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About Yale Alumni Magazine | View Entire Issue (Dec. 10, 1896)
MR. ROOSEVELT’S LECTURE. An Entertaining Speaker Before the ' @Oivil Service Reform Club. The first lecture of the year before the Yale Civil Service Refcrm Club was delivered in the College Street Hall on Wednesday, December 2, by Hon. Theodore Roosevelt of New York © City. The attendance was very large and the interest in the speaker’s “re- marks was held at a high pitch. The commencement of this lecture course was thus auspiciously accomplished. Professor H. W. Farnam introduced Mr. Roosevelt, who was a graduate of Harvard in the class of 1880, by mentioning in brief some of the events in his busy life. Mr. Roosevelt began his speech by expressing his pleasure at the recon- ciliation about to be effected between Yale and Harvard. His remarks were very well calculated and were enthusi- astically received by his audience. In regard to Civil Service Reform Movements he was most fitted to speak of its success in the Police De- partment. He contrasted the method of appointment of policemen under the old regime with the arrangement now in operation. A few years back the appointments were obtained by open bribery or through a political pull. A man who had influence in a certain locality, by swearing allegiance to the influencial members of the Police Department stood a very good chance of obtaining an appointment. The present method of supplying the force with new men includes a phy- sical and educational examination, be- sides a recommendation regarding the candidate’s moral character and Yrep- utation, made by reputable men of his locality. In this way the aim is made to obtain just the men for the work, who are the most fitted to serve. Some amusing answers made by candidates for the police force seemed to show that such very simple examinations were really necessary in order to ob- tain competent men. In the appointment of policemen to- day political and religious prejudices have no influence whatever. It makes no difference what a policeman’s ideas are on these subjects, as long as he discharges his duties efficiently aS a guarder of the peace. The system of promotions in the force has also undergone a thorough reform. Mr. Roosevelt cited the case of a policeman who had served twenty- one years on the force and in that time had saved twenty-five lives at the risk of his own. He had also received medals for exceptional bravery and gallantry. This man had nevertheless been overlooked and did not receive any promotion in acknowledgement of his services until he again saved a life and came to Mr. Roosevelt's special notice. Men on the force are how in- stigated to good work by the hope of promotions, which are given as justly as possible. Mr. Roosevelt’s remarks during the entire lecture were directed towards a refutation of the charges made by his opponents that his reform was not “practical.” He spoke in a very in- teresting and entertaining manner, not only by virtue of \the nature of his subject, but also from his own way of treating it and talking to his audience. He closed with a strong appeal to the Yale students to take an interest in the Civil Service Reform in all its branches and to work towards its fur- ther development and success. ———— University Club Elections. Elections to the University Club have been given to the following men, this Fall: BE. L. Batterman ’97 L. 8., Wil- liam Hart ’97, Fred E. Williamson 798, R. S. Hume, '98, C. E. Thomas ’97, J. M. Woolsey ’98, G. S. Cowan ’98, L. M. Williams ’98, A. C. Ledyard ’98, E. C. Perkins ’98, R. S. Van Beuren ’97,. The following men have handed in their resignation: McK. Boyle ’97, Harry Nolan ’97, G. S. Haydock ’97, C. Chad- wick ’97, H. Keator ’97, G. W. Updike 97, J. B. Tytus ’97, and C. Bement "97S. YALE ALU Sees ey Base Ball Winter Practice. The regular Winter baseball prac- tice in the cage will commence as in former years about the middle of February, the first work being done by the batteries of the Freshman and University nines. Then the Freshman candidates will be given a due amount of coaching and later the University men will be called out. The Fresi- man practice will consist of handling grounders and fielding to first base, and also of sliding bases. A number of alterations will be made in the cage before practice begins. Heretofore the netting aiong the s.des has been hung directly from the Cc ter of the roof to the bottom of eaca wall. With this arrangement the play- ers were accustomed to catch tei. hands or fingers while making a throw and thus were likely to sustain seri- ous sprains or other injuries. This netting has now been hooked up at the heighth of ten feet from tne ground and much greater freedom is obtained. The glass in the roof will also be replenished and a better heating ap- paratus provided. The idea is also being considered of placing more material, probably gravel, on the floor in order to make it more soft and level and prevent the usual dampness caused by the thawing outside. At the Field the work on the dia- mond has been completed and two hundred and fitty doliors in all has been expended in the improvements. The places in the outfield which had been worn bare have been resodded and the field placed in very good con- dition. The points at the bases and home plate have been made more plain by replenishing the sods. All the bleachers will be placed in their usual — positions around the diamond betore the spring practice commences, Next year more work on the field will be™ done and it is thought that it will then be in nearly perfect condition. —_+#—__——_- A Retort from Brown. LThe Brunonian,] Some little indignation has been manifested by Brown students over the statement in last Sunday’s Bos- ton Globe by a writer who makes up an All-America football eleven, to the effect that “Fultz of Brown would make an excellent third substitute halt-back,” a Princeton man being given the coveted first position. The double column scare-head, ‘‘Not a Single Yale Man,’ which labels the article in question, is a pretty good index of the spirit in which it Was written, and it is perfectly evident that the author, having strongly in mind Harvard’s old motto, “To -—-— with Yale,’ filled up his space with the glorifications of Harvard and Princeton as his principal object. Now these little mutual admiration parties are very pleasant for those concerned in them, and we have no doubt that the Globe’s article was received with a great deal of complacency by the Harvard sympathizers for whom it was intended. To please its readers is a successful newspaper’s first care, and no one will deny that the Globe is a Successful newspaper. ‘ At the same time we will remark, without entering into a detailed dis- cussion of the Globe’s article, that other writers of equally good or even better authority, have given ‘Yale’s fourth-rate eleven” no less than four men on the All-America team, while mighty Harvard has to content her- self with two. As © to... “Pulte -oft Brown,”’ that gentlemaim seems abund- antly able to take care of himself, and we have no doubt that public opinion will give him the place which his won- derful record during the past season has won, without any assistance from either the Brunonian or the Boston Globe. a The Hamilton Court Building Com- pany of New York City has a piece of property for the purpose of erecting a dormitory to be presented to Columbia College. The property lies between 12ist and 122nd streets and has a frontage of 200 feet on Amsterdam Avenue. The price paid was about $200,000. The dormitory will probably cost $1,000,000. | tennial in Qa Ge OR cop ae pg CLASS ORGANIZATION, Lots of it Missing in Scientific School Classes. In correspondence with the secre- taries of the different classes and in the various efforts to gather the news of the Yale family, the Weekly has found, naturally enough, a great difference in the interest of differ- ent classes and much difficulty in many cases in securing any reliable information. Sometimes there seems to be no class organization at all, and it is invariably the rule that the members of such a class, generally speaking, show the least interest in Yale matters, and are hardest to reach, reach. As the devotion of Yale alumni to their alma mater is a very conspicu- ous feature of Yale life and as this very valuable trait is almost impossi- ble, without proper organization, by which it can be stimulated and through which it can assert itself, the Weekly has been tempted to look into the records of the last thirty years in both the Academic and Scien- tific departments. Generally speaking the Academic classes are organized and hold reunions and this is to be assumed, where there is nothing said to the contrary. The older classes which are not mentioned almost in- variably hold their reunions with regularity and enthusiasm, even when the possible attendance is very small. COLLEGE CLASSES. The Class of ’67 has held all of its six reunions in regular order and out of the eighty living members of the Class an average of forty-six have at- tended reunions, while at the Vigin- 87, fifty-four men were present. The ‘Trigintennial reunion will be held this Spring. Sixty-eight with Professor H. P. Wright for its Secretary, has never failed to hold successful reunions and there are only fourteen members of the Class who have not attended some one of the six reunions. Sixty-nine has had six different Class Secretaries, but all have con- ducted the reunions regularly. The Classes of ’70, *71 and ’72 have all fol- lowed in perfect regularity. Seventy-three has, in addition to the Class Secretary, a Class Treasurer, an unusual office among the College Classes. Seventy-three has had four Secretaries, has published four class books and six address lists. Seventy-four has been in all respects regular and its present Secretary has filled that position since graduation. Seventy-five has recently changed its Secretary, Newell Martin being chosen to take the place of Charles Robinson Smith, resigned. Seventy-six had a Treasurer, as ‘73, but in 1891 this office was joined to that of Secretary. Seventy-eight has proved itself a particularly loyal Class. All reunions have had large attendance, and ev- ery year at Commencement Week an informal meeting of its members pres- ent occurs. Seventy-nine had eighty-four mem- bers at its triennial but seems to have dropped off in its attendance more recently. From ’80 on, all Classes seem to have followed the regular routine with little variety. Highty-six has recent- ly changed its Secretary, Judson Ss. Dutcher being elected in place of Mr. Chauncey W. Goodrich, resigned. From ’90-’96 the men chosen for Class Secretaries have been residents of New Haven, while from ’67-’89, seven only are from this city. This shows that the policy of choosing Secretaries resident here is of recent origin but its wisdom is obvious. New Haven Secretaries are necessarily placed in closer touch with the Col- lege than the others and most of the Classes with enviable records have their Secretaries resident at or in close vicinity to New Haven. Another noticeable fact is that the only permanent officer in College Classes, with very few exceptions, is the Class Secretary. This is not the case with the Sheffield Classes, most posed of a scattered body of men. FOR GENTLEMEN Chase & Company’s SHIRTS For business, parties and receptions, in stock and to order, made in the most thorough and careful manner; $1.50, $2.00, $2.50 and up. BLANKET WRAPS For lounging and the bath, $5.00 to $20.00 Blankets and Bath Slippers $1.00. GLOVES. Fowne’s **Gold Tan,” $1.50. Fowne’s * Cavendish,” ** Welback”™ and _ ‘** Reindeer.” English Collars and Cuffs and English Neckwear, from Welch, Margetson & Co. Mackintoshes in Stock and to Special measure. Party and Reception Outfits a Specialty. CHASE & CO., New Haven House Building. of which have a President, Vice Pres- ident, Secretary and Treasurer. SHEFFIELD CLASSES. Class formation is a more recent idea in the Sheffield School than in the College and hence many irregularities in Class reunions have occurred. At the triennial dinner of ’77S5., only five members of the Class were pres- ent. Owing to this lack of interest shown by the Class and also because of an intended departure from New Haven, the Secretary, Bruce Fenn, re- signed. Since then the Class has held no reunions. The class of ’78S., has been com- Its Secretary, Charles S. Churchill, is res- ident at Roanoke, Va. Although no reunions have been held, Class organi- zation has not been abandoned. Ar- rangements are now being made to hold a vigintennial reunion in ’98. The Classes of ’79S., and ’80S5., have both been regular in reunions, while ’*81S., has held all but the sexennial, which was omitted. The Class of ;’82S., has been reg- ular and will hold its quindecennial this Spring. Only one reunion has been held by 783S., the decennial in ’93, at whicn 21 members were present. . Of the Classes of ’87S., and ’8958., nothing can be heard. They have, ap- parently, no Class Secretaries and no mention of their organization Occurs in the records in the University. Ninety Scientific has recently chang- ed its Secretary, Harry G. Day of New Haven taking the place of Dr. Alex- ander W. Evans. This Class held its first reunion in ’94 and its sexennial regularly. From ’91S. on the Classes are reg- ular, but the Secretaries are not from New Haven. From ’778.-’95S., only eight Secre- taries are from this city. In comparing the lists, the Sheffield Classes seem less successful than the College Classes for several distinct reasons, some of which are avoid- able. Their method of organization is irregular and therefore unreliable. Few Class books are published, and none of these are placed in the Uni- versity Library. More Secretaries re- side at a considerable distance from New Haven. ————_+# ¢—___—- Princeton’s Comment. [The Princetonian.] The prospective resumption of ath- letic relations between Yale and. Har- vard gives great pleasure to all who have the best interests of intercollegi- ate athletics at heart. That the two Universities should have fallen out was deep- ly regretted, and news of a reconcil- iation . would be gladly received at Princeton. We trust that the negotia- tions now under way may result suc- cessfully. —_—___ 4+ o> —_____——- David L. Fultz, ’98, has been elected Captain of the Brown University eleven for next season. At Princeton only those men who play in the Harvard and Yale foot- ball games are entitled to wear a Uni- versity ‘‘P.”
