The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1894-06-13


| the revolutionary conditions under which
| the passions or the Drejudices Of the hour
| should He formulated ia.o laws. The e.
! actment Of passion into statute. and con-
| st.tutiOns by proclamation. created for
| France the horrors Of her revolution and
| her crazy guilt Of governments. down 10
| her present and more cOnsututiOnal Re
| Iublic. They make the Central and South
| American nations traYesty upon law
| and order
GENIUS AND coLLToEMrE.
the Doctor DOCTOR said said. W Who ' have been
the creators and the saviors Of our
J liberties. lt was the original genius and
! trained ability Of Jonathan Mayhem. from
Boston pulpit which first sowed the
seeds Of American independence. Edmund
/ randolph Of William and Mary, and sam
/ uel Adams Of Harvard, laid the founda-
| tion upon which the Continental Congress
| builded. They formulated the committees
OF correspondence which brought the col
onies together. Brilliant orators fired the
tran whose explosion shattered the chains
binding us 10 the mother country, but
II was George Mason and James Otis,
John Adams and Thomas jefferson. Rich
ara Henry Lee and Robert r. Livingston,
al COLLEGE men. who had Stored the maya
conviction.
THE GOSPEL OF FRrKDoM.
The Federalist was the gospel of free
dom under common flag and a text
book for Federal powers for all time. It's
work and benefcence were second only
70 those Of the Declaration OF Independ-
enCe, and made secure the truths of that
great document only statesmen Of large
reading and wide learning could have writ
ten IL. and they were Hamilton. Madison,
and jay, the flower Of the Colonial Col
leges Of Princeton and Columbia.
THE wARBING IDEAS.
Washington and jefferson. Madison and
Lee who saw the dangers Of slavery and
earnestly desired its abolition. died with
gloomy forebOdings for their country from
the existence of system which they
were pOwerless TO destroy. jefferson, in
that broad generalization which was the
habit Of his mind. promulgated the doc
trne which. nearly seventy years after
wards, realized for his cOuntTymen his
aspiration. He did not utter It for this
purpose, but II became in the hands Of
Providence. the weapon Of death and the
spark Of the resurrection. II strained the
bonds of union 10 the point Of breaking
upon the one question, which the fathers
feared might end their republic and I'm
removing the cause Of our weakness and
decay II reunited the States FOR an eter-
nifty Of mutual progress and patriotism,
The great debate continued for more
than tWO-thirds Of a century. and Kept
the nation In the thrOes Of revolution.
The eXpOunders and defenders Of the
warning ideas OF indssoluble union and
Federal compact were Daniel Webster, OF
Dartmouth, and John G. Calhoun, OF
Yale From the armOrtes Of argument
stored with the weapons forged by their
mighty minds and constructive genius. the
less gifted drew their armOr and their
swords. In the press and on the platform.
from the academic stage, and the floor Of
the Senate the opinions were uttered and
enforced which were educating two sec
lions Of the same people to irrecOncilable
views Of their government and cOnstitu-
ton. But nothing was added in the long
discussion by the most eloquent or the
most accomplished 10 the ideas Of these
cultured and giant champions these SUI
perb representatives Of the VigOr and pow
er. the concentration and polish which the
college gives to its sons. Interest and
passion relegated the great question to the
arbitrament Of war and the god of bat
ties, and brave men Of the same race ana
tradition met with equal Valor upon
bloody fields. The unframed volunteers
illustrated the ndiminished force of the
fire and courage which for centuries have
won famous victories but the organizing
and directing minds, handling with
rarest skill and ability the forces and ele-
ments with which they had TO work or
cope We're on either side. the educated
and equipped graduates Of that splendid
national college on the Hudson, the West
Point Military Academy.
A RFFusENcE TO THE GREAT coMMANDFRs. |
American liberty Is the solvent which |
blends into one people all natiOnalitios
the living witnesses OF its beneicent pow |
er. Many Of us were In the heat and !
fury OF the strife and though IL is hardly |
more than a quarter of a century since |
our lines of battle We're drawn, you and |
can cordially clasp hands under the |
same flag. and rejoice in being citizens OF |
the purest Republic, and most powerful |
nation I'm the world. We can do more |
judgment, and common pride we can eX-
tol the genius and compare the merits |
of Ulysses S. Grant. and Robert +. Lee,
of Stonewall Jackson, and General Sher-
man, and hail them as brothers in the
free and open guild Of liberal education.
A little learning is a dangerous thingl
Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian
Their shallow draughts intoxicate the
brain,
And drinking largely sobers us again.
Thus sang Pope, and his stanza has
become one of the maXims OF the Ian
guage. The rule would not produce the |
best results In qualifications Of the ap-
petite, and has its exceptions in mat
ters OF the mind. GeneralizatiOnS in some
are like dynamite bombs, they
must be handled With care.
This is the age of the specialist and he
attains eminent positions by the mastery
Of his department. At some period in
our careers we all follow one line of life.
But those are happier and stronger, more
generous and ingenious, who have spent
he time for the more general discipline
md larger culture Of the university first
md then brought their trained and lber-
llized faculties to their chosen pursuit
ONLY THE FAMOUS FEW.
Only the famous few are so superbly en-
owed that their careers seem 10 demon
trate the foolishnesS Of wasting years in
he college The Commodore Vanderbilts
he George Laws, the Andrew Carnegies.
nd some hundreds Of othefs In business,
nd Hugh Miller in science and author
hip, Robert Burns. in poetry, Elihu Bur
itt, the learned blacksmith. in the acqui-
ltiOn of languages, and the wizard Ed |
son, bewildering and blessing mankind |
nth his inventions. are, to the rest Of
ne race, like mete0rs TO the myriads Of
tars In the universe. Their creation and
I1umphs find explanation in the first mes
age flashed over the electric wires What
cd hath wrought"
They. and millions of lesser lights are
ne stumbling blocks Of the Socialist His
leory OF absolute equality In social and
iaterial conditions Is hopelessly dissOlv-
in dealing with superior natural en-
owments. Every distribution is follow
! by absorption by the thrifty from the
lrftiess, the industrious from the idle.
nd the capable from the incompetent.
THE wHImrcoL BEYOND.
Beneath the calm current of cotempo-
ary events the far-sighted man sees the
ordinations which Will form the ed :
les and whirlpool beyond. Or ne divines
ith unerring judgment the happenings
the course OF political, financial or
ldustrial revolutions. He will reap the
'uits of his sagacity, unless IL is taken
ON him by violence.
BRssEMER's FUTURE.