Evening star., 1922-11-18

experts and mechanics and servitors
and cooks-all. the great and the
small. in profile. They are to look
like those who have made their pre-
lenses before me during the past year
the solemn and the stupid: the kind
ly; the reckless; the offhand: the
erudite; the practical; the many men
with tubes and the many men with
electrical machines. Old Esculapius
must begin the procession. but the
man with the knife. regnant, heroic
size. must end II.
What . great thing. what a pride.
to have the two men of greatest con-
structive Imagination and courage in
surgery In the world as Americans.
Or. Charles and DR.. Will Mayo.
To Robert Lansing:
Rochester. May IA. 1921.
Ny Dear Lansing: l am disturbed
because you may be disturbed. AS lie
In bed I read and am read to. and
some OF, the papers do not treat
you decently. The very ones that
were loudest in their declarations
against W. W. at every stage. now
suggest that you might have quit
his service II You didn't like 1t.
hope 1t will not get under your
skin.
What comfort you would have
given the enemy II you had re-
signed: Have they thought Of
that? came to the brink when
the President blew up my coal
agreement to save three or four
hundred million dollars for the
people. But I was stopped by the
thought, "Giye no comfort to Berlin"
Good night and good luck.
F. XII.
Mr.. Lane died on May IS, 1921.
In his room was found the following
manuscript fragment. written the
day before:
And If I had passed into that other
land. whom would 1 have sought
and what should have done?
No doubt. first OF all 1 would have
sought the few loved ones whose
common life with me had given US
matter for talk and whom l had
known SO well that ! had loved
dearly. Then perhaps there might
have (been) some gratifying OF a
cheap curiosity. rome searching and
craning after the names that had
been sierras along my skyline. But
I know now there would have been
little of that It would not have
been in me to have gone about ask
ing Alexander and Cromwell little
questions. For what would signify
the trife which made a personal
fortune, that put a new name up upon
some pilaster men bowed to as they
passed? Were Aristotle there. hold
ing in his hand the strings and cables
that tied together all the swinging
and surginE and tagging movements
Of the whole earth's life-an in
formed, pregnant Aristotle-ah. there
would be the man to talk with! What
satisfaction to see him take, like
reins from between his fingers, the
long ribbons Of mans life and trace 1t
through the mystifying maze of all
the wonderful adventure Of his COM
ing up. The crooked made straight
The "Daedalian plan" simplifed by
q look from above-smeared out. as
it were, by the splotch of some mas
ter thumb that made the whole in
vo,u.ed. boselIng thing one beauti-
i full, straight line. And one could see.
as on a map of ocean currents. the
swing and movements Of a thousand
million years 1 think that I would
not expect that he could tell the rea-
son why the way began. nor where
It would end. That's divine business.
get for the free-going OF the mind 1t
would lend such impulse to see clear
Is. Thus much for curiosity! The
way up which we've stumbled.
But for my hearts content in that
new land 1 think I'd rather loaf
with Lincoln along river bank. 1
know could understand him. would
not have to learn who were his
friends and who his enemies. what
| theories he was committed to. and
what against. We could just talk
ana open out our Iniho5, anu tel
our doubts and swap the longings
Of our hearts that others never heard
Of. He wouldn't try to master me
nor to make ne feel how small
vac. I'd dare to ask him things and
know that he felt awkward about
them. too. And I would find, I know
1 would, that he had hit his shin just
on those very stumps that had hit
me. Wed talk of men lot. the kind
they call the great. 1 would not find
him scornful. Yet boys that he knew
in New Salem would somehow ap-
pear larger in their souls than some
Of these that I had called the great.
His wise eyes saw qualities that
weighed more than smartness. Yes.
we would sit down where the bank
sloped gently to the quiet stream and
glance at the picture Of our people.
the negroes being lynched. the miners
civil war, labor's holdups. employ
ers' ruthlessness, the subordination
Of humanity to industry