The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-03-06
plates and cylinders will De.neasured and

plates and cylinders will be,measured and analysed by experts.
 A serious undertaking of this nature under the auspices of a great university of course establishes the practical scien- tiic value of tho photograph. That the work should be carried on as the result of an endowment Is also suggestive of the possibilities of future development along similar lines A few years since such an enterprise might have teen dismissed us wildly visionary. Already, however. we find a substantial endorsement being made for similar purpose by practical l-philanthropist.
 Again, the public has come to consider the monograph merely as a toy. how ever attractive. The importance attach ed to its work by eminent psychologists of late should, of course. dispel this H. | fusion. To sum up, therefore. there is nothing more fanciful in the plan to es- | tabl!sh by endowment or any other form | living pantheon than to build a library and stock it with books
 The House of Voices.
 The appeal of these autograms is. of course, far more intimate than that of even the greatest books. The details of such pantheon may be left to the im- agination. It would seem hitting that
 such an ediflce should be upon classical lines with imposing proportions, The au- tograms themselves might be kept much the same as books. in great tiers or
 racks, with due care for their protection I from the ravages of the air or a possi-
 ble fire. It would seem fitting that when
 these voices of the dead are made to speak as in life, they should re-echo
 through great halls in keeping with their | dignity.
 To appreciate the value of these records
 to the future. it is only necessary to imagine our own attitude toward a slm-
 liar record of the past. The autograms of famous men, especially of their | speeches or sayings upon famous occa-
 sions, even of the last few years. could
 they have been preserved in this way. would have been among the most valued ! relics of our generation.
 Could the last speech of Mckinley and the famous oration of Lincoln at Gettys- burg have been preserved in this way
 they would be eagerly listened to at
 the present day, and the records should have been preserved and handed down to I posterity. And such a record of Wash 1 ington's farewell address or of the orig inal reading of the Declaration of In-
 dependence would doubtless be more care-
 fully preserved than any single book which the country has produced.
 To go yet further back. what interest would attach to the reading for instance, of one of Shakespeare's plays by it's au- ] thor! Could such records have been made and preserved in ancient Greece and
 Rome during the periods of their great
 ness the value of such autograms can
 scarcely be overestimated. An original oration of Cicero or Demosthenes would,
 of course, be a priceless literary rule. l COmpared to a great living Dantheof
 such as the storehouse of all these treas ures would be, the great libraries of the
 world would seem insignificant It may be argued that there are at present few orators whose voices will be of such in-
 terest to future ages as are these great classic figures to us. Every generation, however. would have some important con- tribution to make to this pantheon.
 To take single advantage among