6
WEEKLY
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,—
Male Alumni Weekly, New Haven, Conn.
The oflice is at Room 6, White Hall,
ADVISORY BOARD.
H. C, Roprnson, 53. J. R. SHEFFIELD, ’87.
W. W. Sxippy, 65S. J. A. HARTWELL, ’89 8.
C. P. LINDSLEY, 75 S. L.S. WELCH, ’89.
W. Camp, ’80. E. Van INGEN, 7918.
W. G. DaaeeEttT, ’80. P. Jay, °92.
EDITOR.
Lewis 8. WELCH, ’89.
ASSOCIATE EDITOR.
WALTER Camp, ’80.
ASSISTANT EDITOR.
E. J. THompson, Sp.
NEWS EDITOR.
FRED. M. Davtizgs, ’99,
PRESTON KUMLER, 1900, Athletic Department.
Davip D. TENNEY, 1900, Special.
Entered as second class matter at New Haven P. 0.
NEW HAVEN, CONN., Marcu 38, 1898.
Please sign with your full name all
your communications. THE WEEKLY can
pay no attention to articles which do not
bear the author’s full name and post office
address. -
- ws
~~ we
THE W. C. T. U. PETITION.
The petition, with threatened boycott,
of the Women’s Christian Temperance
Union to the President of Yale Univer-
sity and the Dean of Yale College, is
printed elsewhere.. An abstract, or in-
dication, of the slander on which this
action rests, is also given as forming a
basis for judgment for those who care
to estimate the value of the present
agitation. The slander itself is, to an
unusual degree, unworthy of notice and
it is self-answering. Nothing quite so
impossible and so unscrupulous has been
put in print about Yale for some time.
The officers of Yale will not say any-
thing about this agitation and the Yale
family here are very glad that they will
not. It is generally recognized that a
number of good people are being mis-
led, and it is as generally felt that they
will sooner or later see their mistake,
and that they will also realize what it
means to try to advance good morals
at a university by threatening a boycott
unless certain means to that end, which
they believe in, are adopted. Yale’s
friends are so far from being troubled,
that they know that much good will in
the end come to the University, through
the more careful scrutiny which will be
given by sincere and intelligent people
of the actual conditions here. . The
more these conditions are understood,
the better for the good name of the
place.
No one has any authority for say-
ing what the President or Faculty of
Yale may or may not do; but those of
us who are watching things here could
not be more surprised than by learning
that, under the influence of a threat from
any source, the government of Yale
would be swerved one hair’s breath
from that course which is dictated by the
experience of two hundred honorable
years, and the conscience and the high
purpose of as noble and single-minded
a set of men as were ever gathered in
the cause of education.
<p> <>
a ae
There has been a succession of lively
and profitable alumni gatherings the
past few weeks, and the Orange dinner,
which is so fully reported elsewhere,
was as usual not the least of them. |
PROFESSOR
Mr. Walter Allen Analyzes His Letter
on Gov. Chamberlain.
To the Editor of YALE ALUMNI WEEKLY:
Sir: The letter of Prof. Henry A.
Beers, in reply to ex-Gov. Chamber-
lain’s recent criticism of the Depart-
ment of English in the College, will
hardly reassure those who have had
doubts regarding the scheme of instruc-
tion in English, its sufficiency or its
quality. In but one point does he raise
a direct issue with the critic touching
these matters. Quoting from the Wor-
cester speech this sentence: “He fur-
ther thinks, as do other Yale professors,
that English cannot be taught as an
ordinary study at all,” Prof. Beers
replies: “I have never said or thought
anything of the kind. I have been
teaching, or trying to teach, English ‘as
an ordinary study’ for a quarter of a
century.’ Even this issue may not be
a substantial one; for Prof. Beers may.
misapprehend what ex-Gov. Chamber-
lain means in the quoted phrase. But
this is not for me to decide.
Touching another matter, he corrects
the critic fairly enough, as it seems to
me. Mr. Lampson’s will being in liti-
gation, his endowment of a professor-
ship is not yet available. However,
judging from experience, the Faculty
will do well to begin prospecting for
an incumbent now, in order that the
chair may not become a waiting one.
Let us regard some of the things
which Prof. Beers thinks it becomes
him to utter in response to ex-Gov.
Chamberlain’s sincere and loyal criti-
cism, especially since he protests that
“what I say I say in defense of the
College, not of myself.”
He thinks it is not becoming for him
to reply at all to the substance of the
criticism relating to the quality of the
instruction in the Department of Eng-
lish, of which he is the head. This is
strange. One would suppose that he, of
all men, should be swift to vindicate
the Department, when its efficiency is
publicly questioned. But while he is
essentially dumb on the real
he does not scorn to resent the wound
to his amour propre. Or is it the amour
propre oi the College he defends by
abandoning argument on the facts
and resorting to personalities in his.
smartest style?
He tells us that ex-Gov. Chamberlain
is now “worrying” the alumni of Mas-
sachusetts, as he has long ‘‘worried”’ the
alumni of New York on this subject.
In his speech, the orator told his audi-
tors that he had “wearied” the alumni
of New York with talk on this theme,
but had not before had an opportunity
to “weary” them. When he learns that
there is worrying he will take heart. It
is more hopeful than indifference. He
has also “deluged people in New Haven
with private letters on this subject’—
not so private, however, that Professor
Beers does not make public use of the
contents of one of them in a manner
that I verily suspect to be essential
garbling.
Does the fact that ex-Gov. Chamber-
lain has long urged a reinforcement of
the Department of English show that
he is mistaken regarding the need?
Should he have quit in submission
when once and again rebuffed and have
sued to join the choir of undiscrimi-
nating adulators of whatever is?
Well, he is not an easy quitter. He has
a proper portion of Yale spirit, the real
stuff. This has been shown on occa-
sions requiring a stouter heart and
stiffer . will, but perhaps not more
patience, than’ does an attempt to
induce Alma Mater to recognize her
obligations. i
Prof. Beers brands the statement that
the whole Department counts but one
man who is a good teacher ‘“‘discourte-
ous.”’ ‘Of course, this concludes the
matter. The teaching must be ade-
quate and superior if it is discourteous
to say it is not. While the ex-Gover-
nor’s statement may be too sweeping
(and in my opinion it is), he is not apt
to condemn without information and
consideration. In any case, the issue
is one of fact and judgment, and not
one of courtesy.
“That the Emily Sanford chair is still
vacant,’ says Prof. Beers, “is not the
fault of the Faculty. It has been offered
in turn to three gentlemen, any one of
whom would have been an ornament to.
the College, and has been declined by
all of them.” In three years (or is it
a longer time?) it has been offered to
three persons, only three. Does this
BEERS'S DEFENSE.
ISSUE,
indicate energetic concern or even due
diligence? Two of the gentlemen—I
do not know certainly who the other is
—are persons about whose fitness it
would seem to be possible for a Yale
Faculty to reach a decision promptly.
Ah! but in extenuation of any slow-
ness, this must be taken into account:
ex-Goy. Chamberlain having been asked
by one to whom he had written a
private letter on this subject, to suggest
a candidate, “he nominated his own
brother, the Rev. Leander (T.) Cham-
berlain, and Col. Homer B. Sprague.’
In the absence of other information,
accepting the Professor's report as
made, is it any evidence of bad judg-
ment or bad motive? I am not making
teply for ex-Gov. Chamberlain; but
knowing both Col. Sprague and the
Rev. Dr. Chamberlain, the latter being
valedictorian and DeForest medal man
of my class, I am willing to say, in Prof.
Beers’s words, that either of them in
that place “would have been an orna-
ment to the College.” | |
Now we come to Prof. Beers’s crown-
ing reason why ex-Gov. Chamberlain’s
criticism must be scouted. The reason
is phrased in borrowed wit, and for
substance of argument it is_ stale.
Every criminal lawyer and every party
hack knows its terrible effectiveness
with the unreasonable and the scan-
dalous elements. For aught I know,
Prof. Beers may plume himself on first -
introducing it into discussion between
scholars concerning the welfare of
Alma Mater. With this example on
record, we may yet have to tolerate the
like, and hear it applauded, in intercol-
legiate debates.
“I have heard it hinted by the
wicked,” Prof. Beers deliberately writes,
“that Mr. Chamberlain’s real candidate
was someone more nearly related to
himself. But this I cannot believe.
He must know that a College profes-
sorship is not a very highly salaried
position; not nearly so profitable as
some other positions which ex-Gov.
Chamberlain has occupied.”
Seriously, Mr. Editor and brethren,
is this sort of argumentum ad hominem,
this substitution of innuendo for candid
statement, of imputation of low motives
for brave reasoning upon allegations of
fact and principle,—is this what is now
inculcated at Yale? Is striking below
the belt an exhibition of the proper
Yale spirit now? Is defamation what
loyal critics of Alma Mater, striving,
however mistakenly, for her advance-
ment and glory, have to expect in the
Consulate of this Plancus?
But what is the significance of Prof.
Beers’s grand coup? Is it not that some
discredit, some right suspicion of insin-
cerity, attaches to what may be said
about filling the vacant post by one
who is willing to take it himself? But
how can he intend this significance, see-
ing that less than one year ago he pro-
posed his own appointment to one of .
the new chairs? In a communication
to the YaLtE ALUMNI WEEKLY of
_ March 11, 1897, he said:
“The English staff in Yale College
(Academic Department) for the com-
ing year will be composed of two pro-
fessors, an assistant professor and five
instructors, even should the two new
chairs remain unfilled. I believe that
force is large enough, if properly dis-
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.
es
NEW YORK LIFE ~
INSURANCE COMPANY,
— 346 & 348 Broadway, —
_ NEW YORK.
Grant and Allen C.
Yale Law School.
For circulars and other information apply to
Prof. FRANCIS WAYLAND,
‘Dean.
tributed, to handle the work; and the
professors already on the ground might
be put upon the Emily Sanford and
Lampson foundations, thereby releas-
ing an equivalent income for the gen-
eral uses of the College.”’
If this opinion of the sufficiency of
the teaching force is entertained by the
Faculty generally, the reason for slow-
ness in reinforcing the Department is
plain. That his suggestion was not
adopted is ground for hope.
WALTER ALLEN.
New Haven, Feb. 28.
<> & ->
et
A Queer Question at Cornell.
One of the questions submitted by
Statistics Committee of the present
Senior class at Cornell demanded a
definition of Yale University. Various
comments on the unusual question have
appeared in the Cornell press. The
explanation offered by the Committee,
in response to an editorial in the <
nell Sun severely denouncing the ques-
tion, is that the matter submitted in
reply to these questions is confidential
and that the Committee, in deciding
what would eventually be made public,
- would use all necessary discretion. A
Cornell Senior has written the follow-
ne letter on the subject to the Cornell
un:
“In the Senior statistics blanks, « Jeti’
have just made their appearance, a
definition of Yale University is asked
for. The propriety of this question is
doubtful at least, and from a certain
point of view it is absolutely improper.
Any attempt to define Yale University
would be faulty unless it included a
statement that her dignity had never
been impeached and that to her sons
her good name was as a thing sacred
and not to be impaired by any descent
to the ignoble or even to the question-
able. In the face of this blank, can she
same thing be said of Cornelli=Ad° of
her sons? And yet we know that this
is generous compared with some of the
things which have gone forth from
here. If we countenance such things
. and are at heart honest, we will feel a
sense of shame in meeting a Yale man.
The managers of our teams can build
up no athletic relations with universi-
ties who love fair play, if the reputation
which these things engender precedes
their attempts. But more than all this,
there is an admission of superiority in
the persistent giving away to fretful
spites
“Vouth is the time in which to form
habits, and Cornell is in that youth.
Let not the habits be those of a peevish,
degenerate old man snarling at and
reviling all who seem to cross him, but
of a vigorous and spirited youth meet-
ing all in manliness and candor and
possessing a dignity, the quiet depth of
which may awe all who come in con-
tact with it. :
“The definition we should give, as
Seniors and Cornellians, is plain.”
Sigma Xi Elections.
At a meeting of Sigma Xi, the Sci-
entific high stand society of the Univer-
sity, held on February 19, the following
men were elected to membership: Dr.
Wesley R. “Coe. 62'5.; Drs Edson F-.
Gallaudet, ’93; Dr. Edward W. Scrip-
ture; William H. Parker; George F.
Eaton, ’94; Herbert E. Hawkes, ’96;
Herbert E. Gregory, 96; Yandell Hen-
derson, 95; James L. Hitchcock, ’97 S.;
Louis C. Jones, 96; Alfred N. Rich-
ards2'07-.: Hon.S. Aimeées;’97 S.;- Wal-
ter S. Cameron, ’97S., and Augustus
Coit, ’97S.; from the Class of Ninety-
Eight, S., Civil Engineering Course—
Zenas H. Sikes and Cooper Wood;
Electrical Engineering Course—George
P. Wisdom; Mechanical Engineering
Course—Fred C. Ferrey, Herbert Hast-
ings, James L. Howard, Jr., George H.
Humphreys, Jr., Richard Krementz,
Edward J. Sherwood; -Chemical
Course—Walter M. Bradley and Treat
B. Johnson; Biology Course—Justin F.
Eustis; from the
Class of Ninety-Eight—Z. M. Briggs,
George “A. Hanford, Ernest Howe,
John F. Norton, Jr., E. Reed Whitte-
more and Arthur B. Williams, Jr.
