THE GEEAXEfi COLUMBIA. Pair Buildings to Arise on tlie Heights -Of Bloomingclalo. t The Orcat University llow the Modern College Kellcti Upon Rich Citl aeiitt for Splendid Advances in the Future—Great Center of Culture. [COPYRIGHT, 1596.] We are standing on the highest point of Bloomingdale Heights, New York city, facing one of the fairest prospects in the. new world. Away to the left, beyond the silver st r oak wh ieh one con Id scarcely belie ve to be a mighty river u mileand a half wide, tower the Palisades. Away to the right beyond a narrower silver streak, which marks the Harlem's ebb and flow, stretch the plains of Westchester county, Long Island und Connecticut. In the fore ground rises to the left the Cathedral of St.. John the Divine, the finest fane in all America. To the right is St. Luke's hospital, of which the pleasing tale is told that it was built for one dollar, given by a poor woman in grateful ap preciation of the care which she had re- ■ 'ceived in a city hospital, this forming ; the nucleus around which the thou- r.... _ LIBRARY AND ~7 ■ . COLUCOE BUILDINGS —— rßon ~~~ U6 T ." STRCCT. sands of tlie rich gathered to forward so excellent a work. In the immediate foreground—not so high as the heaven piercing spires of the cathedral, yet far broader than the mighty block of St. Luke's—there is agrayish-white granite mass of buildings which seem from this distance almost without break of green spaces and airy arcades. Just in the middle of the splendid pile rises from the lofty white wall a pure round dome. It is the dome of the library of Columbia college, a building capable of holding 3,500,000 volumes, second only to the congressional library in Washington, and as big as two of the famed llodleiaii at Oxford, containing besides many of the offices of a great modern universi ty, with $5,000,000, $0,000,000, or $7,000,- 000 invested in site and buildings, with $30,000,000 or $40,000,000 of endowments, ■with facu 1 ties and t hrongi ug students of Jaw, medicine and pedagogy, of engi neering and applied sciences,of political science, and of the more "human" arts pursued in a college proper. JJut we must not anticipate, as they say in the stories. This is a pen picture, not of the Co lumbia college of to-day, but of the Greater Columbia university us it will be five years from now, if the brave and hopeful plansof its friends and trustees are carried out. For the present the walls of two or three of the buildings are rising, while the cellars for one or two more are being dug; but on the second day of next month the grounds will be solemnly dedicated to Ameri can learning, at the same time that the corner stones are laid for the beau tiful library which Is being built with President Seth Low's splendid gift of Tnt NEW COLUn&IA W 7 , 5.1,000,000, and of the science building endowed with Frederick Schermer horn's gift of $300,000. The old idea of a university was a carefully guarded suburb of some tiny town, within whose grass-grown quad rangles, walled away from the burly of the world, sage theologians paced in their long black gowns. The modern ideal university is a many-sided insti tution planted upon tlie edge of some big town, which furnishes every advan tage in tlie way of hospitals, engineer ing works, railroads, law offices, courts, art exhibitions and other adjuvants of learning and culture. The day of Jena and Oxford is passing—at least so say the advocates of tlie modern- and tlie flay is corning of the big city university, in Berlin, London, New York city and Chicago. Jt is upon this theory that Columbia college, which five years ago, in spite of its generous endowments, was one of the second class institutions of learn ing in this country, is now to secure a place in the first rank under the presi dency of Seth Low, who has twice been mayor of Brooklyn and more than once mentioned as n candidate for governor and even for president. In these five years the endowment of Columbia lias increased more than $5,000,000. Its in come from endowments and fees is something like $700,000 a year. What the total amount of its endowment may be it is difficult to tell, as so much of it is in lauds and buildings of vary- I . ing nlue; but the site which will be I dedicated next month and the new buildings which are planned to rise thereon will cost from $5,000,000 to $7,000,000 without trenching upon the endowment in any way. Indeed, the general funds of the college are expect ed to double even while the fair walls of tlie new white city of learning on the brown rock-ribbed hills ore rising. I'resident Low lias shown how this may be done, and other wealthy citi zens have taken the hint. Besides the Schcrmerhorn building already provid ed for, the closer association of the medical school of Columbia lias brought to it $500,000 from the Vanderbilts and Sloans, and the erection of the Sloan Maternity hospital, which is proctical i ly an appendage of Columbia univer- I sity. I If any wealthy citizen of New York' wishes to build a gymnasium or an aca demic theater, or a school or a chapel or a dining hall, or anything of that kind, at a cost of from $200,000 to s.'{,- 000,000, lie is quite, at liberty to do so. Meanwhile the funds of the college will be used strictly for its educational pur-' l>osos —and in providing for instruc ; tion Columbia deals with instructors , with no niggardly hand. Realizing tho cost of living in a great city and in such style as befits the man of culture and | refined taste, the salaries of Columbia's professors are perhaps the highest in the country. Columbia is not worrying at all about money,but is going straight ahead with the confidence thai now as in the past whatever is needed will be. provided. In the development of tlie Greater Columbia, President Low and the trus tees first obtained the finest sijc in tin city of Xew York, IS undivided acres, j high on the breezy rocky hill ten miles from the trade center of the. city. Here a space twice, as big as Madison Square' has been bought. Columbia has a pull with the legislature, and has secured an act forever guarding this site from being cut up by streets passing through it.. The buildings are to be laid out in a formal way befitting the classic n pose of their architecture, the library in the middle with its white dome domi nating the group, the various school and halls arranged about it, the acad emic theater in the rear. About one-half of the site will ulti mately be covered with buildings, the remainder left in broad, well-shaped spaces between them. For the present the magnificent groves of oaks and chestnuts, perhaps the finest in the city, wil be preserved. The larger build ings, except the library, will generally be built about grassy quadrangles as sunny and quiet as those of Oxford it- j self. Just across the street, north of the eol- - lege grounds, already stands the teach ers' college, affiliated with Columbia j university; and to the west across the j boulevard will he placed the new build- ; ing of Laniard college for women, j named in honor of the president of Co lumbia. The students have caught the fire of emulation, and have arranged to build at the foot of One Hundred and Fif teenth street, quite near the site, one of the finest boat houses in the country; and with the athletic alumni they are expected to provide funds for the gym nasium which can be erected at a cost of ; $200,000. Columbia's curriculum was long ar range on the old line of compulsory Greek, Latin and mathematics. In the new Columbia the utmost liberty of choice of subject will be given to the student, and every facility will be af forded for advanced study by men and women of mature age. The degree of bachelor of arts can hereafter be gained there ly any student who is such an iconoclast as to believe that modern lan guages arc ns valuable to him as Greek; but he can get the Greek if he wants it, I and all lie wants. The new Columbia and the new Chi cago university, two great urban centers j f culture, will be worth watching for the next few years. JOHN LANG DON BEATON. Not Qualified to Riprfiu an Opinion. ! "Don't you think," said MissSimfoni, I "that Theodore Thomas is tlie bestcon- I ductor in the country?" I And old Mrs. Flat replied, thought fully: "Well, I dunno as I ever rid in hit? j cur."—Boston Bulletin. LIVE QUESTIONS. A Serlen of Articles Contributed to These Columns by Advanced Thinkers. COINAGE CONFUSION—FIRST PRINCIPLES AND COMMON SENSE APPLIED—THE MONEY QUESTION DIVESTED OF TIIE BEWILDERING ARGUMENTS WHICH BE SET IT. What is money? Simply a conven ience. In itself it cannot be used as food or clothing. It is but a means to an end. Man invented money as an accommoda tion in the exchange of necessary com modities. Ho did not do this until com merce between people, distantly sepa rated, made it a valuable convenience. Money is not a nocessity in the exebaugo of the produce of neighbors. The first money was not gold, silver, copper, nickel, metal of any kind or even paper. As money itself is a mere convenience, so is the selection of the substance from which it is made. Moneys play tlio same part in com merce that railroads, wagon roads and rivers do. They facilitate exchange. Several means of transportation have been found desirable; so have several forms of money. Each is a convenience. All help mankind. There is no form of money that is a measure of value. A day's labor is the measure of all values. The amount of labor necessary to produce a given amount of any substance necessary to the wants of man is alone the measure of its value. This is another indisputable fact and is the arch which supports all finan cial systems. It is the basis of commerce. If it takes five days' labor to produce ten bushels of wheat, that wheat is equal in value to the amount of silver or of gold that can be produced by five days' labor. This is nature's measure. It is tho only measure. Any system of finance or com merce that does not recognize this inex orable law is faulty and must prove a failure. Tho substances that have boon used for money have beeu changed from time to time as man has found the one moro convenient than the other. Convenience contemplates value, durability, etc. Gold, silver, nickel and copper aro now W. 11. LITTLE, the most convenient of the metals from which money can be made; hence they are used. They occupy the exalted posi tion of money metals alone on account of their convenience. The element of their convenience which causes disturbance is value. Their values change. Man has attempted to prevent this fluctuation by statutory pro visions with invariable failure. Why? Because in his legal enactments ho ig nored nature's measure of value. If a man produces 32 bushels of potatoes by ouo day's labor and but ouo bushel of wheat by a day's labor, the value of the ouo bushel of wheat is equal to tho 32 bushels of potatoes and double that of 10 of thorn. No statutory law can change this relative value. To say that the supply of silver has increased is but to state that there is a good crop of silver; that for a givon number of days' labor, delving in tho bowels of mother earth, an increased number of ounces of silver have been produced. To say that the supply of gold lias decreased is but to state the reverse. A statutory provision cannot control the relative value of two commodities or the value of any single commodity. It is possible to lix a unit of measure by statuto, but a unit of measure cannot bo made from two different commodities the relative values of which inevitably fluctuate. A unit of measure of intrinsic value composed of two substances is not a ne cessity, but is a mathematical and log ical absurdity. It is no more ridiculous than it would be to try to enact and enforce a law that, there being four pocks in a bushel of wheat weighing GO pounds, therefore there are four pecks or sixty pounds of oats in a bushel. Neither prop osition is truo. No difference which money metal is taken as the basis of tho unit, the decision should be based on convenience, stability of value and du rability the essentials. The unit fixed, all monoy metals can bo freely used ac cording to their real value, taken by na ture's measure—a day's labor. Nothing elso can bo done. Much disturbance can be made by attempting to do something different, but it will end in failuro and loss, perhaps financial disaster. If silver is made the standard metal, gold will bo no less valuable, and vico versa. Tho trouble is not that gold is the standard, but that silver is not un limitedly accepted us monoy. That it is not unlimitedly accepted as money is because its friends insist on its being unlimitedly accepted at more than its value, measured by nature's measure (by tho only possible measure). Is not coinage unnecessary and tho cause of confusion in the minds of many? Tho ourlier moneys did not pos sess intrinsic valuo. But a very small portion of tho present circulating me dium has any intrinsic valuo. This could not be otherwise. There is not enough of the precious metals to supply the money for tho com merce of tho world. It is not probable that there ever can be. If there was, the elemeut of convenience would pre- vent their serving all the requirements of exchuugo. A money of superior con venience is a greater nocessity to com merce than a money of absolute intrin sic value. Primary money or money of intrinsic value is comparatively little used. The business of tho world is practically done on paper. Banks are but corporations, their drafts being based as much upon tho checks of individuals, firms and manufacturing and mercantile corpora tions as on currency. The check of an individual, firm or corporation passes current not so much apon general knowledge of tho bank ac count as upon the knowledge of the whole wealth of tho issuing party, which in morals and law is a guarantoe of tho payment of the check. The fiat dollars of tho government arc not taken unhesitatingly at par bo cause of a knowledge that there is in the treasury gold, dollar for dollar. Ev ery one knows that there is not $1 in gold in the treasury for every $lO of tho government's promises to pay. All know, however, that there is behind ev ery fiat dollar of the government the en tiro wealth of tho nation. Tho powers of taxation of tho govern ment are unlimited. It can take from one and all within its territory their last atom of property, if necessary to re deem its promises to pay. That fact, and not tho comparative paltry amount of gold and silver stored in tho troasury, is what keeps the government's promises to pay at par. In this respect it is no diiferout from an individual. A man's checks and promissory notes remain at par so long us it is known that his total wealth, not his hank account merely, exceeds them in amount. As to the actual value of paper money, it makes no difference whether it is sus tained by individual or governmental fiat. Tho test is tho real wealth that is its guarantoe. That the government fiat is the better and more desirablo is bo causo tho government's wealth is tho greater and its amount is moro accurate ly and universally known. This latter is what inspires tho necessary confidonce that makes it acceptable. This matter of confidence is tho weak feature in all fiat money systems. Bo fore postofliccs and post roads, ships and railways, telegraphs and telephones, the means of communication were so slow that dynasties were overturned weeks before tho remote portions of the empire knew that new emperors rulod. Banks failed, and it was months afterward be fore their bills became worthless in dis tant provinces. Tardiness in the dis semination of intelligence created mis trust in the value of all money that did not carry its real value within itself. Coin consequently has attained a firm position in the commercial world as tho only safe money. Its inconvenience, however, prevents its becoming tho only money. It is, in truth, but final money. It is not a circulating medium in tho large or the popular transactions of com merce. The subsidiary silver, nickel and copper coins are the only niintings that freely circulate. Silver dollars are too largo and heavy. Gold coins are too scarce. Final settlements between largo finan cial houses and between governments are effected in bullion. You doposit in any of the largo banks or with the treasury of any nation a quantity of gold coin, and you are credited with its weight value only. This was once true of silver coin also. It would still be true had not the flat in a silver dollar become so large a portion of its stamped value that any deficiency in weight is now ot no more consequence than would bo a deficiency in the weight of paper in a treasury note. Now, if coin is but final monoy, and as such it is treated only as bullion, what is the sense of coining it? Why not have the government stamp each brick, pig or ingot presented with its weight and purity simply? If the party present ing the bullion desires to store it with the government and wants a circulating medium or certificate of deposit in ex change, give it to him. The government treasury, as far as gold is concerned, is but a warehouse, for it takes it in and pays it out as bullion value. The government's gold warehouse certificate would pass as current us the bullion itself, as the bullion could al ways bo secured when it was desired. Treat silver the same as gold. Accept all that is offered, stamp its weight and fineness upon it, and issue warehouse certificates against it. Make one class of those certificates legal tender. It makes no particular difference which. This would change the money nomenclature, but names are only conveniences. Wo would not have dollars and fractions thereon, but the unit would bo a grain and its multipliers. Hence transactions would bo made in grains of gold, or according to the metric weight system. An individual promissory note would read: "Thirty days from date I promise to pay John Doe 10,000 grains of gold (or 5120,000 grains of silver, if silver is made the standard), with interest at (J per cent per alimim. Value received." Prices of all articles would be reckoned in grains instead of cents. The fluctuation in the market value of the metals is as well provided for in this proposed system as now and as Well as it is possible for mau to pro vide. When you agree to pay $5 now, you really agree to pay so many grains of gold or of si Ivor, and tho payment is so made, for if you liquidate tho in debtedness with a treasury bill tho payee can step into the nearest bank and secure his gold or silver coin which con tains the requisite grains of bullion. Tho unlimited use of each metal and tho fact tlmt there is not enough, both taken, to supply tho demand for money would hold their values as steady as is possible. Tho chance of fluctuation ex ists in every business transaction, and experience has proved that it is less in gold and si Ivor than in any other com modity which is convenient for money. Between these two it iH less in gold; hence to that extent gold is tho prefer able standard. W. H LITTLE. St. Louis. COUNTRY SCHOOL YARD. Uo-.v It May He Converted Into n Thing of ilcauty. An energetic country school-teacher for wishing to make the yard more at tractive has, according to the Orange Judd Parmer, to contend with the fol lowing conditions: The yard com prises oncsquare Herewith the road run ning along two sides. The views to be ob tained are not particularly desirable, being simple rural scenes. The build ing is a neat wooden structure 30x50 feet.. Not much money or time is available so the trees and shrubs must be inexpensive, and some of them ob tained from the neighboring woods. The idea is to cheaply and tastefully ornament the grounds without impair ing their usefulness as playgrounds, to give the children a knowledge of plant growth, and to teach them to appreci ate common trees and shrubs. First lay out the walks. To insure their being used make them perfectly straight. A gravel walk is cheapest and is fairly serviceable in all kinds of weather. A neat fence Is an absolute necessity to keep off stray animals. The school is a home for the children for a large part of the day, so the play ground ought to be ample. Let the. general playground for boys and girK occupy the space east of the school house. The part marked lawn, is de signed for a stretch of velvety turf as neat and well-kept as possible. This, if beautiful, gives character to the whole. \\ hile no keep off the grass signs need to be placed there, playing on that part of the yard must be re stricted. The space marked girls is to he separated from the remainder by shrubs and trees. A secluticd spot is thus provided where the gentler sex can keep their treasures, and can play house and other games suitable for young girls. As costly plants are out of the question most of them must be small and common. Native trees and shrubs are generally about as attractive as foreign ones, and are infinitely hardier and easier to make live. It is well to have a good variety of trees, though the grounds need not be made a sort of museum. Maple, oak, elm, beech, wal nut, linden and tulip are all desirable .deciduous kinds. Oaks and walnuts arc best grown from the seed. For evergreens, spruce, white pine and hem lock in the order given are most suit able. There are other desirable kinds but those named should by all means predominate. In the accompanying plan, places for the various trees are indicated. Other varieties, however, may be substituted. For the slirub l>ery, lilac, barberry, snowball, and syringa taspine can be used to good ad vantage. Among native shrubs, osiers, sun uc, dogwood, witchha/.ed, june berry and ha/el nuts may be planted. It would be a pleasing combination to plant wild flowers, liepatica, wakerboin, y\(Jets, adder tongues, etc., in these v{.d shrubberies, By all means set out nothing but hardy plants which will take care of themselves from year tn year. Flowers and foliage beds need too much attention, and besides are hare a good share of the year. A great many plants can lie found in the woods which may be had for the digging. Virginia creeper, green briar, bittersweet, virgin's bower and wild ? 3 cP o , CrOfO r Q& , '"H"" J: y & ti / ci '* "• v. ' b a? ** .;.' O . Vv J [* >(3 Q" I.J o-'SS O O 6 fJ- T Z "ZZZZ 09-S ! ; | 01? ® ** „ • 1 w ">' ** G. f J >• . ft**/ BUrJ PIAYCROMD sfrtI*'' 1 *'' */* ■ 3 00 /C*E-3 4& oQ „ ijai .-:■ a omot) O cf,yi) PLAN OF IMPROVED SCHOOL GROUNDS, a, Evergreens, b, Shrubbery, c, Decidu ous trees, d, Ornamental trees, cc, cut leaved birch. grapevines can be made to produce fine effects on fences and outbuilding*, or on rubbish or stumps in the yard, bet t.lie children experiment somewhat wit.li plants, as it is not desired that the yard be a stiff, formal affair suitable for a large city. Carefully set out and trim everything* Some one who has had considerable practical experience should be secured to assist in this part of the work. The object in arranging the plants should be to secure as natural on appearance as possible. Much must depend on the teachers who have charge of the school, though it is desirable to luivo an enlightened and energetic school board.. The foregoing may not be exactly ap plicable to every school yard, but it gives suggestions which if adapted to local conditions will convert barren and unsightly school yards into things of beauty. The moral influence upon the children of such surroundings is worth all the improvement costs. Having gained the committee's consent, the teacher should talk the matter up with pupils and parents, and get tliem to donate trees and shrubs so that the cost for purchased slock may be light. Then liavo a field day, when llie work of setting out the plants shall be done by parents and pupils, the ladies to furni: ha little lunch after the work is done, followed by appropriate exercises from the children. This will add inter est to school, and be of value as an edu cator to the children. In Germany this idea is carried to the extent of school gardens or orchards in which the pupils ere taught the rudiments of practical horticulture, grafting, budding, etc. Color of Man's Hair. Dr. Beddoe said that there was a dis tinct relation between man's pursuits and the color of man' 3 hair. An unusual proportion, of men with dark, straight liair enter the ministry; red-whiskered men are upt to be given to sjiortingand horseflesh; while the tall, vigorous blonde men, lineal descendants of the still contribute u large con tingent to and emigrants. THE UNIVERSAL 30 E. Broad street, 29-31 E. Mine street, Hazleton. A GREAT MONEY-SAVING SALE OF NEW SPRING GOODS! Mail SuFDrises Avail The Economically Inclined. A Grand Opportunity to Supply Your Wants from the Best Stock We've Ever Opened at Prices that will Prove a Veritable Surprise. i: rnvillO' Knln we bave been iictv i iiih naie rummag ing through the markets for the 111 V lOV last month, picking up here and selecting there, just such goods, as by experience, we knew you would appreciate. That we have been emi nently successful you will concede when you examine the mountains of goods which are ready for your inspection—and the prices will fairly take your breath away. You never dreamed of such values. ANDREW J. HA IRE. WHEELSI WHEELS! Bicycles for Everybody! High Grade and Low Grade! High Price and Low Price! W heels for Men! Wheels for Women! Wheels for Hoys! Wheels for Girls! THE LATEST AND BEST! A large assortment of Wheels of the best make constantly on hand. We are pre pared to do the largest Bicycle busi ness in Freeland in 1896. Wev'e got the best Wheels and the best terms. We give you both. Can you get as much anywhere else? A HANDSOME NEW '96 WHEEL, CHANGEABLE SPROCKET ATTACHMENT, v —at tho lowest figure you can possibly be asked to pay for a high grade wheel. Repairs of All Kinds In Stock. C. D. ROHRBACH, HARDWARE DEALER, Centre Street, Below Luzerne, Freeland.
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