USA > Indiana > Memorial and genealogical record of Representative Citizens of Indiana > Part 29
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and yet I must say that as I knew him to be good and loyal and true, it is my faith that his work was done. This was a great man, if you do not know it; and the world has not had many great men. It has had thousands of conquering warriors, who have waded through slaughter to a throne and shut the gates of mercy on mankind; it has had men whose names have issued full throated nom the lips of popular acclaim; it has had a few martyrs to groot causes; but in reality, the world has had but few great men. If you want to know what I think constitutes the greatness of a man, let me tell you that the greatness of a man has to be fash- ioned upon the life and the character and the principles of the one Great Character-the character of a great teacher; so that the really great men whom the world has known are men that in the world had not much acclaim. We have had the great teachers of the ages, and here was a great teacher. Doctor Mackintosh has said that he took not only an interest in botany, but that he took an interest in the boys. May I add further, after having four years in Wabash College and almost forty years in the university of life, that the really great thing about Wabash College has been the character of the men who have held the chairs in this institu- tion. The little Greek that I had and the little Latin have passed away, but the unconscious influence of the men of that early gen- eration-Tuttle, Hovey, Campbell, Mills and Thompson-has been the really vital force in my life. These men were great teachers; and I have met scores of young men in the last ten years who when I spoke of Wabash College echoed back to me the name of Thomas, a great teacher, because he got the best in the men, and because he taught the men that unless, above all else, they couldn't con- quer themselves, they were about the meanest things in all crea- tion. In the world of science his name will long be remembered. Like the rest of us it may soon be forgotten upon the scrolls of Indiana's history, but it will live in a larger and better way than the mere writing of it upon the pages of history; it will live in the lives and the influence of the young men who came in contact with him. It will go on in ever-increasing power and influence, and it will be the greatest thing in the world to us; for from this life we can all learn the lesson that it is not place, nor power, nor in- fhience alone that makes the man, but rather it is that fine sense of honor which demands of the man that he shall give himself to humanity regardless of his own will, and regardless of the good of those whom he loves and who love him best; that fine enthu-
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siasm-God working within man-that helps him to forget place or better opportunities than Wabash College could offer or afford to this man-for higher rewards were offered to him than Wabash College could hold out-that fine enthusiasm which made him feel that here was the work, here was the altar for the sacrifice of his life, and here were the men whom he would influenee.
"There are men here in this church who were in his classes. They want to honor Mason B. Thomas. Let it not be mere lip service. Let it be loyalty and devotion to the finer ideals of life. I dare not speak today of the personal relations of Professor Thomas and myself. There was no reason why this good man should have loved me as he did; there is no way in which I can ever show my gratitude for his friendship or his unswerving loy- alty to me. May I add just a little more of my own private faith. I have an idea that somewhere else he has started upon a larger life and a larger era of usefulness. Our tears are vain; he has pushed aside the portals-the curtains of the evening twilight- and has now penetrated into the unknown. If he were to say anything to the student body of Wabash College, to the alumni, old and young, I think from out the mystery which he has pene- trated he would call back to us: 'Be loyal, to God, to country, to Wabash College, and to home.' I will not say farewell, Mason B. Thomas; I do not know when we shall meet again. With you it is all well. For the rest of us, I hope some time it may be all well, with us."
The following editorial, captioned "A Living Sacrifice," ap- peared in the Crawfordsville Journal, in its issue of March 7, 1912:
"Although he would have been the last man to put it that way, yet his intimate friends know that Professor Mason B. Thomas literally made a living sacrifice of himself for others and for the things which he deemed even more important than life itself. If he had been content to do merely a man's work in the world he could have lived long instead of passing off the state in the very zenith of his powers. Moreover if he had desired to exercise his remarkable abilities in a business way he could easily have amassed great wealth. But he deliberately chose his career, knowing full well the probable consequences, comparative pov- erty and an untimely death, because he believed it was the right way to live, because he could not be happy living any other way.
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It was a sacrifice of case, of health, of life itself, as others view it, but to him it was a joy.
"Ile had a passion for seeing the world better and a positive genius for utilizing his indomitable energy, his keen intellect and his wonderful resourcefulness in practical ways of making it bet- ter. The thing close at hand that offered an opportunity for im- moving conditions was the thing that appealed to him and while others were saying that a certain thing should be done he was planning how to do it and setting the plan in motion.
"Another positive characteristic of Professor Thomas was his intense loyalty to friends. He did not choose every man for a friend, but those favored with his affection received in countless ways more than they could repay in a lifetime.
"But after all has been said, the fact remains that his greatest work and his greatest pleasure was in his relations with young men, partienlarly the students of Wabash College, who met him in the class room. His laboratory was for the making of men more than for scientific research and scores of students have be- come transformed under his inspiration from careless and aimless boys into men of power and leadership, able and anxious to trans- mit what they have received from him to others. These men are his living monuments, more lasting than bronze or granite, be- cause the influences he set in motion through them will go on for- ever."
The Wabash College Record, a quarterly publication of that institution, devoted its entire issue of April, 1912, to a me- morial edition on the life and work of Professor Thomas, carrying a splendid half-tone engraving of the noted botanist. Under the caption, "Mason Blanchard Thomas," it said editorially:
"'Better a day with a prince than an age with a serf.' To have devoted twenty-one years of one's life loyally, enthusiasti- cally and unselfishly to the upbuilding of an institution of learn- ing would be for most men a sufficient memorial, but for Mason Blanchard Thomas it is inadequate. His activities were ccase- less, untiring, and almost unlimited.
"In the class-room and laboratory his simplicity, his ele- vated personality, his deep appreciation of truth and his unity of purpose have had but few parallels. As a counselor of young men he was indulgent and sympathetic. By nature, his interest in them was such that he warmed their hearts, gave them new hopes, and increased their zeal. Many there are who have been
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the recipients of his gracious favor and substantial aid. As dean of the faculty of the college, he was conscientiously devoted to duty, fearless, yet considerate; honest to a detail. Ile had an out- spoken hatred for immorality, hypocrisy and treachery. His sin- cerity was unquestioned. He disliked contention and strife, but when he believed that the welfare of the college was involved, he did not avoid them; he was no compromiser, no placator. His lofty ideals made deceit intolerable. As a citizen of Crawfords- ville and Indiana, he was publie spirited, aggressive, yet conser- vative. He devoted himself assiduously to a state-wide move- ment in behalf of the conservation of our state's natural resources; he was deeply interested in the school for boys at Plainfield; and he waged a relentless warfare against petty politics and violations of the law.
"In the death of Professor Thomas, the class-room has lost a great teacher; his 'boys' a devoted father; his colleagues a friend, charitable and lovable; the college its able and efficient dean; the community and state, a gentleman of splendid achievement and courtesy; and the scientific world, a scholar."
In this issue a tribute is paid to Professor Thomas, "The Father," by his students, "His Boys," as follows: "To the mem- ory of that noble life to which the statesman, the citizen, the scien- tist have now brought their last tribute, we, his sons-an army of boys-now beg leave to bow our heads in silent reverence. More than respect, keener than admiration, more lasting than inspira- tion is the force which brings us to the bier of Professor Thomas; it is the love of sons to the father. The inspiration gained in the class-room, the feeling of lasting responsibility instilled by his confidence, the hatred for all things base commanded by his lofty ideals, the love of truth implanted by his simple high-mindedness -all these have registered themselves, beyond eradication, in our hearts. It is a lame gratitude that can find full expression in words, and the world can never know from any words we may ut- ter even a small part of the love we bear him. Far better here is the pressure of the hand and the beat of the heart. May our gratitude, then, find its embodiment and expression in the con- secration of our lives to the noble principles so luminously exem- plified in our honored Professor Thomas. Then, when all things are given their truc proportion by the master hand of time, there will stand out with single mellow clearness, among that great
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array of noble qualities, the kind, sympathetic, considerate, lov- ing man-the father."
Of the many comments on the life, work and character of Professor Thomas, we herewith give a number from eminent edu- cators all over the country, the first from William A. Millis, presi- dent of Ilanover College:
"It is difficult to give a just estimate of a friend. Such was Professor Thomas to all who came within the range of his life. His friendliness, possibly, is the characteristic which distin- guished him from the mass of men. Broad and accurate scholar- ship he had, but such scholarship is common. He was skilled in in- struction, but many men possess this in high degree. He was a good and fearless man, but there are many good and fearless men. He was devoted to his profession and deeply loyal to Wabash Col- lege. Ilis was a consecrated life. In this particular also he was one of a great company of college teachers whose consecration is the glory of the American college, and whose missionary zeal has made them forgetful of all self-interest, of ease of life, and of worldly advancement. IIe was a positive force for good citizen- ship in his city and state; a contributor to science and to the dig- nity of his profession. IIe was considerate of the fitness of things, of the rights of others and of their feelings; he was a gentleman. He was highly efficient. He paved his way not with good inten- tions unwrought, but with worthy things accomplished.
"In the possession of these elements of character, Professor Thomas was an uncommon man. But he was more and better than this; he was an unfailing and inspiring friend. A great teacher is far more than a purveyor of information; he must have that peculiar insight and inherent touch which reveal to young men their possibilities, and arouse within them the forces of thought and action which send them on to realization. Professor Thomas had this gift in an unusual degree. His relations were personal rather than professional. He was loyal to his boys. He was an inspirer of youth. He gave them a passion for work. He helped them to see visions for themselves; he set them on fire with definite purposes. He helped them to set foot on the first rung of the ladder and found his joy of life in the lives of his students. Ilis personality is reproduced in scores of men who are worth while. This is the mark of the great teacher, and hy this measure Professor Thomas easily took place with the small company of great teachers. I cannot forbear a personal note.
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Professor Thomas was my friend. In company with the host of men who have traveled with him, and with all Hanover men, I am grieved by his untimely loss."
President Robert L. Kelly, of Earlham College, wrote as fol- lows: "The news of the death of Professor Thomas produced a profound impression on his friends in the Earlham faculty. It was the privilege of several of as to know him professionally, and of a few of us to know him personally, and 'we feel that his demise is not only a great loss to Wabash College but to science and the more general work of education. Ilis life and character were the embodiment of the scientific spirit at its best. Ilis devotion to botany, as investigator, author and teacher, drew to him the high- est admiration of his fellow specialists. The system and accur- acy with which he did all his work, his sanity and poise, which ever kept him from exaggeration, and his enthusiasm and driving power combined to make a character which compelled attention and admiration. He was ever faithful and true and he had a faith in the temporal and eternal which will inspire us through the years."
D. M. Mottier, professor of botany, of the Indiana University, expressed the sentiments of that institution in this way: "When Mason B. Thomas came to Wabash College as professor of botany, a new order of things had not long been established in the middle West as regards the teaching of biology and biologie thought. In botany the familiar and time-honored ten-weeks course in plant analysis, with either Gray or Wood serving as text and manual, had given way to broader and more far-reaching conceptions of biologie problems. The herbarium, which had monopolized the attention of leading botanists, was now supplemented in a large measure, if not entirely, in Indiana colleges by the microscope and the instruments of the experimenter. The Indiana Academy of Science had been established under the leadership of Jordan, J. M. Coulter, and their enthusiastic professional and amateur co-workers. Professor Thomas, fresh from college, on taking up the new work so ably begun by his distinguished predecessor in Wabash, entered heartily into this new field, and soon became identified with his scientific colleagues in the biological work out- side of college walls. At the meetings of the Indiana Academy of Science, which he served so ably in various capacities, including a term as president, and at various other scientific meetings in the state, Professor Thomas always won the highest esteem and
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respect of all his colleagues by his quiet, refined and dignified manner, by his fair considerations of the opinions of others, and by his rare good sense, sound judgment, and thoroughiness of knowledge. In later years Professor Thomas became deeply in- terested in forestry and in the recent movement to conserve the natural resources of the state. Apart from the arduous duties of a college professor, he still found time to carry on important investigations in various botanical subjects, as a score or more of publications amply testify. But there are other ways by which a professor may achieve success and render valuable and lasting service to his college than by scientific or literary performance. Doubtless his highest service consists in his ability to lead and inspire young men to take up a pursuit of their own choosing and to follow that pursuit for its own sake, with such singleness of purpose and with a love and devotion that know neither dis- couragement nor defeat. In this respect Professor Thomas at- tained no small measure of success, and for this achievement his memory will be long cherished by his fellow scientists in In- diana."
President William L. Bryan, of Indiana University, said: "I had a great admiration for Professor Thomas. In all the ways in which I was acquainted with him, he impressed me as a very su- perior man. It was a great good fortune to have such a man as a teacher of our young men and as a citizen of our state. I was pro- foundly shocked by the news of his death. I am sure that the in- spiration of his life will long remain at Wabash and in Indiana."
J. C. Arthur, professor of plant physiology and pathology, in Purdue University, said: "My acquaintance with Professor Thomas dates back many years. He was a genial and stanch friend. One of the important elements of his success as a con- tributor to the advancement of botanical science may be traced to the same qualities which made his friendship valuable. His quick appreciation of the worth and ability of the young men with whom he came into contact inspired a devotion to research and high ideals of scientific endeavor that have placed a large number of his students in the ranks of productive investigators. His local worth as a teacher and citizen was indisputably of a high order. His wider influence, and especially his influence on the science of botany, will be far-reaching and lasting through the achievements of the men he has trained."
W. A. Noyes, professor of chemistry in the University of
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Illinois, said: "Professor Thomas joined the Indiana Academy of Science either in his student days or very shortly after he became an instructor at Wabash College, and I made his ac- quaintance a good many years ago at the time of our meetings in Indianapolis. He very soon showed that he was one of the active and effective workers in science in the state, and has contributed very much to the development of the work of the academy and to the raising of scientific ideals in the middle West. I join with many others in the great sorrow that is felt in the loss of such a promising man from our midst just at the time when he was doing his most useful work."
From the University of Wisconsin, L. R. Jones, professor of plant pathology, wrote briefly: "Prof. Mason B. Thomas is en- titled to rank as one of America's great botanical teachers. In proportion to his opportunities, he has sent out from his labora- tory more highly inspired and well-trained young botanists than any teacher I have known."
This from Bradley Moore Davis, professor of botany at the University of Pennsylvania: "I am grieved to hear of the deatlı of Prof. Mason B. Thomas. It was not my privilege to know Professor Thomas intimately, but during a summer at Woods Hole I had an opportunity to see much of him. He devoted a large part of that summer to preparation for a certain course in botany that he proposed to give at Wabash College, and I was very much impressed with the thoroughness with which he organized the work and with the amount of personal strength that he ex- pended upon it. In this personal sacrifice and detailed attention to his work were largely shown the qualities which made him the very successful teacher that he was, and which, with his charm of personality, must have greatly endeared him to his students."
From William Trelease, director of the Missouri Botanical Garden, came the following tribute: "A student of far more than usual scholarship, initiative and promise while at Cornell and an investigator of thorough scientific grounding and unusually good technical training, Thomas gave earnest of great productivity as an investigator in the work that he published before being en- gulfed in the duties of a teacher. That time was not left him for continuing this work has greatly lessened the scholarly output of American botanists. To those who know the thoroughness of his work as a teacher, however, there can be no question that science has been the gainer by lis concentration on the laboratory. I do
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not know of any American teacher whose students show greater evidence of having passed under the hands of a master and it may be questionable if we have had his equal in giving thorough train- ing."
Charles E. Bessey, professor of botany at the University of Nebraska, wrote: "As one of the older botanists in active ser- vice, 1 depiore such a dropping out of a young and vigorous man in middle life. To those of us who for' these many years have watched the growing company of American botanists it is pecul- iarly sad when one who has been so signally successful steps from the ranks and disappears from our sight. And while his place will soon be filled by some one summoned to assume his college duties, there will be a vacancy in the hearts and the memories of his colleagues and his pupils, and as time goes on with its hurry- ing days and years, we shall always think of the kindly face and the courteous manner of our colleague, as his pupils will think of the efficient and sympathetic and helpful teacher."
R. A. Harper, professor of botany at Columbia University, contributed these lines: "I never had an opportunity to become well acquainted with Professor Thomas, but through his students and others who knew him I had come to have the very highest opinion of his worth, both as a man and a botanist. He seems to have had unusual power to inspire young men with enthusiasm for work along the lines of his own interests. A list of those bot- anists who got their first start and enthusiasm for work from him is certainly a notable one. The report of his death came as a great shock, as I had no notion but that his health was of the best and that he had still a long life of usefulness in scientific work before him."
J. N. Rose, who is head of the department of botanical re- search, of Carnegie Institution of Washington, D. C., gave out the eulogy that follows: "The untimely death of Mason B. Thomas is a great loss to Wabash College and to the profession of botany, to both of which he had dedicated his life. That the col- lege was first in his thoughts, no alumnus that has visited him in his home can doubt. It was an inspiration to listen to him tell of his work, his classes, and the well trained men he had sent out into life's work. That he was a great teacher is clearly shown by the work that is being done by those who studied under him. In his profession he ranked high. In 'American Men of Science' he is given as one of the star men in botany, and very properly so.
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He was well equipped to do research work, in which line he would have accomplished more than he did had he not been so devoted to his class room. IIe was deeply interested in local and state problems, and especially in the forestry of Indiana. He belonged to numerous learned societies, and was the friend of all seliolars who knew him."
II. G. Graves, forester of the United States department of agriculture, forest service, paid the following tribute: "I deeply regret to learn of Professor Thomas' recent death. I am familiar with his work as a teacher and as a writer on botanical subjects, and particularly so with what he did for forestry as a citizen and as a member of the Indiana Academy of Science, of which I re- call he was president some years ago. His able address before that body in 1901 on 'Forestry in Indiana,' at once established him as a needed champion of the larger work states can do in helping to advance the cause of forestry in this country. The breadth of view he showed at that comparatively carly date, when the de- velopment of forest conservation had not, as it has since, crystal- lized into a national movement, impresses me greatly, and indi- cates that even with the absorbing duties of a teacher Professor Thomas found time to think deeply upon a subject of the most vital interest to foresters and to the American people in general. I am sure that no higher tribute could be paid the memory of Professor Thomas than that his comprehensive analysis of what conservative forestry means to Indiana, helped to place that state in the front rank with others now striving for the rational use of American forests. I am exceedingly glad to have this opportunity of calling attention to the lasting influence which Professor Thomas' thought has had in advancing the cause of forestry."
Margaret C. Ferguson, professor of botany of Wellesley Col- lege, wrote thus: "It was not my privilege to know Professor Thomas personally, but I have known something of his life, his work, and his character, through former students of his. To know him through his students was to recognize in him a man who com- bined, in unusual degree, nobility of purpose in life, with rare gifts as a teacher."
W. F. Ganong, professor of botany at Smith College, wrote: "It was with the very greatest regret that I heard, two weeks ago, of the untimely death of Professor Thomas. Although my personal acquaintance with him was slight, I knew him well through our common educational interests, and I have long had
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