Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1881-02-19
JUDGE TOURGEE's LECTURE.
What the Author of "A Fools Errand
Camc to Say.

JUDGE TOURGEE'S LECTURE.
What the Author of "A Fools Errand-
Came to Say.
Two books, published within 4 year,
viz. CA Fools Errand'' and . Brick
Without Straw" have made their author,
Judge Tourgee, famous. These books
have been widely read, simply because
they are political in tone and intention.
and whatever may be their value, either as
literature or a statement Of Southern feel
ings and politics, they have served the
purpose Of making the author Of their
being drawing card for lecture bureaus.
Last night Lancaster was favored with 4
lecture from the much -talked-of author, on
a subject, semi-political-the spirit of the
age-or as he called it, the Ben Adhemi,e
Era in Politics.
that We are generally disappointed when
frequently in conventional way. a poet
must have long hair, 4 politician a dia-
mOnd stud. a preacher i sanity look, and
Judge Toursee, OF any other judge, a
certain amount Of shcep-skinny, legal block
appointed. Now Judge TOurgee has not
ehC "SiSHI vi JuulciIl years, dpp1E-
entity being no more than 10 or As his eyes
are small, black and inquirlng, black
haired, a suggestive mOustache, medium
in height, reasonably strong in build. and
might as easily be taken for the manager
OF comedy company rs an expOundsr OF
Southern sentiment and that vague.
glittering generality, "The Spirit of the
Age He is no orator. nor does he make
any pretentiOns to speak other than in a
calm, disnified and plain man.
ner. He certainly has intelligence.
has read much and observed much, and
yet his thinking and looking have been
colored by the prejudices and superstitiOns
of the day. His philosophy is the philos-
Ophy of impulse, his thought the express
sion more of feeling than of reason. The
first part of his lecture was vague and
seemingly without connection with the
last part. AS 4 witty criticism upon our
tendency to initiate others, and to borrow
ideas, whether false or absurd, his intro
ductiOn was all right-but his views
Of Young America were absurd, and
the idea he meant to convey by his term
spirit Of the aye, is certainly narrow. OF
course the central thought Of the lecturer
was discussion of Humanity" that is
the feeling of kindness, and the relations
of man to his brother and the duties
thereunto belonging. Paurs appeal t"
Caesar was, II am Roman" The
Caesar of to day is Humanity. and every
human being appeals thereto with the cry,
crying the loudcst now, accorGin. to
Judge Tourgec, is Sambo, Poor Lo and
John Chinaman. These wOrthiesare crying
L.. &,l
be supplied OF intellectual starvation,
with all its attendant social and political
evils, will be the result. Sambo must be
taught to vote intellisently by giving him
some mental arithmetic, a little more read
must be accomplished through the sublime
efficiency of government schools, presided
over bya government tlunky and paid for
National P,aver. Judge Tour.ec is
most wise men he thinks the possibilities
of the Indian are grand in imagination,
but slim in practical results, and all the
brother is to teach him to wear pantalOons
and prepare him to be hung in Christian
manner.
LII opCHhiH, vi atiSo Poh'ittsis SAAS
judge said, and very wisely, too, that the
am man. must be recognized. Par
ties must be the expression cf ideas and
not the servants of leaders. The senatorial
fight in this state is hopeful appeal Of the
individual man to the reason of party
ideas.
In brief the lecture was general talk,
and therefore 4 loose one, about the hu-
manities and what direction they should
take. The Judges feelings are right, but
his philosophy calls upon the mechanism
of state agency and cooperation for aid.
Society cannot specialize. God knows, the
poor negro is bad enough Off-all that We
can do is to give him an equal chance with
the whites and protect him in his rights,
and then if he cannot keep his head above
water the inexorable law of nature will
drown him. That our sympathies
are enlarging and widening can
be plainly seen and is the result OF
natural social growth, but these sympathies
are acting generally, not specially, to pro-
duce distinctive national character. The
political economist looks forth and sees
more evil from poverty than from lack of
brains, and he crys for bread the minis
ter Of the gospel calls for something else,
and all these calls keep alive and. stimulate
our pity. Unfortunately, all men, like
these, are so cnamored with the immediate
that they do not see the remote, and
so the platform roars Niagara of frOtll
and foam, and real evils are not touched.
Education is minor matter in many re-
spects-but bad laws touch us ut every
corner. Sambo wants bread more than
arithmetic. Generally speaking, Judge
Toursce was interesting. but his lecture
struck us Il loosely jointed and rather
vague sentimentaliziny over Il subject he
has not studied philosophically.