was faultless' — Make-up" ! she repeated with flaming cheeks, "Sir, my husband shall prose cute you for libel. Make-up" ! she shrieked, "do you

mean to say that I am a variety actress ?

You" — but she ,

broke aff incoherently, speechless with rage.
Swartout seized his chance.

"It is certainly a very unfortunate and insulting ac

count, Mrs. Jones Bluggins," said Swartout. "But as I
said before we are not to blame. If you will look at your

paper again, you will see that it is our esteemed contempor

ary 'The Voice,' and not the 'Informer.' In the 'Informer'

I think you will find an entirely satisfactory account. As

he spoke he offered a copy of the paper to her.

' 'Oh ! how could you ! she said as she angrily waved

the paper aside. ' 'You knew I was mistaken and you never

stopped me. Oh ! you mean, mean man."

Here she

broke into tears and bounced out, leaving the two men look

ing at one another. Trevor was trying to banish the fright

ened look from his desk.

"Bill," the latter at last said, "I pity 'The Voice' peo ple. They must have sent their color-blind reporter to

96 THE CORNELL ERA
cover that event. And the poor fool tried to describe the
woman's dress himself instead of getting a woman to do it. There is one thing, old man" said Swartout judiciously,
' 'which is decreed that mere man can never do, and that is to describe a woman's gown with satisfactory names and with
the right colors. You can print all sorts of bad things about a woman's husband, Bill, but for your life's sake don't print the color of her gown wrong. We certainly got it hard, but it's only a summer zepher as compared wit
the whirlwind that will blow into the "Voice" office when
she gets there.
"To tell the truth, old man" said Trevor, "I did think of taking up newspaper work definitely. But," and he said it firmly, "I've given up that idea. I've decided to take advantage of the old man's offer and I'll be directing a probe instead of a pen next fall."
Lynn G. Wright, 'oj.
AUTUMN.
T^ELLOW leaves and autumn wind, For summer days have flown ;
And now there is a harvesting
Of that which once was sown.
Here men together reap their grain, Here men reap theirs alone, — And many there are who reap the grain And bind the golden sheaves,
And many there are whose arms are full
Of dead and yellow leaves. TS.f.,Jr.

Tfce
Cornell Era

Vol.. XXXVI.

DECEMBER, 1903.

No. 3

Terms :—The subscription price is $2.00 per year in advance, and $2.25 when it has not been paid by April 15th. Single copies, 25 cents, maybe obtained at the Corner Bookstores, and the Co-operative Society's Stores.

BOARD OF EDITORS.

Clarence Paul Obendorf, '04. Editor-in-Chief. Fred Bemis Humphrey, '04, Business Manager. Ernest Westervelt Kelsey, '05, Assistant Business Manager.

Henry Crane Hasbrouck, '04. Morgan Bidleman Garlock, '04. William Wallace Gail, '05.

Edwin Mitchell Slocombe, '04. Charles Sherman Cobb, '05. Earl Hewes Kelsey, '05.

Address matter for publication to the Editor-in-Chief, and business communi cations to the Business Manager.
Entered at the post office, Ithaca, N. Y., as second class matter.

THE Era from time to time, receives anonymous contri butions or those signed with fictitious names. While the Era is always willing to withhold the name of the writer, it is impossible for us to publish articles without a knowledge of the true author. Moreover, many contribu tions are so illegible that it would be an imposition to ask the printer to decipher them. In all instances, where pos
sible contributions should be type- written.
* ***
Captain ' 'Sandy" Hunt's work on the football field this year, not only as a player, but as a leader, has been good to

98 THE CORNELL ERA

watch. Always in the midst of the fray, ever ready to de fend the rights of the men he captained, without attempting to overstride his authority, calming the more aggressive
men in cases of excitement and, on the other hand, urging
players to greater efforts when they seemed to lag, he has proved himself an admirable successor to "Pop" Warner and Starbuck, who set so high a standard for Cornell foot
ball captains to follow. Men of Hunt's type put the right spirit into others—a spirit which will remain impressed on
those with whom he came in contact and made them better

for it.

if. %. •%. ^

Unstinted praise is due Captain Karl Woodward, and the entire cross-country squad for their conscientious and well-directed training which brought fruit in the unprece dented victory at the Traver's Island meet last month. A victory over colleges such as Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Columbia and Pennsylvania is a feat in itself but when gained by a margin of some twenty points and a new rec ord established, too much credit cannot be given. The re
markable fact in connection with the team, however, is that it was developed within the University from men who, in some instances had never worn a spiked shoe ; one of whom was out for the first time this fall. There was only one man with a "prep school" reputation. Mr. Moakley has certainly once more demonstrated not only his ability as a trainer, but that men with little experience in athletics be
fore entering college, can by consistent work, coupled with natural adaptability, be transformed into the best of athletes.
He * * *
It is a delicate matter for an undergraduate to discuss in print the matter of Undergraduate politics. He makes himself liable to the charge of being "sourballed," to use an expressive college vernacular, or of insincerity on the ground of being "one of them." Still, now that elections have been buried for two montjis and "graft" duly dis-

THE CORNELL ERA

99

tributed, a postmortem can be connected with no personal desires. As one astute local politician remarked with a knowing wink such as one imagines on the countenance of the wily Tom C, after he has consummated an exception ally clever deal, "Politics have gotten down to such a fine point in this University that there ain't any more politics."
The fall elections are a sufficient evidence that this state
ment is literally correct. Out of perhaps a thousand men in the three upperclasses, only three could be found who would make acceptable candidates for president. It was rumored in many instances that other men would be placed in the field. After a short time, however, all of these sud
denly withdrew. Of course, it is impossible to know all the
reasons which may have effected these withdrawals, in some
instances it would not be difficnlt to conjecture them. A recent Daily Princeto7iian contained an account of
the Senior elections at that University. There were five candidates for president, seven for vice-president and six for secretary. It has been a long time since the Sun has been able to announce such a list. Assuredly more honor
is connected with an office if the fortunate candidate has
won out in an honorably fought contest against worthy op ponents. Here few men know who the minor class officers are and it means little or nothing to be secretary or treas urer of a class when one is placed on a ticket principally because there is a position to be filled.
One of the points brought up by a member of the Jun ior class, while speaking of elections in 1905, was, that if two men were placed in the field, the rivalry and strife en gendered, would "spoil the friendships for the rest of the college course." Those friendships are indeed frail which cannot stand the strain of an ordinary political melee which is only momentary and from which personal antagonisms
should be eliminated. At Yale the members of all committees as well as the
class officers are elected by general vote. To propose such a thing at Cornell would, of course, be heresy, but it would

IOO

THE CORNELL ERA

without doubt remove to a large extent the unwise center ing of power in the hands of one man and would prevent the present combinations which seem to exist solely for the purpose of electing one man — a shrewd scheme, to give the men who originated it some years ago their due—in order that he may later distrtbute promised patronage.

l'I.M(iMbl'iriil'l('lb('uMiriiMil't(Mi("!i)1irtiMbl

TO MY MOTHER

wITH thoughts of glory, all aflame I left you, with your trembling seal Resolved to scale the crags of fame To make a world obey my name, Its lasting potency to feel, To make or mar the public weal.

Long was the fight, and sick at heart I faltered oft and thought of you— The heights seemed evermore to start From heights just scaled, the roads to part And agonize my weary view—
And the heartless world cared not nor knew.

False was the sight to lure my eye, My youthful hopes to crush and smother.

Henceforth with you, I'll live and die
For in my birth all glory I

Already had

1 need no other

Than be the son of you, my mother !

A. A. F., >o5.

THE UNIVERSITY

A skating carnival during Junior week ! Now that an other season of this fascinating pastime has been inaugu rated by the fine sport of the Thanksgiving recess this idea
of an ice carnival ought to be taken hold of Skating and pushed along to a glorious reality. To Carnival, be sure, with the skating good and the to
boggan in operation every pleasant afternoon or evening is a carnival in itself, yet the institution of some sort of a formal affair, to be made annual if possible, finds much favor among devotees of these winter pastimes. Jun ior week naturally suggests itself as the best time for the
jubilation, and with the town full of visitors and the Weath erman in good humor to what a climax might the week be brought ! Skating for the thousands who skate, toboggan ing for the hundreds who toboggan, fancy skating contests for those who enjoy graceful sinuosities, races for those who like tests of speed, a hockey game or two, the Ithaca band, sundry refreshments served in the Sage boathouse (to be gratefully accepted for the occasion,) —femininity, falls and fun galore—as a means of bringing Cornell into prominence as the ideal University for work and play the prep- school visitation scheme fades into insignificance. Start the thing going by subscribing liberally to the skating fund.

The football season for us here at Cornell, while dis

tinctly disappointing in the outcome of all the important

games, has not been altogether without compensations. The result of the Pennsylvania game, which

Cornell's Football Troubles

proved a dismal defeat, with only the unsatisfying credit of a gritty fight for Cornell, should
not materially affect any criticism of the sea

son as a whole. Coaches Warner and Pur-

cell, two football players just graduated from Cornell, with

102

THE CORNELL ERA

absolutely no experience in training or coaching, had the difficult task before them of building up a practically new team from unsatisfactory material. They succeeded poorly when success is measured in comparative scores ; accepta bly, perhaps, when one considers the handicaps which beset
them.
We believe that more experience men might have ob tained better results and that next year the Athletic Council,
discarding all considerations save the good of the football
team, should spare no effort to secure the best available
alumnus for the direction of the squad on Percy Field. Un qualifiedly the best alumnus coach is Glen S. Warner, '96, a man of acknowledged ability and integrity, who has ac complished wonders with the light Carlisle Indian team, which, by the way, trounced Penn and on Franklin Field.
A recent statement by Warner shows he is available. What a great pair Glen Warner as head coach, with "Pop" as his
assistant would make !
We understand that one of the reasons that Warner
has hitherto been unwilling to return to Ithaca is that he
would not brook interference on the part of alumni who
might return for a few days or a week. We believe that he is as correct in his position as Mr. Courtney is in exerting
an almost absolute autocracy over the crew men. We be
lieve that the alumni coaching system is good but that the permanent alumnus head coach should have unquestioned power in the choice of the team and final say in all particu
lars. As we understand the situation Mr. Warner does not
and has never objected to the returning of other alumni to assist but merely assist, without attempting to direct.
It would be a superlative mistake, as one hears sug gested in casual conversation, "to get the best man, even if he is a professional." The most laudable feature of Cornell
athletics is that every man who represents Cornell is a stu
dent who is studying and a student, who, with an exception
or two, is an amateur, in the strictest sense of the term, and
who is playing or running or rowing, for the love of the

THE CORNELL ERA

103

sport and his loyalty to Cornell. They are men to whom the faculty has offered no inducements in the matter oi
scholarship, or so far as we know, private individuals in the
matter of finances.

The greatest evils or our inter- collegiate athletics are that men are offered free education and often free living ex penses, that they may register and represent the University
on an athletic team ; that many men with at least very
doubtful amateur records are permitted to play on college college teams, and that men especially in the West, enter
universities merely to gain athletic notoriety which may
bring subsequent financial returns. We believe that pro
fessional coaches are, in most instances, responsible for
these methods. While the amateur coach may, of course,
resort to professional tactics, he is less apt to do so. The professional is paid to turn out a winning team ; his repu tation is yearly at stake. He is apt to sacrifice everything to attain his purpose. And we say this knowing that Cor
nell's only great teams have been coached by professionals
and that no other man could do for Cornell what the "Old
Man" has done; few, indeed, what Moakley has accom
plished, and that none of these or "Hughey" have ever thought of resorting to the questionable methods employed
at some colleges. One of the most flagrant instances of the limits to
which the all absorbing desire to win reputation can carry a coach, was that of Wilson of New York University, who, on his own responsibility, induced a professional player to go through the formality of registering in the Law school and by misrepresentation to the faculty, played him in an important game. Be it said to the credit of New York University that when the connivance became known, the athletic council immediately dismissed Coach Wilson, in the midst of active preparation for what were, to that college,
important games. Among other bad features which are creeping into foot
ball games is the ungentlemanly conduct of college teams ;

104

THE CORNELL ERA

the aim to get there in any ruffian way. In numerous col
lege publications, the 'Varsity has this year been roundly
scored for "muckerism" on the home field. The Rochester
Democrat a7id Cli7V7iicle in an account of a game played in
that city on Thanksgiving day between two smaller college teams, prints, without the slightest compunction, that neither side hesitated to use the roughest sort of work.
Then, too, is the growing practice of gathering football players together, for weeks before college opens, and paying their expenses as if they were a band of hired performers
rehearsing for their parts. Penn's recently adopted custom of sending her team to Ponoco, an invigorating mountain
resort, for three or four days before a critical game, borders
close to the professional mark. It is a source of wonder to
us here at Cornell, how the faculty of Pennsylvania can
grant leaves of absences so repeatedly to a large squad of men, thereby sanctioning the move. Many of us, too, must be at a loss to explain how these extra days lost in lab and shop, are made up.
Cornell's athletics of late years have been singularly
unblemished. We know of no case on record in the past four years where any man has been questioned, with the exception of a rather baseless protest entered last year against a member of the lacrosse team and the charge of playing "summer baseball" made in Outing against some members of last year's nine. Such a record is one in which
Cornell can, indeed, take pride—a record from which any deviation would be as unwise as it is improbable. We must always be represented by men playing for sport's sake
—and we can win with such teams. Our crews have shown
it, our track teams and occasionally our baseball and foot ball teams. A well-known athletic critic writes: "They have the right stuff in them at Ithaca, its only a matter of time" when it will win out. With "Old Pop" and "Young Pop" or perhaps Sweetland back, next year ought to be the time to win out on the gridiron.

THE CORNELL ERA

105

NOfiL.
SOMETIMES the world seems harsher when the skies are gray, And more forlorn ; —
Yet not a flower was blooming on the wintry day
Ere Christ was born.
So oftimes when the day sinks to its gloomy end, Where all seems done,
The twilight colors paint themselves and glow and blend
After the sun.
l.S.f,fr., "04.

THEJ__L *SL &L m__■

IDLJR» *ma*r ___L____r

THE 7tf/*r was homeward bound from the Princeton game. He felt worse than a Phi Bete aspirant who had just received seventy-five in a prelim given by his pa
tron saint. Several attempts to cheer himself had been
gloomy failures. Quite dejected and by some strange mis hap separated from his pal— he sought a friend whom he
had met under strange circumstances—but that is another

story .

"Timmy" Murphy was just putting a finishing gloss on
a customer's boots. He looked the picture of happiness and welcomed the Idler with hearty ' 'Hello, down ergin ?' ' The

Idler felt agreeably lazy again —that is to say he was recov ering from the gloom of Princeton. "By the time his shoes shone brilliantly, he had regained his happy mood. Tim's story did it. His joy was infectious.

"Say, Bill," began Tim briskly, "did I tell youse about me takin' Mame ter Coney las' Sunday ? Sure I aint

told youse? Well, ye know I been keepin' company wit her fur a year, but I never got a chanst ter pop de question ter her. Well, I ast her ter go ter Coney wit me on Sunday,
and she says she didn't mind. Dat suits me down ter de

ground, an' we goes.

"De boat wuz full uv peepul. Dey wuz tousands uv

peepul, and a million babies, all cry in'. De babies, I mean.

Wat ? Yes, I counted dem wit the cash register.

' 'We went on de top er de boat, up front where de wind

blows yer wig off yer head. Mame says she likes it dere,

an' dat goes.

De boat goes on down de bay, past de forts wit deir

little dinky guns an' past de rigger uv Liberty lightin' de

Woild. Naw not de Joinal, de Woild. boat says so, an' dat's right. See.

An old guy on de

THE CORNELL ERA

107

W'en we'd been goin' about ten hours dey stopped de boat, an' us an' de peepul an' de babies got shuv off on de Island. Naw, not BlackwelPs, Coney. Now drop yer jawin back.
"We went orff on de Island an' shot de shutes an' tings. We tried de place w'ere ye hit de nigger in de head an' git a bad cigar, an' didn't git no bad cigar. Den we got our forchunes told. I wuz ter marry a dream}7 carrot blonde,
wich wuz de ticket fer Mame ; an' she wuz ter marry a dark
man wit brown eyes, wich de same is me.
Atter we got out uv de forchune place I says ter Mame, "Mame" I says "Dat's straight goods about me wantin' ter marry a carrot blonde, an' youse is it, an' Mame" I says,
"Will youse have me?"
"Chimmy," she says, "Youse is dead slow. Sure I will. ' ' And den I kissed her, right in front uv all dose peo ple. "Wat? Did she stand fur dat? Say, Billy, youse is dead slow too. She got up on tiptoe fur it."
/• /• K.

The Idler has just finished reading the Sunday Sun ac count of the Yale-Harvard game (and by the way didn't our "Heine" deserve all the cheering the Crimson gave him !) when, on the same page his eyes fell upon the fol lowing item :
MOTHER EDDY'S HOME ROBBED.
Burglar Takes away Valuable Gifts
from christian science followers.
Concord, N. H., Nov. 21. —Pleas ant View, the residence of Mrs. Mary Ba
ker G. Eddy, was entered by a burglar last night .... etc. What a foolish burglar ! He evidently forgot that evil
did not exist in the world. How careless of him. Mother
Eddy seems also to have forgotten it for "she notified the

io8

THE CORNELL ERA

police of the robbery." We wonder by what chain of logi

cal Sherlocking she discovered that there had been a robbery.

For, if spiritual things alone are real, the burglar must have

taken something unreal, something that really did not exist.

After all he was a clever burglar. He deserves a parch

ment shingle (everybody is getting them) in the Temple of

Fame. He stands in the front rank of political economists.

For he found something where there was nothing ; he added

to his own wealth without lessening the wealth of another.

Amongst other things stolen Mother Eddy reports the

loss of "a valuable Bible." Now that is indeed a puzzler—

"a valuable Bible." Does the good Mother imply that the

ordidary Bible is not valuable ? Can it be that she, who

first of all decries material worth, should rate the value of a

Bible by its clasps of gold or its pages of vellum ?

Finally, presuming the burglar is caught, what will

Mother Eddy do ? Will she advise that he be punished by

absent treatment? No, for the burglar has chosen that

treatment voluntarily. Altogether he would advise her

reverence to take a Pleasant View of the affair just to pre

serve the Concord of her town. As for the bnrglar, it is

"up to him" to publish an edition of Science and Wealth,

with a Key to the Latter."

E. M. S., '04.

BOOK REVIEWS
■—■_«_»■. -llii,««i».l»__Hll.MII — l llll HIWII.hu WW » Itf— i| ■,U_a_MWW^»ij_l__jbWgpij||Mlllh ■ BIIMBI I «. ■■■_i_L-_ -r'.HL»a ____»
Few books which have been received by the Era this
month demand extended criticism. The new Plane Geome
try of Professor MacMahon of the department of Mathe matics, serves a purpose in being written to comply with the requirements ot the Middle States Examination Board.
The book is one of the series of mathematical text books
edited by Cornell professors and published by the American Book Company.
"Badworth on Bridge," an attractively bound and care fully arranged book, is of interest only to whist enthusiasts.
In the November Bookman is a criticism of Miss Sholl's
"Law of Life," by Miss Bessie du Bois, '97. The review is interesting as it is written from a woman's point of view and by an alumna who seems well acquainted with condi tions here. In the December number of the same magazine, L. G. Price, '02, has a long article on undergraduate dra matics and gives considerable space to local organizations. Pictures of the Masque performance and the French club plays are reproduced.
During the past month the Era has received the follow ing volumes :
t*•v" *v» *r"
"Badworth on Bridge" G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York.
Monsanto and Languellier' s Practical Course in Spanish. Revised by Freeman M. Josselyn, Jr., Assistant Pro fessor in Boston University. Price $1.25. American Book Company.

THE CORNELL ERA

McMaho7is Elementary Plane Geometry. By James McMa hon, Assistant Professor in Cornell University. Price, 90 cents. American Book Company.
****
Grimms Kinder und Haus Mdrchen. Edited by Professor J. H. Vos of Johns Hopkins University. American Book Company.
** * *
The Era acknowledges the receipt of the following
volumes :

The Philippi7ies, A Geographical Reader, by Samuel Mac

Clintock, Ph.B., Principal of the Cebu Normal School.

With maps and illustrations. Price, 40 cents. Ameri

can Book Company, New York, Cincinnati, and

Chicago.

*** *

Dresden's German Composition. By B. Mack Dresden, A.M., Instructor in German, State Normal School,
Oshkosh, Wis. Price, 40 cents. American Book Company, New York, Cincinnati, and Chicago.
'T* 'K 'K *P

Latin Prose Composition. By Henry Carr Pearson, A.B. (Harvard) Horace Mann School, Teachers College, New York. Price, $1.00. American Book Company, New York, Cincinnati and Chicago.
*** *
Physical Laboratory Manual. By S. E. Coleman, Oakland, Cal., High School. Price, 60 cents. American Book Company, New York, Cincinnati and Chicago.
** **
Shakespeare' s Merchant of Venice. Edited with notes by William J. Rolfe, Litt.D. Price, 56 cents. Ameri can Book Company, New York, Cincinnati and Chicago.

A Cornell {Journal

4&___b__»

rm-_ri | h Wi_ ■ ii i hi < 11 1 1 _ i n r i in nmmniii i_w ti m ■MiBim «i _ biani ini turn it-t°^ ■■_ »<

<■

«

A BEAR'S FORTUNE.

OpHIS twentieth morning of May did not differ greatly
-*- from many another spring morning— river, sky, atmo sphere, seemed to reflect cheerfulness. The smoke from the mills along the Passaic rose lightly toward the bright countenance above, instead of forming its usual gloomy
mantle over Patterson. Even Richard Selkirk felt that the
day fitted the mood of the overbubbling boy on the opposite
side of the street, who raced each street car as it came
along, until it left him hopelessly distanced. But Richard could not shake off the thickening cloud of worry which had long hovered over him.
He was driving to the silk mill of which he was pro prietor. Proprietor in name, one might better sa3^, for
decline of business and strikes had forced him to mortgage his entire mill property. He had used his credit to the
limit. And now, on this very morning, his wife who had been courageously shielded from all these cares, had asked him to present their daughter Jessie with a check for $i 5,000 on her wedding day. He had anticipated such a request and in the hope that business would brighten, he acquiesced with simulated light-heartedness.
It was in expectation of new and all satisfying develop ments as only a man who speculates on hope can have, that Richard was hurrying to his office. Reaching the mill, he went directly to his private office to look over the morning's mail. His disappointment upon finishing found utterly unsatisfactory vent in a sigh, which grew more vehement as he looked over his bank account only to discover that

no

THE CORNELL ERA

the balance had dwindled down to an insignificant $5,000. Settling back in his chair to ponder over the predicament, he was for two hours disturbed by nothing except the rise and fall of hope as one scheme after another appeared and
faded. Finally a knock roused him from his meditation. It was Roy Osborne.
Roy, who was in twelve days to marry Selkirk's daughter, knew little of worldly cares. In fact, the pair were not expected to concern themselves with ways and
means, since their outlook for the future showed an unruf
fled sea. Leroy Osborne, senior, was a prosperous woolen manufacturer, so it was with no other care than a gruff, yet kindly "Hope you'll be comfortable," that he had given the young couple a newly furnished house a little below the Selkirk home. As for Richard, it was under stood (mainly through his wife) that he would see to it that the pair would be independent.
Roy had come in to talk over the honeymoon trip abroad. This interesting business consumed an hour, then the conversation turned upon other topics.
"By the way," remarked Roy, "have you touched
stocks lately?" "I can't say that I've more than kept an eye upon
them. I haven't had the time (he did not say money) to
take a hand in the game."
"Father hasn't done much with them either. But last
night he said that he is going to sell the twenty-five hundred shares of the Boston Chemical Company which he bought last fall."
Snapping his watch Selkirk remarked that it was lunch
time.
Returning from luncheon, Richard, to distract his mind from worry, dropped in at the broker's to watch the ticker. Finally he tired of gazing at the quotations as they were chalked upon the blackboard, and began to chat with Dresser, the short, fat, good natured broker.
"B. C. seems pretty shaky," commented the latter.

THE CORNELL ERA

III

"People are losing confidence in the stock. I believe that

if a big block should be put on the market, other interests

would sell out in a hurry and the stock would drop far

below

'
par.

'

Richard Selkirk was a man of quick perception ; he

usually thought and talked at the same time. His face

brightened as he remembered Roy Osborne's mention of

his father's intention to sell.

"Let me see, what's the stock worth now?"
"Hundred and three," replied Dresser. "Say, you haven't got some of that stock an hand?" Richard's question was sudden and eager. "I've been holding five hundred shares for a year or
so."

The broker had gained his calm manner through long contact with excited men, and accordingly exhibited no surprise when his friend, laughing in triumph, brought his fist down on the table, with the words :
"Lend it to me, will you ! And sell it at once.

Quick!" "All right Mr. Selkirk." The broken scribbled on a
telegraph blank an order to his New York representative on the Stock Exchange :
"Sell 500 B. C. at 103. Acc't Richard Selkirk."

The morning of June first found the Selkirk home in
bustling preparation ; for the wedding had been set for that noon. The long side veranda had been enclosed with
hangings and with its palms and field flowers reminded one
of a fairyland. Roy Osborne came over shortly before nine to make
his eyes believe what his mind already knew—that every thing would be in readiness. His father came with the same purpose, and Richard, hearing the elder Osborne's
voice, hurried to meet him.
Until yesterday Selkirk's nights had been as sleepless
and restless as ever, his days had grown more and more

112

THE CORNELL ERA

tedious. But yesterday afternoon just before the close of market, Osborne had sold his holdings in Boston Chemical, and this morning, if ever, would see the break so firmly predicted by Dresser. Accordingly Richard's mien was more joyful than usual but nevertheless more nervous.
The two men had barely time to exchange greetings
when a ring called Richard to the telephone booth in the

rear hallway. It was Dresser : "Wish to consult you here at the office immediately."
Suspicion that something had gone wrong in the work ing of his scheme did not serve to allay his excitement. Leaving Osborne to wonder why he had excused himself so
suddenly, he hurried to his wife to tell her that he must

attend to a little business at once.

" You will not forget our

our little gift for Jessie,

will you ?" she whispered as he started to leave. "No, I couldn't forget that." Then, resolved that the
ceremony at least should pass off with nothing to mar its

joyousness, he added recklessly : "I'll fix that up immediately after the guests are

gone." Upon Richard's arrival, Dresser at once beckoned him

into a private room. I'm afraid there's nothing in B. C. this time, Mr. Sel

kirk. I thought I'd have you come down here in order to

get you out of it the quicker.
"Great Heavens !" he cried.
and appeal.

He looked both despair

The broker stopped for nothing : "A friend has confidentially informed me that the

Boston Chemical Co. is going to declare an extra three per cent dividend to-day. It probably will not be generally
known until the noon editions of the papers are out, so you
will have plenty of time to buy the stock of which you are short before it goes up a few points. I'm afraid Osborne's selling will do you no good. You had better give me an order to buy and close the deal as soon as the market opens
at ten o'clock."

THE CORNELL ERA

H3

"You say the news will probably not be current until noon?" Richard became hopeful. "Then there is still
time for the other investors to become scared at Osborne's
selling and for the stock to break. Dresser, you don't know the fix I'm in ; I've simply got to take the risk.
Hold off until twelve o'clock and then if it has not gone
down, buy."
"It's pretty risky, but if you say so, I'll do it ; replied
the broker.
Hurrying back to his home, Richard arrived there a little after ten. More excited than ever he strode through one room after another, looking absently out of the window, adjusting and reajusting bric-a-brac, now stopping to listen for an imaginary telephone call. At eleven-thirty the guests began to arrive, and to escape them he had to con
fine himself to his bed room. Then he was startled, yet
also relieved in his anxious suspense, by a call to the tele phone. He rushed down stairs, to hear Dresser say :
"Dudgeon and Company have put out a 1500 share block—sold at 99—guess it's going down sure enough."
Richard's contenance, still nervous, but now happy, showed his change of mood. He laughed as he apologized for his sudden descent upon the telephone ; chatted merrily as he escorted the guests to their places on the veranda.
All was now in readiness for the ceremony. The
bridal party formed in the reception room from which they were to enter the veranda. At the head Jessie rested on
her father's arm. She was radiant in the purity of wedding white, as she vainly strove to conceal her face in the orange-blossoms. Then, as at a nod from Richard the opening chords of the march from "Lohengrin" were struck by the orchestra, the party moved forward. They had reached the entrance to the veranda, when Richard
brought them to a confused halt by leaving Jessie and hurrying to the telephone in response to another violent
ring.
"The news of the divided had leaked out — B. C. still

114

THE CORNELL ERA

at 99. Four poiuts profit are better than none, Mr. Sel kirk. Better buy and get out before the stock goes up
again."
On iron man could not have remained calm under the
circumstances— and in proportion as he was a man of nerves, Richard gave way under the strain. He felt faint, yet he knew that he must perform his part in the ceremony at any cost. Unable to speak a word, he staggered into the hallway, lingered there a moment to brace himself, then again took his place by Jessie's side, and marched down the aisle. Mechanically giving her over to the groom, he remained during the rest of the ceremony, as if in a dream,
hearing nothing, seeing nothing, not even thinking. As soon as the guests pressed forward to congratulate
the young couple, Mrs. Selkirk in alarm abandoned for mality to lead her husband to a divan in the hall. One hour passed, and neither she nor Jessie nor anyone else could get any other explanation than :
"I feel completely exhausted. Please leave me alone." Finally he asked for Mr. Osborne and told him how
matters stood. Osborne's answer was a sound slap on the back and a joyous :
"Why, man, Dresser just telephoned that Boston Chemical has gone down to fifty-six. He has covered your stock on his own responsibility. Great guns ! if you sold at hundred and three, you have cleared some twenty-three thousand dollars ! Cheer up, you'll see daylight yet."

It was evening when the rest of the wedding party returned to Patterson, after having waved "good-bye" to Roy and Jessie who had sailed from Hoboken for France.
Richard's feeling of satisfaction at having been able to make the gift he had so longed to make now gave way to one of curiosity as to the "Why" and "Wherefore" his
fortune had changed so suddenly. He passed a newsboy coring of ' 'All about de Wall Street Panic." The Evening
Su7i read :

THE CORNELL ERA

H5

"Three Wall Street Firms Fail. Break in Boston
Chemical Assigned as the Cause."
Then further down the column :
"The crash in the stock of the Boston Chemical Co.
was due to the circulation of a report on good authority that to-day's dividend was not genuine."
Two days later the Sun contained the final solution : "It was announced yesterday that L- M. Robeson, president of the Boston Chemical Co. had gone into volun tary bankruptcy. Accompanying this statement came the surprising admission of Mr. Robeson that he had intended to pay the extra dividend declared two days ago entirely out of his own funds. By this means he vainly hoped to protect the weakened value of the company's stock until he could sell his private interest at a profitable rate."
F. W. Scheidenhelm, '05.

FOLK-LORE.
IN very remote districts of the globe, where the rush and roar of our modern life have not yet penetrated into the life of the inhabitants, there exist even at the present day remnants of archaic beliefs and traditions that have clung tenaciously to these simple-minded people from generation to generation Buried in such secluded districts, a whole family, with the servants and workingmen, still gather around an old-fashioned hearth in some lonely farm-house, while the cheerful spitting and cracking of the burning logs defy the wind and storm without, and throw an indefinably warm and agreeable atmosphere around the rude room.
The talk drifts to the horses, the oxen, and the work of the
season. The women are busy knitting, humming at the same time low love-songs and ballads. The children scamper about, but soon weary of their games and play,

u6

THE CORNELL ERA

and of the monotonous conversation of the older people. They demand a tale of something that will stir them — something about giants, witches, and dreadful apparitions. Nor do they ask in vain. A narrator is soon found, usually an old man, who may begin by relating his own exploits and deeds of strength, and from these gradually wander into a region of fable or legend to wile the weary hours
away.
This most persistent and widely diffused of all human accomplishments is the art of telling stories. Among people to whom books and newspapers are entirely un known, the telling of tales is the only method of transmit ting the flood of memories of the past to the younger gen eration. This is true all the world over, and in all degrees of civilization. As we step far back into tho.se low grades of civilization called barbarism and savagery, the telling of these tales can still be traced. They embody the rude ideas of the world and the nature of things entertained by those who tell them. As we ascend the scale of civilization, the same tales, or at least tales containing the same inci dents, continue to be told. In the study of primitive thought, these stories and tales are of vast importance. The}7 enshrine the belief of early ages, and still remind us of wonderful traditions and customs long since fallen into decay. It is on these stories and tales that the science of
folk-lore is based.
Mr. Andrew Lang defines folk-lore as "the form of study which collects and compares the similar but immaterial
relics of old races, the surviving superstitions and stories, the ideas which are in our time, but not of it. It is con cerned only wTith the legends, customs, and beliefs of the Folk, of the people, of the classes which have least been altered by education, which have shared least in progress.''
Although fairy-tales date back to an unrecorded past and such a tale as that of "Cupid and Psyche" was written as early as the second century A. D., yet the collection of these tales is of comparatively recent origin. It was not

THE CORNELL ERA

117

until the year 1550 that Stratarola, an Italian, gathered together a number of these stories, entitling them "Pleas ing Nights." He was followed by a Neapolitan gentleman who in 1637, published "The Five Days," a series of stories resembling most closely the "Arabian Nights." The influence of these volumes, however, was very slight.
It was not until 1697, that Perrault, the French pre cursor of the Grimm brothers, made his wonderful collec tion folk-tales, which has been the real starting-point for the study of folk-lore, — a study which has continued una bated down to the present time.
Though we knew it not, we ourselves, as children
blessed the name of Perrault. Puss-in-Boots, Blue-beard,
Sleeping Beauty in the Woods, Cinderella, Hop-o'-myThumb, Little Red Riding-hood, are all included in Per rault' s precious collections. These stories existed in France before Perrault' s time, but only in oral narrative. Nobody before him thought of collecting them. These tales became immensely popular, and led to a flood of imitations by French courtiers and litterateurs of the day.
This movement of collecting folk-lore gradually spread into other countries. In Germany a most admirable col
lection was made by the brothers Jacob and William Grimm. Their object was to cultivate everything German, from a German standpoint. Among the things the Grimm brothers did to further their patriotic labors was to go from village to village and from door to door, among the German peasantry, collecting the folk-lore of Germany. It was they who raised what had been regarded as nursery tales to a study worthy of mature men.
After the brothers Grimm had completed their collec tion, they compared notes, and, remarkable as it may seem, each found the ancient tale of Cupid and Psyche in their collection and many other classical myths. The more the Grimm brothers studied on the subject, the more firmly they were convinced that the folk-lore of all countries was
practically alike. Finally they framed the theory that, just

n8

THE CORNELL ERA

as in remote times people had all spoken the same language, so the fairy-tales of all people were merely the same which the originally united Aryan race had related.
For a time this seemed a very simple and plausible supposition. The Grimms thus took it for granted that the original Aryan people had carried with them in their dis persion and in their wanderings not only their language,
but also their folk-lore, as embodied in this great collection. Fifty years later a German Professor, Benfey, who had
become interested in Sanscrit literature, began to translate a great collection of stories from India, known as the Panchatantra, into German. It was not long before he discovered that the Grimm stories were practically identical
with the stories in the Panchatantra. As a natural con
clusion, Benfey asserted that the Grimm stories must have originated from the Panchatantra and before long this belief had many followers, and the old Grimm theory was
gradually given up. Both Grimm's and Benfey's theories were destined,
however, to fall to pieces when, in 1880, an old papyrus roll was found in Egypt which contained tales that were not found in India. This was not all. During the interval since Benfey's and Grimm's work, scholars in folk-lore had been rummaging all over the world in search of fairy-tales.
Even the Hottentots and Eskimos had contributed their
folk-lore ; and, strange to say, the same coincidence and identity of the tales with all other folk-tales known was
discovered.
Uncle Remus's tales, as told by Southern slaves, so charmingly chronicled \>y Joel Chandler Harris, can be traced back to Africa, and were probably brought over by the slaves. But where did the original African people get their stories ? Some think that they were carried up the Nile from Egypt, and thus reached lower Africa. This theory, however, was severely shaken by one of our former Cornell professors, Charles Frederic Hart, who had accom panied Agassiz in his trip around the Amazon River.

THE CORNELL ERA

119

Far up this river they came upon a tribe which spoke a most intricate and curious language. There Prof. Hart
heard one of these natives tell a story which he wrote down.
Once again Prof. Hart visited this tribe, and collected some more of their tales, which he published in his " Myths of the
Amazon."
One day Prof. Hart heard a Southern negro tell the same story he had heard up the Amazon, and upon closer investigation he discovered that his Amazon tales were nothing more or less than the Uncle Remus tales. This overthrew his theory, that the tales had originated up the
Amazon.
The foregoing facts tend to show the enormous difficul ties of settling the questions as to how these stories and tales of folk-lore were diffused, what is their origin, and
what, if any, is their purpose. All things were to primitive man personal, and en
dowed with human qualities. To his simple, childlike mind, mountains, streams, islands, springs, the earth, the wind and the sea, were all the abode of spirits. Nothing
was too marvelous for his acceptance. Pie drew no line
between animate and inanimate things, between men and plants, between trees and stones.
Combined with his simple beliefs was an inherent curi osity that led him to seek the causes of natural phenomena, especially those of a spectacular nature, as exemplified by the lightning, the coming of darkness, the rosy arrival of dawn, and the rumbling of a volcano. At all stages in his career he attempted to explain these natural phenomena which surrounded him, and played so great a part in his
life.
Gradually, then, these beliefs and explanations, becom ing fixed, left old customs, old memories, and old tales, which exist as relics of unrecorded ages. These tales,
which were essentially the property of the unlearned por tion of mankind, slowly underwent an evolution. Instead of calling the sun and the sea by their own names, they

120

THE CORNELL ERA

came to be personified, until as a result of a sort of "disease of language," many of the tales as we now have them deal purely with personal characters, where originally they dealt merely with natural phenomena.
Folk-lore is, then, on this account, often the only means at our command for penetrating into the remote history of the nations, and into the mental development of
man.
Mr. Andrew Lang was dissatisfied with the existing theories of the origin of folk-lore. He wanted some natural explanation for the existence and similarity of the tales. As a result of long and deep study, he declared that the coincidences of all folk-lore were practically inevitable, being associated with a practically coincident culture of man, and therefore a coincident instinct for story-telling.
Natural resemblances and parallelisms in the folk-lore of different tribes, Mr. Lang urged, were simply the result of suggestion to the minds of primitive men of those natural objects and every-day events that might occur spontane
ously all the world over. Such resemblances have been
aptly compared by William Grimm to those which are found in all languages, and which are derived from imita tions of natural sounds, such as are apparent even in the babbling and lisping accents of all children. As Mr. Andrew Lang says, "Similar conditions of mind produce similar practices, apart from identity of race, or borrowing
of ideas and manners."
Indeed, the similarities of the folk-lore of different
peoples are due to the same causes that made them fashion arrow-heads and pottery essentially alike, and yet without their having any knowledge of each other's handiwork. For example, the conception of some terrible, all-powerful hero, forcing apart the vast heavens, and the great earth, so that men might have light, or of some tree of sky-pierc ing dimensions whereby heaven might be reached, has given rise to folk-lore tales from one end of the world to
the other.

THE CORNELL ERA

121

Such is the interpretation of folk-lore, and the explana tion of its origin, as laid down by Mr. Andrew Lang, and there seems to be little probability that his theory will be replaced by any other.
M. J. Clurman, '06.

ricM.<_.f(,rt.r'.i,b.M.IM.M>.>b.Pn«"I.M.Cb.FUs'b.'

SOUL-SEUMBER.

Tl^HERE there is the red of roses,
Where the heather blowing sighs, She in lonely sleep reposes
With the mould-dust in her eyes ; And she never knows the flowers
Bloom above her in their bowers,
And she never knows the hours
Drag so slowly where she lies.
Oh, I would that I were lying Where the wild June-rose hedge blows, Fading as the sun is dying, As the day draws to its close ;
For my soul has gone forever, Dead with her beneath the heather,
And when soul and body sever There is death in life, God knows.
T. S.f.,fr., '04-

THE CORNELL ERA
THE SCULPTOR'S VISION.
SCULPTOR, once, in marble pure Did carve a female nymph, Whose slender form and charming face His passions set aflame. "Ah, ne'er on earth did woman live, So pure, so good, so true," Thus cried he, mad with love
For the creature he had made.
-x- * *
An angel, passing by, heard him
And murmured that created man
Should thus blaspheme —to think himself Surpassing the Omnipotent. The sculptor saw the angel
And at once a boon did crave —
That life be given to the nymph As his reward. "Granted," the angel cried, "Behold her warmed with life,"
Then fled. Hot blood suffused the marble cold
Until it stirred with life and fell, Living, but unconscious, upon the pedestal. Dismayed —the sculptor flung Around her form warm draperies
To lure her into life.
Softly the bosom heaved and then The eyelids slowly parted. Frenzied with love the sculptor knelt And lips met parted lips.
* **
A year sped by a— year of love And pleasure to satiety ; While he forgot what she ne'er knew That self-indulgence is a venon thing, That sacrifice alone is worthy love.

THE CORNELL ERA
So chanced it, when the year was sped. Again the angel came. Again the sculptor saw ; but now A nameless dread his being chilled, While guilt sat heavy on his brow. "Sculptor," the angel coldly said, "Where now thy maid of vaunted chastity ! Where now the brow unscarred by selfish thought, The unsullied purity, surpassing— So thou boasted—the daughters of earth By God created !" Aghast, the sculptor turned to see again
The creature of his handiwork. But she, With eyes upcast to meet the vision, Mounted the marble pedestal. Fast fled the color from her lips, In peaceful sleep her eyelids fell.
What she before had been she now became—
A thing of stone.
***

123

The vision gone, the sculptor rose
And in a calmer mood his statue viewed.
Plainly there he read the truth— On lips, and brow, and cheek, the sign
Of selfishness made manifest.
An iron mallet lay at hand. This he seized, And not once, but many times, he smote The creature of his making. Then upward looking, with abated breath And trembling lips, he cried, "Forgive."
E. M. Slocombe, 04.

124

THE CORNELL ERA

THE CORNELL-PENNSYLVANIA DEBATE.
Th IGHT times have debate teams representing Cornell and ^ the University of Pennsylvania met in amicable inter-
lectual contest, and four times has each been declared winner in a rostrum battle which called forth the utmost
powers of all the contestants. The last debate in the series, held at Witherspoon hall at Philadelphia, December 18, 1903, was one of the most spirited yet held. On one hand, the home team fought to gain a decisive advantage for their Alma Mater, inasmuch as a favorable decision would have given Pennsylvania a margin of two. On the other hand, the three men maintaining the standard of the Red and White contended with even greater zest and deter mination, in order to win back what had been lost, and place Cornell on equal footing with her great rival. The result makes it possible to state the record in an even more favorable light. In 1895 and 1896, when the first two debates took place, Cornell's debate system was only in embryo, and its later development had not even been con ceived of, much less carried to fruition. Dating then from 1897, six debates have been held, of which Cornell has won four— surely a gratifying demonstration of Cornell's prowess in forensics, as well as on the water.
The debate rather surpassed the standard of recent contests, and on this account victory is the more creditable and the more prized. The question debated was of para mount current importance. The discussion was direct, practical, straightforward and to the point. Both sides recognized evils in the present laxity of control of corpora tion ; and each attacked the problem in a vigorous and practical way which testified to the excellent training along these lines afforded in the respective institutions. Cornell was unusually successful in expressing in her arguments the spirit of conservatism and caution which is so important in dealing with a problem of such magnitude, and this won favor with the audience and with the judges.
In such a debate, the system of training afforded at the respective institutions is always on trial, and the issue of this rigorous test cannot but be considered a victory for the

THE CORNELL ERA

125

Cornell system. In the first place, the excellence of the training in public speaking and debate offered at Cornell was displayed to advantage. The courses in the Depart ment of Oratory, the work in the class debate clubs and
Congress, the vigorous practice in the interclub debates, the training on the University stages, all combined to make
effective the argument of the team. The men had been
trained to readiness of speech, to extemporaneous express ion, and to tenacious adherence to the fundamental points
in issue. These were the factors which won for Cornell.
But more than this special training was on trial. Habits of thought, study and research, developed in the university courses in law, economics and history, played direct and
important part. To the losers belong "all the honors of second in a
close contest." Their work was polished and effective ; no complaint could have been uttered by anyone had the judges returned a decision for the Pennsylvanians. The best of good feeling prevailed during and after the contest, attesting the cordiality of the intercollegiate relations of Cornell and Pennsylvania, and pointing to a continuance of
the same relations for many years to come.

THE SUBJECT

Resolved, That aside from the question of amending the Constitution, it is desirable that the regulating power of
Congress should be extended to all corporations whose capitalization exceeds $1,000,000.

THE DEBATE

Pennsylvania, The Affirmative

Cornell, The Negative

THE SPEAKERS

Scott Nearing

-

Neal Dow Becker

-

John Ambler Williams Harland Bryant Tibbetts -

-

-

Fletcher Wilbur Stites - -

William Lynn Ransom -

Merkel Charles Jacobs (alternate)

-

Abraham Abbey Freedlander (alternate)

Pennsylvania
Cornell
Pennsylvania
Cornell
Pennsylvania
Cornell
Pennsylvania
- Cornell

126

THE CORNELL ERA

THE JUDGES

The Honorable George Gray

United States Circuit Court

Professor George Burton Adams

Yale University

THE DECISION

Unanimous in favor of Cornell University, maintaining the negative.

MR. NEARING OF PENNSYLVANIA

Affimnativo.
Ladies and Gentlemen : The question presented by this debate is of particular interest because of its direct bearing upon the present industrial and financial condition of our country. During the past few years the market value of one hundred industrial stocks has decreased $1,745,000,000. The significance of this loss is almost beyond comprehension.
It means that the one hundred thousand stockholders in the
United States Steel corporation have lost $400,000,000 ; it means that those interested in the National Asphalt Com pany, the Lake Superior Copper Company, and the Ship Building Trust have lost practically the entire amount of their
investments. It means that hundreds of thousands of stock
holders throughout this country have been deprived of their savings by methods which would be criminal under any well regulated system of corporate control. This swin dling has been accomplished by mismanagement and decep tion, by huge profits to promoters, by excessive valuation of properties incorporated, by extravagant bond issues. As an instance, take the United States Steel Corporation. The underwriting syndicate which financed that corporation re ceived $80,000,000 in stock as its share of the plunder. One of the companies composing the United States Steel Corporation is capitalized at five times its actual value. The United States Steel Corporation has issued $450,000,000 of bonds, leaving its preferred and common stock represent ing nothing but water. Such methods of financing corpora
tions have resulted in the enormous losses of which we
have spoken. If these methods were prohibited the losses would be prevented.
And this slump in industrial stocks has carried down the price of railroad stocks, has carried down the price of

THE CORNELL ERA

127

other stocks, so that to-day our standard securities are selling
far below their normal level. The great industrial corpor
ations were organized with money borrowed from the banks by the promoters and underwriters. The banks loan their
money only on good securities ; so that standard stocks and bonds must be deposited as collateral for loans. These loans are for three, six, or nine months and must be paid at maturity. The underwriters expected to repay the loan by selling to the public the stock and bonds of these new com panies which they are marketing. In this attempt they were only partially successful. The worthlessness of their stock is soon shown ; the prices of industrials begin to de cline until the promoters are unable sell large amounts of their worthless securities at any price. The loans are now overdue and the banks demand payment. If they fail to sell
their securities the banks are unable to pay and the banks
are forced to sell their collateral on whose security these loans were made. Large blocks of these standard stocks are thrown upon the market, which soon drags under the pres sure and carries down the price of standard investments
twenty to fifty points below their normal level. In order to get money for improvements, large corporations like the Pennsylvania Railroad must issue stocks and bonds ; these
stocks and bonds cannot be sold on a declining market and the improvements are discontinued. Legitimate new enter prises are halted for the same reason. Immediately the general public feels the effects ; there is a rapid decline in the prices of iron, steel, and coal ; mines close up for lack
of orders ; mills shut down because the demand has slack
ened ; thousands of employees are thrown out of work— passing on the effects of the depreciation to the retail and wholesale trade and thus to a new set of manufacturers, and
from them to the producers of food and raw materials. This is no imaginary picture. It describes the course
of events in the United States since November, 1902. The
severe depression from which this country is suffering and which is graduall}7 being communicated to the industrial
affairs of the county, is the direct result of the enormous
over-capitalized industrials—the United States Steel Cor poration and the Mercantile Marine—and the wholesale cal ling in of bank loans which followed them. We have the Pencoyd Iron Works nearly shut down and about to leave Philadelphia ; we have the Pennsylvania Railroad discon tinuing its scheme for improvements ; we have thousands

128

THE CORNELL ERA

of miners in the Lake Superior regions deprived of employ ment. We are threatened with a general industrial depres
sion because of the present system of permitting incompetent and dishonest men to organize corporations for the purpose
only of swindling the public and unloading securities upon
them. These evils would be impossible under an effective
system of corporation regulation.
We of the affirmative stand on the proposition that the
National Government is the proper authority to regulate
large corporations and should therefore be given that power.
We hold that the S37stem of state regulation, as shown by the events of the past year, is a menace to the prosperity
of the country. From all sides we hear demands for some
■ kind of reform. As this is a question of national import
ance the reform must come from the national government.
It may be objected that we should be depriving the states of some of their inalienable rights ; that we would be cen
tralizing too much power in the Congress ; that the framers of the Constitution left the chartering of corporations to the states. True, the framers of the Constitution left the
chartering of corporation to the states, for at the time of
making the Constitution corporations were of merely local concern ; but what was the rule adopted by the framers of the Constitution in granting powers to Congress ? "Those matters which are of general importance to the whole nation must be regulated by the federal government." This rule was the outcome of the bitter experience of the
states under the Federation. Each state had its own laws
with regard to subjects of national importance. For in stance, they tried to regulate the state commerce ; to regu
late railroads, to borrow money. While this existed interstate
business was at a standstill ; the currency was in a state of
absolute chaos; all our foreign credit was ruined. These experiences with regard to subjects of national importance taught the framers of the constitution that those subjects which were at that time of national importance should be granted to Congress to regulate ; and those are the subjects over which Congress is given power by the Constitution.
During the session of the convention, James Madison proposed that power be conferred on Congress to grant charters of incorporation in certain cases where the general welfare may require them but the authority of a single state may be incompetent. It was decided that incorporations were a mere local concern and did not require congressional regulation. Since that decision was reached, great changes

THE CORNELL ERA

129

have taken place in the United States. In 1800 our manu factures amounted to $100,000,000., the result of individual enterprise ; in 1900 they had increased to $13,000,000,000, the result of corporate enterprise. In 1800 the corpora
tions—the few that then existed—were confined to narrow
limitations by the lack of any facilities whatever for trans
portation. During the early part of the nineteenth century we had the development of the telegraph, of the railroad,
of the steamboat ; so that in 1900 there were tens of thous
ands of corporations doing business throughout the entire country, and these corporations controlled four-fifths of the wealth and employed twenty-five per cent of the labor of the United States. Insignificant as corporations were in 1787, such eminent statemen as James Madison and Charles
Pinckney believed that they should be regulated by Con gress. To-day we have these corporations of great import
ance to the whole country. Had the framers of the Consti
tution foreseen the development of transportation and the enormous growth of corporate power, there can be no question that they would have granted to Congress the right of corporation regulation and control. The corpora tion system as it exists to-day is of great importance to the
whole nation and the abuses which arise under this present
system of state regulation of corporations, have injured the prosperity of a great nation. The corporation problem, in other words, is a national problem. Let us therefore in dealing with this national problem follow out the intention
of the framers of the Constitution and in the interest of the
general public recognize in Congress the power to regulate large corporations. (Applause).

MR. BECKER OF CORNELL
Negative
Eadies and Gentlemen : We are here to discuss one
single, specific proposition ; namely : the plan brought for ward by the affirmative. We are just as desirous as the affirmative can be, of remedying present conditions ; but we question seriously whether the sweeping extension of federal power advocated by the affirmative is either necessary or desirable. To appreciate fully how sweeping in character

130

THE CORNELL ERA

is this remarkable proposal, let us see what regulating

power includes. This is a term

used

in

the

Constitution

to

define the

pass°edpower of Congress over interstate commerce.

has been

upon by the Supreme Court

Its extent in a score

of cases ; and its meaning is therefore to-day not open to slightest doubt. It includes the power to foster, to the encourage, to restrict, to destroy, limited only the discre tion of the regulating agency. Not only is it sweeping,

but it is exclusive. The Supreme Court cases distinctly

hold that a grant of power to Congress, excludes all regu

lation by the states in that field. The power to regulate

extends from the most general operations to the minutest

details and is limited only by the discretion of the regulat

ing agency. What, then, would this extension of federal powers
advanced by the affirmative mean ? It would mean in the first place a radical departure from all our present ideas concerning the relation between the states and the federa government. At the present the federal government exer cises a general control over affairs of national scope only, and distinctly leaves to the states control— absolute control over matters of purely local extent ; but this remarkable plan brought forward by the affirmative would include all corporations without regard to the nature of the business,
without regard to the scope and extent of the corporation and without regard to the power of the states to regulate that corporation. Why, among the corporations that would be affected by this act, some 800, according to Moody's
"Corporation Manual," would be either local public ser vice corporations or corporations which operate only in a single state ; that is, it would include light companies and
water companies and street railway companies. Over 230 street railway companies would be brought under federal
control by this affirmative proposal. Now, these are
neither of national scope nor of national concern. If the
federal principle is to be maintained, a corporation which operates only in a single state, no matter whether it is
capitalized at $1,000,000 or $10,000,000, should be con trolled only by the state in which it operates. The mere
number of shares of stock a corporation issues is not what
makes it a problem of national concern. Yet, the affirma
tive must justify this as a line of demarcation between state
and federal authority.

THE CORNELL ERA

!3i

But perhaps the affirmative would justify this plan on the ground of present lack of uniformity in state laws. They say the state laws are so diverse that the states are
powerless to control the corporations at present because of lack of uniformity ; but I ask you, is lack of uniformity an evil ? It it established that uniformity in state laws would be desirable ? There is no uniformity in nature, in re sources, in industry, in development. This is a broad
country ; the needs of Nevada are not the needs of Massa
chusetts ; the interests of the Dakotas are not the interests
of Florida ; the corporations of these states are as vari ed as their climates. Yet the remarkable proposal of the affirmative would apply to the cotton mills of Georgia the same general laws of regulation as they would apply to the irrigation companies of Wyoming.
I would ask the gentlemen of the affirmative : is not this
plan the}7 propose revolution rather than evolution ? Is not
the principle of American development to try existing pow ers to their full extent, to proceed slowly, step by step, rather than by one sudden sweeping away of all the" corpo ration laws which are the result of our experience ? What is there leading up to this plan? What is the evolution that has preceded it ? Have we had any assurance from
our past that the federal government would be an efficient
agency for the control of corporations ?
Moreover, have we the present knowledge which enti
tles us to attempt at this time to solve once for all this
great, mighty corporation problem ? The problem is com paratively recent. Men have but lately begun to study it, and they disagree even as to the most general principles. Why, for instance, Massachusetts a few years ago, in an ef fort to cure over-capitalization (which the affirmative has
complained of) by mere legislative tinkering, passed a law prohibiting the capitalizing of anything except tangible as sets. Last winter Massachusetts repealed that law, finding it did absolute^7 no good, but was productive on the other
hand of positive harm to industry and legitimate enter prise. Opinions that men held firmly five years ago, they doubted two years ago and toda57 have abandoned. Do we
know definitely what we want ? Are we sure that the leg islation we would enact toda}7 we would not be ready to re
peal tomorrow ? Moreover, who is in favor of this remark able plan brought forward by the affirmative. Who is urg
ing it ? What economist, what statesman would classify

132

THE CORNELL ERA

corporations—or rather fail to classify — according to the number of shares of stock they issue rather than the nature
and scope of the business ? In all the discussions before
Congress last winter upon this problem, did any one advo cate this particular solution? Almost any plan, however wild, will receive for a time a certain degree of support. Did any one of the experts gathered before the Indus trial Commission, advocate this particular plan? Silence places on the affirmative a strong burden.
The whole plan of the affirmative is characterized by an undue faith in legislative tinkering as a cure for all con ceivable ills. They propose a mere legal device— a mere shifting from one regulating" agency to another, and expect the whole corporation problem to be solved. This problem is comparatively new, but they say if one regulating agency has not solved this problem in a few years—a new problem — why, try at once another agenc}7 ; that is, if a bottle of
Kennedy's Burdock Bitters doesn't cure at once, try a bottle of Warner's Golden Discovery ! (Laughter).
Do the affirmative not fail to consider that the abuses
they complain of result not so much from lack of laws and lack of existing powers, as from lack of enforcement of existing laws and the inherent difficulties of the problem ? How, for instance, would the affirmative cure the over
capitalization they complain of by mere legislative action ?
Will mere laws reform the morals of directors? Will mere
legislation cure the speculative tendency on the part of the public? What would the affirmative do ? W"e ask them to be specific. Would they have Congress— a body already worked to the limit—regulate the heating of street cars in Portland, Oregon ; or would they operate through bureaus and have a bureaucracy—a commission for the regulation of water works and a board for the heating of street cars ? Have we any reason to believe that Congress is more re sponsive to public opinion than are the state legislatures? Will Congress provide better legal machinery for the en
forcement of its laws ? Are federal laws harder to evade
than state laws ?
Ladies and gentlemen, the proper spirit in which to approach this mighty question is in a spirit of conservatism. Is is not better for us to try out existing powers to the limit —to proceed slowly, step by step, rather than to fly from one regulating agency to another and experiment with evils whose force we do not appreciate? Remember, that the

THE CORNELL ERA

I2>3

conspicuous errors in our history were the result of cases where we took abrupt and quick steps without a slow process of evolution. Is it not better to proceed carefully ; to gather all knowledge on this important subject, rather than to accept a sweeping proposition unprecedented in our history, evolving out of nothing, and unsupported by authority or experience. (Applause.)

MR. WILLIAMS OF PENNSYLVANIA
Afifir77iative
Ladies and Gentlemen : In opening this debate for Cornell to-night, the first speaker said it was unnecessary that Congress should have regulating power over light com panies. I wonder if the gentleman ever heard of the Bay State Gas Company. (Applause). Now, in opening this debate for Pennsylvania, my colleague has pointed out how great are the evils arising under the present system. Be fore attempting to remedy these evils, we must analyze their causes. The chief cause is lack of uniformity in state legis lation. If every state regulated the corporations of its own creation with wisdom and with due regard to the interests of the public, the people would have no complaints to make. If, however, any one state is lax in regulation, under the present system there is nothing to prevent corporations operating in all the other states from getting themselves fathered by that one state and then proceeding to defy the other forty- four. (Applause),
Nor has a state so defied, adequate redress. Corpora tions started in one state and trading elsewhere have noth ing to fear from any hostile state. Such states may indeed refuse them a domicile and even ownership of land ; but the Supreme Court of the United States has held over and over again that engaged in interstate commerce, they may come
and go from Maine to California and no state barrier or
regulation can affect them. Now let us look at this diversity in state legislation in
order to see to what extent a corporation chartered under a
lax law of one state may defeat the more strict laws of the
state in which it operates. The powers of a corporation be ing delegated by the legislature, it is a principle of law that

134

THE CORNELL ERA

it can exercise those only powers and enjoy those privileges expressly defined by its charter. The laws of many states
limit the kind of property that may be received in payment for cash and the method by which the value of the same
may be determined. New Jersey permits payments to be made in labor done. Whenever a large combination is to
be floated, the promoter and underwriter seek New Jersey,
for this provision affords them an excellent opportunity to place exorbitant estimates upon their own services. When the American Tin-Plate Company was organized, the pro moter received $10,000,000 in stock for labor done. (Ap plause). J. P. Morgan & Co. always incorporate in New Jersey (laughter and applause); and, as my colleague pointed out, received $80,000,000 in stock for underwriting the United States Steel Corporation. Now, the determina
tion of the value of the property received illustrates those same diversities and their consequent evils. The laws of
many states require property to be received only at the
value ; in New Jersey it may be received at the value deter
mined by the directors. Those of you who have followed
the history of the United States Ship Building Company
will recall that that artistic swindle was made possible only through the laws of New Jersey permitting dummy directors to determine the value of the Bethlehem Steel Company at $30,000,000 ; and you will also recall in this connection that one of those same dummy directors swore upon his
solemn oath that he thought the Bethlehem Company was located at Homestead, Pennsylvania. (Laughter and ap
plause). In regard to the medium or method of payment in
more conservative states, only cash for land may be received
in payment for stock. In New Jersey not only may stock be
issued for almost any kind of property, but the judgment of
directors is conclusive. When Charles M. Schwab formed
the United States Ship Building Company for the edification of the American public (laughter), why did he secure a charter in New Jersey ? Why did he not secure a charter
in California where the Union Iron Works were ; or in
Pennsylvania, where the Bethlehem Steel Company was ? Because under the laws of both California and Pennsylvania the judgment of his accommodating directors as to the value of the Bethlehem Steel Company would not have been con clusive ! He secured a charter in New Jersey in order that he might defeat the laws of the great, conservative states

\

THE CORNELL ERA

135

where the plants were situated. This ability of one state to defeat the laws of all the other states is again illustrated by the diverse provision as to the amount necessary to be sub scribed or paid in before the corporation can begin business. The conservative states require the whole amount to be subscribed and a large percentage to be paid in. Now, it is true that in New Jersey a corporation may not begin business until the capital stock amounts to $1,000 ; but the case of Wade vs. Phillips has decided that this amount need not be paid in cash but need be only subscribed. Such an at
tractive feature has drawn to Trenton hosts of incorporators from every state of the Union and has given rise to cor
porations capitalized at millions of dollars, with the powrer to
begin business without one red cent in the treasury.
(Applause).
Again, Pennsylvania has a valid and consistent policy
of refusing to grant charters for more than one purpose.
Under a general incorporation from New Jersey, a charter may be secured for any number of purposes. The plants of
the Carnegie Steel Company were situated in Pennsylvania ; but the charter of incorporation was not obtained here. The
company was formed in New Jersej7 in order that a charter
might be secured whose object would cover the whole field of human activity. (Laughter). This charter was in turn replaced by that of the United States Steel Corporation, the greater part of whose property is also in Pennsylvania. Under a New Jersey Charter the latter corporation has
power practically to do everything except to coin money.
(Laughter). Originally every state in the Union refused to make a
grant in the charter of a power to consolidate with or to
purchase the stock of any other corporation. New Jersey was the first state to permit any form of combination to do
this. As a result, all those corporations which sought to control a given industry turned to New Jersey. The pur
poses as set forth in the charter of the United States Steel
Corporation stand witness to this. Having secured chart ers, these companies return under the guise of foreign corporations to their native states, only to set their laws at defiance. In the case of the People of New York against the North River Refining Company, the Sugar Trust was declared illegal by the Courts of Appeals. With what result ? The Sugar Trust went over to New Jersey, secured a charter there, came back to its refineries in New York,

136 THE CORNELL ERA
and there, in spite of the blighting influence of a decision from the highest Court of the state, like a tree planted by
the rivers of waters, it flourishes. With the tremendous
anti-trust statue of New York state staring it squarely in the face, for thirteen years now it has calmly done business at the same old stand, sending 98 per cent of the sugar out put of the Union to city, town and hamlet of every state.
In like manner the courts of Ohio have condemned the
Standard Oil Company ; the National Biscuit Company has been declared illegal ; the Whiskey Trust has been pro nounced unlawful ; yet to-day, under New Jersey charters, like the Sugar Trust, they are sending their agents and marketing their products throughout the land. Is it hard, then, to understand why New Jersey is the favorite cor poration state ? More than 90 per cent of the corporations
of the United States have secured their charters there.
(Applause).
MR. TIBBETTS OF CORNELL
Negative
Ladies and Gentlemen : The two speakers on the
affirmative have devoted twenty minutes of this debate thus
far to discussing evils, and not one minute in showing the effect of this specific remedy upon these evils. (Applause.) The first speaker on the negative pointed out to you that
we are not here to discuss evils : we are here to discuss one
specific remedy, brought forward by the affirmative. The first speaker on the negative showed you that this proposi tion is unprecedented ; that it is a break with all our past ; that it is based upon too slight a knowledge of the condi tions it seeks to remedy ; that it is contrary to the whole spirit of Anglo-Saxon and American development.
Ladies and gentlemen, this is not the only remarkable feature of this proposal. Our friends of the affirmative have bunched all corporations of all sorts and descriptions into one indiscriminate mass ; they have devised a drag net which gathers in all fish, providing only they be big enough to be contained by its meshes : salmon and the cod
as well as the sword fish and the shark ; and yet if we look
at corporations carefully, we find that they fall naturally into three classes, based upon inherent differences in charac-

THE CORNELL ERA

137

ter and scope and calling for essentially different treatment. These classes are: (1) inter-state corporations, (2) single state corporations, and (3) local public service corporations.
The first class contains all those corporations doing
business or commerce in more than one state in the Union.
These include the great industrials—the Standard Oil Com
pany, the Match companies, the Steel Corporation, and
others of which our friends, the affirmative, are complaining
here tonight and which are now under the control of the United States Congress. And yet the exaggerated idea of the importance of these, gained, perhaps, from the affirma tive, is corrected when we turn to Moody's "Manual of Corporation Securities" and find that there are but 235 in ter-state industrials in the United States capitalized at more
than $1,000,000. If we add to these a comparatively few and scattered inter-state business corporations, such as in surance companies and the like, we have gone through this first class without finding many more than 300 corporations.
Our second class is composed of those corporations which restrict their operations to a single state, whether business or industrial in character. It would be impossible
to enumerate all the different kinds that fall under this
head ; but I may state a few examples of this class. It in cludes savings banks, trust companies, building and loan associations, fidelity and guarantee companies, telephone companies, mining companies, single state manufacturing companies, elevator companies, newspapers, theatres, hotels and department stores. Turning to Moody, we may tabu late a few typical groups under this head capitalized at more than $1,000,000. For instance, we find that there are two groceries and five department stores in New York City. There are fourteen coal and coke companies in Pennsylvania
alone ; there are twenty-one trust companies in Philadelphia and Pittsburg ; there are fifty telephone companies in the eastern states ; there are one hundred and sixteen mining companies in six states of the Union, and in all the country there are forty-five insurance companies, one hundred and thirty-six savings banks and trust companies, and sixty-one
miscellaneous and industrials. In a word, we find that in these two classes, which by no means exhaust the list of this second division, there are four hundred and thirteen
corporations of over $1,000,000 capital doing business in a
single state. Now our third class is the local public service corpora-

138

THE CORNELL ERA

tions. We find in Moody that there are twenty-three water works companies in the country capitalized at more than $1,000,000; one hundred twelve electric light and power companies ; two hundred and thirty street railways. We have a total, then, of three hundred and sixty-five local public service corporations doing business within a single
state, which our friends of the affirmative would shift to the
direct and exclusive control of Congress. Gentlemen, the first gentleman on the affirmative has
said that perhaps the negative will show that this question takes the powers from the states. Ladies and gentlemen, we
do say so : we contend that for the single state corporations this provision is not only unnecessary but utterly unjusti fiable on any ground whatever. Under the present system,
states have the power to prescribe absolutely the terms on which these corporations shall do business within their state borders, provided they do not engage in interstate com merce. If they are chartered by the state, it may either
put these provisions in the charter or it may pass general laws. If it is a tramp corporation and going outside of its native state, the state thus invaded may, according to an unbroken line of decisions of the Supreme Court, prescribe absolutely the terms upon which it is doing business, so long as it is not interstate, even to the extent of excluding it altogether. I quote from a typical decision of the Su preme Court in the case of Blake vs McClung, 172 U. S. 239 : "That a state may keep a foreign corporation out of its territory is conceded ; and that in permitting it to enter, it may impose such conditions as it sees fit, is a general proposition also admitted."
Nor can it be disputed the states are now actively exer cising this power. Does the affirmative deny that Pennsyl
vania imposes rigid requirements upon all moneyed corpora tions doing business here ? that New York state regulates insurance companies until they squirm ? that Texas has ex cluded the Standard Oil Company ? that Ohio has expelled foreign insurance corporations? that Nebraska has been notably successful in persuading outside corporations to ob
tain their charters from herself?
Not only is this power being actively exercised by the states ; but we maintain that it is rightfully vested in the individual states. Is it not the people of those states that are affected by the conduct of a given company ? A mining company in Nevada is very interesting to the cities of Ne-

THE CORNELL ERA
vada but scarcely so to those of Maine ; the lumbermen of Oregon are not interested in the regulation of Pennsylvania breweries or even of the management of Madison Square Garden in New York City. Then, too, it is the state gov ernments that are in closest touch with the people of the
state. They are nearer to them ; they are more responsive to a change in popular sentiment. State legislators feel the current of public opinion at least every time they go
back to their constituents for re-election, while the United States Senators may never feel it at all ; and is it not a funda
mental principle of republican government that the suffer ing people can never obtain a reform unless the}7 can act di rectly and effectively on the governing power ?
And, too, conditions are widely diverse in different states. The South is in dire need of capital to till its fields and build its factories ; and hence encourages capital to come. The West wants the corporations to cultivate its vast prairies. New York, on the other hand, is over-stocked with capital and is willing to let it go. Massachusetts and Connecticut are flooded with factories ; Pennsylvania is still encouraging these to come and develop those vast beds of coal and iron and coke that have given her a proud posi
tion in the industrial world. Do you think these industries
would have attained their present magnitude if their regu lation had been entrusted to the Georgia planter, bound up in his slaves, in his cotton fields, instead of the repre sentatives of Lackawanna and Luzerne counties? Why then for other enterprises ? (Applause.)
MR. STITES OF PENNSYLVANIA
Affirmative
Ladies and Gentlemen : The gentleman who pre ceded me was very much exercised because he thought the measure we propose is without precedent. That argument is always the last hope of a dying cause. When a man is
greatly in need of an argument, Old Father Time reaches up to his dusty shelves and pulls down ' 'lack of precedent," which he guarantees will not tear, rip nor fray at the edges. If the lack of precedent were followed out to its logical conclusion, our good old Father Adam would never have

140

THE CORNELL ERA

engaged in the apple business in the Garden of Eden, and
the gentleman from Cornell would still be in the proto
plasmic stages of the Mesozoic era. (Laughter). The resolution which we are discussing presents the
single question : is it desirable that we should follow out the intention of the framers of the Constitution and permit Congress to regulate a subject which is national in extent and importance ? Pennsylvania has shown you that the pres ent system affords no remedy for existing evils, because of the lack of uniformity in state legislation. But let us see whether we may hope for any uniformity of action on the part of those states. On the contrary, the tendency is rather toward interstate warfare. The tendency is well
illustrated in the following little advertisement clipped re cently from a Boston newspaper : "This beats New Jersey. Charters procured under South Dakota laws for a few
dollars. Write for corporation laws, blanks, by-laws and forms to Phillip Lawrence, Secretary of State, Huron, South Dakota:" and it is an important fact that a $50,000,000 corporation may be charted in South Dakota for a little less
than the cost of an average tailor-fitted suit of clothes ;
and the line of demarcation between the so-called charter-
granting states and the so-called more conservative states
is rapidly being swept away. Penns}7lvania has shown you that no state can exclude from her borders a corporation organized in another state when engaged in interstate com merce ; nor can a state tax a corporation upon its interstate commerce even though it may have been created under its own laws. The result is that a combination constuting a monopoly in trade or manufacture existing in one state may if also engaged in interstate commerce enter the other state and every state and so control the prices and market throughout the union, and this without the slightst fear of state interference or regulation.
On the other hand, let us observe for a minute the
powers of Congress. When the American Sugar Refining Company took over the stock of four refineries and formed
a monopoly that controlled 98 per cent of the out put of sugar in the United States, it was sought under the pro visions of the Sherman anti-trust act of 1890 to class such combinations as being one in restraint of trade. The Supreme Court of the United States in the E. C. Knight
case, decided that such combination was one formed for
purposes of manufacture only, and manufacture is not trade

THE CORNELL ERA

141

or commerce. Therefore Congress is powerless to suppress a monopoly for the manufacture of sugar. The states are
powerless to prevent a monopoly for the interstate sale of sugar. If therefore a corporation is both a manufacturing and a trading corporation, how is it to be dealt with? (Applause).
What is the practical result of the conditions just enum erated ? If one state tolerates the corporation, the other states are powerless. Forty-four states may pass uniform laws to control such combinations ; the forty-fifth may ren
der such combined action nugatory and make the very com bination which it was the desire of the forty-four to sup
press. In such a case it would require a harmony of action
among your states to prevent a monopolistic manufacturing combination, and combined action on the part of the United
States to prevent a monopolistic trading combination. In other words, forty-six distinct jurisdictions must work in harmony in order to protect all the people of the United States from combinations formed to control prices of raw material and the output and prices of the finished product.
It is evident, therefore, ladies and gentlemen, that the
people of the United States must solve the corporation problem by the extension of the regulating power of Con gress. We maintain that a change in our corporation laws is necessary in order to render corporation directors and managers responsible to the stockholders for their acts. Originally persons were allowed to incorporate under the limited liability^ for reasons of public good ; as, for instance,
to assist in the construction of the trans-continental rail
ways. Now, under our heterogeneous collection of corpora
tion laws, limited liability means no liability at all. How
often in the past few months have we seen it reported that large corporations have gone into bankruptcy, leaving the unfortunate stockholder without the slightest chances of recovery? In the case of the notorious Asphalt Company it was shown upon investigation that the directors had sold bonds and used the proceeds to pay dividends on watered stock. After the bonds were sold, the original directors
withdrew and elected straw trustees. When the crash came,
there was not a person upon whom the slightest degree of responsibility could be fixed ; although everyone knew7 that
the money out of which the stockholders were defrauded
must have gone into the pockets of someone. It is inter esting to compare this condition with a specimen of govern-

142

THE CORNELL ERA

ment control as shown under the National Banking Act.
Here every shareholder is individually responsible for the
management and debts of the association in an amount
equal to twice the value of his holdings. Here when a crash comes the depositor or investor knows where he may
find reimbursement ; and straw trustees and directors are an
impossibility ; for the law provides that no one shall be a director unless he holds at least ten shares of the corporation.
This legislation is not without precedent, as the gentle men of the negative would have us believe. When our country's finances were in a condition parallelled by the present condition of industrial stocks, Congress abolished
the system of state banks and passed the National Banking Act. Its operation has proved salutary in the extreme.
Another instance is found in the case of the National Bank
ruptcy Law. We contend that the extension of Congres sional legislation is necessary in order to prevent the evils of overcapitalization and stock watering. Everyone knows that a corporation can pay dividends on watered stock only
because it has a monopoly of the commodity it is engaged in producing, or because it enjoys some special discrimina tion. It is only by these means that you can pay dividends
on stock that does not represent actual value indicated in
the business.
Every director takes pride in the fact that his Com pany pays dividends ; but to pay dividends on inflated capi tal they must take money from some place from which they ought not to take it—from the consumer in high prices or through the laborer in lowered wages. Such a method
strikes at the interests of the people as a whole, and de mands a government regulation which shall require stock to be issued only for cash or in exchange for property at its actual value. We contend that a system of Congressionregulation, which will have some uniformity as to the amount of capital stock paid in, which will render corpora tion managers and directors responsible personally for the engagements of the corporation and which will secure
publicity as to the methods of corporations and corporate business, is desirable in the extreme. By means of it, pro
moters will be held accountable for fraudulent profits ; overcapitalization will be prevented by requiring stock to be issued only for cash or in exchange for property at its actual value ; by requiring clear, stated reports of business done and financial condition the stockholder can investigate

THE CORNELL ERA

1 43

and the public will be acquainted with the actual condition ; and careful regulation will cure the present state of affairs, under which an entirely irresponsible corporation—chart ered in West Virginia or New Jersey —may do business in Pennsylvania or Delaware irrespective of the latter' s con sent, if its business happens to be that of interstate com
merce.
A corporation, the creation of the people, should be held subject to the people's will. It has been written in the spiritual world "Remember now thy Creator ;" and the same principle applies with equal force in the legal world : what the government gives, the government can take away ;
what the government creates it can control ; and we insist that the government shall protect the citizen and control
the corporation. (Applause).

MR. RANSOM OF CORNELL
Negative
Ladies and Gentlemen : The preceding speaker painted a very beautiful picture of what he would be glad if Congress would do ; but he and all his colleagues ignored the all important question : Would Congress do it ? (Applause). The whole affirmative case rests on the un proved assumption that Congress would prove an affective and suitable agency for the regulation of the business affairs of these large corporations. Before we obliterate the pres ent line between state and national control, and grant exclusive federal regulation of the minute affairs of all large corporations, local, state and national, we want proof that Congress is a suitable agency to undertake this task, and that Congress would be certain to do its work well. Better
not tear down what we have, until we can be certain of
something better !
At the outset we are amazed at the confidence ot the
affirmative that they will at once secure effective control of
corporations merely by transferring power from one legis lative body to another. It should be kept in mind that it is not proposed to create here any new powers over corpora
tions. The power of Congress over interstate commerce is already exclusive and absolute as constitutional grant of

144

THE CORNELL ERA

power could make it ; as to the things not interstate com merce, the sovereignty of the states is now exclusive and absolute. Congress would simply succeed to the latter power. Now we ask the gentlemen what pressure, what public influence, would they bring to bear on Congress to pass laws, which do not or would not operate with equal or greater force on the state legislatures? (Applause). Pub lic sentiment is the force which secures all remedial legis lation. Do the affirmative claim that public sentiment acts more directly, more quickly, more effectively upon the Con gress of the United States than upon the legislature of Pennsylvania or any other state in the Union ? (Applause). Can we have laws better than the public conscience, and shall we condemn as inadequate existing powers, until we have had a public sentiment which has compelled their
use ?
The affirmative have ignored the question of experi
ence. We ask them to answer it : What has been our
experience with federal regulation ? Does it warrant con ferring an exclusive power over all corporations ? I think the gentlemen have themselves furnished us the materal for answering the question, and have forced us to answer it in the negative. They have complained only of the sugar trust, the whiskey trust, the tobacco trust, the steel trust ;
but are not all these products articles of interstate com merce and hence already under the exclusive control of
Congress ? It is the fault of Congress, not the states, that evils exist in the interstate activities of these corporations. One gentleman even went so far as to tell us how the whiskey trust has for years been going up and down the
country, in violation of a federal statute, in violation of a
decision of a federal court ; and yet this is the sort of regu
lation the affirmative would extend and make exclusive
over all large corporations, no matter how close or how vital they may be to the people ! (Applause).
Has Congress shown a disposition to meet these very serious evils ? Take overcapitalization : The gentleman never mentioned the Pacific railroads, chartered by Con gress and already under the exclusive power of Congress. There's our experience with federal incorporation ! Mr. Hudson in his authoritative book, "The Railways of the Republic," points out that these roads are about the worst over-capitalized in the United States. No roads ever worked a worse fraud on public or stockholders ; none ever went a more rocky road to receivership, than these crea-

THE CORNELL ERA

H5

tures of an indulgent Congress, whom our friends are so

anxious to made supreme over all corporations. ( Applause. )

Has Congress shown a disposition to meet other evils of

these industrial corporations ? I think not. Last winter

we had the bill of Congressman Littlefield, seeking to remedy

this evil of overcapitalization by putting practically a pro

hibitive tax upon the securities of overcapitalized compa

nies doing interstate business. Here was a measure rec

ommended by President Roosevelt, approved by constitu

tional lawyers, demanded by public sentiment, as a means

of getting at these evils of wThich the affirmative complain,

and at the same time leaving to the localities their control

over their essentially local corporations. Did the bill pass ?

Not at all. The House approved almost unanimously, and

the Senate calmly ignored it. Along somewhat different

lines was the Hoar bill, to deny the right to do interstate

business to monopolistic and over-capitalized corporations.

Here was another plan for reaching these evils without go

ing to the extreme lengths which the affirmative propose. Constitutional? Unquestionably. Feasible? Yes. Ex

pedient? Such proof as the affirmative has offered says
yes. But the venerable senator, with all his power and
standing, was unable to secure even a vote on his bill in the Senate which the gentlemen seek to make supreme over the

street railways of Philadelphia. (Applause.)

We may go further. Congress has not shown a dispo

sition to use even its present powers to cure the very great

est of corporation evils. The gentlemen complain of the

inadequacy of the Sherman law ; but they did not tell you

that it was thirty years after trust evils had become serious,

before the Congress of the United States cared to puta

single line on the statute books regarding the trust evils in

interstate commerce. The states could not ; Congress

would not. The affirmative complain of the inadequacy of

that Act ; yet as we have just seen it represents all that

Congress has cared to do to reach these trust evils. Or

consider the experience of the Interstate Commerce Com

mission. The power of Congress over the railroads is as

absolute, as unqualified,, as a grant of regulating power

could make it ; yet down through the sixties, the seventies,

the eighties, the railroads went on plundering the people, building up trusts and monopolies. Despite clamor of

"presscourts,

and people, the Congress was unwilling to

write a line of legislation to afford relief. And when

146

THE CORNELL ERA

finally in 1887 the Interstate Commerce Commission was created, that body was compelled to point out in its first report that Congress had witheld the necessary machinery
of enforcement to make the act in any way effective. The
ablest men that have sat on that commission have found
themselves tied hand and foot by the unwillingness of
Congress to let the commission do anything vigorous to regulate the railroads and cure the greatest of corporation evils. That condition continues today, and is pointed out pathetically in each annual report of the commission.
This then, is our experience with federal regulation of these business affairs. In the light of these facts the propo sition of the affirmative, I think, becomes startling, revolu tionary and dangerous. With respect to many matters the
power of the States is now supreme ; with respect to many matters the affirmative do not deny the states are now actively
exercising that power ; and all that is needed to make that power more effective is the same thing that is needed to make any laws effective—a public sentiment which takes up this question in a serious way and goes at it with a
calm realization of the evil. To vest sole power in Con
gress would be to risk inaction and worse.
There is another reason why federal control would be dan gerous and unsatisfactory. The Congress of the United States is now too busy, too overburdened with important national matters to take up this regulation in an effective way. We
all know what is the state of its calendars ; and its commit
tees are already congested with legislation. Each year the country has to ask itself this question : What important financial measures, what treaties, what necessary appropri ations will fail because Congress has not time to give these things faithful and necessary attention. The Bar Associa tions are compelled to voice protest against hasty and illadvised national legislation. And yet what is the charac
ter of the task which the affirmative proposes to thrust upon
Congress? The answer is found in the statute books of
forty-five States, the corporation laws covering thousands of pages and representing the growth of many years. The answer is found in the long line of corporation cases, repre senting the steady judicial growth of a long period ; yet all this task, which is now requiring the combined attention of the legislature, the executive and the judiciary of forty-five States, the affirmative would put upon Congress and expect Congress at once to build up an effective, adequate and sat-

THE CORNELL ERA

r47

isfactory system of control ! I tell you it is impossible ; be
cause there is a limit to what men can do ; there is a limit
to human endurance ; and if we want effective regulation of these larger corporations, it will not be by heaping upon Congress a measure of duty which it cannot exercise.
(Applause.)

REBUTTAL
MR. TIBBETTS OF CORNELL
Negative
Ladies and Gentlemen : The affirmative have dwelt
upon the evils of interstate commerce. They have based
their case upon the contention that under present powers
Congress cannot remedy these evils ; but have they adduced a single shred of evidence to prove that point ? Have they shown that Congress has gone to the utmost limits of its present authority in endeavoring to improve these condi tions ? Have they refuted, have they mentioned, the various solutions which have been brought forward by eminent authorities, which have been backed by celebrated Ameri can lawyers and jurists? Why, Congress may take any one of five or six different ways of solving these problems, ac cording to the most eminent authorities who have studied the problem ; and none of these involve extension of federal
powers !
In the first place Congress may keep trust- made goods out of inter-state commerce by providing specifically that they shall not cross a State line. This was provided in the Littlefield bill, which was introduced in Congress last win ter, which passed the House of Representatives but failed in the Senate. This had the sanction of Attorney General
Knox. The same idea was reinforced and put in the Hoar
bill, reported favorably from the Senate Judiciary Committee composed of the most eminent lawyers in the United States. This, too, failed of passage, by Congress !
In the second place Congress may strengthen the InterState Commerce Commission. They may make its findings conclusive upon matters of fact, whereas now they have
not even evidential force in a court of law. This power has

148 THE CORNELL ERA
been repeatedly asked for the Inter-State Commerce Com mission and has been as repeatedly denied. On the other hand they may strike at rebates by common carriers ; they may impose heavier penalties for giving and soliciting these rebates ; they may remove the difficulty which now exists in the proving of such rebates. They should provide that a rebate shall consist in a common carrier carrying freight
at less than its published rates ; whereas at present, to prove
such a rebate it is necessary to prove a variation in the rates
on like commodities between the same points at the same time — a condition almost impossible in practical legal proof. The Standard Oil Company, as is well known, has built up its powers through discriminations by favoring railroads. Many economists and experts see that many of the largest and most dangerous trusts to-day depend on this very advan
tage ; and they say if we can remove this discrimination
we will strike an effective blow at the welfare of trusts.
Wh}7 not try this, under existing powers, before changing ? In the third place Congress may strengthen the Sher
man anti-trust law which the gentlemen have said has
proved inadequate. In the fourth place Congress may require a license for
all corporations engaged in inter-state commerce. Congress may require that the corporation shall furnish information as to its organization, as to its business management ; and that it shall submit to visitorial supervision of its business and its books. The penalty would be imposed for engag ing in commerce without a license and the license would be immediately revoked if any of these conditions were viola
ted. Attorney General Knox is responsible for this also ; and repeated decisions of the Supreme Court have held that the licensing power is a part of the regulating power.
In the fifth place Congress may tax inter-state com merce. This may be either a regulative tax, which will enable visitorial supervision, as pointed out by the Indus trial Commission, or it may be the prohibitive tax which would be directed against overcapitalized securities. These forms were recommended by the United States Industrial Commission, but have not been tried by Congress, although under existing powers.
The affirmative throughout the debate has shown a tendenc}7 to confuse existing powers and existing laws, the authority to legislate and actual legislation. All these enumerated expedients, involving no organic change, which

THE CORNELL ERA

149

riave been proposed by eminent men show that Congress has not exhausted its present powers. Only the last winter a new step was taken by the creation of the Bureau of Cor
porations, which has already succeeded in obtaining from every corporation in this country engaged in inter-state
commerce, save one, a complete sworn detailed statement of its business. (Applause.)

MR. WILLIAMS OF PENNSYLVANIA
Affir77iative
Ladies and Gentlemen : In presenting their argument in the first instance, Cornell said that it was contrary to the general tradition and spirit of the American Constitution and the traditions of our people to extend the regulating powers of Congress to these corporations. Now then, ladies and gentlemen, I have here an address delivered before the New York State Bar Association by a very eminent authority on constitutional law— Mr. Ernest W. Huffcut, Dean of the Cornell Law School, who has the following to say upon this proposition (laughter and applause;: "The system of ex clusive federal control would seem perhaps the logical out come of the constitutional provision giving to Congress power to regulate interstate commerce. I am even disposed
to think that it will be the ultimate solution of the present
problem." (Laughter and applause). There seems to be, ladies and gentlemen, some difference of opinion in the camp of the Ithacans. (Applause).
Now then, I want to call your attention to one point— that there is one argument which we have presented to-night which they have failed to meet ; and it is the argument about the regulation of corporations which are engaged in interstate commerce. Now it has been decided by the United States Supreme Court in the case of E. C. Knight case that when a corporation is engaged primarily in manu facturing and secondarily engaged in commerce that Con gress cannot regulate it. That is a decision of the United States Supreme Court and you will find it in 156 U. S. , page 5. On the other hand it has been decided by United States Supreme Court that no state can interfere with a trading

I5Q

THE CORNELL ERA

corporation in shipping its goods into that state in their original packages. You will find that decision recorded in
135 U. S., p. 100. Now what is the result of these two
decisions ? The result is that when a corporation is engaged primarily in manufactures and secondarily in interstate com
merce that nobody can control it ; because whenever Con gress undertakes to control it, it says, "Congress, hands off ! Here is the E. C. Knight case ;" and when the states undertake to control the sale of the goods of the corporation,
it says "States, hands off ! Here is the Harding case." The gentleman, referring to his Moody's tabulary
something— whatever he calls it — said that there were 235 corporations engaged in interstate commerce. That is to say, there are 235 corporations, that according to the authority of the Supreme Court of the United States neither Congress nor the States can regulate. Now, then, Sir, what are you going to do with these 235 corporations? (Applause).
Now the gentleman has said that they are opposed to our contention because we argue for a national corporation law. Why, ladies and gentlemen, we have a national corporation law—a corporation law whose mandates are obeyed in every one of forty-five .states of the Union ; a corporation law under whose provisions ninety per cent, of the corporations
of the United States have secured their charters. I refer to
the corporation law of the State of New Jersey. (Laughter). The corporation of New Jersey garners the harvests of Porto Rico ; it plucks the oranges of Florida ; it pulls the cotton of Georgia ; it rolls the tobacco leaf of Virginia ; the New Jersey corporation digs the ore and mines the coal and makes the steel which is brought out from the Keystone
commonwealth ; it is a New Jersey corporation which pro duces the salt of New York, which drains the oil wells of
Ohio, which clears the forests of Michigan, which mines the copper of Montana, which reaps the crops of Iowa, which
herds the cattle of Texas. (Applause). Now what is this New Jersey corporation law which
has become the corporation law of the land ? I pointed out in my first speech some of the glaring defects of it. What are they ? It is a corporation law which permits promoters to swindle the American public and then go scot free ; it is a corporation law which permits dummy directors to assess the values of property which they never saw ; it is a corpora
tion law which permits the same dummy directors' judg ment to be conclusive ; this is the corporation law for which

THE CORNELL ERA

151

the gentleman stands sponsor and, ladies and gentlemen, it is for you to say to-night whether you want a national corporation law coming from Trenton or a national corpora tion coming from Washington. (Applause).

MR. BECKER OF CORNELL
Negative
Ladies and Gentlemen : I would remind you again that we are here to discuss one specific remedy ; that we are anxious to improve present conditions in any way pos sible ; but the remedy is the point of issue in this debate.
The affirmative groups corporations all in one class ; they say there so many corporations of a certain size, and all these should go under federal control. Why all ? There are some two hundred industrial corporations —two hundred odd —capitalized at over a million dollars ; but there are also some eight hundred local public service cor porations, and corporations operating only in a single state. All these, along with these three hundred interstate corpora tions would be brought under the exclusive control of Con gress by this proposal of the affirmative. We ask them again : Why make the dividing line the amount of capital stock, rather than the nature or scope of the business?
There are two classes of corporations : interstate cor porations and corporations not interstate. As to the cor porations not interstate the negative have had no complaints to make and they have showed absolutely no reason why we should bring corporations which operate only in a single state, or which are local public service corporations, under
the control of the Federal Government. There has been
no objection to the present state and municipal regulation of these corporations ; they have not said that the .state was not efficiently regulating them now. Why then should all this burden be put upon Congress ; why should the eight hundred municipal service corporations not interstate, be brought under the wing of the Federal Government in order that some two hundred corporations which are en gaged in interstate commerce should be brought under the effective control of the Federal Government? Why drag in, by this sweep-net, the salmon and the pike as well as the

152

THE CORNELL ERA

sword fish and the shark ? It is only the interstate corpo
rations of which the affirmative have complained. The last speaker quoted an article from Professor Huff
cut on this subject. From this same article I would furth er quote to show that Professor Huffcut was referring to a possible Congressional control of interstate corporations only —something far different from Congressional control ol all corporations which happen to issue a million dollars
worth of stock. Professor Huffcut says: "The National
Government may take to itself a larger and perhaps exclu sive control of corporations engaged in interstate com merce." This is a proposition much at variance from that advanced here by the affirmative. If only interstate corpo rations are at fault, why not be content with federal con
trol of these ?
My colleague preceding pointed out five different ways in which present conditions might be improved without a
resort to this heroic measure of the affirmative. In five dif
ferent ways Congress by exercising powers it already pos sesses may by methods advised and approved by eminent authorities ameliorate the evils complained of here, without causing at the same time a vast amount of damage, and cre
ating at the same time worse evils than those sought to be
remedied.
Not only is this plan unnecessary but it would accomp lish much positive harm by creating a privileged class of corporations which would roam around the states at will, amenable to no state laws ; subject only to the laws of Congress. Thus it would deprive the States of the powers that they now have to shut out the tramp corporations. It would deprive the State of Minnesota of the power it now has to keep out the lumber sharks ; it would deprive the State of Texas of the power it is now exercising to keep out the Standard Oil trust ; it would nullify all the laws of Pennsylvania in relation to million dollar corporations— all the publicity7 laws which are so stringently enforced now against moneyed corporations and the insurance companies. This plan would create a set of roving, irresponsible Frankensteins which would go about the United States engaging in any kind of business, at any place and at any time they choose, subject only to the somewhat doubtful restriction of the laws Congress might pass to regulate them. (Applause).

THE CORNELL ERA MR. NEARING OF PENNSYLVANIA

153

Affirmative

Ladies and Gentlemen : The preceding speaker on

the negative has spoken for five minutes, but he didn't tell

you anything about the new national corporation law of New

Jersey. The preceding speaker on the negative has spoken

for five minutes but he did not attempt to show you any

remedy for those corporations like the sugar trust which are

engaged primarily in manufacturing and secondarily in inter

state commerce. The preceding speaker on the negative has

not been able to show that those 235 corporations which he

mentioned might now be regulated ; because there is no power

now existing which can regulate them. The preceding

speaker has contrasted the authority of the E. C. Knight

case and the Harding case we have cited ; but the preceding

speaker has told you that the States are exercising mag

nificent jurisdiction over insurance companies ; the preceding

speaker has said that the effects of the state legislation on insurance companies is salutary7, and he mentions insurance

companies as one of that class of corporations which the States may regulate. Mr. Geo. B. Luke, at one time Insur

ance Commissioner of Pennsylvania, in his report says "I

am heartily in favor of national supervision." (Applause).

The gentleman has not attempted to deny the evils already pointed out ; he has not attempted to say that these evils
are not the result of the present tax and diverse systems of

State legislation. The gentlemen have not show that there
is any tendency to any uniformity on the part of the State legislatures. The gentleman has even gone so far as to say that no uniformity in State legislation was necessary. The
third speaker of the affirmative pointed out the fact that State legislatures constantly tend to become less uniform— that the tendency is to State warfare. The gentlemen of negative cannot deny that fact because there is no way in

which it mav be denied.

The gentlemen of the negative in spite of the argument

in my first speech made a strong attempt to say that this

question abridges out before, James

the rights
Madison,

of the States. As was pointed
Charles Pinckney, and other

eminent statesmen at the time of framing the constitution

believed that Congress should be given regulating power

over corporations ; and the only reason why Congress was

154

THE CORNELL ERA

not given that power was because at that time corporations were of practically local concern. But nobody in the audience will attempt to deny that to-day corporations are of practically national importance. We have shown you the rule adopted by the framers of the Constitution, namely : that we must grant to Congress the power to regulate sub jects of national importance because the States have shown under the Confederation their inability to regulate them.
We have presented the gentlemen of the negative here to-night with a choice between the national corporation law of New Jersey under the present system of corporation regulation and a national corporation law to be granted by Congress ; and the gentleman has failed to attempt to justify the national corporation law of New Jersey and if the gentleman is to uphold the present system the burden
shifts to him and he must show in what respect that
national corporation law of New Jersey is better than the national corporation law which we propose that Congress
shall enact.
We have shown the existing evils ; the gentlemen have
not denied them ; they have not shown that these evils are
not the result of lax and diverse State legislation ; they
have not attempted to show that there is any attempt at
uniform legislation. They have not attempted to show any
way to regulate the large class of corporations of which the sugar trust and the Standard Oil trust are examples. They have told y7ou that they were declared illegal in Ohio and New York ; but they did not tell you that after they were declared illegal in New York and Ohio they went to New Jersey and became incorporated under the national corpora tion law of New Jersey. (Applause).

MR. RANSOM OF CORNELL
Negative
Ladies and Gentlemen : The preceding speaker has asked us to choose between the national incorporation law of New Jersey, as he calls it, and the national incor poration law he would have Congress enact. But has he given us any reason to believe, on the basis of our experi-

THE CORNELL ERA

155

ence with Congressional regulation, that there would be much difference between the New Jersey law and the con gressional law? (Applause). Thus far the affirmative have spent thirty-five minutes in telling why Congress ought to do something, five minutes in telling what they would like to have Congress do, and no time at all in telling why Congress hasn't done anything, or what Congress would do. (Applause).
Here are two classes of corporations—local and inter state ; the cleavage is distinct between them. The affirma tive have not undertaken to show that the street railways of Philadelphia, the guarantee and loan associations so
prominent in y7our business life, the land and improvement companies which have developed local resources, the build ing companies and other concerns of this sort, are in any
way matters of national concern, or in any danger of being confused with interstate commerce corporations. Yet merely for the sake of carrying out a fallacious theory, the affirmative w7ould sweep all corporations into one group,
tear down the autonomies of great states, and substitute
experiment for well-ordered policy ! And we ask them
again : Why7 does a million dollar's capitalization make a
corporation proper subject for federal control, regardless of
the nature or scope of its business?
The question is : Does the affirmative plan promise a better sy7stem of regulating corporations which operate only
in one state or city? In this morning's Philadelphia Press, I read a very striking instance of what we might expect
frequently if this regulating power was transferred to
Washington. The citizens of Philadelphia have long
desired certain dredging done, down on the river front.
Long and vainly have they clamored for it, although the
commercial needs of this city demanded the deepening of
this waterway. So the business men gathered together a
committee of forty of Philadelphia's most representative
citizens, and off they went to Washington. Last night
they7 gave a banquet ; they held forth all night telling their guests, the members of the Rivers and Harbors Committee, not one whom represented Philadelphia and many7 of whom had never been in your city, what the local needs really
were. Apply this same mode of action to all y7our local public service corporations ! Therefore we say that if effective regulation of these large and important classes of corporations is desired, that regulation must be kept close

156 THE CORNELL ERA
to home, and we must not usher in the same notorious con
ditions we now have regarding rivers and harbors improve
ments.
The gentlemen have spoken much of the E. C. Knight case ; have based practically all they have attempted to prove, on the supposition that it is conclusive authority for what they say it sustains. Yet their view of the Knight case is five years out of date. It is regarded now as an anomaly, representing not at all the present attitude of the
Court. What seems to have been needed in that case was
a federal district attorney really desirous of reaching the sugar trust. Here was proposed a combination of the sugar refineries in the United States. Instead of waiting until the combination was consumated, and then attacking it on the ground that it was engaged in the interstate sale of su gar, in other words, interstate commerce, the court was asked to enjoin the formation of the trust. The courts
looked at the charter, which declared the purpose was the manufacture of sugar, and of course said that since a penal
statute was being applied, they could not presume that a combination for the purpose of manufacturing sugar would necessarily sell its product outside of the state.
The affirmative have skillfully avoided the Addyston Pipe Company7 case, representing the later attitude of the court. A corporation engaged in the manufacture and inter state sale of steel pipe. The Supreme Court applied the Sherman Act with vigor, and said that a combination of this sort could be reached and regulated.
We ask the affirmative, for the last time, do not the
sugar trust, the whiskey trust, the steel trust, and the others of which they7 complain, engage in interstate com merce ? If they do, is not the responsibility for present evils wholly a failure to perceive the effective and wise measures, under present powers, for securing relief? The tpower of Congress over interstate commerce is as absolute and ex
clusive as constitutional grant could make it. Why is this
not enough. The affirmative have spoken much of present evils.
They have drawn a terrible picture. In contrast to the melancholy note which necessity has compelled them to bring here, I would leave with you the optimism which pervades the message of President Roosevelt two weeks ago,
the first message in many years that did not find it neces
sary to call attention to corporation evils, and recommend

THE CORNELL ERA

157

legislation for their cure. On the contrary he was able to
say that the country is to be congratulated on the amount
of substantial achievement that has marked the past year
with respect to control of corporations. The terror, the
despair, the pessimism, has faded from men's minds,' and
the country has come to a wholesome, saner, riper view. We see that the tendency is strong in the right direction ; that existing laws and powers promise much if enforced ; that now for the first time we are to have thorough-going publicity as to all the corporations of which the affirmative has seen fit to complain. In the face of conditions like
these, we say that it would be folly to reorganize the busi ness of the country ; to tear down the growth of years and hope for a better system to rise in a month or a year ; to take chances with a theory which is wholly unsupported by authority and finds no precedent in experience . ( Applause. )

MR. STITES OF PENNSYLVANIA
Affirmative
Ladies and Gentlemen : It is quite unfortunate that the gentleman who immediately preceded me was not in formed of Mr. Roosevelt's speech at Milwaukee, in which Mr. Roosevelt said in speaking of the operations of monop olistic combinations, "As no State has any exclusive interest in or control over the acts of monopolistic combinations, it has in practice been found impossible to regulate such com binations. The question is a national question and must be met by national legislation—legislation equally broad." (Applause).
Now the gentleman seemed extremely exercised over the fact that by the extension of the regulating powers of Congress inquisitorial investigators might come into the City of Philadelphia, look over the books of the Union Traction Company and greatly distress that corporation. (Laughter). Is the gentleman unfamiliar with the fact that five times each year the inquisitorial committee of the Na tional Government under the National Banking Act enters
every little National Bank in the country and sees whether
its acts have been those acts which are honorable and just? It is by these means that the gentleman is able to retire at

158

THE CORNELL ERA

night with the waters of Lake Cayuga lapping the shores as he lies there in perfect security because he knows that his funds are in the First National Bank of Ithaca in good
condition and he will not be obliged to be stranded at the
end of his junior year. (Applause and laughter.) The gentleman says we have no authority from past
actions on the part of Congress to believe that anything of advantage will be done. I refer him to seventy years of national bank control in which a most magnificent system
of currency has been built up. In that space of time the
percentage of failures of national banks has been 6.9 per cent. The percentage of failures of state banks has been 21
per cent. (Applause). Now the gentleman has told you about the Addyston
Pipe Company case which he said infringed upon the de cision of the E. C. Knight case. Without going into a dis cussion of legal questions I will say that the Supreme Court in the Addyston Pipe Company case expressly affirmed the language of the Court in the E. C. Knight Company case and said that a combination formed primarily for manufac
turing and subsequently for interstate commerce — whether or not it controlled ninety-eight per cent of the output of sugar or not—could not be reached by Congressional action.
Have the gentlemen of the negative proven to you that it is a desirable thing that corporation directors and man agers should not be responsible for their acts ? Have the gentlemen of the negative proven to you that it is a splendid thing that companies may be capitalized at millions beyond the actual value of their plants ? Have they endeavored to
show you that the present system has not been fruitful of
the evils which we have pointed out ? Ladies and Gentlemen, this question is one which
affects vitally the interests of the entire people ; and for that reason we contend that it is a proper subject of Federal con trol ; we contend that Congressional legislation is necessary in order to prevent the farce-comedy that when you prose cute a great monopolistic combination in the United States
Court it hides behind state sovereignty and when you
prosecute it in a State Court it rushes to cover under
Federal jurisdiction. We contend, ladies and gentlemen, that the extension of the regulating power of Congress is desirable because it will remedy the evils which we have
pointed out ; it will secure uniformity. If therefore you believe this is a subject which effects the interests of the
entire people it remains only for you to decide whether you

THE CORNELL ERA

159

prefer the system of no control—of New Jersey-created corporations—or a system of control of corporations by the United States of America. (Applause).

THE DECISION.
The judges were the Honorable George Gray, of Wil mington, Del., Justice of the Circuit Court of the United States and Professor George Burton Adams of Yale University. After deliberating for fifteen minutes, they appeared on the platform. The decision was announced by Judge Gray, as follows :
Mr. Provst, Ladies and Gentlemen : In behalf of
my colleague and myself I propose to announce the decision
to which we have come upon the merits of the debate which
you have all had, as we have had, great pleasure in hearing.
We have arrived at our decision not without difficulty. I think you will sympathize with the judges when I say it
was not easy to decide between the contestants on the one
side and the other. The form of the question debated must be kept in mind; it is, "Resolved, That aside from the question of amending the Constitution it is desirable that the regulating power of Congress should be extended to all corporations whose capitalization exceeds $1,000,000."
The burden of maintaining that particular proposition of course rested upon the affirmative; that is to say, the affirmative were required to present arguments that should convince the judges (and I suppose this audience) that the line of demarcation between those corporations to which the regulating power of Congress should be extended, and those to which it should not be extended, should be the fact that they had a capitalization of $1,000,000 ; not any other line of distinction, such as that between corporations that are engaged in interstate commerce and those whose activ
ities are confined to local and domestic service.
Scanning the question thus, and reviewing the argu ments presented on both sides as best we could in the time allotted to us—and I said it is not without difficulty—we feel compelled to give our judgment in favor of the argu ments adduced by the representatives of Cornell. (Applause and Cornell yells given).

Tbe

Vol. XXXVI.

January, 1904.

No. 4

Terms :—The subscription price is $2.00 per year in advance, and $2.25 when it has not been paid by April 15th. Single copies, 25 cents, maybe obtained at the Corner Bookstores, and the Co-operative Society's Stores.

BOARD OP EDITORS.

Clarence Paul Obendorf, '04. Editor-in-Chief. Fred Bemis Humphrey, '04, Business Manager. Ernest Westervelt Kelsey, '05, Assistant Business Manager.

Henry Crane Hasbrouck, '04. Morgan Bidleman Garlock, '04. William Wallace Gail, '05.

Edwin Mitchell Slocombe, '04. Charles Sherman Cobb, '05. Earl Hewes Kelsey, '05.

Address matter for publication to the Editor-in-Chief, and business communi cations to the Business Manager.
Entered at the post office, Ithaca, N. Y., as second class matter.

WHEN in the editorial of the last number of the Era, the idea was set forth that it would be better if one
man combinations did not exist in our class politics, the idea was not intended to convey the impression that if there
were more candidates the patronage would be distributed
with fewer ante-election promises, but merely to protest against the plan of uniting on one man in order that plums might fall to the strongest. It is perhaps true as the editor of the Sun pointed out that when there two or more men in

THE CORNELL ERA

161

the field the severity of the contest compels the presidential candidates to rush head over heels into pledges of offices.
There is, however, clearly one means of preventing the graft system. It is to make all committees purely elective. There is absolutely no reason why the committee which edits
the class book, for example, should not be elected just as the class committee which has charge of preparing the Cor nellian is chosen by popular vote. Or carrying the idea further, what is there to prevent the committees which have
charge of the Class day exercises or of the Feeshman ban
quet or of the Junior smoker being elected either at the an nual elections in the Fall of the year, a time eminently
feasible for the election of every committee which comes to
mind with the exception of the Freshman banquet committee, which the members of the class would be more capable of
selecting some time in December. Such a system is actually
in vogue at some of the large universities and would seem
entirely feasible here. One of the main points in favor of the plan is the fact
that it would remove from one man the tremendous power
of patronage which is now placed in his hands. It would certainly prevent combinations such as are now formed. There is absolutely no certainty for a combination when each man must be voted in separately. |Cornellian combina tions in nearly every case show that the man is voted for, not the name that happens to be coupled with some others on a printed campaign blank.
Another thing which would do away with a large amount of the doubtful politics so frequently employed here would be the abolition of the voting tax. The tax prevents a number of men from voting. There are some men here who must figure so closely that they do not care to spend the twenty-five cents to register their choice in a matter on which they may feel quite keenly ; there are others who look upon the quarter which they pay to vote their approval of a one man ticket as a complete waste. During a close election something still more unjust occurs, the forcing of

l62

THE CORNELL ERA

candidates to pay the poll tax of those who are unwilling to pay. This is an imposition on the candidate, isn't it ?
Immediately the objection will arise that the class will lose considerable amounts and will have a large Senior tax. Perhaps it would be better for taxes at the end of the four years to be equally divided among all members after all have enjoyed equal privileges. As it is now, the same tax falls indiscriminately on those who have met all the petty taxes collected at various times during the course and those who have not. Or if it is absolutely necessary for the class
to have funds to meet ordinary running expenses, perhaps some of the fobs and medallions and loving cups voted themselves by the various committees might be dispensed
with and the money turned over to the class treasury.
Last year some Juniors issued a call for a political reform meeting. It was a most laudable thing in itself but coming at the time was looked upon with suspicion. Per haps these men might meet again now, and under the Senior president's leadership, adopt new rules to govern
elections.

THE UNIVERSITY

— — -—

•

am

i

i

The efforts of the editors of the 1905 Cornellian to
revive the literary department of the publication seeming thus far to be meeting with little response, the question
arises whether or not the move is in the
The 1905 right direction. Its opponents base their Cornellian chief objection on the somewhat naive con-
fesssion that our other literary publications are not all they should be, and that every effort therefore
should be directed toward making them better. Granting the assumption to be true, the fact remains that as an
annual the Cornellian can use a class of material which
would be available for neither the Widow nor the Era, and
hence need not encroach upon the domain of either. In
this connection the suggestion might be made that in ad dition to its original matter the Cornellian should include a reprint of the more interesting and important things which have appeared throughout the year in the other college publication, a function which as essentially a review of the college year it could most legitimately perform.
A literary department of some sort is unquestionably a desirable feature in a college annual ; in others besides our
own it constitutes one of the best parts of the volume, and the omission of it in the Cornellian constitutes not only a
tacit admission of our literary weakness but betrays a deplorable attitude of despair toward ever getting out of the quagmire into which we have stumbled. The situation
demands a little more optimism than that which doesn't see enough talent in the University to warrant the insertion of

164

THE CORNELL ERA

a few pages of other than names and photographs in a
volume which, like Christmas, comes but once a year. And especially now that the present Cornellian board has deter mined to include a literary department, the efforts of every student who "writes" should be directed toward making it such a success as will leave no room for further question as to its desirability.

CASE'S JUNIOR.
OpHE group lounging in the ample bay window of the
-L fraternity house looked as though that were the only thing in all the world that they had to do and were appar ently accomplishing their work to perfection. The window seats were buried in heaps of red pillows with unintelligible Greek insignia deftly woven by friends of fellows who had long since left the sheltering walls of the old lodge. But the downy pillow on which Bobby Adams' curly head was just then reposing brought to him memories less distant— dreams of last summer at Lake Placid, where he, without great deliberation, firmly arrived at the conclusion that no girl could even attempt to vie with Kathrine Hall in all those qualities which make the sex of gentle touch and fluffy hair attractive to the other of chordy necks and rough chins. And the vision of one wall of his study bare save for a tiny, black framed photograph of a delicate round face with
wondrous black eyes, and a mass of disordered hair sur
rounded by his gray stunt hat, lingered before his eyes. She was to come for Junior Week. He didn't give a
whoop whether Miss Waters or Miss Addison of Cleveland or any of the rest that the fellows were drawlingly gossip ing about would be there or not. Besides Case had asked about her and had delicately intimated that he wouldn't object to meeting her.
"It certainly is the biggest kind of a compliment for Kate," he mused. "Case's such a queer duck. Usually won't glance at a girl. Last year he actually left the house when the feminine contingent trooped in. There'll be green

1 66

THE CORNELL ERA

envy among some of those whom he's turned down in his
brief acquaintance when they see him with my little choice

this yTear."
His train of thoughts were rambling unrestrainedly along, as any fellow's will when he is satisfied that exams are a joyful thing of the past and sees clear sailing ahead, when suddenly his train of thought was arrested by a chorus of ejaculations, a boisterous laughing and a stretch ing of legs and a striking of matches.
"What is going to happen, fellows? Here's Frank
Case — comes unnoticed into the room, hears us mention

Miss Halaway and this same chap, Case, mind you, Frank

Case, gentlemen, the co-ed hater, says she is all to the

good. And this is Frank Case, gentlemen," continued

''
'Barg'

Price,

noticing

Case's flush and

the discomfort which

he tried in vain to conceal, "whose sole achievement here

in literature was that masterly communication to the Sun

about 'the unprecedented action of the Freshmen in voting
numerals to the women of the class for basketball.' And

think of it, reflect on it and smoke it down with every puff that you have no business to inhale, Freshman, over there, so that you may tell it to future Delts, on the 28th day of January, 1902, Frank Case, tackle on the Cornell Varsity
and unrivalled co-ed baiter fell prey to the charms of a
woman of Sage."

Roars of laughter greeted this tirade, while discon
certed Case, never quick at repartee and completely over whelmed by the rapidity of the onslaught, merely smiled, blushed, fidgeted and bore it.

"Well, old man, you've got to go to the Cotillion now,"
chimed in Bobby Adams from behind the pillows. You
know Perk's girl wrote him off after she had accepted. Mother had some old fashioned idea about it not being proper or something. He asked Miss Halaway yesterday and of course she jumped at it. Quite a distinction, you
know. There won't be many co-eds there. He'll let you
have as many as you want and I'll give you all that are left

THE CORNELL ERA

167

on my card— not enough to tire you, to be sure. You know, it would be a down right disgrace for you to leave this town without ever exercising at one of the big balls."
"I've got two saved for you," echoed a Junior Law.
"You're booked for the sixth with Miss Hammond of
Baltimore," added another, while two more sent cards
whirling across the room with a cheerful, "fill out for your
self."
Frank Case was unprepared for such an alarming and unexpected turn of affairs. He felt himself duty bound to sustain his reputation by making some feeble resistance, though he really had secretly longed to go. "I haven't danced since I went to a stupid hop at a stiff hotel in Jersey," he protested in weak remonstrance, "when I used to drag a six year old around a slippery floor."
"No excuses," retorted "Barg" Price peremptorily, and as his sentiment had the long drawn "yea" of the as sembled dawdlers, who were enjoying the novelty of the amusement, he continued, "You know well enough that a knowledge of swimming, dancing and skating and hydro gen sulphide, once acquired, is never forgotten. Bobby, you old fusser, start in to teach him, and make him recall the joys of his childhood. Somebody begin a stirring twostep—that "Vict'ry will be ours" tune ought to set his blood and feet a tingling."
When Frank Case lay in bed that night thinking how it would all end, he found himself recurring to the Chem istry laboratory. He had been taking Qualitative again as a result of a printed notice from the department.
There a girl with rather firm features and dextrous hands had attracted his attention. Case was usually not
troubled with diseases of that kind but she seemed different
from the rest—she minded her own business, seemed miracu
lously exempt from explosions, and was invariably finished
and out of the laboratory half an hour before him.
In High School Case had left girls strictly unmolested, notwithstanding their rather undisguised hero worship of

i68

THE CORNELL ERA

the most capable athlete as well as the most manlike boy in the school. He had long wavered in his decision to make Cornell his Alma Mater by the irreparable evil of co-educa tion but "Barg" Price's persuasion finally overcame his prejudices. If he had been as skillful with his pen as he
was with his oar, the Widow would have been enriched
with more squibs against Sage. As it was he contented himself with occasionally communicating to "Barg" an idea to be worked into a new jibe at Sage and consoled him
self with the reflection that while there were co-eds in every
department of the University, even in Ag. and C.E., and a bevy in Medicine, they had not yet penetrated the Sanctuary
of Sibley's shops. And now his point of view was changing—in his Senior
year. He had long confessed to himself that he had "taken a liking" to the picture of the girl in Bobby Adams' room. She had such a defiant little expression in that saucy pout about her lips, such energy in her wavy black hair and
abandon in the tilt of the gray stunt hat. Of late he found
himself si yly slipping into Bobby's room trying to deceive himself with the excuse that he liked Bobby's three sided mirror better for shaving but in reality liked to gaze at the bewitchingly impish expression of Kate Hall. After stand ing in front of it some moments in reverie, he would continue lathering his face with the invariable comment : "I bet that she would have made a spunky little quarterback."
He had not noticed the girl in the laboratory —the second direct evidence of his changing attitude—for fully two months after the course began. Then it gradually dawned upon him one day, when the chemical formulas
scribbled on the back of a supply blank had been trans formed into dots for the new mass play to be tried against Princeton and he had just decided to cut, that a co-ed a
few rows away had finished. Then he observed her. He
couldn't help admiring her independence, her alertness and her dexterity in working. He even inquired her name and when the season was over, had permitted himself ,vto think about her out of class. Well, finally he would meet her

THE CORNELL ERA

169

in violation of his avowed principles—and well—he didn't
care.
Frank Case awaited Junior week with intolerable impa tience. Now that he had taken the plunge, he was carried headlong by his desire to meet Bobby's girl. The Friday be fore the Week the Freshmen were moving out, and piling in with accomodating friends and in hastily rented rooms. It was the first time that Case had not resigned his room in favor of some man who had invited a girl. Before, Junior week had been a welcome period for extra shop work— endeavoring to compensate for hours spent in train ing. Now for the first time he anticipated pleasure in the festivities—a delight of a new character—unwonted experi ences. Besides it would be enjoyment to investigate and learn from experience the signals of this fussing game. Some of the fellows seemed to find continuous enjoyment in it. Ash Cooper wasn't a bad sort—a little milky but quite tolerable—and he had religiously taken in everything every
time.
The house was bright and sparkling. It appeared in that laudable condition on three occasions—at rushing time, at the Junior and then to welcome back the old grads and entertain parents at graduation. The commotion of house cleaning was over and the first comers of girls and chaperones were drifting in at the station in the valley. A royal welcome they7 received, and as each train brought visitors
in smartest frock and sweetest temper, as many fellows felt
better. They forgot to worryT about shop and Davy and
debts.
Case had no one to meet at the station but he planned to go down with Bobby. Why didn't his girl come with Cooper's crowd ? It was a nuisance waiting until Monday. Although Case acted comparative indifference he had come to regard Bobby's friend as his own particular charge. It was too much, therefore, to control his thoughts when Bobby entered the room, with a curse on his luck, a slip of yellow paper in his hand and the despairing exclamation

170

THE CORNELL ERA

tinged with bitterness: "Oh, the week won't be worth
while now !"
Case was not accustomed to social disappointments but
he comprehended in a moment.
"She isn't coming, Bob?" "Sprained her ankle skating. Fool doctor won't let her walk," he mumbled, as he flung himself on the divan. ''That's tough. I'm sorry, too," added Frank in an unmistakable tone of chagrin. Bobby glanced up quickly. "Frank Case has got it worse than me," he thought, as he hissed a few notes softly
to himself between his teeth. And then when he saw Case
slouch gloomily out of the room he consoled himself with the thought : "It's just as well she didn't come—he might
have cut me out."
Frank Case regretted his words the moment they were uttered. He was disappointed— admittedly —and about a girl he had never seen. So he sought solace in the phil osophy of sour grapes and the thought of the compensatory and remaining pleasure of meeting Miss Halaway.
At the reception in the Rho Phi house the crowd was beginning to thin out, making dancing less of a tussle. The Masque, the opening event, has as usual been the
"most successful," to employ the "Sun's" original criti
cism. The Rho Phis were among the entertainers of the
evening and how transformed the lodge looked tastily deco rated in the fraternity colors and with green plants and
smilax.
Frank Case had accepted his invitation to the dance. He had stood in the rear at the Masque, discussing the row ing situation with one of the Varsity men. The Masque had bored him and now he had been waiting around rest lessly for nearly an hour at the Rho Phi, feeling himself a stranger among his own comrades. They were all paired off and exchanging. It had been pre-arranged that he should happen to be there when Perk came with Miss Hala way. Perk had probably forgot but he was making the

THE CORNELL ERA

171

round of dances and would show up sooner or later.
ally he saw them enter.

Fin

"Late as usual," he growled, vexed at the delay.

She didn't look badly, he reflected, —the co-ed— rather

simply dressed in a black netted creation, with a mere pretense at decolette. Her clear white skin and glossy black hair, brushed back in gentle undulations, contrasted forcibly. He watched her dance. The same air of un

studied confidence and ease. He would not hestitate to

try it with her—even though a bit out of practice. Perk was stupid. Here he had been waltzing around
in selfish preoccupation for three minutes without noticing Case. At last Case caught Perk's eye and instantaneously received a reply to his wireless message. The dance was over. Perk, with the girl hanging lightly on his arm began his promenade among the buzzing couples, and by clever manoeuvring, in a twinkling had his escort in the

corner where Case was standing.

"Just my luck," muttered Case, who at the same moment were joined by Horton, one of the Rho Phis, and his girl, the former conforming to the etiquette of host rather than inclination, imagining himself conferring a favor and little dreaming of an intrusion.
In a minute Perk was beside them.

"I believe that you have met Mr. Horton, Miss Hala way. Allow me to present Mr. Case," began Perk formally.
Case bowed deeply and blushed. He felt his face re
vealed the idiotic blankness of his mind and it upset him. How unfortunate that we blush only on those occasions

when we most desire to give the impression of calm. Miss Halaway had heard of Case. He hated women,
report gave it. It was surprising to find him at a dance and she barely acknowledged the introduction. Turning to the affable Horton, she began in lively fashion conventional small talk on "the wonderful acting of Mr. Staunton in the

Masque." Case stood by in awkward irresolution, staring va-

172

THE CORNELL ERA

cantly, aimlessly killing time, while the others were engaged in sprightly small talk.
Finally she wheeled round upon him, looking at him squarely, with : "Are you Mr. Case of Providence ?"
"The same Case, by grace of Providence," he answered
with the well worn pun on his name which he employed
only in the direst extremities of conversational dilemma. "Oh, I've heard about you before."
"Is that so? Of whom?"
"You are acquainted with Miss Cridley ?" "Yes. Rather casually. She's a friend of my cousin's. I only met her once. But what did she report ?" Case's face lighted up. They had unexpectedly tum bled upon a topic of mutual interest. "Oh, not about you," she answered with cutting em phasis, "but what you said." She turned relentlessly on her heel, and with a smile and gentle nod to Horton, who had noticed nothing, and a laughing: "They're beginning. This one is yours, isn't it?" she twostepped adeptly away, swinging gracefully to a lively tune. Perk was already lost in the crowd with Horton' s partner, piloting her in and out with startling skill. In the corner, crestfallen and baffled, leaned Case, nervously biting
his nails.
"What did she mean?" And suddenly his face red
dened with an angry flush. "Not about you, but what
you said. The anti-co-ed views, of course. Well, the
women — confound them anyway !" Unobserved he stole out of the room. The negro
grinned politely as he helped the sturdy athlete, now so limp, with his coat. Case picked his way shivering along the icy pavement until just in sight of the lodge, and looking back he ground his teeth and repeated bitterly : "Confound
them all."
***

THE CORNELL ERA

173

"Dreadfully sorry I can't go to the Cotillion tonight," he telephoned the next day. Bobby says that the Lab
must be made up this week. Give my dance to some other
stag or you'll want it yourself, of course." Case spent Junior Week on his thesis test.
B. O. Ford, 'oj.

("l.'M'ij^l'hd.l'liH.I'tlM.Ct.M.I'l.M.l'wnj'I.J

THE SILENT RIDER.

"T is the Northwind, sisters mine,
The Wind is from the North ;
On crag and moor it bloweth shrill,
It roareth loud o'er vale and hill ;
It is the Northwind, sisters mine,
The Wind is from the North.

He rideth fast across the heath, And the Wind is at his back,
And the Shadow of Death rides close behind
Along the wind-swept track ; There is no light of sun or moon
And all the sky is black.
He rideth fast upon his way,
And his journey's end draws near ; He sees the dawning of the day, With hopeful heart he turns to pray ;
And does he fear the Shadow ? Nay,
He has cast aside his fear.

And as he rides he feels the Wind

That blows upon his face, He has escaped the Shadow's grasp
And won the hard-run race,
And from the bright blue sky the sun Shines down upon the place.

It is the Southwind, sisters mine,

The Wind is from the South ;

Hushed is the raging of the storm,

And the wind blows soft and sweet and warm ;

It is the Southwind, sisters mine,

The Wind is from the South.

/. /. Klaber,

'05.

174

THE CORNELL ERA

CORNELL DRAMATICS.

THE dramatic spirit is strong in the college man. It does not seem unnatural to him to strike an attitude and
quote Shakespeare, or, still less unnatural, to quote the villain in the last play at the theatre. He would probably claim, if questioned on this point, that the sympathy neces sary to dramatic interpretation was the product of modern broad and liberal education. However that may be, this
sympathy does exist and manifests itself in many differ ent ways, from the impromptu "stunt" to the polished pro duction of the college dramatic organization.
The story of college dramatics is a long one. As far back as 1690 Harvard entered the field, and has held a lead ing position in this line ever since. She has many strong dramatic organizations, and the names of many of the country's most prominent men might be found in the casts of earlier play7s. We need only mention Justice Holmes of the Supreme Court, Senator Lodge and Senator Hoar. At
present there are several universities where creditable dra
matic work is done and among these Cornell has a place. That the dramatic spirit has a strong foot-hold in Cor
nell cannot be questioned by anyone who has attended a Masque play, or, indeed, if one has only been to a Junior Smoker. Nothing displays the lurking actor better than the "stunt," and nothing is more characteristic of our col
lege gatherings than the custom of "stunts." Wherever the students gather together, whether around the fire-place of the fraternity house or at the various banquets and smok ers, there is invariably a call for a "stunt ;" furthermore, there are always some present who can respond. These, the entertainers, you will find are usually members of some university dramatic club, probably the Masque or the Savage Club.
The Masque is the most important dramatic organiza-

THE CORNELL ERA

175

tion at Cornell. It contains all the best talent, which is used to produce two plays every year, one at Junior Week and the other at Senior Week. These plays are of a high character ; they are rendered with a purpose to attain the highest possible accuracy of interpretation and production. The last few years have seen these intentions well achieved, and the productions have compared most favorably with those of similar college organizations.
The history of the Masque has been up to the last few years the history of dramatics at Cornell. Permanent or ganization was first secured in the spring of 1890. On January 21st of that year a meeting was called for the pur pose of forming a permanent organization. Previous to that time spasmodic efforts had resulted in minstrel shows for the benefit of the athletic fund, but nothing beyond this had been undertaken. Now, however, with a permanent organization, there was an opportunity to produce some thing more pretentious. The first production was "My Awful Dad," given in May and again during Senior Week.
In the fall of '91 they again attempted a minstrel show. For this they were severely criticised in the columns of the Era, which pointed to their "past success in other and more legitimate dramatic endeavors" and urged the Masque to confine its efforts to productions worthy of itself and its reputation. The advice seems to have been adopted ; hence forth the plane of the productions was gradually raised until Shakespeare was successfully attempted. The Masque was a little modest at first, giving but one play in 1891-92 and in 1892-93. Since that time two plays have been given annually. The earlier ones were usually local sketches, written by students. These were not as successful as ex pected and a change was made.
The only original play given of late years was "A Fresh Start," a farce written by J. M. Parker, '99, F. A. Cleveland, '99 and A. N. Drake, '99. This contained many local allusions ; among the characters being Mr. Morrill Hall, Mr. Ernest Grind, Prof. Browning and the S. P. C.

176 THE CORNELL ERA
Spotter Chorus. The two most pretentious attempts of the Masque were "The Ta77iing of the Shrew" in 1901 and "Les Romantiques ," one of Rostand's playlets in 1902. In both
of these attempts the Masque scored a decided success and proved conclusively that it could produce the best plays ; that Cornell dramatic talent was equal to that available in any other university. It was even said at the time that in "The Taming of the Shrew" the Masque equalled, if not, indeed, surpassed many professional productions of that play. Once having produced plays of this high character, the Masque has shown no indication of retrograding ; all of its productions since that time have been the best obtain
able. The results have been all that could have been de
sired. The play to be given this coming Junior Week is entitled "Her," adopted from Sidney Grundy's farce "The Arabian Nights." It promises to maintain the standard of Masque plays both in interest and presentation.
The female parts of the plays have always been a ques tion of difficulty. Until Senior Week of 1900 these had been filled by men. At that time they were filled by women of the University and this plan was tried for several years. In February7, 1902, women from the Ithaca Conservatory of Music took the female parts. Last spring it was decided to return to the original plan of having all the parts filled by
men, and this system will no doubt be followed for some
time to come.
The Masque productions have been coached by differ ent professionals. In 1894, '95 and '96 they were trained by Mrs. Amory. The plays of 1897, and 1898 were under
the direction of Mr. and Mrs. Dixie. From 1900 until this
year Mr. H. G. Hawn, of New York, was coach, and, if we may judge from the results, he was a very successful one.
This year no agreement has been made with Mr. Hawn and
as no professional coach has been called in to prepare for the Junior Week play, the rehearsing has been in the sole charge of the stage manager, W. W. Rooney, '04, who has taken leading parts in Masque productions for several years.

THE CORNELL ERA

ill

When a play has been chosen, the first thing is to secure the cast. This is done by competition among the members of the Masque. They read from the part of the character they wish to take in the play, and the coach selects them, taking into consideration both the physical adaptation of the member and his interpretation. The cast once
chosen, they proceed to learn their parts and rehearsals
commence about three months before the play is to be given, two or three being held weekly.
Admission to the Masque is by competition. This is held in the fall, and the members are chosen by the presi
dent, stage manager, with a third member of the club. The
competitors give a stunt, or read a selection from a play. The number of applicants each year attests the honor it is
considered to belong to the Masque.
As an organization, the Masque has little existence outside of the two play7S produced. The club has no meet
ings of its own, except such business meetings as are neces sary ; the members never get together for their own amuse ment. The Masque has no rooms, and until these are secured, it will be difficult for the club to take its proper place in University life. It is to be hoped that the near future will see quarters suited to a dramatic club secured, where the very atmosphere will suggest Hamlet's ghost.
The success of the Masque during the past few years augurs well for its future prosperity. The sentiment of the university seems strongly in support of the club and with the extension of dramatic interests along other lines, it will
always be looked upon as the chief factor in Cornell drama tics. Age will give to it the traditions which surround the Hasty Pudding Club of Harvard, and with these traditions, the Masque will acquire a similar prestige among Cornell
organizations. The Masque by no means monopolizes the drama at
Cornell. Other organizations have developed, worshipping
the same Muse, but in different forms. Among these are the Savage Club, the Sage Dramatic Club and "Les
Cabotins."

178 THE CORNELL ERA
While the Savage Club is not essentially dramatic, its relation is sufficiently close to merit any attention. This organization was named after the famous Savage Club of London. In the year 1895, our Musical Clubs accompanied the Henley crew to England, giving several concerts there. At the instance of Prof. H. Morse Stephens, a member of the Savage Club, they were entertained by that Society, while in London. Upon their return to Cornell they
secured the consent of the London Club to use its name,
and established the Savage Club, preserving as many of the original Club as were suited to the local forms of the
conditions.
The candidates for admission are required to show some ability in entertainment, of a kind in which a student may excel. It makes a constant practice of entertaining noted visiting actors after the performances at the Lyceum.
Until last fall the Savage Club had never appeared in public. Many of our readers saw them at that time in "Mrs. Reniggs of the Cribbage Patch" a clever burlesque written by Louis A. Fuertes, '97. There seems to be no good reason why the Savage Club should not give the pub
lic the benefit of its talent often in the future.
The Sage Dramatic Club came into existence in the fall of '96, Miss Gail Laughlin being its first president. During the year the Club gives several small plays. How ever, their efforts are concentrated on a play given in the spring. This is of a more serious nature, —Shakespeare or some other classic play. The last two of these plays, "The Foresters" and "Love's Labour Lost," have been given out of doors. Another feature of Sage dramatics is the class "stunt." Each class gives a "stunt" every year; this is usually written by the class, is full of local color, is given
for the entertainment of the other classes.
Cornell also has its French dramatic club, ' 'Les Cabot ins" which was organized last fall. Until a year ago little
interest had been shown in this direction. Except for one play given in the spring of 1895, entitled "La Grammaire"

THE CORNELL ERA

179

no plays had been produced. Last year, however, Profes sors Olmstead and Guerlac of the French department took up the matter. Under their supervision and coaching two plays were produced, V Anglais tel qu'on le parte" and ' 'La poudre aux yeax. ' ' The success which attended their efforts suggested the idea of a permanent organization, and
this was secured last fall in "Les Cabotins." This club is
planned after the Masque, and will give a play in French every year, choosing the cast from their members in the same manner as the Masque casts are selected. The play to be given this year is entitled "Le monde ou e' on ennui."
The rehearsals are now well under way, and the first
appearance of "'Les Cabotins" is assured of being a success. The fraternities at Cornell do not give as much atten
tion to such things as in some other eastern universities. At Yale several of the fraternities are prominent in theatri cals, especially Psi Upsilon, Delta Kappa Epsilon, Alpha Delta Phi and Zeta Psi. Their initiations are noteworthy events ; the alumni gather from far and near to see the
undergraduates perform. At Harvard Pi Eta is essentially a dramatic fraternity, and others only less so. At Cornell
the only fraternity to attempt anything in this direction is Psi Upsilon. The play given by its members is one of the social events of Junior Week. Fraternity life at Cornell
seems to contribute to the social side of the university
generally rather than to men of particular tastes. Hence dramatics must have their separate organizations which will enable men of different fraternities, but of kindred
tastes, to join themselves for the promotion of their common
interests.
With these various organizations, Cornell dramatics seem to be well cared for. Anyone who has ambitions that way can surely find plenty of opportunity for the exercise of his
talent. That some Cornell students do have ambitions that
way is attested by the fact that two members of the class of
1902 are now well started upon successful careers upon the
professional stage. H. G. McClain and Miss Elizabeth

i8o

THE CORNELL ERA

Valentine, both of whom took leading parts in the Masque
plays are now appearing before the public, Miss Valentine
as "Beaute" in the "Everyman" company and Mr. McClain

in the West.

But more important than helping a few participants up the ladder of fame, is the benefit derived by every one of

the very large number of college actors and actresses.

There is nothing which gives the same training as that ob

tained by participating in dramatics. Cornell is proud of

being a practical university ; still there will always be a

place for such a club as the Masque. It will always have a

mission, to contribute to the University atmosphere a little

of its good cheer. And all the dramatic clubs are worthy

agencies to gather in those of us who have kindred inter

ests, to add to our University life, and guard us against

taking our four years here too seriously.

Ea rl Hewes Kelsey ,

'
05 .

Ml'll'M'liMil'hMlllliini'lilUI'liKk^l.lMIM.I'liM,

MEMORIES.

>~pHE wind in the trees is the noise of the seas.
*■ My lamp is the light on the mast. My thoughts turn away from the things of to-day And I dream of the days that are past.
The for'ard light shines through the night Casting a gleam on the foam.
There is only the sea with my sweetheart and me
There on the deck alone.
A soft southern air flaunts her fragrant hair,
Across my face blows a strand
And my beating heart gives a sudden start
At the touch of her smooth warm hand.
The stars in the sky and my sweetheart and I !
Who cares what the Gods may send ?
Alone at the rail together we sail
Who cares tho' the world may end ?
Swift is our flight through the silent night—
Swift toward the land of the sun.
But we live in the haze of golden days For our voyage has just begun. Dick Rappalje, '04.

THE CORNELL ERA
ONE APRIL DAY.

181

I.
U TUST to get out of living," he had said to justify him-
J self in stopping off at Sorento, for there was no bet
ter reason and he was supposed to have met a party of tourists at Naples that same day. "But it will mean so much to me, this loaf—with no thought of the hours, no friends to bother—and perhaps, they have forgotten all about me over the Bay." In this wise he reconciled his conscience to the way that pleased him, as we all do more or less in this funny world.
Through the crooked streets of the quaint old town he wandered, with no Baedeker to point out the interests, — led only where fancy bid him and enjoying it all intensely. Everything pleased him for there was a freedom about it all —the freedom of being alone and a stranger. Yet more,, for the month of April and the blue Italian sky bent above.
By mere accident he chanced upon the road that winds through the vine-clad hills to Pompeii ; which he trudged along, stopping now and then to look far over the Bay.
Opposite, with sapphire of the water between, stretched a great arm of the land, rising abruptly against the sky-line ; dense with the foliage of trees, though here and there a ruined loggia or a bare jutting rock broke the monotony of green in yellows and browns. Below, the town half hidden too by the forest of ilex and cypress slept in a drowsy day dream, while everywhere rose the orange and lemon trees, heavy with their bloom and swaying in a breeze that bore the perfume of a million blossoms.
He had seated himself on a sadly crumpled wall a little back from the road, and was gazing into the distance. Faintly the softened humming of the town reached his ears, intermingled with the low wondering notes of birds as an

182

THE CORNELL ERA

accompaniment to the exquisite picture—a song of summer played to the masterpiece of Spring.
" 'But propt on beds of aramanth and moly How sweet (while warm airs lull us, blowing lowly) With half-dropt eyelids still.' "
He murmured the lines over to himself.
" 'Only to hear and see the far off sparkling brine Only to hear, were sweet, stretched out beneath the pine.' "
"To say the least, this is degenerating, and if lam
not careful I shall lose what little ambition I have."
He aroused himself hastily, and with determination turned down the highway, whistling to himself, yet ready for any adventure that might turn up. In this spirit of ex ploration he entered a little by-path, bordered with cypresses and looking invitingly cool and shady. It dropped down through a hollow, quite isolated from the main thorough fare, winding in and out, so finally bringing up to an open
space. And then : —
He was in an old garden. At one end an overgrown
balustrade terminated the terrace, which declined in easy
rolls to the sea. Clipped ilexes in a hedge stretched across
the turf to where a stained wall of terra-cotta cut off the
view. This was decorated by two Doric columns and a niche containing a statue in marble ; while on either side, parallel to the surface, a long flight of stone steps descended from the park above. Clusters of towering cypress backed the whole, through which could be seen glints of the cobalt sky and the yellow roof of the castle, warm in the afternoon sunlight. Over all the atmosphere of wildness, —of idyllic neglect.
One object, above all else, held his attention ; an old sun-dial, clearly English in its composition, though in no
wise inharmonious with the rest of the scene. He bent over
it to read the inscription. When he lifted his eyes the picture was complete, for
she, the spirit of the place was standing on the steps, tall

THE CORNELL ERA

183

and beautiful, —her hair red gold in the glow. Nor was
she aware of any presence save her own, as she stood in
silence looking out to the Bay. He at once felt that he was an intruder, —that he had
best take himself away before discovery. "I have some thing always for memory as it is," he thought. But then, another idea seized him, —one strange and unconventional.
He crossed the green. He doffed his hat in old time chiv
alry, bowing low before her. "My Lady of Dreams," he whispered.

II.

She did not quite comprehend and would have drawn back, had not the boldness of the stranger together with the novelty of the situation, led her to forget in the moment all thoughts of staid propriety. With a strange little smile —perhaps at the incongruity—she held out her hands to
him.
"But how long you have waited to come," she
answered.
Restraint was gone, it was to be a dream come true.
"I am not going to apologize," he went on to say "for you quite understood and you must know there is enchant ment in this garden."
She laughed. "It certainly has been always so to me, for this is the one place where there is perfect rest. I love to come here when I want to escape from things. There
are times when one does want to get away, you know."
He assented, he sometimes knew. ' 'You will surely think that I am not only immodest
but inhospitable." She was childishly gay as she nodded to a garden bench covered by a little arbor. "There you
will be a little more comfortable, —and inclined to excuse." When they were seated he spoke. "But I do need to
explain, —one has no right to rush upon another as I did, even if the reception has turned out to be so unexpected

1 84

THE CORNELL ERA

and delightful. ' ' Then against her protest, he continued : "I can only say that the temptation was too great, that is all."
She turned to him quite serious. "If anyone has any thing to explain it is I. Although, perhaps, it wasn't quite conservative, still there was no presumption, —and I under stood you. It is just because of that that I want you to pardon me." Her words though quiet, were tensely in
earnest. "But sometimes we desire to escape a little out of
the world, —to get a bit of the ideal for one's own — and we are in an old garden. Do you understand?"
"Do I not understand," he repeated after her. Far out on the water the white sails were glancing to and fro, like great birds in an azure sky ; far out on the silver sea of romance, they too were floating on this April
day.
She was the first to break the revery.
"Do you realize that we have not been introduced, — even in the slightest way. I have quite enjoyed thinking of it, for there has been no need to drag in any of our daily existence, but at least we should know each other's name
for convenience sake. ' '
"You don't think it will break the spell —it is quite practical." He could not help laughing at her quaint
naivite as he told her he was called Robert.
"I hardly think you will find mine otherwise, she re turned. For all Catherines have traditionally fearful tem
pers. Are you disenchanted."
"Is there such a possibility ? "You're only a flatterer like all the rest. Nevertheless
like the princess in the fairy tale I shall tell you something of my captivity. Did you notice the sun-dial ? It is Eng lish like myself. We are both prisoners."
"At will?"
"At will. Have I not the most beautiful prison in the world. Look out into the west," —she pointed to the set ting sun, a great sphere of beryl above the golden sea. — "Is it given to many to behold such wonders every day ?"

THE CORNELL ERA

185

In restful quiet they watched the day close, while the shadows grew ever longer on the grass, the bright colors of the landscape softened to a dusky purple.

III.

"It is growing late. I must leave you now." She rose and together they strolled over to the garden house, splashed with great flecks of white moonlight through the trees. The grey ashes of twilight had long since faded away, —the night had begun.
"So this is to come to an end like all things. I had hoped we were a little out of life."
"You cannot really be sincere in saying that. lean hardly believe you. Don't you see that this is the time to say good-bye, —when all has been so perfect. We both have our real lives, and in these our paths are separated— must be so. Today we have been a little out of them, but
''
tomorrow —
"Tomorrow?"
' 'Tomorrow we both shall have returned. But why should we be sad ? Why think of those, who would quite forget the pain to have known what we have known, —to have such a memory."
"It is to be good-bye then, my Lady of Dreams?" he
asked.
A smile came to her lips at the remembrance, but two
great tears welled in her eyes—her hand rested in his.
"That is what I always want to be ; that is just why I want you to go now. If you only knew. — " The tones grew slightly harsh. "In this life when one meets and cares he is apt to idealize and because of that he does not tell the other that part of his life which is not ideal. But there comes a time when the other knows, —and then. Well, one may be brave and say it doesn't matter, but it does. I want you to go now because we know nothing of each other—never will—except this one beautiful afternoon ;

i86

THE CORNELL ERA

because we can never be disappointed, can never mar this happiness. This one moment is worth more than all the
years. And I want you always to think that we have tasted of that great cup of gladness, which might not be withheld if we were better, worthier, but which is given only for a moment to show the great beyond."
In the great beauty of the night, in the throbbing
music of silence where the blossoms gave up a sweeter
perfume than by day, he pressed her lips. "In other lives, God willing." "In other lives, for God is good."
"Addio."
"Addio."
She slowly ascended the steps. Alone, he again looked out to the bay. He understood now its magic, fraught with the romance of over two
thousand years. He was now kindred to those old
Romans, who loved and lived and knew its charm ; to all those who lived after. The fine rarity came over him. He put his head in his hands.
"Oh the wonder of it all," he said softly, "the wonder
of it all."
T. S. Jones, Jr., '04.

Tbe

Vol. XXXVI.

February, 1904.

No. 5

Terms :—The subscription price is $2.00 per year in advance, and $2.25 when it has not been paid by April 15th. Single copies, 25 cents, maybe obtained at the Corner Bookstores, and the Co-operative Society's Stores.

BOARD OF EDITORS.

Clarence Paul Obendorf, '04. Editor-in-Chief. Fred Bemis Humphrey, '04, Business Manager. Ernest Westervelt Kelsey, '05, Assistant Business Manager.

Henry Crane Hasbrouck, '04. Morgan Bidleman Garlock, '04. William Wallace Gail, '05.

Edwin Mitchell Slocombe, '04. Charles Sherman Cobb, '05. Earl Hewes Kelsey, '05.

Address matter for publication to the Editor-in-Chief, and business communi cations to the Business Manager.
Entered at the post office, Ithaca, N. Y., as second class matter.

JUNIOR week spirit is again rife in the air. The Uni versity student, released from the strain and anxiety
of the critical week of the year, —the few "busters" hav
ing reached the stage of passing indifference ; the others, the great overwhelming majority, satisfied in successes or appeased with conditions—throws aside all care to revel in the delights of Junior week. Even the man who is not fortunate enough to actually participate in the delights, relishes the feeling of festivity in the air and enjoys the sight of the Campus live with the beaming faces of his fel-

i88

THE CORNELL ERA

low students and their guests. The University is at its
best—and no occasion could be more appropriate for our
"Sunday" manners. We welcome the visitors—may their stay be such that they will wish to return.
|C *\* ^j^ *r*
Although football matters have apparently been hiber nating, we understand that shortly there is to be a meeting
of the Athletic Council at which a choice of coach will be
made. In the December number the situation was discussed
at length with the conclusion that an undisputably capable coach, a graduate of Cornell, with full and unquestionable authority should be appointed. Since then our conviction has only been strengthened. In the first place, Manager Senior reports a decrease of some $7,000 in the gate receipts of the Pennsylvania game on Thankgiving day. But one inference can be drawn : that the public lost interest in the game through the correct opinion that the Cornell team was not playing good football. It seems fair to suppose that with even ordinary but unhampered coaching Cornell can return to the standard of 1901 and a coach whose salary is far in excess of that now paid, would probably prove a first-
class financial investment for the athletic association. In
the second place we believe that the unrestricted authority which Mr. Courtney recently7 insisted upon, should be like
wise accorded the head coach on the football field. If Mr.
Glen Warner's services are expensive, we believe that the University7 can afford to meet his demands. If Mr. Warner desires full command, it is only justifiable. If Mr. Warner
desires to choose for his assistant the man with whom he
believes he can work best, allow him that privilege, even though he may select a man unpopular to many of those who direct the policy of the Athletic Association.

THE UNIVERSITY

"—*——'

——r

~ —■

■

11 mum ■

■__■

The lecture system while endowed with many advan
tages, is also possessed of its evils. It is peculiarly adapted to graduates and advanced students whose interest in their

Experimentation

work impels them to earnest and consistent study both within and without

vs.
Inspection.

the classroom. But in its application to undergraduates, it often falls short

of its highest possibilities. Something
more than a lecture is needed to arouse some students from

their habitual lethargy, and although quizzes, reports and collateral readings serve to stiffen a course, when failing to afford intellectual interest, they are shirked or neglected.
If the laboratory or inspection method could be applied

to more of the studies in the Arts department, a new field of interest and usefulness could at once be opened up. Some steps in this direction have already been taken. The class

in Public Finances recently visited the Assessor's Office,

and contemplates attending a meeting of the County Board

of Supervisors. The Philanthropy class spent three profit

able days in visiting Buffalo's charitable and penal institu

tions. These trips and experiences really added greatly

to the students' intellectual interest in a subject by giving them a chance to see the problems about which they7 were

studying. Although it is not supposed that this method of investi
gation can be wide reaching in its application, there are fields to which it can be profitably extended. The classes in law might visit a trial in some of the local courts, the students in public speaking could be given opportunities to

190

THE CORNELL ERA

speak at various meetings. Those studying Municipal
Government and Political Institutions could attend the
Common Council and board meetings, the caucus, observe registrations and election. When studying the labor prob lem a class could make a profitable visit to our local manu factories, thus getting an opportunity to study the actual conditions and problems of all grades of labor in a dozen industries. The pedagogical classes will find a fund of interesting and suggestive ideas in a trip to the Cortland Normal School, or a visit to the Ithaca preparatory and grade schools. The field of Sociology would permit an instructive trip through the slums of a city, a day at Castle Garden, or an afternoon in a divorce court.
It may be said that all this takes time and money. So
do the shops, laboratories, and dessecting rooms, so do the civil engineering and forestry trips, the geological and
botanical excursions.
The natural sciences have their laboratories, a regular fee is charged, and the students are required, as a part of the course, to spend a certain amount of time in studying. Visitation an d inspection are to some courses what experi mentation is to others. The advantages ascribed to the
latter are inherent in the former.
To study understandingly, we must know what we are studying about, and when an opportunity to do so can be
afforded at little trouble and expense, the educational value of the ccurse should demand a realization of these oppor tunities.
M. B. G. '04.

' I ^HE Idler in buoyant mood at the thought of exams. -*- over and an A.B. degree developing as prettily as a
good negative under a good solution in a dark room, dismounted from the Creeping car at South Avenue. It was Friday before Junior Week. There at the corner, with

a glossy suit case bought at Benny's fortieth positively last

day sale, stood a slender, raw faced girl attired in her Sun

day best. She seemed perplexed and was about to ap

proach the Idler, when winding his way up through the churchyard came a gallant Cornellian, in sweater and a

misshapen gray7 cap, on his way to a two o'clock. He, too,

noticed the girl, took in the situation and with a graceful

sweep of his flimsy gray cap boldly stepped up to the lady in question.

"You seem perplexed," he said in the soothing tones

of the hero of the all week "repertoire" company. "Can I

assist you in any way ?"

"Yes, I'm new.
Avenue is ?' '

Could you tell me where South

The Idler was on —so he followed in hearing distance.

"That's right up here. I'll be glad to direct you. Can

I carry your case ?"

Silent marching. "It's very slippery, won't you take my arm ?" Some more marching. The Cornellian' s face was gleaming. He was the real article with the real article. "You're on for Junior Week ?"

"Yes, that's what I come fer."

192

THE CORNELL ERA

"I know the trains must be making dreadful connec tions on account of the snow. Well, here we are. Why, that's all right. I'll take your case right up to the door."
"I don't go in the front way."
And she turned with ten cents in her hand.
The pane in front of the window seat vibrated with the
roars of laughter within. Those Cornell boys are the politest things !

BOOK REVIEWS
Here in America although absorbing interest is mani fested in athletic competitions, all athletes are trained large ly in the same manner, by out-door running and in-door gymnastic work and no other system is tried. The thought is not apt to arise that any other method of athletic develop ment exists. If one were to mention the "Jiu-jitsu" to a stalwart six foot giant of the football field, he would in all probability look at you in amazement, possibly in contempt. According to Mr. H.I. Hancock this system of the Japanese
is not only in every respect as rational as our own, but even more efficient for developing strength, quickness and power. The system of wrestling employed by the Japs is based on taking advantage of the anatomical position of nerves and blood vessels in the body and also on the application of the principles of physics in executing all tricks. No hesitancy is made in stating that if an adept pupil of the "Jiu Jitsu" system should meet one of our modern professional pugilists, each battling according to his own rules, that victory would undoubtedly rest with the little Jap. "Japanese Physical
Training," S. P. Putnam's Sons. In reading "McTodd" by Cutcliffe Hyne, (Macmil-
lans) one is immediately struck with the originality of ex pression of the energetic old Scottish engineer in relating his adventures under the torrid sun of the Equator and the freezing winds of Davis Strait. He is an original old tar, exhaling the air of the engine room, with a delightful man ner of hitting the nail in his similes and telling only stories which have a point. But more than that, he has a fashion of keeping the point well concealed so that the reader re
mains in suspense until the last page.

THE CORNELL ERA
Another collection of stories labelled "The Strange Ad ventures of Mr. Middleton," by Warden Curtis, (H. H. Stone & Co., Chicago), is noticeable mainly for the origin ality with which the stories are introduced. A young Chicago law clerk by chance falls in with an Arabian emir who has come to America to gather a new collection of sto ries for the entertainment of his prince who has imprisoned
his brother because the latter's fund of stories is exhausted.
By relating new tales the emir hopes to free his brother and selects Middleton as judge of the stories. The tales them selves are for the most part as improbable as the circumstrnces of their relation but are told with an ease bordering on flippancy, which fascinates, and the extravagance of the author's imagination, together with an irresponsibility of style, make them acceptable for an idle hour.
Putnam and Company have issued a splendid edition of the odes of Anacreon, translated by Thomas Moore with many artistic illustrations by Girodet de Roussey. Anacreon
is one of the Greek poets of whom one hears little in American
Universities. Only the student deep in classics could prob ably tell who Anacreon was or when he lived. His verses so little appreciated have a simplicity, a pureness and
sweetness, that charm and soothe.
Among the text books received, El Nino De La Bola by De Alarcon and American Book Company, Dona Perfecter by Galdos, are not only valuable as being adapted to constantly increasing demand for Spanish books for the High Schools or more especially Universities but will help to make students better acquainted with the excellent con temporary school of Spanish novelists. Merimees "Colomba" has again been edited to supply the never ceasing
interest in the brisk romance of Corsian life. The notes,
by H. P. Williamson, of Chicago University, are entirely in French as the edition is intended for collegd work. (Ameri can Book Company).
The Era acknowledges the receipt of the following
books :

THE CORNELL ERA

Macaulay's Life of Johnson. Boston English High School.
Heath and Co., Boston.
** *

Edited by A. P. Walker, Price, 25 cents. D. C.
#

A Primer of English Literature. By A. W. Howes. Price, 50 cents. D. C. Heath and Company, Boston.
****

Shakespeare' s King Lear. By W. J. Rolfe, Litt.D. 40 cents. American Book Company.
** **

Price,

Greek Primer. By Clarence W. Gleason, A. M., of the
Roxbury Latin School. Price, $1.00. American Book Company, New York, Cincinnati and Chicago.
****

Bunte Geschichten fur Anfanger. By Erna M. Stoltze, In structor at Miss Spence's School for Girls, New York City. Price, 30 cents. American Book Company.
^ >fc % sf;

Fifty Fables by La Fontaine. Edited by Kenneth McKenzie, Instructor in Yale University. Price, 40 cents.
American Book Company, New York.
****

Field and Laboratory Exercises in Physical Geography . By James F. Chamberlain, State Normal School, Los Angeles, Cal. Price, 50 cents. American Book Com
pany, New York.
*** *

Zoology, Descriptive and Practical. By Buel P. Colton. Professor in the Illinois State Normal Uuiversity.
Price, 15 cents. D. C. Heath and Company, Boston.
5j_ 5jC 5j£ 5j_

Physical Laboratory Manual. By H. N. Chute, of the Ann Arbor High School. D. C. Heath and Company,
Boston.

A Cornell Journal
5* #ffi8_B8BgjBBHMM*M«_-MBWH5_at_________! I i BB8 W_h'RTH_! ____rgTrC»1g^ryrJ_y«ftffWPL r-JgJT3F¥^ffg3^'a^BillP'L'u'1+tf»*iJ*l^'"'' •-
NOTES ON THE EARLY SPANISH AMERICAN-WARS.

[The following extracts are taken from four manuscript Reports

to the French Government in 1818 by Count de Beaumont de Briva-

zac, then a secret service agent stationed in London. These Reports,

which have never been published, were written at the time when the

Spanish-American colonies were at war with the mother country—

that is to say, nearly a century ago. This fact gives special interest

to some of the statements and prophesies of the author, who was a

native of St. Domingo.]

Theodore Stanton, '76.

FLORIDA is dear to the Madrid cabinet, but if Spain will not give it up with good grace, the Americans will take it by force. Political wiseacres hold that if Spain knew what was best for her, she would endeavor, by this
inevitable sacrifice, to secure, if not the support, at least the neutrality, of the Washington cabinet.
***

Florida has become the prey of the ambitious govern

ment of the United States, as will be the case with New

Mexico during the course of this year of 181 8, unless

Europe puts a veto on this new fashion of making conquests,

viz. ,

without

any

declaration

of war,

a

course

which has

been adopted in both Americas by the two great powers of

the new world. I wonder if there happens to be a Holy

Alliance between Great Britain and the United States.

###

It is evident that the interests of English trade are greatly compromised by this increase of the territory and

194

THE CORNELL ERA

power of a nation which is becoming in everything the rival of Great Britain. England cannot afford to lose her free intercourse with Jamaica, nor to see her ships, when forced to pass through the channels of Santarem and Ba hama, continually, in time of war, within range of Ameri

can canon.

>fC yf. vf.

The continuous coast line extending from the St.

Lawrence to the mouth of the Mississippi will make the

Anglo-American people, when its population, during the

next half century, shall have attained its natural growth,

the first maratime nation of the world. Will it be, there

fore, to the interest of the British nation to suffer Florida

and New Mexico to be taken from the crown of Castile and

absorbed by the North American republic ? Certainly not.

English public opinion has already expressed itself as op posed to this act of the American government. There can be no doubt that the cabinet of St. James will make very strong representations in this sense at Washington, and it can be quite as safely predicted that these observations will

not be heeded. do about it ?

What will the English government then
* >!< *

Politically, it is much more important to England than to Spain that Florida does not go to augment the power of the colossus of the new world. If the United States keeps the peninsula, England will be angry with both the Ameri cans and the Spaniards who did not know how to enforce respect for their territory. If the court of Madrid cedes or
sells to the Uuited States, Great Britain will still have hard
feeling for the United States and Spain, —for the Madrid cabinet for thus thoughtlessly increasing the power of a strong rival and making it possible for this power to create
an immense navy with which to command the Gulf of
Mexico. It has been and is still to the interest of Great
Britain to see Florida independent, left to itself, when it

THE CORNELL ERA

195

would be under the tutelage of, and its neutrality guaran teed by the great naval power of the world.
* **
The insurrection in old Mexico, which first burst out in 1 8 10, has been revived by Colonel Mina, who, by the
way, was once imprisoned by Napoleon at Vincennes. He is the nephew of the celebrated General Espoz y Mina and has been a general in Mexico. This adventurer, whom I used to keep my eye on in 18 16, then lodged at the Prince of Wales Hotel, Leicester Square. He had with him an intelligent Albanian, who acted as his secretary. When they were all ready to start, Mina, who owed his landlord a round sum, told him frankly that he could not settle his bill, though he hoped to be able to do so soon. He ex plained his plans to him, whereupon the landlord, like a true Englishman, not only consented to wait for the settle
ment of the account, but lent further sums to his debtor.
This landlord has just received a letter from Mina, who now owns the richest mines in Mexico, informing him of an early payment of capital and interest. This anecdote is quite true and comes to me from a private source.
* >K *

Guiana is now entirely independent and free from Spanish rule. There it was that the unfortunate Piar dis played talents which have given him such a high standing among the insurgents. But, being himself a negro, he was working in the interest of his own race and wished to act separately from the whites. His aim, which, if successful, would have been detrimental to the colonists, was nearly
realized, when Bolivar, informed of Piar's designs, had him
arrested and tried before a court martial with Admiral
Byron at its head, which condemned him to death as a traitor. If it had not been for this, all of Venezuela would
have been delivered from Spanish domination.
***

196 THE CORNELL ERA
Cuba and Porto Rico might console Spain for the losses
with which she is threatened in this part of America if she were to confer on these colonies a judicious administration in conformity with the spirit of the time. They will re main submissive as long as they find it to their interest to be so. By no other bond can they be kept attached to the
mother country islands in which party spirit runs high and in which, especially, is found a tendency towards innova
tion wafted thither on every breeze —islands which have
ever before their eyes the fatal example of St. Domingo.
We would be very blind indeed if we had not long known the two powerful causes which has set in motion the complicated machinery of American independence. The cabinet of Madrid is in honor bound to demand satisfaction, de facto and categorical, of the cabinets of London and Washington. If Spain does not see her way to do this, she must make up her mind to lose her American colonies, and perhaps, one day the Philippines also.
ON SOME DEFECTS OF OUR EDUCATIONAL SCHEME.
/"CORNELL University was a pioneer in the field of lib-
^ eral education. Its founder's motto— "I would found an institution where any person can find instruction in any
study" — has secured for Cornell, the most liberal, the broad est and most advanced educational ideas. Among these is
our system of almost unrestricted election of studies.
The elective system is a good thing. It compels the University to establish new courses, and to strengthen its many departments. It allows students to develop along the

THE CORNELL ERA

197

lines of personal inclination and natural aptitude. It con fines them to no trammeled or archaic curriculum, but opens up the noble universe of knowledge. It permits specializa tion along an infinite number of lines.
But the system as exemplified at Cornell, especially in the College of Arts and Sciences, is not without its inherent defects. There is danger in its liberalism. One minor re sult, is that it allows the shirk to shirk. With a determi
nation to loaf, aided by an almost unrestricted choice of
studies, a student can get through college with an amaz ingly small amount of cramming and an enormously large amount of loafing.
Our unrestricted elective system is often the source of
positive harm to one who has not chosen his life's work. It permits him to elect courses which possess little broaden ing value, and consequently he fails to get in his underclass years that comprehensive training or breadth of mind that should enable him to judiciously choose his future vocation. Perhaps in his first year he takes a five hour course in mathematics or a six hour course in chemistry7, when for
his purpose, shorter courses would be better. His first year's
work is often laid out for him by parents, or preparatory school teachers, persons unfamiliar with the nature of the work in the courses offered. If, at the beginning of his sophomore year, he has no idea as to his future, it is high time that his course be shaped so as to give him a goal. With his greater freedom of election, his chances for a
broad course diminish.
But how does this system affect the student who has chosen his life work and wishes to prepare himself in his
undergraduate years ? During the earlier part of his course, that idea is only a rough conception. He is misled in choosing his courses by the titles and descriptions. He does not realize their bearing upon, or the importance of their
relation to his future. He elects work at random and
through ignorance or oversight he leaves out courses that are of utmost importance to a thorough mastery of his pro-

198 THE CORNELL ERA
fession. He does not realize his mistakes until the oppor
tunity is gone forever. The result is a patched, one-sided course which falls far short of its highest possibilities. He has covered no subject in its entirety ; he is not fitted for any particular place or position in life.
Another consequence of this system is a considerable
overlapping of courses. The professor, knowing the stu dents have had no uniform previous training, has to make each of his courses complete, and so treats matters given more properly elsewhere. Often a student has to listen to the same thing, two or three times in a single year.
Our broad elective system should result in a closer un
ion of our several departments, but they seem to the stu dent to be separate planetary systems. There seems to be little in common between them and he feels as though he is always working under three or four unsympathetic heads.
These criticism of the defects of our elective system,
which may seem exaggerated and pessimistic, do not apply to all students or to all the departments of our University. They apply less and less as the student advances in his col lege course. As he progresses and succeeds in his work he becomes acquainted with his professors, they become inter ested in him, and he is in more of a position to judge and to be advised. But a great mass of students—practically all the underclassmen and the vast majority of the upper classmen—are in no such advantageous position. Their relations with the faculty are too business-like ; there is not enough of that reciprocal cordiality found in so many7 of the smaller colleges.
Nor do these criticisms apply to all the colleges of our University. They touch little, if at all, the highly techni cal and specialized courses, for in them there is little chance for election till the senior year. But they do apply to the College of Arts and Sciences. To be sure, in some few of this college's departments, as in chemistry, those specializ ing are required to complete a prescribed course. But these are no longer truly elective courses. The student

THE CORNELL ERA

199

specialist of certain subjects is expected to prepare himself along certain correlated lines in other departments. In the register courses are vaguely suggested, but they are
indefinite. He is thrown upon his own resources, and of
ten elects his studies upon the impulse of the moment, fol lowing the advice of some similiarly situated student, one utterly unfitted to act as a counselor. An incomplete and
unbalanced course results.
But we are not arguing against the elective system. We are endeavoring to point out, from the student's stand point some of its weaknesses in the hope that they will some day be corrected. Several efficient remedies might be proposed, all of which would be more or less available.
The various departments might require specific pre vious training for those entering certain courses. This method does now hold to a certain extent, but by carrying it farther, and by7 holding more rigidly to the requirements, some of these evils of overlapping would be obviated. But this remedy, by itself cures but a few of the incon
veniences.
Each department might publish, in the register or else
where, several outline courses which would suggest, not
only the sequence in which the work in that department should be taken, but also the courses to be elected in the
other departments. Students specializing along these lines might be urged or compelled to follow these more or less
complete outlines. The best plan would be to organize a faculty advisory
committee, composed of representatives from the different departments, to which students could go for consultation and advice. This board could prepare schemes offering
preparation for any number of positions or professions. The students, especially freshmen, might be invited, re quested or required to consult this committee which could be given power to revise or suggest revisions in the selected
schedule of courses as elected by the students. The stu dent need not be required to outline his work for more

200

THE CORNELL ERA

than a single year. By personal contact, the profess
ors could better understand the students needs, sympa-
pathize with his ambitions, and direct his energies and efforts. The student, on the other hand, would be given a chance to explain his personality and individuality, and to receive advice that is measured by his own standard, and
suited to his own abilities.
Any one of these plans would be beneficial. The working details of the chosen remedy need not be intricate or complicated, but something should be done. It is wrong
to allow a student to abuse the elective system, and lose
what should be its greatest boon. The advisory board would not narrow the elective system, but would jealously guard its fundamental principles. It is really a question between the liberty and danger of making an unrestrained and inju dicious choice of studies, and the privilege of making a choice tempered and guided by seasoned advice. "
M. B. Garlock, '04.

THE NERVIEST MAN.
T) ICHARDS strode up and down the bluff twirling his ■*^- cane with the oblivious air of one deep in thought of things far remote from present scenes. Near by lay clus tered a group of tents of that peculiar design which the ex perience of the American army officer on the western plains has led him to adopt as best suited to his personal comfort. To the right and left stretched the camp of the American forces in one unbroken line encircling Santiago on the East,
North and West. The American entrenchments, banked
with sand bags and bristling with Gatling guns, wound about the city, as a boa encircles the creature he is about to crush. On the South the ocean extended with mildly rol-

THE CORNELL ERA

201

ling waves, and there lay the victorious fleet of Sampson. Along the coast to the South-west could still be seen the
smoking wrecks of Spain's lately vaunted fleet. At the foot of the cliff stretched the little city of Santiago.
The afternoon was quiet ; there was no firing. One would not have understood that a severe battle had just been decided, had it not been for the numerous bulidings in the city torn by the American shells and the ruined hulks
on the strand. For it was the day of peace. Even at that distance, Richards could hear the monotonous toll of the
cathedral bells calling the devout sons of Spain to mass. And yet not one hour ago Cevera's fleet had been destroyed.
General Shafter had just given the order to allow no
one to leave the lines without a pass. His purpose was to
keep information of the big naval fight from being pub lished in America until the official reports were made pub lic. Richards was correspondent for the New York Re
view. No wonder that he bit his nails and contracted his
brow as he looked out to sea and saw the torpedo boats patroling the coast, ready to prevent any attempt on the part
of the press boats to get away with the story of the de
struction of the Spanish fleet. He thought of the public waiting uneasily for news as to the termination of the great sea fight. For, while the whole world knew that a great naval battle was in progress at Santiago, not a word
had been sent out as to the result.
It was for a good reason that Richards lost his habit ual composure and paced the bluff with the nervous stride of a man distraught. Here was the most important news since the Gettysburg and no chance to forward it. Look ing towards the harbor mouth he noticed one of the torpedo boats headed in the direction of Kingston, slowly steaming out. Seized with a sudden inspiration, he threw aside his
cane and rushed towards the beach.
When he arrived at the water's edge he was clothed merely in his shirt and trousers, having thrown off his coat and collar as he ran. A fishing smack lay beached upon

202

THE CORNELL ERA

the sand. Before the astonished half breed owner, who at
the time was ashore, could gather his wits sufficiently to even protest, Richards had shoved off and by the aid of the oars and the queer little lanteen sail, making rapidly sea
ward.
"What's gotten into Richards," remarked Dick Mumford, with indifferent drawl to Dandy White, as these
two Globe men strained their eyes after the apparently in sane Richards. "The man's been brooding so over that
order of Shaffer's that I guess he has gone crazy and is
trying to make Kingston in a row boat." "Crazy—like the devil," snapped White. There goes
the Dispatch headed for Kingston. He's going to try to board her." "Why man," answered Mumford, reassur ingly, "they'd no more think of taking him than flying."
Just then the fishing boat upset, apparently by accident, directly alongside the Dispatch. Richards pretended he could not swim a stroke. He splashed wildly and finally, either because the captain felt elated over the victory or be
lieved a life at stake, a line was thrown him from the deck
of the Dispatch which was now over him. White and Mumford when they saw Richards pulled
aboard, clenched their fists and swore wild oaths. But
they might as well have sworn at the jagged rocks behind them, for the torpedo boat was far beyond hearing. "Oh, if I had only grabbed him as he came tearing down the
bluff," wailed White.
"Well, it's an earned scoop. Give him his due," re
marked the philosophic Mumford. "And the Globe won't have a single word on it tomorrow morning. Say, Mum ford, there's his coat over there. Maybe there's some to
bacco in it — for consolation."
When Richards was hauled aboard the Dispatch he succeeded in passing himself off on the captain as an army surgeon who had been upset while fishing. In reply to his explanation the captain said : "I'm sorry, Doctor, but I've got to make Kingston tonignt, so I'm afraid you'll have to

THE CORNELL ERA

203

accompany us but we'll make the trip as pleasant for you as possible." He furnished the newspaper man with an outfit
of clothes and a comfortable state room. As soon as the
Dispatch reached the Kingston dock, Richards, remarking that he thought he would take a little stroll, went ashore
and started for the cable office. Here he scribbled off col
umn after column for the "Review," the operator cabling as
he wrote.
Finally7, his task ended, he dropped his pencil ex hausted but with the consciousness of a reputation made. Tomorrow morning the American people would know the
story of the destruction of Cevera's fleet and read it in his
paper only. Looking up he beheld the captain of the Dispatch be
fore him with a bunch of Army and Navy reports in his hand destined for Washington.
"Well, this is a new one for me," remarked that worthy, "you're the nerviest man in a nervy7 business."
And Richards bears that reputation to this day.
/. De Witt Justin, '06.

CHESS AT CORNELL.
UPON entering the new trophy room in Barnes Hall, even a careless observer will not fail to notice upon
the wall, near the door, a splendid gleaming silver shield mounted upon a finely cut oak background. This is a very recent acquisition to our numerous trophies, and symbolizes one of the triumphs of Cornell in a peculiar line of mental activity—that of chess-playing.
The success of Cornell is chess, especially as evidenced during the last four months, brings this inconspicuous form of intercollegiate activity forcibly to our attention. It

204

THE CORNELL ERA

seems, therefore, an appropriate time to cast a backward glance over the history of chess in our university, to note the gradual progress of the royal game as a student activity,
to watch its natural fluctuations in student interest and sup
port, until brought down to its present state of prosperity and promise for a rosy future.
The first movement to establish chess-playing as one of the organized forms of student activity occurred in the
college year of 187 1-2. The Philidor Chess Club, as the new organization called itself, after the renowned French player of the eighteenth century, started out unpreten tiously. Various were the experiences and vicissitudes through which it passed, but it remained firm until 1879, when a peculiar fate overtook it. At that time the Chess Club consisted almost wholly of members of the graduating
class, and when the class of 1879 left Cornell, the Chess
Club went with them. This had its natural consequence.
In the fall of that year, there was no re-organization of the
Chess Club, and chess as a college activity at Cornell com
pletely died out. But during the period of its existence, from 1871 to
1879, the Philidor Chess Club displayed a remarkable de gree of activity and an aggressive spirit. Besides continu
ous tournaments held among the members, many games
were played with the largest and most important colleges of the country7. Our opponents during this period included
Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Columbia, the Washington Uni versity of St. Louis, the University of Pennsylvania, and
Michigan. While we did not always excel, yet our show
ing against the more firmly established clubs of these col
leges was creditable.
The system by which these colleges were played was far different from the present system of intercollegiate chess-playing. Instead of a picked team representing Cor nell meeting a picked team of another college, and the games being completed at one sitting, only one game was played between two colleges. This game would be pro-

THE CORNELL ERA

205

tracted for months, and the result would be known only after a long period of time as each move was made through the mails, so that it often took from three to four days for a
move and its answer.
As soon as a move was received from the opposing col lege, a consultation of the club's best players would be held. At this, after a careful consideration and study of the position, a move would be decided upon and mailed to the opponents. Such games were naturally of a fine quali ty, and many were the bitter struggles of our players to obtain some slight advantage in position. That done, it was only a question of time for the inevitable winning of
the game. To lose such a game, after months of the hard
est and keenest playing, was heart-rending. But consola tion came when we occasionally turned the tables on some opposing college. The postal coming from our opponents with the single laconic word, "Resigns" was the cause of much jubilation in the Cornell camp.
All this mental strife appears, however, to have been hopelessly forgotten in the fall of 1879, and for very many
years no efforts were made to reestablish the chess club at
Cornell. Let it not be supposed, however, that devotees of "ye royal game of ye chesse" were not present in the Uni versity. Wherever an educated community of a thousand or more individuals exists, the game is bound to have its
enthusiasts. Chess-playing at Cornell was merely dormant, and it needed but a slight encouragement to set it ouce
more upon a firmer basis.
This encouragement came in 1893, through the efforts of a few very energetic individuals, and the chess club was then reorganized, with a membership of twenty-five stu dents. It was again fated, however, to suffer a set-back. It was denied the privilege of a meeting-place on the Cam
pus, and had to have recourse to the use of some member's
room, where the players met once a week. This, how ever, as may naturally be supposed, was not conducive to active work, and the Chess Club has consequently left al most no records of its activity during the period of 1893-7.

206

THE CORNELL ERA

In 1897 the Club suddenly entered upon the most
prosperous period since its establishment. From that time
to the present, interest in it has grown much wider. The
troublesome question of a suitable meeting-place was set tled by the granting of the use of the trophy-room for week
ly meetings. Plans were made for an active career, and for matches with other colleges. Our chances of success were greatly enhanced when, in 1898, several exceedingly fine players entered the University. Then it was that efforts were made to establish some definite league with two or three colleges for the purpose of holding an annual match.
These efforts were crowned with success when, in 1899,
the Triangular Chess League, composed of Cornell, Penn sylvania, and Brown Universities, was formed. Professor
Rice, of New York, an enthusiastic lover of chess, donated a handsome silver cup to the League, on the terms that the college winning three successive matches should retain the
cup permanently. The first match, which took place during the Christ
mas recess of 1899, was won by Pennsylvania, with a lead of but half a game. The following year Cornell succeeded in defeating its rivals, and from that time it has never lost to them. Its third consecutive victory occurred in. 1902,
when the cup became our permanent possession. It may now be seen snugly reposing in the Barnes Hall trophy
case. Some doubts seemed to arise as to what would be the
result of our winning the cup. Would the triangular Chess League continue to exist without any trophy for which to play ? This question was happily settled when Professor
Rice again came forward and most generously offered a
silver shield as a trophy that was once more to bind the
league together.
The result of the match last Christmas is well known
to most Cornellians. The contest was close and exciting, and the games played were of high quality. With Cornell and Pennsylvania tied for first honors at the end of the
third day of play, the match was at a crucial stage. On

THE CORNELL ERA

207

the fourth and last day, however, when the smoke of battle had cleared, Cornell had won the match, and with it the temporary possession of the silver shield trophy. Nor was this the only victory. On the day of the Cornell-Colum bia football game, the six best chess-players of Columbia were defeated by a team of six Cornell players, with the score of 4^-1 j£.
The crowning triumph, however, of Cornell chess came last Christmas, when the Quadrangular "CHYP" League composed of Columbia, Harvard, Yale, and Princeton, ac cepted the challenge of the Triangular League to play the six best players of their sixteen men. Cornell's represen
tatives defended the first and second boards. The result,
as is well known, was 3^-2^ in favor of the Triangular League, both of Cornell's men winning, from the first boards of Yale and Harvard respectively.
This success may foreherald a future and a much more
desirable one. It may cause Cornell to be represented in the annual international collegiate chess match between
America and England. At present only the "Chyp" League is represented. The injustice of excluding Cornell is manifest, and has raised considerable comment. As
long as the chess players encourage interest in the game,
Cornell will in all probability maintain her high state of
efficiency in chess matters. Her efforts must now be di
rected mainly toward making the silver shield trophy our
permanent possession. That can be done by hard and con
sistent efforts and from the present attitude of the club, Cor
nell will find ample enthusiasm to maintain her present
honorable position in intercollegiate chess.
M. J. Clurman, '06.

THE CORNELL ERA
THE HILLS OF CORNELL.
T lift mine eyes unto the hills
-** Whence cometh help to me. Their beauty evermore instills Deep love, Cornell, for thee.
Where beats the heart that does not know
Their mystery and spell ? In morning mist and sunset glow
They greet our fair Cornell. Serene upon her lofty height
For aye she shall endure.
No roaring blast of storm or night Can shake her strength secure.
The hills like an unmoving sea
Around her towers swell.
They stand to all eternity—
The hills of our Cornell.
C. H. Crawford, '

THE CORNELL ERA

2

THE PIPER.
w E danced and sang through the sylvan glade As the Piper played—as the Piper played, With never a thought of the joy he made ; For his squeaking pipe was quaintly small And the rasping notes would break and fall, — We thought it quite poor if we thought at all As the Piper played.
The shadows were long in the sylvan glade As the price we paid—as the price we paid ; We had little to give else he might have stayed, But others must dance while he must play. Yet it seemed so strange he went away, For we didn't then know we had lived our day
And the price was paid. T. S.f.,fr., '04,

210

THE CORNELL ERA

A SONG OF THE DAY.
CLING, clong, clang, clong ; The sweet chimes toll. Over the hills the echoes roll, And up the sturdy students throng, With book and square and courage strong. For poets tell us, Art is long And Time flies swiftly as a song. Cling, clong, clang, clong.
Cling, clong, clang, clong ; Rings out the measure Of passing hours of toil or pleasure.
Some read and reason from a book.
Others in shops their elbows crook. A few by shadowed path or brook
Learn tender lessons from a look.
Cling, clong, clang, clong.
Cling, clong, clang, clong ; The day is done.
The hills have kissed the crimson sun,
And downward 'neath the purple dome The weary students straggle home. Magna Maria in the tower Hallow to us this twilight hour ! Cling, clang, clang, clong ; cling, clang, clong, clang.
Good night ! God bless you all ! W. W. Mack, ex-y02.

e

^■sarrvzjuz "if^Br.'trirTrv^mnsir- -ir i__ttit •g^fnft'l^w^-^^^^^'^i^'v^s^^

jJKicyT^^^pff-->«i_^_r7^

Voi,. XXXVI.

March, 1904.

No. 6

Terms :—The subscription price is $2.00 per year in advance, and $2.25 when it has not been paid by April 15th. Single copies, 25 cents, maybe obtained at the Corner Bookstores, and the Co-operative Society's Stores.

BOARD OF EDITORS.

Clarence Paul Obendorf, '04. Editor-in-Chief Fred Bemis Humphrey, '04, Business Manager. Ernest Westervelt Kelsey, '05, Assistant Business Manager.

Henry Crane Hasbrouck, '04. Morgan Bidleman Garlock, '04. William Wallace Gail, '05.

Edwin Mitchell Slocombe, '04. Charles Sherman Cobb, '05. Earl Hewes Kelsey, '05.

Address matter for publication to the Editor-in-Chief, and business communi cations to the Business Manager.
Entered at the post office, Ithaca, N. Y., as second class matter.

'"pHE freshman banquet has been held after elaborate
skirmishing between the underclasses. The sopho more class has honored its athletes at a class dinner, and
the traditional senior banquet will be held early in May. Before deciding upon the price to be charged for the tickets, the committee might well weigh several considerations.
The object of a class banquet is to get a class together, to promote friendships and good fellowship, to develop class enthusiasm and University spirit. The purpose is not to

212

THE CORNELL ERA

load the table with delicacies, or to make the dinner such
an expensive and select affair that only a few can attend. The larger the attendance, the greater the success. If
these class dinners subserve any useful and desirable end,
they should be made popular affairs.
There are hundreds of students who are eager to at
tend these banquets but who feel unable to pay two and a
half or three and a half dollars. This amount means a real
sacrifice to them. They are thus compelled to miss some of the pleasantest memories of a college course.
By lowering the price of the tickets their sale would be greatly increased, and many who would otherwise be excluded, would be enabled to attend. The dinner then
becomes a real class affair. For from one dollar and a half
or two dollars, a dinner that would meet every requirement could be served at a downtown hotel. These banquets should be given by the class, for the class, and the price
should be so low that most if not all of the class could attend.
These points should be especially7 considered by the sen ior banquet committee. At that banquet the class will meet for one of its last informal undergraduate gatherings. That dinner is an occasion always looked forward to and long to be remembered. It is one of the most cherished memories of what should be the happiest year of a student's life. The price of the tickets should be placed so low that no senior can have the shadow of an excuse for not attending.

THE UNIVERSITY

'
■^WK___BiB«BMWWWBMBMBM«-_^______M_^«MMM-««M

n III ■_.

That narrowness and selfishness should be found in

college men is hardly surprising, but that these qualities should be exhibited by college presidents is hardly to be
expected. Whether due to ignorance or Narrowness jealously they are ever to be condemned,

among

and especially when they appear in the

Educators, united effort of college presidents to hin

der the progress of another college. Such

an effort was made recently at Albany7, at the hearing before

the Finance Committee of the Legislature on the appropria

tion of $250,000 for a building for The Cornell College of

Agriculture. The claims of Cornell for the building rest on the pro
vision in the charter or the University, granted by the State, that instruction should be given in the industrial

arts, that for years a State College of Agriculture has been
maintained at Cornell, with free tuition, and largely sup
ported by the private funds of the University, and on the
requests of thousands of farmers of the State that the
building be erected at Cornell. The proposition to dis tribute the instruction among the various colleges of the
State is not feasible, because agricultural instruction is technical and expensive, and includes many branches, for which complete facilities are not found in these colleges. The plan for erecting a separate College of Agriculture is fraught with many difficulties, and involves an unnecessary expense. The logical course is to unite the facilities at Cornell in a suitable building and extend the work of the

college.

2I4

THE CORNELL ERA

These college presidents oppose the appropriation as "discriminating." They cannot give the instruction in agriculture, for they have not the equipment, facilities or money. The State constitution, moreover, prohibits appro priations for denominational institutions. In spite of these facts the chancellor of Syrracuse, and a number of college presidents, are trying to deprive Cornell of aid and wTork which they7 cannot secure. The are trying to defeat the wish of the people and deny7 education to the agricultural classes, merely to oppose the growth of Cornell. It is the
old enmity to Cornell that has shown itself ever since the
founding of the University —and this time it will prove a boomerang.

It is not without compunction that we take up in these
columns a matter seemingly so trivial and so little related
to the University as "Dogs and Doggerel." But to begin with the dogs, a cursory glance
Dogs and Doggerel, over the campus will show how
much they have come to be a Uni
versity affair. A mania seems to be developing among
some students, not alone to lavish their adolescent affec
tions upon canine pets with deckle edged ears, but to have the beasts forever dogging their footsteps, in the lecture hall, or—let it be whispered— even in Davy's office. We do not object to dogs, least of all to bull dogs, but we do protest against their occupying the rostrum during lectures and diverting the attention of the class ; and the all too
frequent conversion of our otherwise peaceful Campus into
a gory theatre of canine combat.
What an edifying sight it is to see a circle of admiring students avidly devouring a spectacle of bloody-jawed bull dogs crunching each other's bones with vice-like grip. How eloquently it bespeaks the humanitarian tendencies of modern culture ! It is not the love of sport that glues the rabble to the scene ! It is the thirst for blood, the primitive savagery that impels the infant to tear the limbs from its

THE CORNELL ERA

215

doll and the urchin to blow up his neighbor's cat with a giant cracker. But since these brutal instincts are usually quelled by a few years of life in a modern civilized com munity, we are inevitably led to seek special cause for these exhibitions of their survival, and are brought by something more than mere alliteration, to the matter of doggerel.
A recent writer in an English magazine pointed out the grave dangers of the modern nursery7 rhyme in stimu lating young children to perform acts of cruelty and tor ture. A parallel seems to be presented here. A year or so ago an esteemed contemporary of ours printed a great num ber of nursery rhymes —under other caption, indeed — and now—on the Campus we witness their effect. It is true that we have not y7et had a case of Sammy driving a gimlet through sister's face or of Johnny scalping the baby, but if Sammy and Johnny will only continue to have their mamas read them the horror- verses at bed-time, they may7, no doubt, develop sufficient courage to perform such feats of daring.
But in the name of all that is congruous let the dogs and the dog-fights be kept off the Campus, and the doggerel —alas, that it ever get beyond the bibulous board where it finds its inspiration !

THE Idler had just finished a three hour electric light session on an unyielding bench over one of the blue books on which you are asked to write the subject and sign your name. Eight o' clocks in the morning had since Freshman year been scrupulously shunned as conducive to indigestion, indisposition and sun-light insomnia. For two years he had slumbered serenely undisturbed by thoughts of coffee to be gulped and paths to be made through the whirling drifts. And now, without the remotest premoni
tion a terror in another form had been unearthed for his es

pecial discomfort —an evening exam with no alternative. Exams in themselves are sufficiently alarming. Think of

adding to this the agony of an all day cram when the men tal machinery has grown rusty and clogged through pleas

urable idling.

Naturally the Idler felt a tiny bit discomforted—he was

also chilly and stiff as he picked his way down Central ave

nue, thinking incommunicable things about the perpetra tors of the new plan. Unwary for a second he slipped and

went sprawling down on the icy pavement, his arms elbow high in the snow banks. Further incommunicable phrases followed and then, regaining a perpendicular equlibrium he bethought him a stanza uttered by his chum in a happy

moment :

Tom sings Buttermilk's praises, Dick of Triphammer talks ;
But the greatest falls in Ithaca, Are on our Campus walks.

** **

THE CORNELL ERA

217

The Idler was confessedly treated to an astounding surprise at the announcement appearing in his exalted waste-basket "bi-weekly" relative to literary competition for a board upon which is shed "honor, pleasure and more material advantage" and the frank admission that "some
have honors thrust upon them. ' ' Not that any person with
only an apology for intelligence and a rudiment of refine ment has not long since become aware that this state actualy existed, but the unqualified confession was unexpected. There have long been indications that our arbiter of things Cornellian has been sadly in need of copy. The eleventh hour editorial commenting upon a trivial slip in a poem ap pearing in the January number of the Era (the Era ap peared one Saturday and the Widow had been advertised to be issued on the Monday following but was slightly de layed) is the most striking recent evidence. When the
editorial mind is so vacant that it must wait for the month
ly7 to appear to supply a "filler ed," an announcement that some have had honors thrust upon them is superfluous.

n a a v i)i_ ir

__r__ ■_■■«_■_■ ■;_> -_- _rre- ~.--»?i^''»y|i'^^-'^_rT,'"^-^,«g,™'»***^,^'»'"''' ..--y__^ .■^■_«/^_raj._____r^_:_--,tr _r_K_:' .tr- 3 >. iT*a ""•'

'■"■"' ** ">""*

The latest addition to the series "The Story of the
Nations," (Putnam's) entitled "Mediaeval England" by Mary Bateson, is fully up to the standard of thorough ac curacy and entertaining style which has marked nearly every volume of the series. Realizing that there are few and feeble excuses for new political histories of England, the author has devoted herself to social facts and brought
them forcibly to view. She has paid unusual attention to historic detail and drawn largely from contemporary ac counts to emphasize her points. The text is illustrated by many photographs and engravings, many of which are re produced for the first time.
In the second edition of Charles Gide's "Principles of Political Economy" (D. C. Heath & Co.), the translator Dr. C. William A. Vedity has overcome many of the dis advantageous features of the earlier translation and through not making his work a mere translation, has been enabled to
introduce several new characteristics which will make the
work especially welcome to the American people. He has eliminated all distinctively French material, and has drawn
many of his illustrations and statistics from American
sources. The frequent footnotes giving valuable refer ences and useful supplementary information, the clear type, the page headlines giving a summary of the contents of
each page, are among the desirable features of the book.
Gide's work has gone through several edition's since it was first printed in America, consequently this ranslation taken from one of the late editions, differs from the first, not so much in the object or method of treatment, as in the order and scheme of development.

THE CORNELL ERA

Of the text books which we have received, "Poets of the South," by Professor Painter of Roanoke College (American Book Company) is noteworthy in bringing to our attention the work of a group of poets who are com paratively little known. A short biographical sketch is given of each author with selections from his work illustra tive of Mr. Painter's views of their most worthy achieve ments. The author has lost his opportunity in not carry ing his work further to include the more notable of that vast number of estimable poets who have arisen with the recent renewal of literary activity in the South.
"Selections from Rabelais Gargantua" by C. H. C. Wright (Macmillan's, 60 cents is a noteworthy7 undertak ing in the preparation of French text-books and the lengthy introduction and notes reveal the scholarly attainment of
the author. Scheffel's "Der Trompeter von Saekingen" edited by Valantin Buehner, (American Book Company) and Les Trois Mousquetaires, edited for school use by Pro
fessor C. Fontaine, are standard works which are far more interesting than most text books now used for class room reading. Synopses in English, of the portions omitted from Dumas' work, are given so that the thread of the story may
be completely understood. Howe's "Parliamentary Usage" (Hinds and Noble)
is notable for an ingenuous system of arrangement by which all disputed points can be found with remarkable
rapidity.

The Era acknowledges the receipt of the following :

Francois Beginner's French. By Victor E. Francois, A.M., Instructor in French in the College of the City of New York. Price, 65 cents. American Book Company,
New York, Cincinnati, and Chicago.

* ***
Syms'sEasy First French Reader. By L. C. Syms. DeWitt Clinton High School, New York City. Price 50 cents.

***

*

THE CORNELL ERA

Fouqui's Undine. Edited by J. Henry Senger, Ph.D., As sociate Professor of German in the University of Cali
fornia. Price, 50 cents. American Book Company.
****

Moliere's Le Bourgeois Genteihomme . Edited by P. A. Roi

and Wm. B. Guitteau, of the Central High School,

Toledo, Ohio. Price, 35 cents. American Book Corn-

pan v.

** * *

Sa7ideau's Mile, de la Setgliere. Edited by Elizabeth M.
White, Erasmus Hall High School, Brooklyn, N. Y.
Price, 40 cents. American Book Company.
>!< %■ %■ %■

Shakespeare's Merchant of Ve7iice. Edited by Felix E. Schelling, Ph.D,, Litt.D., Professor in the Univer
sity of Pennsylvania. American Book Company.
>fC JfC >fC >fC

Macaulay' s Essay on Milto7i. Edited by Edward Leeds
Gulick, A.M., Master of English in the Lawrence
ville School. American Book Company.
* >K * *

Morey's Outli7ies of Greek History. By William C. Morey,
Ph.D., D.CL. , Professor of History, University of
Rochester. Price, $1.00. American Book Company.
'f* 'K -T- -T-

Moore' s Cicero de Senectute. Edited by Frank Gardner Moore, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Latin in Dart

mouth College. Price, 80 cents. American Book Com

pany.

** * *

Larra's Partir d Tiempo. Edited by Edwin B. Nichols, Assistant Professor in the University of Cincinnati. Price, 40 cents. American Book Company.

First Dictatio7i Book. By James E. Munson. G. P. Put nam's Sons, New York and London.
* ***
First Pho7iographic Reader. By James E. Munson. G. P.
Putnam's Sons.

^ ^ CjPlIXEFUS TAVERN, # «*

NOW OPEN FROM 7;00 A. M. TO MIDNIGHT.

L. L. ZIMMER, Proprietor.

The Public School Teachers' Agency of the NEW YORK LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY ______«__*_

IS IyOCATED AT
1270 BROADWAY
(Between 22nd and 33rd Sts.)
NEW YORK CITY.

ANNUITY SETTLEHENTS IF DESIRED
AT 8, 9 and 10 PER CENT. PER ANNUfl.

Under the Management
of
W. F. WASHBURN.

1500 teachers in the past three years have taken the 20-year Endowment Policies, which are paying \% per cent. Compound Interest. Money always available after second year. This is the Safest Investment a teacher can make—by far better than Building and Loan, Savings Bank or Government Bond. All communications will receive prompt attention.
W. F. WASHBURN,
1270 Broadway, Nfw York City.

BREESPORT SPRINGS WATER.
A SUPERIOR CARBONATED WATER
Used by Connoisseurs Who Desire a Soft Blending Water,
JUST A WORD AS TO ITS MEDICINAL PROPERTIES. Mineral Waters, as a rule, show an excess of Lime Salts and Iron, which
are shown by the latest authorities on medical matters to be absolutely detrimental in Bright' s Disease, especially the Iron. Of course the lime salts making the water hard, are injurious to bladder affections. The analysis of Cornell University (which will be furnished upon application)
will convince any physician that the water is an excellent adjuvant in
the treatment of all diseases of the kidneys, bladder and stomach. The Water is furnished in 5 gallon carboys plain, also carbonated in quarts and pints.

For further information write or call upon

STEWART & COLLINS,

„_ Distributing Agents,

ITHACA, N. Y.

GREAT WESTERN.

WHEN YOU LEAST EXPECT r«__i

SOLD AT
ITHACA HOTEL
J. A. & J. H. CAUSER, Proprietors-

FINEST OF
American Wines.
THERE'S PROFIT
N PATRIOTISM
AS WELL AS PLEASURE.
EVANS

Underwood's Deviled Ham
if you have it on hand, will help greatly to entertain the unexpected guest.
It's an old-fashioned product — made honestly and pure of HAM and pure spices — nothing else.
All first class dealers sell it. Look on the can for the little red devil. Wm. Underwood Co., Boston, Mass.
0s
PALMS, GARDINIERS, ETC.

AL

IMMENSE STOCK

Is better than the best imported—has not been !

QUALITY THE BEST.

racked and harmed by ocean voyage ; it's :

cheaper, too—it has no ocean freight or tariff o pay. You will be surprised to find how con vincing of merit the first glass is.

THE BOOL FLORAL CO.,

AT ALL DEALERS EVERYWHERE.

215 Bast State Street,

ITHACA, N. "__,

For a GOOD SHAVE or HAIR GUT

PLEASURE FOUND AT THE

GO TO

The Cornell Tonsorial Parlors

Cor. STATE and AURORA STREETS.

Opposite Ithaca Hotel.

Phone 229 K.

UNIVERSITY BILLIARD PARLORS,

410 EDDY STREET.

Petkr McAllister,

-

Proprietor

DOWN TOWN, 138 EAST STATE.

ON THE HILL, 404 EDDY STREET.

l-JATTER AND FURNISHER. Everything pertaining to Mens' Wear. Agent in Ithaca for Knox, Youman and Henry Heath
Celebrated English Hats.
L. O. BEMENT.

_=________".".''■ ■.,■■•'■■' ■'■ -A. '< "■ &■ A^

ITHACA MOTEL.

"* We have the only place in town where you can find a First Class Dining Room for a Banquet.
Menu's and estimates furnished on request
J. A. & J. H. CAUSER, Proprietors.

Successors to p. Rascover.
Newest in Suits, Rain Coats, Furnishings,
Hats, etc., etc.
OUR MOTTO IS "ONE PRICE."
Goods marked in Plain Figures. Give us a Call

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN
Van Order's Tailor Sriop
AND OTHERS IS THE PRICE. 133 East State St., near P. 0

MEANY'S PHARMACY
154 East State St., ITHACA, N. Y,

PHOTOGRAPHER.
FOR CLASS OF 1904.

295 NORTH AURORA STREET.

High Grade work only. Special rates to Seniors.

Phone 392 B,

C. B. BROWN,
JEWELER,
K.e;p airing a. Spe=c:ia.ltiy.
200 East State Street.

RECOGNIZED STANDARD

&#|^^|;l;Mi^°!ff^^2The P_ame is

\<£-H_ -7?_r

j_____ __ _

..

_

.

stamped on every

$l|||p loop —

1 fc'j mf*

CUSHION

4^
L.ES FLAT TO THE LEG — NEVER
SL3PS, TEARS NOR UNFASTENS
Sample pair, Silk 50c, Cotton 25c. Mailed on receipt of price.
GEO. FROST CO., Makers, ^s;S^J_3lfa_i__ Boston, Mass.„ U. S. A.

TODD, BLACKMER & CO.,
COZY CORNERS A FEATURE.
Decorating -for -4*^~ Special Gtfertfs.
EVERYTHING FOR THE CO-ED.
1 20 East State Street.
SULLIVAN & BAXTEE,
Fine Clothing.
A so Merchant Tailoring. 114 E. State St., opposite Post Office.

©rnell dourttal
SIGMA XI AND ITS AIMS.
'T^HERE was a time when the higher intellectual attain-*- ments were almost entirely along philosophic and literary lines. The materialistic nineteenth century opened up scientific and technical spheres to the inquiring mind which found here problems as knotty and as interesting as any afforded by metaphysics. As philosophers and literary men had been accustomed to gather into societies for mutual help and inspiration, so it was but natural that scientific societies should spring up. As the old style college had its Phi Beta Kappa society, so it was almost a matter of course
that the technical schools of the latter part of the nineteenth
century should have their Sigma Xi and it was peculiarly fitting that Cornell University should have been the cradle of this society. For the position which the members of Sigma Xi hold among their brother scientists and practical engineers may be likened to the position of Cornell among
the technical and scientific schools of the country ; both
h.^ve shown special initiative and the promise of being leaders in their fields, both have by conscientous effort prepared
themselves for great future usefulnees.
Although there have been thoughts of a scientific Phi Beta Kappa before, it remained for a band of enthusiastic ' ' Sibleyites" to found such an organization. And even they labored under a peculiar inspiration ; for tradition has it that from the deep inhalation necessarily attendant upon the climbing of the Buffalo Hill sprung the deeper inspira tion which resulted in the founding of Sigma Xi. It was in the spring of 1886 that Mr. Wm. R. Day, a member of

219

THE CORNELL ERA

the Senior class, and Professor Van Vleck were coming up the hill, and so great was the inspiration upon that warm day that, as we are told, before they parted " the plan of organization was formulated and a definite plan of campaign
outlined."
It seems that the first idea did not extend beyond the engineering department. Of the original members, five were mechanical and four civil engineers. It happened, however, that Professor Henry Shaler Williams, then head of the Department of Geology, and whom we shall heartily wel come back from Yale to the same position next fall, had been thinking of forming a similar organization in his own branch of science. He now urged that the two ideas should be combined, and one society formed to include all depart ments of pure and applied science. By the adoption of this plan Professor Williams became the sponsor of the broader Sigma Xi, and is justly regarded as one of ten founders of the society.
The growth of the society was steady. Before the close of the next accademic year the Cornell chapter numbered 31 members, a constitution had been adopted, and three chapters had been organized in other institutions. In 1893
the first convention was held in the architectural lecture
room in Lincoln Hall, Professor E. L. Nichols presiding. Delegates were present from Cornell, Union, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and the University of Kansas. Since then conventions have been held biennially, in connection with meetings of the American Association for the advance ment of Science. At present there are seventeen chapters, with two or three being added annually. The membership is now over one thousand, there being about ninety active
members at Cornell.
Sigma Xi is not a secret society ; neither is it the coun terpart of Phi Beta Kappa in another field. The latter, while something more in its early years, has come to be simply an honorary society. Its members are chosen for their high scholarship, to be sure ; yet they receive from the

THE CORNELL ERA

220

society merely the privilege of wearing a badge which sig nifies the estimation which their professors have placed upon their work. Its only meetings as a rule are for the an nual initiation of new members. It is simply an honorary society. Sigma Xi, on the other hand, takes a more practi cal standard of membership, and aims to be a real socie
ty, of real benefit to its members.
As to the election of members, the proceedings are something as follows : Each of the scientific and technical departments confers separately, and chooses from its students both undergraduate and graduate, those who are considered eligible. A list of these nominees is sent to every member of the local chapter, with a request for any special informa tion he may have. The faculty members, after a careful scrutiny of the records of the candidates, choose those con sidered worthy. There are differences in the qualifications required of the candidates, but in nearly all chapters the essential thing is ability in original research—to initiate and complete scientific investigations. Men are not chosen for what they have done in the past, except as that is a criterion of future accomplishment. To better secure this end, two chapters, those at Brown and Eeland Stanford Universities, elect only graduate students.
The constitution fixes the number that any chapter
may elect in any one year at one-fifth the number of seniors
in scientific and technical courses. However, as is custom
ary with Phi Beta Kappa, a much smaller percentage is usually chosen. At Cornell, where all students whose
work is about one-half scientific are classed as ' ' scientific
students," the percentage is about one-ninth. About a third of this number are taken from the Academic depart

ment.

The situation at Cornell is somewhat singular. Here

the different scientific departments are separate and distinct

departments of the Art college, which is, in turn, entirely

distinct from the technical colleges.

By

showing

"
promise

of marked ability" in any one of the sciences, such as

221

THE CORNELL ERA

Chemistry, Medical Science, or Geology, a student may be nominated by that department and chosen to Sigma Xi, although the rest of his work be wholly literary or philo sophical. Hence it sometimes occurs that the same student is chosn to both Sigma Xi and Phi Beta Kappa.
Each chapter of Sigma Xi holds several meetings dur ing the year. These differ in character. At Colifornia they tend to make them of a social nature ; at Kansas they meet monthly at the home of some professor, which even ing is looked forward to by the members as the event of the month. In the majority of chapters the meetings are purely intellectual, consisting of lectures and demonstrations. These cover a wide range of theoretical and practical sub
jects, such as, "The relations of sewage water supply to public health, ' ' ' ' Development of eggs by chemical action, ' ' " Irrigation from an engineering standpoint," etc. The aim of these meetings is that of the society, to consistently
foster the scientific spirit. No history of Sigma Xi would be complete without
emphasizing the real object of the society. This, as stated in the constitution, is "to encourage original investiga tion in sccience, pure and applied, by meeting for the dis cussion of scientific subjects, by the publication of such scientific matter as may be deemed desirable, by establish ing fraternal relations among investigators in the scientific centers, and by granting the privilege of membership to such students as have during their college course given special promise of future achievement." In granting charters special care is always taken to found chapters only where there is as adequate equipment and where considerable re search is being done under a large scientifiic faculty.
As an honorary society Sigma Xi has a place ; yet, as the present President, Professor S. W. Williston, of the University of Chicago, has said: " If it existed for the purpose of giving honors only, it were better never born. It has a grander mission, namely, to unify and promote the spirit of scientific research in the University." More than

THE CORNELL ERA

222

this, it establishes a bond among the kindred spirits in the
scientific centers which adds a stimulus to their work ; it
sends other members out into society, there to use the re sults of their own training and also the results of the re
search of their brothers in the laboratories.

Sigma Xi stands where it can exercise upon the devel
opment of science in America an influence greater than that
of any other similar organization ; for it brings its influence

and its inspiration to bear upon the young scientist upon

whom rests the responsibility of continuing the rapid strides

now being made in practical science. It encourages them to

outdo their teachers, and what is of equal importance, it fos

ters the application of science to the problems of everyday

life. When we consider the enormous influence which ap

plied science has had upon our development, especially

during the last fifty years, we can easily see the great possi

bilities which lie before this society. In the future Sigma

Xi may well stand not only for " Companions in a zealous

research," but also for ' c Leaders in the pure and applied

scientific thought of the day."

Earl H Kelsey, '05.

AMERICAN AND EUROPEAN LAW SCHOOLS.
A COMPARISON.
IT is impossible for an American law-student to realize the insignificance of his position in the eyes of his European colleagues. They consider our law-school which admits students with no advanced general training, unde serving of the honor of being put on equal footing with the other faculties of a University. In European Universities such a thing as a Law School is unknown. There are four faculties : Medicine, Theology, Philosophy and Jurispru-

223

THE CORNELL ERA

dence, which most closely corresponds to our schools for
legal training. But the Faculty of Jurisprudence is an institution where
a student obtains a liberal education. Its effects in widening
the mental horizon of the student is much the same as that
of an Arts course. Political economy, logic, philosophy of law, encyclopedia of law, and ethics are embraced in its curriculum. Only a small proportion of the student's time is devoted to the study of the laws of his country. He spends the bulk of it in acquiring a general and liberal point of view on questions of right and wrong. He studies those most complicated laws of nature ; namely, those which govern the mutual relations of society and of the individual.
In the law schools of this country the student from the
very beginning, familiarizes himself with the laws of his state. His work consists in the study of cases already de cided and he endeavors to formulate the general principles which underlie the particular decisions. He studies nothing but law. The only point of similarity between the two schools is their aim—they both prepare lawyers. In every thing else they differ. A graduate of an American law school could practice law about as well in Europe than he could practice medicine in his own country. The European lawyer would find the same difficulty if he attempted to practice in America.
So wide a distinction is not based solely upon the differ ent methods of teaching. A deeper cause lies underneath this contrast. This cause may, in general terms, be said to
be that the European lawyer studies Roman Law, whereas the English and Americans study Common Law. It is the
difference between these two great systems of law that necessitates different methods of instruction.
The Roman Law, in its method, is essentially deductive. It starts out with an abstract, metaphysical definition ot right and proceeds to deduce from this idea of transcenden tal right, all the rules of eonduct, which a legal system has to comprise. After deducing the rules, it calls them laws,

THE CORNELL ERA

224

and endeavors to apply them to all the manifold contingen cies of practical life.
The Common Law, on the contrary, is strictly induc tive in its method. It contemplates the wants of society, and tries to settle all the controversies among its members, in such a way as to obtain for the community the greatest amount of security as to the person and property of its
members.
It is not to be inferred, however, that the Roman ideas
of law are entirely speculative. They were made by men, and as their makers were products of circumstances, the laws, themselves, are indirectly the reflection of the contin gencies of the Roman life. In its final analysis the Roman Law does not, in its origin, differ from the Common Kaw. But the process of working out the laws is entirely differ
ent. This distinction is sufficient to make the two great systems of law as unlike as can be imagined in com
munities which have attained at the present day approxi mately the same stage of civilization. To express the dif ference in a sentence : Roman Law applies law to life ;
Common Law creates law out of life.
Bearing this fundamental principle in mind it is not hard to understand why the European Faculty of Jurispru dence and the Law School of this country differ so widely in their methods, and in the very subjects of study. While the Roman Law student must learn to comprehend the ulti mate nature of a human right, and endeavor to apply its principles to the arising difficulties, the Common Law stu dent has only to find out whether similar situations have arisen previously, and in what manner they have been
settled.
So as to fully understand the theory of law, the Euro pean scholar must be acquainted with all the branches of social science. Out of the four years spent under the Faculty of Jurisprudence of the University of St. Peters burg, the first two are entirely devoted to attending lectures on political economy, ethics, logic and history, whereas

225

THE CORNELL ERA

the last two years are equally divided between the study of
Russian statutes and advanced social science. The student does not come into contact with an actual case till after his
graduation. He must learn Adjective law by experience in the court room. When he understands the principles of social science the student is taught deduce rules of conduct,
and is shown what rules great thinkers have deduced for his
use. His task is to apply them to the innumerable combi nations and perplexities of real life. It is clear at once, that this system is very much more rigid and less adaptable to existing circumstances than the Common Law system.
The Common Law system is founded solely on the
efforts of the courts to solve existing questions according to common justice. It can change its rules as often as the
circumstances make it necesary. The student of the Com
mon Law does not need any theory with which to start.
His theory is acquired gradually, through his acquaintance with the actual questions of life, and that which he is able to deduce from the study of the never ending series of re ported cases. The student does not stop to think what the nature of the right is. All he needs to know is what a man's rights are, and the definition of a right given him is, " a right is a right."
Of what immediate use to the student of Common Law
except for general development, is the nature of a right or the origin of the "social covenant?" Absolutely none. All he knows is that society exists, and that difficulties
among its members have always arisen, and that the satis
factory settlement of those difficulties is necessary for the
happiness of the community. The student does not under take to settle these difficulties himself. He bases his judg ment on the long series of decisions given by the ablest men of many generations in similar cases. At the same time, if it appears that society has progressed so far, that methods applicable to it a century ago, are unfit for it in its more advanced stages, then, that for which the student has to strive, is to prove with sufficient clearness, and beyond a

THE CORNELL ERA

226

reasonable doubt, that the ancient rule applied to modern circumstances will work mischief, and the rule will then be modified to meet existing circumstances.
To an European student the American Law school may at first seem dry. What interest does he take in the private
affairs of so many strangers, who are for the most part de
ceased. But such is only the first impression. In a very short time the student learns to see the significance of those private affairs as manifestations of the life of society ; as actu al existing outgrowths of the social system. Being natural they must occur again and again, as long as the circumstances of life are similar, and the study of their settlement is of the utmost importance in order to be able to settle the difficul ties arising between men of the present day. With this in mind, the student may learn to take interest in the ques tion, whether a Justice of the Peace's wife has a right to push aside the wife of a clergyman without committing a trespass ? Trivial as they are, such disputes are real and are liable to occur again as long as different classes in socie ty exist, and people pride themselves on their social rank.
It is evident that the sphere of a Law School must necessarily be much narrower than that of a Faculty of Jurisprudence. And, as a man without a liberal education is hampered in any profession to-day, the law student ought, if possible, to acquire a broad education before entering upon his professional studies. A Roman law student, on the other hand, obtains a liberal education as a necessary requisite of his legal training. This has been realized by
some of the great law schools of the United States and gave
rise to the requirement of an A.B. degree for admission and
there are indications of a similar tendencies in other insti-
sutions.
It is evident, therefore, that the contemptuous attitude of the European law student toward us for our lack of in struction in the great laws of nature, is totally unwarranted. They have no more right to dub our schools as "trade shops" than we have to ridicule theirs as "Academies for

227

THE CORNELL ERA

Doctrinaires. ' ' Each school is adapted to its circumstances.
Each answers the purpose for which it was founded.

E7na7iuel Golde7iweiser A. B. , a7id W. B. Sumner, '06.

.>I.M_.'..IH_'«.»<I.'..|1..M.I _.M.<*._n,."».M,."I.M»l

FOREST REVERIE.

TT7HERE mountain streams—with crystal waters bright ^ Sparkle o'er pebbly floor and sandy bed, Where cataracts oft greet the wand'rer's sight, And wild things only, break the silence dead— There, where the cardinal-flower's gorgeous red Pays homage to its image in the pool, I should delight to spin life's golden thread And wand'ring in the sombre forest's cool Live free from care and strict convention's thralling rule.
— Anon.

THE CORNELL ERA

228

CORNELL'S FIRE PROTECTION.
CHICAGO'S appalling Christmas week fire, and the more recent conflagrations of Baltimore, Rochester, Elmira, and Toronto, may well cause our University community to ask, "Are we likely to have these horrible and deadly catastrophies repeated in our very midst ?" The extent of this omnipresent risk, especially in that portion of Ithaca occupied by the transient student and the preoccupied pro fessor, is imagined by all, but fully appreciated by few.
The dangers from fire to those living on the Campus, East Hill and the Cornell Heights, arise from three sources : the elevated and exposed location, the peculiar conditions existing in these sections, and the inadequacy of the present system of fire protection.
Cornell University crowns Ithaca's most exposed hill. The wind—it is seldom lulled to a breeze —constantly sweeps over the low lying flats and strikes with its full
force the wooden three and four story fire traps which are strewn so thickly over the steep side and uneven crest of the three hundred foot hill. A steep ascent, a quarter of a mile in length, separates the "hill" from "down town" by
at least ten or fifteen minutes, rendering prompt assistance from the down town fire department an extreme improba bility, if not an utter impossibility. Many well qualified to speak claim that the water pressure, especially along East Avenue, is nowhere sufficient for a serious fire, unless aid be secured from a steamer located in the city, a three quar ters mile or more distant. The engine at the forcing house will supply only a fair pressure to hydrants off the Campus.
Certain conditions on the "hill" render the danger more pressing. There are scarcely a dozen brick lodging houses
or residences in the student section of East Hill and but
few on the Campus and Cornell Heights. Most of the

229

THE CORNELL ERA

structures, some of them towTering up to from four or five stories in height are veritable tinder boxes. They are con structed of highly inflammable materials, with rooms open ing into long, gloomy and narrow passageways. The steep winding stairways, the almost universal lack of fire escapes and fire extinguishers, together with all the oddities of their construction, enable these buildings to present serious prob lems to the fireman who is fighting a rapidly spreading blaze. To the student penned in a den in the top of one of these tornado fanned furnaces, all hope seems lost. The never to be forgotten Delta Chi house fire has seared into
many a mind the memory of Cornell's most awful tragedy.
These conditions should have secured for the "hill"
an adequate fire protection. There are, to be sure, plenty of hydrants, some of which have been frozen most of the
winter. But there are altogether too few fire alarm boxes.
There are but five in the entire student residence and Cam
pus section of East Hill. Many portions of the Campus, and large sections of the crest of the hill are not within a quarter of a mile of an alarm box. The city has placed in the Neriton Company's building, on Dryden Road, one two wheeled hose cart carrying about six hundred feet of hose, an amount sufficient to supply two streams to only a few favorably situated houses. In the same building, which is kept locked a good share of the time, there is a chemical engine, which to use the words of the Fire Commissioners, ' ' is too heavy to be ha7idled by hand 071 the steep hills, is of little use to the Depart7ne7it and should be replaced by a combinatio7i chemical and hose wagon, with a team and two paid me?i i7i charge." There is no hook and ladder truck, no team, not a paid fireman on duty on the hill. Many mem
bers of this hose company work down town, or on the Cam
pus. But the inadequacy of this protection is painfully apparent when we remember that the nearest downtqwn aid is at the City Hall, where with one paid fireman there is only a remote possibility of receiving assistance within ten or fifteen 7ninutes from the time when the alarm reaches the

THE CORNELL ERA

230

fireman's headquarters. The charred ruins and gutted
frames which mar so many of the "hill's" vacant lots stand
as an ominous warning of the timeliness of that aid. But even this inadequate protection is not so managed
as to be of immediate service. The frame hose cart house
on Dryden Road is locked a good share of the time. Most
students do not know the names of more than three or four
boarding house keepers, and as all the fire alarm boxes on the hill are key boxes, much valuable time is lost in hunt ing up the key holders, some of whom, as in the case of the Campus box, live a quarter of a mile from the box. A few of the keys are placed in stores and offices that are closed many evenings and every night.
All of the boxes are of a dirty color, placed against weather beaten backgrounds or discolored posts, and almost without exception are located in such dark places or seclud ed nooks that they are scarcely discernable even on a bright night. At least two of the fire boxes on the hill are two hundred feet from the nearest street light. No visible direc tions are attached to any box. Of all five boxes, but one has a list of key holders ! ! ! *
These dangers and the inadequacy of this protection have long been recognized. They have caused abnormally high insurance rates, and a general feeling of unsafety and mistrust. Underwriters, business men and faculty members characterize this protection as "none at all."

* A complete description of one box will be suggestive. Box 56, attached to Campus business office : Dirty red against poorly contras ted background. Located in dark nook. The light from the nearest arc light one hundred feet distant, which burns until about 11 o'clock, strikes the box after passing between two branches of a large tree. No key or instruction attached but there is a lot of key holders. One key is left in the business office which is closed at 4 p. m. The watch man has another. The Fire Commissioners give but one of the other two names appearing on this sign, and that key holder lives on East Avenue, a quarter of a mile away. The other key holder also lives on East Avenue. What a simple matter to get a key and send in
an alarm about 2 o'clock in the morning ! !

231

THE CORNELL ERA

Common sense suggests some improvements. Direc tions might be posted conspicuously and keys chained to the alarm boxes which could be painted some striking color and placed against a suitable background near some electric
light. An additional hose cart, an efficient chemical engine, a
hook and ladder cart and one of the down town steamers,
might be located on the hill. By hiring a fireman to be in constant attendance, the hill service could be greatly im proved. The lodging house keepers should be required to provide fire escapes and suitable fire extinguishers. Cornell Heights deserve more efficient protection.
It may be asked, "Can the city afford this added ex pense ?' ' Again to quote from the Fire Commissioners' last report "most cities expend about one dollar per capita of the entire population for the Fire Department, while Ithaca expends forty cents." If we are to consider the students as residents, this cost falls to about thirty cents per capita. A city whose population last year was "nearly 15,000," spent $5,500 on its fire department when most cities spend "about one dollar per capita." Those connected with the Univer sity bring the number of persons in the city to about 17,000. Ithaca could spend $10,000 per year more on her fire depart ment with a per capita cost of about $.90 on her total population or about $1.00 on her own population. Even then she would not be called extravagant when compared with Utica, Syracuse and Elmira which spend from $1.25 to nearly $2.00 per capita.
What would the single expenditure of $10,000 accom plish ? It would enable the City to purchase, at fancy prices not all that we feel justified in demanding but more than we ever dared hope for, in our mildest dreams. It is easily seen that the purchasing of a hook and ladder truck, anoth er hose cart and a light chemical engine, instead of the present cumberous vehicle, and even the hiring of another paid fireman, would not result in the financial embarrass
ment of either the city or its tax payers. Ithaca voters

THE CORNELL ERA

232

may rest secure in the feeling that that they are well provi ded for, but they are under obligations to do their duty by that defranchised populatio7i which annually contributes so
much to the coffers of the business men and property holders It may be that our present system is all that we deserve.
Perhaps there is no chance for improvement, even in what appears to be the most glaring and most easily corrected de fects. If such should be the case the University at large would rest the easier, if they had some conclusive proof
that the proper authorities had done all that is reasonable
and proper to protect those who risk their lives and proper ty on the wind swept hills of Ithaca.
M. B. Garlack, '04.

,«,

(|l'!r»'H'l|fM,liMil,l,ni|'l,M,|«l.,H,|)l,l>||'l1

YE WHO JUDGE.

>HpHE sun is zenith high ; its serpent rays
-*- Dart forth with ill intent and impious pride, So scornfully that man cannot upraise His sight oppressed, to view nor full nor e'en aside, The Gorgon-like defying source, one-eyed Yet omnipresent, searching out all ways ! What wonder then, when sterile are the days, If on the crest of wrath base passions ride ? But why this sacrilege ? Why curse the evil hour ? E'en whilst thy lips with malice downward close, The self-same sun in some far eastern bower,
Is going blushingly to sweet repose ; And o'er some western crag doth splendid rise, To cheer the heart of man in hopeful skies.
A.A.F., 'oS.

233

THE CORNELL ERA

MORE WAYS THAN ONE.
THOMAS moodily sat warming a cold, hard bench in the City Hall Park. Although the air was chilly, yet the bright sun beaming down upon him, and the absence of snow on the ground, seemed contrary to the traditional
Christmas weather. Christmas had indeed come, but in its
wake had followed no cheer for Thomas. That was why he was sad. For two days he had had nothing to eat, unless a bag of cold peanuts which he had deftly borrowed from a fruit-stand, and the thawed out remnants of a beerbarrel, could be called food. Surely, he mused, that was not fit nourishment for a gentleman of leisure ; and the aching void in his stomach corroborated his reflections.
He tried to think of some means of satisfying his hun ger. Burglary and robber}^ were such hackneyed methods that he cast them aside immediately. Besides, he had lost some of his cunning in picking pockets, and the broad day light was not conducive to good sleight-of-hand work. He might have tried these means ; but somehow or other, on this Chrsitmas day he did not fancy being arrested. It would create such a disturbance to have a big, burly police man seize him by the collar, and just now Thomas did not care to indelicately attract so much attention.
Thomas felt very lonely indeed. His pals had recently left him not precisely of their own free will, but because a beneficent judge had decided that they needed a recreation, and so had designated Blackwell's Island as a winter retreat for them. The motive influencing the judge was a curious
adventure in which Thomas and his fellow-artisans had en
gaged, resulting in the blowing up of a safe, which was rapidly followed by the arrest of the gang, minus Thomas, who had luckily escaped. He thought of this last episode, and a deep sigh escaped him. Perhaps he was sorry for

THE CORNELL ERA

234

his absent comrades ; or was it satisfaction at finding himself
free ? Who knows ?
A chill blast of air made him button his coat tightly around him. It was a fine, heavy coat, and he was proud of it, especially proud of the way he obtained it in the hall way of a fashionable club-house, when —but that is another
story.
A renewed pang from his stomach brought him back to the vital question that had been disturbing him for the last twenty-four hours. Slowly he got up from his seat, and wandering aimlessly down Center Street, came in sight of the Tombs. He pictured to himself the savory Christmas feast the prisoners were getting just now, for on Christmas he knew very well that every cell inmate was given a good juicy piece of roast beef. Roast beef ! How his mouth
watered at the idea.
He thought of breaking a big plate glass window, and getting arrested, so that he also might share in the pris oners' feast. But from previous experience he knew that he would have to wait a long time in the court-room before he would be brought before the judge, and consigned to a cell, and he might miss the Christmas meal. He was too hungry for that.
Slowly an idea was evolving in his head. He wTended his way toward Broadway, following the crowd going up town. He passed many restaurants, whose enticing win dows and fragrant odors goaded him to desperation.
His idea had now taken definite shape, and over his face there passed a smile of satisfaction at his own ingenuity. He followed a gentleman and lady walking together, and paused with them as they stopped before a very fashionable restaurant. The couple entered the door-way and Thomas followed. As he entered he saw a gentleman eating a fine steak at a table near the aisle. His first thought was to
seize it and run. He felt certain he could swallow it all as
he ran, before being arrested. But then he had made up his mind to have a real Christmas dinner, so he gave up
this idea.

235

THE CORNELL ERA

Lifting his shoulders up so his coat concealed the ab sence of a collar, he calmly stalked to the extreme corner of
the dining room, and seated himself at a small table. He preferred corners ; they were so secluded.
Hd picked up the bill of fare, and started to read its

contents.

"Is 3rour order taken ?" Thomas looked up and saw waiter at his elbow.

the well

groomed

young

"No," he said. "Let me have a porter-house steak and some fried potatoes and a bottle of Burgundy. And waiter, I'm in a hurry, and want my order right away. And bring me some tomato soup" —Thomas gulped some thing down — "immediately." The waiter was gone.
In a few moments he reappeared and set a glass of water, and silverware and crisp French bread and creamy
butter before Thomas.

"That's all right, waiter. Bring me the soup." And such soup it was ! Thick, hot, rich, red tomato
soup ! None of your thin soups for Thomas. When he
looked up, he found the waiter staring at him. "I told 3^ou I'm in a hurry," Thomas said, by way of
apology. Bring me that steak and the Burgundy and the
rest."

This time the waiter was gone for a longer period.

When he finally reappeared, he bore a tray loaded with steaming plates. These he set on the table, together with the Burgundy.
Thomas opened the bottle and poured a glass. He drank it at one swallow. "Ah !" he said, closing his eyes and smacking his lips critically, "just a little too sweet."
The steak—thick, tender, and juicy. Thomas crunched it luxuriantly, taking great mouthfulls, and not looking up once until only a smooth white bone, lay on the plate.
When Thomas raised his eyes, he noticed the waiter
staring fixedly at his hands, as he held the knife and fork
before him.

THE CORNELL ERA

236

" Ah ! that was quite a fine piece of steak, very fine indeed. And now let me have some turkey, a big piece, with cranberry sauce and vegetables. And don't be long."
The waiter was gazing at Thomas with a puzzled ex

pression. He hesitated a moment and then coming up close
to him asked in a whisper :
" Excuse me, have you the money to pay for all this?"
" Have I the money? Well, now, that's what I call

an insult." Then, seeing that his clothing had aroused the suspicion of the waiter, Thomas said, "Ah, I see your

mistake, my good man. I'll excuse you this time. It's

not your fault, but you must know that clothes don't make

the man.

Hurry

up

with

the

turkey,

and

I'll

forgive

'
you.

'

Again the waiter was gone, and this time his staj^ was

even longer than before. When the turkey was finally set

before him, Thomas almost fainted. He made deep cuts

into the meat, and rapidly swallowed the pieces. Suddenly

he perceived the waiters looking at him, then the head wait er approached and glanced at his shoes. It was really ex asperating, the way head waiters like to examine one's

shoes.

"I've been playing hockey," Thomas murmured,

parenthetically. The smell of roast pig at a neighboring table attracted
Thomas's attention, and he called out to his waiter, ' ' Some

nice roast pig please. Always roast pig after turkey. And

some apple sauce and some coffee, —large cup, please."

When the roast pig and coffee had vanished, he called

out pleasantly, "And now get me some

" But the

head waiter interrupted him threateningly.

"Pardon me. Have you the cash to pay your bill?"

Thomas flared up. "Is it customary in this establish

ment to pay before or after a gentleman finishes his meal ?

Tell me that." Then, again addressing his waiter, "Bring

me two Havana cigars, and never mind the dessert."

But the head waiter was insistent. "I want to see

your money before you get another order, "he said.

237

THE CORNELL ERA

"Call yonr manager around, then, "Thomas answered blandly. "This is a fine way to treat a gentleman !"
The head waiter went for the manager, and they both
appeared together. With an ominous frown the manager approached Thomas, and said :
"Excuse me, sir, will you please pay your bill now? We can't serve anything more to you until you pay."
"Oh, is that so ? Thomas smilingly retorted. "Well, then, I won't pay at all, just because of your impudence."
"Then I shall be forced to call in a policeman," said
the manager.
"Very well, there's one just outside the door now.
You may call him in if you choose," Thomas drawled.
The manager whispered to the waiter, who in a few minutes appeared, accompanied by a big, sleek-looking
policeman. "Why, hello, Flannagan ! How are you ?" Thomas
called out heartily to the blue-coat. "I am delighted to see you. I'm so glad it's you and not somebody else. I like the beds in the up town city hotels much better than in the
down town ones."
As he rose, he said, "Awfully sorry, Flannagan, I had intended offering you a cigar, but the waiter neglected to bring the two I ordered." Then turning to the proprietor with a genial bow,
"Thank you very much, not only for your surpassing dinner, but also for calling in the officer. I wanted to be arrested anyway, so I could lodge comfortably to-night in a warm place. Your cuisine really excels even my usual restaurant. I shall recommend my friends to this place." Then, addressing the half indignant, half amused guests at the various tables, "As for you, ladies and gentlemen, I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year."
As he was led away, he called merrily, "Never mind, waiter, I'll give you a double tip next time. Ta-ta."
M. J. Clurman, yo6.

Tbe
Cornell Era

Vol.. XXXVI.

Aprii,, 1904.

No. 7

Terms :—The subscription price is $2.00 per year in advance, and $2.25 when it has not been paid by April 15th. Single copies, 25 cents, maybe obtained at the Corner Bookstores, and the Co-operative Society's Stores.

BOARD OF EDITORS.

Clarence Paul Obendorf, '04. Editor-in-Chief Fred Bemis Humphrey, '04, Business Manager. Ernest Westervelt Kelsey, '05, Assistant Business Manager.

Henry Crane Hasbrouck, '04. Morgan Bidleman Garlock, '04. William Wallace Gail, '05.

Edwin Mitchell Slocombe, '04. Charles Sherman Cobb, '05. Earl Hewes Kelsey, '05.

Address matter for publication to the Editor-in-Chief, and business communi cations to the Business Manager.
Entered at the post office, Ithaca, N. Y., as second class matter.

THE signing of the three-year debate agreement between Cornell, Columbia and Pennsylvania on the morning
following the decisive victory over Columbia brought to a fitting climax what has been undoubtedly one of the most, if not the most notable year in the history of Cornell debat
ing. By winning the two inter-collegiates the University has regained its former prestige as a debating institution, if not added something to it. It would seem, indeed, as if nothing more were needed to establish the wisdom of the placing of the control of debating in the hands of the stu dents, and to those who hold victory as the supreme bonum

239

THE CORNELL ERA

of endeavor no other evidence need be offered. But the
fact that is worthy of attention is, not that we have won certain contests, because Victory is a very fickle goddess,
but that the work of the year under student control has
been to draw more general attention to debating, to place it upon a higher and more secure footing than before, and to put into successful operation a systematic and scientific plan for the development of Varsity debaters and the extension of interest in this activity to a larger proportion of the
University population. For the new debate agreement, the first of its kind, by
which each of the three universities is to debate each of the
others on the same night and on the same question, much of the credit must be given to those in charge of our debate interests. The plan appears to be not less practical than it is novel and in the opportunity it will give for the most exhaustive workings out of the questions for debate in the preparation of both affirmative and negative arguments, ought to raise considerably the future standards of debating.

We wish to add a word of protest to that recently made in the Sim against the cutting down of the number of "C" awarded for track. It is apparent to everyone that the system of awarding the Varsity insignia in the various branches of athletics is productive of many injustices—that is to say, men whose achievements would seem hardly to warrant their receiving the " C" do get it, whereas others whose
work has been meritoritorious and consistennt often fail to
win the coveted honor. But aside from its effect in inten
sifying this unfortunate condition, this reduction of the number of " C's" awarded for track will beyond doubt re sult in a decrease in the number of track candidates, will by taking away some of the personal motive for effort, weaken the game, never-say-die spirit which has always characterized Cornell's runners and will jeopardize our pres ent high position in tract athletics. There is much more of a personal motive in our athletics—as in all college

THE CORNELL ERA

240

sports—than the idealist would have us believe, but if this factor is to be to some extent disregarded, as the Athletic
Council seems to deem necessary, there are not a few care
ful observers who will say that the reform might better be gin in other branches than track, where the "C" when given its its testimony of ability and hard work —never of a brief and often purely fortuitous participation in some particular contest.
There seems to be at least some injustice in the impossi bility to win the coveted " C" in any but the major bran ches. The object of College Athletics nominally, at least, is the development of the student physically to supplement his mental training. Few will deny that those men who, as a rule, are attracted by the minor branches, are more in need of athletic work than the candidates for the major teams, who with rare exceptions, are already powerful and sturdy men when they enter the University. To encourage these minor branches would it not be just to award the "C" to the Captain of each of the recognized and well organized nine teams Lacrosse, Basketball and Hockey. The value of the "C" would not be cheapened by such a course ; the scope of its meaning would be broadened.

THE UNIVERSITY
BIRD SLAUGHTER AND VIVI-SECTION.
uT)UT it is scarcely possible that all women who buy and ■*-) wear the feathers are aware of what they are doing.
Are there women who are willing to admit that they know with perfect calmness about the suffering of which they are the cause, when they wear for instance, the egret plumes? Do they know that the mother bird is killed for the sake of those few coveted feathers that grow on her back only at the time of nesting, and the starving little ones are left to perish ? This bird is in many places almost exterminated,
as a result of the savage fashion. The men who are em
ployed by plumage dealers to procure the birds and wings
and feathers do not even stop to kill the birds ; but in the
rush often tear the wings from the living birds. Even the ostrich feathers are obtained only through the most sicken ing cruelties. The ostriches on the farm are regularly plucked alive ; they are tied during the operation, and their cries are heard far and wide, etc."
Some time ago we received a letter part of which is
quoted above, from one of the students of the University pleading against the killing of birds and fur, for ornamental purposes, especially in the matter of the personal adornment of ladies. The writer claimed, and with some degree of justice, that often inhuman means were used to trap and slaughter animals. We did not publish the article, not from any desire to suppress the view, but we thought it rather an unbalanced presentation of the case, in which all sense of proportion was lost, and one in which our readers

THE CORNELL ERA

242

would have little interest. Moreover, we are not overanx
ious to exploit anti- vivisection ideas, advanced mainly by
old women who have little else with which to occupy their
minds and who, inspired by shallow sentimentality are cru sading against one of the instruments which has enabled scientists to discover some of the greatest blessings con
ferred upon mankind.
In actual vivisection, the animal is always under the
anesthetic. In innoculation with pathogenic bacteria the animal does perhaps suffer during the period of incubation but without such methods it would have been absolutely
impossible to attain those results with which we combat the most ravishing diseases. The anti-vivisectionists do not realize that it is quite customary for these animals to be car ried away by the thousands when they increase too rapidly, from lack of nourishment or when some plague breaks out
among them. The diseases of the frog are as numerous as
those which affect man. A plague among them brings ter
rible havoc.
We do not advocate the employ of vivisection in public schools or even in High schools where the objects are often misunderstood and the example misleading, but the use of animals for experiment in the hands of competent persons, is a privilege justifiable even if the results attained were less precious.
We hope that refusal to publish this letter in full will scarcely substantiate the accusation made by the author in
a second letter which ends :
"I know that college papers not infrequently pride themselves on their liberality ; but I fear their "liberality" as a rule is only nominal. All kinds of nonsense indeed they find space for and make such things appear important, giving to them the air of seriousness. But if a new cause not yet made popular—for the struggle for this cause is just beginning—is humbly asking for recognition, these papers in spite of their "liberality" show themselves as reluctant as others. I had been in the hopes that I might offer the

243

rHE CORNELL ERA

paper at least one other article of a kindred nature, namely
one on vivisection."

ONE VIEW OF COLLEGE ATHLETICS.

Despite the temporary setback it received at the hands of the Universiiy authorities, the seed sown at Brown Uni versity for a reform in the amateurish system under which the attempt to keep college athletics "pure" — that is, free from the odious taint of professionalism, has so long been pitifully struggling, has fallen on fruitful soil and promises to mark the development of a saner and more healthful attitude on this question. That the present system of determining "eligibility" has glaring and unrectifiable defects can not be denied, and until the fallacious principle on which it is based —that "College athletics are for ama teurs" is replaced by the principal that "college athletics are for college men," it is evident that conditions can only go from bad to worse. The need for a change is impera
tive, and Cornell could not do better in strengthening her present position as a firm advocate of pure college sport than to take the initiative in establishing a new standard, basing a man's eligibility as a Varsity candidate not on the question of his having accepted a "V" for stopping a runa way team—an extreme to which the present idea might logically be carried—but upon his status as a bona fide college student, a sensible and suitable definition of which can easily be formulated and agreed upon by the various colleges and universities which desire to maintain a high level of college sport.

THE FABLE OF THE UNSOPHISTICATED
FRESHMAN.
ONCE upon a Time there came among us a Youth, a very Unsophisticated Youth who, following in the footsteps of Many Such, found his Affections Firmly Fastened —that is to say, became Dead Stuck on a Maiden. So one evening he went to see the aforesaid Fair One, and the evening being very Similar, a Stroll seemed to be the Natural Thing.
Now it chanced that the Maiden was of the Romantic
Breed, and under the Influence of the Mystic Starlight, as the Poets say, she switched the Chatter into the Proper Channel and at length told the Youth an Ancient Story of a Noble Knight and a Lady Fair who in Ye Olden Time eloped. The Main Point in the Story was that when they had ridden a Long Way in the Night, the Fair Lady complained of being Cold, whereat the Noble Knight immediately put his Armor 'round her, which was Beyond Doubt a Very Proper Caper. This done, the Maiden who we must ad mit was Really Clever, not strangely since she was a Local Product, led the Youth into a Discussion as to whether the Men of To-day are as Chivalrous as were the Ancient Cavaliers. Then Pretty Soon she complained of Feeling Chilly, and the Youth, who took everything Very Literally,
offered to wrap her in his Overcoat, but the Maiden de
murred, saying he might Better keep it on. And the Un sophisticated Youth, who was Too Stupid to see a Joke, kept it on, while the Maiden growing colder, announced after a Short Period of Deep Thought that she must go

245

THE CORNELL ERA

Home. So Home they went, and the Fair One, not entirely Discouraged, invited the Youth to come in, the Which he did with Unperturbed Alacrity.
After some Gyrations the Methodical Maiden and the
Unsophisticated Youth became seated on the Same Settee in the Parlor, discussing with occasional Painful Pauses Sun
dry Topics. At Length the Youth not knowing What Else would delight the Maiden suggested that she Hold
her Breath while he would time her with the Little Watch
he had in his Pocket. One which his Sunday School Teacher had given him because he was a Good Boy. So
the Maid held her breath and the Youth held his. Then
Pretty Soon when it was her Turn he said "Now you hold
your breath," but the Maiden who thought this was Child's Play, I guess, said "No, you," whereat the Youth because he couldn't see the Point held his breath, and the
Maiden, not knowing what else to do, Sighed beside him. After a Little While the Clock in the Dining Room
struck Ten, whereupon the Youth looked at His Watch. It said a Quarter of Ten, but as this was the First Watch he had ever been given by a Sunday School Teacher he was Surprised and said, "Well, either that Clock has gone Crazy or Else I'm Awfully Slow." Then the Despairing Lass, who By The Way didn't know Anything about the Clock, said she was Sure that the Clock was Correct. Something made the Boy Suddenly Catch on to Something and with a Little Startled Look he said he guessed he'd better be go ing. So he put on his Things and Together they stepped out on the Veranda, the Youth being in a Very Uncertain
State of Mind.
After Some Commonplaces the Maiden, No Doubt thinking of the Old Proverb of Try, Try Again, gave a Big Shiver ; but the Youth who had read in a Dictionary that a Shiver was a Cold Shake, suddenly Lit Out ; and to This Day he doesn't see through the Whole Thing, but Never Mind, he'll be a Senior Some Day.
W. W. G.

& ^ CAMPUS TAVZIRlSr, ^ <#
RESTAURANT
NOW OPEN FROM 7:00 A. M. TO MIDNIGHT.

L. L. ZIMMER, Proprietor.

The Public School Teachers' Agency of the NEW YORK LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY

IS IyOCATED AT
1270 BROADWAY
(Between 22nd and 33rd Sts.)
NEW YORK CITY.

ANNUITY SETTLEHENTS
IF DESIRED AT 8, 9 and 10 PER CENT.
PER ANNUT1.

Under the Management
of
W. F. WASHBURN.

1500 teachers in the past three years have taken the 20-year Endowment Policies, which are paying \% per cent. Compound Interest. Money always available after second year. This is the Safest Investment a teacher can make—by far better than Building and Loan, Savings Bank or Government Bond. All communications will receive prompt attention.
W. F. WASHBURN,
1270 Broadway, Nfw York City.

BREESPORT SPRINGS WATER.
A SUPERIOR CARBONATED WATER
Used by Connoisseurs Who Desire a Soft Blending Water.
JUST A WORD AS TO ITS MEDICINAL PROPERTIES.
Mineral Waters, as a rule, show an excess of Lime Salts and Iron, which are shown by the latest authorities on medical matters to be absolutely detrimental in Bright' s Disease, especially the Iron. Of course the lime salts, making the water hard, are injurious to bladder affections. The
analysis of Cornell University (which will be furnished upon application) will convince any physician that the water is an excellent adjuvant in the treatment of all diseases of the kidneys, bladder and stomach. The Water is furnished in 5 gallon carboys plain, also carbonated in
quarts and pints.

For further information write or call upon

STEWART & COLLINS,

Distributing Agents,

ITHACA, N. Y.

GREAT WESTERN.

CUT FLOWERS,

SOLD AT
ITHACA HOTEL

FLORAL DESIGNS
PALMS, GARDINIKRS, ETC.

llfi'M J. A. & J. H. CAUSER,

H
jllllll^ft:'

Proprietors

till

IMMENSE STOCK
QUALITY THE BEST.

Wmf)k&A

FINEST OF

THE BOOL FLORAL CO.,

1 2fe^^^J A^RICAN Wines.

215 East State Street,

ITHACA, N. Y.

WHEN GOING INTO THE WOODS
Jv* .."■,'-s:

THERE'S PROFIT
IN PATRIOTISM

'

•h'~ ~::-' \'-Z

>^A

w<mEf«»».^;-.'?." «5 ^.S^'U *\. -

An,

a'£%:¥
-
^,0cKn

W?*£-

h4

c&<

■■?Av

& 6t

AS WELL AS PLEASURE.
VANS AL

Underwood's Deviled Ham
will be found invaluable. Wholesome, de licious, and appetizing, whether eaten cold just as it comes from the can, or as an addi tion to eggs, fish, and birds when cooked. Made of ham and pure spices, that's all. Look
on the can for the little red devil. That's
the real UNDERWOOD'S. All dealers.

Is better than the best imported—has not been racked and harmed by ocean voyage ; it's cheaper, too—it has no ocean freight or tariff to pay. You will be surprised to find how con vincing of merit the first glass is.
AT AU, DEALERS EVERYWHERE.

vi

For a GOOD SHAVE or HAIR CUT

PLEASURE FOUND AT THE

GO TO

The Cornell Tonsorial Parlors

Cor. STATE and AURORA STREETS.

Opposite Ithaca Hotel.

Phone 229 K.

UNIVERSITY BILLIARD PARLORS,

410 EDDY STREET.

Peter McAllister,

-

Proprietor.

THE TOGGERY SHOPS.

DOWN TOWN, 138 EAST STATE.

ON THE HILL, 404 EDDY STREET.

UATTER AND FURNISHER. Everything pertaining to Mens' 1 A Wear. Agent in Ithaca for Knox, Youman and henry Heath Celebrated English Hats.
_L. C. BEMENT.

ITHACA HOTEL.
We have the only place in town where you can find a First Class Dining Room for a Banquet.
Menu's and estimates furnished on request
J. A. & J. H. CAUSER, Proprietors.

BUTTRICK & FRAWLEY,
Successors to P. Rascover.
Newest in Suits, Rain Coats, Furnishings,
Hats, etc., etc.
OUR MOTTO IS "ONE PRICE."
Goods marked in Plain Figures. Give us a Call

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN
Van Order's Tailor Sliop
AND OTHERS IS THE PRICE. 123 East State St., near P. O

MEANY'S PHARMACY
FOR DRUGS.
154 East State St., ITHACA, N. Y.

Vll

ifeg^) PHOTOGRAPHER. I FOR CLASS OF 1904.

295 NORTH AURORA STREET.

High Grade work only. Special rates to Seniors.

Phone 392 B.

GENTLEMEN
WHO DRESS FOR STYLE
NEATNESS, AND COMFORT
jWEAR THE IMPROVED

C. B. BROWN,
JEWELER,
R-e^pairiing a. Specialty.
200 East State Street.

THE RECGGN.ZED STANDARD
"■^KSThe Name is
stamped on every
oop —

TODD, BLACKMER & CO.,
COZY CORNERS A FEATURE.
Decorating for -£«-
^ special E\?ei\fs.
EVERYTHING FOR THE CO-ED.
1 20 East State Street.

SULLIVAN & BAXTER,

%0£g\ LIES FLAT TO THE LEG— NEVER
V13kSL,PS' TEARS N0R UNFASTENSi

p^pss^

Sample pair, Silk 50c. , Cotton 25c.

Mailed on receipt of price.

GEO. FROST CO., Makers, Boston, Mass., U.S.A.

ALWAYS EASY

Fine Clothing.
A so Merchant Tailoring. 114 E. State St., opposite Post Office.

LQYPTIAN CIQARLTTLS
Qrokm in Turkey. Perfected in Egypt. Enjoyed in America.
•MOGUL SMOKE. MAKLS EGYPTIAN SMOKtRS
LO for 15 cents.
Cork Tips or Plain. Save the Coupons.
viii

A Cornell Journal

». nniii_wiww»inwni i i\rmwmfmmaemmemaxtnmmti<\i

_aBii,i«_iiiwiMinwwi '«

THK WOODFORD PRIZE ORATIONS.

A PLEA FOR RELIGIOUS TOLERATION.*

T^ROM the dawn of knowledge there has been, at all
-*• times, a conservative, an obstructionist, element in hu man society. There have been few new ideas, in science, art or philosophy, that have not been forced to grapple with this restraining power. Two hundred fifty years ago Gallileo
made known to the world the truth that the earth revolves
about the sun. Did it accept this truth ? He was forced to recant ; and old and blind he died in chains. Three hun
dred years ago Fra Lippo Lippi proferred to Florence and the world, realism in art. They scoffed at him and answered : " Give us no more of life ; but give us the ideal." Two
thousand five hundred years ago Socrates offered the Greeks
Individualism. His reward was the poisoned cup. The Re
sponse of the ages to the onward march of truth has been intolerance.
The advance of religious thought and religious evolu tion, has been blocked at times by this same blindness to truth. Why, the story of the rise of every religion, — Pagan, Brahmin, Buddhist, Mohammedan and Christian, is the story of cruelty, injustice and intolerance, carried on through hundreds of years. Bruno rose as a doubter of the religious dogmas of his time. They called him heretic and they burned him at the stake. Savonarola tried to show the
*Awarded the Woodford Oratorial Prize of a one hundred dol
lar medal. Both matter and manner of presentation are taken into consideration by the judges.

247

THE CORNELL ERA

impurity of the church of his time. They called him blasphe mer and they hanged and burned him. Hypatia taught the nobility Greek philosophy. Her teachings conflicted with the Church. They rent her limb from limb and burn ed her. Our Savior pointed the way to a higher and a nobler life and they nailed him to the cross. Cruel opposi
tion and harshest intolerance, in that field of all fields,
in which one might naturally expect tolerance and simple
justice ! Age after age has wakened to realize its crime, and, too
late, to repair its past. What was read in terms of yester day as heresy, to-day reads truth, and doubtless to-morrow will reread, the beliefs of to-day in the light of a new ortho doxy. Steadily has truth advanced with each new age ; despite cruelty, injustice and persecution it has struggled on and achieved new positions of vantage. Out of all the past, out of the present, rises this fundamental idea, that whatever the opposition, the truth will prevail.
We look back on those dark ages and we wonder how
the persecutors, who were men of such high ideals, such noble purpose, leaders in the struggle to raise man, could have been so cruelly antagonistic, and so blind to the possi bility of truth. We are pleased to think that we live in an age advanced and enlightened. We are proud of our high estate. We are accustomed to think that we are free, liber
al, tolerant. But what is toleration ? Not indifference.
No, but a generous respect for freedom of opinion and belief.
Toleration demands that we must not condemn one because
of his belief. We must judge overt acts alone, and refrain
from censure and condemnation unless such acts are in
herently immoral aside from their purely religious character. Are we a tolerant people ? We have to-day, Methodists, Baptists, Presbyterians,
Lutherans, Catholics, — each differing in some of the tenets of its creed. Where one or the other of these sects predom inates, toleration in the fullest sense is still denied. Yet all
of these sects make up one great truth ; and who can

THE CORNELL ERA

248

say which creed is true and which is false ? Why may
each one not have some truth ? All Christian creeds are
based upon the word of God— the Holy Scripture. How can we claim untruth for this or that creed ? Why can we not say with John Milton— " There is no man, no body of men, that is infallible in interpreting the Scriptures to the mind of every other man ?' ' Men always have and doubtless always will differ in their interpretation of Scripture. They
frame new creeds and form new sects ; but wherever men
are struggling upward toward the light ; wherever men are working for God, the spires of all these shrines and temples point Heavenward.
Again, at this time an apostle of the Mormon Church stands arranged before the bar of the United States Senate, defending his right to be accredited a member of that body. He is not a polygamist. It is not contended that he is a polygamist. The arraignment is not of the man, but of his
communion. It is doubtful whether a Mormon more accep
table than this man could be found, and if he be denied this right, it will not be because he is a polygamist, but because he is a Mormon and represents the Mormon hierarchy. If he be denied this right we shall have another instance of the power of religious prejudice, another instance of national
intolerance.
But that is not all, nor the worst. We criticize the outward forms of worship, we carp at the non-essentials. How many of us hearing the distant noise of singing, the roll of drums and the blare of horns, have not moved petu
lantly and said contemptuously, " What foolishness. ' ' We did not ask, What are these people working for? We did not ask, What do these men and women accomplish ? We forgot that these humble workers keep before the roving public of the streets the fact that there is a just, true God. We failed to realize that these people toil tirelessly on in the divine service, and we scoffed at them.
How many of us have gone into a grand cathedral, noted its sumptuous furnishings, its choir of a hundred

249

THE CORNELL ERA

voices or more, its altar boys with swinging censers, its priests in surplice and cassock, its solemn, stately, almost medieval service ? How many of us have said, ' 'There is too
much form here."
Some of us have scoffed then because of too little form, others because of too much form. Why can we not realize
that behind and beneath this form and lack of form lies the
true basis of religion ? They are all working for a perma nent and an adequate ideal. They are all working for God
and good. What matters it then, from the standpoint of good,
whether I be called to worship by the roll of drums and the blare of horns, or by the solemn chant of a vested choir ? If the heart is right, the form is right.
What matters it then, from the standpoint of good, whether I worship before the flickering flame of the candle and flowing robes, or whether I bow down before the barest altar of the poorest sect ? In church or chapel, in hall or street, I worship the one unchanging God.
This attitude of intolerance, as history teaches us, has not led us one step towards truth. Whatever degree of
truth we have attained has been won through freedom of opinion and belief. If we rear ourselves as infallible judges, if we stifle belief and discussion, we may stifle for the mo
ment, truth itself.
'Tis not the stereotyped form, not the creed, but the yearning of the soul, that will find an answer in God. "The letter killeth, ' ' under whatever guise it makes its appear ance, under whatever sky, " but the spirit maketh alive." The Golden Rule lived out by the dark-skinned maid seclu ded in a zenana of India, may prove, as in our own country, a highway to God.
Then let us look for the essence and not the form. Let
us strive for God and our creeds will follow. Let us be just a little more free, just a little more liberal, just a little more
tolerant.
With Andrew D. White let us say, " Let the fight be

THE CORNELL ERA

250

for truth of every kind against falsehood of every kind ; for justice against injustice ; for right against wrong ; for the living kernal of religion rather than the dead and dried husks of sect and dogma ; and the great powers, whose war fare has caused so much suffering, shall at last join in minis tering through earth God's richest blessings."
William Andrew Murphy, '04.

CHILD LABOR.
IT was the spirit of humanity that caused the American peo ple to sacrifice over half a million men who were the pride and hope of our country in order that the negro might be free ; it was the spirit of humanity that only a few years ago caused a wave of righteous anger to sweep the nation because of Turkish outrages in Armenia ; it was the spirit of humanity that, it seems only yesterday, caused us to re coil with horror from the Russian Massacre of Jews at Kishineff. It is the spirit of humanity that makes us lavish millions of dollars yearly in our mission work among the heathen. We pride ourselves upon being a humanitarian people, leading the nations towards a perfect civilization, yet there exists within our own land a slavery more cruel than that which shackled the black man, a tyranny more igno rant than that of the Turk, a crushing out of life unreliev ed by race or religious prejudice. There are to-day em ployed in the United States in store and market, in sweat shop and mill, in factory and mine, hundreds of thousands
of children less than fourteen years old. There are work
ing in the factories of one State of this great Republic three hundred children only six years of age. Statements such
as these when first made convey little to our minds. We do
not grasp their full import. Think what it means to force

25i

THE CORNELL ERA

a babe six years old to work ten hours a day ; a little, chubby child that should do nothing but play in God's sun shine, that should laugh with the joy of living, that should be watched and guarded as a precious jewel. Think ofputing this mite in a factory to tend a spindle. Little light filters through the dark windows ; no sound of laughter strikes its ears. Mechanically it does it's brainless task.
Around it roars the machinery, its whirr is in the child's ears
hour after hour. When the little limbs becomes weary there
is no respite ; unknowing, unreasoning, it must work on, breathing the dust laden air. It does not take long for the little rosy face to become pinched and wan, for the tiny body to become thin and wasted, for the bright eyes to be come dull and clouded. It is not long before the little tod dler that was a child is simply a poor wasted wreck, knowing nothing beyond the factory's whirring wheels, going home each night dazed and stupid to sleep the heavy sleep of the
exhausted. What is this child's future ? There are but two
answers : either death mercifully releases it from its bon dage, or stunted in mind and body, tainted with rickets and and scrofula, an easy pray for consumption, knowing nothof religion or morals, it grows up to mate among its class and reproduce its kind. This has been the history of child
labor in every country and at all times.
And yet we hear good intelligent men defend child labor, because, as they say "employment is better than idleness." Applied to children under fourteen years old is this true ? Is not freedom the God given heritage of the child ? Or it is said, " the earnings of the children improve the condition of the family. ' ' Yes, but does it improve that of the child ? Or, and this is a common argument, "Child Labor is only a temporary condition and will last only until
better labor can be trained." In answer to this there is the
simple statement that child labor never has been stopped except by law, except by the interference of the State.
The history of extensive child labor begins with the introduction of machinery in England. A mere child could

THE CORNELL ERA

252

attend to the workings of most machines as effectively as an adult and its parents invariably accept for its labor, wages no employer would dare offer an adult. The child was incapa ble of enforcing demands by either organization or strikes. The employer of child labor needed to spend no money for lighting or decent sanitation. He needed to take no step to
insure the comfort of his workers. Comfort ! Down in the
depths of the mines little boys and girls, half naked, worked side by side filling coal cars, going into the mine at dawn, coming out at dusk, never seeing the blue sky, or feeling the genial rays of the sun. What could the lives of these child ren be ? The majority died under twenty years of age ;
those that survived were mere animals.
It took the British government one hundred years to realize the curse of this disease and to cure it. The deadly
results were brought vividly forward when it was found im possible to recruit able bodied soldiers from the coal regions. To-day in England the worst features of child labor have been stamped out.
This country does not permit children under fourteen years of age to work underground in the mines. The only federal statute that pertains in any way to child labor pro hibits this practice. The child may work at any other task any number of hours a day, the Federal statutes say noth ing regarding this. It is left to the States and the States
have not done their whole duty. In the Southern States, notably North Carolina and
Georgia, children of eight, ten and twelve years of age toil ten hours a day in the tobacco and cotton factories. Many of the poor whites of the south are entirely supported by
the labor of their children and do no work at all. And yet
this iniquitous system is permitted to flourish among a people who pride themselves upon their gentleness and chivalry.
But it is not in the Southern States alone that children
of tender years are driven to perform tasks for ten or twelve hours a day, amid unsanitary surroundings or among vicious

253

THE CORNELL ERA

associates. Visit the sweat shops of New York and Boston ; there in poorly ventilated, filthy tenements, crowded into closet-like rooms, working in the company of adults, you will see children who give their ages as fourteen, but who are manifestly, and have been proved to be but ten or twelve. They receive a miserable pittance. They cannot read simple English. They become familiar with every
vice, and work on with no future but the toils of some dread
disease, no hope but the turning from hopeless misery to
crime.
It has been estimated by competent authorities that there are 25,000 children under the legal age working in
the city of New York alone. And among the foreign popu lation of Boston the showing is almost as bad. No, it is not only that laws must be enacted. New York and Massa chusetts have good laws supposed to regulate child labor.
Public sentiment must be aroused and the laws must be

enforced.

In the Northern States, however, it is not the great manufacturer that sins in the enslavement of children, but
the parents who employ their own children, the small sweat shop, and the filthy and disease-laden small tobacco factory. It is this class that is producing among us a race of deceas ed and degenerate people that is a menace to our national
welfare.

These children, barred by lack of opportunity and edu cation from all that is good and uplifting, blighted by harsh treatment, foul air and long hours, are pitiable enough.
But that is not all, nor the end. Before these little ones is
ever the beckoning hand of Vice. Bright, to these childish minds, is the easy path to Crime.
What is the real cause of this horrible grinding slavery? Not the tyranny of ignorant and vicious parents. No, the hellish greed of the employers ! The calm, respectable, snug good churchman of the North, living in luxury on the proceeds of his southern tobacco or cotton factory, or the ignorant and vicious sweat-shop proprietor, —on these men rests the burden of this infamy.

THE CORNELL ERA

254

We are a great people, proud and justly proud, of our record, and our hearts go out to the oppressed of the whole earth, yet here, here in our great free country, little chil
dren work and starve, supporting their drunken fathers, making rich their inhuman employers. These children that should know nothing but it responsible pleasure, nothing but happiness. Happiness, —to creep half awake in the grim dawn from their foul sleeping rooms ! Happiness, — to eat, while shivering around the fire, their scanty illcooked meal ! Happiness, —to trudge off in the raw cold of a wintry morning shivering in rags ! Happiness, —un der brutal taskmasters, laboring blindly at hated tasks ! Happiness, —offering up their young lives on the altar of Greed ! The shame of it ! The pitiful shame of it !
As the world progresses, as we attain a better and purer
civilization, the period of childhood, the period of training and education should be lengthened. Only thus can the succeeding generations approximate a perfect and grand
civilization. And yet our latest census reports show more child labor now in this country than ever before. One out
of every twenty-five persons employed in gainful occupa tion throughout the United States, is a child. Things have come to a pass where a prominent southern manufacturer can say unrebuked and unafraid : ' ' There is nothing as
cheap as human flesh." Large minded men and women throughout the country
have by continued agitation done much to ameliorate the evils of child labor. Laws have been passed prohibiting the employment of children in certain occupations. Laws have been passed compelling children to attend school until fourteen years old. Laws have been passed forcing better conditions during the hours of employment. But there still
remain in the United States three hundred thousand chil
dren who are practically slaves ; whose lives are not alone ignorant and useless but inevitably dedicated to vice and
crime and disease.
Wherever evil exists throughout the world, he who

255

THE CORNELL ERA

stands idly by consents to it and is guilty. A tithe of the public sentiment that is aroused over planks in our party platforms would stamp out this evil forever. If we do not each of us speak and work against this horrible iniquity, then each of us consents and is guilty. To this death in life you and I consent. To this unspeakable degredation you and I consent. To this blotting out, this death of in nocence, of health, of happiness, of hope, you and I consent. To this lowering of mankind to the level of the beasts, you and I consent. And yet the American people are not inhe rently vicious, they are not cruel, they are not callous ; they are only indifferent, until conviction is driven home. All that is needed is agitation. Those three hundred thousand
children cry out to us. Let us heed their cry.
F. S. Auerbach, '04.

RUSSIA'S BATTLE AGAINST ISOLATION.
^TpHE war clouds in the Far East have grown thicker and
■*■ more menacing. The peal of cannon is heard around the world. As yet only two nations have felt the shock of battle, but the world listens for a signal that may call its legions to arms. From north to south, from east to west, over continents and over seas, we see and hear signs and rumblings that tell of martial power. The Far East has started a world-wide wave of strife. The warships of Eng land look blacker and more dangerous. The armies of
France drill and manoeuvre with a more determined pur
pose. And even the busy Americans stop to talk of war. This war in the Far East is surely one of the crises in
the world's history. At such times the statesmen of all na< tions should act with the greatest caution. During such

THE CORNELL ERA

256

periods we have no use for prejudice ; we must judge the facts in the light of history.
The relative positions and the contentions of Russia and Japan must remind us of the opening of the Hundred
Years' War. England then contended that the possession of Normandy and Anjou was absolutely necessary to her national existence. But when the struggle was over, and England was left without a foot of ground on the mainland, she was not menaced by the power of France on the conti
nent. England was a naval power. She was at liberty to found colonies far from the mother-country. The same is
true of Japan today. Japan is a naval power ; and Korea and Manchuria are no more necessary to her safety and
future welfare than are Normandy and Anjou necessary for
the national preservation of England.
Manchuria, however, is of more value to Russia than
the richest stores of gold and silver. The mere right of way across this province to the warm ocean is more to her
than all the wealth of the Indies. The Trans-Siberian Rail
road passing through Manchuria is a great artery that makes possible an industrial life to the Tzar's mighty Em pire. Manchuria is the only hope of the new Russia.
But every reform instituted by the Russian govern ment, every element of progress, every step in advance, is viewed with disdain by Russia's enemies. Recall some of the motives urged against the Tzar when he did so much to establish the Hague Tribunal. No movement was ever
started which is destined to do more for the civilized world
than the establishment of this great Court of Peace. Yet
Russia's enemies dared to say that the act of the Tzar was
prompted by selfish motives. And Russia's enemies today look with scorn upon the great efforts she is making to im prove the economic conditions of her people.
If we would understand Russia's policy at present, we must glance at her history. Russia's isolated position has
been her worst enemy. For centuries she was a buffer state
between the East and the West. As such, she held in

257

THE CORNELL ERA

check the countless Mongols, who threatened to stamp out the rising Christian nations of the West, and later she met
the dreaded Tartars, who swept over Asia like a wave of fire. At that time Russia was hailed by the West as a sav
ior of Europe and the guardian of Christianity. England, France, Prussia and Austria suffered nothing from the Tar tar advance except the fear of it. But the Russians fought and bled, and died to preserve Europe from the blight of Tartar rule. Yet in spite of the marvelous resistance made by the Slavic people, the Tartars swept on to the borders of Europe. Then all the Russians united under the leader ship of the Tzar of Muscovy ; the Muscovites conquered
their conquerors, drove back the Tartar hordes, and founded
the Russian Empire. Two centuries later the Muscovites broke through the
Turkish cordon and reached the Black Sea. At that time
all Europe sang the praises of the Cossacks, and urged them to smash the power of the unspeakable Turk. For
more than a century the Cossacks bombarded the frontiers of
the Ottoman power. They forced even the followers of Islam to be tolerant. If they could have continued their
grand work, they would have stormed the ramparts of Con stantinople. The cross would long since have supplanted the cresent on that citadel of the Orient. They would have
pushed their borders to the shores of the Mediterranean, and would have placed their country on a level with the
maritime and commercial nations of the West. Think of
the great change that might have been brought about in Russia if her vast area could have been opened up to the advantages of Western thought and Western civilization ! The plains of Russia, like those of America, might have
listened to the hum of the binder as it counts the sheaves
of wheat. The deep, broad rivers, covering the Empire like
a net, would have trembled at the blast of the steam whistle.
Every valley would echo the roar of busy wheels. But this fond dream was not yet to be realized. Eng-
and France and Austria supported the criminal rule of the

THE CORNELL ERA

258

Turk, in order that they might not be forced to deal with a
powerful neighbor. The allied powers turned a deaf ear to the thousands of helpless Christians in Armenia and Mace
donia. England, blinded by her commercial interests, real
or feigned, overlooked the smouldering ruins of Christian
homes fired by the torch of the merciless Turk. France
and Austria were unmoved by the screams of Christian
women and girls. "Ah, yes," said the allies, "the inter ests of Europe demand that Russia be checked." The
interests of "Europe!" Do the interests of Europe for
ever demand that the Turk be permitted to blight some of
the fairest regions on the face of the earth ? Do the best
interests of Europe demand that the Turk be permitted to
bathe in Christian blood ? Did the allied powers promote
the peace of Europe when they stifled Russian progress,
and put Russian civilization back for a hundred years ? In order that our own civilization may be unrivaled, must
we keep half the world in ignorance ? No ! never ! It was jealousy that turned Russia back
from her attempt to put an end to the dastardly rule of Is lam and to place her people on the road to progress. It was commercial jealousy and nothing else that stifled Russia in her attempt to establish order in chaotic Persia, and to
reach the open sea in that direction.
The great motive that has guided Russian history for
the past two hundred years has been the desire to reach the
warm ocean. Free communication with other nations is the
only means of making Russia what her enemies condemn her for not being. Trade would make Russia one of the
most progressive nations on the face of the earth. Russian
statesmen know that commerce made Venice and Genoa the
wealthiest and most civilized nations in Europe. They know that commerce created the power of Spain and of Holland. They know that trade developed the culture and civilization of England and America. They also know that
commerce and free intercourse with other nations would
change their great Empire's potential power into kinetic

259

THE CORNELL ERA

energy, break the bonds of ignorance, and cause an awak ening in Russia equal to the recent awakening of Japan.
The Russians, like the Americans, are a race of fron
tiersmen. They are quick to see new opportunities, and prompt to take advantage of them. The march of the Rus
sians to the East is like the advance of the Americans over
the great West. From Siberia the Russian farmers have
pressed on to into Manchuria. In Manchuria the Musco vites reached a goal for which they had fought for centuries.
There they reached ice-free ports on one of the world's great
oceans. The doors of progress stood open before them.
After so many years of waiting, after so many hard- fought battles, after having traversed the length of a continent and having brought good government to hundreds of rob ber tribes, the sons of Peter the Great have at last reached
the harbor toward which that master mind turned the ship
of state. The Muscovites have now electrified a current of
life that is bringing progress to their mighty empire ; that is building schools where brigands not long since held sway. This current of life, this Siberian and Manchurian Railway,
is building orderly towns where disease and filth have only ceased to rule. This element of progress is establishing the printing press where ignorance is intrenched behind centuries of stagnation.
Today you may hear the cry of the newsboy as he sells his papers along the Amur. In Manchuria you may see Christian churches rise side by side with Buddhist temples, both houses of worship destined to teach and uplift their converts ; both religions working to remove the gulf be tween the civilization of the West and the thought of the East. Here in Manchuria the disciples of Buddha have
learned to love and respect the followers of Christ. Here
the civilization of the West has successfully mingled with
the civilization of the East.
But if Russia is driven out of Manchuria, all this will be changed. The great Siberian Railroad, which has broken
the bond of Russia's isolation and started her on the road to

THE CORNELL ERA

260

progress, will be rendered useless. In place of ice-free ports and free communication with the world, the Russian people will find themselves face to face with another mili tary frontier. Russia's rising industries will be stifled in their infancy, and Russian civilization will receive a stag gering blow. Yet the attempt to shut Russia in is like building a dam to check a mighty river. You may build a dam that is mountain-high, but the higher you build the dam, the more devastating do you make the cataclysm.
The Russian people cannot forever be bound by their isolation. They are a power whose rights must some time be recognized. Nations may unite to blight Russia's fond est hopes ; nations may send armies to kill thousands of her bravest sons. But the Russian people are fighting for their country, they are fighting for their homes, they are fighting for their very lives, and in the end their cause
must succeed.
R. J. Halpi7i, '04.

THE MOB SPIRIT IN AMERICA.
THE picture I would paint is not of the imagination but of almost daily reality, —American in color, intensely human in interest. Amid the distant, darkening shadows of the night, there gathers a threatening throng. Circling around some object, united in purpose, insane in action,
heedless of opposition, fearless of danger, and momentarily increasing in numbers, —ominous, disorderly —what is it? you ask ; what is its object and purpose?
Ordinarily peaceful, law-abiding citizens, most of them
men of character and standing in the community, for the
moment bereft of reason, have gathered to take the life of a fellow man. The accused is bound to a stake, the fagots

26l

THE CORNELL ERA

are piled around, the torch is ready to be applied. There is a moment of hesitation. The victim, abject and crouch ing, faces death calmly, —bravely, perhaps. No account is made of palliating circumstance ; no time is given him for defence. Without trial or opportunity to confront his ac cusers ; without counsel, judge, or jury ; without chance to speak a word in his own behalf; without, in fact, any
of the constitutional guarantees to the accused, he is to be sent to his doom. The fire is lighted and amid a few ago nizing shrieks, the victim is swept into eternity by his selfconstituted executioners—a frenzied, howling mob, riotous, vindictive, unreasoning, right-destroying, and law-defying. And this in America, under the flag of the free, and amid the boasted civilization of the twentieth century !
So many times of recent years has this sad tragedy been enacted that the whole world is appalled at the spec
tacle and America stands indicted of a wanton and reckless
disregard of law. Mob rule is undoubtedly one of our gravest dangers. It is anarchy, licentious anarchy ; and anarchy is now, as always, the tool and forerunner of tyr
anny. Athens, Sparta, Carthage, and Rome, no less than
we, aspired to liberty. They, too, adopted a republican form of government ; but lie today buried under their own
excesses — the victims of the mob ! Is not this a warning to America ? Shall we go back to the dark days of our fallen
predecessors? Shall we, too, die in the throes of anarchy? Well may we ask, for already this unappeasable, Satanic spirit has taken from us three of our most beloved Presi dents and the many-headed monster which grows by what it feeds on, still stalks the length and breadth of the land. Whether under the mask of the vengeful lyncher by night, or in the guise of the self-justifying striker by day, it is the same lawless, dangerous, and insatiable spirit.
Already the mob spirit has broken down all sectional barriers until today it is known as the national crime. No state is exempt from its ravages ; no community is free from its dangers. For Little Rock in Arkansas, Delaware

THE CORNELL ERA

262

has its Wilmington. The riots of Indiana proved even more terrible than those of Mississippi. The shooting in
Alabama wakes echo in the murders in Ohio. At Akron,
the mob, with rifle and torch, storms the jail to wreak its vengeance upon a negro—and this in the shadow of Canton, where sleeps the noble McKinley. In Chicago a mob of rioting strikers surrounds a factory, demands higher wages,
and intimidates men who would work. New York, the me
tropolis of the country, filled with an enormous and varied foreign population, is threatened with race riots the most bitter and relentless of all. And even in Springfield, Mas sachusetts —in the heart of Puritan New England —the po lice fought for hours to rescue a citizen charged with a minor crime. The question has come home to the country
at last !
This question of the mob spirit has become one of such vital civic importance that it now occupies the attention of the whole American people. Its solution is frought with many dangers and it requires, therefore, the most conserva tive treatment. It is today the transcendent problem for it is the final test in the experiment of free government. Al ready, the United States, by twice defeating England, has proved its ability to resist foreign oppression. In a four
years' Civil War we demonstrated our power to subdue sec
tional rebellion. Sympathy for the down-trodden people of a neighboring isle so stimulated our indignation that we drove from the western hemisphere the despotic power of Spain. Yet our nation, so strong to repell invasion and so
strong to aid the weak, has still to prove that it can secure respect for its laws in all parts of the land, has still to show that it can enforce its laws without favor or partiality.
Is not this the supreme, the all-important question of the hour ? Free government must live and move and have its being in the laws which freemen make ; and when any body or combination of men presumes to disregard those laws, the safety and welfare of our entire citizenry is as sailed. Then is property made insecure, life endangered,

263

THE CORNELL ERA

and Liberty herself put in peril ! Today the nation stands
face to face with this evil—so strong that it will try our ut
most strength, so cunning and daring that it will tax all of our wisdom and patriotism to overcome it.
Too often has the arm of the law been paralyzed ; too often has Justice been dragged from her sacred throne and trampled in the mire. Recent instances of anarchy, lynchings and rioting have so weakened the administration of law that it has become feeble—in many cases paralyzed ! Mob rule has lowered American prestige in the eyes of the world, disgraced every state, and covered our cities with shame and disgrace. It has cast its stigma on our national
manhood !
"THE UW'S DELAYS."

The criticism of our judicial procedure which the mob spirit voices, may be epitomized in one phrase, "the law's delays," as if delays in procedure should wrest the admin istration of justice from its duly elected officers, and place it in the hands of an unreasoning, irresponsible mob.
The sole object of government—that covenant between citizens —is the protection of individuals. We cannot bring back the dead ; we have no right, therefore, by a hasty and impassioned administration of laws to drag innocent men to death. To protect the innocent, to accomplish justice rather than revenge, rules are necessary to regulate the trial of the accused and before any man can be legally con victed, there must be an opportunity for a judicial determi nation of all questions arising under such rules. Nothing in the experience of the world—and many experiments have been tried —warrants the assumption that a more summary disposition of criminals would result in a decrease of crime
or of mob violence. On the contrary, statistics show that
mobs are most frequent in states where court calendars are not congested ; where, if opportunity were given, justice would be speedily and fairly meted out.
The spirit that has underlain the administration of our laws has always been one of protection to the accused in all

THE CORNELL ERA

264

his rights. The maxim that it is better than ninety-nine guilty escape than that one innocent man be punished, has had the sanction of Holy Writ and of our law from its
beginning.
It does not follow because of this alleged defect, "the law's delays" that the system is wrong, or that mob rule had better supplant it. Nor does it follow that such as
sumption is justification at any time for assassination under
the guise of punishment for crime. The plea is unstable, fanciful, misleading, irrational. It is retreating into the darkness of barbarism—a step that America cannot take,
for our country must ever be foremost in a calm and sure
administration of law.

"put down the mob !"

My countrymen, you who love your native land, this is my message : Put down the mob ! The remedy for this
evil is in a consistent administration of the law in all its
departments. Let us suppress apologists for murderers who act under the protection of numbers. Let us elect as sher iffs only those who will protect prisoners in their lawful rights. Let us employ as policemen only those who will realize that, in the eyes of the community, the officer who
permits any interference with the discharge of his sworn
duties is a coward. Citizens ! Would you put an end to
mob rule ? Do your duty ! Sustain the authorities in the discharge of theirs ! Then only shall Americans be secure in their inalienable rights, then only shall triumph the
majesty of the law. Condoning and excusing the mob must cease : for as
certainly as a fire, fanned to fury in one room, will sweep on through the whole building, so certainly will the mob, if even slightly encouraged, sweep on to supplant the courts.
To condone the mob is to encourage it. To be silent is to
incite it. To temporize with the law is to destroy it, and to destroy the law is to throw open the doors to anarchy and all its murderous brood. From platform and pulpit,

265

THE CORNELL ERA

through the press, and in the many institutions of learning, such as our own Cornell, let us emphasize obedience to the laws. This is the paramount duty of the citizen. For it is the anchor of our liberties, the safeguard of our institu
tions.
There must be no compromise. Remember that eter nal vigilance is the price of safety. Therefore, if we would keep the law inviolate we must watch over it night and day. Whether public officer or private citizen we must, as the rioter and lyncher, know but one duty : speedily, legally and commensurately to punish him. To do this to destroy the mob, root and branch, for the mob is composed of in
dividuals and when you have disarmed the parts, you will
have overcome the whole.
How shall we restore the former reverence for the law ?
How shall we regain our former status as a nation, foremost in freedom and last in tyranny ? Too prone priare we as vate citizens to neglect our public duties. America needs a quickening of civic pride. I appeal to the intelligent man hood of the nation, — and especially to this educated uni versity community, to the law-abiding citizens of the Re public, to those who are mothers of men.
The remedy is in our hands. We have but to exercise
the powers vested in us and the laws are secure. It is our
privilege to elect men who will do their duty, without fear or favor—then why not avail ourselves of that privilege ?
Until we do so we shall continue at the mercy of the mob
spirit—and the mob knows neither justice nor mercy. Un til we do so we shall remain liable to anarchy and anarchy
means the destruction of the Republic. Yet the Republic will endure. We will arise in our
might and overthrow this foe, even as we have triumphed over so many foes in the past. We will educate our youth to that wholesome respect for the law and that appreciation of citizenship which will, at last, result in a good govern ment, wisely maintained. The laws shall be executed, obedience shall be enforced and this government of the free,

THE CORNELL ERA

266

for the free and by the free shall continue as it began, —the refuge of the oppressed and the hope of the nations !
Howard C. Lake, '04.

WHAT WE HAVE LEFT— A REPLY
TO ORTHODOXY.
NOT many years ago the Christian church, although it consisted of many branching sects, was yet, as regards its leading tenets, a united body. Furthermore, all reli gious men, everywhere, adhered to some one of these sects. But a little later one or two spiritual men, of original thought, discovered that they could no longer believe not only in the peculiar creed of their own denomination, but that they could no longer believe in those main doctrines
common to all branches of the Christian church. The very
doctrine of the Trinity itself they thought incompatible with the revelations of modern scholarship. To their new ly raised standard of Liberal Thought thinkers flocked from every country and from every religious denomination. So that the original few became a goodly company. The more these scholars studied the original texts of the Bible the
more those very texts confirmed them in their belief.
The result of this so-called heresy within the churches has been twofold. On the one hand it has caused the clergy of the various Orthodox sects to anchor more firmly the
mooring of their creeds. On the other hand it has caused on the part of many, in every sect, a drifting away from these fixed moorings.
So far so good. But now, Orthodoxy comes to the front, charging Liberal Thought with having shaken these men in the faith of their fathers and given them in its stead

267

THE CORNELL ERA

a cheerless philosophy. It charges Liberal Thought with having loosened the convert's hold upon the "Redeeming Cross" and set him adrift in a hopeless sea of higher criti
cism without a compass and without a chart.
When one attempts to defend Liberal Thought against Orthodoxy, the invariable reply is this— "If you do not be lieve in the infallibility of the Bible, nor in the divinity of Christ, nor yet in the Trinity of God— if you tear down these things, what have you left?"
That is a fair question—let us deal with it fairly. Rejecting the Orthodox creeds as theological speculations
which have crept into the Church and accumulated for
nineteen hundred years, let us consider what we have left
of God, of Christ and of the Bible. Let us not be sur prised however, if, having cleared away the debris of theo logical speculations which obscures the view, we come upon a clearer light, a larger faith and a sweeter religion.
One thing that obscures the truths of Orthodoxy is its mysticism. Take for example the Trinity — that mathemat ical formula promulgated by the Alexandrine and Platonic schools. It is an attempt on the part of man to define God. But to define anything is to prescribe its known limits. Definition is limitation. But God is not limited,
therefore He cannot be defined. Orthodoxy attempts to define God by prescribing to Him the limits of the Trinity. But in the last analysis what is their definition but a series of negations ? It represents God as three persons in one God-head. Not three persons in the sense of three co-equal individuals, nor in the sense of three manifestations of one
person, but three persons in one person, and yet, not one
person in the sense of one individual entity, but one person
in three persons, in the same sense that the three are one 1
Such, in short, is the confusion of any attempt to define Deity. Now suppose we set aside this whole creed as a
theological speculation. Suppose we set it all aside. And now, instead of looking for God within the narrow confines of our finite minds, let us look beyond ourselves. Let us

THE CORNELL ERA

268

seek Him as He reveals Himself in nature, and history, in
the vast universe, and in all that is good and beautiful and
true. Here we shall find Him. Here He has revealed
Himself. Throughout the darkness of monastic theorizing the light has been steadily shining, but "the darkness com prehended it not." This much, then, we have left—reject ing all speculation as to God's personality we have left the
light and the truth of His love.
And thus, too, in rejecting the theological doctrines of
the Deity of Christ we do not believe Christ less divine but
more. Though we refuse to think Him born a Deity we
believe His pure life made Him divine. We regard with
profound reverence the apostolic epistles ; but the error of Christians has ever been to interpret Christ by them, in
stead of interpreting them by Christ. It is not by His death that we are to profit,, but by His life. It is not by the atonement of another that we are to be saved, but by
our individual atonement — our at-one-ment with God. We
reject the Christianity of Orthodoxy. We have left the Christianity of Christ. Christ, we believe, rose to the loft iest spiritual heights ever attained, or ever attainable, by man. Nor is this thought at variance with our belief in the
continuous progress of the world and of mankind. The
world does not advance along all lines of progress at the same time ; on the contrary its energies tend to run so ex clusively in special directions that in others there may be
temporarily even a positive decline. The world of oratory
has known but one Demosthenes. Dramatic literature has
known but one Shakespeare. The world of spiritual thought has known but one Jesus. And though we tear down the accumulated speculations of nineteen hundred years we have left, even in the fragmentary record of His teachings, enough to make the word and example of Jesus of Nazareth the way, the truth and the light to us.
Finally, in rejecting the Bible as the infallible word of God, we have left the Bible as the complete record of a nation's struggle towards spiritual light. Herein we may

269

THE CORNELL ERA

read an evolution of man's religious ideal. Early man thought of the Deity as an avenging God whom he feared and sought to appease with sacrifices. From this primitive conception of God, we find in the Bible, every shade of character attributed to the Deity, down to our modern con ception of Him as revealed in the teaching of Jesus—every shade of character from the avenging God of human frailties
down to the Infinite God of love. We have then, in the Bible
account, not one God but many Gods. The trouble with
Orthodoxy is that it attempts to unite all these conceptions
into one infallible revelation of God. The result is once
again — confusion. They worship not the God of Abraham and of Jacob, neither do they worship the God of Isaiah and Jesus, but they worship a composite God —a fusion of all the Gods of the Bible into one. Liberal thought, rejecting though it does, the earliest ideas of God, yet holds to the later conceptions of Him as taught by Isaiah and Jesus. And in rejecting these earliest ideas of God, in rejecting all that conflicts with our own highest ideals, who then shall
say that we have not left a clearer and a more beautiful
conception of God ; who shall say that we have not left a higher religious ideal.
Such then, and most imperfectly stated, is what we have left : —of God— His light and his love, revealed in all that is good and beautiful and true ; of Christ —his word
and example, the way, the truth and the light to us ; and of the Bible— the record of a nation's struggle toward
spiritual light, —a struggle from whose achievements we get an inspiration, and from whose failures, a warning.
Who then, shall say of Liberal Thought, that having shaken a man's belief in the faith of his fathers, it gives to him in return a cheerless philosophy ? Or who shall say that having loosened the convert's hold upon the "Redeeming
Cross' ' it sets him adrift without a compass and without a
chart? To all such Liberal Thought offers an idea of God which Reason can not assail ; a belief from which Higher

THE CORNELL ERA

270

Criticism can not turn us adrift ; a religion which makes God
known in terms that can be believed and understood. Out of the confusion and darkness of medieval specu
lation, out of the strife of creeds and sects, there arises a clearer and purer idea of the Great Father of the Universe,
a higher and more inspiring ideal of life.
E. M. Slocombe, '04.

SLAV OR SAXON.
T^VEN the casual observer finds the map of the world
^ pregnant with meaning. Within its narrow compass are crowded the profoundest lessons. Its message is at once historic, graphic and prophetic : its boundaries reflect the past, with all its struggle and growth and ceaseless change ; its curving lines and variant colors depict the natural features that shape the course of nations— site and size, physical attributes, mountain chains dividing peoples into warring tribes, rivers and harbors bidding them ad venture forth to meet and mingle with the other races of the earth ; the map is full of prophecy, for these same physical features, isolating or exposing, uniting or dividing, foretell
and almost fix the destinies of the nations.
Study this map in the light of what you know of men, and you will find two races looming in the foreground.
In Europe there is England, a tiny island in the North Sea, yet maintaining within her borders the workshop of the world ; giving thanks to a narrow little strait that has saved her from death at the hands of her southern foes, yet leaping the vast expanse of ocean to propagate her kind in every quarter of the globe.
The strong bold daughter of the Saxon kings has long
asserted the supremacy of the Saxon race. For years her

271

THE CORNELL ERA

rivals have sought some sign of weakening in the hand that holds the scepter. Even now they cry that her trade is falling off ; that her mills and factories are shutting down ; that her commercial and industrial prestige is on the wane. It may be that her glories no longer eclipse all rivals ; it may be that her neighbors have at length bestirred them
selves to claim a share in this world-trade which she has
built up before their very eyes. But shall her power van
ish in an instant ? Shall this British Empire, yoking to
gether four continents and untold islands of the sea, be dis
solved at the first blast of a challenging bugle ? The steady growth of centuries does not slack and fail in a day. Long before England is forced to yield up her scepter, a new Saxon people beyond the sea will be ready to receive it proudly from her hand, and bid defiance to the clashing nations of Europe.
As we turn our eyes southward on the map of Europe, we find no such powerful league of Nature and man. We find France wedged in tight between Germany and Spain ; Italy reaching out plaintively into a sea that no longer bears the burden of the world's commerce. Germany is strong and virile, using her limited means with marvellous
success in war and trade, in science and the arts, but she is walled in by a circle of bitter foes ; she has little opportunity
to develop and expand to dominating size. The other peo ples of southern Europe do not concern us in the search for a world power : they are either rent by civil discord or al ready decadent in national spirit.
In the north, however, a totally different picture meets the eye. Spreading out over three-fifths of Europe and two-fifths of Asia, thrusting and crowding his neighbors on
every hand, lies the Great Unknown Giant. The life ot
the Slav nation has been one long struggle with barbarism at home, with unrelenting opposition abroad. Yet in the very face of this opposition, the Russian has grown and spread on every side, save only where the icy barrier of Na ture herself gave him pause. In Europe he has absorbed

THE CORNELL ERA

272

Courland and Livonia, Finland, Poland and the Crimea. In Asia he has crept along, step by step, through Siberia and Manchuria, until now at last, on the borders of Korea,
he finds himself face to face with a young and ambitious
power, waging a life and death struggle against the Slav advance. How valiantly Japan is contending, the recent dispatches from the Far East disclose. Whatever the out come of this conflict, the movement will still go on. Fail
ure in Manchuria alone can never block the relentless march
to the sea.
This great Russian bear, suckled by adversity, trained
to see in every neighbor a foe, sleepless, vigilant, grimly awaiting each new onslaught, has grown and thrived until his growl awakens in every heart a shudder at what the future may bring forth.
In the West, however, another young giant has sud denly sprung into being. There is no need to tell of the growth in a century and a half from one million to eighty millions of people ; of the trade that has doubled in twentyfive years and quadrupled in forty ; of the amazing change from a vast stretch of forest and prairie to a land of wealth and culture and industrial power. Every school-boy knows the tale by heart : how America has natural resources un surpassed anywhere ; a vast area that is only beginning to yield itself to cultivation ; a splendid situation between the two great oceans of the world, which invite her sons to set sail eastward and westward, to carry their goods to every
port and hoist their flag on every shore. We are only beginning to realize our possibilities. The
initial burst ot vigor is spent, and we are girding ourselves for a more mature effort in the grand struggle for world su
premacy. Can we not say in fairness and truth that Amer
ica will soon be ready to receive from England the leader
ship of the Saxon race ?
What then ? Then will come the inevitable conflict
between Slav and Saxon, between Russian Bear and Amer-

273

THE CORNELL ERA

ican Eagle. The secret of the outcome we may read in the
character of the two races.
In Russia we find an all-pervading spirit of paternal
ism. It is in the army, in the Church, in the whole civil
regime. The Czar is the fountain-head not only of justice, but of wisdom and honor and power. The peasant, toiling in moral darkness, is not trained to think for himself, to
speak for himself, to strike for himself. The result is inevitable. The power of the Czar, in
theory absolute, in reality is tremendously curtailed, for he
is obliged to entrust the actual details of government to a
vast army of subordinates, open to the faults of officialdom
in all lands and all times. The rigid censorship of the press, stifling the slightest outcry against authority, reacts to blind the Emperor to the misdeeds of his own servants. Rogues are intrenched by their freedom from attack, and corruption is rampant everywhere.
Enforced military service is another weakness of the
Russian system. Every year nine hundred thousand young men reach military age in the Czar's dominions, yet one Russian student in Cornell University must soon drop his academic work and go back to serve his term in the imperial army. The penalty for failure is a heavy fine and lasting disgrace for his family, and for himself lifelong banishment. Are you surprised, then, that more than a thousand Russian
refugees disembark in New York harbor in a single day, thronging to our shores to avoid being drafted in a hateful war ? And the Hamburg-American line has chartered ex
tra steamers to bring over fifty thousand more. Opposed to this paternalism, breeding corruption and
cruelty in the classes and ignorance in the masses, we find American self-reliance and the spirit of enterprise. This
restless spirit enables our tourists abroad to cross an Egyp tian river on a bridge of American steel ; and to speed
along a railway in Russian Manchuria behind a Baldwin locomotive running on American rails.
It may be that America and Russia will never send out

THE CORNELL ERA

274

their armies to meet on the field of war. The biggest bat tles for this world supremacy are not to be decided by the clash of arms and the roar of cannon. They are to be fought out slowly and silently by rival traders, competing
in the markets of the world. The first skirmish of the
campaign has already begun in the open ports of the Orient,
and there may be the theater of war for years to come. There Slav and Saxon will be tested in those attributes
which bring commercial and industrial supremacy, —those qualities which make or mar a world power.
If we would win, let our patriotism be something more than mere blind devotion to a name or a flag or a person ality. Let us love our country because we know every
page of her past ; because we believe that our country
stands for something unique in the world's history. With such a patriotism, we may even dream of infusing Ameri can energy into the sluggish races of the Orient. Sousa put this spirit into his march, "The Stars and Stripes For ever," and an American general, hearing that march played by the Sultan's band in Constantinople, saw it rouse the
Moslem troops to unwonted energy and fire.
If we stand for honesty and decency and fair play in ever}'- walk of life ; if in the bold ardor of youth, we are content to wait for the years to bring discretion, firm in the faith that those years will leave our spirit undimmned and our courage unshaken ; if then we find that through and through the fabric of this nation are woven the shining threads of courage and justice and honor, then shall we
know that such a nation must endure.
H. B. Tibbetts, '04.

THE CORNELL ERA
WIND WOOINGS.
SPRING.
GO, cool, sweet wind, and whisper low Beneath her window in the dusk— From voiceless music into song She loves to hear thy murmur grow— While /, against the crimson glow, Dark as the oak I stand beneath, Wait, peering at the fading view For that dear face which haunts me so.
Go, gentle wind, and softly draw The blossom-burdened apple bough Across the half-raised window-pane, Then, blossom-scented, kiss her brow.
SUMMER.
LIKE incense from the mountain lakes ' At dawn the cold white mists arise Go, wind o' morn, with piny breath, And chase the slumber from her eyes.
The dew drops bend the grasses low, The noon-tide dusty path is wet, The dark corn glistens in the glow Of Day not o'er the hill-tops yet. The robin trills his roundelay, Beside his full and noisy nest— Of sleep and morn, O Happy Wind,
Go tell her that the morn is best.
F. H. Peters, '05.

AT DUSK.

A LINE of gold, a shade of withered rose

-"-

Amid the grey,— oh, just a little while

Before the night ; as though life could not close

Its eyes in death without one last sweet smile.

T.S.J.,Jr.,>04.

THE CORNELL ERA

276

THE RANSACK MAN.
T^ USTY McGINNIS waved an impressive adieu to his
■"* loyal pal and crept silently up the rear steps of an apartment house, intent on thorough investigation of the
appurtenances of two upper flats. He had reviewed the
ground carefully on the preceding day in the role of a hungry wayfarer. Moreover, he was properly cognizant of the present whereabouts of the two families. It only re mained for him to open the doors with his skeleton key and quietly help himself to the contents of sideboards and chiffonieres, —allowing, of course for improbable interruptions from without, —possible occurrences of which he entertained no fear so long as his interested confederate remained in the neighborhood.
With a heart aglow from the joy born of brilliant pros pects, he paused on the veranda of the south suite and applied his key cautiously to the lock. The door swung noiselessly. He entered, listened intently a moment, then
closed it behind him. Next he raised a back window some
six inches to make sure of hearing possible whistles from his partner below ; and lastly pressed the button of his bulls-eye.
Rusty was no novice. A brief study of his gaunt face
under the scant rays of his own lantern would have shown
that. To be sure, his features were reposeful, but they
were wary ; his keen black eyes were inscrutable ; his mouth was fine and hard as steel. Yet withal he was not
ill- looking, especially when he condescended to grin. He was grinning now at Madam's carelessness in leaving rings
on the sink shelf.
Deftly the thief went his round, pocketing smaller arti cles of value and laying out larger ones to be made into an inconspicuous bundle. Only one room finally remained,—

277

THE CORNELL ERA

an inner chamber adjoining the air-shaft. Rusty pulled aside a portiere and entered. The next instant, his cun ning glance detected a movement beneath the covers of the bed before him, and his ear caught full and strong, the harsh vibrations of a piercing wail. Instinctively he averted his lamp and stepped back. A minute later, however, he fell to chuckling ; and cursing himself softly, he approached
the bed.
From the depths of a giant pillow gleamed forth a pair of youthful eyes as round and bright as glass marbles. The remainder of the child's face appeared, at the moment, to be absorbed in mouth. Rusty muffled a second yell with the palm of his hand. Then kneeling down, he patted the youngster soothingly on the head.
"Don't git scared, shaver," he urged appeasingly. "I ain't hurtin' ye. Ye must have had er reg'lar hair-lifter of er dream ! — I've had 'em too," he added in soliloquy.
Little by little, such assurances wrought their effect. The mouth under his palm became closed. The eyes, how ever, still stared at him with all the intentness, if less of
the horror they had at first manifested. "Wh__oo are
you?" queried their young owner, edging accusingly
toward the wall.
The burglar did not immediately answer. He got up
with unaccustomed awkwardness and seated himself on the
edge of the bed. The rich furnishings of the room lay unobserved, and the pile of goodly plunder just outside was forgotten. It was the wondering eyes still gazing up at him that compelled his attention. They made him uneasy. "Who are you?" The question thrilled him as he bowed his head and pondered. He had dodged it hundreds of times. Yet never before had he been compelled to face it on an inquisitive five-year-old's lips. His stern features relaxed a trifle, but speedily recovered their normal expres
sion.
"Me, kid?" he rejoined, slapping the mattress sud denly with his big hand. "Oh! I'm Rusty, the ransack
man."

THE CORNELL ERA

278

His questioner sat up in bed and stared at him even
more fixedly than before.
"Ransack Man?" repeated the child mechanically. "Do you know stories, Ransack Man?"
Rusty grinned expansively. "Lie down ;" he rejoined gruffly, "Mebbe I can splice up one."
The youngster fell back on the pillow, and closed his eyes. His new acquaintance studied him thoughtfully for a time and finally began the tale. As he proceeded, mute astonishment again took firm hold of his listener. "Ran
sack Man" had started a strange story. The boy was hear ing of the criminal world. The narrator himself became absorbed. Incident after incident flashed in fascinating
succession before his mind : night plunderings, false alarms, frequent unexpected captures, repeated terms of prison life. What a career ! This was the only time he had ever been
given the choice of reviewing any connected part of it aloud. Very natural it was, then, that he should shun the darker eddies of experience, and select some truly credita ble exploit for narration : more natural still that he should find himself relating in the third person. Once or twice, after being interrupted by a question, the speaker hesitated.
The pauses were, however, of short duration.
Three times, the clock in the back parlor struck the expiration of a half hour, and after each mellow outburst ticked on again unheeded. At last, hoof beats began to clatter with growing frequency upon the outside pavement for theatre-goers were returning home. Through the open
window of the air-shaft sounded the click of the main hall
door. The front stairs creaked faintly under the tread of
approaching steps. Rusty, once more on the alert, jumped to his feet. He
glanced hastily back at the small form snugly bundled in comforters, and noted, almost compassionately, the sleepy expression dominating the little face—the drooping eyelids, and parted lips. He took two or three strides, then turned

279

THE CORNELL ERA

for a final view before drawing the drapery from the door way. The little fellow was watching him listlessly.
"Good-bye, Mr. Ransack Man," murmured the lad. 1 'Good-night, kid, ' ' returned Rusty, a trifle hoarsely. ' 'Just tell yer folks Santy Claus got in here on the wrong evenin',
will ye?"
Thereupon, Mr. McGinnis, the ransack man hastily re
tired from the house by the way he had entered, emptyhanded, but cheerful. The anticipated inquiries of his pa tient comrade he was enabled to answer with equanimity. "New kind of performin' latch on the bath room. Got shut in without any jimmy, and had to work out with jackknife. I sure thought I was pinched."
Having relieved himself of this plausible explanation, Rusty lapsed into a judicious silence.
G. W. Graves, 'pf.

vm

Voi,. XXXVI.

May, 1904.

No. 8

Terms :—The subscription price is $2.00 per year in advance, and $2.25 when it has not been paid by April 15th. Single copies, 25 cents, maybe obtained at the Corner Bookstores, and the Co-operative Society's Stores.

BOARD OF EDITORS.

Clarence Paul Obendorf, '04. Editor-in-Chief. Fred Bemis Humphrey, '04, Business Manager. Ernest Westervelt Kelsey, '05, Assistant Business Manager.

Henry Crane Hasbrouck, '04. Morgan Bidleman Garlock, '04. William Wallace Gail, '05.

Edwin Mitchell Slocombe, '04. Charles Sherman Cobb, '05. Earl Hewes Kelsey, '05.

Address matter for publication to the Editor-in-Chief, and business communi cations to the Business Manager.
Entered at the post office, Ithaca, N. Y., as second class matter.

WITH this issue of the Era the editorial pencil with all its perogatives and equally manifold responsibili ties is placed into the hands of Mr. Gail and his assistants. It is not without feelings of regret that the present seniors resign their duties although the road during the past year has not been a path of roses. When the present board took control, the paper, almost disrupted by the business mis management of 1902 and the typhoid epidemic of 1903, was indeed in a precarious state. In 1903, it was necessary to issue a July number for one omitted by the retiring staff.

28l

THE CORNELL ERA

This year the issues have been irregular— although every effort was made to appear on time —and we desire to apolo gize and at the same time thank our subscribers for their
indulgence. While the paper has undeniably been hampered by
financial disabilities, the competition for places on the board has been the most encouraging for several years. Those
who have been successful and those who remain on the
board, while escaping some of the disagreeable annoyances
which have been encountered this year, assume grave
responsibilities, which will require sturdiness and persist ence to be met satisfactorily.
The present board realizes that it has fallen far below its ideals for a college literary paper, not perhaps from in
difference or carelessness or lack of interest, but it is a long journey to that constantly receding and variable goal. Perhaps the last year has seen some progress in that direc
tion ; we feel confident that the next will see more.
The question immediately arises of the needs to attain
a better, a more ideal paper. There is indeed an almost
universal opinion among the undergraduates that greater interest would be manifested, should the Era cast aside its
conservatism and seriousness and cater to frivolous tastes.
At the beginning of the year we pleaded for more fiction.
An attempt has been made to insert at least two short stories in every number but from the nature of most of them,
we are inclined to agree with the criticism made in the Sun
last October, "good articles are preferable to poor fiction." Fiction of the lighter sort can be read galore in the Black
Cat at reduced rates, while poor sketches to illustrate base
less storiettes can be obtained in greater profusion in the ten cent magazines than the Era could ever hope to produce.
It seems to us that the field of the Era is distinct and
limited ; it is literary, critical and representative of the scholarly spirit of Cornell. There is, however, no necessity of didactic articles in superabundance or a preponderance of serious treatises, and certainly there is a place for lighter

THE CORNELL ERA

282

stories capably written and clever squibs, which need not infringe on Widow' s recognized sphere.
The question of illustrations is a perplexing one. It
cannot be denied that illustrations do attract the attention
and improve the general appearance of any magazine but it
still remains true that the intrinsic value of any literary magazine is dependent, not on the number of its sketches, for the most part in college magazines poorly executed, but on the literary merit of its contents. While the best of the college magazines with one exception—the rejuvenated Columbia Lit—are unillustrated and cling to one cover, a a change of cover each month and a front piece might be decidedly advantageous in the Era's case.
A reduction in price seems highly desirable in order to make the magazine more popular and to place it on a basis of its proper comparative monetary value. This we believe possible and hope to see next year.
The new board has greater possibilities before them than any since 1900. They must realize that the Era represents Cornell in its particular field even more exactly
than the athletic teams do on field or water. We believe
that they are more than capable not only to worthily carry on the work but vastly improve upon it.
****
The present editorial board takes pleasure in announc ing the re-election of Messrs. Gail, E. H. Kelsey and Cobb, and the election of Messrs. Hugh P. Henry of Eau Claire, Wis., William L. Ransom of Jamestown, N. Y. and Gaylord W. Graves of Binghamton, N. Y., all members of the class of 1905, to the literary staff. Mr. E. W. Kelsey, '05, has been selected business manager and Mr. John C. Tracy of Hudson, N. Y., will be his assistant. At a meeting of
the combined old and new boards Mr. William Gail was
elected editor-in-chief.
While the work of the above men is rewarded by elec
tion to the board there are several seniors who have aided

283

THE CORNELL ERA

the Era by valuable contributions, although under the exist ing rules of competition there was no possibility of election. This is especially notable in the case of Mr. T. S. Jones, Jr. But not only have the seniors aided us by their contri butions. To the alumni who have shown such a deep
seated interest is our sincerest thanks due. It is indeed
rare that so early a graduate as Mr. Theodore Stanton, '76, of Paris, retains an active interest in an undergraduate pub lication. Not only to him do we wish to express our appre ciation but also to Professor C. S. Northrup,'92, Richardson Webster, '02, A. J. Tietje, '03, and Lynn G. Wright, '03,
all members of former Era boards.

We regret to announce that the story, entitled "More
Ways Than One," in the previous issue of the Era, was an almost direct copy of a story by Mr. Jesse Lynch Williams in Harper's Magazine of Christmas, 1899.

BOOK REVIEWS'
The Man Who Pleases and the Woman Who Charms. By John H. Cone, Hinds and Noble, New York.
* * **
' 'Liberty a7id a Living, ' ' by Philip Hubert is an account of the experiment of a journalist, wearied of the strain of metropolitan newspaper life but passionately fond of the freedom of the country, of living on a very small amount of money and the production of his own farm, and still pursu ing his interests in the literary life. Mr. Hubert's descrip tion of his methods, his family life and his problems are interesting but the experiment is valuable only in so far that it reveals the possibility of one man of unusual thrift and tastes—and also possessing presumably an exceptional family—living an intellectual life even while earning his liveihood entirely by manual labor. (G. P. Putnam's Sons).
In the Belles-Letters Series (D. C. Heath and Co.) in which standard works of the Elizabethian and later periods are to be published, care has been taken to preserve all valuable features of the original editions, while biographical material, notes and important variants in text serve to a more enlightened interpertation. Ben Jonson's "Eastward
Hoe" and "The Alchemist" and Coldsmith's "The Good-
natured Man" have already been published.
Interest in debating seems to be on the increase. Incollegiate contests have become frequent and have attracted much attention ; and now the high schools are organizing

THE CORNELL ERA
debating societies. The Greater New York Interscholastic Debating League has been in existence a year and a half. In the West few colleges or important high schools are not in some oratorical league, which directly or indirectly fos
ters debate interests.
It is natural, then, that a periodical devoted to debat ing interests should arise ; and the attention of Cornell de baters may be here directed to The Debate : a Magazine oj Student Life, published by the Debater Publishing Com pany, Syracuse, and now in its third volume, having been been started in 1902. It aims to give accurate and com plete accounts of all intercollegiate and important inter scholastic debates, and to publish from time to time articles on the proper conduct of debates, the preparation of the debater, and the best subject for debate, with references and occasional briefs. It also publishes each month some of the best poetry and prose from the various college lit erary magazines of the preceding month, and some original articles as well. The magazine will be found in the Uni
versity Library.

A Cornell Journal
THE TABLETS IN SAGE CHAPEL.
NO Cornellian of the early days, revisiting Ithaca and going the round of the Campus, now fails to visit Sage Chapel ; and there is not one who, on looking at the memorial windows and tablets, does not recall memories of
teachers and friends who rest from their labors and who are
there commemorated. These men helped to lay the foun dations of our beloved University. They still live in the hearts of the students whom they taught ; and they should be better known among the present generation. It is a roll of distinguished men, of whose interest in the welfare of Cornell and whose services to the cause of learning Cornel lians may well be proud.
Within the limits here imposed little more can be done than to call attention to some important facts in the lives of these men as they are connected with the history of the University or of science ; but I venture to believe that even
this may have its interest for some readers of The Era. On the wall of the east transept, next to the apse, a
tablet recalls Dr. William Dexter Wilson (i 816-1900), Pro fessor of Moral and Intellectual Philosophy and Registrar from 1868 to 1886 and Professor Emeritus 1886-1900. Dr. Wilson was a graduate of the Harvard Divinity School, class of 1838, the class to which Emerson delivered his fa mous Divinity School address. He was first a Unitarian and later an Episcopal clergyman, and was professor of moral and intellectual philosophy in Geneva (now Hobart) College from 1850 to 1868. After leaving Ithaca, he be came dean of St. Andrew's Divinity School, in Syracuse,

285

THE CORNELL ERA

where he passed the last days of his life. Members of the first eighteen classes remember Dr. Wilson as a conscientious
and faithful teacher and counsellor. His lectures, which
covered a remarkably wide range of subjects, were based on
wide reading and unremitting study. On the opposite side of the vestry door a similar tablet
is inscribed to the memory of Moses Coit Tyler, Professor of American History 1 881-1900. The memory of Professor Tyler's noble life as clergyman, author, and teacher is too fresh in our minds to require further comment here.
Beneath these are tablets commemorating William C. Cleveland (1839-73), Professor of Civil Engineering 186873, and John Stanton Gould (1812-74), Professor of Agri culture 1869-74, tne latter including a quotation from Ten nyson's In Memoriam (cxiii. 3). Of Professor Cleveland a
writer in The Era remarked : "He was indeed a rare ex
ample of widely-diversified scholarship. He aimed to make his department the best of its kind in the country, and he succeeded to a remarkable degree." At the time of his death he was the youngest and evidently one of the most popular professors in the University. Professor Gould was at first an ex-officio Trustee, being in 1866-67 president of the State Agricultural Society. Hetook a deep interest in the University, and did much for the cause of agricultural edu
cation.
On the south wall, between the east and west transepts,
is a tablet in honor of Evan W. Evans (1827-74), Profes
sor of Mathematics 1868-72, a faithful teacher and a pro
found scholar both in mathematics and in Celtic philology. He was compelled by ill health to give up teaching in 1872 and go South. He died of consumption.
Professor Charles F. Hartt (1840-78), whose tablet is
in the southwest corner of the west transept, was a student
of Agassiz at Cambridge from 1862 till 1865, and accom panied him as first assistant geologist on his expedition to Brazil. In 1868 he was appointed Professor of Geology and Palaeontology here and soon won the warmest affection of

THE CORNELL ERA

286

all the students in his classes. In 1874 he was appointed chief of the Imperial Geological Survey of Brazil, and ob taining a five-year leave of absence began his work. He died at Rio de Janeiro, March 18, 1878, of yellow fever. He stood in the front rank of American geologists.
One of the distinguished literary men to whom early Cornellians listened was Bayard Taylor (1825-78), who lec
tured here on German literature in 1870-7. At the time of
Mr. Taylor's death he was Minister to Berlin. The bas-
relief of him in the west wall of the west transept was pre sented by the class of '79.
Just around the corner from this, on the south wall of
the west end of the nave, is a bronze medallion of the
Founder. The profile and left side of the face are shown. The artist has admirably preserved the rugged simplicity, the repose suggestive of the conflict won, the earnestness, which we know were characteristic of Ezra Cornell, and
which recall his chosen motto, even were not the words
themselves beneath : "True and firm."
Directly opposite, on the north wall, is a brass tablet commemorating John McGraw (1816-77), who was the life long friend of Ezra Cornell, and who was closely associated with him in the founding of the University. John McGraw was one of the foremost business men of Ithaca, a man of
sound sense and generous heart. He was a member of the first Board of Trustees and continued to be a Trustee till
death, performing his duties ably and energetically. Of him Mr. Sage said : "He made few professions—few verbal
demonstrations of his interior life. But his active, prac tical life was a living exponent of that within, which abounded with faith, hope, courage, fidelity, the qualities which make up and stamp the noble man."
On the west wall of the west transept, at the north end, are recalled Herbert Tuttle (1846-94), Professor of Politics 1881-90, and of History 1891-4; Albert N. Prentiss
(1836-96), Professor of Botany 1868-96; and James Ed ward Oliver (1829-95), Professor of Mathematics 1873-95.

287 THE CORNELL ERA

Professor Tuttle was the author of an unfinished History of
Prussia, which no other man was better fitted to write, and
which has taken high rank. He was loved and respected
by those who knew him best. Professor Prentiss, in addi tion to his duties as Professor of Botany, for many years

had charge of the University grounds, much of the present beauty of which is due to him. It was his privilege to in spire many of our well known botanists with their first love for the study. Professor Oliver wrote little, but exerted an
inspiring influence on hundreds of young men. One of his pupils wrote of him : "It was as a man, unswervingly and spontaneously loyal to the good and the true, with a child like simplicity of character, with a benevolent and benefi

cent spirit

that his influence was greatest

and most benign."

Five tablets have thus far been placed in the Memorial

Chapel. On the left of the window in the north wall are

records of Mrs. Cornell (1811-91), who was a true friend

of the University, and the value of whose support in its

early days can hardly be estimated ; and of Hon. Erastus

Brooks (1815-86), for many years editor of the New York

Express, a member of the State Senate, and a Trustee 1865-

86. For twenty years Mr. Brooks did not miss a single

meeting of the Board.

On the right of the same window is a tablet to Hon.

George W. Schuyler (1810-88). Mr. Schuyler was the

father of Colonel Walter Schuyler, U. S. A., formerly a

member of the University Faculty, and of Eugene Schuyler,

the author and diplomatist. He was successively State

Treasurer, Superintendent of the Banking Department,

Member of Assembly, and Auditor of the Canal Depart

ment, and was the author of Colonial New York.

A bronze bust of Hiram Sibley (1807-88) adorns the

east wall. Mr. Sibley was a Charter Trustee, erected the

buildings of Sibley College, and largely endowed it. Of

Mr. Sibley, at the unveiling of a portrait of him in Sibley

College on June 17, 1885, his colleague Erastus Brooks

THE CORNELL ERA

288

said : "I know of no man who better illustrates the rise, progress, and prosperity of the American nation, than Hi ram Sibley. Born among the poorest of the poor, one of a family of fifteen with remarkable peculiarities, inheriting but indigence, but with indigence a large intelligence and thrift, with a zeal that never faltered, a courage that never failed, and with a hope as boundless as life itself, he loved industry, thrift, and enterprise, and was in all these quali ties an example to all men around him. Such men never
fail."
Directly opposite, on the west wall, is a tablet com memorating a great scientist whom Cornellians hold in af fectionate remembrance, Louis Agassiz (1 807-1 873). It
records that "in the midst of great labors for science
throughout the world, he aided in laying the foundations of instruction at Cornell University, and by his teachings here gave an impulse to scientific studies which remains a prec ious heritage."
This tablet was unveiled on June 17, 1885. Addresses were delivered on that occasion by Professor J. S. Newberry of Columbia College, Professor Thomas B. Stowell of the Cortland State Normal School, Mr. P. R. Uhler of the Pea-
body Institute, Baltimore, and Professor Burt G. Wilder of
the University Faculty. The deep interest which Agassiz took in the founding of
Cornell University should be a source of pleasure to every
Cornellian. The temper of the man may be inferred from
these words, which were spoken by him on October 7, 1868, at the inauguration of the officers of the University :
"There is rising an institution of learning such as never existed before. I have been a teacher long enough to know what schools, colleges, academies, and universities are, and what they can do, and what they have done, but I trust that this University will do something more. It starts on a firm basis ; it starts with a prosperity which the world has not contemplated before. Here we plant, for the first time, an institution that is to come into life free from

289

THE CORNELL ERA

all the trammels which have heretofore hindered the progress
of the human intellect. This University has a beginning loithout a religious qualification. The Professor of Chemistry is not to be asked what his creed is, but whether he is a good chemist ; the Professor of Anatomy is not to lay before the world his sectarian predilections before he is allowed to go into the dissecting room and teach his students the struc ture of the whole animal kingdom. And yet there was a
time, and there are still numberless institutions where the student and the scholar, the man who has devoted a whole
life-time to study, must bow to another authority before he
is allowed to teach what he knows and what he knows well.

This University is independent of these impediments. It

will go to its work free from all such hindrances, and the

professor will feel that unless he is the right man and can

stand his ground outside as well as inside of the lecture

room, he can have no place in the University

I hope I shall live to see the time when all the old col

leges will draw fresh life from this young University, when

they will remodel their obsolete methods and come up to the

mark

Today a new era for public education

opens."

These, then, are some of the illustrious men who have

served the University in their day, and whose works do

follow them. As they have passed on to the unknown

world, others have taken their places here, to aid in that

slow and mysterious process whereby the minds of men are

brought from darkness to light.

Clark S. Northup, 'pj.

THE CORNELL ERA

290

PRESENT ATHLETIC PROBLEMS.
npHE year 1904 marks the beginning of a transitional
-*- period in college athletics, and out of transition may come revolution. From almost every university of stand ing comes announcement of important changes in policy. Pennsylvania has made gymnasium exercise and athletic work compulsory. Chicago is working out an endowment plan which will avoid the necessity of charging admission to games. Yale has reduced the length of her football schedule. Harvard is eliminating the minor athletic branches and concentrating attention on the "big four" —
football, baseball, track and crew. Brown University is in
the throes of a discussion of summer baseball in its effect
upon eligibility, and the athletics of the Providence institu tion have been veritably disrupted by the refusal of the Brown athletes to continue longer the hypocrisy which ex isting rules compel. Everywhere is reported change, and the tendency is strongly towards a gradual but perceptible lowering of the standards and requirements as to eligibility. The most radical action is that of the Princeton faculty, permitting men to play on intercollegiate teams who have one "condition" in their studies, thus removing the ban on a dozen or more promising Tigers who had failed to main tain the required ranking in scholarship. This open stand is only typical of what has been actually taking place in many institutions, under cover of secret conferences be tween coaches and faculty committees.
What will be the outcome of all this, what will be the ideals set up in the place of those now being undermined, what will be the effect upon the character and popularity of
college athletics, are all subjects for speculation, and little
more. Venturesome indeed would be an attempt to prog
nosticate, beyond the intimation already given that the next

291 THE CORNELL ERA
two or three years are sure to be marked by further changes and that these changes may be far-reaching and substan
tial. Certain it is that the action of these representative universities, cited above, put concrete and practical probblems before every other institution equally ambitious to
maintain a creditable rank among the colleges. These is sues are live and vital at Cornell, for the year has witnessed much criticism of existing athletic policies and vigorous ad
vocacy of change. The year brings before the students of the University
and their supposed representatives, the athletic council, at least four problems of considerable importance :
I. Whether athletics shall be for the few or the many;
whether specialization in a few branches shall be the rule, to the exclusion of the minor sports, or whether diversity and abundance of opportunity shall prevail ?
II. What shall be the solution of the present unsatis
factory financial policy of the athletic council ? III. What shall be the attitude of the University on
"shady" questions of eligibility, such as those arising out of summer baseball playing "for expenses ?"
IV. What shall be the attitude towards athletes who
fail to maintain a high standard of scholarship ? Every one of these questions is of prime interest to
Cornell undergraduates today. Other issues are being discussed to considerable extent, such as the responsibility of the athletic council to undergraduate sentiment, but in the final analysis all these points of controversy hinge about the four central and fundamental queries formulated above. Other difficulties grow out of unsatisfactory condi
tions as to these.
The first has been decisively settled at Cornell ; it must be accepted, and whatever discussion may arise in other in stitutions regarding the matter, and whatever local discus sion may arise as to isolated policies which spring up seem ing to contradict the statement, it must nevertheless be regarded that the policy of Cornell has been definitely and

THE CORNELL ERA

292

permanently decided in favor of the minor sports and in
favor of athletics for the many rather than the few. The
status of the minor sports at Cornell is well established, and the tendency has been all in the direction of greater diver sity rather than restriction. The policy has been made per manent by the plans for the new athletic field, which make provisions for all the minor sports, and even more liberally for general recreation and exercise by all the students. There is little danger that the needs of football and crew
will ever lead to the abandonment of other branches.
As to the second problem, no such well-defined attitude is apparent. The only thing unmistakable about the situa tion is that something is wrong, or at least that something is unsatisfactory. The financing of athletics is of course a large problem, and no endowments are in sight to remove the need for charging admission fees for the games. The paramount discontent in undergraduate circles today, it may well be frankly stated, arises out of the financial policy of the present management. On one hand, alleged nig gardliness in necessary expenditures is complained of by
the athletic teams ; on the other, excessive gate fees are severely criticized by the students. The former tends to
lessen the ardor of the teams and the effectiveness of their
work ; the latter tends to arouse antagonism between the undergraduates and the council. The prices charged for admission to the important games are notoriously exorbitant ; they keep away hundreds of students who certainly have a right to be there to see their team — not the athletic coun cil's team—represent them. Some way must be found to make these high charges unnecessary, if they be necessary now. Whether this be by shortening the Southern trip of the baseball team so that it becomes less costly, or by elimi nating other trips of various teams is of course a problem for the management and not for the writer.
The Era has already discussed at some length the third proposition, as brought prominently before the inter collegiate world by the Brown University controversy.

293

THE CORNELL ERA

Many persons believe, and with good reason, that the time has come for a removal of the premium on dishonesty and hypocrisy imposed by the present eligibility rules ; that the time has come to remove rules that put a handicap on ath letic ability which is not coupled with abundant financial means. The present strict rules, barring every person who has ever competed for money prizes, often means intercol legiate dishonesty and deceit. The rule is violated and the violation winked at. The college which enforces the rule is to that extent penalized, and the college which sidesteps it is rewarded with a winning team. If enforced, it means one or both of two things: (i) membership in athletic
teams is limited to students whose financial means are such
that they have never been tempted to turn their abilities to pecuniary gain ; or (2) membership is practically limited to inferior players, most of the real athletic ability being dis qualified by the eligibility rule. The advisability of an in tercollegiate agreement permitting those to compete who have played summer baseball for expenses, where such ex penses consist only of board, travelling money, clothing, and necessary incidentals, is sure to come up for early con sideration ; and many high-minded persons will see nothing dishonest or objectionable in such a modification of the present arbitrary rule.
The final problem is the perpetual and ever recurring problem of the relation of the faculty to athletics. As has been pointed out, this is a time when the tendency is strongly towards a letting down of the bars, towards a re laxation of scholarship requirements. Already is heard something of a demand that Cornell should follow the
course of Princeton and some others. The clamor is for re
moval of the prohibition against the playing of conditioned men. The temptation is strong, and the demand from the coaches and captains is insistent. But the matter seems fit
for calm consideration and careful discrimination. The
cause, upon analysis, seems to be a hostile attitude of some
members of the faculty towards athletics and athletes.

THE CORNELL ERA

294

Persistent as may be the denials, and well-founded

though these may be in individual instances, the fact re
mains that many professors discriminate against men who take part in Varsity athletics, and require of them a higher grade of work than of other and less conspicuous men in the course. Perhaps in their zeal lest special favors be shown the athletes, they bring about the result of actual

discrimination against the athletes.

If the clamor is for a more enlightened and liberal at

titude of the faculty towards athletes, well and good ; but if the object is a lessening of scholarship standards in order

to favor athletes, nothing could be more indefensible.

There may be no reason for insisting that an athlete shall

be a better student than his fellows, but there is every rea

son for insisting that the athlete shall be a scholar. A

Varsity team is no place for a man who cannot carry his

university work successfully.

The situation, then, is one requiring moderation and

sanity, to resist the temptation to follow the lead of colleges

which are breaking down their ideals and lowering their

educational standards, merely to accommodate men who

may win points in a track meet or scores on the diamond or

gridiron.

X.

295

THE CORNELL ERA

THE LIMITS OF EXPERIMENT.
TV ITy Dear Colleague : You alone of all persons I have
-LV-L chosen as the confidant of my secret. My demise is not to be accidental ; it has been accurately planned. This letter, even, will reach you just before or after my suicide. You alone, too, know the reason ; doubtless, also, you were just.
Two alternatives face me—shame or death. Call my
act non-ethical, if you will. There is no escape.
Still, in writing you this I have another purpose than sharing my secret. Together we have often performed ex periments. Why not, now, a last one—one, perhaps, more illuminating than even the "Philosophy of the Uncon
scious ?" If after my death I can reach you, and you desire
it, our book may be more complete. At ten minutes of one, then, on the night of the seventeenth, come to the laboratory.
Good-bye,
Carroll Ames.
"The night of the seventeenth." This was the morn ing of the same day. And, as Barrou pondered, he idly tapped the letter against his mahogany desk.
Joseph Barrou, Professor of Experimental Pyschology, author of "The Merits of Psycho-physical Parallelism," and widely-cited commentator on E. Von Hartmann's philoso phy, was not commonly accredited with a hesitating spirit. Keenly analytic of brain, coldly just in temperament, he was preeminently a twentieth-century scientist and thinker. In his own realm America acknowledged him first. In deed, had one not known the truth otherwise, a glance at the high, domed forehead, the skeptical grey eyes, or the white, tapering fingers, seemingly fashioned only for the manipulation of delicate instruments, must have revealed it.

THE CORNELL ERA

296

Yet at the moment Joseph Barrou was hesitating. Nor did the frowns he occasionally granted the missive he held appear to aid contemplation. He was recalling a day nine
years before when an eager young man, his cheek flushed
with pride, had said : "And I am to be your assistant".
Not that he had then or did now care for the young man ;
he had selected him as the most promising i7itellect of all his
classes.
From that day on young Ames and he had toiled faith fully. Both in the private office whose walls were hidden by heavy tomes of philosophy or psychology from the great Aristotle to James and Haeckel, and in the laboratory crowded with strange appliances, always the enthusiasm and brilliant theorizing of the one had been supplemented by the caution and relentless reasoning of the other. For the two had had a secret now ready to be given to the thinking world. Their years of co-labor had been embod ied in a monumental volume entitled "The Fallacy of a Psychical Entity. ' ' Its every syllable Barrou loved as other men love their children. In it they—he had won the truth 1 They—he would yet be more renowned than Plato or Des
cartes or Kant !
But it was not the book that caused Barrou' s frowns ;
the dual enterprise was complete. It was the letter—to speak more faithfully, the personality behind the letter. The lines dashingly written reflected so vividly the man ; the frivolity here and there lurking beneath the seriousness was so essentially characteristic. In the casual reference to Von Hartmann lay all the flippancy Barrou had so often lamented, which at times, in fact, had made him almost
hate his young assistant. For a second Barrou forced him
self to believe that this was what he was wrinkling his brows over. But no ! his vaunted logic forbade speciousness. He might have—at length he turned at bay to the dogging thought—lent Ames the money !
True, his clever colleague had gambled away all his own share of the advance-payment upon their book. Why

297

THE CORNELL ERA

in the name of common-sense did he need to gamble ? Such —yet again logic kindly redirected Barrou' s trend of mind. At a small sacrifice he could have spared the needed amount.
Now, somewhere and somehow, Carroll was dead. Barrou' s brow furrowed deeper, then suddenly cleared.
Imagination, hitherto an algebraic "x" in Barrou' s makeup, foisted logic from her throne. The letter might be a hoax a— ruse to soften him. He had received no telegram.
Where were the morning's papers? He tapped the bell sharply. ' 'The city papers, Henry' ' ,
he vouchsafed the solemn negro-servant.
His first flurried look reinforced imagination. Delib erate scrutiny proved an ally. In neither "Herald," nor
"Advance" was there confirmation of the letter.
Just as he tossed aside the papers, however, the door
again opened. "A telegram, sir." Before he slit the yel low envelope, Barrou knew his colleague was dead. "Ac cidentally drowned at Courthope", added the slip.
Slowly Barrou returned to the letter. He spoke aloud. His words rang hard and icy. "All things considered, I was justified. I could not foresee this rash act."
He began to fold the letter. A phrase near the close won his eye. "Our book" he murmured. "Yes, I must see to its immediate publication."
But there was no reason for the dull flush on his cheek
as he left the room.
That night, as Joseph Barrou ascended the Campus of his University, he was still meditating. All after-noon he had spent in revising and altering certain portions of his MS.; even now, unknown to him, in his coat-pocket was lying crumbled a second draught of the title-page. It was no wonder then that to him the soft beauty of the time made no appeal. Yet in a cloudless July heaven there shimmered a crescented moon and a myriad star-points; in the ancient elms bordering the walk whispered lovebreezes; and far below stretched the placid blue of the lake enmirroring yet another moon and other stars. Barrou

THE CORNELL ERA

298

was intent on gaining the Psychological Laboratory, the enclosing walls of which already loomed gray above him.
Nevertheless, he was not thinking of the coming ex periment. In the face of his theories that seemed non

sense, an utter subversion of the material science upon
which he founded his book, a mere death-eve vagary of his too ingenious assistant.
Hishook.t. There stuck the key to Barrou's medita tion. Since the draughting of a crumpled title-page, it had
not been our book.

"Not half so much his as mine", he soliloquized, while

behind him the outer door swung noisily. "The experi

ments, the deductions, most of the inductions— " Most—

ah, wait a minute. Has the Professor forgotten a crucial

hour spent over the conative puzzle? No—he continues—

"Not,

perhaps,

the

centre

one,

the

great

"
pivotal—

Silently the inner door responded to his push. Whether

by day or night the scene was entirely familiar ; blindfold

Barrou could have identified the position of each apparatus.

There, in a remote corner, ranged the tuning forks and the

auditory appliances : here, close at hand on a table, rose a

plethysmograph. In the rear, lined against the wall, were

shelves of odors ; at the west were color-mixers, their

whir-r-r silent. Over at the east side were huge optical

instruments, the white cloths swathing them producing in

the darkness vague likenesses to the traditional sheeted

ghost. Automatically Barrou lit the gas, letting fall un
noticed another and unstruck match. Then he seated him

self at a little table. He noticed that an aethesiometer had

been left lying there and mentally treasured this up as a reproof for some careless student. His watch lacked eight
minutes to one.

For a little Barrou surveyed the room. He half-moved to raise the drawn window-shades, then sank back. "What

folly !" he appeared to say.
"Yes, the pivotal idea was his," he renewed his solil
oquy, "that is, a month ago it was. Since then—there have been changes—the book is mine. ' '

299

THE CORNELL ERA

His voice, unexpectedly lifted, echoed through the
chamber. As if in response, a sudden tone, like that of a
small tuning-fork, tapped very weakly, reached him. Trained to psychological acuteness, at once he was alert. A look showed the fork as not vibrating. Abruptly the tone

ceased.

Barrou strained his ears. Again came a faint ting-ting.

It was certainly the tone of a fork. Also, the tone was on,

if not above, the limit of sensation.

Sharply sounded a third ting. Yes, the tone was—And

then utterly without volition Barrou found himself speaking.

"You have heard me," he began, "I could not open

communication with you save by a sound above the human

limit of auditory sensation. Thus far our experiment has

succeeded.

None

but psychologically-drilled

"
senses—

"Is this you, Carroll ?" Barrou broke in upon his own

speech. "It is I," continued the dual voice evenly. "If you
wish, you may gather material" —a fine irony modulated
the tones— "for a revision of your book."
At the manifest mockery of the "your" Barrou started.
"I— I—" he faltered.

Again into the voice passed a firmer quality. "You

should revise it ; then decidedly it will not be mine. But

you had (here for a space a choked denial hampered the

voice) decided.

The other I forgave you freely ;

I" —

Involuntarily Barrou's hands sought his pocket and

drew forth the crumpled draught of a title page. As he

unrolled it, he gazed half-unseeingly at the red-ink bla

zonry : The Fallacy of a Psychical Entity, by Joseph

McElry Barrou, Ph.D., Professor of Experimental Psy chology at Vernton University.

Then a third time he recovered his speech.
rather— "

"I would

( fNot experiment ? The chance is yours alone. No
other man has glimpsed the truth behind things and told of it. Moreover, you must. You have gone too far. Consider, besides, your fame in future ages."

THE CORNELL ERA

300

Barrou's stoicism was already too weak to resent the

ironical rounding of "your." "Forgive, Carroll," he

pleaded, his lips bloodless. But even in the terror of his

will and voice obsession, something of the morning's Barrou

remained. Quite irrelevantly he noted the strangeness, the

harmless simplicity of the scene. Within the laboratory,

illuminated in every corner with the flaring gas, one man

carrying on with himself an insane dialogue !

"Forgive?" the voice flowed smoothly on. "I have

forgiven. Bind before your eyes a handkerchief. We may

save your sight."

Till now Barrou had made no effort to arise. He strug

gled powerfully. Papers—apparently his MS. borne thither

by the inexorable Carroll —like huge snow-flakes fluttered

to the floor. He could not place them. Beneath his heel

a match crunched.

He forgot why he had arisen. The obsession was com

plete. Before his eyes he bound the handkerchief. "Now," he heard his voice say, as from a mighty

distance. For a space only the yellow gas-light filtered

through. Then—
* *****

*

On the laboratory floor a tiny flame ate its way through

some heaped-up papers.

Vch.

3d

THE CORNELL ERA
L'ENVOI.

^pHROUGH the mesh of tangled rushes ■*■ In the stream
Glints of gold glow ruddy blushes Gleam for gleam,
And the song of sundown hushes To a dream.

As the breeze is faintly falling
Cool and low,
As the whip-poor-wills are calling
To and fro, Soft it throbs with pain so palling
In the glow.

Silent sobbing song of ending—
You and I

Know the night will soon be bending O'er the sky,
Know the silent words past mending

Are "good-bye."

T.S.f.,Ir.,>o4.

SONG.
HpWINE thy locks with goldenrod,—
■*- Thus I saw thee first and loved thee ; — Seat thee in the grassy shade
Of beechen boughs that sway above thee ; Turn thy cheek to match that rose,
Its brightness with thy blushes blending,
And listen while I wait beside
And sing the song which hath no ending.
Though winds stir the goldenrod, Or drive snow through the leafless beeches,
Or rosebush vies with rosy cheek, Or, flower-stripped, after wrinkles reaches,
My love for thee shall never change, Strong, pure, with happy memories blending :—
My love's a snatch of melody, A care-free song which hath no ending. F. H. P., >o6.

TKe
Cornell Era

Voi,. XXXVI.

Junk, 1904.

No. 9

Terms :—The subscription price is $2.00 per year in advance, and $2.25 when it has not been paid by April 15th. Single copies, 25 cents, maybe obtained at the Corner Bookstores, and the Co-operative Society's Stores.

BOARD OF EDITORS.

William Wallace Gail, '05, Editor-in- C7iief

Ernest Westervelt Kelsey, '05, Business Manager.

John C adman Tracy, '06, Assistant Business Manager.

Earl Hewes Kelsey, '05.

Hugh Price Henry, '05.

Charles Sherman Cobb, '05.

William Ia'nn Ransom, '05.

Gaylord Willis Graves, '05,

Address matter for publication to the Editor-in-Chief, and business communi cations to the Business Manager.
Entered at the post office, Ithaca, N. Y., as second class matter.

EACH year it falls to the lot of the incoming board of editors of the average college publication—though perhaps merely through force of long precedent — to outline its plans for the future and to dilate not immodestly upon its hopes and aspirations. And a twelfthmonth later usu ally it devolves upon the succeeding board to touch with tender pencil upon the difficulties which its predecessor has been compelled to face.

303

THE CORNELL ERA

Happily, however, the present board has been relieved of this necessity, the plans and possibilities for the coming year having been quite thoroughly discussed in the preceding issue by the retiring editor-in-chief, Mr. Obendorf. Briefly summarized these plans are : Reduction of price, regularity of issue and typographical improvement, including possibly changes in cover design and some illustrations.
But these things, manifestly, are merely accessories : the real merit of the magazine must lie fundamentally in the quality of its contents ; and although we hardly have the right to prophesy improvement in this direction —since it is a matter almost wholly in the hands of our contributors —we do feel warranted in taking quite an optimistic view. The competition during the past year has been extensive and spirited, though it is to be regretted that despite the action of last year's board in again throwing the competi tion open to the women of the University the interest and ability displayed did not warrant the election of a woman to the board. In addition to this undergraduate interest
we have been favored with contributions from various
Alumni, to whom acknowledgement has already been made, and we hope to be able to publish further articles from them
which cannot but be of interest and value.
Regarding the much discussed question as to the tastes
to which the Era had best cater we can do little more than
reiterate what has already been expressed more than once in these columns. The primary function of the Era is to serve as a medium of expression for those who have literary ability and aspirations. With this in mind all MSS. of a literary nature—that is, which do not fall naturally within the scope of the other college publications—will be given equal consideration. If there is a choice to be made between a formal article and a piece of fiction, the better of the two must necessarily be given the preference. However, for two reasons we herein make a plea for more contributions of a less serious nature. First, this University has always been lamentably deficient as a literary institution—the lit-

THE CORNELL ERA

304

erary atmosphere is lacking—we are too practical, too material, too scientific. So far as is possible, then, the encouragement of a more truly literary spirit is a duty. Secondly, our subscribers very naturally want to read things of the lighter sort—they desire edification rather than in struction. And to the end that they may be gratified we ask for more fiction, more humorous matter, storiettes, squibs—as a last resort even Fables in Slang or fustians on the English Department. Without being undignified or unscholarly the Era hopes to be vivacious.
Finally, a word as to competition. Competition for the board, either on the literary or the business side, is at
all times open. We urge those who have thus far been unsuccessful to continue their efforts ; new members will
be elected to the board whenever their work merits it. Con
tinuing the policy of the past year the competition will be open to the women of the University and it is hoped that greater interest will be manifested by them. No woman who writes need feel the least hesitancy about putting forth
her best efforts for the Era, for in the event of her success
the board will gladly, though not without regret, transfer its meeting place from Zinck's to Barnes Hall. This con sideration alone ought to prove ample incentive.
Of the many undergraduates, men and women, who have never favored the Era with contributions, we ask that they do so now : if the Era has not been all its critics might desire, the burden of improvement rests with those who have hitherto failed to do their part in making it as truly representative of the literary Cornell as it ought to be. We ought to take as much if not more pride in extending and elevating the literary prestige of our Alma Mater as we do in striving for her fame, already great, in other lines.

* ***

According to good authority, the reason for the resig nation of Duncan Campbell Lee was the ' 'determination of

305

THE CORNELL ERA

the University trustees to keep the Department of Oratory a second class department." This of course implies that it has been in the pasta "second class department," which
we are loth to believe that Professor Lee, the trustees, or
those who have pursued work in White 1 6 would for an
instant admit.
On the contrary, the high standard of work done on university stages, the victories of our intercollegiate debate teams, and the successes in practical life attained by many men who received in the department their first and only training in public speech all attest the value of the work done there, and its high quality as compared with that
afforded in many similar institutions. We do not hesitate
to say that in its ideals and methods the Cornell Depart ment of Oratory ranks with the best in the American colleges, and if any were disposed to deny this, proof is abundant in
the extent to which those ideals and methods have been
copied in other institutions.
As to the details of the discussion between the late
head of the department and the board of trustees, under graduates are indifferent as well as ignorant. Who shall be "full professors" and who "assistant professors" is of personal rather than general concern. The "points at
issue" in that discussion have now been entrusted to the
hands of the undertaker.
"The future is before us," as the orators say, and the
future of the Department of Oratory involves some change of its status and the personnel of its instructing staff. That the determination of anybody is to "keep it a second-class department, ' ' we are reluctant to believe. It is not meant
as a reflection on its late head to say that it has been a
"second class department" long enough. Cornell is a university dominated by the practical and
scientific spirit. Her glory is the training she affords men for industrial pursuits, for practical work in a busy world. This fact, however, is not warrant for relegating literature,

THE CORNELL ERA

306

oratory, philosophy, and the like to second-rate positions
in the curriculm.
Furthermore, it is a misguided utilitarianism which eliminates public speaking from the training of modern men. There is more reason now than ever before, why every young man in a profession or in an industrial vocation should be able to present his ideas clearly and forcefully before any audience of moderate size. This is widely recognized by practical men of affairs, and it could not but enchance the prestige and effectiveness of the University if this important and fundamental work in public speaking were made a "first class department" in every sense of the
term.

THE UNIVERSITY
JUNE is the month of retrospect and review. By this we mean no jest on the grim ordeal of examinations, for we were at the moment thinking only of athletics, what the year has brought to the University in the "big four" of intercollegiate sports—football, track, baseball, crew.
The actual record made by the 1903 eleven was not particularly flattering, but as the Era has already pointed out, the season's scores cannot give the lie to the observa tion that a great deal of genuine and lasting progress has
been made in this branch of athletics since the Cornell
squad donned its gridiron togs last September. That pro gress has been in the direction of a centralized, responsible coaching system, headed by a coach of pre-eminent ability. The problem has been solved by the return of Glenn S. Warner, '95, as head coach. It will be unfor tunate if the efforts of undergraduates to put football on a sound and successful basis end here. The next thing is to put on football armor and report for practice in September.
The year in track has been successful, despite numer ous misfortunes and disappointments. The cross country team is on a more secure eminence than ever before, and as compared with its rivals stands in a class by itself. The track team has had unlimited hard luck, more than even the genius of John Moakley could overcome. It is not that Cornell has more men ill, injured, indifferent or handicapped by studies, than other institutions, but rather that the track squad reporting to Mr. Moakley is so much smaller than the squads at other large universities. Consequently he has only a few men to depend on, and when any of these are for any reason not available, the points which they would

THE CORNELL ERA

308

have won are lost altogether because no one is at hand to take the place of the absent. Next year's prospects are brighter than ever before. Schutt, Munson, Magoffin, Plummer, Cairns, Ashburner, Vonnegut, Wallis, Phillips, the Porters, and several others who are likely point- winners in any meet they enter, will be back in the University, and the material from the preparatory schools likewise promises well.
In crew work, the volume for the year is not yet closed, and undergraduates do not feel the usual confidence in the work of the 'Varsity eight. The loss of the giant Brandow,
the erratic behavior of certain members of the first combina
tion, and the systematic but petty annoyance to which Coach Courtney has been subjected from men whose loyalty to their Alma Mater should inspire them to behave differ ently, give rise to fears that the Red and White may not score the usual clean sweep at Poughkeepsie.
The baseball team has been, on the whole, better than
usual, although questionable judgment in selecting pitchers for important games has detracted from what might have been a fairly acceptable record. The important thing in
this branch of athletics is the future, not the past. The
question of a baseball coach is up for determination. Coach Jennings will not be available another year. E. L. Robert son, '01, who has helped the team out since Mr. Jennings left, has probably no ambitions to leave business to coach a college nine. The obvious adjustment of the difficulty
would seem to be the selection of Glenn S. Warner, '95,
who has been as successful on the diamond as on the
gridiron. What is needed is a man who will be to baseball and football what Courtney is to the crews and Moakley is
to cross country and track—a resident coach, here the year
round, giving his sole time to the training of Cornell
athletic teams.

THE IDLER
u'T^HE largest college daily in the world" was the
-*- "black-face" which stared at me from a "feature
story" in one of the metropolitan journals the other day. Instantly I was all attention. Here was intercollegiate rivalry carried to a new and practical field. Doting parents and timid professors might well rejoice. No menace to health or morals seemed to lurk in scurrying for four-line "fillers," and even the arduous duties of the blue pencil did not threaten over-exertion or loss of mental powers. Indeed, this seemed a golden opportunity for those stalwart youths who wished to "shine" in some "undergraduate activity," and yet lacked the vertebrae or inclination for football, or even the gentle game of lacrosse.
These were the mental comments which rose instinct
ively. And then I saw that the distinction chronicled was
the boast of Cornell, and that it was projected rather than attained. The whole spirit of the enterprise and the scope of its plans promises to lift the Cornell Daily Sun quite out of itself, and put it on a plane never hitherto approximated by any college daily in the world. Under these circum
stances, the Era felicitates its contemporary : first upon the
energy and initiative which prompts the undertaking ; and secondly, upon the interest and support which the proposi tion is receiving from the undergraduates. These factors promise complete success.
****
Standing down on State Street not many moons ago the Idler heard the following fragment :
"Oh, papa, papa ! See all the clowns ! Oh-h-h !"

THE CORNELL ERA

310

"Hush, son ; those are not clowns, they are Seniors in the University and they are having a banquet."
"A what, papa?" "Yes, son. Now be quiet." A pause. "But, papa, what makes them wear clown-suits if they
are not clowns ?' '
"Those are not clown-suits, son ; they are merely night-caps and pajamas."
"Why do they have night-caps, papa ?" "They couldn't have a banquet without them ; nobody
would come."
"But, papa, it isn't bed time—will they take the night-caps to bed with them ?"
"Yes, son ; they'll wear them to bed, but in the morn ing they'll be all worn off."
"Tell me, papa, what makes them holler so and sing and dance ; are they happy, papa?"
"Yes, son ; they're all just bubbling over with spirits." "Oh, papa, see that man ! Why does he hang on to the post ? Is he tired, papa ?" "I guess so ; now be quiet, that's a good boy."
Another pause.
"But, papa, what makes him tired ?" "He's been carrying a heavy load, son." "Where, papa, I don't see it?" "No, you can't see it ; its inside of his vest."
"Is it under his—what did you say those things are,
papa — jim-jams?"
"Yes, I guess so ; and in another minute I'll have 'em
too. Come, son, it's bed-time." And son was dragged
regretfully away.

BOOK REVIEW?

———

'

The Republican Party. By Francis Curtis. G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York. In two volumes. Price $6.00.
Mr. Curtis' s history of the Republican Party appears most timely in commemoration of the semi-centennial of the party, which, with the exception of eight years, has re
mained constantly in power since i860. The history, there fore, of this party, which has represented the will of the people so continuously, is really a political history of the
country. It traces the aggressive policies of republican legislation from one period to another, and in most cases the author has given in full the platforms, resolutions and speeches which mark the turning points in the Republican
principles.
The first volume takes the party down to the election
of Grant, delineating in detail the rapid succession of events immediately preceding and during the Civil War, on which
the foundations of the party were laid. In the second vol
ume the financial problems are especially well treated, the chapters accounting for the defeat of Blaine being of unusual interest. The work is accurate, well written, authoritative and invaluable to the student of political history.
****
Address and Presidential Message of Theodore Roosevelt. 1 902-1 904. With introduction by Henry Cabot Lodge.
G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York.
It would be quite unjust to consider the volume merely in the light of campaign literature, although it would be quite impossible for any reader to glance through the book without being impressed with the wholesome thoughts, the straightforwardness and manliness of the author. But aside

THE CORNELL ERA

from this, the addresses contain crisply expressed opinions on all kinds of topics of live interest, not only political, but social, educational and moral. As Senator Lodge says in
the enthusiastic introduction : "We may think his views of
public policies are wise or unwise, but no one can read these speeches and not realize that the man who made them is not only intensely patriotic, but he is also trying to make the world better, is seeking the triumph of good over evil, and, so far as he can do it, is striving to have righteousness prevail on the earth."
****

What Ha7idwriting Indicates. By John Rexford. G. P.
Putnam's Sons, New York.

It is decidedly entertaining to compare handwritings with the numerous specimens given in the book and then
consult the tables to discover what is indicated. That the
deductions drawn are of any scientific value is problematical.
* * **

My Commencement. Dodd, Mead & Company.

A blank volume with pages to be filled in with accounts of commencement exercises and classmates and souvenirs

of the college course.

O. B. V., '04.

THE CORNELL ERA

INDEX TO VOLUME THIRTY-SEVEN i 903- 1 904
C. P. Obendorf, Editor-in-chief. E. M. Slocombe, The Idler. W. W. Gaii,, The University.

Essays, Treatises and Miscellaneous Articles.

American and European Law Schools, E. Goldweiser, '07, and

W. B. Sumner, '07

222

A Plea for Religous Toleration, W. A. Murphy, '04

246

Chess at Cornell, M. J. Clurman, '06

203

Chautauqua : A Place and an Idea, W. L. Ransom, '05

16

Child Labor, F. S. Auerbach, '04

250

Cornell Dramatics, E. H. Kelsey, '05

174

Cornell's Fire Protection, M. B. Garlock, '04

228

Cornell-Pennsylvania Debate Speeches of 1903 ..

124

Dowie—The Man and His Undertaking, G. L. Genung, '05

45

Folk Lore, M. J. Clurman, '06

115

German Student Life, C. P. Obendorf, '04

1

Mob Spirit in America, H. C. Lake, '04

260

Newspaper Life in Campaign Time, Richardson Webster, '02

71

Notes on the Early Spanish-American Wars, Theodore Stanton,
'76 _' I93

On some Defects of Our Education Scheme, M. B. Garlock, '04.. 196

On Some Defects of Our Social Scheme, C. S. Northrup, '93

37

Present Athletic Problems, X

290

Russia's Battle Against Isolation, R. J. Halpin, '04

255

Sigma Xi and Its Aims, E. H. Kelsey, '05

218

Slav or Saxon, H. B. Tibbetts, '04

270

Tablets in Sage Chapel (The), C. S. Northrup, '93

284

What We Have Left—A Reply to Orthodoxy, E. M. Slocombe, '04 266

THE CORNELL ERA

Fiction.
Army of the Mist, (The) E. M. Slocombe, '04 Bear's Fortune (A) F. W. Scheidenhelm, '05 Case's Junior, Ben O. Ford, 'D3 Choosing the Way, W. F. Fletcher, '04 Flux, T. S. J. Jr., '04 Limits of Experiment (The), Vch More Ways Than One, M. J. Clurman, '06 Nerviest Man, (The) J. DeWitt Justin, '06 One April Day, T. S. Jones, Jr., '04 Pride of the Foreman, (The) A. J. Tietje, '03 Ransack Man, (The) G. W. Graves, '05 Running Away of Nancy, (The) C. A. MacGill, '04 Shekel of Judas, (The) R. L. Curtis, '05 Value of Confession (The) W. W. Gail '05 Why Trevor Entered Medicine, L. G. Wright, '03
Poetry.

Aesthete, (The), Vch, '03

A Song of the Day, W. W. Mack, '03

"As to the Ship, The Ballast Is," E. M. Slocombe, '04

At Dusk, T. S. J., Jr., '04

Autumn, T. S. J. , Jr. , '04

Falling Leaves, M. J. Clurman, '05

Forest Reverie, Anon

Hills of Cornell (The), C. H. Crawford, '06

L'Envoi, T. S. J., Jr., '04

Memories, Dick Rappalye, '04

Piper, (The), T. S. J., Jr., '04

„

Poems to Accompany Gifts, R. M. B., '01

Silent Rider (The), J. J. Klaber, '05

Sculptor's Vision, E. M. Slocombe, '04

Song, F. H. P., 'o6___

Soul Slumber, T. S. J., Jr., '04

Triolets, Anon

To , T. S. J. , Jr. , '04

To My Mother, A. A. F., '05

Wind Wooings, F. H. Peters, '05

Ye Who Judge, A. A. F., '05

.

3T4
23 109
165
9 26
296
233
200
181 42
276 87
57 80 92
15 208
91 275
96
41 227 203 301 180 209
71 173
122
301
121
56 48
100
273
202

"THE BEST EVER"
MARY ELIZABETH'S CANDIES
THE TRIANGLE BOOKSHOP.

OFFICIAL
& CLASS PHOTOGRAPHERS
To Cornell University, 1901, J 902 and J903-

High Class Work Only and Prices Moderate. Fraternity and Athletic Groups one of our Specialties. ASK FOR PRICES.
Amateur Developing and Printing done by an Expert.

g^rKODAKS AND SUPPLIES FOR SAEE.

Bell Phone— 173 F.

138 E. State Street.

THE JONES SUMMER SCHOOL
OF MATHEMATICS AND THE LANGUAGES.
TWENTIETH SESSION, JULY 6- SEPTEMBER 23.
fSHr^Rapid reviews for candidates for admission to CORNELL UNIVERSITY and for conditioned students.
Address, GEO. W. JONES, A.M., Ithaca, N. Y.

,,,
^

THE CO-OP.
£R t_?* Xo i&^ \2&
The Students' Store.

CHAUNCEY P. BIGGS, M.D.

Office, Ithaca Trust Co. Building.
Residence, 177 E. Buffalo Street.

OFFICE HOURS—8_ to io a. m., 4 to 6 p. m. Sundays,

4 to 5 p. in.

Telephone 143 F.

W. ERNEST BROWN,
DENTIST,
109 North Aurora Street Hours, 8:30 to 12 a. M. 1:30 to 5 P. M.

CHAS. P. BEAMAN, M.D.
PHYSICIAN AND SURGEON.
Office, corner opposite Post Office. Residence, 506 East Seneca Street.

DR. G. W. HOYSRADT'S
dental rooms. Office, in residence, opp. Clinton House, Ithaca.

OFFICE HOURS—9-10 a. m., 2-4 and 7-8 p. m. Telephonee, residence, 184. Office, 184 B
PHYSICIAN TO CORNELL FOOTBALL TEAM.

DR. RICHARD C. WARREN,

PHYSICIAN AND SURGEON.

Office 214 East State St., Opposite Ithaca Hotel
Office Hours .—9 to 10 a.m., 2 to 4 and 7 to 8 p. M.

Specially Prepared for Surgical and Gynecologi

cal Cases.

BOTH PHONES

PRESERVE YOUR NATURAL TEETH.
The largest and most complete dental establishment in the country, containing every facility for the prompt and perfect execution of all First Class Operations. The utmost care and skill given to Filling, Cleansing and Preserving the natural teeth. Artificial teeth made and inserted, from one tooth to a full set. Only first class materials used, and the best of work guaranteed at as easonable prices as by any responsible parties.
DR. McCEURE,
DENTIST.
203 NORTH AURORA STREET,

ROSCOE C. WILSON, M.D.,
PHYSICIAN AND SURGEON.

OFFICE HOURS—8 A. M. to 6 P. M.
BOTH PHONES.

Office—414 Eddy Street.
Residence— 122 East Seneca Street.

Dr. A. M. MacGachen,

Office Hours—9-10 a. m.; 1-3; 7-8 p. m.

Office 217 X.

ITHACA TELEPHONES.
Residence, 342 A.

J. W. JUDD, M.D.,_^

Dentist,

Opposite Ithaca Hotel.

218 East Seate St.
Hours 9 a.m. to 5 p . M. Bell Phone.

Physician and Surgeon,

hi E. State St.

IO A. M.-I P. M.
4-6 P. M. 7-8 P. M.

W. C. DOUGLASS, M.D.,

INTER COLLEGIATE
BUREAU.
COTTRELL & LEONARD, Albany, N.Y.

Physician and Surgeon,

Wholesale Makers of the

Phone, 271.

409 Eddy Street.

CAPS AND GOWNS

To the American Universities and Colleges.

EIMER & AMEND,

To Cornell, Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Columbia, Eehigh, Univ. of Chicago, Univ. of Cal., Bryn Mawr, Wellesly, Radcliflfe and the others.

Cor. 1 8th Street and 3d Av.,

NEW YORK.

Illustrated Bulletin, Samples, etc, upon Application.

IMPORTERS AND MANUFACTURERS OF

CHEMICALS, Chemical and Physical Apparatus.

Everything needed [ior a Laboratory.

ii

" CLINTON CAFE,"
112 NORTH CAYUGA STREET- UP-STAiRS.
CAFE AND CATERING.
PRIVATE dining rooms. Banquet Room for 75 persons. Wedding Dinners, Receptions, &c, furnished with every requisite. Cooks and Waiters supplied.

ODD FITMENTS
Made from your plans. We suggest changes, make drawings, name ex pense and do it on the spot. Three Shops.
Empire State Housefurnishing Co.

CLINTON HOUSE.
Leading Tourist and Commercial House in City.
Corner Seneca and Cayuga Streets. Grant McDonald, Proprietor.

Arlington 3{otei__->-
BINGHAMTON, N. Y. European Plan.
Rooms $1.00 and upwards. High class a ia carte service from 6:30 a. m. to 1 a. m. Catering to private parties a specialty.
KENNEDY-TIERNEY CO.

George Griffin . . .
MERCHANT TAILOR
Corner State and Aurora Streets

Our New Thin Model Watches
Are tasty as well as reliable. Prices not high. See them.
R. A. HEGGIE & BRO., 136 East State Street.

Shirt

DELICIOUS CANDIES.
Hot and Cold Drinks.
J. MITCHELL MORRISON.
TAILOR.
CORNER AURORA AND SENECA STREETS.

North
Aurora Street.

I. H. MERRILL,

320 Huestis Street.
DRUGS AND STUDENT SUPPLIES.

THE HILL DRUG STORE.

Phone,

GROCERS,

120 North Aurora St.

Ithaca, N. Y.

WHITE & BURDICK
Have Instrument Cases, Students Supplies, and all Remedies
Students Need.
in

The Cornell Era
for june, i904.
1868—Thirty-Sixth Year— 1903
The Era is published on the twenty-fifth of each month by the students of Cornell University.
The Era is sent to all subscribers until ordered discontinued.
The Era is intended to serve as a medium for the publication of the best literary work hat is produced by the students of the University.
The Era is for sale at the Corner Bookstores and the Co-Op stores.

CONTENTS

"The Tablets in Sage Chapel," Clark S. Northup, 'oj
"Present Athletic Problems" —X
"The Limits of Experiment" — Vch L'Envoi— T. S.f.,fr., '04 Song—F. H. P., yo6
Editorial
The University
The Idler Book Reviews
Index (1903-04)
Established 1818.
BROOKS BROTHERS,
Broadway, Cor. 22nd St., New York.

„„

284
290 295 301 301 302 307 309
313

QPECIAL, ready-made Tropical Weight
Suits for extreme warm weather, in Flannels, Serges, Homespuns, etc., with or without Vests. The prices for
men range
FROM $19 TO $40.
Youths' and Boys' correspondingly
lower.

Special Attention to Mail Orders.

COLLINS & VORHIS.
IV

<& ^ CjPlIXEFUS tavern, <& <&
RESTAURANT
NOW OPEN FROM 7:00 A. M. TO MIDNIGHT.

L. L. ZIMMER, Proprietor.

The Public School Teachers' Agency of the NEW YORK LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY

_________

Is Located at
1270 BROADWAY
(Between 22nd and 33rd Sts.)
NEW YORK CITY.

ANNUITY SETTLEflENTS
IF DESIRED AT 8, 9 and 10 PER CENT.
PER ANNUil.

Under the Management
of
W. F. WASHBURN.

1500 teachers in the past three years have taken the 20-year Endowment Policies, which are paying \]/2 per cent. Compound Interest. Money always available after second year. This is the Safest Investment a teacher can make—by far better than Building and Loan, Savings Bank or Government Bond. All communications will receive prompt attention.
W. F. WASHBURN,
1270 Broadway, New York City.

BREESPORT SPRINGS WATER.
A SUPERIOR CARBONATED WATER
Used by Connoisseurs Who Desire a Soft Blending Water,
JUST A WORD AS TO ITS MEDICINAL PROPERTIES.
Mineral Waters, as a rule, show an excess of _L,ime Salts and Iron, which are shown by the latest authorities on medical matters to be absolutely detrimental in Bright's Disease, especially the Iron. Of course the lime salts, making the water hard, are injurious to bladder affections. The analysis of Cornell University (which will be furnished upon application) will convince any physician that the water is an excellent adjuvant in the treatment of all diseases of the kidneys, bladder and stomach. The Water is furnished in 5 gallon carboys plain, also carbonated in quarts and pints.

For further information write or call upon

STEWART & COLLINS,

Distributing Agents,

ITHACA, N. Y.

GREAT WESTERN.

--«••••■»
WHEN YOU LEAST EXPECT

SOLD AT
ITHACA HOTEL
J. A. & J. H. CAUSER, Proprietors.

•

FINEST OF
American Wines.

Underwood's Deviled Ham
if you have it on hand, will help greatly to entertain the unexpected guest.
It's an old-fashioned product — made honestly and pure of HAM and pure spices — nothing else.
All first class dealers sell it.
Look on the can for the little red devil.
Wm. Underwood Co., Boston, Mass.

TWO PERFECT PRODUCTS.
COMPARISONS ARE NOT ODIOUS TO US.
Evans' Ale
AND
Evans' Stout
Will satisfy you that in brewing, as in other arts, America leads the world. The proof is in the drinking.
You will find EVANS' ALE in the best Clubs and Restaurants, and in homes where its purity and healthfulness insure it a hearty welcome.
EVANS' STOUT builds flesh and strength after the exhausting ordeal of Grippe. It is used in the United States Hospital Service.
The principal foreign breweries do not bottle their products. We Bottle Ours, and this is the dffierence in price :
Foreign Ale, $2.00 to $1.80 Doz. EVANS' AIvB, $1.50 Doz. Foreign Stout, $1.90 to $1.75 Doz. EVANS' STOUT 1.50 Doz.
All the leading places sell Evans' Ale and Evans' Stout. Brewed and Bottled for 118 Years by C. H. Evans & Son, Hudson, N. Y.
vi

For a GOOD SHAVE or HAIR CUT

PLEASURE FOUND AT THE

GO TO

The Cornell Tonsorial Parlors

Cor. STATE and AURORA STREETS.

Opposite Ithaca Hotel.

Phone 229 K.

UNIVERSITY BILLIARD PARLORS,

410 EDDY STREET.

Peter McAllister,

-

Proprietor.

THE TOGGERY SHOPS.

DOWN TOWN, 138 EAST STATE.

ON THE HILL, 404 EDDY STREET.

UATTER x A Wear.

AND FURNISHER. Everything pertaining to Mens' Agent in Ithaca for Knox, Youman and Henry Heath

Celebrated English Hats.

L. O. BEMENT.

ITHACA HOTEL,
We have the only place in town where you can find a First Class Dining Room for a Banquet.
Menu's and estimates furnished on request
J. A. & J. H. CAUSER, Proprietors.

BUTTRICK & FRAWLEY, Successors to P. Rascover.
Newest in Suits, Rain Coats, Furnishings,
Hats, etc., etc.
OUR MOTTO IS "ONE PRICE."
Goods marked in Plain Figures. Give us a Call

the; difference between
Van Order's Tailor Shop
AND OTHERS IS THE PRICE. 123 East State St., near P. O

MEANY'S PHARMACY
FOR DRUGS.
154 East State St., ITHACA, N. Y.

PHOTOGRAPHER.
FOR CLASS OF 1904.

295 NORTH AURORA STREET.

High Grade work only. Special rates to Seniors.

Phone 392 B,

C. B. BROWN,
JEWELER,
K.e^pa.i2rin.g a. Specialty.
200 East State Street.
TODD, BLACKMER & CO.,
COZY CORNERS A FEATURE.
Decorating -for •<*■ **• special 6\?Gi\fs.
EVERYTHING FOR THE CO-ED. 1 20 East State Street.

SULLIVAN & BAXTER, Fine Clothing.

A so Merchant Tailoring. 114 E. State St., opposite Post Office.

LQYPT1AN C1QARLTTLS
Qrokm in Turkey. Perfected in "Egypt. Enjoyed in America.
•MOGUL SMOKE. MAKE.S LCYPTIAN SMOKE.RS
10 for 15 cents.
Cork Tips or Plain. Save the Coupons.
viii

NEW EDITION

SONGS OF CORNELL —*-

CONTAINING
NEW SMOKING SONG and

BOATING SONG, Just Received.

open evenings

B # R LENT'S MUSIC STORE,

122 North Aurora Street.

NORWOOD.
PRESSING
CLEANING

TO THE

RED CROSS PHARMACY.

Soda Hot and Cold.

Cigarettes.

214 STATE STREET.

REPAIRING.

TJanivgriBity Braneh.

321 Eddy Street,

Ithaca, N. Y. Modern Method Laundry,

NORWOOD.

Fred Haxton, '03, Manager.
John Reamer, Prop. 1 13 N. Aurora St.

-v
THE MAN WHO MAKES FACES.

ZINQK'S
STUDENT RESORT.

Both 'Phones. ist Door East of Post Office.

110 NORTH AURORA STREET.

VAN BUREN

LARKIN BROS., Grocers
Caterers to University and Student Trade. All latest stunts in Fancy Dishes.

Makes Photos to your order, all sizes at right Prices. His Camera, Kodak and Supply De partment is the largest in the City. Velox Printing rushed if necessary. Call.

Both Phones.

408 EDDY STREET

THE CORNER BOOKSTORES.
ESTABLISHED 1 868.

General Booksellers, Stationers and Engravers.
ITHACA, N. Y
ix

CHAS. H. BROOKS,

JEWELER.
CORNELL PINS, CORNELL SOUVENIR SPOONS,
Cornell Fobs, Hat Pins, and a complete line of College Jewelry, in new and
ARTISTIC DESIGNS.

152 East State Street,

Ithaca, New York.

BLICKENSDERFER TYPEWRITERS.

No. 5, $35.00

No. 7, $50.00

We challenge comparison with all others for duality of work, Capacity and Durability.
Over 30,000 sold in the last two years. Portable, easy to learn, visible writing, changeable type, permanent alignment, excellent manifolder, Low Price. Students can save more than the cost of a Machine by writing their own notes and theses and still have a good typewriter for future service. Many in use at Cornell.
A machine sent to any one for ten days' trial on request.

A. D. SMITH,

NEW YORK STATE AOENT, 701, 703, 705 Granite Bldg., Rochester, N.Y.

;ci_ool-bool_s

And we send free to any applicant our "Books Wanted" Catalogue of over 2,000 school-books, with the prices at which we accept second-hand as well as new
books.

IK®).

We pay cash
For all marketable school-books, or if desired, we credit consignments on ac count, to be paid by ue in other Bchool-
books from time to time as needed.
HIHDS & IfOBLE 31-33-35 W. 15th St., New York City.
Mention this ad.

FOR.

iBt Jmfwimm®.•w__k«-^ ^f w -ss? M ^'S^5_^ __ _EB_ig2^ HALF TONES,

^

LINE-CUTS,
ZINC ETCHINGS,

CALL ON

The Ithaca Publishing Co.

(News Building.)

Ithaca, N. Y.

HAYWOOD'S
ICE CREAM AND CONFECTIONERY, MANUFACTURERS AND CATERERS.

Try our Home Made Cakes, Ice Cream Sodas and Hot Drinks.

201 North Aurora Street, Cor. Seneca.

Both Phones.

FIFTH EDITION.
The Great Siberian
Railway
From St. Petersburg to Pekin
Manchuria and Korea,
BY
MICHAEL MYERS SHOEMAKER,
AUTHOR OF
^Islands of the Southern Seas," " Quaint Corners of Ancient Empires," ' ' Palaces and Prisons of Mary Queen of Scotts, ' ' etc.
8vo. With jo Full-page Illustrations and a Map. Net, $2.00. {Postage 20 Cents})

NEW YORK.

G. P. PUNAM'S SONS,
xi

LONDON.

ITS $12® up
ETT

SPECIAL OFFER

On account of the belated
cold weather, a big reduction on every garment made by
the Desbecker-Block Tai
loring Company, New York
and Buffalo. Our representa
tive takes your measure—we
do the rest. Metropolitan styles—designed and made by
the most skilled cutters and tailors in
New York and Buffalo. Linings the best
—silk-sewed throughout. If you're satis fied, pay—if you're not, Don't. Over 300 styles of Fall and Winter woolens at reduced prices—
plaids and overplaids, latest and snappiest patterns—fashionable browns and greys, fancy
mixtures, worsteds, serges, etc. Here's a nov __3 elty : a " Double-Service" Coat of fancy cheviot, in
plaids and overplaids, cut long, loose and boxy, with or without a belt at the back. An exceedingly smart style—practically two coats in one—a Desbecker-
Block creation. It's an overcoat till a shower comes—
then," presto change," a "Cravenette "raincoat, rainproofed by the celebrated " Cravenette Company, Ltd." Their label
on every garment guarantees its genuineness.
This is a Special Opportunity—you must order now. "Later on" will be too late. Come in— we' II show you what particular New York men are wearing.

THE DESBECKER-BLOCK TAILORING CO.

NEW YORK and buffalo

TAILORS TO ALL AMERICA

REPRB6ENTBO BYi
W. F. FLETCHER,
FINE TAILORING, CLEANING & DYEING,
409 EDDY STREET.

~3h

Ud /\A^<* -1- ^ ■_.

0 •-

Tb

Cornell Era

A Journal °f the

llrtiirerfity Publifted.

o nee

Month

MD C C C C

111

ScRin^i BroIKer5 E^ypli^n p^rell^

Are made of the very Finest Turkish Tobacco grown. Schinasi
Naturals, 15 cents. Schinasi Cork Tips, 20 cents. Schinasi
Prettiest, 10 cents. t£t£t^^tM'^<M'^dt^^t£^t&^^t£^*£^t£^

THE SMOKE SHOPS.

ITHACA HOTEL,

SHELDON COURT,

in N. AURORA STREET.

Michelson, Tailor,

103 NORTH TIOGA STREET.

ITHACA, N. Y.

"266, Please."
"Egbert & BlackMER'S?"
"Will you send at
once 1 quart Welch's Grape Juice?"
"Thank you." That girl is wise !
She knows what to
buy and where to buy it. Do you ?
CASCADILLA PHARMACY, Eddy Street.
Both Phones— Prompt Delivery.

that it is faithful to the last drop.
We have a beautiful gift certificate for those who wish to make a present of the
pen in a novel way. Write to us about it.
For sale at all dealers, but be
ware of imitations.
L. E. Waterman Co. Main Office,_73 Broadway, NewYork.
8 School St., Boston. 138 Montgomery St., San Francisco.

SCHELTZ & SORENSON,
080* MERCHANT TAILORS, ofto*

113 NORTH AURORA STREET, (One Flight Up) ITHACA, - - - NEW YORK.

>FIRST CLASS WORK GUARANTEED -
Bell Phone 236 X

FOOT BALL SUITS

HIOKEY'S

TO MEASURE.
JERSEYS PADDED. G. M. HEIMROTH,
211 East Seneca Street.

j» LTCCm\ IVUK STOKE. *
We want your Trade on Popular Music, Strings
Instruments, etc., as we know what you
want and keep it. Come in on your way
to the Theatre.

NEW SILK UMBRELLAS.
THE UTILITY KIND IN PRICE.
C. R. SHERWOOD.

College Invitations, Stationery, Programs, Ban

FINE STATIONERY

quet Menus, Fraternity Engravings, Wedding
Invitations, Reception Cards, Monogram and Address Dies, Coats of Arms, Visiting Cards,
Heraldry and Genealogy, Coats ofArms painted for framing.

*tt£ ENQRAV1NQ H0CJ5E. II2I chestnut Street, Philadelphia.

THERE'S A TRICK

of fit, a knack of elegance about the pictures we frame We have the material, the best
The mechanics to do the work none better
The result—perfect fitting, long lasting, pretty looking pictures at
BOOL'S

Housefurnishers

Opp. Tompkins Co. Bank

FOREST CITY STEAM LAUNDRY.

209 NORTH AURORA STREET,

PHONE.

MENDING FREE.

CHIPMAN'S

Turkish Goods,

Pillows, Banners,

Fraternity Pillows,

Fine Art Furniture*

THE ONE PLACE IN THE CITY TO BUY THESE GOODS.
110 EAST STATE STREET.

Wanzer & Howell, The Grocers,
103 NORTH AURORA 8TREET. and 304 EAST STATE STREET.

H.GOLDENBERG,^University Tailor

as .£ s*s a kiss' nssurr-
petition. Workmanship and Fit Guaranteed

__,

.

^

Telephone

117 DB.

211 DrJyden Road,'

H. GOLDENBERG, THE UNIVERSITY TAILOR.

THE REQUISITE AT SMART FUNCTIONS.

'Tib '''COPYAtQHT£J>' IGO^f3

GIANT STRIDES!
ALL RECORDS BROKEN.
83,700 OASES. OF
MOET & CHANDON
CHAMPAGNE
Imported up to October Jst, 1903, making
the greatest number of cases of any brand
of champagne imported.
SHOWING AN INCREASE OF
IO Q1G CASES OVER THE SAME
IzJjZ/Lzs MONTHS OF 1902.
The above statement is verified by Custom House statistics compiled irom. BonforP s Wine and Spirit Circular.
This places MOET & CHANDON at the HEAD of the importation list in the UNITED STATES, as well as in the WORED.
MOET & CHANDON
Own and Control More Vineyards than all the other leading Champagne shippers combined.
THE NEW VINTAGE OF
ti
WHITE SEAL"
IS PERFECTION IN CHAMPAGNE.
_*_3_3____r__*_L£_Ltf___*t__a
GEO. A. KESSLER & CO.,
Sole Importers, New Yorkt

THE REQUISITE AT SMART FUNCTIONS.

ROTHSCHILD BROS.,
a
SPECIAL CORNELL STEINS,"

Tx^xTITsHpiriatelld

the Views of the Campus, and verses of Cornell's Songs. FINE SOUVENIRS FOR ALUMNI as

well as mantle pieces.

Io i'J'JJ
The
Cornell Era
A Journal P? *he
llrtiirerjity Publifhel
Once Sk Month
M D C C C C 111

ScKin^i BroIIier5 E^jpli^n Ci$kreIIe5

Are made of the very Finest Turkish Tobacco grown. Schinasi
Naturals, 15 cents. Schinasi Cork Tips, 20 cents. Schinasi
Prettiest, 10 cents, ^^^^^^^^^^e^^^e^e^^^

THE SMOKE SHOPS.

ITHACA HOTEL,

SHELDON COURT,

m N. AURORA STREET.

Michelson, Tailor,

103 NORTH TIOGA STREET.

ITHACA, N. Y.

"266, Please."
"Egbert & Beackmer's?"
"Will you send at
once 1 quart Welch's Grape Juice?"
"Thank you." That girl is wise !
She knows "what to
buy and where to buy it. Do you ?
CASCADILLA .PHARMACY, Eddy Street.
Both Phones—Prompt Delivery.

SCHELTZ & SORENSON,
a*.* MERCHANT TAILORS. 4.*

113 NORTH AURORA STREET, (One Flight Up) ITHACA, - - - NEW YORK.

Bel!

'FIRST
Phone 236 X

CLASS

WORK

GUARANT±E-E^D^- «=«g*_

FOOT BALL SUITS

HICKEY'S

TO MEASURE.
JERSEYS PADDED. G. M. HEIMROTH,
211 East Seneca Street.

j» LYCEOT fW/UC 3T@__E. j»
We want your Trade on Popular Music, Strings
Instruments, etc., as we know what you want and keep it. Come in on your way to the Theatre.

NEW SILK UMBRELLAS.
THE UTILITY KIND IN PRICE.
C. R. SHERWOOD.

DRE
FINE STATIONERY

College Invitations, Stationery, Programs, Ban
quet Menus, Fraternity Engravings, Wedding Invitations, Reception Cards, Monogram and Address Dies, Coats of Arms, Visiting Cards, Heraldry and Genealogy, Coats ofArms painted for framing.

£LB ENQRAVINQ H0CJ5E. II2I Chestnut Street, Philadelphia.

THERE'S A TRICK

of fit, a knack of elegance abont the pictures we frame We have the material, the best
The mechanics to do the work none better
The result—perfect fitting, long lasting, pretty looking pictures at

BOOL'S

Housefurnishers

Opp. Tompkins Co. Bank

FOREST CITY STEAM LAUNDRY.

209 NORTH AURORA STREET,

PHONE.

MENDING FREE.

CHIPMAN'S

Turkish Goods,

Pillows, Banners,

Fraternity Pillows,

Fine Art Furniture-

THE ONE PLACE IN THE CITY TO BUY THESE GOODS.
110 EAST STATE STREET.

Wanzer & Howell, The Grocers,
103 NORTH AURORA STREET. and 304 EAST STATE STREET.

H.GOLDENBERG,™iUniversity Tailor

petition. Workmanship and Fit Guaranteed

nn .

t_

Telephone

117 Bd .

211 Drjyden Road,»

H. GOLDENBERG, THE UNIVERSITY TAILOR.

THE REQUISITE AT SMART FUNCTIONS.

GIANT STRIDES!
ALL RECORDS BROKEN.
100,293 CASES OF

MOET & CHANDON

CHAMPAGNE

Imported up to December ist, 1903, making
the greatest number of cases of any brand
of champagne imported*
SHOWING AN INCREASE OF

iQ \\A
lOjllTT

CASES OVER THE SAME MONTHS OF 1902.

The above statement is verified by Custom House statistics compiled from BonforVs Wine and Spirit Circular.

This places MOET & CHANDON at the HEAD of the importation list in the UNITED STATES,
as well as in the WORED.
MOET & CHANDON
Own and Control More Vineyards than all the other leading Champagne shippers combined.

<► O O <► <►

THE NEW VINTAGE OF

44
WHITE

SEAL »>

IS PERFECTION IN CHAMPAGNE.

\^r\^^3JSki* geo- A- kessler & c°-'

^y^^^^^"♦ ■c^^HTro

Sole Importers, New York.

»»♦»♦♦-»♦»»»♦»»♦♦♦'»♦♦»»»♦»♦♦»»»»»»♦♦♦»♦<'♦»»♦♦»♦»♦♦♦»»♦»♦♦»»♦

THE REQUISITE AT SMART FUNCTIONS.

ROTHSCHILD BROS.,
"SPECIAL CORNELL STEINS/1
"V\7ITH all the Views of the Campus, and verses of Cornell's vv spirited Songs. FINE SOUVENIRS FOR ALUMNI, as well as mantle pieces.

\* * *

'.

*"k » A *

n

Cornell Era

A Journal 9f the
<Urritfer|it)/ Publifhei
Onee a Month

MD

V

ScKin^i BroIKer5 E^ypli^n p^retles

Are made of the very Finest Turkish Tobacco grown. Schinasi
Naturals, 15 cents. Schinasi Cork Tips, 20 cents. Schinasi
Prettiest, IO CentS. e^e^eM^e^^e^^e^^^^^^^e^^^

THE SMOKE SHOPS.

ITHACA HOTEL,

SHELDON COURT,

in N. AURORA STREET.

Michelson, Tailor,

103 NORTH TIOGA STREET.

ITHACA, N. Y.

"266, Please."
"Egbert & Beackmer's?"
"Will you send at
once 1 quart Welch's Grape JuiceP"
"Thank you." That girl is wise !
She knows what to
buy and where to buy it. Do you ?
CASCADILLA PHARMACY, Kcidy Street.
Both Phones—Prompt Delivery.
SCHELTZ & SORENSON,
w*.* MERCHANT TAILORS. <£S
113 NORTH AURORA STREET, (One Flight Up) ITHACA, - - - NEW YORK.
lp^ DRESS SUITS AND TUXEDOS' A SPECIALTY. <=^
Bell Phone 236 X

FOOT BALL SUITS
TO MEASURE.
JERSEYS PADDED. G. M. HEIMROTH,
211 East Seneca Street.

HICKEY'S
* LTQEtin nUJK ST©IEt. j*
We want your Trade on Popular Music, String
Instruments, etc., as we know what you want and keep it. Come in on your way
to the Theatre.

NEW SILK UMBRELLAS.
THE UTILITY KIND IN PRICE.
C. R. SHERWOOD.

DREKA
FINE STATIONERY

College Invitations, Stationery, Programs, Ban quet Menus, Fraternity Engravings, Wedding Invitations, Reception Cards, Monogram and Address Dies, Coats of Arms, Visiting Cards, Heraldry and Genealogy, Coats ofArms painted for framing.

dS£ ENQRAV1NQ H0CJ5E. II2I chestnut Street, Philadelphia.

THERE'S A TRICK

of fit, a knack of elegance about the pictures we frame We have the material, the best
The mechanics to do the work none better
The result—perfect fitting, long lasting, pretty looking pictures at

BOOL'S

Housefurnishers

Opp. Tompkins Co. Bank

FORERST CITY STEAM LAUNDRY.

PHONE.

209 North Aurora Street. MENDING FREE.

CHIFMAN'S

Turkish Goods,

Pillows, Banners,

Fraternity Pillows,

Fine Art Furniture.

THE ONE PLACE IN THE CITY TO BUY THESE GOODS.
110 EAST STATE STREET.

Wanzer & Howell, The Grocers,
103 NORTH AURORA STREET and 304 EAST STATE STREET.

H. GOLDEN BERG^University Tailor

Come in and look over our new stock of Suitings, Trousers,
Fancy Vests, Overcoats, and Rain Coats. Prices below com
petition. Workmanship and Fit Guaranteed

Telephone 117 B.

211 Dryden Road,

H. GOLDENBERG, THE UNIVERSITY TAILOR.

THE REQUISITE AT SMART FUNCTIONS.
*♦♦♦»♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦»»♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦*♦♦♦♦♦♦»♦♦♦♦♦»♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦»♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦
GIANT STRIDES!
ALL RECORDS BROKEN.
The Distinctly High Quality of

MOET & CHANDON

"WHITE SEAL" t NEVER VARIES.

WHY P P P

MESSRS. MOET & CHANDON

Own and Control More Vineyards than all THE LEADING Champagne houses combined, and have over ii miles of Cellars, the most extensive in the world.
THE SALES OF
MOET & CHANDON CHAMPAGNE

t
1

IN THE YEAR 1903 WERE

4,013,684, BOTTLES !

A Figure Never Before Reached by any Cham pagne House. This great House offers its choicest products in
44
WHITE SEAL"

THE CHAMPAGNE OP THE DAY.

! ■%,&" ^^^^s^jA^.% G£0. A. KESSLER & CO.,

; cm«.i» re's*""*"*3?2*- ■•

*

Sole Importers, New York.

'♦♦♦♦♦»»♦♦♦»♦»♦♦»♦♦♦»♦♦♦»♦♦♦♦♦♦»♦»♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦»♦♦♦♦♦♦♦»»♦♦♦»♦'

THE REQUISITE AT SMART FUNCTIONS.

ROTHSCHILD BROS.,
"SPECIAL CORNELL STEINS,"
V\7ITH all the Views of the Campus, and verses of Cornell's * v spirited Songs. FINE SOUVENIRS FOR ALUMNI, as well as mantle pieces.

} ! ,.

OV

tumnl fra

fnwity
jtatfty m

ScKin^i BroIKer5 E^jpli^n paretics

Are made of the very Finest Turkish Tobacco grown. Schinasi
Naturals, 15 cents. Schinasi Cork Tips, 20 cents. Schinasi
Prettiest, IO CentS. e^e^e^e^e^e^t^^^e^e^e^^e^e^e^e^e^e^e^e^^

THE SMOKE SHOPS.

ITHACA HOTEL,

SHELDON COURT,

in N. AURORA STREET.

Michelson, Tailor,

103 NORTH TIOGA STRKET.

ITHACA, N. Y.

"266, Please."
1 'Egbert & Beackmer's?"
"Will you send at
once 1 quart Welch's Grape Juice?"
"Thank you." That girl is wise !
She knows what to
buy and where to buy it. Do you ?
CASCADILLA. PHARMACY, Kcidy Street.
Both Phones—Prompt Delivery.

Pen, Penholder and Ink in One A. Urinity of Perfection
A All Dealers Sell Them
Ask for Descriptive Booklets

L. E. Waterman Company,

173 Broadway

New lork, K. Y.

SCHELTZ & SORENSON,
o*_# MERCHANT TAILORS, a* a*
113 NORTH AURORA STREET, (One Flight Up) ITHACA, - - - NEW YORK.
tpS=* DRESS SUITS AND TUXEDOS' A SPECIALTY.
Bell Phone 236 X

FOOT BALL SUITS
TO MEASURE.
JERSEYS PADDED. G. M. HEIMROTH,
211 East Seneca Street.

HICKEY'S
j» LYOKJft nUJK ST
We want jTour Trade on Popular Music, String
Instruments, etc., as we know what you want and keep it. Come in on your way to the Theatre.

NEW SILK UMBRELLAS.
THE UTILITY KIND IN PRICE.
C. R. SHERWOOD.

DREKX
FINE STATIONERY

College Invitations, Stationery, Programs, Ban
quet Menus, Fraternity Engravings, Wedding Invitations, Reception Cards, Monogram and Address Dies, Coats of Arms, Visiting Cards,
Heraldry and Genealogy, Coats ofArms painted
for framing:.

*SS ENQRAV1NQ HOCJSE. II2I Chestnut Street, Philadelphia.

THERE'S A TRICK

of fit, a knack of elegance about the pictures we frame We have the material, the best
The mechanics to do the work none better
The result—perfect fitting, long lasting, pretty looking pictures at

BOOL'S

Housefurnishers

Opp. Tompkins Co. Bank

FOREST CITY STEAM LAUNDRY.

PHONE.

209 North Aurora Strkkt. MENDING FREE.

CHIPMAN'S

Turkish Goods,

Pillows, Banners,

Fraternity Pillows,

Fine Art Furniture.

THE ONE PLACE IN THE CITY TO BUY THESE GOODS.
110 EAST STATE STREET.

Wanzer & Howell, The Grocers,
103 NORTH AURORA STREET. and 304 EAST STATE STREET.

H. GOLDENBERG,:™ University Tailor

Come in and look over our new stock of Suitings, Trousers,
Fancy Vests, Overcoats, and Rain Coats. Prices below com petition. Workmanship and Fit Guaranteed

Telephone 117 B.

211 Dryden Road,

H. GOLDENBERG, THE UNIVERSITY TAILOR.

THE REQUISITE AT SMART FUNCTIONS.

I ,*3Hfc

GIANT STRIDES!
ALL RECORDS BROKEN.
The Distinctly High Quality of

*

MOET & CHANDON
"WHITE SEAL"
NEVER VARIES.
WHY PPP
MESSRS. MOET & CHANDON
Own and Control More Vineyards than all THE READING Champagne houses combined, and have over ii miles of Cellars, the most extensive in the world.
THE SALES OP
MOET & CHANDON CHAMPAGNE
IN THE YEAR 1903 WERE
4,013,684 BOTTLES !
A Figure Never Before Reached by any Cham pagne House. This great House offers its choicest products in
<<
WHITE SEAL"
THE champagne; of the day.

\&~ YS^&^Z^ % GE0- A- KESSLER & CO.,

c.»«,_„rf_ ,..j- -w>-

-~ -•-■

Sole Importers, New York.

»»»»»»»♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦»♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦«»♦♦♦♦♦»♦♦♦»<

THE REQUISITE AT SMART FUNCTIONS.

ROTHSCHILD BROS.,
"SPECIAL CORNELL STEINS,"
TX7ITH all the Views of the Campus, and verses of Cornell's * * spirited Songs. FINE SOUVENIRS FOR ALUMNI, as
well as mantle pieces.

/:
i
\•

Sdin^i BrotKer5 E^ypH^n Curettes

Are made of the very Finest Turkish Tobacco grown. Schinasi
Naturals, 15 cents. Schinasi Cork Tips, 20 cents. Schinasi
Prettiest, 10 cents. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^«^^^^^^

THE SMOKE SHOPS.

ITHACA HOTEL,

SHELDON COURT,

in N. AURORA STREET.

Michelson, Tailor,

103 NORTH TIOGA STREET.

ITHACA, N. Y.

"266, Please."
"Egbert & Blackmer's?"
"Will you send at
once 1 quart Welch's Grape JuiceP"
"Thank you." That girl is wise !
She knows what to
buy and where to buy it. Do you ?
CASCADILLA PHARMACY, Eddy Street.
Both Phones—Prompt Delivery
SCHELTZ & SORENSON,
^^ MERCHANT TAILORS. ^^
113 NORTH AURORA STREET, (One Plight Up) ITHACA, - - - NEW YORK.
H^ DRESS SUITS AND TUXEDOS' A SPECIALTY
Bell Phone 236 X

BASE BALL SUITS
TO MEASURE.
JERSEYS PADDED,
G. M. HEIMROTH,
211 East Seneca Street.

HICKEY'S
j» LYCEtin nmK st@ie. j»
We want your Trade on Popular Music, String
Instruments, etc., as we know what you
want and keep it. Come in on your way
to the Theatre.

NEW SILK UMBRELLAS.
THE UTILITY KIND IN PRICE.
C. R. SHERWOOD.

FINE STATIONERY __5 ENQRAV1NQ HOUSE.

College Invitations, Stationery, Programs, Ban quet Menus, Fraternity Engravings, Wedding Invitations, Reception Cards, Monogram and Address Dies, Coats of Arms, Visiting Cards, Heraldry and Genealogy, Coats ofArms painted for framing.
1121 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia.

THERE'S A TRICK

of fit, a knack of elegance abont the pictures we frame We have the material, the best
The mechanics to do the work none better
The result—perfect fitting, long lasting, pretty looking pictures at

Housef u rn ishers

BOOL'S
Opp. Tompkins Co. Bank

FOREST CITY STEAM LAUNDRY.

PHONE.

209 North Aurora Street. MENDING FREE.

CHIPMAN'S

Turkish Goods,

Pillows, Banners,

Fraternity Pillows,

Fine Art Furniture.

THE ONE PLACE IN THE CITY TO BUY THESE GOODS.

110 east state street.

Wanzer & Howell, The Grocers,
103 NORTH AURORA STREET. and 304 EAST STATE STREET.

H. GOLDENBERG, ™- University Tailor

Come in and look over our new stock of Suitings, Trousers, Fancy Vests, Overcoats, and Rain Coats. Prices below com petition. Workmanship and Fit Guaranteed

Telephone 117 B.

211 Dryden Road,

H. GOLDENBERG, THE UNIVERSITY TAILOR.

THE REQUISITE AT SMART FUNCTIONS.

GIANT STRIDES!
ALL RECORDS BROKEN.
The Distinctly High Quality of

I

MOET & CHANDON
"WHITE SEAL"
NEVER VARIES.
WHY P P P
MESSRS. MOET & CHANDON
Own and Control More Vineyards than all THE TREADING Champagne houses combined, and have over ii miles of Cellars, the most extensive in the world.
THE SALES OP
MOET & CHANDON CHAMPAGNE
IN THE YEAR 1903 WERE
4,013,684 BOTTLES !
A Figure Never Before Reached by any Cham
pagne House. This great House offers its
choicest products in
WHITE SEAL"
THE CHAMPAGNE OF THE DAY.

GEO. A. KESSLER & CO.,

THE REQUISITE AT SMART FUNCTIONS.
ROTHSCHILD BROS.,
a
SPECIAL CORNELL STEINS,"

well as mantle pieces.

^ iiN1' as

r^W I'-'ivr,^,
f •; AY 10 '304
Camell Jfia
Inwity
jtatuity WW

Sctina.51 BroIker5 E^jpli^n (l^reltes

Are made of the very Finest Turkish Tobacco grown. Schinasi
Naturals, 15 cents. Schinasi Cork Tips, 20 cents. Schinasi
Prettiest, 10 cents, ^^^^^^^J^^^^^^^^^^^t^^^^

THE SMOKE SHOPS.

ITHACA HOTEL,

SHELDON COURT,

in N. AURORA STREET.

MlCHELSON & WHEATON,
TAILORING PARLORS,

107 NORTH AURORA STREET.

ITHACA, N. Y.

"266, Please."
"Egbert & Beackmer's?"
"Will you send at
once 1 quart Welch's Grape Juice?"
*
"Thank you." That girl is wise !
She knows what to
buy and where to buy it. Do you ?
CASCADILLA PHARMACY, Eddy Street.
Both Phones—Prompt Delivery

Waterman's

Muni— 1 ___iiii___i__hi 1 iiiii

■ rmwHimmammmmmimBmamammmmmm.

Ideal

QCS
©

org

THE STUDENTS' BEST FRIEND,
THE FOUNTAIN PEN.
But just as there are degrees of friendship, There are differences in Fountain Pens.
FOR SALE BY DEALERS. L. E. WATERMAN CO., Manufacturers,
173 Broadway, New York.

SCHELTZ & SORENSON,
a<a* MERCHANT TAILORS. o*«_t

113 NORTH AURORA STREET, (One Flight Up) ITHACA, - - - NEW YORK.
DRESS SUITS AND TUXEDOS7 A SPECIALTY.
Bell Phone 236 X

BASE BALL SUITS
TO MEASURE.
JERSEYS PADDED. G. M. HEIMROTH,
211 East Seneca Street.

HICKEY'S
* lyceot rmiK ST
We want your Trade on Popular Music, String
Instruments, etc., as we know what you
want and keep it. Come in on your way
to the Theatre.

NEW SILK UMBRELLAS.
THE UTILITY KIND IN PRICE.
C. R. SHERWOOD.

FINE STATIONERY £H_ ENQRAV1NQ HOUSE.

College Invitations, Stationery, Programs, Ban quet Menus, Fraternity Engravings, Wedding Invitations, Reception Cards, Monogram and Address Dies, Coats of Arms, Visiting Cards, Heraldry and Genealogy, Coats ofArms painted for framing.
1121 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia.

THERE'S A TRICK

of fit, a knack of elegance abont the pictures we frame We have the material, the best
The mechanics to do the work none better
The result—perfect fitting, long lasting, pretty looking pictures at
BOOL'S

Housefurnishers

Opp. Tompkins Co. Bank

FOREST CITY STEAM LAUNDRY.

209 North Aurora Street.

PHONE.

MENDING FREE.

CHIPMAN'S

Turkish Goods,

Pillows, Banners,

Fraternity Pillows,

Fine Art Furniture.

THB ONE PLACB IN THE CITY TO BUY THESE GOODS.
110 EAST STATE STREET.

Wanzer & Howell, The Grocers,
103 NORTH AURORA STREET. and 304 EAST STATE STREET.

H. GOLDENBERG,^_University Tailor

Come in and look over our new stock of Suitings, Trousers, Fancy Vests, Overcoats, and Rain Coats. Prices below com petition. Workmanship and Fit Guaranteed

Telephone 117 B.

211 Dryden Road,

H. GOLDENBERG, THE UNIVERSITY TAIXOR.

THE REQUISITE AT SMART FUNCTIONS.

GIANT STRIDES!
ALL RECORDS BROKEN.
The Distinctly High Quality of
MOET & CHANDON
"WHITE SEAL"
NEVER VARIES.
WHY P P P
MESSRS. MOET & CHANDON
Own and Control More Vine3^ards than all THE I.EADING Champagne houses combined, and have over n miles of Cellars, the most extensive in the world.
THE SALES. OF
MOET & CHANDON CHAMPAGNE)
IN THE YEAR 1903 WERE
4,013,684 BOTTLES !
A Figure Never Before Reached by any Cham
pagne House. This great House offers its
choicest products in
"WHITE SEAL"
THE CHAMPAGNE OF THE DAY.
GEO. A. KESSLER & CO., Sole Importers, New York.
THE REQUISITE AT SMART FUNCTIONS.

ROTHSCHILD BROS.,

"SPECIAL CORNELL STEINS,"

TO7TTH all the Views of the Campus, and verse* of rv

id

'A
Y 21 1904 i
£«ll ifra
iflMtty
j™% WW

ScKin^i BroIIier5 E^yplikn £i^relle5

Are made of the very Finest Turkish Tobacco grown. Schinasi
Naturals, 15 cents. Schinasi Cork Tips, 20 cents. Schinasi
Prettiest, 10 cents, ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^e^e^^

THE SMOKE SHOPS.

ITHACA HOTEL,

SHELDON COURT,

in N. AURORA STREET.

MlCHELSON & WHEATON,
TAILORING PARLORS,

107 NORTH AURORA STREET.

ITHACA, N. Y-

"266, Please."
"Egbert & Bi,ackmer's?"
"Will you send at
once 1 quart Welch's Grape Juice?"
"Thank you." That girl is wise !
She knows what to
buy and where to buy it. Do you ?
CASCADILLA PHARMACY, Eddy Street.
Both Phones—Prompt Delivery.

Waterman's
Ideal
THE STUDENTS' BEST FRIEND,
THE FOUNTAIN PEN.
But just as there are degrees of friendship, There are differences in Fountain Pens.
FOR SALE BY DEALERS. L. E. WATERMAN CO., Manufacturers,
173 Broadway, New York.

SCHELTZ & SORENSON,
^o« MERCHANT TAILORS. <*_.
113 NORTH AURORA STREET, (One Flight Up) ITHACA, - - - NEW YORK.
H^ DRESS SUITS AND TUXEDOS7 A SPECIALTY. *^S^fr
Bell Phone 236 X

BASE BALL SUITS
TO MEASURE.
JERSEYS PADDED.
G. M. HEIMROTH,
211 East Seneca Street.

HICKEY'S
<* LYCEOT miK STOlEo *
We want your Trade on Popular Music, String
Instruments, etc., as we know what you
want and keep it. Come in on your way
to the Theatre.

NEW SILK UMBRELLAS.
THE UTILITY KIND IN PRICE.
C. R. SHERWOOD.

FINE STATIONERY *h_ ENQRAV1NQ HOUSE.

College Invitations, Stationery, Programs, Ban quet Menus, Fraternity Engravings, Wedding Invitations, Reception Cards, Monogram and Address Dies, Coats of Arms, Visiting Cards, Heraldry and Genealogy, Coats ofArms painted for framing.
1 121 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia.

THERE'S A TRICK

of fit, a knack of elegance about the pictures we frame We have the material, the best
The mechanics to do the work none better
The result—perfect fitting, long lasting, pretty looking pictures at
BOOL'S

Housefurnishers

Opp. Tompkins Co. Bank

FOREST CITY STEAM LAUNDRY.

PHONE.

209 North Aurora Street. MENDING FREE.

CHIFMAN'S

Turkish Goods,

Pillows, Banners,

Fraternity Pillows,

Fine Art Furniture.

THE ONE PLACK IN THE CITY TO BUY THESE GOODS.

110 EAST state street.

Wanzer & Howell, The Grocers,
103 NORTH AURORA STREET. and 304 EAST STATE STREET.

H. GOLDENBERG^University Tailor

Come in and look over our new stock of Suitings, Trousers, Fancy Vests, Overcoats, and Rain Coats. Prices below com petition. Workmanship and Fit Guaranteed

Telephone 117 B.

211 Dryden Road,

H. GOLDENBERG, THE UNIVERSITY TAILOR.

THE REQUISITE AT SMART FUNCTIONS.
►♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦»♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦+♦♦»♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦*♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦«*»♦
GIANT STRIDES!
ALL RECORDS BROKEN.
The Distinctly High Quality of

MOET & CHANDON

"WHITE SEAL"

NEVER VARIES.
—Mil—Uli lil milMIIHI' — ——WJUUI
WEE Y P P P

MESSRS. MOET & CHANDON
Own and Control More Vineyards than all THE READING Cbampagne houses combined, and have over ii miles of Cellars, the most extensive in the world.

THE SALES OF

MOET & CHANDON CHAMPAGNE
IN THE YEAR 1903 WERE
4,013,684, BOTTLES !

A Figure Never Before Reached by any Cham
pagne House. This great House offers its choicest products in

<<
WHITE SEAL"

I

THE CHAMPAGNE OF THE DAY.

I <**r*,cMTee f97r™*mtst^3t~

GEO. A. KESSLER & CO.,
~
Sole Importers, New York. $

THE REQUISITE AT SMART FUNCTIONS.

ROTHSCHILD BROS.,

ii
SPECIAL CORNELL STEINS,"

WVV7ITsHpiriatelld
well as mantle

the Views of the Campus, and verses of Corn.

Songs. FINE SOUVENIRS FOR ALUMNI

pieces.

'

11 '«
as

i «• '.■:>'. '-
tmul ifra
ffltarnal
fnmity

ScKin^i BroIKer5 E^ypli^n p^reltes

Are made of the very Finest Turkish Tobacco grown. Schinasi
Naturals, 15 cents. Schinasi Cork Tips, 20 cents. Schinasi
Prettiest, IO CentS. e^e^^e^e^e^e^e^e^*e^ "* ^e^e^e^^e^

THE SMOKE SHOPS.

ITHACA HOTEL,

SHELDON COURT,

in N. AURORA STREET.

MlCHELSON & WHEATON,
TAILORING PARLORS,

107 NORTH AURORA STREET.

ITHACA, N. Y.

"266, Please."
11 Egbert & Bi,ackmer's?"
"Will you send at
once 1 quart Welch's Grape Juice?"
"Thank you." That girl is wise !
She knows what to
buy and where to buy it. Do you ?
CASCADILLA PHARMACY, Eddy Street.
Both Phones—Prompt Delivery.

Waterman's

Q
©

0

THE STUDENTS' BE5T FRIEND,
THE FOUNTAIN PEN.
But just as there are degrees of friendship, There are differences in Fountain Pens.
FOR SALE BY DEALERS. L. E. WATERMAN CO., Manufacturers,
173 Broadway, New York.

SCHELTZ & SORENSON,
at a* MERCHANT TAILORS, at at

113 NORTH AURORA STREET, (One Flight Up) ITHACA, - - - NEW YORK.
DRESS SUITS AND TUXEDOS' A SPECIALTY. -=SXT
Bell Phone 236 X

BASE BALL SUITS
TO MEASURE.
JERSEYS PADDED, G. M. HEIMROTH,
211 East Seneca Street.

HICKEY'S
* LYCEOT nUJK .
We want your Trade on Popular Music, String Instruments, etc., as we know what you want and keep it. Come in on your way
to the Theatre.

NEW SILK UMBRELLAS.
THE UTILITY KIND IN PRICE.
C. R. SHERWOOD.

FINE STATIONERY *•___ ENQRAVINQ H0CJ5E.

College Invitations, Stationery, Programs, Ban quet Menus, Fraternity Engravings, Wedding Invitations, Reception Cards, Monogram and Address Dies, Coats of Arms, Visiting Cards, Heraldry and Genealogy, Coats ofArms painted for framing.
1121 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia.

THERE'S A TRICK
of fit, a knack of elegance about trie pictures we frame We have the material, the best
The mechanics to do the work none better
The result—perfect fitting, long lasting, pretty looking pictures at

Housefurnishers

Opp. Tompkins Co. Bank

FOREST CITY STEAM LAUNDRY.

PH0NE.

209 North Aurora Street. MENDING FREE.

CHIPMAN'S

Turkish Goods,

Pillows, Banners,

Fraternity Pillows,

Fine Art Furniture.

THE ONE PLACE IN THE CITY TO BUY THESE GOODS.

110 EAST STATE STREET.

Wanzer & Howell, The Grocers,
103 NORTH AURORA STREET. and 304 EAST STATE STREET.

H. GOLDENBERG, ™_University Tailor

Come in and look over our new stock of Suitings, Trousers, Fancy Vests, Overcoats, and Rain Coats. Prices below com petition. Workmanship and Fit Guaranteed

/

Telephone 117 B.

211 Dryden Road,

H. GOLDENBERG, THE UNIVERSITY TAILOR.

THE REQUISITE AT SMART FUNCTIONS.
♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦»♦»♦♦»♦♦»♦♦»»♦♦♦»♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦»♦♦»♦♦♦♦»$♦♦♦♦»*♦»
GIANT STRIDES! I
ALL RECORDS BROKEN.
The Distinctly High Quality of
MOET & CHANDON
"WHITE SEAL"
NEVER VARIES.
WIT Y PPP
MESSRS. MOET & CHANDON
Own and Control More Vineyards than all THE IyEADING Champagne houses combined, and have over ii mile8 of Cellars, the most extensive in the world.
THE SMLES OP
MOET & CHANDON CHAMPAGNE
IN THE YEAR 1903 WERE *
4,013,684 BOTTLBS !
A Figure Never Before Reached by any Cham
pagne House. This great House offers its
choicest products in
"WHITE SEAL"
THE CHAMPAGNE OF THE DAY.
<__ GEO. A. KESSLER & CO., Sole Importers, New York. I
THE REQUISITE AT SMART FUNCTIONS.

ROTHSCHILD BROS.,

ii
SPECIAL CORNELL STEINS,"

YK7ITH all
v v spirited
well as mantle

the Views of the Campus, aud verses of Cornell's

Songs.

FINE SOUVENIRS

FOR

ALUMNI '

as

pieces.

.*. -i<t:

■

_>; '&«.
tf>_*
_$1