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About Yale Alumni Magazine | View Entire Issue (Dec. 9, 1897)
YALE ALUMNI WEEKLY SUBSCRIPTION, - $2.50 PER YEAR. Foreign Postage, 40 cents per year. PAYABLE IN ADVANCE, Checks, drafts and orders should be made payable to the Yale Alumni Weekly. All correspondence should be addressed,— Yale Alumni Weekly, New Haven, Conn. The office is at Room 6, White Hall, ADVISORY BOARD. H. C, Roprnson, ’53. J: R. SHEFFIELD, 87. W. W. Sxippy, ’65S. J. A. HARTWELL, ’89 S. C. P. LINDSLEY,’%5 S. L.S. WELCH, ’89. W. Camp, ’80. E. VAN INGEN, ’91 8. W.G. DaGeeTr,’80. P. Jay, ’92. EDITOR. Lewis 8S. WELOH, ’89. ASSOCIATE EDITOR. WALTER Camp, ’80, — ASSISTANT EDITOR. E. J. THompson, Sp. NEWS EDITOR, FRED. M. Daviss, ’99, PRESTON KuMuER, 1900, Athletic Department. Dayip D. TENNEY, 1900, Special. Entered as second class matter at New Haven P. 0. a —e NEW HAVEN, Conn., Dec. 9, 1897. DEBATING AT YALE, It is always satisfactory to win a de- bate with Harvard; it is doubly satis- factory to win a close but decisive con- test against so able and well trained a team as that which Harvard sent down to New Haven last Friday. The re- sult reflects credit both on the Yale de- baters and on the University which they represented. But this is no time for self-gratula- tion. Debating at Yale is still in a precarious condition. the self-sacrificing work of a few men instead of being the concern of the Uni- versity as a whole. In some respects this is more true this year than it has been since 1893. It has been harder to get good opponents to debate against the University team;—for by good op- ponents we mean not only those of natural ability, but those who have taken the pains to develop arguments which are really difficult to answer. Such painstaking and unrewarded work as was done by Mr. Gleason in 1894-5 or by Mr. Rice in the two years following, has been conspicuous by its absence. There has been no approach to the sen- sational practice debate of the Spring of 1896., in which Messrs. Hume, Rice, and Studinski tore great holes in the argument of Messrs. Baldwin, Clark, and Stokes, and forced them to develop, in the last days of their preparation, that strength of defense which so dazed their Harvard opponents. Mr. Bingham, the president of the Yale Union, has done what one man could; but his time has been so far occupied with adminis- trative arrangements for the debate as to have but a small part of his strength for controversy with the team. A few others have given casual help in the way of criticism or argument, which has been welcome and useful. But the bur- den and heat of the day has been borne by Dr. Raynolds. The plain fact is that Yale as a whole does not appreciate debating as it ap- preciates a great many other things. Whether there be good reason for this lack of appreciation is not a question to be here discussed; that the lack exists is a plain fact. There is plenty of criti- cism of anybody and everybody if Yale is beaten, but little or no substantial reward for those who win. The one reward that a strong man really cares for (apart from the approval of his own conscience) is social prestige. Does suc- It depends on: Ass AIU MENT cess in debating give to a student this in anything like the same way that success in College athletics or in College jour- nalism gives it? Does success in the “organizing of victory” in debate give Dr. Raynolds the same kind of recogni- tion which Mr. Butterworth receives from success in the organizing of vic- tory at football? Even among those graduates who profess to care much more for debating than for football, how many instinctively think of the man who has changed Yale’s old record of forensic defeats into a record of victories, as having a distinguished place among the benefactors of the University? We doubt whether the proportion of those who appreciate his work is as great among the corpora- tion as it is among the students. Yet Dr. Raynolds gives approximately as much time to the help of Yale de-. baters in’ the course of a year as Mr. Butterworth gives to the help of Yale football men; and it is no disparage- ment to Mr. Butterworth to say that Dr. Raynolds’ time is, from the great world’s standpoint, much the more valuable of the two. How can Yale graduates help to change this state of things? Not by talking. Talk is very cheap. There are a few speakers of natural ability who, if they choose their audience and take pains with what they say, have it in their power to help the social prestige of debating. But the men who have the ability to do this are rare, and the labor involved in combining truth- fulness with effectiveness in this matter is very great. And above all things let the graduates restrain their natural im- pulse to talk of reviving Brothers and -Linonia. What these societies may once have been, is matter of opinion. The halo with which their memory is surrounded seems hardly warranted by the scraps of contemporary evidence which have come down to us from the first half-century. In the twenty years of which we have better record, Linonia and Brothers were dying of senile de- generacy. The effort to galvanize life into a corpse which has died of that disease is foredoomed from the out- Set. Not by giving more prizes for debat- ing. We have enough money prizes already—possibly too many. If Yale debating is to win prestige at home and victory abroad, it must be in the hands of those who “contend not for gold but for honor.” Not by offers of assistance in coach- ing, except to a very limited degree, under the advice of Dr. Raynolds and in strict subordination to him. It is better discipline for the purpose in hand, for a College man to debate against his fellows than against a trained lawyer. If the lawyer really thinks out his case, he will be too strong for the purpose; if he does not think if out, he will be too weak; in either case the result will be demoralizing. If a graduate offers, not. argument, but advice to the members of a team, the danger is that, coming up for a day or two, he will not understand the wide needs and restricted powers of the men whom he advises, and will correct a few errors of detail at the sacrifice of har- mony of general development. The first step for Yale graduates to _ take in promoting the interests of Yale debating is to find out just how much or how little they really care about it themselves. If they take pains to be truthful with themselves and with their successors now in College, their words will have influence. The students of Yale always respect sincerity and are ready to be moved by it; if a man is not sincere, they see through him and shun him. Ifa graduate prefers a foot- ball match to an intercollegiate debate, WHREKLY let him admit the fact. If he takes more pleasure from having Yale win in athletics than in forensics, let him not proclaim anything else. Even if, in the excitement of a speech, he deludes him- self as to what he really thinks, he is not likely to delude anybody else. The worst serveice which a graduate can do for debating at Yale is to give an ex- aggerated statement of his feelings on the subject. Having found out what they really think, let the Yale graduates show their faith by their works. Let them teach by example. Thev complain that the sons do not go out of their way to take debaters into the best College societies. How is it with the fathers? How many of those graduates whose position and life makes their recognition a valuable thing have ever troubled themselves to take any notice of Dr. Raynolds’ work? Unconnected with the College except as a loyal graduate, Dr. Raynolds has given, for nothing, services whose value can hardly be measured in money—ser- vices’ which could only be rendered by a man who is at once a gentleman, a born logician, and a trained consti- tutional lawyer. If our leading Yale graduates cared for debating as seri- ously as they think they do, Dr. Ray- nolds could not visit a city in the Union without being sought out by leading men of the place and make ac- quainted with others—in short, without receiving in full measure those social rewards which are given for distin- guished services that have no money compensation. But what actually hap- pens? Dr. Raynolds will probably be invited to speak at a few Alumni meet- ings—much as the restaurant-keeper, who heard that Dr. Chauncey Depew talked well after dinner, sent word to Mr. Depew that he could have a free meal at his restaurant at any time he chose, if he would only talk to its habitues for an hour afterward. Now all this is a matter of no great consequence to a man like Raynolds, who has always met the people he wanted to. But it is of great conse- ‘quence to a University like Yale. The example of the alumni is more potent than their precept. The sons will think lightly of what the fathers say, and be influenced mainly by what they do. AS 8 NEW YORK LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY. JOHN A. MCCALL, PRESIDENT. This Company has been in success- ful operation since 1845, and has now over 300,000 policy-holders and over $200,000,000 in assets. It offers the most privileges and on the most favor- able terms, of any Company. Under its new system of classifying and com- pensating agents, it offers to young men continuous employment and a life income. Its policies and agents’ contracts will interest all students. | & a NEW YORK LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY, 346 & 348 Broadway, NEW YORK. Yale Law School. For circulars and other information apply to Prof. FRANCIS WAYLAND, ‘Dean. THE “TECK” PORTMANTEAU. Messrs. Brooks & Company offer in sole- leather, and in leathers of lighter weight, an extensive stock of Portmanteaus and other traveling requisites, embracing the best types known to the manufacturers of to-day. 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The victory in College Street Hall last Friday night was one which reflects the highest credit upon Yale’s repre- sentatives, the officers and members of the various debating societies and espe- cially upon the faithful body of coaches who have devoted themselves to the University during the past month. Everything about the debate, from the presentation of the argument to the minor details of business management, went off with an order and precision which showed that Yale’s interests were in efficient hands. Yet the honor of -victory—and it was no small one, for it means much to the College to be suc- cessful in both the intellectual and athletic contests of the year—is one in which the undergraduate body has little right to claim a share. While the en- thusiasm and confidence shown by stu- dents and alumni had a great deal to do with the success of this season’s football team, the victory of last week was won through the faithfulness of Yale’s repre- sentatives in the face of a marked lack of interest in the College world. In this issue Professor Hadley has given his views regarding the present status of debating at Yale and has offered valuable suggestions which merit the careful perusal of every student and alumnus. The fault for the present condition of affairs in debating lies as much in the general policy of the debaters then- selves as with the College at large There are plenty of incentives to effort along forensic lines at Yale. Every in- tercollegiate representative receives a: a mark of distinction the golden charm adopted by the Union for its teams last year; the winning debaters have theif names inscribed on banners in Uniol Hall; there is the Thatcher Prize for the preliminary competition, and _ after
