Of late years no Boston dinner of Dartmouth

alumni has been thought complete without its letter from Doctor Tucker. Each succeeding occasion has brought from him its word of interpretation and of encouragement. For Doctor Tucker retirement has meant no cessation of interest or diminishment of understanding concerning the College. He is aware of its problems and its progress. The trend of alumni thought and the nature of alumni responsibility he realizes even better than many of the more active graduates. At no time has this been more vividly apparent than at the dinner of January last. The message there delivered should reach a larger audience of Dartmouth men than that gathered in Boston. It was addressed to Colonel Darling, the toastmaster, who has kindly transmitted a copy to THE MAGAZINE, which here gladly prints it:

OCCOM RIDGE, HANOVER, N. H., January 25, 1916

DEAR COLONEL DARLING :

Would that I might respond in person to your hearty invitation, and join with you in the greetings to Governor McCall and to Mr. Frost, and in the expressions of your respect and affection for President Nichols. I remember that I wrote to the Boston alumni, when Dr. Nichols, then a man of forty, first met you officially, that at last we had the promise of an unbroken administration of thirty years, an administration to be compared hereafter with that of the second Wheelock, or with that of Nathan Lord. But alas, hopes, like prophecies, fail; and we are now asked to give back the greater part of the years which we had preempted for the service of the College. What can we do, under this imperative recall of Dr. Nichols to his chosen profession, recognized by him as the personal call of duty, except, as we must acquiesce in it, to thank Dr. Nichols for these years of devotion to the College, to assure him of the place of honor which he will always hold in our Dartmouth fellowship, and bid him Godspeed as we shall follow him with pride and expectation on his return to his scientific career?

Meanwhile let us take to ourselves the satisfaction of knowing that the management of the College is in the hands of a strong, sane, and courageous board of trustees supported by a faculty of well proven ability, of repute in their various departments, and of enthusiasm in their work. Especially may we take satisfaction in the development of a new type of loyalty among our younger alumni, which is finding expression not only in good fellowship and in, enthusiasm over college successes, but much more in earnest interest

in college policies, and in a serious sense of responsibility. As any one can / see, there are problems, as well as risks, before the College, the solution of which must have a determining effect upon its future. In common with all educational institutions we have before us the urgent duty of trying to adjust education more carefully to the national necessities. Above all is it becoming increasingly necessary to create a habit of mind in the men we educate which shall enable the nation to compete with the trained mind of the world. It is evident that such a habit of mind cannot be extemporized, and also that there are no equivalents for it in those more elementary forces and virtues which we have regarded as inherent in the American mind, and sufficient. All of which points the way to the new place of authority which awaits the scholar. In our present sense of inadequacy we are turning instinctively to the man with the habit of mind available for our national exigencies and obligations. We are now calling the expert to a seat in the councils of the nation.

I can recall no time, unless possibly in the decade following the Civil War, marked in addition by the scientific renaissance, when so sobering and at the same time so inspiring a fortune has befallen the graduate of a college as now, when he may take an active and responsible part in helping his own college to fulfil the great function of the higher education. It is a time when criticism gives way to cooperation, and when cooperation opens the way into the most satisfying and rewarding service.

I am,

Most sincerely yours, W. J. TUCKER.

To Colonel Charles K. Darling, President Boston Dartmouth Alumni Association.

If the recipient of an invitation to assume the presidency of Dartmouth were to ask for proof of alumni loyalty to the College what should we show him? There is the athletic field, of course; but that represents the enthusiasm of twenty years back. Dartmouth Hall rebuilt, Webster Hall, the new gymnasium. These, too, are past achievements. Besides, the visible and tangible monument is not necessarily the surest test of sentiment. What are the alumni as a whole doing now that indicates their interest in the College, their belief in its mission, and their willingness to aid in maintaining its effective work? That seems an entirely pertinent question for a prospective president to ask, particularly if by any chance, he were being invited to give up an interesting and remunerative career for the hazardous fortunes of academic administration. And the answer? Weill, last year the alumni fund showed receipts of something over $6,000. Of five thousand alumni about ten per cent contributed.

The measure of encouragement which these brief figures should contain may be matter for debate. THE MAGAZINE, however, counts it fortunate that they are not by any means conclusive. They represent the first and organizing year of a movement which, as the alumni more thoroughly understand its philosophy and purpose, is almost certain to grow. A year from now inferences may more fairly be drawn.