Evening star., 1912-11-05

Two years after Woodrow Wilson was
born his father was called to the pas
torate of the Presbyterian Church OF
Augusta, Ga, one of the most Influential
congregations of the south He remained
in this pulpit throughout the war
/ Woodrow was too young to have any
distinct recollections of the great con-
| fiict, of which Augusta, in fact, saw lit
tie.
| To this fact is to be attributed the
small part in Woodrow Wilson's educa-
| tion played by the passions of the great
conflict. He was only nine years old
W en- the war ended. He was, too, ap-
parently, a boy who somewhat tardily
| developed strong convictions. In short.
| he was real boy while he was boy,
| mere concerned in the games of his crowd
than n the princille of war of which
/ they saw little.
| Companion of Father.
The education of the Wilson boy was
not forced. His father, who had now be-
come one of TIE leading dvines of the
south, had his son as a constant COM
panion and talked to him by the hour,
| sometimes he took the lad on excursions
| to the factories of the city-for Augusta
was a manufacturing town-and taught
! him the processes by which crude ma
| ter.als' of all kinds are worked up into
i finished products. There was a great
deal of reading aloud in the parsonage;
Sir Walter Scott and Dickens became ia
| miliar to rim in this way, but for some
| reason he was not himself encouraged to
/ read until long past the age when most
youngsters know the art. He soon made
up for his late start by the eagerness
with which he devoured everything he
| could lay hands on.
| Schoolmate of Lamar
Among his mates at school in Augusta
was Joe Lamar and his brother pail
joe is now a justice of the Supreme
| Court of the United States
In the autumn of 1870 the Wilson's
/ moved to Co umbia, S. c. In the autumn
/ of 1873, being then seventeen years old
/ Woodrow went off to college. His father
| had chosen a school which was account
/ cd particularly strong just then in the
| character of its faculty, though it was
! rather small institution, Davidson Col
/ !ese. Davidson is now iourishing and
/ we'll equipped, but In those days every
| thing was rather primitive. The boys
| took care of their own rooms, filled their
| own lamps. cut kindling wood and car
/ ried in water from the pump outside.
Wilson's room was On the ground floor.
luckily; 1t was rather a job to carry
arm .oads of wood to remote rooms on
| the upper floors There still fingers
| at Davidson the tradition that Wilson
/ established a record in the minimum time
| neces ary to dress, cross the campus
and be in his seat when the before
breakfast chapel bell stopped ringing.
Lazy at Base Ball.
His classmates remember nothing un-
usus-- about Wilson when at Davidson
| College They say he had an open, en-
! saging face. pleasant manners and was
| llI- Ead They that he
was not very much interested in games,
which then consisted of base ball and
| shiny However, he p aged base ball
for while on the college nine. and mad
| the pleasure of hearing the captain say:
| Wilson. you would make dandy player
is YOU We're not so lazy.
The next year young Wilson stayed at
! home with his father. who had now been
called to Wilmington preparing himself
| to enter a northern university, where 1t
| was thought uhe colleges. along with
| everything else in the south. suffering
+, under the depression following the war;
| he would find better opportunities for
/ education.
Entrance at Princeton.
| The future Governor of New Jersey hrst
saw the state where his earliest political
| honors were to be won one September
morning in 1879. He found himself enter
ing the freshman class with 133 other
young men Princeton had been favor
ite resort OF young southern students. but
! now there were only very few from that
J section of the country The town was
! charming the college buildings. then six
/ teen in number made an attractive group
! around old Nassau Hall, which dated back
1 to 1856 Ii was a quiet, staid, old-fash-
ioned place, where what were then deemed
the essentials of an education We're
proffered TO such as chose TO take them.
! Two literary societies fourished at
Princeton-the Cliosophic Society. other
| WIS Clio Hail. and the Ar-erican Wing
Society. .'Whig Hail." dated from the
time of James Madison, who, as a stu
dent, wrote it's constitution. Wilson Joined
| il. Here the young man was In his glory.
| He entered eagerly into its traditions and
became Immediately one of its leading
spirits.
Wilson Best Debater.
| The big prize at Princeton was that won
and lost in the annual Lynde debate.
This was an extemporaneous discussion
by three representatives from each of .he
two halls. Wilson. by universal agree
ment. was Whig's best debater; he stood
In a class By himself, and there was no
doubt in any bodys mind that he would be
the chief of Wings team, and would cas-
lily carry off the prize. But each hall had
TO select Its debatSrS by preliminary
contest within its own society-an ex-
ttemporaneous affair, like the big debate
TO which 1t led. On the evening of the
preliminary contest the contestants were
told the subject. This time it was to be
| Protection vs. Free Trade" Then the
debaters took sides by lot Wilson put
his hand into the hat and drew out a slip
that required him To argue in favor of
| Protection " He tore up the slip and re-
| turned to his seat. Nothing under heaven
he swore. would induce him to vance
arguments for a thing in which he did
not believe. He did not believe in pro
lection So the Lynde prize went to
somebody else.
A Favorite at College.
Wilson was prime favorite at col
Iege. lie was not oyerstudious In the
regular course. At graduation he ranked
forty-first in class OF 122. The class OF
70 is a famous one, holding in its ranks
many who have achieved erninence; vii
son had here another schoolmate who
was 10 sit on the federal Supreme Cour
bench-Mahlon G. Pitney. Wilson ranked
as leader among such fellows from the
start; he was active In sports Uhougf
college sport in those days was nothing
like what II is todayb: he was managint