Class of 1902

Guy Abbott was one of the numerous "flu" victims, and we are all glad to know that he is getting to be himself again. Guy is one of the sort who generally doesn't add much to the income of the family physician. I can't help quoting from one of Guy's earlier letters, since often when I think of him I think of one of his class activities:

"I agree with you that a large number ofcontributors is a better indication ofloyalty and interest than is a large contribution. Again, I agree with you thattrue success is certainly not measured by aman's income. I believe that there are inour class many who have made tremendous successes though their incomes arequite small."

Perhaps it is only because a fellow agrees with you that you believe he is a pretty keen thinker, but after all I have liked to nourish the idea that this class of 1902 really amounts to something worth while in the world, and I do not get one bit excited about my poverty when I read of college classes fifteen years out with average incomes of $25,000 and so on.

Some time I'd like to take you on an imaginary trip around and stage a class reunion in a very novel way. Instead of meeting all the fellows back in Hanover where we seem to make each one occupy the place he did as an undergraduate, we would all visit him in his office where he is at work. Being present only in imagination we wouldn't disturb him and we would be surprised at various things. To us he'd be Tom, Dick, or Harry, but when the callers come in we would note the deference of his colleagues, the attention and respect afforded him, which we, his classmates, would never dream of according him.

Dr. Griffin will need to assume a very different pose than he is able to carry before he is other than "Jack" to me, but when one of my students of some years back told me of his family doctor over in Brooklyn, his whole attitude of admiration and respect made me feel what a privilege was mine in knowing Jack, and yet made me wonder almost if I had realized that my young caller had probably the truer picture of the situation.

Of course I didn't mean to single out individuals in this imaginary trip, but when you find that we shall have called on heads of business houses, engineers, directors of hospitals, ministers of the gospel, newspaper men, banking officials, lawyers, practicing physicians, and many others, even including university and college professors, I wonder if we would not come back home feeling that we had a new set of values. Perhaps, too, the feeling of pride in the real achievement of the class would take on new growth.

The New York Times of January 1 carried an interview with the president-elect of the Associated General Contractors of America. This gentleman spoke convincingly on methods for improving our economic situation, and proves again as he has before that an engineer must needs be more than a designer of bridges and a constructor of buildings, he must often design business policies and construct many a stimulus for public opinion. I wish I had the space to quote at length from this article, but we shall have to be satisfied with the reference, and know that it is available for serious consideration by public-minded men. Perhaps you aren't following this item as closely as you would if you realized that this particular president-elect was not only one of the overseers of the Thayer School, but more particularly and here at least chiefly a member of 1902, our own Tozzer, who has been active during the last year or more in the group of far-seeing individuals who have sought to stimulate construction work particularly on those projects whose cost is repaid out of their own earnings and not out of taxes.

When the world is surely on the up grade at last, we'll all feel a bit easier, but especially will some of our men whose business and occupations have been more depressed than others. In the meantime it might not be out of place to hint that when other things are equal it is not a bad idea to turn something in the direction of some fellow in the class who isn't exactly enjoying all his leisure.

I am beginning to get worried about some of the class, not particularly those fellows who haven't yet written to me, because some of them are pretty busy and they'll come across as soon as they realize that I need to have a cheery word now and then. The real source of worry, however, is in such cases as this one. The genial business manager of the Tulsa Tribune (I mustn't mention names) wrote me on August 24 a note which I liked very much, and ended by saying:

"I am leaving tonight for a short stayat Hot Springs, Ark. I will write you moreof a letter when I return to Tulsa."

Now I ask you if that isn't something to get worried about. If anyone subscribes regularly to the Tulsa Tribune perhaps he can help me out. However, this isn't the only case, and I am beginning to suspect that the old mythical tales of alluring lands wherein the guests were received with such hospitality that they gave up all thought of return really weren't myths at all.

A letter from one of my old Wentworth Hall crowd filled me with joy. Howard Harris was trying to make me understand how it happened that he took so long to get pen to paper, and he went clear back to the times when we had to be valet to our own rooms:

"It just shows that some of the traitsthat characterized me in college have notchanged perceptibly. You probably recallthat on Saturday afternoons when cleanup was the general order I could seldommake it before four or five o'clock. And Ican recall how clean it usually was whenI got there, and also how blamed frostywas the atmosphere, despite the very bestof alibis."

It is possible, Howard, that you have made out a worse case against yourself than is proper, but I assure you that I get the general drift of your remarks, and I'll be willing to hazard a nickel that at least Guy Abbott and General Stone are able to do a bit of recalling. We are all glad to know that Howard is feeling better, but why should any fellow choose to combine a business depression and a serious operation. That's enough to make me think that he is not responsible for either.

"I was able to pick out your face in thereunion picture, in fact most of them, butthere were two or three to whom apparently the photographer did not do fulljustice."

Again that is very kind, but it reminds me of the student who was up before one of our deans on account of something or other. Finally the dean said, "Well, I'll seethat you get full justice." "Justice! Hell!I'm asking you for mercy."

I should not keep the commissioner of banking of the state of Vermont waiting all this time for an acknowledgment of his letter, but you see that is one of the ways in which one exercises the prerogatives of the office of class secretary. Bob writes:

"Most of us have no great achievementsto talk about and so don't care to talkabout ourselves."

Now there's a good bit of Vermont loquacity in that. I can't really expect the commissioner to go into the details of his job, but you know just as well as I do that the state of Vermont is not given to putting figure-heads into such places, and further that Bob Clark is worthy of all that his state entrusts to him.

By the way, it has always struck me as odd that the class should have such an unusual combination of individuals as two sets of unrelated men of similar names. We have the two Robert Clarks and the two Arthur Ruggles. R. C. and R. B., and A. H. and A. V., all of them loyal and enthusiastic members of the group, and yet each one so decidedly himself that I think the class has never felt any confusion in the matter. As a matter of fact, in class service, good citizenship, and general accomplishment, this group of four seems to have done its full share. Still we hope to hear more from them.

Percy Dorr says that Betty is planning to enter Smith next fall, another case of daughter following mother. The Dorrs went down to Hyannisport on July 25 to help the Drakes celebrate their twenty- fifth wedding anniversary. Frank has a beautiful place there, and best of all has four fine children, all of whom were on hand to make father and mother realize how young they are.

You know I think we didn't play up this twenty-fifth anniversary stunt the way it should have been done. To be sure we did catch the Edsons right in hand, and naturally that helped remember the Studwells. But these were the bold folks who combined fifth reunion and honeymoon, and gradually it appears that 1932 was a twenty-fifth anniversary for others. Probably what we should have done was to label each pair with a number giving the period of years during which "he" had been nominally the head of the house, and "she" had been more or less under compulsion to listen to his breakfast table conversation of the length of time he took for that meal while in college. After pondering over our mistakes, perhaps we'll have a grand scheme worked out to celebrate the golden weddings.

This long interval between writing and publication has its advantages as I have already pointed out, but just now one o£ its disadvantages comes up. I wish to call to your attention that I mailed to each of you about January 20 an address list of the class. It is the hope of your officers that this may be a "working" list, and to that end I am ready to supply a copy to anyone in the class who failed to receive his first copy. Further it is hoped that errors in the list, if any, will be promptly reported, so that suitable correction may be made. The disadvantage lies in the fact that by the time this catches your eye you may have forgotten about the receipt of the list (or perhaps your secretary thought it was advertising matter), but at any rate if that address list isn't now where you can put your hand on it please let me know.

It is hard to see the connection, but probably it is an illustration of the power of suggestion. I started this letter over ten days ago with a note from Guy Abbott on top of the "pile." I am finishing it while just beginning my first day out of bed, where the "flu" sent me several days back. If I am really as sensitive as that, I wish some of you would write me about fishing trips, excursions to the mountains, new automobiles, and other lively reminders of the "vertical" life.

Again after my regular letter has been mailed I have received news of the loss of another classmate. Maurice J. Leahy of New York city left us on January 37, after a very short illness. Lack of time prevents the preparation of a suitable tribute for this issue.

Secretary, 130 Woodridge Place, Leonia, N. J.