CONTRIBUTIONS TO WESTERN BOTANY NO. 16 



lications till the recent publication of Tidestrom's Flora of Utah and Nevada, 

 which is a scream. I suppose that this is due to the peonizing of the work- 

 ers. Two years ago one of the heads of departments informed me with a 

 great air of heat that he would not let any employee of his department 

 criticise his superior in any matter. Just why certain men at the heads of 

 things in Washington are to be immune from just criticism for their smart 

 Aleck performances deponent saith not. No man who has any self-respect 

 would submit to such a thing for a minute. Everybody knows that for many 

 years that about the only way a man could get up in Washington was to 

 become a contemptible lick-spittle. And if this is still true the quicker we 

 clean the cowards all out the better it will be for American manhood. Every- 

 one knows that all through the ranks of education there is this tendency to 

 demand implicit obedience to superiors. Institution after institution has 

 had a revolt of the professors against domination. In Salt Lake six of the 

 leading professors pulled out from the domination of the Mormon church in 

 the affairs of the state university. St: nf >rd also had its defection, and many 

 other schools. 



The explanation of this men is only an 



illustration of th< icje-old fact th t all so et } i run 1a half-wits I never 

 have belonged ti I did not in time come under 



the domination of such people. The reason is that good men will not fight 

 continuously for an ] aood thing After a v. bile they get tired of strife, and 

 so they pull out end lei die half-wits run things into the ground. Theology 

 is a conspicuous example of the domination of the half-wits. If one should 

 look back a very short time he would _ jvernment was 



started by men tin d of th. domination of half-whs. For this reason and 

 others like it I insist on doin ; my own tniiiVir.g. an 1 I tell those who would 

 dominate me to go to the devil. No doubt it would be a good thing if we 

 could suppress all the half-witted stuff that is printed, but the selection of a 

 censor is the rub. So the American Government was founded on free speech. 

 Now, at this stage, when we are supposed to have acquired a little sense, this 



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who are connected with the Government departments who are disgusted with 



from in proportion to the din raised by the nuts. But I want to make it 



west are not perturbed, and at least think we -till know black from whh . 

 and propose to rasp die half-wits wherever we think they need it. In 1897, 

 when I was visiting the Bronx, Britton took me out to lunch and during the 



