Life — July 29, 1897 — page 4: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

“While there is Life there's Hope.” VOL. XXX. JULY 29, 1897. No, 702. 1) West THirty-First St., NEw York. lished every Thuraday. $5.00" year in advance, e to foreign countries in the Postal Union, $1.04 year extra, Single copies, 10 cents. Rejected contributions will be destroyed un- tess accompanied bya stamped and directed envelope The illustrations in Live are copyrighted, and are not to be reproduced without special arrangement with the publishers, THE SHERMAN (?) DISPATCH. RECENT dispatch of the State Department to Ambassador Hay about the delinquencies of the British Government in failing to do its share in protecting the seal fish- eries has occasioned a good deal of talk, because of the candor with which it expressed the sentiments of its writer, Some British journals have considered it discourteous and some- what abusive, and some American journals have considered its phrasc- ology ill-advised. It was signed by Secretary Sherman, but it is believed that he did not write it, and it is doubted whether he read it. The gentleman who did write it has not yet had occasion to acknowledge his performance. There is a mystery, too, about its getting into print, for no one has admitted giving it out for publication, The matter of the dis- patch is not criticised in this country, but it has been suggested that the author might have expressed himself less offensively without any sacrifice either of truth or vigor. When our esteemed British neighbors find fault with one another they do it in the plainest language, and give and take with hearty emphasis; but they don’t at all like to be scolded by outsiders. It would seem to be politic for Uncle Sam to recognize this not unnatural trait and to employ, in the prepara- tion of his communications to foreign powers, gentlemen so far conversant with the amenities of literary style as to be able to convey disagreeable ideas in perfectly polite language. If you want a man to correct his be- havior, it is not worth while to start * LIFE * in by making him more grumpy than a civil communication of the facts necessitates. It is not smart to be gruff. The feat that requires intelli- gence is so to sugar the diplomatic pill that, without leaving a bad taste in the mouth, it may produce the desired effect further on, SOME FAVORABLE SIGNS. Ror from many of the far Western States tell of good crops, an unprecedented paying off of mortgages, and surplus money in the banks. For the last three or four years Western farmers have worked hard and practiced economy. Last year prices of farm products began to improve. This year they are better stil, From Oregon, Washington, North and South Dakota, Montana, Colorado. Iowa, Minnesota, Kansas, Missouri and Arkansas come cheer- ing reports of debts paid, of great crops for which there is a good de- mand, and of cheerfuler sentiments among the voters. LIFE hastens to congratulate Major McKinley ‘on these reassuring evidences of the wisdom and ability of his administra- tion, If only the offices hold out until all the original McKinley men and their near relatives are provided for, we may look for a prompt return of sweeping prosperity. Meanwhile the signs of improvement are delight- fully welcome. INHERITANCE AND CONCENTRA- TION. HE winning of the Diamond Sculls in the Henley Regatta by Edward Hanlon Ten Eyck of Wor- cester, illustrates the value of inher- ited qualities, and the importance of concentration as an element of suc- cess. It also illustrates that every man is born an amateur, and that if he becomes a professional it is by his own act. If birth determined the status of an oarsman, Ten Eyck could not have been admitted to the Hen- ley Regatta, as his father is a well- known professional sculler. As it was, he was able to qualify as an ama- teur, and though his victory was not especially popular, at Henley, there was no question about the merit of his performance. Let us hope he may continue an amateur, since, if he vecomes a professional, his friends cannot complain if it is said that, after all, he was not quite the sort of man the Henley races were meant for. THE SUMMER SCHOOL. N OW again the summer schools are in full blast, and the sum- mer scholars are busy trying to as- similate a little surreptitious erudi- tion. We havea considerable leisure class in this country in summer, con- sisting of all the school teachers, all their pupils, a good many of the ministers, all the women who do not have to work for a living, all the pro- fessional tramps, all the men who are able to take vacations, and most of the people who have accumulated sufficient means of support, Among the occupations by which all these people of leisure, temporary or sus- tained, contrive to worry through the earlier weeks of midsummer, the summer schovl is one of the most praiseworthy. It is cheaper and less tiresome than whirling across the country to a Christian Endeavor con- vention, and it is more exciting and remunerative than loafing on the piazzas of a summer hotel. Much can be learned in the summer schools both out of booksand from professors, and otherwise. Courses of courtship even have been known to be sand- wiched in between summer school lessons. One characteristic all the summer schools have—they are all ‘mixed " schools, in which represen- tatives of the tougher and of the more progressive sexes sit side by side. That is as it should be. There isa time for all things, and if there is time for schools in summer it is for “mixed ” schools, and those only.