Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1905-11-24

ne down. whatever weaknesses clog our
steps, whatever sorrows an our hearts,
IN some way an indefinite purpose will be
suDseryed, an infinite wisdom be justified
somewhere, on heights not yet attained, we
shall know what now we only dream.
II was thus Hon George r. Peck closed
a strong paper before the Nebraska Bar
association meeting. The paper was cdh-
cerned with Temperament" and he sam
at the beginning 1t was a theme with which
lawyers are peculiarly concerned EX-
tracts from the paper. which was lengthy,
are herewith given:
we speculate on what might have been.
forgetting that there is no "if in the
processes by which the universe Is gov
erned-uo contingency In the realm Of mat
ter or OF mind. In the beginning was the
cause. Science and religion meet on IN
fi,,,aat of that great mystery and, peerI1
.t!I TIo e. ,39rkness. turn away u1sa
Hath had etsgises with us.,q
And cometh from afar.a Ny.ys "
the so-called doctrine of necessity Is u We
II has had its place In the creed oil creek,
Of Hindoo and Of Christian WhateNeI .,I u
fated that win take place Is the lesson
OF the Greek tragedy. Turn upon your oEn
nature all the light that comes from hant
and Hegel and all that comes from Ia Nv " ~, t
and Huxley and you feel that II they nave
I'm some measure answered the quesIoI''
How? they are silent as to the deeper cues
ton. why? The real tragedy OF life is tnat
every soul is stamped. by an inexorablc
law, with certain characteristlcs ltpIi,
which il cannot escape, and which, WneIaer
good or evil, dominate it with IRON s"ay
admit mans responsibility COR his &C, &C
tions. though how to reconcile his tree9oIn
and responsibility with the predeterriind-
ton Of God do not understand. -,
Fate is a cheat. She grants us tne power
to wish, but not the power to be Sne slN,es
to him who hath and takes from MN WHO
hath not; and thus 1t comes tha' III spi'e
OF all. we are what we are.
Considering the causes that determine
what each individual shall be, Mr.. PECK put
first the law of transmission, herdity' and
second, circumstances or environment
These two powers in mighty combination
govern human lives with the hand OF.
master.
! It is the honored distinction Of our pro-
fession that its members are ministers anG
| conservators of the law, and that TO their
| hands is committed the administration OF
| justice. That majestic conception ,W,llch
we call the state stands for all that Is best
! and all that is possible In the aspirations
of men, but It attains only such complete,
| ness as finite wisdom can devise ana
| shape. II strikes with the weapon y
| knows best-force-that mighty argument
| which compels, though 1t may not con-
| vince. We must take life that life may DC
| saved; but let us not forget that the mar
| marked with the fatal tendency to crime
| finds 1t harder than we know to resist tht
| appetite that crime alone can satate. II y
| easy to say that one can resist his temper
| amental tendencies II he only will Yes
but he can't will The strongest motive Is
| always that which seems strongest to hin
| who has to decide upon t., and thus we ge
back to the temperament which looks upoI
| motives and upon actions with such eyes
as nature has given It,
| 7 think nothing can be more pathetic thar
the struggles Of one who sees the weakness
OF his own nature and is trying to ge
free. Our boasted freedom to 10 as W.
| will TOT do Is but the freedom II the hirt
| i'm his Cage. We praise the active .hustlini
felloV who crowds to the front because I
l.. ~ Il Fa,v 1,
| weary all the days Of his life we hav
| only the kick. the cuff and the harsl
voice Of the policeman bidding him t
move on. Notice the man whose skull mt
too closely. His brain is pinched and hi
mind cannot expand 1t is his fate to b
dun and, STUPID and to be laughed a
when he knows only too well that ii is no
a laughing matter. Temperament has go
the upper hand of him But nature ha
her revenges. The Ounce at school some
times grows up to be n respected either
and. as we have all noticed, is frequentl
elected to office.
After discussing the criminals and trans
mitted tendencies of their progeny, Nj
Peck said:
while criminals freely breed and rear thei
Summarized progeny in the cellars of tn
modern Babylon. The problem is, how I
make environment better; how to apply tn
forces of circumstances against the IN
herited tendency of wrong doing. lhts
what society must set itself to do; to oblit
british ancestry, by letting In upon theT
I the sweet but mighty influence of spiritus
things. You and l have natures that ris
or sink as they are touched by good or .ev
! lnT1uenCUS.
! Certain temperaments thrive best
certain climates and localities: and so "
have an English temperament and a Germa
. temperament, and characteristics that mar
each nation and region of the earth. The
blend and mix the type changes but does nc
die. Beef-eating races cannot help differin
from those whose diet Is rice. bur the wis
est philosopher cannot tell why. Even
: matters of religion temperament is a cor
+ trolling power. The Latin and Celtic race
seem to be naturally Catholic the SaXO
naturally Protestant The one is poetica
emotional artistic, and It's nature is +,
ceptive to the gorgeous beauty and magn
4 hcence of the Catholic ritual The othe
Is practical, Self-reliant and Independent
e and instinctively prefers the more simp
forms of Professionalism.
t The environment of today is IN the bloc
4 | tomorrow, as the unslumbering forces g
= forward in their appointed way. Thes
Q processes have made, and are making.
e temperament which is distinctly American
[ Our condition is one of constant chang
= of curious miXings and notifications
, former types. We are going through
formative period, like that which the En-
: lish people experienced 500 years ago whe
= Norman and Saxon and Dane were beir
}, | infused into one people.
s Why does New England naturally tai
J, | to strong government and the southern,
( to It's opposite? ] think / have a right
o say II is temperamental, and partly, IL yo
a Will let me coin word, environments
o The problem is: How shall we get near,
o together? That is our national questio
h 1t is the question which the lawyers of Il
| INIT a fnu InIW. 20. ola