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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (April 19, 1913)
IyutHer DurbanK An .Appreciation by Elbert Hubbard Will I Laired at San lrancico 1 utl cr llurbauk came down from his home at Santa Koa. tifty-two tittles to the north, to hear me. There was an audience of nearly two tli!'Uaml people. There were doctors. I.iwers. a few preachers, a celebrated assistant prosecuting attorney, many Immiicm men. college professors from Ilcrkclcy. teacher front grade schools, many young folk alert anil receptee, tarter, generous anil a goodly sprink ling of men with tanned face and cal loused hand. I sat a moment there on the stage, watting for the last few stragglers to find their scats and as I at there the auilicncc took psychic snapshots at me, and I also pruug a few dry plates on them. James Whitcomb Itiley once told mc ll.at when he was about to appear before an audience he always expected to begin in a squeak or a squawk. He doubted I illicit would memory kill, voice k : a strike and thought sit silent, stupid, M,!lcn in the brain cells? 1 know the feeling. And what an .trocious, brazen, hras-patcd prcsiimp li'iii on thr part of any man to call from t'cl'l-, park, libraries and home the gnat, the good and the strong of a lii K cit) and ak thrm to it still ami listen t' bun prate for two hour concerning tl, - and that! Something like this swept over me as I -it looking into the face of that four tin i-.ind tjcd something called an audi in. c. at Van Ncs Theatre, that beauti ful Sunday afternoon in Sail Francisco iiil as the sense of (mill mounted to i! cluck of alleged adamantine, mine tt- I'ifiked into the eyes of l.uther llur l itik there on the right aisle, fifth row b.i' k Jut the one glance and we seemed to understand each other That quick look changed all the current of my thought Jut In-fore, I wa trying to swing my lariat over the coming speech, and at the same time mentally offering any man in the audience a hundred dollar-, to come forward and take my job. I now Middcnly felt a sense of peace sweep over pic. J was back to the wall and secure l.uther llurbauk. who has no tune for pla) or parlies, who, through sense of duty, denies himself to witor. bad come to hear me speak I OIhiI ami yet again, olio I His eyes looked level Into mine he smiled a welcome, friendly, kindly, gen erous, assuring smile. A speech Is a collaboration between the speaker ami the listener. If jou get much from ait oration it is because you have brought much. l.uther llurbauk is a sensitive plant. The man who cannot talk to him lias no message for mankind. 1 spoke for two hours a heart to heart talk with the introduction cut and peroration omitted. I acknowledge it was a great talk where the thoughts were not padded nor the illustrations lugged in by the ear. l.uther llurbauk keyed the discourse. No one in the audience, to far a I could delect, was aware of his presence. The man fits into a crowd like a guinea chick in a meadow. The next day I saw llurbauk in bis own garden there at Santa Kusa. A modct mini with iron-gray hair, fur rowed face of tail, blue eyes that would be weary and sad were it not fur the smiling mouth, whose corner do not turn down, a gentle gentleman, low voiced, ipuel, kindly, with a willing heart of love. On llroadway no one would see him, and on Fifth Avenue no one would turn and look lit form is slen der, and smart folks, sudden ami quick in conclusion, might glance at the slender form and say the man is tickly. Hut the discerning behold that he is the type that lives long, because be live well Ills is the strength of the ilkeu corn that bound the god Thor when all the chains broke He is always at work, always busy; always thinking, planning, doing; dissatisfied with (he past, facing the Fast with eager hope, lie is curious as a child, sensitive as a girl in love, strong as a man, pcri-tcnt as gravitation and gifted like a god. -'1 Hi hand are iuivv) ! ir..nK i! , hands ..I a u!pt..r Hi . I..ili. u. essy mid iue(icnivc Children wuhl go to him Instinctively. Women would trust Mm. Genius In Ms ens is a great eataclly for hard work Fused with this rapa city it great love, great delicacy, great persistence. Among scientists there is almost as much bigotry and dogmatism as their is among theologians. There is canned science as well as canned religion In truth, most .. called scientist are teachers of test bosiks purve)ur in canned goods. liven among I lie lllg Five - Tyndall, llusley, Spemcr, Wallace and Darwin there were a few slight ihiI on the sun Only one of that immortal iumtette si ninety-nine and uiiiety-iiiue onr bun dredllis tine. That man was Charles Darwin In the heart of Darwin there was no room for doubt, distrust, jealousy or hate. He was without guile lie loved Nature with a high and holy passion He had no other gods before her. The bounty of Darwin, his reverence for truth, the modesty of his claims. rt him apart as tin- High lriet of Science In all the realm of pleural ieraili Dar win seemed to have but one couicer, and that was Aiistotlc. Now there is trinity, for l.uther Hur bank it one with Ihene lie i a citueu ( the Celestial City of Free Minds, With l.uther Iturbank the clap trap of science is U-MUtifully missing The tricks of the sciolist arc absent. He tnakes no rlToil to explain things he does not understand He lives his life in the built The mo.t bvautiful word I heard linn utter were tlirsc: "I do not I. How." The finest product of the life and work of l.uther llurbauk i the man hmisell sfeeCC. 2 -tUi,, -s