The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1888-06-21
THE ALUMNI GRAFTON.
Mr.. R. L. Bats Delivers Splendid
Address Before the Alumni.

Mr.. r. L. Bats Delivers Splendid
Address Before the Alumni.
Last night, upon the occasion of the
annual address before the Alumni associ-
alton of the University, Mr.. R. L. B ats,
of the class of 1886, and a resident of
Bastrop, delivered a very mastery ex-
position of the life and characteristics of
the writing of the great Russian author,
Count Tolstoi. The audience was an ex-
cellent one and all were highly pleased.
Mr.. G. II. Miller, president of the Alumni
association, introduced Mr.. Bats.
After short introduction, in which the
speaker showed his rea IONS for selecting
so novel subject, he proceeded with a
mastery presentation of his theme. Re-
viewing briefly Tolstoi's shorter literary
productions, he called tho attention of his
audience to the two most remarkable
works of the great Russian "My Re-
ilgion" and "My Confession" and dis
cu5sed them as record of the
authors life aud an exponent of his
views. The sketch of the authors
life was brief, dwelling especially
upon his convers on from nihilism to the
Christian religion and his renunciation of
his rank as a Russian nobleman, and of
his wealth as great slave owner. Mr..
Bats then outlined, at some length and
with great force, To!stoi's attack upon the
subsistipg social system, including the
adapting his own language to express the
views of the author, used the following
concerning the church: "Claimipg to be
the dispensatory of spiritual, not physica al
comfort, it has neither shelter for the cold
nor food for the starving. Save as a
place where the well dressed may renew,
each Sunday, an unfamiliar acquaintance
with Christ, what good are
its costly buildings 80 fcmly
fixed to earth, with lofty spires
pointing 30 Enthusiastically heavenward?' '
Reviewing the attack on government,
war and national boundry lines and other
evil incidents of government were dis
cursed, the bill of indictment concluding
"It is charged that the judicial branch of
government nearest perfect In organ
ization and certain in results does not
effect does not attempt, more tnan an
equitable distribution of injus ice, even
when not bound by precedent or re-
| tricted by statute" A general attack
was then made on the existing order of
things, expressing Tolstoi's yiewa, but in
Mr.. Bats pungent, caustic style. He
spoke then of the idealist and theorist
who have undertaken their correction, and
said:
each offers panacea for every ill
except himself. One has unbounded faith
| in the education of the masses, another
suggests communism, another attempts
nihiiism, one bellows that all evil could
be smOthered under an unlimited issue OF
| paper money, while Mr.. George would
hasten tho dawn of the millennium by
destroying private property in hand" He
| then revie ged the efforts of practical
statesmen, concluding this part of his adj
dress: "The theorist writes, the states
man legi5lstates; in the meantime the rich
accumulate more wealth, and the pooi
more misery, and the sum of these accu
mutations measures the growth of crime
He then showed that Tolstoi was of the
opinion that our civilization has a wrong
foundation-the application of force
against force, evil against evil-aud tina
he believed that its evils could not be cor
rected save by change from this founda
ton to "that which is frmer, better, tina
that which is eternal-love." He ther
outlined the Tolstoian system, founded
upon Christ's sermon on the mount, anC
! involving simple, natural life withou
the government or the church or an