The Washington herald., 1907-04-06
AT THE HOTELS.

Hf-+rA+-N
David Starr Jordan. VINO organized Lee
land stanford University sixteen years
Iago. and has been chiefly responsible for
its development into one Of the greatest
Of modern institutions Of learning. Presl4
dent Jordan. who IS at the New Willard
Is big man physically: tan and broad
shouldered, he gives the impression OF
bodily as well as mental force He loves
TO talk about Stanford. and il is easy 10
see the depth Of his affection for the
school which he huil' from the founda-
tons.
i am glad TO tell you, said he. that
IN spite OF earthquake shocks. which really
did some Of our unfinished buildings great
harm, the university IS in a happy situa-
ton. We have now about LOO students.
and they represent d greater number q
States and countries than can De shown
by any other Of the higher seats Of learn
ling. making Stanford ahead Of all in cos
lmopolitanism. Three Of our young women
one day went in 10 consult a Stanford
professor who came from England One
OF the girls was from London, another
from Australia. and the third from ia
maica. Here in the District of Columbia
/ am sure can be found at least 100 Of our
graduates.
stanford has the greatest endowment
fund Of any American university, ap-
proximateIy S20.e90000. Of which Sls.600g
are ia bonds. and the rest mostly lands.
This affords US large revenue, Of course,
but our income is exceeded by one or two
universities. for the reason that Stanford
Z
from outside States or countries pay only
the nominal yearly fee Of so"
As DR.. Jordan is a member Of the board
70 carry out the simplified-spelIings scheme.
50 dear 10 the wish Of Andrew Carnegie
and President Roosevelt. he was asked
to give his ideas touching that much
talked-of reform, since be was one Of the
board who was quoted as baking over
the adoption Of the list of 900 -'simplined"
words that created furore thru the
whole nation.
Dr. Jordan laughed when this was
preached. That list of go reformed
words, said he. was sprung little pre-
maturely, because there had really been
no meeting Of our board to pass upon its
feasibility. We have just had q meeting
in New York, and the thing viii hence
forth be gone at more scientifically and
discreetly. The general idea Of simpler
spelling Of the English language ought 20
appeal to an educated and thoughtful per-
sons. The fool syHtax Of our language
has been abolished, and it's high time the
fool spelling should 60 In such words
as relieve, perceive, receive, bedeve-What
is the sense in retaining the letter f. The
spelling Of such words as succeed pre-
cede, and supersede should be made uui-
form. The English language because OF
its feXiblity and its composite character.
as well as because IL is the tongue Of
the dominant nations Of the earth is fast
becoming the great world language. and
il should be shorn OF its absurdities
We have had a glorious winter season
in Western Texas, from the stockman's
standpoint said MI A j. Long. g.
wealthy Fort Worth catueman. at the
Arlington. The losses have been nothing
scarcely. not one-haIf Of / per cent and
| this. in connection with fairly good prices,
puts the owners Of ranches in good spirits.
My own ranch is in Borden County at
the foot OF the plains. and embraces 4J.1l9
acres. When I first went in there, a little
over thirty years ago, lands We're worth
from 80 cents To 81 per acre. but they
bring to-day s. To xI0 an acre. The time
is fast coming when il VIII not pay me 90
keep in the stock breeding business. for
this obvious reason: II requires ten acres
10 support one COW or steer each year,
and this means the employment Of land
worth from S6a 10 sos 10 maintain an
animal Of a value not exceeding 50 There
isn't much business sense in this kind Of
a proposition. ana /, in common with
of
with the land and reduce our herds. This
movement has been going on in Texas on
| a big scale OF late. and the day of the big
ranch is about at an end.
I'm the thirty years Of nay residence in
/ Western Texas l have seen the most
/ extraordinary development. When 1 set
tied there the plains We're still thick with
/ buffalo The idea that il would ever be
a farming region was met with derisiVe
| laughter; the COW men thought their
/ herds would occupy il Tor all time What
I do We see to-day? A region where the
man with the hoe predominates over the
cattle-TaiseT. and where they are raising
more cotton TO the acre than in the rich
/ black waxy lands Of Middle Texas Far
/ out on the rolling pTaiTies of the Western
country. the once despised granger is now
/ at the top Of the heap, and King Cotton
/ is enthroned."
In former times. and by old-fashioned
! processes. il took whole year 10 properly
/ tan a hide" said Mr. ". r. Buchanan. OF
Newport. Tenn, at che Raleigh. Nova
/ days hide can be dressed for the manu-
] facturer of shoes in hVe months or half
"a ye;fr at the mos. In those earlier days
/ the tanner knew of no method except
the use of the oak bark the immersion
/ of which in the watts released the tannm
and finally accomplished the desired end
/ We now help the tanner by selling him
/ tanning extract which. by its strength
acts on the hides with far greater po-
tency and as l said before, reduces The
/ time Of the process one-hslf
"The making of this extract has got
TO be a considerable industry in some
parts of the South. especially I'm the
| mountains Of East Tennessee. The
/ process is simple. The huge chestnut
! trees Of that region are cut into small
/ lengths. then thrown into a machine that
converts the pieces into chips the chips
are leached, and out comes the CONNER
cial product, the tannin A good deal Of
oak bark is also used, and for this We
pay the m0untaineers 81 a cord
Some of the natives bring il 10 us in
! their wagons "a distance of thirty miles.
That looks like a long haul to bring a
single load Of bark, but time is no object
TO the inhabitants of the Great Smoky
Mountains. and little bit of money goes
a long way in a region where the people
still cling to the ways and traditions OF
their fathers. The simple life is still in
vogue down there. and I am not sure but
that those unlettered but brave and kind
hearted. jewellers in the hills of Tennessee
and North Carolina are the real no