The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1899-04-08


the worlds progress, the poet has beer
deemed unfit for the practical affairs OF
life. A great national crisis, q blow fol
freedom. daring wooing. these ant
these alone have for centuries formed
themes meet for the poets pen. The
petty interests Of men and women, thu
countless Earrings In the world of bust.
ness, the INTERPRETATION Of oil that goes
never entered into the poets thought
Now all that Is changed. No longer the
idle singer Of an empty day. whose
song may serve to while away q tedious
hour. the poet may be merchant, bank.
er, physician, lawyer, or like the peas.
ant Burns. may sing his sweetest songs
as he turns the Scottish earth with his
plough. Humanity. not as vague, alb.
stract term. but as made up OF actual
living men and women, struggling. toll.
ing. trying to solve the problems OF life
this forms now the grandest and the
mlghtiest Of the poets themes DR.
Raymond then cited the names Of some
OF those who had ''sung the race tc
higher planes of thought and action" by
opening their eyes to the actual needs
of men and women about them, julia
Ward Howe. James RUSSELL Lowell
Whittier. Elizabeth Barrett Browning
and William Morris.
The Work of Morris.
President Raymond then discussed
the life and work Of Morris. poet, artist
and master workman. He showed that
Morris had drawn his inspiration from
the life and work of Ruskin, who had
preached to the world gospel Of beauty
and humanitarianism. Morris, as q
boy, was fond of legend and traditions
His love Of medieval architecture was
noticeable even In his childhood, and II
is recorded that as boy of nine he
rode half Essex over In search of old
churches" He had passion for for
ests. for flowers. for quaint tapestries
for pictures. AS boy at school, he
earned an enviable reputation as mar
rator OF tales Of romance. Sometimes
the mystery and experimentation Of his
stories would assume such proportions
as to pass all the bounds Of credence
and then he fell into dfsfavor with his
school-mates.
AS q student at Oxford, Morris be-
came associated with Edward Burne-
Jones. who later became famous art
list. Then began friendship which re-
manned unbroken until Morris death.
The Pre- aphaeiite movement was at
tracting wide attention, and Morris and
Burne-JoneS became ardent Pre-
Raphaelites. Morris. during this period
of his life. wrote poems and romances
dealing with medieval life. He seemed
to have no conception Of the grave
problems Of life. but devoted himself TO
a study Of the old Morse mythology, and
the literature connected with the half
mythical period of BrItain's history.
After leaving Oxford. Morris came
under the influence Of Ruskin. Ruskn.
after years Of unceasing labor. preach
Ing his gospel OF the beauty of nature
and the necessity Of reproducing this
beauty In art. had begun to see that the
gospel which he preached was not
bringing forth fruit. Architecture was
ugly. Pictures were false TO nature.
graded. Man himself shared In this
universal debasement. The working
classes were misernbly fed. clothed and
housed. To Ruskin, human life. In Its
baifled struggle and blind search for
that which would satisfy the needs of
the human soul and mind. seemed an
ugly satire on nil his attempts to estab-
fish art and beauty In England. Uutii
social conditions We're improved, all
his work. he felt. was futile. With n
feeble wavering foundation. nay. de-
caying, falling one. what appropriate
ness In ndornment. In mere empty deco
ration Of life? First reform, rebuild.
then beau.ify. was his watchw0rd.
All this Morris learned and believed.
From Ruskin he began to draw insplra-
tion for social reform. He saw that his
mission in life was something other
than writing poems and romnnces Of Il
PARKWAY time. He saw that either art
or the mad rush Of modern Industrial
Ism must perish. His mission. he felt,
was to see that art did not perish. By
art, Morris means beautiful handiwork.
the making with ones own hands some
thing which shall express the love OF
the worker for the Refined and graceful:
which shall be the tangible expression
of n beautiful thought, OF happy and
contented mind.
Ideas on Labor.
DR.. Raymond then described in detail
Morris ideas on labor. Morris believed
that the golden period of English labor
was 900 years ago. At no time since,
have the English working classes been
as free In the right sense Of the word
RS were the citizens OF the free cities
Of the middle ages. with their communal
organizations. Then the worker loved
his work and took pride In the product
which he saw growing before hfs eyes
hour by hour. This Morris asserts was
art, true nrt, the beautiful handworls
OF the artist workman-as truly ns the
greatest picture ever produced by fam
Gus painter. 1t Is this phase OF art.
the art OF labor--on which Norris
thought and wrote and which he sue
ceeded In putting Into actual practice
The central tenet in his creed IL the
happy life OF the workman. who has
leisure enough, who loves his labor who
Ia doing congcnial work which he re-
CARDS with pride: who In short Ia doing
something worth his while and doing II
well. From this thought. Morris con-
Btructed for himself nn ideal system of
life In which there Is no dull, monoton-
OTIS drudRery. no savage eibowihB I'm
the field Of labor where now the weaker
are destroyed by the stronger. This
system he securely established In his
own business, for Morris now became n
business man. uniting with his artist
friends. Burne-Jones and Dante Gabriel
Rossetil IN forming mn art-iirIn with the
aYowed purpose OF demonstrating to the
world that labor Is nm honorable, Il
glorious thing: that In It lie countless
possibilities for tho development OF hu-
man character; that art may be made n
part of labor and that this union will
bring Into the commonest life, trnnscen-
dent beauty and happiness. The work
OF the firm was the designing and man
ufacturinE OF stained glass windows, mo-
sair. wall papers, artistic furniture ana
general household decorations. The
buslneBs grew rapidly until Mt the time
OF hlB death Morris controlled q great