Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1910-04-01

u,,rg is an extract from
TO- ,l,ess ,S delivered by Hic,oi . Rec at
ssPr edi'VGlb Charter Day exercises OF
ss recen. ..itv Nv of Nebraska:
bs l'niyeIns,rr5d fortify the declara-
fIeed aiualyId-wide combat with
ior that is constantly wagins
poraDce and that the progress OF
lrund u marked by the steadlly
rssty y nntnosts Of knowledge
pnclns Nor Nor need I bring proof
. u Iu'n, me- out when I say n. tnat - IN IN
bear me combat Of many forces are
By gIeas assriisted to dispel ignorance,
fiVeE :, error and to uncover anu
torTeo' still unknown realms
ls.Io.f sosi among those forces are :, e1e n o
isnoS. osSS.rcational phalanxes made
eur schools, colleges ana UNI
o.. o. Ou' closely supported by the
Igfsl'lsess, ss,,,tution, whose capstone ls
insa lns lSorn newspaper, devoted 70
.ADS and publishing and disseih-
s,tiug Information uo
~ ~, he no disrespect to the
! W. snbatants against ignorance
'lg ~ dIsparagement Of the excel,
y y, ~o vorE which each is doing, II !
hI sO,S " direct your attention for the
Fss y un 10 few of the more gem
lihsps s..octs NJ of this forward move
q, y 'o II civilization with particu lar
". s.ois al on the steps that had to be
.pnN',S Sstore the mighty batteries
eia modern era could be assem-
= Vul md brought into action.
7, hoo been often observed that
ahieav distinguished man from
'aa .,Sar Sn living creatures is his ca
iys y for thought and his power to
~ ~ expression to thought.
y ,be establishment of a language
= s,onned s with the production OF
.,.ngibIe speech, humanity could
.s"1 . have gotten out of it's swad-
S,.s w clothes and all our efforts to
.,som Is the workings of nature, to
..S law and morality, to inculcate
.gIon ma IN extend the bounds OF sci
~ would have been so handicap
"A as 10 retard our progress to the
!.overhial snaiPs pace. BY word Of
r'utb primitive man could learn to
,"mnnicate with his fellows, but
m in another's actual presence.
N thought. or idea, could be made
4 .nan neither time nor distance
.tSont the help of a living messen-
y n transmit it. The art of writ
n was needed to give permanence
i 4 ,noken language. Tones, inhec-
fns gestures, could not be repro
ipred in signs and inscriptions, but
Trds, syllables or sentences could
h
Have you ever stepped to ponder
M far and how fast the combat
I'M Ignorance could have been
ugad had the evolution of the Ian
nase halted at the production of an
,hiabet? What if We still had no
py Of recording thought except by
. he slow and burdensome formation
h hand of each letter of each word
a time? That much could be ac-
snplished even by this laborious
rethOd must not be gainsaid, but
ht we would have built up our
resent Institutions on a foundation
parchment and stylus is unthink-
Ah widespread popular intelli-
Ense the consequence of our al
nost universal literacy that enables
ne and all to catch up with and to
lesD abreast of the current Of world
rents would be practically impos-
IDLE.
Il Is because of the invention of
Hlntng as much, If not more, than
10y other one achievement, that a
R@ent-day philosopher could truth
billy say;
Between the birth Of human rea-
N and the invention of writing a
tlg period of time elapsed; when
Ae art Of writing was followed by
la Of printing, man then printed
~ hat he had thought and written,
~ at present we possess thousands
q elumes which will inform us on
~ the truths and errors which have