The Minneapolis journal., 1906-06-11
Two Baccalaureates

The contrasting viewpoints Of two
men whose situation has given them
exceptional opportunities to study the
tendencies Of current American life are
presented in the baccalaureate ad-
dresses of President Northrop of the
state university and Chancellor j. r.
Day Of the Syracuse university.
President Northrop says: Never
before has our country had such an
awakening into civic righteousness and
personal honor as. it has received in
the past two years. Never before has
the power of the government backed
by acelamations Of the people, been
brought to bear so strenuously against
dishonesty and corruption as In the
past two years. -,
Thru it all President Northrop finds
that men of high character and noble
purposes are, coming into public life.
In the zest with which each genera
tries it's experiments, DR.. Northrop finds
the element which prevents the world
from falling into a motiveless inactivi-
ty. The recent exposures are the con-
tribution of the present moment to q
great problem. We have entered into
it with zest and earnestness, and as a
result, better men are coming forward
to take up public activities, and the
world Is already moving better.
Over against this philosophic view
i,>1o +lo 80 SO 10
is the epoch we are in. Nothing is
| right. Everything is wrong. Every
thing is bad except the executive Off
GERS. Everything seems to be on the
verge of being drawn into the filth
or slime Of damnation on suspicion.
| Commissioners are sent to bring back
shocking things, and if they come back
without them, others are sent. The
people who wait for both sides are
tools of trusts -
There is a lot more of the same kind
in Chancellor Days address, all point
ing to President Roosevelt as usurper
Of legislative function and accusing him
of threatening the congress if it does
not obey him.
| So far as DR.. Day deigns to mix facts
with his maunderings, it Is quite evil
dent that he is not careful to be abso-
lutely accurate in his use of them. So
far as his remarks might be made the
basis Of thought, their essentially un,
philosophic character makes them dan.
gerous to the young and inexperienced
If the whole Of the campaign Of muck
raking were based upon the frenzy
stirred up by one man, it would be un.
necessary to inveigh against it, because
it would pass away. But if the frenzy
which has been stirred up is deeper
seated it should be the duty of mer
like DR.. Day TO seek it's causes and tt
suggest the cure. Chancellor, Day car
hardly expect us to believe that the
people are discontented merely because
! President Roosevelt, has decreed thai
they shall be discontented. He shoult
go back to the causes and trace then
forward Fearlessly, even if they leat
across the trail of some tainted none,
and some oleaginous crimes. When h
has done that he will be in position
to discriminate between those who hav
honestly tried to hold up the principle
} Of the constitution, either in or out O
congress, and those who, while keepin,
!! the empty form of. the law, have sol,
its substance to the greed Of swolle!
wealth. ..
AS the chancellor Of university, D1
Day owes his country something NOR
or something less than he has give
them. It is not enough that he Gun
pack his heart with words and fa1
a-cursing like very drab.'' If he
for the Standard Oil trust and the bee
Q trust and the insurance trust-if he bt
: lieves they should run the country, le
4 him say so valiantly and give his rel
|, sons. If he does not believe in then
g let him, as a philosopher, trace th
d. causes Of the present discomfort wit
Q their rule and add his advice as to whs
q farther steps to take to render them i,
n nocuous in our public life.
81 Chancellor Day of Syracuse IS Gel