The state rights democrat. [volume] (Albany, Linn County, Oregon) 1865-1900, 1898-08-19
OUTING NO.A.


In talking With students Of the several
colleges OF Oregon, find that the state !
has . large number of 1 institutions Of
very high grade. Fret and foremost
comes the Mineral Springs college and
seminary. The graduates Of this in.
stitution as a rule, are loyal TO their
Alma Mater and think their ''sheepskin"
as good as the REadnates Of any other
college IN the state.
The students OF Monmouth college
think 1t has no superior. The teachers
are all first class. One Of the teachers
of English grammar 10 without q peer
in Oregon or anywhere.
The students of o. A. C. and o. s.U.
think that the colleges at 6odaville, Mon.
mouth aud Albany are ,mikro.monohip.
pic Institutions not worthy TO be COM
pared with Corvallis and Eugene. II is
perfectly right for students to be loyal to
their own college, and take no exeep-
ton to their being so; but have my
doubts about their, being competent
judges OF the merits Of their colleges, OF
which they know nothing. A student
who has been at Mineral Syringe college
only has no conception oi the kind OF
work down al the State University. For
q student Of the University to speak
uontemptuonsly Of Albany college is
sheer presumption. For boy to say
that Monmouth has the best teacher OF
English grammar IN the state is simon
pun ipss dixit and needs no refutation.
When asked to dispose OF one word in
each of four sentences. he failed and
showed that he was utterly ignorant OF
the principles involved and admitted
that he had never recited TO the teacher
whom he was lauding. He was then
tested in arithmetic. One OF the ex-
amples given him appeared in the Ore
gonian 9 few daye ago and vas 90 fol-
j lows: eff 800 Amercans can kill SOC
| Span,ards in 800 drys how mary Ameri-
} cans will be required to kill 100 Span.
iards in 100 daysf' The other example
, appeared in the papers several years
ago. ''If hen and . half lay an sGl and
half in day and half, how many
eggs will six hens lay in seven. days.
. Both Of thess examples were beyond The
ability Of Monmouth's representative al
Sodaville, and the solution OF the egl
problem was given him. The next day
, he gave she answer TO the other, ant
, no questions were asked in regard TO the
solution.
Now what does this provsF That tn'
teachers OF Monmouth college are no
! first class? Not ct all. The same thinl
may occur in . test Of pupil OF th'
Albany college, whose teachers Of gram
mar and arithmetic are known 20 b
frat class. The ability OF the teacher
cannot ss determined from the test o
one pupil. The besE teacher in creation
: cannot make fine scholar cut OF DO.
z Who was horn tired and has never be
q come rested. Nor is it the college alon
q that enables man TO make his mark II
. the world. No college in the state cal
. make Gladstone or Q Bismark Of an
boy in Oregon, however brilliant he ma
% be, who does not make the best possibl
n use Of his time. talents and privilege.
z Genius lying in bed while medioerity
9 up At work never aecomp.ishes anythin
II worth mentioning. II 10 not the egous
It teal seli-eoneeited idler who becomes
II renowned statesman, famous lawyer
q learned professor, but 5 plodder wh
a with pertinacious painstaking purPos'
a presistentIy makes she best use Of hi
: advantages and the talents With Whic
n his Creator has endowed kim.
= And when did this plodder begin
2 plod? Early in life, as rule. perhap
' it was when he was boy in sehoC
when be formed habit OF getting ever
!, lesson to the best of his ability. If b
: could not do this in school be would tax
. his books home with him The habl
q acquired in school was kept up in th
4 study and practice OF his profession
). His emlnenee in HE profession vas th
: ripe fruit, the golden prise Of the pro
Ionged discipline Of his early forme'
habit ways IL, not only II
professional life, bat also In everything
that leads 10 eninenee. Behind ever.
great achieY eYemenG there 10 great toll
and if the habit oI industry is not iorme'
early in life. eminence in any great AM
noble profession or employment vii
never be attained. And yet there ar'
students Of every college in the stat
, Who have never formed this habit. The!
: hope to become eminent in something
at some future time but not in the ordi'
nary way. Their mother and other
have told them that they were brillian
and can make their mark without plod
ding. They believe their mothers and
DO not plod. They never become en-
inent and their mothers are disap-
pointed.
The 60 called brilliant young men find
out, when it is too late, that .eminsnc'
is not gained in sleep and idleness, ana
that what they had been told time ant
again by their teachers and friends, il
regard 70 the absolute necessity ofpersis
tent personal effort in order TO get th'
attainment Of eminence in any proies'
sion was not the visionary speculation o
. q tEeorist.
CAELKBs.