Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1894-01-31
TITLES AND DEGREES.
GEORGE TIcKNoR CURTIS on The
AMERICAN PRODUCTIONS.
Th~ F1rs, Nns LIST Tina That Congress
Ev.r GrsPrisd with Handle For the
rr-.idsHi's Ssms-ooilsEe Hoaor, That
p1ntaiisd nidirui-.

~ roiitF and who Affects English spelling.
addtfssesl o Letter 20 me As follows, '-Ths
Honourabie Cfeorse Tlcknor Curtis, Ii. D..
sic.. &c, eic ] never held any public
oaioe % position which, 10y custom that
worid b. more hoaorei in the breach than
the Observance, l. supposed 10 rut the pre-
tx % honorable 90 q mans name, nor did
! ever receive from my own Harvard OF any
other institstion Of learning the degrte Of
IL. D. or any other honorary degree The
foudnes. a. oar people FOR titles and the
readiness with vhich they are bestowed are
remarkable
VIXEN Vas 10 eollcge a: Harvard. more
than % years ago, there dwelt at Cam
bridgeport a Mr. Thomas Dowse who car
RED on thefrsp ectab.e occu patton % leather
dresser. Being a prosperous man and a
bachelor. be accumulated a good property.
He built a handsome house on the main
street, 90 which be had an apartment on
the second door where be lived. Il was Gus
t0mnry in those days for tradsspeonIe 10
put ln front q their shops some image
which fypifei fhsir business
Mr. DoHse bad d figure Of a sheep 10 flll
hecce. err5tea ou q Eigh column ia front Of
his huHIIng Ills Manufacture OF leather.
chiefly sheepskin. was carried on In the rear
Of his premises. He had a fondness for ac-
cumuiuing books go fne binding, mostly
English classics ~ the time Of which [
speak Be bad quite a large library. and the
corporation ard oyer-errs NJ Harvard uni
versity thinking that they could Induce
him 70 btVgrlth bis library TO the college,
made him au ILL., D. | fancy that the
worthy iuau did not know much about the
inside of bis books, nor do 1 remember what
disposition be ultimately made OF them.
One Of tie college ways dubbed him Lit
erary Leather Dresser.
About ihc same time there was a dean OF
the theological faculty in Harvard who, be
sides hgiug man Of small stature. was
also very unpopular Ho was made
ID. ID. OF ..rs, and afiervArd ian LII. d. The
same flcetlQDs undergraduate translated
bis degrees 20 mean, Did Dirty Little
Dean
When General Jackson was president
during bis AHt term ~ Office, be- visited
Boston attended commencement al Han.
ward and resolved the degree o. LII. b.
This wa vetg much rdiculed at the time
by some o., the Wings, who said that Cen
eml jackson was an illiterate man. and
that be could mot write an English sentence
correctly. This was not true. have seen
Autograph letters OF general Jack son writ
ten 90 Well iH point Of style, spelling aud
punctuation As any Of the public men OF
that time were accustomed to write. In
tht.r letters there were very few erasurcs.
! do not suppose hat as president he wrote
bic mCs cages and other state papers. His
famous pluslamatiou against the uulliacrs
was written by Edward Livingston, hi,
srcretaryoi state Tbeprcsident. however.
always corrected such papers carefully with
his own hand
On oueoccas.on the public printer brought
him proof Of Que u bis messages IN which
the pruutruader had changed certain ex-
prcssious which quite altered the meaning
NO, by tho Eternal" Old Hickory ex-
claimed, print IL ~ wrote IT, or l will
turn you ont ufohcc.h
Passing row from small things TO greater
thlng-, The proceedings which took place
IN the First congress relative 70 the title
proper 60 be given to the president OF the
United statss afford curious illustration
Of the tendencies OF some public men at
that period
On the Esd Of April, 1850, tho senate in
structci "a committee Of three OF its mem
bors toeousidcr and report what style or
title 10 will be proper 70 annex to the offices
OF president aud vice president OF the
United States. II any other than thuse given
iu the const.tution,' This led 20 a confer
rnca ou the subject with Is committee OF tho
house Of representatives, and the result
was disagreement.
The president had In the meantime been
inHugurated-yiE, on the aOth OF April-aud
IN the address in answer to his inaugural
speech, presented TO him by tho house on
the 9Th Of May, he bad been addressed sim
ply rs George Washington, president Of
tho United Statesn On tho Sth OF May the
senate appointed new committee Of It's
own body TO consider and report under
wha; title IL would he proper Tor the senate
10 address the president. This committee
on the 18th proposed as a title, His high
ness the president OF the United States and
protector o. their libertirsn But without
preceding 70 the adoption OF a title that
Wa certain TO be rejected by the house,
and that wonld have led 10 difference in
the practice Of the two bodies, the senate
proposed tho following resolution
From decent respect Tor the opinion
and Practice OF civilized nations, whether
under monarohical or republican forms Of
government whose custom IL Is TO annex
titles Of ruspectability 10 The onicn OF their
chief magistrate aid that. on intercourse
with foreign natiops, due respect Tor the
majesty Of the people OF the United States
may not be haEarded by an appearance OF
slngulayity. the senate have been induced
to he OF opinion that 1t would be proper to
annex respectable title 10 the otlieo Of
president OF thr United States, but the sen
ate, desirous OF preserving harmony With
the house OF representatives, where the
practice lately observed In presenting pu
nddUss to the president was without the
addition OF titles think II proper, for the
present, to act in conformity with tho prao-
tloe Of that house. Therefore, resolved,
that the present address be To the presi-
dent q the United States, without addls
tiun Of titlen
This method Of USeding from the po-
siuon that had been taken by the senate
was rusor;ed to In consequence OF a debate
which took place in The house on the nth
Of Mayupon proposition made by the sen
ate for further conference In regard TO the
future mode Of addressing the president.
As the house had already determined thst
u would not be proper 10 annex any other
style or title to any of the ofices than that
given In the constitution, and had, IN ad-
dressing the president. acted in pursuance
OF this decision, opposition was manifested
10 further consideration Of the subject
But after an earnest discussion, which
exhibited no difference Of opinion on the
question Of additional titles, the house con
scuted to tae appointment o. new com.
nffrfna ,f ,..,t,f.tDnep nu1 Mr. Nf.Hgaa., 800.