The Living And The Dead

We "join with all the world" in saying that in the death of James C. Watson the university of Michigan lost her most illustrious alumnus, the state a fiivoritc son, the nation a mental giant, and the KÏentific world Ofte of its brightest goma. While there was in the cireumstances which throw us together, in u?, in him, 0 in all combined, that which made him our enemy, still in lifo we freely accorded to him, as wc do to every man, all that wan his due, and in hi.s death we say of him, as we would of' the weakest, whatever of frailty, whatever of weakness may have heen his, whatever of aniiuosity his life may havo engendcred, and whatever of pain lie may have causcd, let as hury it all with all else tbere was mortal about him and cherish those memories only which will be .1 sourco of pleasure. At the saine time we see no good reason beeause a great man has died that the living should be slaridercd or the deatl bcücd. "W. 1. IL," in the Argus, says that "I'rof. Watson did notseem to worry luucli, il' at all, tbout the honor, and glory, and charactor ol lïod." It'. uttated, li religión ni a mixturo ol' the "Christian, of America ; the Huddlmt, ot China; and the Brahmán, of India; ' then the least said about it the better. In judguient, this would be .-ui rv world, indeed, it' Chrwtiaoity .should give place to Buddhist, ltrahiiian, MohaMiinnlati that any man has such areligious belief adds notbing to our respect for him while living tod will shed in) ra y of glory upon his iucmory when dcad. Under the preteaae of oulogy to Prof. Watson our cotemporary ha.s porniitled a blow tobe -truck at ('hristianity, and with the entapie of a diitiagoiabed man it would teach the giddy that ('hristianity is hut an cnipty sound despised by the great, while free thoughtor an Aceommodating religionistheonething needl'ul. Sueh teaching is unwoithy the columns of the Argus i an insult alikc to this peoplc and tho lueniory ot lliuiluvd. Bul iuit content with beetowiag upontho jjreat astrononier rolirinn tliat will end a blush to the ob'eek and n pang 10 tho hoart ol' evcry friend he has left, " W. I). H." slcp aside f'roin au honorable purpose to vilify some of tlio noblest and best men of the state. We qaote : "Shoitly before resigning his pon tion, he apjieareil before the icgcnts and a.-ked for an appropriation of a few hundred dollars to tooiiDt tome instrument which had been loaned him bythegovernnienU Several narrow, ignorant, puppel, regenta, not one of whoru was wortliy to unloose the latchet of James C. Watson's shoes, opposed the appropriation, and so the great astronomcr resigned." I'rof. Watson never asked a dollar's appropriation from the university that he did not receivc. Who are these "narrow, ignorant, puppets who thus drove from our state this great man? Dr. Charles Rynd. And who is he? An alumnus of this great university, deeply skilied in his profession, an orator whose faoie has already passcd the narrow boundaries of his adopted state, a man of thought, a high-minded, honorable man, hateful on!y to crimináis. Rev. George Duffield ! And who is he ? A gradúate of Yale, a ripe scholar, a profound thinker and one of the greatest divines of the age. Indeed, has it come to this that a just meed cannot be paid to the dead, hut such men as Dr. Charles Rynd and Rev. George J'uffield must be called narrow, ignorant ptqppt ts. Notwithstanding we ever found l'rof. Watson our enemy, we believe he would scorn to build his monument out of slander and detraction, or upon the vilified reputation of such honorable men as George L. Maltz, Andrew Climie, Charles Rynd and George Duffield. What was their offence ? They simply declined to appropriate funds to one purpose which the people had provided for another purpose, and for this they are arroto, ignorant pmppettt But did Prof. Watson meet with more liberal treatment at the hands of the Wisconsin authorities? By no nieatis. lt was the muniBcfnce of ex-Uovernor Washburne, and not the state authorities that enabled Prof. Watson to push liis experimenta. It would have been in infinitely botter taste if our cotem"Mciiy had Wulu.l t uhafl at thnua among us who have been fed by the peuple until thay have not only become rich and grown great, but who instcad of following the i x'inifde of Wisconsin's great son, and giving a trifle of their wealth to retain the great astronotuer among us, content themelvot with eulogics at his funeral or writ ing windy articlos for the preai ; and, in bnth, slandering their superiors. What possible excuse can there be for the following fïoin the Coldwater Kepublican. We quote: "He" (Watson) "was assailed by the entire Beal-Rose faction in the board of regents, and by Beal himself', because he would not down at his bidding. This was one reason why he left the state. A Beal legislatura would not furnish the nieans ho feit was necessary in order to equip the observatory at Ann Arbor, and for this reason he also went to Wisconsin." Perhaps we could give extracta froni the funeral oration which contain in more delicate tints and guarded words the same personal bitterness found in the foregoing, but for boldness of purpose, swep of uncurbed passion, flow of unmixed falsehood commend us to the Coldwater Republican. üthers airued at single individuáis. One more daring than the common herd, struck at Christiamty and the board of regents, but it was left to the Republican to rise to the colossal dignity of slandering the entire legislaturc. What sort of a man must Watson have been if we can only do him honor by thus vilifying a wholo state ? Wc would take nothing from the reputation of James C. Watson, nor will we silently permit the people to be misled by those who take the occasion of his death and burial to poison the public mind against the living.