Kansas University Weekly.
91
country by being the firm and warm friends of education.
Thus far we, as a nation, have laughed and cried and run and romped like the free and fearless little maid who finds a dozen years the loveliest of all play things. We have lately had an opportunity to get an inkling of the present height, breadth, and depth of human life, activity and endeavor; and the magnitude and complexity of our civilization, and the advantages we owe it and the burdens it puts upon us. And this is calculated to sober us. It may indeed be true that a tremendous social storm impends. It may be that in your day and mine the clouds will sweep down and the ocean of air and the ocean of water will lock themselves in titanic combat, such as has been pictured by that great Russian artist. In his picture a long path of sunlight has broken through the clouds and fallen across the deck of Columbus' shaken ship. Our picture may be without the sunlight and the caravel of civilization may be crushed like an egg shell—as some men say. But we believe not. We are not to go the way of other nations.
They tell us that a rav of light dispatched from earth to bear to Heaven the vision of created Adam can hardly yet have reached the remote fixed stars. We can imagine some leisurely stellar citizen, to whom a year is as a day,waiting on some far off globe to receive that vision. Perhaps he has a sort of celestial telescope prepared to catch and interpret the messengers of light as they arrive. Perhaps he sits with some celestial telephone in hand to gather in the dialogue, as well as the spectacle, of the earthly drama. And so age after age will pass across the scene. Again and again will his eye grow dim and his heart faint as he traces the history of man in its unwinding course of bloodshed and sin and suffering and defeat. Nations will rise and flourish and prosper,and he will pluck up hope and a glow will come into his heart. And then one after another he will see them stagger and fall and perish from off the earth; and sight and sound will be too much for him to bear. Finally he will reach the story of our own day, and the present Asia will roll into view, and his eye will sweep across that continent and gather in the toiling millions of China and the inhospitable loneliness of the Himalayas, and the cruelty of Siberia, and the degradation of India; and he won't find much there to comfort him. Then on, across the great armories of oppressed Europe, and the eternal, changeless jungles of sayage Africa, and there won't be much to comfort him there. And, then, eagerly, yet reluctantly, as if fearing the disclosure and still not without hope, his eye will sweep across the turbulent Atlantic and rest upon America. Here his eye will rest And I can imagine him studying us in the sunlight. He sees our busy millions,
he marks our marvelous material achievements. He discovers that we have subdued nature, annihilated space, and led time captive. In all that he sees there is less of despair and more of hope than the old world vision brought to him—and yet he is troubled. And I can imagine when the sun goes down and the moon comes out and our vast territory lies spread out before him in the shadow, he may dimly descern the ghosts of departed nations, of Assyria and Egypt, and Palestine, and Greece, and Rome, brooding over us in the night, and that he catches, faint and far, a sad refrain like the sighing of the wind, "As we perished so shalt thou. As we fell so shalt thou fall." And then—and then, perhaps he will catch a glimpse of the genius of our own country, America, Columbia, shining out of the canvas of night, with a face not of age, but of childhood—fearless, truthful, graceful, beautiful, thoughtful childhood; and then will fall from her lips this answer to the ghouls of bygone ages: "We have free labor which you had not. Free speech, which you had not, free and universal suffrage, which you had not." Then I can see her point to some little district schoolhouse, standing alone and weather beaten on the prairie, and I can hear her say in accents of celestial sweetness, "More than all, we have free and universal education, which you had not. Under God, we trust in these."
Jones, Everyone has heard of the illustrious Jones family.
J. M. JONES, 706 Mass. St.,
Will Save Clubs 20 per cent in GROCERIES and MEATS. Call and see how busy he is.
Get a Nice Fall Suit of O.P. Leonard.
Go to the China Store of Old ...
J. A. DAILEY,
FOR
China, Cut Glass and Silverware Lamps and Lamp Shades
of Every Price, Pattern and Description. A beautiful line of Decorated China in Chocolate Jugs, Cracker Jars, Sugars and Creams, Plates, Cups and Saucers
Go to the Old Reliable
STUDENTS' SHOEMAKER JAS. E. EDMONDSON, 815 Mass. St.