The Portland daily press., 1899-11-10
A QUESTION OF MANNERS.
How They Are Lacking I'm Many Col
Iege Educated Young Feik.
Edward Everett Hale In the Christian
Register.

Edward Everett Hale In the Christian
kegister.)
At the Inauguration Of Miss Hazard,
President Eliot, In q most courteous ad-
dress to Miss Hazard. congratulated her
on the position she Is to occupy rs presi-
dent Of Wellesley college. With his own
ciear-sighted wisdom. and In that pro-
phstic habit In which perhaps he most
distinguishes himself, ne said, In sub
stance, that the presidents Of the wom-
ems colleges have white paper to write
upon; they are not tied up In the tangles
of medieval traditions. And, among
other hopes with which he illust-ated
this remark, he said that he thought
they might be able to inculate manners
with more success than the old colleges
hal done
This remark challenged some indignant
comment among tsaohers, and AN told
that 1t has called out some protests which
have not seen. 1t seems to me that this
must be from Misrepresentation Of what
he meant by manners, or, perhaps, from
that narrow view which should conhne
'"manners'' 10 the little realm Of the eti-
auets or decorums Of ordinary social
life. In truth, however, the evils and
dangers which DIR. Eliot had In mind
are much deeper than those which are
discussed In u handbook Of etiquet.
They are not to be ranked among the in
fellcities which can be corrected By three
lines In ladies' newspaper addressed to
Polite or Maggie, " no write for informa-
ton.
For Instance, happen to know man
who has taken pleasure for many years
past In sending through the women's
colle ges young women selected from the
public srhools by their teachers as bel ng
specially fit for the s'higher eduoati OF.
My friend has paid the whole expenses OF
these young women throu gh their college
courses. at q charge Of 1 do not know
how many thousands Of dollars. 1his
year a dozsn Of then, more or less, grad
untsd at d ifferent colleges. Of that mum
Der one wrote to him to thank him for
his generosity and to invite him to her
commencement. AL the others took thei T
diplomas without one WORD to him or
any expression In any form Of gratitude.
Again. u uiktlukdibucu icadCE VI WIS
com IN unity, who die few years since,
cautioned me with the caution which his
father had given him when he came to
manhood. The father said; II think
you will like to help young men In their
education. Take care never to accept
from them any written obligation. Here
are two or three thick files OF such obli-
CATIONS which have taken. and which
| the writers have forgotten. 1t always
makes me cynical to look ut tnem."
Unoe more the treasurer OF q large ed
| urational fund, who had for many years
sent annually dozen or 20 checks %
students who received benefits OF that
fund. told me that in 10 years time ne
had never once had a receipt 10 aoknow raI
edgement Of his payment. In the mn -
! audit of his accounts, he always naa "
present the checks whioh tnese young
| men had been Obliged 20 lndoIsn,
mt In print these three dissgreeaole
arardotee because / think they illustrate
rs.-.srk which l heard made by the late
ar Memminger of Jefferson Davis's
cabinet. 1t was at a club In Charleston,
:. O., in ls4s, that MIR. Msmmlnger ut
tered a remarkable protest against public
ed ucation. He said, virtually, that II
cut the tap-root of gratitude. de said
that, If the children received this price
less gift from the state, 1t would wean
them from the love of their fathers and
mothers. He said that public education
was destructive to the tenderness OF
home. What was pathetic in this was
that 1t wss said that he himself had been
brought up in an orphan asylum, and
knew nothing of that tenderness, for
whose dsfepss he was contending.
May It not bs fairly asked If some of
our children do not grow up with an i'm
pudent sslf-conceit, nrsed and bred by
our deolamstions about public education.
Fools, speaking to them on anniversaries
tell them that they are the most import
ant beings IN the world. They know now
that the state taxes itself Tor their train
ing, AS IL does not for armies and navies.
And the danger Ii that these little gentle
men and ladies shall come to think that
they belong at the head Of the board, and
that these unfortunatss who teach them,
who feed them. who clothe than. are "a
sort Of Helots, quite unworthy OF any
respect beyond what supercilious pat
ronage may express-
The whole discu ssion of manners, IL 1t
| Is TO be Of any use. will bring us back to
the central truth-that thsse colleges and
| these schools exist for education, and not
simply for this petty details OF instrnc-
tioE. 10 make Of them mere Information
bureaus is to degrade them. We have no
use for them unless they can make men
out of boys and women out of girls.
This means character. 1t means that,
first of all, boys and girls, young men
and yopng women, shall know who they
are, why they are, and what they ARE TO
live for. They are to know that they are
in world where each lives for all and
all for each.
If they can grow to this knowledge un-
der the contsgion Of the achers to whom
such training Is intrusted or by the dig
nified and noble spirit of the body of
young people among whom they live,
good manners are secured. 1t may be,
though IL will probably not be, that a
girl may direct letter upside down; but
the letter will say the right thing. II
may be that she will uss the wrong fork
at the dinner table, but she will re surs
to thank God for the dinner.