Chicago eagle. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1889-19??, 1902-06-28

SVuiHt SuiCuSOWuTu uue COnlIuenJ prO-
ceeds rs follows: professors attract
notice to themselves and their institu.
tons by utterances that ought to con.
sign them to the investigation of a
commission de lunaticO inqulrendo.
Something new Is wanted and wanted
all the time. 1t need not be true. 1t
need not be valuable, but 1t must be
astounding, and must attract general
attention. TO be unknown and unno-
ticed Is death. but to be notorious. even
as literary or educational crank or
lunatic. Is fame" DIR. Northrop has n
turn for the satirical and the caustlc,
but there Is no denying the essential
truth Of this Indictment. There have
been numerous examples during the
last year of a striving after effect In
the classroom. of en- originality due to
bad judgment. which might properly
be called sensational even II there had
been no resulting newspaper nOtorlety.
Such teaching Is merely freaklsh,
while conservatism and sObricty are
by no means sign of depleted vital.
ity. There may, In fact he the great.
est enthusiasm where there is no pur-
pose to set up as an icOnOclast and to
override the verdict of centuries. and
upon the whole 1t Is much wiser to
trust the centuries than the little man,
the very poor player
That struts and frcts his hour upon the
stage
And then is heard no more.
When will the iconOclasts Of history
have done! They have destroyed the
story Of william Tell ana the apple,
George Washington and the cherry
tree and LincOln's saying ut the Hump.
ton Roads conference. Now comes
Henry vlgnaud, first secretary Of the
United States embassy ut Paris, to
prove that Christopher Columbus was
not a daring venturer on unknown seas
but an impOster who stole another
mans knowledge. vlgnaud demon.
by means of letter and chart which
has been discovered by him, that Co.
lumbus learned from an Andalusian
sailor the existence of lands to the
westward. The snilOr, dying, told Co.
lumbus that he and some companions
were driven westward by adverse
winds for twenty.nlne days and landed
ut last In country where there were
naked savages. According to this
latest destroyer Of historic annals, the
knowledge gained from the sailor made
the task Of Columbus an easy one
Using the charts Of the sailor, he and
his shrewd pilot, Puizon, took no risk.
They sailed westward and happened
on the island Of san Domingo. Thus
II Columbus proven a fraud and It
was we'll that this continent was
named for AmerlgO rather than for
Christopher. Doubtless in four hun.
dred years from this time higher critics
Of history will be able to declare the
life Of Abraham Lincoln n myth. II
will he an easy task to show that Gen.
eral Grant could neither rcad nor write
ana that Mark Hanna was common
miner who earned his daily bread by
the sweat Of his brow. Or 1t may be
proven cOnclusively that Theodore
Roosevelt rode ruthlessly through the
streets Of Washington trampling men,
women ana children under his horses
hOOfs.
A few years ago man undertook to
| establish In various sections OF the
country Don't Worry" societies. How
long they endured and whether any
OF them still exist we do not know.
There Ii no logical. reason why their
mission should not be practicable. ex.
cept, perhaps, that 1t IL 80 purely mega.
tive. 1t Is not enough to pledge ones
self not to worry and to remind ones
neighbor continually that he must not
do 80. Mere negatiOn means Il vacu.
um. II we don't worry. what are we
to do! That Is a question most char.
acterlstically American. The Amerl.
can. of all human beings, Is most i'm.
patient and intolerant OF vacuums.
from an empty stomach to an empty
mind. II the American doesn't worry,
hc or she must have something else to
do. Our advice would be: Discard the
negative maxim. for no one yet ever
ceased to worry by forming q resOlu-
tIOn to that effect. Substitute for It the
positive self.cOmmand: BE cheerful "
Religion used always to have gloomy
tinge. Consolation was offered the all
ing spirit, but 1t was more than offset
with menace ana dread. The truly
living religion OF to-day Is different
1t lnculcates. above all. that saving nd
monltiOn. 1t teaches people how to be
cheerful. II 1t doesn't do that 1t Il
worth nothing. The most attractive
church IL the one In which the clear
light enters from above. falling alike
In pure benetllctiOn upon pulpit aud
pew. The most efficaclOus religion Is
one that lifts from the grOveling fears
OF the flesh and the finite mind. Some.
times u very simple ana unpretentiOus
example of the fruits Of cheerfulness Is
found In ordinary life. Cheerful old
age In itself Is the best eulogy Of years
well spent. You may be sure that II
IL never the sequence Of the opposite
history. There IL fictitious cheerful
ness. ana the real cheerfulness, that
of the heart and the tranquil CON
science. No healthy cheerfulness comes
without work or its equivalent, which
may be generally defined as useful en-.
dcavor. In its due proportion. 1t Is the
sweetening Of life, which without il
has no honest relish. Cheerfulness Is
a positive duty. No negative one can