Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1913-02-08
THE ROCK ISLAND ARGUS. SATURDAY. FEBRUARY g. 1913


manners of a young aristocrat. His
speech was cultured. He soon won the
reputation Of already wide reading and
sound judgment. There is abundant
evidence that he was from the start q
marked figure among the men who
now constitute the famous class Of
10" There have been more famous
Princeton graduates than these, but
there has never been a class of so high
an average OF ability. Robert Bridges.
one of the editors of Scribner's Maya
zine; the Rev. DR.. A. s. Halsey. secre-
tary of the Presbyterian board Of for
eign missions: Charles A. Talcott. NJ.
c.; Mahlon Pitney. justice Of the SUI
preme court Of the United States:
Robert 81. McCarter, ex-attorney gen
eral OF New Jersey; Edward ". Shell
don. president OF the United States
Trust company: Colonel Edwin A.
Stevens Of New Jersey and Judge Rob-
ert R. Henderson Of Maryland are only
typical members Of a class Of unusual
mental capacity. Among such men
Wilson from the start ranked high.
Not as Il student perhaps. He was
never a bright particular star in ex-
aminations. Princeton graduated as
honor men" such students as had
maintained throughout their four
years course an average Of 90 per
cent. Not less than forty-two out Of
the 122 graduates of 10 were honor
men" Wilson barely got in among
them. He ranked forty-frst.
The fact is that this son Of clergy
men and editors hadn't come to school
to pass through a standardized cur
riculum and fill his head with the
knowledge prescribed in college cata
logue. He had come TO prepare him
self for particular career. and before
he had been at Princeton three months
he had finally determined on what that
career should be
The class historian. Harold Pete
Goodwin. celebrating the advent in
Princeton Of the members of the class
that graduated in 70. declares that on
arrival Tommy Wilson rushed TO the
library and took out Rants 'Critique
of Pure Reason"
To the library Tommy Wilson un
questionably did rush. but not to read
of pure reason. If ever there was
student who demanded facts. concrete
subjects. applied reason. it was this
same Wilson. even in his college days.
The truth is that. prowliuG in the al
coves OF the Chancellor Green library.
new then. one dav early in the term
the boy stopped at the head Of the
south stairs. where the bound maya
zines were kept, and his hand fell
upon n file of the Geutpman'S Maya
zine. that ancient and respectable re
pOsltory of English literature which
DIR. Samuel Johnson had helped To
start away back in the middle of the
eighteenth century. with his reports of
parliamentary debates When Johnson
lay on his dcathbed he declared that
his only conjunction WAS those parlin-
mentary reuort>. for. of course. they
were "fakeS"
Now. it happened that in the seventies
the editor of the day. feeling round Cor
an attractive feature. hit Upon the idea
OF resumiug the parliamentary reports.
Accordingly there hogan in the mum
bor for January. 1874. Il series of ar
ticle~ entitled Men aud Manner In
Parliament" by The Nc;alpr For the
Chiltern Hundreds
Thomas Woodrow Wilson happened
to pick IN this volume of The Gentle
mans Magazine and to turn to the
pages occupied 10y Men and Manner
In Parliamcut''-au from that moment
his life plan WAS fixed
II WAS an era OF brilliant uarliamen-
tary history There were giants, in
those dayS-John Bright DiSracli.
Gladstone. Earl Granville. Vernon
Harcourt. TIL" personnel Of the hnuSf
Of commons had never been more pie
turcsque. the atmosphere more elec,
triCal
Nothing could have better served to
awaken in a young reader u senSe Of
the picturesqueness and dramatic in
tereSt of politics. and Mr. Wilson has
said to the writer of this biography
that no one circumstance did more u
make public life the purpose of his eN
istence nor more 10 determine the
1rSt cast ~ his political ideas. The