DARTMOUTH LECTURES IN MANCHESTER

The following editorial tribute to the lectures delivered in Manchester this winter by members of the Dartmouth factulty appeared in the Manchester Union for April 10. It is here presented to the alumni as a better testimonial to the value of this new project than any comment that the editors of the MAGAZINE could give.

"When announcement was made three or four months ago of the program for the Dartmouth lectures in Manchester on war and peace issues, it must be said that the project was received with general approval spiced with friendly criticism. That is, there was no doubt of the high educational value of the course. A good many people here believed that whatever Dartmouth undertook would be well done, and there were a few who were aware of the splendid special preparation which the college had made to meet the government's call for war aims instruction for the S. A. T. C. So here in Manchester the quality of the course was never in question. The skepticism, frankly, was not concerning what Dartmouth had to offer, but concerned the popular appeal of lectures dealing with the historical, international and sociological topics involved in discussion of the causes and results of the great conflict. In other words, the uncertainty, was not about the platform, but about the house.

It was a question which a' few years ago must have had a very different answer from that given in the winter of 1918-19. How many people would attend a lecture on German philosophers, or the growth of the English constitution, a lecture primarily prepared for students? Bluntly, that is the form the question took. And when it was added that there were to be ten of these lectures the problem of attendance throughout the course was one which aroused doubts among even those most deeply interested in the success of the course because they understood how thoroughly worth while it was going to be. Now the course is over and we have the answer. The doubts are ,gone, dissipated; banished. Judged by that crucial test—the attendance—the course was splendidly successful. It roused interest. It held it. Each succeeding lecture with its great audience and its always interesting questionnaire, showed the hold the course had taken on Manchester people.

People in all walks of life attended the: lectures. They listened attentively and they asked questions which evidenced study. There were theorists, and idealists, and practical men and women, all alike attracted by the desire to know more of the big questions which the lecturers discussed. Their inquiries covered a wide range. Indeed, the questionnaires were among the most noteworthy features of a course which has made a deep impression upon the people of the city.

"The Dartmouth lectures have done a great work. They have brought city and college into a closer, more intimate, more friendly relation than ever before. They have bettered acquaintance, and they have increased respect and liking. They have shown a lot of people that college dons are not dry-as-dust theorists, but remarkably keen gentlemen, at ease in public speaking, abreast of the times, fortified in their opinions, and able to match wits and fence a bit, if need be, with the best of sportsmanship. All this is apart from the educational value of the course. It is the human side of it —and we'll confess that we think this human side is both entertaining and of substantial value.

"The aid of the Institute, the co-operation of the Dartmouth alumni, the public spirit of the president and faculty of the college, the unselfish help given by good friends of the course—all these contributed to make the result that it was. And the popular response to the course—don't forget that, either. It played its part, and it was a big part, and significant."

"There may have been better building than anyone realized in bringing these Dartmouth lecturers to Manchester. There may have been a wonderfully good start made on a system of college extension work. That's in the future. For the present, let's confine ourselves to the good big fact that the Dartmouth men came, and saw and conquered the warm and grateful regard of . the town which happens to be the biggest in their State."