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•**.^
The
Quarterly Journal
of the
University of North Dakota
PUBLISHED BY THE.UNIVERSITY
't ■ . • .■
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The Quarterly Journal
A8T0R, LENOX *N0
TItOtN FO'INOaTIOHS.
E University of North Dakota
CONTENTS OF VOLUME THREE
=No. 1, OCTOBER, 1912=
I. THE WORK OF THE PIONEERS
A. J. Ladd 3
n. THE EVOLUTION OF COLLEGE
DEBATING
John Adams Taylor 31
III. THE NEW GRAMMAR
Samuel James Pease 47
IV. MR. WILBUR'S STUDIES IN
ENTOMOLOGY
V^ERNON- PURINTON SQUIRES
Ge(>R(.e St. John Perrott 51
V. A SIMPLER EXPLANATION OF THE
"POTFM lAL" AND RELATED USES OF
TtiF..GppMA^: S PEttV^CTI VE"
SiNttrli*' J^MBf'S'EAiir ; 57
VI. AFTERMATH: j'.:: :*•*.:
GoTTRifib'EMAS^iL jivLT 67
• •••• .*. ••.;•• •
VII. BOOK REy|fW&:*-!*.'.'-i 72
VIII. UNIVERSITY NOTES 88
=No. 2, JANUARY, 1913=
I. POOR-RELIEFS AND JAILS IN NORTH
DAKOTA
John Morris Gillette 99
II. THE ALDRICH BANKING PLAN: WITH
SPECIAL REFERENCE TO NORTH
DAKOTA
Meyer Jacobstein 138
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CONTENTS- Continued
III. CANADA'S COMBINES INVESTIGATION ACT
James Ernest Boyle 164
IV. PARTISAN SCHOLARSHIP
O. G. LiBBV 171
V. BOOK REVIEWS 181
VI. UNIVERSITY NOTES 189
No. 3, APRIL, 1913
I. DON QUIXOTE— A BOOK
Henry Lampart LeDaum 197
II. THEME RECURRENCES IN POE'S TALES
Gilbert Cosulick 235
III. THE MODERNITY OF TOLSTOY'S
RELIGION
Abram Lipsky 238
IV. LITERARY VALUE IN THE MODERN DRAMA
Frederick Henry Koch 249
V. I DREAMED THAT DREAM WAS QUENCHED
Gottfried Emanuel Hult 270
VI. BOOK REVIEWS 272
VII. UNIVERSITY NOTES, .,.,.,..,.... 281
No. 3, JXlLy,'X'913'
• • -I
I. POLITICAL FACTJO;S^^S;IN WASHINGTON'S
ADMiNiSTRATipHa;-; /;•, v-V
O. G. Libby ............ i. !. i 293
II. THE EXILE AND ITS EFFECT UPON THE
HEBREW PEOPLE
Wallace Nelson Stearns 319
III. THE NEW INDIVIDUALISM
Andrew Alexander Bruce 325
IV. ANTIOCHUS EPIPHANES EPIMANES
William Joseph Trimble 337
V. BOOK REVIEWS 356
VL UNIVERSITY NOTES 365
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• • • • , • • • »,•
• I »•••• •••
*• ••••• 1
•,• • •#• •#• •• •
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Announcement
THE Quarterly Journal is a periodical main-
tained by the University of North Dakota. Its
primary function is to represent the varied activities
of the several colleges and departments of the Uni-
versity, tho it is not limited to that. Contributions
from other sources are welcomed, especially when
they are the fruitage of scientific research, literary
investigation or other forms of constructive thought.
Correspondence is solicited.
The subscription price is one dollar a year, single
numbers, thirty cents.
All communications should be addressed,
Thb Quarterly Journal,
University, North Dakota
Editor's Bulletin Board
THE next issue of the Quarterly Journal will
represent the political and social sciences.
Among the articles of interest will be one by Justice
A. A. Bruce of the Supreme Court of North Dakota,
on "The New Individualism." Dr. O. G. Libby who
contributed an article to the issue of April, 1912, on
"A Sketch of the Early Political Parties in the
United States," will discuss, more m detail, some
interesting phases of the same general subject under
the title, "Political Factions During Washington's
Administration."
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The School of Education
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH DAKOTA
FUNCTION: The preparation of teachers and principals for secondary
schools, superintendents for city schools, and instructors for Normal
schools and collegres.
EINTRANCE REQUIREMESNTS; Two years of work in the College of
Liberal Arts reg^ularly required.
DEOREES AND DIPLOMA: The deg^ree of Bachelor of Arts and the Bach-
elor's Diploma in Teaching: (the professional instrument which entitles
the holder to a First Grade Professional Certificate), on the completion
of the regular four-year course of study.
Graduate courses are offered leading to the degree of Master of Arts.
SPEK^IAL CERTIFICATES: In Commercial work. Domestic Science. Draw-
ing, Manual Training, and Music, on the completion of two years of
prescribed work.
MODEL HIGH SCHOOL: The Model High School for observation and prac-
tice in all lines of high school work is in full operation.
GOOD SENSE: If you aim to practise medicine attend the School of Medi-
cine; if you intend to practise law. attend the College of Law; if you
would be an engineer, attend one of the colleges of engineering; and
tf 7011 ara to taaoli, anroU in TKS BOKOOZi 07 BDVOATZOV.
For information, address
DEAN JOSEPH KENNEDY,
University, N. D.
The College of Liberal Arts
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH DAKOTA
Twenty-four departments offering more than two hundred dif-
ferent courses of study.
Specially arranged curricula for those who intend to become
social workers or to engage in one of the various lines of business, such
as banking, journalism, etc.
One year in the College of Law or two years in the School of
Medicine or any of the Engineering Colleges may be elected, thus en-
abling the student to obtain the degree of Bachelor of Arts and a
Law, Medical, or Engineering degree in six years.
Graduate courses leading to the degree of Master of Arts.
For further information, address
THE REGISTRAR,
University, N. D,
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The Quarterly Journal
Volume 3 OCTOBER, 1912 Number 1
The Work of the Pioneers
A« J. Ladd^
Professor of Education,
University of North Dakota
(Prefatory note. This article on "The Work of the Pio-
neers" is to be the third chapter of the writer's forthcoming book on
**The History of Normal Schools in the United States." A brief
word reviewing the ground covered in the former chapters is here
needed to give it appropriate setting.
Chapter I, "Normal School Beginnings," traces the movement
for the professional education of teachers from its real starting point
with the Teaching Congregations, notably the Jesuits, in the sixteenth
century, down into the early decades of the nineteenth, when we find
the normal school a well-recognized factor in the educational systems
of nearly all the states of central Europe. It is shown that August
Hermann Francke was most largely responsible for the idea while
Frederick the Great and Marie Theresa were the enlightened nilers
who gave it fruitful soil.
Chapter H, "Educational Beginnings in the United States,"
sketches rapidly the educational development in America during the
colonial period and the early days of statehood. It is shown that
educational zeal, running high at first, gradually became dimmed
under the various depressing influences of the development of a new
country until the schools seem to be a reproach, if not a menace. But
a few people are wide awake and thoughtful. They see the necessity
of improvement, and casting about for a means discover the fatal
weakness — poorly prepared teachers. How to make them better, is
the question. They try to answer it, and some of them do pioneer
work. Chapter III, the article given here, tells of the work of these
pioneers.)
IT has been suggested in a former chapter that with the almost
universal lessening of interest in educational matters during the
closing years of the eighteenth century, and the consequent decline
in educational activity of the early decades of the nineteenth, there
arose here and there far-seeing men who attempted to check the
downward course and to place the entire educational system upon a
more satisfactory basis. Indeed, from the very beginning we have
Covfrifht 19n b7 UolTtnlty of Nortk Dakota
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4 The Quarterly Journal
never lacked such public spirited servants. And the decline that I
have so hastily sketched would have been much more rapid and
more disastrous had it not been for their labors. Stirring addresses
calling attention to the value of universal education, labored arguments
showing its specific need in a Democratic State, impassioned appeals
for more and better schools, requests and demands for their better
management and more generous support, and suggestions for improved
pedagogical methods were employed in season and out of season. The
pulpit and the press, the lecture platform and the drawing room, the
ballot box and the law court were all pressed into service. The old
files of educational magazines, of weekly and monthly periodicals,
and even the old dust-covered volimies of sermons give evidence of
educational interest and activity on the part of many. But among
all the good things said and writen, among all the excellent sugges-
tions made for improvement, we are surprised to find postponed to so
late a date he suggestion that touches the difficulty at its very root.
Tho the need of competent teachers was from the start somewhat
fully recognized, the force of the old Prussian maxim, ''as is the
teacher so is the school," was not fully grasped until very late. And
when it was finally grasped they seem to us to have been slow in
working out a means for giving the teacher adequate preparation.
And this slowness is difficult for us to understand. With a recogni-
tion of the utility of the normal school so much a part of our very
consciousness we can hardly see why such agency had not been earlier
adopted. But let us not be harsh in our judgment. Hark back to a
former diapter and note that it was not till near the close of the
eighteenth century that the utility of such an agency had been any-
where adequately recognized, and then only in places far remote.
■ItakaTlclnor Not till 1 789, so far as I can learn, was any
*'*® suggestion made looking toward the establishment
of an institution in the United States having as
one of its definitely recognized functions the professional preparation of
teachers. This suggestion is found in a note to an article printed in the
Old Massachusetts Magazine for June, 1789. The article was headed,
''Essay upon the Importance of studying the English Language gram^
matically" It was not signed but is thought to have been written by
either Elisha Ticknor or Caleb Bingham, both grammar school
teachers of note, with the odds in favor of Mr. Ticknor. In the
course of his argument the writer is led to say:
^'Noble distinctions are unknown in America, except constituted
by merit; therefore let every freenoan remember that nothing will so
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The Work of the Pioneers 5
much insure the independency of his country as a regular, systematic
English education." Thus far afield, he is tempted a little farther
and makes the suggestion referred to:
''Since education has been a question of much debate in
this, as well as in many other States, and what method is best
to be adopted in order to lessen every unnecessary expense, and
yet to establish our schools on a more respectable footing, and
to diffuse light and knowledge more universally among the people,
— I beg leave to suggest the following plan: As each town in
this Commonwealth of more than a hundred and forty families
is obliged, by an act of the General Court, to support a public
Grammar School, in which you will very seldom find more than
three or four boys studying the learned languages, and as these
scholars are the only persons benefited by the extraordinary
expense the town is at in obtaining a master qualified for the
office, and as, perhaps, nine-tenths of the people of the State do
not receive one shilling's advantage per annum, by reason of the
great distance they live from the several schools, I think to anni-
hilate all the Latin Grammar Schools, and to establish one in
each county, will render more essential service to the community,
and fix the schools on a more respectable footing than any plan
that has yet been suggested. My idea of the matter is simply
this: — that there should be a public Grammar School established
in each county of the State, in which should be taught English
Grammar, Latin, Greek, rhetoric, geography, mathematics, etc,
in order to fit young gentlemen for college and school keeping?-
At the head of this county school I would place an able preceptor,
who should superintend the whole instruction of the youth com-
mitted to his care, and who, together with a board of overseers,
should annually examine young gentlemen, designed for school-
masters, in reading, writing, arithmetic, and English grammar,
and if they are found qualified for the office of school-keeping,
and able to teach these branches with ease and propriety, to rec-
ommend them for this purpose. No man ought to be suffered to
superintend ever so small a school, except he has been first exam-
ined by a body of men of this character, and authorized for this
purpose. And I am sure it is no vanity in me to think that were
our petty Grammar schools annihilated, and one established in
each county as a substitute, instead of our common mock schools,
kept by a set of ignoramuses, who obtrude themselves upon the
people a few months at a time, without the requisite abilities or
qualilcations, we should have a worthy class of teachers, regu-
larly introduced and examined, and should soon see the happy
results from this noble plan."*
1. All italics belong to the author.
2. (a) Common School Journal (Mass.). Vol. IV (1842), P. 169.
(b) Barnard, Henry: American Journal of Education. VoL XVI,
P. 76.
(c) Oordy. J. P. Rise and Growth of the Normal School Idea
(1891), P. 9.
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6 The Quarterly Journal
The writer was suggesting here something more than the sub-
stitution of one efficient county school for several weak, poorly-
attended town schools ; he was doing that, and he was adding to that
more efficient county school an entirely new function — the preparation
of teachers. Certain branches were to be taught "in order to fit
young gentlemen for college and school keeping/' A new star had
arisen in the educational firmament of America. But yet more, the
writer seemed to recognize the need of some qualification other than
academic for teaching, for he says, in speaking of the duties of the
examining board which he recommends, "if they" (that is, the young
gentlemen being examined) "are found qualified for the office of
schoolkeeping, and able to teach these branches with ease and pro-
priety/* that they should be recommended.
Nothing definite, so far as action is concerned, came from the
suggestion, indeed, it was not put forth with that intent. It was
not addressed to any official body, nor given out at any particular or
auspicious time, simply one man's suggestion as to a solution of a
difficult problem given out gratuitously and generously. But it is
interesting to note that thus early there is found a clear appreciation
of the need of an institution devoted largely to the preparation of
teachers and that in that preparation two elements enter — namely,
academic and professional.
That Mr. Ticknor*s suggestion did not arouse any particular
enthusiasm upon the subject of the professional education of teachers
is evidenced from the fact that, search as we may, we can find no
reference to it in the current literature, no reference either to the
suggestion or to the great subject itself. Indeed, the next reference
comes from one not yet born when Mr. Ticknor wrote.
Denlson Olm- In i8i6 Denison Olmsted, then tutor, later pro-
sted 1816 fessor, in Yale College, upon taking his master's
degree from that institution, presented an oration
upon the subject, "The State of Education in Connecticut," in which
he recommended a "seminary for schoolmasters." I quote liberally
from a communication of his made at a later time touching this entire
from a communication of his made at a later time touching his entire
experience. If apology be needed for a quotation of such length, let
it be found in this : namely, that the quotation both makes the present
matter clear and also throws much light upon existing educational
conditions.
"My course as a teacher began with a small district school,
when I was seventeen years of age, and while fitting for college.
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The Work of the Pioneers ^
I had there a full opportunity to become acquainted with the
state of education as it then existed in our village schools. On
leaving college, in 1813, I resumed the profession of teacher
(which I have followed ever since), by taking charge of a Union
School, at New London. This was a select school, supported
by a few of the first families of the place, who desired to obtain
for their sons a superior training for business or for college,
according to their destination in life. It had been continued for
generations, and had enjoyed the instruction of a series of eminent
teachers, among whom were the celebrated Nathan Hale, Honor-
able Jacob B. Gurley, Ebenezer Learned, Esq., Doctor Jonathan
Knight, of the medical department of Yale College, and Pro-
fessor Ebenezer Kellogg, of Williams* College. The proprietors,
desiring to have their sons educated exclusively in that school,
after leaving the rudimentary female schools, introduced them
at the early age of eight or nine years, and kept them there until
they went to business or to college. The number was limited to
thirty, but the variety of age, and the different professions in life
for which they were destined, occasioned an unusual range of
studies. Some were in the spelling book ; some in English gram-
mar and geography ; some in the languages, from Latin grammar
to Virgil's Georgics and Xenophon*s Anabasis; and some in
different branches of mathematics, from simple arithmetic to alge-
bra, surveying and navigation. It required the most exact order
and method to complete the round of recitations in half a day,
and secure, for the whole school, half an hour for penmanship at
the close of the forenoon, and half an hour for reading at the
close of the afternoon.
"I had here full opportunity of comparing the effect of dif-
ferent courses of study upon lads of similar age, and soon discov-
ered a marked difference, in intelligence and capacity, between
those who were studying the languages and mathematics prepara-
tory to entering college, and devoted only a small portion of every
day to the common rudiments, as English grammar, geography,
reading, writing, and spelling, and those who spent iJl their time
in these elementary studies. I was surprised to find that the
former excelled the. latter even in a knowledge of these very
studies; they read better, spelt better, wrote better, and were
better versed in grammar and geography. One inference I drew
from this observation was, that an extended course of studies,
proceeding far beyond the simple rudiments of an English edu-
cation, is not inconsistent with acquiring a good knowledge of
those rudiments, but is highly favorable to it; since, on account
of the superior capacity developed by the higher branches of study,
the rudiments may be better learned in less time; and a second
inference was, that nothing was wanted in order to raise all our
common schools to a far higher level, so as to embrace the ele-
ments of English literature, of the natural sciences, and of the
mathematics, but competent teachers and necessary books.
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The Quarterly Journal
''I was hence led to the idea of a 'Seminary for School-
masters/ to be established at the expense of the State ; where the
instruction at least should be gratuitous. It was to be under
the direction of a principal and an assistant ; the principal to be a
man of liberal education, and of a high order of talent, and an
experienced and successful teacher. The assistant was to be well
versed in the English branches of education, at least. The course
of study was to occupy from one to two years, and candidates
were to be admitted only after an approved examination. The
pupils were to study and recite whatever they were themselves
afterwards to teach, partly for the purpose of acquiring a more
perfect knowledge of those subjects, and partly of learning from
the methods adopted by the principal the best modes of teaching.
It was supposed that only a small portion of time would be
required to be spent upon the simple rudiments, but that the
greater part might be devoted to English grammar and geog-
raphy, arithmetic, algebra, geometry, and such works as Blair's
Rhetoric; studies adapted to improve the taste, and make correct
and accomplished writers. Ample instructions also were to be
given by the principal on the organization and government of a
school.
"A class of sixty pupils, sent out from the seminary every
year, would in ten years furnish to the village schools a body of
able teachers, who would raise the standard of education in the
common schools, to a level of that of the academies, which were
scattered here and there over the state, being designed to afford
to the few who could bear the expense, opportunities for learning
those higher branches of an English education which were not
attempted in the common schools. Few of the whole number
of children, however, enjoyed these superior advantages; but the
greater part finished their education at the village schools, with
nothing more than reading, spelling, writing, and a little arith-
metic. Not even grammar and geography were at that tunc
taught in the common schools.
"There was one very encouraging feature in my plan. No
sooner would this superior order of schoolmasters commence
their labors, than the schools themselves would begin to furnish
teachers of a higher order. The schoolmasters previously em-
ployed, were for the most part such as had all their education at
the common schools, and could only perpetuate the meager system
of beggarly elements which they had learned ; but it was obvious
that schools, trained in a more extended course of studies, would
produce teachers of a corresponding character. Therefore, if
we could once start the machine, it would go on by its own
momentum.
"At the commencement of Yale College, in 1816, when I
took my master's degree, in an oration on "The State of Educa-
tion in Connecticut." I was then a tutor in the college, and
zealously engaged in instructing « class ; but I did not lose sight
of this favorite idea of an 'Academy for Schoolmasters.' I also
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The Work of the Pioneers 9
laid out a scheme for an extended coures of newspaper essays,
which would fully bring the subject before the public, and took
every opportunity to present the plan to individuals of eminence,
who were likely to feel interested in the improvement of our
common schools, or who had influence in the public councils.
Should the proposed essay have the desired effect of arousing the
public attention to the importance of the plan, I next intended
to have it brought before the legislature, with the view of secur-
ing means for carrying it into immediate execution.
"At that moment I unexpectedly received the appointment
of Professor of Chemistry in the University of North Carolina.
The question was submited to my friends, whether I should
accept the invitation, or remain here and endeavor to carry out
my plan for the establishment of a 'Seminary for Schoolmasters.'
The slender prospect of interesting the community in the scheme,
and the extreme backwardness of our legislature to appropriate
funds for the promotion of education, in any other manner than
that to which the school fund was exclusively devoted, led me
to yield, though very reluctantly, to the advice of my friends, and
accept the appointment from abroad. I had less occasion to
regret this decision, since the idea of normal schools was shortly
afterwards conceived by the Reverend Thomas H. Gallaudet,
James G. Carter, Esq., Governor DeWitt Clinton, and others,
and brought before the public by them under circumstances more
favorable than I could have commanded, had I remained to pros-
ecute my favorite enterprise."^
Here is suggested a school for the better preparation of common
school teachers, 'to be established at the expense of the state," in which
"instruction, at least, should be gratuitous." Thoro instruction, both
in matter and method, was to be given in the subjects to be afterwards
taught, and beyond that ample opportunity for pursuing "studies
adapted to improve the taste, and make correct and accomplished
writers." But not only that, he realiezd well that a teacher's success
depends as much upon his management of what we may call externals,
so provided for "ample instructions" on the "organization and gov-
ernment of a school." Save the training school, what more have we
to-day than Mr. Olmsted's plan more fully developed?
In spite of his modest declaimer that the other gentlemen named
prosecuted the enterprise under "more favorable" circumstances than
he "could have commanded," we feel to regret deeply, from the
standpoint of the common schools, his decision "to accept the appoint-
ment from abroad." With his definite knowledge of the needs of
the common schools, with his enthusiasm for their betterment running
high and with his plan of action so intelligently and so efliciently
3. Barnard, Henry: American Journal of Education, Vol. V. pp.
869ff.
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10 The Quarterly Journal
worked out, wc feel that he must have succeeded, at any rate that
the glad day would not have been so Idtig postponed. For it was
seven years before the matter was again so well brought forward and
more than three times seven before a school was established.
James L. Klii|{s- The next suggestion also came from one of the
ley 1823 faculty of Yale College. In April, 1823, Pro-
fessor James L. Kingsley contributed to the North
American Review an extended article on the Connecticut School
Fund.^ He analized the educational situation of the state and found
the conditions very unsatisfactory. These conditions, he held, had
not been improved by the use of the much vaunted School Fund.
Among mesures suggested for improvement we find one of interest.
It is, in a word, to devote a small portion of the income of this fund
to the establishment and maintenance of a teachers' seminary for each
county. His specific reference runs as follows:
"Let a superior school, intermediate between the common
schools and the university, be maintained in every county of the
state, where all of those, who aspire to teach in common schools,
may be themselves thoroughly instructed. Such a measure would
give new vigor to the whole system of education. The board
of visitors, which now decides on the qualifications of instructors,
must be in most instances, a very imperfect check on the intru-
sion of ignorance. The teachers, it is understood, have now very
seldom any other preparation, than they receive in the very school,
where they afterwards instruct, or in the school of some neigh-
boring district where the advantages are no better."**
William Russell A few months later, August, 1823, Mr. William
**^^ Russell, the principal of an academy at New
Haven, Connecticut, in a pamphlet entitled "Sug-
gestions on Education," endorsed Professor Kingsley's views, even
pressing the matter still further. I quote the significant part of Mr.
Russell's suggestion:
"The common schools for children are, in not a few in-
stances, conducted by individuals who do not possess one of the
qualifications of an instructor; and in very many cases, there is
4. This fund, it may be well to recall, had been established in 1796
by appropriating the proceeds of the sale of land owned by Connecticut
in the present State of Ohio, commonly called the "Western Reserve."
The fund, in 1796, amounted to $1,200,000, the income of which was to
be used for the benefit of the common schools. For an account of this
fund, consult the following:
(a) Barnard, Henry: American Journal of E<ducation, Vol. 4, P. 704.
(b) Hinsdale, B. A.: The Old Northwest, pp. 358ff.
(c) Steiner, Bernard C: History of Education in Connecticut, pp.
88ff.
6. North American Review, Vol. XVI (1828), P. 892.
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The Work of the Pioneers 1 1
barely knowledge enough *to keep the teacher at a decent distance
from his scholars/ An excellent suggestion was lately made on
a branch of this subject, by a writer in a periodical publication.
His proposal was, that a seminary should be founded, for the
teachers of district schools; that a course of study should be pre-
scribed to persons who are desirous of obtaining the situation of
teachers in such schools; and that no individual be accepted as
an instructor, who had not received a license, or a degree, from
the proposed institution. The effects of such an improvement in
education seem almost incalculable. The information, the intel-
ligence, the refinement, which might thus be diffused among the
body of the people, would increase the prosperity, elevate the
character, and promote the happiness of the nation to a degree
perhaps unequalled in the world."®
It should be added here that Mr. Russell later removed to
Boston and in 1826 founded The American Journal of Education,
the first educational periodical published in America that was con-
tinued thru a period of yeors. During the five years of Mr. Russell's
editorship of this really excellent Journal he used his columns freely
in advocating the needs of teachers* seminaries. Many interesting
quotations could be taken did space permit.
The years 1825 was especially fruitful in normal school sugges-
tions, there being, offered three notable contributions to what I may
call the literature of the subject besides many strong recommendations
for the establishment of definite institutions. These contributions I
will examine first, then note briefly some of the other recommend-
ations.
It is significant that these three contributions came from as many
states and from men each wholly unacquainted with the suggestions
of the others ; that is, there was no concert of action. The men were
Walter Johnson of Pennsylvania, Thomas H. Gallaudet of Connecti-
cut, and James G. Carter of Massachusetts. This unanimity as to
the solution of the great educational problem, together with its almost
simultaneous suggestion from regions so remote, says much as to the
trend of educational thought, whether that trend was due to home or
foreign initiative.
Walter Johnson Tho the demand for teachers* seminaries was not
***^ confined to New England, beginning to be heard,
as it was, from as far away as Pennsylvania, it
is only fair to say that a son of New England first voices the need
from the distant field. In 1821 Walter R. Johnson, born and bred
6. Barnard, Henry: (a) American Journal of Education, Vol. X, P. 16.
(b) Normal Schools, (1851), P. 9.
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12 The Quarterly Journal
in Massachusetts, and a graduate from Harvard, a teacher, and
already deeply interested in the cause of education at large, accepted
the prindpalship of an academy at Germantown, Pennsylvania, thus
identifying himself with the educational problems of that state. He
had not been there very long, however, before he found that educa-
tional conditions were in a much more backward condition than in
his native state, even. And he soon became convinced that his prin-
cipal field of labor, for a time at least, would be outside the walls
of the academy, arousing and informing public opinion upon educa-
tional matters. But he was young, ambitious, and enthusiastic, and
having put his hand to the plow would not turn back. He therefore
entered vigorously upon his new work, and immediately set about
improving conditions. He traveled and lectured, he wrote and spoke,
he busied himself early and late, in season and out of season, with one
thought ever before him — namely, better schools for Pennsylvania.
In 1822 he contributed for the Harrisburg Commonwealth z
series of thirteen articles embodying his general views on common
schools with pertinent suggestions for their improvement. The next
year another series of six appeared in the Journal of the Franklin
Institute. But his efforts at authorship were not confined to news-
paper articles. More ambitious were his pamphlets. One put forth
in 1825 is of special interest. It covered twenty-eight pages and was
entitled "Observations on the Improvement of Seminaries of Learn-
ing in the United States ; with Suggestions for its Accomplishment."
In this he urged the immediate establishment of "schools for teachers,"
as the most important agency in the matter of improvement. I quote
from this pamphlet :
"This need (the improvement of seminaries of learning) is
proposed to be accomplished by the introduction of a class of
schools hitherto unknown in our country, but for which the
public exigencies seem loudly to call, and these are schools for
teachers. This plan is not offered as in itself a novelty; it has
long been in successful operation in some countries on the conti-
nent of Europe, particiJarly in Germany (a region to which
modern learning owes more than the learned are all willing to
acknowledge), and there its beneficial influence is seen in every
aspect of society .... While every other profession has its
appropriate schools for preparation, that on which the usefulness
and respectability of all others essentially depend, is left to the
will of chance, or '/o take care of itself/^ We have theological
seminaries — ^law schools — medical colleges — ^military academies —
institutes for mechanics — and colleges of pharmacy for apothe-
caries; but no shadow of an appropriate institution to qualify
person for discharging with ability and success, the duties of
instruction, either in these professional seminaries or any other.
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The Work of the Pioneers 13
Men have been apparently presumed to be prepared to teach, from
the moment that they passed the period of ordinary pupilage ; —
a supposition which, with a few exceptions, must, of course, lead
only to disappointment and mortification. . . . Many persons,
we have reason to believe, commence the business of instructing,
not only with few of the qualifications for communicating know-
ledge, but even without any fixed plan for proceeding, or any
definite ideas of the peculiar duties or difficulties of the employ-
ment. ... It is proposed to afford, by the institution in
question, an opportunity, to those who are designed for teachers,
of making themselves theoretically and practically acquainted
with the duties whidi they will be called upon to discharge,
before they enter upon the performance of their trusts. In order,
however, to afford illustrations of the principles of education, it
is indispensible that practice should be added to precept, and that,
too, in situations favorable to the operation of those causes which
display both the powers of the mind, and the peculiarities of the
several departments of science and art. The school for teachers,
then, ought not to be an insulated establishment, but to be con-
nected with some institution, where an extensive range in the
sciences is taken, and where pupils of different classes are pursu-
ing the various departments of education adapted to their res-
pective ages. The practice of superintending, of arranging into
classes, instructing and governing, oug^t to form one part of
the duty of the young teacher. The attending of lectures on the
science of mental development, and the various collateral topics,
should constitute another. An extensive course of reading and
study of authors who have written with ability and practical good
sense on the subject, would be necessary in order to expand the
mind, and free it from those prejudices which, on this subject,
are apt to adhere even to persons who fancy themselves farthest
removed irom their influence A perfect plan for the
education of teachers and professors, would require that the insti-
tution, with which the school for teachers is proposed to be con-
nected, should embrace a complete circle of the Sciences and the
Arts, and that a professor should be appointed to lecture on the
mode of teadiing in each separate department.**^
But to the realization of such "a perfect plan" the writer sees
two "insuperable" obstacles. In the first place, America |)ossest at
that time no institution embracing a "complete circle of the Sciences
and the Arts" with which his proposed "school for teachers" could
be connected ; and again, he could see no way of securing the necessary
funds. So he moderates his recommendation and suggests, for the
present, the extension of the plan "no further than to comprehend:"
I — ^A course of lecures and practical illustrations on the
7. Baraard, Henry: Amerksaa Journal of Bduoatkm, VoL V. pp.
7W-802.
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14 The Quarterly Journal
subject of intellectual philosophy, as connected with the sdence of
education.
"II — ^A course of physical education and police.
"Ill — On the mode of conveying instruction in the exact
and physical sciences, and the various descriptive and mechanic
arts.
"IV — On the manner of teaching languages, belles-letters,
history, and, in general, all those branches commonly classed
under philosophical department."
He adds, "Each course must of necessity embrace a large
number of particulars. Each has someaffinity in its topics to all
the rest, but not so near as to cause one lecture essentially to
encroach on the province on another."®
From this point he proceeds to enlarge upon his brief statement
of the four courses, and in the enlargement we see that he had in mind
an institution very much in advance of the typical normal school of
even our present day. Doubtless the very fact that his conception
was so far beyond any possibility of immediate realization explains
the reason that his suggestion received no consideration, even tho
urged upon a committee of the legislature in 1833. But yet his plan
is well worth consideration since in these days we are consciously
attempting to plan for the preparation of secondary and even college
teachers as well as for those of the grades, tho not, in general, in the
same institution. And we find Mr. Johnson's plan, tho more than
four score years old, very suggestive.
Thomas H. Oal* In the same year that Mr. Johnson recommended
laadatl82d j^jg "school for teachers" there appeared in the
Connecticut Observer, published in Hartford, a
series of articles strongly advocating the establishment and use of
teachers' seminaries. The writer was Reverend Thomas H. Gal-
laudet, a graduate of Yale College and of Andover Theological
Seminary, a student of law, and an educational philanthropist of wide
renown. He was at that time principal of an asylum for the edu-
cation of the deaf and dimib which he had been instrumental in
founding at Hartford, Connecticut.
These articles, called "letters," were put forth over the signa-
ture, "A Father," and from the first attracted a great deal of atten-
tion not only in Connecticut but in other parts of New England. So
great was the interest manifest that later in the year they were repub-
lished in pamphlet form, in Boston, for general distribution. Selec-
tions from them found their way into the colimins of various news-
8. Ibid.
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The IVork of the Pioneers 15
papers. In 1828, and again two years later, the plan came up for
discussion in educational conventions in Hartford. In 183I1 William
C. Woodbridgc, then editor of the American Journal of Education,
which had been established in 1826 by Mr. William Russell, wishing
to keep the matter before the public asked Mr. Gallaudet for an
abstract of the pamphlet for publication. So in January and Feb-
ruary of that year the salient points were again placed before the
public. It is that abstract that now lies before me and from which
I quote. Inasmuch as we find in these articles the most thoro expo-
sition of the subject yet presented and because of the general interest
they aroused, their examination is well worth our while.
The writer calls attention to the fact that for the work of the
ministry, the law, and the medical profession, there is demanded, as a
prerequisite, "a diligent course of preparation, and a long discipline
in the school of experience." The practitioner in any of the profes-
sions, to merit our approval and support, must possess both knowledge
and skill. "Now why should not this experience be resorted to as an
auxiliary in the education of youth? Why not make this department
of human exertion, a profession, as well as those of divinity, law and
medicine? Why not have an Institution for the training up of
Instructors for their sphere of labor, as well as institutions to prepare
young men for the duties of the divine, the lawyer or the physician ?'*•
There is, of course, but one answer to such questions. But he
went farther. He called attention to the well known fact that for
the "common occupations of life," . . . "this preparatory disci-
pline is considered indispensible." An apprenticeship must be served
before even the artisan ventures "to solidt the patronage of the
public." A man will not buy his shoes, a lady her gown or her bonnet
of one who has not served such an apprenticeship. "Is a shoe, or a
bonnet, to be put in competition with an immortal mind!"
Then, returning to his specific recommendation he says:
"Let the same provision, then, be made for giving success to
this department of effort that is so liberally made for all others.
Let an institution be established in every state, for the express
purpose of training up young men for the profession of instruc-
tors of youth in the common branches of an English education.
Let is be so well endowed, by the liberality of the public, or of
individuals, as to have two or three professors, men of talents
and habits adapted to the pursuit, who should devote their lives
to the object of the 'Theory and Practice of the Education of
Youth,' and who should prepare and deliver, and print, a course
of lectures on this subject.
9. American Annals of Education, Vol. I (1881), P. 26. ^
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1 6 The Quarterly Journal
"Let the institution be furnished with a library, which
shall contain all the works, theoretical and practical, in all lan-
guages, that can be obtained on the subject of education, and
also with all the apparatus that modern ingenuity has devised for
this purpose ; such as maps, charts, globes, orreries, etc.
"Let there be connected with the institution a school smaller
or larger, as circumtsances might dictate, in which the theories
of the professors might be reduced to practice, and from which
daily experience would derive a thousand useful instructions.
"To such an institution let young men resort who are ready
to devote themselves to the business of instructors of youth. Let
them attend a regular course of lectures on the subject ; read the
best works ; take their turns in the instruction of the experimental
school, and after thus becoming qualified for the office, leave the
institution with a suitable certificate or diploma, recommending
them to the confidence of the public. "^*^
The writer goes on at some length to speak of the advantages
resulting from such a plan. Among such I note as of great import-
ance, (a) the making of the little-appreciated work of teaching, "a
profession;" (b) "the formation of the best books to be employed in
the early stage of education/^ (c) the elevation of the "tone of public
sentiment'^ and the quickening "of the zeal of the public eflFort" in
regard to education; (d) and likewise "the investigation and estab-
lishment of those principles of discipline and government most likely
to promote the progress of children and youth in the acquisition of
intellectual and moral excellence."^^ He then discusses and answers,
satisfactorily it would seem to us, various objections likely to be
raised. In his mind, the whole plan is sound, feasible and necessary.
Recommendation is here made, it will be noted, for the first time
in the United States, tho common in some European countries for a
generation, of that which has come to be looked upon as an indispen-
siblc part of a normal school — the "practice" or "model" school
department. He had for it, too, a large function — one "in which
the theories of the professors might be reduced to practice." Too
often with us to-day the only professor whose theories are "reduced
to practice" is the superintendent of this elementary school. And
very frequently he has been selected not because he is a deep student
of the science and the art of education, and therefore warranted in
the holding of theories which are worth reducing to practice — but
because of practical skill In management.
10. Ibid., p. 27.
11. Ibid.
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The Work of the Pioneers 17
James O. Carter Taking up the third of the 1825 trio, I am led
**^^ to say that Mr. Carter, like Mr. Johnson, pref-
aced his specific recommendation of schools for
teachers by a general consideration of educational conditions. Like
him, too, he was a graduate of Harvard and principal of an academy,
Mr. Carter, however, in Lancaster, Massachusetts.
The son of a poor farmer, his early educational advantages were
obtained in the common schools. As poor as were these schools they
furnished the best advantages the boy could have till, somewhat ad-
vanced in years, he worked his way thru Groton Academy and Har-
vard College, graduating from the latter at the age of twenty-five.
Knowing the public schools both as a pupil and a teacher, he was well
acquainted with their general inefficiency ; so, almost immediately on
completing his course at Harvard and beginning his work at Lan-
caster, he began to cast about for means for their improvement. Like
Mr. Johnson, again, his eye caught sight of the public press. In
1 82 1 he began his contribution on educational topics to the Boston
newspapers. These were continued at frequent intervals till 1824
when he launced a more ambitious venture in the form of a pamphlet
of 123 pages entitled, "Letters to the Honorable IVilliam Prescott,
LL. D,, on the Free Schools of New England, with Remarks on the
Principles of Instruction.'* In these "Letters'* Mr. Carter reviews
the educational legislation of Massachusetts showing that the public
school of the fathers, after being greatly neglected, had been largely
superceded by the incorporated academies to the great detriment of
the public school. Examining the defects of the schools, the chief
ones are found to be ''incompetent instructors, and bad school books."
The incompetency is due, he holds, not to any studied neglect or
consdous lack of interest, but rather to economic and industrial con-
ditions. So many attractive opportunities for industrial enterprise
are open, and the remuneration for teachers is so small that
capable men hesitate "to become permanent teachers." And so
he says that the whole body of instructors come from three classes of
men:
1st. Those who have undertaken to teach, who had no
better reason for it, than that the employment is easier, and
perhaps a little more profitable, than labor ....
"2. A second class are those who are acquiring, or have
attained a public education; and who assume the business of
instruction as a temporary employment, either to afiFord a tem-
porary emolument for the relief of immediate necessities, or to
give diemselves time to deliberate and choose some more agreeable
and profitable profession
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"3. The third class is composed of those, who from con-
sdous weakness, despair of success in any other profession, or
who have been more thoroughly convinced by unfortimate exper-
iment, that they cannot attain distinction, perhaps even sul^ist-
ence, by any other means "^*
This pamphlet immediately attracted attention. It was by all
odds the best historical treatment the schoob of Massachusetts had yet
received, and likewise the dearest statement yet made of existing
conditions. His suggestions upon principles of instruction were looked
upon almost as authoritative. In October of the same year, Pro-
fessor George Ticknor^* gave a very appreciative and highly com-
mendatory review of the pamphlet in an eight page article in the
North American Review}^ Two years later, in the first volume of
the American Journal of Educationist published by William Russell,
appeared a thirty-page abstract of the "Letters." Other periodicals
of less prominence also quoted from them and commented upon them.
The year following the publication of the "Letters," 1825, Mr.
Carter returned to the subject in a series of six articles in the Boston
Patriot over the signature, "Franklin." These articles covered much
the same ground as the "Letters," tho briefer, tho addrest more spe-
cifically to the public, and tho dwelling more at length upon the
means for improving the conditions found to exist. The educational
public inunediately gave them attention which was accentuated when,
the next year, they came out as a pamphlet of some sixty pages.^*
The "Outline" especially, number six of the series, which was the
culmination of the whole, was analyzed, discust, quoted, and gen-
erally commended. In January, 1827, Dr. Orville Dewey gave an
extensive and appreciative review of the same in the North American
Review?^
Mr. Barnard calls attention to the interesting fact that thru
this review Mr. Carter's ideas became known in England and that
thru them the English people probably had their first introduction
to the broader idea of the professional education of teadiers. He
says that Professor Bryce, in planning a national system of education
12. Russell, William: American Journal of Education. Vol. I (1826),
pp. 661ff.
13. Professor Oeorfce Ticknor was son of Elisha Ticknor who has
the honor of first su^^estins teachers' seminaries for America. He was
one of the first, if not Indeed the first, of American students to seek
educational advantag^es in the German universities.
14. North American Review. Vol. XIX (1826). pp. 448-456.
16. Russell, William: American Journal of Education, Vol. I (1826),
pp. 604-698. 661-664. and 718-730.
16. Carter. James O. Essays upon Popular E<ducation; containing a
particular examination of the schools of Massachusetts, and an Outline
of an Institution for the Education of Teachers. 60 pp. Boston: Bowles
and Deer man. 1826.
17. North American Review. Vol. XXIV (1827), pp. 156-169.
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The Work of the Pioneers 19
for Ireland, speaks of the "Outline" as the "first regular publication
on the subject of the professional education of teachers which he had
heard of.^® This may not speak very highly of Professor Brycc's
acquaintance with current educational practices, since, as we have
shown, such instiutions had been in successful operation in several
European countries for many years. It is, however, very gratifying
to note, and likewise suggests that the interchange of educational
ideas was not as common in those Azys as in our own, and in this
possibly answers our question as to why our own people had not long
before this been sufficiently influenced by the German seminaries
lor teachers as already to have adopted them for our own.
G)ming now to a specific, yet brief, examination of the "Out-
line" itself, we find Mr. Carter saying, touching the employment of
such teachers as he mentioned in his "Letters:"
"This is the only service in which we venture to employ
young, and often, ignorant persons, without some previous in-
struction in their appropriate duties. We require experience in
all those, whom we employ to perform the slightest mechanical
labor for us. We would not buy a coat nor a hat of one, who
should undertake to make them without a previous apprenticeship.
Nor would anyone have the hardihood to o£Fer to us the result
of his first essay in manufacturing either of these articles. We
do not even send an old shoe to be mended, except it be to a
workman of whose skill we have had ample proof. Yet we
commit our children to be educated to those who know nothing,
absolutely nothing, of the complicated and difficult duties as-
signed them. Shall we trust the development of the delicate
bodies, the susceptible hearts, and the tendr minds of our little
children to those who have no knowledge of their nature? Can
they, can these rude hands finish the workmanship of the
Almighty? No language can express the astonishment which a
moment's reflection on this subject excites in mc."^*
The generally unsatisfactory conditions found in the schools
being traced in a large mesure to the presence of "incompetent in-
structors," it was not difficult to point out the remedy. Better
teachers must take their places. And in answer to the question as
to how they were to be secured, Mr. Carter says, "Establish an
institution for the very purpose. ... It will be called a new
project. Be it so. The concession does not prove that the project is
a bad one, or a visionary, or an impracticable one. Our ancestors
ventured to do what the world had never done before, in so perfect
a manner, when they established the free schools. Lt us also do what
18. Barnard. Henry: American Journal of Education, VoL V. P. 418.
19. (a) Carter, James O. Essays upon Popular Education (1826), P.
86. See pamphlet cited in foot note 16.
(b) North Amertcan Review. Vol. XXIV (1827). pp. 168-164.
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ao The Quarterly Journal
they have never so well done yet, and establish an institution for the
exclusive purpose of preparing instructors for them."*®
Moving in the direction of detail he asks, first, by whom such
an institution should be established, then, what should be its leading
features, and finally, what definite advantages would be derived.
His answers are clear and to the point. The institution should be
established by the State, for the simple reason that, under our form
of government, education is a State function. That being true, it is
especially necessary that the institution designed to prepare teachers
tor the schools should be under State control that there might be
secured "a uniform, intelligent, and independent tribunal for decisions
on the qualifications of teachers."
The second query is answered by enumerating four "leading
features."
"i. An appropriate library, with a philosophical apparatus. 2.
A principal and assistant professor in the di£Ferent departments. 3. A
school for children of di£Ferent ages, embracing both those desiring a
general education, and those designed particularly for teachers. 4.
A board of commissioners, or an enlightened body of men representing
the interests and the wishes of the public "^^
Mr. George B. Emerson, a contemporary of Mr. Carter, a
prominent Massachusetts educator of national reputaion, and himself
deeply interested in the establishment of a school for teachers, has
celled the latter the "Father of Normal Schools." Dr. Barnard has
spoken of Mr. Carter as the man "to whom more than to any other
one person belongs the credit of having first arrasted the attention
of the leadings minds of Massachusetts to the necessity of inunediate
and thorough improvement in the system of free or public schools,
and of having clearly pointed out the most direct and thorough mode
of procuring this improvement by providing for the training of com-
petent teachers for these schools. "^^ And Dr. Hinsdale, speaking of
the "Outline" now under discussion, says, "It is distinctly creative
in character. In nothing that had appeared from the press thus far
had the subject been so carefully thought out and presented, so far as
the United States are concerned, as in this celebrated essay."^
In view of these extraordinary testimonies, I think I should
quote Mr. Carter, somewhat fully upon these four features:
"i. A library should of course be selected with particular
reference to the objects of the institution. It would naturally and
necessarily contain the approved authors on the sdence of educa-
20. Ibid., p. 162.
21. Barnard, Henry: Normal Schools (1861), P. 78.
22. Barnard, Henry: American Journal of E^ducatlon, Vol. X, P. 407.
28. Hlnadale, B. A. Horace Mann (1899), P. 66.
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The Work of the Pioneers 21
tion in its widest sense. It would embrace works of acknowl-
edged merit in the various branches of literature and science
intimately connected with education ; such as anatomy and physi-
ology, the philosophy of the human mind and heart, and the
philosophy of language.
"Physical education forms a very essential part of the sub-
ject, and should be thoroughly imderstood. This branch in-
cludes the development of all the organs of the body. And
works upon the physiology of children should be added to the
library. Books on gymnastics, containing directions for partic-
ular exercises adapted to the development of the several organs,
belong to the library of the accomplished instructor, as well as to
that of the surgeon. Indeed, if the former properly use them,
they will enable him to give a firmness to parts of the body which
may, perhaps, supercede the necessity of the interference of the
latter to set them right in manhood.
"The human heart, the philosophy of its passions and its
affections, must be studied by those who expect to influence those
passions and form those affections. This branch of the subject
includes the government of children, especially in the earliest
stages of their discipline. The success of the teacher here depends
upon the good judgment with which he arranges and presents to
his pupils the motives that will soonest move them, and most per-
manently influence their actions. The mistaken or wicked prin-
ciples of parents and instructors, in this department of education,
have, no doubt, perverted the dispositions of many children. If
successful experience has been recorded, it should be brought to
the assistance of those who must otherwise act without experi-
ence.
"Lastly, the study of the philosophy of language would be
essential to the scientific teacher. The term language is not here
understood to mean a class of words called Greek, or another
class of words called Latin, or even that class of words which we
call English. It means something more general, and something
which can hardly be defined. It embraces all the means we use
to excite in the minds of others the ideas which we have already
in our own minds. These, whatever they are, are included in
the general definition of language. This is a great desideratum
in our systems of education. We do not possess a language by
which we can produce precisely the idea in a pupil which we have
in our mind, and which we wish to excite in his. And impatient
and precipitate teachers quite often quarrel with their pupils be-
cause they do not arrive at the same conclusions with themselves,
when, if they could but look into their minds, they would find
that the ideas with which they began to reason, or which enter
into their process of reasoning, are altogether different. Every
book or fact, therefore, which would do anything to supply this
desideratum, or enable the teacher better to understand precisely
the idea which he excites in the mind of his pupils, should be
collected in the instructor's library.
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22 The Quarterly Journal
"2. The institution should have its principal and assistant
professors. The government and instruction of a seminary for
the education of teachers, would be among the most responsible
institutions which could be assigned to men in literary or scien-
tific pursuits. As many of the objects of the institution would
be new, so the duties of the instructors would also be new. No
conunanding minds have gone before precisely in the proposed
course, and struck out a path which others may easily follow.
There are no rules laid down for the direction of those who will
think upon, or who cannot understand the subject. Men must,
therefore, be brought to the task who have the ability to observe
accurately and discriminate nicely. They must also collect the
results of what experience they can from books and from others,
in order to enable themselves to form some general principles for
the direction of their pupils, who will go abroad to carry their
improvement to others. It is not supposed for a moment that all
who may receive instruction at the proposed institution with the
intention of becoming teachers, will necessarily be made thereby
adepts in the science, any more than it is believed that all who
happen to reside four years within the walls of a college are
necessarily made experts in the mysteries of syllogisms and the
calculus. But having seen correct general principles of educa-
tion successfully reduced to practice, they may, at least, become
artists in the profession, and be able to teach pretty well upon a
system, the philosophy of which they cannot thoroughly compre-
hend.
"3. A school of children and youth of different ages and
pursuing different branches of study would form an essential
part of the institution. In the early stages of the education of
children, the discipline should consist almost wholly of such exer-
cises as serve to develop the different faculties and strengthen all
the powers of the mind. And in the subsequent education of
youth, when the discipline comes to consist partly in the devel-
opment of the mind, and partly in the communication of know-
ledge, the course of instruction would be the same, whether the
pupil were destined to be a teacher or not. The objects of the
institution do not, therefore, become peculiar until after the
pupil has acquired a certain degree of freedom and strength of
mind; nor till after he has made the acquisition of the requisite
amount of knowledge, for the profession of teacher. Though a
pupil would necessarily imbibe a good deal of clearness and
method in his intellectual exercises by submitting the direction
of them to a skilfull instructor, the study of the science of teaching
cannot properly begin till he changes relation with those about
him; and, instead of following a course prescribed by another,
and exhibiting the powers of his own mind without an effort to
take cognizance of them, he assumes to look down upon humbler
minds, to direct their movements, and to detect and classify the
phenomena of their subtle workings.
"After the young candidate for an instructor, therefore, has
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The Work of the Pioneers 23
acquired sufficient knowledge for directing these exercises and
teaching those branches which he wishes to profess, he must
then begin his labor under the scrutinizing eyes of one who will
note his mistakes of government and faults of instruction, and
correct them. The experienced and skilfull professor of the
science will observe how the mind of the young teacher acts upon
that of the learner. He will see how far and how perfectly they
understand each other, and which is at fault if they do not
understand each other at all. If the more inexperienced teacher
should attempt to force upon the mind of a child an idea or
process of reasoning, for which it was not in a proper state, he
would be checked at once, and told of his fault; and thus, per-
haps, the pupil would be spared a disgust for a particular study
or an aversion to all study. As our earliest experience would in
this manner be under the direction of those wiser than our-
selves, it would the more easily be classed under general prin-
ciples for our direction afterwards. The part of the necessary
course in an institution for the education of teachers might be
much aided by lectures. Children exhibit such and such intel-
lectual phenomena. The scientific professor of education can
explain those phenomena, and tell from what they arise. If they
are favorable, he can direct how they are to be encouraged and
turned to account in the development and formation of the mind.
If they are unfavorable, he can tell by what means they are to
be overcome or corrected. Seeing intellectual results, he can
trace them, even though complicated circumstances, to their
causes; or, knowing the causes and circumstances, he can predict
the result that will follow them. Thus every day's experience
would be carefully examined, and made to limit or extend the
comprehension of the general principles of the science. Is there
any other process or method than this to arrive at a philosophical
system of education? If any occurs to other minds, it is to be
hoped that the public may soon have the benefit of it.
"4. The fourth branch, which I mentioned above as consti-
tuting an important part of an institution for the education of
teachers, was a Board of G)mmissioners. Although they would,
probably, have but little to do with the immediate government
and instruction of the institution, they would be valuable to it
by representing the wishes of the community, and by bringing it
more perfectly in contact with the public interests. Besides, it
must occur to every one, that in the general management of such
an establishment, many of the transactions would require char-
acters and talents very different from those that would, generally,
be found in the principal or professors. Men might easily be
found who would lecture to admiration, and yet be wholly in-
competent to assume the general direction of the establishment.
The professors, too, would always want assistance and authority
in determining what acquisitions should be required for admission
into the institution, and what proficiency should be deemed essen-
tial in the candidates before leaving it to assume the business of
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24 The Quarterly Journal
teaching. Upon what principles should the school be collected?
How shall the privilege of attending as new learners in the
science of education be settled upon applicants from different
parts of the State or country. These and many similar questions
would render a body of men distinct from the professors, im-
portant to the institution."^
In answer to the third question raised, as to the advantages to
be derived, he speaks first of raising the "character of teachers gener-
ally," and, therefore, of the schools which they teach. This thought
is expanded at some length and the far reaching consequences of
better schools shown. Then the advantages sure to flow from such
a library as contemplated are sketched, likewise from the elevation
of the work of the teacher into "a more distinct profession" that he
thinks would inevitably follow. All in all, the "Outline" seems to
merit the high praise accorded.
But Mr. Carter's interest in the common schools, or efforts for
their betterment, did not cease with these publications. In his "Out-
line" he uttered the prophecy that schools for teachers were bound to
come, saying that if the State did not look to their establishment and
thus place her seal upon the work private enterprise would. He had
the courage of his convictions. In 1827 he presented a memorial to
the State legislature praying for financial assistance to carry out his
plan of establishing "a seminary for the education of teachers, with
model school attached." The memorial, together with a recom-
mendation of Governor Lincoln that such an institution be founded,
was referred to a special committee. The matter was carefully con-
sidered and a recommendation returned that the request be granted.
In speaking of the plan as outlined in the memorial, the committee
say in their report:
"From a mature consideration of his plan of instruction,
they are unanimously of opinion, that it is entirely practical in its
character, simple in its details, and peculiarly calculated to
develop the powers of the mind, and that the studies it requires
are brought wholly and appropriately within the pale of down-
right utility. "^*^
A bill making a suitable appropriation was therefore drawn up,
but failed by a single vote of passing the senate. But the town of
Lancaster, in which Mr. Carter had been teaching for several years,
came to his assistance and, thru the appropriation of some land and
the use of an academy building, enabled him to open as a private
24. (a) Carter, James G. Essays upon Popular Education (1825).
(b) Barnard. Henry: Normal Schools, (1861), pp. 78-80.
25. Russell, William: American Journal of Education, Vol. II (1827)
P. 164.
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The Work of the Pioneers 2$
enterprise the first institution of its kind in the state. He bought
several dwelling houses to acconunodate his teachers and students,
and opened the institution the same year. But opposition arose
among those failing to appreciate his work, various obstacles were
thrown in his way, financial reverses came, and he was obliged to
discontinue the enterprise. But not even with these reverses did his
eflForts for better things educational cease. In 1830 he assisted very
materially in the organization of the American Institute of Instruc
tion, and appeared on its first program with an address on the subject
dear to his heart, "The Necessity and most practical Means of
raising the Qualification of Teachers." From 1835 on for several
years he was a member of the State legislature — house and senate —
and here as elsewhere did yeoman's service for popular education.
Governor Lin- But it was not merely educators who were inter-
coln of Massa- ^g^^j ;„ ^^^ matter. So much had been said and
c nsetts ^,^jj ^.j^ j^ ^ many places and at so many times
had the subject been presented, that many people in diflFerent walks
of life had become interested. Even the governors of several of the
states finally entered the arena in favor of the proposed institution.
Reference has already been made to Governor Lincoln's rcommend-
ation that the seminary prayed for in Mr. Carter's memorial of 1827
be founded. He could not, however, secure the passage of the bill.
But he had other opportunities of assisting, and always availed himself
of them.
In 1825 a movement was started in Massachusetts looking
toward the establishment of what was popularly called a "Practical
Seminary," or a "Seminary of the Useful Arts and Sciences." Some
called it an "Agricultural Seminary." It was designed to do what
we might term to-day sort of an elementary school of technology. A
resolution of the legislature of February 22, 1825, created a Board
of Conunissioners for the elaboration of the plan. The Board was
directed to draw up a plan for an institution " .... to a£Ford
economical and sufficient instruction, in the practical arts and sciences,
to that class of persons, who do not desire, or are unable to attain a
collegiate education."^
After mature deliberation the Board, on the 26th of the month,
presented an elaborate report recommending the institution and sug-
gesting an appropriation of $30,000.00 for its establishment. The
scheme was somewhat chimerical. The proposed institution
»
26. Ibid.. Vol. I (1826). pp. 86-87.
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26 The Quarterly Journal
wzs very dccidely of an omnibus nature and therefore drew to
its support men of all classes and with wholly different ideas, each
doubtless hoping that his own pet interest would be fostered. The
G)mmissioners were shrewd enough to recognize this fact, and in
their report made definite appeal to various interests. Among other
things the institution would be the long desired seminary for teachers.
This sop was offered: "... if the proposed instituiton should
accomplish no other object, it would well repay the bounty of the
State, in becoming a nursery for schoolmasters; and to efFect that
object, they would recommend, that a department be organized in
the school, for the express purpose of qualifying in the most economical
way, such persons as shall resort to it, with the views of obtaining
instruction for that occupation."^''
The following May, Governor Lincoln, in a message to the
legislature, refers specifically to this report but without clearly en-
dorsing the recommendation. It would seem from his remarks that
the redeeming feature of the scheme, to his mind, was that which
seemed to promise provision for the education of teachers. He said:
"The qualifications of instructors deserve much more of care
and attention. . . . Knowledge in the art of governing, and a
facility in commimicating instruction, are attainments in the
teacher, of indispensible importance to proficiency by the pupil.
These talents are as much to be acquired by education as are the
sciences themselves. It will merit the consideration of the legis-
lature, when discussing the expediency of the institution of the
proposed seminary, whether provision for the preparation of a
class of men to become the instructors in the public schools, in
branches of learning adapted to the present conditions and wants
of the country, is not among the highest of the inducements to the
measure, and should be an object of primary and definite arrange-
ment in its adoption."^
But the Commissioners' report was not adopted. The institution
was not founded. But the gain to the normal school idea of its
further discussion was well worth all the effort that had been put
forth.
In Governor Lincoln's 1827 message he again refers to the
matter of an insitution for the education of teachers and says that if
the finances of the State do not justify an institution devoted wholly
to that work, it might be well to make an annual appropriation to
such of the incorporated academies as should provide a satisfactory
course of study. "The wants of the community in this respect are
unquestionably great, and with a growing population will be
27. Ibid.. P. leo.
28. Ibid., P. 486.
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The Work of the Pioneers 27
continually increasing."^ It is interesting to note here that Gov-
ernor Lincoln's suggestion of utilizing the academies for this purpose
was very similar to one that Governor DeWitt Clinton had already
made in New York, and the solution that that State, for several
years, gave to the problem.
These were the recommendation that, together with Mr. Car-
ter's memorial, already refered to, came before the Massachusetts
House Committee in 1827. Mr. W. B. Calhoun, chairman of the
committee presenting the report, said, "... public opinion con-
cerning it may with safety be said already to have become unquestion-
ably settled."«>
Altho Massachusetts had taken the lead, she was not the only
state interested in the solution of the great educational problem, nor
the only one which furnished pioneers in the work. The great weakness
of the school system, likewise the remedy for the same, was being
clearly recognized in many other places. Attention has already been
called to efforts toward better things put forth in Pennsylvania. In
New York, Ohio, and even in far-oflF Tennessee were the waters
moving.
Away back in 181 1, in New York, we hear an earnest voice
pleading for better teachers. Governor Tompkins had recently ap-
pointed a conunission "to report a system for the organization and
establishment of common schools." To John Murry, Jr., a member
of the commission, James Wadsworth, one of the greatest benefactors
the common schools of the Empire State ever had, wrote urging espec-
ially the need of good schools, but going even farther and saying,
"teachers should be trained at Albany and New York, and sent
through the State." If that should not seem feasible, he suggested
that a "model" or "central" school be established in each county for
that purpose. Again and again as the years went by did he return to
the matter and, in one way or another, urge the establishment of
schools for teachers.
Governor Clin- Governor DeWitt Clinton, likewise of New
ton of New York York, had this matter at heart and often spoke
of it with intelligence and practical common sense.
In his annual message to the legislature in 1825 he urged upon their
consideration, "the education of competent teachers." The next
year, dwelling more at length upon the matter, he used the following
words:
29. Ibid.. Vol. II (1827), P. 444.
80. Ibid.. P. 158.
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28 The Quarterly Journal
"The vocation of the teacher in its influence on the char-
acter and destiny of the rising and all future generations, has
either not been fully understood, or duly estimated. It is, or
ought to be, ranked among the learned professions. With a full
admission of the merits of several who now officiate in that ca-
pacity, still it must be conceded that the information of many of
the instructors of our common schools does not extend beyond
rudimentary education — that our expanding population requires
constant accession to their numbers — and that to realize these
views, it is necessary that some new plan for obtaining able
teachers should be devised. I therefore recommend a seminary
for the education of teachers in the monitorial system of instruc-
tion, and in those useful branches of knowledge which are proper
to engraft on elementary attainments. A compliance with this
recommendation will have the most benign influence on indi-
vidal happiness and social prosperity. "^^
In 1827, following the governor's recommendation of the former
year, the legislature passed an act providing for such a seminary.
But the mesure was not carried into effect. So in his 1828 message
he again referred to the matter: "It may be taken for granted, that
the education of the body of the people can never attain the requisite
perfection without competent instructors, well acquainted with the
outlines of literature and the elements of science. "^^ In this work
he was strongly aided by Mr. A. C. Flagg, Secretary of State and
ex-officio Superintendent of Common Schools. In 1827 Mr. Flagg
recommended the establishment, in the several counties, of schools
for the education of teachers.
Governor Wor- Likewise from the then distant West comes a
thlntfton of Ohio pj^^ for better things: in 181 7, in his message to
the legislature of Ohio, Governor Worthington
made an interesting suggestion touching the matter at hand :
"If we expect in our youth 'religion, morality, and know-
ledge', suitable teachers must be employed, . . . With a view
to aid in affecting this desirable object, I recommend to the
consideration of the general assembly the propriety of establishing,
at the scat of government, a free school ; at which shall be taught
the different branches of an English education, at the expense of
the state, to such a number of boys, the children of parents
unable to educate them (and no others) as the legislature may
deem proper. That whenever young men, thus educated, shall
become qualified for that purpose, they shall, when proper sala-
ries are furnished them, have the preference of employment in
81. (a) Ibid.. Vol. I (1826). P. 69.
(b) Barnard. Henry: American Journal of Education. Vol. XIII.
P. 841.
82. Ibid.
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The Work of the Pioneers 29
the public schools of the state, and shall be obliged to serve as
teachers of schools until they are twenty-one years of age; and
afterwards, as long as they conduct themselves well, have the
preference of employment. "'^
Fhlllp Llodsley Another recommendation to the same general
**^^ purport was made in the distant Southland. In
1824 Philip Lindsley was chosen President of
Cumberland G>llege, Nashville, Tennessee. In his inaugural ad-
dress, January 12, 1825, he spoke on "Education" and showed not
only a clear grasp of the great function of education in a free State,
but as well an acquaintance with the lamentable conditions then ex-
istmg. He likewise as clearly showed that he knew the remedy. I
quote but a few words, but enough to substantiate the claims made.
"Our country needs seminaries purposely to train up and
qualify young men for the profession of teaching. Though the
idea perhaps may be novel to some persons, yet the propriety and
importance of such a provision will scarcely be questioned by any
competent judges. We have our theological seminaries, our
medical and law schools, which receive the graduates of our
colleges and fit them for their respective professions. And when-
ever the profession of teaching shall be duly honored and appre-
ciated, it is not doubted but that it will receive similar attention,
and be favored with equal advantages."®*
It has been shown that by the year 1830 the inad-
equacy of the efforts put forth educationally
was dearly recognized. It has likewise been seen
that the weak point of the system was foimd to be in the teaching
force. Poorly prepared, poorly paid, little regarded, the teachers
were falling far short of their great possibility as an uplifting, direct-
ing and potent force in the expanding life of the nation. Nor were
leading educators deceived as to the best means of betterment. Semi-
naries for teachers were advocated. Institutions devoted to the one
work of preparing young people for that great work had long been
recognized as a necessity both by educators and statesmen. More
than that, the matter had taken definite form in the minds of many,
and carefully wrought out plans for such institutions had been offered
the public and even urged upon the legislatures of leading States. Mr.
Calhoun's words to the Massachusetts legislature, already quoted,
are none too strong: " . . . . public opinion concerning it may
with safety be said already to have become unquestionably settled."
S8. Ibid.. Vol. VI, p. 88.
84. Halsey: The Life and Works of Philip Ldndsley, VoL I, P. 60.
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30 The Quarterly Journal
But no action followed. Such an institution had not been seen in
actual operation, and its utility was, therefore, questioned by a suffi-
ciently large number to defeat its establishment in any of the American
States.
In a despotic government the conversion of a single person (if
the rig^t one) is sufficient to secure the adoption of a certain mesure;
thus a Frederick the Great, alone convinced, can revolutionize the
educational practices of his realm; a Maria Theresa, by her single
ipse dixit, can scatter teachers' seminaries and normal schools among
her people; and the French Minister of Education can but speak the
word and lo! a normal school arises in each of the several depart-
ments. Not so in democratic America. Here the ruler is the people,
e pluribus unum, and the many must see the wisdom of a mesure
before its adoption. Mr. Martin puts it well: "The sovereign
people can not be driven ; they can only be coaxed or persuaded. Give
lig^t enough and time enough, and things will come out right. "^
But there had not been "time enough" for an adequate consider-
ation of so important a matter, nor "light enough" to portray it
clearly to all people. And it had to wait. It will be the purpose
of the next two chapters to show from whence came the "light" and
how long a "time" was needed for its full effect.
SB. Martin. O. H. Evolution of the MaMachuMtts PubUo School
System (1894). P. 16S.
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The Evolution of College Debating
John Adams Taylor^
Instructor in English and Public Speaking,
University of North Dakota
'TpHE year 1912 marks the twentieth anniversary of the birth of
^ intercollegiate debating in America. On January 14, 1892,
three Yale debaters journeyed to Cambridge, Massachusetts, to
uphold against Harvard the affirmative of the question, "Resolved,
That a young man casting his ballot in 1892 should vote for the
nominees of the Democratic party." This contest came about as a
result of an effort to stimulate literary and debating activities at both
these eastern universities. Like all innovations, the scheme met
with ridicule and opposition. Yale and Harvard had long been
rivals in athletic combats, but such a thing as an intercollegiate
debate was altogether too absurd. However, after two yt^rs of
agitation the conservatives yielded, and the experiment was started.
Need I answer the question, "Did the experiment succeed"?
That first debate surprised even its most ardent boosters, and Yale
and Harvard have been repeating the experiment with increasing
success ever since. That they have never failed to hold an annual
debate during these twenty years lifts intercollegiate debating out of
the experimental stage. And this is verified by hundreds of other
colleges as well that have tried the experiment for themselves. In
1893 Michigan began debating with Wisconsin; the next year came
Pennsylvania vs. Cornell and Leland Stanford vs. California. Each
succeeding year added a score of others, until today one will search
a long while to locate a reputable American college that does not
maintain a debating team. Recently it was stated that there are
approximately five hundred colleges holding from one to four debates
yearly, making in the aggregate about one thousand debating teams
of three men each. Even high schools have caught the spirit and are
active with their scholastic leagues. If the future of intercollegiate
athletics is certain, so, too, intercollegiate debating, an intellectual
contest for the development of sound thinking and effective speaking,
has come to stay. And in the list of important dates in education we
daim a place for January 14, 1892, as the intercollegiate-debating
birthday.
But doubtless some would like to know which side won in that
initial debate. There were no judges and hence no formal decision.
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32 The Quarterly Journal
Is this not significant? Then the mere matter of winning was con-
sidered of secondary importance; the real object was a search for
truth, a frank discussion of a current problem. But as Grover
Cleveland was elected that fall, I suppose Yale in upholding the
affirmative or Democratic side claims she got nearer the truth, and
won. Another significant feature about this 1892 debate is the
comment, "The audience was large, representative, and enthusiastic"
And yet I venture to entitle my paper the Evolution of college
debating. You may surmise what actually is the case, that we are to
look for signs of evolution in other matters than that of the "large
and enthusiastic audience."
Now, in order that I may not do what we condemn in debaters
— "Talk beside the point" — I shall, for the sake of clearness and
convenience, group what I have to say under the following topics:
ARGUMENTATION COURSES IN THE CURRICULUM
A generation ago scarcely a college catalog made mention of a
special course in Argumentation and Debate. To be sure, some
attention was given to argumentative discourse in connection with
English composition, but nothing like a full year's course was o£Fered.
To my knowledge the first text-book on the subject appeared in
1895. This was by Professor George P. Baker of Harvard Univer-
sity, whom we recognize as the father of the systematic teaching of
argumentation in our colleges. Now, nearly every college offers in
the English department, or in the department of Ppublic Speaking,
at least a one-year course in debating, and several have an advanced
course for the second year. The advancement during the last two
decades has been noteworthy. And to the students themselves largely
belongs the credit ; for the teaching of argumentation has come as a
result of their enthusiasm for debating and the desire for training,
rather than the reverse.
But what does such a course embrace? It is the usual procedure
to begin, by aid of a text-book or lecture syllabi, with the study of
fundamental principles, — the analysis of a question, the kinds of
reasoning, the mustering and arrangement of evidence, tjrpes of
fallacies, methods of refutation, the construction of a brief, and
effective presentation. With the growth of debating there has come
a wealth of illustrative material; and instead of formal, abstract
logic the aim is to make concrete application of each principle. Then
after a few weeks, the laboratory work or actual debating begins.
The effort is to make these class-room forensics both in form
and in spirit like an actual public debate. It is my own custom, for
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The Evolution of College Debating 33
instance, to have the debaters sit upon the platform, to appoint a
presiding officer and a time keeper, and to allow the students to
determine by ballot which side wins. This lends a dignified atmos-
phere and furnishes the stimulus of a real intellectual fight. Then
the next day we spend the full hour in criticising the debate. We
analyze wherein the affirmative or negative won, what arguments
were well substantiated, what fallacies were evident, what methods
of refutation were employed, where persuasive delivery was eflFective,
— in fact we point out all the principles we thought noticeably well
illustrated, (or in some cases badly violated). Furthermore, when-
ever the class attends an inter-society debate or an argumentative
public address, the next recitation day is sure to call forth a spirited
discussion. These criticism hours are profitable to both instructor
and students. As the study of prose specimens is essential in English
composition, so this critidsm plan seems an indispensable method of
explaining and emphasizing certain debating precepts.
Now a word of justification about brief-drawing. Frequently
we are assailed with the question, "Why make students spend so
much time in preparing briefs; why don't you have them work on
their delivery?" To be sure, it is laborious work, but its value can
not be over estimated. We insist that the brief (usually ten to
twenty-five pages in length) present in concise, tabulated form the
history and origin of the question, the statement of the main issues,
the definition of terms, and whatever expository matter is necessary
for an understanding of the debate — and then a logical array of
evidence and authorities to efiFect a thoro proof. In other words, a
brief is a campaign map by which a side hopes to win. This is in
accord with the modern conception of debating ; for now the emphasis
is placed upon thoro investigation and keen thinking, rather than
upon contentious, fire-brand oratory, or clever plimges of wit and
sarcasm. There is hope for the quiet, undemonstrative boy who
investigates and reasons well, but lacks persuasive power ; for training
can assist him in oratoric delivery. But the flashy, eloquent spell-
binder can often never be made into a debater. Keen, analytical
power and the investigating habit are prerequisites ; oratory is a later
acquisition.
There is no fault more common among young debaters than
that of unsupported assertion. Mere say-so is never proof; the
familiar phrases, "We believe," "it seems to us," "I maintain" only
emphasize the lack of investigation. Now the preparation of briefs
18 a safeguard against this very error. We insist that each contention
be supported by convincing evidence, just as in demonstrating a
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34 The Quarterly Journal
geometry proposition, one must give a reason why two angles are
equal. Furthermore it is a safeguard against the use of irrelevant
matter. When a debater cannot find a logical place in his brief
for certain material it is the test of its being extraneous. Every
inddent, every quotation, every fact, to be admitted into a brief
must show for its credentiak that it serves to substantiate some
contention. Evidence of the wisdom of brief-drawing can be gained
from the testimony (or confession, if you will) of the students
themselves. I have yet to meet a sane student who decries the value
of the brief in preparing debates. Yes, briefs are as essential in
argumentation as maps in history or charts in engineering.
This, perhaps, is sufficient to explain the nature of argumentation
courses, and to indicate that they have been one factor in the evolution
of college debating.
SUBJECTS AND EQUIPMENT
No longer do debaters indulge in such once favorite exerdses as,
"Which is more destructive, fire or water?", "Is gold more valuable
than iron?", or "How many angels can stand on the point of a
needle?" The thing which has lifted debating above the worthless,
medieval quibbles is the employment of present-day problems in
economics, politics, sodety, and education. The mere sharpening of
the mind in ways of arguing is a by-product; the main purpose is
enlightenment, a fullness of knowledge on questions that college men
must face as dtizens. A list of recent intercollegiate debates indudes
such subjects as: Reciprocity with Canada, the Open Shop, Recall
of Judges, Income Tax, Initiative and Referendum, Direct Primaries,
Central Bank, Employers* Liability for Acddents, Commission Plan
of Munidpal Government. Who can say that school debates on
these current problems are not a veritable source of enlightenment?
When there cease to be sodal problems, debating will cease, and not
before. •
With better subjects for discussion, has appeared also a more
suitable equipment. Very serviceable are the various bibliographies,
reference books, and pamphlets, espedally arranged for forensic use.
And more than this, the debater has come to realize that he must
couple with ready-made equipment, his own diligent search for first-
hand evidence. Some time ago a Wisconsin college in preparing a
debate on the prohibition question sent representatives dear to the
state of Maine to make a personal investigation. A visit to the
debaters' room in a university library, where the table is heaped with
pamphlets, reports, charts, magazines, and personal letters indicates
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The Evolution of College Debating 35
to what extent debaters must go in their research. For this reason
their forensics are often times as thoro as the discussions in Congress.
For this advancement in subjects and equipment, special credit
is due to the departments of economics, poh'tical science, and sociology.
Without their assistance, college debating could not be conducted in
any thing like its present standard. The rise of the social sciences
has made possible this form of forensics; the two are supplementary,
inter-active. The faculty committee on debates usually consists of
a professor of economics, a professor of sociology, and an instructor
in English or public speaking. This provides for instruction in both
subject material and expression; matter is dealt with first, and then
manner ; for it is fundamental that impression must precede expression.
In the selection of questions, in the gathering of material, and in the
interpretation of evidence, these instructors in the social sciences are
indispensable; their presence at the practice debates is a safeguard
against erroneous statements and antiquated theories. For it is not
to be supposed that the instructor in oratory can keep himself
informed in these specialized fields.
The student, then, aspiring to attainment in argumentative
discourse must look well to his equipment. The more thoro his
knowledge of history and the sodal sciences, the more likely his
chances of success. I repeat it: Fullness of knowledge and vigorous
thinking are the fundamentals in debating. Coupled with this equip-
ment should be the power of vigorous expression, oral and written.
Elocution of the old style has gone forever, and in its place has arisen
a sane guidance in the principles of gesture, voice training, platform
deportment, and the like. In proportion as students have developed
in this union of thoro impression with effective expression, the
evolution of debating has taken place.
DUAL AND TRIANGULAR LEAGUES
The establishment of leagues has done much to relieve the
finandal and executive problems of intercollegiate debating. The
older form was that of a dual league, but soon the advantage was
seen of introducing a third college to form a triangular arrangement.
Today there are also pentangular leagues — ^notably those of Illinois,
Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, Wisconsin; and Arkansas, Louisiana,
Mississippi, Tennessee, Texas.
But the three-cornered plan as adopted by Harvard, Princeton,
Yale; Amherst, Wesleyan, Williams; Chicago, Michigan, North-
western; Oregon, Washington, Stanford; (and several others) has
been retained as the most satisfactory. A distinct advantage is that
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the three debates take place the same night, and on the same
question. This enables each college to have two teams — an affirmative
and a negative. The value of this in preparation is obvious. At the
final contest, the negative of the question is usually upheld by the
visiting team. For instance, one year Williams sends her negative
team down to Amherst, Amherst sends her negative to Wesleyan,
and Wesleyan in turn sends her negative up to Williams. The next
year there is a reversal so that the undergraduates may hear a
different college. The negative is assigned to the visitors on the
ground that the rigid burden of proof entailed upon the affirmative
is offset in part by the advantage of speaking before a familiar
audience.
The management of such a round-robin league is delegated to
an executive committee, consisting of a representative from each
institution. A written compact for three years provides for the
schedule of debates, selection of judges, length of speeches and all
other matters except the local arrangemnts. The question is chosen
in a rather ingenious way. Early in the fall, or more often in the
spring of the preceding year, each college submits to the secretary
of the executive committee two debate questions. Then these six
constitute the list, on which each college votes i, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, in
order of preference. The question thus receiving the lowest total is
deemed to be the one chosen. In the event of a deadlock the colleges
take another ballot on the two equal-score questions. The visiting
delegation pa3rs its own railroad expenses, but is entertained at the
expense of the home college. From this is seen the desirability of
forming a league with institutions which geographically represent a
triangle.
SELECTION OF INTERCOLLEGIATE TEAMS
The most efficient method of selecting Varsity debaters is still a
matter of controversy. Of several plans employed, two are particu-
larly noteworthy. The older, and unquestionably the more satis-
factory method is found at Harvard, Dartmouth, Bowdoin, Williams,
and most of the other eastern institutions. The plan is simple and
fair. The preliminary trial, open to any imdergraduate student,
consists of a five minute argument on either side of the intercollegiate
question. From this, twelve are selected by a faculty committee for
a further try-out. In order that these men may have opportunity
at rebuttal, they are divided by lot into two affirmative and two
negative teams, of three speakers eadi. Two regular, semi-public
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The Evolution of College Debating 37
debates (each an hour and a half in length) are then held; at which
time a different set of judges makes the final decision.
North Dakota, on the other hand, follows a plan that is typical
of many western universities. The men are chosen from a series
of inter-society debates. In the fall each literary society chooses its
three representatives and challenges some other society for a public
debate. A two weeks schedule of inter-society debates on various
questions is arranged, and five judges are appointed to attend all these
contests and select the inter-collegiate teams. As a special safety
device or escape valve, there is also a free-for-all debate open to non-
society students, and men disappointed in not making their society
team.
Here is an instance where the writer does not feel that the
new method marks an evolution. The older plan seems more
desirable from the standpoint of both the college and the literary
society. In the first place, it furnishes the judges a more adequate
means of selecting the best teams. The several society debates are
on questions varying widely in difficulty. Now it does not follow
that because a man excels in a discussion of the recall of judges that
he will necessarily be effective when placed on a question as technical
as that of a central bank, or the single tax. Mr. A., perhaps, is the
son of a banker and has first-hand knowledge of banking problems;
quite likely he is the man for a monetary question. Mr. B. knows
nothing of this, but has specialized in the field of railroad transport-
ation and is ready to handle a question of railroad rates. Evidently
there is a far better basis of judgment when all the cadidates present
arguments on the exact question of the inter-collegiate contest. One
can then estimate the men in their comparative thoroness of prepara-
tion, analysis of the question, handling of evidence, and general
argumentative effectiveness.
The second advantage is that it means a considerable saving of
time for the busy debaters. And this is not so trivial a matter as it
might seem. I have heard students remark: "No, Fm not going out
for the team this year. I simply haven't the time. I would have to
try out for my society team, and then if I made it, study up the
question and enter the inter-society contest. Then should I be
chosen from this, I would have to throw overboard my material and
work up an entirely different question. No, I can't do all this."
But a contest on the intercollegiate subject, eliminates this researching
thru two questions. Furthermore, when twenty or thirty men appear
in the preliminaries, all on the affirmative or negative of the same
discussion, some original arguments are sure to be presented. These
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men who do not make the teams are always very willing to turn
over their material. After the semi-finals, the subject has been
thrashed out so completely on both sides, that the teams require but
little coaching for the inter-collegiate contest.
There is still a third advantage to the college in the older method
of selection — it is in accord with our growing conception of campus
democracy. What would you think if the baseball coach should
choose his 'Varsity nine by selectig players from the inter-fraternity
games? Suppose he said, ''Now I will watch the Beta-Sig game
this afternoon, and pick two from each team ; tomorrow I will choose
four more from the Psi U-Phi Delt game." What would you say
to such procedure in athletics? Yet, that is precisely the policy
often employed in selectig 'Varsity debating teams. Should not the
best six debaters in the University be chosen, regardless of whether
they belong to the same literary society? Why should it be thought
necessary to divide the plums among the several sodeties, when a
larger university interest is at stake?
Nor is this new method as advantageous to the societies them-
selves, as it might appear. It is not surprising that their debates lack
team work. Each man's primary aim is to make the 'Varsity, and
incidentally to have his society win. Mr. A. wants to appear to the
judges as a brilliant individual debater, and consequently often has
five opponents instead of three. In the nature of things, there is a
conflict of loyalty; he would like to have his team win, but more
than that he is eager for individual honor. No, the system is wrong.
Were the inter-society debates distributed thruout the year, instead
of congested into ten days, and made purely a team contest with no
consideration of choosing inter-collegiate debaters, I believe a splendid
improvement would be effected.
THE MATTER OF JUDGING DEBATES
Those who have been attending debates for several years must
rejoice in the new method of judging. In the old arrangement the
judges used to retire, and by consultation attempt to render a imani-
mous dedsion. The suspense for the audience was tedious. One
time in a Yale-Princeton debate, the judges were out one hour and
twenty minutes. Grover Cleveland, who presided, tells us that it
was one of the most miserable hours he ever spent, trying to padfy
the audience, and to ignore the frequent calls for "Speech."
The unfairness of this jury method became apparent. If the
opinion was two to one favoring the affirmative, and the minority
judge was a strong-willed, persuasive man, it was quite likely a
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The Evolution of College Debating 39
question of time in influendng the other two to the negative. The
present method is simpler and absolutely fair. The judges are not
allowed to confer during the debate, but simply hand their sealed
ballot to the usher. These are opened and read aloud by the pre-
siding officer. Sometimes he reads the three ballots to himself
before making the announcement, but it seems better to read each
one as it is opened. The writer recalb one instance where the
chairman announced the first ballot, 'affirmative,' the second, 'neg-
ative ;' and then make a few remarks before opening the third. The
effect upon the audience was exasperating.
The selection of capable, impartial judges is sometimes a prob-
lem. An attorney or judge, a professor, and a keen business man
are considered a well balanced group of judges. As these three types
of men have had different training they see things from different
angles. The consensus of their judgment ought to stand unquestioned.
Men who are strongly opinionated on the partictdar subject for
discussion are often debarred. When an economist is radically
opposed to the single tax, naturally the contentions of the affirmative
seem to him fallacious. The case is analogous to that of empanelling
a jury; those who have not formed a strong opinion are the more
desirable ; it is easier for them to determine which side gets nearer the
truth.
A discussion sometimes arises as to the basis of judgment:
How much ought arguments to count, and how much delivery? It
is the old controversy of matter vs. manner. In the evolution of
debating we are coming to realize that arguments are the main con-
sideration, and that oratoric expression is secondary. Some, even,
instruct the judges to mark 75 per cent on subject matter and 25
per cent on delivery, but such mathematical precision seems unwise.
When playing tennis, altho I may be crude and clumsy — ^wretched
in form — ^yet, by actual points scored I may win out. The same
is true in debating. But of course if I am weak in delivery — crude
enunciation, feeble voice, sleepy appearance — ^why indirectly that
counts against me because the judge necessarily misses my points.
Nor ou^t credit to be given to arguments that are completely over-
thrown by opponents. I once heard a judge at an inter-collegiate
contest explain his method of judging: "After I hear the first
debater I put down some nimiber as 5 ; then if I like the next man
much better I give him, say 7, then the third one may drop down to
2. Then,after I have heard all six, I add up and see which side has
the larger score." What absolute absurdity! If we are to have recall
of court judges, it ought to apply to such incompetent debate judges.
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Frequently the managers of the two teams arrange to meet the
judges just before the debate, and present them written instructions,
so to avoid misunderstanding. The following is a copy of the in-
structions sometimes used:
(A) The award shall not be made on the merits of the question,
but on the merits of the debate: That is to say, consideration as to
what may seem to a judge the intrinsic merit of either side of a
question should not enter into, or determine the award; but the
award ought to be made to that college team which evinces greater
argumentative ability and better form as speakers.
(B) In determining argumentative ability, the judges should
take into consideration thoro knowledge of the subject, power of
analysis and structure, logical sequence, skill in selecting and pre-
senting evidence, and effectiveness in rebuttal.
(C) In considering the form of the speakers as distinguished
from their arguments, the judges should regard bearing, quality of
voice, pronunciation, enunciation, ease, and appropriateness of gesture,
and directness, variety and emphasis in delivery.
(D) Altho delivery is of some consideration, it should be remem-
bered that matter is more important than form. Validity of argu-
ments presented is the main thing, and delivery secondary, and should
one team excel in matter, and the other to an equal degree in form,
the award should go to the former.
FACULTY COACHING
In the contracts of some triangular leagues appears the provision :
''There shall be no faculty coaching." Is not this, too, significant of
an evolution ? In football, professional coaching seems necessary, but
ought a purely intellectual contest to be put on the same basis? After
a debate, ought it to be known that Professor So-and-so's team won ?
In high schools there may be need for detailed coaching, but among
university students it ought largely to be dispensed with. When a
professor of English or public speaking teaches a course in argument-
ation, ought not his class-room instruction to be sufficient guidance?
That educational system is weak which does not stimulate college
men to do real vigorous thinking for themselves. There is altogether
too much reliance on ready-made arguments, and not enough individ-
ual research. Now if we pedagogs can agree to keep our hands of!,
and let the boys learn to sift evidence and present their own argu-
ments, shall we not ultimately contribute to the development of
college debating?
Don't think me an extremist. I believe it is well for faculty
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The Evolution of College Debating 41
members to give suggestions and help the debaters in locating material,
but what I do denounce is an instructor's furnishing the entire line-up
of arguments, and then coaching the bo3rs how to say those pet ideas.
Let's work to make inter-collegiate debating distinctive among con-
tests—distinctive in that the students themselves do the work.
This year Yale won over Harvard, for the first time in several
years. The comment of Professor F. R. Fairchild who had charge
of the Yale debaters is significant. He says: ''It is generally felt
that the University has good reason to be proud of the showing made
by the debating team this year. It is probably not so generally known
that the credit for this result belongs more than in other recent years,
to the debaters themselves. Heretofore there has been chosen, more
or less formally, a regular debating ''coach." He has been expected
to give up a considerable part of his time to the work of studying
the question, gathering evidence, working up arguments, etc. Occa-
sionally this method has reached the extreme of typewritten argu-
ments prepared by the coach and handed out to be memorized and
delivered by the several members of the team. This year nothing of
the sort was attempted. After an evening devoted to discussion of
the question, the debaters, divided into affirmative and negative teams,
were turned loose to work up their cases. At the succeeding meetings
the two sides presented their arguments, which were then criticised
and torn to pieces and the debaters again left to reconstruct their
arguments, strengthen the weak places, and present them again for
the same kind of criticism. This criticism, together with some
suggestions from other members of the faculty, was all that the
debaters had in the way of coaching. No outsider looked up the
evidence or developed the arguments. And no outsider can claim
credit for the result. The debaters can know that what they accom-
plished they did themselves. It seems to the writer that this is the
way to carry on debating. The plan of the regular coach verges too
much on the professional. The coach cannot help feeling that his
own reputation is at stake, that he must win at any cost, that he
cannot afford to leave the developments of the arguments to the
debaters, but must himself work up the strongest possible case. The
debaters on the other hand, are in danger of feeling that they are
little more than automatons to deliver the ready-made arguments
put into their mouths."
EXCHANGE OF BRIEFS
Lawyers before pleading a case in court submit a brief, outlining
the arguments for prosecution, or defence. Many are advocating a
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42 The Quarterly Journal
similar arrangement in debating — ^an exchange of briefs at least three
weeks prior to the debate. It seems imperative for both sides to have
the same analysis of the question, and to agree to disagree on the
same issues. This would prevent the all too frequent parallel-track
debates, and insure head-on collisions. It would also tend to elimi-
nate strategy, and to make the debates frank, public discussions,
where the judges have simply to determine which side gets nearer the
truth.
High school debates, in particular, are given over to trick plays ;
the attempt is to win by stealing a march on their opponents. "Never
mind about enlightening the audience, just spring these unexpected
points at the last moment, and see if it doesn't swamp the other side."
Recently I acted as judge on the Parcel Post question. The affirma-
tive won unanimously, but it is doubtful if they would have won,
had there been a previous agreement on a definite plan of parcels
post. The affirmative worked the surprise by advocating govern-
ment ownership of express companies. The negative naturally, had
taken the usual interpretation of that question — simply the eleven
pound extension of the United States mail service — and being inex-
perienced debaters were unable, on the spur of the moment to change
their line of attack. Therefore, their contentions of expense, compe-
tition with private enterprise, unfairness of flat rates, etc., were
wholly beside the point; in other words, both sides were discussing
such totally different S3rstems, that a clash of opinion was impossible.
Had there been an exchange of briefs, all this misunderstanding (or
perhaps conscious trickery) would have been avoided.
But, you say, debating should fit one to meet the situations that
occur in actual life. How many times, however, in a public discus-
sion does a speaker have to guess what the issues will be? The
debates in Congress, for instance, are on a definite well defined
proposition. The bill is drawn up and the arguments pro and con
are quite generally known. There is no attempt to delude, and then
spring the unexpected. In public discussions, people are willing
to tell beforehand their line of reasoning. Why should it not be so
in debating, if our aim is to enlighten by searching out truth ?
Yes, the next evolutionary step will be the exchange of briefs.
What two colleges will take the initiative?
THE COURTESY AND ETHICS OF DEBATE
In athletics we are hearing less about charges of professionalism,
"ringers," muckerism; there is a growth of good sportsmanship
among college men. The same is true in debating; the courtesy of
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The Evolution of College Debating 43
debate has become a proverbial expression for fair-mindedness. The
cheerful manner in which the rules are adhered to, even in the midst
of intense controversy is remarkable. At the announcement of the
decision, how delightful it is to see the defeated team rush over to
congratulate their opponents. There is a magnanimous, whole-
souled spirit among debaters. At the banquet following, the intensity
of a skirmish vanishes ; the victors and the conquered sit side by side
in a jovial exchange of wit. Such relationship evinces that there is
something in debating which makes manly men.
The growing spirit of courtesy was impressed upon me by
attending the inter-collegiate — or rather international — debate be-
tween the University of North Dakota and the Univeristy of Mani-
toba at Winnipeg. The cordiality with which we were greeted by
our English rivals, showed about the city and University, and given
a reception and banquet was refreshing. Then in the debate itself
there was splendid courtesy. Our bo)rs were given the choice of
position on the platform, and allowed to determine the manner of
keeping time; on the platform with the Union Jack were our stars
and stripes ; then as our bo3rs did not have academic gowns, the Can-
adians courteously removed theirs; and not once did either side
descend into sarcasm and bitterness; it was an illustration of how
students may argue intensely and still be gentlemen. And I wish
those who believe a visiting team have a hostile audience to overcome,
could have heard the vigorous cheering given our boys; a stranger
could scarcely have told which was the popular side. I returned from
that contest assured that the courtesy of debate is a growing reality.
The ethics of debate has reference to the matter of honesty.
Sometimes dishonesty creeps in. Not long ago, I attended an inter-
society debate on the Recall of State Judges. One affirmative speaker
wished to show concretely just how corrupt state judges are. Now,
in a certain issue of Pearson's magazine was a vivid account of a
corrupt federal judge. In quoting portions of this, in order to make
it pertinent to the debate, he omitted the word federal. The next
speaker on the negative had evidently read the same article, and when
it came time for him to speak, he walked over to his opponent, asked
for the magazine, and exposed to the audience the dishonest trick
by which the word federal had been crossed out. Such deception
violates the ethics of debate and is rarely seen. A person who wilfully
juggles statistics, or tampers with quotations to misconstrue the
meaning forfeits his confidence with an audience ; he has not realized
that a fundamental in debating is honesty.
Interesting situations often occur that test a debater's ethics.
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One time on the ship subsidy question, a speaker gave elaborate
figures about ship-building. They were given so rapidly (not inten-
tionally) that the opponents were at a loss to take them down accu-
rately. After he had taken his seat, one of them arose and asked if
he would repeat the figures slowly. There was some reluctance on
his part, but he finally did so. Had he refused his debating ethics
would have been questionable. I recall another situation. One
speaker used a very clever, original chart to explain an intricate
problem. When the next speaker appeared, he requested that the
chart be brought forward in order that he mig^t expose the fallacies.
Cheerfully, tho conscious of defeat thereby, he turned over the chart
to his opponent.
Yes, I am convinced that the twenty years have developed a
growth in both the courtesy and the ethics of debate.
RECOGNITION OF DEBATERS
That there has been an increase in the amount of recognition
given to intercollegiate debaters is apparent. To discuss the various
methods of honoring them would make an interesting study. We
find that at Yale the men are given gold watch-charms, bearing on
one side the head of Demosthenes, and on the other the name of the
owner, and the debate in which he took part. Harvard grants
"shingles" or certificates to the effect that the owner has represented
his Alma Mater in debate. Several colleges are endeavoring to
honor alike those who excel in music, debate, oratory, and dramatics
by presenting watch fobs bearing the official emblem of the college.
The University of Michigan even believes in material compensation,
and grants her debaters sums of money.
One of the recent forms of recognition is the granting of three
or four hours of credit. This, however, seems objectionable. There
is a growing tendency to cheapen the curriculum by allowing partici-
pation in student activities to count for credits. Oratory, debating,
student publications, glee clubs, and the like, are all clamoring for
substitute credit. "How much credit will I get out of this?" is a
too frequent question. A versatile student who is on the debating
team for three years, and active in other fields, need elect but a few
hours a week to meet the diploma requirements. There can be no
question but that the training and experience on a debating team is
as valuable to a student as any course in the curriculiun. We hear
a man say, "Why, I wouldn't swap what I got out of debating for
any two courses in college." But even so, ought it to count on the
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The Evolution of College Debating 45
registrar's books? If we are to give credit for debate work, where
are we to draw the line with other activities?
I am aware that one of the reasons urged for this credit, is
that the debaters, relieved by dropping one course, can spend more
time in preparing material. But, as a mater of fact, the debates
usually come in the middle of a semester, and the course is not
dropped until the following semester, when the debate work is all
over. Now, if we wish to relieve the debaters, why not do so at
the time when they are working the hardest? What they want is
enough time for thoro investigation. If the instructors would be
willing to excuse them from burdensome class-room assignments dur-
ing the three or four weeks previous to the contest, it would satisfy
the need. In such courses as English, public speaking, economics (and
debaters are quite likely to be enrolled in these classes) it is a fair
proposition to substitute debate work for special reports and assign-
ments. Such an arrangement — ^which is our custom in North Dakota
— seems more feasible than that of granting actual credits.
But the real growth of recognition is to be found not in exter-
nals — in the granting of badges, certificates, and credits — but in the
awakened student sentiment. When a man is made to feel by the
attitude of his fellow students that one of the greatest honors that
can come to him is to represent his Alma Mater in debating, then
we have a worthy type of recognition. Demonstrations by bon fires,
band music, and parades are quite essential for athletic celebrations,
but we do not expect the same exhibition of enthusiasm for debate ; it
seems inappropriate for an intellectual contest. But what we do take
pride in is the increasing student sentiment that quietly exalts
debating and puts an honor-premium upon debaters.
Nor is recognition lacking outside of the college gates. The
statement from the head of a prominent business concern is significant:
**Yes, I employ several college men. Other things being equal, I like
one who has excelled in debating. I find that the ability he has
acquired to analyze problems, to think quickly and keenly, to contend
with opponents fiercely, but honorably has an application in business."
This is the type of recognition that is worth while.
A FINAL WORD
Dare I say another word about debating? While I have no
exhortation for the students, I cannot resist a final remark to col-
leagues in the teaching dan. I realize that every teacher is prone
to extol his own particular field, and to wonder at the indi£Ference
from other people. But when students are discussing a political or
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46 The Quarterly Journal
economic problem, is it not to be assumed that college professors
should be generally interested? Yet, one is led to assert that at the
inter-collegiate debates, the percentage of attendance from the student
body far exceeds that from the faculty. There is nothing that so
encourages, so inspires a debater as to feel that he has the wholesome
support of his teachers, particularly if they teach in wholly different
fields. That instructor who cares only for a student's success in his
own department and scoffs at activities not immediately connected
with it, is narrow in the extreme. "Charity for all" is needed in the
diversified curriculum. I like what Professor Lyman of the Univer-
sity of Wisconsin sa)rs in his article in the Century (October, 191 1 ).
To illustrate that certain faculty members are not unknown to pooh-
pooh at debating, he mentions the case of a professor of history who
complained because a boy making C grades in history was praised
for being a debater of grade A. The assumption is that his teaching
of history lacked the stimulus of a good fight.
There are several other debate problems that invite discussion,
but I fear I have already said too much. My aim has been merely
to stimulate a higher regard for college debating, and to indicate
in what ways the twenty years have worked an evolution.
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The New Grammar
Samuel James Peasb^
Assistant Professor of French and German,
University of North Dakota
^T^HE New Grammar will soon be reality, and a newest science
**" be added to the list. The da)rs of "Sturm und Drang," when
philologically untrained advertisers brought out book after book, each
with a new "system" founded upon some new name for some old
usages, are definitely and forever past. But why "New Grammar" ?
The individual phenomena are so familiar that every child of fourteen
is expected to know them, but a careful, logical study of the facts of
language is so new that knowledge still walks in some fields with
uncertain and fearful step.
The New Grammar has been slow in the making. Other
sciences, based as they are upon large bodies of fact, 3aeld nevertheless
to comparatively rapid investigation, for knowledge of them is
possible to the single individual from careful manipulation, obser-
vation, reasoning, and invention of devices. The New Grammar is
different It requires the comparative standpoint, both in point of
language and of nationality. America cannot perform the task alone,
neither can Germany nor Russia. English cannot be studied solely
for itself and by itself, but must be considered also as a part of the great
Indo-European family, with its roots in the past and its dose-knit
branches entangled with Danish, Dutch, Latin, Greek, Norman
French, Modem French, New High German, Spanish Spanish,
American Spanish, American Indian, and all the others that have left
a trace on form, sound, or construction. From this it is evident
that the New Grammar is impossible without the cooperation of a
large body of philologically trained scholars, each thoroly competent
to understand and compare the exprest thoughts of men in more than
one language. In other words, the difficulties of the New Grammar
are enormously greater than those of any other sdence in that they
involve not only long and severe training, but also a thoro and
accurate understanding of the spirit of several languages. Further-
more, as constrasted with more "practical" sciences, the hope of
individual financial reward must be replaced by the altruistic idea of
time-saving for generations of students. All these obstacles the
New Grammar has had to meet; all these difficulties it must grad-
ually overcome.
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48 The Quarterly Journal
The study of grammar may be said to have had three periods,
the ancienti the transitional, and the modern. In the ancient era,
lasting until about the beginning of the nineteenth century, Latin
was to such an extent the dominant language that the modem
languages were considered hardly worth serious study. In Germany,
for instance, it was not until Theodor Komer, Arndt, Lessing,
Goethe and Schiller had reversed the attitude toward the German
language fostered by Frederick the Great, who spoke and wrote only
French, that a careful exposition of German grammar seemed worth
while. Heine and Schiller both complain, indeed, of their lack of
grammatical knowledge of their mother-tongue, a knowledge to be
obtained in their day only by a long process of torture in Latin
grammar which it was impossible for either to accomplish trium-
phantly.
It is indeed to the Latin grammars of the period of about 1800
that all modern grammars owe the most of their terminology to-day.
The similarity of German to Latin grammar, naturally very great,
led grammarians to follow terms, usages, categories conunon in the
Latin books, obscuring in great mesure the very essential differences
between the two languages. Even now in this enlightened twentieth
century, that patriarch of German grammars written originally by
Johann August Heyse, retains in its twenty-seventh edition many
of the outworn terms and conceptions of a century ago. Nor is it
alone in this. For other modern languages, conditions being improved
greatly in Swedish and French, the situation may be considered
practically the same. The grammar in the andent period is unscien-
tific, uncritical, not coherent or systematic.
The transitional period embraces practically the nineteenth
century. It begins with genuine progress, in that Jakob Grimm and
his followers, themselves following Swedish and Danish models,
attacked the problems of morphology and phonology from a compar-
ative standpoint, with the result that these departments of grammar
attained to authoritative presentation. They paid, however, little
attention to dialects, and practically none to phonetics. The more
difficult problems of syntax were not yet solved. Form and sound,
indeed, yielded much more readily to study than S3mtax, which
implies relation and intimate imderstanding. S3mtax is almost a
science in itself. During the century of change the attitude of
scholars toward syntsx has undergone a complete swing of the
pendulum. The beginnings of syntactical study implied the essential
unity for the Indo-European languages of case or mood-usage, with-
out careful analysis of differences. Still the syntax of cases presented
Digitized by VjOOQIC
The New Grammar 49
comparatively few difEculties, the uses varying from language to
language with fusion or dropping of cases or endings. But there
grew during all this period a tangled underbrush of terms, systems,
methods, so that a few years ago no man knew accurately the syntax
of the verb, and there were traces of atavism in other fields. The
endeavor was constantly to obtain coherence within the individual
93rstem of grammar for the individual language, even at the expense
of sdentific accuracy.
It was a professor of Latin who pointed the way out, Professor
William Gardiner Hale of the University of Chicago, who since
the eighties of the last century has maintained the essential imity of
S3mtax in the Indo-European languages, even in the case of the
verb, where the greatest di£Ferences appear, and most particularly in
the complex, diflRcult mood called the subjunctive. But neither
Professor Hale nor his pupils (of whom the writer is one), nor the
Latin and Greek languages alone could by comparison with English
furnish complete data. A movement was therefore started for a
simplification of grammatical nomenclature on a sdentific basis, which
is destined to result in much saving of time and e£Fort in language
study.
In 1906 a committee of fifteen was appointed in France to
recommend a uniform system of nomenclature for French grammar.
Its reports in 1907-8 and 1909 resulted in 1910 in the publication
of a ministerial circular entitled "La nouvelle nomenclature gram-
maticale." An English joint committee of fifteen to cover granunat-
ical terminology in English, German, French, Latin, and Greek,
appointed in 1908, reported in 1910. In 1910 a German committee
was appointed at Frankfurt am Main, to report in two years. It
was to consider terminology in German, English, French, and
Italian grammar and to cooperate with the English and French
societies. The Neuphilologen-Verein of Vienna appointed in the
fall of 191 1 a similar committee representing Latin, Greek, German,
English, and French. The committee appointed by the Modem
Language Assodation of America in 1906 was the second in the
field, the first to suggest uniform grammatical nomendature for
several languages, but the last to get under way. The committee
met with various delasrs, the scope of the work gradually enlarging,
until largely thru the e£Forts of Professor Hale, ably seconded by
Mrs. Ella Flagg Young, a joint Committee of Fifteen was appointed
by the National Education Assodation, the American Philological
Assodation, and the Modem Language Assodation, representing in
its personnel the various languages — English, German, French,
Digitized by VjOOQIC
50 The Quarterly Journal
Spanish, Italian, Latin, and Greek — , the Department of Superin-
tendence, the Department of Education, the school, college, and uni-
versity points of view. The national committees will have the
assistance of a large body of carefully trained scholars with adequate
means of communication, so that an early establishment of the facts
of the New Grammar may now be reasonably expected.
Furthermore, aside from the saving of time and energy, a
solution of the problems of grammar will give the science its true
standing among other sciences. Then, its foundations firmly laid,
language shall advance to conquest in new fields, not the least of
which is progress in the speedi of the common people.
Digitized by VjOOQIC
Mr. Wilbur's Studies in Entomology
Vbrnon Purinton Squires^
Professor of the English Language and Literature,
University of North Dakota
and
George St. John Perrott,
Professor of Latin,
University of North Dakota
T? VERYONE knows that Lowell was a humorist, altho a great
■^^ many do not seem to realize how merry and rollicking his fun
is. His puns which often, as in the first part of the Fable for Critics
or in such a poem as The Unhappy Lot of Mr. Knott, explode and
sparkle down the page like a bunch of firecrackers, and his many
other quips and sudden whimsical turns of thought and expression
are irresistible because spontaneous and entirely characteristic. They
abound in his letters, and, according to report, were frequent in his
familiar conversation. They even creep into his serious writings,
sometimes, indeed, laying him open to the charge of levity; and yet,
after all, they are so entirely natural to the man as to be much
enjoyed by the reader who has learned really to know him. To tell
the truth, Lowell was even to the end a good deal of a boy. He
seemed to have discovered the fountain of eternal youth, and, like
many a merry youngster, was always over running with fun just for
the love of it.
An example of this is found in his editing of the Bigelow Papers.
These poems tho conceived with a serious purpose were hastily struck
off in the heat of the discussion over the Mexican War, and at first
had little pretense of unity or sequence. The Yankee dialect was
adopted, not primarily as a merely humorous device but because
Lowell thought that it would enable him to say some things in a
more direct and pointed way than would be possible in conventional
language. Yet he realized that in this form he could not fully
express all he wished to say. As he himself puts it: "I needed on
occasion to rise above the level of mere patois, and for this purpose
conceived the Rev. Mr. Wilbur, who should express the more
cautious element of the New England character and its pedantry, as
Mr. Bigelow should serve for its homely common-sense vivified and
heated by consdence. The parson was to be the complement rather
Digitized by VjOOQIC
52 The Quarterly Journal
than the antithesis of his parishioner, and I felt or fancied a certain
humorous element in the real identity of the two under a seeming
incongruity. Mr. Wilbur's fondness for scraps of Latin, tho drawn
from life, I adopted deliberately to hei^ten the contrast."*
The genesis of Mr. Wilbur, Lowell more fully explained in
a letter to his friend Thomas Hughes (author of Tom Brown at
Rugby) under date of Sept. 13, 1859, as follows: "I tried my first
"Bigclow Paper" in a newspaper and found that it had a great run,
So I wrote the others from time to time during the year which
followed, always very rapidly and sometimes at one sitting. When I
came to collect them and publish them in a volume I conceived my
parson editor with his pedantry and verbosity, his amiable vanity
and superiority to the verses he was editing, as a fitting artistic
background and foil. It gave me a chance, too, of glancing obliquely
at many things which were beyond the horizon of my other char-
acters."
As a part of this editing, Lowell represented Mr. Wilbur as
pedantically fond of Latin, and even went so far as to introduce an
advertisement for a forthcoming book in Latin by the reverend
gentleman. As this advertisement is itself written in Latin, it is
probably nowadays skipped by at least nine-nine out of every hundred
who dip into the Bigelow Papers. And yet this Latin advertisement
is a capital example of what Shakespeare calls "admirable fooling."
One can imagine Lowell working over it in high glee recalling to
mind scraps of his classical reading and looking up various queer
out-of-the-way words in an English-Latin lexicon. He no doubt
chuckled a good deal over Mr. Wilbur's investigations into the
genus Humbug, and probably enjoyed hugely his various thrusts
at the political and critical shysters of his time. Accordingly, it has
seemed worth while to translate the passage that it may be accessible
to readers of Lowell who find difficulty (and difficulty there certainly
is) with the original. It must be confessed that much of the fun
vanishes when the odd Latin sentences are Englished, but enough
remains to give us a peep at the merry mind and happy good humor
of one of our greatest countrymen.
ANNOUNCBMBNT
Quite a number having declared that they will be purchasers of
the book, George Nichols of Cambridge will publish a work about
an important but hitherto neglected department of natural history
with the following title, namely:
1. Introduction to Biflrelow Papers.
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Mr. WUbur's Studies in Entomology 53
An Attempt at a Somewhat More Perfect Account of the
Buzzing Beetle, Commonly called Humbug, by Homer Wilbur,
Master of Arts, President of the Natural History Society of Jaalam
(also Secretary and Fellow — the only one alas!) and perchance a
future Fellow of many other learned (or unlearned) societies both
at home and abroad.
INTRODUCTION
To the Gentle Reader:
Before I had left college, having carefully investigated the
various entomological systems, which have been very painstakingly
worked out by men most deeply versed in this science, I could not
help perceiving with regret that, tho otherwise most worthy of
praise, they all made an omission of great importance. Then being
led by some impulse from above or captivated by the charm of the
work, I (like another Curtius) solemnly devoted myself to filling up
the gap. Nor did I relinquish the task thus imposed by Fate until
I had completed a little pamphlet somewhat inelegantly couched in
the vernacular.
Then pu£Fed up with boyish enthusiasm and never having
plumbed the depths of the folly of booksellers (to say nothing of the
"Reading Public"), I thought I had composed something which
men would (so to speak) swallow like hot cakes. But when I had
submitted my manuscripts to one publisher after another, and was
returned to my study with nothing more substantial than an emphatic
No, a great horror and pity for the Lambertian^ dullness implanted
by the wrath of the gods in the skulls of fellows of this stripe seized
me. Forthwith I determined to publish the book at my own expense,
having no doubt at all that the "World of Science" (as the saying is)
would amply fill my purse. However, I reaped no crop from my
poor little field except the empty satisfaction of deserving well of the
Republic. This predous bread of mine having thus been cast on the
turbid literary waters, befouled as it were by the touch of the Harpies
(namely those rascally booksellers mentioned above) returned home
to me in a few days. And then when I could not myself live on such
food, it occurred to me for the first time that the baker (that is to
say, the printer) would nevertheless have to be paid. Yet I did not
on this account lose heart; but, just as little boys hold their little
boats in hand by a string (in order that when drifting from their
proper course they may draw them back to the bank), with firm
2. Evidently a reference to the famous Bngllsh fat man, Danish
Lambert (1770-1809).
Digitized by VjOOQIC
54 The Quartely Journal
purpose I recalled from its quest of the golden fleece my paper Argo
trailing in the waves, I myself rather having been the one to be
shorn and skinned. To change the metaphor, I drew back my
boomerang which was going wide of its mark until, occasion serving,
I might hurl it with greater force.
But while I was brooding over these plans, and trusting, like
Saturn, the famous child-eater, to subsist on the o&pring of my
brains, I was overtaken by a pitiable tho not unheard of misfortune.
For just as they say the Scythians, because of their piety and par-
simony devoured their dead parents, so this, my first-born son, more
cruel than the Scythians, attempted to swallow me, altho alive and
kicking. However, I did not on this account disinherit my hungry
child. Indeed I rather regarded this hunger of his as a sign of
virility and strength, and sought food for satisfying it, keeping,
however, my own hide whole. And as I perceived that money was
the only suitable thing for his gushing gastric juice to digest, I looked
around to see where I might easiest raise a loan. Under these
circumstances, I got my uncle to supply the necessary money so that
there might be no need of my leaving the university before taking
the bachelor's degree. Then wishing to protect the interests of my
generous benefactor, I assigned to my aforesaid uncle all the copies
of the first edition of my work as yet unsold together with the privi-
lege of printing and publishing the same for ever. From that day
marked with a black stone, insistent and ever increasing family cares
constantly assailed me to such an extent that I never could free that
predous pledge from the brazen chains.
After the recent death of my unde, when among the other
relatives I went to hear the reading of the will, my eager ears were
greeted by these words :
"Since I am convinced that my beloved nephew Homer by long
and intimate acquaintance with poverty is a most suitable person
to guard riches and to use generously and prudently what the gods
have intrusted to him, — ^therefore, moved by these ideas and because
of my great affection for him, I give and bequeath to my dear nephew
aforesaid these possessions of mine, all and singular, not to be
weighed or counted, which follow, to-wit: five hundred books which
the said Homer pledged to me in the year of grace 1792, with the
privilege of publishing and reprinting this scientific work of his (as
they call it) if he so choose. Nevertheless, dear God, I pray thee
to open the eyes of my nephew Homer and move him so that he will
hide away these books of his in the library of one of his many castles
in Spain."
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Mr. WUbur's Studies in Entomology 55
When I had heard these hardly credible words, my heart
leaped in my bosom. Then, since the pamphlet written in English
had disappointed the hope of its author, and since on account of the
din of party strife the study of natural history is at low ebb in our
republic, I determined to put out a Latin edition. I was also led
to this decision because I do not know what is the good of academic
training and two diplomas unless they make us skilled in the dead
languages (and damned, too, as that rascal, William Cobbett, used
to say). But all of the first edition is in my hands still, and I retain
it as the rattle on which I used to cut my eye teeth.
A Specimen of the Work.
(According to the example set by Johannes Physiophilus in his
specimen of Monkology)
Humbug "Number 12. Military (Wilbur) ; Butcher (Jablon-
sky)' Accursed (Desfont)* (Fabricius)* inappropriately calls this
species the cyclops which is distinguished by an eye single to its own
interest. Isaac Noman more happily maintains that there is no dis-
tinction between the military humbug and the devil bug. (Fabrians,
152). It inhabits the southern states of America.
Gorgeous with gold stripes; very often, however, dirty, as one
wont to frequent butcher shops, attracted by the smell of blood. He
likes to sun himself astride the fence, and cannot be dislodged from
his perch without great trouble. His popular name is Candidate.
His head displays a crest as of plumes. For his food he cleverly
milks the public cow ; his paunch is enormous ; his power of suction
is hard to estimate; lazy, fatuous; fierce nevertheless and always
ready to fight. He creeps like a snake.
Altho I have frequently dissected his brains with the greatest
care, I have never been able to detect even that rudiment of a brain
common to almost all insects.
Concerning this military humbug, I have noted one peculiar fact,
namely, that this bug uses slaves from Guinea (see Fabricius, 143)
and is therefore held by many in very great respect as showing marks
of almost himian intelligence.
Humbug Number 24. Critical (Wilbur) ; Zoilean® (Fabricius) ;
Pygmaean (Carlsen) (Johannes Stryx very foolishly confuses this
spedes with the pointed bug (see Fabricius 64-109). But altho I
8. JablowskI, Karl Oustave (1766-1787), a Prussian entomolo^st
whom Lowell represents as having also distinsruished the species* and
assifimed it to a name.
4. Des Fontaines, Rene Louiche (1762(?)-1888) a French scientist
6. Fabricius. Johann Christian (1746-1808). A Danish entomologist.
6. Zoilus was a captious Greek critic in the 8rd century B. C.
Digitized by VjOOQIC
56 Tke Quarterly Journal
have submitted as many specimens as possible to microscopic exami-
nation, I have never found a single one showing indications of any
point whatever).
Exceedingly fearful and when pursued hides itself in the nearest
anonymous chink frequently crying out, we, we. Foolish, lazy.
He lives everywhere in the world where it is dry; making his
nest by tireless boring. As for his food, he lives on books: especially
dry ones.
Digitized by VjOOQIC
A Simpler Explanation of the *Toten-
tiar' and Related Uses of the
German Subjunctive
Samuel Jambs Pbasb,
Assistant Professor of French and German,
University of North Dakota
I. THB PROBLBM
/^F all difficult problems in grammar, none is creative of more
^^ apprehension in the mind of the student than the subjimctive.
From the first year of Latin, when as a student he first meets a
whole long list of rules perfectly meaningless to him and as a rule
equally meaningless to the teacher, to the days when as professor he
writes a grammar of his own, he is wont to regard the subjunctive as
a dark mystery no man can fathom. And the feeling is even
increased by positive ignorance and false teaching. It is no unconmion
thing for students to inform their* University teachers that the
subjunctive is indicated in English by "may" or "might," assuming
that thus the last word has been said on the subject. The difficulty
has of course been in the narrow, unscientific view commonly taken
of the study of the verb, in fact, of language study in general. The
actual facts are however that with a comparative viewpoint the study
of the verb becomes comparatively simple, and the subjunctive, if
more difficult than the indicative, is certainly so only because more
complex; nevertheless even the subjunctive can be sufficiently imder-
stood by any ordinary pupil.
Of the three finite moods found in modem Teutonic languages
the Imperative alone has a perfectly defined single use, that of direct
order, command, requirement, direction, with var)ring degrees of
urgency according to the tone used. All other finite verb-uses of
whatever nature must be taken by the indicative or the subjunctive.
In English the subjunctive is rudimentary, owing to loss of endings ; in
German and untrimmed Icelandic, and to some extent in Norwegian-
Danish and Swedish, thanks to fuller inflection, the mood presents
a considerable variety of form and usage. Thus, while the scheme
of subjunctive uses here given will hold in great part for other
Teutonic languages, the discussion will be confined to New High
German in the main. For convenience also, most illustrations will
be taken from Schiller's **Wilhelm Tell," which presents most usages
necessary for the beginner to know.
Digitized by VjOOQIC
58 The Quarterly Journal
The uses of the primaiy subjunctive, being for the most part
Indo-European, are quite limited and well defined; so also are the
indirect uses, whether in indirect discourse or not; consequently wc
need here deal in detail only with those uses of the secondary
subjunctive which come under neither head, a group frequently
dassed as "Potential." These uses are very nearly identical in
English and correspond roughly to similar uses of the Latin Sub-
junctive and the Greek Optative.
What is the "Potential?" The term covers a multitude of
uses and is exceedingly difficult to define accurately. We may there-
fore take up a number of objections to the term, with a view to
obtaining as simple a conception as possible.
To begin with, the term is overworked and inaccurate. A
student not versed in the ways of grammar and grammarians, on
meeting the term the first time, naturally assumes that it has some-
thing to do with possibility (Moglichkeit). But he finds the term
applied in grammar to a great variety of uses, to which Professor Hale
in the Hale-Buck Latin Grammar gives a number of various names,
such as Anticipation, Obligation or Propriety, Natural Likelihood,
Ideal Certainty, in addition to Possibility, which is comparatively
rare. And no one who has not had the term "Possibility" drilled
into him from early childhood can discover the "Possibility" present
in such cases as:
1 07 1 Wer kennte Euch nichtf
Is there any one who does not know you?
2142 JVie, wenn wir seiner in der Not jetzt brauchtenf
What if we should now make use of him in the emer-
gency?
1926 Er hdtte jetzt xehnfachen Tod gefunden.
He has now, I am sure, experienced death tenfold.
What about the term "Subjective Possibility?" Perhaps we
mig^t call it that ; but the possibility is in the "wer," the "wie!* the
context of the last clause quoted. The "subjective" part of the term
will be discust later.
Second, authorities are not agreed. If the category were clear,
there should be no difficulty in the matter: the term "Potential"
would mean the same for one man as it does for the other. But as
it is every subjunctive not otherwise classified is thrust into the
potential pigeon-hole. If the grammarian has many categories, the
potential group is likely to be small ; if few, the term is extended to
all uses except those included by Professor Hale imder the terms
"Optative" and "Volitive," and possibly to some of those. If our
Digitized by VjOOQIC
The German Subjunctive 59
hypothesis is correct, the use of the term "Potential" should be
confined to those cases in which the subjunctive can be accounted for
in no other way. Perhaps even there the possibility may not be the
reason for the subjunctive.
Again, the term is of recent origin, depending on an application
of Kant's categories to grammar. Subjunctives have been used by
Germans for thousands of years; the term "Potential," or at least
its widespread and inaccurate use, dates back only about a century,
being adopted from the Latin grammars which appeared about that
time. These in turn, adopting Kant's categories, fixt upon "Reality"
{JVirklichkeit) as the general characteristic of the indicative. Possi-
bility" {Moglichkeit) as the attribute of the subjunctive. The term,
in Latin "Conjunctivus potentialis," is used in its original sense in
the twenty-sixth edition of the Heyse-Lyon grammar and the latest
edition of Willmanns; Professor Curme uses it in a somewhat
different but quite as extensive sense.
In the fourth place, language does not deal with philosophical
categories. Scientists are attacking all problems in all fields with
closer and closer powers of analysis. In the early days of agriculture
and war, just as now in the pioneer sections of our own nation, men
busy with action did not analyze and split hairs as they did in the
speculative age of the eighteenth century, the investigative age of
the nineteenth, or do now in the research age of the twentieth, or
will in the approaching constructive age. We may be certain that
German did not work in philosophical categories in the days of its
making, nor does the history of languages warrant any statement
that it does so to-day. We may imagine that the German used this
mood or that because he felt it thru his language-sense {Sprachge-
fuhl). He used the subjunctive because it exprest a certain attitude
or group of attitudes toward ideas, not because it belonged to a certain
philosophical category.
Fifth, The subjunctive has no monopoly on the expression
of possibility. There are indicatives which indicate possibility quite
as much as do subjunctives. As this use is descriptive rather than
dramatic, we may expect to find practically no examples in "Wihlelm
Tell." Still we may cite:
Stage direction at beginning of first scene. Ueber den See hinweg
sieht man die grunen Matten von Schwyz im hellen Sonnenschein
liegen.
Out across the lake can be seen in the bright sunlight the green
meadows of Schwyz.
34 Durch den risx nur der JVolken Erblickt er die Welt,
Digitized by VjOOQIC
6o The Quarterly Journal
Only thru the rift in the clouds can he sec the world.
Certainly the indicative expresses just as much possibility in the
conditional clause (protasis) of
3198 Ich konnte glucklich werden
Wenn ich der Wunsche Vngeduld bexwang.
I could have become happy if I could have stilled my
wishes' wild impatience,
as the subjunctive in the protasis of
1872 War ich besonnen, hiesz* ich nicht der Tell.
Were I wont to consider consequences, I should not be
called TeU.
Similarly in the following purpose clauses the indicative has as
much right to the term "Potential" as the subjunctive —
340 Pfleg' ich Rats, wie man Der Landesfeinde mutig sich
erwehrt.
I shall take council, how we may defend ourselves bravely
from our country's foe.
1 188 Dasx du den Apfel treffest auf den erst en Schusz.
(Take good aim) that you may hit the apple at the first
shot.
Sixth, the idea of possibility is frequently otherwise exprest in
clauses which contain a subjunctive often called potential. Such
expressions may be a) a modal verb, such as er konnte, mbchte, diirfte,
etc. ; b) a phrase, such as es ware moglich; c) by a particle or adverb,
doch, wohl, vielleicht, etc.
656 So mochten wir vielleicht etwas vermbgen.
In that way we mig^t possibly be able to do something.
1700 JVo war die sefge Insel aufxufindenf
Where could the blissful Isle be found? (sein plus xu
with infinitive).
1908 Ein andrer wohl beddchte sich.
Another might perhaps stop to consider.
Unless we have a large number of potential subjunctives in
which there is no doubt whatever that the subjunctive alone is
responsible for the idea of possibility, we are not justified in asssuming
diat the mood is responsible in these instances. If now we exclude
die various ideas presented under the first objection we shall find our
attempt quite impossible. And it may be that even these uses will be
found to indicate not mood-force, but some thing else.
In the various uses of the secondary subjunctive, exclusive of
the indirect use, we have seen that possibility cannot in any real
sense account for the use of the mood, for
Digitized by VjOOQIC
The German Subjunctive 6 1
i) There are many cases in which the idea exprest is perhaps
allied to possibility, yet is certainly not possibility; 2) authorities
vary greatly in the application of the term, this itself indicating a
haziness in the conception; 3) the term as applied to grammar is
only about a hundred years old, being then introduced from Kant
thru Latin Grammar; 4) possibility, as applied to the subjunctive,
represents a reasoned system of philosophy, a phenomenon presented
by no language in existence; 5) Possibility is not infrequently
implied quite as much in indicative clauses as in subjunctive clauses;
6) even in subjunctive clauses possibility is frequently exprest by
modal verbs, phrases, or adverbs. We need therefore have no
hesitation in concluding that possibility is not a mood-force in the
subjunctive.
II. GENERAL GROUPS OF USES
In general, the uses of the German subjunctive may be readily
divided into three groups, which will not here be defined. First,
there is a large group in which the primary tenses of the subjunctive
are used to express:
i) Exhortation, conmiand, warning, direction, suggestion, and
the like, called by Hale "Volitive," by others "Imperative," "Horta-
tory," "Deliberative." These express what I want done and can
direct, command, or request.
1083 Es preise sich wer keinem . . . pfUchtig ist.
Let him count himself fortunate who is no man's serf.
476. . . mog' er selbst am Pfluge ziehen.
Let him pull the plow himself.
1 241 . . . der rede — ^let him speak.
2) Wish, Optative; what I want done but have no power to
control.
2302 Gott steh' ihm beil May God lend him aid!
3284 Es lebe Tell! Long live Telll
3) Concession or logical assumption; what I am willing to
grant or assume for the sake of argument, but still maintaining my
point.
491 Werde mit mir, was will — Come of me what may —
2056 was es auch set — ^whatever it be —
1726 Was auch draus werde, steh zu deinem Folk
Whatever come of it, stand by your people.
4) Purpose, after damit, dasx, or a relative, also fear, result
intended, etc; in general, where willing is implied in the main
clause:
Digitized by VjOOQIC
62 The Quarterly Journal
490 Niemand ist, der ihn vor Vnglimpf schutze.
There is none to protect him from insult.
2068 Damit ich sicker set vor deinen Pfeilen,
That I may be safe from your arrows.
Secondly, the Indirect Subjunctive, whether indirect discourse —
statement, question, exclamation, command, relative or conditional
clause — or merely an indirect expression of thought or idea of any
kind in any manner. Usually there is little tense^istinction, the
idea being to present a different form from that of the direct use,
tho sometimes the conceptions of groups one and three may be
involved.
544 Er meint selber, es set nicht mehr xu tragen*
He himself thinks it is no longer endurable.
1334 . . • . fnit leerem Trost:
Der Kaiser habe diesmal keine Zeit;
Er wurde sonst einmal wohl an uns denken.
With empty consolation: (to the effect that) the Emperor
had no time at present; he would consider us at some
other time, perhi4>s.
2036 Wuszf ich's ja,
Du wurdest deinen Knaben nicht verletxen!
Why, I knew you wouldn't hurt your boyl
The Indirect Subjunctive is now often used in comparative
clauses wherever dasx can be substituted for als. Other comparative
clauses belong to the third group. No examples in Tell.
Ihm war's, als habe er sie nicht gesehen.
It seemed to him as tho (i. e., that) he had not seen her.
Thirdly, the group often denominated the "Potential." Let
us analyze this group into its component parts. It is found in
German and in practically identical form in the other modem
Teutonic languages in clauses or sentences corresponding in a certain
way to various uses of the indicative, primary subjunctive, or
imperative. In English the only distinctive forms corresponding are
"were," "would" with the infinitive, "should," and "might;" the
other subjunctives can be determined only from the fact that the
tense of the verb differs from the tense which expresses the same
time-relation in the indicative. In the examples given below, x
indicates that the conditional "mood" or tenses may be used, d that
the clause is dependent, i that it is independent. Again, in giving
the parallel construction, the use of the modal verb is sometimes
necessary.
a) G)mmands in the imperative or primary subjunctive. x
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The German Subjunctive 63
Bring* mir ein Glas JVasser, bittel
Du durftest mir ein Glas fVasser brtngen.
You mig^t bring me a glass of water.
b) Statements in the indicative. x
Du brdchtest (bringst) gem andre Leute in Verdammnis.
You like to bring about the condenmation of other people.
c) Questions in the indicative. x
1834 Das h'dtf (hat) der Tell getanf What, Tell did that?
1673 Ihr konntet (konnt) Euch entschliesxenf
You really could decide?
d) Exclamations in the indicative. x
459 Wenn man uns uberraschte (uberrascht) 1 What if some
one should surprise usl
e) G)nditions, temporal clauses, and the like in the indicative.
d (x rare)
2025 Und stUndet (steht) Ihr nicht hier in Kaisers Namen —
And if you were not standing here in the name of the
Emperor —
f) Concessions, etc., in the indicative or primary subjunctive.
i or d
627 Und wohnf (wohnt) er droben auf dem Eispalast Des
Schreckhorns,
Aye, tho he lived up yonder on the ice-palace of the
Schreckhorn.
g) Purpose-clauses, etc, in the indicative or primary sub-
junctive, d
124 Dort liegt der 'Kahn, der mich hiniibertriige (tragen soil).
Yonder lies the boat to carry me across.
The example in 490 might be similarly written scutxte, in
2068 ware, to express this relation.
h) Wishes in primary (indicative or) subjunctive. x
379 O hdtf ich nie gelebtl (Past rejected) Oh, that I had
never lived I Compare Moge ich nie lebenl (Present
or future open ; past open is of course not to be found).
i) Comparison clauses; corresponding usually to statements in
the indicative in the primary form. x d
479 also frei heinlebe, als ob er Herr war' in dem Lande,
. . . . live as free as if he were master in the land.
j) Clauses of quality, characteristic, etc.; corresponding to
statements in the primary form. x d
2553 Wer ist so feig, der jetxt noch konnte zagenf
Who is so cowardly that he could now still delay?
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64 The Quarterly Journal
All these secondary forms are subject to one of three connota-
tions. With reference to the past they almost always represent the
idea as "rejected," if we may use the term employed by Sweet in his
"New English Grammar," as constrasted with the "open" attitude
of the primary form. Others use the terms " Unreal," "Contrary
to fact," "Falsity implied." With reference to the future the idea is
generally open, either more or less vivid (Hale's "Anticipatory"),
practically never rejected. The present admits of all three connota-
tions. But all of these attitudes, points of view, connotations are
tense-notions, not mood-notions. The great truth about the secondary
uses of the subjunctive is that there is no new MOOD-FORCE
present in these forms which is not present in the corre^)onding
primary forms except that of attitude of mind. Possibility is rep-
resented by phrase- or word-forms, as we have seen. Just as the
imperative implies an attitude of mind toward the idea which is
quite different from that of the indicative, so the primary subjunctive
represents when not replacing the imperative a third attitude, and
the secondary subjunctive still a fourth attitude, the attitude which
we are endeavoring to define.
m. THB SOLUTION
The actual usage in the third group of uses given above is not
difficult to grasp, being correctly used by the most uneducated child
or adult with perfect accuracy. In English there is of course here
no difficulty for foreigners, the Teutonic races using the syntax of
their native tongue, the members of the Latin races noting the
difference of tense. Similarly the American student has practically
no difficulties in German, his difficulties being with the primary
tenses. The only difference between the educated and the uneducated
use of the secondary subjunctive lies in the frequency of its use, which
implies often increased suavity, dignity, reserve of manner. It is
the natural result of the work of scholars and writers, endeavoring
to express an ever widening and more accurate range of distinction in
ideas.
If the use itself is easy enough to grasp, why the difficulty of
definition? Can it be that for a whole century people — ^that is,
grammarians who did not think accurately — have been endeavoring
to force the conception into a pigeon-hole where it did not belong?
Or have we not confused the signification of word, phrase, context,
tense, and tried to make the poor subjunctive, which has already
sins enough of its own, carry also the burden that belongs elsewhere?
We have shown that in German "Unreality" is shown, sometimes at
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The German Subjunctive 65
least, by tense. In like manner possibility is shown, like propriety,
likelihood, certainty under "less vivid" or "rejected" conditions, by
the context of the phrase or by a modal verb. What then is the
essence of the mood-conception of this group? We cannot answer
this question without considering also whether the indicative has
been assigned a proper mood-conception, for the indicative received the
category "fact" at the same time and under the same conditions that
the subjunctive became the slave of "possibility." Professor Curme
has shown in "Modern Language Notes," May, 1908, p. 134, that
the subjunctive often occurs in clauses expressing fact; it has been
shown above that the indicative occurs in possibility-clauses; We
may therefore be certain that we must seek the solution elsewhere.
In order to orient ourselves, let us look among the grammars.
Most of them hold of course to possibility, either undefined, or sub-
jective possibility. Sweet's New English Grammar calls the indic-
ative the fact-mood, the subjunctive the thought-mood. Hcyse-Lyon
in the twenty-sixth edition gives two conceptions for the mood in
general, possibility and subjectivity. We have rejected possibility,
however, just as we have rejected fact for the indicative; if then
we can retain the attitude of subjectivity as the essential conception
of the subjunctive, we must have a corresponding term for the
indicative. Evidently it must be objectivity, for it is precisely the
objective point of view which the indicative always expresses. Sub-
jectivity presents itself in all three groups of subjunctive uses; — in
the first group of uses the subjective force is will, wish, expectation,
command, concession ; in the indirect use, indirectness is the subjective
force — ^the further removed the idea to be exprest is from the
speaker's present point of view, the greater the likelihood that the
subjunctive will be used ; finally, in the third group, the subjunctive
acts subjectively on the primary conceptions from a "less vivid" or
rejected point of view. It is quite possible to compare with the
relation of the two moods the relation of the brain-subjects and the
bread-and-butter-subjects of our curriculums, for example manual
training and the old-fashioned mental philosophy. The one puts us
in direct touch with things, the objects of everyday life, the other
deals with thought working of itself and sometimes on itself. Yet
the world has urgent need of both points of view, both in the same
individual and in different individuals.
The question now amounts to this: — if the relation between
the indicative and the subjunctive in general is that of objectivity to
subjectivity, what is the relation between the secondary subjunctive
uses and the corresponding primary forms? It must be a relation
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66 The Quarterly Journal
which changes the open point of view to the rejected or less vivid.
Possibly we might venture the term remoteness. For just as the
secondary tenses of the indicative indicate a remoteness of time from
the time exprest by the primary tenses, so the secondary tenses of the
subjunctive, time not being a factor, represent a remoteness in
point of view. Some such relation it is necessary to assume, unless
we go back to the days of slavery to grammatical categories. Above
all things, we must not confuse context-notions, phrase-notions, tense-
notions, word-notions with the notion of mood-force. Let us hope,
too, that the committees on grammatical nomenclature, in their work
which includes many languages and many nationalities, will give us
dear and definite terms, which will represent accurately the various
forces present in the languages studied.
USBS OF THB SUBJUNCTIVB
A. Primary.
1. Volitive; expressing exhortation, command, warning, direc-
tion, etc, also logical assumption (mathematics, etc)
2. Optative; expressing a vrish.
3. G)ncessive.
4. Anticipatory; purpose, result, qualif3ang, fear clauses and the
like.
B. Indirect ; foimd in statements, questions, exclamations, commands,
relative, comparative, or conditional clauses. Primary tenses may
be used only if the subjimctive form difiEers from the indicative
form; otherwise use the corresponding secondary tense.
C. Secondary; expressing remoter conception, either less vivid or
unreal; corresponding to —
1. G)mmands in the imperative or subjunctive.
2. Statements in the indicative.
3. Questions in the indicative.
4. Exclamations in the indicative.
5. G)nditions, temporal clauses, and the like, in the indicative.
6. G)ncessive clauses in indicative or primary subjimctive.
7. Purpose, result, and fear clauses in indicative or primary
subjunctive.
8. Wishes in primary subjimctive (or indicative).
9. G)mparison clauses, corresponding to statements in indicative.
10. Clauses of quality, characteristic, etc, corresponding to
statements in the indicative.
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AFTERMATH
If out of these lapsed days I could recall
Experienced beauty, and so make them be
Flasked essences to pour out fragrantly,
Or healing herbs for wounds that may befall,
Surely it were remiss not to let all
Else pass, lest, recordless, their virtue flee:
Who knows but in them may be potency
Like David's harp to lowering mood of Saul!
So letting a sweet pageantry of sights
And scenes come back in quietude of dream,
I sit here of an evening. Like a stream
Known to the far beholder on the heights
By aureole of mist, whereon the lights,
Moonglade and starglade, intermelting gleam,
So aureoled in memory doth seem
A season's flow afar of days and nights.
And what if not that one was at my side,
Gentle co-sharer and co-worshiper.
Makes rich in retrospect the hours that were!
Whether a moimtain goal with strenuous stride
We sought, or stood before entranced tide.
Receiving sunset benison, for her
How the loveliness I felt grew lovelier!
How sure in dew-like influence to abide I
Oh, what tow-path were the universe
For haling the brute bulk of things, unless
Betimes there came surcease of strain and stress.
And living by bread onlyl We might curse
Job-like our birth-hour, knowing ourselves worse
Than ruminating beast, if Quietness
Us pastured never, — ^the sweet shepherdess.
Tenderer than our tenderest dreams rehearse!
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68 The Quarterly Journal
Tis out of the self dofft with doubt and cares
That spring the very joys for which we pine:
idle bookless hours wherein no sign
Of gain, — ^what rich ingathering was theirs!
Then sowing not nor reaping we were heirs
To h'ngdoms, all the affluence divine
Poured spendthrift with the morning's rain or shine,
Where toiling might have netted us but tares.
Strange law of spirit husbandry I attested
By days whereto I backward yearn this hour:
Their largess— came it not as to a flower
Perfume and color, not desired or quested,
Or from begrudging hand of giver wrested,
But lavished freely like the April shower,
Or like the little bird's melodious dower.
That singing soars aloft from where it nested?
In glad release where sea and mountain wrought
Sorceries on a prairie-sated mind,
1 lingered, fain of clime where Nature kind
Doth make of summer the perpetual lot
Of dwellers there, her hand withholding naught.
What tenderness I had not dreamed to find
Alike in morning sun and sun declined!
Smiles as for child in mother-arms upcaught.
Goaded by sting and frenzy of the frore
Blasts out of northern sky, I oft have said:
"What matter, so to Beauty I be wed
Inwardly!" — and sought shelter within door.
And yet doth it not matter if before
The outward eye no loveliness be shed
Abroad? Where finds the spirit daily bread.
If not out of the sense-world's yielded store?
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Aftermath 69
Forgive, great Prairies, the so puling strain!
Not niggard is the bounty that your hands
Dispense unto the heart that understands.
For thirst there hath been beaker here to drain ;
For hunger, meat. Then wherefore Song's disdain?
Because, forsooth, I walked on alien strands.
Or climbed unnative hills? — Forgive, great Lands!
Forgive my "Q)lin Clout's come home again !" —
Our country, teeming with the wine and corn
Of beauty, — where its milk and honey flow.
Hath nowhere peer, much wandering, I know.
Who sees Yosemite invading morn
With Samson trees whose locks were never shorn.
Or Shasta with its hieroglyphs of snow.
Grieves not that for the singer and his glow
America, wealth-glutted, hath but scorn?
Yet why should forest wrestle with the gales,
Or why the wonder of a prairie's lone
G)mmunion with the sunset, and the blown
Rose of the morning o'er expectant vales;
Why else our seas' white foliage of sails,
Niagara and twice-plunging Yellowstone,
Unless that Song should come into her own.
Failing of which, of Destiny she fails?
What though the Mississippi Gulfward speed.
Creating sea-usurping deltas, whence
New empire states will rise in ages hence?
Forgot will be our every thought and deed
Not Song-rehearsed. Thus is it fate-decreed:
In Song alone a land hath permanence.
Abiding Hellas draws its glory thence,
But where to-day Phoenicia's wealth and greed !
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70 The Quarterly Journal
The cloud of hand-like breadth before great rain,
Who gazing forth from Carmel now espies!
Lo, spirit tropics 'neath exhausted sides,
Where only the spiked cactuses remain,
And heart hath gone to seed in cunning brain!
O for an Age less knowing and more wise !
O for a Seer as of old to rise,
And shepherd us with Vision once again I
Man's body soars to-day like nimble swallow, —
Curbed are the mettled air-foals; land and sea
Are rutted by his thunderous chariotry:
His Spirit, shall it, too, soar — or only wallow?
It cannot be: Spirit must lead, not follow,
Else queenless swarm our triumphs! else are we
Mazeppas of our own speed-enginery, —
Ay, of the planet plunging through heaven's hollow 1-
So questioned we perplexed of time and fate.
Betimes in summer days, where bush or tree
Shredded the noonday sunlight ; yet the glee
And zest of things more oft postponed their weight
And mystery to other place and date.
Waves capped themselves with merriment of the sea:
Admitted to their jocund company,
How could our hearts be other than elate 1
Be still elate, the wintry months ahead.
And glad with the same gladness, heart, continue!
Albeit unknown, the web of fate they spin you.
Yourself may weave the Ariadne-thread
Whereby your groping lightward will be led
Through labyrinth that baffleth wit and sinew.
Be still elate: heaven's kingdom is within you.
Whatever darkling maze the feet may tread !
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Aftermath 71
If stream-begotten canyons have been sawed
Out of the basic adamant of things,
Where water toiling in the depth yet sings,
Why should not we whose souls have been abroad
Mid scenes where beauty charmed and wonder awed,
Ply whatsoever task the morrow brings
With singing? Earth is fair, the sun upsprings
As yesterday, — ^the same heavens! the same God!
Ay, singing, though with transitory breath,
A transitory season ! 'Twixt the child,
And Age, the child again, not many-miled
The stream of human life meandereth.
Thus serious mid-manhood vision saith.
Yet, flowing, if betimes it shall have smiled
Green meads among, nor wound its course unisled.
Sweetly repose admonishing comes Death.
A little sheaf of Ruth-gleaned hours may sow
What tracts of Time for harvest ! Camelot
Itself upbuilded out of the forgot.
Our yesterdays become the Long-Ago
By passing of the years, and then bestow
Their predous balm on memory, being not, —
As grasses by the subtle sickle cut
Become all after-odorous for the throe.
Department of Greek
University of North Dakota
Gottfried Hult
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Book Reviews'
INTRODUCTION
THE selection of a suitable text-book for use in school work is
a matter of great importance and of no little difficulty. This
is especially true of the text for high school use since the high school
student is no longer a mere child nor yet a mature adult. There
are at least two fundamental requisites of a good text-book. And
the two are closely interdependent. In the first place, the text
must be correct in its use of subject matter and satisfactory in its
general method of presentation. Secondly, it must be adapted, both
in manner and method, to the stage of development reached by the
ones for whom it is planned.
The difficulty is not so great, perhaps, when dealing with the
traditional secondary school subjects, as the languages and mathe-
matics, since both the subject matter to be used and the method of
presentation have at last come to be practically fixt. Perhaps this
has come about thru the application of the principle of the "survival
of the fittest.* But with the changing subjects, as the sciences, and
the newer subjects, as government, economics, sociology, manual
training, domestic science, psychology, pedagogy, school management,
and the like, the difficulty is a very real one.
Of the two requisites named above, the one most commonly
found wanting in so called high school texts is that of adaptation.
Very few texts put out by reputable houses are faulty in their subject
matter — the writers know enough. But very many that are offered
for high school use are faulty in the matter of adaptation. The
fault, however, is not usually with the writers; they are simply not
writing for high school students. Sociology, economics, education,
psychology, and the like, have so recently been added to the high
1. Prefatory Note. When the state educational number, that which
appeared in July, 1912, was flrst planned, it was thought that the
department of book reviews could be made to serve a good purpose in
the same general connection, since requests for "the best text-book" on
this and that subject are all the time coming in from the high schools.
Accordingly, a letter was sent to all the leading publishers of school texts
calling attention to the character of the issue, and saying that a plan
was on foot to make a comparative study of all the leading texts dealing
with certain high school subjects, especially the newer ones. The pub-
lishers were invited to send in copies of such texts as they were willing
to submit for such study. The subjects that were selected for such
handling were Sociology, Political Ekionomy, Elementary Psychology,
Pedagogy, Civil Government and First Tear Latin. The response on the
part of the publishers was very curteous and generous. Some of the
books did not arrive in time for adequate treatment, however, and it was
decided to postpone the issue of the reviews and make them the book
review feature of the present number.
Digitized by VjOOQIC
Book Reviews 73
school curriculum that in but few cases have separate texts been
prepared. And when publishers are asked for texts they do the best
they can — send what they have even tho they were written for college
students. That is well illustrated in the case now at hand. The
request for a high school text in sociology brought but a single
response, and that, a regular college text, a book now being used in
several colleges and universities including the University of North
Dakota. For texts in economics the request brought three, one of
which the reviewer refuses to consider for high school use; and in
reviewing the others he says, "What we need is a new type of text-
book which, for high school purposes, will break away entirely from
the regular method of handling economic concepts and devote itself
exclusively to descriptive material illustrative of ouf economic insti-
tutions." That is but saying in other words what I have already
said, that these books are not adapted to high school students. Again,
of thirteen books submitted on psychology and education, only four
or five are really suitable for high school use. The most of them
are college texts, and some of them are worthy of the efforts of
advanced students. And essentially the same criticism is made by the
reviewer of the texts on civil government.
The writers of many of the texts suggested for high school use
make one or the other of two mistakes: they are either writing
without sufficient understanding of the workings of the adolescent
mind, or they are trying to ride two horses at once. A book may
be very satisfactory as a college text and wholly unfitted for high
school use — sure to be so in nine cases out of ten.
A. J. Ladd
Department of Education,
University of North Dakota
CIVIL GOVERNMENT
Government: Its Origin, Growth and Form in the United
States: Robert Lansing, Attorney at Law, and Gary M.
Jones, Principal of the Watertown, New York, High School.
Silver, Burdett and Company, New York, Boston and Chicago.
1902. VIII + 251 pp.
Government in the United States: James W. Garner,
Professor of Political Science, University of Illinois. The
American Book Company, New York and Chicago. 191 1.
416 pp. Price, $1.
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74 The Quarterly Journal
The American Republic: S. E. Forman. The Century Q)in-
pany, New York, 191 1. XVIII + 359 PP-
American Government: Roscoe Lewis Ashley. The Mac-
millan G)mpany, New York. 191 1. LX + 356 pp.
Government of North Dakota: James Ernest Boyle, Pro-
fessor of Economics and Political Science, University of North
Dakota. The American Book G)mpany, New York and Chi-
cago. 1910. 320 + XCV pp. Price, $1.^
The brief manual by Lansing and Jones is decidedly useful to
a teacher but is quite beyond the grasp of an average student. Part
third, alone, seems to have been designed for the student of secondary
schoob, and the treatment of the general subject in this part of the
work is clear and brief. Parts one and four are admirably adapted
for the use of a student after leaving school, when in business or
professional life he needs a compendium of municipal, national or
international law. Part two, as an historical summary, is poorly
constructed and lacks the later point of view. The list of dates at
the end of the first three chapters is espedally open to criticism
both from the important omissions and the repetitions occurring
there.
The first eight chapters of Garner's text are devoted to state
and local government, subjects for which there does not seem to be
much place in our curriculum on account of the brief time we devote
to civics. The discussion of the problems of our Federal Govern-
ment in the remaining chapters is excellent. But the teacher in
this state at least would find it difficult to adapt this text with its
condensed mass of detail and suggestions for research to the needs
of the pupils pursuing the subject. Especially is this true for those
who are not graduates of some college or university.
In the three hundred pages of closely packed material on our
local and national government by Forman, the teacher can find
something on practically every phase of the question. As a text, it is,
of course, entirely too long for most of our schools without much
abridgement. An enthusiastic teacher can, however, by skillful
adaptation and by omitting such chapters as deal with state and
local matters as well as those discussing the purely theoretical phases
of government, reduce the number of pages by half and make it
possible to use the remainder as a text for an average high school
2. Since Dr. Boyle's book was reviewed in an earlier number of THE
QUARTERLY JOURNAL, October, 1910, pp. 86-87, it is not necessary to
treat It In this place.
Digitized by VjOOQIC
Book Reviews 75
class. The publishers could assist in this adaptation by the use of
smaller type for such part 6f the material as has a secondary
importance.
To those who have used Ashley's American History, it is a
matter of congratulation that the author of this most admirable text
for secondary schools should also have attempted one in the field of
government. If there is any one conspicuous fault in the preparation
of a text for the use of our pupils in high school civics, it is a lack,
on the part of the author, of a knowledge of history. The average
pupil, even more than the average teacher, has little time for special-
ization and each is prone to link on new subjects to those already
mastered or attempted. Civics, therefore, is related unconsciously
to the subject matter of such history as has been studied. If this
organic connection is made easy and natural by the usual teaching
devices and by a thoro knowledge of elementary history on the part
of the author, this vital subject of government is safely launched
in the active consciousness of the child never to be lost sight of in
later life. In his American Government, Ashley has produced a
very adaptable text, clear, concise and organic. The various kinds
of information are assorted and classified in an orderly manner and
it is easy to lenghten or shorten the discussions in any chapter or
section by teaching or omitting material which is designated as of
secondary rank. This text represents in a very perfect manner
the modern trend of thought in all the newer fields of political and
civic activity.
As a suggestion to the compilers and publishers of future texts
on this important subject, it may not be out of place to point out
that the endless reprinting of the same documents of our early consti-
tutional period might profitably be omitted. Surely the Articles of
G)nfederation and the Declaration of Independence might be left
to a documentary source book while some of the more uncommon
documents referred to in the text might be used with profit if it
were deemed necessary to fill up the usual number of pages with
material of this class. The original purpose of the publication of
these time-honored documents was to put the reader in possession of
what might otherwise be out of reach. With the multiplication of
excellent source books of considerable range and scholarly compo-
sition, this need no longer exists, tho the habit thereby engendered
bids fair to nm on for a generation or more.
Readings in Civil Government: Percy Lewis Kaye, Head of
the Department of History, Baltimore City College. The
Century Company, New York. 1910. XVI + 535 PP-
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76 The Quarterly Journal
Government and Politics in the United States: William
Backus Guittbau^ Superintendent of Schools, Toledo, Ohio.
Houghton, Miffln G)mpany, Boston. 191 1. IV + 473 PP*
Price, $1.
Readings in American Government and Politics: Charles
A. Beard^ Adjunct Professor of Politics, G)luinbia University.
The Macmillan G)mpany, New York. 1909. XXIII +
624 pp.
Civics and Health: William H. Allen, Secretary Bureau of
Municipal Research, New York. Ginn and Company, Boston,
New York and Chicago. 1909. XI +411 pp. Price, $1.20.
The Community and the Citizens: Arthur William Dunn,
Head of the Department of History and Civics, Shortridge High
School, Indianapolis, Indiana. D. C. Heath and Company,
Boston. 1907. X + 266 pp.
Supplementary reading in the field of government is especially
important in order that the somewhat abstract propositions discust
in class may come to have living meaning and actually enter into
the every day routine of existence. For this purpose, Guitteau's
Government and Politics, Dunn's Community and Citizen and
Allen's Civics and Health are admirably adapted both in subject
matter and in treatment. Espedally is Allen's little manual to be
commended for its plain speaking and forceful statement of home
truths. Such chapters as Health, a Civic Obligation, and Hygiene,
Patriotism and Religion, and Heredity, Bugaboos and Truth have
a genuine ring in their very titles.
For the teacher and the more advanced pupils. Beard and Kaye
are admirable manuals, full of suggestion and containing documents
and quotations from the sources not available in most small libraries.
O. G. LiBBY
Department of History
University of North Dakota
POLITICAL SCIENCE
Elementary Principles of Economics: Richard T. Ely, Pro-
fessor of Political Economy, University of Wisconsin, and
George Ray Wicker, Assistant Professor of Economics, Dart-
mouth College. The Macmillan Company, New York and
Chicago, 1907. XI + 388 pp.
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Book Reviews 77
Thb Elements of Economics: Charles Jesse Bullock, Pro-
fessor of Political Economy, Harvard University. Silver,
Burdett and Company, New York, Boston and Chicago, 1905.
VII + 378 pp. Price, $1.
Introduction to Popular Science: James Wilford Garner,
Professor of Political Science, University of Illinois. American
Book Company, New York and Chicago, 1910. 6x6 pp.
Price, $2.50.'
The Elementary Principles of Economics is especially designed
for beginners and is well adapted to high school purposes. The
authors have wisely chosen to present only such principles and theories
as have been generally accepted by economists. Controversial matter
has been purposely omitted. The text presents clearly and convinc-
ingly the factors involved in consumption, production and distribution
of wealth. Abstract concepts are elucidated in simple language and
amply illustrated by specific and concrete data. In addition to the
discussion of general principles, the book contains a brief sketch of
the economic history of England and the United Stateii As regards
the subject matter, therefore, the text is purely orthodox and con-
servative.
The special merit of the volume, however, as a text-book, is its
pedagogical quality. Its style is simple and altogether within the
grasp of the average high school pupil. Passages that are difficult
to understand or which are relatively unimportant are printed "solid"
(without the interlinear spaces regularly used). It is an easy matter,
therefore, for the teacher to omit these parts. The beginner always
experiences difficulty in not being able to pick out the salient passages.
The authors of this book have made liberal use of italics to call at-
tention to the important passages. Definitions are frequently itali-
cized.
Another helpful device is the "summary" at the close of each
chapter. A logical enumeration of points is made covering the
development of the topic or topics in each chapter. These summaries
are concise and not overloaded with details.
The "questions" at the close of each chapter and based on or
suggested by the topics presented are also useful. They are often
more helpful to the teacher than to the pupil.
For the more ambitious teacher who has leisure and does not
wish to confine himself to the text, the book contains references cov-
8. Reviewed in THE QUARTERLY JOURNAL for October, 1910, pp.
87-89.
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78 The Quarterly Journal
ering the subject matter of each chapter. There is also a specialized
bibliography arranged topically, in the appendix.
The teacher who desires to stimulate further interest in economic
problems will appreciate appendix I, which gives a list of subjects
for essays, discussions and debates. The writer has used this book
and can conscientiously say that it is a teachable text-book.
The Elements of Economics, like the book just reviewed is a
clear statement of economic laws found in conventional college text-
books, but stated in such a manner as to be understood by the average
high school pupil. Tho the style and the method are not quite so clear
and simple as in Ely and Wicker, the book is not altogether above the
heads of the high school pupils for whom it is adapted. Abstract
theory has been subordinated and descriptive and illustrative material
amplified.
This text does not contain the numerous pedagogic devises discust
in connection with the foregoing review. On the other hand it has
the advantage of containing more thoro discussions. For this reason
the book is one that is espedally serviceable to the teacher who has
no time to do<K:ollateral reading.
The reviewer's objection to this text i sthat, like so many others,
it reads like a condensed edition of a college text rather than a
brand new book designed solely for high schools. The reviewer is
also of the opinion that economic theory and abstract principles do
not properly belong in high school texts. In this respect tho. Pro-
fessor Bullock's test does not offend seriously, perhaps even less so
than the Ely and Wicker book. What we need is a new type of
text-book which, for high school purposes, will break away entirely
from the regular method of handling economic concepts and devote
itself exclusively to descriptive material illustrative of our economic
institutions.
Teachers who have used this book in North Dakota have
informed the writer that it works well.
Mbybr Jacobstbin
Department of Economics,
University of North Dakota
SOCIOLOGY
Sociology and Modbrn Social Problbms: Charlbs A. Ell-
wood, Professor of Sociology, University of Missouri. American
Book G)mpany, New York and Chicago. 1910. Pp. 331.
Price, $1.
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Book Reviews 79
Dr. Elwood's work is the only one suggested as a high school
text in sociology. It is clearly a college text, but in the absence of one
written specifically for high school use can, with proper adaptation and
interpretation on part of the teacher, be used with considerable success.
Since it was reviewed in a recent number of Thb Quartbrly
Journal^ April, 191 2, pp. 278-279, it is not more fuUy treated in this
place.
FIRST YEAR LATIN
First Steps in Latin and Second Steps in Latin : Frederick
C. Staples^ Instructor in Latin, the Fay School, Southborough,
Mass. Longmans, Green & Co., New York, 191 1. VIII +
164 pp.
Essentials of Latin for Beginners: Henry Carr Pearson^
Horace Mann School, Teachers College, New York. The
American Book Company, New York and Chicago, 1905. 320
pp. Price, 90c
Introductory Latin: Frank Prescott Moulton. D. C.
Heath & Co., Boston, 1907. X -f 268 pp.
First Year Latin : George Stuart^ Professor of the Latin Lan-
guage, Central High School, Philadelphia. Hinds, Noble and
Eldridgc, New York and Philadelphia, 1887. 272 pp.
Elements of Latin: Benjamin W. Mitchell^ Professor of
Latin, Central High School, Philadelphia. Hinds, Noble and
Eldridge, New York and Philadelphia, 1912. VII + 303 pp.
First Book in Latins Alexander James Inglis, Instructor in
Latin, Horace Mann School, and Vergil Prettyman^ Prin-
cipal Horace Mann School, Teachers College, New York. The
Macmillan Company, New York, 1910. 301 pp.
A Latin Primer: H. C. Nutting^ Assistant Professor of Latin,
University of California. The American Book Company, New
York and Chicago, 191 1. 240 pp. Price, 50c
Latin for Beginners: Benjamin L. D'Ooge, Professor in the
Michigan State Normal College. Ginn & Company, Boston,
New York and Chicago. 191 1. XII -f 34^ PP- Maps,
Cuts and Four colored Plates.
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8o The Quarterly Journal
Latin Syntax by Diagrams with First Year Latin: Gborgb
W. Lbwis^ Superintendent of Schools, Lakota, North Dakota.
Privately printed, 191 1. 496 pp.
First Year Latin Books have been multiplying so fast of late
years, and we have so many excellent books from which to choose,
that it is a very difScult, and somewhat invidious, task to pick out
any one as being the very best. Did we not realize that almost every
teacher to-day feels it his bounden duty sooner or later to rush into
print, we might wonder why many of these First Year Latin Books
should ever have been written, since the points of difference between
them and their rivals would seem to be exceedingly microscopic
However that may be, the present scribe is of the opinion that,
granted a well-equipped and enthusiastic teacher, the choice between
any of the beginning books in use in our state at present is a matter
of very secondary consideration.
We all agree that first-year work should aim at mastery of
forms, ability to use the simplest principles of Latin syntax, and
the acquisition of a vocabulary which will be a fair preparation for
Caesar. The text-book of to-day must be attractive, it must possess
every typographical excellence, it must contain taking illustrations, it
must, in fact, do everything possible to create interest in a confessedly
hard subject. These desiderata, together with real scholarly and
judicious presentation of the subject, can surely be foimd in many
of the First Year Latin Books at present at our command. Latin
can never be made easy, and most of our trouble lies in a lack of
live and enthusiastic teaching.
If special mention of Beginners' Books must be made, it seems
that D'Oogc's "Latin for Beginners," and Moulton's "Introductory
Latin" leave little to be desired. Both books are systematic, thoro,
and interesting.
There is another first year book, recently published, which is
worthy of mention, and has the distinction of being the first Beginner's
Latin Book to hail from our own state. This is entitled "Latin
Syntax by Diagrams with First Year Latin," and is written and
published by G. W. Lewis, City Superintendent of Schools, Lakota,
North Dakota. The book has distinctly good points, and is ob-
viously the result of a vast amount of careful work, tho the advisa-
bility of affording space in the volume for diagramming the whole of
the Helvetian War is, perhaps, open to criticism. In a second edition,
the author would surely be wise to change the reproduced type-
writing style of printing, which is so unattractive and trying to the
eye.
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Book Reviews 8 1
To sum up: — in the teaching of first-year Latin a really good
teacher is the thing to be desired; which one of a dozen good
Beginners' Books is used matters very little.
G. St. John Pbrrott
Department of Latin,
University of North Dakota
EDUCATION
Why are we discussing, among text-books for high school use,
works on professional education — psychology, pedagogy, school man-
agement, and the like? High schools are not normal schook, no,
but, in a limited way, they are being prest into service in the prepa-
ration of teachers for the rural schools. This fact can be explained
in two ways. In the first place, the normal schools have thoroly
justified their existence, the teachers prepared within their walk
being univerally recognized as superior to those without the profes-
sional preparation. The significance of this fact has at last come
to the attention of those interested in improving the conditions of
our rural communities. The only permanent improvement in rural
conditions must have its roots in the school. Better schools must
be provided before economic, social, or moral conditions will be
greatly improved. And better schools can be provided only thru
better teachers, and the first step toward improving the general
character of the teaching force is to provide for appropriate pro-
fessional preparation. But the normal schools have their hands more
than full in their legitimate work of preparing teachers for the
grades. Our State has not yet established the county normal school
for equipping the rural teachers, so the high school is looked to for
assistance. It was said above that there are two explanations of the
fact that high schools are asked to equip rural school teachers. The
second touches more closely the high school itself. The high schools
have long been criticized for not being practical — for doing nothing
to equip their young people for the actual duties of life, for making
a living, if you please. Here was an opportunity offered for doing
just that. It is one kind of vocational training that it was thought
the high schools could give. The high schools accepted the suggestion,
and are now ready to give the work.
But what kind of equipment should the high school be expected
to give? To answer that question we must take into careful con-
sideration two facts, namely: the high school student and the rural
sdiool situation. The high school student, upon graduation, is about
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82 The Quarterly Journal
eighteen years of age. So, supposing this professional work be
given during the senior year, it is a seventeen year old boy and girl
that we must consider when discussing the subjects of instruction
or the text-books. Clearly, the work must be elementary; it can
not delve deeply into psychological principles; it can not discuss
philosophical bases; nor can it do very much in tracing the historical
development of education or in forming a historical background for
the school. The work must be very practical, rather objective, and
simple. It must present actual conditions, not abstract theories. And
it must fit these seventeen year old boys and girls for work in the
rural school, not the high school, nor the city grades. For the most
part these high school graduates are town-bred. They know rela-
tively little of the rural commimity where social conditions, forms
of toil, manner of dress, etc. are so different from those to which
they are accustomed. It is a very easy matter to place this work, I
will not say upon too high a plane but, upon a wrong plane. Among
other things these prospective teachers should study rural sociology,
as necessary as pedagogy itself, if indeed not more so.
psychology
Psychology and Psychic Culture: Reuben Post Hallbck,
Principal Louisville Mail High School. The American Book
Company, New York and Chicago. 368 pp. Price, $1.25.
New Psychology: J. P. Gordy, formerly Head of the Pedagog-
ical Department of the Ohio State University. Hinds, Noble
and Eldridge, New York, Boston and Philadelphia. V -f-
402 pp.
Why does a high school student, planning to teach in the rural
school, study psychology? Not primarily to get a knowledge of the
science, that is, merely a knowledge of the science. What he wants
is such a knowledge of the science as he can apply in his work in the
school room. It must be applied psychology. To be sure, a science
can not well be applied until it is understood. But this high school
student has not time now to master his science and then work out
the applications. He must take a short cut. And there is a v^ay
to present the principles of psychology that will give the learner a
sympathetic appreciation of the developing mind of the child and
materially aid him in gm'ding that development. But there are
very few books handling the matter in a satisfactory manner for
this grade of students. The two best that have come to my attention
are the two noticed above. They are both planned for the teacher.
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Book Reviews 83
and for the elementary teacher at that. Of his, Mr. Gordy says
in the preface:
"This book has been written principally for the special benefit
of that large number of progressive young teachers who have not
enjoyed the benefits of a college education, but who nevertheless,
are striving without the aid of an instructor to make their work
rational and therefore more efficient by basing it on a knowledge
of the Mind. . . . The object of the author throughout has
been to call the attention of his readers to important mental facts
in such a way as to set them to observing their own minds and the
oiinds of their pupils, in order to see for themselves the usefulness
of the facts and the experience so gained, their application to the
daily work of teaching, and their inestimable value as an added
factor toward success."
And he has done it pretty well, in the main. The name of the
book, however, "New Psychology," is a little misleading. It is not
a new work, but one that has been on the market for several years.
Mr. Halleck is much more pleasing in his presentation than
Mr. Gordy. He knows the high school student more intimately,
more sympathetically, than any other writer on psychology that I
know of. And he talks with him in such a simple and direct manner,
as to win him to his theme. With Mr. Halleck psychology is not
a bundle of abstractions but a vital, an interesting, even a stimulating
subject.
PEDAGOGY
A New School Management : Levy Seeley, Professor of the
Science and Art of Education, New Jersey State Normal
School. Hinds, Noble and Eldridgc, New York and Phil-
adelphia. 1903. X + 329 pp. Price, $1.
Teaching a District School:. .John Wirt Dinsmore^ Profes-
sor of Pedagogy and Dean of the Normal Department, Berea
College. The American Book Company, New York and Chi-
cago. 1908. 284 pp. Price, $1.
Elementary Pedagogy: Levy Seeley, Professor of the Science
and Art of Education, New Jersey State Normal School. Hinds,
Noble and Eldridge, New York and Philadelphia. 1906. X
+ 337 pp. Price. $1.
The phase of the teacher's work upon which the new recruit is
most likely to look with fear and trembling is not usually that of
instruction, nor yet of discipline but that which, tho very different
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84 The Quarterly Journal
from either, has much to do with the success of both — the matter of
management. Especially is this true when one who has passed thru
the city grades and the high school is to begin teaching experience in
the rural district. The environment, the equipment, even the children
themselves, are seemingly so different in the two that no amount of
observation in the one will give a prospective teacher in the other
the right point of view or a satisfactory method of approach.
All of this Professor Seeley had clearly in mind when he wrote
his New School Management, and Professor Dinsmore when he
wrote Teaching a District School. In their early days as country
school teachers they must have passed thru experiences common to
most of us older teachers in having to blaze their own trails. In no
other way, I think, could they have known so well just the topics
upon which a young teacher needs information, nor just how to give
that information. In these little books the writers have dared to
be simple. They have discust the little matters of every day school
life in simple, every day language, sympathetically and helpfully. In
their choice of words, in the forms of expression and in the ideals
set up, while clear, convincing and high-minded, they are never so
far in advance of the high school student as to fail of being helpful,
inspiring leaders. I know of no other books in which this work is
so well done. No earnest young person can read either of them
without great benefit both to himself and to his future pupils, and
no young person should enter upon the great work of teaching with-
out a careful consideration of the topics here treated. To be sure,
the two books differ in several ways. Professor Seeley's contains
more matter — ^has forty-five more pages, and a little more matter
to the page. He goes much more into detail especially in matters
of school government, school incentives, school morals &c, while
Professor Dinsmore discusses some matters not touched upon at all
in the other work. He passes in brief review, for example, nearly
all the subjects of instruction found in the curriculum, explaining
their purpose and touching upon methods of presentation. But
both are very helpful books and in many ways I should find it
difScult to choose between them.
But it is not enough to know how to manage a school, how to
keep things running smoothly and all that. That in itself is for
a purpose outside of itself. It is done in order that something else
may be done. True, there is a real educational value to be derived
from successful management, but yet, on the whole, it is preparatory,
subsidiary to something greater.
That "something greater" Professor Seeley had in mind when
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Book Reviews 85
he wrote his Elementary Pedagogy. Here he takes the prospective
teacher into his confidence and talks with ^im about education. He
discusses its aim, the purpose and means of gaining knowledge, what
the real process of education is and what it means to be education.
He touches upon play as an educational factor, tells what habits are
and how they are formed, makes clear what intellectual development
is and what the act of learning involves. These and many other
lines of thought that have never before come to the mind of the
yoimg teacher but which from now must be, if he be a real teacher,
the main thoughts that engage his attention, are discust with clear-
ness and relative simplicity. Much of what has been said above of
his New School Management might be repeated in discussing his
Elementary Pedagogy. The first book leads to the second, the
second completes the first.
Standards in Education: Arthur Henry Chamberlain^
Dean and Professor of Education, Throop Polytechnic Insti-
tute. The American Book Company, New York and Chicago.
1908. 265 pp. Price, $1.
Class Teaching and Management: William Esterbrook
Chancellor^ Superintendent of Schools, Norwalk, Conn.
Harper & Brothers, New York and London. 1910. XH +
343 pp.
Vocational Education: John Morris Gillette, Professor of
Sociology, University of North Dakota. The American Book
Company, New York and Chicago. 19 10. VHI + 3^3 PP.
Price, $1.*
The Basis of Practical Teaching: Elmer Burritt Bryan,
President of Franklin College. Silver, Burdett & Company,
New York, Boston and Chicago. 1905. 190 pp.
Systematic Methodology: Andrew Thomas Smith, Principal
State Normal School, Mansfield, Penn. Silver, Burdett &
Company, New York, Boston and Chicago. 1900. 366 pp.
Studies in the History of Modern Education: Charles
Oliver Hoyt, Professor of the History of Education, State
Normal College, Ypsilanti, Mich. Silver, Burdett & Company,
New York, Boston and Chicago. 1908. 223 pp.
4. Reviewed in THB QUARTERLY JOURNAL for October, 1910, pp.
88-85.
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86 The Quarterly Journal
Psychology in the School Room: T. F. G. Dexter^ Head
Master, Pinsbury Pupil Teachers* School, and A. H. Garlick^
Head Master, Woolwich Pupil Teachers' School, England,
Longmans, Green & Co., New York and London. 1898.
vni + 413 pp.
The Essentials of Psychology: W. B. Pillsbury^ Professor
of Psychology, University of Michigan. The Macmillan Com-
pany, New York and Chicago. 191*1. XI + 362 pp.
These eight books listed above are all good books. There is
not a commonplace book in the lot. But they are not suited to high
school students, nor are they adapted to rural school conditions.
Again, the student who can study these books with profit is not
going to teach in the rural school. Not being suited to high school
use, they are not here passed in detailed review. They are listed
for two reasons: in the first place, to call attention to the kind of
books that are suggested for high school use, even by people who
are supposed to have wide-open eyes, and secondly, because they are
a fine lot of books to bring thus before high school teachers for their
own use. Any one of them is worthy of a place on the study table
of a high school teacher, and every progressive high school teacher
to-day will soon, if he has not already, have more than one of such
books at easy command.
A. J. Ladd
Department of Education,
University of North Dakota
HIGH SCHOOL AND COLLEGE TEXT BOOKS
Under the above caption the American Book Company has
recently put out a 548 page descriptive catalog of their text-books
for high school and college use. There are found, in the beginning
of the book, a convenient table of contents, arranged alphabetically
as to subjects treated, and an index of all the separate books men*
tioned similarly arranged under the names of the authors. Of nearly
every book listed there are given its size, price, the name and location
of the writer, a brief description, and a few testimonials from promi-
nent educators. In the publishers' "Note to Teachers," is the fol-
lowing:
"This catalogue we have tried to make a reliable guide for
teachers when selecting the best books for their classes. Each book
has been characterized as faithfully and as fuUy as the limited space
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Book Reviews 87
permits. In describing each, we have endeavored to set forth as
briefly and as dearly as possible its general purpose, plan, and scope,
but, at the same time, to dwell at greatest length on those particular
features which constitute its peculiar individuality and strength, and
distinguish it from other works on the same subject.
"The testimonials have been selected on a broad and compre-
hensive basis and represent the opinions of well known teachers in
various parts of the country. While some record the results of actual
use of the books in representative institutions, others have been
chosen quite as much for their descriptive qualities as for their value
as commendations."
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University Notes
Saminer Session The third Summer Session of the University of
North Dakota was closed the last of July. It
was a decided success from every point of view, again demonstrating
the wisdom of its establishment. It satisfies a real need and furnishes
a real opportunity. The attendance was nearly twenty per cent
larger than that of last year, and the student body an earnest, hard
working lot of young people. The weather was delightfully cool;
the campus was at its best; the many distractions of the regular
university year were conspicuously absent, all tending to create almost
ideal conditions for earnest work. And these conditions were well
used resulting in a very profitable session.
Dean Brannon*s After a year's leave of absence spent in research
Return work at the University of Chicago, Professor
Melvin A. Brannon returns to take up his new duties as Dean of
the College of Liberal Arts. The year of study has brought to
Professor Brannon, in addition to new stores of knowledge and a
larger point of view, honors of a very substantial character in the
degree of Doctor of Philosophy, granted summa cum laude. Dr.
Brannon is one of the very few men whom Chicago has ever thus
honored, the second in his own field of work. Botany. However, it
should be made clear that in thus bestowing this high rank, the
honor is as much to the institution as to the man since the degree,
also the ''summa cum laude," is in no sense honorary. It has been
inunediately earned. It stands as one of the products of a year of
strenuous and brilliant work. Dr. Brannon's return to the University
of North Dakota will be most heartily welcomed, as will also his
entrance upon his new dutieis as Dean of the College of Liberal
Arts. This is felt by all, since it is known that the same loyalty and
efficiency that have characterized his former service of eighteen years
will be continued.
Dean Kennedy's Professor Joseph Kennedy has been connected
Leave of Absence ^;^h the University of North Dakota for twenty
years, coming to the institution in the fall of 1892 as Assistant Pro-
fessor of Education and Principal of the Normal and Preparatory
Departments. In 1893 he was promoted to a full professorship and
two years later made Dean of the Normal Department, while being
relieved of the principalship of the preparatory department. During
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University Notes 89
all these years he has been at the head of the work for preparation
of teachers, and has been a very potent factor in its development.
It is, therefore, with commendable pride that he now regards the
School of Education, well equipped, as it is, to give adequate prepa-
rations to teachers of our secondary schools and institutions of higher
learning.
Professor Kennedy has been faithful and loyal to a high degree,
always found at the post of duty, in these twenty years he has never
left the institution while in session for pleasure or recreation. He
has well earned the leave of absence that the Trustees have granted
him. And he plans to spend it in a manner characteristic of the
man. He is to have his headquarters at Columbia University during
the first semester and at Harvard University during the second.
But from these centers he plans to go and come freely in the work of
studying educational conditions and practices in all grades of work
and in all b'nds of institutions. This can not fail of being a source
of gratification to himself and as well, on his return, a source of
profit to the home institution. Dr. A. J. Ladd, Professor of Edu-
cation, who for seven years has been very closely connected with
Professor Kennedy, will act as Dean of the School of Education
during his absence. Dr. John W. Todd has been engaged to carry
his class work in Philosophy.
Faculty Changes Since the closing of the regular University year
in June, resignations from the instructional force
have caused many changes in faculty circles. Where instructors
have been efficient, as here, such changes are always to be regretted,
tho not always to be prevented. Efforts are always at once put forth
to secure as strong people as possible to fill the places made vacant.
The regret over the loss of efficient workmen is surpassed only by
the welcome accorded their equally efficient successors. It is grat-
ifying to note that while the resignations have been considerable in
number, they have been, for the most part, of instructorships, posi-
tions least difficidt to fill and in which changes cause least disturbance
in the work of the departments affected. It is also gratifying to
note that while efficient instructors are lost, strong men and women,
peculiarly well equipped, have been secured to take their places. The
work of the institution will not suffer.
The New Of all the changes that have occurred in faculty
Physical Director circles the one that most touches the institution
as a whole is that of the directorship of physical education and
athletics. The resignation of Dr. Dunlap, who had filled the
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90 The Quarterly Journal
position very efficiently for five years, came almost as a bolt
out of a clear sky to the great majority of students and friends of
the institution. It came, too, after President McVey's departure for
Europe, making the selection of a successor both a difficult and a
delicate matter. But those who had it in charge, including the Board
of Trustees, proceeded with energy and caution, fully conscious, as
they were, of the importance of the position to the physical welfare
of the student body and of its close touching of nearly every interest
of the University thruout the entire state. As a result of their efforts,
tho the resignation came late, they soon had a fine lot of well
equipped men, some thirty in number, from whom to make a choice.
The choice of the Board of Trustees for this important posi-
tion, Mr. Charles E. Armstrong, is looked upon as a very fortunate
one. Academically and prefessionally he has a fine record. He
graduated from the University of Oklahoma with academic honors
and later took a year of graduate work in physical education at
Yale University. He has also taken considerable work looking
toward the medical degree. All thru his preparatory and university
courses he was prominent in athletics, and in practically all forms
of athletics — foot ball, base ball, tennis, track athletics &c. A product
of the West, with his undergraduate work done in the West and
his professional equipment gained in the East, later director of
physical education in the West — in the large Normal school at
Emporia, Kansas, — Mr. Armstrong comes to the University of
North Dakota especially well fitted to enter into the local situation
and to guide the athletic interests of the University.
Herrifleld Hall It is always risky and many times dangerous to
change the names of buildings, especially of col-
lege buildings, around which so many traditions cling and so many
memories linger. The building and its name and the hundreds of
students who have used both so familiarly for years sort of grow
together until they all become one, an inseparable complex. One
dislikes to disturb such an harmonious group of sentiments, nor is
it often done ruthlessly, seldom at all unless the old name has lost
its significance or unless another will cement even more closely
valued traditions and desired ideals. "Old Main," the first building
erected on the University campus, has a warm place in the hearts of
a large number of students whom it has sheltered during the last
more than twenty-five years. And the name was satisfactory. No
one cared for a change. But Dr. Merrifield, whose life for a quarter
of a century had been freely given for the institution and whose
Digitized by VjOOQIC
University Notes 91
spirit had almost been absorbed by the old building, left the insti-
tution and the state. Some one suggested giving his name to the old
building that had stood so long and had done so well and which is
still the real center of the life and work of the institution. The
suggestion was well received. Perhaps it was hoped that thus could
be retained Dr. Merrifield's spirit of fine democracy, of broad phil-
anthropy and of personal helpfulness. It was felt by the large body
of alunmi that to give the building any other name would be a dese-
cration, but to christen it "Merrifield Hall" would be to give it a
new and a sacred baptism. The Trustees made the change, and all
have accepted it with gratification.
Woodworth Hall No satisfactory name had been suggested for the
building that houses the School of Education.
When the building was first erected the institution was being called
Teachers College and, without any formal action on part of the
governing body, that name was applied to the building. But last
winter Teachers College was somewhat reorganized and given a
new name — School of Education. This name was even less con-
venient than Teachers College as a name for the building, so a
shorter, yet appropriate one, was sought. The Trustees finally
decided upon Woodworth Hall, in memory of Professor Woodworth
who had been a leading and much loved professor in the institution
for many years. Added appropriateness is found in the fact that
Professor Woodworth was the first principal of the Normal De-
partment which later develoi^ed into the present School of Education.
Biological When the Biological Station was established
station three years ago it was directed by the Legislature
to work on several problems pertaining to the waters of the state,
and to make investigations with respect to all plants and animals in
the state that had commercial and scientific value. The Station
building on the shores of Devils Lake has been the center of most of
the laboratory research, but there have been studies carried on in the
field and on two rivers of the state.
North Dakota is credited with an acre of water for every 107
acres of land, by the U. S. survey. This includes both river and
lake areas. In view of this large asset the work of the Biological
Station staff must be extensive in the field and intensive in the
laboratory. It is essential that a knowledge of the facts in all cases
pertaining to water problems be ascertained. A survey of the phys-
ical, chemical and biological conditions of every body of water should
Digitized by VjOOQIC
92 The Quarterly Journal
be made, not only for the purpose of learning what the actual life
and environments of life in that body of water are but also to make
clear what life may be added to each lake and river in the state.
It is proven by the experiments made in attempting to stock various
bodies of water with fish in this and other states that the one abso-
lutely essential thing needful is first to find out the facts about the
physics, chemistry and biology of the lake or river in question before
attempting to stock it wish fish or "sheel fish." Whenever this pro-
gram has been ignored it has been a case of wasting the people's
money, a kind of investment akin to buying stock in gold mines and
oil wells. In other words it has been the purest kind of gambling.
The function of the Biological Station is to determine the facts so
that wise and numerous investments in the development of the State's
water resources may be made.
Under a study of the physics of the water it has been the duty
of the Station staff to ascertain the temperature at different levels
and at different hours of the day and at different seasons of the year,
to determine the specific gravity, the depth to which light penetrates,
and gain a knowledge of the factors which control the various and
varying physical conditions.
The chemical studies have been concerned with a determination
of the kinds and quantities of gases present at different levels, at
different temperatures of the day and during the different seasons
of the year. Likewise the mineral composition of the water for the
varying seasons has been determined.
The biological studies have had to do with the collection and
identification of the fixt and floating life of the lakes and rivers.
The food that is required by the animals, the parasites that inhabit
the animals, and the complex biological relations of the organisms
which maintain a biological balance in any lake or river, these and
many other questions have furnished material for studies that are
concerned with successful fish culture, and in many cases are asso-
ciated with sanitation and health of human beings.
One of the most important phases of the biological work has
been that which deals with the bird life and its relation to crops
in the state. A forthcoming bulletin will outline this activity of the
Station staff.
It has been possible to effect a cooperative connection with the
U. S. Bureau of Animal Industry and the State Agricultural College
this year. The results of cooperation are always more complete and
therefore more valuable than separate and disassociated activities.
The most intensive work of the Station has been directed to
Digitized by VjOOQIC
University Notes 93
the examination of the conditions of life in the largest lake of the
State — Devils Lake. A few years ago this was productive of much
food for man, and gave opportunity for recreation unequalled by any
other region of similar size in North Dakota. Subsequent to 1895
there seems to be no authentic record of game fish having been taken
in Devils Lake. The cause of the disappearance of pickerel is prob-
lematical. Interesting as that question is it is of small importance
compared with the inquiry "can game fish be introduced and live
and grow in the lake again?"
Prior to the initiation of the studies of the Station staff in 1909
there had been many attempts to restock the lake. Many hundreds
of dollars, if not thousands, had been spent by the city of Devils
Lake, by individuals and by he U. S. Fish Commission in efforts
that were absolutely barren of results, so far as could be ascertained.
A repetition of the experiments made by others soon convinced those
in charge of the work in 1909 that nothing in successful fish culture
could be done until the physical, chemical and biological facts present
in Devils Lake were determined. Hundreds of collections, analyses,
and experiments have been made. It has been found that the physical,
chemical and biological conditions of the water in Devils Lake are
favorable to fish culture when suitable methods are used in intro-
ducing fish into the lake. However, it has been learned that fish
invariably perish when introduced directly into the lake water. The
reasons for that effect are too complex and numerous to be of interest
to the public. The whole matter may be summed up by saying that
over 98 per cent of the fish worked with during the past two seasons
survived for months, grew and were vigorous when set free in the
lake at the termination of experiments extending over six months of
control, provided the fish were acclimated before they were put into
the undiluted lake water.
Having determined that there is abundance of oxygen in the
lake water at all times, that there are no chemicals that are detri-
mental to acclimated fish, and that there are thousands of tons of
perfectly good fish food in Devils Lake there now remains but one
thing necessary for the successful restocking of the lake, as evidenced
by the facts gotten at the Biological Station. That one thing is to
develop fish at the Station, in acclimating environments, by the
million and thus act as the foster agent which shall supply the
millions that came formerly from the old spawning grounds previous
to the segregation of the fresh waters to the north. This segregation
seems to have caused the total lack of supply of young fish in the
early nineties. If the supply ceased does it not explain why the fish
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94 The Quarterly Journal
disappeared? If the supply is renewed may one not expect a return
to former conditions when Devils Lake will afford much food, and
much recreation for North Dakotans? The one added gain will be
found in having a variety of fish which will be more satisfactory than
those formerly found in the lake. Moreover, the work at Devils
Lake will prove of great value to all interested in the development of
food and recreation centers at the lakes which are suitable, and in
the rivers which may be made suitable, for fish culture.
The foregoing brief summary of the Biological Station's work
shows something of the extent of the problems involved as well as
something of the difficulties attending the solution of the same. It
should be noted that the appropriation for the work is very limited,
and provides for only two months of work each year. It has been
possible to push the work to the extent that it has been carried by
making use of the persons in the Biological Department of the Uni-
versity. These parties have devoted their entire vacations in the
summer and thru the year at the University. Such a combination is
valuable in the initiation of pioneer work, but it is desirable to
effect an organization that can give adequate study the entire year to
problems such as are assigned to the Biological Station — ^problems
that are associated with the production of large quantities of food,
and the conservation of health thru recreation.
Recent Univer- The following University publications have ap-
sity Publications pgared recently and are for general distribution:
The General University Catalog, 191 1 -12, with announce-
ments for 1912-13.
Bulletins (reprints of sections of the general catalog) relating
to separate Schools or Divisions, including: Division of Medicine,
Law School, College of Liberal Arts and School of Education,
School of Mines, College of Engineering and General University
Information.
General Announcement of the Model High School, 1912-13.
President's Report to the Board of Trustees for 1911-12.
Descriptive Pamphlet, illustrated bulletin, descriptive of the
various activities of the University.
The Bureau of Educational Cooperation has issued the fol-
lowing bulletins describing and explaining its work:
4A. The University Plan of Educational Cooperation.
4B. University Extension Lectures.
4C. Correspondence Study Announcements.
4D. Department of Public Speaking Announcements.
Google
Digitized by VjOOQ
University Notes 95
The Alumni Register, July, 19 12.
Departmental Bulletin (Department of Education) under the
title, "Teaching of English in High Schools."
Departmental Bulletin (Physics Department) on the Devel-
opment, Storage and Utilization of Wind Power."
Circular of the State Public Health Laboratory under the title,
"The Production and Care of Milk for Infant Feeding."
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The College of Law
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH DAKOTA
OFFERS:
A Three- Year Course
leading to the deg:ree of LL. B.
A Six- Year Academic and Law Course
leading to the degrees of A. B. and LL. B.
A Seven-Year Academic and Law Course
leading to the degrees of A. B. and J. D.
THE COLLEGE OF LAW is a member of the Association of
American Law Schools. It has a STRONG FACULTY and a
GOOD WORKING LIBRARY.
For further information, address
Dean Robert L. Henry, Jr.
University, N. D.
The School of Medicine
University of North Dakota
SCOPE: The University School of Medicine oflFers to young men and
young women the first two years of medical work. ^^^
ENTRANCE REQUIREMENTS: Two years of prescribed coll^ate
work preceded by fifteen prescribed units of high school studies.
DEGREE AND CERTIFICATE: Upon the satisfactory completion of
these two years of medical work the University grants the degree
of Bachelor of Arts and the Medical Certificate which admit to the
third year of medical colleges of good standing.
ADVANTAGES: (i)— Thoroly equipped teachers of all the subjects
included in the combined curriculum; (2) — Splendid laboratory and
library facilities; (3) — Small classes, making it possible for the
instructor to give a large amount of personal attention to each
student; (4)— Expenses reduced to the minimum; no tuition fee,
only the semester fee of $25; living expenses very low; much car
far saved.
A course of one year of college work for nurses gives advanced standing in
leading training schools.
For further information, address
THE REGISTRAR,
University, N. D.
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Announcement
THE Quarterly Journal is a periodical main-
tained by the University of North Dakota. Its
primary function is to represent the varied activities
of the several colleges and departments of the Uni-
versity, tho it is not limited to that. Contributions
from other sources are welcomed, especially when
they are the fruitage of scientific research, literary
investigation or other forms of constructive thought.
Correspondence is solicited.
The subscription price is one dollar a year, single
numbers, thirty cents.
All communications should be addressed,
The Quarterly Journal,
University, North Dakota
Exlitor's Bulletin Board
THE next number of the QUARTERLY
JOURNAL will represent the mental and
moral sciences. Three articles have already been
accepted: "The New Individualism," by Justice
Bruce of the Supreme Court of North Dakota,
previously aittiounced for the present number but
crowded out oy matter more immediately needed;
"The Modernity of Tolstoy's Religion," by Dr.
Abram Lipsky of New York City, and "Theme
Recurrences in Poe's Tales," by Mr. Gilbert Cosu-
lich, Instructor in English, University of North
Dakota.
In addition to these, the two following, from
others suggested, will probably be used : a study of
"Don Quixote," by Henry LeDaum, Professor of
the Romance Languages and Literatures, and a dis-
cussion of "The Place of the Drama in Modem
Literature," by Professor Frederick H. Koch, of
the Department of Public Speaking, both of the
University of North Dakota. These writers are all
virile men, each an enthusiast in his own field and
accustomed to do his own thinking. This assures an
interesting and valuable number.
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The College of Liberal Arts
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH DAKOTA
Twenty-four departments offering more than two hundred dif-
ferent courses of study.
Specially arranged curricula for those who intend to become
social workers or to engage in one of the various lines of business, such
as banking, journalism, etc.
One year in the College of Law or two years in the School of
Medicine or any of the Engineering Colleges may be elected, thus en-
abling the student to obtain the degree of Bachelor of Arts and a
Law, Medical, or Engineering d^^ree in six years.
Graduate courses leading to the degree of Master of Arts.
For further information, address
THE REGISTRAR,
University, N. D.
The School of Education
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH DAKOTA
FUNCTION: The preparation of teachers and principals for secondary
schools, superintendents for city schools, and instructors for Normal
schools and collegres.
ENTRANCE REQUIREMENTS; Two years of work in the College of
Liberal Arts regularly required.
DEGREES AND DIPLOMA: The degree of Bachelor of Arts and the Bach-
elor's Diploma in Teachinsr (the professional Instrument which entitles
the holder to a First Grade Professional Certificate), on the completion
of the regrular four-year course of study.
Graduate courses are ofTered leading to the degree of Master of Arta.
SPEX^IAL CERTIFICATES: In Commercial work. Domestic Science, Draw-
ing, Manual Training, and Music, on the completion of two years of
prescribed work.
MODEL HIGH SCHOOL: The Model High School for observation and prac-
tice in all lines of high school work is in full operation.
GOOD SENSE: If you aim to practise medicine attend the School of Medi-
cine; if you intend to practise law, attend the College of Law; if you
would be an engineer, attend one of the colleges of engineerings; aad
if yon are to teaoh, earoU la TBS SOKOOXi OF BBVOATZOV.
For information, address
DEAN JOSEPH KENNEDY.
University. N. D.
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The Quarterly Journal
Volume 3 JANUARY, 1913 Number 2
Poor- Relief and Jails in North Dakota
John Morris Gillette,
Professor of Sociology, University of North Dakota
OUTLINE
Page
Introduction 99
I. Poor-Relief Statistics loi
Table I I02
Tabic II 109
Remarks on Tables loi
II. Statistics of Defectives no
III. Jails of the State 112
IV. The System of Poor-Relief in North Dakota 115
1. Indoor relief 115
2. Outdoor relief 116
3. State Board of Control 117
4. Voluntary organizations 117
5. Children's Home 120
V. North Dakota Poor Asylums 120
VI. No Adequate System Without Prevention 125
1. Proper administration of local institutions 126
2. Segregation of defective persons 126
3. Checking devices and state control 128
4. The example of Indiana 129
a. Legislative reforms 129
b. Illustrative maps of Indiana 130
c. Effect in reduction of pauperism and poor relief 132
VII. Needed Legislation in North Dakota 133
1. On indoor relief 134
2. On outdoor relief 134
3. State supervision 135
Summary 136
NORTH Dakota is a young state. It has accepted its regula-
tions of pauperism and crime from the older states somewhat
uncritically. Its own experience has been similar to that of other
new states in those particulars, namely, that matters have been
allowed to drift because they have not become conspicuous. To the
absence of large industrial centers and of organizations which develop
Coprricht. 191), University of North Dtkott.
64f5850
Digitized by VjOOQIC
lOO The Quarterly Journal
a consciousness and a betterment-conscience relative to social
pathology is due the general obliviousness to growing evils.
It may not be unimportant, therefore, not only as a means of
direaing the intelligence of the State to certain of its condidoos
and problems but of reflecting a knowledge of those conditions to
the world at large, to make public such information as is at present
available. A further service for legislative and regulative efibrt
may be performed by indicating the defects of our present state-wide
system and by making suggestions as to its improvement.
The first endeavors to obtain information in a new state relative
to such subjects as this paper treats are likely to prove far from
satisfactory because of the non-existence of published infonnadon.
The State of North Dakota has no central bureau frcun whidi
published reports are issued on pauperism, conditions of jails,
distribution and cost of supporting the defective classes of the state,
not to mention the estimate of defectives not in institutions. Two
years ago, after vainly endeavoring to obtain information on the
state as a whole relative to the general subjects of poor-relief and
conditions of jails, I began a personal investigation into those
matters. Whenever I found myself in a county seat, I collected such
facts as the county offices held, inspected the jails, visited the poor-
farms where they were accessible, and inquired into the workings of
the poor-relief system. In this manner, seventeen counties were
investigated. Eight counties were visited in connection with the
occasional lectures I was called on to give in the state. Information
from the other nine counties was obtained by means of field work
which very meager departmental funds enabled me to make. It is
one of the traditional conditions which still persists in educadonal
institution that are supposed to foster research that departments
which use mechanical instruments to carry on experiment are given
thousands of dollars while departments whose field of research lies
in the world outside are denied any investigative funds or given a
mere pittance. I expected, therefore, to be able to report on conditions
in those seventeen counties only.
As an illustration of the inchoate conditions which may obtain
in a dvilized society it may be well to recount that while investigating
the sixteenth county I fairly stumbled onto evidence that, filed in the
archives of the statehouse at Bismarck, lay unpublished data on the
cost of poor-relief and to a less extent the cost of supporting the state
insane and feebleminded for all the counties of the state. For it
appeared that county auditors and treasurers are required to file
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Poor-Relief and Jails in North Dakota lOi
what is called ''Auditor and Treasurer's Annual Report to the State
Examiner of North Dakota." Correspondence with the State
Examiner's office caused the compilation of such data as existed
relative to the other thirty-one counties of the state. I give this
experience to illustrate the need there is for gathering and publishing
state-wide information on matters pertaining to the backward
classes we know as paupers, criminals, and defectives.
I. POOR RELIEF STATISTICS
The following statistical tables give a glimpse into North
Dakota conditions during the five years beginning June 30, 1906,
and ending June 30, 191 1. Table I ofiEers such facts as the county
records yield relative to the cost of maintaining the poor, the insane,
and the feeble-minded. Table II gives the cost of maintaining the
poor by counties for the official years ending June 30, 1907 and
191 1, and the total cost to the State in each of those years.
REMARKS ON TABLES I AND II
The statistics relative to the insane and feeble-minded are very
incomplete. Inspection of table I shows that many counties keep no
record, that others combine them. In the records of the counties
the expenses for those classes frequently are placed with *'miscel-
laneous" expenditures.
Relative to poor-relief expenses the items are not always sepa-
rated, payment for County Physician often being fused with those for
support of the poor, or temporary and permanent relief expenditures
being combined.
It is apparent that a more specialized system of bookkeeping
should be introduced along with more specialized reports. Con-
structive work cannot be carried on when it is impossible to analyze
the situation.
It is entirely impossible to ascertain the number of persons in
the State or in any single county who receive relief. I have tried to
discover the number assisted in various counties by going back to the
warrants. It is impossible. The records are incomplete, frag-
mentary, and unintelligible. An adequate system of keeping records
and books on this point is imperatively demanded.
It will be seen that several counties do not appear in the
expenditure column for 1907. This is due chiefly to the fact that
either the particular county was not organized then or that it was
a part of a large county at that time, the separation occurring
subsequently. Generally, the counties of the eastern part of the state
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TABLE II
Poor-relief Expenditures by Counties for Years Ending June 30,
1907 and 1911.
County
1907
ISU
Adams _ -
$ 1*314.09
Barnes
VVfiT^'i's
13,025.51
Benson
2,96a94
6,703.78
Billings
493.50
3^16.87
Bottineau . .
4^6.57
(1908)
126.10
5,987.92
Bowman - -
1,983.83
2.974.58
Burke
(1909)
5.152.11
Burleigh
6»322.09
Cass
17,220.32
28^4.61
Cavalier - -
3.698.09
4.II0.75
Dickey
2,307.86
3,382.91
Dunn - - -
526.65
Eddy
532.64
^'78545
I,i87i8
Emmons —
1I4246
Foster
4,579.20
Grand Forks
Griggs
15,804.32
1405.86
(1908)
1:^^
Hettinger . -
20644
588.29
Kidder
1,143.07
3,905.80
LaMoure - -
924.35
2,331.93
Logan ...
McHenry .
551.61
2400.00
ifi62.7i
5,167.29
Mcintosh . .
218.70
(1908)
687.17
McKenzie .
270.62
824.82
McLean - .
463.57
(1909)
1.591.83
Mercer
14.00
342.50
Cotmty
1907
1911
Morton . .
$ ^ 962.72
dw)
681.00
$ 5.02648
Mountrail .
2,210.85
Nelson
3/>58.23
349743
Oliver
300.00
310.20
Pembina
8,023.15
f:^
Pierce
M52.27
Ramsey . -
2,760.27
5,517.29
Ransom . .
743.35
3.730.36
Renville . .
M72^
Richland . .
8,143.10
7/XS.S2
Rolette - -
1,94346
2.033.71
Sargent . -
2,270.64
(1909)
135.15
3,620 JM
Sheridan . .
729.01
Stark
Steele
^g
2,929.26
2480.55
(1910)
9.407.43
4,922.78
Stutsman .
5339.24
Towner _ .
953.83
Traill
3.292.90
8429.87
3,295.77
Walsh
11423.98
Ward
7.625.25
21441.66
5,044.95
Wells
1.753.89
(1909)
Williams - -
1.986.45
5.136.70
Total - -
128,917.15
240469.80
sustain the heaviest expenditures because they are more populous and
have the larger cities, the v^estern part of the state having been but
recently settled and containing only a sparse population.
The cost of poor-relief in the state almost doubled in the five-
year period, increasing from $128,917.15 in 1907 to $240,469.80 in
1911. The total population of the state in 1905 was 437,070; in
1910 it was 557,056. These figures approximately represent the
years ending June 30, 1906 and 1911. That is, while the population
was gaining 32 per cent the cost of maintaining the poor in the state
enlarged 86.5 per cent. In that time the expenditure for that purpose
grew 2,y times as fast as the population.
The county records are incomplete on the matter of income and
expenditures of the county asylums. But one county, Richland, of
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no The Quarterly Journal
those I have previously investigated, makes a pretext of keeping a
record of the income from the attached farm. The expenditures for
the county asylums should be reduced by the amount of the incomes
from the farms, but no one knows what those amounts are.
My investigation has convinced me that if the state wants its
counties to conduct their poor-relief business as a business it must
make exact and intelligent requirements of overseers and county
auditors and treasurers in matters of reports and records.
The increase in expenditures has been steady, regular, and
general. It is not caused by the birth of new counties for their
expenditures swell the total but little. The bad crops of 1909
seemed to affect the general increase only slightly. Their effect does not
appear in the comparison of expenditures of 1907 and 191 1 ansrway.
for 1909 falls midway between. There have been no extraordinary
circumstances in the state to account for the heavy growth. The
explanation lies in the fact that has been noted in every state where
relief remains unregulated that uncontrolled charity makes paupers
and rapidly increases poor-relief expenditures.
11. STATISTICS OF DEFECTIVES
The chief aim of this paper is to make a somewhat full state-
ment relative to poor-relief. A subordinate aim is to indicate the
conditions of jails. The defective class is touched on necessarily
in relation to dependency. It may prove helpful to give a few
further and later statistics as to the defective persons in the State.
THE FEEBLE-MINDED
June 30, 1912, there were 166 feeble-minded persons in the
State Institution at Grafton, 88 males and 78 females. Cass and
Morton counties furnished 10 or more each; Bottineau, Burleigh,
Pembina, and Stutsman, from 8 to 9 each ; Barnes, Cavalier, Grand
Forks, Nelson, Stark, Steele, Walsh, Ward, and Williams, from 5
to 7 each; the remainder furnished 4 or less each. The institution
at Grafton probably contains not more than one sixth of the cases
in the State who should be segregated, treated and educated. The
superintendent estimated in 1908 that there are at least 1000 feeble-
minded in North Dakota. He urges segregation, at least during
the reproductive period.^ The counties support their inmates in the
institution.
3. Report of Feeble-minded Institution, Bismarck, IMS, pp. 9-10.
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Poor-Relief and Jails in North Dakota ill
During the biennial period ending July i, 191 2, the institution
cost the State $94,729.88, probably one-fourth or more of which was
expended in erecting and furnishing a hospital building.^
THB INSANE
The State Hospital for the Insane at Jamestown, September 31,
1912, housed 828 patients. Cass and Grand Forks counties contrib-
uted 67 and 58 respectively; Ward and Walsh, 43 and 42; Barnes,
Pembina, Richland, Stutsman, and Towner from 31 to 38 each;
Benson, Burleigh, Morton, Ramsey, and Williams, from 20 to 26
each; Billings, Bottineau, Burke, Cavalier, Divide, Eddy, Foster,
LaMoure, McHenry, McLean, Mountrail, Nelson, Ransom,
Sargent, Stark, Steele, and Wells, from 10 to 18 each; the remaining
counties, under 10 each; the State at large contributed 13.*^
The counties pay $15.00 per month toward the support of each one
of their patients. The per capita cost for the biennial period ending June
30, 191 2, was $190.64 per year. The total amount received from
the counties for the quarter ending September 31, 1912, was
$36,982.54.«
THE DEAF
The State school for the Deaf, located at Devils Lake, at the
present time is attended by 86 pupils. Grand Forks, Wells, Barnes,
and Towner counties send from 5 to 9 each; the others of the 35
contributing counties send less than five, the great majority only 1,
each. The school is supported by the income from a 40,000 acre
land grant and by State appropriations. Seven counties paid for the
clothing and railway fare of certain of their contingents. Generally
the parents are able to furnish these expenses. The Superintendent
estimates the per capita cost of maintaining and educating the pupils
for last year at about $350.00.''
THE BLIND
The North Dakota Blind Asylum is located at Bathgate. It
is supported by income from a 30,000 acre land grant which covers
current expenses, and by appropriations. It has been in operation
but five years. Its enrollment for 1910-11, was 23 ; for 1911-12, 28,
from 23 counties. The average cost of maintenance during the
4. Report of Feeble-minded Institution, Bismarck, 1910.
5. Statement received from the Superintendent of the Institution, Nov., 1912.
6. Ibid.
7. Ibid.
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112 The Quarterly Journal
biennial period, June 30, 1910, to June 30, 1912, was about $15,000,
of which about $2,000 was for somewhat permanent improvements."
III. JAILS OF THE STATE
I have visited and inspected over 20 county and city jails in
North Dakota during the past two years. My intention had been
to publish the notes which were made relative to each jail at the
time of inspection. But the space allotted to me in this Journal
prevents that. Instead I shall classify the jails and give the
conditions illustrating each group.
I. Bad. The jails of Bottineau, Cavalier, Eddy, and Nelson
counties, and of the dty of Williston belong in this group. A
description of the Cavalier county jail may be given to illustrate
bad or even very bad conditions.
The county jail at Langdon, Cavalier Co., was visited
February 23, 191 1. It is in the basement of the courthouse, occup3ang
the front. Only the rooms on the south side of the hall are used —
two others only in very rare cases. The rooms used must be some
16x18 ft. in width and a little over double that in combined length.
The sitting room is not an uncomfortable room, having two windows
and being on the sunny, light side of the building. The dining room
and dishwashing room is about half the size of the sitting room,
contains a table, oil stove for heating dishwater, one or two slop
vessels, and the chemical closet.
The cells, one double and two single, stand back of this dining
room. The double cells are without light and have their ventilation
thru the other rooms. The bedding looked filthy and lay just as the
former prisoners had left it. A spray pump was used for disinfecting
it. The turnkey said the air of a morning after several prisoners
had used the slop pail during the night was frightful — ^had made him
lose his breakfast.
The jail is a fire-trap. Should a fire occur in the building so as
to cut off the hallway, a very easy thing to do, there is no external
exit or inlet to prison doors. The prisoners would almost certainly
perish. The turnkey said he kept an ax to cut thru the floor in case
the basement stairs were blocked, a very insufficient device.
There is no provision for sex separation, save the room across
the hall, nor for separation of insane from other prisoners, or of
juvenile offenders. I was informed that one insane person had been
kept among the other prisoners during about two weeks until further
8. Ibid.
GooQle
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Poor-Relief and Jails in North Dakota 113
information could be received from Canada, his home. Meanwhile
he was violent and dangerous. The protection of the insane person
from himself, as well as the protection of the other inmates from
him, was loaded on to the other prisoners. Sleep was impossible for
any of them. After a certain time they rebelled and refused to take
care of him.
County oflScials talk of building a new courthouse and jail ere
long. They feel the insuflSciency of this.
My notes relative to the Eddy county jail contain this statement,
"indescribably dirty and filthy." The Nelson county jail is a small
antediluvian wooden structure, unfit in every particular to house a
human being. The Judge has ordered a new jail built in the district.
My notes on the city jail of Williston arc as follows:
"Low concrete building. Corridor between the two rooms,
separated from them by thick concrete walls. The only light is
from little windows, about six by eight inches in size, placed near
the ceiling. A real old time dark dungeon, cold and dehumanizing.
Heated by stove in hall but officer says it is very cold. Mattresses
doubled upon floor are only visible bedding. Should be a criminal
offense to confine men in such a place."
2. Poor. To this group belong the jails of Barnes, Grand
Forks, and Mountrail counties. I give my notes relative to the
latter:
"One-story frame structure. Sheriff's office in front. Back
room, 16x16, contains cages. Steel cages in center, corridor on three
sides. Hall between two rows of double cells, i. e., two cdls on
each side of hall. Doors of cell to lock. Hammock beds. Bedding
looked dirty — probably no dirtier than that of many citizens,
however. But one cell in use. A "pigger" outside doing work.
Wide corridor in front containing gasoline stove, table and toilet.
Many articles and utensils sitting about and placed on top of steel
caging. Better than many basement jails. Piggers and insane
patients chief occupants, so deputy sheriff says. Many persons
arrested as insane on complaint of neighbors as result of neighborhood
troubles. Afterwards proven to be sane — returned from Jamestown.
Seems to be a standing practice. Deputy recalled some half dozen
cases of that sort in last two years."
The Barnes county jail is kept as well as a basement jail can
be kept. The walls and ceiling are whitwashed, but the cells are
surrounded on three sides by interior walls. The only light is from
three windows at the side. Being removed some distance from these
windows the cells have little light and sun. At times they are
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114 The Quarterly Journal
crowded. Crowding and unsanitary conditions characterize this jaiL
The impossibility of sufficiently lighting the interior corridors
of the jail of Grand Forks county, and the ancient character of a
part of the cells and cell arrangement are sufficient to place it in this
class. It cannot be called a modem structure.
3. Fair. The jails of Cass, Burleigh, Stutsman and Williams
counties and of the cities of Jamestown and Grand Forks should be
placed in this group. The Williams county jail may be taken as
typical of those of the counties. To reproduce notes on this jail:
"Two-stor>' structure annexed to courthouse tho not entirely
separate. So built because special election to submit not required, as
would be the case if entirely separate. Lower floor occupied by
sheriff. Upper floor contains women's ward and men's ward. Men's
ward is steel inclosure with corridor all around. Bathtub in corridor.
Steel inclosure contains four cells, two on each side of common
hallway and opening on to it. Each cell intended for four men.
Floors of cement. Fairly good type of jail but corridors narrow,
and bedding unsanitary. Four inmates — i trusty, i embezzler, and
2 piggers."
The jails of Jamestown and Grand Forks are located in the
basement of new city halls. In each case the criticism is that they are
so located that the desirable and sterilizing influences of the direct
rays of the sun are practically excluded.
4. Good. The McHenry, Pierce, Ramsey, Richland, Stutsman,
and Traill county jails, together with the jail of Valley City, arc to
be classified as good. Practically all of these structures are to be
considered modem. My notes relative to the Ramsey county jail
are as follows: "A model jail. Built about 1910-11. Occupied a
year. Sanitary, warm, fairly well lighted, separate from all bm'ldings,
differentiated for sexes, insane, and juveniles. Contains shower
baths. Cement floors. Lighted by electricity."
North Dakota counties are showing themselves progressive in
the jails they are building at the present time. When the county
builds now the commissioners visit the best institutions they can find
and the plans adopted generally etnbody the best ideas in jail building.
Still, it would be useful if a State Board were compelled to keep on
file plans of modern jails and if it possessed at least advisory powers
relative to counties when building.
The inhuman conditions which prevail in some institutions,
and there are probably many more in the state belonging to the
group I have called bad, make it imperative that state inspection of
these institutions should be established. It should be said that some
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Poor-Relief and Jails in North Dakota 115
quite good jails, structurally, are very poorly kept. The bedding,
especially, of many jails is poor and filthy. Diseases may easily be
conveyed from prisoner to prisoner when this is the case, and by
them to the public at large.
I find that probably one-half of the inmates of jails are "piggers."
In the Ward county jail at Minot, for example, last Spring, were
24 inmates, 23 males and i female. Nineteen of these were impris-
oned for violating the Prohibition Law. This is an unusually large
proportion of "piggers" but illustrates a condition.
IV. THE SYSTEM OF POOR-RELIEF
IN NORTH DAKOTA
For purposes of general information, as well as of constructive
criticism, it may prove useful to give the essential points in the system
of poor-relief in North Dakota as related to poor-relief administra-
tion. The poor laws of the state recognize and provide for both
relief in institutions and in homes or families.
I. INDOOR RELIEF
In legalizing the matter of indoor relief the statutes empower
the establishment of a poor-farm on the part of one county, or jointly
on the part of two or more counties. So far, there has been no joint
establi^ment. The county commissioners who, when considering
poor-relief matters are designated "overseers of the poor," arc author-
ized to "employ some humane and responsible person, a resident of
the county, to take charge of the same (poor-farm) upon such terms,
and under such restrictions as the Board shall consider most advan-
tageous for the interests of the county who shall be called superin-
tendent of the county asylum."® Fortunately for North Dakota,
but few such asylums have been established. Usually a tract of
arable land, varying from 80 to 200 os more acres, is joined with
the asylum. Except in cases of emergency the superintendent must
have an order from the commissioner of the district from which
the applicant for admission comes to receive him as an inmate. He
is to receive and care for inmates as county charges, to take such
mesure for their care and employment, and to perform such other
duties as the commissioners designate, consistent with the laws of the
state. Permanent charges shall be sent to the asylum (if there be
one) by order of commissioners. Pay-patients may be maintained.
An asylum physician is appointed by the commissioners. Children
9. Revised Statutes, 1906, Section 1871 b.
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Ii6 The Quarterly Journal
at the asylum which are not bound out shall be sent to some common
school within the county during its session. The superintendent
shall direct their education. The superintendent shall, in writing,
at the first and third sessions of the Board of County Commissioners,
make a detailed report "of the time and manner of admissions of each
pauper, his health and fitness to labor, the result of his industry, and
the expenses incurred."^® This report shall show the total number
of paupers, and the conunissioner's district from which they originate,
together with the total number of pay-patients with the amount they
pay."
The County Board must visit the asylum annually. It
shall annually appoint a board of visitors of three members,
one of whom shall be a minister to visit the asylum "at
least quarterly" and to report at least quarterly upon conditions and
treatment obtaining in that institution and to make recommendations
for changes and improvements. This report shall be considered by
the Board and published with its proceedings. The visitors receive
such compensation as the Board thinks reasonable.
2. OUTDOOR RBUBF
The county commissioners as overseers of the poor are authorized
to carry out the provisions of the law relative to the temporary poor.
The county aids all poor and indigent who are in need according to
laws of settlement, and the county commissioners are to levy a tax
to this end. The laws of settlement are those which commonly
prevail. The overseers shall allow and pay relief to needy persons
of sound mind; also to poor parents of idiots and helpless diildren
an amount common in such cases. The names of persons helped are
to be kept in a book with the date of assistance. County commis-
sioners when acting as poor overseers are to be paid two dollars per
day. An amendment to section 2613 of the Revised Statutes sets the
compensation of commissioners at five dollars per day. Most com-
missioners have applied this to their duties as overseers. Some have
held that it does not so pertain and daim that legal advice is against
sudi interpretation. Overseers report to the county auditor the sums
required for poor relief and the same is paid annually on the order of
the county commissioners. The overseer's report of relief extended
during the previous year is submitted to the county commissioners
annually at their first meeting. When allowed it is paid by the
county treasurer.
10. Ibid. Section 1877.
11. Session Laws, 1907, Section 1877.
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Poor-Relief and Jails in North Dakota 117
3. STATE BOARD OF CONTROL
The State Board of Control, which was established by the
legislature of 191 1, is given financial, regulative, and investigating
authority over state institutions for dependents, defectives, and delin-
quents, namely. Insane Asylum, Jamestown, Institution for Feeble-
minded, Grafton, School for Blind, Bathgate, School for Deaf,
Devils Lake, State Penitentiary, Bismarck, and Reform School,
Mandan. In addition to this the law of establishment indicates that
it may extend its investigative functions further. The Session Laws
of 191 1 state:
"The Board shall incorporate in its biennial report required by
section twelve of this act, suggestions to the legislature, respecting
legislation for the benefit of the several institutions, or for the
dependent, defective, or criminal classes of the state. "^^
This provision doubtless empowers that Board to report local
conditions. However, certain limitations in the law would probably
prevent the exerdse of this rather incidental function.
4. VOLUNTARY ORGANIZATIONS
The first organized charity association to be formed in North
Dakota was established in Fargo in 1909 or 19 10. It began with a
paid secretary and visiting nurse, a board of directors and various
voluntary workers. It appears that the directors manifest little
interest in the work and that the efficiency of the organization has
been crippled on that account, as well as thru a lack of means within
the recent past.
The two chief contributors of funds are the city of Fargo and
Cass G>unty. Combined, they appropriate $1800, the latter giving
$50.00 a month to salary of the visiting nurse, the former the same
amount to her salary and $50.00 a month to the general fund of the
associated charities. The secretary estimates that the year's expend-
iture will approximate $3000. The remainder, $1200, is to be raised
by the Commerdal Club of Fargo. The assodated Charities acts
as a clearing house for the other charitable agendes of the dty.
The Associated Charities of Grand Forks was organized in the
Fall of 1 910, being successor to the Union Aid Society which had
held the field for many years. Its organization was largely affected
by President F. L. McVey of the State University, who had been
President of the Associated Charities of Minneapolis for several
years, and followed the general plan of the Minneapolis organization.
12. Session Laws, 1911, Section 16. Chapter 62.
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ii8 The Quarterly Journal
It has a board of directors, several standing committees, and an
executive committee consisting of the chairmen of those committees
together with the president, vice presidents, and the secretary. The
directors are responsible for the general policies, raising funds, and
the employment of a field agent and visiting nurse. In the Spring of
191 1 an agreement was entered into between the city, county, and
associated charities, by which the city and county each gave $600.00 a
year to employ a field agent who was to work under the direction of
the Associated Charities, the latter furnishing office room and certain
clerical help. Tag day yielded $1146.00. Besides these amounts
the Visiting Nurse's Committee raised money to purchase medicines
and other necessaries which were used in the work of the visiting
nurse.
At the end of the year the Board of County Commissioners
refused to renew the contract for the county in the support of a field-
agent, altho in the appointment of an agent their wish had been
followed in the selection of a county resident and in the person of
their own nomination. The Associated Charities had desired the
employment of a person trained for the position. The county Board
charged that poor relief expenditures had not been decreased and
that it could not justify the expenditure. The field agent submitted
figures to prove he had saved the county money, comparing expend-
itures during his year's contract with those of the previous year, and
showing that expenditures had been decreased by $3,566.73 and by
29^ cords of wood. The larger amount of relief work in the county
is given in Grand Forks, hence he believed that he had been a factor
in effecting economy. Further evidence of his preventive work is
found in the fact that for the year ending with January, 191 1, 102
families had been aided in the whole county, 76 of which were aided
in Grand Forks, while for the year ending with January, 191 2, 60
families had been aided in the whole county, 38 of which were aided
in Grand Forks. That is, in Grand Forks 22 families had been
eliminated from assistance, while but four outside the dty in the
whole county had been dropped.
This illustrates our backward condition in administering charity
for preventive purposes in our larger cities. Unless the commissioners
cooperate in relief work with organized charity so that duidicate
giving is eliminated, pauperism cannot be checked. The dishonest
will insist on being supported and the local commissioners will aid
practically all who apply for relief.
In both Fargo and Grand Forks the position of the visiting nurse
is quite secure. Her work is such that it makes a direct appeal. Her
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Poor-Relief and Jails in North Dakota 119
efficiency in helping home and family conditions appeak to the women
and enlists their hearty support. Her efficiency in cases of sickness
makes the medical practitioners her allies and supporters. It is not
apparent to the uninformed that a trained secretary or field agent
would be quite as valuable a community asset by reason of his spedal
insight into the nature of pauperiscm and his knowledge and use of
preventive agencies.
The following statement of how Valley City carries on its
out-door poor relief was sent me by Mrs. Frank White of that city.
"Our work is done by a Gnnmittee appointed by the Improve-
ment League; the members being from different churches. This
committee is brought before the public by means of the press and
requests made that no charity work be done without conununicating
with the Comnuttee. Every effort is made to put the needy on their
feet without making them objects of charity, and the reports of some
of the cases taken care of are of very great interest.
"The local organizations gave one hundred dollars to the
Committee to spend for Christmas dinners. These were not given to
those who were esspecially in need of charity, but to some of the
families who were having a hard time to make ends meet, and who
would not have a turkey dinner without the help. Baskets were
packed and delivered the day before Christmas. It is likely that the
same thing will be done this year.
"At all times cases have been reported to the County Commis-
sioners, if their help is needed, and nearly every case that came under
their observation was turned over immediately to the Conmiittee.
"Our Riverside Hospital is the best monument to the Charity
work of our town, in fact to the Improvement League, for at the
time it was built, the work was not organized as it is now. This
hospital was built after the method spoken of by Rev. CanJine
Bartlett Crane. It almost pays its own expenses, and our county
charge have the benefit of the most modem up-to-date home with
trained nurses and free medical care."
The United Charities of Minot was organized January i, 191 2.
The relief work is carried on chiefly by the president and secretary
of the organization. My informant*' makes this statement. "The
county commissioners have cooperated with us splendidly, and took
charge of those who looked like 'permanent' cases, while we took
those which required only temporary relief. We expect the amount
raised Saturday ($820.25 on 'Tag Day*) to be sufficient to run the
11 Mrs. S. Henry Wolfe, Minot, Secretary.
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120 The Quarterly Journal
organization during the winter and also pay for a visiting nurse for
at least six months at $75.00 per month."
The report of the previous year's work is taken from the Minot
Daily Reporter of November 11, 191 2, the material having been
furnished by the Secretary of the United Charities:
"The total receipts were $588.70 and the total disbursements had
been $451.13. Of the balance $90.00 has been set aside for a fund for
the establishment of a Y. W. C. A. here, and this is one of the projects
for which the ladies are anxious to raise more money next Saturday.
"The visiting nurse must be retained and the United Charities
will in all probability have to provide the necessary funds for her work.
During six months Mrs. Stone gave attention to 95 families, making
905 calls. Of these cases, 15 were obstetrical and the visiting nurse
perhaps rendered her greatest and most welcome services in cases of
this kind. Mrs. Stone's work has been of inestimable value to the poor
of the city, the children, especially, having come in for valuable atten-
tion during sieges of whooping cough, measles, stomach complaint, and
the various other illnesses to which children are so often subject and
unless proper care can be had for them, they frequently result fatally
or in impaired health for years to come.
"Aid was given to 30 families, one of which was given attention
eleven times by the United Charities last winter. The other families
average from one to six times each."
5. children's home
A children's home is located and maintained in Fargo. The
institution consists of a very good frame building which accommodates
about 40 children, 18 of whom are infants. An annex has been
recently equipped for the care of disabled dependent children.
Children are received from all parts of the state and are also placed-
out in all parts of the state. The children are not bound out. Those
who are placed in families have no visitation except such occasional
visits as the financial agent who solicits for funds and the superin-
tendent of the home in traveling in behalf of the institution can make.
V. NORTH DAKOTA POOR ASYLUMS
It is fortunate for the future of North Dakota that so few
counties have established institutions for the poor. Only eight
counties maintain homes for the poor. Thus the preponderating
portion of poor-relief of a permanent nature is carried on by the
outdoor method. Providing appropriate safeguarding legislation
can be secured which shall compel counties as they seek to provide
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Poor-Relief and Jails in North Dakota I2I
such institutions to build modern spedalized buildings, the state will
be able to secure quite uniformly adapted poor asylums.
I have visited five of the eight poor-farms and will give my
impressions as to their competency.
BARNBS COUNTY
Barnes County erected a county hospital in 1909, discarding the
old poor-farm, a miserable makeshift, for a comparatively modem
institution. The present plant cost $25,735.55, of which expenditure
the grounds absorbed $3,500.
The hospital is a brick structure consisting of two stories. An
attic which was unfurnished at the time of my visit is to be furnished
and used for a typhoid ward, medical floor, and nurses' room. The
second floor contains two ward rooms, four single rooms, an
operating room, a sterilizing room, and two bath rooms. It is
devoted to the use of private pay patients and serves to defray much
of the cost of maintenance of the whole institution. The first floor is
set aside for the use of the county poor. It has three wards, two
single rooms, a nurses' room, superintendents' room, and public
parlor. The basement includes a kitchen, two dining rooms, a store
room, furnace, bath, laundry, two pantries, a bed room for the
furnace man, and the cooks' room as a part of the store room.
The hospital idea is uppermost in this institution, particularly
the paying phase. The proper care of the poor is a secondary consid-
eration. There is no provision for separating tubercular poor from
others. A tubercular patient is now a constant care because in order
to prevent the spread of the disease all the dishes and clothes must
be boiled below. There is no diet room. As a consequence, the
nurses must visit the common kitchen, which is both inconvenient
and unsanitary. There is no provision for cooks and nurses in
separate rooms. The confinement of a sick woman constitutes a
problem. What is to be done with the sick baby is a puzzle.
CASS COUNTY
The Cass county hospital and asylum for the poor is located
three and one-half miles north of Fargo. The plant consists of an
80 acre farm, a large brick building of three stories and a basement
which is used as hospital and asylum, a one-story frame building about
100 yards to the rear of the latter building which is devoted to able-
bodied men, and four farm buildings. The front side of the brick
structure, on the first two floors, is devoted to hospital purposes.
The rear part of the building is the home of poor inmates and
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122 The Quarterly Journal
consists for most part of separate rooms. About 20 old men and
women occupy these quarters, the usual nondescript and paraljrtic
dass. Something like a dozen patients are cared for in the hospital
wards, a number of whom were children with typhoid. Pay-patients
are received. The wards and operating room are spacious, clean, and
light. Three nurses are in attendance, two for day and one for night
duty. The basement contains kitchen, vegetables, furnace, etc The
present superintendent and wife are intelligent people who take an
interest in the care of the institution. They receive $1 10 per month
and keep.
The building is dean and well-kept. The frame building to
the rear is occupied by eight or ten more or less able-bodied men.
The inmates of the Cass county institute are largely foreign. The
superintendent finds little family pride among foreigners, espedaily
Bohemians, as to leaving relatives in the poor-house. The able-bodied
men do a limited amount of work, but it is a problem how to get
regular labor from them, as it is generally. The farm furnishes the
larger portion of the vegetables used in the institution, and feed for
the stock. There is no accounting system by which an estimate may
be made of the farm's contribution.
The institution is most beautifully located at the edge of the
woods on the south bank of Red River as it bends eastward, and the
open forest offers splendid outing opportunities for the old and infirm
in mild weather.
GRAND FORKS COUNTY
The Grand Forks County Hospital is located near Arvilla,
about twenty-two miles east of the city of Grand Forks. The
present brick building was built in 1895 to replace the old building
which was burned. It cost $17,500 but has been much enlarged
and improved since it was built. One wing of the building is set
apart for men, the other for women. Besides, there is a drug, and
operating room, wards for tubercular, and fever patients, family
i^mrtment, etc. The building is well lighted by plenty of windows.
Besides the superintendent and wife vAio together received $100 per
month at the time of my visit in 1910, there is a nurse who also
serves as matron in the women's ward, a second nurse, a cook, waiter,
laundry girl, and two hired men. The payment for help of all kinds
averages about $3100. For the year ending June 30, 1912, it was
$3162.26. Expenditures for the same year above this were $7,110.54.
The average monthly cost per inmate for February, 1909, was $17.64,
whidi may have been above the monthly average for the whole year.
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Poor-Relief and Jails in North Dakota 123
In May, 1909, the inmates were distributed according to their
entrance by months as follows :
January, 5 ; February, 3 ; March, 2 ; April, i ; May, i ; June, 2 ;
July, 1 ; August, 3 ; September, 2 ; October, 3 ; November, 8 ;
December, 2. Thus 42.9% were admitted during November,
December, and January.
Distributed by years the entries were as follows: 1894, 2;
1899, 2; 1900, i; 1904, i; 1905, 3; 1906, i; 1907, 2; 1908, 16;
1909 to May, 6. The large increase in 1908 and 1909 may be
due to the policy adopted by the Board of County Commissioners
to send permanent cases to the Hospital.
The causes for seeking admission are recorded as follows:
Destitute, 8 ; demented, 4 ; rheumatism, 2 ; tuberculosis, i ; limbs
amputated, i ; limbs frozen, 2 ; pregnant, i ; inebriate, 2 ; typhoid
fever, i ; disability, 9 ; pauper, 3. Thus 89 per cent of the 34
inmates are paupers, in so far as the causes assigned are true.
Eight of the inmates at the time of my visit were children.
They were kept in a separate part of the building away from the
adult paupers as much as possible, and sent to the village school.
The children of the school seemed to treat them well altho they at
first made them feel their poverty. They take part in all school
exercises and have frequently acquitted themselves with credit.
Emrado furnishes the attendant physician.
The institution contains two padded rooms for insane and for
discipline purposes. They are said to be used infrequently. The
former superintendent had much trouble in matters of discipline.
RICHLAND COUNTY
The poor-farm of Richland is situated about one mile south
of the city of Wahpeton. The plant consists of a 240 acre farm, large
bam, and outhouses, and a composite frame building of two stories
and basement which has a capacity of about thirty inmates. The
building provided for asylum purposes consists of an original scho(d-
house and another building patched together, onto which has been
joined a wing which was meant to be a hospital. Such a building
is difficult to spedalize for the various groups of inmates and is a
burden in matters of cleaning and heating. However, at the time
of my visit in October, 191 2, it was scrupulously dean. Most of
the inmates occupy separate rooms. The best part of the plant is the
large concrete basement in which are located laundry, fruit, vege-
tables, furnace, water for pumping purposes, etc. A neighboring
coulee contains a cesq}ool which takes the sewerage of the institution.
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124 The Quarterly Journal
There are eight inmates at present. Several of these are feeble-
minded persons, one of whom is a girl of seventeen who is also deaf.
An older sister of this girl is feeble-minded and has caused much
trouble by her desire to be with the men. Most of the inmates arc
old derelicts and some are paralytics. There are no children inmates
tho there have been several previously. The institution usually sup-
ports from twelve to twenty inmates.
Of the 240 acres of land, 200 are tillable, and being exceedingly
rich as is that also of the Cass, Trail, and Grand Forks county
institutions, yield abundant harvests in good years. Twenty acres
of the farm are devoted to agricultural experiment purposes imder
the supervision of the State Agricultural College. The superin-
tendent states that he keeps account of receipts and expenditures, and
that two years ago the farm )rielded an income of $200 above all
institutional expenses, that last year it ran behind $1400, it being
a poor year for crops, and that this year he expects it will meet
expenses. In his estimates is not included interest on investment,
depreciation, and other similar items.
The overseer and wife receive $60.00 per month and their living.
WARD COUNTY
The poor asylum of Ward county is located four miles south
of the dty of Minot. At the time of my visit, April, 191 2, it had
been in use about three and one-half years. It is a brick building,
commodious, but built on the farm-house plan, which means that it
is not a modern institution. It is a two-story structure, tlie lower
floor being devoted chiefly to uses of kitchen, dining rooms, sitting
room, and living apartments, altho there are a few rooms for inmates.
Inmates generally have separate rooms. There are separate wards
for old men and old women, with several beds in each. There are
a few rooms for two or a family. Little arrangement exists for
separating the sexes, classes, or diseases. There is no hospital provi-
sion. Hired men and hired girls sleep upstairs alongside of inmates.
There are seventeen inmates, seven of whom are children.
There is one family consisting of man, wife, and five children. The
man seems "queer" but works under superintendence. The woman
is also dull or "queer." The children who are in school are rated
dull by the teacher. Besides these are a woman with two children,
SIX or seven aged men and cripples, and an aged woman. There is
no authority given the overseers to use discipline. The wife of the
overseer thinks that a dark room or a straight jacket should be
provided. A shower bath is also needed in her estimation.
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Poor-Relief and Jails in North Dakota 125
The superintendent is salaried. The help is employed by the
commissioners. The water supply is very poor. Ordinary wells have
failed. The water of a deep well is unusable. Water has to be
drawn from a distance. Toilet-rooms are put out of commission.
In spite of this, the building is dean and orderly.
Undoubtedly the county made a mistake in constructing this
expensive building. The same amount of money would have provided
a modem, specialized institution, with hospital facilities. Since the
county has been divided and there is plenty of space in the institution,
steps might well be taken to provide hospital facilities, and for
separating the inmates into groups according to classes, age, and
disease.
A 320 acre farm containing several fine bams and farm buildings
is part of the plant. It was supposed that the farm would support
the institution, but, until this year, there have been crop failures.
There is no accounting system in use so that the exact debit and
credit side is unobtainable.
VI. NO ADEQUATE SYSTEM WITHOUT
PREVENTION
No state can sustain an adequate system for the care of its
dependents, defectives, and delinquents which does not recognize
the necessity of prevention in the operation of every part of the
system. The really modem system rests on the recognition that those
unfortunate classes are the products of conditions which may be
known and largely removed by the exercise of intelligence and
vigilance. It is certain that all of those classes might be greatly
lessened and consequent misery and expense largely reduced thru
the use of adequate methods, preventive agencies, and checking
devices.
In order that later statements may be understood it may be well
to state some of the larger well-established prindples in the care
of the unfortunate persons in question. I do not speak of the larger
things which sodety should undertake as a general preventative, such
as an education diversified sufEdently to ^each the aptitudes of
backward individuals so that even the mentally sluggish may be
rendered self-supporting; or an education which uses modem sodal
teadiing and agendes so that tendendes towards crime are checked ;
or legislation which shall reach the inequalities of wealth and labor
so that all who are able and disposed to work may have an ample
income to support and train an efficient family. Such things are
desirable and probably fumish the only effective prevention of pau-
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126 The Quarterly Journal
perism and crime. Rather I shall have to confine my remarks to such
principles as immediate legislation and administration may act on
for mitigative prevention.
1. Local institutions should be so administered that pauperism
and crime are not fostered. For this reason all juveniles should be
excluded from poor houses and jails, or if in cases of exigency they
must become inmates for a brief time, complete separation from
adults should exist. Nothing is more certain than that children
become like the adults they are thrown with, thru close and constant
imitation. In like manner jails should be used only for detention
places of persons awaiting trial, not as places for punishment. They
are not fit for punishment or reformative purposes because they lack
the element of work and training. Neither should poor asylums
contain others than permanent paupers, that is, the aged, the infirm,
and the disabled. Special classes should be provided for in specialized
institutions. Insane, feeble-minded, and epileptics should have ade-
quate provisions made for them by the state where proper treatment
may be given. Entire sex-separation is demanded for obvious reasons.
Especially is it imperative to avoid the ever inuninent peril of
perpetuating the unfit in body and mind who shall ever rest as a
burden on society. Intelligent laws and wise, vigilant supervision
are called for to realize these ends.
2. The defective classes should be separated in institutions
provided for them alone. Most unwise is the state, which, in the
face of the revelations of the past few years, relative to the conse-
quences which come from permitting such persons to reproduce,
continues inert as to the present situation. There is no longer any
doubt as to the hereditary nature of certain defective traits. Recent in-
vestigations and research have demonstrated that defectives produce
defectives somewhat upon the lines of Mendelian principles. The
investigations of Davenport, Goddard, and others have furnished
ample evidence of this. Weak in will ,as defectives are, and possessed
of all the sexual desires, reproduction, not only, but reproduction of
unusual lavishness is certain to follow on leaving them to mix freely
in the population at large.
I shall cite two examples of stocks of people who have visited
great burden of misery and expense on the community. The Kal-
likaks, espedally, illustrate the transmissible character of defect-
iveness, along with the social evils which flow from its unrestrained
reproduction. The Jukes probably illustrate the influence of a bad
social environment in producing bad characters more than it does
the evils of transmitted defects. Since the facts indicate that evils
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Poor-Relief and Jails in North Dakota 127
ensue in cither case, the question becomes one of what is the appro-
priate method to use in each case. Segregation or sterilization are
the remedies prescribed for transmitted evils.
The noted Jukes family is an example of the combination of
vice and dependency which may be allowed to develop in neglected
rural communities. The original Jukes were rural New Yorkers,
as were many of the descendants. But of a total lineage of 1200
persons, 709 were investigated by Mr. Dugdale. Of these 540 were
of Jukes blood and 169 connected by marriage. Of the 305 blooded
Jukes who reached marriageable age, 82 were illegitimate, 73 prosti-
tutes, 12 kept brothels, 51 were syphilitics, 49 were criminals, 95
received outdoor and 53 almshouse relief. Of the 169 who married
Jukes, 9 were illegitimate, 55 prostitutes, 6 kept brothels, 16 were
syphilitics, 27 were criminals, 47 received outdoor and 1 1 almshouse
relief. This takes no account of the 58 of the first class and 23 of
the second class who were unascertained. Fifty-two and four-tenths
per cent of the Jukes women were harlots. The investigator estimated
that in 75 years they cost the community $1,250,000, besides the evil
inheritance they imposed on posterity. This family is only an extreme
case of a type of family which many country and village commun-
ities are breeding. Loose methods of relief, a lax or absent police
power, and backward methods of treating youthful offenders arc
among the conditions which build up and perpetuate these stocks.
A family which promises to become even more famous than the
Jukes is the Kallikak Family. This family stock has been investi-
gated by the assistants of Dr. H. H. Goddard, director of the
research laboratory of the Training School at Vinland, New Jersey,
for the feeble-minded girls and boys, and the results have been made
public by Dr. Goddard in a book, "The Kallikak FamUy."
The parents of this stock were a Revolutionary soldier and a
feeble-minded girl, or rather their illegitimate son, Martin Kallikak,
Jr. From Martin Kallikak, Jr., have come 480 descendants, of whom
143 were feeble-minded, 46 were normal, and the remainder are
undetermined for lack of evidence. Among the 480 descendants, 36
were illegitimate, 33, sexually immoral, mostly prostitutes, 24, con-
firmed alcoholics, 3, epileptics, 3, criminals, 8 kept houses of ill-fame,
82, died in infancy.
These descendants married with people of about the same type,
making a group of 11 46 recorded and charted persons. Two hundred
and sixty-two members of this larger group were feeble-minded, 197
were considered normal, and the remainder were undetermined. The
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128 The Quarterly Journal
latter were frequently not what would be called good members of
society.
The members of the Kallikak family lived in rural regions for
most part. What the record of crime, vice, and pauperism would
have been had they been residents of cities can only be imagined.
But in the morally superior conditions of the country the record is
startling and reveals the danger which is likely to come as the result
of inadequate laws and methods of treatment of a hereditarially and
sodally contaminated stock.
Segregation of defectives is the least that can be demanded. The
folly of leaving weakminded persons in local institutions and in the
population at large is apparent. Progressive states are even moving
further, namely, making sterilization obligatory for certain defective
and criminal types. Any state is criminally remiss which does not
at least effect thoro segregation.
3. There should be instituted eflEcctive checking devices and
state control relative to county jails and poor-relief administration.
First, lavi^ are needed which make duplicate giving impossible. This
duplicate giving is seen in cities which are seeking to regulate charity
and to place it on a preventive basis. A case is investigated. The
applicant is able-bodied and work is found for him. He refuses to
work and insists on being carried. The charity organization refuses
relief. The county commissioner is then visited by the applicant. He
does not believe in regulated charity work, is poor-relief overseer for
the district in which the city is located, does not feel the burden of
dispensing county funds to all who ask, and hence relieves the able-
bodied applicant. He refuses to cooperate and has power to defeat.
Cities should be empowered to manage and disburse their poor-relief
fund. This is the only effective remedy for the intolerable situation.
Further compulsory cooperation with relief agencies is demanded
to prevent duplicate giving. The Indiana Township Poor Law is
explidt on this point. It requires that the overseer shall inform
himself about all relief agencies and societies in his district, obtain
information of them as to whether applicants for relief are assisted
by them, give them information in the same manner, cooperate with
them in finding employment, and in every way possible to prevent
duplication of relief.**
Second, publicity of the full details as to number of persons
assisted, time aided, and amount of relief given is a necessary checking
device on prodigal giving. This should be required of every public
14. Township Poor-relief Laws, ISOl, Ch«pter 147; Owpter 161 and im» Sectioiit
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Poor-Relief and Jails in North Dakota 129
relief officer and the full facts should be published in the county
papers. This is not done in North Dakota. It is done in Indiana
and the effects have helped to secure a revolution in the way of
reducing pauperism in that state.
Third, state regulation and supervision of local public relief and
jails is quite as imperative as a checking and directing agency. This
should consist of investigations, visitation and inspection, furnishing
of building plans, and the publication of reports required of local
authorities.
Investigations made by state boards or their experts would furnish
necessary facts for wise legislation on matters relating to the unfor-
tunate classes. Visitation and inspection by a regular officer of a
state board who had a training and competency for knowing what
local institutions should be and accomplish is the only adequate means
for securing steady improvement in the conduct of poor houses and
jails. This is well-nigh as important as that our schools should have
state inspection. Regulating the building of new jails and poor-
houses thru insisting that plans which embody modem arrangements
and fadlities is required to prevent parsimonious and backward com-
munities from erecting medieval and incompetent structures. Requir-
ing that reports be made by local officers to a state board serves the
double purpose of exercising a check on local expenditures thru state-
wide publidty and of securing a most-needed means of obtaining
information about conditions in the state as a whole.
A notable example in the United States of a state which has
recognized the above principles as necessary means of adequately
controlling conditions of dependency, delinquency, and defectiveness,
is found in the state of Indiana. Thru a series of laws enacted,
beginning with the year 1889 Indiana has secured such control of the
situation in that state that it may properly be regarded as the leading
conunonwealth in those directions. It certainly leads in the regulation
of pauperism. What it has done in the latter particular may serve
to illustrate the effectiveness of such prindples when put into oper-
ation by competent agencies.
The reform laws which were passed by the state of Indiana
during a series of years account for the decided changes which have
taken place in poor-relief matters in that state. By years they were
as follows:
1889, creation of a State Board of Charities.
1895, requiring detailed poor-relief reports (first law looking to
supervision of outdoor relief.)
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I30 The Quarterly Journal
MAP I
Out- Door Poor-Relief in 1891
Showing Difference in Cost to Each Inhabitant of the Various Counties.
Based on the Total Value of Aid and the U. S. Census of 1890.
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Poor-Relief and Jails in North Dakota 13 1
MAP II
Out-Door Poor-Relief in 1910
Showing Difference in Cost to Each Inhabitant of the Various Counties.
Based on on the Total Value of Aid and the U. S. Census of 1910.
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132
The Quarterly Journal
1901,
I903»
1897, requiring township overseers of the poor to levy a tax on
property in their respective townships to reimburse the county
for money advanced on account of poor relief.
1899, establishment of Board of County Charities. Placing town-
ship poor relief on the basis of Charity Organization principles.
Limiting amount of relief in given time without sanction of
county Board.
codification of poor relief laws.
Retention of children in poor asylums limited to sixty days,
regulating plans for county hospitals by State Board of Char-
ides.
1905, extension of law concerning rape to cover carnal knowledge of
a woman who is insane, epileptic, idiotic, feeble-minded, a
pauper, a poor asylum inmate, or an inmate of the Woman's
Prison or Industrial School for Girls.^^
A statement of the effects following on the enactments of these
laws is reproduced as made by the State Board of Charities of Indiana:
"Beginning with $560,012.35 in 1891, this sum had increased
five years later to $630,168.79. The average for the five years was
$573,850.95 — ^more than half a million dollars. The second five-year
period witnessed a remarkable change. With the passage of the law of
1895 requiring detailed records, and the publicity given to the
statistics collected from the reports made in accordance with that
law, there came about a more careful administration of the poor funds.
The average annual expense of $573,850.95 above mentioned dropped
to $312,514.46, a decrease of 45%. The following tabulation shows
the effect of the present poor relief law on taxation:
TABLE III
No Levy in
Lery nadtr
Levy 5 centt
NambM of
Yt»f
TowMhIp
5 cents
aadover
Towoslilpi
1898
64
515
435
1,014
1899
50
607
357
1,014
1900
146
644
226
1,016
I9OI
^^
620
240
1,014
1902
181
611
^3
1,015
1903
233
617
165
1,015
1904
224
649
144
1,017
1905
289
581
146
1,016
1906
317
106
1,016
1907
348
603
78
1,016
1908
S80
88
1,016
1909
276
634
107
1,017
I9IO
361
582
74
1,017
15. (a) The Development of Public Charities in Indiana, pp. 18-16.
(b) Indiana Bulletin of Charities and Correction, March, 1906, pp. Tiff.
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Google
Poor-Relief and Jails in North Dakota 133
"As will be noted from the figures given, 64 townships made
no levy in 1898, in 515 the levy was under five cents on each $100, and
in 435 it was five cents or more. * * * In 19 10, the figures of
1898 were practically reversed, 361 townships made no levy. In 582
it was less than five cents, in 74 it was five cents or more, the highest
being fifteen cents. The lowest point reached in the state's expend-
iture for outdoor poor-relief occurred in 1900 when the amount was
$209,956.22, which was 66*/io% of a reduction over the amount paid
in 1895. In 1910, although Indian's population had increased
23V109& since 1891, the outdoor poor relief cost the state $266,181.16.
Had the 1891 rate prevailed in 19 10, the amount paid by the state
would have been $688,723.38. During those twenty years township
poor relief in the state had decreased 52^/10%.
"Of a greater value, however, than the saving of money, however
important that may be, is the reduction in the number of persons
depending either partially or wholly upon public support. It is not
known how many persons received the sums given prior to 1896, but
the report of that year showed a total of 74,414, and the next year,
when more complete reports were received, the total amounted to
82,235. The reports of 1910 showed a total of 43,227 recipients of
public help. The ratio of persons helped to total population was
in 1897, one in every 31 ; in 1910, one in every 62."^®
The foregoing maps of the state illustrate the reduction in the
cost of outdoor poor- relief from 1 891-19 10:
VII. NEEDED LEGISLATION IN NORTH DAKOTA
North Dakota's system of poor-relief and of state control of the
whole situation relative to dependents, defectives, and delinquents is
undoubtedly to be pronounced as weak and insufficient when mesured
by well-known, enlightened principles and the laws and practices of
older states. This does not mean wholesale condemnation. We are
warranted in recognizing the worth of certain of our provisions and
of our state institutions generally, together with the good intention of
the citizenship of the state to do its best according to its "lights."
There is some extenuation for the present situation. The state has
never thoroly studied conditions as a state. It has witnessed no cam-
paign of education bearing on such matters. Being a new conunon-
wealth, local voluntary associations interested in the backward classes
are just struggling into existence. As yet there is no state-wide
16. Ibid. June. 1911, pp. 5-15.
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134 ^^^ Quarterly Journal
organization of individuals who are so interested, which might exer-
cise a benficent influence toward constructive legislation and general
state supervision of local agencies or institutions.
But the time has come when North Dakota legislators, the state
administration responsible for enlightened and progressive government,
and intelligent leadership thruout the state should face the situation
seriously with a view to taking wise and constructive action for
effective control.
In the light of principles which are well established in preventive
charity work and for most part embodied in the codes of progressive
states, I shall proceed to indicate the deficiencies in our North Dakota
S3rstem. In order to compass the matter in the space at my conmiand
I shall do this pointedly and dogmatically, necessarily assuming that
the reasons and principles previously expounded will be sufficient for
purposes of understanding and demonstration.
I. INDOOR RELIEF
Provisions in our laws are absent relative to indoor-relief or
relief in asylums for the poor, on the following desirable items:
I. Separation of the sexes. 2. Segregation of inmates with con-
tagious and infectious diseases. 3. Exclusion of defectives, namdy,
the insane, feeble-minded, and epileptic. 4. Exclusion of children, or
satisfactory disposal of dependent children. 5. Strict laws on admis-
sion and dismissal. 6. Proper training of overseers. 7. Law regulat-
ing building plans.*' 8. State inspection of asylums for poor.** 9.
Detailed bookkeeping relative to inmates, and of all incomes and
expenditures. 10. Requiring labor of inmates according to their
ability.*® 11. Visitation of both public and private institutions by
Commissioners or Board of Health.^
2. OUT-DOOR RELIEF
The system of poor-relief carried on outside of poor institutions
which constitutes by far the greater part of relief in North Dakota
is deficient in that no legal provision is made covering the following
needs. — i. Thoro investigation of every applicant for assistance, of
frequent visitation during the time relief is being given, and of
supervision.^* 2. Requiring relief agents to keep a detailed record of
17. Ohio. No. 1353: New York, No. U8 and 142.
IS. Ibid.
19. Massachusetts Acts. 1905, Chapter 344, Sections 23-24.
20. Ohio, Sections 2497-2499.
21. Indiana Township Poor-relief Law, 1897, Sections 7-3.
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Poor-Relief and Jails in North Dakota 135
causes of pauperism of each recipient, the time he receives relief,
amount of relief given, and the work done in return for the same, and
kindred items. There can be no efficient checking-up of relief work
without such a record.^* 3. Limit on amount which njay be given
any applicant, without approval of County Board .^* 4. Defining
amount overseer may receive for poor-relief work, whether $5.00 or
$2.00 per day, and prohibiting charging the day's rate for writing a
relief order.^* 5. Necessity of making a detailed report by every
overseer to county Board, and to State Board of Control, and of
publishing the same in county papers in which relief is given.^*^ 6.
Requiring State Board of Control acting as State Board of Charities
to investigate conditions of dependency in State, to compel detailed
reports from County Boards on outdoor and indoor relief, to publish
the same annually, and to exercise inspection and supervisory authority
in relation to county institutions.^® 7. Requiring labor of able-bodied
recipients on pain of being treated as vagrant ; or refusing aid.^ 8.
Verification by claimant of relief received.^® 9. Application of prop-
erty of absconding persons leaving dependents to support of the same.^
10. Adequate treatment of tramps and vagrants.^** 11. Compulsory
support of families by deserting or inebriate head by assignment of
wages to family. 12. Penalty for non-enforcement of settlement
laws.^* 13. Against shipping dependents to other communities with-
out their sanction.'^^ 14. Making cities of ten thousand population
or other population limit independent as poor-relief districts.^ 15.
Extending the law of rape to cover carnal knowledge of a defective
female, as in Indiana law of 1905.
3. STATE SUPERVISION
State supervision of conditions and institutions concerned with the
dependents, defectives, and delinquents is most desirable. Supervision
is distinct from administration. The latter now obtains relative to
state institutions for those classes. The State Board of Control created
in 191 1, which consists of three members, exercises administrative
authority. As we saw, it is also empowered rather incidentally to
22. Ibid, Sections 19-20.
23. New York Poor L«w, Section 23; Indiana Township Poor-relief Law, 1897,
Section 11; Minnesota Township Poor-relief Law, Section 19fe.
24. Indiana Township Poor-relief Law, Section 29.
23. Ibid. Sections 19*20.
26. Indiana, New York, &c. «
27. Ohio, Section 3493; Massachusetts, 1903. Chapter 355. Section 22; Indiana,
1897, Section 10.
28. New York Poor Law, Section 25.
29. Ibid, Section 130.
30. Ohio, Section 13408-9.
31. Indiana, Section 15.
32. Ibid, Section 15*16.
33. The Law in Many States.
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136 The Quarterly Journal
investigate, report on, and make recommendations relative to general
conditions in the State. So far it has not exercised the latter prerog-
ative.
It would seem that a State Supervisory Board whose duties are
to investigate local conditions, require and publish reports from local
officers of poor institutions and jails, to advise with them as to the
best methods of caring for their unfortunates, and to carry on the
education of the public in respect to these matters, is the best means
of bettering conditions in the State. The board should have super-
visor}- functions relative to State institutions for the dependents,
defectives and delinquents, also. The supervisory board might be
paid or unpaid, might consist of one or several members. Its value
consists in its educating influence on the public, its constructive influ-
ence on better local and State institutional conditions in caring for
unfortunate members of society, and in checking the influence of the
political spoilsmen who might be appointed to the administrative
board, the State Board of Control.
Several types of the supervisory board exist among the states.
The most efficient type is that which operates in Indiana. It is found
in sixteen states and one district and its powers are about those
indicated above. After years of experience and legislation, Illinois in
IQ09 established a system of central control in the form of a State
Board of Administration, and of state supervision in the shape of a
State Supervisory Board. Nebraska, Minnesota, and Oklahoma main-
tain practically the same system. But one state which has established
a supervisory board has permanently annulled it. Others have aban-
doned the plan, only to reinstate it again, because of its beneficial
influences.
North Dakota is in need of a State Board of Charities acting as
a supervisory board, and the Legislative Assembly of 1913 should
establish such a board. It should also enact into law the suggestions
which were previously made relative to poor relief and the care of
the defective classes.^
SUMMARY
A brief mention of some of the important points of the preceding
pages is perhaps desirable. The fact has been established that during
the five-year period extending from June 30, 1906, to June 30, 191 1,
tlie e?:penditure for poor relief in North Dakota has grown from
34. "State Supervision and Administration,** Report of Committee Appointed by
the iVational Conference of Charities and Correction, Proceedings of the latter, ISOI,
pp. 397-413.
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Poor-Relief and Jails in North Dakota 137
$128,917.15 to $240,469.80; an increase of 86.5 per cent. During
the same time the population increased 32 per cent. That is, poor-
relief expenditure increased 2.7 times as fast as the population in only
five years. At the same rate it would amount to more than five times
the population growth during a decade.
An examination of the causes led to the conclusion that unregu-
lated public poor-relief is most responsible for the marked increase in
expenditure. This is further enforced by comparing North Dakota
laws for regulating relief with those of Indiana, and espedally by
noting the great reduction in both cost of maintenance and number
of persons relived which took place in Indiana during the twenty
years subsequent to the passage of adequate regulating laws. Between
1891 and 1910 Indian's population increased 23.1 per cent while
poor relief expenditure actually decreased 52.4 per cent. The relation
of persons helped to the total population in 1897 was one in every 31 ;
in 1 9 10 it was only one in every 62. In 19 10 over one-third of the
thousand townships of the state made no poor-relief levy, while prac-
tically everyone had levied, and many had levied heavily, in 1 891.
Facts given indicate that we need an improvement in many of
the jails and poor asylums of North Dakota in order that proper
prevention may obtain, and even for the sake of decency and humanity
in the case of certain jails. Especially was it noted that the avoidance
of serious peril in future consists in the placing of fecund defective
persons in state institutions.
A study of the principles of prevention together with the laws in
operation in progressive states suggested the improvements which
should be made by the next Legislative Assembly in the North Dakota
poor-relief system. Thoro investigation of all casc^, prevention of
duplicate giving, full reports of cases and expenditures by local
overseers and superintendents, more adequate book-keeping and
accounting, separation and segregation of defectives, exclusion of
children from poor asylums, publicity of the detailed accounts of cases
and expenditures, and state supervision of local institutions and of
administration of poor-relief are some of the important points covered.
Ti^e table of contents at the beginning of the paper will enable the
reacfer to locate the various points.
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The Aldrich Banking Plan:
With Special Reference to
North Dakota
Meyer Jacobstein,
Assistant Professor of Economics, University of North Dakota
. OUTLINE
Page
Introduction — Banking Reform and the Recent National
Campaign 138
Part I— The Bill Analyzed.
I — Form of Organization 140
2 — Membership in Association 142
3 — Functions of the National Reserve Association. ... 142
Part II — Present Banking and Currency Evils and Remedies. . . 145
I — Present Inelastic Currency 145
2 — Remedy — Elastic Note Issue 146
3 — Rigidity of Present Credit S5rstem 147
4 — Remedy — General Discount Market 148
5 — Financial Panics 149
6 — Remedy 150
7 — ^Wall Street Control 157
Part III — How the Aldrich Plan Would Affect North Dakota 153
I — North Dakota an Agricultural State 153
2 — Commercial Banking in North Dakota 154
3 — Loans on Real Estate — Investment Banking 156
4 — Investment of Surplus Funds 157
5 — Employment of Legal Reserve Funds 159
6 — Financing the Grain Crop 159
7 — Bank Capitalization under the Proposed Plan. . . . 161
Conclusion 1 62
DURING the recent national campaign the discussion of the
Aldrich plan of banking reform was temporarily suspended.
The lull in the propaganda was due, in a large mesure, to the indif-
ferent or hostile attitude of the three big political parties towards the
Aldrich plan. The Republican platform declared in general terms
in favor of banking legislation but did not specifically approve or
condemn the bill recommended by the National Monetary Commis-
sion. The Progressive Party declared in its platform: "We are
opposed to the so-called Aldrich currency bill." The Democratic
Party, to which we must' now look for national legislation during
the next four years, also declared itself against the Aldrich plan, in
these words: "We oppose the so-called Aldrich bill or the estab-
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The Aldrich Banking Plan and North Dakota 139
lishment of a central bank.*' During the active campaign all parties
ignored the banking problem. It was not only not raised to the
dignity of an issue but was completely brushed aside as being either
of no consequence or as being too important to be dragged into the
political forum. In view of the fact that the Aldrich plan has been
so badly abused and grossly misrepresented, it is perhaps fortunate
that this particular bill did not become a plaything for politicians.
It is not likely, however, that the Aldrich plan, which is the
final product of an elaborate, thoro-going and expensive investigation
by the National Monetary Conunission, will be shelved. The wide-
spread and effective educational propaganda conducted during the
last five years must surely come to fruition in the near future.
While the (Democratic) House Committee on banking and currency
has decided to reject the Aldrich bill, many impoitant features will
be retained.^ The country demands some remedial legislation and
this so-called Aldrich plan, or something substantially similar to it,
will soon be presented in Congress. In his recent message to Congress
President Taft recommended the adoption of the Aldrich plan.
In the light of such impending legislation the writer regards
it appropriate and worth while to analyze the Aldrich bill, calling
attention espedally to its application to an agricultural community
like our own, North Dakota. The proposed banking legislation has
been considered most generally as affecting our industrial and com-
mercial institutions. Too little has been made of its application to
the needs of the agricultural interests. We are apt to forget that
agriculture is still one of our largest industries, and that the aggre-
gate loans made by farmers run up into the billions of dollars.^
We shall present our study in three distinct parts: in Part I
we shall describe briefly the essential features of the form of organ-
ization and functions of the proposed Association; in Part II we
shall discuss some of the evils of our present system and corresponding
remedies proposed by the Aldrich bill; in Part III we shall test the
soundness of the plan in the light of North Dakota conditions. The
author claims no originality in dealing with the material presented
in parts I and II. The reader who is familiar with the Aldrich plan,
and has followed recent discussions concerning the weaknesses of our
present banking and currency system, will lose nothing by passing
directly to Part III. The value of this investigation, if it has
1. Chicago Tribune, Nov. 27, 1W2.
2. The farmers* debts are estimated to be about 16,000,000,000. Cf. Estimate
made by Mr. B. F. Yokum. Chairman of the Board of Directors, St. Louis and
San Francisco Railroad, in an article in "World's Work," Sept., 1912.
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I40 The Quarterly Journal
anything to contribute, consists in calling attention to the virtues
and shortcomings of the Aldrich bill when applied to an agricultural
region. As it is our endeavor to emphasize this relation of the bill
to agricultural needs, we shall omit the consideration of such phases
of the new plan as have no bearing upon rural problems.
PART I. THE BILL ANALYZED
The bill proposed is one submitted and recommended by the
National Monetary Commission dated Jan. 9, 19 12, after a long and
exhaustive study of our own and foreign banking problems and
methods.^ The bill recommends not a central bank like that of
Germany or France but a private banking institution controlled
co-operatively by all the banks in the country, including state banks,
trust companies, and national banks. There is to be a head corpor-
ation, with a paid-up capital stock of at least $100,000,000, known as
the National Reserve Association, whose stock may be subscribed for
by national banks, state banks and trust companies.^ The purchase
of such stock confers upon the individual bank all the privileges of
membership in the National Association.
FORM OF ORGANIZATION
In planning the organization of this new association, great
caution was exercised to make it democratic. The plan contemplates
the placing of effective permanent control with the individual banks
thruout the country and to keep it out of the clutches of Wall Street.
Whether it succeeds or not remains to be seen.
Banks which have subscribed for stock in the National Associ-
ation organize what is called a local association made up of at least
10 banks in any contiguous territory and having an aggregate capital
of $5,000,000 or more. These local associations are self-governing
organizations. Indeed one might say that a distinctive feature in
the form of organization is that the banks will be organized co-oper-
atively very much after the pattern of our clearing house associations.
New local associations may be organized at any time or in any locality.
The duties and powers of these local associations will be mentioned
in another connectiqp.
The local association is governed by a board of directors elected
by representatives of the individual banks forming the local assodation.
3. This bill is printed in the report of the National Monetary Commission.
Senate Document No. 243. 62nd Congress, 2nd Session.
4. Cf. Sections 6 and 7 of bill.
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The Aldrich Banking Plan and North Dakota 141
In voting for three-fifths of the directors, each bank has one vote,
irrespective of size. The remaining two-fifths of the directors are
elected by the same representatives of the individual banks but in
this case (in electing two-fifths of the directors) voting is done on
the basis of stock held in the National Reserve Association.^
These local associations are affiliated with or become members
of a larger unit called the "branch assodation/' of which there will
be 15 in the entire country; one branch in each of the 15 districts
into which the country is mapped.
The branches of the National Reserve Association are also gov-
erned by boards of directors elected by representatives chosen by the
board of directors of the local association. Each local board has one
representative, and each representative has but one vote in voting for
one-half of the directors of the branch. For instance, if there are
loi locals in a district, 51 of the locals may elect one-half of the
directors of each branch, tho the remaining 50 may be ten times more
important judged by their capital or deposits, etc. The remaining
directors of the branch (one-half of the directors) are elected by
the same men representing the locals, but in the case of one-third of
these the voting power shall be in proportion to the amount of
National Reserve Assodation stock held by their respective banks.^
The central, directing head is the National Reserve Association
board of directors which controls the prindpal organization — the
parent corporation. Their election is largely by the directors of the
branch along democratic lines, as in the case of the local and branch
assodations. Some 30 of the total 46 directors of the head corpor-
ation are to be elected by the branches, each branch to select two
directors, thus eliminating the undue influence that eastern branches
would have if the directors were apportioned on the basis of voting
stock, as in our industrial corporations today. The United States
government would have four directors on the board; and the head
executive officer, the governor of the National Reserve Assodation,
must be selected by the President of the United States for a term of
ten years. Altho the National Reserve Assodation is a private
corporation, the United States government is rightly represented on
the board of directors because the association will be the prindpal
fiscal agent of the United States government.''
6. The authorized capital stock of the National Reserve Association will be
20 per cent of the total capital of all subscribing banks. Before it can do business,
however, $200,000,000 stock must be subscribed for and $100,000,000 paid in cash.
«. Cf. Section 8 of bill.
7. Cf. Sections 9 and 10 of bill.
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142 The Quarterly Journal
One must concede that outwardly, at least, the organization is
purely democratic and designed to protect it from exploitation by
influential eastern banks. At the top stands the National Association
which derives its power from the individual banks organized in local
associations and branch associations. Further comment on this point
is reserved for another place in this article. In passing, however, it
may be noted that Wall Street (New York City banks), which has
about 40 per cent of all our bank capital in the country, will be able
to elect only 14 per cent of the directors of the new association.
MEMBERSHIP IN ASSOCIATIOK
On what terms may banks become co-partners in this bankers'
association? Membership in the association is not limited to national
banks. State banks and trust companies will be on the same footing
as national banks. There are four main conditions imposed upon
banks desiring membership:
1. To become a member in the local association and to enjoy
the privileges of the National Reserve Association, a bank must sub-
scribe for stock issued by the National Reserve Association in amount
equal to 20 per cent of its paid-in and unimpaired capital.
2. State banks desiring to subscribe for stock must have a paid-
in capital in amount not less than is required for a national bank in
the same locality. Special provisions and restrictions are made for
trust companies.^
3. State banks must maintain reserves against demand deposits
in character and amount required of national banks in the same
locality. Spedal provisions covering reserves for other classes of
deposits are also made in the bill.
4. All subscribing banks must submit to examination and to
make such reports as are required by law and to comply with con-
ditions imposed by the act.
How these provisions would affect North Dakota banks will be
discust later.
FUNCTIONS OF THE NATIONAL RESERVE ASSOCIATION
In the first place, it must be remembered that the association is
not organized for profit, all earnings above 4 per cent on outstanding
stock is given over to the United States government. The Assod-
ation will not do business with individuals but with banks only.
8. Cf. Section 3 of bill.
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The Aldrich Banking Plan and North Dakota 143
1. The National Reserve Association will be the principal fiscal
agent of the United States government. All government funds will
be handled by this association and not by the private national banks
as at present. There will be removed all temptation to use govern-
ment funds to favor certain few banks that Yizppen to have a "pull"
with the treasury offidals.®
2. The National Reserve Association, thru its branches, will
rediscount short time paper, that is, notes and bills of exchange
arising out of commercial transactions, including notes based on or
secured by agricultural or industrial products. Notes that are
rediscounted must mature within 28 days. Bills or notes secured by
stocks and bonds are not included in this function. This means that
a four-month note given to a bank can not be rediscounted until it has
run for three months and has 28 days more to run. Such notes must
have been made at least 30 days prior to date of rediscount and must
bear the endorsement of the subscribing bank. The total amount of
notes thus rediscounted for a bank cannot exceed the capital of the
bank. To guard further against the abuse of this privilege, the kw
provides that such rediscounted notes, when signed or endorsed by
one person or company, shall not exceed one-tenth of the bank's
capital.^*
3. Rediscount of long time paper: The National Reserve Asso-
ciation may rediscount (thru one of its 15 branches) commercial
paper having from 28 days to 4 months to run, but such paper must
be guaranteed by the local association. At this point the co-operative
principle becomes operative. No single bank can make improper use
of this privilege of red iscoun ting since the guaranty of the local
association is required. The local association will be wary about
guaranteeing such paper unless sound, for the guaranty means the
financial responsibility of paying for bad paper in case of a bank
failure. A bank can have its paper rediscounted only at the branch
of the district in which it is located.*^
It is dear from these provisions that an efEort will be made to
create an open market for loans on commerdal paper for the entire
country. Here the bill puts its fingers on one of the sore spots in our
present conunerdal banking system. We have no broad market where
sound commerdal paper, based on actual marketable products, can
be readily bought and sold.
_JL^CI. Section 23 of bill.
10. Cf. Section 26 of bill.
IL Cf. Section 27 of bill.
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144 ^^^ Quarterly Journal
The rates of discount and rediscount will be fixed by the National
Reserve Association. Hence, we arc likely to have a uniform rate of
discount for the whole country for the same class of paper, due
allowance being made for variations in local conditions.
4. The National Reserve Association can also purchase from a
subscribing bank acceptances which arise out of commercial transac-
tions. Such bills must have not more than 90 days to nm. These
are prime bills. That is, notes or drafts accepted by some responsible
party and further accepted or endorsed by some responsible sub-
scAbing bank. Under special conditions, passed upon by the Gov-
ernor of the Association and concurred in by the executive board,
the National Reserve Association, thru its branches, may discount the
direct obligations of a depositing bank. Such bank paper, however,
will have to carry the endorsement of the local association of which
the borrowing bank is a member. So that a responsible, solvent bank
can borrow money on its own paper if properly indorsed and acceptable
to the head officials of the National Reserve Association.
5. The National Reserve Association will also have power to
deal directly in foreign exchange.^^ That is, it can buy and sell
checks and bills of exchange that arise out of transactions payable in
foreign countries. The act also provides for the organization of
banking corporations to do business in foreign countries. At present
our national banks have no such power and hence cannot deal directly
in foreign bills of exchange, known as bank acceptances. Our cotton
crop, for instance, has always been financed, more or less, by Euro-
pean banks. The purpose of this provision is to enable the American
bankers to get their legitimate share of foreign business. North
Dakota ships a large amount of its wheat to Duluth for exportation to
foreign markets. Such foreign consignments would be handled by
our own banks.
6. The National Reserve Association will have sole power to
issue notes.^^ National banks will be forbidden to issue further
amounts of bank notes. Present bond-secured bank notes tvHl grad-
ually be replaced by these National Reserve Association notes. The
latter will be protected by a gold reserve equal to 50 per cent of notes
outstanding. When the reserve falls below 50 per cent, the National
Reserve Association is taxed at the rate of ij4 per cent for each
deficit of 2j^ per cent below 50 per cent. For example, if the reserve
falls to 40 per cent, then the tax will be four times ij4 per cent or
12. CI. Sections 35 and 67 of bill.
IS. Of. Sections 41. 48 and 62 of bill.
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The Aldrich Banking Plan and North Dakota 145 .
6 per cent. And when the reserve falls below 33 1-3 per cent, no notes
shall be issued. These notes constitute first lien on all assets and are
redeemable in lawful money at the head office and at the 15 difEerent
branches. These notes will be sent to individual banks without charge
of transfer. At present banks pay from 35 to 75 cents per $1000
for such currency shipments.
Summary : We have shown thus far what form of organization
(the National Reserve Association) will assume. The form of organ-
ization is as democratic as anyone could desire. We have also
outlined the chief functions of the Association which consist of ( I )
sole power of issuing notes; (2) power to create a discount market;
power to discount bank paper and rediscount customers' papers
endorsed by the bank and, in some cases, guaranteed by the local
dissociation; (3) power to act as principal fiscal agent for the gov-
ernment, and (4) power to deal directly in foreign exchange.
PART II. EVILS OF OUR PRESENT SYSTEM
This in brief is the banking plan proposed by the National
Monetary Commission. To appreciate its principal reform mesures,
one must study the bill in the light of existing banking and monetary
evils. We shall, therefore, direct our attention to some of the flagrant
weak spots in our present system and show how the proposed plan
seeks to correct the abuses.
WEAKNESS OF PRESENT SYSTEM : INELASTIC CURRENCY ":
SYSTEM
Every student of American banking and monetary history knows
that one of the fatal weaknesses in our present situation is the inelas-
ticity in our currency system. We need not elaborate on this point
Volumes have already been written condenming this evil. Our
present difficulty is this: we have no adequate machinery for in-
creasing and decreasing the amount of currency necessary to meet
the requirements of the country's business, especially at different
seasons of the year. At present currency can be increased by an
issue of national bank notes, but under the present law such notes
must be secured by United Sutes government bonds. A bank that
b pindied for currency has no surplus money to invest in govemment
bonds. Hence our currency system is too rigid.
In the fall months, for instance, when our crops are being
marketed, there is need for an increased supply of currency. But at
this very time our banks are 'loaned up" and have no surplus money
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146 The Quarterly Journal
to invest in bonds to increase their supply of bank notes. Banks that
have city deposits call them in. Banks, however, that have no city
deposits or banks that cannot secure their deposits, as was the case
during the panic of 1907, are unable to secure the currency necessary
to move the crops.
It is perfectly clear that our bond-secured currency is an anti-
quated relic of the Civil War when the United States government
used the national banks as a means of marketing its bonds. This
form of secured currency bears no relation to the business of the
coimtry today. This system does not permit an expansion or con-
traction of our supply of currency required by the legitimate demands
of business. As North Dakota experiences seasonal variations in
the demand for currency, the present system hits us hard during
money panics or when there is an unusually heavy demand for
currency to move the crops.
remedy: elastic note issue
How does the new plan propose to remedy this evil ? How will
the new bill make note issues responsive to the needs of business?
The plan proposes that national banks should no longer be allowed
the privilege of issuing bank notes. The present bonds outstanding
as security for the $680,000,000 bank notes in circulation will grad-
ually be bought up by the National Reserve Association. The
National Reserve Association will issue its own notes in place of '
present bond-secured notes. In the future, the National Reserve
Assodation will have the exclusive right to issue money (notes) as
much or as little as the country needs. To guarantee a safe currency,
however, such notes will be secured by a gold reserve equal to 50 per
cent of the note issue and, as was shown above, when the reserve
falls below this 50 per cent requirement, the Association will pay a
tax of ij4 per cent per year for each 2j4 per cent below the 50 per
cent on all the notes outstanding. To illustrate : If the reserve falls
to 40 per cent, then the tax will be 6 per cent on all notes oustanding.
And when the reserve falls below 33 1-3%, no additional circulating
notes may be issued. Further safety is secured by having the notes
constitute a first lien upon all the assets of the Reserve Assodation.
Notes to the amount of $900,000,000 may be issued normally
under this plan. Outstanding bank notes at present aggregate
about $700,000,000, so that the proposed plan leaves room for a
normal expansion by $200,000,000. Should there be an emergency
demanding further issue, the Reserve Assodation may issue more notes
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The Aldrich Banking Plan and North Di
provided it is secured by the 50 per cent reserve, f In case it is not so
secured, it must pay a tax of i>4% on all notes over $9CX>,ooo,ooo
and not in excess of $1,200,000,000. When not properly secured
by a 50% gold reserve any issues over $1,200,000,000 are taxed 5
per cent annually.
This system will give sufficient elasticity without sacrificing
safety. Some critics have viewed this elasticity provision with alarm
because of its tendency toward undue inflation. European experience
teaches us that we need not fear inflation under the new plan. The
automatic action of imposing a high tax on all issues above $900,000,-
000 when not secured by a 50% gold reserve will tend to keep the
issue of notes within reasonable limits.
weakness: rigidity of our present system
Inadequate as is our present currency system, our defective
credit machinery is even worse. We are speaking now not of visible
money (gold or silver coin, bank notes, etc.) but of capital, as the
business man uses the term, especially bank credit. After all, credit
is our important medium of exchange. It is conservative to say that
from 80 to 90 per cent of all our business is done without the use
of money, that is, by credit. The record for a typical business day
shows that 98.5 per cent of the New York bank deposits are in
checks ; in reserve city banks, 96.4 per cent ; in cities and towns of less
than 25,000, 87 per cent of the deposits are in checks and other credit
instruments.
Under our present system credit, like currency, is too rigid and
inflexiUe. At times when legitimate business demands an extension
of bank credit, our system breaks down under the strain and prevents
expansion. In case of an emergency, as occurred in the Fall of 1907,
banks refuse to advance credit to a manufacturer, even tho the
latter's business is perfectly solvent. The manufacturer, of course,
cuts down his output and curtails credit to the wholesale trade, since
the wholesale trade is unable to meet its obligations thru its own
inability to secure credit at the bank. In the same manner, the
wholesaler tightens up on the retail trade. In this way, our whole
industrial and commercial machinery ceases to move. It needs oiling,
which our credit system is unable to supply.
We in North Dakota felt the 1907 stringency because our funds,
which were on deposit in Twin City banks, could not be obtained
when called for. Without this lawful money in our bank vaults,
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148 The Quarterly Journal
our loaning power was curtailed. Moreover, we needed aaual
currency to help move the crops.
Why was there a stringency or money panic in 1907? The
country was prosperous, the manufacturer had goods to sell, and
orders to fill, the consumer was in the market for commodities. The
manufacturer, however, could not secure credit from the bonk on
his note, secured tho it might be by tangible products, shoes, clothing,
etc The banks were ^'loaned up." The banks' loaning power was
exhausted because it could not secure the required lawful cash reserves
necessary for new loans. The New York banks refused to let go
the currency, thus crippling the loaning power of all interior banks.
Agricultural communities were hit hard because they needed not only
new credit, but currency as well, to move the crops. It is apparent
that our credit facilities are unreasonably hampered by our present
reserve laws.
rbmbdy: general discount market
Now let us see how the new plan proposes to remedy this eviL
To enable a bank, already loaned up, to further increase its loans, the
National Reserve Assodation will stand ready to rediscount the
bank's commercial paper; that is, paper brought to the bank by its
customers and secured by visible products. The bank will merdy
turn over to a branch the commercial paper it has accepted from its
consumer and receive credit for that amount at the brand) office.
This credit becomes at once part of the bank's reserve or a deposit
in the National Reserve Assodation and hence the bank is able to
expand its loaning power.
In a word, the National Reserve Assodation will create a dis-
count market for commerdal paper. Any note that is amply secured
by actual products, — ^wheat, shoes, dothing, finished products of any
kind, — ^will be accepted by the local bank because it will be redis-
counted by the National Reserve Assodation, when properly endorsed
by the local bank and by the local association as the case demands,
as provided for in the bill.
Such discount markets exist in European countries and work
admirably. It means that a bank is justified in loaning money
(advandng credit) on wheat after it is threshed just as mud) and
more so than it is justified in loaning on seed that is in the ground —
that is, on a prospective crop, as is done in our country today.
Every bank, small or large, would have this privilege of loaning 00
such commerdal paper with the added assurance that, if it is good
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The Aldrich Banking Plan and North Dakota 149
paper and acceptable to the local association, such paper will be
rediscounted by the National Reserve Association.
A careful study of sections 26-35 of the bill shows that there
are several classes of rediscounting paper: (i) commercial paper that
will mature in 28 days, which must be endorsed by the bank redis-
counting it; (2) commercial notes and bills having from one to four
months to run, which, however, must be guaranteed by the 'local
association" of which the rediscounting bank is a member; (3) bank
paper (direct obligations of the bank) backed by satisfactory secur-
ities; (4) drafts and bills of exchange drawn on banks and having
not more than four months to run and properly secured ; (5) bank
acceptances, known as prime bills and having not more than 90
da3rs to run, and (6) foreign bills of exchange.
This at once suggests to the reader the possibility of an inflated
credit just as our elastic note issue suggested an inflated currency.
Experience in other countries, however, shows that there is no danger
from an inflation of our credit so long as only good paper is redis-
counted.
WEAKNESS OF PRESENT SYSTEM: FINANCI>»1, PANICS
No civih'zed country has been afflicted with so many and so
acute money panics as has the United States. Indeed, some monetary
students tell us we have a monopoly on this phenomenon. European
countries have been comparatively free from money stringencies and
credit depressions. Mr. James B. Forgan, President of the First
National Bank of Chicago, says: **No other civilized country within
the memory of living man has had a panic causing general suspension
on the part of its banks while this country has had about a half-dozen."
This fact has led many to believe that there is something wrong with
our banking system.
When the money panic of 1907 broke out, the country was
industrially and commercially sound. But something happened in
Wall Street which terrified the depositors all over the country. Many
banks suspended specie pa)rments and were forced to resort to clearing
house certificates. There was no way open for the North Dakota
banks, for instance, to secure necessary money (specie or bank notes)
to allay the fear of the distrustful depositors. Their funds were tied
up in reserve centers, the Twin Cities, and the banks there in turn
had their reserves tied up in Chicago and New York banks and
the latter cities refused to let go of their funds. Here we have a
money panic not justified by economic conditions. Our monetary
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I50 The Quarterly Journal
system was at fault somewhere. Our banks were solvent but our
banking system was defective. In the panics and crises of 1873, 1893
and 1907, two defects in our system were apparent; an indastic
currency and an inelastic credit which could not be normally
expanded in time of stress. Banks were then and are now at the
mercy of these reserve city banks and central reserve banks.
REMEDY FOR MONEY PANICS
How does the proposed bill plan to eliminate such money panics?
First, by enabling banks to secure money (National Reserve Asso-
ciation notes) thru the rediscounting of good commercial paper. This
increased elesticity of currency issue and credit expansion has already
been discust. The bill further aims at concentrating or mobilizing
all the bank reserves of the country in one place at Washington, D. C.
Such concentrated reserves could be moved readily to points in need
of assistance. At the present time each bank holds a little of the
reserve and the reserve is consequently scattered. Reserves have a
tendency to thin out everywhere except in reserve cities and central
reserve cities, especially in New York. But the funds in New York
are used unfortunately for speculative purposes on Wall Street and,
hence, in times of trouble, as in 1907, the New York banks arc
either unable or refuse to remit these reserves to interior banks. We
had no way of forcing them to return our reserves. In 1907 we
had over one billion dollars in gold reserve, whereas, England, had
but $I50,0<X),0CX). England was so safe and undisturbed by our
money panic that she helped us by sending us some of her gold. We
have plenty of gold reserves but they are not used to good advantage
under our present system. The new plan, as was said previously,
provides that all national banks will keep their entire reserves at the
National Reserve Association at Washington. Individual banks
will need to keep only such specie and other currency as is needed
for general convenience in daily transactions. A bank can readily
transfer accounts from one branch to another. In addition to the
above provisions, the National Reserve Association will have power
to attract gold from foreign countries by means of its discount rate.
This method is commonly and effectively used by European countries
for replenishing their gold supply.
Under our present system, our bank reserves as well as our
surplus idle funds are sent to New York where their use is concen-
trated in the hands of a few groups of banks. These funds, which
are sent to New York to earn 2 per cent, must of course be put into
Google
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The Aldr'tch Banking Plan and North Dakota 151
productive use and they arc usually loaned as call money or to buy
short time paper. Our present system, therefore, encourages stock-
market speculation since New York banks are forced or are tempted
to employ their deposits (including bank deposits and reserves) to
good advantage. Wall Street affords a ready market for such funds.
The new plan aims at concentrating and mobilizing our reserves,
but not in the hands of a few New York banks, where it is played
with recklessly, but where it will be controlled by the National
Reserve Association. There it will be impossible to use the reserve
in stock speculative enterprises. In a word, our gold reserve will be
mobilized in such a way as to render the best service to all the banks.
Summary: The bill, therefore, provides four reforms or
mesures which are calculated to prevent money panics: (i) by
providing for an elastic note issue; (2) by creating machinery for the
expansion of legitimate commercial credit; (3) by the modification
of our reserve laws tending to their concentration of reserves not
controlled by private individuals or private banks but by the co-oper-
ative National Reserve Association, and (4) by the employment of
the discount rate in foreign exchange to attract gold from other coun-
tries. European countries use all four of these methods and they are
comparatively free from money panics such as we had in 1907.
WALL STREET CONTROL
A prominent North Dakota banker said to the writer: "The
Aid rich bill will play into the hands of Morgan." When asked for
his reason, he replied : "Can any good come out of Aldrich ?" The
newspapers report James J. Hill as saying that new plan will lead to
a Wall Street control of our banking system. There is a general
suspicion in the minds of men, bankers included, that the Aldrich
plan contains a "joker" but no one has yet located the nigger in the
wood pile.
A careful reading of the Aldrich plan does not reveal any
provision that directly or indirectly seems likely to favor the eastern
bankers or Wall Street. That is to say, if the plan of organization
were faithfully executed in every degree, North Dakota banks would
not be made any more dependent upon the Wall Street group
than they are at present. For it must not be forgotten in this dis-
cussion that there is an implied admission in the arguments of most
critics that our interior banks are more or less subservient today to
the larger city banks and to the Wall Street group in particular.
Senator Aldrich himself says:
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152 The Quarterly Journal
*Today the financial interests of the whole country depend, in
times of trouble, upon what is popularly known as Wall Street
Those who express fears of the future domination of Wall Street
seem to lose sight of the fact that the domination of New York is an
accomplished fact."^*
If any individual or group of individuals desired to secure control
of the National Reserve Association it would be necessary to buy a
controlling stock interest in more than one-half of all the banks
belonging to the organization. For it must be borne in mind that
one bank has but one vote in electing at least three-fifths of the
directors of the local associations, whose representatives in turn demo-
cratically elect the directors of the branches and the branches in
turn elect the directors of the head association. To secure this stock
interest in one-half of all the banks, Wall Street would be obliged to
invest a tremendous amount of capital, the return on which would
not be large enough to justify the investment.
Moreover, the bill provides (section 7) that when 40 per cent
of the stock of two or more banks is controlled by any single indi-
vidual or corporation, such banks would be entitled to only one vote
acting together; that is, in such cases the banks do not vote as units.
This would prevent any strong bank or banks in Fargo or Grand
Forks from controlling the local association in North Dakota. The
eastern states with their 41 per cent of the bank resources of the
countrj^ would have but 15 per cent of the representatives on the
board of control; the Western and Pacific states with 12 per cent
of the bank resources would enjoy a 23 per cent control.
What could Wall Street do with the National Reserve Assod-
at ion If it did get control — either thru purchase of sufficient stodc or
thru intimidation? It would control the cash resources of the
country but it does that now. On the other hand, it could not use
this money to invest in or loan on stocks or bonds as they do at
present. The National Reserve Association — or Wall Street —
could only loan money on commercial paper. It would do no good
to control the interest rates on such paper for the purpose of declaring
large dividends on their stock for section 19 of the bill says that all
profits above 4 per cent on the stock shall be turned over to the
United States government. It can not be made a profit making
scheme directly.
14. Cf. Report of National Monetary Commission, Senate Document No. 24S,
P. 32.
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The Aldrich Banking Plan and North Dakota 153
On the other hand, the directors of the National Reserve Asso-
ictaion would possess a tremendous power in that they would decide
what commercial paper would be rediscounted and which would
not. They could also discriminate against any class of paper by
raising the rate of discount, for the law does not call for uniform
rates of discount on all paper. Consequently, those in control of
the association might favor one group of industries or some particular
class of investors at the expense of other industries and other investors.
This is done now by the Wall Street group of banks. It was done
in 1907 and is said to be directly responsible for the failure of the
Knickerbocker Trust Company and the Westinghouse Electric Com-
pany — ^both solvent firms at the time of the panic. Perhaps the same
sort of discrimination might be used on a broader and more dan-
gerous scale if Wall Street did secure control of the Association.
While the Aldrich bill does not aim at the destruction of the
so-called money trust, it does not seem to play in the latter's hands.
PART III. HOW THE ALDRICH PLAN WOULD
AFFECT NORTH DAKOTA
NORTH DAKOTA AN AGRICULTURAL STATE
The average country banker is always more or less suspicious of the
city banker. As the Aldrich bill bears the name of an unpopular east-
erner, who is generally believed to be working in the interest of a
group of eastern capitalists, it is not unnatural that North Dakota
bankers should approach this proposed legislation with considerable
timidity and suspicion. It will be well for the rural banker, however,
to dispossess himself of this native prejudice and withhold judgment
until he has made a careful and conscientious examination of the
bill.
Before we discuss the application of the new plan to North
Dakota let us survey briefly the economic life of our commonwealth.
About 89 per cent of our population is distinctly "rural," only 11
per cent living in towns having a population of 2500 or more.^' Our
state is sparsely settled; our density is only 8.2 per square mile as
compared with 30.9 for the whole country^* Only 45 per cent of
our total land area and 72 per cent of our farm land is improved.
The average farm, in 19 10, was 382 acres of which 275 acres was
reported improved. Our state is most markedly agricultural; our
15. Thirteenth Census of the United Sutes, 1910, Bulletin, PopuUtion: North
Dakota, P. 4.
11 Idem, P. 8.
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154 ^^^ Quarterly Journal
farm crops arc worth annually about $2CX),ooo,ooo while our manu-
factures are valued yearly at only $19,380,000.^*
Ours IS a new state. The demand for capital for farm improve-
ments is consequently greater than it is in older commimities. Our
farmers want money for investment purposes. This means long-
time loans. Another characteristic aspect of our economic life is the
fact that we depend largely on a single crop — wheat — for rcturBs.
Farmers are therefore frequently forced to borrow funds to tide them
over until the next crop is harvested. In a region where mixed
farming is more generally practiced, the farmer has a more contin-
uous source of income. Moreover, our crops are thrown on the
market during the fall months and call for large amounts of currency
to move the crops to the market. Pressure for currency and capital
IS congested within a few months. With these facts before us,
regarding the economic status of North Dakota, let us see how the
Aldrich bill would affect our interests.
COMMERCIAL PAPER
We must bear in mind the fact that the Aldrich bill deals
almost exclusively with commercial banking and only slightly with
investment banking. This difference is fundamental, an understand-
ing of which is essential to a fair appreciation of the bill. The bill
creates special devices for rediscounting notes known as commercial
paper, paper arising out of commercial transactions and secured by
actual industrial, commercial or agricultural products.
At present very little commercial paper exists in North Dakota.
In the larger towns, like Fargo and Grand Forks, Devils Lake and
Minot, where wholesale houses are located, some commercial trans-
actions naturally arise in the course of businesss. Our wholesale
houses, however, are largely financed by the parent corporation of
which the North Dakota houses are only branches. Firms that
operate a chain of houses borrow in the larger eastern cities like
Minneapolis, St. Paul and Duluth. North Dakota banks are not
called upon to any very large extent for funds to finance these large
wholesale enterprises. The same is true of the vast majority of grain
elevators which are branches of larger line elevator concerns. The
latter borrow their funds from institutions outside the state. Hard-
ware and implement dealers are financed heavily by the International
Harvester Company which of course is independent of North Dakota
17. This $200,000,000 includes the value of cattle, poultry, eggs and dairy products.
Cf. 18th Census of the United States, Agriculture: North Dakota. See also Report
of Commissioner of Agriculture of North Dakota. The value of our manufactures
is based on the 18th Census of the United States, Manufactures: United States,
P. 10.
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The Aldr'tch Banking Plan and North Dakota 155
in the financing of its vast enterprise. Retail stores have no trouble
in securing a legitimate amount of credit at the local bank. Whole-
some rivalry between towns has a tendency to encourage the local
banks to expand rather than to contract credit granted to the retailer.
Likewise the individual farmer who has grain to sell finds no
trouble in raising money on his crop. Elevator companies and
commission firms are always ready to pay cash for grain. Should the
fanner desire to hold the grain for future delivery he is able to
borrow from the local bank on grain stored in elevator or he can secure
cash from a commission broker in advance of sale. Local banks will
always accept a farmer's note secured by a bill of lading.
The ordinary accommodation on short-time loans is rarely refused
a farmer, espedally when the latter is willing to give a chattel
mortgage. While the rates on these short-time small loans are high,
ranging from 8 to 12 per cent, the borrower does not complain
because the total interest is small.
Is there any likelihood that North Dakota will ever have any
considerable amount of commercial paper? There are some indi-
cations in this direction. Farmers' elevators and independent eleva-
tors are growing in number. There is a marked decrease in the
number of line elevators and an increase in the number of farmers'
elevators in the Northwest in recent years. Farmers' elevators and
independent lines are financed at present by commission firms at
Duluth and Minneapolis to whom they consign their grain. This
financial dependence makes it necessary for them to sell their grain
to these commission houses. The creation of a discount market for
commercial paper may render local elevator concerns financially
independent. The farmers' elevators will be in a position to raise
money on grain paper on equal terms with old line elevator com-
panies. Local banks will accept their paper, secured by grain, since
it can be rediscounted at the branch of the National Reserve Associ-
ation. This financial independence will enable the North Dakota
elevator companies to sell their grain on the best terms. They will
be in a position to hold out for higher prices. This will aid the
farmer, for higher prices for the elevator companies means better
prices for the farmer.
In another way, commercial paper is likely to increase in North
Dakota. Mixed farming is coming to be practiced more extensively.
This will mean more cattle and more diversified crops and as a result
there will be a greater demand for short time loans on commercial
paper.
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156 The Quarterly Journal
It is not unlikely that manufactures will multiply in North
Dakota. Her lignite, gas, and clay may lead to the establishment of
factories. These new industries will create commercial paper, and
to the extent that money can be raised on such paper there will be a
more rapid development of our natural resources.
Our wholesale and retail trade is also bound to increase with
the natural settling up of the state. This again means the creation of
commercial paper.
The Aldrich bill aims essentially to reform our methods of
commercial banking. So far as North Dakota is concerned this
specific reform will not directly and immediately aid North Dakota.
Very little commercial paper finds its way into the banks. Looking
to the future, however, which promises an increase in the number of
farmers* co-operative elevators, co-operative creameries, the devel-
opment of mixed farming, the growth of wholesale and retail trade
and an expansion of manufactures, North Dakota will find itself
more and more in need of a general discount market for commercial
paper such as is created by the Aldrich bill. This feature of the
new plan surely cannot injure our interests and may do us some good.
LOANS ON REAL ESTATE
The big demand for capital in North Dakota comes at present
from the farmer who seeks a large loan to enable him to make
permanent improvements on his farm or to take up new land. This
is investment banking. These loans range from $500 to $5000 and
run from five to ten years. These long-time loans are secured by
real estate, including land, improved or unimproved, farm buildings
and machinery. Interest on such loans varies according to the
location of the farm and the reputation of the farmer. In the Red
River Valley, the oldest settlement in the state, loans are being made
today for 6}^ per cent to 8 per cent on first mortgages. In the
newer parts of the state interest rates vary from 7j4 to 12 per cent.
Many loans are being made at 8 per cent in the newer sections of the
state, near the Montana line.
What does the Aldrich plan offer North Dakota in the way of
increasing the farmer's opportunity to secure long-time loans, that is
investment loans? Section 40 of the bill provides that national
banks may loan on real estate mortgages to an extent not exceeding
30 per cent of their time deposits. Under our present laws national
banks are not permitted to invest in real estate. Friends of the bill
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The Aldrich Banking Plan and North Dakota 157
have pointed to this provision as one that will confer a benefit upon
agricultural states. How will it aflFect North Dakota?
This provision confers only a gratuitous advantage. The total
deposits of our national banks in North Dakota are about $30,000,-
000, of which from $8,000,000 to $10,000,000 are time deposits
and under the new bill one-third of this may be invested in real
estate. As a matter of fact national banks today loan on real estate
mortgages to a very large extent, tho contrary to law. National
banks evade the law in two ways: either by loaning on a farmer's
personal note, accepting real estate mortgages as security, or by
organizing real estate loan companies. Therefore, only those national
banks which are now obeying the letter and spirit of the law would
profit by this provision of the bill.
This provision permitting loans on real estate mortgages will
not affect our state banks unless the state law is amended to grant
the same privilege to them. Our state banks at present are permitted
to loan on real estate mortgages up to 50 per cent of ther capital
and surplus. The capital and surplus of 514 state banks on March
29, 1910, was $8,329,941.64, allowing an investment on real estate
mortgages of $4,164,970.82. If they were allowed to loan on the
basis of time deposits as provided in the new bill, these same banks
could have loaned $5,350,189, that is, 30 per cent of their time
deposits ($17,833,963.63). So that the state banks might have
increased their loans on this class of property over $1,000,000—
provided, of course, the state banks were obeying the law and also
provided that the privilege extended to national banks would be
extended to state banks by the state law. Our conclusion is, there-
fore, that little or nothing would be gained from this provision of the
bill permitting banks to loan on real estate up to 30 per cent of their
deposits.
INVESTMENT OF SURPLUS FUNDS
In our discussion thus far, we have tested the bill by mesuring
the service it would render to North Dakota as a borrower of funds.
We shall now consider North Dakota as a lender, as being in the
market with money to invest and see if the new bill has anjrthing to
commend itself to us in this particular.
North Dakota is peculiar in this respect that while it is usually
in the market seeking funds for long time farm investments, there
are seasons of the year when our banks have a surplus of money. In
the fall of the year when our crops are marketed, our bank deposits
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158 The Quarterly Journal
increase and run high until January or February and often up to
seeding time in Spring. During these winter months our banks
have no home market for safe investment in short time loans. Banks
cannot tie up these funds in long time investments because the
farmers (depositors) will call for their money to carry on farming
operations in the spring, summer and early fall and for crop-moving
purposes. In the absence of any local market for such funds, our
banks are forced to place this money in city banks where it is subject
to immediate call. City banks pay 2 per cent interest on such
deposits.
On November 16, 1909, our state banks had on deposit with
city banks $6,459»66i, not including money counted as part of the
legal reserve. Our national banks had $5,575,938 on deposit with
city banks. This does not include lawful reserves. It is merely the
surplus funds which the banks could not invest at home and which
they, therefore, sent to city banks to earn 2 per cent. The general
discount market created by the new plan will offer a market ioit
such surplus funds at higher rates of interest than is now paid by
city banks on such deposits. Our banks will be able to buy short
time paper maturing at such times as the money is needed.
This discount market would save North Dakota banks a consid-
erable sum annually. On November 16, 1909, the total surplus in
excess of reserve requirements on deposit with city banks was $12,-
065,599. The interest on this at 2 per cent for 6 months was
$120,000. Assimiing that commercial paper thru the National
Reserve Association would pay 5 per cent the interest would be
about $300,000, or a saving of $180,000.
As a matter of fact, some North Dakota banks do now invest
their surplus money by purchasing commercial paper thru their
correspondent city banks. This is fraught with danger since our
banks have no way of ascertaining the real soundness or value of
such commercal paper. Our banks must be guided solely by the
advice of their correspondents. In the case of the Pillsbury and
the North Star Shoe Co. failures and in the failure of several elevator
companies in recent years, North Dakota banks suffered losses as
holders of their paper. Paper purchased thru the National Reserve
Association will be absolutely safe since the paper will be endorsed
by other banks and in some cases by a whole group of banks, the
local association. The bill would therefore be serviceable to North
Dakota banks in creating the machinery for the safe and profitable
employment of surplus funds.
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The Aldrich Banking Plan and North Dakota 159
LEGAL RBSSRVBS
Under our present law, national banks are compelled to keep a
1 5 per cent reserve on all its deposits, time deposits as well as demand
deposits. On September i, 19 10, 194 national banks had on deposit
$29,000,000. Of this, about $9,000,000 were time deposits. The
new bill (section 39) provides that no reserves need be maintained
on these time deposits. This would set free $1,350,000. According
to law, $810,000 (3-5) was kept on deposit with reserve banks where
it earned only 2 per cent. This $810,000 at 2 per cent earned only
Under our present law, national banks in North Dakota are
compelled to keep a 15 per cent reserve on all its deposits, time
deposits as well as demand deposits. On September i, 19 10, 149
national banks had on deposit $29,000,000. Of this, about $9,000,-
000 were time deposits. The new bill (section 39) provides
that no reserves need be maintained on these time deposits. This
would set free $1,350,000. According to law, $810,000 (or three-
fifths) was kept on deposit with reserve banks where it earned
only 2 per cent. This $810,000 at 2 per cent earned only $16,200;
if invested in first class commercial paper, it would earn 5
per cent or $40,500. The banks would gain, therefore, $24,300
by not being required to carry reserves on time deposits. This slight
gain, however, would be offset by a loss of interest on reserves for
demand deposits. For the new bill requires that all reserves must be
kept on deposit with the National Reserve Association which pays
no interest. On September i, 19 10, this would have meant that the
$3,000,000 reserves on demand deposits would have earned no
interest. As it was, three-fifths or $1,800,000 was on deposit with
reserve agents earning 2 per cent or $36,000. So that the slight gain
which would come to banks by not carrying reserves on time deposits
would be more than offset by the loss on demand deposits.
MOVING THE CROPS
In the marketing of our grain crops, spedal demands are made
upon our banks. We shall examine the new banking bill, therefore,
with a view to ascertaining how it will aid in financing the crop
movement. Does the new bill provide any machinery which might
facilitate the financing of the crop under ordinary conditions and
will it render any special assistance in times of stringencies and
panics?
Our crop movement calls for an increase in the supply of
currency and credit. We shall discuss briefly both factors in relation
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i6o The Quarterly Journal
to the proposed plan. Our banks are called upon to supply fanners
with cash to pay off their farm help. Then, too, as the farmers sell
their grain and deposit their proceeds in the bank, the banks are
forced to increase their cash reserve according to law. There are
other demands in the fall for currency but these are our chief needs,
to pay farm help and to increase cash reserve. Even where fanners
pay by check, the banks are called upon to supply currency since the
farm hands soon cash their checks. A fair estimate of the amount
of actual currency needed to move our crops is about $25,000,000.
Where do our banks secure the necessary cash? As the crop
begins to mature and during the season when the crop is being sold,
our banks are calling upon their city banks for currency. Fargo,
Grand Forks, Minneapolis and St. Paul supply the interior banks
with the needed currency. The Twin City banks alone ship to us
about $20,000,000 currency (bank notes, gold and silver certificates)
during the fall months. Before the crop is marketed, our banks
secure this currency by withdrawing deposits placed with the city
banks during the previous winter months. After our crop begins
to move and grain is being sold to elevators, our banks are increasing
their deposits daily with Twin City banks thru drafts drawn against
the elevator companies.
The point is that we need annually about $25,000,000 currency.
Now if for any reason the Twin City banks find themselves in a
position where they are unable to send us currency, as was the case
in 1907, then we suffer all sorts of inconvenience and often are in
danger of a run on our banks.
What remedy does the new plan offer in such an emergency?
The Twin City banks as well as our banks could always secure
currency from the National Reserve Association by drawing against
their accounts there, if they have any. If they have no deposit
account with the National Reserve Association, they can easily
create one during the crop-moving season by rediscounting grain
paper. If, for instance, a Grand Forks bank needs currency in an
emergency, it can accept the note of a farmer secured by grain in
an elevator, and send this commercial paper on to the brandi of the
National Reserve Assodation at Minneapolis and establish an account
there and in return would get currency if it wished any. The
National Reserve Assoiation is not limited in the amount of currency
(notes) it may issue, as was explained above.^®
IB. Ci pp. 144-146, 146-147.
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The Aldrich Banking Plan and North Dakota l6l
Moreover, this currency would be shipped to our banks without
transportation charges. Our banks pay all the way from 40 cents
to $1 per $1000 for currencj' when shipped in from Minneapolis.
The rate varies with the distance and character of transportation
route. This cost of transferring currency ($10,000 to $20,000)
would be saved by our banks yearly.
A crop movement also requires extra bank credit. Unless the
elevator companies or commission firms can secure credit from their
banks, they are unable to buy and pay for our grain. Under our
present system it is often difficult to secure bank credit except at
very hig^ rates. During panics elevator companies can not secure
capital to buy such commodities as grain even tho European and
American consumers stand in need of this necessity of life. The
new plan makes it possible for anyone to go to a bank and borrow
funds so long as there are visible marketable products somewhere to
secure the loan. The Aldrich plan provides, therefore, that so long
as there is a demand for our wheat, our farmers will always find
ready buyers and buyers able to pay spot cash for the wheat.
It seems to us that the proposed bill does provide the machinery
necessary to facilitate the marketing of our crop with the least
possible friction and is a decided improvement over our present
s)^em.
BANK CAPriAUZATION i
The proposed plan has been criticized on the ground that small
state banks would not be able to avail themselves of the privileges
of the new organization. As North Dakota is a state of small banks,
let us inquire into this matter. The bill provides that all participating
banks must have a paid-up and unimpaired capital equal to the
capital required of national banks in that locality.^*
Assuming that our banks desired to enter the association, what
change in bank capitalization would be needed? National banks,
of course, would not be affected. The average state bank, however,
had, in 1910, a capitalization of only $13,663. Since the minimum
capitalization of national banks, according to law, is $25,000, our
state banks would have to double their capital stock.^ On March
29, 1910, the total capitalization of 514 state banks was $7,022,800;
under the new bill their capitalization would be $12,850,000, in case
18. Cf. Section 3 of bill.
20. Under the national banking law, in towns havins a population of 8000 or lest,
banks must have a capital of |SS,00O; in towns of 3,0i00 to 6,000 the capitalization
must be $60,000; in towns of from 6,000 to 60,000 the capitalization must be $100^;
in towns of 60,000 plus, the capitalization must be $200,000.
Digitized by VjOOQIC
1 62 The Quarterly Journal
all desired membership in the new organization. The successful
operation of the new plan depends upon the state banks quite as
much as upon the national banks. The deposits of the state banks
in North Dakota on November i6, 1909, were $41,735,762.03; die
deposits of national banks were only $31,165,652.98. This relative
importance of state banks is true for the country as a whole, state
banks holding (June 30, 1910) $10,321,000,000 deposits and
national banks holding only $7,257,000,000 deposits.
According to the new plan, local associations can be organized
by ten banks or more having a combined capital and surplus of at
least $5,000,000.^^ The total capital and surplus of our 149 national
banks and 514 state banks in 1910 was only $15,113,785. North
Dakota could have at most, therefore, only two or three local
associations. As a matter of fact, not more than one-half of the
banks would find it necessary or would care to enter the association.
We would very likely have but one local association.
This provision of the bill, to the extent that it would compel
state banks to increase their capital stock, might force some small
banks out of business. The immediate effect of this would be a
diversion of capital out of the banking business. On the other hand»
if all the small banks desired to remain in business and enter the
association there would be a diversion of capital into the banking
business. Or, what seems more likely, there would be a tendency
toward consolidation of small banks into institutions controlling
larger amounts of capital.
CONCLUSION
Viewing the Aldrich bill solely and narrowly from the stand-
point of North Dakota interests, the writer is unable to see how the
proposed plan can injure either the farmer or the banker. On the
other hand there is much to be gained from the new plan: first, the
creation of a rediscount market for commercial paper will be of
increasing benefit as this class of paper multiplies in the future in our
state; secondly, the bill legalizes the present illegal practice of
National banks loaning money on real estate; thirdly, the bill opens
up new avenues for the profitable and safe investment of surplus
funds; and lastly the bill will aid in the financing of our crops.
But, furthermore. North Dakota cannot view this or any other
plan as an isolated state. Our interests are tied up with our country's
interests. If the prosperity and stability of our institutions need a
21. Section 6 of bill.
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The Aldrich Banking Plan and North Dakota 163
new banking and currency system, then North Dakota needs that
reform as well. We need the rest of the country as much as it
needs us. When a panic hits the east we feel it in North Dakota.
The new plan proposes to eliminate at least this evil, financial panics.
This service alone ought to commend the bill to us, provided of
course it carries with it no offsetting harmful effects.
Some critics, while admitting that the bill has in it many good
features for the industrial and commercial sections, maintain that
there ought to be included in it a reform of investment banking for
the benefit of the farmer. The Aldrich plan does stop short, all will
admit, but its advocates claim that it logically cannot be made to
embrace two entirely distinct types of banking. We believe some
added legislation, of benefit to the farmer, will come as a result of
the extensive investigations conducted by the Monetary Commission
and the propaganda carried on in behalf of the Aldrich bill. There
is no question but that our farming communities are seriously handi-
capped by the lack of better money-lending facilities. Our farmers
would do well to study the European methods of loaning money on
farm mortgages at low rates of interest ranging from three to five
per cent, as compared with seven to ten per cent, the prevailing rates
in our own country. Q)-operative credit associations have worked
admirably in European countries. President Taft, in his recent
message to Congress, recommended the adoption of an agricultural
credit system.
It is beyond our task to discuss this important phase of agri-
cultural banking reform. Our purpose has been to show the merits
of the bill commonly known as the Aldrich plan. It is not likely
that this bill will be adopted in its entirety. Its main features, how-
ever, which we believe to be sound, will persist and will doubtless
be embodied in a new bill or bills introduced in Congress in the
near future.^ These new banking and currency features cannot harm
and are likely to benefit not only the country at large but the
agricultural communities as well.
22. Since this went to press Senator Borah has introduced a bill (Dec 8, 1912) "to
establish a complete financial and banking system for the United States of America."
—S. 7506. This bill contains many essential features of the Aldrich plan.
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Canada's Combines Investigation Act
A Lesson for the United States
Jambs E. Boyle,
Professor of Economics and Political Science
University of North Dakota
44^ttHEN six or more persons, British subjects resident in
W Canada and of full age, are of opinion that a combine
exists, or that prices have been enhanced or competition restricted by
reason of such combine, to the detriment of consumers or producers,
such persons may ms^e application to a judge for an order directing
an investigation into such alleged combine."
Thus reads the Canadian Combines Investigation Act of May
4» 1910.
"Every contract or combinantion * * * in restraint of
trade is hereby declared to be illegal. Every person who shall mab
any such contract or engage in any such combination ♦ ♦ ♦ shall
be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and * * * shall be punidicd
by a fine not exceeding five thousand dollars, or by imprisonment
not exceeding one year, or by both said punishments • * * .
Every person who shall monopolize or attempt to monopolize ♦ ♦ •
trade ♦ ♦ ♦ shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, • ♦ •
and shall be punished by a fine not exceeding five thousand dollars,
or by imprisonment pot exceeding one year, or by both said punish-
ments ♦ ♦ ♦ ."
Thus saith our Sherman Anti-Trust Law of July 2, 1890.
Thus the two great countries attack the trust problem.
The Thou Shalt Nots of the Sherman Law were thundered from
Capitol Hill over twenty years ago, amid plenty of smoke and
thunder. The Maryland Fathers of 1776 wrote in their state
constitution, "Monopolies are odious, contrary to the spirit of free
government, and the principles of commerce, and ought not to be
suffered." This belated i8th century philosophy is handed down
in our Sherman law, and all monopolies are considered "odious" and
"insufferable."
The Combines Investigation Act of Canada contains no prohi-
bitions of any kind. It accepts the economic philosophy of the 20th
century, and suffers monopolies to dwell in peace, as long as the
monopolistic benefits are distributed fairly.
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Canada's Combines Investigation Act 165
Compare for a moment industrial conditions in these two
countries. Then observe the remedies applied and the results accom-
ph'shed in each.
INDUSTRIAL CONDITIONS HBR£ AND IN CANADA
In the terse language of our great democrat, it is condition and
not theory that confonts both countries. A few years ago most
business was competitive. Now it is not. This is the day of the
billion-dollar steel trust, the International Harvester trust, the
"dissolved" Tobacco trust, the Lumber trust, the Sugar trust, the
'^dissolved" Standard Oil trust, and all other giant industrials. And
now we see the Brewers entering the retail trade by establishing and
maintaining saloons ; and the Tobacco trust, thru its chain of United
Cigar Stores, is likewise reaching into the field of retail trade.
Integration is apparent in the industrials. In transportation five
railroad-gp'oups now dominate the field. In communication we have
the Bell telephone and the Western Union Telegraph Company
occupying the field, and now united. In banking one New York
syndicate representing four firms, has now come into control of
financial institutions whose deposits exceed one billion dollars. Our
industries are obviously pretty well combined. Whatever our law
may say about monopoly and competition, we have monopoly. The
situation is the same across the international boundary line. Within
the last twenty years great combinations have been formed in Canada,
similar in all respects to our own and indeed in many cases, mere
subsidiary concerns of our own great corporations.
We have the same conditions, but we are trying different
remedies.
THE UNITED STATES REMEDY
PROHIBITION AND REGULATION
A very brief statement of our attempted remedies will serve to
make the Canadian law better understood.
Since both countries have the same common law holding
oppression by monopoly to be illegal, this can be passed over without
comment. And let us omit too the Interstate Commerce Commission,
since this corresponds to the Railway Commission of Canada. There
remains then three separate and distinct attempts in the United
States to deal with the so-called trust problem. These are, of course,
the Sherman Anti-Trust Act, the Elkins Act, and the Bureau of
Corporations Act. Two of these are negative, repressive steps; one
is positive, constructive.
Digitized by VjOOQIC
1 66 The Quarterly Journal
The Sherman law is a criminal statute making all restraints of
inter-state trade a crime and all monopoly a crime. This law says,
in substance, "Thou shall compete." This law could never be
enforced, and most assuredly should never be enforced. If by any
possibility it were enforced, it would destroy at one stroke the great
labor unions and nine-tenths of the present business of the United
States. For competition is self-annihilating over most of our indus-
trial field; monopoly is inevitable and is likewise desirable. One
state, Wisconsin, now forbids competition in certain industries.
Monopoly is obviously desirable, that is, if its unquestioned economies
and benefits are diffused to those who deal with it, consumers as
well as producers. Under our Sherman law every known combine
in the United States today has been formed; clearly then this law
has not been effective.
The recent Standard Oil decision (May, 191 1) has not been
reassuring to the general public, whose interests the Sherman law is
supposed to safeguard. The opinion of the court is perplexing to
the general mass of the people, for it seems to mean, taken in
connection with the Trans-Missouri Freight Association case: "All
restraints of trade are criminal. Some crimes are, however, reason-
able. Only unreasonable crimes are forbidden by the Sherman law."
The Elkins Anti-Rebate law of 1903 can be passed over with
few words. Since those who enjoy rebates are the only ones in
possession of the evidence necessary for conviction, this criminal
statute is and must remain a dead letter.
Not till we come to the Bureau of Corporations law of 1903
do we find a positive, constructive step taken to control corporations.
The body of specially trained experts constituting the Bureau of
Corporations depends on the sound principle of "efficient publidty."
A few thoro investigations have already been made and the findings
published, and note the results. The railway rebate evil was
abolished in toto in six months' time, following the 1906 report of
the Bureau on this subject. The abuses of the New Orleans cotton
exchange were wiped out, voluntarily, by those on the inside, when
the searchlight of informed public opinion was turned on, following
the Bureau's 1908 and 1909 exhaustive report on this institution.
The Bureau now has on hand, as work still pending, investigations
into the steel, tobacco, and lumber industries, transportation by
water, the International Harvester Company, concentration of water
power ownership, and corporate taxation.
The Bureau of Corporations in the limited field in whid) it
operates has been a success ; it has achieved results ; it has pointed out
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Canada's Combines Investigations Act 167
the line of true progress — cflScient publicity. It should have its
powers extended and its field enlarged. The two repressive statutes
have been a failure; their criminal penalties have been of no avail.
Our experience in the past points to the soundness of the principle
of ascertaining and publishing the facts and of focussing public opinion
on the facts. By seizing on this sound principle of publicity the
Canadians have succeeded in framing a law adequate to the situation,
a law extending this principle to all combines, monopolies, trusts,
and mergers that injure consumer or producer.
Canada's rbmedy
The Canadian Combines Investigation Act can be briefly stated.
Any six persons can have any combine in the Dominion investigated
at public expense at any time. And if the combine, thru abuse of its
privileges, is injuring producer or consumer by means of high prices
or unfair competition, a remedy to fit the case can be applied without
delay. The procedure is simple, swift, and free from technicalities.
The six persons who are of opinion that a detrimental combine exists
make a formal written application to a judge for an investigation. Of
course, the application must contain more than vague generalities; it
must specifically set forth the nature of the alleged combine and the
names of the persons believed to be concerned therein; the manner
in which the alleged combine is operating to the detriment of con-
sumers or producers; and, lastly, the names and addresses of the
applicants themselves and the person whom they authorize to act as
their representative. The judge at once arranges for an informal
hearing. He may or may not — as he sees fit — admit representative^
of the combine at this preliminary hearing. If he is satisfied that a
prima facie case has been made out by the applicants, he so notifies
the Minister of Labor, and this Minister "shall forthwith proceed to
appoint a Board." Then follows the appointment of a fair and square
Board of Investigation of three members, one representing the
applicants, one representing the combine, and the third member, the
chairman of the Board, a judge, appointed by these two, or by the
Mim'ster himself. The scope of the investigation is wide. "The
board," says the act, "shall expeditiously, fully, and carefully inquire
into the matters referred to it and all matters aflFccting the merits
thereof * * * . In deciding any question that may aflect the
scope or extent of the investigation, the Board shall consider what is
required to make the investigation as thorough and complete as the
public interest demands." Counsel may be employed by the govem-
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1 68 The Quarterly Journal
ment to represent the public's interests. In fact, every provision has
apparently been made to get all the real facts of the case.
The investigation goes to the bottom. It is fair to both sides.
In case a detrimental combine is discovered, six distinct remedies are
at hand. ( i ) Publicity, and fear of publicity is doubtless the strongest
remedy. The findings are published in the Canada Gazette, as well
as in newspapers throuout the country. The pressure of informed
public opinion is irresistible. (2) The tariff may be reduced or
revoked, if the combine unduly enhancing the prices of its products
enjoys tariff protection. This is effected by an order of the Governor
in Council. (3) Patents may be cancelled, if the combine is imduly
enhancing price or restricting competition thru its patent rights. This
is effected thru an order of the court. (4) If the Board finds any
person guilty of practices hurtful to producer or consumer, and the
person continues so to offend after the Board publishes its findings, he
is liable to a fine of one thousand dollars a day and costs, as long as
he continues the offense. The findings of the Board may serve as a
basis for effecting other remedies (under other statutes), namely, (5)
a cancellation of licenses under the Inland Revenue Act, where
manufacturers holding the same have sold their goods under a
monopolistic form of contract, and, lastly, (6) a withdrawal of
subsidies, in case of alleged combines in shipping or transportation.
And subsidies are plentiful here. Evidently an appropriate remedy
can be selected to fit any evil of combine, monopoly, trust, or merger.
THB REMEDY APPLIED
In theory the act is sound. In practice it has worked. Enacted
May 4, 1 9 10, it soon attracted the attention of the people. Soon
general complaints were heard about four combines, coal, cement,
bread, and shoe machinery. But only one case the first year actually
reached the point of definite, spedfic charges, and so got before the
Board. This was the noted case of the United Shoe Machinery
Co., a subsidiary concern of a powerful American corporation of the
same name.
This corporation enjoys patents on important machines indis-
pensable in the manufacture of shoes. These machines are not
generally sold, but are leased on strict terms to the manufac-
urers of shoes. Not only the price paid, but also the terms
of the lease were complained of as grievous and burdensome to
the manufacturers. The Canadians first fought this corporation
in their courts, but lost, after carrying the suit to the Privy
Council in London. The Law Lords held the leases legal, hot
Digitized by VjOOQIC
Canada's Combines Investigations Act 169
suggested a legislative remedy as appropriate. Fortliwith the Can-
adians enacted the Combines Investigation Act. Then persons in
Quebec at once made application for an investigation of the United
Shoe Machinery Co., and the judge, after hearing the applicants (but
not the corporation's side) directed that the investigation take place.
Minister of Labor, King, ordered the investigation to be made
"expeditiously."
Then the corporation lawyers began their work of obstructing
the operation of the law by taking advantage of every possible legal
technicality. It is perhaps best that the law had this ordeal of fire
to pass thru at its very initial application. The test proved it sound.
The corporation set up the claims of "insufficiency of the application,"
"irregular procedure," and "no jurisdiction." These were all
promptly overruled by the higher court. The Board was formed,
consisting of an editor, a lawyer, and a judge. Then the corporation
secured a "writ of prohibition," halting the procedure pending the
appeal. It took three months to carry this question of appeal up thru
the Canadian courts to the Throne of England. But the Privy
Council this time sided with the Canadian people and refused to
allow an appeal from the Canadian decisions favoring an investi-
gation. This left the Minister of Labor free to proceed at once
with the investigation.
The investigation went forward, extending from November
17, 191 1, to October 18, 1912. Fifty-nine witnesses were examined.
The investigation proved to be a veritable education on the trust
question for the general public. The following facts were brought
to light: The United Shoe Machinery Co. had as its customers
138 out of the 145 shoe manufacturers of Canada. Some of the
shoe machinery was sold outright but most was leased and "tied''
to other machinery by the terms of the lease in sudi a manner as
to give to the United Shoe Machinery Co. exclusive patronage.
Twenty years was the usual term of lease. The royalty ranged
from a few cents to seven cents per pair of shoes turned out.
The causes of the monopoly, so the Board discovered, were
these: patents; good quality of machines; efficiency of company in
keeping machines in repair; fair and equal treatment of all manu-
facturers; sufficient capital to carry out the contracts fully and
promptly.
The causes of the monopoly were more evident than its evil
effects. Competition was practically gone in the buying and selling
of shoe manufacturing machinery. The royalties were too low to
hurt manufacturers or consumers. The price had not been raised
Digitized by VjOOQIC
I70 The Quarterly Journal
"unduly." No rebates were discovered, no predatory competition. It
seemed a clear case where efficient competitors had banished compe-
tition and held the field alone.
But at any rate, the company was a "combine," for it was
composed of three united companies. And its lease system, so the
Board held, had unduly restricted and prevented competition in die
manufacture, production, purchase, sale and supply of shoe machinery
in Canada.
A delay of six months, however, was recommended to the
company in order that it might cease "unduly" to restrict
competition.
In other words, all the benefits as well as the questionable
leasing system of the combine have been put fairly and squarely
before the public. No victims of oppression have been revealed. A
breathing spell of six months is now given. At the expiration of
this time a final solution will have been worked out, soberly and
constructively, for the only feature of the combine that has any
potentiality of evil, namely, its exclusive leasing system. Meanwhile,
the people are resting easy, because they know their interests are
actually being safeguarded.
What is the lesson for us in the Canadian Combines Investigation
Act? The first lesson is the soundness of the principle of effident
publicity. The second lesson is that this principle should be applied
expeditiously and thoroly. It can be done thru a special Board for
each individual case, as in Canada, or by some permanent body of
experts, such as our Bureau of Corporations, with properly enlarged
powers. At any rate the time has now come when public impatience
with existing statutes and court rulings must be heeded. Some sort
of an administrative body must be provided to reassure the public
and give them confidence that their interests are in some way being
protected. And certainty of investigation and exposure, according
to the Canadian fashion, would deter almost every combine from
attempting oppression.
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Partisan Scholarship
O. G. LlBBY^
Professor of History.
University of North Dakota
IN OUR present period of political unrest there have appeared
from time to time a considerable number of works dealing with
current questions, not dispassionately or impartially, but in a spirit
of partisanship. One of the characteristics of such productions is the
very evident intention on the part of the authors to demonstrate a
given thesis the truth of which they have themselves been led to
believe by personal experience or by a chain or reasoning peculiarly
their own. Having thus, as they think, fully prepared themselves
for the task of enlightening the public mind, they proceed to give
us their conclusions as clearly as they can within their own limitations,
with only a backward look, now and then, at the mental processes
and experiences that have led them to pronounce judgment. The
most obvious result which is produced by such a work upon the well
informed reader is one of irritation and discomfort, not at the new
thoughts or advanced views of the authors but on account of the
absence of sufficient evidence and the lack of reasoned thinking which
is displayed. No one now-a-days expects to be startled by radical
statements or unusual points of view. All that is asked of the disciple
of a new venture in education, politics or religion is that he show us
his point of departure from orthodoxy, and explain coherently the
evidence upon which he has based his arraignment of the established
order. And this demand of the reading public that the author explain
himself at the outset of his discussion of public questions is perfectly
fair and reasonable. Life is too short to be spent in trying to guess
at what the author should have told us in his preface or explained in
his opening paragraphs.
Another defect that is painfully apparent in the work of many
writers on current politics is the labored effort to read our past
history so as to make it yield proof of the author's contention. No
one can possibly object to the use of the facts of history in the eluci-
dation of a changing political or social order. On the other hand,
nothing is more objectionable than the wrenching of the same facts
out of all relation for the purpose of showing the soundness of some
particular view of present day conditions. A work by Professor J.
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172 The Quarterly Journal
Allen Smith of the University of Washington entitled "Spirit of the
American Government" illustrates excellently many of these defects
of presentation. The discussion is spirited and clear, but is quite
lacking in perspective. In his whole treatment of English law and
constitution, for instance, the author omits the fundamental contribu-
tion of Anglo-Saxon ideas to the form and especially to the substance
of British law, and begins his discussion with the Norman period.
In what he says of the French Revolution one can see he is still
influenced by the old cataclysmic theory of this great movement, and
the significance of the part played by the middle class has been quite
overlooked. In all the comparisons between conditions here and in
Europe such fundamental considerations as these seem to have been
given little weight.
Again, the author is inclined to begin American history at our
Revolution, thus losing sight of the evolution of local institutions
which really covers a longer period of time than that of our later
history. But during a century and a half of colonial development
our constitutional progress had been very marked, and the lines of
later growth had been laid down. Nothing could be farther from
the truth than to look upon the American RevcJution as a violent
explosion which paralyzed government and gave opportunity for
radical changes that were otherwise impossible. The more the col-
onial governments are studied and the more completely we have
before us the record of the long struggle between governor and
colonial assembly, the plainer it becomes that our Revolution, far
from being a political earthquake, was merely one phase of the pro-
gressive unfolding of events that came from the relation of the colo-
nies to mother country. Most of the gains we received from this
struggle and nearly all the advantages of local autonomy were already
potential in the commercial and political status quo at which we had
arrived in 1763. How otherwise is it possible to explain the admir-
able firmness, the skillful diplomacy and above all the wise and
conservative utterances of the Revolutionary leaders. These were
not the product of momentary impulses, but rather the result of long
and painful labor at the political tasks before them. We were, aftci
1776, precisely what we were before that date, as far as constitu-
tional principles and political methods were concerned. There was
no sudden outpouring of democracy from any source. Our 3tock of
ideas had not been increased by the Declaration of Independence;
that document simply summed up our political philosophy, it certainly
did not overleap it.
Digitized by VjOOQIC
Partisan Scholarship 173
The omission of these important considerations leaves Profes-
sor Smith's handh'ng of the Revolution entirely without balance and
betrays him into positions which a fuller knowledge of the facts
shows to be quite untenable. For a clear and brief statement of this
pre-Revolutionary situation one need but to turn to the excellent
monograph published last year by the University of California
(McCormac, Colonial Opposition to Imperial Authority during the
French and Indian War.) Here the evidence is offered with the
single purpose of presenting what actually occurred during a given
period. The method and conclusions offer a striking contrast to
those in the work we are considering.
It has long been the favorite device of our political conservatives
and reactionaries to seek constantly to divert public attention from
present abuses and bad tendencies in our public life to the men and
mesures of the time when the constitution was adopted. In this way
incompetent and corrupt administrations have been sometimes given
a new lease of life and have escaped just condemnation on the ground
that such attacks would threaten the foundations of the state laid in
the days of the wise and virtuous Fathers. Professor Smith seems
to have taken this rather transparent device of the politidans quite
seriously, and has devoted no small part of his work to showing that
the leaders in 1787 were unworthy of our respect, and that the con-
stitution adopted in 1788 was deliberately framed to stifle the demo-
cratic ideas and to prevent the normal growth of the American people
in the direction they had already begun to move. As already stated,
he starts with the false assimiption of a victorious democracy as the
outcome of the Revolution and from this he proceeds to the discussion
of the Constitutional Convention of 1787. We are told that he
finds in the makeup of this body a majority who did not truly repre-
sent the nation, and he makes a special note of the small number of
those who signed the Declaration of Independence to be found among
the members of this Convention. The first fact overlooked is that
sixteen of the fifty-six signers of the Declaration of Independence
were not alive in 1787. In the second place, the membership of the
Continental Congress of 1776 which Professor Smith assimies to
be so much more representative of the whole people, was little dif-
ferent from that of the Convention of 1787. Of these fifty-six
members of this Continetal Congress of 1776, forty-six per cent were
college graduates, seventy-nine per cent were members of the mer-
chant and professional classes, including twenty-five lawyers. On
the other hand, the Convention of 1 787 had a membership of thirty-
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174 'I'he Quarterly Journal
eight, in which thirty-four per cent were college graduates and
eighty-four per cent of the merchant and professional classes. It is
evident, therefore, that while there was undoubtedly a large per-
centage of men of first class ability in the Federal Convention, the
difference between the two groups of colonial leaders was chiefly one
of degree rather than of kind. In other words, colonial representa-
tion was pretty much the same thing thruout the whole Revolu-
tionary era because the principles involved and the methods employed
had long before been worked out in considerable detail in the local
struggle between governor and assembly. Much is made of the
secrecy attending the debates (a mesure perfectly compatible with
the obvious need for dispassionate judgment on such vital matters)
yet nowhere is there pointed out in the published debates anything
discreditable to the men who spoke, or any evidence of a conspiracy
to destroy the liberties of the people. It is the merest assumption to
state, as the author does, that a majority of the convention favored a
plan of government like that of England. Quite the contrary, the
members of this convention afterward spoke for or against the con-
stitution and used the same arguments outside that they had used
inside the convention and no one made a general charge that they
were guilty of betrayal of trust or that they had unduly favored the
interests of the minority. Even a cursory examination of the debate
in the state conventions will soon convince one that the main con-
tention had to do with the relative position of the state and the
national governments. Anti-Federalist argument was leveled chiefly
at the constitution for its interference with state rights and state
autonomy. This controversy over the question of national versus
state sovereignty was the natural outcome of our previous experience,
and it was not and could not be the invention of an interested mi-
nority to divert attention from the real issue. The main defects of
the Articles of Confederation, as the leaders at that time well knew,
lay in the fact that the national government had so little substance
and the states were so completely dominant. Whether or not to
allow the nation to share in the government of the people on a par
with the states was practically the sum total of the whole debate.
To the convention that was to decide so momentous a question the
states sent their picked men ; a primary election, if such a thing were
possible at the time, would hardly have bettered the list. The diarge
that they knowingly thwarted popular demand and played into the
hands of a moneyed aristocracy is a little beside the mark. They
were far more concerned with providing for adequate defense against
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Partisan Scholarship 175
state or federal aggression than they were over the question of popular
rule. What a sovereign state could do they knew and understood,
the rule of the people as we know it today was unknown. Y^t
Professor Smith says, "It may be said without exaggeration that the
American scheme of government was planned and set up to perpetuate
the ascendency of the property holding class in a society leavened
with democratic ideas." If this were so, what an opportunity Thomas
Jefferson missed after his victory in 1800, only eleven years after
this dangerous victory of a selfish and treacherous minority. Strangely
enough this avowed champion of popular rule did not seem at all
agitated over this plot against the peace and happiness of the nation.
Possibly this blindness to the real interests of the people arose from
a temporary obsession of intellect on his part, but it is much more
likely that he understood quite as fully as anyone today the real
political situation and was fully aware of what was most needed to
promote national progress and still further strengthen popular gov-
ernment. But there were other leaders of the people at this time.
Were they all terrified by the defeat of 1787 and did they abandon
hope after this one reverse? Somehow the facts of history do not
seem to fit this ingenious theory which this author has made the
central thesis of his work. So far as has yet been shown, the Ameri-
can Revolution did not bring in its train a brief era of democracy,
it simply completed the constitutional cycle thru which the colonies
were all passing and which ended in their possessing complete sov-
ereignty. These thirteen sovereign states sought separate existence
in a confederation and this plan was severely tried during the war
with England and broke down completely after the peace of 1783.
In a second experiment at confederation the leaders appointed to
draw up a plan broke away from a hopeless line of action and framed
a constitution providing for a real national existence. This plan was
thoroly discust by the people's representatives in the several states
and was rejected by only one of them. The main opposition to the
new plan centered about the question of the preservation of state
sovereignty, since the scheme for a national government seemed to
threaten it. There was nothing said publicly about popular or
majority rule for it was yet an untried national experiment and
other problems were more pressing. There was no propertied class,
strictly speaking, for the opportunities for free land were imlimited
and the concentration of capital, as we understand it, had hardly
begun. We hear of the rich and the poor of Jackson's time, but
our one monopoly was then the United States Bank which Jackson
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176 The Quarterly Journal
forced out of business in 1833. It was not till the time of our Civil
War with its epoch making changes that the beginning of present
problems can be discerned. The politicians of earlier generations
struggled with the slavery question and were concerned over the
National bank, tariff, internal improvements and the Monroe
Doctrine. Still farther back, other questions loomed large on the
political horizon and absorbed the time of the leaders in seeking for
their proper solution. Our generation has its particular problems
and crises born of our own time and we can not shirk our respon-
sibilities. Whatever solution or remedy we may offer must belong
to the present.
In A. M. Simons* "Social Forces in American History," there
is brought together a large number of hitherto isolated facts for the
purpose of explaining the trend of events in our history. The effort
is thoroly commendable but the conclusions are often not as well
founded or decisive as the author would have us believe. In many
cases not all the evidence is used and the discussion occasionally
descends to mere running commentary on ev^ts in whidi a partisan
bias is very evident. In his treatment of colonial conditions Simons
has over-emphasized the economic and has ignored the important
political elements of the problem of institution making. He has
much to say about fur trade, fishing and slave trade, but he gives us
practically nothing of those fundamental Puritan ideas which were
embodied in their public school system, their town meeting and their
congregational system of church control. In Virginia, where the
Puritan ideas of local self government found early lodgment before
1 61 9, the fuller development of these principles of representative
government came about thru that remarkable middle class migration
to the colony between 1649-60. This was the most important single
migration of Englishmen to America and with the somewhat smaller
migration of a similar class to New England, it brought to the
colonies a population capable of laying the Anglo-Saxon foundations
upon whidi our national institutions rest. No one who writes of
the social forces in the institutional life of the English colonies can
afford to slur over these elementary facts, no matter what fecial
interpretation he may wish to place upon them.
It is to be regretted also, that the period of constitution making
should have received so partisan a handling in this work. In the
chapters that follow, some new and valuable suggestions are made
as to the significance of various epochs of our history. But the loose
reasoning and prejudiced view point in the discussions on the Con-
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Partisan Scholarship I77
stitutional Convention of 1787, can not fail to leave the reader in
doubt as to the fairness and reliability of the remaining portions of
the work. No evidence is offered to show that the founders of our
present form of government were conspirators who deliberately de-
frauded and disfranchised the people of that time. This is one of
the most fantastic interpretations of history that has yet been offered
for the sober consideration of the student. Not only does it charge
our early statesmen with betrayal of trust and the grossest dishon-
esty, but at the same time it presupposes a gullibility and moral deg-
radation on the part of the average American citizen which is hardly
complimentary to say the least. There is no evidence yet available
that shows our public men of that time to be knaves nor the voters
lacking in intelligence. They were, on the average, quite as well
informed as we are today, and for over a century voter and repre-
sentative alike had been carrying on a successful struggle with the
royal governors who were backed by the English government, and
the people had secured in every case a satisfactory mesure of local
self government. More than that, in this hard school of training,
the leaders had learned how to draw up petitions, resolutions and laws
and in the course of the Revolutionary struggle the remarkable form
and content of their 'documents amazed the party leaders in England.
Nor were the citizens one whit behind their leaders in their appreci-
ation of what their public papers contained, the argument they set
forth and the issues involved. With such a trained and alert con-
stituency as this, no trick of mere politicians, nor plea for class in-
terests would be listened to or tolerated for a moment. The nation
desired a stronger government in 1787, and in the discussions over
the best methods of procedure the one question that comes promi-
nently forward is the relation of the new national government to
the old state government. Naturally enough the allegiance of the
average voter was for his state, and he would be slow to favor any-
thing that would lower its prestige or lessen its power. It was not
purely a struggle between economic classes, debtor against creditor,
but a much larger movement than this, in which the better informed
portion of the community stood for a broader national life. They
supported the new constitution not solely because it protected prop-
erty, but because they could see farther and had more faith in a
national government than those who had lived far inland and away
from the lines of communication. It was not so much a question of
property as it was of intelligence that determined the attitude of the
voters on the new constitution. The Shenandoah and Connecticut
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1 78 The Quarterly Journal
valleys were excellent highways and were constantly traversed by
different groups of settlers, and they wrere Federal areas. The area
east of the Shenandoah valley as well as that east of the Coonccticiit
was isolated and quite cut off from easy means of communication and
both of these were Anti-Federalist areas. If, as has been alleged,
the people were cheated by a trick into adopting the new constitution,
an excellent opportunity was offered in the first presidential elecdon
and in the first Congress to show their disgust at these methods and
their desire for fair play. As a matter of fact, nothing of the kind
developed, the amendments that were in preparation were adopted,
Washington was reelected and even Jefferson could no find no vul-
nerable point of attack upon the new government. The truth was
that the Constitution was the best that could be devised at the time
and it was so accepted by a remarkably conscientious and fearless
body of voters. As fast as a better understanding of the real purport
of the contest over the Constitution spread to the more remote in-
terior regions of the states, there was an acceptance of its principles
and its provisions as complete as it was permanent. This was so
well understood by the leading Federalists in New Hampshire, Mas-
sachusetts and Virginia that delay and discussion were vigorously
insisted upon as the best answer to all objections, and in these three
important states this plan turned the scale in favor of its adoption.
If, as these two authors maintain, a fraud were practiced upon the
public behind closed doors in secret conclave, the shortest time for
decision would have been the only safe procedure for the arch con-
spirators to adopt in order to win their victory over those who were
defending the real interests of the American people.
Now that this Constitution, after more than a hundred years
of unexampled social and industrial development, is found to be no
longer adequate to meet changed conditions, let us not shirk our
own responsibility in the matter by making a scapegoat of an earlier
generation. We have allowed conditions to drift into their present
state, we have long been too mudi absorbed in mere material ad-
vancement, and we are today paying the inevitable penalty. The
evil is not irreparable, we need only to be as honest and clear sighted
and determined in our attempt at the solution of our problems as
were our forefathers in 1787, and we shall, like them, meet witli a
due mesure of success.
The proposal to introduce the initiative, the referendimi and the
recall into our state and national governments has brought on a storm
of protest, much of it quite incoherent, against the form as well as
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Partisan Scholarship 179
the spirit of the change. To this discussion Nicholas Murray Butler
has contributed his "Why should we Change our Form of Govern-
ment?" There is little in the first lecture or in the others that
follow it which can be called argument or the presentation of evi-
dence. He announces one original discovery, namely that the cause
of Athen's downfall was her practise of using the recall upon her
public men in hig^ office, but this obviously has an interest only to
the student of speculative politics. He refers to the members of the
Convention of 1787 as having shown in their task "almost super-
himian wisdom, foresight and skill,'* and the obvious intent in all
this unstinted praise and extravagant eulogy of the men and their
task is to throw such a glamour about our Constitution as to render
it too sacred a dociunent for the reformers to meddle with. We have
already considered two attacks upon the integrity of the founders of
the Constitution, attacks not resting on evidence but upon conjecture
and prejudice; but if any justification for such arraignment were
sought for, it might be found in the nature of the defense offered by
President Butler in behalf of our present form of government. There
is no more evidence that Washington, Madison, and Hamilton were
capable of "almost superhuman wisdom" than there is that they were
engaged in a deliberate attempt to defraud the nation of its birth-
right Particularly inappropriate just at this time is his eulogy of
Hamilton as one of the founders of our State. As a matter of fact,
Hamilton was a foreigner whose tastes and aptitudes were com-
pletely alien to us. For this reason his brilliant genius was useful
only when under the direction of a leader possest of balanced will
and high moral purpose. He served well in Washington's cabinet
but his later opposition to President Adams was unworthy of a
public man. He had no program for national evolution upon a
truly progressive plan, he distrusted the people and the government
they had set up, and it was only when Jefferson was elected in 1800,
that there was a way opened for our development along broad
national lines.
The American voter of today wants not rhetoric but anal3rsb
of political conditions, not venerable platitudes, but fundamental
principles upon which to base rig^t action. In this emergency there
is need for the deep moral convictions and abounding faith in the
people whidi appears in the careers of Jefferson, Jackson and Lin-
coln. These were the true apostles of American democracy and
their example has furnished inspiration to many an harassed public
man of today.
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l8o The Quarterly Journal
There is coining to be a demand for an impartial interpretation
of what the American people have done in the past. We have a
record not of saints nor of villains, but of fair-minded, public spirited
men moving on thru trial and defeat to permanent achievement in
self government. Those who have read our history carefully know
that there is nothing to be ashamed of in our early apprentice^ip.
The awakening interest in the story of progressive American citi-
zenship is a sign of healthy growth. It is a renascence as significant as
it is spontaneous and genuine. We are great enough to laugh at our fail-
ures, we are rich enough to afford the costly experiments of the past,
but the time has nearly arrived when the voter must face his own prob-
lems and attempt to solve them. That he is ready to do so is evident
from the popularity of the proposed reforms in every section of the
country. That the Constitution will soon be amended is of course a
foregone conclusion as certain as that it is entirely inadequate to meet
present conditions. This is peculiarly a twentieth century under-
taking, and the voting constituency whose task it will be are dior-
oly aroused and profoundly convinced of the need of reform, and,
above all, they have full faith in the ultimate outcome.
In 1824 the last Congressional caucus named Crawford as
candidate for president. This caucus had nominated practically all
preceding presidents, and its right had never been questioned. But
popular will now condemned the practise and this bit of party ma-
chinery was swept into oblivion. In 1828 nominating conventi(»is
were resorted to as the best means of voicing the national demand
At the present time this, too, has fallen into disrepute and the people
are substituting more efficient machinery fpr the registering of their
will. It is in vain to cry out against this irresistible tendency as
revolutionary. Silently but inexorably the forces of national life have
been passing on to more mature forms of governmental activity. No
fundamental principles are abandoned, no sacrifice of rights is in-
volved. There has simply been evolved another variation of activity
in the complete organization of our politics, more adapted to envir-
onment, better fitted to serve those who are to make use of it.
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Book Reviews
The New Dbmocracy: Walter E. Wbyl. An essay on certain
economic and political tendences in the United States. Macmil-
Ian Company, New York, 1912. VIII + 370 pp. Price, $2.00
net.
In the city of New York a railroad company is building a great
station while trains are being operated and business continued with-
out interruption. In this instance appear the destruction of the old
building, the erection of a new one, and the continuance of traffic.
Much the same thing is going on in the functioning of America, in
the opinion of the author. We can't stop the covmtry as a going
concern long enough to remove all the evils nor engage in leisurely
fashion in the rebuilding of political and social institutions. It must
be done as time goes on and as the processes of production and
consumption continue. Hence suggestions of the closet type cannot
afiect the general political conditions and industrial circumstances,
unless they can be applied and worked out without stopping the social
machinery, for the "goingness" of sodety is a fundamental in the
problem of any change.
So, in America the period of expropriation, extreme individual-
ism and weak government was not one in which were laid the found-
ations of a democracy, but rather one during which the forces at
work lent themselves assiduously to the creation of a plutocracy that
under the law established itself in government, social organization
and industrial control. With the exploitation of the wilderness and
the passage of the frontier, America turned upon itself and began in
the virgin soil of the cities the same process of exploitation that had
been so successful in securing control of natural resources. Organi-
zation followed, while the use of the savings of the people and the
concentration of control placed a plutocracy on the pinnacle of fame
and gave it into the domination of an oligarchy. Ordinarily the
national economy point of view is the creation of wealth for con-
sumption purposes, but the view of plutocracy is the gaining of
money, not the making of things. Such a goal is destructive to
national growth.
When the failure of individualism was a fact patent to most
observers its adherents turned to law and order for the protection
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1 82 The Quarterly Journal
they regarded themselves as needing against the plutocracy of their
own creation. They called upon the state to interfere, to regulate,
and in doing so began to recognize democracy in new forms and in
a new field of endeavor. Besides, here in Amerca was a democraqr
based upon the creation of a social surplus instead of one face to face
with greater and greater destitution. The facts themselves dis-
turbed the very foundations of the socialist theory and took a ^>okc
out of the wheel of the doctrine of class war. Better things and
larger income under the surplus economy of America brought forth
discontent and a democracy which has steadily gained in numbers,
strength and sagacity, not thru the medium of poverty, but thru die
common basis of wealth distribution. Because of the democratization
of government, the socialization of industry and the civilization of
the citizen, the democratic army is moving toward its goal. The first
weaves the complete control over governmental machinery and
processes by recall, direct legislation, direct elections and increased
efficiency ; the second is to be gained by government ownership, r^-
ulation, tax reform and the moralization and reorganization of bus-
iness in the interest of the industrially weak; and the third is to be
brought about by "the conservation of health, the democratization of
education, a socialization of consumption, and a raising of the lowest
element of the population to the level of the mass." With a dosing
chapter on "Can a democracy endure," in which the author leaves
the impression that it can, this interesting book comes to an end.
Dr. Weyl has produced a new type of book ; in this respect, that
he has emphasized the evolutionary process thru which a country must
pass in reaching a real democracy, and second, that the democracy
exists because of the very success of the plutocracy that preceded it
The untenable ground of socialist contention based upon the exploit-
ation of a proletariat is brought to the attention of the reader with
clear incisiveness. The new social spirit abroad in the land arises
from prosperity, larger income and greater opportunity, which the
democracy proposes to preserve and increase by changing the point
of emphasis and enlarging the opportunities of the average man.
Tills concept is almost a revelation, and gives a logical as well as a
broad economic, social and political basis for much of present
contention, coupled with a contagious faith in the process of evolution
rijrhtly directed to bring every man a larger opportunity without
breaking down the going concern.
Frank L. McVby
University of North Dakota
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Book Reviews 183
Democratic England: Percy Alden, M. P., Late Warden of
Mansfield House, University Settlement, London. The Mac-
millan Company, New York. 1912. XII +271 pp. Price,
$1.50 net.
This book is timely. It records in a concise and concrete manner
the vast strides England has taken recently in the direction of social
and economic reform. We in the United States who look upon
progressive "social programs" as socialistic, and therefore dangerous,
would do well to read this fascinating story of the recent achieve-
ments of our conservative cousins across the water. The book is
broader in its scope than its title, "Democratic England," would
indicate. It belongs in the field of sociology or economics rather
than in political science. The charming simplicity of the author's
style makes the book an unusually readable one. There is not a
single dull page in the book.
The book is clearly not the work of a closet philosopher but of
a man who has had vital contact with life. The author's fitness to
cope with the task set before him is amply attested to in a whole-
hearted introduction by Charles F. G. Masterman. Mr. Alden was
for twelve years connected with the University Settlement in East
London; he was a member of the Council of West Ham, and for
six years sat in the House of Commons as a representative of an
industrial district of London. The work is eminently the fruit of
years of rich, broad experience and mature thinking.
The American reader is especially grateful for the first diapter
which supplies the political background so helpful to an understanding
of the subsequent studies. Nine chapters follow, each devoted to one
specific topic. The mere recital of the problems treated will suggest
at once the appropriateness and the scope of the book: The Child
and the tate, The Problem of Sweating, The Problem of the Unem-
ployed, State Insurance Against Sickness, The Problem of Old Age,
The Problem of Housing the Poor, Municipal Ownership, The Labor
Movement in England, The Land and the Landless. Thru this
variety of subject matter runs one theme: the justification of ex-
tending the power of the government for the people's welfare. The
author points out that England is passing thru a quiet but wholesome
revolution. Laissez-faire is fast disappearing. "Liberalism" says
the author, "stands today for something more than an opportunistic
policy — the new program implies a desertion of the old individual
standard and the adoption of a new principle — a principle which the
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184 The Quarterly Journal
Unionists call socialistic." (pp. 5-6). The author is apparently not
at all frightened by the epithet "socialistic," tho he holds no brief for
Socialism. On the other hand, Mr. Alden docs not hesitate to
advocate the "state's right to interfere with industrial liberty and
to modify the old economic view of the disposal of private property."
(p. 6).
The value of the book, however, lies not in its general or theo-
retic discussion of an abstract concept but in its effective presentation
of facts which justify. England's new political philosophy. The author
is very happy in the selection of illustrative material which, not-
withstanding its statistical character, is as interesting as it is con-
vincing. His method is simple and direct. There is usually a brief
historical sketch of legislative efforts to solve the specific problem.
Present conditions are then described which either explain or shed
light on the specific evil. Then follows an analysis of the most recent
legislative act dealing with the particular problem. The author is
not content with a general justification of the reform legislation but
is very specific in pointing out its strong and weak points. Further
constructive legislation is recommended wherever present machinery
fails to meet the need.
The book contains too much meaty substance to attempt in a
brief review a detailed statement of its content. We have chosen
rather to present the author's point of view and his method of pro-
cedure. His conclusions with respect to specific problems seem to us
perfectly sound. The author upholds all of the recent acts of Parlia-
ment dealing with the problems stated above as aiming to give sodal
justice to the masses. It is interesting to note that he regards this
legislation as a means of offsetting the undue burdens of the poor
resulting from the present unjust distribution of wealth. The argu-
ments presented in support of each reform are the patent ones and
very little original proof is offered, perhaps because none is needed.
The author is satisfied that England is on the right path in its efforts
to establish social justice. The tone of the book is distinctly opti-
mistic. While the book is not creative in the sense of originatiag
schems of social reconstruction, it serves its purpose well as propa-
ganda literature in supporting and spreading the truth already discov-
ered.
Meyer Jacobstein
Department of Economics,
University of North Dakota
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Book Reviews 185
The Courts, The Constitution, and Parties: Andrew C.
McLaughlin, Professor of History, University of Chicago.
The University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois, 1912. VII
+ 299 pp. Price, $1.50.
In his recently published series of essays entitled "The Courts,
the Constitution, and Parties," Professor McLaugJilin has added to
the general discussion of the subject two distinct contributions. The
most important of these is unquestionably that of historic backgroimd.
In three of the essays and notably in the one dealing with the power
of the Federal Supreme Court to declare a law unconstitutional, he
has laid especial emphasis upon the very essential and elementary fact
of the origin and development of this court and the gradual increase
of function to correspond with national progress. This is a plain
historical enquiry and not a partisan attempt to prove some conten-
tion on either side of the case. As a point of view this has much to
recommend it, when we recall the bitter attacks which have been
made on our courts within the past few years and the rather inade-
quate defense that is usually offered in their behalf. Professor
McLaughlin does not attempt to pass on the right or wrong of the
case, but he is concerned that the facts shall al be known before
conclusions are formulated or judgments formed. He has given us,
as a consequence, an admirable statement of the fundamental ideas
that have entered into the present position of the Supreme Court
and have helped to bring it to its present place of power.
The essays on constitutional construction and written consti-
tutions are equally well conceived and carried out. The principles
and constitutional forms we are familiar with here are referred back
to their English and continental beginnings. What we lack in much
of our political discussions, namely perspective, is placed before us
with that clear and forceful handling characteristic of the author.
One could wish that such a partisan piece of work as J. Allen
Smith's "Spirit of the American Government" mig^t have had the
benefit of a little more thoro examination of sources on the part of
the author before being published with all its ill-digested reasoning
and sweeping condemnation of public men.
The essays on political parties are timely, also, and help to
dear up many popular misapprehensions regarding their organizations.
The significance of parties is shown in the part they play in the actual
machinery for carrying on the government. The problem they
present arises from the fact that parties tend to become undemocratic
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1 86 The Quarterly Journal
and must continually be checked and made to conform to popular
will. There is also the ever recurrent danger that unprincipled
leaders may appeal to the passions of the masses and interfere with
reform or do violence to the nice adjustment of interests to be found
in every well-ordered state.
O. G. LiBBY
Department of History,
University of North Dakota
Sociology in its Psychological Aspects: Charles A. Ellwood,
Professor of Sociology, University of Missouri. D. Appleton
and Company, New York. 1912. XIII + 417 pp.
In this volume the author has sought to show the place and
function which the psychological factors occupy in society. It has
been increasingly apparent that sociologists have been arriving at a
consensus of opinion as to the importance of those factors in human
society, and further, that they have come to something like an agree-
ment upon the nature of the psychical elements and upon the work
they perform. Theories which elevate the external conditions, or the
biological factors, or economic conditions to the place of suzerainty
over matters of social process and progress have been discarded by
sociologists as being insufficient and one-sided in furnishing a scien-
tific explanation of social phenomena. The appearance of theories
of suggestion, of imitation, of the desires, and so on, for explanation
of the processes and methods of society have increasingly demonstrated
the fact that serious students of the subject were emancipating them-
selves from the older doctrines and approaching nearer to a psycho-
logical theory.
It is not entirely unexpected, therefore, that a book should be
placed in the field under the title of the volume in review. It could
not be foreseen, however, that the volume destined to appear would
be so thoro-going, fundamental, and synthetic, so intense and con-
vincing as the book actually produced by Professor EUwood. It is
a rare book because of the qualities which I have just attributed to
it. Other virtues should be added, namely, balance and good
judgment. The author is not erratic as more brilliant writers have
shown themselves to be. He is not picturesque in language nor
spectacular in statements. Far better than that, he is plodding,
patient, voluminous but not redundant, exact, and thoro. In other
words he is sdentific.
Digitized by VjOOQIC
Book Reviews 187
The volume contains nineteen chapters and a selected bibliog-
raphy. The first five chapters deal with conceptions, subject-matter,
and methods of sociology, and with the relation of sociology to other
sciences and to philosophy. He believes that sociology is to be re-
garded as a synthesis of other social sciences or as a science fxmda-
mental to these, because it is broader in its scope and, therefore, more
fundamental in its generalizations, (p. 30.) The subject-matter
is social phenomena, or processes of association, (p. 21). The
problems of sociology are static, namely structure and fimctions of
the forms of association; and dynamic, i. e. of social origin, causes
of progress or regress, appearance of types, etc. Chapter 6-12 enter
intensively into the discussion of the psychical aspects of society. In
these chapters the author treats the psychological basis of society,
origin of society, the fundamental fact for psychological sociology, i.
e. social coordination and social control, the role of instinct, of feeling,
and of intellect in social life, and the theory of social forces. His
position is functional versus structural. The social process is made
up of psychical beings who, relative to each other, are inter-func-
tioning. All of the biological and psychical elements in the lives of
these beings enter in to qualify and direct the course of the process.
Synthesis of these factors, rather than control of the situation on the
part of any of these, is the author's contention. Coordinated adapta-
tion to the environment and to each other produces forms and organ-
izations which may be viewed as analogous to the formation of
habits in the individual. Changed conditions impel to readaptation
or accommodation which is mediated thru the cooperation and reso-
lution of the constituent elements. Society originated in response to
the cooperation called out by the nutritive and reproductive processes.
The instincts of animals continued to work in the lives of men, and
influenced by a growing intellect, were redirected for social purposes.
The development of intelligence and sympathy secured a coordinati(Hi
which was more in harmony with the general well-being. The
intellect is the agenc>' of accommodation, enabling the group to read-
just itself and furnishing a way to recoordinate individuals and organ-
izations. Imitation assists in "propagating acquired imiformities."
(P- 1 55-) Disintegration of groups arises whenever there is a failure
to build up new coordinations to meet changing needs. Conflict
finds its place here. Revolutionary periods appear when there is a
breakdown of social habits, (pp. 160-170). Social self-control is
secured thru a restrain on individuals thru the establishment of the
various institutions, such as government, law, religion, education.
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1 88 The Quarterly Journal
The instincts are psychological expressions of the hereditary and
selective factors which have come down in society from the past.
Instinctive impulses enter into every social activity, and since they
represent the original motor activities they may be considered the
propelling forces of socibty. Feelings are more individualistic than
instincts but qualify the social process because entering into it by way
of evaluation so largely. The intellect modifies instinctive adjust-
ments, directs the group in new ways, creates and invents to the
upbuilding of achievements or to the revolutionizing of social pro-
cedure. The remaining chapters deal with the role of imitation and
sympathy, the various phases of the social mind, forms of association^
nature of society, and theories of the social order and of progress.
Imitation is not sufficient to account for all uniformities in society.
Its best service is rendered in the middle stages of social evolution.
Since differences are essential in higher coordinations it is ineffi-
cient there. The sociological theory of progress finds good in all the
partial theories such as the anthropo-geographical, the biological, eco-
nomic, and educational, recognizes their contributions, and correlates
them. It is synthetic rather than partial. The nature of society is
psychical and the psychological theory, because it is inclusive of all
other factors along with the psychical factor, represents the "syn-
thetic or final stage in the development of sociological theory." (p.
389). Human society does not exist for the sole development of
happiness of the individual, nor of personality, but for "the develop-
ment of a harmonious and perfect society of individuals." (p. 393).
Progress means promotion of harmony among social members, coop-
erative enterprise and ability, and capacity for group survival, (p.
368).
This is a very imperfect statement of the contents of Professor
Elwood's book of nearly 400 large pages. Naturally a reviewer would
like to treat some statements critically. But the imiber of state-
ments and theories which require averse criticism, in my estimation,
are relatively few. Moreover they pertain to refinements and smaller
essentials, rather than to fundamental considerations. The voliune
is worth anyone's while to study carefully, and the author is to be
congratulated on its production.
John M. Gillette
Department of Sodology,
University of North Dakota
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University Notes
The Religious One of the things which has been distinctly
Census gratifying at the University of North Dakota
has been the large number of students who are either members of
churches or have a church preference. For several years it has been
the custom to tabulate the results of a query sent to students on this
point for the information of the administrative officers. Out of the
number, 650, registered in the different colleges, etc. all but iii
indicated their church or church preference. The table given below
shows an interesting situation that is highly commendable:
RELIGIOUS CENSUS UNIVERSITY OF NORTH DAKOTA
Church Members Preference Total
Lutheran 89 29 118
Methodist 77 55 132
Presbyterian 63 46 109
Catholic 57 5 62
Congregational 29 17 46
Episcopal 29 9 38
Baptist 17 6 23
Jewish 2 2 4
Christian Science . . . . o 4 4
Church of England . . 2 2
Apostolic I I
Not expressing religious
preference 1 1 1
366 173 650
Nor is it to be supposed that the in who did not answer are to
be put down as indifferent, but rather as withholding the information
because a personal matter. The religious life of the University takes
many forms thru the cooperation of the churches and their young
people's societies, in addition to the Sunday evening vesper service at
Corwin Hall. There is among the young people a feeling of religious
thoughtfulness that could be helped to real purpose by the develop-
ment of person^ relationship between the pastors of churches in the
dty and students of their own denominations. The Methodists have
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Google
I90 The Quarterly Journal
undertaken one plan in Wesley College; the Congregadonalists of
the state have established a church to minister to the needs of students
of that branch of christian belief, while another denomination a year
ago maintained a university pastor.
At various state imiversities a great deal of emphasis is being
placed upon the religious life of students by church bodies. At the
University of Wisconsin there are seven university pastors; at Min-
nesota the churches of the city join with the Y. M. C. A. and the
Y. W. C. A. in employing a university pastor; at Kansas are two
guild halls that aim to maintain a center for student religious life,
while at Michigan is Tappan Institute. Where the student body is
comparatively small, as at the University of North Dakota, the local
churches should, by the use of an assistant to the pastor, be able to
meet present needs, and this effort, assisted by the cooperation of
pastors in the different towns of the state, thru the sending of names
to the pastors here, would be very helpful in developing an early
interest in church connection on the part of the student. The young
people at the state universities in the different parts of the land come
from the same homes as do the students attending institutions on
private foimdations, with ideals and purposes fully as high. In the
long run the state will be regarded as the great ethical impulse which
will be maintained thru the process of public education.
The Educational The last legislature of the state provided for an
Commission Educational Commission, who were, in the lan-
guage of the statute, "to study the educational system, both in the
United States and elsewhere, with a view to formulating a report
which will present a basis for the unifying and systematizing of the
educ^ional system of this state, including the several secondary
schools and higher institutions of learning and the department of
public instruction." The Commission consists of the president of the
State University, the president of the Agricultural College, the pres-
ident of the Valley City Normal School, the chairman of the state
Senate, the speaker of the House, and a citizen of the state appointed
by the governor. During the past summer much material was col-
lected, and since the first of September the Commission has met at
Grand Forks, Valley City and Fargo for the purpose of discussing
the general features of the problem and listening to the views of the
heads of the different institutions. The Commission expect to report
to the legislature in January.
Digitized by VjOOQIC
University Notes 191
1 he Enrollment Dakota has been recognized by a steady increase
College work done by the University of North
of students in the different colleges. In the year 1909 the registration
for the colleges was 385 ; the following year the increase carried the
enrollment to 490 ; the succeeding year was one in which the state had
a crop failure, and as a consequence the enrollment was but 495 ; last
year the figures reached 534, and for the present academic year the
enrollment has gone to 532, with eight months of the year still
remaining. For the first time in the history of the University the
total enrollment, including summer schools and correspondence stu-
dents, will go beyond the thousand mark. The following brief sum-
mary will show more specifically the actual result:
Graduate Students 14
Colleges 528
Model High School 120
College Section Summer Session 87
Elementary Section Summer Session 237
Correspondence Students 42
1028
Professor Cooley** During the past summer, Professor Roger W.
iMew Books Cooley of the Law School, has had published two
new law books. One of these, published in July, is a revision of a
text-book on the law of Damages by Wm. B. Hale. This book was
first published in 1896, and has been considerably enlarged and revised
for the second edition. In September, there was published "Cases on
Insurance," a collection of illustrative cases on the law of Insurance,
to be used as a companion book to Vance on Insurance. This is the
first of a series of illustrative case books to be issued by the West
Publishing Company of St. Paul, Minn. Professor Cooley teaches
the subject of Insurance in the Law School and his book is now in
use as the foundation of the course. In this connection it may be said
that Professor Cooley has written a five-volume work entitled, "Briefs
on the Law of Insurance," published in 1905, which is recognized by
both bench and bar as a standard work on the subject Professor
Cooley will also soon have two new books from the press. One of
these is a case book on "Persons and Domestic Relations," and the
other is a case book on "Damages," to be used as a companion book to
the text on that subject already referred to. These are now in plate
and will be published early next year. The preparation of these
Digitized by VjOOQIC
192 The Quarterly Journal
books occupied the greater portion of Professor Coolcy's time for
several years before he became a member of the law faculty.
In additions to the books which he has already written or
revised, Professor Q>oley is now preparing a text-book and a com-
panion case book on the law of Municipal Corporations. These will
be published next fall.
The Women's How to bring about a feeling of solidarity among
League ^jj^ women students in a co-educational institu-
tion, how to break down the artificial division of dormitory girls and
town girls and have instead the one group, University Women, is a
serious problem. A second problem is how to bridge the seeming
gulf between students and "faculty ladies" — a phrase which includes
not only the women of the faculty but the wives of the men of the
faculty — and bring about an acquaintanceship, the benefits and
pleasures of which both recognize. These problems needed solution
here, as elsewhere, and it was in hopes of solving them that the
Women's League of the University of North Dakota was organized
in the spring of 1908.
All women students of the University, upon the payment of the
yearly dues, become active members of the Women's League. The
faculty ladies and resident alumnae, upon the payment of the same
dues, become associate members. The government of the League is
vested in two boards, the Executive and Advisory. The Executive
Board consists of ten students; four seniors, three juniors, two soph-
omores, and one freshman elected by their respective classes with the
exception that three of the juniors are elected for the two years,
leaving only one member to be elected by the senior class. The
Advisory Board is composed of two ex-offido members, the wife of the
President of the University and the Dean of Women, and six faculty
ladies, three of whom are elected biennially for a term of two years.
Up to this year, the boards have been co-ordinate in the government
of the League; but it is now deemed advisable that the two boards
should be differentiated, each assuming the function its name implies.
The Advisory Board, however, will still have a vote in matters of
finance and policy.
When the new Commons building was completed, the old quar-
ters in the basement of Davis Hall were given to the League for
club rooms. As the necessary funds are obtained, these rooms, a
reception room, a rest room, reading and recreation rooms, and a
kitchen are being redecorated and furnished. Already the club rooms
Digitized by VjOOQIC
University Notes 193
present an attractive appearance and, in addition to there being a
meeting place for the League, they furnish comfortable quarters for
the women students who live in the city and spend the day at the
University. Each Tuesday afternoon, from four to six o'clock, a
group of students, active members of the League, are at home to the
women students and faculty ladies, and over the cup that cheers but
not inebriates many a pleasant acquaintanceship has been formed.
The third Tuesday in each month the invitation includes the men of
the faculty and student body. For three years on the fourth Tuesday
of the month has been given a Twilight Concert in the auditorium of
Woodworth Hall. A merely nominal admission is charged, but the
programs are most carefully prepared. This year the Chamber Con-
certs by the Haydn String Quartet will furnish four of the programs,
and no lover of music can afford to miss this treat. The excellent
dramatic programs which alternate with the Chamber Concerts afford
a fine opportunity for the public to enjoy the histrionic ability of the
members of the League ; and this ability is of no mean order. Besides
its weekly teas, the League gives two parties during the year, an in-
formal "getting acquainted" party the first week of the year for
the freshmen, and a more formal reception later in the year to which
all the students of the University, men and women, and their parents
are invited together with the faculty, alumni, and friends of the
University.
In judging of the place of the League in University life, one must
bear in mind that the teas and receptions are only means to an end, not
the end itself. Training in the social graces ; closer fellowship among
the students ; the bringing together of students and faculty as men and
women who have common interests ; the establishment of a democratic
organization in which all students may meet on equal footing, and all
have their parts to play in carrying on its work; these are some of
the purposes for which the organization was founded. The League
will always have for its ultimate aim whatever seems most essential
for the best development of the university women, and thru this the
uplift of all University life. Knowing that growth means life and
that stagnation is death, the League is ever reaching out to greater
accomplishments, and one of its dreams for the future is a Women's
Building that shall be not only an ornament ta the campus but a
central rallying place for the social life of the University.
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The College of Law
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH DAKOTA
OFFERS:
A Three- Year Course
leading to the degree of LL. B.
A Six- Year Academic and Law Course
leading to the degrees of A. B. and LL. B.
A Seven-Year Academic and Law Course
leading to the degrees of A. B. and J. D.
THE COLLEGE OF LAW is a member of the Association of
American Law Schools. It has a STRONG FACULTY and a
GOOD WORKING LIBRARY.
For further information, address
Dean Robert L. Henry, Jr.
University, N. D.
The School of Medicine
University of North Dakota
SCOPE: The University School of Medicine offers to young men and
young women the first two years of medical work.
ENTRANCE REQUIREMENTS: Two years of prescribed coUegiatc
work preceded by fifteen prescribed units of high school studies.
DEGREE AND CERTIFICATE: Upon the satisfactory completion of
these two years of medical work the University grants the degree
of Bachelor of Arts and the Medical Certificate which admit to the
third year of medical colleges of good standing.
ADVANTAGES: (i)— Thorolv equipped teachers of all the subjects
included in the combined curriculum; (2) — Splendid laboratory and
library facilities; (3) — Small classes, making it possible for the
instructor to give a large amount of personal attention to each
student; (4)— -Expenses reduced to the minimum; no tuition fee,
only the semester fee of $25; living expenses very low; mudi car
far saved.
A course of one year of college work for nurses gives advanced standing in
leading training schools.
For further information, address
THE REGISTRAR,
University, N. D.
Digitized by VjOOQIC
Announcement
THE Quarterly Journal is a periodical main-
tained by the University of North Dakota.
Its primary function is to represent the varied ac-
tivities of the several colleges and departments of the
University, tho it is not limited to that. Contri-
butions from other sources are welcomed, especially
when they are the fruitage of scientific research,
literary investigation or other forms of constructive
thought. Correspondence is solicited.
The subscription price is one dollar a year, single
numbers, thirty cents.
All communications should be addressed,
Thb Quarterly Journal,
University, North Dakota
Editor's Bulletin Board
THE next number of the Quarterly Journal
will represent the political and social sciences.
In it will be found the long promised article by Dr.
Libby on ^'Political Factions in Washington's Ad-
ministration," and that of Justice Bruce on "The
New Individualism,'' both unavoidably crowded out
of earlier numbers. In addition there will be found
at least one other, a study of the Exile and its ef-
fects on the Hebrew people, by Dr. W. N. Stearns,
Professor of Biblical Literature and History in
Fargo College.
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The University of North Dakota
SUMMER SESSION, 1913. JUNE 23 TO AUG. 2
THE ELEMENTARY SECTION (beginning June 30) is under the
management of a Board consisting of the State Superintendent,
the President of the University and the County Superintendents
of Grand Forks, Pembina, Nelson and Walsh counties. Profes-
sor C. C. Schmidt of the University is Director. It offers work
of special interest to teachers in the rural schools, and also to
those expecting to occupy grade positions in village and city
systems. The State Board of Examiners accepts creditable
work in lieu of examination in certificate subjects.
THE COLLEGE SECTION offers instruction in seventeen college
departments including economics, education, history, language
(ancient and modern), literature, philosophy, psychology, sod-
olog>s and the sciences. The University gives credit for work
done during the Summer Session the same as during the regular
University year.
SPECIAL FEATURES IN COLLEGE SUBJECTS:
Library Science: A course of lectures with opportunity for
much apprentice work; should equip for successful handling of
small libraries.
Domestic Science: Advanced courses offered in both cooking
and sewing, one course especially designed for teachers of the
subject in high schools.
Manual Training: Excellent facilities for prospective teachers
as well as for students doing regular work.
Course in Nursing: Designed to give adequate preparation
for intelligent management of the sick room; preparation of
foods, sanitation and ventilation especially emphasized.
Education: The new school law requires professional equip-
ment of all teachers; to meet the need courses are offered in
History of Education, Secondary Education and Psychology.
THE BIOLOGICAL STATION at DevUs Lake, with all its facili-
ties, will be open for work in Botany, Zoology and Physiography.
SPECIAL LECTURES of an educational and inspirational charac-
ter are offered daily without extra charge. The speakers in-
clude eminent authorities in various fields of thought.
THE ENTIRE FACILITIES of the University are at the scrvia
of students during the six weeks of the Summer Session. Resi-
dence Halls for men and women. A cool climate and a pleasant
campus. Expenses reduced to the minimum.
For further information, address
The Rbgistrar, University,
iversity, N. D.
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The Quarterly Journal
Volume 3 APRIL, 1913 Number 3
"Don Quixote"— a Book*
Henry Lampart LeDaum, t
Head of the Department of Romance Languages,
University of North Dakota
— "A son nom il grandit encor
To Henry LeDaum, Jr.,
and his wondering friends,
Dapple and Rocinante.
— Edmond Rostand,^
• • •
"Mientras sc duerme todos son iguales" . . . |
Don Quixote, Vol. IL, Chap. XLIII.
I
«TrvON QUIXOTE" is the book of lives, and the epitome of
-L-/ a race. It justifies the concern of thinking men because it
embodies (i) a criticism of human nature as it is, helas, and (2) a
satire on society — a society whose outworn idealism maddens men
to this day.
It is a book new-armed with wholesome wit and good-natured
farce to meet the old argument of force and the masque of authority,
the snnrk of intolerance and the jade of ignorance. It pleads with
* The In^nious Gentleman — ^Don Quixote de la Mancha— of Miguel de
Cervantes Saavedra; translated with introduction, notes, and appendices,
by J. Ormsby. There is an American edition of this celebrated transla-
tion (given to England in 1886), from the press of Thomas J. Crowell
Sk Co., both parts in one volume. Professor Ormsbys, all in all, is the
best Eng^lished "I>on Quixote" in print.
t The manuscript of this article was submitted by Professor LeDaum
only a few days before he was taken ill. He died before it reached the
printers. While he went over it with me with considerable care at the
time of submission, and while I have been very careful to respect his
every wish, it may, nevertheless, lack some of those "finishing touches"
which a discriminating author likes to bestow upon such a piece of work
when seen in the "proof." — (Editor.)
1. Le Contrebandler, stanza XXII of a remarkable poem from Lea
MusardUes (1887-1893): New edition, pp. 274-292. Charpentler et Fas-
quelles, Paris, 1911.
t While we sleep, as luck would have It, we are all equal. — ^Proverb
92 of Ormsby's collection. — Appendix I.
Co^fricht, 191S, Unlrenity of North Dakota.
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198 The Quarterly Journal
men — ^ungrateful task — ^to divest themselves of pretense and tyranny,
of prejudice and perversity. Its humanitarian motives, free from
sarcasm or condescension, captivate and fascinate. America is much
in need of its purging satire ; and, lest we forget, it is here considered
anew and without apology. So much has been said regarding "Don
Quixote/' such a wealth of personal opinion lavished on Cervantes,
and so many great scholars have honored this dear old classic that
little more than opportune restatement is left the new-comer.
It occurs to many after years of companionship with "Don
Quixote" that this book was written under the greatest political and
social di£Sculties. It was ; and their solution must be sought in his-
tory as well as in the matchless fable which embodies or conceals
Cervantes' ideas. They find that this seditious man escaped from
the fangs of the Inquisition. He did; and the good Archbi^op of
Toledo must have trembled at the audacity of his protege! They
wonder that Spain tolerated the book, its treasonable utterance and
bold symbolism I Why? Was the prophet then not understood in
his own country and were Spaniards mystified or lost in conjectures?
Neither I Nor did the message of Cervantes go astray. It could
not. The world was ready for it. Consider how, in course of time,
the natural man, his social rights, and his personal freedom, had
been abanboned or bartered for a mess of pottage, culture, or impos-
ture! I marvel not at the exceeding cunning and dangerous artifice
required to bring him back to nature and reason. He bows to so
many superstitions, obscures his vision with so many idob, pays tri-
bute to so many subtle middle men, and stands inert against so much
tradition : he will long need craft or native sagacity to find his way
out of the toils. Some live to learn that our institutional claptrap
does not make a man, and often obliterates his humanity; others,
that to live by profession, to carry out an ideal rigorously, to educate
away from reality, is to educate falsely, is to neutralize the springs
of action, is Quixotic, is fatal ! The ancient, vested interests engen-
dered fear of progress; will free thought and free speech, free in-
quiry and free education, free superstitions, free heresies, make men
cruel cowards still? History will tell. It repeats itself. We arc
ever confronted by the same problems; under a new mask or under
the old, the same extortioners and executioners haunt the human
race. In their effort to apprehend the real difficulty, men tilt at
many windmills — ^will anyone say that the tilting of Don Quixote
was profitless, because forsooth windmills stood immovable and self-
complacent, like tradition or conservatism? I do not say that "Don
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Don Quixote — A Book 199
Quixote" may not be enjoyed or understood without historical refer-
ence; it needs little or none. I Mosh to make it dear, however,
that this plain-spoken book appeared in times so difficult for a plain-
speaking writer that its apparent conformity with an impossible state
of a£Fairs is the wonder of modem censorship.' "Great prudence
was required to dissemble the joy I felt/' says Cervantes, where he
pretends^ that ''Don Quixote" is a translation of some old leaves
written in Arabic "A boy was offering them for sale to a peddler;
and when, with the aid of a Morisco, I had made out the title I
bought the whole bundle for half a penny." It was Cid Hamet
Benegeli's mirific tale! This naive subterfuge long gave Cervantes'
literary offering a plausible and legitimate paternity. Is it not de-
lightful?
But I am going ahead of my story. I must here tell something
of the plan followed in these pages: —
My purpose is to awaken the interest of American students in
a worthy modem classic produced in the days of Spain's greatness.
No one, I trust, will think it amiss, on the eve of a new Spain and
of 'Tan-America," to addle our commercialism with a bit of litera-
ture!
Without pursuing this great empire with the three-fold for-
mality of a learned dissertation, I, nevertheless, do the three things
usually done in the study of a great work, and each in its own time
and need: I describe the subject; I explain the subject; and I criti-
cize the subject ; and this, that I may fulfill, like other writers, "the
laws of all progress and of all intellectual activity."^
"Don Quixote" is a world concern altho the Spaniards of Cer-
vantes' day knew it as little as the philistines of our own. He might
have known, tho, had his institutions found "more method to express
him through" and "less system to adapt him to," — or like crudities
of modem pedagogy. We hear much, in this age of relative insignif-
icance, of absolute values (as if sodety were static) and of religious
S. That Cervantes' book was closely scrutinized by the Inquisition may
be Inferred from the "Aprobaclones"— one to the first volume, and three
to the second. These with the "tasas," the certification of copy, and the
kln^s permit to print, constitute the principal documents relating to the
censorship of "Don Quixote." Note that the "Aprobaclones" speak of
the ttoral Import of Cervantes' book, and praise this, saying* nothing of
the philosophical aspect of the work. Cf. The David Nutt edition of 'H^on
Quixote" — ^Preliminaries to Vols. I and II. Cf. Also the gt>selp of the
censorship in Aribau, in Vol. 1 of the Rlvadeneyra Library. — ^Vlda de Cer-
vantes, Obras, etc.
8. — "Mucha dlscrecion fu6 menester para dlslmular el contento que
reclbf cuando llego a mis oldos el tltulo del libro, y salte&ndosele al
sedera, comprd al muchacho todos los papeles y cartapacios por medio
real."— "Don Quixote," Vol. I.. Ch. IX
4. George Brandes, "On Reading," P. 21. Duflleld ft Co., N. T., 190&
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200 The Quarterly Journal
error (as if the past only were able to think). Conduct (which needs
experience) has been too long conditioned by the ruts of prophetic
days. Limitation, ignorance, profession and protection had their
place in the economy of Spanish life, but they were a poor substitute
for character; and organization, as a substitute for conduct, was the
last refuge of an institution morally dead.
Don Quixote wrecks his life between character and conduct;
his life is a detailed confession, with startling revelations, of misAts
and makeshifts — disillusions and defeats, in a world — not of his pro-
fession! Character had been in the making for ages with seeming
small concern for conduct. Since then, character has taken on in-
stitutional stamp; but, from the viewpoint of educational cost, has
improved too little or changed too slowly to warrant institutional
monopoly. Life must face society, not scholastic abstractions; and
society must afford new channels for individual development and
personal expression. A new vision — free from ridicule, is needed in
an age of tradition and limitation, — the solemn political and theo-
logical pronouncements of the hour to the contrary notwithstanding.
But this is an essay on "Don Quixote" — the book. So I pass in-
continent a number of philosophical considerations, — ^pressing upon
us, as Cervantes would say.
My "Don Quixote" is not a regular vademecum, tho it bristle
with apostil and commentary. It is a cicerone— opinionated and ca-
pricious, strong with the conceit of new times and the egotism of
new life. This erratic creature of dilletantism and eclecticism shows
at times his lack of charity for an older art and his prejudice for a
newer craft. Yet, my dcerone is unobtrusive and unpedantic, ex-
cept by the contraries of fortune; and, he exercises independence
(when he does) according to his own competency on matters under
consideration. He is a bit too full, I fear, of the modem self, but
respectful withal in the presence of an old master. But neither
vademecum nor cicerone, — ^it is a deplorable fact, has an adequate
sense of the other's humor; and, as with the principals in the book
we are about to study, it is the wary champion of both who carries
off the prize. My "Don Quixote" is intended to reassure: — in the
silence of great thoughts, and in the loneliness of single exploration,
Its thoughtless chatter may even prove companionable! *
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Don Quixote — A Book 20i
"Buen natural tienes, sin d cual no hay scicncia que valga.
..." Don Quixote, Vol. II, Ch. XLIII.
11.
"DON QUIXOTE" is one of the great books of the world and
the greatest in Spanish Literature. It is classed among the supreme
works of the imagination and ranked hig^ in human intelligence.
Altho not in epic form, it is a national literary monument of heroic
proportions and of great human interest. It is a simple and whole-
some book, philosophical rather than speculative, and so wise as to
be undogmadc in tone. Yet it is seldom read outside of Spain by
mature readers; its episodic nature, I take it, is exploited so readily
for the benefit of children, that it somehow prejudices the adult. We
know Don Quixote as a freak acquaintance of our youth; we sus-
pect something of him in our young human nature, even in our mock-
heroic early manhood, and we often resolve to renew our acquain-
tance with him ; but lack of time, interest, or energy hinder. Should
we not first read the Hebrew Bible and the Greek Testament?
Perhaps; altho few books, Brandes thinks, even if read in the light
of our own day, prove so conclusively as these that the bulk of man-
kind cannot read at all. But we have the Iliad and the Odyssey and
the Aeneid, the Divine Comedy and Paradise Lost; we have Ariosto
and Tasso, and many more of these man-made books, divinized and
then shelved. These should be read too if we would understand the
genealogy of books, and appreciate the source of great things in Hugo,
Tennyson, and others of our modern writers. In this reading age
so full of the present, we have but little time for the old masters.
Outside of music and painting, this cult of the masters has gone
out of fashion. I venture, nonetheless, to call your attention to one
of these. His book is a treasure. It will pay you to bring to it
your rare leisure and allegiance, altho much of it may seem unworthy
and unintelligible "stuff." Be persistent! . . . The richest
ores lie deep within the earth. They arc often wedded to stubborn
and worthless rock! It is the way of nature. A nameless brook
flows immaculate between mud banks; its music springs from sense-
less stones! Nature, with all its imperfections, is nature still, and
the works of man are man's work for all that. All the truth is not
in them; far from it — and many of them are valued only for the
occasional gleams that coax the miner and give him visions of greater
things.
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202 The Quartely Journal
''Don Quixote" is among the rare books which have put in a
word of protest in subtle mockery of the petty world of artifice and
pious fraud contrived for us since the dawn of the Christian Era.
But, even before, man had striven to substitute his own devised
world for that of nature; to crown nature with a »upematural fic-
tion; to discount human nature to the credit of a hypothetical, di-
vine nature; to dwarf men into ridiculous lunatics, blindly cursing
the realities of life, and of mother earth. Where errors have so
long held sway as in Spain, the great emancipating book we are
about to study castigates too unerringly to be despised or allowed to
perish irom the earth. Take Don Quixote for health of mind and
body; its wholesome humor invigorates, its laughter is contagious,
its satire, ligitimate. Don Quixote, says the book, was a bold Knight
of La Mancha; and the discerning hero of an inunortal wind-mill
fight! His fame has well-nigh eclipsed the name of its author,
Cervantes, real hero of Lepanto, and dreaded captive of Turkish
pirates. He so singularly endowed this creature of his imagination,
that Don Quixote has, if not outlived, at least over-shadowed its
paternity. The chivalrous knight still errs undisputed over the wilds
of La Mancha, and his record of deeds is yet the golden book of
Spanish Romance. It was begun, I am sure, in a fit of fine good
humor, with no malice aforethought, only remotely imbued with
poetic frenzy or local fanaticism, and when much of life's fitful
fever had already mellowed its author. Here is a book, which in
appearance is so peace-abounding, so unmindful of the tumult of
crashing empires, so blind to general human agony, as to bafile the
modem reader regarding its ultimate purpose. Its deliberate self-
control, enticing lengths, and Spanish gravity, are in the lig^t of
history, exasperating: it disconcerts even the eager student, who finds
in it only evident meaning, reality, and common-places. Yet, it was
conceived in the days of Spain's greatness, and completed amid the
most ominous signs of its mighty fall to death and oblivion. I am
referring to the XVIth century.^ Charles V. (1500-1558), King of
Spain, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, and Lord of the
Americas . . . had brou^t his eventful reign to a dose, em-
bittered and disgusted with the Dutch in particular, for rejecting
the blessings of his divine rule. He had tried hard to bring about
religious unity with the help of the state, and had failed as con-
6. Concerning this eventful epoch, of. Martin. A. S., "Hume's The Span-
ish People — ^Their Orl^n. Growth, and Influence.** with summaries after
each chapter: Index and Bibliography: D. Appleton ft Co.. N. Y., 190S.
The best short history of Spain written: it abounds in significant chapters.
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Don Quixote — A Book 203
spicuously as France in the next century would fail to bring about
political unity with the help of the church. It was only despotism
in churchly guise now waging a bitter war for world sway and re-
incarnation. Philip II (1527- 1 598) succeeded quite as little in the
aims and ambitions of his father. His plan to put all Europe under
the yoke of Catholic Rome failed signally in spite of paternal in-
struction, imperial resources, threats and force. He died like Charles
V, self-iounured and sulking. He had found it impossible, im-
profitable and inglorious to make Christians out of the English as his
august father out of the Dutch. Nor could Philip III (1598-1624),
with his reign "i la Louis XV" of France, arrest the downward
trend of the mighty empire, and his death witnessed its passing from
the great nations of the earth. You would have thought Cervantes,
Spaniards, and other Europeans, would have 4)bserved and learned
the lesson of XVIth century Spain, but not so; where old time
royalty and ecclesiastics govern, history repeats itself with singular
regularity and fatality. Oriental despotism had taken refuge in the
Christian church ; it ruled thru the "Holy Inquisition,"* and Luther
(1483-1546), had only just proclaimed the individual conscience and
the "protesting" reason. And this protesting reason, in so far as
superstition is compatible with reason, had not as yet so effectively
murmured against medieval Rome!
Cervantes was born in 1547; he had thus lived thru the event-
ful times if this great century when he died in 1661, the year of
Shakespeare's death. Nor did he live far from the center of things :
Alcala de Henares, his birthplace, is only a few miles northeast of
Madrid on the highway to Saragossa and Barcelona. — He must
have heard all about him the glorious tales of the conquistadors,
their discoveries in the New World, their picturesque adventures,
and their deeds in all the Americas. He must have seen the soldiers
of Charles and Philip march away, each an hidalgo, a caballero, a
matamore or a conquistador, to the subjugation of the Heathen, the
Jew, the Moslem, to exterminate the protestant Dutch, the Moor,
or the American Indian, or escort suspect fellow Christians to the
6. Cf. Henry Charles Lea, IiIi.D.: History of the Inquisition of Spain;
4 vols.; only volume 1 and 2 have appeared. Macmillans. N. T., 1906.
This voluminous, non-controversial writer is perhaps the most complete
on the "Inqisition." Among his ei^ht erreat works, the History of the
Inquisition of the Middle Ag'es, 3 vols., is the best known; Harper's &
Brothers, N. Y.. 1887. Aside from these standard works. Dr. Lea has
given: The Moriscoes; Studies in Church History; History of Auricular
onfesslon; Indulg-ences in Latin Church; a Historical Sketch of Sacer-
dotal Celibacy; Superstition and Force, etc.
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204 The Quarterly Journal
quemaderos, to be burned alive.^ Thru the Holy Inquisition, its
Ximenes, Albas^ and Torquemados, the flames of the church were
richly fed in those good days of religious supremacy. It was a
popular delight; eager spectators flocked hither from the ends of
the Spanish realm. The victims, clothed in the sambenito — a yellow
shroud of infamy, were to be burned, strangled, or otherwise executed
in public. This wholesale persecution by their Christian majesties
reached apalling figures. Ward^ quoting Galton, says: "The Spanish
nation was drained of its brains at the rate of looo persons annually,
for the three centuries between 1471 and 1781. . . ." The act-
ual data during those 300 years are 32,cxx> burned alive, 17,000
burned in efiigy, and 291,000 condemned to various terms of im-
prisonment, and other penalties. But Clericalism is heir to all that
dies in Spain. The church lives by the time-honored conspiraqr of
its buried hosts. And its thrift and enterprise in Spain are here
shown to give the alert reader a clearer sense of the role about to
be played by "Sancho Panza" in the affairs of men. These figures
do not represent the drain on sodety by the pacific (and laudable)
methods of the church. It bespoke fair daughter and gentle son for
its vast organization until it strained the family without economic
returns and bred its best strain to a barren social issue. And Spain
responded until the nation was deprived of sociable contact with
these choice members of its race and the race was denied their better
qualities in the breeding strain of the nation. It was this ''holy''
regime which enslaved South America, which despoiled Mexico,
which led to the murder of 1,200,000 (twelve hundred thousand)
harmless Indians in Cuba, Jamaica, and St. Domingo," hanging
them by thirtecns in honor of a merry thirteenth apostle.^® Such
figures can be matched only in the very Christian France of the next
century when from the St. Bartholomew to the close of Louis XIV*s
reign, 300,000 or 400,000 Protestants perished in prison, at the
galleys, in their attempts to escape, or on the scaffold ; and an equal
niunber emigrated. Italy was also frightfully persecuted at an
earlier date. Portugal, too, was long aflame with the fires of the
7. For this relig-ious mania of pubUc atake-buminff in the Spanish
nation and in its possessions. — Mexico, etc.— cf. Hume. Op. cit. Ch. X.
passim.
8. For Alba's bloodthirsty career, cf. Hume. Op. cit. P. 372 — ^footnote
especially.
9. Lester F. Ward; Applied Sociology, P. 162; Oinn & Co.. Boston, 1906.
10. Fox-Reece; Martyrology, Vol. I. Read this work, tho somewhat
aged, if you would test the temper of political Christianity. Cf. also
the works of Lea., op. cit. in note 6, passim.
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Don Quixote — A Book 205
Inquisition; but I must return to Cervantes. He must have heard
of the Spanish gold-and-silver-laden galleons, for at that time every
one had his ship coming in at turreted Sevilla, on the Giiadalquivir.
He must have heard of the Invincible Armada (1588) a threatening,
murderous doud, sailing away to scourge England's renegades and
antichrists. Spain could hardly endure these Islanders since Henry
the VIII had been proclaimed by the English Parliament (1535)
the only supreme Head of the Church in England 1 Now, Philip
would punish this boorish pretense. But the England of vfrtuous
Queen Bess was ready with its good ships and native storms! He
must have heard of Luther and the Reformation, of Jerusalem and
its unquestioning zeal. He must have heard of King Francis of
France, of the Medicis, and later, of St. Bartholomew. He must
have heard of these things and was a spectator of some of these!
But if so, his book says it not. As a well advised Spaniard, he sees
nothing, hears nothing, knows nothing, at least he says nothing of
the boiling cauldron of his day. Yet, he must have felt its muzzling
obscurantism, the operations of the church, and its resistance to truth
thru press-censorship. Had not Spanish literature as yet discovered
its true function, or was it interested in the Ancients only? The
latter, I fear. Cervantes had not, nor anyone else, as yet discovered
the Spanish people. No one at least had spoken in language meant
for men. His outward sympathy with the spiritual system of Spain
may have been enlisted thru the national fear of the Moors, or of the
Moriscoes, — race hatred being then extensively exploited. Had he
not shared the national zest for a raid on the Jews, or a descent on
the Turk? But Cervantes is as silent about the church with its
temporal pretenses as he is about the monarchy with its divine pre-
tenses. Yet he must have seen that these institutions were enslaving
his country with erroneous and stupid dogmas, and unworthy deeds.
Cervantes knew that institutions and ideas are man-made, projected
by men to emancipate men and not to brand them with a covenant
distorted into proprietary rights of divine origin. Even Dante sus-
pected this, tho he judge with the reason of his day, err with the
conscience of his times, and censure with the appalling severity of
his age. But however much we might expect these things to be
dealt with in his great book, Cervantes does it not. We might en-
joy contemporaneous comment on Philip II living in his Escorial
tomb, studying magic, bending over an alembic seeking to transfuse
base metals into gold; or in his crypt, hung with ghoulish shadows
and smoking torches, practicing astrology; but Cervantes has not a
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206 The Quarterly Journal
word of these royal idiossmcrades.^^ He seems leagued with the
shades of nig^t to hide such sinister sinners and keep their painful
secrets. Or else, he may have been too busy making history, while
a soldier, in his early manhood; or too engrossed with his own
Quixotics, as an author, in his decline; for Cervantes had a busy
life.
There are three important epochs in his life: his literary and
military career to Lepanto (1571) ; his captivity of five years among
Algerian corsairs (1571-1576); his government employ and his in-
ddental literary activity thence to his death in 161 6. As a soldier
he fought at Lepanto in the strait of Girinth, under Don Juan of
Austria, to break the ever threatening and tightening crescent of
Turkish invasion.^^ The Turks were masters of the Mediterranean,
and the Christian shores were constantly and mercilessly pillaged for
slaves, captives, ransoms, harems, — ^all the practices of the pirates of
Barbary. Lepanto was a great but late victory for Christendom,
and Cervantes gives us an echo^^ of it in his famous book. We get
a startling insight into the traffic of Barbary and the ways of the
semi-orientals of North Africa; we see Cervantes in captivity at
Algiers, with a lot of helpless wights, mutilated and in slavery, a
grewsome crew, noseless, earless, empaled, in chains, or rowing in
the galleys of the Turks in their expeditions against the infidels.
The chapters on the "Captive"^* arc of the most vivid in his great
work. Upon his return to Spain, Cervantes makes a new start in
life, a wiser man despite an inordinate thirst for fame, still a Span-
iard in political outlook, full of the Golden Age he has helped to
make for romantic Spain, but cured of the visions of his people. In
the midst of his var3ring fortunes, he now gives a leisure hour to
literature hoping to achieve fame as a dramatist, the dream of his
youth. Incidentally and between the acts that would reform the
drama of Spain, he hits off and publishes in chap-book form, they
11. (a) On the madness of the a«e (1) the works of the imagrlnatlon
dealing with madness, and (2), the actual madness of men. — ^whatever may
have been the cause, much has been written. Shakespeare. Calderon.
LfOpe de Ve^a. Cervantes, Ariosto. Tasso. Philip II.. etc. either produced
^eat studies of madness, or were personally mad.
(b.) Cf. Havelock. Eniis; The Soul of Spain. Houghton. Mifflin & Co..
Boston and New York; 1908, P. 226: — "Kin^ Lear appeared in the same
year as Don Quixote — when Shakespeare broug-ht toother the madman
and the fool on the heath in a concord of divine humour." Not unlike
"Don Quixote" and "Sancho**! Nor was it a mere fad of the Renaiasance.
It was characteristic of that epoch of classic imitation: '*The Wrath of
Achilles I sing." — had said Homer, in the Iliad.
12. The historic tide is turnin«r. Italy has Just closed a victorious
campaign in Africa, against Turkey. The Balkan nations are about to
complete the work of destiny — and of Italy, by driving the Turk back
to Asia.
13. "Don Quixote," Vol. I.. Ch. 89.
14. Vol. I., Chs. 89-42.
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Don Quixote— A Book 207
say, — "Nick Carter" style, a series of jibes and jests against tales
of chivalry, and wakes up one morning astounded to find himself
read and appreciated for his "Don Quixote" of La Mancha! This
celebrated knight might have hailed from any other wilderness of
Spain; for it is preposterous that La Mancha in the days of Cer-
vantes should own a single knight. To an alert Spaniard, as you
see, Cervantes' book is funny from the start.
No one was better fitted to write this book; in an age eager for
wealth, he was poor ; crazy for power, he had such only in his house-
hold; longing for landed possessions, he had none; thirsting for im-
mortality, he had hardly achieved fame; morose at the inroads of
heresy, he was serene. His book reveals this all pervading serenity.
In spite of oncoming old age, he is in healthy animal spirits, and
resourceful in adversity; and if he seems but little concerned with
the political or ecclesiastical shams of his day, he sees nevertheless
something of his own race, a glimpse of his own people thru the
medium of books. I think that Cervantes came to see life thru
books as men sometimes are led to see nature thru art. Taking his
cut from Amadis of Gaul, he proceeded to react against romances
of chivalry which he considered baneful and the source of much
of Spanish madness, if not crime. He would write a true tale, some
day, to shame this lying stu£F; he at least would write in harmony
with the possible if not the probable, and other books of chivalry
would fall an easy prey to his pen. In his varied career as retainer,
soldier, public servant, and author, he had grown practical, as you
see, but not entirely disillusioned. He loved the tales of chivalry;
he enjoyed the marvellous and the mysterious quite as much as the
native Spaniard likes it today. What came over Cervantes that made
him abandon this long cherished hope, and satirize what he loved?
We know only by inference ; in his contact with life he had met the
world of matter, of reality, of practical morality. He starts "Don
Quixote" and Kni^t-Errantry proves a fallow field for ridicule.
He shuns the spheres of direct observation which might lead to dan-
gerous reflections and possible recriminations against the established
order. He feigns insanity but speaks very rationally and wisely.
His knight is as bold and as sane as any maddon, and, of course, un-
able to waver from his ethical position. Not so with Sancho!
"Squire" Sancho Panza is a startling person, a simple serving man, a
devoted companion, our living glebe! His good-humored retainer-
ship is the most happy find in literature, and rescues this book from
being a mere variation of the Picaresque novel.
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2o8 The Quarterly Journal
Cervantes, nevertheless, imitates the Picaresque novel and the
Romances of Chivalry he ridicules. The chapters on the "Captive,"
for instance, open like the Picaresque novels generally. "Don
Quixote" bears the same features. Sancho Panza which is often
called an irruption of realism in a pure work of the imagination,
had worthy antecedents in Spain — ^without, however, so wholesome
and contagious a materialism. Imitation with Cervantes is neither
a literal obsession nor a neutralizing force; it is reminiscence rather
than memory. This fact enabled him to play lightly along the du-
bious paths of parody and to transmute unawares much of the baser
materials of his vernacular into predous literature. He admired
Amadis of Gaul.^^ And well he might, for the Amadis of Gaul is
the most significant imaginative effort in the literary transitions^
from the Middle Ages to Modem times; it was the worthiest book
of chivalry and the greatest prose work before "Don Quixote."
Cervantes, it is evident, fused in his masterwork all the chivalry of
the Amadis for his Don Quixote, and all the roguery of Lazarillo
de Tormes — and other rogues, for his Sancho Panza, the extremes of
idealism with the extremes of realism in the same picturc.s'' Now,
this admirable Amadis of Gaul, of indefinite authorship, but attri-
buted to Lobeira, is said to have originated in Portugal.^^
But Cervantes was probably not conscious of his indebtedness to
the Portuguese. The dead have no proprietary rights in literature;
the living only few; and Cervantes, as we shall see, woke up to his
only on the brink of the grave. But this is not to our purpose ex-
cept that it shows that "little" Portugal was once a force in litera-
ture, even in Spanish literature. Ariosto, Tasso, and many others^*
borrowed from Camdes, the Quixotic author of the Lusiads! Por-
tugal, it must be remembered, had its golden age of Romance with
him, before Spain, Italy, France or England had theirs. Indeed,
"Don Quixote" has served to perpetuate not only the memory of
much literary lore, but particularly the fame of what it intended
16. Cf. the Bng-lish translation of Robert Southey, from the Spanish
version of O. de Mental vo; 8 vols., Liondon. John Russell Smith, edition
of 187S. For the Spanish translation of the Portugruese orlgrinal, cf. The
"Rivadeneyra Library"; Romances of Chivalry.
16. The Amadis of Oaul is more modem than medieval in constmc-
tion and characterization. It was translated into the leading* European
languages, and in Spain alone it had twenty- two editions from 1510-1687.
17. I find a partial parallel to mv thought in John Oarrett Underbill —
Spanish Literature in the England of the Tudors, page 872; the Mac-
millan Company, published for the Columbia Press, N. Y., 1899.
18. Cf. A. Loiseau, P. 66, Histoire de la Littdrature portugalse; Paris.
Ernest Thorin, 1886. Cf. also Sou they. Preface of op. cit. in note 6; "The
romance of Amadis of Oaul was written by Vasco Lobeira, a Portuguese^
towards the close of the XlVth Century."
19. Loiseau, P. 221, op. cit, in note 18.
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Don Quixote — A Book 209
to obscure, the Amadis of Gaul. "Bien des gens," says Professor
Loiseau, "ne le connaissent que par Cervantes; la parodie a donne a
Foeuvre la vie au lieu de la mort. Si personne ne lit plue TAmadis
tout le monde a Don Quichotte."^^ This shows that books of chiv-
alry like Amadis of Gaul were still widely read by the educated,
talked about among the countless illiterate, and believed by all.
Anyhow, chivalry as an institution was lingering only in books
and these were demoralizing the individual, his home, his land, his
life. They so exalted the unreal, and endowed the remote with so
much charm that they decentered the average Spaniard. He ceased
to be practical, if he had ever been so; romance was a national
obsession; love was already an excuse for lechery; bravery for mur-
der, wit for rascality, freedom for license. He would not pay for
food or lodging and altho the innkeeper believed firmly in the chiv-
alry read to him, he believed not in impecunious knights of flesh and
bone. The innkeeper believed in giants well enough but "Don
Quioxte" must settle up with cash for the beheaded wine skiik.
Everyday life was so honeycombed with magic, enchantments, diarms,
miracles and unrealities as to make liars of the senses, a dupe of
human reason, and unfit men for this mundane sphere. . . . Poor
illuded, stubborn Spain ; its lack of fitness to see the truth, to rule itself
or lead the world is fundamental. Qualities other than hers are re-
quired to guide men or control the earth. The Arab, whose wont it is
to fold his tent and silently steal away, reached the Spanish shores in
an evil hour. He mingled his cultured blood with a barren, exalted
breed, only to be discredited and spumed without mercy by this
fanatical, intolerant, and bull-fighting'^ Christian. The Spaniard has
fared accordingly. In his dash for glory, and renown, his native
thirst for immortality in the days of discovery and conquest, I often
think I see the last glow of the Moorish Crescent cooling in the far-
off Americas and finally going out! And Spain is hunger-stricken'*
in the midst of plenty ; Spain is idle*' in a world of great commercial
opportunity, which England eagerly seizes. ... A dose stu-
dent of Spanish society in Cervantes' day has it in a nutshell; he
says of the provindal gentleman of that epoch : "Lliidalgo vit chiche-
ment sur un lopin de terre, oisif et glorieux. Glorieux, car il est
so. Ibid. pp. 68. 64.
21. Bull-flffhtinff is. like reli^on, only habitual in Spain. It is not an
inatinct; it ia due to cultiyation and education and it is nation-wide.
22. On Spain Aying of hunger — tho the neatest wheat country In
E3urope— cf. Hume. P. 878, foot-note. op. clt. in note 6.
28. Hume. op. cit. in note 6.
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2IO The Quarterly Journal
beau de se sentir noble, oisif, car it est deshonorant de travailler."^^
The proof of national improvidence is complete: is there in modem
history a more thoro or swift national decay and a more saddening
spectacle than Spain's colonial failures and actual dispossession?
. . . And Sevilla sleeps; its turreted docks and ebbing river
banks are silent. Only an occasional ship sights the Golden Tower
with cornelian stealth. . . . But Sevilla may waken. Its cathe-
dral and bull-ring, serpentine streets and carpet-hung thorofares, its
white Moorish fronts and red cascaded roofs, may yet start at the
name of Cervantes, and his call for patriotism. And, then, the gay
old city of plunder and privileges may shake o£F its lethargy and its
lone streets echo once more with the martial tread of the conquisto-
dors! And these will conquer at home, usher in the new order, ques-
tion the national aversion to progress, and cease living in isolation.
America will hail the new resurrection. For Spain lives in her exiles
of twenty nations,*^ and its world dream is rounding into coherence.
Indeed, great national revivals are at hand. New Italy is risen, and
already in conflict with its traditional foes. New Spain is preparing
to follow France and Portugal. The great book under discussion may
here play an important role. . . . And it must, if the Spain of
Galdos, of Ferrer, and of Canalejas, heed the deeds that never die tho
the generations come and go! New Italy sprang out of Dante and
his '^Wonderful Vision." It dignified its political program with its
bold patriotism. New Portugal took flame from Camoes and his
'Xusiads." New Spain may yet woo and win fickle political fortune
with Cervantes. His delectable "Quixote" was written for Span-
iards. For it was not the literature of the day whidi was mad, it
was the people reading it. Thru his book Cervantes ultimately meant
to reach Spain, not books. Such a conclusion is inevitable if we
reach thru the book to the soul that created it.
Cervantes, before Dickens, forediadowed the new order, the
proletariat. His great work is classic and of the past of course thru
"Don Quixote" and his "Kighthood"; but it belongs to our times
thru Sancho Panza, the symbol of democracy. The dvil status of
the people had gone by default as elsewhere in Europe, thru centuries
of ecclesiastical enterprise. And the Spanish people lay buried in
24. A. Morel-Fatio; Btudes sur rEspa^ne; I. P. 887. Ch. V. Le Don
Quichotte envisa^d comme peinture de la 0oci6t6 espagnole du XVI at du
XVII allele.
26. The first Pan-American Congress met in Mexico City, in 1901. Cf.
the "Boletin" of the South American Republics. pubUshed at Washing-
ton, D. C, for the reportSt plans, and pro-ams of the Pan-American
Union. — Bulletin of the Pan-American Union, — Official organ of the Union
of American Republics, Washington, D. C. Illustrated.
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Don Quixote— A Book 2ii
history for seven hundred years. Cervantes sounded a first reviving
note in his "Numanda.''^^ But in spite of its enthusiasm, Spanish
patriotism lay stone-dead in the sptH of church altars. His "Nu-
manda,*' tradition says, was a literary damor in the fidd of history,
an exercise in the dassic fiction of andent Rome, with so mudi
rhetorical warmth as to once kindle action and heroism. . . •
Once, is not a whole failure. But his '^Numancia," it is agreed, is not
the living prose of "Don Quixote." The play in verse is not on the
democratic plane of a "squire" about to rule "Barataria" — ^without
patriotism ! . . . For even "Don Quixote" breathed his heroic day
oblivious of political liberty, as an abstract idea or social prindple.
Sancho, his convivial squire — as little conscious of Spanish patriotism
— frets over his home, not his country. It was the wisdom born of
prudence and experience. Cervantes, like the Spaniard of his day,
takes Spain for granted, and the world as a matter of course; too
much so perhaps to inflame the patriots of New Spain, leaderless and
landless! What if a splendid radal egotism without roots in native
soil once made him a Spaniard at home on the globe? What if this
romantic Spaniard, long envied and imitated abroad, subdued em-
pires for the Friars? It was good for old Spain, but not for a rising
Spain, imbued with new thought. The odd dtizenship of "Don
Quixote," contagious in achievement, impervious to ridicule, oblivious
of defeat, is perhaps too mudi charmed with haunting security and
idle pladdity, to overcome sodal inertia and economic stagnation.
But it was only the part of discretion. Nor would the Spaniard of
that day have sensed Lessing, who owned fraternity with mankind,
regardless of nationality, or creed, or landmarks. Cervantes was
always a Spaniard and a Faithful ; to him the world bdonged ; over
it, he roamed its law-fiiver and final judge, like Don Quixote!
26. (a) Numancia. — a play. Translated by I. Y. Gibson, Liondon. 1886.
— ^Another translation in French is ^iven in Larousse, Grand Dictlonnaire.
(b) ThMLtre de Cervantes, by Alphonso Royer, 1862, 12 mo.
— Speaking of the "Numancia*^ — not ^ven in the Rlvadeneyra of 1864
— ^Ticknor says: "It awakened and still continues to awaken patriotism.*'
. . . "With Cervantes the hapless Numancians are Spaniards." Cf. P.
126, Vol. II, Spanish Literature. 8 vols., Houffhton, Mifflin ft Co., Boston.
1882.
— ^And Pitzmaurice-Kelly, after rating the exaltation of Ticknor — ^whom
he accuses of condoning the bad technique of the "Numancia" as a play —
says: "First and last, the play is a devout and passionate expression of
patriotism; and as such the writer's countrymen have held it in esteem."
Cf. P. 226, Spanish Literature, D. Appleton St Co., N. Y., 1898.
— ^And Larousse, In the Grand Dictlonnaire Universel, rehearsin^r the
critiques of his day, pronounces this play — ^written about 1684 (and pub-
lished only three hundred years later: — "L'un des plus beaux du Th6&tre
eflpa«rnol." Cf. P. 1168— art. Numance. In this article are sriven the
old verdicts of Sismondi. of Schlesrel, and the Judgment of Ticknor — so
warmly berated bv Fitzmaurice-Kelly. quoted above. The old critics,
•specially under the influence of French models, believe the Numancia
a ffood play; others, a bad play; but ail agree on its fine patriotism.
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212 The Quarterly Journal
And much of this world is still Spanish and mudi of its virgin soil
still belongs to the denizens of "Barataria," land for Don Quixote
to give and for "Sancho" to rule! What an alluring field for the
waking patriot and what tempting work for the student and the
scholar, the economist and the statesman! They, too, are contributing
to the national revival ; the movement for nationality and donocracy
is largely their work. In this time of need, their duty is no longer
purely academic; they labor to transmute feudal blood into modem
work, and social position into popular education. Perhaps the time
has come when the "Ccrvantes-Saavedra"^ may knit hands with the
"Dante-Alighieri"28 for Latin concord and unity!
It was an inauspicious day when early Christianity blazed the
way to heaven for a people without suiEcient native stamina, enough
of the instinct of self preservation and individual dignity to react,
even fn time, against the zeal of its material priestcraft and imbecile
royalty; nor indeed, able to rescue from these its rights to national
existence and terrestrial subsistence ! But the book is a little broader
— ^more philosophical as it were; it deals with the dupery of men,
the old humanitarian fraud exploited by the church, the old judicial
pretense executed by the State! "Men are like Sancho," says Ste-
Beuve 'P "they whet their native sagacity on some folly in which they
half believe, as a grinder his knives on stone." Most men indeed
sharpen only upon contact with much of our useless and antiquated
hardened social organism. Like Sancho, they stick to, and believe in
this silly order of things, to the extent of a third or fourth of it,
just enough to keep it alive, especially if baited unto adherence widi
some interest or humoured with a promise of reward; the bribe of
fame or of eternal life, an office, a sacristy, or a speakership, or an
"island," as in this case. And when Sancho obtains the governorship
of his long coveted island he governs apparently as wisely and effec-
tively as any of the governors of his day — men he had seen — crafty,
irrational, incapable, ignorant, selfish, haughty, and dissdute — ^the
creatures of kings. But the pages of Cervantes on government are
little quoted nowadays; he says nothing of our burning mimidpal
problem or of methods of government; even less on reform tho he
prate, thru his Sancho, of justice, right, etc., in subtle parables; and
27. The writer has in mind "La Cervantee-Saavedra — Sociedad Inter-
nacionale hispano-Americana" — ^with a program much like that of the
••Dante Alighleri Society" of Italy. ^ ^ ^^^ ^ ^ „ ,.
28. La Dante Alighieri, Society nazionale per la dUfuaione deUa linguA
e della coltura itiallane fuorl del regfio. ^ ^
29. Ste-Beuve — ^Nouveauz Lundls, VIII. Reflexiona on Don Qulzotti P.
88. Calmann lAv\, Paris, 4th ediUon, 188B.
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Don Quixote— A Book 213
I have no hesitation in saying that if he did he would hold — in spite
of his own administration of Barataria — the old aristocratic argu-
ment that the people need bread, not votes; work, not constitutional
amendments; money to pay house rent, not referendums; clothing,
not recalls; employment, not initiatives — ^representatives, not direct
election by the people — and modem literature would once more gasp
at this criminal indi£Ference or supine ignorance of popular govern-
ment and its claims! But to Cervantes, government was an art,
not a science.
Thru the net-work of alternately literary and artistic currents
there runs a live undercurrent of social concern and philosophical
interest. Cervantes' famous book thus combines social with literary
endeavor. His book is imbued with the spirit of modern things; there
is not as in Rousseau, — ^who lived his own life but wrote for pos-
terity, — z, constant out-cropping of the great modern traits; still his
book is live writing. His satire of the literature of chivalry bespeaks a
revolted mind, actuated by rational motives. From the point of view
of literary art his book is an advance over his contemporaries. Don
Quixote looms up gaunt, inalterable, immaculate, thru the author's
thousand pages. . . . Sancho Panza, gross, matter of fact, seeking,
and loquacious, is a worthy squire to a most worthy knight. No one
but Cervantes, it seems, could have created two such figures, endowed
them with life, to say nothing of verisimilitude, and let them wander
with such ease — not in the wastes of La Mancha, but thru the treas-
ures varied and often delicate of his great book. . . . But Rod-
nante was sure-footed, and Dapple a wise Donkey. Moreover, this
book is remarkable for naturalness of speech and simplicity of con-
struction. There was need of it. Think of the men, women and
things which constitute Cervantes' world. A patient man has reck-
oned six hundred and sixty-nine personages — ^without a villain among
them.^ You must not be deprived of the pleasure of making their
acquaintance yourselves, and pass on this villain question! But the
book has the additional interest due to international influences. Spain
had long been in political relations with Italy. Hume speaks of these
in no uncertain terms: "Most of the impetus in art and literature had
come from Italy, which country was closely connected with Spain
by conunon allegiance and constant intercommunications in war and
peace. Spanish soldiers, traders, officials and adventurers, were al-
so. On the persona^refl of "Don Quixote." cf. P. S41. op. cit. in note
11. The book of Cervantes does not preclude villanoue people. The
absence of a full-fledged formal villain in "Don Quixote" only shows that
Cervantes was not a conventional dramatist or novelist.
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214 ^^^ Quarterly Journal
most as familiar with Italian as with their own tongue and, on the
other hand, Spanish was the fashionable language in most of the
Italian cities."'^ And Morel-Fatio speaks no less truly : "Cervantes
est avant tout un disciple de Tltalie; un eleve enthousiaste de celui
qu'il nomme le divin Arioste (Galatea, livre VI). Ce maitre lui a
enseigne avec certains artifices de style, le procede qui a fait sa force
et sa gloire et dont vit le Don Quichotte; I'ironie, aimable, enjouee,
presque indulgente, I'oppose de cotte ironie froide, cruelle, accablante
des premiers picaresques espagnols. Cervantes est tout penetre
d'ltalie."^^ These are illumniating words on the relations between
Spain and Italy at this time. — Nor should we overlook in the style
of Cervantes the influence of the "Amadis of Gaul," which is the
sturdiest literary antecedent in the evolution of "Don Quioxte."
These relations and influence crop out betimes in the work of Cer-
vantes. The reader of "Don Quioxte" presently finds himself con-
fronted with names and products of Italian literature. Echoes of
Tasso's Jerusalem Liberated, a witching epic ; enchanting things from
Ariosto's Orlando Furioso,^' a mad pendant to "Don Quixote," but
another entrandng court epic; pages of pastoral literature, the next
human literary foible that Cervantes would have ridiculed** had he
lived long enough ; and other borrowings from Italy of interest mainly
to the connoisseur unless perhaps we except the "short stories" in
the first volume. There arc various opinions including that of Cer-
vantes in the second volume, regarding their literary merit, composi-
tion and introduction into the body of the work. — Here they lie, like
the Italian palace of Charles V, among the Moorish towers of the
Alhambra, tolerated with the tolerance of oblivion. This, at least,
is the feeling of dismay which overtakes the traveler who first climbs
the storied road to the Alhambra. I know of no like violation of
taste except the belfry of the Giralda — ^another conceit of Charles V,
which in its hybrid make-up lacks the force of the Florentine "pugno,"
on the ducal palace. Cervantes has knitted these short stories and
their Italian life to his purpose but, with too little gain of substance
31. Hume, P. 404, op. cit in note 6.
82. Morel-Fatio, pp. 875-6. op. cit. in note 24.
88. Cf. The Orlando Furioso of Ludovico Ariosto, Translated into
English verse by Wm. Stewart Rose; 2 vols., London, Oeorsre Bell Sc
Sons. Translation finished in 1831.
— For a ^ood discussion of "Roland Furieux," cf. the excellent book
of M. Henri Hauvette; Litt6rature Italienne, Ch. V., pt. II., pp. 227-S4C
(Ouvra^e couronn6 par I'Acad^mie Francaise) 2nd 6d., A. Colin, Paris.
ISIO.
84. Cf. Les Deux Don Quichotte — Etude critique sur I'oeuvre de Fer-
nandas Avellaneda, Paris, Didier, Nov., 1862, — Opuscule by A. Qermond de
Lavi^e, translator of the Celestina of Rojas. of the Tacafio of Quevedo.
and of Avellaneda's "sequel" to the "Don Quixote" of Cervantes.
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Don Quixote — A Book 215
and too large a cost to his art, — in interest, suspense, and unity. Their
interpolation afiFords here another comparison and a few reflections.
They stand in relation to the purely Spanish work of Cervantes as
the restorations of the Alhambra to the same art in the palace of Peter
the Cruel. It is the art of a different people of the same race. But
it speaks a staccato more pronounced in a tone less mellow; the light
of the Alcazar is less soft and the whole breathes an atmosphere less
intimate. For this Italian influence, read the story of "Cardenio";
and then follow the life of the "Captive." Altho both are wrought
with care, you feel no effort of style in the latter, the running text
is always more loose and also more largely constructed than that of
the short stories. These interpolated recitals invariably seem more
artifidal tho they are more artistic Their language and — ^as the
French call it, their feature (technique) — is more studied, compact,
and stilted, not to say stiff. It may be justly observed here that what
Cervantes makes up in style (largely under Italian influence), he
loses in taste and force (largely under that same influence). Nor
am I able to account for this artistic heresy in spite of the labors of
Bennett^ and others on literary style and taste. That he can be
meticulous, however, many of his works reveal, as well as most of
his "Second Part," or sequel to "Don Quixote." And that these
foreign borrowings do not fit like square pegs in round holes is due
to sheer art in Cervantes. Still, they lack his native freedom, his
spontaneous, rambling style, his direct and large sweep of the pen,
the unadorned and vigorous exposition of the iconoclast!
It is fortunate for these interpolations that the book of Cervantes
is simple in construction. Indeed, no book could be simpler. The
work is complete in two volumes, or parts, — separated, historically, by
the lapse of many years, and philosophically, by the weight of many
cares. . . . Why this Second Part? Why this long silence?
Why this new stand if not a literary subterfuge? .... Surely
not merely for artistic fulfillment! — Was the message of the first
part incomplete, uncertain, unconvincing? ... If so, the reader
is little served by the sequel ! Why this grudge at Avellaneda — ^un-
known and unfound — ^with feints and thrusts, and strange parleys
with men-at-law? . . . Have we not here the new madness,
and "Quixsdz" and "Panzino," their new sheepfold and new pas-
ture — ^with all the wolves thrown off the scent? . . . But,
enough of conjecture ! . . . The first part shows what is done ;
S6. Arnold Bennett. "Literary Taste and How to Form It." Qeorge H.
Doran Co., New York.
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2l6 The Quarterly Journal
the second tells what happens. The first is dynamic — direct, real,
unadorned. The second is static and slow — and much of it is fantas-
tic pastoral stuff, — not the conventional Italian pastoral of the day*^ ;
and, to vary the monotony of virtue in those blessed times, each part
contributes an occasional low story, or a facetious anecdote. The
first part of "Don Quixote" is in the vein of literary farce — ^the blows
received are exaggerated, the threshings numerous, the moods inten-
sified, the conclusions indifferent. The animals to which master and
servant have entrusted their wills, arc rather conspicuous. Tlie per-
sonages are real. Heroic deeds crack on the doughty knight's bones
or armor; the events are probable, altho bound up with lowest ele-
ments of Spanish society. The bookish ideal and the earthly real
crash mightily. The wary Quixote shuns human habitations and
human comforts, and nature lends its dash of color in a life lived in
the open wilds of LaMancha. ... I say "lends" because Cer-
vantes is of his age regarding nature ; he is out in nature but not with
nature, its moods and essentials; there is no special reference to the
air, the sunlight, the sky, in their vital significance. Cervantes* feeling
for nature was perhaps more wanting than unrealis&ed. In any case,
his expression of nature is conventional, if his Sierra Morena be taken
as an instance. It is inadequate, for the modem student, at least,
and of a card-board complexion which strongly suggests the stage-
art of his day. The wild splendor of the Sierra, its cumulative power,
did not invade his artistic consciousness if it moved his soul at all.
Schiller would have done better tho of course more happily served
by the imagination of his time. In this matter, however, Cervantes
may have yielded to the manner of the day. The vogue was Italian ;
it is found in the treatment of those subjects fdt to belong to Italian
letters and art: as the treatment of nature largely stereotyped by the
pastorals of Italy. This same influence it was that we felt more es-
pecially in the short stories interpolated by Cervantes.
The Second Part, or sequel to "Don Quixote," introduces the
principals to the rascals of high life — ^with a corresponding change of
environment. Cervantes now proceeds fo show the need of a new
society. The atmosphere has changed; life and events are staged as
in a comedy; the book is less real but more artistic, more compact
and literary; the actors are more sophisticated and have more ludd
moments. Don Quixote accepts shelter, comfort and leisure, and
Sancho grows more conventional and cultured from experience and
36. M. LavigHe holds that the "sequel" of Cervantes is largely and
unwittingly pastoral in atmosphere. Op. cit. in note 84.
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Don Quixote— A Book 217
social contact. But such experience and such contact! It is a most
incredible phase of Cervantes' work. Poor human victims, of design
and craft I — But, even here, the humorous vein is rich, and nothing
is more shrewdly conceived than Sancho's penitential lash (diverted
by him to neighboring trees) in expiation of his laaster's folly and
imaginary wrongs. — It is the craft learned in the school of life.
. . . The school of life gives experience, to meet experience; it
lends to the understanding a practical sense of the isms exploited by
countless charletans or obscured by the ruling few. This school of
life does not arm the soldier's tongue for the scorn of position,
the abstractions of theology or the obtrusiveness of dialectics,
. . . nor the boor's with subtle wisdom. . . . Nor is this
part of "Don Quixote" difficult to understand. In spite of
his desire to subtilize and theorize, Cervantes is clear. It does
not demand more historical knowledge than the other part to be
read with profit by the average reader. A large reality still pervades
the book; its external symbolism is intentionally merged with mock
internal mysticism, a combination exceedingly^ subtle and bold in the
artistry of his day. But Cervantes here succeeds admirably; he ac-
complishes the unteachable thing; the miracle wrought in the execu-
tion of this great work; he fuses matter with style and leaves us to
marvel at that external question of style solved with off-hand alac-
rity by the practical genius of our day.
Another feature of the second part, not intended to be humor-
ous, is Cervantes' literary wrath at Avellaneda, the harmless writer
of a "sequel"^'' to "Don Quixote"; he was so bold as to poach on
Cervantes' preserves long enough to "see thru" the "Don Quixote"
in Its second part. From the 59th chapter to its close, thru 14 chapters,
the cynical "theft" and impertinent claims of Avellaneda haunt him
and disturb his wonted equanimity. And yet, it has been shown**
that Cervantes actually copied this much reviled "Continuator" ; that
Cervantes was even surpassed** by Avellaneda in the execution of the
"logical" sequel or second part to "Don Quixote"; and that behind
the pseudonym lay not a "boor" but a well-intentioned gentleman*^
87. The Sequel of Avellaneda may be found in its native idiom In
"NoveIi8ta8 posterlores a Cervantes, — M. Rivadeneyra. Vol. XVIII of the
Biblioteca de Autores Espaftoles, Madrid, 1852, pp. 1-115, double column;
a literary curiosity, if of no other interest now.
88. This opinion is reached by Professor A. O. de Lavi^e after a
close study of the two origrinals. P. 87, op. cit. in note 84.
89. About the respective merits of the two sequels, cf. chs. Ill, IV,
and V. Lavierfie, op. cit. in note 34.
40. Concerning the identity of the writer of the Avellaneda "sequel"
and the name of Dr. Bartolome Leonardo de Arsrensola — Ara^onese,
(16e4 — ), cf. Ch. II., pp. 27-30. op. cit. in note 84. Regarding the "Avel-
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21 8 The Quarterly Journal
and a scholar — ^thc belated ire of M. de Ste-Beuve^^to the contrary
notwithstanding. But this is a long story, the closing chapters of
which belong, I fear, to posterity. The controversy, fortunately,
cannot deprive us of the sequel of the one or of the other ,* and, as the
world would be poorer, you will agree, without a sequel of any sort
by Cervantes, we owe it in truth to Avellaneda. Tho it accelerated
its completion, — ^there are signs of haste in the closing chapters of the
book, it compelled Cervantes as no other thing had, to publish this
second part, a promise of long standing and in the case of some of
his works, never fulfilled. This brought his wonderful career prac-
tically to an end. "Don Quixote" had been in the making for thirty
years, an old man's book but abundantly nourished and singularly
well balanced, for its author was now at peace with the world. Yet,
latter day wizards have sought to read into it much political, ecclesi-
astical, and social symbolism, or diabolism, going so far as to pro-
nounce his Lady Dulcinea del Toboso a subtle grind on the virgin
Mary ; but there is nothing in this, altho mariolatry and other forms
of idolatry are rampant in Spain. There is nothing so subtly sym-
bolical in Cervantes' great book, men having at all times idealized
the young woman, if not idolized her outright.
Many other wonderful claims arc made for its genial author but
all quite as futile. . . . Cervantes' book, I repeat, is the last of the
books of chivalry ; it rehearses by reference all the others ; it discred-
its these works of imposture on the credulous, their charlatanry, their
science of magic, sorcery, astrology, and enchantments. It ridicules
their view of life with deeds passing wonderful but probable, out-does
with native Spaniards both mad and sane the unearthly prowess of
enchanted foreign knights. It ruined, not the institution which was
dead, but its baneful lingering idealism, its out-of-date dogmatism, and
pretended public utility. Tho still essentially literary and not yet a
transcript from actual life, this note of the probable, to say nothing
of the possible, makes Cervantes' book the first modem book in Spain,
in spirit, in purpose, if not in contents. Its naturalness of speech and
contagious satire made all other Spanish books ridiculous. Spain was
a rich field for satire; it is still open to satire, and most hopelessly
laneda" Sequel, the "Rlvadeneyra" editor, Don Cayetano Rosell. says that
the real author of this sequel is not known; Srd note, P. 1 of Rosell's
preface to the imitation (1864); also P. XXX of Vol. I., vida de Cer-
vantes. Note that these Spanish editors of the Rivadeneyra do not ac-
cept the conclusions of M. de Lavig-fie, arrived at twelve years before.
41. Ste-Beuve. P. 29 of op. cit. In note 29, squelches M. de Liavigrfie
for his "Don Quichotte de Fernandds Avelleneda" — Didler. Paris (trans-
lation named in foot-note to P. 29), and bitterly criticizes Avellaneda for
his erstwhile impertinence! Truly amusing in M. de Ste-Beuve!
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Don Quixote — A Book 219
in need of it, modern, wholesome, cogent, regenerating satire. And
yet, I doubt if Spain is much farther traveled on the road to reason ;
in spite of Don Quixote's bruises, his moments of lucidity piercing
thru the national dementia, the Spanish character has not been phased.
Cervantes endowed his heroes with too much human sympathy to
challenge reflection and effect regeneration, — ^the Spaniard is "Quix-
otic" still and is not ashamed. Cervantes' work is more like a vindica-
tion of the common Spaniard seeing ideals with native clarity, but un-
educated or educated falsely, a victim of his institutions, of antiquated
systems, and of men who by the most questionable methods have for
centuries deliberately converted the means of social emancipation into
a national self-complacent inertia. These motives are most apparent
in modern Spain; out of 19,000,000 (in 1900) people, only one third
today know how to read or write; out of eighteen provinces, only
one is industrially significant ; its few consumptive railroads have only
succeeded slowly to drain the rural districts and congest the stifling
city. And yet this social massing at vital points may open a new era
for the Spanish people ccmiing as it does under the spell of the politi-
cal agitator and the popular socialist.*^ For even the instinct of self-
preservation has made the people resourceful in the tace of intolerance
and obscuration. Withal, the work of Cervantes survives. "Don
Quixote de la Mancha" remains a diversion as amusing to the un-
suspecting Spaniard as to the wary world. It is, unobtrusively withal,
full of moral significance and great in human interest. It did its
work unerringly against ridiculous literature ; to have coped with life
more effectively, to have struck at Spanish institutions more vitally,
would have required the laughter of Moliere, the pen of Voltaire, the
imagination of Rousseau, the critical sense of the French revolutionist.
To have done it would have required a different aim in XVIth cen-
tury literature, in Spain, and a different purpose in Cervantes ; writing
in those days was largely a society or court diversion, the cultivation
of an art, and only incidentally a public utility or a humanitarian in-
strument. That Cervantes had ideas on the pompous rhetoricians
of his day you will find delightfully shown in his prefaces and in the
body of the work.
In reading "Don Quixote," you will need to be patient ; you wiU
find that Cervantes nods like the great epic poets, a fond characteristic
of literary greatness. But you wiU be pleased to find your objec-
tions anticipated, for when the interest of the story begins to flag,
42. For the movement of Spanish life to the city, cf. Havelock Ellis, —
op. clt. in note 11 (b) — ^Introduction, P. S.
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220 The Quarterly Journal
Sancho frets and wants to go home. Can you imagine more father-
ly solicitude for the child of his brain or the "dear gentle reader" —
whom Cervantes always addresses in witching prefaces full of delight-
ful intimacies, freshness, and candor? — And the mirth, — and the
fun, — and the proverbs! . . . Not the least inviting phase of "Don
Quixote" and withal characteristic of Spanish books, is the matter-of-
fact, common-place philosophy of Spaniards, as revealed by their
proverbs. They spring uninvited on every occasion, with Spanish self
assurance and self sufScicncy. They constitute the hearsay sdencc of a
stagnating people, the argument of the ignorant, the obsession of our
modern bromide. These snatches of self-evident truth are interjected
deliberately in "Don Quixote," often, indeed, clothed in irony and
seldom without a tinge of malice or wit. But the remarkable thing
in Cervantes' book is not their inoffensive and sententious casual oc-
currence, but inordinate recurrence and acomiulation by Sancho.^^
Don Quixote is astonished at Spanish proverbs and fears some evil
end for Sancho. He would that Sancho might better heed things —
his counsels : "Hear them and remember them — these good counsels."
But Sancho cannot remember special admonitions.* Charged to keep
silence, a cruel restless ordeal, he breaks out again and again, and
without warning, into veritable fits of loquacity. Then Sancho is
in his glory. By the time we go with him to "Fraudville," — ^his
"Island" of Barataria — these orgies of bromide have become so auto-
matic and impressive as to stand him in stead of genuine administrative
sagacity. . . . Still the greatest legacy or contribution of Cer-
vantes to the stock phrases of the world lies in the word "Quixote" it-
self. When we speak of a Quixote notion, a Quixote enterprise, or
Quixote scruples, we know or think we know the flavor. ... As
for Sancho, he lives ; — ^hc lives ! I have heard him on the jetty of Al-
geciras, expostulating with his donkey, cork-laden from the groves of
Andalusia. I have watched him in the still hours of the breaking day
remove the traditional stones balancing his burden of cork, as if the
humor of the world had never questioned his rare good-sense in piling
stones on a donkey twin-packed with precious cork! I have met him
on the Roman bridge in Cordoba, muttering as he passed his "Vaya
Uste con Dios"t . . . oblivious of my interest in his sturdy in-
difference! He had not read M. Rostand's poem** in which, in good
48. "Yo to asegiiro que estos refranev to han de llevar un dfa k la
horca." II.. Ch. 48.
* De que han de servir si de nin^una me acuerdo?
t God be with you.
44. Cf. note 1.
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Don Quixote — A Book 221
romance, he deplores the naturalism of Sancho and his advent in the
\irorld of polite letters. But he well knew, — as I inferred from his
hapless independence — ^that Don Quixote his old master . . .
had diedlll
With all this, I have not told you the story of the celebrated
and discerning Knight of LaMancha — of his problem with the sheep ;
his self sacrifice in other fierce encounters; of Lady Duldnea del
Toboso and her elusive ladyship's subtle metamorphoses ; of the good
squire Sancho and his efficient retainership in the three sallies of his
impeccable master ; I have refrained from analyzing the racial qualities
of Rocinante and the mute resignation of Dapple — ^who, except for
their occasional outbreaks of horse-sense, are silent witnesses of the
human comedy enacted by their respective masters. I have not told
you of the excellent precepts, and the sensible dissertations which
abound in this wonderful book, but this is not my purpose. I would
have you read the book. A first hand and a larger acquaintance with
"Don Quixote," its genial author and his fallen land, wiU awaken a
new interest in literature, increase our knowledge of human nature,
and make world-wide our sympathy for mankind. — And yet, "Don
Quixote" has the defects of its qualities, ... as the goldsmiths say.
In this age of vogue and of the ephemeral, it is enduring ; in this age
of adulteration, it is unalloyed; in this age of dogma and of ready-
made programs of action, it is inconclusive. Conceived in an age of
foreign imitation, it is real; produced in the fidl of the Renaissance,
it has little of that epoch's artificial aim and pretentious style. Nur-
tured in a land of repression it flowered not out, like Shakespeare,
but in, — ^with all the misgivings of a soul longing to be free. It has
rather the national complexion of its Spanish life. But, Cervantes,
tho distinctly of his times, touched many of the problems of our own ;
yet his great book has nothing truly constructive, nothing wholly de-
structive, and nothing about scientific or rational living; only craft
to meet craft, harmless analysis and moral retrospect. This may
account for the life of this book in Spain ; it may account for the life
of Spain today. Cervantes was not an ideologue but a practical
thinker, without the social perspective of Rousseau. He was too
much a creature of memory and of books, like his "Don Quixote."
And yet, in its retrospective phase, a large phase in the sequel, "Don
Quixote" staked much of its claim to enduring fame. "Some men
live their romances and some men write them. It was given Cer-
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222 The Quarterly Journal
vantcs to do both."^^ — Rousseau built upon his, and the world still
learns from him. But neither sounds a note of the actual for us, if
the light of a modem message on "time," for instance, be flashed
across their peaceful quires.^* Time, hitherto, had been viewed as
dawn-dusk for fame to bask in. Now, a ruthless modernism leaves
a chasm for all conunent on the books of yesteryear. Ours is life
on the rock-bottom of a positive age. What can it use of the past?
To bridge across the contemplative gap separating Sancho Panza and
the ''Social Contract" no less than the French Revolution was needed.
Since then many a social tempest has been irrevocably engulfed. How
can it borrow from the past? — The great ethical abstractions like
justice, honor, and mercy are coexistent with life itself, and with
the dawn of society. If there is any evolution, it is so only in degree,
or relative to time and dime, — and in the practice of these. With
rare exception the literatures of the world have been for the elect
and of the elect ; and since the beginning of time, the craft has prated
of virtue and ideals in pretty romance and lulling fiction. There is
little, before our day, of writing in terms of energy; the old litera-
ture is not made of such practical "stuff" ; nor are the essays of Ben-
nett written for the dawn-dusk of another day. Great literature is
becoming more incidental to large purposes than it was in Cervantes'
day! But even so, "Don Quixote" is more than fine writing; yet
its theme is conventional except perhaps in his sympathetic treatment
of Sancho. The sordid traffic of his age had not passed into litera-
ture, cither. And yet it was the day of commerce and booty; the
Golden Age was aglow with the glint of American gold and drenched
with the blood of continents. It was glorious with the Spanish
idealism of the times in terms of force, the faith, or extermination.
For the Spaniard was a confirmed idealist, tho of wrong ideals. His
institutions stimulated his imagination and his zeal; they gave him
the incentive to preserve that ideal at any cost, even of reason, thru
life, and regardless of experience. This is modem, withal. What-
ever else the astute Don may do, he always and inalterably holds the
viewpoint of preserving his self-respect to himself and of showing
his better qualities to his neighbors. He thus met the efficiency test
in the education of his day. It didn't matter what occupation be
chose, — (there is no radical vocationalism or work in the education
46. James Pltzmaurice-Kelly's — Lectures Given in America, edited aa
"Chapters on Spanish Literature.*' A. Constable. London, 1908.
46. Cf. P. 16 — "How to Live on 24 Hours a Day." by Arnold Bennett;
W. Doran A Co.. New York.
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Don Quixote— A Book 223
of Don Quixote) ; Spanish blood, a shrewd wit, and ideals, and
forth into the world he went I ! ! !
Cervantes is an idealist, too, in his contemplative view of woman.
His Duldnea del Toboso testifies to his belated cult of Dante and
Beatrice. Her immaterial futility and personal nonentity outreach
the bounds of his native satire. Man fulfills in his struggle with
earth, in his commerce with men, in his winning of woman, and in
his conformity with nature, — divinity, inunortality, and other delect-
able speculations to the contrary notwithstanding. But, tho stamped
with literary dilettantism, the book of Cervantes is rescued from the
worst features of this ism,— over-feminization. As in the life about
us, — and without fatalities, there are many women in this great book.
Yet, it is a strange counterpart in the evolution of literary forms that
"Don Quixote" — one of the first great novels of modern times, —
should have no heroine ; whereas the novel of to-day has elected her
in particular. But, what if Marcela, Dorot^ the princess Micomi-
cona, Altasidora, the countess Trifaldi, the duchess of .... ,
and his own peerless Duldnea del Toboso do not make up a heroine!
Would they, in the world of his daily observation? Nor can ro-
mance, I venture to say, ever forgive Cervantes this bit of unchivalry
and cynidsmi As for Sancho's wife, Teresa, pathetic in her ignor-
ance, and dothed in homespun, poverty, and native patience, she is
too elemental and sane for pretty rhetoric. Shr *$ the Spanish race-
force; she is the native hereditary stock; she is the one abiding and
genuinely great strain in the Spanish blood — the common strain.
"Don Quixote" is thus curiously enough a man-book; there is no
woman in the net-work of the book so great as to affect the personal
destiny of the romantic "Don." The hero is not, as in Goethe, finally
absorbed by the ever impending female: — "das ewig weiblichc!" It
is a curious anomaly, which here is of interest chiefly because of the
recurrence of the same phenomenon in the literature ot the day. M.
Rostand's latest hero also emerges from the traditional order of
things in romantic literature, to answer the call of another destiny,
not nature but culture; which altho wholly artifidal, is not only real
to him but actual, entrandng, heroic! She, poor creature of fate,
nonetheless artifidal for tteing real, the creature of man and of his
order, does not emerge from the conventional frame of books; she
does not transcend the limits of her life even at the expense of her
own identity, at least not in Chanteder! "Chantecler" emerges from
the traditional toils of life and love and sex, to pursue the light of
day and the glory of the world's work! . . . As if labor were the
Digitized by VjOOQIC
224 The Quarterly Journal
end of man, and living only an incident of time I Heroic fustian and
Quixotic Chanteder; is not Goethe nearer nature than Rostand,
romanticist and idealist tho he be in this with Cervantes? . . .
Verily, "The nonsense of one age becomes the wisdom of another."*'
But it were vain to sound the modem note in "Don Quixote" for
good or for iU, were it not for such manifestations of vitality. At all
times, the influence of this Spanish classic abroad has been felt, if
countless borrowings, from translations in many tongues be good
evidence. These translations, all more or less faithful to the origi-
nal, continue to spread its humor and contents. There are bits of
"Don Quixote" in Shakespeare.*^ Traces strongly appear in Field-
ing and other novelists ; indeed, its influence in England lasted in a
quaint, satiric vein, — Cervantesque or picaresque, as late as "Dr. Syn-
tax" and "Mr. Pickwick." This influence is found in French writers
from Scarron to LeSage. — They owe much to Cervantes' genial and
ready cooperation. Dauder's hero faced his lion. . . . Other
writers of our oi^^n day owe him no less. Jean Richepin has staged
his wonderworld ; and M. Rostand, with racial intuition, once ex-
claimed :
"Je rai lu,
Et me decouvre au nom de cet hurluberlu."
— Cyrano de Bergerac, Act II, Sc VII.
Ultimately, I do not know that the author of "Don Quixote"
aimed at resucing philosophy, science, and much less religion, from
the theological discipline of the times. He has few philosophical
generalizations; his manner is perfectly analytic. He discusses
neither principles, nor systems, nor personalities. He airs few opin-
ions; he rather offers abundant materials on the factors at work in
the social operations of his day. It must be remembered that Cer-
vantes was not a student but a soldier, discriminating rather than
critical, not a constructive thinker but a musing philosopher; tho a
university man, he was not a learned pedant but a man of letters —
in a new acceptation of the term, — a writer of polite literature, with
a moral aim as the censorship of the times has it. However, it can-
not be denied that in the things of the mind (weighed by intelli-
gence) he favors free inquiry and open research, champions inde-
47. BracebrldM Hall, illustrated by Caldecott. "A Ldterary Antiquary,
by Washington Irving. P. 79.
48. Cf. Bspafia Modema (March, 1911), for a readable general article
by James Fltzmaurice-Kelly, on "Literary Relations/' — which touches on
"i>on Quixote." its author, and Shakespeare; — "Relacionea entre las litera-
tures Espafiola y Inglesa," por Jaime FItsmaurice-Kelly.
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Don Quixote— A Book 225
pendent judgment and free will — as far as such was possible under
the Inquisition; he holds for the authority of human reason, and of
the animal life. At his best, the interest of Cervantes is more bound
up with things than with ideas, with sodal intelligence than with
philosophy. Unlike Dante,. who sees better than he thinks (for Dante
thought in the abstract terms of medieval philosophy), Cervantes
thinks better than he sees, however paradoxical this may seen. He
is Spanish tradition personified in its metaphysical nullity and had
little conunerce with speculative thought. No; he was not like
Dante — of whom Paleologue says: "Sa pensee aime a evoluer dans le
monde suprasensible en dehors du temps et de Tespace, dans le
domaine des realites absolues et des verites premieres.''^^ Cervantes
would not have appreciated, perhaps not understood, the speculations
of Dante, the scientific curiosity of Bacon, or of Galileo. Cervantes
lacked the speculative faculty and the sense of esthetic abstractions.
He entertained no misgivings as to the relative and the absolute; he
knew however the personal problem of daily living. Of time and
space, not a word ; on being and destiny, no new thought. Cervantes
was a psychologist in his own way. He was little concerned with
destiny since that bulwark of speculative thought had passed from
philosophy to religion. In the medieval alembic, destiny had become
fumes which the sixteenth century Spaniard presently transmuted
into fame, ... or theological smoke! ... In the realm of
thought, the church had always looked with a jealous eye upon the
inquirer, the innovator.^^ Nevertheless, the author of "Don Quix-
ote" was thinking but his thinking was actuated by the more inune-
diate concerns of modem living. The father of *'Sancho Panza," tho
of his times, announces the present day sociologist.
Altho he says little of the leading institutions of his day( and
for a cause), it requires no rare penetration to discover what Cer-
vantes thought of the Spanish government and of the Romish Church.
Cervantes substitutes the native shrewdness of the unwashed Sancho
for the perverted statecraft of the gilded courtier. About the church,
unprogressive and parasitic, corrupt without hope of reform, "Don
Quixote" is reticent. Divided between his allegiance to the state
and his allegiance to the church, his interest and prejudices on one
side and his interests and superstitions on the other, Cervantes dis-
49. Cf. pp. 248-9 — Maurice Pal^olofue's Dante; Esaai sur son oaract^re
et son remis, 3rd edition, Paris, 1909.
60. Cf. Castllian Days, pp. 47-48, by John Hay, quoted by C. F. Thwlnr
in "Universities of the world" — ^The University of Madrid. The Mac-
millaa Company, 1911.
Digitized by VjOOQIC
226 The Quarterly Journal
cerned that the church might not long remain the center of life in
Spain and that with the advent of modem science no enlightened
society (except perhi^ in America) would again nucleate around a
religion. And it is a striking illustration of the intolerance of the
older generations for the progress and changing view point of the
new that Cervantes is not Spain's national hero instead of "Don
Quixote." But this was a delicate and burning question in Spain.
It is still arming the nations of the earth. So many of the things
that really matter and so many of the worthy aims of life are bound
up with this instituted superstition that it behooved the writer anc
thinker to proceed with caution. Cervantes did so; the fact that
his great work ignores the church as a Spanish institution proves how
much he discredited its pretenses. Only a survey of the literature
following *'Don Quixote'' shows how much of this old fustian he
brushed aside and how much more of it remains. . . . No ; Cer-
vantes was not Dante, altho like Dante at unguarded moments. The
Spaniard holds a lower plane of idea, fortunately perhaps for the peo-
ple of Spain. Cervantes' book was long the only source of homely
good, in a bigoted and dogmatic land. To this day it supplies the
average Spaniard with native sense and mother wit. And for this,
it could perhaps afiFord to hold nothing of the mental activity of its
age — its science, its invention, its industry, its trade, its history, its
knowledge, — and deal only with its book-Romance and its ruinous
social madness.
Withal the "Don Quixote" of Cervantes is not a universal
book altho its appeal is quite general. Like all the great books of
the world, it is essentially unmoral — so far as advocating any definite
system of living is concerned. Its materials are welded into an in-
strument intended to exhibit conduct struggling between charaaer
and institutions. And it does this so effectively, so abundantly, and
with so keen a sense of the humor of a discredited nature, sodal and
physical, as to make it a matter of indifference to the average reader
that Cervantes' "Don Quixote" did not compass the whole of mental
activity, the whole of social perversity, or the whole of natural stu-
pidity!. . . .
I conclude with a few helps on reading "Don Quixote." They
may not come amiss; for, as this good book has it, — no wise struc-
ture can forever stand on a poor foundation. . . .
Digitized by VjOOQIC
Don Qutxote^A Book 227
— ''Mas sabeel necio en su casa que el cuerdo en la agena."
. . . ♦ "Don Quixote/' Vol. II, Ch. XLIII.
Ill
"DON QUIXOTE" should be read at thirty, says M. Mazel,
an omnivorous reader of France^^ in a curious book entitled "VMiat
to read in a life time." Cervantes should be read along with
Shakespeare, Milton, Goethe, Calderon, Rabelais, Montaigne, Vol-
taire, Rousseau, Moses, and Plutarch. . . . These constitute his
second period of a reader's lifc,^^ between the ages of twenty-five and
thirty-five!
I cannot resist quoting^^ in M. Mazcl's simple French three
passages of more than passing felicity: i. He says of the book:
"Don Quichotte est un des chefs-d'oeuvres de Tesprit humain ; Tenfant
y rit aux eclats, Thomme y sourit pensif ; et le vicillard revient s'y
rechauffer en se frottant les mains." 2. Of its language and its
ready mastery (for a Frenchman): "le text original est preferable
encore . . . ignorat-on Tespagnol . . . des le troisieme jour
on devinera presque tout, et des la fin du mois, on le lira couramment,
Faites-en Texperiencc vous- mcmes, si vous n'avez pas appris la langue
qu'il f aut parler a Dieu" ! ! ! And of the greatest significance for the
average reader of "Don Quixote," he then adds: 3. "L'oeuvre de
Cervantes est si lumineuse qu'on peut se dispenser de lire un de ces
guides critiques qui sont si utiles pour Dante, Goethe, et Shakes-
peare." ... I am glad to have Monsieur Mazel's corrobora-
tion in things so pertinent; and I hope that if the materials which
follow do not fit his texts to the letter, other wayfarers in the
Quixotic world will rise up, as in Dante, to bear withness to my ob-
servations.
I. No one, I trust, approaches "Don Quixote" in the atti-
tude of mind requisite for the "Divine Comedy." Each of these
masterpieces of literature was a man before it was a book, a life
before it was a moniunent, and a human soul before it was a national
asset! What I have said regarding "Don Quixote" must have re-
vealed as much; — a life allegiance and a life preparation, to meet a
life, — ^no less, is the requisite in the realm of great works.
* The fool knows more in his own house, you will a^ree, than the
wise man in another's — ^Proverb 48 of Ormsby's collection — ^Appendix I.
51. Henri Mazel, — Ce qu'll faut lire dans sa vie, pp. 104 ff ; Paris, Soc.
du Mercure de France, M. C. M. V. I.
62. Op. cit.~Index lisU.
6S. Op. cit. pp. 104 ff.
Digitized by VjOOQIC
228 The Quarterly Journal
2. I do not hesitate here to recognize two classes of people
in the world of bodes, — ^the reader and the student. The great hope
of writers like M. Mazel, — and often their one triumph, is to ^>ecial-
ize a general reader and to throw upon his brow the burden of die
student. He will then read ''Don Quixote" in the original and
will thank M. Mazel for having once heard of "the language of
the Gods."
The student will find Ochoa's,^^ all in Spanish, a handy one
volume edition. Personally, I prefer the David Nutt edition.^^ I
like to read "Don Quixote" in an edition to fit . . . "There is,"
as Mr. Arnold Bennett says,^^ "a distinct moral value in size." . . .
Two generous tomes correctly edited— original text, good print, sub-
stantial paper — bespeak more adequately the personality of "Don
Quixote," than any skilled volume of pigmy size. Nor do I favor a
graet edition in cheap array. The "Rivadcne3rra"^^ (Aribau, Mad-
rid, 1846), tho a national monument indispensable to the student of
Spanish literature, is not booked as it deserves. Its taste is wrong,
and its use is not inspiring in spite of its august scholarship! Nor
was the Rivadene)rra intended for the export trade like the Spanish
books of our own publishers. The Rivadeneyra is a national mis-
fortime, not a business crime. Our American houses,— caterers con-
fessedly to the South American market, have done little better^ for
the reading people at their mercy in editions of the great ancestral
hero. Nor is it meet that I can lean more heavily than Burton
Holmes on the "Quixotics" of American business today !^* If the
64. (a) Don Quljote, Ochoa edition, with a prefatory essay (1862) on
Cervantes' life and writinsrs, pp. VI-XL, by Oeorre Ticknor, author of
the History of Spanish Literature, etc. . . . D. Appleton y Compania,
N. Y., 1868. An American edition reprinted until the type is somewhat
worn; all in Spanish; one volumn, 12 mo., listed as No. 78 in Appendix
III, of Ormsby's Translation (Crowell).
(b Another American edition, all in Spanish, in two volumes, is
that of Lee and Shepard. with the "Pr610ffo^ of Clemencin, — ^Notas his-
t6rica8, Rramm&ticales, y crfticas, por la Academia Bspafiola, — sur in-
dividuos de ntkmero Pellicer, Arrieta, y Clemencin, — a rather noted Span-
ish commentator of the old school, Boston, 1887. Possibly a reprint of
Brockhaus, Leipzig, 1886. A convenient edition but little better than
other worn American editions.
66. T. y C. Constable, Edinburgo, Impresores de Camara de su ICa-
jestad; David Nott, publishinsr editor. Londres, 1898. — ^This valuable
edition was prepared by two modem scholars, the late John Ormsby and
Mr. James Fitzmaurice-Kelly, who wrote the Introduction, pp. XV-LVin.
— ^Menioned in the Utter's short History of Spanish Literature — ^Biblio-
graphical Appendix.
68. MenUl Efficiency— Books, the Physical Side; P. 76. Oeorae H.
Doran Company, N. Y., 1911.
67. Biblioteca de Autores Bspafioles, M. Rivadeneyra, publishing edi-
tor, with the assisUnce of the Scholars of Spain. Madrid, about 1884.—
Contains nearly 100 volumes in large 8mo size.
68. Cf. Ochoa. note 4a. P. IV., Advertencia (1886).
69. "With Burton Holmes — Thru the Land of Tomorrow," pp. 11-1 1
Ladies' Home Journal. February. 1912. The Curtis Publishing Co^ ^lOa-
delphia.
Digitized by VjOOQIC
Don Quixote— A Book 229
somewhat archaic fonns of the original hinder the student's progress,
an edition for schools may prove a good introduction to this classic.
Parts of it have been carefully edited and annotated — ^the ever fasci-
nating story of Cervantes' captivity among the Turks,*® and his won-
derful escape — quite authentic; — the alert, opening chapters of the first
sally*^ — immortal chapters; and as much more is in promise as in
store.*^ American scholarship is on the wing. To the lull follow-
ing the initiative of Ticknor in Spanish, Longfellow and Norton in
Italian, and Lowell, also in the modern languages (it is odd to think
of these literary lights as professors in Harvard College) has suc-
ceeded an epoch of varied scholarship, of vast editorial imdertakings,*^
and of live, literary criticism. This intellectual production bids fair
to outlast the present day. The younger scholars, too, must forth to
their laurels; they crash into wide-open doors, according to a great
French savant,*^ but it is the American way, and they reach the
field.»
The specialist, interested in sources and influences, fond of re-
search or controversy, and able to read several languages, will find
articles in the learned and popular periodicals of the literary world.
The work of the Italian Garrone is attracting attention. He has
taken ''Don Quixote" for a series of studies of no little interest to
Italian and Spanish readers ; — ^while tracing its course to Italy he deftly
cleaves the ludd madness of Don Quixote from the murky wrath of
Orlando ;•• in the work of a Paduan,*^ he finds the delectable story
of the **Rival Asses," strayed or stolen from Cervantes' ''Don
Quixote" (Part I) . . . on a brief excursion into Sicilian epic
poetry with Meli of Palermo, he meets Sancho now disciple of Vol-
taire.*^ . . . No, not all emprises could the great Manchegan exe-
60. Sn Cautivo, an Episode from "Don Quixote" (part I.. Chs. 89-42).
edited for Schools by Bduardo Toira y Fornes; D. Appleton & Co., 1906.
61. Selections from Don Quixote (more especially the "prologo" with
opening chapters of Part I.; edited for colleges by Prof. J. D. M. Ford,
D. C. Heath A Co., 1909.
62. Part I of Don Quixote, longr promised by Professor Todd, is eagerly
awaited. The ''Noveljas Ejemplores" of Cervantes, are in the press.
68. Professor Ford, tireless editor and scholar, is at work on a Span-
ish-Eng^lish Etymological Dictionary, the first of its kind in American
Scholarship.
64. M. Faul Meyer, — Comptes Rendus, Romania, 1906, giving an esti-
mate of the work of our universities.
65: Cf. The Romanic Review (U. S. A.) in its fourth year: it de-
serves special mention not only for its important bibliographies, but
also for promising articles on Spanish and Italian subjects. Published
by the Columbia University Press. New York.
66. "El Orlando Furioso'^ considerado como fuente del "Quijote," by
Marco A. Gkurone; La Espana Modema, pp. 114-144. Madrid, March 1911.
67. "El Asno poema heroico-comico de Carlo Dottori y Ki Quijote,"
per M. A. Oarrone: same review, pp. 60-78, August, 1911.
68. El '*Don Quijote" Siciliano y el ''Don Quijote*' Espafiol, per M. A.
Oarrone; same review, pp. 182-158, September, 1911. The Sicilian title
is "Don Chisciotti e Sanciu Panza," P. 136, foot-note.
Digitized by VjOOQIC
230 The Quarterly Journal
cute, nor be anticipated by him. Other times, other heroes of the
Quixotic Guest. New times require new chapters, and new mate-
rials are tempting. ... So thought Meli of Palermo. The world,
said Emerson, is always waiting f r its poet ; sodety, history shows, has
alwa]^ hailed a new jester. America, leaning now on Sancho, now
on Quixote, is creating an immortal work on its "Mighty Hunter,"
like France her "Tartarian," Mexico its "Don Peon," or modem
Germany that "Hoch der Kaiser" king of Professor Knatschke's!
3. M. Mazel is right. The way to make the acquaintance of
an author is to read him, in the original or in translation, — ^and with-
out commentary! But, curious readers, not wholly unsuspicious of
local allusions, and other "indiscretions," will seek the counsel, or
the direction of those who, since its inception, have lived much with
a great classic. There are intimate recesses to a book; they open
.only at the sesame of the elect. It is a pleasure, moreover, to ex-
change notes with writers who have visited the monuments of liter-
ature; — some have left us their impressions, others their wisdom; a
few have made discoveries, a fact, a thought, an overlooked detail,
things slight and light, but each a boon to the student. Amateurs
or artists, poets and musicians, scholars and explorers, seek a new
reality or open new vistas. Their humblest gift is worth having to
show the attitude of mind or the artistic spirit in which each has
conmiuned with the genius of the great. But the introduction to a
great book should be private, and "Don Quixote" has had the suffrage
of a world of readers, and thinkers, and critics! "Don Quixote" should
be first read without vademecum, in the splendor of one's best years,
in the privacy of one's own mind. ... As when first seeing the
Alhambra, a talkative guide is hardly heard for the wonders offered
the eye, so is the reader too engrossed with Cervantes' world to heed
cicerone, or critic Yet, the time comes when you willingly fare over
your footsteps with a friendly help or a critic's eye. You linger ab-
sorbed in each detail or scrutinize each learned remark. Many a
pilgrim to Cordoba has wandered thru its magic mosque, as thru a
maze of mottled arches and stained columns, only to issue forth
hungry for the tale of each bloody shadow in this coercive shrine.
. . . Then, the light of high noon dispels the alluring mist and
compels the genii of obscurity to yield the secrets of its architectural
charm. So with a great book; unless the commentary be seasonable
and reasonable, the forest may not be seen for the trees, the mirifk
text for the notes, or the arabesques on the outer walls of the Cor-
dovan mosque for the medieval plaster of a bigot hand !
Digitized by VjOOQIC
Don Quixote — A Book 231
But, if the student of "Don Quixote" may dispense with learned
commentators from Averrhors** to Clemencia, he may not wisely
eschew historians. It is essential that he know something of Spanish
society in the days of Cervantes to imderstand its power and glamor,
its economic order and national temper, its laws, institutions, and
customs. The fearless historian has laid low many a live bogey and
resurrected many a long dead truth. I have sought his aid in my
own work for the contrast between the book lore of XVI Century
Spain and the awful reality of the nation's bloody sway. There is
no better way to test fact and fancy, the old insistence of romance
over reality, and the ethical nullity of Spanish letters when Cervantes
took up his pen. In these pages, as you know, I have often invoked
the help of Hume, and Kelly,^^ of Clarke,^^ and of Lea. In them,
you will find, I suspect, the ultimate raison d'etre of "Don Quixote" !
Now, history is severe work. The reader who does not borrow his
opinions, but forms them for himself may yet care for good writing
outside of formal history. He will be unconsciously edified and
often refreshed in spirit, if he thirst for the best things, by those who
have left imperishable works on the hospitable margin of the mas-
ter's canvas. We have the priceless essays of Woodberry, ^* EUis,^*
and Kelly^^; the somewhat aged but large work of Schlegel and
Sismondi; of Philarete Chaslcs,^^ and Puibusque"^* ; the reviews of
Mcrimce,^^ and Ste-Beuve; the able critiques of Morel-Fatio and
Martinenche, of Menendez y Pelayo, and Menendez Pidal ; the trans-
69. The XII. Century Cordovan commentator of Aristotle, named here
facetiously.
70. James Pltzmaurlce-Kelly, A History of Spanish Literature, D.
Appleton and Company, New York and London. 1910. Ch. IX., pp. 227 ff.,
interestingly discusses "Don Quixote*' and its author. Cf. also the art
Cervantes prepared by him In the recent edition of the Brltannica (1911).
71. H. Butler Clarke, M.A., author of "Spanish Literature," an ele-
mentary handbook, London, Swan, Sonnenschein A Co.; The Macmillan
Company, New York, 1898; — Cervantes. Ch. XIII. This work early directed
my attention to Spanish literature. His lon^ awaited History of Spain,
completed before his death, has just been siven to the public.
72. Cf. Oreat Writers. I— Cervantes, pp. 8-89. The McClure Co., N.
Y., M C M VII. This book contains a series of well-nourished essays by
Prof. O. TSL Woodberry, of Columbia University, dean of American critics
and the father of many of our youngrer American scholars and writers.
78. For his excellent study of "Don Quixote," cf. ch. VIII. Besides
the Introduction, Chapters II., IIL, and XVI., are the most thou^ht-com-
eilling in this noteworthy book. Havelock Ellis: The Soul of Spain;
oughton, Mifflin A Co., Boston A New York, 1908.
74. Cf. note 70.
75. Chasles, Philarete, Works, Paris, 1847, — another entrancing critic
of the old school.
76. Puibusque, Adolphe de, Hlstorei comparee des Litteratures Bspag-
fioles et Francalse; 2 vols., Paris. 1848. Old, of course, and written before
the "document took the place of endless argument"
77. "Portraits Hlstoriques et Lltt^ralres^' by Prosper M€rlm6e, art.
Cervantes (1826), pp. 1-66. Paris, Calmann L6vL ^-Contains readable ma-
terials with interesting' side-lights. Note especially what is said of the
"Buscaple" — a prospectus or 'dodger" which Cervantes is said to have
gotten up "to get a footing" as it were, on the book- market (P. 88), anS
which gave "Don Quixote* Its vogue, according to M6rlm6e. This "Bus-
caple" was once a thing eagerly sought and discussed by bibliophiles.
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232 The Quarterly Journal
lation of Onnsby^* ; the illustrations of Dorc, and Vicrgc — ^to be sur-
passed only by Dulac, or some inspired "Cubist" ; we have a drama
by Richepin,^* an opera by Massenet,^ the celebrated poems by Ros-
tand, an occasional lecture^ a casual short story by a coy neophyte;
mount have been devoutedly followed, and no travel^ is in vain in
— opinion, judgment, comment, poetry, music, art, what humble prism
is not aflame at a touch of the great light? The early haunts of
Cervantes are visited, the sierra explored, and the tracks of his lank
this dear land of the Romantic Guest! Withal the old and the new
linger side by side. A latter-day exploit of "Don Quixote,"^ tho
a clever exposition of the most sordid traffic of the sentiments, is
only a modem version of the Quixotics of the old "Spanish Fraud.'*
. . . And, as if to repeat history, a serial portion of the "Adven-
tures of Nick Carter" follows close in the same periodical after the
style of the first edition of "Don Quixote." If not on a fool's er-
rand in old Spain, the modem Don Quixote remains on the hacienda
of his ancestry; — ^a versatile American found him recently as "Don
Peon de Mexico"^* — unaged and unchanged in the heart of the Sierra
Madre !
I close with a page of memoranda — brief "Catalog of Ships"
that freight the burden of this great book:
Volume One
Don Quixote learns presently that matter exists, that a battle
is two-sided, in its victims, at least. He finds that Spanish maidens
do not wander about unaccompanied and in radiant virginity, up to
their eightieth year. Odd discovery, indeed, in the land of the "reja"
and of the "duegna" and still the home of chaperons and barred win-
dows! The ladies of the coach are certain that their noble rescuer
has learned his chivalry from a book ; they cannot at once follow his
78. Cf. Tltle-pai?e of this article (•).
79. Jean Rlchepln, — Don Qulchotte; ft la Com6dle Francaise* Oct. 1€.
1906. Paris. Charpentier et Faaquelle, 1905. This delightful drama in
verse is full of the ^lee and ^o of the orl^nal. But M. Adophe Brisson.
— Portraits In times. Vol. II., Paris. 1896, — thinks that the play should
work out the philosophy of "Don Quixote" rather than its incidents.
80. "Don Quichotte." an opera by Massenet, first ^ven at the Casino
of Montecarlo. early in 1910.
81. "Don Quichotte. Sancho et Nous.*' a lecture by M. Bdmond Harau-
court, pp. 258-271. Journal de l'Universit6 des Annales. Paris. Feb. 25.
1909; with illustrations.
82. "Spanish Higrhways and Byways." by Catherine Lee Bates; The
Macmillan Co.. N. Y.. M C M.
88. "Lapostrera Salida de Don Quixote," by Luis Anton del Olmet pp.
8-18, of "El Lector" — ^Magazine Mensuel de Cuentos Cortos. Cludad de
Mejico. 1912.
84. "Political Mexico Today." by Frank Nason. in Tale Review, pp.
686-600. July, 1912.
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Don Quixote — A Book 233
meaning. Don Quixote and Sancho Panza show that when they
depend on the social habit for justice, and other living common places,
they are normal and soimd. The goat herds do not understand
chivalry talk either. They stand amazed at the speech on the "Golden
Age." The need of some acquaintance with the Italian Epics, to
understand ''Don Quixote" now dawns upon the reader; some knowl-
edge of the Italian Pastoral also is useful. The discourse on Arms
and Letters (Ch. XXXVIII) reveals that the famous autobiography
of the "Captive" (Chs. XXXIX— XLII), and the notable enchant-
ment of Don Quixote follow betimes among the lavished treasures
of the first part. The point of the pen is capped with the steel of
the sword; that all the institutions of peace are backed by the pro-
fession of arms!
Volume Two
The retrospective and introspective nature of the leisurely se-
quel of Cervantes leads to the suspicion that the spring of this mighty
work broke during the lapse of years. But the second part is nonethe-
less rich in materials. The reader will become conscious of a change
of sodal environment; he will now meet the rascals of high life.
There are indications that the polite society of Spain used bad oaths.
Don Quixote shows the hot temper of the Spaniard in evidence thru-
out his book; even our fearless knight is uncompromising, has not
the conciliating spirit of the true reformer. The poor vie with the
rich in the national thirst for power. Cervantes now turns to elegant
writing; he talks over, reviews, or recalls the tales he has told in his
first volume; but all his art cannot overcome the reader's objection
to so much time, and ink, and copy, and energy spent in waiting for
inspiration. Then idleness breeds quarrels; Spanish pimctiliousness
makes Cervantes disputatious — have priests a right to offend? But
this is dangerous ground for a layman, and particularly so for a
writer of mere literature. It is much safes to philosophize and
moralize than to inquire or criticize. Watch the puppet show (Ch.
XXVI) but don't break the puppets! Watch your writing — ^watch
your manners — ^we are launched now on a veritable manual of good
breeding and of good government for the prospective mayor of Bara-
taria! The sin of digression— characteristic of part I is now cen-
sured in part II. Then come fine things on poverty; on usurped
titles; on eating; on the devil; on freedom; on omens. I might as
vi^l have given another hundred pages to Sancho's "Book of the
Courtier"! A pastoral entertainment interrupts the grave monitor
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234 The Quarterly Journal
who presently resumes on the fashions at court; on truth telling; on
love. Here, Cervantes comes to life again to spite Avellaneda! And
Don Quixote goes not to Saragossa; he spurs incontinent for Barce-
lonall!
But this spur to action is a mere will o' the whisp ; a ludd mind
betokens a purposeful life and the old hero was trained in another
school. He plunges back into the madness of books. His dream of
chivalry is over ; he has exploded it, and himself with it ; but he can-
not live without a dream. The pastoral folly of the times is ready
to change the meddlesome knight into a sighing shepherd . . .
and Fate would have started him anew, had not merciful death vetoed
this new resolve.
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E
Theme Recurrences in Poe^s Tales
Gilbert Cosulich,
Instructor in English, University of North Dakota
DGAR ALLAN POE was a rough-rider of hobbies. His avid,
active mind enthusiastically kept abreast of physical and .psychi-
cal discoveries, and as enthusiastically converted them into story mate-
rial. In his tales, we find him making use of the same idea four,
five, or even six times.
Almost every writer has his pet themes, some of which he has
used more than once. Poe's distinctiveness in this respect is, there-
fore, only one of degree. The degree, however, is so marked, that
a few observations may not be out of place. It shall be the endeavor
of the present paper to trace a few of the more striking theme
recurrences.
The cause for these thought-repetitions might be the subject
of some speculation. Do they indicate that, after all, this facile
writer lacked ideas, and that he was forced to borrow, if not from
others, from himself? Those who have more deeply sounded the
depths of Poe's genius may not be satisfied with this explanation.
On the contrary, they may prefer to believe that the Fordham tale-
teller, while developing an idea in one short-story, was further
enkindled by his own glow. They may contend that the fecundity
of his invention was not satisfied with one aspect of a given physical
or psychological problem; but that, on the contrary, before the first
story was completed, there had already germinated in his fertile
brain the nucleus of another — perhaps of many others.
Among physical phenomena, Poe had his favorites. Premature
burial perhaps holds first place. There are no fewer than six in-
stances where his characters refuse to stay buried. The Fail of the
House of Usher and The Premature Burial deal seriously, and in
the former story tragically, with the cataleptic aspect of the problem ;
the author employs it again in Berenice as an important element
of the climax ; in Loss of Breath, the treatment is jocular ; while in
two others, the grisly subject is given passing mention.^
"Aerostation" also interested Poe considerably. He uses it
five times, most strikingly in The Unparalleled Adventure of One
Hans Pfaall. In this bold tale, Poe makes convenient use of an
apparatus by which the empyrean atmosphere is converted into air
1. Bom* Words with m Miuuny and Sow to Writo » BlAokwood Artloto.
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236 The Quarterly Journal
fit for human inhalation. If we are willing to posit such a con-
denser, the story is excellently wrought out. The Balloon Hoax,
a briefer sketch, has for its plot the crossing of the Atlantic on a
dirigible. Hans Pfaall and the Hoax have two paragraphs ver>^
closely alike in language as well as in thought. Hydrogen does not
so greatly pervade the other three.^
Poe's imagination swam as well as soared. The reader will
no doubt immediately think of the Maelstrom story, to which may
be compared the MS. Found in a Bottle, Similarly, a water chasm
ends the hero and the Narrative of A, Gordon Pym. Indeed, be-
tween this last and the MS., there is another strong resemblance;
for Pym's hieroglyphics and the other story's ancient and mysterious
crew, with "strange iron-clasped folios, and mouldering instruments
of science," equally suggest forgotten Egyptian explorers.
Landscape gardening cheered a somber epoch of his life, and
formed the basis of three stories. Two of these are especially simi-
lar, entire paragraphs being identical.^
Recurrences are also noticeable in the narrower themes. The
unusual idea of covering human beings with tar and flax or feathers
in order to disguise them as orang-utans, appears twice ;^ and two
others have as their nucleus the gradual, measured approach of
deadly steel.^
Foe's dream studies contain a number of echoes. This is
especially true of Ligeia. The emphasis laid on her eyes suggests
the teeth of Berenice; merged in another personality, like Morella,
whom she resembles also in depth of intellect, she returns from the
grave; and, finally, a comparison may be made with Eleonora, for
in both the widower seems consolable at first. There are three
angel dialogs staged after the destruction of the earth.*. The en-
trance of Death or Pestilence into a chamber containing secluded
revelers is employed twice.^
Foe's satires do not present so many specimens of parallelism,
he has two savage exposes of literary quackery, perhaps somewhat
acidified by his own experiences.^
2. ]C*llont« Tauta, Tli« AngtH of thm pdO, and Th« TlioasaBd aad
Baoond Tala.
3. candor's Cottage, Tha Domain of Amhalm, and Tlia Aandscap*
Oardan. The striking resemblance Is found between the last two.
4. In Kop Trog and Tha Byatam of Dootor Tan and Vrofaaaov rather.
5. Tha nedloamant and Tba Pit and tha Fandvlnm.
6. Tha Fowar of Worda, Tha OoUoqny of MoBoa and Una, and Th«
Convaraatlon of Blroa and Oharmlon.
7. Shadow — A Farabla and Tha Maaqua of tha Bad Daath.
8. Tha Zdtarary Ufa of Thln^nmbob, Baq^ and Row to Wrlta a Slaok-
wood Artlola.
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Theme Recurrences in Poe's Tales 237
What wc moderns call "graft" is the subject of two others.
It would seem that this department of human endeavor, which he
terms "an exact sdence," has made but little advancement during
the last half-century.*
In his best stories, those of mind, crime, and conscience, there
are some remarkable repetitions. The trance of a dying man is the
theme of both Mesmeric Revelation and The Facts in the Case of
M. Valdemar. The former, however, serves also as a vehicle for
Poe's metaphysical speculations, aired again in the three dialogs
mentioned above, and more fully in what he considered his monu-
mental prose work, Eureka, Two others treat of metempsychosis.^^
The kinship between The Murders in the Rue Morgue and The
Mystery of Marie Roget needs scarcely any elaboration. In both,
the author, thru Dupin, indulges in a dazzling display of ratioci-
nation. Professor Matthews and others consider the latter an in-
ferior story, but its merit becomes more apparent when one remem-
bers that it is a true example of a posteriori reasoning. The plot
of Marie Roget was almost bodily taken from life, and Poe's solu-
tion, as we all know, was borne out by a subsequent confession.
The Black Cat contains a number of details that are encountered
again; the betrayal of a murderer by an object buried with the
corpse^^ ; the walling up of the victim '}^ and the unaccountable work-
ings of moral perversity.^^ The death of an assassin from fright
when brought face to face with the body of the slain man serves as
an important incident in the Narrative of A. Gordon Pym, and
constitutes the climax of Thou Art the Man.
A sufficient number of examples have been adduced, it is be-
lieved, to demonstrate this strongly defined tendency of Poe's.
There are other echoings, however, both in his articles as well as
in his fictions, that will occur to the reader — his gibes at the moral-
ists, his sneers at one or two magazines, and especially his accusa-
tions against Longfellow. Let us not dwell on these discordant
refrains, which, when compared to what we may in a double sense
term his opera, correspond somewhat to the troll-gibberings in
Peer Gynt.
9. Tlie BnsiiiMS Mab aad DiaoUnff, Oo&sid«r«4 ma On* of thm Bzftot
10. lIetB«iiff«r«t«l]i and ▲ Tal« of tbo BaffgoA lloiuitaiiis.
11. Tho T«3i-Ta1o Reart.
12. Tho Cask of Amoiitilla4o.
13. Tho Imp of tho Forrerso.
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The Modernity of Tolstoy's
Religion
Abram Lipsky
WAS Tolstoy an anchronism — a thirteenth century saint living
in our own day? Innumerable literary critics have agreed
that there were two parts to the gseat Russian; one, modem and
imperishable, the other, atavistic and destined to speedy oblivion.
As a literary artist he was unsurpassed, they say, but as a thinker
upon social and religious questions he only makes us wonder that
a genius of such brilliancy should have voluntarily immersed itself
in medieval night. I propose to show that he was, on the contrary,
in the lead of the religious thought of his time, and that his prac-
tical saintliness, his so-called asceticism, far from being the mere ex-
travagance of a literary genius, was of the greatest sodological signifi-
cance.
The comparison between Tolstoy and the church saint is obvious
but superficial. Renunciation, it is true, played a great part in his
life as in theirs. Voluntary poverty, chastity, humility and tender-
ness, so familiar in the lives of the saints, appear again in Tolstoy's
life. But the comparison ceases the moment we go below the
surface, for sacrificial and expiatory ideas played no part in Tols-
toy's renunciations. If the medieval ascetic chose a life of poverty
it was not with any thought of the social value of his action, but
solely with an eye to its effect upon his own soul's welfare. His
aim was to propitiate God, to purify and strengthen his spiritual
nature or to escape from the world. In ascetic Christianity charity
"was not essentially a social conflict with the moral evils of pauper-
ism, but a religious conflict with the moral evil of the love of
property. The aim was not primarily to lift the poor recipient
to social health but to discipline the soul of the giver." This form
of ascetidsm had the same purpose as chastity and other modes of
self denial and privation. Tolstoy, on the other hand, disposed of
his property and chose coarse fare and hard work, because property,
luxury and self-indulgence, he felt, were "obstacles to love" be-
tween himself and his fellow men. He, too, wished to "save his
soul" and "do the will of God," but "salvation" for him was to be
free from all "obstacles to love"; to "do the will of God" was to
promote the growth of love in the world. And he saw that as
Google
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Tolstoy's Religion 239
long as other men labored, in pain and in poverty, to provide the
means whereby he lived at ease, the greatest "obstacle to love' lay
in his economic and social position. With that perception he took
the lead in the religious thought of his generation.
But before going into the substance of Tolstoy's religious
thought, let us note the modernity of his method. His was the ex-
perimental method; his religion was experience. And this accounts
to a great extent for the intense interest with which his religious
writings have been received. It was not speculation but life that
the author transcribed to his pages. "I always feel in reading
his words," says Kropotkin, "that he is possessed of the most scien-
tific insight I know of among artists. He may be wrong in his
conclusions, but never is he wrong in his statement of data." This
power of psychological introspection and this loyalty to observed
fact rivet our attention whatever the literary form may be —
whether fiction or essay — that he employs.
Tolstoy's "experiment" in religion began when, as a child, he
noted his faults in a diary, later to repent of them; and he con-
tinued it up to the last moment of his life. It was in progress
when as a young man he lived the life of his social set and
experienced recurrent revulsions of disgust and shame. How base-
less is the view commonly held of two chronologically distinct
Tolstoys! In the diary which he kept at the age of twenty-seven
he wrote these strangely prophetic words: "A conversation about
divinity and faith has suggested to me a great, a stupendous idea,
to the realization of which I feel myself capable of devoting my
life. This idea is the founding of a new religion corresponding
to the present state of mankind: the religion of Christianity, but
purged of dogmas and mysticism, a practical religion, not promising
future bliss, but giving bliss on earth. I understand that to
accomplish this the consdous labor of generations will be needed.
One generation will bequeath the idea to the next and some day
fanatacism or reason will accomplish it. Deliberately to promote
the union of mankind by religion — that is the basic thought which
I hope will dominate me." This was a quarter of a century before
the crisis in his life — ^his "conversion." Here as everywhere we
note his practical, moral, or experimental attitude. We note it
again in his method of testing the value of Russian orthodoxy. He
made the experiment sincerely and devoutly; he attended the rites
of the church for three years before he became convinced that that
hoary institution was a hollow mockery.
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240 The Quarterly Journal
The method of experience in reh'gion is not in itself trust-
worthy, as is sufficiently evident from the numerous examples, in
sects and individuals, of its grotesque leadings. In religion, as in
science, the empirical method in order to have validity must include
the operation of testing. Religious experience has only too often
been relied upon and accepted as valid for the sole reason that it
has been vivid and strong. Let the experience be of a type hallowed
by inclusion in sacred writings, or conforming with a venerable
tradition, and it passes muster. Powerful as were Tolstoy's feelings
his analysis never rested. His reason had to be satisfied. He had
come, he says, in the course of his quest to a point where he "coidd
find nothing along the path of reasonable knowledge except the
denial of life; and in faith I could find nothing but a denial of
reason still more impossible to me than a denial of life."
He came finally to the conclusion that without faith he could
not live; but what does he mean by "faith"? Something very
different from what is usually understood. "The intentional con-
fusion of faith with superstititon and the substitution of the one
for the other," he says, "is the reason for the improgressiveness of
some portions of humanity." The only way to free one's self from
this deception is "to imderstand, that the only instrument which
man possesses for the acquisition of knowledge is reason, and that,
therefore, every teaching which affirms that which is contrary to
reason is a delusion." Faith saved him from destruction, but
"faith does not consist in agreeing with what some one has said,
as is usually supposed; faith is a knowledge of the meaning of
human life in consequence of which man does not destroy himself
but lives. Faith is the strength of life. If a man lives he believes
something. If he does not see and recognize the visionary nature
of the finite then he believes in the finite; if he understands the
visionary nature of the finite, he must believe in the infinite.
Without faith he cannot live." He calls this "faith" "irrational,"
by which he can only mean that like all our primal instincts it is
not logically derived, but, as the logicians say, "given."
How did Tolstoy get this faith? By a sort of contagion, by
seeing midtitudes of peasants living in toil, suffering and privation
(so different from his own idle and jaded class), yet profoundly
believing in life, desiring more of it. He saw that if he lived as
they did, earning his bread by the sweat of his brow and not as a
"parasite," he too would have their faith. He observed, in other
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Tolstoy's Religion 241
words, the results of an experiment that millions of men had per-
formed successfully — and he tried their way.
At one period of his life Tolstoy himself gave ground for the
general opinion that he was a fanatical worshipper of the letter of
the gospels. The attention he paid to the exact phraseology of the
sayings attributed to Jesus, the deductions he drew from nice verbal
distinctions in the gospeb created the impression that he regarded
"the very words of Christ himself" of final authority. He freed
himself, however, from this fascination, which appears to have held
him for a time, and made clear that if he valued Christ's doctrine
it was not because the doctrine was Christ's, but because he found
it true when tested by comparison with the teaching of all great
religious teachers and by his own perception of right. Christ's
teaching offers "the very same solution of the problem of life as
has been given more or less explicitly by the best of men both before
and since the gospel was given to us — a succession which goes on
from Moses, Isaiah, and Confucius, to the early Greeks, Buddha,
and Socrates, down to Pascal, Spinoza, Fichte, Feuerbach, and all
others, often unnoticed and unknown who, taking no teachings on
mere trust have taught us and spoken to us with sincerity about
the meaning of life."
He went further. Morality, he saw, needs the sanction of
no individual authority. Christ's personality itself became of
secondary interest. He had been reading a book in which the his-
torical existence of Christ was denied, when he wrote, "In this
book it is very well argued (the probability is as strong against
as for) that Christ never existed: The acceptance of this supposi-
tion or probability is like the destruction of the last out-work
exposed to the enemy's attack, in order that the fortress (the moral
teaching of goodness, which flows not from any one source in time
or space, but from the whole spiritual life of humanity in its
entirety) may remain impregnable."
Not only is moral truth independent of the historical Christ,
but it also does not need the teaching of Christ, indispensably, for
its establishment: "It is terrible to say so ( but sometimes I have
this thought:) if the teaching of Christ together with the teaching
of the Church that has grown upon it did not exist at all — ^those
who now call themselves Christians would have been nearer to the
teachings of Christ — that is to an intelligent teaching about the
good of life — than they are now. The moral teachings of all the
prophets of mankind would not have been closed to them."
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242 The Quarterly Journal
Far from being an "early Christian/' or even a later one of
any commonly known type, Tolstoy makes a dean sweep of the
entire Christian theology. "If in former times men could with-
out difficulty believe that God created the world six thousand years
ago, that the earth was the center of the universe, that God, after
descending to the earth flew away again into the skies, and so
forth; such beliefs have now become impossible, because men
know that the world has existed not six thousand years, but him-
dreds of thousands of years, that the earth is not the center of the
imiverse, but only a planet small in comparison with our heavenly
bodies, that there can be nothing under the earth because it is a
sphere, and they know it is impossible to fly into the skies because
there is no sky, the vault of heaven only existing to the eye."
He never slipt back into the Christian position. "Searching
for God" alone at first, he tried the method of logical demonstra-
tion. The arguments of Kant and Schopenhauer which show the
impossibility of proving the existence of God were refuted. He
satisfied himself that the "first cause of all" did exist, but the con-
viction gave him no contentment. Logical proof was not w^hat
he needed for life, and again he fell into despair.
Now, if a student of philosophy a generation hence, reading
Tolstoy's account of how he finally emerged from his slough of
despond and found God, fails to connect Tolstoy's soul experience
with the philosophy of pragmatism that arose during the last thirty
years of Tolstoy's life, it will be because pragmatism will have
passed from the minds of men — which now seems hardly probable.
Professor James, in his "Varieties of Religious Experience," notes
with approval Tolstoy's definition of God — "He is that without
which one cannot live. To know God and to live is one and the
same thing." Here is Tolstoy's description of the way by which
he came to this extremely "modern" conception : "But then I turned
my gaze upon myself, on what went on within me, and I remem-
bered that I only lived at those times when I believed in God. As
it was before, so it was now; I need only to be aware of God to
live; I need only to forget Him or disbelieve in Him, and I die.
*What more do you seek?' exclaimed a voice within me. 'ITiis is
he. He is that without which one cannot live. To know God
and to live is one and the same thing. God is Iffe. Live seeking
God and then you will not live without God.' And, more than
ever before, all within me and around me lit up, and the light did
not again abandon me."
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Tolstoys Religion 243
Remembering the wonderful keenness of Tolstoy's introspec-
tion and his faithfulness in presentation, the importance of this
passage for the psychology of religion can hardly be over-estimated.
The tremendous grip that Tolstoy's religious discussion has upon
us is due to the conviction we have of the authenticity of his report,
and the reality of his experience, which was the experience of no
ordinary mortal, but of a personality of extraordinary energy both
in feeling and in analytical power. Just as in the stage drama,
passions and actions are heightened in intensity, and language is
sharpened and shorn of irrelevancies, so in this drama of real life
everything proceeds more vividly and vigorously than in the lives
of average men passing thru a similar crisis.
The "subjectivism" of the passage on God quoted above, we
may be sure, was not hidden from Tolstoy. Altho not a systematic
metaphysician, he was acutely alive to the distinctions that engage
the attention of professional philosophers. His thought of God did
not stop where we have left it. He gives it objective content. "God
is the universal desire for welfare which is the source of life." "God
is that Essence of life which man recognizes both within himself and
in the whole universe as the desire for welfare." Again, "God is
love," and God is the infinite spirit that impels man to work for
"the substitution of union and harmony in place of division and
discord." Man's greatest good is to identify himself with God, to
merge his individual life in God.
It is not contended here that Tolstoy was a "pragmatist" or
a "pluralist." He had probably never heard of this philosophical
movement. He seems, in fact, to have been a monist. Admitting,
however, the preternatural veracity of the man and the pragmatistic
character of the God idea that saved him from despair becomes
striking. God, namely, is what he is experienced to be. His
methods and his results were pragmatic and few lines of argument
tend so strongly to establish the soundness of the pragmatist insight
as does a "human document" such as that supplied by Tolstoy.
"God is Love." The initial impulse out of which Tolstoy's
religion flowed and expanded was love. Love broke the shell of the
happy family life that he had led up to the age of fifty. With this
prindple, too, he tries in a speculative, imaginative fashion to re-
construct the immortality conception. "One can imagine that what
now composes our body, that apparently separate being loved by us
in preference to all else, at some period of our past lower life was
but an accumulation of beloved objects which love united into one,
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244 ^^ Quarterly Journal
so that in this life we feel it to be ourselves and that in the same
way our present love for that whidi is accessible to us may, in a
future life, unite all of these objects into one whole being, wUdi
will be as near to us as our body is now." He combines the immor-
tality and the love ideas ethically — we may give to our life a deeper
meaning by making it a service to men — by merging it into the life
of the universe — "this, though little, is sure." In his last shears,
we are told, he became more confident of a personal life beyond
death. This assurance stole, by imperceptible degrees into his mind ;
yet so wonderfully honest, so truly scientific was his temper, that
despite all the longing of his passionate nature he never dogmatized.
The "sin" idea, too, so familiar in Christian theology, becomes
transformed in Tolstoy's religion in the light of love. Sin is simply
*an obstacle to love." The purpose of man's life is to fulfill the
will of God, and that will is to increase love in the world. Sin
thwarts that purpose. And the only way to escape from sin is by
prayer — not in churdi, but in private, as Christ taught men to pray.
A very "modem" and unquestionably efficacious view of prayer!
Tolstoy, like the orthodox Christian, speaks of "saving" his
soul. But the resemblance between his conception and that of old-
fashioned Christianity is only verbal. In the Church, the means
of salvation were distinct from the salvation itself. You believed,
or you performed charitable deeds, or you gave up what you most
desired, and the reward was salvation — from hell-fire. At its best,
with the mystics, the reward was a consdousness of the approval of
Christ and mystic union with him, a foretaste of that ineffable bliss
that awaited the good man in heaven. With Tolstoy the means
and the end were one. Salvation meant nothing but a soul all love,
a soul going out in kindness and helpfidness to all men, a soul,
therefore, free from obstacles to love; free, that is, from sin.
Not early Christian, or medieval-Christian was Tolstoy's
religion, but rather to be placed in the category of "the religion of
the future," now not infrequently prophesied among us; the re-
ligion that has, in fact, dawned to many eyes. That religion, like
Tolstoy's, does not rest upon the authority of a church, a book, or
a prophet, but carries its authentication in itself. Every man ex-
periences it first-hand; himself talks face to face with God. In
that religion, God is no longer a remote and dreaded potentate, no
longer a King of kings ; nor is he a magnified man. He is, as Tol-
stoy also conceives him, the infinite spirit with which man's spirit
seeks to be at one. Dogma and speculation occupy a secondary
Google
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Tolstoy's Religion 245
place in the new religion. Less energy is spent than in the religion
of yesterday in defining theological conceptions, ana more is devoted
to embodying religious inspiration in practice. The new religion
is not confined to the churches; it does not express itself in ritual.
Those who have caught its light are very often, like Tolstoy, hostile
to all existing ecclesiastical organization. They desire not to flee
from the world and enjoy eternal life apart, but rather to stay and
save it. "We modern men, too, believe in eternal life," says one
of them, "but the asceticism is almost drained out of it. We hold
that this life is good and the future life will be still better. We
feel that we must live robustly now and do the work God has
given us to do, and at death we shall pass to a higher world in
which we shall serve Him in still higher ways. But in former
stages of Christianity the feeling was rather that this is an evil
world from which only death can free us; at the best a discipline
to prepare us for the heavenly life, at the worst a snare to cheat us."
The Hebrew prophet exclaimed, "What doth the Lord require
of you but to do justice, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with
thy God!** That blending of religion with morality was the in-
tuition of a solitary seer. The majority of religious persons have
probably not yet learned to assodate religion with ethics so intimate-
ly as did Micah. They are still absorbed in devices for individual
soul-salvation by sacrifice and propitiation. Tolstoy's religion is
ethics— ethics glorified by religious emotion. And so also for the
followers of the new religion is it true that "religion acted out
becomes morality; morality thought out becomes religion."
The great social movement of our time which aims to make
reality of the theory of equality and fraternity of men may justly
daim Tolstoy as one of its most powerful apostles, despite the fact
that he vigorously exprest his opposition to the aims of organized
socialism. The spirit is more important than the form. The belief
in the right of every man to consideration as an equal, as a brother,
is the very soul of the social movement which, appearing in many
forms, may be described generically as socialistic. The same belief
was fundamental in Tolstoy's social gospel. Bearing this in mind,
we shall not be too much surprised at the identification of Tolstoy's
religion with that phase of the new religion which has been called
the "religion of democracy." A subtle philosopher has pointed out
that the idea of God prevalent in different types of civilization was
modeled upon the contemporaneous sovereign political power. In
despotic Asia God was an omnipotent despot; in aristocratic Greece
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246 The Quarterly Journal
and Rome, the Gods controlled the destinies of men like a senate
of peers upon Olympus. What, pursuing the analogy, should God
be in a democracy?
True democracy is still in the mab'ng. The transformation
is now going on in our social system, and along with it a parallel
transformation in religion. The despotic God, "the old man with
a bad temper,*' still lingers, but ultimately he will in all likelihood
become as obsolete as the aristocratic legislative chamber upon Olym-
pus. In place of this is growing the thought of God immanent, in
us and in all things, and in whom "we live and move and have our
being.'' This conception is not new, but so persistent was the old
monarchical idea that when the throne was removed from heaven,
omnipotence was transferred to nature. Nature's laws became the
angels of the new sovereign. With the growth of democracy the
need of an external sovereign in religion has waned. Self govern-
ment, or democracy translated into religion, is a becoming from
within, free-will and God-in-us. The religion of democracy con-
ceives the power to shape man's destiny as residing in himself. Sal-
vation for each one is to labor to bring into existence the kingdom
of heaven, which means now what it meant two thousand years
ago, a society in which love shall be the law and justice its minister.
The religion of democracy is thus heralded by one who may be
regarded as a mediator between the new and the old:
"A new religion has taken possession of millions, some of whom
call themselves atheists. The working people of many lands have
reached a new understanding among themselves and have banded
together in an optimism of outlook, a joyousness of spirit and a
self-sacrificing contact, such as in the past has only illuminated
periods of religious exaltation. The lonely man no longer feels
lonely. The doubter no longer is worried by dogma. Within life
itself has been found new grounds of faith, new and far-reaching
fellowship. The world was never so friendly a spot to the human
spirit as it is today. The Hebrew on the threshold of emancipa-
tion, the crusader in sight of the holy sepulchre — must have had the
exultant expectations, "thrills," as we say, that a glimpse of indus-
trial brotherhood upon a purely human basis is giving millions of
wage-earners today."
The new religion fuses with the zeal for the kingdom of
heaven and the desire to gain salvation thru removing all "obstacles
to love." It is, that is to say, predominantly social. Tribal and
national religions have, indeed, always been so, but the common
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Tolstoy's Religion 247
worship has been chiefly a collective attempt to "stand in" with
supernatural powers. It is beginning to be seen that as religion is
in its very germ social — first the need of an "other," and then the
peopling of the cosmos with other "selves" — so the end and aim
of religion is to discover and maintain right relations, that is, peace-
ful, productive, enriching relations, with that "other" which is to
each individual "the mediator," standing between him and the
cosmos of "things," namely, the society of immortal spirits. This
is the religion for whidi Tolstoy lived — a religion that has its roots
in love, and whose aim is, as he says, to help in "the establishment
of an order of life in which discord, deception, and violence that
now rule, will be replaced by free accord, by truth, and by the
brotherly love of one for another."
But if it be admitted that Tolstoy's religion was of the most
modern type, there will still be many who will question the value
of the kind of life he chose. We need not here pause to consider
the criticism of those who may be conveniently classed as
Nietzscheans, to whom religion of every type is matter for contempt.
In Nietzsche and Tolstoy opposite extremes are represented. In
Nietzsche individualism with all its unmoral, unreligious, unsocial
implications reached its frenzied climax, and, by a kind of poetic
fitness, if there were no deeper connection, the exponent of that
view of life ended his career in a madhouse. But was there any
social value in the other extreme portion that Tolstoy took — is
there any use for the saint in the modern social economy?
We may easily perceive at least two uses of immesurable im-
portance. It will be admitted that ssmapathy, or tenderness, is the
prime socializing force; and tenderness — ^love — is the saint's chief
characteristic. The extraordinary tenderness of a Tolstoy for the
poor and unfortimate among men serves to suggest to the rest of
mankind the type of the true "superman," the type of the individual
that will prevail in the society that is coming which, we must assume,
is to be a sodety more closely knit and more finely balanced than
the present. An example like Tolstoy's draws out in innimierable
instances the endeavors of other men to create the type in
themselves. Again, Tolstoy's renunciation of property and
his belief that every man should earn his living by his own
labor, was not, as we have seen, on the same plane of asceticism as
that of the old monks, since he was not anxious to appease by sac-
rifice a supernatural power, but merely averse to riding, as he re-
garded it, on the backs of other men. It would be hard to over-
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248 The Quarterly Journal
estimate in this age of scrambling for possessions, the tonic-value
of his example. Here was one who, instead of fighting for more,
gave up all he had. The rich and the would-be rich have now before
them this figure of a man, magnificent in capacity of enjoyment as
in power to do, who found his happiness in freedom from the
gratifications that they deem indispensable. Among the educated
classes fear of poverty, said Professor James, "is the worst moral
disease from which our civilization suffers." The possession of
wealth has become the chief sign of merit. Those who have are
aligned in hostile array against those who have not. But here
comes Tolstoy and surrenders that for which one-half the world is
ready to seize the other by the throat. How marvelously the situa-
tion would clear up if a considerable number of men saw with his
eyes!
Religiousness was but one phase of Tolstoy's nature, say the
literary critics. The truth is, his whole nature was rooted and im-
bedded in religion. Religion constitutes the frame, the unifying
principle of his literary work, as well as of his practical social
endeavors. Anyone who reads even his earlier stories without feel-
ing the prevailing passion for right living, which was the correlate
of his religion, has missed the soul that animates them. He was
profoundly religious, but his religion was alive, enlightened, sensi-
tive to the stresses, the needs, the hopes of his time. It spoke a
modern language and uttered what was in the hearts of living men.
If the accents of his speech recall those of bygone ages, it is only
because the primary needs of men have not much changed. He,
however, looked forward and not back, and men for some time to
come will go to him for the expression of their deepest and strongest
feelings.
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Literary Value in the Modern
Drama
Frederick Henry Koch»
Assistant Professor of Dramatic Literature and Oratory,
University of North Dakota.
"The circulation of printed plays has not only
increased enormously in the last few years, but
it practically did not exist a few years ago/'
— Dr. Bostwick.
OURS is a day of insurgency — in politics, in society, in religion, in
art. We have found a new basis in pragmatism. Our contem-
porary literature demands truth to our own times, and the whole
truth. A new party has arisen. Walt Whitman's phrase, "To
limn with absolute faith the mighty living present," sounds it shib-
boleth. Tho its formula is far from complete, a new drama has come
— ^that of Shaw and Galsworthy in England, of Hauptmann and
Wedekind in Germany, of TurgeniefiE in Russia, of Brieux in France
— an insurgent drama. "Have done with half-gods! With an out-
lived Classic, with an impossible Romantic! Give us our own heaven
and our own earth — one truer to us today," is its demand. So it
has come about in our own times and in our very midst. Blunt
realism has entered, and naturalism, to show us our naked souls and
the ugliness of our abuses. And so the drama, today, is making as
lively a commotion in letters as did ever socialist agitator in politics.
What will be the issue? Will the modern stage produce a new phase
in dramatic literature? Will the drama once more rise to give us a
new era in letters? Such queries the thoughtful ones are asking,
timidly but hopefully, on every side.
The drama of today, Mr. George Bernard Shaw pointed out
in a letter to the London Times, is "literally making the minds of
the people today. It is a huge factory of sentiment, of character, of
points of honor, of conceptions of conduct, of everything that finally
determines the destiny of a nation." And so it would seem, for
everybody today goes to the plays, everybody discusses them after-
wards. The reviews of the critic are read with avidity, and more and
more are the plays themselves called for in the libraries. There has
come in recent years a vigorous demand for the printed play of our
contemporary stage.
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250 The Quarterly Journal
And this popular interest is earnest. John Galsworthy's Justice
is no sooner performed in London than its poignant message takes
effect; a parliamentary investigation is ordered, and there follows a
speedy reform of English courts and prisons. The long awaited
Chantecler is no sooner presented in Paris (that, too, in spite of the
flooding Seine) than the crow of M. Rostand's resplendent rooster
is heard in every corner of civilization. The details of its initial
performance fill more columns of the Paris dailies than the accounts
of the city's afliiction. For the author had said, "'I have put my
best brains into Chantecler," and the public had taken him seriously.
But more, the report of this first public performance, it will be re-
membered, was featured in the newspapers and magazines not only
of Paris, but of Berlin, of Vienna, of London, of New York and
Chicago and San Francisco — of every dty of any size where things
are printed — a triumph of dramatic literature actually became a news
triumph.
The play seems to have become a vital thing in the mind of the
people. Teacher, lawyer, merchant, preacher, student, clerk — ^thc
workers everywhere — are going thoughtfully now to the theater. Be-
cause of this an imperial ruler, not long since, felt impelled to with-
draw his generous endowment from the state theater of Germany.
He recognized in it too powerful an instrument in the hands of a
socialistic proletariat. He saw that the drama had come to be a book
to study; the playhouse, a school of democracy.
In Denver, last summer, the writer found two stock companies
filling suburban theaters two afternoons and each night with a reper-
tory of such sober plays as Edward M. Sheldon's slice of slum life,
Salvation Nell, Paul Armstrong's sodological problem, The Deep
Purple, Jules Exrkert Goodman's wholesome domestic study. Mother,
Eugene Walter's psychological The Easiest Way — all plays with a
message, social, economic, political — plays continuingly popular be-
cause of their actuality, because of their thoughtful consideration of
existing problems. The vogue of vapid comedy, of meretricious musi-
cal spectacle is being supplanted, it w6uld seem, by a more worthy
thing. The crowd, even, has become more discriminating.
An interesting illustration of this came to the writer not long
since when George Broadhurst's Bought and Paid For camr to our
university city. (A very ordinary play this by the way, but one which
paid its author $200,000, in royalties within a year.) The writer
questioned a clerk who sometimes passes him a friendly "Good morn-
ing," concerning the play of the preceding night:
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The Modern Drama 251
"What did you think of it?*' The clerk admitted that he was
disappointed.
"In what respect?"
"Well," he replied promptly, "I think the serious part is weak.
I liked the comedy. But in the last act, the girl's brother should
not have been made to call back the hard-headed husband. He loved
her — she was his wife — he wanted her back — he should have been
man enough to come for her without being called up by telephone."
As might be expected the writer was surprised. Here was no
commonplace opinion. This young haberdasher's clerk had a reason
for his point. He was thinking, not only of the problem of the play,
but on the problem of the playwright too. Such is the increasingly
intelligent interest in drama today. Here is a speciment of the earnest
discussion one hears on every side — ^at the breakfast-table, in the shop,
in the street car, in the market-place; such are the significant signs
of our times. Edmund Burke's letter to Malonc, it would seem,
aptly states the case for us of today. "The stage, indeed, may be
considered the republic of active literature." Hence comes the ques^
tion many are asking, "Has the modern drama a legitimate place in
literature?" If so, what are its literary possibilities? What will it
become in its next phase?
I. Pre-Litbrary Drama
But before considering the drama of literature, it may be well
to remind the reader of that vaster body of plays not printed in books.
He who is fresh in his remembrance of dramatic origins may pass by
this historical survey without hesitation. Others will do well to con-
sider the unliterary firstlings thoughtfully.
First, then, let it be remembered that Sophocles and Shakespeare
are — to use Haeckel's scientific phrase — but "the last links of long,
ancestral chains," and that it is necessary to know "the innumerable
older and inferior links" of a wholly unwritten drama if we would
understand the place of the highly-wrought literary drama of Shakes-
peare, of Moliere, of Ibsen. The drama, "if we use the word in its
widest sense," according to Hirn, is "the very earliest of all the imi-
tative arts . . . perhaps even older than language itself." And
Letourneau holds "the simultaneous employment of mimicry, song,
^eech, and instrumental music ... the form of esthetics most
fitted strongly to impress spectators and actors" in the early ages,
"and at the same time to satisfy a very lively psychical want, that of
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252 The Quarterly Journal
projecting mental images outward, of reproducing with all the relief
of reality what exists in the brain only in the state of recollection or
desire. The civilized theater is only the natural devdopment of
this opera-ballet'* — a primitive dancing and singing together, a crass
form, dramatic but wholly unliterary.
All investigators seem to agree that the tendency to dramatic
expression is inborn, that it has manifested itself in some form in all
the stages of the race history. Undoubtedly action, gesticulation,
mimicry came first, and for a long period were made to serve alone;
then with the evolution of speech the oral word was called to play
its part ; and finally after another extended period, with the invention
of the art of writing, dramatic expression cumulated in the hi^ly
complex form of the literary drama. So we have the three stages:
pantomime, recital, written drama. It seems mpossfble to determine
the exact time of the emergence of each of these but it would seem
the development was undoubtedly in this line: first mimetic, then
oral, and, at last, literary representation.
In all probability we have a clue to this evolution in the pomp
of pagan worship pictured in the tombs of Egypt and in the Aztec
temples of Old Mexico ; in the crude memorials of the Mound Build-
ers and Cliff Dwellers; in the surviving spectacles of the North
American Indians — the Wolf Dance of the Arapahoes, the Sun Dance
of the Shoshones, the Snake Dance of the Hopis; in the mimetic Bird
Dance and the frenzied pantomimes of Igorot Head-hunters in the
Philippine Islands; in the Shinto ceremony of Japan; in the ancient
rites of India ; in the religious dances of the early Greeks ; in the sym-
bols of our Christian faith. From the pagan ceremonies of China
and Japan have come the ponderous histories — the native drama of
the Orient one may see in the dingy Chinese theater in Mott Street,
New York, today; from a wild goat-song of shaggy-vestured priests,
a rude unwritten form, were gradually evolved the poetical tragedies
of Periclean Greece ; from the impressve ritual of the Roman Church
our English dramatic h'terature was slowly formed. The Mass,
with its blending of symbolic action, scriptural narrative, and anti-
phonal singing (with its essentially dramatic structure in five scenes
—exposition, offertory, consecration, communion, purification) fur-
nished all the elements and structure for the litrugical drama. Then
the festivals at Easter and Christmas suggesting living tableaux to
illustrate the Gospel story, there grew the great cycles of Miracle and
Mystery plays; later came the allegorical sermons of the Moralities,
then the emancipated Interlude; and finally the Drama proper, full
flowering in a riot of poetry in the plays of William Shakespeare,
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The Modern Drama 253
So it has been always. Written drama is the outgrowth of an
early unwritten, and yet earlier mimetic representation. This must
never be lost si^t of in drama-study; our hi^ly developed literary
drama goes back to this constant desire for dramatic expression; the
stage in its beginnings is essentially non-literary, but none the less
really dramatic because it is not literary. Between the two, it is
sometimes difficult to draw the line. The widely popular Commedia
deir Arte, the Italian Comedy of Masks which Moliere made im-
mortal in a later day, was mimetic and oral only, unwritten — an
improvisation from a bare scenario — an impromptu play of flashing
dialog and daring action extempore. Last winter Professor Max
Rheinhart's wordless pantomime, Sumurun, seemed adequate to tell
its pasdonate tale of the Orient, at least to grip the imagination of
surfeited New York audiences with telling effect. Again, the cine-
matograph pantomimes tell a story with genuine appeal. The genial
Joseph Jefferson is reported to have said once, "You may have all
the good literature you wish in a play — if it does not interfere with
the play's action." This fact cannot be overlooked. Drama is first
of all not writing but craft. It is not merely literary, if it is liter-
ature at all, but a composite product of actor and plaj'wright, of the
mimetic, the oral and the written. It is constructed primarily for an
audience in a theater, not for readers in a library. Shakespeare was
first of all actor and manager, and he wrote Twelfth Night and
Othello for the audiences of his Globe Theater in London. So, too,
was Moliere first of all an actor-manager, writing Le Misanthrope
and Les Femmes Savantes for the stage of the Palais Royal in Paris.
And these were regarded by their contemporaries not as authors but
as makers of plays. Perhaps they were indifferent to the value of
their works as literature, perhaps they were unaware of any such
value.
II. Literary Drama
Before examining the two divisions of literary drama, poetic and
prose, it may be well to remind the reader of the requirements of
the theater.
It must, I think, be admitted that a play may succeed on the
stage and yet have no value in literature. I have in mind such plays
as James A. Hearn's Shore Acres, Denman Thompson's The Old
Homestead, Clyde Fitch's Nathan Hale, Charles Klein's The Music
Master, David Belasco's The Return of Peter Grimm, and Maurice
Maeterlinck's The Blue Bird — all plays ranking high in the theater
but low, it would seem, in literary quality. Yet literary merit alone
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254 ^^^ Quarterly Journal
does not spell success on the stage. Thompson's Sophonisba, Byron's
Marino Faliero, Shelley's The Cenci, Addison's Cato, Browning's
The Return of the Druses, Tennyson's The Falcon, coming from
authors unschooled in stagecraft and neglecting the necessary mimetic
and oral elements of the dramatic formula, failed dismally in the
theater. A hundred years agOi the celebrated actor-manager, Mac-
ready, vainly championed the cause of such ineffectual forms. He
commissioned Browning and Sheridan Knowles and Bulwer-L3rtton
to write for him plays in blank verse. But he was forced to give
up the management of Drury Lane and G)vent Garden theaters be-
cause, in his own words, he "found his designs for the elevation of
the stage hampered and finally frustrated by the sordid aims of the
proprietors and the absence of adequate public support." The people
would not come to see a marionette in borrowed robes poorly made
over, however handsome the embroidery. They would have no weak
imitations of the glorious Elizabethan verse. They demanded life
and a living form, and so Virginius, The Lady of Lyons, and the rest,
remain today but museum specimens of our stage history. Perhaps
in following their illustrious predecessor, these poet-playmakers failed
to sec that with Shakespeare the play was really the thing, the poetry
but the by-product, the efflorescense; with them it would seem the
verse was tantamount, the stage technique quite incidental. Apparent-
ly they did not realize that however much a poetic form may enrich
drama and give it permanent value in literature, it does not make for
acting value; it cannot make a proper play.
THB POETIC PLAY
What then of the poetic play? In the first place, what of this
so-called Closet drama? May we not rid our minds of any notion
we may have that such is drama at all ? If a play is written for the
closet, might it not just as well be permanently closeted, and have
done with it, as far as the stage is concerned? For such is no true
acting form however fine its verse, but an impossible vehicle — a pon-
derous wooden horse without vitals. It will not go. As poetry it
may be legitimate enou^, but as poetic drama it is poetastry rather;
it is a pretender. It is to be hoped that no dramatist of today will
make the egregious mistake of setting out to write plays primarily as
literature. All sudi efforts must inevitably fail. Bnmetiere empha-
sizes this: "A dramatic work does not begin to exist as sudi except
before the footlights by virtue of the collaboration and complicity of
the public, without whidi I assert that it never has and never can be
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The Modern Drama 255
more than mere rhetoric." Sudi "mere rhetoric" is letter-bound;
it lacks life, the necessary sound and action of its popular beginnings
in "those happy days," as Herder calls them, when poetry "lived in
the ears of the people, on the lips, and in the harps of living bards."
Too frequently has drama of the poetic form become "mere rhetoric"
because it forgot its communal origin and end. At times, to be sure,
drama of this "closet" type has had a brief hour to strut and fret its
leaden lines, but such has been a passing vogue, and a hopeful public
has ^)eedily discovered that it had hoped in vain for a "revival of the
poetic drama" — that the gorgeous miunmer was a false prophet. A
dramatic poem, then, is to be regarded a proper form as poetry but
it must not be called drama unless it has the necessary mimetic and
oral elements. Poetry may be dramatic apart from the stage; poetic
drama is dramatic only when it is adapted to the stage. Indeed Pro-
fessor Thorndike goes so far as to say, "in general, only a play suited
to presentation on the stage is likely to secure for a reader the visual-
ization, the impersonations, the illusion of actuality similar to those
experienced in the theatre."
The undramatic closet drama has relied too much upon the
show element, upon the elaborate costumes and gilded trappings of a
romantic past, too much upon rhetoric apart from reality. Now
historical shows as such, will always have a rightful place in recon-
structing and visualizing the human pageant of other days, but surely
they should not be substituted for a drama of present life, of actuality
now. Edmund Gosse, in a review of the original performances of
Stephen Phillips* Herod and Paola and Francesca a score of years ago,
pointed out that the author "realizes that modern audiences will not
think and he is most adroit in presenting to them romantic images,
rich costiunes, and vivid emotions, without offering to their intellects
the smallest strain." This criticism, I suppose, might be freely ap-
plied to the plays of this "closet" type. Our profest dramatic poets
have been too much obsessed with literary conventions to report life
as it is. Addison's defense of his own artificial verse in Thackeray's
Henry Esmond is suggestive : "We College poets trot, you know, on
very easy nags; it hath been, time out of mind, part of the poet's
profession to celebrate the actions of heroes in verse, and to sing the
deeds which . . . men of war perform. I must follow the rules
of my art, and the composition of such a strain as this must be har-
monious and majestic, not familiar, or too near the vulgar truth."
How many ambitious dramatists have avoided "familiar" language as
"too near the vulgar truth"! Such word-shows Mr. Henry Arthur
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256 The Quarterly Journal
Jones, pioneer diampion of the printed play in England, deplored in
addressing an audience of Yale students in the fall of 1906. "It is a
notion that a costume play, a play whose scenes are laid anywhere and
anytime between the birth of Christ and 1840" (note the date — not
later than 1840) and in which the personages "talk blank verse or
patchwork diction compounded of every literary and conversational
style from Chaucer to a White-diapel costermonger . . . docs
by that very fact acquire a literary merit . . . whidi ranks it
immesurably above the mere prose play of everyday life • . .
bringing an elevation of mind and feeling, that vague hut gratifying
sense of superiority which was felt by the Bourgeois Gentilhomme
s\'hm he discovered that, without tab'ng the least pains, he was a per-
son of very considerable literary attainment." But I think the day
of such mere mummery is passing. We are demanding today no
mere "vague" and "gratifying sense of superiority," no mere trumpery
of costume or phrase. We will be thoughtfid in the theater; we
want no romantic fustian; we require, in "familiar" language, truth
today — plays that deal rationally with the life of which we are a
potential part — plays of our own homes and streets, of our own shops
and factories, of our own farms and cities, of our own people today.
Only in such stuff can our modem stage find an American dramatic
literature.
THE PROSE PLAY
What now of prose? There seems to be much obscurity in what
constitutes literary merit in drama. Ibsen answered Peterson's ful-
mination against Peer Gynt, "My book is poetry; and if it is not,
then it will be. The conception of poetry in our country, in Norway,
shall be made to conform to the book." He was inststmg upon great-
er freedom of form just as did Whitman, "defiant" (as he himself
says) "of ostensible literary conventions" in his long struggle for
unrestrained verse. In his essay A Backward Glance o'er Travefd
Roads, written in the "candle light" of his old age, this unwearied
worker modestly noted, "Let me not dare ... to attempt the
definition of Poetry, nor answer the question what it is ... in
my opinion, no definition that has ever been made suffidently encloses
the name Poetry." Does not this phrase our widening modem con-
ception ? Have we not been too dogmatic in our idea of what is dra-
matic literature? We agree that the poetry of the stage we pro-
nounce great is no mere wordmongery; not superficial, but the heart
of the play; not its shell, but its life. We know that the cherished
masterpieces of our day were familiar acting pieces of their own time.
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The Modern Drama 257
that only since then have they come to be regarded as literature. We
remember that» altho widely read, Ibsen wrote his plays primarily to
be performed, that he was a craftsman of the stage (director of
theaters in Bergen and Christiania) before he was a craftsman of
letters. So all the other great ones in the history of the stage. To be
sure, it is the literary qualities that have kept them alive — Sophocles,
Shakespeare, Moliere, Sheriden, and the rest, for literature alone is
lasting. But we must not fail to remember that the acting merits,
not the literary, determine the primary value of a play, that the prag-
matic test is the first to be applied to all writings for the stage. The
written poem cannot make the play. Ben Jonson used the same kind
of lines as did Shakespeare, but Shakespeare's lines are more inherently
dramatic, more finely wrought for the theater. And so he has out-
stript his scholarly rival in the silent course of fame; so, too, he has
passed Marlowe with all his *'mighty lines" ; so all the brilliant con-
temporaries, simply in this — ^he wrote a drama more adequately, more
perfectly, more tnily attuned to the Elizabethan ear than they. So
his plays are permanent as literature. Mr. William Archer, the dis-
tinguished English critic, well says in a recent article in the Fort-
nightly, "The history of drama does not record the name of a sin^e
playwright who failed to win the ear of his contemporaries and was
proclaimed by posterity."
How, then, shall we interpret the literary insurgency of our
own times? What of the modem, non-poetic play? Shall we not
need to widen our definition to include not only the unique metrical
fantasy of Peer Gynt which Peterson denounced as no true poetry,
but also Ibsen's plays of perfect prose? Take, for illustration, the
closing lines of John Gabriel Borkman — ^the fine dialog of the two
women, the wife and the maiden sister, joining hands over the dead
white body of him they have both loved ; over the bankrupt king of
business who, Lear-like, has wandered out into the wild snow, high
up into the mountains, to his ending. Out of the tragic fact of her
rejected life speaks
Ella Rentheim. {with a painful smile) A dead man and two
shadows — that is what the cold has made of us.
Mrs. Borkman. Yes, the coldness of heart. — ^And now I think
we two may hold out our hands to each other, Ella.
Ella Rentheim. I think we may, now.
Mrs. Borkman. We twin sisters — over him we have both
loved.
Ella Rentheim. We two shadows — over the dead man.
(Mrs, Borkman behind the bench and Ella Rentheim in front of
it, take ecah other's hand.)
{Curtain)
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Is there a scene more deftly calculated to voice a tragic truth,
and its triumph? And this is plain prose. Gnild poetical lines be
more effective?
Or take Ghosts, with its haunting heredity — the terror and the
pity of the last words between mother and son :
Mrs. Alving. (Bending over him.) It has been a dreadful
fancy of yours, Oswald — There now. The crisis is over. You
see how easily it passed ! Oh, I was sure it would. — ^And do you see,
Oswald, what a lovely day we arc going to have? Brilliant sun-
shine! Now you can really see your home. (She goes to the table
and puts out the lamp. Sunrise. The glacier and the snow-peaks
in the background glow in the morning light,)
Oswald. (Sits in the arm-chair with his back towards the land-
scape, without moving. Suddenly he says:) Mother, give me the sun.
Mrs. Alving. (By the table, starts and looks at him,) What
do you say?
Oswald. (Repeats, in a dull, toneless voice.) The sun. The
sun.
Mrs. Alving. (Goes to him,) Oswald, what is the matter
with you?
Oswald. (Seems to shrink together in the chair; all his muscles
relax; his face is expressionless, his eyes have a glassy stare.)
Mrs. Alving. (Quivering with terror.) What is this?
(Shrieks.) Oswald! What is the matter with you? (Falls on her
knees beside him and shakes him.) Oswald! Oswald! look at me!
Don't you know me?
Oswald. (Tonelessly as before.) The sun. — the sun.
Mrs. Alving. (Springs up in despair, entwines her hands in
her hair and shrieks.) I cannot bear it! (Whispers, as though
petrified) ; I cannot bear it! Never! (Suddenly.) Where has he
got them? (Fumbles hastily in his breast.) Here! (Shrinks back
a few steps and screams'.) No; no; no! — Yes! No; no; (She
stands a few steps away from him with her hands twisted in her hair,
and stares at him in speechless horror.)
Oswald. (Sits motionless as before and says:) The sun. — ^Thc
(Curtain)
Again, take the very last speech of the heart-struck husband in
A Doll's House:
Helmer. (Sinks into a chair by the door with his face in his
hands.) Nora! Nora! (He looks round and rises.) Empty! She
is gone. (A hope springs up in him.) Ah! The miracle of miracles
?!
(From below is heard the reverberation of a heavy door closing.)
(Curtain)
Recall the fine singing speeches of Hilda in The Master Build-
er cumulating when Solness achieves the impossible and enwreathes
his high-created spire:
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The Modern Drama 259
Hilda. (Immovable, follows Solness with her eyes.) He
climbs and climbs. Higher and higher! Higher and higher! Lookl
Just look !
There, he is standing on the topmost planks! Right at the top!
(Exulting, with quiet intensity.) At last! At last! Now I see
him great and free again!
So have I seen him all thru these ten years. How serene he stands!
Frightfully thrilling all the same. Look at him! Now he is hang-
ing the wreath round the vane!
Yes, it is the impossible that he is doing now !
I hear a song — ^a mighty song! (Shouts in wild jubilation and glee.)
Look, look ! Now he is waving his hat ! He is waving it to us down
here! Oh, wave, wave back to him! For now it is finished!
(Snatches the white shawl from the Doctor, waves it, and shouts up
to Solness.) Hurrah for Master Builder Solness!
(Stares fixedly upwards and says as if petrified.) My Master
Builder!
A Voice. (Below in the garden.) Mr. Solness is dead
Hilda. (As if in quiet spell-bound triumph.) But he mounted
right to the top. And I heard harps in the air. ( Waves her shawl in
the air and shrieks with wild intensity.) My — ^my Master Builder!
(Curtain)
Here is seen Ibsen's high quality in prose. The reader will re-
call other scenes of surpassing beauty and 2q>peal — ^in Rosmersholm,
in Little Eyolf, (how tersely tragic is Rita's simple line, "The
crutch is floating!"), in The Lady From the Sea, in The Wild Duck,
in When We Dead Awaken — ^passages of true literary quality. In-
deed the conscious evolution of Ibsen's style from the conventional
verse of his early romanticism to the poignant prose of his maturer
realism is exceedingly interesting evidence to the student of modem
letters. He contended: "The verse form has done dramatic art a
great injury. I myself have, during the last seven or eight years,
hardly written a single verse, but have undertaken the incomparably
more difficult art of writing in simple, true language of reality. Verse
form will hardly find a nameworthy application in the drama of the
near future, for the literary endeavor of the future woidd not be
able to harmonize with it. It will therefore succumb. Forms in
art die out, just as the monstrous animal forms of primitive times
died out ; when their time was ended." Here is an extreme position,
but it must be granted that the great Norseman lost nothing of his
master-power in the avowed iconoclasm of his later style. Rather
it is said he gained much in esdiewing verse, in exploiting a new
world of poetic possitnlities in prose.
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But Shakespeare had caught the idea before him. Some of his
best work is in prose — plain prose of alluring phrase. The reader
will undoubtedly call to mind in this connection the crisp phrasing
and the ringing sentences of Hamlet's instructions to the Players.
Here is simple prose — but how sprightly and really dramatic Then
there is Hamlet's dark outlook on life in a brilliant passage of prose,
bristling with stars, "This goodly frame, the earth, seems to me a
sterile promontory; this most excellent canopy, the air, look you,
this brave o*erhanging firmament, this majestical roof fretted with
golden fire, etc.*' And the meditations of the Prince of Denmark
over the skull of the jester, "Alas poor Yorick," are deep wells of
wonder, lines of lasting melody.
Shakespeare abounds in such prose miracles. Perhaps the most
astonishing occur in Macbeth — in scenes containing elemental force
and perfect loveliness. Here a drunken Porter, even, guards "the
primrose way to the everlasting bonfire," and a great "sleep-walking"
scene haunts the remembrance with heart-breaking pity ; "all the per-
fumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand.'* Here is mastery
— Shakespeare perhaps at the flood-tide of dramatic phrasing — sheer
power and unvarnished beauty. And it is in prose.
Browning, even, reached a high place in dramatic style in A Blot
on the Scutcheon in the infinite pity of Mildred's simple confession:
Mildred. . . . I — 1 was so young.
Beside, I loved him, Thorold — ^and I had
No mother ; God torgot me ; so, I fell.
Here is verse form with the directness of prose.
Examples might be indefinitely multiplied did space permit. I
am not arguing against verse on the stage. "There is need for poetry
in the drama," Mr. Clayton Hamilton has well observed, "provided
that the play remain the thing and the poetry contribute to the play."
But we should not be obsessed with the notion that poetry is the
only vehicle worthy of literary drama. Certainly prose is not to be
considered an inferior form ; Ibsen regarded it is "incomparably more
difficult." It may, often does, rise to the heights we have come to
associate only with the lyric. Perhaps the great prose of Ibsen and
of Shakespeare may serve to indicate a yet "undiscovered country"
of dramatic possibilities ; perhas the modern drama will find in prose
an elemental power and variety not yet known. With this in view,
it were better for our aspiring dramatists to achieve as pioneers in
prose, than to fail as conservatives in poetry.
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III. The Vogue of the Printed Play
What is the outlook today ? The novel seems to be barely hold-
ing its own — if indeed it is holding its own. After a careful study of
the field, Mr. Fred E. Woodward of Washington, D. C. (see The
Literary Digest, March I, 1913, page 464), found a falling off in the
production of fiction in the United States from 24.5 per cent, in 1890
to only 9.3 per cent in 19 12. Without doubt the growing demand
for the short story in this same period accounts in some mesure for
this change in the attitude of the reading public. And perhaps the
condensed form of the short story with its elimination of description
and comment by the way, with its emphasis on dialog has prepared
the way for the rather phenomenal rise of the published play in recent
years.
In response to letters addrest to the chiefs of four of our great
public libraries, the writer received unanimously affirmative answers
to his suspicion on this point. Dr. Bostwick of the St. Louis Public
Library writes: "The circulation of printed plays has not only in-
creased enormously in the last few years, but it practically did not
exist a few years ago." Mr. Henry E. Legler of the Chicago Public
Lbirary says: "The demand for the printed play has very materially
increased during the last few years." Dr. Billings of the New York
Public Library holds likewise that "there is an increased demand for
the printed play," and Dr. Horace G. Walden of the Boston Public
Library states that "the demand for the printed play has undoubtedly
increased." Such evidence is at once surprising and suggestive. How
shall we account for it? How shall we interpret the marked de-
crease in the production of the novel as indicated by Mr. Woodward's
compilation, and the rapid increase in the last few years in the out-
put of printed plays as indicated in the concurring testimonies of
the librarians? Undoubtedly such flourishing organizations as The
Drama League of America and The American Playgoers have done
much to promote the printed play by creating an intelligent interest
in the big playgoing public thru study classes, reading clubs and lec-
tures. So, many readers today are looking on the play as the most
vital thing in modern literature.
The number of our contemporary writers who have taken up
the drama as a favorite vehicle is indeed surprising — on the continent,
such literary leaders as Hauptmann, Sudermann, Wedekind, Maeter-
linck, D'Annuncio, Rostand, Brieux ; in England, Shaw, Galsworthy,
Arnold Bennett, Yeats, Barrie, and others. (The first and the last
mentioned Englishmen are interesting instances of novelists success-
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262 The Quarterly Journal
fully turned playwrigjits.) In America, William Vaug^an Moody
after contributing good poetry gave us at least on noteworthy play
in prose, The Great Divide. There has come up in the United
States in recent years a significant group of ambitious playwrights,
enthusiastic with youth, thoughtful, vital. And the universities, fol-
lowing the lead of Harvard, have included in their curricula courses
in Modem Drama — ^with practice in dramatic composition. The
success of Edward M. Sheldon, but just out of Harvard, at twenty-
five, with two such worthy contributions to the American stage as
Salvation Nell and The Nigger, marks the beginning, it is thought,
of a promising future.
To be sure the drama is difficult. It is generally conceded to
be the most difficult of all literary forms to write. Perhaps because
it is hard — and high — ^it summons up the blood of our most ambitious
authors. Mr. Henry James's remark is in point: "To work success-
fully beneath a few grave, rigid laws, is siwzys a strong man's high-
est ideal of success.' And plays are difficult to read, too. They
demand concentration on the part of the reader, and a trained imagi-
nation for the visualization of the scene, the speech, the action, the
ensemble which the lines only connote. The printed page cannot
supply the necessary mimetic and oral elements; this the reader must
himself bring to the book. But when he can do this, he gets crys-
tallized, as it were, in two hours of his time all the moving pageant
of life which the novel holds; and he gets it in two hours rather than
in two weeks, or maybe as many months. Besides, the play-reader,
in drawing vigorously on his fancy, is exercising his own mental
reach. Perhaps because of its condensation and its strong appeal to
the imagination is the play cherished by our active American mind.
IV. The Contemporary Drama
And what can we say is the promise of this increasingly popular
form? Is there more than temporary significance to the clamoring
of our insurgent drama? Will its daring dream find permanent life
in literature? Who can say! Our mind is called analytic, scientific;
our age, an age of prose, a barren soil for art. But the prose of
Shakespeare and Ibsen we have tried and found not wanting in high
literary quality. True, our times are active rather than contemplative,
but so were Shakespeare's. And may we not make of this stirring day
dramatic prose vibrant with our own new wonder of life, and our
joy in it. Our thoughtful contemporary playwrights seem to be
pointing the way in prose combining actuality with real literary
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The Modern Drama 263
power. A few excerpts from representative i^ys here will serve to
remind the reader of such values:
From Act V of Hauptmann*s The Weavers, the desperate state
of starving workers; the last plaint of the aged Hilse:
Old Hilse An' if it came to the worst! Willin',
willin' woidd I be to say good-bye to this weary world. Death
would be weloMne — ^welcomer to me today than tomorrow. For
what is it we leave behind ? That old bundle of aches an' pains we
call our body, the care an' the oppression we call by the name of
life. We may be glad to get away from it. — But there's something
to come after, Gotdeib! — ^an' if we've done ourselves out of that too
— why, then it's all over with usl
From Act II of Brieux's Maternity, the tragic fact of the out-
cast mother with child:
LuciB. Can't you imagine what my poor darling's life would
be like if we did what you said ? Turned out of here
Brignac. No, no; not turned out.
Lucie. Sent away unwillingly, if you like, coming to this
place, suddenly thrust into contact with all the sadness and the misery
and the vice of Paris! Think of her waiting all those months, in
the midst of the women there, while a poor little creature is growing
into life that she knows beforehand is condemned And
when she is torn with the torturing pain that I know so well, at that
moment of martyrdom when a woman feels death hovering over her
bed and watching jealously for mother and child, when the full hor-
ror of the sacred m3rstery she has accomplished is on her, then she'll
only have strangers round her! . . . That's your^ justice! Jus-
tice! Social hypocrisy, rather — ^that's what you stand up for. . . .
Let's be frank about it. ... It isn't immorality that's con-
demned, but having children I
From the close of Act II of Shaw's Mrs. Warrens Profession,
the dialog between mother and daughter; Mrs. Warren's scathing
arraignment of sodety in explaining and defending her pitiable-pro»-
perous shame:
ViviB. {intensely interested by this time) : . . . but why
did you choose that business? Saving money and good management
will succeed in any business.
Mrs. Warren. Yes, saving money. But where can a woman
get the money to save in any o^er business? Could you save out
of four shillings a week and keep yourself dressed as well ? Not you.
Of course, if you're a plain woman and can't earn anything more; or
if you have a turn for music, or the stage, or newspaper-writing: that's
different. But neither Liz nor I had any turn for such things; all
we had was our appearance and our turn for pleasing men. Do you
think we were such fools as to let other people trade in our good
looks by employing us as shopgirls, or barmaids, or waitresses, when
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264 The Quarterly Journal
we could trade in them ourselves and get all the profits instead of
starvation wages? Not likely
Why am I independent and able to give my daughter a first-rate edu-
cation, when other women that had just as good opportunities are in
the gutter ? Because I always knew how to respect myself and control
mj'self. Why is Liz looked up to in a cathedral town? The same
reason. Where would we be now if we'd minded the clergyman's
foolishness ? Scrubbing floors for one and sixpence a day and nothing
to look forward to but the workhouse infirmary.
ViviE. {turning to her quickly) . . . You have got com-
pletely the better of me tonight, though I intended it to be the other
way. Let us be good friends now. . . . Come ; good-night, dear
old mother. {She takes her in her arms.)
Mrs. Warren, {fondly). I brought you up well, didn't I.
dearie?
ViviE. You did.
Mrs. Warren. And you'll be good to your poor old mother
for it, won't you?
ViviE. I will, dear. {Kissing her.) Good-night.
Mrs. Warren. {With unction.) Blessings on my own dearie
darling — a mother's blessing! {She embraces her daughter protect-
ingly, instinctively looking upward as if to call down a blessing.)
{ Curtain )
From Act I of Caesar and Cleopatra to show Shaw's versa-
tility, the fantastic address of Julius Caesar to the Egyptian Sphinx:
The Man. Hail, Sphinx: Salutation from Julius Caesar! I
have wandered in many lands, seeking the lost regions from which
my birth into this world exiled me, and the company of creatures
such as I myself. I have found flocks and pastures, men and dties,
but no other Caesar, no air native to me, no man kindred to me,
none who can do my day's deed, and think my night's thought. . . .
Sphinx, Sphinx: I have climbed mountains at night to hear in the
distance the stealthy footfall of the winds that chase your sands in
forbidden play — our invisible children, O Sphinx, lauding in whis-
pers. My way hither was the way of destiny ; for I am he of whose
genius you are the symbol : part brute, part woman, and part God —
nothing of man in me at all. Have I read your riddle. Sphinx?
From Act H of Galsworthy's Strife, the eloquent appeal of
Labor:
Roberts. 'Tis not for this little moment of time we're fighting
{the murmuring dies)y not for ourselves, our own little bodies, and
their wants, 'tis for all those that come after throughout all time.
{With intense sadness.) Oh! men — for the love o' them, don't roll
up another stone upon their heads, don't help to blacken the sky, an'
let the bitter sea in over them. They're welcome to the worst that
can happpen to me, to the worst that can happen to us all, aren't
they — aren't they? If we can shake {passionately) that white-faced
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The Modern Drama 265
monster with die bloody lips, that has sucked the life out of ourselves,
our wives, and children, since the world began. {Droppping the
note of passion, but with the utmost, weight and intensity.) If we
have not the hearts of men to stand against it breast to breast, and
eye to eye, and force it backward till it cry for mercy, it will go on
sucking life; and we shall stay forever what we are {in almost a
whisper)^ less than the very dogs. {An utter stillness, and Roberts
stands rocking his body slightly, with his eyes burning the faces of
the crowd,)
Evans and Jagg. {Suddenly. ) Roberts ! ( The shout is taken
up.)
From Synge's Riders to the Sea the infinite grief of old Mauyra,
the mother of men, sea-plundered of husband and seven strong sons
—of all.
Mauyra. {Puts the empty cup mouth downwards on the
table and lays her hands together on Bartley's feet.) They're all
together this time, and the end is come. May the Almighty God
have mercy on Bartley's soul, and on Michael's soul, and on the
souls of Sheamus and Patch, and Stephen and Shawn {bending her
head) ; and may He have mercy on my soul, Nora, and on the soul
of every one is left living in the world. {She pauses, and the keen
rises a little more loudly from the women, then sinks away.)
Michael has a clean burial in the far north by the grace of Almighty
God. Hartley will have a coffin out of the white boards, and a deep
grave surely. What more can we want than that? No man at all
can be living forever, and we must be satisfied. {She kneels down
again and the curtain falls slowly.)
In the "rolling glory" of such sentences it is well said "there
is the rythm as of waters following the moon."
From Act II of John Masefield's dark Tragedy of Nan — the
bitter-sweet love-making of poor, beauty-starved Nan:
Nan. {Striking a match) : They must have looked beautiful,
those women must, in the old time. There was songs made of them.
Beauty be a girt gift, Mr. Dick.
Dick. It be wonderful in a woman.
Nan. It makes a woman like God, Mr. Dick.
Dick. You be beautiful. You be like a fairy. The rose. You
be beautiful like in my dream.
Nan. Ah! Let go my hands. Let go my hands.
Dick. You be beautiful. Your eyes. And your face so pale.
And your hair with the rose. O Nan, you be lovely. You be lovelv!
Nan. O don't! Don't!
Dick. Nan, O Nan, do 'ec love me?
Nan. I love you, Dick.
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266 The Quarterly Journal
Dick. Nan, dear, let I take the pins out of your hair. Let me
'ave your 'air all loose. Your lovely hair. O Nan, you be a beau-
tiful woman.
Nan. There be my 'air, Dick. It ben't much, after all.
Dick, (kissing the hair) : Oh, beautiful. Beau-ti-vul. My
own Nan.
Nan. Now loose me, darling. (They break.) I have had
my moment. I have been happy.
From Act III of Moody's The Great Divide the clash between
puritanical Massachusetts and lawless Arizona:
(Ruth utters a faint moan as her head sinks in her arms on the
table. With trembling hands, Ghent carresses her hair lightly, and
speaks between a laugh and a sob.) Little mother! Little mother!
What does the past matter, when we've got the future — and him?
(Ruth does not move. He remains bending over her for some mo-
ments, then straightens up, with a gesture of stoic despair,) I know
what you're saying there to yourself, and I guess you're right. Wrong
is wrong, from the moment it happens till the crack of doom, and
all die angels in Heaven, working overtime, can't make it less or
different by a hair. That seems to be the law. I've learned it hard,
but I guess I've learned it. I've seen it written in mountain letters
across the continent of this life. — Done is done, and lost is lost, and
smashed to hell is smashed to hell. We fuss and potter and patch
up. You might as well try to batter down the Rocky Mountains
with a rabbitt's heart-beat! (He goes to the door, where he turns.)
You've fought hard for me, God bless you for it. — ^But it's been a
losing game with you from the first ! — You belong here, and I be-
long out yonder — ^beyond the Rockies, beyond — ^die Great Divide!
You have taken the good of our life and grown strong. I have
taken the evil and grown weak, weak unto death. Teach me to live
as you do! (She puts the chain about his neck.)
Ghent. (Puzzled, and yet realizing the full force of her
words.) Teach you — to live — as I do?
Ruth. And teach — html
Ghent. (Unable to realize his fortune.) Youll let me help
make a kind of a happy life for — the little rooster?
Ruth. (Holds out her arms, her face flooded with happiness.)
And for us! For us!
(Curtain)
From Act III of Sheldon's The Nigger^ Senator Long's hope-
ful outlook on the race conflict in the South:
Long. (Simply.) When yo' as ol* as me, sonny, you'll b'lieve
in a God above us diat's a real, sho' thing! I reckon that God knew
what He was doin' when He let us bring the niggahs ovah heah. He
knew we'd have t' go through an awful lot b'fo' that coidd be
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The Modern Drama 267
made right, an' I reckon He knew, too, that in the end we'd be a
blame sight bettah nation than we evah were be'fo'. Ye know, sonny,
that's a way God has. He lets us tu'n the bad into good. Sometimes
I think we oughtah thank Him mo' fo' that 'n anything else. ( There
is a slight pause.)
Phil. (Half to himself.) Tu'n the bad into good.
From Act III of Augustus Thomas's As A Man Thinks, this
modem interpretation:
Seblig. Elinor, (pause) Do you hear riiat rattle of the rail-
road?
Elinor. Yes.
Sbblig. All over this great land thousands of trains run every
day starting and arriving in punctual agreement because this is a
woman's world. The great steamships, dependable almost as the
sun — a million factories in civilization — the countless looms and
lathes of industry — the legions of labor that weave the riches of the
world — ^all — all move by the mainspring of man's faith in woman —
man's faith.
Elinor. I want him to have faith in me.
Seblig. This old world hangs together by love.
Mrs. Sbblig. Not man's love for woman.
Sbblig. No — nor woman's love for man, but by the love of both
— for the children.
From Act II of Kennedy's The Servant in the House, the
church of the new religion :
Manson. The pillars of it go up like the brawny trunks of
heroes: the sweet human flesh of men and women is moidded about
its bulwarks, strong ,impregnable : the faces of little children laugh
out from every corner-stone: the terrible spans and arches of it are
the joined hands of comrades ; and up in the heights and spaces there
are inscribed the numberless musings of all the dreamers of the world.
It is yet building — ^building and built upon. Sometimes the work
goes forward in deep darkness: sometimes in blinding Ight: now be-
neath the burden of unutterable anguish : now to the tune of a great
laughter and heroic shoutings like the cry of thunder. (Softer.)
Sometimes, in the silence of the night-time, one may hear the tiny
hammerings of the comrades at work up in the dome — the comrades
that have climbed ahead.
From Act I of Zangwill's The Melting Pot, the immigrant's
hope, the future of America:
DAvm. Not understand! (He rises and
crosses to her and leans over the table, facing her.) Not under-
stand that America is God's Crucible, the great Melting-Pot where
all the races of Europe are melting and reforming! Here you stand,
good folk, think I, when I see them at Ellis Island, here you stand
(graphically illustrating it on the table) ^ in your fifty groups, with
your fifty languages and histories, and your fifty blood hatreds and
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268 The Quarterly Journal
rivalries. But you won*t be long like that, brothers, for these arc
the fires of God youVe come to — these are the fires of God. A fig
for your feuds and vendettas I Germans and Frenchmen, Irishmen
and Englishmen, Jews and Russians — into the Crucible with you all!
God is making the American!
There is not room for further quotation. But it is enough.
These scathing scenes, compelling lines, words "fire-new from the
mint" show the dramatic combined with the literary sense — amoving
words. Greater versatility, fineness, will unduobtedly follow, but
here is the main thing; the letters are latent with life, and life in
abundance.
V. The Next Phase
Many are wondering what the next phase will be. The for-
mula of the new drama will be first of all truth to our own times
and a literary style consistent with this, dominently prose perhaps
tho not to the exclusion of poetry in its own field. Freed from the
impediments of out-lived tradition, it will give us the wonder of our
own day's work. It will not overlook the common people and the
common things; it will find as Emerson did that
" in the mud and sciun of things,
There alway, alway something sings."
The democratic mass will be its working basis, the neglected ones
whom Henry Esmond remembers: "There were men at Blenheim as
good as the leader whom neither knights nor senator applauded nor
voices plebeian or patrician favored, and who lie there forgotten un-
der the clods. What poet is there to sing them?" Them, and such
like, the new drama will celebrate, for it will know that the highest
individualism is the highest socialism.
And it will be more than an insurgent drama; it will be s>ti-
thetic; it will be creative; it will bring new beauty. It will go on
in its mission purging society of superstition and h)rpocrisy, building
on the sound physical basis of love and life, a new order, a more
wholesome humanity — men and women going on together clear in
body and in mind, to make for themselves a new heaven and a new
earth. Already is the reconstruction evident. Friedrich Kummcr
in his illuminating book, Deutsche Literaturegeschichte des 19.
JahrhundertSj 1909, says, "Even the authors who at first were strict
naturalists or positivists like Hauptmann and Liliencron are grad-
ually being seized by the metaphysical way of loob'ng at things."
And Nietzsche while insisting that out of the decay of the present
day conditions should come an entire re-evaluation of things to help
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The Modern Drama 269
us up, predicted the coming of the superman. ''Since we have pro-
gressed from worm to man/* he suggests, "why is it not possible to
pass on from man to superman." And so will come an even greater
than Ibsen to interpret for us an emandpated society. Beauty so
created will be lasting in literature because it will be truth.
America has much to contribute. The inau^ral address of
President Wilson is suggestive: **At last a vision has been vouch-
safed us of our life as a whole. We see the bad with the good,
the debased and decadent with the sound and vital. With this
vision, we approach new affairs. Our duty is to cleanse, to recon-
sider, to restore." Such is our high American hope. Tho our
life is called pragmatic it is large, too, in faith. Transcenden-
talism is not yet departed from us. Even in our huge businesses,
we are enthusiasts; even in our flashing shuttles and roaring looms
we are dreaming big dreams. Even in such we are really idealists —
high romancers. Shakespeare's reference to his own age as "these
nimble and giddy-paced times" is quite as applicable to our own. It
would seem that we arc on the uplift of a world-wave in literature
— SL literature of action. Perhaps now, once again, the drama is to
be the expression of a new nationality, of our "third empire" which
Ibsen vainly sought in his Emperor and Galilean, "that empire which
shall be founded on the tree of knowledge and the tree of the cross
together." A drama of pragmatic vision made out of our abundant
materials — ^Yosemites of wonder, Niagaras of power — from rough-
hewn Maine to sun-bright California, from fenceless Texas to far-
flung Dakota — a drama of thrilling life, of our proved democracy.
Perhaps in a "republic of active literature" our insurgent stage of
today will yet give us a new chapter in American letters called — ^The
Modern Drama.
"Poets to come!
Expecting the main things from you."
— ^Walt Whitman.
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I Dreamed That Dream Was
Quenched*
1 DREAMED that Dream was quenched,
And my heart blenched
At how the world emptied itself of joy.
Of Spring, erewhile so fresh —
Spring with the heart of trysdng maid and boy,
The spirit flower seemed gone to seed in flesh.
Of Summer, with her sheen
At the meeting-place of heavenly and terrene.
Evanished, too, the soul! nor without it
Was morning any longer exquisite.
Forests, that are but seaweed of the sky,
Like stranded ooze did seem of space gone dry.
There was no mystery in things, no spell
Of bird-song in the air, no nacre on the shell.
No lingering afterglows of twilight eves.
Nor autumn's red apocalyptic leaves.
Oped Revery a visionary page.
Rose drearily the sun, as in a cage
Some tawny bulk, once leonine, upheaves
To be its living pendulum. The moon.
Appearing moth-white from its doud-cocoon.
Became the murky wraith of old eclipse.
No more the sea was Sea,
Fathomless as to thought, eternity.
In wonted might uphurled.
But only the vast sepidchre of ships.
Whose ghosts, at ebbing tide,
Disbodied of incrusted wreckage, eyed
Afar the stark, cold, and dismembered world.
• "The L5nric Year aspires to the position of an Annual Exhibi-
tion or Salon of American Poetry, for it presents a selection from
one year's work of a hundred American poets." For the last Elxhi-
bidon, ten thousand poems were contributed by nearly two thousand
writers including many of the most prominent in the country today.
The poem here found was Professor Hidt's contribution, and is one
of the one hundred chosen to appear in the anthology. (Editor)
GooQle
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/ Dreamed That Dream Was Quenched 271
In that drear time,
Man knew no longer youth or prime,
The newly-born seemed old incredibly.
A delver within ruined hills for ore,
Ten thousand years or more,
Emerged into white noon, had been as he, —
So shriveled up with night, so cursed widi grime.
More terror than befalls from Nature's hand.
At lancing of Volcano's pent-up ache, —
More desolation than of fire and quake
He wrought upon the land.
For in the age's wake,
Wonder and Song had ceased to be;
And battle flags were rent for scullionry;
And Love was plucked as theme from the world's tomes.
His pauseless fires I saw
Bum brick with toil-won straw :
Rose bastions, wherein Life immured itself;
Rose glutless vaults of pelf;
And everywhere were palaces and domes, —
But Joy was not, nor any hush for Awe.
Still Thought made feint to explore
The universe for lore;
But moulted was the very sense of truth, —
Impossible save to miracle and youth!
Nor work was wrought but bore
Evidence that the heart within was blind, —
That impotent is the dream-widowed mind.
Thus Man strained on and on
From futile deed to futile deed — and died:
And the air clarified
Of smoke from kilns and mills; and presently
Afar I seemed to see
Earth and the planets, hollow-eyed and bagged,
In horrible hellish dance, that never flagged.
About the bubbling caldron of the sun.
—Gottfried Hult.
Department of Greek,
University of North Dakota
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Book Reviews
A History of the Literature of Ancifnt Israel From the
Earliest Times to 135 B. C: Henry T. Fowler, Professor
of Biblical Literature and History in Brown University. The
Macmillan Company, New York, 1912. XVI + 392 pp.
Price, $2.25.
Our whole conception of the wonderful literature of the ancient
Hebrews has, in comparatively recent years, undergone a complete
change. Instead of regarding it as a sort of magic product dictated
to automatons by divine authority, we now look upon it as an out-
growth of life, as a series of human documents which sprang straight
from the minds and hearts of a great and gifted people. It has be-
come possible to see that the same literary development with which
we are familiar in the history of other peoples occurred in ancient
Israel. The crude folk-songs and ballads of an early age, the simple
codes of laws suited to primitive conditions, the naive annals of half
legendary achievements were followed in due time by polished lyrics,
well-developed legislation, and carefully worked-up history, biogra-
phy, and fiction. The striking thing about Biblical literature is not
at all the manner of its production, but rather the spiritual ideab
which it holds up, the unique conceptions of life which it presents,
the breadth and height of its views of God and man, and the mar-
vellous combination of simplicity and sublimity which, at its best,
is characteristic of its style.
The general facts of the development of this marvelous liter-
ature are now generally understood and agreed upon by all modem
Biblical scholars. They have been presented again and again in such
standard works as Driver's "Introduction," and other similar books,
as well as in Dr. Kent's very scholarly and complete "Student's Old
Testament," to say nothing of the various editions of the individual
books, encyclopedia articles, etc. It has remained, however, for
Dr. Fowler to gather up these facts, put them into a connected nar-
rative, and give us a complete and coherent panoramic view of the
whole literature from the simple "Song of the Sword" to the finely
wrought poems and tales of the Greek period.
One of the most puzzling problems for the ordinary student of
the Bible is the separating of the difiFerent layers o! narrative which
were combined in the final redaction of the historical and legislative
portions of the Old Testament. For the thoro study of this matter
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Book Reviews 273
Dr. Kent's works arc, of course, invaluable; but Dr. Fowler sets
forth the various situations and traces the blending of stratum and
stratum in a most interesting and suggestive way. In this respect,
as in many others, his book furnishes the best and most intelligible
means of approach with which I am familiar. His treatment of the
early prophets, Amos, Hosea, and Isaiah, and of the author of Deu-
teronomy, is illumniating and convincing. The work of Jeremiah
and Ezekiel also stands out in clear light against the background of
the troubled times in which riiey lived.
Like practically all modern scholars. Dr. Fowler assigns the
great majority of the Psalms and Proverbs to a comparatively late
date. Here also belong those two charming tales, Ruth and Jonah
— each alike designed to teach the Jews a broader humanity — the
highly artistic tale of Esther, and the great poetical masterpieces.
Job and the Song of Solomon. One can hardly help regretting that
Dr. Fowler feels compelled to discard the theory which sees in the
latter poem a dramatic action gathering about the Shulamite*s de-
votion to her Shepherd-lover amid all the allurements of Solomon's
court. It was certainly a most attractive interpretation, tho, of
course, if the facts do not warrant it, we must be willing to give
it up. Dr. Fowler's idea is that the book consists of a series of
lyrics which obscurely reflect a story of true love. If this be the
actual case, we should not, perhaps, expect any great clearness of
thought. Tennyson, it should be remembered, tried to accomplish
this same feat in "Maud," a poem which at first no one understood,
one critic saying that it might well be called "Mad" or "Mud," but
why the vowels should be combined in "Maud" no man could say.
If a great modern master like the late Laureate could not do better
with a lyric cycle, we should, perhaps, be somewhat moderate in our
demands on an oriental poet of two thousand years ago.
Of the book of Job Dr. Fowler gives an appreciative tho brief
study. The prose epilog, however, he regards as an artistic blemish.
It does seem somewhat inconsistent with the spiritual message which
the poem intended to inculcate — the lesson that success in life is not
to be mesured by temporal or outward prosperity. And yet how
was the ancient dramatist to represent to the materialistically-minded
men of his time the great fact that Jehovah prizes faith in the eternal
verities more than credence of dogma ? To me, at least, it seems that
the epilog is necessary to drive the lesson home.
Enough has been said to show that the work before us is both
interesting and stimulating. It can be confidently recommended to
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274 The Quarterly Journal
all Bible students who are desirous of getting a clear modem con-
ception of the history and literary values of the various books bound
together in the Old Testament. Fuller and more critical discus-
sons of individual books may easily be found; it would be difficult
to name any other single volume telling the whole story so deariy
and connectedly.
Vernon P. Squires
Department of Englissh,
University of North Dakota
The Oxyrhynchus Papyri, Part IX. Edited, with Translations
and Notes, by Arthur S. Hunt. Six plates, pp. xii + 304-
Egypt Exploration Fund (American Branch, Boston), 191 2.
$6.25; to Subscribers, $5.00.
Again have scholars to acknowledge the service rendered by the
Egypt Exploration Fund for another priceless collection of fragments
— a worthy addition to an already indispensable series. The present
volume is the ninth of the Oxyrhynchus volumes and the twelfth of
the Graeco-Roman series.
Fifty-eight fragments appear in the current volumes — three
from the Septuagint^; three from the New Testament; one each
from Philo and the Shepherd of Hermas ; twelve from classical writers
including Sophocles, Euripides, ApoUonius Rhodius, Thucydides,
Xenophon, Demosthenes, Socrates, and Pseudo-Hippocrates; and the
balance a sheaf of letters, edicts, receipts, and other business paper.
The third century papyrus fragment, of Sept., Ge. 16:8-12, is
especially helpful by reason of the defective text of Cod.B. The
first gospel is represented by two fifth century fragments,* of which
one will be of interest as being, probably, the earliest authority
for the reading dvr«(v in 10:32 where the best MSS read
ofwkoydv h dvT^\ For the Catholic letters there is a single frag-
ment, Jas. 2:19-3:9, textually in general agreement with Q)d.
B. Textual study of the Pastor of Hermas is promoted by a
a single fragment, Jas. 2:19-3:9, textually in general agreement with
Cod. B. Textual study of the Pastor of Hermas is promoted by a
fourth century fragment. The half-dozen or more fragments of this
homily now recently discovered will go far toward eking out the
scanty sources known in the days of Lightfoot.* On the third cen-
tury fragments of Philo, the Editor remarks that, "On the whole
1. Oe. 16:8-12; 31:42-64; Job. 4:28 f. 6:1 (vellum).
2. 6:6-17 (vellum). 10:82-11:16.
8. For discussion, cf. Moulton, Or. of N. T. Greek, Prolegg., p. 104;
Allen Com. on Gtospel ace to Mt., p. 110.
4. Cp. ApoBt. Fathers, pp. 294 if.
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Book Reviews 275
the ps4>ynis leaves the satisfactory impression that the text of Philo
as recommended by modern criticism is substantially sound."
The classical remains are especially valuable in point of age,
those of the Ichneutae and Eurypylus of Sophocles dating to the
second century as also those from Demosthenes, "De Falsa Lega-
tione," and from the newly found life of Euripides by Satyrus.
Thuddides, Xenophon, and ApoUonius Rhodius are represented by
third century fragments, and Euripides ,"Phoenisae,*' and "Orestes,"
by fragments dating respectively to the first century and the first
century B. C. To the first century, further, dates a bit from Isocra-
tes. In all these remains one could wish, alas ! that fortune had been
more kind and left less to the craft of modern editors.
In the case of Sophocles^ the discovery is almost unique, being
paralleled only by a single piece from Euripides. As is well known,
it was the custom among the Greek tragedians to produce tragedies
in trilogies, or sets of three, following the trilogy with a play in
lighter strain thus letting down as it were the wrought up feelings of
the auditors. The only such satyric drama previously known was
the Cyclops of Euripides, discovered by Messrs. Grenfell & Hunt
and issued three years ago. But from the other great tragedians
there remained only disjointed sentences and fragments of such works
preserved largely in the grammarians. But now have been brought
to light over four hundred lines of a comic detective play, "Ichneutai,"
"The Trackers," probably a half or more of the entire play.
The plot is simple, based on the old story of the pranks of the
infant god Hermes, in this case the theft of Apollo's cattle. The
scene is on Mt. Cylene in Arcadia. The dramatis personae includes
Apollo, Silenus and his attendant chorus of Satyrs, the nymph Cy-
lene, probably Hermes — tho our present fragment ends too soon to
include his appearance.
Enter Apollo who announces that his cattle have been stolen.
In vain has he sought. He offers a reward. Enter Silenus accom-
panied by his satyrs. They learn of the prize and engage in the
search. They discover the tracks of the lost herd and follow them
to a cave. But curious sounds come from the cave such as no man
heard before. Bold Silenus chides his companions for their childish
fear, and knocks at the entrance. A nymph emerges. She is
questioned. She is the nurse of this wonderful child, who, born in
the morning, has by midday invented the lyre, and by evening stolen
Apollo's fifty head of cattle. Surely Apollo could not have avoided
5. A. 8. Hunt, OxyrhynchUB Papyri Iv, pp. 80 ff.
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276 The Quarterly Journal
a little feeling of pride over the exploits of such a promising baby
brother even if he were the butt of the youngster's exploits.
The nymph stoutly denies the theft of the cattle — but there arc
the hoof-marks entering the cave! Enter again Apollo, scans the
tracks, listens to the story, accepts the evidence of Silenus and the
satyrs, and pays the reward. Here fortune fails us, the papyrus
breaks off, leaving us to conjecture. Doubtless the play went on,
and Hermes as per the legend appeased his big brother by the gift
of the lyre. It must have been a side-splitter, a terrible come-down
from such lofty heights as Oedipus, Antigone or Trachinae. The
antics of this jovial bald-headed, pug-nosed old Silenus, as fat and
round as the wine-skin he always carried with him. As he found
it difficult to trust his own legs, he is often represented as riding an
ass. The antics of the aged jester who evidently is bent on tickling
the audience, and the attendant chorus of satyrs now in the pose of
dogs on the scent, must have proved mirth-provoking to even the
most sedate.
The long list of non-literary documents dates from the first
century B. C. (a poll-tax register) to the fourth century A. D. A
practice sheet contains among other things this:
"A little boy must eat bread, nibble besides some salt, and not
touch the sauce; but if he aks for wine, give him your knuckles."
Hermaeus promises attendance at court, Ptollas pledges loyal ful-
fillment of his office, Anteis requests registration of the deaths of
father and uncle, Aurelius Eudaemon asks possession of his inheri-
tance, creditors file on Leonidas, and Horion receives into adoption
the son of Heracles and his wife Isarion.
Under "Private G)rrespondence," the variety is still greater.
Menandrus asks the Gods as to the advisability of marrying, Genna-
dius invites to the birthday festival for his son, Sarapis chides his
sister for not writing oftener, the agent writes his employer for
money, Isodorus incidentally gives a lesson in veterinary medidne,
Hermias writing for money drops a hint on the relative values of
the gold solidus and the silver murias, and Demetrianus reports de-
livery of the com dues.
The careful work of an expert and painstaking editor supported
by such references as Wilamowitz-Moellendorf, Wilcken, and Gil-
bert Murray will assure confidence in the results attained.
G)ming on the heels of the phenomenal discoveries of last sea-
son, the current volumes of the Fund cannot fail to excite enthusias-
tic interest.
Department of Biblical Literature
and History, Fargo College
W. N. Stbarns
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Book Reviews 277
Elsb von dbr Tanne: Wilhelm Raabe. A tale of the Thirty-
Years' War, edited for schools and colleges, with introduction,
notes and vocabulary by Samuel James Pease, Assistant Pro-
fessor of French and German, University of North Dakota.
The book contains, also, an autograph portrait of Wilhelm Raabe
in his study. It is one of the Oxford German Series of which
Dr. Julius Goebel, Professor of the Germanic Languages in the
University of Illinois, is General Editor. The Oxford Univer-
sity Press, American Branch, New York, 191 1. XX -+- m
pp. Price, 60c
The re-opening of the University and the resuming of its many
activities nearly eclipsed, the past year, the coming out of Professor
Pease's new book, "Else von der Tanne," by Wilhelm Raabe. Yet, in
a university, nothing should be of better augury and surer of atten-
tion than the literary output of its faculty. This new book, by a
new light in German literature, fresh from the American branch ot
the Oxford Press, is the first edited by Professor Pease. It was
eagerly awaited by a few friends, with the usual anxiety of a new
venture in a crowded field. But the book has proved a success. The
editing quality of the series and the care of its bookmanship would
have insured that. The historical fiction of Raabe is far from being
warmed-over material of the Thirty- Years* War; it only furnishes
back-ground for the well-drawn characters of a homely but absorb-
ing drama. The whole has social significance and educational value ;
the text is clear, the print is excellent ; the notes and the vocabulary,
edited with care, were tested in the class-room beforehand. The
introduction, which recites Professor Peases's visit to Raabe and the
salient features of this author's work, is written from the viewpoint
of the student. It is interesting to note, in this connection, the
growth of Raabe's popularity. Says Professor Pease, writing to
the reviewer recently: "Raabe is having a much greater influence in
Germany than one would expect of a taciturn, knotty, old man, how-
ever great and broad his sympathies. Indeed, there has been formed
a 'Gcsellschaft der Freunde Wilhelm Raabes' to which — being also
schweigsam and knorrig — I have the honor to belong. . . .
In speaking with Raabe in 1909 with reference to permission to pub-
lish various works in America, he said: 'I have given permission and
given permission, aber nichts kommt daraus! *' With the appear-
ance of Professor Pease's work, the shade of the great German may
be at peace!
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278 The Quarterly Journal
The welcome given his book by the leading American scholars is
gratifying. Professor Pease adds: "At last, the spell is broken and
I have received kindly words from Professors Curme and Hatfield
of Northwestern, Doemenburg of Ohio; Boyesen of Syracuse;
and others. If the work can win even a few Americans from the
hurry and bustle of every day existence to Raabe's keen sympathy
with the right and normal, my purpose will have been accomplished."
Here an omission breaks upon the consciousness of the new editor:
"Unfortunately in my introduction to the book, I entirely neglected
the national ring that Raabe puts into the very heart of the
story." . . •
But the popularity of the work in our schools will soon bring
about a new edition and the matter righted. Hearty recognition is
given by Professor Pease to his colleagues. His indebtedness to Pro-
fessor Curme and to others of his early teadiers is not overlooked
in this first editorial effort.
The Oxford Press staff, American branch, shows a growing
trust in American scholarship, in this new series of German texts.
The press-work is intelligent and in line with the latest text-book
requirements.
The University welcomes this contribution to the Modem Lan-
guages from a student of the Classics. His motto, modest withal,
covers, we hope, much of like worth and promise: "Satis sunt mihi
paud, satis est unus, satis est nullus."
Henry LbDaum
Department of Romance Languages,
University of North Dakota
Note: Since the writing of the above, there has appeared from
the press of D. C. Heath & Co., Raabe*s "Eulenpfingsten," edited
by M. B. Lambert of New York City. Professor Doemenburg is
also preparing a very interesting article on "Raabe in America" for
the "Raabe-Kalender" for 1914.
Examples of Industrial Education: Frank Mitchell Lea-
VITT, Associate Professor of Industrial Education, University
of Chicago. Ginn & Company, Boston, 1912. VIII -f- 330 PP.
Here we have a readable, and very valuable contribution to the
literature of industrial education. After an introductory chapter on
the significance of the movement for industrial education, the author
traces the history of manual training and its relation to our subject
Digitized by VjOOQIC
Book Reviews 279
He says, "At the very inception of the manual training movement
will be found the vocational idea. Speaking quite generally, this is
also true of all types of American schools. Our existing high or
secondary schools, so called, were originally established with a voca-
tional purpose clearly stated or implied. For example, let us note
the development of the high schook in Boston, since the oldest free
public school in the United States, and one in which traditional
education holds full sway, is included in that system. The Boston
L»atin School was, and is, a vocational school, more truly than many
of the manual training and industrial schools thruout the coun-
try. It was founded as a preparatory school for Harvard G)llege,
which, in its turn, was established to train men for the ministry, in
order that the colony might not have an illiterate clergy. This idea
was prominent in the establishment of the manual training high
schools in St. Louis, Chicago, Toledo, Cleveland, and Philadelphia,
as well as of the Mechanic Arts High School in Boston.
"Whether in elementary or in high school, the work proposed
by the earliest advocates of manual training was urged because of
its vocational significance." "But those who opposed the introduc-
tion of manual training took the position that the purpose of in-
struction was to develop general culture rather than provide voca-
tional efficiency. The school was to develop character and general
intelligence." By this time it had been forgotten how the curriculum
which they advocated on this ground had been especially designed
for vocational purposes.
On account of this opposition the advocates of the new educa-
tion were led to emphasize what they conceived to be the cultural
value of constructive work. Following the example of its prominent
advocates even the teachers of manual training very early began to
deny that the practical value of the work was paramount, while the
educational psychologists showed the inter-relation of mind and hand ;
and thus all helped to establish the daim that manual training had
a distinct cultural value.
The author, far from denying this cultural value, fortifies the
doctrine with a good array of quotations. But he nevertheless con-
cludes, that, even tho manual training has been brought into sub-
jection by the overmastering, formulizing influence of school tradi-
tion, it will s^-ill be found to have considerable industrial value.
Next follows a critical analysis of the demand for industrial
education, and separate chapters take up the demand of the manufac-
turers, of organized labor, of educators, and of social workers. The
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28o The Quarterly Journal
author shows what has been the attitude of eadi of these classes, and
how the conflicting interests of manufacturers and of organized labor,
and the hostility of conservative educators have retarded the soludoo
of the problem.
The distinctive feature of the book lies in the descriptions of
numerous concrete examples of the different tsnpes of industrial schools
treated. Thus, to illustrate pre-vocational work in the grades, the
Cleveland Elementary Industrial school is described, and an outline
is given of other experiments of this type in Indianapolis, Newark,
St. Paul, Springfield (Ill.)i Evanston, Fitchburg, Los Angeles, and
Seattle. In treating the intermediate or separate industrial school,
its position is first defined and then the curriculum of the Rodiester
Shop School is described ; also that of the Newton Independent In-
dustrial School, the Manhattan Trade School, and the Secondary
Industrial School of Columbus, Georgia. The vocational high school,
the trade school, part-time cooperative school, and the continuation
school are treated in the same manner. There are also good chap-
ters on agricultural education, on state legislation relating to indus-
trial education in public schools, and on vocational guidance.
C. C. Schmidt
Department of Education,
University of North Dakota
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University Notes
Vmmdmn* Day On the twenty-second of February the Univer-
sity of North Dakota observed its thirtieth an-
niversary. An elaborate program had been prepared for the occasion
and was carried out with success. In the forenoon Professor Squires
delivered his illustrated lecture on "The History of Our University."
The auditorium in Woodworth Hall was crowded with students,
alumni and friends who followed the story with keen interest. In
the afternoon the teams of the University and of the Agricultural
College met in a game of basket ball. The latter won in a splen-
didly played game by the score of 29 to 22. At six o'clock more
than three hundred persons assembled in the G)mmons for the Foun-
ders' Day dinner. This part of the program was made especially
enjoyable by the singing of the different classes that had participated
in the Carney Songfest the night before. President McVey as toast-
master maintained his reputation in this capacity. The following
toasts were given : The University and the State, by Dr. J. D. Tay-
lar; The University To-day, by Hon. E. K. Spoonheim; The Uni-
versity and the Alumni, by Superintendent J. A. Johnson, *o6 ; The
Students, by Francis H. Templeton, '14, and The Faculty, by Dean
M. A. Brannon. At eight o'clock President McVey delivered the
Foimders' Day address on the theme "The University To-day and
To-morrow." By a great number of lantern slides the work of this
University was exemplified and it was shown how this institution
directly serves the state in many fields of activity. In conclusion
the speaker discust the future of the University, its problems, its
duties and its vast opportunities.
The Unrrertity tnd die The Eighth International Congress of Applied
Intematioiial Con^eM Chemistry which met in Washington and New
York, September 4 to 13, is regarded as one of the most remarkable
gatherings of the world's leaders in science and industry which has
taken place in any country. The last previous meeting of the Con-
gress was held in London, England, in 1907, at which time the late
Honorable Whitelaw Reid, then Ambassador to England, presented
for the President of the United States, an invitation for the Con-
gress to hold its 191 2 meeting in this country.
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282 The Quarterly Journal
This invitation was heartily accepted and joint meetings pro-
vided for at Washington and New York. The distinguished rep-
resentatives and guests from foreign countries began to arrive in
August and a series of informal receptions was arranged in New
York from August 31 to September 3, when special trains were pro-
vided to convey the G)ngress to Washington where on September 4,
the inaugural session occurred. This was presided over by the Presi-
dent of the United States and was followed by a reception at The
White House and the National Museum. On September 5, in-
spection trips were made to the various government laboratories and
other points of scientific interest and in the evening the return trip
was made to New York. On the morning of September 6, the Con-
gress reassembled in New York, the various sections organized for
the presentation and discussion of papers, and the real work of the
G)ngress began. This program, modified by an occasional social
function or visit to some important industrial plant, was vigorously
carried out for a week following.
The headquarters were at Columbia University, where most of
the sessions were held. Many of the University buildings were
thrown open for the use, comfort, and convenience of the Congress.
There were in attendance nearly three thousand men from all na-
tions, prominent in science and industries. The speakers were care-
fully selected by program committees from the recognized authori-
ties in their lines of work and all papers were supposed to represent
some phase of original research in special lines of scientific and in-
dustrial development. The importance and cosmopolitan character
of this Congress, as well as the great services rendered by such
sciences as chemistry in the development of a wide range of indus-
tries, is seen not only by the gathering of such a notable group of
men from all nations, but also by the widely diversified fields of
sdence, technology, and industry, covered by the various sectional
programs. There were 24 different sections representing over 300
phases of work in manufacturing, commerce, science, industry and
education.
Among those who attended and addressed sessions of the Con-
gress were many men of international reputation. At the dose of
the Congress several excursions, taken into different regions, served
to illustrate a variety of the resources and the industrial development
of the nation. The longest of these excursions extended across the
continent to the Pacific and return, requiring between 40 and 50
days for the trip.
Digitized by VjOOQIC
University Notes 283
The University of North Dakota was represented at The Con-
gress by Dr. G. A. Abbott, who was also a State representative,
and Dean E. J. Babcock of the College of Mining Engineenng, who
was honored by being elected by the program committee to address
a joint session of the Congress on the subject of fueb and their
utilization.
The UaiTcnitj tnd die The 64th Meeting of the American Association
Americen AMocietioii f^^ ^j^g Advancement of Science was held in the
dty of Cleveland, Ohio, from December 30, 1912 to January 4, 1913.
There were many affiliated science societies holding their sessions in
connection with the American Association. Over eight hundred
papers were presented at this meeting and over a thousand scientists,
from the different parts of America, were present. The voluminous
program gave no adequate standard for mesuring the real worth of
the Cleveland meeting. Several of the eleven great sections of
science held a symposium upon some great problem immediately con-
cerned with the scientific activities represented by the individual sec-
tion. For example, the American Society of Zoologists had a special
session on Genetics, or the Science of Breeding. The Botanical So-
ciety of America conducted a symposium upon Permeability and
Osmotic Pressure, and the American Society of Naturalists had a
S3rmposium upon the important subject of Adaptation. In this way,
it was possible to bring together many of the leading workers in
practical and paramount scientific problems. The concensus of
opinion was that the quality of the papers presented at the Cleveland
meeting was unusually high, and in many respects represented the
most inspiring and instructive program ever presented by a group of
American scientists.
Dr. A. H. Taylor, of the Department of Physics, and Dr. M.
A. Brannon, of the Department of Biology, were the North Dakota
University representatives at the convocation week meeting of the
American Physical Association. Dr. Taylor presented a paper be-
fore the American Physical Society. This paper contained results
of his studies upon "Optimum Wave-Length in Radio Telegraphy."
Dr. Brannon gave a paper before the American Society of Zoologists
relative to "An Examination of the Conditions of Life in Devils
Lake," and also a paper before the Botanical Society of America
upon his work in the "Study of Osmotic Pressure."
The benefits accruing from attendance upon meetings of the
character represented by the American Association are difficult to
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284 The Quarterly Journal
estimate. Naturally, these gatherings bring one into immediate touch
with the latest results of research in one's own immediate field of
activity, they give suggestion and inspiration for furthering one's
own immediate studies, and they also afford opportunity for making
acquaintance with leading sdentists from the various American in-
stitutions. Taken all in all, the Cleveland Meetint^; may be said
to have been one of the best in the history of the American Associa-
tion by reason of the excellent program which was offered, and 00
account of the added impetus given to the great activities of research
represented.
A Vahublc Addition A valuable addition to the library is the coUec-
to die Library ^j^j, ^f Jjqq]^ purchased by President McVej-
while in Europe during the past summer. The purchase was made
from the Celtic library fund, supplemented by an allowance from
the general library fimd. The list includes one hundred fifteen vol-
umes on Ireland, England, and Canada, and a number of important
works on economics among which are the six volumes of Tooke's His-
tory of prices covering the period 1 793-1847. Several other worb
in the collection bear an early imprint, some of them having long
since been out of print and difficult to obtain. Special value is at-
tached to the purchase because of the fact that President McVey was
on the ground and was able to examine and select the books them-
selves instead of having to depend upon catalogs and bibliographies.
!•• in the In the University Notes in the July number of
Goll«io of L«w ji^g Quarterly Journal announcement was made
of the appointment of a new dean for the College of Law, but no
mention has heretofore been made in these pages of the other changes
in the personnel of the Law Faculty. Early in the sununer Governor
Burke tendered Professor Luther E. Birdzell the chairmanship of
the Tax Commission of the State. In order to allow him to accept
he was granted leave of absence for two years. The vacancy was
filled by the selection of Joseph L. Lewinsohn of the Bar of Salt
Lake City, Utah. The new law professor is a Bachelor of Philoso-
phy, 1905* and a Juris Doctor, 1907, of the University of Chicago.
While in college he was the recipient of a Phi Beta Kappa key, a
scholarship in History, and special distinction in Economics. His
J. D. was conferred cum laude. He was the dass orator at gradua-
tion and a member of a championship varsity debating team.
Google
Digitized by VjOOQ
University Notes 285
For the past five years Dr. Lewinsohn engaged in the practice
of his profession in Chicago and in Salt Lake City. He was not
only a successful practitioner, but was regarded as a scholarly law-
yer. On several occasions he secured dedsions from the supreme
court of his state which changed the trend of the local law upon the
points involved. His standing at the bar is indicated by the fact
that last summer he was tendered nominations for district judge and
for attorney-general by the Progressive Party in his state. He was
a delegate to the first national convention of the party, in Chicago,
and a member of the platform committee. The work of a law
professor was undertaken by Dr. Lewinsohn at a great financial sac-
rifice. He made his decision because he felt that the opportunity
to influence the development of the law was greater as a member
of a law faculty than as a practicing lawyer.
There are one or two new features in the curriculum which
also merit notice. For the first year students the first week was de-
voted to a series of sixteen lectures given by the several members
of the faculty constituting an introduction to the study of law. It
was devoted to a treatment of some of the most common matters and
to a definition of legal terms of the most frequent occurrence. The
plan was in large mesure unique. Credit for it is due chiefly to
Professor Cooley. It proved to be entirely satisfactory and an im-
provement on the usual expedients employed for the purpose of in-
troducing the subject to new students. The old methods are of
two kinds, either courses on the elements of law which are by no
means elementary and consequently present a subject futile for neo-
phytes, or courses outlining the principal branches of the law which
are entirely superficial and necessitate much repetition. The new
arrangement also has the merit of giving complete introduction to
the subject, before the study of any branch of the law is begun, in-
stead of having the course run parallel with such studies. Another
innovation is the quiz and consultation hours for the first year men,
introduced for the purpose of showing them how to study law. This
is the first year also in which a fixed curriculum has been abandoned.
The work of the first year is still prescribed and there are required
subjects for second and third year men, but a choice is now possible
as to the remaining subjects. One of the chief advantages of this
change is that it has permitted the lengthening of a number of
courses, and is in that way conducive to thoroness in the ground
covered.
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a86 The Quarterly Journal
Mr. StefoiMon's It was the pleasure of the University to cntcr-
^**"* tain its noted former student, Mr. Vilhjalmcr
Stefansson, during the week of January 13 to 18, and to enjoy a
series of lectures by him on his explorations and discoveries in the
Arctic Mr. Stefansson was a student at the University from 1897
to 1902. Later he graduated from the State University of Iowa and
entered Harvard University, where he specialized in Ethnology. He
began his explorations by brief expeditions to Iceland and Northern
Europe during the summer vacations of his Harvard course, and
went alone on his first expedition to the Arctic in 1906, travelling
by way of the Mackenzie River. He lived a year among the E^skimos
of the Mackenzie Delta, returning home by way of the Yukon River
and the Pacific Ocean.
The second expedition, under the auspices of the American Mu-
seum of Natural History of New York, was undertaken in the spring
of 1908. Accompanied by Dr. R. M. Anderson, of the University
of Iowa, he again descended the Mackenzie River, and after a winter
spent with the Eskimos in the vicinity of Point Barrow, Alaska,
moved eastward to Cape Parry. Beyond this point Elskimos were
almost unknown to white men and the western Eskimos implidtly
believed that "they kill all strangers." After a winter spent in this
region, Mr. Stefansson passed east into the vicinity of Coronation
Gulf where he found the first of the so-called "blond" Eskimos
among tribes numbering about two thousand people, many of whom
had never seen a white man, in a land heretofore marked "unin-
habited." Mr. Stefansson remained a year among these hospitable
people and his studies of them are of exceptional value because of
the fact that their language differs but little from that of the western
Eskimo, with whom he had lived and traveled for three years.
The essential difference between Mr. Stefansson's method and
that of the typical Arctic expedition lies in the fact that he does not
carry stores of food and extra clothing, but lives with the Elskimo
on the game of the country. By this method he has been aUe to add
much to the geography of the hitherto almost unknown region lying
to the northeast of Great Bear Lake and to correct a number of
errors on the present maps. His greatest contribution is undoubtedly
to the ethnology of these primitive people of the Stone Age, whose
knowledge of the use of metals is confined to the rude knives and
axes hammered from single pieces of drift copper.
Mr. Stefansson told the story of these years of exploration and
of their results in a series of three illustrated lectures entitled, "Five
Digitized by VjOOQIC
University Notes 287
I
Years of Exploration in the Arctic," "The Discovery of the Blond
Eskimo," and *Thc Mind of Primitive Man," and in informal
talks before several of the classes of the University. While here he
was also the guest of the Icelandic Society in the work of which he
is much interested.
life PnipoM A week of significant meetings was held at the
Meetniis University during the middle of February. These
meetings were called Life Purpose Meeeting3, the object being to
bring to the attention of the student body the serious phases of life
and the relation of religious purpose to them. Thru the coopera-
tion of the University religious organizations and Wesley G)llegc,
Dr. S. S. Klyne of Minneapolis was brought to the University and
for a number of days he presented helpful sermons bringing forth
the points referred to above. The work was effectively assisted by
the presence of Miss Eva Morris, District Intercollegiate Secretary
of the Y. W. C. A. The meetings were, on the whole, well attend-
ed, and the laying of emphasis upon religion as an element of life
disassociated it with the view of any specific organization, and a real
service was unquestionably rendered to the student body. Another
year the Life Purpose Meetings will be better organized and better
coordinated and will undoubtedly do much to bring to the attention
of the students the helpful influence of religion in everyday life.
PhyiiMi Mr. Clarke W. Hetherington, who for some
£doo«tion y^j^ ^25 Director of Physical Education at the
University of Missouri and later the representative of the Pels Foun-
dation, has been rightly referred to as the leading advocate of the
new view of physical education. It is his insistence that exercise is
an essential for all students and phj^ical training a part of education
as much as the curriculum of any other department. He emphasizes
play for all.
Mr. Hetherington came to the University the last week in
February for the purpose of conferring with President McVey and
the representatives of the Athletic Association upon the specific prob-
lems that exist here. The recommendations which he made, upon
adoption of them by the Board of Trustees, will be carried out dur-
ing the coming year. They include material changes in the gym-
nasium, enlargment of fields, the employment of a Director of Physi-
cal Education and an assistant, together with the effort to inject a
Digitized by VjOOQIC
288 The Quarterly Journal
new spirit into the whole work of physical education at the Univer-
sity. Those who are familiar with the plans are full of enthusiasm
over their probable results.
D««tli of Prol«Mor It is in the midst of universal sorrow that this
LcDaiim jgg^g ^f ^\^^ Quarterly Journal notes the death
of Henry Le Daum, Professor of Romance Languages in the Uni-
versity of North Dakota. He took to his bed during the last week
in February with an attack of pneumonia, grew steadily worse, con-
tracted uremic poisoning, and passed away at eleven o'clock on the
night of March lOth. An appredative memorial service was held
at the University during the forenoon of the 13th, and a funeral ser-
vice at the Presbyterian Church, Grand Forks, in the afternoon of
the same day.
Professor Le Daum was bom at La Chaux de Fonds, Switzer-
land, February 26, 1872. He received his elementary education there
and came to the United States at the age of fifteen. The most of
his secondary schooling was secured at the Ohio Wesleyan University,
where he also obtained his college training. He spent a year at Har-
vard, taking his bachelor's degree, about six months at Heidelberg
University, Germany, and some time at the University of Chicago.
He taught French at Northwestern University from 1898 to 1904;
held a position in an Oklahoma college during 1905; was acting
head of the department of Romance Languages in the University of
Iowa from 1905 to 1907; and was head of the same department in
the University of North Dakota during the subsequent time. In
this last period he traveled and studied linguistic matters in Canada,
Mexico, Louisiana, Spain, and Italy. He did much to promote the
teaching of Italian in the United States. He had edited a text of
Moliere and had published several important linguistic and literary
studies.
He was an intensive student, broad and progressive in his out-
look, constructive in his departmental and institutional life, loved
by all his assodates. He will be profoundly missed in the Univer-
sity and the community.
M ttiitobA Ezoluuiie The plan of exchanging lecturers with the Uni-
Leotnrethip versity of Manitoba which was inaugurated last
year has been continued with so much mutual enjoyment and boiefit
that both institutions are thoroly committed to the policy of con-
tinuing the custom.
Digitized by VjOOQIC
University Notes 289
The first visitor from the Canadian institution this year was
Professor M. A. Parker, head of the department of chemistry, who
delivered an address to the science classes on ''The Structure of
Molecules," and a convocation address, "Chemistry a benfcficient
Science." Professor Parker was also present at the regular meeting
of the University Qub and spoke informally upon the topic, "Re-
search in the University." During his stay informal dinners and
other meetings afforded pleasant opportunity for free discussion of
sdentific and educational problems and all were delighted with the
strong and pleasing personality of Professor Parker.
Professor George A. Abbott, head of the department of chem-
istry in the niversity of North Dakota, was the first speaker invited
by the University of Manitoba this year. On February 17th he
addrest the Science Qub of the University of Manitoba on "The
Modern Theory of Solutions." After the meeting adjourned he was
the guest at an informal luncheon where opportunity was afforded
to meet the members of the Club in informal discussion. Numerous
occasions were afforded to meet the science men socially, and Dr.
Abbott was the personal guest of Professor Parker and Professor
Allen. An address was also delivered to the student body of the
University upon the subject, "Matter in the Making."
The second lecturer from the University of Manitoba was Pro-
fessor A. H. Reginald Buller, head of the department of Botany,
who arrived on February 27th. During his stay Professor BuUer
delivered lectures upon the following subjects: "Chemiotaxis," "Toad
stools and Mushrooms" (Illustrated), "Eugenics" (Illustrated), and
the convocation address, "The Progress of Science." All of the lec-
tures were delivered in a masterful way and were received with en-
thusiasm. Professor Buller's lectures were especially interesting in
view of his own contributions to botanical science.
Professor Gottfried H. Hult, of the department of Greek Lan-
guage and Literature, was the second representative from the Uni-
versity of North Dakota to visit the northern institution. On March
II, 12, and 13 he delivered the following addresses: "A Reinterpre-
tation of Walt Whitman," "Literary Longevity," and "The Mind
of Shakespeare." Professor Hult was honored with an invitation to
speak before the "Dickens Fellowship" of the city of Winnipeg, and
also before the student body of the University of Manitoba.
Indnttrial During the year the Chemistry Department has
iBixhMhiiM jjggjj ^|jg recipient of many curtesies from va-
rious manufacturers who have presented exhibits illustrating the ap-
Digitized by VjOOQIC
290 The Quarterly Journal
plications of chemistry in industry. These collections are particular-
ly useful to students who are situated so remote from manufacturing
regions. Particularly interesting is a complete series of large photo-
graphs showing the metallurgy of iron from the location of the
mines thru the various operations of mining, shipping, smelting an/
rolling of the iron and steel. Among the other samples are charts
and samples illustrating the milling of wheat, exhibits of petroleum
products, paints, soda manufacture, artificial graphite, com products,
etc
Digitized by VjOOQIC
Announcement
THE Quarterly Journal is a periodical main-
tained by the University of North Dakota.
Its primary function is to represent the varied ac-
tivities of the several colleges and departments of the
University, tho it is not limited to that. Contri-
butions from other sources are welcomed, especially
when they are the fruitage of scientific research,
literary investigation or other forms of constructive
thought. Correspondence is solicited.
The subscription price is one dollar a year, single
numbers, thirty cents.
All conmiunications should be addressed,
The Quarterly Journal,
University, North Dakota
Editor's Bulletin Board
THE next number of the QUARTERLY
JOURNAL, the first of Volume IV, and bear-
ing the date, October, 191 3, will represent the physi-
cal and engineering sciences. Among the articles al-
ready submitted, from which the table of contents
will be made up, are the following: "The EflEect of
Group Frequency on the Transmissivity of Electro-
magnetic Waves," (Dr. Taylor); "Radioactivity
in North Dakota," (Dr. Abbott) ; "Corrosion of
Iron Pipes by Filtered Water with Alum Coagula-
tion," (Dr. Ruediger) ; "Writing Engineering Re-
ports," (Dr. Stephenson) ; "The Synchronous
Motor as a Synchronous Condenser," (Professor
Rhodes) ; "The Accuracy of Estimates Without
Verniers," (Professor Chandler) ; "The Relation of
Science and Industry," (Professor Babcock), and
"A Geological Map of North Dakota,'* (Dr.
Leonard).
■ Digitized by VjOOQIC
The School of Education
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH DAKOTA
FUNCTION: The preparation of teachers and prlncipalB for Becondarj
schools, superintendei ' ' - - - - «.
schools and colleges.
schools, superintendents for city schools, and instructors for Normal
■ ■ and c< **
BNTRANCB REQUIREMENTS: Two years of work in the Collaca of
Liberal Arts regularly required.
DEGREES AND DIPLOMA : The degree of Bachelor of Arts and the Ba^-
elor's Diploma in Teaching (the professional instrument which entitles
the holder to a First Orade Professional Certificate), on the completloa
of the re^rujar four-year course of study.
Graduate courses are offered leading to the degree of Master of Arts.
SPEClAIi CERTIFICATES: In Commercial work. Domestic Science. Draw-
ing, Manual Training, and Music, on the completion of two years of
prescribed work.
MODEL HIGH SCHOOL: The Model High School for observation and prae-
tice in all lines of hi^h school work is in full operation.
GOOD SENSE: If you aim to practise medicine attend the School of Medi-
cine: if you intend to practise law, attend the College of Law; If you
would be an engineer, attend one of the colleges of engrineerlnv; aad
if yon are to teaob, aaron la TMB SOXOO& of SSUOUlSZOV.
For information, address
DEAN JOSEPH KENNEDY,
University, N. D.
The College of Liberal Arts
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH DAKOTA
Twenty-four dq>artments o£fering more than two hundred dif-
ferent courses of study.
Specially arranged curricula for those who intend to beoome
social workers or to engage in one of the various lines of business, such
as banking, journalism, etc
One year in the College of Law or two years in the School of
Medicine or any of the Engineering Colleges may be elected, thus en-
abling the student to obtain the degree of Bachelor of Arts and a
Law, Medical, or Engineering d^^ee in six years.
Graduate courses leading to the degree of Master of Arts.
For further information, address
THE REGISTRAR.
University, N. D.
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The Quarterly Journal
Volume 3 JULY, 1913 Number 4
Political Factions in Washington's
Administrations
O. G. LlBBY^
Professor of History, University of North Dakota
ANY profitable discussion of our early political parties must
necessarily be rendered difficult by the fact of the long existence
of party divisions among us and the important part they have played
in the actual working of our representative system. The average
student of the subject is very prone to start with party machinery
as existing today and trace it back to 1789 with a few modifications
here and there to give the earlier parties an appearance of age, and
to make the facts of their history correspond as far as possible with
the theory. This has been carried so far that it has sometimes taken
the form of graphic charts representing political parties as broad
bands extending continuously from 1789 to the present time, with
such changes of names as are necessary to indicate evolution or
decline. It is, of course, unnecessary to point out that such devices
always conceal more of the facts than they show, and that they rest
upon a false hypothesis. But the assumptions in history and in
human nature upon which such misleading representations are based,
are quite generally accepted as truth and very little effort has been
made to prove or to disprove them. One of these assumptions is
that political parties have existed thruout the entire course of our
national history. But this takes no account of certain clearly defined
transitional periods when parties are non-existent. Again, it is taken
for granted that if the names of old or defimct political organisations
are used by contemporary writers or public men, this constitutes
proof of the existence of such parties during their time. This species
of reasoning is also often used in discussions over the origin of parties.
Contemporary opinion can always be accepted as valid evidence for
certain groups of facts, but it is far from covering the whole ground.
There is no inherent infallibility in the opinion of any observer
regarding tendencies and trend of thought in his own time. He may
CopTtlcht. 1913. UniTtrtity of North Dakou.
r
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report the bare facts correctly but he is quite often entirely unaware
of the larger whole in which these facts, in conjunction with many
others, may be made to reveal movements of much broader scope.
A political party can hardly be said to have an existence unless
some issue of more than passing or local importance lies back of its
iqppearance and upon which the majority of its members have taken
their stand. A second essential in a political party is that its members
and representatives are sufficiently intelligent to stand together on
all votes and elections involving the issue or issues of the day which
the party has accepted as its own. The presence of a party leader
or leaders is generally considered essential to successful continuance
in the field of politics, tho this is a variable factor, subject to consid-
erable fluctuation from time to time. Lastly, the parties of a given
period cease to exist when the issue that divides them, for sufficient
reason, has ceased to have any further importance. In considering
the factional divisions during the administrations of Washington, one
must bear in mind that the issue that had divided Federalist from
Anti-Federalist, namely, the adoption of the new constitution, no
longer existed in 1789, with the inauguration of our first president.
Consequent upon the passing away of this particular issue, the two
parties that had fought over it had also passed away in every one
of the original thirteen states, except perhaps in the faction-ridden
state of Rhode Island. So simple and plain a proposition as thk
seems to have given endless trouble to historians. Some have ignored
it wholly and thus have avoided all need of considering the facts of
the case. Others have contented themselves with using contemporary
terms without examining too nicely into their significance as party
designations. A few have laid emphasis upon the divisions over the
important questions that came up in Congress and have avoided
mention of the confusing multiplicity of party names with which
this period abounds.
It is evident from this widely divergent practise in dealing with
the political factions of the period, that little has actually been con-
tributed either in evidence or research to the solution of these ques-
tions that confront us at the outset of our national history. The
fact that well defined national parties existed prior to this period
furnishes an excellent background for the study of party evolution
at a later time. The party divisions known as Whig and Loyalist,
or Tory, that first sundered us into two warring groups, passed thru
a distinct life history and disappeared completely at the dose of the
Revolutionary War. The Federalist and Anti-Federalist parties had
a still shorter existence, since the struggle over our new constitution
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Political Factions in Washington's Administrations 295
was very brief. With the inauguration of Washington as our first
president and the organization of the new government in 1789, it
was natural enough that there should be a wide divergence of views
among our public men over the concrete application of the consti-
tution to the problem of actual government. There is also to be
reckoned with the constituency of the Congressmen who would be
sure, as time went on, to become better acquainted with the Federal
situation and to desire a hearing on those matters of most vital
concern to them. The question proposed in this paper is, did these
differences of opinion among the leaders in Congress and in the
states, and the increasing importance of the constituent in all public
discussions, produce sufficiently coherent groups to warrant their being
recognized as political parties.
In studying this question it is proposed to confine the inquiry
to a careful examination of the votes in the Federal House of Repre-
sentatives. In this body of men and in no other could the popular
will find adequate expression, first because of the popular nature of
the election and second, from the frequency with which the constit-
uent could call his representative to account for his record in Con-
gress. The Senate did not so well reflect this changing public
sentiment and remained, as it was intended by the framers of the
Constitution, the more conservative body during the period we are
considering. If there can be found evidence of party lines and party
machinery in Congress, there will then be no doubt of the existence
of- parties in the several states and sections of the new Union. If
such evidence does not appear sufficiently well defined here, at this
national focus of all the factions and rivalries of every part of the
country, there will be little excuse for searching elsewhere.
Little stress will be laid on the speeches made by the members
of the House, since the proportion of speakers is always small in
comparison to the entire body of members; the ratio varies from
one-fifth to one-tenth in the different Congresses. The debate is
valuable in many cases as giving the reasons for opposition or sup-
port, but this material must always be handled with care, and only
for defining the position taken by the individual members speaking.
Any effort to use the arguments presented as representing the opin-
ions or the reasoning of any considerable number of silent voters is
apt to be misleading and imfair.
I
It is evident that the parties of the period preceding 1789 did
not continue over into the first administration of Washington, for
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the issue that divided them was set at rest by the adoption of the
constitution. Moreover, the two leading Federalists in 1788, Ham-
ilton and Madison, found themselves opposed to each other in die
discussions that arose under the new administration. If we assume,
as is so often done, that the parties in 1789 were still the Federal
and the Anti-Federal, we must at least state the issues that served
to divide them, and we must also name the leaders who arranged
a program of action and laid down the fundamental principles upon
which the two parties were to base their opposition or support to the
many mesures sure to come up in the first session of the new Congress.
In looking over the membership of the first Gmgress and in
reviewing the work of the two sessions, it is at once apparent that
there was a complete lack of leadership within the House and that
the larger number of important mesures considered by its members,
originated from the program mapped out by the able secretary of
treasury, Alexander Hamilton. His opponent, JefiFerson, also a
member of Washington's cabinet, was entirely unable to oflFer ef-
fective resistance to these well planned mesures for revenue, assump-
tion and bank charter, nor was he yet ready to offer any counter
theory to the new and entirely unexpected claim of implied powers
under the constitution. Thus, left to their own individual prefer-
ences and sectional leanings, the members of the House voted very
much at random, except where their own interests dictated a clear
line of action.
In selecting the mesures for study, the aim has been to use only
those that may properly be considered as national, as having a bearing
on the central administration in any vital way. Table I. presents the
mesures selected from those up for discussion and settlement in the
first Q)ngress. The yeas and nays on each mesure have been arranged
so as to throw into the first column all yeas and nays that may be
considered as favoring the interests of the Federal government, or
in any way tending to further the plans or work of any department
or official. In the second column are placed all that have the opposite
tendency or purpose. While differences of opinion may exist as to
the details of this classification, the number of mesures selected for
each ot the Congresses is sufficiently large to render the conclusions
reasonably certain and to make the totals for the most part as mathe-
matically accurate as could be expected in work of this nature.
It will be noticed in Table I. that of the twenty-one votes listed,
thirteen of them have to do with mesures initiated by Hamilton.
They include such important matters as national bank, excise, tariff,
assiunption of national and state debts, and national mint. These
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Political Factions in Washington s Administrations 297
were all vital questions, and upon their settlement would rest the
credit and prestige of the new nation, both at home and abroad.
Thus without action on the part of the newly elected House of
Representatives, the bulk of their work was determined for them
in advance and the questions for discussion were placed before them
by this adroit statesman with all the skill and cogency at his com-
mand. This is a factor of prime importance in considering the
subject of party affiliations in the first Congress. The followers of
Hamilton had ready at hand, arguments, statistics, constitutional
law and precedent to be used in defending his advance position at the
very outset of the first session and in pushing thru the mesures
suggested in his report on revenues. If Hamilton had possest qual-
ities of leadership which would have fitted him to become a party
leader, he would have found his party and his opportunity ready at
hand. But because he lacked ability to lead men, and was rather
careless of popularity, no party organization emerged from this initial
contest over constitutional construction.
TABLE I
First Congress (1789- 1791), House of Representatives
Yeas and Nays on Principal Mesures
I. National Bank
1. Feb. 1. 1791 84 nays 23 yeas
2. Feb. 8, 1791 89 yeas 20 nays
II. Excise
3. Tune 21, 1790 Liquor tax 23 yeas 35 nays
4. Jan. 24, 1791 Limiting time of duration for excise tax.... 89 nays 19 yeas
5. Jan. 25, 1791 Liquor tax 86 yeas 21 nays
8. Jan. 27, 1791 Liquor tax 35 yeas 21 nays
IIL Duties on Imports
7. July 19. 1790 Tariff on imports 89 yeas 18 nays
8. Aug. 6, 1790 Lower duty on salt 86 nays 28 yeas
IV. Assumption of State Debts
9. Apr. 16, 1790 23 nays 83 yeas
10. Apr. 26, 1790 18 nays 32 yeas
11. July 24. 1790 82 yeas 29 nays
12. July 26, 1790 34 yeas 28 nays
V. Provisions relating to Central Government
18. June 24. 1789 Establishment of Department of Foreign
Affairs 29 yeas 22 nayi
14. Aug. 10, 1789 Compensation of members of Congress 80 yeas 16 nays
16. Aug. 12, 1789 Appropriation for Indian treaties 28 yeas 28 nays
16. Aug. 21, 1789 Power of Congress to alter times, places, etc.
of elections of senators and representatives 28 nays 28 nays
17. Aug. 22, 1789 Power of Congress to lay direct tax (requisi-
tions on states) 89 nays 9 yeas
18. Aug. 29, 1789 Salaries of ofHcers in executive department.. 27 yeas 16 nayi
19. Sept. 29, 1789 Power of President to call out militia against
the Indians 25 yeas 16 nayi
20. June 22, 1790 Appropriating money for Indian goods to use
in negotiating treaties 26 yeas 27 nayt
tL Mar. 3, 1791 United States Mint 25 yeas 21 nays
Table II. shows the yeas and nays on the twenty-one mesures
already referred to. The vote of each member is given in order
upon each of the mesures numbered to correspond with Table L
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Members of the
House of Representatives
TABLE II
Yeas and Nays in House of Repre-
sentatives, First Congress. 1789-91
Totals
Now Hampshire— Foster . . .
1»- 6
Oilman . . .
IJ— 7
Ldvermore . .
11— 1«
liassachuBetta—
Ames ....
1&— 5
Gerry ....
IJ— S
Goodhue . .
16— J
Grout ....
7—11
Leonard . . .
10-5
Partridge . .
10- 7
Sedgwick . .
12— 4
Thacher . . .
10—9
Connecticut-
Huntington .
1»— 4
Sherman . . .
16—4
Sturges . . .
16—4
Trumbull . .
16—6
Wadsworth .
16—6
Rhode Island —
Bourne . . .
4—1
New York—
Benson . . .
14— 6
Floyd ....
10—10
Hathorne . .
4—14
Laurence . .
16— 6
Silvester . .
10— 6
,
Van Rensselaer
e— 16
New Jersey-
Boudlnot . .
14— S
Cadwallader .
17— 2
Schureman .
12— 6
Sinnickson .
14—6
Clymer . . .
16— I
Fltzslmons . .
17—3
Hartley . . .
12—7
Helster . . .
11—9
P. Muhlenberg
12—8
Scott ....
12— 7
Wynkoop . .
la— 2
Delaware—
Vlnlng
18—
Maryland-
Carroll . . .
11— «
Contee . . .
6— 7
Gale ....
11—4
Seney . . .
11—10
W. Smith . .
8—18
Stone . . .
0—12
Virginia-
Bland . . . .
8—
Browne . . .
9—10
Coles ....
6— 9
Giles ....
0-6
Grlffln . . .
8- 7
Lee ... .
14- 6
Madison . . .
11— 8
Moore . . .
7—18
Page ....
6—8
Parker . . .
4—14
White . . .
9- 7
North Carolina— Ashe ....
8— 11
Bloodworth .
8—10
Sevier . . .
4—0
Steele . . .
6— 8
Williamson .
8—9
South Carolina— Burke . . .
9—10
Huger . . .
W. Smith . .
8—2
12—7
Sumter . . .
0—10
Tucker . . .
9—11
Qeorglar—
Baldwin . . .
0-12
Jackson . . .
7-18
Matthews . .
7-13
■ Administration Vote. +
Those supporting the Feder
Anti-Administration Vote. Not Voting,
al Government 24
Those oppo
sing the Federal
Government 7
Those dlTlded in the ratio <
)f two to one 84
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Political Factions in Washington's Administrations 299
From the total yeas and nays of each member it is seen that they fall
into three groups, those supporting the government, those opposing it
by about the same majority and those divided between the support
and opposition by the ratio of at least two to one. The largest group
of members is the one composed of those divided in v^H^umbering
thirty-one, the members supporting the governmentjj^enty-four
and those opposed, seven. This showing is certainly not indicative
of distinct party groups. Moreover, in the group supporting the
government an opposition vote was cast averaging considerably more
than 25% of the total. It is to be noted, further, that in the New
England delegation none of the members voted alike in their support
of and opposition to the mesures. The absence of such leadership is
also a feature of the other delegations, only two members out of
thirty in the Southern delegation voting together. Even Madison,
undoubtedly the most influential member of the Virginia delegation,
seems to have been without any personal following, if we can judge
by the evidence of the yeas and nays recorded for those over whom
he might be supposed to exercise some considerable influence.
In the case of the struggle over assumption of state debts, there
is no lack of personal influence in the final determination of the
question. When this m^re was blocked in the House by a majority
that could not be overcome by argument or persuasion, Hamilton
adroitly linked this impopular mesurc with the purely sectional ques-
tion of the loQktion of the Federal Capital. The success of the
manoeuver is w^ known ; after the injection of this new issue into
the contest, eleven' votes shifted from opposition to support of the
assimipti«M[ mesure, three from Pennsylvania, and two each from
Virginia;^outh Carolina, New Jersey and Maryland. The entire
transaction serves to indicate the looseness of the tie that united the
various sectional factions of the time. Had Jefferson been conscious
of a coherent organization supporting him in his opposition to assump-
tion, he would have scorned to assist Hamilton in securing the
passage of this mesure in return for the latter's aid in fixing the
capital site on the Potomac. As it was, in the absence of any party
obligation, he joined his personal opponent in a transaction which,
had he been at that time a party leader, would have lost him his
political prestige forever.
There was another factor in the political situation which needs
to be taken into account. It was Washington's firm conviction that
party divisions were bad, and at the beginning of his career as pres-
ident he tried to carry out a deliberate and well conceived plan for
blotting out all existing party and factional lines. His cabinet
y
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appointments were made with this in view, and the association of
Hamilton and Jefferson in the same official family imdoubtedly did
have its influence in keeping these two leaders quite fully occupied
with their official duties, and in confining their mutual hostility
within the limits of cabinet conferences and official communications
to the president. That President Washington did not mistake his
opportunity has just been shown by an analysis of the votes in the
House of Representatives upon the principal mesures coming before
it. This is also ^evident from the fact that Hamilton was able to
use Jefferson and certain representatives from the states adjoining
the Potomac capital site and Philadelphia (the temporary capital for
ten years) to carry out the most objectionable feature of his program.
If we examine the table for evidence of an opposition party, we
are left still more in doubt. There were plenty of opposition votes
but they were so scattered, both as to mesures and as to delegations,
that they can hardly be said to show much evidence of organization.
Madison, undoubtedly the most influential member of the Virginia
delegation, took certain positions with reference to the various mesures
different from any of his colleagues. If all the yeas and nays arc ex-
amined it will be discovered that the representatives south of Delaware
seem to have exprest their own individual views in their yeas and nays,
and that apparently no one member influenced the others or to any
considerable extent had been influenced by other members.
In summing up the evidence so far examined, we can be reason-
ably safe in stating three conclusions. There was no program ar-
ranged by party leaders beforehand and pushed thru in spite of all
opposition. The mesures discust and voted on were partly sug-
gested by Hamilton and were partly the result of some special oppo-
sition to the working of the new constitution or of the new national
government. Lastly, there were no conspicuous leaders in the House
whose views carried sufficient weight to ensure certain support for
a particular mesure, or whose personal influence could be depended
upon to carry mesures thru in spite of all opposition.
II.
In the second Congress the membership was considerably
changed and four additional members came in from the new states
of Vermont and Kentucky. The state delegations show a change of
some forty per cent, quite enough to keep the House fully abreast
of the general current of public opinion. Nevertheless, when the
votes are compared and analyzed, there will be found the same lack
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Political Factions in Washington's Administrations 301
of party o^erence and the same minute subdivisions of factions so
characteristic of the first Congress.
Table III. gives the principal mesures which will be studied in
connection with our problem for the second Congress. The yeas
and nays are arranged with reference to support and opposition of
the Federal government in the same manner as those for the first
Congress in Table I.
TABLE III
Second Congress (1791-93)1 House of Representatives
Yeas and Nays on Principal Mesures
1. Feb. 1, 1792 Raiting revenue for protection of frontiers
(Secretary of Treasury involved) 29 yeas 19 nays
2. Mar. 6^ 1791 Establishing uniform militia thruout the
United States SI yeas 27 nays
3. Mar. 8, 1792 Secretary of Treasury to report to House on
modes of raising current revenue. (Cabinet
interference in legislation) SI yeas 27 nays
4. Mar. 26, 1792 Establishment of United Sutes Mint 22 yeas 22 nays
6. April 2, 1792 Public debt (unlimited redemption for all
future debt)
5. April 8, 1792 Public debt (to include sute debts already
paid since 1788) 80 nays 22 yeas
7. April 12, 1792 President authorized to call out militia (power
of President over army) 24 yeas 87 nays
8. April 19, 1792 Limitingrevenue act for prptection of frontier
to 1798 82 nays 82 yeas
9. April 21, 1792 Raising revenues for protection of frontiers
(encouragement q| manufactures and
fisheries) 87 yeas 20 nays
10. Nov. 21, 1792 Striking out reference to Secretary of Treas-
ury in financial report to House 82 nays 25 yeas
U. Dec 18, 1792 Authorizing President to use troops against
Cherokees 21 yeas 27 nays
12. Dec. 26, 1792 Loan to pay debt to National Bank reduced
from 12,000,000 fo $200,000 27 nays 27 yeas
18. Jan. 8, 1798 Reduction of military establishment of
United States 86 nays 20 yeas
14. Jan. 12, 1798 Public Debt, loans to be opened in several
states upon their consent 84 yeas 28 nays
16. Jan. 24, 1791 Balances , due oeruin states (public debt).
No state certificate to have been sold or
transferred prior to Jan. 1, 1798 88 nays 80 yeas
16. Jan. 24, 1798 Balances due certain states to be limited to
services or supplies furnished in Revolu-
tionary War 80 nays 29 yeas
17. Jan. 26, 1792 Settlement of balances due ceruin states.... 88 yeas 82 nays
18b Jan. 28, 1791 Settlement of balances due certain sUtes.... 88 yeas 82 nays
11. Feb. 7, 1791 Compensation of President and Vice-President
to be limited to four years 88 nays 27 yeas
20. Feb. 22, 1798 War Department appropriation not to be
itemized 80 yeas 81 nays
21. Feb. 28, 1791 Vesting in the President discretionary power
of paprment of national debt up to ISO.OOO 84 yeas 25 nays
28. Mar. 1, 1791 Disagreemg with resolution condemning
official conduct of Secretary of Treasury 40 yeas 12 nays
28. Mar. 1, 1798 Disagreeing with resolution condemning
official conduct of Secretary of Treasury 89 yeas 12 nays
24. Mar. 1, 1791 Disagreeing with resolution condemning
official conduct of Secretary of Treasury 88 yeas 15 nays
26. Mar. 1, 1791 Disagreeing with resolution condemning
official conduct of Secretary of Treasury 88 yeas 8 nays
26. Mar. 1, 1791 Disagreeing with resolution condemning
official conduct of Secretary of Treasury 88 yeas 8 nays
27. Mar. 1, 1791 Disagreeing with resolution condemning
official conduct of Secretary of Treasury 84 yeas 7 nays
A brief examination of these mesures will make it plain that
they are not essentially different from those of the preceding Con-
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302 Quarterly Journal
gress. Ten of these mesures are the continuation of Hamilton's
revenue plans, which were the subject of such bitter opposition in
the first Congress.^ Eight others are covert or direct attacks upon
Hamilton, arising largely from his predominating influence in the
cabinet.^ Five of these mesures are connected with the privileges
and prerogatives of the president.* Altogether, these make up twenty-
three of the twenty-seven mesures, and they form the most important
work of the two sessions.
While, therefore, the principal discussions and contests in the
first G)ngress were over the mesures growing out of Hamilton's
masterly reports on the reorganization of the revenue system, in the
second G)ngress came the inevitable reaction against the tendencies
and aims of his proposals, and, naturally enough. President Wash-
ington shared in the attack upon the author of mesures to which he
had given the support of his official approval. The Virginia and
North Carolina delegations led in this opposition which runs thru
both sessions. It ends in the humiliating overthrow of March i,
I793> when the anti-Hamilton faction was reduced to a mere handful,
seven members, only, voting with the opposition in the last roll call.
This may well be considered to mark the end of Jefferson's initial
essay at the organization of an anti-administration party. A defeat
so overwhelming as this, coupled with the inevitable reaction from
the excesses of the pro-French faction during the smnmer of 1793,
convinced him as well as Madison of the impossibility of founding a
political party at so unpropitious a moment. JefiFerson had by this
time discovered that the American people were slowly adjusting
themselves to the new situation created by the establishment of a
strong central government, and no considerable body of them were
in a mood to follow a leader who would interfere with the restoration
of credit, the revival of business activity and the opening of. western
lands, all of which were among the tangible results that M^ere coming
to pass from the wise reforms inaugurated under the new regime.
But if the faction led by Jefferson and Madison failed to de-
velop party organization, the same can be said as to the support whidi
came from the administration group. Up to January 12, 1793, or
until the vote on the mesure listed as No. 14 in table HI., there was
much straggling and irregular voting. In the New England dele-
gation, where the faction that supported Hamilton was strongest, the
vote stood approximately two to one in support of the thirteen
1. These mesures appear in Table III. as Nos. 4, 6. C, 9, 12, 14. 16, IC.
17 and 18.
2. See Nos. 3, 10. 22. 23. 24. 26. 26 and 27 in Table III.
8. See Nos. 7. 11. 13. 19 and 21 in Table III.
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Political Factions in Washington s Administrations 303
mesures voted upon up to that time* There seems to have been no
House leader and no concerted policy or program. At critical points
on important questions, members failed to respond to the roll call, in
this particular delegation it occurred in nearly all of the thirteen roll
calls.' From this date there was a very decided administration rally, and
it proved to be so effective that all opposition seems to have gone down
before it. Referring to the table showing the yea and nay votes it
can be seen that thirty-two gave a large majority of their votes to
the support of the administration, twenty-three were in the opposition
and fourteen were fairly divided in their vote. Compared to the show-
ing in the first G>ngress, there seems to have been a very decided group-
ing into something approaching parties. But the defeat on the cul-
minating issue at the end of the session showed conclusively how trans^
itory were the affiliations that had so far held the groups together.
No effective opposition remained at the end of this G)ngress
which could be rallied again to the attack. Even Jefferson realized
this when he asked Washington to consent to serve a second term.
It was clear to every one in position of responsibility that the period
of transition was not over, and that public opinion was still imformed.
Moreover, the Federal Government had not yet assumed such a
position as would attract men away from their own states into the wider
fields of national service.
4. The total number of yeas and nays of the entire New Bn^land
delegation on the first thirteen mesures was 140 to 65.
6. See Table IV., pa^e 804.
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III.
The third Congress is notable for the resignation of both JefiEer-
son and Hamilton, the former at the beginning of the first session
and the latter toward the close of the second session. For neither
of these men did this mean any cessation of active participation in the
political strife of the time, but it marks the partial abandonment by
Washington of his plan of bringing into his cabinet the leaders of
opposing factions for the purpose of rendering such difiEerences less
pronounced and to prevent these factions from developing into sharply
defined parties. While the policy had not been adhered to suflS-
ciently long to have a permanent result, yet the initial opportimity
to build up a strong party during the first Congress did not soon
again offer itself to Jefferson and Madison.
During the third Congress tvi^o important matters came prom-
inently forward and monopolized public attention. The first was
Hamilton's excise and other tax mesures and his assumption of state
debts. From table V. it can be seen that eighteen out of thirty-three
votes studied in this Congress are included under the first group.
These taxes, especially the excise and stamp tax, proved to be a
TABLE V
Third Congress (1793-95), House of Representatives
Yeas and Nays on Principal Mesures
Yeas Nay*
1. May 7, 1794 Carriage tax 54 34
i. May 8, 1794 Stamp tax 35 58
3. May 8, 1794 Excise on tobacco 45 41
4. May 9, 1794 Tonnage of United States ships 87 50
6. May %, 1794 Tonnage on foreign ships 26 61
8. May 10, 1794 Tonnage on British ships 24 55
7. " f 10, 1794 Stamp tax on deeds 44 SO
8. r 18, 1794 Tonnage on United States ships 39 45
9. f 19, 1794 Excise on sugar and tobacco 56 31
10. J 26, 1794 Stamp tax 44 35
11. f 27, 1794 Stamp tax 32 50
12. f 29, 1794 Carriage tax 49 22
13. ^31, 1794 Tax on licenses to sell liquor 53 23
14. f 31, 1794 Tax on auction sales 65 27
16. . . 15, 1794 Non-intercourse with Great Britain 53 44
18. . .18, 1794 Non-intercourse with Great Britain 57 42
17. . 21, 1794 Non-intercourse with Great BriUin 58 88
18. . .24, 1794 Non-intercourse with Great BriUin 67 34
19. . .26, 1794 Non-intercourse with Great Britain 58 84
20. r 23, 1794 Non-intercourse with Great Britain 24 46
2L : .21, 1794 Increase of navy 43 41
22. : '. 10, 1794 Increase of navy 60 39
23. , e 4, 1794 Increase of navy 42 32
24. . r 19, 1794 Increase of army 80 60
26. lu.y 80, 1794 Increase of army 82 50
26. June 6, 1794 Standing army vs. militia 26 48
27. June 7, 1794 Standing armv vs. militia 28 80
28. May 81, 1794 Payment of d«bt to French Republic 58 28
28. Jan. 2, 1796 Naturalization laws amended (No title of
nobility in United States) 69 82
80. May 14, 1794 Assumption of state debts 52 87
SL May 14, 1794 Assumption of state debts 61 86
88. May 14, 1794 Assumption of state debts 58 8S
88. May 16, 1794 Assumption of state debts 62 8S
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Political Fastions in fVoihingtons Administrations 307
fruitful source of disagreement among the members. Each delega-
tion had di£Eerent interests to protect or split apart on purely local
matters, and this, coupled with the fact that the suggestions for the
mesures originated with the Secretary of the Treasury, served to
subdivide the members into the pettiest factions.
The second subject was the aggressions of Great Britain and the
proper retaliatory mesures to be adopted. The matter was brought to
the attention of Congress by JeflEerson in his last report as Secretary
of State, December 16, 1793. Madison's resolutions presenting
Jefferson's plan of discriminating duties at first attracted but little
favorable notice. When, however, the aggressions of Great Britain
became more and more pronounced, still more stringent mesures
were proposed and adopted. Non-intercourse with Great Britain
was the final mesure used as a means of expressing this increasing
hostility to British interference with our trade. Accompanying this,
mesures for the increase of the army and navy also had strong advo-
cates and correspondingly determined opponents. Thirteen votes
altogether were taken on the whole subject, and the debate ranged
over the entire field from British Indian trade to the relative merits
of a standing army and the militia. A good illustration of the
factional spirit animating many members of this G)ngress may be
found in the vote over pa)nng a debt unquestionably owed by us to
the French Republic.® Had there been party leaders on the floor of
the House, or had there been a party organization worthy of the
name, this matter would have passed without division. But so
absorbed were the members in their own little cliques and hostilities,
that there seems to have been at such times no appreciation of any-
thing having wider scope. Ordinarily, members of a national party
weigh their acts more carefully, so as to avoid injuring the prospects
of the party they are supposed at all times to uphold. Similarly, the
division over the question of a foreigner being allowed to retain a
title of nobility after naturalization shows the same pettiness and
lack of perspective.''
In table VI. are shown the yeas and nays in thirty-three votes.
Seventeen members supported the government, eight opposed it,
while seventy-six were divided in their votes.® This is a significant
political situation and is proof sufficient of the nature of the factions
which have so long masqueraded in our history as political parties*
6. See Table V., No. 28.
7. See Table V., No. 29.
8. The votes of Edwards of Maryland and Benton of South Carolina
are not counted in this total.
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2:
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Political Factions in Washington's Administrations 309
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Not only was the opposition cut down to the same figure as in the
test vote at the close of the second Congress, but the administratioa
support had also dwindled away. Hamilton retired from the cabinet
the last of January, 1795, but all of the contests of this Congress
had already been fought out in the first session. Not one vote of
importance seems to have been taken after the date of his retirement
Thus after six sessions of unexampled control over national legis-
lation, affecting vitally the business interests and constitutional devel-
opment of the nation, Hamilton's career as leader comes to an end.
His last tax mesure triumphantly passed in the House, and the
slight local resistance to the revenue laws was put down with a firm
hand. There was by this time no question as to his wisdom
and foresight, and no factional attack would hereafter shake the
confidence of the people in the soimdness of his views. This did not
prevent divisions of opinion as to details, but there was no longer
any need for a program of defense, now that the plan of attack had
so completely broken down. Factions were never so active in Con-
gress as during these sessions, but their powerlessness to do harm was
about on a par with the nature of the aid they were able to give to
Hamilton in carrying out his program and policy.
IV.
The Fourth Congress was comparatively quiet and imeventful
save for the contest over Jay's treaty. The revenue system of Hamil-
ton with its related mesures of assumption, national bank and U. S.
mint had been fully established and the nation was becoming accus-
tomed to the new burdens and responsibilities of central government
Washington's policy of neutrality had proved him eminently wise.
The Jacobin clubs had dropped out of popular favor and Genet was
forgotten. The Whiskey Rebellion had proved that the government
was possest of ample executive powers and the will to use them.
Hamilton was no longer in the cabinet and the bitter personal
opposition to his mesures was thus conspicuously absent in the fac-
tional contests in this Congress. Of the thirteen votes studied, seven
of them had to do with Jay's treaty. Two elements entered into
this prolonged controversy. First, there was the western and south-
em hostility to Great Britain for her insults to our flag and the
frontier outrages she was tacitly assenting to by her attitude regarding
the western posts. The second was the constitutional question as to
the part played by the House of Representatives in the treaty making
power of the Senate and President, a question which remains today
still unsettled. In connection with this latter point the votes 00
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Political Factions in Washington's Administrations 311
increase of navy and on itemizing the appropriations for military
and naval expenditure show how jealously the House was guarding
its prerogative of control over all revenue and financial matters, and
how quick its members were to anticipate any possible encroachment
upon their constitutional rights. In defense of Jay's treaty those
members whose constituents were interested in commerce voted as
their obvious needs dictated. The treaty carried by the barest ma-
jority and the whole controversy slumbered till the renewed war
between England and France in the Napoleonic period compelled a
settlement of the dispute by an appeal to arms.
In arranging the yeas and^nays in table VII. some question may
be raised as to the vote numbered six in the table.^ It was a vote on
a resolution declaring Jay's treaty a bad one but giving support to it
on groimds of expediency and expressing, also, confidence in the
President. It is the turning point of the whole contest and many
members accepted it as a compromise and gave their support to it as
they did also to the treaty in vote number seven. The supporters of the
treaty, however, refused to accept the compromise and defeated the
resolution. The supporters of the resolution are, nevertheless, listed
in the table as being on the side of the government, tho it is con-
ceivable that the vote might be given the other way.
TABLE VII
Fourth Congress (i 795-97 )» House of Representatives
Yeas and Nays on Principal Mesures
1. Mar. 24, 1796 Call of Houie for papers relating to treaty
with Great Britafn 87 nays 62 yeas
2. Mar. JO, 1796 Call of House for i>apers relating to treaty
with Great Britain 87 nays 56 yeas
8. Apr. 6, 1796 Call of House for papers relating to treaty
with Great Britain 86 nays 67 yeas
4. Apr. 7» 1796 Treaty making power of House of Repre*
sentatives 87 nays 64 yeas
5. Apr. 30, 1796 Treaty making power of House of Repre-
sentatives 86 nays 67 yeas
6. Apr. 80. 1796 Jay's Treaty 48 yeas 60 nays
7. Apr. 80, 1796 Jay's Treaty 61 yeas 48 nays
8. May 6, 1796 Admission of Tennessee 43 yeas 80 nays
f. May 28, 1796 Admission of Tennessee 48 yeas 80 najrs
10. Jan. 20, 1797 Land tax 48 yeas 89 nays
U. Jan. 20, 1797 Slave tax 49 yeas 89 nays
12. Apr. 8, 1797 Increase of navy 86 nays 66 yeas
13. Mar. 3, 1797 War Department appropriation not to be
itemized. (Discretionary power to spend) 86 yeas 62 nays
The yeas and nays on the thirteen votes are seen in table VIII.
The most conspicuous feature of the table is the large divided vote,
9. AnnaJs of Congress, House of Representatives, April 80, 1796,
mtge 1282. "Resolved, That* Although in the opinion of this House, the
Treaty is highly objectionable, and may prove injurious to the United
States, yet, considering aJl the circumstances relating thereto, and par-
ticularly that the last eighteen articles are to continue In force only
during the present year, and two years thereafter, and confiding also in
the efficacy of mesures that may be taken for bringing about a discon-
tinuance of the violations committed on our neutral rights in regard to
our vessels and seamen, therefore, etc"
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312
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TABLE VIII
Members of House of
RepreeentatlTes
New Hampshire— A. Foster
Giiman
Yeas and Nays in
House of RepresentatlTes
Fourth Congress 1795>97 Totals
-*fee»^ Olj»^«BJOp;A|04»
Vermont —
MaisftflhuBftttf —
Rhode Island-
Connecticut —
New York —
New Jersey-
Delaware —
Pennsylvania —
Maryland —
Sherburne
Jere. Smith
Buck . . .
Isr. Smith
Ames . .
Bradbury
Dearborn
D. Foster
Freeman
Qoodhue
Leonard .
S. Lyman
W. Lyman
Reed . .
Sedgwick
Sewall .
Skinner
Thaoher
Vamum
P. Wadsworth
Bourne
Malbone
Potter
Colt
Dana
Davenport
Goodrich
Griswold
Hill house
N. Smith
Swift
Tracy
BaUey
Cooper
Gilbert
Glen ....
Hathom . . .
Havens . . .
Livingston . .
Van Allen . .
Van Cortlandt
Williams
Henderson
Kitchen
Isa. Smith
Thompson
Patton
Bard . .
Ege . .
Findlay
GaUatin
Gregg .
Hartley
Heister
Kittera
Maclay
F. Muhlenberg
Richards .
Sitgreaves
Swanwick
Thomas
Christie
Crabb
Craik
Dent
Duvall
Hindman
S. Smith
R. Sprigg
Th. Sprigg
Vans Murray
TTTTT i iT8 88S8
8—
1—
10—
I—
8—
1—
7—
7—
%—
7—
7—
%—
0—
8—
1—1
8—
7—
8—
0—
>—
1—
1—
9—
8—
7—
ii ML« !
f++O0O0Bl++
10—
5—
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7—
10—
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Political Factions in Waskingtons Administrations 313
TABLE \lll^ConHmu€d
Membership of the
House of Representatives
Yeas and Nays in
House of Representatives
Second Congress, 1791-93 Totals
Virginia— Brent 6—6
Cabell 4—8
Claiborne 3 — 6
Clopton 2—8
Coles 4 — 7
Giles a— 7
Hancock 6 — 5
Harrison 6 — 8
Heath 2—8
Jackson 3 — 9
Madison 6—8
Moore 6—8
New 6—6
Nicholas 6—8
Page 6 — 7
Parker 2 — 8
Preston 6—7
Rutherford 6—8
Venable 6—8
North Carolinar— Blount 6 — 8
Bryan 2—11
Burgess 3 — 8
Franklin 3—10
Gillespie 3—8
Grove 5 — 6
Holland 3—8
Locke 3—10
Macon 3—10
Tatom a— 7
South Carolinar— Benton MM H ~jJWQQ+Q * — ^
Georgia— Baldwin -f-t- 1 Ml+IMQ-H- 4— 8
Milledge +++++I+OIII++ 4— 8
Kentucky- Qj^eenup . . . . . +++$$|+8aii1: tl 5
Tennessee— Jackson CX)00000004-+0+ <>— '
Jl Administration Vote. + Anti-Administration Vote. O Not VoUng.
Those supporting the Federal Government 24
Those opposing the Federal Government 36
Those divided in the ratio of two to one 68
very nearly equaling in numbers the sum of the votes in support and
opposition.^® As has been noted in preceding Congresses, the votes
in defense of the government contain a large percetange of opposi-
tion, in this Congress it is twenty per cent. The same percentage is
found also in the opposition vote. It is difficult to see how party
organization can be discovered from such a showing. There was,
during the two sessions, no program agreed on by any two groups of
members in advance. Jay's treaty was a question as entirely outside
their range of initiative as were Hamilton's plans for revenue, bank
and assumption. Both Ames and Madison were divided in their
votes in this Congress, their total votes being respectively three to
three and five to eight. Of the 24 votes for the government, two
10. The vote of Skinner of Massachusetts is not counted in this total.
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groups were found agreeing in their yeas and nays, seven in one group
and three in another. Of the 34 opposition votes, tviro groups of ten
and five respectively can be found. In all of these small groups,
however, the number of absences among the members is relatively
large so that if all had voted on every mesure, it is doubtful wfaedier
even as much agreement as this could be found. The forces diat
tended to segregate members and attract them into a party were
fairly balanced by numerous and well marked centrifugal tendencies.
In summing up the votes for all four Congresses it will be found
that the Federal Government was supported by 97 members, and was
opposed by 73, a total of 170. Those members of Congress having
a vote divided in the ratio of two to one numbered 177, a most
significant fact with reference to the nature of the factions during
this whole period.
We may now well make inquiry at this point, as to what had
been accomplished during the eight years and six congressional ses-
sions covered by Washington's two terms. As far as colonial exper-
ience could aid them the new states had already provided amply for
local self-government and they had made a beginning in the direction
of central control. In comparing the state governments with the
newly created Federal government, it is plain that all the advantage
lay with the former. While both governments were sovereign in
their own spheres. Federal office holders did not hold rank with such
state officers as governors or judges in many of the states. Service
imder Federal authority did not in general cariy with it the prestige
of later years. The more radical champions of state authority were
inclined to look upon the newly formed central government as an
interloper. This feeling did not tend to grow less as time went on
but rather became more sharply accentuated in the uncomfortable
period of readjustment that began in 1789. It is not accurate to say
that the mass of the American people were hostile to the Federal
Government during the first eight years of its existence, but there
was plainly manifest an attitude of passive resistance to many of its
most important mesures and a decided lack of spontaneity in their
assent to its whole policy which was as natural as it was menacing
to those who bore the burden of responsibib'ty. This latent opposi-
tion, for the most part voiceless, and quite uninformed on public
questions, as well as wholly without organization, was capable of
acts of imreasoning violence such as were seen in the Genet excite-
ment of 1793, the Whiskey Rebellion, and the lawlessness connected
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Political Factions in Washington s Administrations 315
with the discussion of the Jay treaty of 1795* Such phenomena as
these are clear proof of the absence of regular party organization,
thru the medium of which popular excitement can ordinarily vent
itself more harmlessly. Lacking such normal channels for the ex-
pression of what seemed to be burning wrongs and imbearable griev-
ances, mob violence was the inevitable resort of a highly excited
people. The very impotence of the masses to a£Eect any change in
affairs made them more violent; lack of responsibility never fails to
lead to just this result. If, on the other hand, the voters could have
been summoned by party leaders to mass meetings and told that by
proper self restraint, by resolutions, by petitions, and by instructions
to representatives in Congress, they could exert a powerful influence
toward altering the Federal policy, it is not at all unlikely that
there would have been no resort to mob violence during any of these
periods of excitement.
The absence of parties during Washington's administrations did,
however, exercise a most beneficial influence upon the course of oiur
development. The achievements of the new government during this
short time are unquestionably among the most important in our his-
tory. Not only was our new government firmly groimded and our
new constitution tried out, but certain basic relations were estab-
lished upon which rest, in every well ordered society, the legal, the
industrial and the social superstructure. To be more specific, Fed-
eral sovereignty was asserted over the states and over the individual.
This assertion was validated, as far as the states were concerned, by
the assiunption of state debts, by the provision for levying an excise
and by the new doctrine of implied powers. In every one of these
instances the Federal power gained a point over the popular but
fallacious theory of state sovereignty, a theory that meant, when
actually put into practise, the absolute negation of general govern-
ment. The individual was reached by the enforcement of the excise
acts in the Whiskey Rebellion of 1794, in which our government
gave an excellent demonstration of the strength of its executive depart-
ment and the value it had in a well ordered state.
National credit was established ; this accomplishment stands out
against a background of previous acts, including irredeemable paper
issues, stay and tender laws, interruption of judicial procedure by mob
violence, and complete or partial repudiation of debts. The restora-
tion of lost credit is a legal matter, it is a business transaction and it
is a governmental affair. On the part of the government abundant
revenues were created by a tax law, all debts were then formally
assumed at their face value and the purely business proposition of
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selling the bends, collecting money and handling short loans* etc
was arranged for by chartering a well equipped corporation known
as the National Bank.
Interest was enlisted on the side of the government, in other
words, property, money, capital of all kinds, rallied to its support
The presence of a strong government in the process of rehabilitating
its credit by revenue laws specially designed for that purpose acted
like a powerful magnet to draw money out of its hiding places,
whither it had been driven during the previous decade; and foreign
capital also began to flow into the country. Federal bonds were a
good investment and the national bank soon had abundant deposits for
all credit transactions.
This remarkable transformation was the work of one man,
Alexander Hamilton, Secretary of Treasury. President Washington,
on his part, supported his brilliant cabinet officer and made it possible,
by his prestige and by his unmatched administrative capacity, to put
this program thru. Had it not been that party lines were fluid and
that party organization and leadership were lacking, Hamilton would
have failed in most of his essential undertakings. He was essentially
a foreigner in America, he had no faith in any form of popular
government nor in the ability of the people as a whole to take any
effective part in it. He was distrusted, and rightly so, and he could
at best command but a minority for the mesures which he laid before
Congress, but that minority was well lead and he kept it steadily up
to its task. The shifting, rudderless majority he broke to pieces
again and again by a determined charge, as a mob breaks before a
handful of soldiers.
That his mesures were wise and had a most beneficial effect, b
evidenced by the fact that none of them were touched during the
administration of his great opponent, Jefferson, tho several later
mesures, not originating with Hamilton, and having nothing to
recommend them, such as the Alien and Sedition laws and the
Judiciary Act, were later made the subject of successful assault by the
Jeffersonian Republicans. This disposes of the oft repeated charge
that the American people were made the subject of unscrupulous
aggression on the part of the capitalists during the first years of our
history. There is no doubt but that unaided we were not equal to
originating anything as statesmanlike as Hamilton's mesures at the
time they were passed. It is not true, however, that we did not come
later to see their value and profit by their wisdom. They could have
been made a part of our system only by the unusual combination of
the entire absence of party organization and the existence somewhere
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Political Factions in Washington i Administrations 317
within our governmental machinery of a leader, wise, shrewd and
farsig^ted, and entirely willing to take the responsibility for such a
program'of mesures as this.
The second achievement during this period was the complete
severance of our nation from European alliances and the establish-
ment of the policy of strict neutrality. This was accompli^ed by the
Neutrality Proclamation of 1793 and Jay's treaty of 1794. There
were two troublesome obstacles to this policy which Washington
inaugurated. The first was the ofiEensive and defensive alliance with
France, signed in 1777, at a time when outside aid was apparently
essential if we were to win in our conflict with England for inde-
pendence. Our excuse for severing this alliance in 1793 was osten^
sibly that the government with which we had signed the treaty had
been overturned by the French Revolution and conditions were too
abnormal to make the treaty any longer valid. This interpretation
of the treaty was far from being satisfactory to the French factions
in this country, and President Washington was subject to the foulest
abuse from former supporters and had to endure many slights and
insults at the hands of the erratic French minister, Genet. What
the consequences would have been had there been a strong and well
organized party in the opposition we can only surmise. But to say
the least, Washington's course would have been decidedly more
uncertain. Similarly Jay's treaty of 1794 elicited an outburst of
bitter vituperation from factions in Congress. The document was
far from satisfactory but it completed the task so well begun by the
Neutrality Proclamation two years before, and as a result of it we
did not go to war either as a dependent ally of France or as a weak
power asking renewed aid from some European country against our
old enemy, England. In our weak condition, with a heavy debt and
with the status of the Federal Government still uncertain, war would
have been a very serious calamity, quite as harmful as a foreign
alliance entailing aid in a war in which we had no concern. From
these false steps our young republic was spared, thanks to the absence
of party organization, to the conservative leadership of Washington
and Jay and to the aid extorted from Je£Eerson who was wise enough
to see the necessity of such a policy while not wholly willing to go
entirely over to the support of the government in carrying it out.
As in the case of Hamilton's mesures, so in Washington's neu-
trality policy, the plans of a few leaders supported by a small but
compact minority prevailed over a large and disorderly opposition.
In each case, also, the ultimate verdict of the majority of the Amer-
ican voters amply confirmed the policies adopted at this earlier time.
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The justification for such a course was the immediate need at a
critical period in our history, "whca public opinion was unformed and
the prevailing ignorance of the impending danger was a real menace
to the general welfare.
With Washington's retirement to private life and the elecdoo
of John Adams to the office of president, the anti-Administradoo
forces rallied anew. Besides this, Hamilton threw the whole force
of his influence into the congenial task of discrediting and embara»-
sing President Adams. The wisdom and prudence of his predecessor
were both wanting in the new president, and he lacked, too, diat
foresight which was peculiarly demanded at this time in our history.
In spite of these drawbacks, however, catastrophe mig^t have been
avoided had not the entanglement with France occurred. By strange
force of circumstances the administration found its way into brief
popular favor. This mood of the hour was made use of by a small
group of would-be leaders to pass the alien and sedition laws,
mesures which, in their factional blindness, they deemed sufficient
to secure to themselves an indefinite lease of power in the future. No
member of the petty factions of the time looked upon these mesures
as having especial political potentiality. To Jefferson they offered
what he had been seeking vainly for eight years, a group of issues
involving fundamental principles in American politics and citizenship,
amply sufficient to build a new party upon. In two years he stood
as acknowledged head of the new Republican party and President of
the United States. His campaign had been brilliant, his gra^ of the
trend of events was masterly, his attacks upon his opponents were
altogether irresistible. There is a striking contrast between the
factions during the period of the first four Gmgresses, and the
compact and aggressive organization with which Jefferson won his
victories. The subsequent achievements of the Republican party
were those of a newly aroused people y/ho are for the first time
conscious of their power and have at last attained mastery of the
means by which they can use it for their own welfare.
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The Exile and Its Effect upon the
Hebrew People
Wallace Nblson Stearns^
Professor of History and Religious Education, Fargo College
ALMOST a century and a half had elapsed since Israel became
the ^oil of Assyria; but the fate of the Northern Kingdom and
the threat that over Jerusalem should be stretched the line of
Samaria and the plummet of the house of Ahab,^ worked only
temporary reform. The reforms of Josiah lasted for a time, but pub-
lic opinion and private morals ultimately returned to the ways of
Manasseh. Backsliding Israel had been more just than was treach-
erous Judah.2 To include all in the nation's guilt is, doubtless,
too sweeping, yet Jeremiah throws down the challenge: "Run ye to
and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, and see now, and know,
and seek in the broad places thereof, if ye can find a man, if there be
any that doeth justly, that seeketh truth; and I will pardon her."^
The evil could not be stayed forever. The treasures of temple
and royal coffers had bought mercy of the Assyrian. Now, naked
and despised, Judah awaited the fortunes of war. It is not likely
that even a majority went into exile. It was the flower of the na-
tion, noble born and bred, that were carried away with Jehoiachin
and, eleven years later, when Zedekiah's rebellion brought final ruin
to the state,* it was a motley crowd, "the poorest of the land,"
that gathered about the vassal prince, Gedaliah, in his new capital
at Mizpah.^ It was not a hard fate that was imposed, and the
oath of allegiance to Babylon insured protection. Sedition, however,
wrought ruin. Gedaliah and his retinue were murdered, and con-
sternation and flight broke up the little colony. The prediction that
even in Egypt they should not find safety was verified, according to
Josephus,* and the sojourn was cut short by further removals to
Babylon.
It is well nigh impossible to overestimate the insignificance of
Palestine at this time, situated as it was on the very outskirts of the
Empire.'' There was intercourse between the Exiles and the
1. II Kinn 21:18.
2. Je. 8:11.
8. Je. 6:1 cf. vbb. 27. 81. 6:7.
4. II Kinfs 24:14 ft.
6. 26:22 ff. (Je. 40 f.).
6. Antt, X.. ix.. 7.
7. II Klnfiv 24:7.
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homeland, but even after immigration had set in from Babylon, social
and religious life was at a low ebb.^ Religious observances tbo
maintained were heartless and perfunctory.^ Even under the be-
nign policy of Cyrus and his early successors the common fate of the
exiles was one of hardships. Further, the poverty of Palestine during
the exilic period was heightened by the fact that the leaders in initia-
tive and action were among the deported.
A picture of the times appears in the book of Lamentations, as,
for example :^^
Our inheritance is turned unto strangers.
Our houses unto aliens.
We are orphans and fatherless;
Our mothers are as widows.
We have drunken our water for money;
Our wood is sold imto us.
Our pursuers are upon our necks:
We are weary, and have no rest.
We have given the hand to the Egyptians,
And to the Assyrians, to be satisfied with bread.
Our fathers sinned, and are not ;
And we have borne their iniquities.
Servants rule over us:
There is none to deliver us out of their hand.
We get our bread at the peril of our lives,
Because of the sword of the wilderness.
Our sb'n is black like an oven.
Because of the burning heat of famine.
They ravished the women in Zion,
The virgins in the cities of Judah.
Princes were hanged up by their hand:
The faces of elders were not honored.
The young men bare the mill ;
And the children stumbled under the wood.
The elders have ceased from the gate.
The young men from their music
The joy of our heart is ceased ;
Our dance is turned into mourning.
Not the least of their misfortunes would be the low esteem in
which they were held by their fellows in Babylon. Disparaged by
8. Cf. as late as Isa. 65:1 ft., Jos.. A^. Apion, 1:19.
9. Cf. Zech. 7:6 fl.
10. 5:2-15.
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The Exile and the Hebrew People 321
the Prophets, they remained faithful to the Law and fonned a nucleus
about which should gather any who, pilgrims to Jerusalem, might de-
cide to rjcmain in the land of their fathers
On the other hand the lot of the Jews in Babylon might easily
have been worse. They were permitted to dwell together in com-
munities and to maintain an ecclesiastical if not a political form of or-
g»iization.^^ Denied political activity the exiles devoted them-
selves to commerce and to the study of the Law and to the editing of
their sacred literature. Many Jews acquired wealth and from Baby-
lon large gifts went to Jerusalem for the support of the temple-service.
It is dear that after the proclamation of Cyrus many elected to stay
in their new home rather than to try fortunes in the desolated father-
land.
The changes wrought by the Exile were many and notable.
Not the least was that due to changed environment. The rugged
mountains, the precipitous gorges, and the varied scenery were ex-
changed for broad, alluvial plains that produced in varied abundance.
The climate was more equable than that of Palestine. National
genius is something but not so osbtinate as not to yield to physical
and climatic conditions. Babylon, too, was an intellectual center. In
point of material wealth and importance Babylonian civilization was
ssuperior to that of the Jews. Mathematics, astronomy, astrology,
and magic had reached high stages of development. Metrology, art,
and architecture were far advanced. Music and poetry were suc-
cessfully cultivated. Engraving and decorating had attained a high
degree of perfection. In the midst of sudi surroundings the Exiles
felt a tremendous stimulus to the intdlectual life, to which fact
Scribism is unequivocal witness.
To this period dates the beginning of the Dispersion. G)m-
merce led many afar but it was grim necessity that began the pro-
cess of alienation from the home-land. First Babylon, then Egypt,
later the cities of the Empire became centers of the race. The
Prophet speaking for Yahwe could say: "Fear not; for I am with
thee: I will bring thy seed from the east, and gather thee from the
west ; I will say to the north. Give up and to the south, Keq) ndt
back; bring my sons from far, and my daug^iters from the end of
the earth.""
A great advance was the purifying of religion. Jeremiah had
11. Cf. book of Bzeklel. Cf. II Kingn 25:27 ff.; the promlnenoe of
Daniel and his companions; Earther; Toblt atod Achlarchus. The prayers
offered up for the Babylonian Kin^rs were probably prompted by the
same spirit that prompted the prayers of the Christians fOr the Roman
emperors. Cf. Bar. 1:11 ft with Tertulllan's Apology, 30, 82.
12. Isa. 48:6.
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322 Quarterly Journal
said truly that the people would find no safety in the gods they had
made:
"Who hath fashioned a god, or molten a graven image that is
profitable for nothing? Behold all his fellows shall be adiamed."^'
"The ysay to a stock, Thou art my father ; and to a stone, Thou
hast brought me forth."^*
Then Jacob remembered and learned that beside Yahwe there is
no God. Even Bel and Nebo became a burden. Repentance brought
with it the old love and loyalty; men felt their weakness:
"Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are accounted
as the small dust of the balance: behold, he taketh up the isles as a
very little thing."^^
The prophets of this period love to dwell on the power and
majesty of Yahwe. The terse sayings of such men as Amos and
Hosea are expanded until they become formal, theological statements;
words are multiplied, phrases are heaped up in the anxiety to demon-
strate.^^ In one thing apostacy was not again to be chargeable
to this people. Monotheism, the supremacy of Yahwe, was indelibly
stamped on their hearts and lives. And, further, the local idea in re-
ligion was gone. The ideas expressed a century and a half before
as to the inviolability of Jerusalem^*^ gave place to other senti-
ments.^* Jeremiah could boldly declare that the new covenant
with Israel would be a law written in the heart.^^ It was in this
way that Jews resident in other lands could erect new temples, found
new religious centers, as the finds at Elephantine attest. The pal-
ladium was gone, the abiding assurance removed. The people, awak-
ened as from a stupor, sought comfort in prayer. The temple had
been for many years a veil between the worshiper and his God.
Prayer now took on a new meaning and petitions were offered widi
increased fervor.
Another indication of changed religious attitude is the tendency
toward Universalism. The strictly nationalistic idea is gradually
displaced by one of relationship with the nations. This clearly ap-
pears in the doctrine of the Messianic Kingdom, which at first for
Jews only ,gradually became expanded until other peoples had a part —
tho a subordinate place — in the golden age. This attitude had been
forced on the Jews by their mingling with other peoples. In the
18. Isa. 44:10 £.
14. Je. 2:20-28.
16. Isa. 40:16. Cf. 41:18. 42:24. 44:24 f.
16. Cf. Isa. 48:10 ff., 46:18 t„ 46:8 ff.
17. Cf. Isa. 81:6. Je. 16.20.
18. Je. 22:1 ff.
19. Je. 81:81-84. Cf. Je. 7:4.
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The Exile and the Hebrew People 323
books of Ruth and Jonah this acceptability of Gentile peoples clearly
appears. Isaiah's thought of Assyria^^ as a means for chastising
Israel was developed into Jeremiah's noble conception of the nations
flocking from the ends of the earth to worship Yahwe.*^
The Jews were changed in their thinking. New doctrines were
incorporated: old ones were reinforced. Legends of creation and
deluge became part of the written tradition. The imagery of Ezc-
kiel, the first Zechariah, Joel, and, later, of the Apocalyptic books
was borrowed from the environment of the Exile. Again, the state-
ment of certain doctrines was changed. Earlier writers had taught
that forgiveness must be preceded by repentance: Yahwe must be
just as well as merciful. Later writers magnified divine power to
such a degree that salvation came to be regarded as an arbitrary
matter.
Thus Yahwe: "If heaven above can be measured, and the
foundations of the earth searched out beneath, then will I also cast
off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done, saith Yahwe.^^
New is Jeremiah's declaration of individual responsibility:
"Every one shall die for his own iniquity, "^^ and Ezekiel reaffirms
the sentiment: "The soul that sinneth, it shall die."^*
The opening chapter of the Restoration suggests how Jewish^
character was remoulded by the terrible experienced of the Exile.
The untamed child of nature in whose heart burned conflicting emo-
tions as sensuality and reverence, resignation and irrepressible feroc-
ity ,^5 Israel's face showed lines and seams of bitter experience, but
the heart was purer, the life stronger, and the eye has caught a gleam
of the coming deliverance. This gain was not vnthout the loss of a
certain degree of naturalness and freshness. This is witnessed by
change in the tone of prophecy :2* later writers evinced a fondness
for diffuse and redundant statement, for the heaping up of adjec-
tives — ^at times in marked contrast with earlier wrriters.
The Exilic period was one of great literary activity. The Law
was carefully collated and codified ; the literature of the nation was
collected and edited. With the scholarly treatment of the Law came
a more careful study. From now on the priest devoted himself more
and more to the services of the temple. The function of interpreting
and applying the law was assumed by the Scribes. The flowing
20. Isa. 10:5.
21. Je. 16:19.
22. Je. 81:87. Cf. 88:17. 20 f.
28. Je. 81:29 f.
24. Je. 18:1-4.
25. Qeor^e Adam Smith.
81?29 f. '^*^* ^* ^^'^ ^" ^^''^^' ^' ^^ ^^-^ ^®>' **•'' <J> *>"t see
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324 Quarterly Journal
style of Deutero-Isaiah, for example, contrasts with the terse vigorous
style of the first Isaiah, the grave, restrained diction of the latter
making more vivid the fervid, at times lyric, strain of his name-
sake.*'^
With the captivity ended the national life of the people; the
state under Simon was a gleam in the darkness. Judaism had be-
come a church. The Hagiocracy finds its fullest expression in the
visions of Ezekiel, where the restored state centers about and rad-
iates from the sanctuary. The secular ruler is a tributary prince;
the glory of the monarchy survives in the priesthood the members of
which as spiritual princes are shepherds of the people. Legislation
and literature are now ecclesiastical; religion and politics are insep-
arable. They are vassals of the Great King, but children of Yahwe.
The Hagiocracy has superceded the Nation.
27. Driver, Intro., pp 240 ft.
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The New Individualism*
Andrew Alexander Bruce,
Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of North Dakota
THE story of the development of the English and of the Amer-
ican law is the story of a struggle between the innate love of
the Northman for the right to property and to opportunity, and to
do with such property and opportunity as he pleases, and the broader
idea which comes from being a member of an organized society com-
posed of individuals with mutual duties, rights and obligations, and
having a common loyalty to a common country and a conunon
humanity. It is, in short, the history of a struggle between the idea
of personal liberty and the idea which is comprehended in the legal
maxim that the public welfare is the highest law. This maxim and
its companion, that it is the duty of every citizen to so use his own
as not to injure that which belongs to another, are 85 firmly implanted
in the English and in the American law as are the constitutional safe-
guards which surround the right to property and to personal liberty.
It took time, however, for their development and recognition. They
were opposed to the individualism of the Feudal Ages. Their recog-
nition was at first largely brou£^t about by the influence of the Roman
Law and of the Christian Church, which that feudalism had for a
time submerged. It was later checked, strange to s^y, by the indus-
trial revolution and by the laissez faire school of political economy.
There can be little question that when at the time of the Magna
Charta the feudal aristocracy of England demanded that they should
not be dispossessed, and that the king should not come upon them ex-
cept by the law of the land, they were merely anxious to secure to
themselves a perfect license of conduct, and that there was nothing in
their demand which was democratic or altruistic. At that time, in-
deed, at least seventy-five per cent of the population of England was
in the thralls of serfdom, and the privileges demanded by the barons
at Runnymede were demanded by and for the freemen of England,
alone. It now, however, may be said that altho the Fourteenth and
Fifteenth Amendments to the Federal Constitution and their counter-
parts which are to be found in the constitutions of the several states,
are grounded and founded upon the provisions of the Magna Charta,
♦University Addresss Given at the University of North Dakota,
June lo, 1912.
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326 Quarterly Journal
the words liberty and property used therein and in the clauses which
provide that no person shall be deprived of life, liberty and property
without due process of law, are coming to be construed in a more al-
truistic and Christian manner, and in the light of the maxims I have
just mentioned. It can now be safely said that the courts and the
public generally — for after all the courts merely reflect the sober
sense and second thought of that public — have come to sec and to
hold that a right to property and liberty should never be guaranteed
in matters and things which are injurious to the public health, the
public welfare or the public morality, or even to the convenience of
the public as a whole. The American G)nstitution, indeed, and the
constitutions of the several states did not grant any new liberty or
new rights. They only guaranteed a continuance of the liberties and
rights then existing and even at the time of the adoption of these con-
stitutions and at the time of the more or less barbarous and unaltru-
istic period of the Revolution, there was admitted to be no right to
liberty in those things which were deemed to be so injurious.
It is only, therefore, in determining upon what is and what is
not injurious to the public, as to what are and what are not matters
of public concern, and perhaps as to who are and who are not, in par-
ticular cases, members of the general public, that we experience any
diiGculty when we seek to pass upon the validity of statutory enact-
ments which encroach upon the freedom of the individual or the free
exercise of property rights, or as a people generally to determine the
sphere of governmental control. For tho, as we have said, there is a
great and constant struggle going on between the principles of in-
dividualism and of collectivism, and altho every new restraint upon
personal activity will always be more or less vigorously resisted, the
doctrine that the welfare of the public is the highest law is gener-
ally recognized and the growth of the law in sodal ri^teousness
must come, and can come alone from a broader conception of wherein
that public welfare really consists. Even the individualism of the
Bentham type insists upon individualism as a principle which ^all
be emphasized under government and in society, and not out of sode-
ty. It is advocated as a governmental idea from the standpoint of
patriotism as well as from that of the individual. He who believes
in it is no less a believer in organized society than is the coUecdvist
He advocates individualism because he believes that it will promote
industry, economy and self respect, and in promoting these virtues
will add to the strength of the sute itself.
The American law of to-day and the social system which it rep-
resents, in fact the social systems of all civilized countries, may dien
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The New Individualism 327
be said to be compromises between the two opposites of individualism
and of collectivism. There are several kinds of individualism, how-
ever. There is the individualism of the non-resistant anarchist;
there is the individualism of the militant Saxon or Norseman ; there
is the individualism of predatory wealth ; and there is the individual-
ism of Jeremy Bentham.
When we speak of anarchism and of the anarchist, we are speak-
ing of the sdentific, non-resisting anarchist, — of the anarchism of
Tolstoi and of Proudhon, not of the anarchism of the terrorist, — of
the anarchism of Bakunin. He who believes in it believes that where
righteousness and kindness and a true sense of civic duty prevail, no
law is necessary. He believes perhaps, in an idealistic, in an im-
practical and in a foolish theory, but in one which is comparatively
harmless. For his is a non-resistant philosophy, one which is based
on the premise of brotherly love and of the golden rule.
"What is the use of law," says Tolstoi? "Are there criminal
statutes, are there prisons in the family? Is not society, is not the
nation, but a larger family? Is it not love which is after all su-
preme?" "I have noticed the herds of wild deer in Siberia," says
Prince Kropotkin, "I have seen them as they were crossing a stream
and were exposed to the attacks of the wolves. The stags formed
themselves into an advance guard, a rear guard, and circled around
the flanks. In the center were the weak, the females and the young.
To reach them it was necessary that the wolves should break thru
the outer circle. There was no law. There were no gendarmes, no
Cossacks, no jails. There was the instinct of love, of service and of
protection. Are men and women less chivalrous, less loving than
the beasts of the field?"
This is the individualism of the non-resisting anarchist. It is
one extreme. It involves an utter negation of the necessity for any
superimposed law. It is the antipodes to socialism which involves
a blind belief in law. It is hardly, however, the individualism of the
Anglo-Saxon, of the Northman, or of modern predatory conunercial-
ism. Their individualism is of the self-assertive, acquisitive kind.
The believers in it were and still to a large extent are, warriors, ex-
ploiters, perhaps pirates. The Anglo-Saxon and Norse warriors who
laid the foundation of the English state and whose descendants have
ever since made its laws and formulated its political thought, were
individualistic because they themselves were strong. They believed
in the private and unrestrained right to property because they had
won it by the sword. They believed in personal liberty because they
felt able to assert it. They did not admit the need of the govern-
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3^8 Quarterly Journal
mental protection of the weak. Even their kings were at first merely
war lords. They had at first no conception of the brotherhood of
man, or of the solidarity that there is in all mankind. Even at the
time of the Magna Charta the rights and privileges demanded were
for the freemen of England alone, and seventy-five per cent of the
people were in practical serfdom. Up to the year 1824 one hundred
and sixty offenses were punishable with death, and of these a very
large proportion were offenses against property. At the time when
under this brutal code a child could be hanged for stealing a sheep,
it was considered perfectly legitimate to work children of six years
of age for sixteen hours a day in the factories and in the mines and
to harness almost naked women to the coal trucks. The advocates of
this individualism, however, were not anarchists. They believed in
law. The only trouble with them was that they had merely a class
conscieiibe. To them the legitimate and only function of the law was
their own individual protection and advancement.
The individualism of Jeremy Bentham, on the other hand, W2S
altruistic and ethical. It was founded on the theory of the greatest
good for the greatest number. It insisted on the premises that the
prime end of existence is happiness and that every person is in the
main and as a general rule the best judge of his own happiness. Leg-
islation, therefore, its author maintained, should aim at the removal
of all those restrictions on the free action of the individual which are
not necessary for securing like freedom on the part of his neighbors.
It differed from scientific, non-resistant anarchy in conceding that
some restraint and some law was necessary to keep men from en-
croaching on the rights of others. It differed from the collectivism
which followed it in England and from what we believe to be the
dominant and wiser thought of to-day, merely in failing to admit
that in nimierous cases the individual needs legislative help to enable
him to compete on terms of even seeming equality with others, and
that by the rendering of this aid the welfare not only of the majority
but that of the state itself is subserved. It laid the foimdation f«)r
an intelligent collectivism. In emphasizing the dignity of the in-
dividual, and in seeking to remove the numerous legal obstacles
which had been cast around the struggling worker by the class inter-
ests and selfishness of generations, it paved the way for further steps
in advance. Its fault was merely that it did not go far enough. "This
neglect," writes Dr. Arnold in 1838, "namely to provide a proper po-
sition in the state for the manufacturing population, is encouraged by
one of the falsest maxims which ever pandered to human selfishness
under the name of political wisdom — I mean the maxim that civil
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The New Individualism 329
society ought to leave its members alone, each to look after their
several interests, provided they do not employ direct fraud or force
against their neighbors. That is, knowing full well that these are
not equal in their natural powers, and that still less have they ever
within historical memory started with equal artificial advantages;
knowing also that power of every sort has a tendency to increase it-
self, we stand by and let this most unequal race take its course for-
getting that the very name of sodety implies that it shall not be a
mere race, but that its object is to provide for the common good of
all, by restraining the power of the strong and protecting the help-
lessness of the weak."
This later theory, this collectivism of Dr. Arnold, if we choose
to so call it, and which followed Benthamism in England, is the doc-
trine of by far the greatest number of the American courts of to-day.
It is, in fact, the doctrine to be found in all of the modern decisions
where the questions at issue have been fairly and di^assionately and
intelligently considered and discust. It is really in the highest sense
individualistic. It is an insistence upon the freedom of contract and
of competition. It interferes with modern industrial conditions only
where the public health or morals or welfare are a£Eected or where
the parties sought to be aided are so inferior in equipment or oppor-
tunity in tre conflict that a fair fight demands some mesure of gov-
ernmental aid or protection. The American courts, for example,
altho ready to aid the laboring man as a poor man by sustaining wage
exemption and mechanic's liens laws, and altho ever ready to sustain
laws which impose upon the employer the duty of safeguarding the
health and physical safety of his employees, have hesitated in sustain-
ing laws which have sought to regulate the contract of employment
especially in relation to the payment of wages. They have not, as a
rule, however, refused to sustain such laws where a necessity for
them was really shown to exist, that is to say, a necessity based on the
ultimate duty of the state to shield its citizens from mental, moral
and physical debasement, or to prevent domestic turmoil and insurrec-
tion. They have, as a rule, hesitated and refused their sanction
merely because they have clung to the belief in the actual existence
of an equality of contractual ability and opportunity in the indus-
trial world, and have, therefore, not seen the necessity for legislative
interference. Thus far it would seem the majority of the American
courts have evinced a willingness to go and thus far alone should
they go.
In this they have no doubt evinced a willingness to go a step
beyond the individualism of Bentham. But in doing so they have
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330 Quarterly Journal
perhaps merely asserted another and higher individualism — the in-
dividualism of the state itself. Bentham's idea was that die individ-
ual should have complete freedom of action in all things where re-
straint was not necessary for securing a like freedom on the part of
his neighbor. The modem enlightened coUectivist idea is that the
strength of a nation or of a state depends upon the strength and man-
liness and intelligence of its individual citizens, and that the preserva-
tion of these virtues is essentially a matter of governmental concern.
"No one," the courts assert, "has the right to blight his health or his
morals or to throw his life away, no matter how willing he may be
to do so. Much less may one by taking advantage of the ignorance or
the necessity of his fellow compel such a sacrifice." "The legislature,"
says the Supreme Q)urt of the United States, in passing upon a stat-
ute of Utah which limited the hours of employment in underground
mines, "has also recognized the fact, which the experience of legislators
in many states has corroborated, that the proprietors of these estab-
lishments and their operators do not stand upon an equality, and that
their interests are to a certain extent conflicting. The former natur-
ally desire to obtain as much labor as possible from their employees,
while the later are often induced by the fear of discharge to conform
to regulations which their judgment, fairly exercised, would pro-
nounce to be detrimental to their health or strength. In other words,
the proprietors lay down the rules and the laborers are practically
constrained to obey them. In such cases self-interest is often an un-
safe guide and the legislature may properly interpose its author-
ity. . . The fact that both parties are of full age and competent to
contract does not necessarily deprive the state of the power to inter-
fere where the parties do not stand upon an equality, or where the
public health demands that one party to the contract shall be pro-
tected against himself. The state still retains an interest in his wel-
fare, however reckless he may be. The whole is no greater than the
sum of all the parts, and when the individual healdi, safety and wel-
fare are sacrificed or neglected, the state must suffer." While the
Supreme Court of New York in passing upon a penal statute of that
state said: "It (the statute) interferes to prevent the public exhibi-
tion of children under a certain age in spectacles or performances
which, by reason of the place and hour, or the nature of the acts
demanded of the child performer, and the circumstances of the ex-
hibtion, are deemed by the legislature prejudicial to the physical, men-
tal or moral welfare of the child, and hence, to the interests of the
state itself. . . The scanty dress of the ballet dancer, the pirouet-
ting, and the various other described movements with the limbs, and
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The New Individualism 331
the vocal efforts, cannot be said to be without possible prejudices to
the physical condition of the child ; while in the glare of the footlights,
the tinsel surroundings, and the incense of popular applause, it is
not impossible that the immature mind should contract such unreal
view of existence as to unfit it for the stem realities and exactions of
later life. The statute is not to be construed as applying only when
the exhibition offends against morals or decency, or endangers life
or limb by what is required of the child actor. Its application is to
all public exhibitions or shows. That any and all such shall be
deemed prejudicial to the interests of the child and contrary to the
policy of the state to permit, was for the legislature to consider and
say. The right of personal liberty is not infringed upon because the
law imposes limitations or restraints upon the exercise of faculties
with which the child may be more or less exceptionally endowed.
The inalienable right of the child or adult to pursue a trade is indis-
putable; but it must be not only one that is lawful, but which the
state or sovereign as parens patriae recognizes as proper and safe.
It is not the strict moralist view, dictated by prejudice, but the view
from the standpoint of a member of the body politic."
Again in the case of Peel Splint Coal Q). vs. State, the Supreme
G)urt of West Virginia in sustaining a provision of the statute of
that state, which it had heretofore held to be invalid and which per-
haps would still be held to be invalid by the majority of the American
courts, and which made it unlawful "for any corporation, company,
firm or person, engaged in any trade or business, either directly or
indirectly, to issue, sell, give or deliver to any person employed by
such corporation, company, firm or person, in payment of wages due
such laborer, or as advances for labor not due, anv script, token,
draft, check or other evidence of indebtedness, payable or redeemable
otherwise than in lawful money" said, "We do not base this deci-
sion so much upon the ground that the business is affected by the
public use, but upon still higher ground, that the public tranquility,
the good and safety of society, demand, where the number of em-
ployees is such that specific contracts with such laborers would be
improbable, if not impossible, that in general contracts justice shall
prevail as between operator and miner; and, in company's dealings
with a multitude of miners with which the state has by special legisla-
tion enabled the owners and operators to surround themselves, that
all opportunities for fraud shall be removed. The state is frequent-
ly called upon to suppress strikes; to discountenance labor conspira-
cies; to denounce boycotting, as injurious to trade and conunerce; and
it cannot be possible that the same police power may not be invoked
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332 Quarterly Journal
to protect the laborer from being made the victim of compulsory
power of that artifidal combination of capital which special state
legislation has originated and rendered possible. It is a fact worthy
of consideration and one of such historical notoriety, that the court
may recognize it judicially, that every disturbance of the peace of
any magnitude in this state since the civil war has been evolved from
the disturbed relations between powerful corporations and their serv-
ants and employees. It cannot be possible that the state has no police
power adequate to the protection of society against the recurrence of
these disturbances, which threaten to shake civil order to its very
foundations. G)llisions between the capitalist and the working man
endanger the safety of the state, stay the wheels of commerce, dis-
courage manufacturing enterprises, destroy public confidence, and at
times throw an idle population upon the bosom of the community."
These cases indicate the extent to which legislative interference
with the freedom of conduct and the right to property can and should
go. To go beyond them, that is to interfere where the public health,
safety, morals, convenience or peace are not involved, or where the per-
sons sought to be protected are under contractual disabilities would,
in the opinion of the writer, and undoubtedly according to such de-
cisions, be to go too far, would have a tendency to prevent rather
than to aid the growth of a self-respecting individualism, which is
the best foundation for a healthy and progressive national life. When
we speak of the public health, however, we speak in the language of
the supreme court of Utah, and of the United States when they in-
cluded in the term public, the employee and the person under con-
tract. We do not believe in the reasoning of the Supreme Court of
Colorado, which seems to hold that the legislature has no right to
interfere as between employer and employee and with the contract
of employment ; that the legislature can only concern itself with the
welfare of the public as a whole, and that the employee is not a mem-
ber of the common public
In thus interfering with individual liberty and the use of prop-
erty, our courts can hardly be said to be sodalistic. Rather they may
be said to be making a last stand against socialism. They appear
rather to have been actuated by the belief that legislative interfer-
ence is necessary in order that individualism may survive, in order
that the health and the morals of citizens may be safeguarded and in
order that a capitalistic, monopolistic socialism may be warded off.
They seem to think that interference is necessary in order that the
public shall not be driven to the extreme of demanding state socialism.
The courts are willing that the legislatures shall protect the children
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The New Individualism 333
and the weak, and those under contractual disabilities, because on the
strength and health of the individual the strength of the state de-
pends. They are willing to sanction the control of monopoly and the
regulation of railroad rates, and charges and the giving of rebates,
because unless this is done they fear that there will be no competition
and no individualism. They are not engaged in encouragings the state
socialism and governmental ownership which must be the inevitable
result, if the people generally come to believe that freedom of com-
petition and a fair equality of opportunity are the things of the past,
and are gone forever. In this we are not speaking of all the state
statutes. Many of them are unwise and many of them are foolish.
We are speaking, rather, of the more recent decisions of the Amer-
ican Q)urts, and of those statutes which the American courts have
generally sustained.
I have thus far attempted to give an idea of the attitude of the
courts of to-day and of the modern trend of judicial thought upon
the great question of the proper sphere of governmental activity, and
as to how far the state should attempt to enter into the industrial
struggle, — as to how far it should seek to protect the individual and
to regulate individual interests. I now wish to call attention to the
fact that it is from the individual himself that social salvation must
come and to the great field of endeavor that is before the University
and the schools.
We are, I believe, inclined to overestimate the efficiency of legis-
lation. We seem to think that the legislators and the courts can do
all things ; when as a matter of fact they can do but very little. The
lawsuit, is after all merely the last resort which the individual and
sodety has. It takes the place of the armed force and of the personal
conflict. The criminal statute is in a mesure a preventative, it is
seldom a cure. For every offense that is prevented by the fear of a
criminal punishment, there are a thousand which are prevented by
the social consciences of the people themselves. For every contract
that is enforced by the courts, there are a hundred thousand that
are lived up to, because of the sense of honor that exists among
business men. The real fact of it is, that necessary as the Child
Labor laws and laws directed against the ordinary criminal offenses
may be, a public sentiment against such things is of infinitely more
importance. As a matter of fact, criminal laws and statutory
regulations of industry, even if enacted, are never generally enforced
until the sentiment of the majority is with them and if that senti-
ment were universal, they would be absolutely unnecessary. The
only things that stand in the way of a social righteousness and of a
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334 Quarterly Journal
reign of justice and equal opportunity, are individual selfishness (the
wrong kind of selfishness) a class conscience, and a false conception
of wherein true individualism exists. If we had a broad civic con-
science and the real kind of patriotism, laws would be unnecessary,
except as declarations of faith, and the sheriff would be unknown.
What the individualist has clamored for during the ages, has been
the right to run his business as he pleased, and without dictation.
He has clamored for what he has termed "personal liberty," and
where the government dictates and there is a false conception of
that personal liberty, and wherein the individual rights really con-
sist, there has been and always will be trouble and differences. The
important thing is to make men individually social and to individually
desire what is right. I would like to see the legislature of this
state pass a statute which would do away entirely with the bujring
of speculative lawsuits and the purchasing of defective titles as mat-
ters of speculation. I would like to see a law passed making it im-
possible for a man to hunt thru the public records to find some flaw
in the title of one who has been in the honest possession of property
for years in the firm belief in his title, buy a quit-claim deed of the
original owner for a few dollars, the original owner himself being
ignorant of his rights, and then sue to dispossess the man in the
honest possession. I would infinitely rather, however, see the moral
sentiment of the conununity and of the individual so high that no
man would buy such a title and no man would press such a law-
suit. I would like to see sharp practices and unconsiderable busi-
ness bargains as much frowned upon and despised by society and the
individual, as the more vulgar but more manly offense of hi^way
robbery. But these things the law can seldom reach. You can not
by legislation make men either Christians or gentlemen ; you can not
by legislation compel one to be a good Samaritan or to rescue a
drowning man ; you can not, except in a general way, compel one to
be his brother's keeper. Christianity, indeed, has been defined to be
the plus element in society which induces men to perform voluntarily
that which the law can not compel. And in my mind to be a Chris-
tian and to be a gentleman are synonymous. In order to have in-
dividual and national strength and virility we must have individual-
ism, and individualism is of course based upon selfishness, but we need
a higher selfishness. We need to have the individual conscience so
trained that one will himself be hurt by injuring another. We need
an individual self respect that from motives of selfishness, if you
please, will refrain from that which is dishonorable because that which
is dishonorable will give the doer pain and annoyance. What we
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The New Individualism 335
really need, in this later day of democraqr, are not more laws, or
more political machinery, but a social conscience. Its lack alone
makes the inspector, the policeman, and the statute necessary. We
need to reform the lawyer more than we need to reform the law.
We need to resolve reforms and politics into terms of human life,
and we need to learn to care for and be willing to live, as well as
to die, for those human lives ; we need a patriotism which sees some-
thing higher even than the flag, and which is not merely a geograph-
ical sense. There is something better than the geographical love of the
rocks and of the rills. There is something holier than the love of the
flae, and that something is a love of and a willinjniess to die and tn
live for those who live amidst the rocks and beneath the flag.
You remember the story of the rise of the family of the Roths-
childs. The battle of Waterloo was in progress. London and Eng-
land were in a frenzy of horror of anxiety and of grief. The Baron
knew and sought to profit by this. He knew that defeat would
mean ruin to many and the annihilation of the British army would
bring sorrow to thousands of homes. He furnished himself with a
relay of horses; he watched the battle; when he learned its results
he started for London. There were no telegraph lines or railroads
in those days. He traveled night and day, but said never a word.
On arriving in London he spent days in bu3ang stocks and bonds,
and other securities which he knew must rise in value when the news
of the victory was received, but he kept silent. The news came and
the bonds and securities increased in value, until he became fabu-
lously rich, but at the expense of human suffering and agony. He
might have shouted the news from the house tops; he might have
brought joy to millions, but he chose to make millions. He had
simply a selfishness which was unenlightened and untrained. No
man of honor and of humanity would have done what he did, for
it would have pained him. Rothschild had no honor and no hu-
manity, and it did not pain him. He did that which was legal but
that which was unsocial. Of all the crimes of modem years the
greatest has been the crime of those who supprest the details of the
Titanic disaster, in order that they might sell the story to the news-
papers for a few himdred dollars. The man who refuses to save a
drowning comrade, the pharisee who passes on the other side of the
highway, are the real criminals, but these the law can never reach.
We cannot compel individual action in these matters, yet it is in the
conscience that would make these things impossible that the salva-
tion of democracy is to be found. We need a social conscience and
the ri^t kind of individualism, and not more legislation.
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336 Quarterly Journal
The kni^t errant of old was only half social. His pride and
his sense of self respect were with him all controlling. He was
loyal and brave but he had only a dass conscience. The knight errant
of the past battled for the captive princess. The kni^t errant
of the future must put lance in rest and battle for the dau^ter of
the tenement and of the slums, and that dau^ter when herself
liberated and ennobled must not lose interest in the dass from which
she has come and the great sodal movement around her. It is this
new kni^t errantry^ that the people's university must teach. These
schools must be democratic and teach the democratic duty and the
democratic trust. They must teach the individualism and the sodal
gospd of Christianity. Of all of the democrats of all of the ages
the great teacher of men was the most individualistic and yet the
most sodal. His individualism was solitary and magnificent but it
enfolded the world. He prayed alone but he stood for all men. He
fasted alone in the wilderness, but he scorned kingdoms and chose the
path of humble service and the road to Calvary. His sdf respect
was supreme. He lived his own life. He asserted his kingship and
his own individuality. He never surrendered to the mob, but his
great heart encompast the world. His sdfishness was sublime but
in it was enwrapt the happiness of the world. The happiness of the
world was his happiness and its sorrows his sorrows. His was the
great individualism.
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Antiochus Epiphanes Epimanes
(King of Syria, 175-164, B. C.)
WiLUAM Joseph Trimble^
Professor of History and Social Science, Agricultural College,
Fargo, North Dakota
OF the successors of Alexander the Great, none more effectually
achieved his purpose to Hellenize the East than did the
rulers of Syria. Embracing in their domain the larger part of the
old Persian empire, by promoting commerce and fostering Greek
culture, the Seleucids stimulated greatly the growth of that vigorous
Hellenism which during the three centuries preceding Christ stirred
the Orient into new life and recreated the "spirit of the times."
The culmination of this movement came in the reign of the eighth
Seleudd, Antiochus IV. Holm calls this monarch "a characteristic
figure of the age." Greek by ancestry. Oriental by nativity, Roman
in training, he possest the culture and activity of the first, the
ostentation and inefficiency of the second, and the sagadty and de-
termination of the third. Naturally, a character so complete was an
enigma to his contemporaries ; on the one hand were vigor and capac-
ity amounting almost to genius, on the other triviality and eccen-
tricity verging toward insanity. The appellations of Antiochus illus-
trate these contradictions: his surname was THEOS EPIPHANES,
the DEITY REVEALED; the punsters of the day in derision
dubbed him EPIMANES, the MADMAN. And yet, de-
spite this strange mixture of faculty and inaninity, or perhaps be-
cause of it, Epiphanes Epimanes was one of the most important per-
sonages of his century. Not only at a critical juncture was he a
factor to be reckoned with in Roman affairs, but in Jewish history
he was of epochal significance. Of the many foreign kings who
ruled the Jews as a nation, he has the dark distinction of being the
only one who persecuted them with the deliberate intention of ex-
tirpating their religion. His policy produced the greatest crisis from
the Exilic return to the Messianic advent, and the persecution waged
by him just because of its extreme character saved Judaism from
falling a prey to the dominant Hellenism, and generated forces which
shaped it to the time of Christ.
Antiochus was the son of that Antiochus who, because of a suc-
cessful epedition against revolting eastern satrapies, was termed by
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338 Quarterly Journal
indulgent subjects, the Great. Antiochus Magnus was really a king
of much energy and of considerable ability. Under him, Phoenida,
Coele-Syria, and Palestine were added to the Syrian dominions at
the expense of Egypt. But his ambition out-stript his achievements.
He laid claim to nearly all Asia Minor and part of Europe, pre-
tensions which finally brought him into collision with the Romans.
After sundry small engagements, the "great" king was utterly over-
thrown at Magnesia (190 B. C). The treaty which was made
soon after this defeat stipulated that the humbled potentate should
give up all Asia Minor (except Cilida), pay an enormous indem-
nity, and send hostages to Rome. One of these hostages was his
third son, the subject of this sketch.
The residence of the young man at Rome, which lasted fourteen
years, doubtless was of considerable influence in forming his diar-
acter. He was treated with kindness and respect, his assodates being
the young nobles. The Rome of this period, indeed, o£fered an ex-
cellent education for a prince whom the intrigues of Syrian politics
might bring to the throne. The state was in full vigor. Luxury
had not yet rusted the iron virtues forged in the Hannibalic wars.
It was the age of Cato the Censor, Aemilius Paulus, and the Sdpios.
Rome was entering upon that policy of expansion which was to give
her possession of the Mediterranean world, and great problems were
engaging her statesmen. Already the life of the nations converged
upon the Forum. Altho the young Seleucid - perhaps lacked the
stamina to profit to the utmost by this vigorous environemnt, yet he
derived from it to some extent ability to manage affairs and ex-
perience which were of value in his later career. It did not seem
probable, however, that he would have occasion to exerdse his at-
tainments as king, for he was not in the direct line of succession;
but the course of affairs at Antioch finally gave him an opportimity
of which he was not slow to avail himself.
In the year after Antiochus came to Rome (188 B. C), his
father was killed in an attempt to plunder a temple in Elymais. The
eldest son, named Antiochus also, had died six years before; conse-
quently the decadent throne and substantial debts fell to the second,
Seleucus Philopator.^ Seleucus did not lack enterprise, but he was
handicapped by the effects of the disaster at Magnesia. To keep his
disjointed realm in some sort of order and to pay the Roman tribute
employed all his energies. He is the king referred to in the eleventh
chapter of Daniel, who caused "an exactor to pass through the glory
1. Clinton, Fasti Hellenici, vol. 8» p. 817.
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Antiochus Epiphanes Epimanes 339
of the kingdom". This "exactor" was the Syrian chancellor, Helio-
dorus. Learning of the immense treasures in the Temple at Jerusa-
lem and following the practise of his house, Seleucus sent Heliodorus
to seize them; but the attempt failed.^ Later, 176 B. C, this same
Heliodorus conspired against his master, slew him, and usurped the
throne. The legitimate successor was the son of Seleucus, Deme-
trius, but he had been sent to Rome to take the place of his uncle as
hostage. According to the terms of the treaty, an exchange of host-
ages was to have occurred every three years, but in the case of
Antiochus this proviso had been disregarded. The latter had left
Rome and had proceeded on his homeward journey as far as Athens,
when he heard of what had taken place in Syria, and at once formed
the design of obtaining the throne for himself. The details of the
events which followed have not come down to us. It seems, how-
ever, that Antiochus's project was regarded with disfavor by the
Romans because they thought that Heliodorus would be less dan-
gerous to their interests than this stirring representative of the
andent house. But aid came from another quarter. The kingdom
of Pergamum was at that time by far the most stable and prosperous
among the states of Asia Minor. Its king, Eumenes, one of the
most conspicuous figures of the day, had been a faithful ally of
Rome, but of late was become somewhat disaffected. Accordingly,
thinking that Antiochus might prove a valuable neighbor, he fur-
nished him assistance. This aid and his own powers of intrigue en-
abled the latter to overthrow Heliodorus and to assume the crown
(175 B. C.)»
The new reign opened auspiciously. The people were well dis-
posed, and the king displayed vigor and capacity in restoring order
to his realm. Appian tells us that he ruled with firm hand. Spedal
attention was given to the treasury, the army, and to the trouble-
some Euphrates provinces. Close alliance was made with Eumenes.
In order to placate the Senate and to obtain the renewal of the treaty
of friendship, the adroit and able ApoUonius, who had been governor
of Palestine under Seleucus, was dispatched to Rome with the trib-
ute and, as an additional emollient, with a present consisting of
costly golden vases. The embassy was received at Rome with great
consideration and was granted its request. Thus the new regime
received formal recognition. At home in order to stimulate martial
ardor, gladiatorial games after the Roman fashion were introduced.
2. IL Maccabees, chap. 8.
3, Appian, De Kebus Syriacit, 46, is the main authority for these
events.
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340 Quarterly Journal
These caused at first more terror than pleasure, and so for a while
the combatants were permitted to inflict wounds only ; but at length
frequent repetition rendered even mortal contests not only familiar
but popular.^ That this policy was perhaps not without effect, was
shown in a rapid campaign against Armenia, which since the battle
of Magnesia had been independent. Its king, Artaxias, was de-
feated and captured, and the country was reannexed. As a general, ac-
cording to Polybius, Antiochus showed himself ''a man of ability in
the field and daring in design." Moreover, thruout his career his
generous and pious Hellenistic sympathies won him high regard in
the Greek world. *In two great and honorable instances", observes
Livy, "he showed a spirit truly royal, — in the presents which he
made to several cities and the honors he paid to the gods," Then
these good deeds are specified: "To the inhabitants of Magalopolis
in Arcadia he made a promise to build a wall around their city, and
he gave them the greater part of the money requisite for that pur-
pose. At tegea he began to erect a magnificent theater of marble.
At Cyzicum, he presented a set of golden utensils for the service of
one table in the Prytaneum, the state-room of the city, where such
as are entitled to that honor dine together. To the Rhodians he
gave presents of every kind that their convenience required but none
very remarkable. Of the magnificence of his notions respecting the
gods, the temple of Jupitur Olympus at Athens was of itself a suf-
ficient testimony: being the only one in the world, the plan of which
was suitable to the greatness of the deity. He likewise ornamented
Delos with altars of extraordinary beauty and abundance of statutes.
A splendid temple of Jupiter Capitolinus, which he proposed to build
at Antioch, of which not only the ceiling, but all the walls were to
be covered with plates of gold, and many other edifices which he in-
tended he did not finish because of the shortness of his reign."^ A
new quarter was added to Antioch called in honor of the King,
Epiphaneia, and many splendid buildings were erected. As a pro-
pagator of Hellenism the Epiphanes sought to justify his title.
But, like the worse half of Dr. Jekyll, the EPIMANES was
bound at times to assert itself. A certain whimsical bonhomme,
coupled with an utter disregard of the dignity of his position, scan-
dalized Oriental etiquette and perplexed respectable people. Some
said that he was undoubtedly insane, while others thou^t that he
was merely of rather silly, joking temperament. Indeed some of his
4. Livy, IV. 20.
6. Livy. XLI, 20.
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Antiochus Epiphanes Epimanes 341
actions were sufficiently odd. In giving presents, for instance, he
sometimes would offer distinguished citizens ridiculous gifts such as
toys or sweet-meats, and on the other hand he would present to utter
strangers the most costly largesses. He delighted to give his cour-
tiers the slip and to roam unattended thru the dty, stopping occa-
sionally to chat with artisans, again hobnobbing with the rabble in
the public houses, and anon producing consternation by appearing
suddenly in the midst of some merry-making. Once he took a no-
tion to be tribune after the Roman custom and went round solicit-
ing votes ,and when he had obtained the office, presided over the trivial
cases of the agora with the utmost seriousness. He was wont also
to bathe in the public baths, and on one occasion, on being anointed
with rare unguents overheard one of the bathers remark, "Lucky
fellows, you kings to use such things and smell so sweet"; without
saying a word, on the next day he caused a great pot of costly oint-
ment to be poured over the man's head, and then all the bathers
rolled in it, the King among them.* Queer pranks these certainly.
And yet in practical matters Epimanes was sane enough. For a
Seleucid he governed well and he retained the esteem of his sub-
jects to such an extent that after his death his son was called Eupator,
the well-fathered. In truth he seems to have been of that peculiar
temperament which finds poise in large matters, but loses it in small
ones. Even his course toward the Jews, disastrous tho it was ult-
imately, was nevertheless not without justification from the stand-
point of Syrian interests.
In his Jewish policy, Antiochus constantly endeavored to forward
the process of Hellenization, which had been at work among the
Jews from the time of Alexander. For during the Greek era as
never before they were being drawn into the wider movements of
the world around them. This new Aryan life, with its keen intellec-
tualism, its polished philosophy, its esthetic culture, and as well with
its tremendous vitality and abounding commercialism, throbbed thru,
all the environment of Israel and in a thousand enticing forms sum-
moned her from isolation. How deeply Greek ideas influenced the
Jewish thinking of this period is shown in such characteristic works
as Ecclesiasticus and the Wisdom of Solomon. Large nimibers of
Jews migrated to such centers of varied life as Antioch and Alexan-
dria, forming, it is said, at one time two-fifths of the population of
the latter city. Palestine was dotted with prosperous Greek towns
such as afterwards formed the DecapcJis. In Jerusalem itself by
6. Polybius. XXI. 1.
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342 Quarterly Journal
the time of Epiphancs a large and influential party was in existence,
whose sympathies were with the new views. By favoring the King's
Hellenistic projects and by promising increased tribute, one of this
party named Jason succeeded in getting the orthodox high-priest,
Onias III, deposed and secured the office for himself. A Greek gym-
nasium was erected, and so popular did the athletic sports become,
that even the priests slighted the Temple rites in order to take part
in them. The Greek hat was adopted by many. Some of the young
men had the traces of circimicision removed by surgical operation.
Finally the depth of degradation in the sight of a pious Israelite was
reached when a contribution was sent to T3rre for the games in honor
of Hercules; this, however, the bearers managed to have diverted
to another purpose. In fact Judaism was in peril of falling a prey
to this brilliant but inunoral Hellenism, which conquered every re-
ligion with which it came in contact except that of Judea. On the
contrary, there were not lacking those who mourned this degeneracy
and advocated the old-time purity. These were mostly scribes and
their adherents, legitimate successors of stern Ezra, and they formed
a small but resolute party, styling themselves the Chasidim or the
Pious."^ Politically the Chasidim favored Egypt. Thus their prin-
ciples were in every way opposed to the interests of the King. Con-
flict was inevitable. For the present, however, the former were too
weak and unpopular to stem successfully the tide of Hellenism, while
Antiochus on his part was occupied in a war with Egypt.
The object of contention in this war was the possession of Pal-
estine and Coelc-Syria. For more than a century after the death of
Alexander, with some slight interruptions, these districts had been
under the rule of the Ptolemies. Antiochus Magnus had tried early
in his career to get possession of them, but had met with severe de-
feat at the battle of Raphia (221 B. C). Nearly a quarter of a
century later, while Rome was occupied in the second war with
Macedonia and when an infant king, Ptolemy V, was on the throne
of Egypt, a second attempt was made. The Ptolemaic forces were
defeated in a great battle at Baneas (the ancient Dan), and the title
to the contested region passed to the Seleudds. But as a sort of
compromise, it was agreed that the daughter of Antiochus, Cleopatra,
should wed the boy king and should have as dowry the taxes of the
ceded provinces during her life-time. On the death of Ptolemy V,
about 182 B. C, Qeopatra became regent for their infant son. She
was a prudent woman and a worthy founder of that singularly force-
7. Mathews. History of New Testament Times in Palestine, p. 13.
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Antiochus Epiphanes Epimanes 343
f ul line of Cleopatras whose ability shamed the male members of the
Egyptian house down to that last brilliant Cleopatra who played
such a tragic part in the history of her time. During the regency of
Cleopatra I, Egypt was quiet and prosperous; but at her death in
173 B. C. matters changed. The boy king, who now assumed the
crown as Ptolemy Philometor, proved in later life to have decent
capability, but as fledgeling monarch he was cursed with miserable
guardians.^ These were a eunuch named Euleus and a Syrian slave,
Lenaeus. The former from youth had been accustomed to feminine
employments and, in Diodorus's piquant phrase, "had but recently
laid aside the combs and perfume boxes of Venus to take up the
struggles of Mars" ; Leneas had just emerged from the seclusion of
pedagogy. This pretty pair were plotting war against Antiochus IV
for the recovery of Palestine. Their preparations consisted in heap-
ing up treasure in the Alexandrian palace (to the alienation of their
subjects), issuing pompous proclamations to the e£Fect that not only
were the lost provinces to be regained, but that the whole Syrian
Kingdom was to be annexed. They provided also a plentiful supply
of costly robes, ornamented drinking tables and golden-footed couches
with an eye, forsooth, to comfort in the cities and fortresses which
would readily surrender to them! Antiochus, on his part, showed
common sense in the mesures which he took. Tho a bit peculiar
when off duty, he was at his best in a struggle. A compact and
well equipped army was gathered. When the Anacleteria or en-
thronement of Philometer occurred, the King sent the useful Apol-
lonius to the Alexandrian court to carry a message of congratulation
and at the same time to cast around a wary glance ; he returned with
a clear report of conditions. Thereupon Epiphanes dispatched an
embassy under Meleager to Rome, to protest against the Egyptian
attack. He himself visited the disputed territory, going by sea to
Joppa and thence to Jerusalem, where he was welcomed with "torches
and shoutings". He then returned by way of Phoenicia. On arriv-
ing at Rome, Meleager found there an Egyptian delegation, which
had been sent ostensibly to renew alliance, but really to watch the
Syrians. True to their traditional policy toward the kingdom of the
Nile, the Romans gave Ptolemy assurance of friendship ; to Meleager
they replied that the Roman commander in the East, Quintus Mar-
cius, should be commisioned to write to Ptolemy as he should think
it most to the interest of Rome and his own honor. It was dear
8. Diodonifl Slculus. XXX, 19.
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344 Quarterly Journal
which side the Senate favored, but any active interference was pre-
vented by the outbreak of the third Macedonian war.
The significance of the war of Antiochus with Egypt may be
better understood, perhaps, by a glance at international .affairs at
this juncture. A trio of important battles near the turning of the
century (Zama, 201, B. C; Cynocephalae, 197; Magnesia, 190) had
humbled the greatest rivals of Rome and given to her the hegemony
of the Mediterranean. But this position was not yet fully assured.
Carthage had recovered with such wonderful elasticity from her dis-
asters that the foreboding of more than one Roman was expressed in
Cato's famous Carthago delenda est. The Macedonians had never
accepted their defeat at Cynocephalae as final. Philip V and after
him his successor, Perseus, had bent all their energies toward prepara-
tion for the struggle on which Macedonia now entered with resources
in better shape than for either of the preceding wars. For a long
time the contest was in doubt. Had the generalship of Perseus
equalled his diplomacy, the issue might have been otherwise. As
it was, the war lasted four years before Aemilius Paulus gave the
finishing stroke at Pydna (168, B. C). Meanwhile, Antiochus IV
was free to take up the age-long struggle for the highway between
two continents — a struggle which had been waged in turn by Chal-
dean, Hittite, Assyrian, Babylonian, Persian, and Greek against the
hoary land of the Pharaohs. But his designs were not limited to
Palestine; he desired to conquer Egypt itself and to unite its crown
to his own. The consolidation of two such ancient and opulent
kingdoms of course would be prejudicial to Roman supremacy. From
the point of view of the Romans, therefore, the situation during the
years 172-168 B. C. was threatening: Carthage was ever an object
of suspicion ; Macedon was waging an obstinate war ; a third power-
ful foe might result from the union of Syria and Egypt.
The war was begun by an Egyptian army crossing the frontier.
The sixteen-year old king accompanied it, but the real commanders
were the two incapables, who, tp quote Diodorus again, had made
"thorough preparation for bringing destruction upon themselves."*
Antiochus, on the other hand, was by no means dilatory. With a
9. The details of this war are perplexinsr both as to the succession
of events and the number of campaigns. Polybius and Livy indicate
two of the latter, the book of Daniel refers to three but the last reference
is plainly apocalyptic. From the account in the fifth chapter of II. Mac^
some historians have endeavored to trace a separate expedition for each
of the four years of the war. The author of that work, however, may
have referred his g-eneral conceptions of the war to a sini?le campaiim.
as do Justinius, Appian and Diodorus. At any rate, the historical char-
acter of II. Bac. is not sufBclently trustworthy to impair Livy or Poly-
bius and to overcome the improbability of annual campaigms from Antioch.
For the best discussion of the subjest, see Mahaffy, Empire of the
Ptolemies, p. 494. The account in the text assumes but two expeditions.
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Antiochus Epiphanes Epimanes 345
moderate but well trained force, he met his opponents just north of
the Isthmus, on the plain between Mt. Casium and the Great Sea.
The dainty-fed Ptolemaic courtiers proved no match for the Syrians
and turned to flight. As they did so, Antiochus rode up and com-
manded his troops not to slay but to capture, thus exhibiting a human-
ity, Diodorus observes, which was of benefit to him in his later
operations in Egypt. About the same time the Syrian fleet, also, was
victorious in an engagement oflF Pelusium. A truce followed. It was
probably during this time, that the craven Eulaeus counselled Philo-
metor to gather his treasures together, surrender his opulent kingdom
without a blow, and find ignoble safety in Samothrace, advice which
the ancient historians reprobate most earnestly. But with an ill
faith blamed even by his admirer, Diodorus, Antiochus broke the
truce, captured Pelusium, the strong fortress at the Eastern mouth
of the Nile, and in some way got possession of the person of his
nephew. Thereupon without opposition he marched straight to
Memphis. He was invested there with some sort of office, of just
what nature is not certain : Jerome says in his commentary on Daniel
that Antiochus was crowned king ex more Aegypti, and, that he re-
garded himself as practically king, is shown from coins issued by
him in Egypt.^® His conciliatory policy and the disaffection of the
native population led to the submission of all lower Egypt except
Alexandria, where the Greek element was predominant and the Jews,
always loyal to the Ptolemies, very numerous. In that city Philo-
metor's younger brother, Physcon, was crowned king as Euergetes II,
with their sister, Cleopatra, who seems to have inherited the common
sense of the mother, as his associate.
Antiochus acted with astuteness and decision. He now posed as
the champion of the older brother and asserted that it was his pur-
pose to reseat him on the throne. The latter appears to have con-
fided in his subtle uncle, or perhaps, as the book of Daniel suggests,
"both were speaking lies at one table". At any rate, Antiochus ad-
vanced on the recalcitrant city. While proceeding down the Nile
he was met by an embassy sent by Physcon to attempt pacification.
Its members were envoys from various Greek cities, who were visit-
ing Alexandria on official business. Antiochus received them with
that curtesy of which he was master on occasion and quite won them
over to his point of view. Arrived at Alexandria, the Syrians laid
close siege. About this time a deputation, of which we shall hear
later, was sent by the besieged to Rome. In fact, so numerous were
10. Holm, His. of Greece, vol. TV. d. 399.
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346 Quarterly Journal
the delegations sent by the various states during this war, that it is
hard to keep track of them« At the instigation of the Gmsul, Quin-
tus Marcius, one came from the Rhodians to the camp of Andodius
with the purpose of adjusting matters. Antiochus tc^d them curtly
that he was acting for the ri^tful king: if the people wished to re-
call him, he, Antiochus, would not prevent. A mission sent by the
Roman Senate itself also was unsuccessful.^^ The city apparently
was reduced to the point of capitulation, when for some unknown
reason the King paused. Livy suggests that Antiochus hoped for
the continuance of the war by the brothers, until the country should
become so exhausted that it would be an easy prey for himself; pos-
sibly rumors of revolt in Judea impelled him ; most probably tl^
Romans after all had something to do with his action, for thus
Josephus expressly affirms, and in a letter written to Antiochus before
Pydna and, therefore, referring to this expedition, Perseus reminds
him that, "in a moment of victory he was forbidden to touch Egypt,
the prize of his arms". But whatever the cause, he raised the siege,
left Philometor in command at Memphis, and taking care to garrison
Pelusium strongly, started for Antioch.
On his way thither, he turned aside to attend to affairs at Jerusa-
lem. There the Hellenizing high-priest, Jason, had been deposed in
favor of a certain Menelaus, who offered more money for the office.
Besides being a devoted Hellenist, the new high-priest was most un-
scrupulous; in the language of that excellent bestower of ephithets,
the author of II Maccabees, "He had the passion of a cruel tyrant
and the rage of a savage beast". Jason had gone into exile, but, on
rumor of Antiochus's death in Egypt he had gathered a small army
and suddenly assailed the dty. Altho he slaughtered many of the
people and succeeded in confining his rival to the citadel, finally he
was defeated. Antiochus was in a rage at these proceedings, realiz-
ing the danger of having a turbulent city near the Egyptian frontier.
Moreover, being a Selucid, he could hardly have avoided coveting
the immense treasure in the Temple. As was natural with him, he
took an extreme course and one destined to lead to momentous conse-
quences. According to II Maccabees, "he took the dty by force of
arms, and commanded his soldiers to cut down without mercy such
as came in their way and to slay such as went up upon the houses;
and there was slaying of young and old, making way of boys, women,
and children, slaying of virgins and infants." With the treacherous
Menelaus as guide, the Temple was plundered. Every thing of
11. Pol. XXTX. 25.
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Antiochus Epiphanes Epimanes 347
value was carried off to Antioch whither the King departed. This
was the worst calamity which had befallen Israel since the days of
Nebuchadrezzar ; and yet worse was to follow. For the time being,
however, the attention of the King continued to be engrossed in the
Egyptian situation.
Soon after his arrival at Antioch, as a sedative for restlessness
on account of his course in the Nile country, he sent to Rome fifty
talents (about $55,ooo), one-third of which was to be retained by
Rome and the remainder to be distributed as presents to various
Greek cities. But in Egypt matters did not proceed as he wished.
For a time after the withdrawal of the Syrian forces, the two Ptole-
mies persisted in hostilities. But Philometor having grown older
and learned some sense from experience, became suspicious of his
uncle, because of the garrison left at Pelusium, and opened negotia-
tions with his brother and sister. Chiefly due to the latter, these were
favorably received and peace was made. Philometor was admitted
into Alexandria, where he and Physcon ruled as joint kings. Had
Antiochus been sincere in his protestations that he was desirous only
for the welfare of his protege, he might now have been content ; but,
as Polybus quotes from Simonides in this connection, " 'Tis so hard
to be good". Forgetful of promises, Antiochus renewed the war with
the evident intention of conquering and holding Egypt. Whether he
would succeed, depended on the outcome of the struggle in Mace-
donia; if the Macedonians were victorious, as for a while seemed not
improbable, or even if the contest were sufficiently prolonged, the
prospect seemed bright for Antiochus to subjugate the Empire of the
Ptolemies and thus to make his reign the most glorious in Seludd
annals.
Antiochus began the campaign by sending part of his fleet to
make an attack on Cyprus, which was part of the Egyptian posses-
sions. The remainder was ordered to proceed to the Egyptian coast.
He himself conducted the army along the coast. At Rhinocolura, on
the boundary between Palestine and Egypt, legates from the Ptole-
mies were met, who thanked him for past services, deplored his becom-
ing an enemy and inquired what he wished. He replied with an
ultimatum to the effect that he would stop his advance only on con-
dition that Cyprus and the region surrounding Pelusium be surrend-
ered to him. These terms not being accepted within the time speci-
fied, the fleet sailed up the Pelusian mouth of the Nile, while the
army entered Egypt by the desert route. From Pelusium the Syrian
advance was directed a second time towards Memphis, which again
promptly submitted. This city afforded a basis for operations in
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348 Quarterly Journal
the surrounding country. Without serious difBculty Antiochus re-
gained control of all lower Egypt except the Capital. Affairs were
thus restored to the same status as in the first expedition. Mean-
while, the hapless Ptolemies sent an appeal for help to the Achean
League, the only respectable power in Greece proper. A bill to
send troops to Alexandria was introduced in the Achean diet and
was championed by no less a personage then Polybius himself. But
it was defeated, and instead another innoxious embassy was voted.
No help could be anticipated from that quarter. The Egyptian
cause seemed hopeless. Antiochus was marching confidently upon
Alexandria, when at Eleusine, four miles above the city, occurred
an event which frustrated all his plans.
During the first siege, when the city was hard pressed, Physcon
and Cleopatra had sent an embassy to Rome which, by making a
most woebegone appearance before the Senate, had mightily moved
it. Whereupon a decree was passed that ex-consul Caius Popilius
Laenas should be commissioned to endeavor to curb the ambitious
Seleucid. The ex-consul was not unfit for the task, being a stern old
cub, littered from like breed. During his consulship he and his
brother Marcus had engaged in a bitter contest with the Senate,
when that body wished to bring Marcus to trial because of the "fero-
cious temper** he had shown in cruelties towards the Ligurians.
Within three days after the passing of the degree, this truculent en-
voy, at the head of the usual delegation, was on his way. But when
they arrived at Delos, they found that Macedonian rovers were tak-
ing advantage of the inviolability of that port to make sallies on the
Roman transports bound north. Knowing that matters were at a
critical stage in Macedonia, Popilius tarried there some time in order
to direct the movement of the Roman ships. At last the decisive
victory of the Romans at Pydna not only left Popilius free to prose-
cute his journey, but gave him surer confidence of success ; for Pydna
changed the entire complexion of things in the East. Accordingly,
stopping only at Rhodes, where the harsh aspect and violent speech
of the ex-consul gave the worthy burghers a sound fright, the embassy
pressed on to Alexandria and to the Syrian camp at Eleusine. Then
ensued a celebrateed scene. Antiochus had known Popilius at Rome
and now came forth extending his hand in his own pleasing manner.
But the Roman, drawing back, bade him waive personal curtesies,
until the demands of country had been attended to, and instead of
his hand gave the astonished king the tablets of the Senate and de-
sired him to peruse them and to return answer. These ordered
Antiochus to withdraw at once from Egypt. He replied that he
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Antiochus Epiphanes Epimanes 349
would consult with his "friends" as to what was to be done. There-
upon the terrible Popilius, with a vine-rod which he happened to be
carrying, drew a drcle around the perturbed monarch and gru£3y
commanded him to "deliberate there" and not to step out before giv-
ing reply. Antiochus was completely nonplussed by this haughty
mandate. He had come so near the goal for which he had been
scheming and battling so long, — a goal which, attained, would have
doubled his power and glory. And yet, Pydna had just been fought;
the victorious legions were ready to sweep down upon him ; residence
among the Romans had taught him the relentless vigor of their pol-
icy. G>uld he risk another Magnesia? Pride must yield to judgment.
After a brjef interval of embarrassed silence, the King said that he
would do as the Senate directed. The Romans then shook hands
with him as with a friend and ally. Within the time agreed upon,
he withdrew his army into Syria, in high dudgeon, indeed, and
yielded to the necessities of the times.^^ Popilius restored order in
Egypt and then sailed for Cyprus, where also the King's forces had
been successful both on sea and land. Popilius gave them summary
dismissal. These transactions greatly added to the Roman prestige
in the East. Indeed, this year (168 B. C.) marks the beginning of
a definite policy of imperialism on the part of Rome: at about the
same time the Europeans division of the mighty Macedonian's realm
was extinguished, the Asiatic humbled, the African reduced to ap-
panage.
The ignoble repulse in Egypt and the consequent restraint of
activity aggravated the eccentricity of Antiochus. A notable instance
of this is found in the great festival which he held at Daphne soon
after his return, in whimsical emulation of the triumph of Aemilius
Paulus in Macedonia. Such was the profusion of expense and dis-
play, that "it became the rage in all Greece to attend these games."
They began with a gorgeous parade, in which marched upwards of
sixty thousand troops, — Mysians, Cilicians, Thracians, Gauls, and
Macedonians, — all attired in the most varied and expensive armor.
Besides these, Polybius informs us, "it is impossible to tell the num-
ber of the gods ; for representations of every god or demi-god or hero
accepted by mankind ^ere carried there, some gilded and others
adorned with gold embroidered robes; and the myths belonging to
each, according to accepted tradition, were represented by the most
costly symbols". Numerous boys carrying precious plate, and women
12. For this incident Polybius, XXIX, 27 and Llvy, XL, 12 are the
chief sources.
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350 Quarterly Journal
seated on golden footed litters combined, with other extravagant
features, to make a picture of true oriental prodigality. During the
thirty days of the festival there was a continual round of gladiatorial
shows and luxurious banquets. What most amazed and shocked the
visitors, however, was that the master of all this display appeared,
"the cheapest kind of a king." Mounted on an inferior nag, he acted
as marshal of the great parade, looking no better than a decent
servant. At the feasts he showed the guests their places and mingled
with them in the most fantastical way, even at one time acting the
part of a.bufpQon. Polybius simis up his account as follows: — "In
fact all who attended the festival, when they saw the extraordinary
wealth displayed at it, the arrangements made in the processions and
games, and the scale of splendor on which the whole was managed,
were struck with amazement and wonder both at the King and the
greatness of his kingdom; but when they fixed their eyes on the
man himself and the contemptible conduct to which he condescended,
they could scarcely believe that so much excellence and baseness
could exist in one and the same breast".^^ And yet in political mat-
ters this strange king had not lost his sagacity. Soon after the great
show, an embassy headed by Tiberius Gracchus arrived from Rome,
with the purpose of investigating Syrian aflairs in general, but in
particular to find out whether Antiochus was engaging in any plots
with Eumenes of Pergamum. Atho Epimanes was profoundly in-
censed at the Romans, he nevertheless handled Tiberius with such
skill that the later was completely deceived and returned to Rome
with praise for Antiochus. In Judea, however, the King's policy was
leading to deplorable results.
While the gay crowds at Antioch were revelling in splendid
entertainments and gossiping of the mad gambols of their sovereign,
the humble folk on the Judean highlands were sorrowing and dying.
When Antiochus in such thoro ill-humor was on his way back from
Egypt, he had resolved to have done once for all with these Chasidim,
whose pro-Egyptian tendencies were a menace to the security of his
state, and whose stern religious devotion was ever thwarting his pet
Hellenizing schemes. A large part of the nation was committed
already to Hellenism ; why not crush the Chasidim and their perverse
religion and thus bring thoro unity to this distraught country? Ac-
cordingly, ApoUonius was sent up to Jerusalem in command of a
force of twenty-two thousand. Having deluded the Jews with
protestations of peace, that "Lord of Pollutions", as II Maccabees
13. Pol. XXXI. 5.
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Antiochus Epiphanes Epimanes 35 ^
caustically styles the Ssrrian general, took advantage of the Sabbath
and "fell upon the city suddenly and smote it very sore and de-
stroyed much people out of Israel." Jerusalem was looted, and the
walls were partially pulled down. The hill overlooking the Temple
was strongly fortified and became an acropolis for the Syrians, which
they held, to the harassment of the patriots, for a quarter of a century.
Then occurred that which ever afterward was viewed with utmost
horror by the Jews ; upon the great altar of burnt-offering an altar to
Jupiter, the ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION, was erected,
and a sow was offered I Then the persecution became systematic. A
proclamation was issued commanding the abandonment of the customs
of the Law on penalty of deaths Copies of the Sacred Writings,
wherever found, were destroyed. Bacchanalian processions were insti-
tuted. Matters came to such a pass that "A man could neither keep
the Sabbath, nor observe the feasts of the fathers, nor so much as con-
fess himself to be a Jew." Those who acknowledged Judaism or re-
fused to conform to Greek rites were executed, often with great
cruelty. Two women, who circumcised their sons, were led thru the
streets with their babes hung about their necks and were then pitched
from the wall. Many of the people fled to the country districts, others
apostatized. Heathen colonists were introduced and Jerusalem be-
came "strange to her own children". The persecution now spread
to the outlying towns, to wbich officers made monthly visits and
required the inhabitants to eat swine's flesh or die. With the cap-
ital lost, part of the nation apostate and the rest fugitive, surround-
ing heathen vengeful and lusting for spoil, and an unrelenting king
bound on its extirpation, Judaism never had been in a more critical
state.
The literature of the period echoes the emotions of the Pious.
The thought of Psalms XLIV, IXXIV andLXXIX would indicate
that they were products of this terrible time. The Visions of Enoch
(Chs. 83-90) behold the Chasidim as lambs torn by fierce birds,
and the Sibylline Oracles (Bk. Ill) express the sympathy of Alex-
andrian Jews. But more important than any of these was a work
of unknown authoriship, published under the safe and popular form
of apocalyptic. In it breathed the spirit of that ardent prophetism
which had admonished, guided, and inspired Israel in all her severest
crises, the darkest of which, the Exile, furnished the back-ground. A
certain Daniel, whom tradition reported as an important personage
in exilic days, was the chief character, and over against him were set
rulers symbolical to the Jewish mind of the height of grandeur and
power. The first six chapters are a series of stories depicting the
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352 Quarterly Journal
trials of Daniel and his companions and their triumph thru the pro-
tection of Jehovah. The resolve of the Jewish princes, "not to de-
file themselves with the king's meat," expressed the temper of the
pious Jews of Antiochus's time, when called to the decisive test;
and the heroic words put into the mouths of the youths who faced
the fiery furnace, came straight from hearts unappalled by seven-fold
fierceness of persecution: "If it be so, our God whom we serve is
able to deliver us out of the fiery furnace ; and he will deliver us out
of thine hand, O King. But if NOT, be it known unto thee, O
King, that we will not serve thy Gods." Against such a spirit,
Antiochus might rage in vain. In the second part of the book, in
true prophetic fashion, history is interpreted in the light of the
Divine purpose. The people are admonished (in Daniel's sublime
prayer) that because of their sins this calamity has befallen; on the
other hand they are promised that the trouble of the present shall be
succeeded by the glorious kingdom of their God. It is true that this
crafty and contemptible Antiochus has perverted many by his flat-
teries, and speaks great things, and thinks to change the times and
the law and aims to wear out the saints of the Most High ; but he
shall come to his end and none shall help him. The Book of Daniel
was so clearly adapted to its end and appealed so strongly to the
most exalted sentiments that it scarcely could have failed to produce
an immediate and profound effect. It is probable that it aided, if
it did not incite, the Maccabean revolt, which finally put an end to
Syrian domination.^^
At the little town of Modein, a few miles north-west of Jerusa-
lem an elderly Jew of priestly lineage, named Mattathias, had taken
refuge. His five stalwart sons accompanied him. But they were
not to remain unmolested. One of the Syrian oflBcials charged with
enforcing apostacy, visited the village and summoned the people to-
gether to offer heathen sacrifices. As the chief man of the place,
Mattathias was called upon to conform and promised the King's
favor, if he would do so ; but he quietly and sternly refused. When
one of his neighbors came forward to partake of the heathen rites,
the old man lost all self-control and ran up and killed the renegade,
Then he and his sons made like end of the Syrian deputy. There-
upon a call was issued: — "Whoever is zealous for the Law and
maintains the covenant, let him come forth after me." In response
a small band rallied and, under the leadership of the aged patriot,
betook themselves to the wild gorges and limestone cliffs of the Jeshi-
mon or wilderness of Judea. There the Chasidim joined the fugi-
14. Ewald, History of Israel, vol. V, p. 305.
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Antiochus Epiphanes Epimanes 353
tives in such numbers, that forays were undertaken in all directions, I
in which apostates were slain, children were circumcised, and heathen
altars pulled down. Mattathias, however was not able to endure
long so strenuous a life and died, leaving the chief command to his
son, Judas. The latter was probably the greatest captain and cer-
tainly one of the purest and most fascinating characters in Hebrew
history. He was called MACCABEUS, that is, the Hammerer.
His ability was soon put to the test. Apollonius, whom we have seen
as ambassador for Antiochus at Alexandria and at Rome and as gov-
ernor of Palestine, now collected a force of Greeks and Samaritans
and came against the partriots. His army was defeated and him-
self slain, and his sword was thenceforth worn by the redoubtable
Hammerer. The next attempt under Seron, the Commander-in-
chief of the Syrians, was overcome by a sudden and daring attack at
the pass of Beth-horon.
On learning of these disasters, Antiochus was greatly enraged.
He at once began recruiting his forces with the purpose of crushing
thoroly these presumptious subjects. But the extravagances of the
King and the decrease in the revenues due to plague and dissensions
had so depleted the treasury, that he began to be in straits for funds.
Moreover, the Euphrates provinces needed his attention, for the
tribute thence was long overdue and revolt, always slumbering in
that locality, seemed imminent. Under these ciromistances, a kins-
man of the king, Lysias, was appointed governor of Syria and Pales-
tine, with orders to wage exterminating war on the Chasidim. What
was deemed an ample army was left for this purpose. With the rest
of his forces Antiochus marched away to the East which was the grave
of more then one gallant Seleucid. But before proceeding with his
career there, let us see how his orders in regard to Judea resulted.
With willing obedience Lysias sent against Judas an army of
forty-seven thousand under Ptolemy, Nicanor, and Gorgias. So cer-
tain did victory appear, that a large number of slave dealers accom-
panied it. Recognizing the desperateness of the situation, the As-
moneans prepared for a supreme effort. At Emmaus, some twenty
miles west of Jerusalem, the little army of six thousand confronted
the Syrian host. Not only were nimibers against them, but also
treachery, for one of the Hellenistic Jews from the citadel guided
Gorgias with a strong detachment in order to surprise Judas by
night. But that prudent and daring commander got information of
this, abandoned his camp, and marched straight for the main army
of the enemy. Arrived before it, he gave his men the watch-word,
"God will help," and led in a wild charge. The Syrians, who were
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354 Quarterly Journal
hastily drawn up in line of battle, could not withstand the fierce rush
and fled. With admirable discretion, Judas recalled his men from
pursuit, restrained them from plundering the camp, and formed to
meet Gorgias. When that worthy saw how matters stood, however,
he had no stomach for further contest and withdrew. Another vic-
tory the next year over a still larger army under Lysias himself, who
attempted to gain the Judean highland by the less rugged southern
route, gave the patriots suflicient respite to cleanse and rededicate
the Temple. This noteworthy event, which occurred on the third
anniversary of the defilement, was commemorated in after years by
the Feast of Dedication. To pursue further the fortunes of Israel,
would cause us to digress too far. Sufiice to say, that the struggle
predpitated by Epiphanes Epimanes continued until, under the
nephew of Judas, John H5rrcanus, it eventuated in a free state, whose
limits were about the same as in the proud days of Solomon. The
party of the Chasidim differentiated into Pharisees and E^ssencs,
while the liberal element emerged as Sadducees; these parties de-
termined the course of religious thought in Judea, imtil the time of
Jesus.
While the S3rrian armies in Palestine were thus meeting with
repeated disasters, Antiochus was wearing himself out against the
lethargy and hostility of the East. Of his movements there up to
the time of his death, we are ignorant. But his disposition certainly
would not have permitted inactivity. From what we know of subse-
quent expeditions into the same region, — z region where, little more
than a century later, a Roman army under Crassus the Rich was
swallowed up by the terrible Parthians — , we can imagine him toiling
on long desert marches, distressed by famine and thirst, and harassed
by the wild tribesmen; later he would come to fertile districts,
where still survived Persian and Greek civilization, and where wealth
would tempt cupidity; but ever, as he drew nearer the lair of the
Parthian, hostility would increase, until at last he was compelled to
turn back. The limit of his wanderings was reached in Elymais.
He heard of a temple of Artemis there, which was famous for its
treasures. Thither he bent his steps at the head of his depleted army,
but only to meet repulse. He retreated to Ecbatana. While there,
he received news of the defeats which his armies had sustained in
Judea. Jewish accounts probably are correct in stating that he was
inflamed with resentment at these tidings and that he vowed to
make a grave-yard of Jerusalem ; but that, on his journey homeward,
when stricken by torturing disease, he repented of his conduct to-
wards the Jews and wrote a letter beseeching them to treat his son
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Antiochus Epiphanes Epimanes 355
kindly, is scarcely credible. This combination of misfortunes, how-
ever, so aggravated the King's mental disorders that he became in-
sane and at Tabae, a town in Persia, reached his end (164 B. C.)-
Jewish chroniclers are certain that "this piteous fate in a strange
land'' was Divine retribution for his sins against their nation. Im-
mediately upon Antiochus's death Philip, one of his "friends," assum-
ed the guardianship of his son, Eupator, who was but a youth; but
this was soon wrested from him by Lysias.
The reign of Antiochus IV was the last which gave to Syria
any prosperity and peace; thenceforth a prey to internal dissensions
and warring aspirants for the crown, pressed by Parthia on the north
and Egypt on the south, she lingered along until engulfed by Rome.
ADDENDUM
Altho the above article was worked out from the sources a
number of years ago, later study does not seem to require essential
alteration. Since it was written a notable work has appeared in
The House of Selencus by Edwyn R. Bevan. The career of An-
tiochus IV is set forth in a scholarly and illuminating manner in
Volume II, pp. 127-177.
Reference should be made also to an article by Phillips Barry in
the Journal of Biblical Literature, Volume XXIX, Part Two, pp.
126-128; and to one by Hugo Willrich in Klio; Beitrage fiur alten
geschichte, Volimie IV, pp. 11 6-1 17.
BIBLIOORAPHY.
Primary Sources.
Appian. De Rebus Syriacis, 46, 66.
Diodorus Slculus. 29:82, 30:14, 18. 81:1, 2, 16, 17. 84:1.
Daniel, 11:21-46.
Justinius, Historae Phillppicas, Lib. XXIV, III. 1-4.
Jerome, Commentary on Mniel, in locum.
Josephus, Antiquities, XII. 6: 1-9:1
Livy, Bks. XL,II. XLI. 19; 20, XLII. 6; 29, XLIV. 19; 24, XLV. 10-12
I Maccabees 1:10-6:17.
II Maccabees 4:7-9:29.
Polybius, III.8; XVI. 18, 19; XXVI.l; XXVII. 7. 18; XXVIII. 1, 17-23;
XXIX. 2, 4, 24, 26, 27; XXX. 17;
XXI. 3-6, 9, 11, 12, 21; XXXIII. 18.
Tactitus. History V. 8.
Secondary Sources.
Clinton. Fasti Hellenci, Vol. Ill, pp. 317-823.
Droysen. Geschichte des Hellenisimus, Vol. Ill, pp. 2, 83, 86, 63, 264.
284, 296, 816, 817, 819. 849.
Ewald. History of Israel, VoL V, 286-810.
Qraetz. History of the Jews. VoL I, 467-494.
Hastinf's Bible Dictionary, art.. Antiochus IV.
Holm, History of Greece, Vol. IV, 888, 896, 444.
Mahaffy, Alexander's Empire, pp. 296-499.
Mahaffy, Empire of the Ptolemies, pp. 832, 366, 878. 889, 498.
Mahaffy, Greek Life and Thought, pp. 462-491.
Mathews. History of New Testament Times in Palestine, p. 8 ff.
Mommsen, History of Rome, Vol II, 499, 616; Vol. III. 276-287.
Moromsen, Provinces of Rome. Vol. II, 218.
Pauly-Wissowa Encyclopedia (Ger.), Article Antiochus IV.
Renan, Hlstolre du ^-euple IVIsrael, Tome IV, llvre VIII.
Stanley, History of the Jewish Church, Vol. III. 268-278.
Digitized by VjOOQIC
Book Reviews
Government by All The People: Dblos F. Wilcox, Chief
of the Bureau of Franchises, Public Service Commission, New
York City. The Macmillan Company, New York. XI +
324 pp. Price, $1.50, net.
This book is frankly partisan. It is an argument for the initia-
tive, referendum and recall. This brief quotation from the preface
illustrates both the point of view and the breezy, unconventional
style of the author: "For their unconscious help in the preparation
of this book, I am grateful to the nameless pioneers who have ^>ent
their strength and haply lost their lives struggling to roll away the
stone from the sepulchre of democracy; to William S. U'Ren and
John R. Haynes, annunciators and provers on the other edge of
the continent of the resurrection of the body politic; to William J.
Bryan, Robert M. LaFoUette, Woodrow Wilson and Theodore
Roosevelt, the great apostles to the gentiles; and last but not least
to Joseph W. Bailey, William Barnes Jr. and Nicholas Murray
Butler, intrepid rear guards of retreating paganism."
Wilcox's thesis is this. Athens supported a glorious democracy.
The New England town-meeting was a perfect school of self-gov-
ernment. Both of these belong essentially to the past. But now,
thanks to our modem tools of education and communication, it is
possible to extend the spirit of the Athenian democracy and the New
England town-meeting to our cities and states and even our nadcm.
Using the initiative, referendum and recall as implements of de-
mocracy, we may expect a progressive movement towards stability,
justice and public spirit in the political institutions of our great
republic.
This thesis is ably and interestingly developed. With clearness,
vigor and force he states not merely the stock arguments, but ap-
parently all valid arguments, both for and against these so-called
implements of democracy. He is willing to go the whole length with
these .reforms. One of the best chapters in the book is that on the
recall of judges, in which he cites in support of his position the now
famous article of President Hadley on "The Constitutional Position
of Property in America" (In the Independent of April 16, 1908).
In a final chapter he carries his arguments for these reforms a
step further than most advocates do. He would apply "Majority
Digitized by VjOOQIC
Book Reviews 357
Rule" — as he tenns these mesures — to the Federal Government."
"When It comes to the currenqr/' says Wilcox, "the trusts and the
protection of property, why, these are the very things we are gun-
ning for. If the people cannot enforce their will in regard to them,
there is little use of our going to all this trouble to invent new
took of democracy."
This book should be in the hands of college debaters, of stu-
dents of American politics, of teachers of civics, of perplexed legi^
lators and of all others who wish a clear, adequate, concise state-
ment of the arguments, pro and con, on these moot questions.
It is a timely book, the best we have yet seen on the subject,
and one for which the competent author deserves the sincere thanks
of all serious people.
Jambs E. Boylb
Department of Economics and Political Science,
University of North Dakota
The Nbw Europb: Reginald W. Jeffrey, Brasenose College,
Oxford. The Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston and New
York, 191 1. XVI + 401 PP«
Mr. JefiFrey has given his readers a book on Modern European
history that will serve admirably as a summary and review. While
lacking continuity in the development of the 100 years, the story
of special periods is well told, in a picturesque style. In justice to
the author it should be said that the purpose of the book is to give
a simple introduction to the greater works on Modem Europe, leav-
ing it to the reader to seek more extended discussion elsewhere. The
volume contains a dozen good maps, as many genealogical tables,
and a brief list of general works.
Frank L. McVey
University of North Dakota
The Science of Human Behavior — Biological and Psychol-
ogical Foundations: Maurice Parmelee, University of
Missouri. The Macmillan Company, New York, 19 13. XVI
+ 443 PP- Price, $2.00, net.
Professor Parmclec has written this work with the purpose of
helping to rescue sociology and other social sciences from a tendency
to generalize without due regard to biological and psychological
foundations. Every science should reduce its matter to the lowest
Digitized by VjOOQIC
358 Quarterly Journal
possible tcrais, that is, to those of the science or sciences on which
it rests. While this is true, a science should depict the character-
istics which are peculiar to itself. By these means the continuity
of the evolutionary field is shown along with the creative progress in
the advancing series. In order to accomuplish this two-fold task
the author has devoted much attention to biological phenomena and
their concomitant animal behavior. This is comprised in the first
seven chsy[>ters, with the exception that the first explains what the
sdence of behavior is. Neurological matters occupy the next three
chapters, the field of psychology is covered in chapters 1 1 to i6, and
the remainder of the treatise concerns itself with social evolution.
The volume is one of a series which is projected to cover the field
of human culture and human nature.
As a compendium of information dealing with these various
fields of biology, neurology, psychology and social evolution, the
work will prove useful to scientific readers who do not have access
to authoritative sources dealing with those various subjects. Some
chapters, such as those dealing with tropisms, functions of the nervous
system, and cerebral localization, and those treating the insdntcts
will prove valuable handbooks on those subjects for the busy student
and teacher. The writer is at his best in those chapters.
He considers instinct as a congenital tendency to a fixed mode
of reaction, and distinguishes it from reflex action only in making
it a combination of reflex actions. Since he confines reflex actions
to organisms having a nervous system, instinct excludes tn^isms,
which Loeb and others would consider instinctive. Further, while
instinctive action may be accompanied by consdousness, the latter
is not an essential ingredient of it. Instinct is only one of the stages
on the upward way to intelligence, and is a good foundation mate-
rial for the latter because it is modifiable. "When a certain num-
ber of these instincts which are relatively modifiable have evolved,
and when the central nervous system has developed parts which are
not specialized at birth, so that they can serve as association areas,
then intelligence may make its appearance." (p. 266).
Naturally the author holds that the activities of the lowest
organisms are tropic and mechanical in nature. Consciousness of
a directive kind is nil. Only by building up a complicated organism
with a differentiated nervous system in which coordinaton of parts
for the good of the whole is requisite does selective and directed be-
havior become possible. This chiefly lies in the field of human action
altho animals may have an element of reason.
In the portion of the volume dealing with sodal evolution die
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Book Reviews 359
author wpptzrs to believe in original promiscuity of sex-relations.
This is disputed by such authorities as Westermarck and Spencer.
However Mr. Parmelee does not make too much of this and adds
that other forms of sex relationships, the various forms of marriage,
soon grew upon this stem. He di£Fers from many writers, and I
think, correctly, in holding that the family does not furnish the social
unity. The latter is possible only by reason of a larger associational
group than the family, save perhaps in the instance of the patriarchal
family which of course was a stage in social evolution.
Many things in this volume are worthy of notice. The author
seems to misuse the term "acquired character" on page 27, where
changes in organic forms due to environment are placed under that
class. But there is so much to praise that such a slip is a trifle.
The volume is worthy of careful perusal.
John M. Gillette
Department of Sociology,
University of North Dakota
The Governments of Europe: Frederick Austin Ogg^ Assist-
ant Professor of History, Simmons College. The Macmillan
Company, New York, 1913. XIV + 668 pp. Price, $3.00,
net.
This work the author tells us is intended as a text for use in
college courses. For this purpose the material has been carefully
arranged with excellent bibliographical lists for each chapter. It
is at once an exceedingly pracdcal text and a useful up-to-date book
of reference. In the apportioning of space to be given to the dis-
cussion of the different states of central and western Europe, Eng-
land occupies a prominent place, nearly one third of the whole
work being devoted to the discussion of the problems connected with
the government of this state. This emphasis, which the author lays
upon the English constitution and on the legal and administrative
S)rstem, is no doubt justified by the fact that the work is designed
for use in American classes. One could wish, however, that some
brief discussion had been given to the government of England's de-
pendencies, as rounding out the evolution of the forms and tendencies
in the mother state. Particularly useful to our students just now,
would be a concise statement of political conditions for Canada, and
the Australian states, along the same lines as those followed in the
present discussion. Such a treatment as this, however brief, would
tend to focus England's experience upon the questions belonging to
Digitized by VjOOQIC
360 Quarterly Journal
regions and peoples far removed from the traditional Anglo Saxon
seat of authority. The Irish situation is rather scantily treated in
view of the present importance of this question.
The chapters on Germany, France and Austro Hungary are
adimrably done and cover a very confused and tangled field ade-
quately and with nice adjustment of subject matter to the relative
importance of the numerous topics to be treated. Especially well
handled in the chapter on Italy is the delicate question of the rela-
tion of the Vatican to the state government. In the presentation of
the material on Scandinavia it would have been well to give
at least a few paragraphs to Iceland's unique experiment at self-
government. Not merely does this Icelandic form represent a strik-
ing exception in European politics, but it has a bearing on the life
of every modern Germanic state where there are at work democratic
tendencies of whatever variety.
The omission of Russia from the list of states whose government
it outlined here came about from the determination of the author not
to include any states of eastern Europe. None the less, however,
there might have been given in connection with the account of
Austro-Hungary, some statement of the government and legal system
of this principal Slavic state in Europe, and this addition would be
justified on account of the intimate racial and religious ties between
the people of Russia and those of Austro-Hungary.
One of the most valuable features of the work is the dear and
succinct account of the political parties in each state, the issues that
divide them and something of the party evolution that has already
transpired. This, perhaps, more than anything else, gives a freshness
and clarity to the author's portrayal that is so commonly lacking in
works of this nature.
' O. G. LiBBY
Department of History,
University of North Dakota
Economics as the Basis of Living Ethics: John G. Mur-
doch^ Professor of the English Language, Rensselaer Pols^tech-
nic Institute, Troy, New York. Allen Book and Printing Com-
pany, Troy, New York, 1913. x-f-373 pp. Qoth, $2.00 net.
The chapters of the book were originally delivered as lectures
before the People's Forums of Troy, and of Schenectady, New York,
and are a continuous discussion of the dependence of ethics upon
economics. The author lays the foundation for this discussion in
Digitized by VjOOQIC
Book Reviews 361
the Marxian conception of history, namely, that the state, the family,
the institutions, and even consciousness itself, have their roots in
economic relations ; that it is not man's consciousness that determines
his social existence, but his social existence that determines his con-
sciousness; that the mode of production in material life conditions
the social, political, and spiritual life-processes of man. That is to
say, man is an animal before he is a thinker — the spiritual is cradled
in the material.
Keeping this conception, the author defines history as the evo-
lution of economics. The collision of nations, the struggles of the
classes, and the clash of individuals, find their explanation in the
contest about material interests. The Declaration of Independence
contains no ethical, philosophical, or emotional phrase that was not
stimulated by economic needs. Of the twenty-nine indictments
against King George, ten deal with wealth, tax, commerce, war;
ten with interference with laws securing life and property; and the
remaining nine with legal procedure in relation to property. Of
the sixty-three articles of the Magna Charta, forty-eight refer to
property. Politics has been dominated by property. Hamilton's re-
port on finance started a long line of legislation and party contro-
versy. The struggle between the North and South was not a moral
contest but an economic conflict.
What is ethical is largely a transfigured economic. Genetically,
the economic passes from the crass, "the starkly personal or tribal,
frankly and savagely selfish," to the wide-ranging, racial and ideal.
Out of the latter, ethics is born. The perfected economic has become
the ethic. To show that this conception has little prevailed, the
author invokes the history of ethics as the history of the divorce of the
ideal and material, of the ethical and economic: Aristotle and Plato
conceiving sodety as a posteriori to the prindples of sodety ; a church-
ly Aquinas preaching the priority of the Church over science ; a Kant,
a Hegel, and a Spencer, subordinating the economic to the ethical.
Sodal Contracts, Natural Rights, and Divine Sanctions are fan-
tasies, for, behind all religions, ethics, and governments have stood
red-blooded men and women cnfordng as best they could their ideals
and interests. There is no "pure ethics'* ; man is the cause and sanc-
tion of governments and ethical systems.
From this point of view the author discusses at much length
Clark's Produdtvity Theory, which he alleges to be imputed and not
resident and based upon an ethics that, independent of economic rela-
tions, stands upon its own feet. The "natural law of distribution,''
the "scientific law of wages, etc." considered by Clark as independent
Digitized by VjOOQIC
362 Quarterly Journal
of social organizations, and the "pure sdence" problems, arose after
the social division came about. These sdentific explanations do not
stand because they are a priori but because they were once enforced
by some powerful social or economic influence.
Tah'ng up the Austrian- Yale theory of interest, namely, that it
is a "natural necessity" quite independent of social institutions,
against which it is useless to contend, and which consequently is
ethically sound, the author asserts that the efBdent cause of interest-
getting is the love of gain and the power to extract it, and that its
ethical purity rests upon exterior political and economic relations.
Interest is exploitation, even tho in theory it may seem to be some-
thing else.
The author next essays to search the ethical and philosophical
systems of Immanuel Kant in quest of economic presuppositions, but
finds his economics imreal and his society not actual. He finds only
theory based on celestial fancy. The fact is, Kant's thoughts are
full of the Romanticism that infested the commimity thought of his
century. Having failed to find economic presuppositions of ethics
in Kant, he finds Westermarck's pages bristling with facts that argue
the economic determinism of ethics, namely, that the pursuit of econ-
omic goods determines a mass psychology that introduces conscious-
ness, insight, and foresight into life, and thereby founds ethics.
The reviewer feels that his study of this book has added to his
conception of ethics. It presents valuable subject-matter that in
structure sometimes gives the impression of unwieldiness, yet pos-
sesses constantly strong originality. Its criticisms of current theory
are militant, not apologetic In material make-up the volume is in-
dividual, but lacks some of the finishing touches of the expert printer
and bookbinder. On the whole, the book seems to be a little in the
rough.
The actual contribution of the volume consists in teaching an
ethics doing service; in calling us back from apriorism to life.
John W. Todd
Department of Philosophy,
University of North Dakota
CoNSTRucnvB Rural Sociology: John M. Gillbttb, Profes-
sor of Sociology, University of North Dakota. Sturgis &
Walton Company, New York, 191 3. xiv-f-301 pp. Price,
$1.60 net.
For some time material has been accimiulating for a text in
rural sodology. Hitherto, however, such a text has been lacking,
Digitized by VjOOQIC
B^iok Reviews 363
at least one making a systematic survey of the conditions of rural
communities from a comprehensive sociological standpoint. Profes-
sor Gillette's book fills this want and fills it admirably. In a vol-
ume of 300 pages he discusses the meaning and importance of rural
sodology, the distinction between rural and urban communities, the
di£Ferent types of rural conununities, owing to difiEerent occupations,
the relative rate of rural and urban increase, the social nature of
the rural problem, advantages and disadvantages of farm life, the
improvement of agricultural production, of the business side of
farming, of transportation and conununication, of rural health and
sanitation, making farm life more attractive, the socialization of
country life, rural social institutions and their improvement, the
church, the schodi and farmers' organizations, rural charity and
correction, and finally, rural social surveys.
This outline of the subjects treated in the book indicates at once,
that the work is eminently suited for use in universities, agricultural
colleges, and normal schools as a text in rural sociology. It is, how-
ever, the treatment given these subjects which distinguishes the book
from all others treating similar topics. The sociological point of
view is preserved thruout. Moreover, as the title indicates, the work
is not a mere abstract discussion of rural social conditions, but has
a practical outlook, with constant suggestions for the solution of the
rural social problem.
It is the strong grasp of sociological principles, which gives the
book its great value as a discussion of the rural problem. In the
first place, the author points out clearly that the rural problem is a
part of the general social problem of our civilization, and that it
cannot be imderstood apart from the great tendencies of our times.
Hence he brings out strongly the point that the rural problem is not
simply, nor even mainly, an economic problem; but that it is pri-
marily a sodal problem in the broad sense, a problem of the way in
which people live together. He emphasizes, therefore, the psycholog-
ical and spiritual aspects of the rural life problem, tho this does
not lead him to minimize the importance of economic and material
conditions in rural conmiimities. Indeed a large part of Chapters
VII-XI is devoted to the discussion of the influence of the material
and economic factors in rural life. If it be objected that these mat-
ters belong strictly in rural economics and not in rural sodology, the
reply may well be that such a discussion is necessary to give a bal-
anced treatment to the rural problem, and, therefore, adds greatly
to the value of the text.
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364 Quarterly Journal
From all this it follows that Professor Gfllcttc's practical sug-
gestions for the solution of the rural problem are synthetic and so-
ciological in character. No one remedy, he points out, will remove
existing evils in American rural life. Moreover, many of these reque-
dies are fatuous, because they fail to take into account the great
social forces of our time. "Farm colonies and *back-to-the-farm*
movements,*' says Professor Gillette, "have very small possibilities
as solvents. We might as well expect to dam the Mississippi River
to keep back the flow from the Gulf as to avert the bulk of popula-
tion from the cities." In other words, the rural social problem is
to be solved only as the social problem in general is to be solved, —
by attention to all phases of the social life of the people, including
their economic conditions, their sanitation, their education, and their
moral ideals, and by a synthesis of the sodal movements concerned
with improving all of these conditions.
In conclusion. Professor Gillette's book is a mine of valuable,
scientific information concerning all phases of American rural life.
It is regrettable, of course, that the statistics of the 19 10 census were
in part not available when the book was written, but in no case,
that the reviewer has observed, would such statistics materially
change the trend of the discussions, or the conclusions reached. Every-
one who reads the book will agree with President Vincnt that "Pro-
fessor Gillette has given us a valuable book which will be welcomed,
not only in school and college, but by the general reader."
Charles A. Ellwood
Professor of Sociology,
University of Missouri
Digitized by VjOOQIC
University Notes
Th« Summer The Summer Session of the University for 191 2
^•^^■* was a distinct success. The enrollment tho not
large in the aggregate was very satisfying being an increase over that
of the former year of nearly twenty per cent. The student body
was made up of a very earnest lot of young people, and with cam-
pus and weather conditions at their best made much of the oppor-
tunities. The session of 191 3, beginning on June 23 and continuing
for six weeks, gives promise of being even more successful and use-
ful. The work has been extended and strengthened in sveral ways.
Advanced enquiries have all along pointed to an increased interest
and suggest a larger attendance. The Biological Station at Devils
Lake will be open for work in Biology and Physiography.
Dittinioiahed Altho the University of North Dakota is a lit-
^^••** tie aside from the main lines of travel and
from the great centers of population, its people do not live
a cloistered life. Many members of its faculties belong to
great national and international organizations and regularly at-
tend the meetings called to discuss their respective interests, and not
a few respond to invitations to lecture in various outside places. On
the other hand, those in charge rightly make an effort to bring to
the University each year representative leaders in the different fields
of human thought and endeavor. During the year just closing
many men and women of note have been guests of the institution.
In science the latest developments in the biological and the
chemical fields were presented in a popular as well as in a technical
manner by two "exchange lecturers" from the University of Mani-
toba, Dr. A. H. R. BuUer, Professor of Botany, and Professor M.
A. Parker, Head of the Department of Chemistry. The legal pro-
fession was ably represented during the year at different times by
such eminent jurists as Hon. Charles F. Amidon, United States Dis-
trict Judge for the District of Norths Dakota, Hon. B. F. Spaulding,
Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of North Dakota, Assodate
Justice A. A. Bruce of the State Supreme Court and Judge Charles
A. Pollock. All these men spoke very acceptably before the students
of the College of Law. Judge Amidan also gave a Convocation ad-
dress on "Reasons for Optimism" which was considered oinc of the
finest of the year.
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366 Quarterly Journal
In the field of religion and religious education the institution
was equally fortunate. Some of the leading men active in denomi-
national and interdenominational lines of work presented various
phases of the general subject in an interesting and suggestive man-
ner. As among those should be named : Bishop Napthali Luccock,
of the Methodist church, Dr. Joseph Cochrane, Educational Secre-
tary of the Presbyterian church. Professor Allen Hoben, of the Di-
vinity School of the University of Chicago (Hazelett Lecturer to
Wesley College), Dr. John Powell, Student Pastor of the University
of Minnesota, Dr. S. S. Klyne of Minneapolis, and Dr. Charles C.
Creegan, President of Fargo College.
Of unusual interest was a series of lectures by the famous
Arctic explorer, Mr. V. Stefansson, a former student in the Uni-
versity. His experiences in the far north were told in a very enter-
taining manner and were decidedly stimulating to the imagination,
while from a strictly sdentific view-point they were of large educa-
tional value. A real treat was the series of talks and the Convoca-
tion address by Miss Marguerite Curtis, special correspondent of
the London Times and the Daily Mail. In her descriptive presen-
tation of English manners and institutions and in her more formal
address on ''Literary Reminiscences," she contributed much both of
pleasure and profit.
The Scandinavian countries of Europe have been well represent-
ed during the year. Mr. C. S. Hambro, a Norwegian editor of
prominence, spoke very acceptably in an illustrated lecture on "The
Norway of To-day,*' and Mr. Henry J. Leach, Secretary of the
Scandinavian-American Foundation, pleased his hearers in one on
"Modem Scandinavian Art." Mr. George Bech, Danish Consul
located at Chicago, also made a very favorable impression for both
himself and his country and gave much valuable information in re-
gard to his home land. All who heard one or more of these repre-
sentatives were surprised and delighted to learn of the prosperity and
progressiveness of these European States.
Mr. Henry Lawrence Southwick, President of the Emerson
School of Oratory, greatly pleased the University people in his read-
ing of Sheridan's "The Rivals" before the Sock and Buskin Society,
and in his Convocation address on "The Oratory of Shakespeare."
Dr. David Starr Jordan, President of Leland Stanford Junior Uni-
versity, sturdy champion of the great Peace movement, speaking on
"A World Peace," gave instruction, widened horizons and won many
adherents. The closing visit of the year from an outside source,
was that of Dr. E. A. Birge, Dean of the College of Letters and
Digitized by VjOOQIC
Book Reviews 367
Science, University of Wisconsin, who gave the Baccalaureate ad-
dress on the evening of June 15.
Visits of such people and other influences of a similar character,
brought to bear from time to time, tend to keep the University com-
munity in touch with the movements of the time and in sympathy
with progressive ideas the world over.
Eztonnon The steady and satisfactory growth of the Uni-
^®'*^ versity's extramural activities as represented by
the different lines of activity carried on under the direction
of the Extension Division during the past year has demonstrated
conclusively that this work has a large place to fill in the edu-
cational scheme of the commonwealth. During the school year
of 1912-13, extension lectures to the number of 151 were given in
68 different places located in 28 of the 50 different counties of the
state. This work was participated in by 25 different members of
the University faculty. The total attendance at these lectures num-
bered 18,345 people, or an average of 121 at each lecture. In ad-
dition to these lectures 40 G)mmencement lecture engagements were
filled by members of the faculty in May and June, 1913, reaching
towns in 22 different coimties of the state.
The interest in Q)rrespondence-study courses is steady and con-
tinuous. During the year, over 500 people have been supplied with
literature and information regarding the work and many personal
letters have been written to supplement the publications and to help
out in special cases. On June i, 1912, 33 students were enrolled
in courses of this kind. Up to June i, 191 3, 46 new ones had been
enrolled . With the eliminations due to the completion of courses
and the dropping of students who did not care to continue, the en-
rollment of the department stood at 70 on the date above men-
tioned, a growth of 112%.
All thru the year, the library has been kept busy taking care
of the increasing number of requests that come from out in the
state for library material of various kinds. A report made up on
December i, 1912, showed that from September i, 191 1, to that
date, 339 requests had been received from individuals, clubs and
associations of various kinds asking for books, periodicals and various
other works of reference. This service is state-wide, for these re-
quests came from 103 different towns. Among the people inquiring
were bankers, business men, editors, lawyers, ministers, teachers and
many others. This work has continued to grow steadily thruout
the year, and the time is not far distant when it will be necessary
to have a special library assistant to take charge of it.
Digitized by VjOOQIC
368 Quarterly Journal *
Two new departures have been undertaken in the extension
work of the past year, and both have been very successful. One is
the Citizens' Institutes — institutes planned and carried out with the
idea of uplifting the ideals of communities and freshening the view-
points of their citizens. One was held at Lisbon on the 29th and
30th of January, in the midst of t3rpical winter conditions. In spite
of the storm which was continuous thruout the two days, the people
turned out very well, the total attendance at all of the sessions
amounting to over 1800. Since the session of the institute, a num-
ber of the best suggestions growing out of the lectures and discus-
sions have been put to work to the very noticeable betterment of the
town. The second institute was held at Williston on the 26th and
27th of January and was equally successful. In both cases, the lec-
tures and discussions were presented by regular members of the Uni-
versity faculty, with the Field Organizer for the Extension Division
in charge as business and executive agent, and general organizer. The
other new departure of the year was a beginning in the field of the
study and lecture dass which is the ideal arrangement for extension
purposes. Regularly on Thursday evenings thruout the year, mem-
bers of the Law School faculty have met with a class made up of
members of the local chapter of the American Institute of Banking in
Grand Forks and have lectured and quizzed the members of the
class on topics relating to business law. This dass has been well
attended and the results have been very satisfactory. Other classes
of this kind will probably be organized in Grand Fofrks and in other
dties of the state in the near future.
Faoolty A number of new appointments have been made
Appointments ;„ ^j^^ faculty of the University for the coming
year. The death of Professor LeDaum left vacant the headship
of the department of Romance Languages, to which Dr. Henry R.
Brush of Hope College, Holland, Mich., has been appointed. Dr.
Brush has had a number of years experience as a teacher, and has
pursued graduate work at the University of Chicago, from which
institution he received the doctor's degree. He has also spent a
summer in France.
The importance of the Extension work grows eadi year with
the development of the University and the growth of the state, and
upon the resignation of Mr. N. C. Abbott, the Board of Trustees
appointed Mr. J. J. Pettijohn to the oflSce of Director of University
Extension. Mr. Pettijohn has been secretary of the division of in-
struction by lectures of the Extension Department of the University
of Wisconsin for the past two years. Prior to that time he had
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Book Reviews 369
been county superintendent and superintendent of schools. He
comes well qualified and trained for the work that he is to under*
take.
For some time the problem of athletics and physical education
has been a pressing one at the University of North Dakota, and
after the visit last winter of Dr. C. H. Hetherington, who came
for the purpose of advising upon the matter of the reorganization
of the department, Mr. Fred L. Thompson of New York City and
Mr. F. V. Archer of Ottawa, 111., were called to the directorship
and assistant directorship of physical education. To Mr. Thompson
will fall the general supervision of all of the work in athletics and
physical education. Mr. Archer will have the coaching of the
athletic teams under his direction. In connection with this change
in administration, the gymnasium will be altered, enlarging the
locker rooms, and with a running track erected. Provision will be
made for the instruction of the young women in the gymnasium in
Woodworth Hall. Under this new arrangement, it is expected that
a new spirit will be injected into the athletic situation at the Uni-
versity, not only in the matter of the games, but in general play and
in the larger participation of the student body.
The IntorMholMtio The Twelfth State Inter-scholastic Meet was
^••* held at the University on May 16 and 17. At
the same time there were held the G)nference of High School Super-
intendents and Principals, the annual final debate between the two
successful teams in the High School Debating League, and the annual
High School Declamation G)ntest.
In size of attendance and scope of events the athletic meet was
the best one that has ever been held at the University. The con-
ference of superintendents and principals discust a number of im-
portant and interesting problems and made some recommendations
to the High School Board for future legislation. The debate was
interesting and largely attended by the friends of the competing
teams. The declamation contest, however, was not up to the usual
mark of excellence. The choice of subjects was not of the char-
acter that has been hoped for, and plans are now under consideration
for bringing about the selection of a more representative and literary
type for presentation. These contests have a good deal of value from
an educational point of view, and the University hopes that they
may not drift into a mere amusement contest, toward which there
seems some tendency. The audience was large and enthusiastic,
and the young people did well within the scope of their selections.
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370 Quarterly Journal
Bdue«tioiud L^gb- The most important legislation which the ses-
Ifltioa of 1913 gjjjQ Qf jgi J passed was that relating to the
establishment of a Board of Education. This bill was one of three
proposed by the Educational G)mmission. The second bill related
to the establishment of a system of industrial schools which was to
give a definite place to the institutions at Wahpeton and Ellendale,
while the third bill related to the making of reports and the presen-
tation of budgets to the legilsature before the opening of the session.
The second bill failed of passage, bu the other two passed in some-
what modified form.
The purpose of the Board of Education is to combine the work
of the High School Board, the Board of Examiners and the Agri*
cultural School Board into one organization. The Board is com-
posed of the president of the University, the president of the Agri-
cultural G)llege, a Normal School president, an Industrial School
president, the High School Inspector, the Rural School Inspector,
the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, a county superinten-
dent and a citizen of the state. Governor Hanna has nominated
President Hillyer of the Mayville Normal School, President Smith
of the Academy of Science at Wahpeton, Miss Mamie Sorenson,
Superintendent of Towner County, and Hon. L. F. Crawford of
Sentinel Butte.
The Board is required to meet twelve times a year. The first
meeting, for the purpose of organization of the Board, will take
place in July. Much is expected of the Board, but it is difficult to
prophecy what will be the outcome in the shaping of educational
matters in this state thru an organization of this kind.
The UoiTcrtity ud The Fourth Congress of the American Peace
the Peace Gm^reM Society was held in St. Louis the early part of
May. The University was represented by President McVey, and
from the state of North Dakota delegates were present in the per-
sons of L. F. Crawford of Sentinel Butte, Mr. Baldwin of Oberon,
and Mrs. F. L. McVey of Grand Forks. The Congress was ad-
dressed by men of international reputation, and a number of the
speeches were of very high order. The work of developing a spirit
of peace in the United States has been carried on under the direction
of the American Peace Sodcty for a period of eighty-five years, and
the interest in it is greater to-day than it has been at any time in
the history of its propaganda. It was dear in the Congress that
this propaganda has reached a point where specific methods of woric
are essential, and that a program of education nation-wide must be
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University Notes 37 ^
adopted, so that the American people may be imprest with the duty
of this country in the establishing of world peace. It is in this con-
nection that the universities have an important part to play. In
one of the sections the topic for discussion was "Peace and the Uni-
versities," and it was shown that while scmiething is being done, a
great deal more should be done in the way of instruction concern-
ing the cost of war. This imdoubtedly will be a phase of instruc-
tion that will be undertaken more and more by the different educa-
tional institutions. Only by impressing the students of American
colleges and universities will the country come to realize in fuU the
duty which rests upon it to bring about world peace. In the Uni-
versity of North Dakota some instruction of this nature is given
in the courses in sociology, and an occasional Peace Program has
been given. Plans have been suggested for the enlarg)ement qf sudi
courses in more definite instruction on the cost of war.
The UniTersity uid the The sixth annual session of the Mississippi Val-
Hiatorical AMociadon jgy Historical Association was held this year at
Omaha, Nebraska, on May 8 — lo. This organization dates back
to 1908, when the initial meeting was held for the purpose of for-
mulating plans for bringing together the Sodel Science workers in
the middle west. The idea was very well received and the new
sodety has already on its roll more than a thousand members, dis-
tributed over practically every state in the Union and various coun-
tries of Europe. One feature of its work which has proved very
acceptable has been the annual publication of its proceedings, which
are sent free to every member. In addition to this there has just
been projected a quarterly publication as a means by which much
excellent unpublished material may find its way into print and be-
come accessible to the public. One of the most important functions
of this new organization has been to supply a large dass of students
and reorders interested in Western history with the particular his-
torical material which they demand. The annual meetings serve
as a general dearing house for all those who can get together at
some central point for the exchange of views and to hear of the
progress of the various activities of the Association at first hand
from those who are specially charged with preparing a report on
what has been done.
At the Omaha meeting papers were read covering a wide range
of topics both in point of time and in the particular section or state
dealt with. The committee on Historic Sites reported in favor of
the erection of a La Salle monument at the mouth of the Mississippi
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372 Quarterly Journal
river. G)inmittee$ will be appointed to push this project to com-
pletion. A committee reported on the preparation of history teachers
for high school work, and this will be the subject of two reports
for next year. The executive committee voted to hold the next
annual meeting, for 191 4, in Grand Forks. This will furnish the
people of this state an excellent opportunity to attend these sessions
and hear the distinguished speakers who will appear on the prognun.
The teachers' section has proved of special interest to the large num-
brs of those interested in the social sdence subjects, and their ses-
sions are always well attended.
The University of North Dakota is represented in the member-
ship of the Association by several of its faculty. It was represented
at this meeting by Dr. O. G. Libby, head of the Department of
History. Dr. Libby is ex-officio member of the Executive Com-
mittee of the Assodation and thus assists in the planning of the work
from year to year.
Commenoement The varied exercises of Commencement week
^••*^ were of imusual interest. The very favorable
weather conditions which prevailed doubtless had mudi to do
in making the attendance at all exercises large and the people
happy. The performances, from the Model High School
graduation up to the University Commencement proper, were in
nearly every case of high grade. The graduating classes were all
larger than ever before. One feature very appropriate and very
pleasing to the University authorities as well as to the graduates
themselves was the presence of a large number of guests in the per-
sons of many alumni and of parents and other relatives of the grad-
uates.
The program in detail was as follows:
Saturday, June 14 at 8:30 p. m.
Model High School Commencement Exercises. *
Sunday, June 15 at 8:30 p. m.
Baccalaureate Service. Address by Dr. E. A. Birge, Dean of
the College of Letters and Science, University of Wisconsin —
Subject, "The Undergraduate Course.**
Monday, June 15:
At 2 :oo p. m. Senior Class Day Exercises and Senior Pilgrimage.
At 8 :30 p. m. Presentation of "H. M. S. Pinafore" at Metro-
politan Theater, Grand Forks.
Tuesday, June 17:
At 9 :oo a. m. Annual Meeting of the Board of Trustees.
Google
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University Notes 373
At 12 m. Qass Reunions and Luncheons.
At 2:30 p. m. Annual University Address, Dr. O. G. Libby —
Subject, "The Scholar in Politics."
At 3 130 p. m. Womens League Reception.
From 4:00 to 6:00 p. m. Inspection of Buildings, Libraries and
Laboratories.
From 6 :oo to 8 :oo p. m. Commencement Dinner.
At 8 .*oo p. m. Annual Meeting of the Alumni Association.
At 8:00 p. m. President's Reception.
At 9:30 p. m. Aliunni Party.
Wednesday, Jime 18:
At 10:00 a. m. Commencement Exercises.
The numbers receiving the various degrees and certificates are
as follows:
Honorary (Master of Laws) 1 1
Masters:
Master of Arts 2
Master of Science i
Master of Science in Mining Engineering 1 4
Bachelors:
Bachelor of Arts 5^
Bachelor of Science 3
Engineer of Mines 6
Electrical Engineer 5
Civil Engineer 3
Bachelor of Laws 19 88
Certificates:
Special Certificate in Medicine (Four years of univer-
sity work, two academic and two professional) 4
Teacher's Certificate (Two years of university work
academic and professional) . 33
Special Teacher's Certificate (Two years of university
work academic and professional) .....ID .47
140
Fellowdiipt and The Board of Trustees, following the custom
Soholanhipt ^f former years, has provided the following fd-
lewships and scholarships for the academic year 1913-1914: i. One
industrial fellowship yielding an income of $400, available in the
School of Mines; 2. Three general fellowships yielding an income
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374 Quarterly Journal
of $300 each, available in any of the colleges of the University;
3. Three general scholarships yielding an income of $150 each,
available in any of the colleges 'of the University.
From many applications received from students and graduates
of our own and other institutions, the following appointments were
recently made by the Board of Trustees upon recommendation of the
University Coimdl:
Bernard M. Stoffer, E.M. (University of North Dakota,
1913), Industrial Fellow in the Sdiool of Mines.
Jacob A. Hofto, B.A. (University of North Dakota, 1913),
Fellow in History and Sociology.
John B. Johnson, B.A. (University ol North Dakota, 1913),
Fellow in Physics and Chemistry.
William J. Leenhouts, B. A. (Hope College, 1913), Fellow in
Chemistry.
Mabel P. Olson, B.A. (University of North Dakota, 191 1),
Scholar in Biology.
Cecil A. McKay (University of North Dakota), Scholar in
Education.
Harry Nyquist, (University of North Dakota), Scholar in
Engineering.
E. Margaret Lampert, B.A., (University of North Dakota
1913), Scholar, Alternate, in Science.
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The University of North Dakota
SUMMER SESSION, 1913. JUNE 23 TO AUG. 2
THE ELEMENTARY SECTION (beginning June 30) is under the
management of a Board consisting of the State Superintendent,
the President of the University and the County Superintendents
of Grand Forks, Pembina, Nelson and Walsh counties. Profes-
sor C. C. Schmidt of the University is Director. It oflEers work
of special interest to teachers in the rural schools, and also to
those expecting to occupy grade positions in village and city
systems. The State Board of Examiners accepts creditable
work in lieu of examination in certificate subjects.
THE COLLEGE SECTION offers instruction in seventeen college
departments including economics, education, history, languages
(ancient and modern), literature, philosophy, psychology, soci-
ology, and the sciences. The University gives credit for work
done during the Summer Session the same as during the regular
University year.
SPECIAL FEATURES IN COLLEGE SUBJECTS:
Library Science: A course of lectures with opportunity for
much apprentice work; should equip for successful handling of
small libraries.
Domestic Science: Advanced courses offered in both cooking
and sewing, one course especially designed for teachers of the
subject in high schools.
Manual Training: Excellent facilities for prospective teachers
as well as for students doing regular work.
Course in Nursing: Designed to give adequate preparation
for intelligent management of the sick room; preparation of
foods, sanitation and ventilation especially emphasized.
Education: The new school law requires professional equip-
ment of all teachers; to meet the need courses are offered in
History of Education, Secondary Education and Psychology.
THE BIOL9GICAL STATION at Devils Lake, with all its facili-
ties, will be open for work in Botany, Zoology and Physiography.
SPECIAL LECTURES of an educational and inspirational charac-
ter are offered daily without extra charge. The speakers in-
clude eminent authorities in various fields of thought.
THE ENTIRE FACILITIES of the University are at the service
of students during the six weeks of the Summer Session. Resi-
dence Halls for men and women. A cool climate and a pleasant
campus. Expenses reduced to the minimum.
For further information, address
Thb Registrar, University, N. D.
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ifc
The University
of North Dakota
ESTABLISHED IN EIGHTEEN HUNDRED AND EIGHTY THREE
FRANK L. McVEY, Ph. D., LL. D., President
Grand Forks
University
Bismarck Hebron
Devils Lake Minot
II
III
IV,
Thb College of Liberal Arts offers to men and women pro-
grams of study leading to the degree of Bachelor of Arts which
may be begun in September or February.
The School of Education prepares for the profession of
teaching in secondary and higher schools. Its graduates
receive the degree of Bachelor of Arts and the Bachelor's
Diploma in Teaching. The Model High School is main-
tained by the School of Education as a place of observation
and practice.
. The College of Law offers a three-year course and grants
the degree of Bachelor of Laws.
Courses of Study leading to degrees of Mining Engineer, Elec-
trical Engineer, Mechanical Engineer and Civil Engineer arc
offered in the School of Mines and the College of Mechanical
and Electrical Engineering.
v. The School of Medicine provides instruction of high order for
two years in medicine based upon two years of college work.
A certificate in medicine is granted with the A. B. degree*
The course for nurses is affiliated with leading hospitals.
The Graduate Department presents advanced courses of study
leading to the degree of Master of Arts.
The Summer Session provides college and elementary courses
for students and teachers.
vixi. Extension Lectures and Courses of Study are offered by
the University for persons otherwise unable to receive acadonic
training.
IX. Laboratories and Stations are maintained at University,
Devils Lake, Bismarck, Minot and Hebron, North Dakota.
Information regarding colleges and departments may be obtained by ad-
dressing the Registrar of the University, University, North Dakota.
VI
VU
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f. -—
The
Quarterly Journal
of the
University of North Dakota
JULY, 1913
Volume 3 Number 4
PUBLISHED BY THE UNIVERSITY
Entered as second-class matter September 16, 1910, at the Post Office
at University, North Dakota, under the Act of July 16, 1894
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