St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1907-01-02

those who can never enter college may
obtain an education by means of the cor
respondence school and the reading cir
Gle. have visited the library of Cooper
Union on an evening and seen working
men diligently studying technical books
to perfect themselves in their several
crafts. Many libraries have rooms es-
pecially arranged for class work. The
words Of the wise are brought near to
the poor mans door A rich mans son
who has distinguished himself as a foot
ball player on the college campus, who
has acquired an intercollegiate reputa-
ton as baseball pitcher, may put on a
mortar board cap and an Oxford gown
and march proudly in the procession of
the intellectual aristocracy; but in the
stern and closely contested race of life he
may find himself distanced by a poor boy
who has received his equipment by read
ing books at his fathers Preside.
In 1910 boy was born in Connect
cut named Elihu Burritt. There were
ten children in the family. His father
prenticed himself to a blacksmith. He
had very little schooling in his boyhood,
but was an ardent reader, and was able
to obtain books from a small village
library. He was obliged to work from
ten to twelve hours day at the forge,
but while he was blowing the bellows he
did sums in his head. Then he studied
Greek and Latin with the help of an
older brother who had been through col
lege. He studied evenings, but carried
his Greek grammar in his hat to the
shop, and sometimes while waiting for
an iron to heat he would run over the
conjugation of verb. Later he was
able to attend school for short time,
but he obtained most of his education
by private study. He was known as
the Learned blacksmith" He became a
great linguist, and an eloquent orator.
In the annals of our nation, there are
many stories like this. The greatness OF
America is due to the fact that she has
given to the boy of plebeian birth the
opportunity to make himself man.
But even the selfmade man must have
tools. If all the biographies of success
full men could be fully written, we should
see how many of them have found their
first implements for self improvement in
the library of the country town.
Such facts indicate that a library
should be maintained not for few cul-
tured people, but for the common folk
A librarian must study democracy
Often those who come for books will re-
veal their mental poverty. For example
patron ola library who wanted 1.-THE
Stickit Minister" made out the applica,
ton slip for "The Stuck.up Minister y
Another wanted Something in the way
of friction" while another asked for the
"SqueaP' to a certain book. The library
must meet the wants of such people, as
well as the Shakespeare Club.
! 1t is important that those who are
out of school, on the farm, in the shop
and in the Office, may have opportunity
to cultivate the acquaintance of the wise
who have uttered immortal words. Fol
this is the chief value of books. Oc-
casionally we may enjoy a conversation
with great thinker; but only few
great thinkers are within our reach
Most ofthem have followed the long trail
to 1.-THE land of the hereafter" Thanks
to the scribe and the printer, we car
open book and let wise men speak tC
us. A noted minister has said: 'Litera
ture is that which brings us into living
touch with all the ages and gives us fel
lowship with all the best thought anC
the best birthright that the world has
ever had"
Someone has said with profound truth
i that 'the mark ofan educated man is the
power to see things as they are" An
other has said "An educated man must
know something of everything and
everything of something" For practi
| cal success one must be specialist; he
must know everything of something.
But this is not the whole of education
1t is not enough to be master of one
subject. The specialist must know his
place, or he will be lobbyist. The
man who masters one subject should
know where and how that one thing
fits in with all the rest
Hence the great value of general cul
ture. AS the dining table is set with q
variety of food, so the library should BIZ
filled with a diversity of books, The
study of history is very important, be
cause lHC llOuClIl WOllu 10 " lGdIH WIS
dom from the experience of the past.
Biography is form of history. A
popular preacher says: "These books O.
/ life are the wisest books in the libraries
A man is educated just in proportion as
he is familiar with the critical hours OF
earth's greatest men, and the story Of
their sorrows and how they bore them,
of their joys and what inspiration
they brought, of their victories and
how the hero achieved them
Biographies are the supreme books in
literature. They give us the history o.
the soul"
Fiction has a prominent place, and a
legitimate place in literature. A graphic
way to write history is to put it ir
the form of story. In work of fictior
there is excellent opportunity to teach
moral lesson, and to paint in vivic
colors life model. But here caution
should be given. In the field of fictior
there is more chaff than in any other
Hence for the product of this field there
should be special tanning MILL Time i.
the truest sieve, A wise man will not b.
in haste to read the latest novel. He il
too busy to turn the tanning mill. H,
let's Others do the sitting, and awaits
their Judgment. The tanning mill should
be placed at the door of the library. Oh
the book shelves space is reckoned by
inches, and there is no room for chaff
The fiction of surest value is found in tn
works of those masters who have beer
tested by time. No characters draw
by latest pens will surpass the devou