Following the resignation of Ernest Martins Hopkins

from the editorship of the ALUMNI MAGAZINE, the president of the Association of Secretaries, Charles C. Merrill, has appointed Homer Eaton Keyes acting editor to serve until, at their spring meeting, the secretaries may select a permanent successor to Mr. Hopkins. William Rennselaer Gray has consented to assist Mr. Keyes by looking after the business interests of the periodical. The action of President Merrill indicates the natural assumption on his part that the ALUMNI MAGAZINE is an institution of definite value to the College and its alumni, and that it should be continued. The present editors hope further to justify this assumption; The change in The Dartmouth from a semi-weekly magazine to a thrice-a-week newspaper form makes more than ever essential the publication of a review which shall present in due perspective, proper proportion, and convenient 'size a resume of the news of the College. The undergraduate journal and the graduate monthly should supplement each other advantageously. To this end the ALUMNI MAGAZINE will, during the coming year, undergo some changes. Beginning with this issue, an effort will be made to have the date of publication the first of the month, although the report of Commencement will somewhat delay the July number. For the convenience of busy readers a more definite separation than hitherto will be made between the editorial and the news matter. The former will deal mainly with general topics and with comment upon material appearing as news. The latter will be divided into two main sections: "College News," which will contain reports of affairs affecting the College as a whole; and "Undergraduate News," which will be confined to the social and athletic affairs of the student body. It is hoped, from time to time, to print special articles which shall deal with unfamiliar aspects of Dartmouth history and which may serve not merely to arouse a passing interest but to preserve valuable data as well. It should, however, be stated that the quality of the MAGAZINE must depend in large measure upon the means at the disposal of its editors. It is perhaps a truism of private enterprises that the better the article the larger the sales. But since the ALUMNI MAGAZINE is not a private enterprise, the statement must needs be reversed. The capital account consists, today, of five years of honorable existence and the loyal support of the alumni. It is proposed to double the second half of the capital: subscription are cordially invited.

Now that Ernest M. Hopkins has severed official connection with the College and has laid aside his editorial duties, the ALUMNI MAGAZINE may with propriety express its appreciation of the services of its founder. It was in January, 1905, that the class secretaries, at their annual meeting in Hanover, resolved that the time had come when there was a call for an alumni publication. The work of organizing such a publication was left to Mr. Hopkins, then secretary to the President. Mr. Hopkins was fortunate in securing the co-operation of Principal John Moore Comstock '77, of Chelsea, Vt., who accepted and has since admirably fulfilled the duties of Alumni Editor. For the rest, he was thrown almost entirely upon his own resources both as manager and editor. Whatever of individuality in character or policy the MAGAZINE can boast is due to his intelligence and initiative ability.

As Secretary of the College, to which post he was appointed in the spring of 1905, Mr. Hopkins accomplished a vast number of difficult and perplexing tasks with unqualified success. By the trustees he was called upon to conduct the arrangements for all important academic occasions. The dignity and impressiveness of Dartmouth Commencements is largely of his devising: the credit for the success of the inauguration exercises of a year ago is mainly his. He knew the alumni in terms of personal acquaintance, and did much to keep in co-ordinate relation with one another and with the College, the innumerable graduate clubs and associations throughout the country. The student body last June expressed their regard and respect for him in the presentation of a gold watch: and well they might. He was friend and adviser to many individuals, the important counselor of many groups. The crowded smoke-talks on Saturday evenings throughout the winter witnessed his discrimination and care in the choice of speakers and entertainers for the College Club. Mr. Hopkins' abilities were notably administrative and as such led to the offer of a position with the Western Electric Company which he could not afford to refuse. The office which he occupied at Dartmouth was one of his own creating. With his resignation it has, at least for the time being, lapsed.

The new college year opens auspiciously with an unusually large freshman class and considerable additions to the enrollment by transfer from other colleges. The sudden increase in entering registration is, no doubt, in part due to the advent of better times after two years of financial depression. Be this as it may, the situation must in the main be interpreted as a signal expression of public confidence in the administration of President Nichols. Alumni loyalty to Dartmouth could naturally be counted upon; the usual proportion of sons, near relatives and friends was to be expected; but these would hardly be sufficient to furnish forth such a freshman class as that of this fall. President Nichols' wide reputation in his chosen field of knowledge, and the favorable impression that he has created upon the many occasions during the past year when he has delivered important addresses have led to great expectations of Dartmouth's future under his guidance. There is reason to believe that these expectations will be fulfilled. Those, however, who are looking for spectacular achievements will necessarily be disappointed. The major part of the material equipment essential to modern college requirements sprang into being under President Tucker's magic touch; his wonderful foresight led to the establishment of a curriculum in the main broad enough to meet the demands of some years to come. The test of the new administration will not lie in its ability to repeat or imitate these things. It will lie rather in its power to solve problems in the main unknown to the outside world, but of vital importance to the welfare and the standing of the College.

Professor Charles F. Richardson's resignation from the Dartmouth faculty will cause widespread regret among those in any way connected with the College. During his twenty-eight years of devoted service to the institution from which he graduated, he has endeared himself to trustees, faculty, and students. Yet, after all, it has been the students who loved him most because they knew him best, and, having met him at the right period of their lives, have gained the most from him. Professor Richardson is one of those rare teachers who, in presenting a subject, consider the student first and the subject afterwards. This quality, coupled with a singular generosity toward the immature idea, has enabled him in unusual degree to stimulate the minds of those who encountered him in recitation room and lecture hall. There are few men who have graduated from Dartmouth within the last quarter of a century who have not made a point of taking at least one of his courses, and of these there is none who has not carried away an indelible impression of his kindly, scholarly, broad-minded and versatile personality. His gracious bearing and trenchant phrase make him in demand wherever Dartmouth men are come together. Knowing men, and known of them, he has, on countless occasions, been called to represent Dartmouth at outside academic gatherings. His retirement in the prime of life is a severe loss to the College: if, as he intends, he returns to those literary pursuits in part neglected in the stress of teaching, it will be a gain to American letters.

The establishment of the Dartmouth Club of Boston is a matter for congratulation. It is a tangible expression of the energy and unity of the alumni of Boston. But it will serve not merely as a monument to things that are, but as a means to greater unity and greater efficiency. The spirit of co-operation has been a notable characteristic of Dartmouth men: given its fullest opportunity for development and it must needs work alike to the advantage of the individuals concerned and to that of the College. The Club has begun its career with admirable forethought and conservatism. Expansion will undoubtedly be provided as the need arises. In the meantime it is well that Dartmouth men throughout the country should bear in mind that there are headquarters in Boston where the chance of encountering friends is sure. For the admirable statement of the organization and purposes of the Club, the MAGAZINE is indebted to Horace G. Pender '97, to whom, further, is generally accorded the chief credit for initiating and successfully engineering the movement which has achieved so happy a result.

Another exemplification of the working of the spirit of co-operation is the gift to the College of the sum of $3,200 by the Class of '85. While not an enormous sum in itself, this gift has a large significance. Members of the class have as individuals been contributing to various college funds devoted to specific purposes, the Tucker fund, the Gymnasium fund, and, no doubt, to various fraternity funds. Now, in addition to all these things, they have as a collective body expressed their respect and affection for Dartmouth by an unrestricted gift which may be turned into the permanent endowment of the College. To what extent other classes are arranging to follow the example of '85 is not known: the class of 1900 has since graduation been rolling up a fund that by its twenty-fifth reunion should approach the ten thousand dollar mark. But granting an average of $3,200 given by each class at its quarter centennial, ten Commencements would see the college endowments increased by well over $30,000, and by the time the Class of '85 returned for its fiftieth reunion, it would find its generous foundation crowned by $76,000 more. These are minimum figures: the Class of '85 has but fifty-seven living members; 1910 graduated more than two hundred. The men of today and tomorrow are not likely to be less generous than those of yesterday. In the long future these class gifts, if systematically continued, should prove a powerful factor in the prosperity of Dartmouth.