The Emporia weekly news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1881-1889, 1881-12-15
Hon T Dwight rh.sehsr's Lecture on

We listened last night to the second
of a course of lectures to be delivered
this winter TO the students and people OF
Emporia at the Normal.
The name of T. Dwight Thatcher has
become household word in Kansas 1t
has been honorably linked with our
states history from the beginning, and
the character of the man has stamped
itself upon the character of the state.
When we listen to the words he utters
we do NOT wonder that he is appreciated
as he is. We have listened to the biog-
rapby of James A. Garfield almost
every day for more than a year; yet,
when it was told again in such a plain,
earnest manner. with new applications
to our every day life, We listened to a
new story. A sketch of Mr.. Thach.
er's address is somewhat as follows:
1t is always interesting to study the
life of great man-to note his charac.
teristics and compare them with our
wn. We continually seek to know what
made him great; why he was more re.
spected than others; why we point to
him with pride and admiration, and how
it is that when he is gone there is q
great gap which no one else can fill.
Greatness usually comes from great
families and descends from father to
son, but on the 10Th of November, 1881,
was born great man, whose parents
were like thousands of other parents TO
be found all over our fair land. He in
herited from the paternal side q fine
physique, from the maternal side the
character of a Huguenot. His sur
| roundings were not, in early life, such
as riches and culture give, but he strug-
gled with the wolf and the vulture
found in so many of the homes of a
new country. Garfield's mother, know
ing the benefits of education, gave a
piece of her small farm for the erection
of school house which would be con-
venient in giving her children an educa-
ton.
If we fail to notice the character of
this mother, we lose sight of the things
which contributed so largely to Gar
fields success. Her poetic nature gave
him that eloquence, her intellectual cast
that clear logic, and her Christianity
that firm adherence to the right which
made him stand upright and firm in the
storm or sweep everything before it like
the flood. When his career on the tow
path was ended and his visions of the
lake captain were dashed down by sick
ness, his mother took advantage while
nursing him and persuaded him to go
to school. And then for several years
he went to school and taught or worked
on the farm between terms TO pay his
way. About this time he read "Pol
locks Course of Time" and through
it's influence became converted.
Conversion is "a change in the govern
ing purpose of mans life" Hereaf
ter his whole purpose seemed to be to
make as much of man of himself as
possible.
He first attended Hiram college-'a
place Of plain living and high think
ing" he said. An anecdote which points
out one of his elements of success is
that he one time had the choice of tax
ing up Latin reading or beginning with
a class of beginners, and he chose the
former. When he got to his room and
began to study his first lesson in Cesar he
found how large task he had under
taken, but he went to work in earnest
and forgot all else but his work. When
he had finished he looked up and reali-
zed for the first time his surroundings.
So deeply had he been engrossed that
the hours slipped by unnoticed and the
candle burned down into its socket, but
he had mastered his Latin lesson. For
three years he studied and taught in Hi
ram college until he was ready to enter
the junior year of Williams college, hav-
ing saved for his expenses while there
$3.50 from his earnings while teaching.
1 have dwelt on this part of his life so
long because he was not made on the
battlefield, nor in the forum of the SEN
ate, nor on the bed of protracted sick
ness,b on the rugged hillsides of Ohio.
"He came to college," said President
Hopkins, che was not sent, and this
makes all the difference in the world"
A classmate said he possessed at this
time his full powers and had that won
derful gift of thinking while on his feet.
Another said he never lost his temper
and never had to take anything back be-
cause he had spoken too hastily. kNext
followed his war record and will not be
repeatedly
For eighteen years after the close of
the war he was engaged as a statesman
and his wise adoption of good means to
good ends showed his true statesman
ship. During this time he labored with
war measures, the reconstruction policy,
and the resumption of specie payments,
making on the latter his most famous
speeches.
After he was elected president, he,
like Lincoln, became much changed; he
seemed to have presentiment of what
was coming, and became more grave
and thoughtful. Then occurred black
deed at which the whole world shud-
dered, which closed useful life in the
midst of the enjoyment of its full pow
ers, and which drew on the cewardly
wretch the contempt of all mankind.
am not one who can call mean devilish-
ness insanity.
| Such life is very suggestive to stu.
dents for his was students life. He
took advantage of all circumstances
both subjective and objective and when
an occasion presented itself he was
ready to fill it.
The boy in the printing Office of New
Hampshire whose pants only reached
half way to his ankles became Horace
Greeley.
Fill the place you are in and little
more. Garfield always wanted little
marginin his transactions. He said ifyou
have your lesson we'll then spend half
hour more for a margin. While at
school he was chagrined to find boy
who would recite little better than
he, and was unable to account for it for
he always mastered his lesson but one
night as he was retiring he saw the
light still burning in the window of his
rival and the thought struck him thai
the other boy was putting more
time on the lesson than he
so ne sat down and studied till
the light went out in his neighbours
window and the next day he beat that
boy in recitation. 1t is the one who
works with all his might who succeeds
Without money he went through col
lege, the war, congress, and became
president Other men think it takes
large sums of money and great and in
L a...-As.l Il. =.