The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-12-28
COMMENTS ON MEN AND
 MATTERS OF THE WORLD

wages, and yet perform the most inn portant of duties. So many fulsomc addresses have been delivered on the grand mission of the teacher, as one whose duty it is to elevate his fellows and teach them to drink al the fount of knowledge. that this phase of the ques- tion has become hackneyed. Yet teach CTS are poorly paid nearly everywhere. Even in the great universities the year ly earnings of a professor are pitifully small when compared to those of a sue oessful business man or offieeholder. Very few ever look forward to receiving more than 5000 or si0oO a year, and many brilliant men are content with a chair paying but $1SOO year. As is natural, professors in the north and east are bet ter paid than those in the south The average facultyman in southern uni versity receives from $500 to $250O year, with the former figure more predomi- nant. But the school teachers" are the ones who suffer These are men and women who will never be able to rise far above their present station. One req son why the average school teacher is so poorly paid is the fact that this seems to be a chosen field for women. They are largely superceding men and work ing for much smaller salaries.
 This is dull season for war corre- spondents. but if the Russian bear con tinues to growl in the far east there may yet be something to occupy their attention. The far eastern situation has been productive of many wild ru- mors without substantial results that the world has naturally become incredu- lous and until the first gun is fired neith- CT the press nor the public will be dis turbed Of all newspaper men the war correspondent leads the most picture sque life and although he has perforce to turn his attention to other work when there is no war he usually gets his fill during a campaign. There is too, some thing heroic about these men who risk life side by side with the soldier for what is considered less patriotic mo- tive. War correspondence also affords fine literary training, in addition to de- veloping every trait in 8 mans charac- ter. as is evidenced by such men as Rudyard Kipling and others now promi- nent in the literary world who first dis tinguished themselves by writing battle news.
 So many opportunities are afforded for study in the hills of North Alabama that 1t is remarkable how few young men in the state turn their attention to geology and its kindred subjects miner alogy It is noticeable that while twelve students in the state university take the law course or the medical course one or two will take geology. while not more then one in ten who study this most interesting of sciences ever has any in- tention of making it profession If a young man is equipped with a good working knowledge of chemistry and has made thorough study of the states mineral resources there is no reason why he should have any trouble in securing good position If a more general in- terest were taken both in the practical and theoretical study of these two sciences by the young men of Alabama 1t is safe to assume that the undevelop- ed resources of this -avored section would not long be permitted to remain so' P. c.