The mirror., 1915-11-18
::PENDENNIS' CHAT:,
By J. s.
The Dreamer

uC Dreamer
He is dreamer men said,
And cunningly tried;
With wise look and shake of head,
His ability to deride.
They askance passed him by,
AS one whose wits gathered wool,
From gazing at the sky,
A harmless bit of fool.
He lived within his own life,
And needed not their scorn;
But there came time of strife
A trying crisis, opportunity morn.
The wise men could not plan,
Nor make the remedy plain;
But the Dreamer had but to scan
His treasures in his Castles in Spain.
Then quickly found the way,
To do the thing required.
For he had foreseen the day,
When Fate of wisdom would be tired.
The November American Review of Re-
views contains an article by Senator Cum
minis of Iowa, entitled-''Defense and Rev
enue in The Next Congress. He writes
81 am not defending war. 1t is hateful
and horrible in every aspect. 1t blots and
disfgures every page of history. One side
has always been wrong, and oftentimes
both. But sometimes one side has been
right, and if it had refused to fight itwould
have committed fatal crime against all
the generations yet unborn. What if Greece
had weakly submitted when the Persian
hosts were pouring over her borders? What
if Rome had tamely surrendered when Han
nibal was hammering at her gates? What
if Charles Martel had yielded to the Sara
cen at Tours? What if Wellington had not
shattered Napoleon's dream of universal
conquest? What if the Colonies had not
dared the English wrath? What if Lincoln,
Grant and Sherman, had not been willing to
stand for the Union? Let us not deceive
ourselves with the fimsy fallacies of an ar
gument which stains with dishonor the
brave deeds of the best and noblest of
mankind
This rather disproves the wisdom of the
sage who said "There never has been a
good war or bad peace" But there has
been occasions in the affairs of men when
war was the only resort. Senator Cum
minis outlines plan for national defense
that is comprehensive and logical. His
excellent article is timely, and should be
by all who have had their sur
felt of newspaper items on the subject of
The rapidity with which men acquire
knowledge in the night school has ever
been a source of wonder to Pendennis.
Diligent students in the eight months term
learn more than public school children do in
five or six years. The capacity of the adult
mind is far superior to the capabilities pos
sessed by growing youth.
There was clear, distinct, sincere logic,
about Herman Riders editorials, which
was characteristic of the rugged honesty
of the man. He was able to perceive the
truth and then with his clear expressive
language, to make his readers recognize
the truth. This trait in the man made him
distinctive genius and a great editor.
A wise man once wrote, Practice makes
perfect and thus gave the language an
adage. Then to attain perfection we should
practice, and this idea brings to the mind
another saying. Practice what you preach.
If practice gives perfection, are all those
who are consistent qualified to preach?
Maybe some of the unfit have never been
tried in places where they would fit
If you do not recognize merit, merit is
vain enough to believe that its worth is un-
noticed because of jealousy.