THE STUDENTS JOURNAL
PUBLISHED WEEKLY BY THE Students Journal Publishing Company
J. M. SHERER ... Editor-in-Chief
E. E. SODERSTROM ... Literary Editor
JOHN M. STEEL" ... Local Editor
WM. M. RAYMOND ... Exchange Editor
BUSINESS MANAGERS.
C. T. SOUTHWICK | W. J. KREHBIEL
SUB-EDVtORS.
SUBEPDONS
H. C. Biggs
A. C. Carrett
A. K. Charnet
E. F. Wallick
E. F. Wallick
Miss Helen Wynne,
Branton Foster,
S. E. Bronson,
Herney Lovley
In the astronomers of today were living in the time of the old astrologer they could now save their credit by saying that they bv their skill turned the comet aside and thus avoided a public calamity.
The Roman Catholic archbishops when assembled last week decided in favor of the free school system. The Catholics of America are proving themselves progressive in many respects.
The ex-students of Kansas University, now in Kansas City, have completed the preliminary organization of an ex-Kansas University Student Association. The movement will prove beneficial to the University. ___
ONE thousand American women are in Paris studying art. Might not the United Staples save money in the end by doing more to educate art students at home, thus saving the money that is spent in Paris?
As a general rule those who talk most of the beneficial effects of society, are the ones who gain the fewest benefits from it; by snobbery they shut them selves off from society, thus defeating the aims they advocate.
A GERMAN electric company has constructed a large electric light on the grounds of the World's Fair, whose rays may be seen sixty miles distant; all attempts at searching Mr. Biela's pet comet, however, have proved failures. A stronger light is needed.
However much the arch bishops of the Catholic church in America may differ from the Catholic laity in other lands, their progressive sentiments in regard to the long mooted school question is in full accord with the liberal tendencies of their present aged pope.
An item for tax payers: If it were not for the University, Kansas students would carry much money out of the state. Every dollar spent by Kansans outside of the state is a dollar lost. As it is the University not only holds much money in the state, but draws considerable from other states.
HORRIFIED Philistine—Five carried off unconscious, you say, two badly crushed and another with his shoulder blade broken. Negligence of officials, I suppose. What road did it happen on? Center Rush—Road? What's the matter with you? It was the greatest game of the season.
"A TRAVELER From Alturia," by Howells, is attracting much attention. It deserves to, for by it the readers thoughts are turned inward, where, by the proper methods, may be found a very queer person, no matter who the reader happens to be. The article may be found in the November Cosmopolitan. Every student should read it.
CHARLES L. YENKER, of Chicago is to give the Chicago University a telescope twenty-five per cent more powerful than the famous Lick telescope. Its magnifying power will be three thousand diameters; when the sun's disk appears a foot in diameter to the naked eye, through this telescope it would appear a mile across. Chicago and over a city resemble the ancient Egyptianians; they make everything on a colossal scale.
LITERARY DEPARTMENT
AN UNSUUGHT FOR VARIETY.
Today the ideal way to success and fame is by specialization. The more a man confines his attention to any one object and pursues it with unfailing energy, the more he is considered an authority in his line. That is, when a man succeeds in having one fixed idea,—or in other words, in becoming insane—he has reached the height of research scientific or otherwise. Some of those who have entered upon the way to this consummation can still enjoy variety as the spice of life. To them, meeting with one who has attained the highest ideal affords amusement if not instruction.
One evening just after closing hour a stranger stepped into my office. Words can only insufficiently describe him, but you should at least have an idea of the kind of man he was in order to fully appreciate the conversation.
He was somewhat above the medium height of man. His frame though broad was gaunt. He had reached his forty-fifth year, as was shown by his hair and beard which were more inclined to the gray of old age than the black of youth. His eyes were of a variegated gray, not that they changed, but that different portions had different shades of gray. To me he was of the beetle-browed variety of man. His forehead was narrow in front and sloped slowly upward and outward. On the right side of his forecheek there was a small lump about the size of a dove's egg. The nose was large and heavy. The eyebrows were strongly marked but did not project much over the eyes. The cheek bones were prominent and the checks hollow. The lips and chin were covered with coarse bristly hairs each of which seemed to follow its own business, leaving the others to shift for themselves. The chinbead bore traces of one of his habits, it being partially encased in very much transformed portions of tobacco. The ears were of ample proportions and so placed that they were conspicuous even to the casual observer.
His dress at once caused my mind to pass over many incidents and pictures stored at random in my memory. Overcoat, coat, vest and pants were of a deep blue color verging on black; at least such was the opinion I formed from the preponderance of that color. I considered all deviations from the blue as later additions not at all intended in any way to mar the beauty, but simply as signs of the times and prevailing circumstances. Sad it was however that his garments so thoroughly characterized by their long and varied experience, should have lost so much of their early attachment, or better, their mode of attachment. Their historic buttons, to each of which there should have been hanging numerous tales, had almost all departed the land of the useful and visible. The facts which should have been sustained by these vulnerable retainers were only held up in a legendary way by pins. The shirt, portions of which were visible among the outward apparal of the man, gave ample evidence, that during all its life it had followed closely the principle, "Hold fast all you can get." The customary attendant upon the shirt, namely tie, had much of which to boost. To it, months, had been as days to its contemporaries of other associations. The scars of its conflicts were many, and much dust raised in sundry struggles had sought res. There above all other rament of the man there reposed a hat. Day after day it had guarded the labors of the brain and sociation with that active member. Its pride had grown almost beyond endurance. It expressed its shame at the proximity of its confederates who attended a man in lower situations, by dropping its wide rim so as almost to make the face of the owner, and by clinging with the crown as closely as possible to the head. The man's feet were enclosed in a pair of shoes at once long, broad and heavy. They too had grown array with toll and time.
Such was the man as he presented
himself with a flourish of his entirety. I cast about in my mind wishing, before he spoke, to know his desire, when much to my surprise he 'asked whether in my work I had ever studied cells. I informed him as to the nature of my work but added that I had studied plant structure and so had a faint idea of cells. I asked him whether he referred to that class of cells. Those are indeed some cells which are necessary to complete the chain, he said, but he had studied the mineral cell, the plant cell and the brain cell. His endeavor had been to detect the chain which connected these various cells. "My study," he concluded, "has been done in a very quiet way. I have made no show of my work, but I have come to know many things of which the world is ignorant. The men who follow only the benzen paths never discover new truths. They can only recharge what they hear from others or what they learn from books written by others. I have followed no man and heed only my intuition, and my efforts have been crowned with remarkable success.
At this declaration I was very much inclined to smile. An inquisitive look from me again set him speaking:
Every cell, even that of the minerals,
has life in itself. It is displaced in vibration
of the sides. If we take a substance
that has all cells of the same number
of sides the vibrations will be transmitted without diminution. Take however a substance which has cells some of
three sides, some of four, some five and so on, then the vibrations are necessarily retarded.
One quality of cells is generally ignored. If I plant a grain of corn,a grain of wheat and an apple seed, side by side, one develops into a cornstalk, one into a wheat stalk—both vegetable growths—while the third grows into an apple tree. They are in identical soil. The same rain waters all. The same atmosphere surrounds them all and the same sun shines on all alike. Why then is it that they should vary? There must be something else to differentiate their growth than the fundamental principles in the soil, atmosphere, rain and sunshine; some power which causes each to assimilate nutriment suitable for development according to its variety. It is therefore evident that every cell power has a will of its own which, time and circumstances permitting, cause it to select and build in the manner inherent to the variety. It has the power of choice of numerous materials prepared for use in plant growth by the action of moisture, atmosphere and sunlight. And yet scientists do not recognize the fact.
I carefully scanned the face again in order to find whether there were traces of mental abberation or the boldness of genius which without scruple would depart from conventional scientific method and theories and which could see logical conclusions in this method of reasoning. He resumed his explanations to us: "If your brain or mine were so constituted as to have all cells alike would we not be far beyond our preser. mental powers? None of the force would be lost on irregular cells or expended on such whose vibration depended on external power." I asked him what number of sides a ceil might have. He replied: "From three upward." I told him that I understood, but to myself I said that a cell with only length and breadth would be of very little value anywhere. My desire to learn urged him on. "Of al cells of the brain the six sided is to be preferred, but it gives the most perfect vibrations." My inability to give a reason for this annoyed him and his face showed surprise and contempt at my ignorance and stupidity. However, he was generous and explained that the six sides represented the six days of the week, and the heart of the cell, Sunday, and so harmonized with the Creator's will.
I was rant in amazement. To get nearer his discovery I again question him and was instructed as follows: "As the plant draws nourishment from the soil, the nourishment of the human body
is taken from the food used by man. The will power of the cells of the human body enables them to prepare for absorption such food as they can assimilate. You will also see that it requires different materials to build them up than it does the muscles or bones. Now the food in the digestive organs is transformed into vapors by the gastric juices. In this condition it is absorbed and then condensed into liquid and taken into the blood. No one of these food cells, however, in this transformation loses its identity. As the blood carries the nourishment through the various parts of the body the cells along the way select what is fit for their use. Thus then, it is possible to build up a brain of almost unlimited power, because the will power of the brain cells enables them to select the materials which will build up the cells into regular hexagons.
With such a prospect before me I could not help but ask my visitor how it were possible for the brain to become perfect. Again he seemed to pity me and said: "he proper food must be selected before eating, and with our present knowledge of foods that would occasion but little trouble." He hade me good night and left me to ponder. Proper food must be eaten. Each cell has an independent will. The food is taken up by brain cells which are unlike. If they are unlike in shape of course they are unlike in power. These unlike brain cells with independent will powers add to themselves other cells with independent will powers and by this means change themselves into regular hexagonal cells without depth. A brain would therefore be formed with length and breadth but no depth. Then there would be no need for the brain cavity. If such a transformation were possible with the brain why not with the body? The proportions of the body would then be such that it would only be visible when turned broadside. I dropped the subject feeling certain that I had failed to grasp the vital point of the theory.
He came again the following day to ask me if it were at all in my power to secure a position for him. I told him with regret that I was unable to assist him. I also informed him that I was very busy. He hesitated a few moments and then sorrowfully left the place.
I watched him disappear and wondered whether he had developed his brain as he proposed to develop those of the masses. I concluded that though he may have Lad a brain with length and breadth there was certainly room to doubt that he had profitted by it.
MIGI.
MR. COOR'S FIGURPO
In the November number of the University Review Mr. Cook attributed by figures to prove that college fraternities induce students to complete college courses which they would not complete if they were not members of some fraternity. Admitting "that only one-fifth of the University students are members of Greek Letter societies." he first proceeds to excuse himself for, considering in his computation only about one-half the students in the University, although there are fraternity members in the departments he chooses not to consider, and at the present time the fraternities are working hard to gain members in those departments. But if he prefers to treat the question thus, we will allow him to choose his own manner of discussion; we will allow him to choose the departments of the University, which afford figures most favorable to the fraternity system; we will allow him to exclude from consideration whatever department of the University he pleases; in short we will take his own figures, and by them logically evolve a conclusion exactly opposite the one he attempted to maintain. Here are his figures:
in his hairs.
PER CENT OF FRATERNITY MEMBERS.
Class Year of '89-'90 Year of '90-'91 Year of '91-'92
Freshman . . . 45 33 21
Sophomore . . . 48 47 35
Junior . . . 67 42 45
Senior . . . 59 70 43
Post graduate . . . 82 52 72
We believe Mr. Cook in some way
made an error favorable to the fraternity system, when procuring his figures for the post graduate years; but we will not stop to argue that, we will use his own figures as he has given them. Mr. Cook made the very odd mistake of supposing that the per cent of fraternity members in one class of a given year bears any causal relation to the per cent in another class of the same year, as for instance the per cent of the freshman class of this year to the per cent in the senior class of this year. Of course such a supposition is false. What Mr. Cook should have done is compare the per cent of frat members in the Freshman, Sophomore, Junior and Senior years of the same class; because the Freshman class of a given year is the Sophomore class of the following year, etc. By Mr. Cook's table it is shown that as the preparatory department has been dropped from the University the per cent of fraternity members in the Freshman class has dropped off more than one half, or from 45 to 21 per cent. It takes four years for a Freshman class to become a post graduate class; then, grazing for argument's sake, that the Freshman class of 1892 will throughout its course retain its 21 per cent, it will require four years for it to reduce the per cent of fraternity members in the post graduate class of 1896, more than two-thirds, almost five-sevenths, or from 72 to 21 per cent, as compared with the post graduate class of 1892. By M.: Cook's method the Freshman class of 1892 with its 21 per cent would the same year make a post graduate class with a per cent of 72. However, all can readily see that the Freshmen class of 1892 has nothing whatever to do with the post graduate class of that year.
But let us return to the main line of argument. Arranging Mr. Cook's figures as he should have arranged them, we have the following table:
Per cent of frat, *ninety* members in given classes for their seve. *al* years, showing a loss of five per cent.
Per cent loss... Per cent gain... Post graduate year... Freshman year... Junior year... Senior year...
1894 33 35 . . . . .
This table, as may be seen by comparing the two, is derived directly from Mr. Cook's table; this is the way he should have arranged his table, if he desired to compare the causal per cent of fraternity members in a lower class to the per cent of fraternity members of the next higher class of the following year. However, after arranging Mr. Cook's figures so that they really show something in a logical manner, we find that the fraternities do not induce their members to remain in school longer than the non-fraternity members; but that, despite the wealth of their members—Mr. Cook himself says the fraternity members are a moneyed class—, the fraternities are actually such drawbacks to students that their members leave school sooner than the poor non-fraternity students.
As his peroration Mr. Cook said: "No higher praise can be given to the college fraternity system than that it inspires young men and women to persevere in securing educations." After allowing Mr. Cook to consider and reject departments of the University to suit himself, and then using his own figures against him, for our peroration we are forced to say that no juster reproach can be given to the fraternities than that they not unfrequently prevent young men and women from procuring educations.
When you think of dry goods doesn't the store naturally come to mind. Bullene, Moore, Emery & Co., Kanesas City.
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