The Washington bee., 1910-10-15
PUBLIC MEN AND THINGS.

(By the Sage of the Potomac.)
James A. Cobb is back from Bev-
erly, Mass, where he accompanied
Emmett Scott and Charles w. An
dersOn. Just like the insurgents
who made pilgrimages to Oyster Bay
Immediately after the return of the
Lion Killer he reports "a very sat
IsfaCtory interview whatever that is.
X
The Editor of The Bee very kind
ly, and pointedly, announced last
week, editorially, that he would not
be responsible for opinions expressed
in this column, and that this depart
ment IS to be sort of free lance
That puts 1t up to I'VE, us and COM
pany' to thrust, or parry, advance or
sctreat 90 our 0Ws7 initiative.
1t has been suggested to The Bee
that it introduce as a new feature a
gOssipy letter, dealing with light,
frothy, insensable things. addressed to
Anna Ocea Oliver, and signed by
Dorothy Randolph Taylor Much as
the editor would like to please the
requests for such letter, he advises
that he IS utterly unable to find an
inmate of St. Elizabeth willing to inn
pair his chances of recovering from
the malady Of insanity by attempting
to write such letter.
Prof Dubois is still the cynic of
old, although a little more so. His
splendid paper read before Bethel
Literary Society was marred by that
narrow, cynical, jealous spirit that
appears to be his particular and cul-
tIvated characteristic. When you have
said that Prof. Dubois is a scholar,
you have said all A leader he can
never be, for he lacks the first and
prime requisite of a leader, to wit:
tolerance. Disappointed because the
people will not accept and proclaim
him leader, he displays his teeth, in
dulges IN personalities, detracts not
only from his peers but his SuperiOrs.
* x
In the discussion that followed
Prof Dubois paper, and don't recall
when | ever heard a more aCcrimO-
niOus debate at Bethel. my friend
Napoleon Marshall displayed how
fatigulng big law practice is, and its
tendency to make a man conceited,
when he assumed all the credit for
vOicing protests against the dismissal
of the Brownsville soldiers. Accord
ing to dear old Napoleon, he alone
was the CinCinnatus that left his plow
to fight their cause There were
many others. Mr. Marshall, but they
did it unselhshly and without a re-
tainer fee.
Prof Kelly Miller gave fresh evil
dence of his peculiar ability to strad-
die the fence without so much as
tearing a slit IN either leg or seat of
his trousers. He spoke, too, at the
Dubois meeting, but he dealt in gilt
tering generalities, and when he had
one word had he uttered that would
shed tear. arouse animosity, or in
fuence a single being for or against
Prof Miller is alone ard a bright
particular star in the amazing, befud-
ling act of sitting on the fence.
X x
Lieut.. Thomas R. .Clarke's course
in defending his fallen chief against
the unreasonable and ill-cOnceived
criticism of Prof Dubois has called
forth many words of praise. There
was no doubt in the minds of even
the Professors friends that when he
launched into his reference to, and
criticism of, Mr. Vernon's reported
Kansas school interview, that the
cynical professor had read Mr.. Yer
{ mons denial. Mr.. Vernon was not
there to defend himself, so Lieut..
Clarke Valiantly became the Ivanhoe
who entered the list and struck the
Gil Blar full and fair And he did
it so modestly, so unostentatiously
and so promptly. Many a secretary
to chief who had been given a
lettre sachet that spelled fnis would
have remained silent, for it has never
been popular to champion the fallen