Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1913-02-06

Ie11 81 Il thrilling story. The first
G5czSIJ seventeen years of Woodrow
Wilson's life after he left Johns Hop.
kins university were spent in teaching.
They were years of usefulness. Thou.
sands Of students will testify to the
still enduring inspiration they owe to
them ana to him. They were years Of
delightful living. Of cultured and gen
ial companionship.
1t was with the unrelinquished pur
pose Of having his part In the public
life Of the nation that Woodrow Wilson
entered upon the profession Of a teach
er Of law and politics. 1t can hardly
be said however. that his first position
was one which gave promise Of any
large Immediate influence on public
affairs. A number OF Johns Hopkins
men on the opening In 1885 of Bryn
Mawr college accepted as their first
professorships places In the faculty of
the new institution for women. The
vulgar even referred to Brvn Mawr ms
Johanna Hopkins" Some were so
irreverent as to suggest that the young
professors were ''merely trying 1t on
the dog" Professor Wilson. though
called to Bryn Mawr primarily to give
instruction in politics and political
economy, taught good deal besides
those subjects. Classical history and
the history of the renaissance fell to
him. His lectures are said on high
authority to have been "marvels" of
oahnIupJhin npnfnpnHI.y f. tc
classes.
Professor Wilson worked very hard
to make his lectures interesting One
Of the faculty who lived next door tes
tifies that the light In his study win
dow was invariably burning long after
everybody else had gone TO bed. From
the start Of his professional career
Mr.. Wilson appears to have realized
the necessity of imparting vivacity
and reality to his lectures There Is
some ground to suspect that the intense
young ladies who sat under him did not
always appreciate the lighter side OF
his discourses At all events. 1t Is re
membered that he appeared one day
In the lecture room without the long
mustache which had up to then ndorn-
ed his countennnce-a sacrifice which,
II was limited. he had made In the hope
OF being thereafter better able to sug-
gest to his classes certain delicacies Of
thought and fancy which they had
shown little signs of experimenting.
Bryn Mawr college opened with for
ty-three students. Three houses at the
edge of the campus were occupied by
the dean and professors. many OF the
latter being bachelors. Later Mr.. VIII.
son leased pretty cottage, the parson,
age of the little Baptist church on the
old Gulf road, In the midst Of lovely
countryside. In this, their first home
the Wilson's took great pride and sat
isfaction, In vacation time they went
back south among old friends 1t was
I'm the south that the first two children
were born.
In June. 1886. Professor Wilson took
his Ph. d, at Johns Hopkins. the uni
versity accepting as his thesis his book
Congressional Government During
his third year mt Bryn Mawr Profess
sor Wilson accepted II lectureShip ut
Johns Hopkins This took him To Rat,
timore once week for twenty-five
weeks
Social life at Bryn Mawr was most
agreeable, An invitation to an Older
and larger institution was. nevc, the
less. not to be declined. Amplcr uppor,
tunity opened In n school attended bN
"A l.,
son accepted an election to the chair of
history and political economy ut Wes.
leyan university. Middletown, Conn.
From the start Professor Wilson's
courses We're extremely popular. And
well indeed they might be, FOR New
England had rarely heard such instruc-
ton as was given In the lecture room
OF Wesleyan's professor OF history and
political economy While at Middle
town he continued his lectureship at
Johns Hopkins. Now. however. instead
OF going down once week he bunch
ed his twenty-five lectures in n month
of vacation allowed him by the Wes-
leyan trustees. His fame MS n popular
lecturer also was growing apace. and
he was frequently called to give ad-
dresses in New England and the east
ern states. 1t was while Mt Middle.
town that he wrote THE State" Il vol,
ume which, with less pretcntions to lit.
erary form than his other work. involv.
ed an enormous amount OF labor.
Mr.. Wilson was Il member OF the ath-
letic committee of Wesleyan and took
the keenest interest in the college
sports, One student OF the time re-
members how inceuSed he became at
the limited ambition OF the Wesleyan
boys, who, when they played against
Yale, were satisfied only to keep the
score down. That's no ambition at
air. he used to cry go In and win
You can lick Yale MS well as any other
team, Go after their scalps. Don't ad-
NIT for moment that they can beat
you"
Life ut Mlddletown was pleasant