Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-06-08
BACKGROUND OF EVENTS
BY PAUL Y. COLLINS.

I the war; the buddies shoot more &C
| curately now.
Is it merely idiosyncracieS or plain
idiocies that make some college profeS-
sors such asses nowadays, as appears
to be the aff1iction of the Boston Tech
and the Chicago University whose pro
lessor announced last week that
psychiatry proved that when one Is
| BORN normal he cannot become a CROOK
/ and if born abnormal he cannot re-
frain from crime? What uitra-lntellec-
tual nonsense! It's dollars to doughnuts
| that Lewis E. Lawes holds no degree
from the Chicago University; al he
knows about crin1inology and higher
| learning is just what ne has gained as
warden Of Sing Sing Penltentlary COW
ering observations of many thousands
of conVictS. Last Thursday, he told 300
delegates to the Boys Club, in Boston
criminal type" which psychlatrlStS
talk about.
Il can't possibly recognize criminal
type in humanity" he said. 1T IS the
point of temptation that makes tbs
criminal-the time, place and circun~
stances. There is no specific reason Tor
crime, it is a combination of reasons.
AT Sing Sing you want to know Wnv
these men are in prison. You SEND Tor
the physician and he tells you that its
their teeth, their eyes their fiat feet
The work leader says they have never
known work; they don't want 10 work.
they won't work; that if they would
learn the glory of manual labor they
wouldn't be there.
.':rhe chaplain says they cannot get
straight on religion. And here, again,
can't agree with those psychiatrists
who say that criminals are religious
they positively are not"
X = x x
What ails the new thought" Of fad
GistS, thar they forget plain, ordinary,
common sense like that? Is it any Won
der that youth, turned loose in an at
mosphere of drivel and erratic mislead-
ing, under the guise OF science, should
become confused and lose it's bearings as
to the verities of life? 1t is popular
these days to scoff at the folly of
youth; why not take a crack at the
follies of Youths Pied Pipers of modern
istic colleges? OF course this does not
refer to the serious college professors,
any more than structures on ambulance
chasers" reflect on the Justices of the
Supreme Court.
It would be a wonderful course Tor
some professors to study in some post
graduate school the good sense Of ths
letters of Lord Chesterfield to his son,
especially to check up his advice TO his
boy, alongside of that Of the Boston
Tech Prof. Rogers. Says Lord Chester
field to the boy just ready to start life
on his own account:
ITO come now TO a point Of much
less importance, but yet Of very great
consequence, at your first setting out
Be extremely upon your guard against
vanity, the common failing of ineXperi-
enced youth, but particularly against
that kind Of vanity that dubs a man a
coxcomb-a character which, once &C
quired, is more indelible than that Of
the priesthood.
ut is not to be imagined in how many
different ways vanity defeats its own
purposes. Some men decide perenp-
toruy upon every subject, betray their
ignorance upon many and show a dis
gushing presumption upon the rest.
Others f1atter their vanity by little ex-
traneous objects, which have not the
least relation to themselves-such as
being descended from or related to. or
acquainted with people Of distinguished
merit and eminent characters. They
talk perpetually OF their grandfather
such-a-one, their uncle Such-a-one and
their intimate friend, Mr.. Such-a-one,
with whom possibly they are hardly ac-
Cuainted But admitting It all to be as
they would have it, what then? Fave
they the more merit for these accidents?
Certainly not.
ION the contrary, their taking I'D
adventurous proves their want Of In
trinsic merit; rich man never borrows.
Take this rule for granted as a never
failing one-that you must never seem
to affect the character in which YOU
have a mind to shine. Modesty is the
only sure bait when you angle for
praise. The affectation Of courage will
mike even a brave man pass only for
bully, as the affectation of wit will
make a man Of parts pass for cox
comb"
A "coxcomb' is old English for a
Boston Tech Snob. Yet the Tech is
really quite a Schoo1-otherwise.
Copyright, 1913, by Pa1l v. eofainsI