Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-07-05
THE LIBRARY TABLE

Both as valiant crusader for pure
food and as longtime resident of the
National Capital, DR.. Harvey w, Wiley,
who died on Monday, was much be-
| loved by the people of Washington. It
is matter of great satisfaction to his
legion of friends and admirers that Dr.
| Wiley, in the twilight of his long
crowded and useful career. should have
written an account of his life and pub
lished 1t under the title Harvey w
Wiley; an Autobiography" The story
Is thoroughly interesting one. of hum
bic beginnings on an Indiana farm, of
! primitive early conditions, OF hardships
OF struggles for an education. of life as
soldier, of teaching, of travel and
study abroad of the long battle for
pure food. of a late marriage and an
| interesting family, OF writing and lee
turing and political campaigning, of
| threatened dismissal from ONCE. of
honors received and honors declined, of
hosts of friends and of some enemies.
The whole story has been told with q
| simplicity. an enthusiasm, gusto and
humor that cause the reader to enter
into the spirit of an amazingly rich and
satisfying life.
Wiley was not only born In the ira
| ditional log cabin that seems the fitting
origin of such giants and pioneers as
| he, but also his first school was built
| of logs. The pupils of the school were
| graded according to the one of the five
! McGufey readers they read. His faith
er, farmer, was in addition teacher of
| the school, but was also the first con-
ductor in his section of Southern In
! diana of the underground railway" by
| which runaway slaves were assisted in
| their flights to the North. Wiley re-
| lateS that Uncle Toms Cabin" was
| read aloud to the family by his father
week by week as 1t appeared serially in
| the National Era. He states that his
educational training was greatly inf1u-
| enced by the reading of the books he
| secured from the peripatetic libraries
| that were established in Indiana in the
early 1850's. These libraries were de-
posted with the town trustees for a
certain length Of time and then trans
ferred to the next township. BY means
| OF such interchanges every township of
| the State had in the course of a few
| years access to good collections of his
tory fiction and general literature The
! most lasting impression of all these
| books made on Wiley was from his
| reading of John S. c. Abbott's History
| of Napoleon Bonaparte" Wiley was
able to go through his college course
| only by working on his fathers farm
on Saturdays to pay his college room
! rent and by cooking his own meals. His
| college course was broken by brief serv-
| ice in the Union Army He comments
| that had be been born miles farther
south he would probably have been q
Confederate soldier.
| " y -
When Wiley finished his college
| course he decided to study medicine
! To earn money for his medical course
ne resorted to teaching. Hearing of a
vacancy in the northern part of the
| State, he spent all of his money in
making a personal application, only to
arrive too late. The journey back of
hundred miles was made on foot. He
had to swim river at one point, keep
! ing his clothes dry by making a bundle
! of them and holding them out of the
water. AT last a position as a country
! school teacher was found A year OF
teaching was followed by an appren-
| ticeship to q country doctor. Then
came tutorship in Greek and Latin
| in Indianapolis and a salary that en-
abled him to take his course in a medi-
| cal college and secure his degree OF
| doctor of medicine. On graduation he
was chosen professor of chemistry In
| the medical college, but feeling the need
| of more knowledge, he resolved to 20
| to Harvard On the way he stopped
off at Washington to visit his old friend
! and colleague. the then chief of the
! Division of Chemistry of the Department
OF Agriculture, little realizing at the
time that within 10 years he would be-
come the Governments chief chemist.
| The Harvard experience brings pictures
Of John Tyndall, Lowell Institute lee
turer; of Asa Gray and Louis Agassiz,
| Harvard professors, Of Charles w. Eliot,
at that time known as the boy presi-
dent" or Harvard. and of DR.. Charles
E. Monroe, then assistant professor at
| Harvard and later professor in George
Washington University. At Monroe' S
| suggestion Wiley applied for a Harvard
| degree in science. To secure it required
| II days of examinations. oral and writ
ten, involving college entrance, fresh
! man, sophomore, junior and two SEN
Tor conditions. He got the coveted de-
| gree and cum laude Herewith. Re-
! turning to indianapolis Wiley nearly
killed himself by holding three teach
| ing jobs, teaching chemistry at each.
| in a UNCONVENTIONAL college in the
morning, in high school in the after
| noon and in the medical school in the
evening. Then followed nine years OF
| teaching chemistry at Purdue Uni
nected with that experience. One Of
| these was a reprimand from the board
| of trustees because of his conduct I'M
| becoming professor in riding a high
| wheel bicycle. Wiley promptly re-
| signed but the trustees refused to &C
| cept 1t. Much later the board of trus-
| tees elected him president of the uni
verSity on one day, but before notify
! ing him of their action they rescinded
I fF9E nf TlnNA Sar ,iVN ~.R
! son, then ex-President of the United
States. on the ground ito quote his own
words) that "he is bachelor and does
| not attend church regularly, and, in
my opinion, the head of a great insti-
| tuition like Purdue should be a strict
attendant at church and be a married
man."
More than half of the "autobiogra-
| ply is devoted to DR.. Wiley's Wash
ington career, including the battle for
pure food-in Congress, in the Depart
ment of Agriculture. in the courts, and
| even at the White House. This part OF
! DR.. Wtleys life has been lived under
| the observation of Washingtonians. who
! are recommended to read this stirring
history of the father of pure food. AS
q fighter for pure food, as well as a
soldier in the Civil War, he was fittingly
buried In Arlington National Cemetery
y
The John Newbery medal, awarded
annually by the section for library work
with children of the American Library
Association for the most distinguished
children's book of the past year, was
| presented to Rachel Field for "Hitty
| Her First Hundred Years" during the
recent session of the American Library
Association conference in Los Angeles
| Thu modal iE s,@