The independent-reporter., 1910-09-22

lowed by the still more startling
statement that at heart they often
were so. Religious" however, seemed
10 be in this instance a synonym for
right mindedness" which almost all
men are until a too strong ambition
Or greed for money leads them astray.
The politicians, then, approached as
right minded in intention, may be
von to worthy policies, and the Maine
Child Labor commission of which
Mr.. Blanchard is chairman exists to
focus sentiment in order to accom-
plfsh reform"
The last unit of society the min
listers are learning he said more and
more that Christs eyes were turned
not upon the next world but upon the
evils oil this and that as His embas-
sadors they must endeayor to remedy
these evils. That it is their duty as
His representatives to free children
from this curse of child labor.
The report of the Forestry commit
tee, in charge of Mrs. Grace H.
Thompson, amounted at last to a plea
for the Federation to endorse the
Appalachian Bill" bill for the con-
servation of forests in the Appala-
chan, White mountain and Katahdin
regions, which later, by its vote, was
done.
Mrs. Marsh, by invitation, greeted
the convention with a few words OF
sympathy for their work, and the Ia
dies Immediately voted to give her all
the privileges of the convention ex-
cept the power of voting.
A large audience gathered at he
Opera house Thursday evening to
listen to Prof. Charles Zueblin's lee
trre. Music was furnished by Ken
dal's orchestra ;nd 10Th before and
after the lecture there was a song
by Floyd Nye, with Mrs. Nye as ac-
compsnist. Mrs. Flagg, president
OF the Maine Federation, gracefully
introduced the speaker, man OF
pleasing personality, who after.a wit
ty response, went on to give his au-
dience an appreciative characterize
ton of Samuel l.. Clemens, better
known as Mark Twain"
From his lecture, the words OF
which we can not hope to repeat, we
gathered the following thoughts: The
Anti Slavery Movement produced the
flower of our American literature by
furnishing the purpose for its infior-
escence. New England literature has
declined since then, but among those
who lead it today are three women
who have no peers among the men
Of the two greatest authors left our
country, Howells, the Nestor of Am
erican literature survives the other
Mark Twain.
The average reader does not appre-
ciate the great purpose that goes tc
make Mark Twain greater than Oliver
Wendell Holmes, greater far than
Mr.. Dooley who has made sagacious
and funny contributions to political
literature but lacks Mr. Clemens YER
satility.
But Mark Twain is more than E
humorst To use a comparison, he is
Dr. Jekyll and Mr.. Hyde and Robert
Louis Stevenson all in one. Genia1
lover, husband, friend, humorist
philosopher, reformer, he is also one
of the greatest of pessimists. and die
besides many things which these
words do not suggest. He was 3
,N,.fY1 ntsfc q G c {
pilot, an editor, an inventor, publ
cist an economist, and teacher oil
ethics, and he was all these things
because of the mental discipline
which he got on Mississippi steam
boat.
We are coming to understand that
education is not to be found alone in
schools and that perhaps why the lit
tie old red school house did so much
for our fathers was because they
stayed in it so little of their time and
for the rest were out among men
and women who were doing things. II
was lucky for Mark Twain that the
school house is not the only place tC
get an education, and it was on the
Mississippi that he got that scientific
mind that can think to its goal. He
also got much education at home and
the best he got from Mrs. Samuel l.
Clemens who coddled and cared foi
him but oftentimes steered him skill
fully. He himself marked the con-
trast between them by describing her
sweet, demonstratiyeness as break
ing like a wave against his reserve
and immobility. Her name for him
was Youth" and its suggestion
helped to keep him young. His edu-
cation was not all from his wife
His children enlarged the horizon
Read between the lines of his books
and you will find he is portraying
the incapacity of childless people
again and again. His Oldest daugh-
ter Susie, had a keen insight into
her fathers nature when as a child
she recorded in her diary that papa
could make very good jokes but he
really loved serious books best and
that she thought he might have made
good philosopher.
After this analysis of the man, Prof
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