The Cairo bulletin., 1910-09-25
ELIOT NO JUDGE
OF LITERATURE?
So Western Railway Mscards
Five Feet Of Books"
"REAL READING INSTALLED.

James !. Hil's Protsss consults
American and European Authorities,
Takes Ballot From Passengers and
Replaces Harvard Hsads Selections
With Fourteen Foot Shelf.
The Burlington through trains have
discarded ''the five feet Of books" Sc
lected by DR.. Eliot, former president
OF Harvard, as the quintessence Of the
worlds classical literature. In the
place Of this library the fourteen foot
SHELF was installed.
This change was ordered by 0. l..
Dickson. assistant to the president
Of the Burlington railroad. In explain
ing his reasons Mr.. Dickson said.
"Dr Eliot Of Harvard doesn't know
what real literature Is. He may be a
scholar and considered an authority by
the literary world, but he knows moth
ing about what the American people
read, what they desire to read or what
they should read.
Eiiot's Idsas Not Popular.
when these Eliot selections were
placed on our trains the books were
locked up and could be secured from
our porter. This attendant kept care
full record. showing that from Nov. 81,
1909, to Jan. 16, 1910, there were only
thirty-t1ve removals from the Ave foot
shelf. Arabian Nights and Fruits Of
Solitude were tied for the highest hon
ors, each having been taken out FIVE
times. Only twenty-five volumes were
touched at ALL
During this time DR.. Eliot's books
were available to about 5000 people.
They represented all classes OF Amer
lean citizenship.
"In answer to my inquiries Professor
Peck of Columbia university, DR.. Ly-
man Abbott and many other literary
lights. both in this country and Eu.
rope, without single exception ad-
mitted that Or. Eliot's selections did
not afford what might be called popu-
lar reading.
Has List OF Own.
They also sent me a list of what
they thought the American public real
ly liked, and from their selections and
ballots cast by our passengers the fol-
lowing books were chosen to take the
place Of DR.. Ellot's five foot shelf
Marjorie Daw and Other People" Al
drioh; Short Stories" .palzac: "ohiter
Dicta." Augustine Birrell: RES Judica-
tae," Love In Old Clothes and Other
Stories" and "zosdoc Pine and Other
Stories" II. C. Buuner: 1.-THE Pilot"
Cooper: "GallaCher and Other Stories"
Richard Harding Davis: Robinson CRU
soe' De Foe: "Flls Defense and Other
Stories" Harry Stillwell Edwards Love
Affairs Of q Bibliomanlac" and "A Ittls
Book Of Profitable Tales" Eugene Field;
THE Vicar OF Wakefield Goldsmith;
Railway Transportation" r. s. Hadiey;
Options" o. Henry; .'Volsunga Saga"
etc, Icelandic tales, Color Studies and o
Mexican Campaign" Thomas A. JanvieE;
Captain courage Kipliug; Railroad
Freight Rates,"'L. q. McPherson; FEEDER
al Regulation OF Railroad Rates." A. N.
Merritt: Golden Treasury" Francis Tur-
ner Paigrave; ''fvanhoe" Scott: Papa
Bouchard." Molly Elliot Seaweil; Shake
speare. twelve volumes; Commodore
Trunnion's Courtship." Tobias Smollett
Whispering Smith" r. II. 6pearman;
'"The Merry Men and Other Tales" and
Treasure Island" Stevenson: The -Four
Georges" etc, Thackeray: Cost, Cap
italization and Estimated Value OF Amer
lean Railways" g. Thompson; Railway
Statistics of the United States, i9o4-os.'
g. Thompson; Merely Players" Virginia
Tracey; "Stories by American Authors"
ten volumes; Stories by English Au-
thors," ten volumes: "Storles by Foreign
Authors" ten volumes; Holy Bible, AL
manac webster's Collegiate Dictionary
and principal current magazines.
"This list, in my opinion, constitutes
the ideal library from the American
point Of view and furnishes stand
ard of literature that Is hard to excel"
Dickson 10 Hill Protese.
Mr.. Dickson, who has risen to fame
In day as the challenger OF DR.. Eliot,
Is q young railroad man who has been
groomed from the time he was twenty
years old by James ]. Hill. He is now
thirty
He was born In ottumwa, Ia, son
Of n Baptist clergyman. He left school
when he was eleven years old. At
eighteen he went TO Chicago and took
up the study Of stenography. Two
years later he secured a position in
one OF the railroad offices.
He attracted the attention Of Mr..
Hill and few years ago was made
superintendent Of transportation OF
the Burlington and about three months
ago was promoted to assistant to the
president Of that road. This was due
entirely to the mastery manner in
which he handled and averted the
threatened switchmen and flreman's
strikes of all the railroads centering In
Chicago.