Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1903-06-26
u II Il II Il 81
High Praise For Kaiser
Wilhelm-Don't Mas the
Boys-Scarcity Of Cadet
Timber x x -
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w 49, EV - ~ ~ ~
nad several thousand rugged mounssr,-
GERS and thirty mules laden with ammu-
milton boxes One night he halted In the
little town OF Mureda, and the local chief
commanding tho village troop came and
offered to Join him.
:" I have 800 men. with rifles said he
Give US some ammunition, and we will 20
with YOU 81
men together and march with US tomor-
row morning, and during the day we win
issue ammunition
SO the village contingent marched out
and all day long plodded down through
the mountains with Castro's rugged he
roes. AT nightfall the village chief came
to Castro and reproached him. You
promised us ammunition. Where is 3it7
My friend said Castro. I will tell
you a little secret, a very private little
secret have no ammunition, but stay
with me until we meet the enemy, and we
will have ammunition enough.
But the ammunition boxes!' said the
astonished chief.
My friend said General Castro, 'in
the ammunition boxes there nre stones
There Isn't round Of ammunition In the
army! But the enemy. my comrade, they
will fill our boxes !"
Guesswork.
Z y ~
On dit that Senator Henry Cabot
Lodge OF Nahant, Mass, aspires to sue
coed Uncle Mark as chairman of the
Republican national committee in or
der to manage the next campaign, pro-
vided Colonel Theodore Roosevelt is
nominated. Hanna aud Lodge Mar
Gus Alonzo and Henry Cabot-they are
assuredly the antipodes Of American
politics. Both are bosses. Hanna does
not sugar coat the dose. Lodge sweet
ems 1t by calling 1t Greek or Latin
name.
Sensible.
Under the title Of Don't Nag the
Boys the New Orleans Times-D Demo
crat gives the world the following good
advice:
ut Is a curious thing to me that we
find so many persons in the world who
are inclined to nag at the boys because
they are lazy or because they are preco-
cious, too fresh maybe. or something OF
| the kind. said man who gives much
thought to child study. IA little ref1ec-
ton. 1t seems to me. would put different
color on this question-this problem. II
men of the country. Mind you, do not
mean to defend laziness. do not mean
to defend precocity. Both are very an
moving, All lazy boys do not turn out
well. AS much may be said for all pre-
cocious boys But some OF them do. Ex-
actly here is the point. You can't tell
what the boy Is going to do. Edison was
a lazy fellow, dull, sleepy telegraph
operator. He was lazy physically. Mark
the distinction. Mentally he was the most
| active thing on the continent. Witness
the discoveries which have originated In
the mind of this dull. sleepy operator, an
operator. by the way. who was SO lazy
that he did not want to be troubled withs
answering calls on his line at night, and
to protect him in the full enjoyment Of
this physical laziness his active and ener-
getic mind rugged up an automatic ticker
that would do the answering for him. So
he slept In the present ruler of Germany
we md an example of the precocious;
youth. William. according to his biogra-
| piers. was a devilish, mischievous sort
Of fellow and not a little lax in his
| studies. What is he now? In my Judg-
ment, broadly measured he Is the smart
est man in the world. by which I mean
he has broader grasp OF general infor-s
nation, knows more about more different
things. than almost any other man Of his
time. These examples bear me out in
the statement that you can't always tell,
just what the boy Is going to be. His
laziness or precocity may be the earlier
Icxpressions- Of some phenomenal genius
along certain lines. the forcrunners OF
great undertakings and great achieve
ncnts. Quit nagging at the boys
Too Widespread.
My own experience In searching for
cadets for West Point and Annapolis,
together with my experience as a mem-
II how Of x13c3f to No
val academy at the recent commence
ment exercises. turned my attention
upon educational conditions In the
United States. OF course anybody that
does not pronounce high flown eulo-
Igium upon the whole system renders
himself liable to be attacked as an
enemy of public schools by lot Of peo-
pie who live off the public schools.
My own experience was this: It took
two years to find boy in the Ninth
congressional district of Missouri,
which have the honor to represent In
the congress Of the United States, who
had the intelligence and physical de-
velopnent to stand an examinati ion for
West Point and who possessed grit
enough to stay there and complete the
course. As to Annapolis, 1t required
four years to find him. No law COM
pels competitive examinat lion, but l
ordered competitive examinat tons be-
cause by that means every boy In the
listri,t would have IN equal chance
With every other boy. OF course I
could have picked favorite boys or the
boys Of favorite fathers and have ap-
pointed them, but chose to order the
competitive examinations and give ev-
cry boy chance because I was poor
boy once. and my father Gid not have
influence enough to secure me IN APP
Ipointment.
Iaayertised the examinat tons liberal
ly. The newspapers were generous with
space. Prominent educators and schol-
airs laid aside their work, paid their
own expenses and lost their own time
to conduct the examinations gratis q,
my request. 4
supposed there would be an army Of
ambitious and patriotic boys struggling
to win the great prizes Of splendid
education free, a probable rank as ad:
miral or lieutenant general and a pos.
sible rank of president Of the United
States,
was WoefullE disappointed.
In 1900 one lone boy took the e4:
animation for West Point and three foi
Annapolis.
In 1908 there were two for West
Point and three for Annapolis,