Daily Republican. [volume] ([Wilmington, Del.]) 1874-1890, 1882-04-24
WAsalNGr0N.
The ANIMAL Session of the AeaA.
s0y Of sScleacs-Cneap Advert.
sang; Talmage, lngersell .wd
hasnan-A aall week At she
CAPITAL.

l
shng; TslmsSe. lngersell .wd
Rsrnan-A aall week At she
Capital.
From our Regular Correspondent.
WASHINGTON, d. c., April %, 1882.
The Academy of Science is again
holding its annual session in Washing.
ton. The Academy consists of num-
ber OF college professors. and specialists
in particular branches of learning.
Some OF them are distinguished in
their way, but not more learned or dis
tinguished than hundreds of others
who stay at home, and are independ-
ent OF gratuitous advertising. Tenny-
son says: "The man Of science himself
is fonder OF glory, and vain. An eve
well practiced in Nature. A spirit
bounded and poor. Few men are con-
tent to know and be unknown. Tai
madge and lugersoll mutually adver-
tise each other. Baruum gets an
elephant for a cheap advertisement,
and the Press of the Uuited States
tumbles to his racket. Now am not
disappearing advertising. ! know it
TO be- good thing. But like to see
honest advertising, paid for at so much
square. Aud dislike dead beat
ad vertising such as the Academy of
Science and Barnum get. What Is the
use OF these scientists coming here with
heavy papers and esoteric knowleT ge,
making speeches to score of people,
half of whom don't know what thew
are talking about. They say they
come for an exchange of views. Ex-
change OF hum0ug Give them leave
to print Everything that Is worth
knowing is in print, and cal ne reach
ed in much better formulated sha g,
than when Professor Palaeoz ole speaks
it through his nose.
The truth is that "the art preserva.
tive ot all arts has abolished the lee.
turer's chair, the musings AMI the pul-
pit. These still lag, but they are su-
peifiuous, cumber.Ome and expensive
antiquities, with no ralson d'etre Why
should man stand in an uucomfurt-
able hall and listen to political speech
when he can have The pleasure of read
Ing the same to his wife and her moth.
eras the expense of from one to ii We
cents. But IT may be said that if there
were no audience at the hustiugs there
would be no speeches to print, or to
read to ones wife or motler.in.l law.
Now this is precisely the millennium
that your correspondent is trying to
bring about. Insteai of the frantic
speeches of agitators we would have the
well studied, carefully written articles
OF thinkers, sitted and written all the
more carefully from a knowledge that,
unlike the evanescent folly that comes
from the mere orator, they must go in
black and white and stand for criticism
and Judgment.
| would not be understood to assert
that all that is printed is sound, but |
DO assert that, as a rLle, printed matter
is sounder than spoken matter; and
tina the thinking which is compulsory
IN writing restraints a riot of words and
In aginatlon. Moreover, written mat.
ter that Is not editorial is usually sub,
Ject to wholesome censorship before it
gets into print; for example, the editor
after reading this article, may say
This is no Washington letter; there is
nothing in it about Washington, for
all the Information it furnishes about
national affairs and legislation, it
might as well have been written in
Alaska" But he may reflect that tie
last has been dull week at the Nation
al capital; that Congress has done moth
ing but make speeches.; that the Presi-
dent has confined his energy to re.
ception, visit to the Naval acade ny,
and audiences to melnbersand Senators
seeking offices for their friends that
the Departments have not departed
from the grooves of routine; and that it
is impossible to write a Washington
news letter when there is no news.
G. 8, A.