The Topeka state journal., 1908-04-28
FROM OTHER PENS
BORROWED BOOKS.

Books are more than property;
they not only have money value. but
are repositories of the best ideas of
the best brains Of the world. They
of wealth ever devised, since they
may be drawn upon without limit
yet without diminishing the rich
contents. When one offers the loan
Of his books, therefore, he bids his
friend partake in welcome of the
good things which he has provided
for his own delectation. One Of the
most unselfish of pleasures is to place
into appreciative hands a book that
has width and bottom and breadths
of thought and wit; one that
strengthens. brightens and benefits
by it's perusal
Acceptance of the loan of a book
carries with it the implied obligation
to use it well and return it to the
owner in due season. The booklover
always feels complimented by the
loan Of a volume; the student and
even the casual reader, If rightly bal
anced and appreciative of favors con-
ferred, will read, digest and promptly
restore a borrowed book to it's own
er, that its companionship may glad
den his heart or he may send it out
again as q missionary of confidence
and good fellowship.
Abuse of the loan Of a book is a
DetIdydl OI COAhuClC0 anu IuCl G
fore a vice. It is disregard of prop
erty rights, and the wanton separa-
ton of friend from friend. It Is the
taking advantage of a good motive
for the working of an unworthy one.
It is, of course, true that many-the
most, by far-of abuses of book loans
come about by reason of carelessness,
negligence, forgetfulness and the like.
But do those things lessen the loss
to the owner? Do they diminish his
regret for the absence of a favorite
author from his bookshelves ?-Sa-
vannah News.
JOHNSON ON THE COURTS
The idea that Gov. John A. johnson
is something Of conservative in poll
tics has been pretty well dissipated
and If it had not been his Shiloh speech
tical. In that speech he aligned him.
self with anything but the reactionary
wing of his party.
One sentence in that address, IT have
faith to feel that the people OF the
country will rise above the fallibility
Of judicial tribunals should indicate
to the average thinker that the Min
nesota man is "going some" in the di-
rection Of radicalism; going at fairly
rapid clip in the wrong direction. Per-
haps a sentence of that kind might
bring some political result in the gov
ernor's home state just now; maybe
that commonwealth is smarting more
or less under q recent decision Of the
supreme court Of the United States
We don't know about that, and we
don't care, particularly; but we ART
decidedly Of the opinion that no issue
involving an attack on the courts OF
an attempt to discredit them will find
favor with the thinking masses of th'
people generally.
No man expects our courts to be in
| fallible. Even the. highest Of then
sometimes reverse themselves. Moth
ing human is infallible: nobody ex
poets that. But there must be hna
| word somewhere: and our organic ant
statutory law fixes it in our courts
and there, with good citizens, the ar
! gument must end. To advise peopl
| to rise above" that is rather dan
| gerous proceeding, to our way of think
ing; and Governor Johnson's faith
that the people will rise above tn
fallibility of judicial tribunals" faith
we presume. accompanied by an abund
ant hope, II startling, to say the leaa
Of its-Washington 8eta16