New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1915-10-03

II there Is one person more than an
other whom | hold in hearty contempt
II IL the man who 10 too proud TO fight.
| can respect the man who holds the
theoretical view that all lighting 4,
wrong, provided he abAndons Il tenn
porarily when he has his face slapped.
! can pity the man who has the sort Of
judicial temperament that prevents
him from making up his mind whether
a given insult or series Of insults does
or does not Justify a fight. ! can abb
sol1tely excuse a man who Ia afraid TO
fight, II he frankly says he's afraid. But
the man who is TOO dignihed' or too
proud to fight should assume no po.i-
tion of responsibility beyond that Of
honorary secretary of peace
price league. and 10 be entirely safe he
should wear petticoats at the meetings
OF even that pusillsnimous organiza-
ton.
IF had been at home and had vote d
as ! would have voted-thnt the use
fulness Of DR.. Nearing 20 the Univer-
sity OF Pennsylvania had come to an
end, ! would have insisted upon being
left free TO give my reasons somewhat
as follows:
Il did not vote against DR.. Nearing
because of his criticisms Of certain
rules and Institutions Of our present
civilization, or because Of his presen-
tations to our students Of certain 'un-
tested theories II these views were
not somewhere and somehow presented
IN the course or economics | would
consider the department 10 that extent
derelict in the discharge OF its duty.
Views Anarchistic to Some.
"But as found sometime ago that
views for the full understanding Of
which careful logical foundation must
be laid. and which, isolated from their
interdependence upon correlated facts
and theories. would necessarily seem
fantastic, eXtravagant, and-to some I'M
trained minds-anarchistic, were being
laid by Dr. Nearing before persons
not university students-quite unit TO
appreciate or digest them, began to
doubt his balance and common sense
as a public teacher. That DR.. Nearing
made this mistake In his classroom
doubt. But that he made IL on Iumer-
Gus occasions before lay audiences.
and that his very esrnestness and en-
thusiasm led him into unconscious ex-
aggerations Of his own advanced opin-
ions, ! believe.
Il also found. long before this year,
that sober minded. sensible persons had
received from DR.. Nearing the strong
impre that he advocated the ruth
less redistribution Of property; that he
believed IN the personal iniquity Of
those who lived on incomes derived
even from their own savings. that he
thought that the alternative of work or
starvation should be presented even to
the old. the feeble and the diseased.
knew that my sensible friends had mis-
understood him, but the fact that they
had been given the opportunity 70 do
so made me still more doubtful of his
fitness TO represent the university be-
fore the public as one of its chosen
eypounders OF the principles Of eco
Monies. Wien such incidents multi
piled as years went on and persons
whose goodwill and respect for the uni
versity seemed TO me important were
so affected as 10 lead them to say, some
times sngrily, sometimes sorrowfully,
that they could not let their boys be-
exposed 10 such influences and-when
l tried % convince them of their mis-
taken view Of Dr. Nearing-said: AZ
know, because heard him myself" I
realized that IL had become my duty