Life — August 29, 1901 — 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 Hop VOL. XXXVIIL AUGUST 29, 1901. No. 52. 19 Wast Tutxty-First St., New Yor. Published every Thursday. $500 a year tn ad- vance. Mustage to foreign countries in the Postal Union, $1.04 a year extra. Single current copies, lOceats. “Hack numbers, after Lbree months from, date of padlication, 2 cents, No contribution will be returned untess accompanied by stamped and addressed envelope. The illustrations in Lire are copyrighted, and are not to be reproduced without special arrangement with the publishers, Prompt notification should be sent by sub- soribers of any change of address, (THE historical personage who could hold his tongue in seven languages would have been persona grata to the Navy Depart- ment if he had lived till y. It would save trouble at * the Depart- co“ >ment if blank forms of rebuke were kept on hand ready to be filled out and mailed to officers who had freed more of their minds than seemed com- patible with discretion. There is nothing very painful about the case of Admiral Evans, whom the Department rebuked a short time ago at the in- stance of former-Secretary Chandler because of a passage in the Admiral’s book whick vaifled the former Secre- tary’sspirit. What the Admiral wrote about the former Secretary was good reading. So were the letters cf the former Secretary to the Department, especially the second letter, which is an able piece of literature, well con- trived, explanatory, informing, with a mystery skilfully introduced to in- tensify the reader's interest, and a lively sting in its tail. If one should criticise anything in so able a perform: ance it would be the fact that Senator Chandler did not make public his reply to Admiral Evans's allusions until he had sneceeded in having the niral gagged by the Department The Senater’s letter contained much that was irrelevant to the ease in hand aud which was savey Adiniral * LIFE « to read the Admiral’s reply and the Senator's rejoinder. But the Admiral, after the Department's rebuke, is not likely to talk back. So the Senator is left in the position of having buffeted a man whose hands he had caused to be tied. Is it not now the Depart- ment's duty to rebuke its former Secretary for giving out to the news- papers his letter to the Department? Ete W HO has been fighting the battle of labor, Mr. Shaffer or Mr. Schwab? Mr. Shaffer's contention is that a contract made with a union workman is not good. A large pro- portion of the steel workers whom he has induced to strike have strack in defiance of contracts into which they had entered. If the conditions of labor as determined by the Steel Trust all comparable to the con- of labor as established by Mr. Shaffer, then, for a truth, the steel worker is between the Devil and the deep sea. To an outsider, the work- man's chance of finding an employer who is fit to work for seems con- siderably better than his chance of finding a leader who is fit to lead. The Steel Trust, ‘for example, has enor- mously strong motives to use its workmen wisely and liberally and keep them contented. Its prosperity depends on its relations with them. Men who are employed by it would seem to be less liable to suffer from the caprice of individuals than the employees of smaller concerns, The mistreatment of labor is a business mistake, and the Steel Trust cannot afford to make busi- ness mistakes, or to permit them to be made by its subordinates. aso -s SRC ~_@ LELSSTD T seems to be really true that there isa person named Triggs, who isa professor in the University of Chicago, and ures on literature, and says ry queer things. That he says all the things the newspapers impute to him is unlike to have a turn f . Wut he does seem expressing povel It isn't important if he does, worth remarking that any Victions about literary matters—especially about the litera- ture of past generations—and manages to get them before the public, is apt to find himself a target for all the other critics. Consider Mr. Howells. We all know what an excellent writer and excellent gentleman he is, yet remem- ber how, a few years ago, we all pitched into him because he said things we didn’t like about Thackeray and Scott Professor Wendell, of Harvard, a man of learning and talent, wrote a book about American literature. Folks who didn't like what he said wrote lively things about him, and Mr. Howells himself derided his book very ably in the North American Review. Mark Twain once demonstrated that Cooper was an exceedingly feeble and com- monplace writer, and did him very scant justice, and we all had the pleasure of pointing out how little Mark knew. Professor Triggs's last offence is making small account of Longfellow. Never mind! Never mind! It is quite possible that Pro- fessor Triggs is a goose, but this is a free country, and we are.all entitled, to hold and utter some unsound opinions. Moreover, the mere fact that Professor Triggs derided Longfellow and other good writers doesn't prove that he is a goose. There may be more to Triggs than we think. At any rate, we had better let him live the year out. jt looks as though there might be a real yacht race this fall. At this writing the America’s cap seems to have as good a chance of reaching home as it has ever had since it came over. Shamrock IT. gets many compli- ments and much anxiousand respectful consideration. Here's hoping that she will hold together till she has demon- strated all her possibilities, She seems to bo on a par with her three Amer! rivals in one particular, in that she is good for nothing except to race for the tmeriowtscup. Itis a pity that these contests. that costly and so inte peuch a particularly worthless class of boats, Bat since we have the boats, it is important that Kreat race. comicbooks.com