Jasper County Democrat, Volume 6, Number 31, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 7 November 1903 — COLLEGE CONGRESS. [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

COLLEGE CONGRESS.

FEW UNIVERSITY MEN IN NATIONAL LEGISLATURE. Leaders Among ths Lawmaker* Are Not Highly Educated—Country Fur* alehee th* Majority of Mambara as Bath Senate and Hones. Waehlngtoa correspondence t

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UNIVERSITY education may be necessary In achieving distinction on the gridiron, bat It does sot teem to cot much figure la Congress. Judging from the life history of tho solons who will msko history during tho Fifty-eighth Congress, tho Influence of tho groat universities is smsH. Many of tho lawmakers boast of s “c of 1 logo educa-

tion,” bat few of these attended anything but “fresh-water” colleges, which onght to be classed, probably, with the excellent high schools from Mains to California. The proportion of universitybred men in the Fifty-eighth Congress will not be more than a leaven. Some people aay the universities are exerting more and more Influence upon the careers of public men, whether In or out of the goveramenet service, but if the biographies of members of the early Congresses were compared with those of the Fiftyeighth It is likely that the percentage of nnlveraity-bred men would bo found higher among the old-timers. Of the ninety Senators and 884 Representatives to sit in the Fifty-olghth Congress 227 are college men, according to their own statements. Two hundred and twenty-one state that they received • common education or none at all. The colleges mentioned in some instances are unknown to fame. Without giving names, it is no more than truth to doclare that some of the university-bred men cut a very smnll figure in Congress, while one or two of the rough-hewn old fellovra who never had any schooling are successful and “influential.” Leaders Not College Men. The real leaders of the Senate had nothing more than an “academic” education. The Speaker-apparent of tho House Is not a college man. It Is noteworthy that the best speakers in both houses are men of college training, while the most effective workers, both in politics and practical statecraft, are men who were educated only in the public and in small academies. Taking the careers of United States Senators, as known to the world and partly told in their brief biographical sketches in the congressional directory, it appears to be true that the education of experience counts far more toward success than preliminary training. If a man has the faculty of politics and the gift of practical application, the early training of a nnlversity adds to hla strength and breadth. But in too many cases the college man seems to rely too much upon a superior “education," when, in fact, he la not educated at all so far as the business before him is concerned. In short, a university education and an education fitting a man to cope with the best brains of the Senate are different things. There are 333 lawyers In the Fiftyeighth Congress. Some of them hav* won high places under the handicap of scanty early training. Most of the lawyers of highest standing in both houses were educated iu colleges. More lawyers coma from the South than from the North. Few business men come to Congress from the South, while the North is represented largely by men in business. Of ths 118 bnsiness men In both houses barely a dozen come from the South. Many of these business men are selfeducated, or at best received a public school education. The southern members in both houses are almost invariably college men, though many of their colleges do not rank with those of the North. Country Supplies Majority. The country leads the city as a source of supply for lawmakers. Two hundred and ninety-two members of the Fiftyeighth Congress were born in the country or in villages and 178 were born in cities. The country-born members ss a rule are without college education and perhaps half of them are poor men; yet they Include some of the most prominent In Congress in both parties. Whether city or country born, the majority of the Senators and members of Congress made their own way. Ths number of rich men by inheritance Is small and their influence Is on a par with their numbers. The Congressional Directory is full of inspiration to young men. Hardly a sketch in the lot fails to tell of early struggles, persistent pluck In the face of disappointment, modest advancement for years and final success after gaining a superb education In the school of experience. The line of nativity between North and South is drawn closely—that la, few members born in the North are now representing the South In Congress, and vice versa. One hundred and aixty-flve members were born iu the South and 287 in the North. Twenty were bom abroad, and therefore cannot hope to sit at the cabinet table. Forty were bora under the star of Ohio and therefore, perhaps, are in Congress by the right of birth.