THE “LIT.” COMPETITION,
The Record and Quality of Some of
the Contributors.
With the issue of the February num-
ber of the Lit. competition for places
on its editorial board by members of
the present Junior class ceases. At
first the competition gave signs of be-
ing very strong, but of late it seems
to have unfortunately and quite inex-
plicably lost in keenness. The work of
the men has, however, despite inevita-
ble lapses into the commonplace and the
mediocre, been on the whole of a high
quality, especially in the field of essays.
The first place among the competitors
is indubitably held by James W. Barney,
by reason of the quantity and quality
of his work, which is of unusual excel-
lence.. Men of cultivation and literary
aptitudes are numerous at Yale, but
there are not over many who show in
their work a high culture, and an ap-
preciation of the finer, loftier side of
literature, seeing that writing is an art,
and endeavoring to make their articles
conform to that standard.
Mr. Barney has of course done some
mediocre and even poor things, but in
the majority of his essays he shows a
highly cultivated taste, a thorough ac-
quaintance with art, and considerable
original thought, combined with a real
grace of expression. He_ possesses
sympathetic insight and ability to judge
from the point of view of the subject
discussed which makes criticism just,
together with that enthusiasm which
gives life to writing. His portfolios
really belong to literature, not being
mere fragments, but showing an ap-
preciation of the “prose-poem’” as a
form of art. His manner of writing,
while it lacks at times ease and polish,
has a real charm and individuality. He
possesses the beginnings of a true style,
which is unusual in a college man,
and this work is of-a kind the increase
of which at Yale is highly desirable.
Hulbert Taft represents the best type
oi the usual kind of college literature.
His work is more typical than distinctly
individual, for it represents what the
undergraduate of ability can do, and
that as seen in Mr. Taft’s articles is
highly creditable. The greater part of
his work is made up of stories, which
are remarkable for their freedom from
that exageration and bad taste, sprung
from inexperience, which are apt to
mar college stories. Those which he
has written are interesting, carefully
worked out, and well expressed. They
are not wooden, as is often the case with
college stories, but are life-like and con-
vincing. “The Legend of El Cantara,
The Singer’ in particular is a really
very charming story told with consider-
able dramatic skill. Lately he has
written several essays that are even bet-
ter than his stories. They are more dry
and evidently worked up, but are well
constructed and interesting, showing
power of analysis, sympathy and no
little force. This style, while not dis-
tinctive, is easy, correct and pleasing.
Owen M. Johnson is a man whose
work it is somewhat difficult to esti-
mate. He possesses a faculty of ‘char-
acter-drawing and an ability to give life
to his personages that is quite un-
usual in a college man. He has also a
certain facility and almost maturity in
writing. But his work is marred by bad
taste, wordiness, and a lack of concen-
tration. His articles are ‘on the line of
the magazine stories of the day. He
has perhaps attained his end more
nearly than the other competitors, but
it is not quite so high or so truly
literary.
John M. Hopkins is an example of
what determination and industry can
accomplish. Originally without much
literary ability, he has learned how to
write, steadily improving. In his case
one can expect his next article to be
better than his last. His sketches of
southern life are interesting, and his es-
says, while in no way brilliant, are
pieces of ‘good work.
Samuel G. Camp is a man who
writes, although he shows no literary
taste. His stories are forceful and ori-
ginal; never being reminiscent. But
they often show bad taste and a lack
of those qualities which distinguish
literature from writing.
James P. Lombard is a case of one
who might have been. His articles
have shown culture, msight and literary
aptitude. His failure to do more work
is greatly to be deplored.
VAT tm ALUMNI! WHARLUY
The same thing is true of Frederick
H. Winters. His ‘“Melea” is one of the
most original essays that have appeared
in the Lit. in some time. He has
marked vices of style, but they could
have been overcome, and his failure to
do more work is much to be regretted.
Below is given a list of the contribu-
tors from the Junior class and a com-
plete summary of their published
articles:
aoe eg Be
pos. ee
ao &  & &
James Ws Mathew. =o: 1 2.0 17
Kenneth Bruce .... ~. re ee.
Str Cain 6 fT 8 oe
Rie Heyes soc Ss tren eae eee
ee Se SeOpKING 234 5 45 Pe ee ae,
Owen he Johnson. 23 693 sie
WS iomnson se eee et ee
James et bombard. 9. oF ee
Huathert Patt: u25-; ie a ees tng” es gf
EO et Waiters Se ee Ge
CRITIC.
The election of members to the Nine-
teen Hundred Lit. board will take place
Monday, Feb. 20.
a
The Value of Education.
[From an address before the Men’s Club of New
Haven, by Myron T. Scudder, Principal of
the Hillhouse High School. ]
The value of education in advance
of that given by elementary or com-
mon schools is strikingly shown by the
following: Dr. Charles Thwing, Presi-
dent of Adelbert College, counted the
names in the six volumes of the Apple-
tons’ Cyclopedia of Biography, which
sketches the careers of about 15,000 of
the most noted Americans. He found
that more than 5,000 of these are col-
lege men. Estimating the total number
who have graduated from college to be
200,000 and the total population of the
country for the century at 100,000,000, it
appears that where one out of 40 of the
college men of this country became
sufficiently noted to receive mention in
this cyclopedia, only one out of 10,000
of those who had not college training
was equally fortunate. That is, accord-
ing to this remarkable showing, the
chances of the college man to become
eminently successful and distinguished
as compared with the non-college man
is aS 10,000 to 40, or 250 to ¥.
Again, Professor Jones of the Univer-
sity of Missouri publishes an interest-
ing statement to this effect: He shows
that only one out of every 100 of the
men of this nation have had a college
education; then he goes on to say that
if, as a rule, the college graduate be-
cause of his education is no better
fitted for positions of trust and re-
sponsibility than those who have not
had college education, then we could
‘not expect to find that more than: one
per cent. of these positions were filled.
by college men. As a matter of fact,
however, we find college men pro-
portionately far outnumbering the non-
college men, besides furnishing a ma-
jority of the most distinguished names
in American history.
For instance, in our national Con-
gress, instead of only one per cent.,
36% of the members are college grad-
uates. Of the speakers of ithe House
during the past fifty years, 55% have
been college men. Fifty-five percent.
of our presidents were graduated from
college; 63% of the secretaries of
state; 67% of the attorney generals;
69% of the associate justices of the Su-
preme Court, and 86% of the chief jus-
tices were college graduates.
Professor Jones says that the per-
centage of college men in national pub-
lic affairs is increasing in every branch
except the United States Senate; and,”
he adds significantly, “are there not
those who think that there has been
a corresponding decrease in the effi-
ciency of the Senate?”
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