142. Assignments in relating Facts and Theories to Propositions.

A. In each of the following (1) Discover the proposition, (2) Note the arguments, whether of fact or of theory, that support the proposition.

1. Many politicians of our time are in the habit of laying it down as a self-evident proposition, that no people ought to be free till they are fit to use their freedom. The maxim is worthy of the fool in the old story, who resolved not to go into the water till he had learned to swim. If men are to wait for liberty till they become wise and good in slavery, they may indeed wait forever. MACAULAY: Milton.

2. It may not seem that the few minutes which are given each day to physical culture in our schools will affect materially, for better or worse, the character and bearing of the children who are subjected to it; but when it is remembered that this sort of thing goes on day after day for eight or nine years, its influence will be more readily appreciated, and its hygienic importance more fully realized. If the present mental strain is to continue in our schools, then we must strive to overcome the nervousness which it induces through the efficient culture of the body. We must not have as our ideal of the work of physical training the development of great muscular strength and dexterity, so much as the promotion of health, and rendering the body an unconscious and ready instrument of the mind in the expression of its most gracious qualities. Nor can we hope, under the conditions which exist in our schools, to make the bodies of all our children symmetrical and harmonious by physical training; for we have to deal there with children in the great average, and it is only by dealing with individual tendencies that we can secure perfect sym

metry and harmony. But after all, this is not such a serious question; for if we can foster and promote the health of children, and induce in them the right attitude of spirit, the tendency of nature toward symmetry and harmony will produce gratifying results. - School Review, May, 1905.

3. I remember hearing an old gentleman (who represented old English feeling in great perfection) say that it was totally unintelligible to him that a certain member of Parliament could sit on the liberal side of the. House of Commons. "I cannot understand it," he said; “I knew his father intimately, and he was always a good Tory."

-BAGEHOT: The English Constitution.

4. The very mode in which a crowd is formed is highly favorable to its hypnotization, and hence to its becoming a mob. At first a crowd is formed by some strange object or occurrence suddenly arresting the attention of men. Other men coming up are attracted by curiosity: they wish to learn the reason of the gathering; they fix their attention on the object that fascinates the crowd, are fascinated in their turn, and thus the crowd keeps on growing. With the increase of numbers grows the strength of fascination; the hypnotization increases in intensity, until, when a certain critical point is reached, the crowd becomes completely hypnotized, and is ready to obey blindly the commands of its hero; it is now a mob. Thus a mob is a hypnotized

B. Study the two briefs that follow. In the first, what theory of legislation is appealed to by argument A? On what theory would have to be defended? What theory is appealed to in D and D I? in E? In the second brief what theory of an ideal immigration law underlies A, B, and C? Are the theories of the first brief in conflict with those of the second?

A high restrictive tax should be placed upon all immigrants to the United States. Because

A. It is an appropriate remedy. For

I. The evil is an industrial one.

B. It would sift the immigrants.

C. It would abolish transients.

D. It would be just to the immigrant. For

I. If he is to share the benefits of government,
he should contribute to its cost.

E. It would greatly benefit American laborers. For
I. It would prevent competition of low-grade

labor.

Proposition: A high tax should not be levied on immigrants to the United States. Because

A. A high tax would not exclude undesirable immigrants as does the present law. For

I. Those liable to become a public charge are now prohibited, but might be brought in under a tax law.

II. A tax law would not exclude felons or persons
who have been convicted of other infa-
mous crimes.

III. A tax law would not exclude contract laborers.
For

a. The contractor could easily advance

wages to pay the tax.

B. A high tax will exclude large numbers of desirable immigrants. For

I. The average immigrant has hardly $25 on

landing in America.

II. Refutation. The claim that the demand for labor in this country is already oversupplied, cannot stand. For

a. There is a constant demand for laborers in the coarser occupations, such as digging canals and repairing railroads.

b. There is a dearth of house servants.

c.

This country can support ten times its present population.

d. Every laborer is a consumer as well as a

producer.

III. Refutation. The claim that the immigrant is a menace to our free institutions is not supported by the facts. For

a. The boss, the boodler, the tax-evader, the corruptionist, the monopolist, is usually a native American.

b. The states having the largest percentage of foreign-born voters are the most progressive states in the union.

C. The proposed tax has nothing to commend it as a test of the qualifications of good citizenship. For

I. The poor frequently become the most useful

citizens.

II. A bill making the ability to read a test for the admission of immigrants was vetoed by the President on the grounds of its not being an adequate test, yet it has more to commend it than a tax on immigrants.

143. Assignments on Arguments for the Proposition.

A. What considerations probably led to the first discussion of the proposition, "Monday is better than Saturday for the weekly school holiday"?

B. Would a knowledge of how and when the question originated help to an understanding of these propositions?" Lord Bacon wrote the plays attributed to Shakespeare"; "The Boer Republic ought to have been given its independence by England"; "The Panama interoceanic canal should be completed"; "The United States should hold the Philippine Islands permanently as colonies.”

C. Find in the Merchant of Venice at least one argument in favor of one of the following propositions; also evidence against the others that conflict with it. Write the argument.

1. Shakespeare shared the prejudice of his age against the Jews. 2. Shakespeare meant by this play merely to show the terrible injustice which the Jews suffered in his day.

3. Shakespeare wanted his audience to understand that the worst features of the Jewish character were a natural retribution upon Christians for the centuries of wrong they had heaped upon the Jewish race.

4. The deepest lesson of the play is found in the moral insensibility of all the characters, including Portia, to the wrong done Shylock.

5. Shakespeare wanted his audience to sympathize with Shylock.

D. Find facts and circumstances counting for or against one of the following propositions and write the argument: —

1. Shakespeare intended to belittle Cæsar's character in order to exalt Brutus's.

2. In the quarrel between Brutus and Cassius the latter was right.

3. Mark Antony's speech was more effective than Brutus's.