Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-05-04
The Paths of Peace.

When the suaviter in modo gives place
to the fortiter in req" suggested Fame re-
specially, yet with certain enjoyment of
the situation.
The president looked up in evident sur
prise This soldier seemed to know some
thing of Latin. If so, he might have
known something of school or even col
lege life
CURED to him, but only because he had
given 1t no thought whatever. He looked
as though about to say, Il did mot quite
understand you" but, instead said for a
moment nothing.
Fame took up the thread Of talk. Il
certainly seized that young scapegrace by
the collar this. morning, 1 possibly shook
him, and l am glad to see that you fol-
lowed suit. He deserves much more than
either of us gave him."
That is not for us to determine. We
both lost our temper. l shall probabl
send for him and apologize and" But
again the president faltered.
Il shall certainly not" promptly spoke
the soldier. ION the contrary, 1 have
serious charges to add to those already
laid against that young man, and was
coming to you at office hour. He APP
pears to have had earlier audience"
Il met ENTHUSIASTICALLY, said the
president, flushing a bit. There was a
party of them, r-stimulated possibly,
running through the grove from the lake
early this morning. They were noisy and
profane.''
Il hope you recognized the others, sir"
They were not students-those whom I
caught sight of, at least but after them,
limping and much disarranged, came this
young man. 1t was then he told me that
one of your requirements that he
should salute you whenever you met, and
let me say, MINI. Fame, that 1 think
you err in attempting to incucate that
which you cannot enforce. This is not
military institution, and military methods
should not be resorted to, especially if vio-
lence is to follow. l hope you in future
will bear this in mind
And now the president was himself again
and DESTROYS of closing the incident-and his
ears.
But Fane's blood was up and his temper
was rising. He would not go. Mr.. Pres
ident,' said he, firmly and decidedly, be
fore ever l went to West Point l attended
a while a college 100 years older" Che was
tempted to say land ten times better")
than this, and the first lesson we received
from the lips of the president was, now
that we were duty matriculated, 1t was
courtesy and a duty we owed to the men,
bers of the faculty, when we met them on
or off the grounds, to raise the cap and
tender respectful salutation. Here 1 find
that neither on nor off the grounds has 1t
been a custom. Students sometimes touch
their hats to you and to those to whom
they recite, but as a rule freshmen and
sophomores, too, pass their superiors with
no sign of recognition. Indeed, l am told
by those few professors whom l know that
they have sometimes been showed off the
SiueWdlhS ny a SOllQ pndldnx OF tneSS
young fellows, linked arm in arm. 1 have
taught them that, as they were here bene-
hciaries of the state and the nation, receiv-
Ing fine education free, 1t was both a cour-
tesy and a duty that they owed to the
state and to the college to show respect to
officials. l have told them that when in
the uniform of the battalion they should
tender a soldierly salute. When not in
uniform they should raise the hat to you
and to every professor and instructor. Nine
tenths of them are doing it, and are the
better for doing 1t. 1t is only the caddish
and the vicious among them that refuse"
I'm not so sure about that" said the
president. Now, when I meet a student 1
take Off my hat to him, then, if he's a gen.
tleman at heart, he takes off his to me. II
he isn't gentleman | really prefer that
he shouldn't know me-"
Fame smiled. Zone young man asked me
If l expected him to tip his hat to you, sir,
when he hadn't even been introduced and
was surprised to be told yes. He then went
on to say that he had raised his hat and
the president looked so surprised he feared
he'd been taking a liberty. At all events.
the president did not return the salutation.
Others, too, have told me that. 1t confirms
here in the past.
THAT is possibly so-that is possibly So"
said the president. II am sometimes alb
sent minded to fault and fail to see what
perhaps l should see l shall certainly keep
that in mind" So the head of the college
had a fair side to him after all. The inter-
view was becoming productive of good re-
suits The president who was there to CEN
sure, was finding himself perhaps on the
defensive. Moreover, this young man whom
he had looked upon some kind of a
stage supernumerary, skilled in teaching
the broadSword exercise and how to handle
a musket had moved apparently in other
circles than that of the camp. This had
not occurred to him on the two occasions
when he had summoned the faculty in gen
eral, once to meeting at the chapel once
to a social affair at his house. The officer
had been omitted entirely The two or three
professors and professors wives who noted
the absence ascribed It to the deep mourn
ing worn by the strangers mother and
sisters. upon whom yet none of their
number had called. Yet their appearance
on Sunday when they were seen on way to
and from church was very much in their
favor. They had come however, without
letters of introduction. Their friends, Col.
and Mrs. West, were gone. Then there
were other reasons, too. Mrs. Fame and
Clare had not been over-cautious in their
illusions to the provincial nature of pretty
much everything about them, animal, vege-
table OF mineral Nor had good Mrs. Jam
ieSon the landlady. been slow as a trans
mitter of their expressed opinions.
Little by little, before the end of the six
weeks, the president was beginning to see
that this military business might prove to
be an adjunct of value after all. Veteran
professors told him that there was marked
change in the language and demeanor of the
so-called battalion students in the section
ROOM lney sat StOOu straight, We're
respectful in bearing, and surprising in that
they said Sir something hitherto almost
unknown 1t took the veterans back to old
days at Yale and Harvard, Brown and Dart
mouth. The governor. wartime soldier,
and certain state officials had within that
very week daZed the president by referring
to the remarkable change for the better in
the street manners of the student body.
Last year they nearly ran me into the
gutter" said the executive This year.
by Jupiter, they actually salute met The
president had gone home pondering This
thing he had branded as a necessary evil
might have its good side after all. He had
risen early that morning to see for him
self the voluntary drill conducted before
breakfast for the benefit of those who took
lively interest in the matter. Revelle was
sounded and the flag run up at the gym
too far from Clifton Hall or the nearest
lodging or fraternity houses to disturb any
body, yet 1t had been complained of by OPP
ponents of the military department He
too, supposed the captain to be still in Chi
cago, and he wished to satisfy himself that
there was no riotous disorder, as claimed
Suddenly he had been nearly swept off his
feet by rush of burly racers bursting
through the grove, and then had fairly col
lided with their erstwhile leader, now but
rueful and raging follower, and the presi-