The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1911-12-06
GREATEST CRISIS
. SINCE Civil WAR
President Alderman Comments
on Opening OF Aneri-
can Congress.
PRAISE FOR EDGAR ALLAN POE
Address by DIR. Smith-Reform
OF Self-Govcrnmcnt at
University.
Especial to The Times-Dispatchil

Especial TO The Times- Dispatch.l
Charlottesville. Va. December e.
With the opening of the American
Congress In Washington YESTERDAY az.
lists a very critical period for this
country which is in the midst Of tho
Greatest, although the cleuncst and
quetest. crisis since the Civil War"
Ihese We're the opening words of
PRESIDENT H. a. Alderman, OF the TIM
NersltS OF Virginia, to the assembled
s,uoehts at student hour. He declared
that an unnatural condition exists
mhich VIII Involve u great change. and
u"e polht oil his address was TO put the
iaea OF leadership among the students.
VINO as men may lead the parties of the
future. He continued:
IT is question ns 10 whether ,bis
thihg we call democracy and this thing
we call liberty can be reconcilcd AMI
I've together under the same roof.
eudalism III business means fcudaIjsm
III government II will require a grent
noitical crisis to straightcn out this
eohdltlon, where government is SUING
anu attaching business firms which II
ought TO protect. and by this NAV mean
80 entire chanse OF government within
the next twenty years 1t .s for YOU.
me men OF tomorrow. tU1rcparc your
serves TO be leaders in the new move
meni. Leadership is needed. as well
as MISUNDERSTANDING for the moor as
wei as FOR the rich. You need to nre
pare yourself for this change. and r
am having placed on the reference shelf
IN the library books on civic questions.
"n:ch wish you to study.
me southern man is naturally a no.
iitlcal animal. Democracy IS ioo,ni,,,,
to the front as the hope Of the Amer.
ican crisis. and the leaders of this Inn.
arc to be the men from the University
OF Virginia"
Address on Poe.
Characterize & Edgar Allan Poo a.
ono OF the two men OF the nineteenth
century who passed into the hail or
ihrhe, Professor Charles Alphonso Smith,
mead oil the school of American litcra.
.urc at the University of Virginia de-
iFercd an exceptional address to the
student body at the last student hour
ol ihc iail term. Poe was at one time
student at the University of Virginia.
"nicn made the subject of unusuaI II
tercst- According to DR.. Smith poe is
rot to be thought of as a ..wavward
III starred genius" but as n man who's,
iia'he VIII he nerpctuatcd by four dis
unit services 10 civilization
me first OF these. said DR.. Smith. was
mat Poe had invented or discovered 81
ny" FORM OIL verse. In fact he has
lett among his works four new forms
OF Poeuc effect. The speaker said:
roc found the stanza n solid and left
1t liquid. Whether any one ia tho
future car make gas of il. don't
know lie discovered that the bcsr
enccts could be produced by using
inherent stanzas with different linz,
lengths in the same poem. He thought
.ne ora forms too monotonous. lie left
.hc stanza ductile and elastic
MS second service was to invent
tona.ructiVe influence on the short
story. Poe first laid down the laws and
illustrated. He originated the form of
inc modern prose type. He is tho
rather OF the short story.
Ihirdiy. Poe declares tina. genius is
conscious. II is not, as some Dcoplc arc
fond of saying, tha, genius occurs
spontaneously, as the birds sinr. Ills
own analysis of The Raven throws
nov iiGht upon this realm OF thought,
In which Poc's name will remain.
And fourthly, he created a different
attitude toward Americanism. After
ioe's death he was declared un- Amer
ican and that he had not written his
name upon American soil, because he
used foreign themes and subjects. Poe
was distinctly American, if nor Sc in
the physical sense. II Is. as the for
eign critics are now learning: Cor
structireness IS an American genius,
and his life and works are distinctly
constructive
when the word Poe is mentioned
think of him as Il great constructive
iorce as man who diversified the
range OF poetry, the one who devcloprd
INC short story, ard the person who
has sloriiicd Amcricanism''
Government of University
An unusually clear paper. which
amounts TO The first step in the reor-
SaniZauon OF a system of self govern
ment among the students of the Uni
Fersity of Virginia. was read to-day at
student hour by Churchill Humphrey. of
Inc law department. who was the first
speaker OF the hour. Mr.. Humphrey
declared that at present the student
government is in an unstable condition.
lie stated that some steps must be
taken by the under graduates 10 gov
ern themselves, or the turning point
VIII be reached, and they will be gov
erned by others.
Mr.. Humphrey then outlined the his.
tory of sclf-Government at the univcr-
sitN, which began Immediately after
the civil War. upon the return of The
students, most of them older men than
the present body of studcrts Every
man was in college for business. and
he was absolutely free from restraint
until his conduct became unbccomin.,
To the standard OF the University of
Virginia. AS soon as he stepped over
this line he disappeared Where he
went was matter that concerned no
one. This Isolation and this spirit
have been affected BY time and by the
coming i'm of outsiders from different
1f I.,