The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1905-01-01

Passion and Of Mirth, his Ode 10 the
Nighteneale and his Greek Urn and
on reading Chapman's Homer impress
me- most, except portions of I4amia
and of Hyperion. that marvellous
fragment. OF the Idylls / have al
WAYS preferred the Guenevero and the
AIorte q Arthur 10 the others. What
q pity Tennyson did not make short
epic of the Arthurian cycle! AS for
the poets of the United States the
great critics. in my poor feeble judg-
ment, have fred most profoundly in
depreciating Pee, who has always
been u favorite of the European
critics of poetry They have likewise
deprecated Timrod. who had essen
TALLY a truer and higher genius than
the combined New England school, so
praised and so read in this country.
equal To Timrod's majestic war lines
entitled ''Carolins,.' and not even
Bryants Thanatopsis. the most ele-
waited poem of the Northern school OF
poetry excels in beauty and solemnity
the South Carolina bard'S Common
Thought
Who is the king of poets? Bosuet
Kept Homer ut his elbow, as he said
To ligt his lamp At the sun. Most
modernsl except the admirers of Dante
put ShaR> >peare at the head of the
greater goo \ot Tie poetic pantheon.
1t was fashf lable at one time for
Milton to be placed either on equality
with or in the next seat to Homer.
Certain critics give Sophocles the
highest rank. My personal friend,
the late Daniel X. Goodloe Esq, who
| believe read no modern language, or
at least if he read French did nor
read it fiuently, once remarked to me
that he thought John Milton was The
grandeSt poetic genius Of the world
and that Paradise Lost was the most
sublime ana perfect poem. This is a
hard matter to decide Doubtless
Homer was the earliest Of the first
order of epic bards and is therefore. 10
be considered the most creative of
poets The case may turn on this
poet. If so, the question is who is
second-Aeschyius, Sophocles, Pindar,
Virgil, Dante, Shakespeare, Milton :?
For l think that Tasso, Ariosto,
Goethe and Hugo are not in the COM
,oarison. Aeschylus and Sophocles
created Greek or classical tragedy, as
shakespeare virtually created the
modern drama. Pindar and Hugo
were the most sublime of lyrical
Dards. | do not regard Virgil as
having original faculty sufficient to
e'9title him To the second place. Either
70 epic or d dramatic poet is clearly
he man TO be selected That means
FloIentine. the Bard of Avon or him
lbat rode sublime on the seraph
wings of estaScy. the scents of the
abyss 10 spy" Milton as poet has
less to clog his flight than either
Dante or Shakespeare. / do not as
se5t that he has less than Aeschylus
70 my very mind, if the author of
Paradise Lost, Samson Agonistes,
I.ycidas, Comas and the ode on
Christ's Nativity is not the second
poet OF the ages, | am unable TO say
vino | think is. Shakespeare. proba-
bly,, IS the greatest writer OF all time.
representative John II. Small is
certainly doing for the State and the
country a very important service in
pressing so hard the plan Of building
or rather digging an inland ship canal
along the coast Of the South ana the
East, il is following up the steps
Of SOME of his predecessors III Con-
e-rtss, out doing il in his own peculiar
sBd most impressive way. Since sen
ator Ransom no man has LtbGr"d
: -.-1e-Ns- or. more successfully than hc
ON behalf Of commerce. He ought 10
nave his reward.
SneakiEg OF commerce and referring
tnora especially t. Interstate COM
LI1rce | will say here that something
du5,ht 10 be done by Congress To give
greater control to the general govern
lnaNt IF the transportation lines which
operate III more than one State of thel
U4uou Old fashioned as | am on
STATE rights, l have long believed that
The only way to assure the public of
its rights was To use the provision of
fhe Constitution concerning the regu-
Ia ton OF commerce. The Interstate
Commerce Commission was only II
splau step in the right direction. The
pt5wers of the commission We're made
toia limited in the law creating Il.
What * needed is authority to go fur
thasr into inquisition of facts and to
iatisict punishments. The commission.
II changed into a judicial tribunal,
with judges appointed for life or good
behavior drawn from the two leading
political parties either equally do 50
as to insure Importantly by permit
ting an equal number of appoint2eS to
ccnetitute the deciding member Of the
court, would answer the purposes OF
JUSTICE 10 both corporations and the
De0H,ie The subject is much mooted
now, TIE administration has sug-
EestG1 Federal control OF the SUBJECT.
The ,jfepu1lican party Is under oDllga-
ton to all the great corporate inter-
csts ard whether ii can do anything
= h.ct, those interests disapprove re-
.li;tint, to he seen. The public without
regard TO parry WISH 10 Go something
and are not oyer-nice whether il is
somethine 20 which the corporations
will gracefully. submit or not. rhe
aGvocate Of corporate interests par ex-
cellere;e soep's to be ex-Attorney Gen
cral Ctriggs III New Jersey. He rio-
lently opposes he Garfield propositions
Mr.. G riggs cones from 2 State where
ccrporEtt t0ns have Their sweet will in
everythfns they desire. He has long
bee,n considered the special friend of
the trtt SITS AMI other syndicated inter-
csts IF Congress listens to such as he
rnQ i2hCrs>s Jhe{ voice of the people
there Will be trouble some [ me How
long tbs. public will permit the Repub-
lic:n narfY to les;slats strictly for the
colporaeicaS and against the rights
and Interests OF the people does not
yet appear.
THFg CONFEDERATE FLAG.
The Original First Floated From
Cotnt House at L0uisburg.