The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1895-05-25
THE REAL AND THE SPURIOUS.

especially TO these or that kind whose
disposition prompts them 10 meddle
in other folks affairs, to engage
in slazey reform movements, or to
try to stir things up for no better pur-
pose than little cheap aggrandizement
of self, we commend study of the un-
written history of the life and public
services of our robust friend. Mr.. NEW
TON DEXTER of this town and the world
at large.
Mr.. DEXTER, SO long as we have
known Of him, has been gentleman
with apparently nothing much to do,
and so open to all the temptations which
invite such an one to make hopeless
ninny of himself and common nui-
sance 10 the balance of the community,
after some of the glittering examples
that have flourished and do flourish
in this, as in every COM
munity. But Mr.. DEXTER. to quote
the satisfactory explanation of why
BARTHoLDfs Statue of Liberty doesn't
wear trousers, isn't built that way. He
is as robust Of character as Of frame,
with the vigor of sturdy ancestry in
him, with heart that beats warmly for
his fellow man in distress, stomach so
well conditioned that he can envy none
of his fellow men who may be more
prosperous than himself, and restless
energy that will not permit him to be
long idle, coupled with breadth of
vision sufficient to discover fields for an
outlet of that energy without treading
on his neighbor's corns. We don't
understand that he is rich in the goods
Of this world, and IL he ever was or is
ever likely to be, his riches would not
last long, unless the world had reached
a condition of prosperity that found no
one in 1t in need of helpful hand or an
emergency dollar.
The unwritten biography of Mr.. DEx-
TER--and may the last chapter be post
poned to the furtherest possible date!-
demonstrates how easy 1t is to occupy
yourself, even il you don't have to, in a
way to benefit your fellow man and
without either officiousness or offensive
ness. The subject of these remarks
has always been busy man in field of
particularly robust and wholesome
labor. He has. in his time. been a
PATHFINDER of Importance. a DEER
SLAYER of distinction, NIMRoD of note.
We recall his explorations up the
wild valley of the Amazon with AGAssIz
and into the Businesses of its tributaries
where even the great naturalist himself
was 10th TO venture aud where the white
mans boat had never been padded be-
fore. The prairie, the forest and the
mountain knew him quite as well as did
the front parlor of the Rhode Island
Club. We guess, today, he is woods
man, sportsman, a taxidermist, and .
charming writer and magszinist on sub
jects Of his experience and study
without rival in this part of the
country and we hope to see his bent AID
knowledge and love of natural history,
geology, and the sciences turned to
proper account by the city of Providence
by his election to the curatorship Of the
municipalities museum at Roger Will
liams Park.
1t is due to the fact that things have
been slow in his chosen pursuits, that
the big game is about all killed off, and
there are no more grizzly bears and
buffalo to hunt, and little OPP
portunity for the exercise of that
vigorous physical activity that
earlier days, that Mr..
DEXTER has entered a new
field. OF course IL is u field of distinct
as his spirit could adapt
itself to no other kind though plenty of
the other kind are open to him as to
many other restless citizens. But
instead of going cunning for the city
government, or undertaking to reform
anything, or trying to impose on his fell
low citizens by urging them to believe
they are oppressed, or leading strike,
or demanding transfer tickets for moth
ing, or engaging in beef combine, or
kicking at the weather, or
espousing the cause OF bi-metalism, or
trying to keep tabs on The Providence
Journal, or engaging in any other fool
ish, unnecessary, uninteresting, and
wasteful expenditure of divinely-be-
slowed energy, whatsoever, Mr.. DEXTER
has undertaken to compel the word
sterling" to stand for fineness Of sill
yer amounting to .o995 out of a possible
10 in the State of New York.
To this end, after first organ
ziug the silver manufacturers and,
we may believe, undertaking the
study Of the art Of the silver workers with
all the ardor Of a boy at his first expert
ence with the mystery of whistling
with his fingers, and bringing to the
subject full knowledge OF the story
Of the white metal from the mine to
fha fartory Mr. DrvTpD want ox,or 80