Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1908-12-26
Cook Instead Of History Professor,
But College Hired Him just the Same
of Of the
in to EmptyB Benches.
The Same Lectures They Have for Years

Tho Russian universities are nearly
| all alike in this. AS only a few mem
bers go out of curiosity the professors
reader mumble--tllcir lectures to
empty benches. At the end of the term
those who want to pass their exanina-
| tons read UP their course ut home and
trust to Providence for the rest Cen
| erallX ,5Providenceii good to them The
| examinations are carried on in a pc
culiai' way. A large urn stands in the
middle of the hall ana tGe candidate
draws a ticket therefrom. nese tickets
have numbers which correspond to the
numbers on the examination paper pre-
pared by the professor--and which do
not change one whit during generations.
II he draws No. 5, the professor asks
him question and lets him go. OF
course it often happens that the caildi-
date only reads up for question No. 3
or No. { and knows nothing whatever,
of No. S. But, in Warsaw, at any rate,
this does not much matter The profess
sors, knowing the desperate class of
youths they have to do with and fear
ing that severity will result in disturb
ances and consequently in the closing
OF the university, let them down lightly.
EASY, DIPLOMAS.
Last month, when the entrance exam
nations We're held,$the ministry of euu-
cation seat them secret instructions to
allow 80 per cent of the candidates
through, irrespective OF what they
knew. Great stress was laid on this
order, which was carried out faithfully.
Several professors told the writer that
most of the candidates possessed less
general information than children OF 10
and IL in, the elementary schools, and
no knowledge of any special branch OF.
education at ALL: but" added one
laughing, I'VE had to make up the per-
acentage somehow,l5so what was to be
done?" Thesmaj ority OF the students
spend their time in sucialistic propa-.
ganda They form themselves into
various committees, some of which col
1ect money for the cause" Others
print revolutionary literature While tho
rest distribute it5among workmen, sol
diers and children. Very poor them
selves. they hate everything and every
body that represents capital. Some of
them give cheap private lessons III the
families Of the lower classes which at
fords them excellent opportunities of
spreading their extreme doctrines
among the rising generation of the so
i
they have no fixed political program
they aim at stirring UP everybody
against the existing state of govern
ment
In fact, the government is cherishing
a Veritable vipers' nest by filing the
E Warsaw university with those who
have been refused an entrance into all
: the other educational establishments in
the empire. Needless to say the profess
sors are not much better, for the simple
reason that no civilized man could
stand the present state OF affairs.
SENT HIM. A COOK.
The ignorance OF the Warsaw uni
Versity lecturer long has been pro-
verbal. and now that the best of them
have resigned the rest are beneath
criticism. In fact, many Of them were
never trained as teachers. One who
lectures on universal history is very
well Yersed i'll the art of making cut
lets. Some years ago when the no
torfous Apuchtin was educational min
lister of Poland. a professor was need
ed suddenly for the Warsaw university.
Apuchtin Wired to a friend in st. Pc
tersburg, Send me a history teacher
ut once. Old one dead. The telegraph
clerk twisted the message into: /" Send
me a g4od cook at once" So the friend
sent Nan he could thoroughly recon-
mend by the next train. Apuchtin was
astonished when the new professor pre-
sented his certificates-but by no means
5nonplused. DO you know who Napo-
leon was2"s he asked. Yes, your ex-
5cellence, was the prompt reply. He
was the man who gave thename to the
apple cakes with puffy paste" you'll
do; begin your lectures tomorrow said
the great man. And from that day the
cook began TO read history to four
empty walls and doorkeeper OF the
Warsaw university.
ANY OLD THING GOES.
And though this cook-professor Is
rather an extreme case, not very much