New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1889-10-13
CUSE SALT.

There is salt and salt. Syracuse is noted for
salt She is known distinctvely as the Saline City.
Nay more: il is understood in antiquarian circles
that the scholars Of Onondaga County who have
taste for research are agreed that the founder Of
Syracuse was Lots wife. Some years after be.
coming pillar of salt-so these scholars maintain
finding herself unable TO be any longer help
meet for her husband, she emigrated 10 what was
then the wildS of the Empire State, settled down
and proceeded TO grow up with the country. In
the old fable, wherever the dimpled little feet OF
the goddess fell flowers sprang up and bloomed
glorousy. Similarly, wherever Lots wife took
her walks abroad, at a time which antedates
coherent history and when Tom Alvord had only
just begun to get the delegates for his first As
sembly nomination.. beneath her feet and at their
magic touch salt springs appeared. This account
of the origin of the city may or may not be
strictly accurate. But it is significant that from
time immemorial at all the civic banquets given
at Syracuse the first toast dran<-in silence stand
ng-is to Lots wife.
The industry which this remarkable woman
established has always hourshed. The State has
attested its appreciation of her and her labOrs
nv providing in The Constitution that the Legis-
lature shall never sell the OnOndaga salt springs
Good enough But as has been remarked, tlPre
is salt and salt The concrete salt of Syracuse lnls
not lost its SAVIOR. But how about another and
eoncededlv more important sort of Syracuse salt,
even the salt of culture. Is that doing well
Is that holding it's own? Or is its SAVIOR, al
though by no means lost, strayed or stolen, de-
Ginning rather than improving? one tees
tempted to ask such questions after reading the
reports in thP Syracuse journals Of the manner in
which the yOung gentlemen Of the two lower
classes of Syracuse University dispose of their
elegant leisure. Just listen-we quote from The
Journal of that city,
one party of freshmen with their ladies took an
electric line siIeetea and coiasd IGPh VINO mo h c
while they cut mp his hat and passed the pieces
around for relics. hen this party came back they
ing sophomores who determined on retaliation
for the hat cut up. They followed the freshmen til
had collected they rushed on the ten or twelve heSh
men This took place on the lawn of Mr.. Talbot
umbrellas and battered faces and calngs for police
the sophomores had them bound ard blind
man I'm each hack and started of The other fresh
men marched about the city for some time am
let 60 One hack drove 10 Tamarack swamp ana
after they had considerable sport 10y cutting ms hdst
and helping his recovery from falnng fit, they left
IT, Fsyettevlle and surprised their man also by 10
cent haircut and left him 10 walk home I'm the rain
Does the man who is not cOege-bred seem
70 gather from this that learning and refinement
90 hand in hand? Does it strike him with any
degree of "Wednesday with the force of steam
niledriver-that the sport involved in destroy
ing a person : clothes batterng his face, forcing
him into swamps, hacking his hair and superinduc
ing fainting fits. is worthy of the high ideals
touching recreation which go, or ought to 90. with
the higher education? Tell me what your amuse
mcnts are" said the philosopher, land will tell
Won what sort of human being you are If
this philosopher could be furnished with list
of the amusements in question, would he declare
ne he perused them, Surely the young gentlemen
who thus unbcnt themselves must have enjoyed
the enrolling influences flowing from daily com
munion with the star-eyed goddess OF wisdom !?
And the ladies TO whom casual reference is made.
As they contemplate or hear of such sport do
they feel in their inmost souls that man, educated
man. is the lord of creation by large majority |?
We may be reminded that it is folly to expect
TO find old heads upon young shoulders Yes,
il is But it is not folly to expect that college
bred men will so conduct themselves that they
should not be COMPOUNDED with college INBRED
men. Noblesse oblige, which is by Interpretation
that n gentleman is estopped from being rowdy.
III fares the land 70 Fastening i'll, prey,
Where salt accumulates and men decay.