Dartmouth in the New Deal
An Interview WithWilliam N. Rogers '15
WHEN June in all its seductive languor settled upon Hanover in 1913, a sophomore from Sanbornville, New Hampshire, decided he'd had enough of college. Back on the farm the planted corn was cracking through hard earth; rust on the harrows must be removed; the folks would soon need an extra "hand" in the hayfields. And this year, when the October moon rode high, he'd plug the fox that had been stealing chickens down behind the barn. To hell with books!
When September began to lay an Oriental rug on Balch Hill that same year, Frank Cavanaugh heard of the sophomore's decision. He, being one of Dartmouth's most famous football coaches, thought of the big hole this young fellow's absence would leave in the center of his 1913 line. Down at Princeton, Hobey Baker promised to put a splendid eleven on the field, and now that fair Harvard was not included on Dartmouth's schedule—even though Brickley's toe had licked the Green 3-0 the year before Cav was keen about "taking" Princeton. Young Jack Bowler got his Dad's car and drove Cav to Sanbornville, straight across the state.
"All right, coach, I don't want to do this, but if you think you need me, I'll go back until the Christmas holidays," the sophomore was saying. Cav looked at him—a well set-up, splendid type of Yankee. "Look here, Bill," he said, displaying a side of his personality about which the world has perhaps not heard enough, "do you know what you're doing? Remember you've got a long life ahead of you, and you're going to need all the wisdom you can pack into your head. I need you badly, but I don't want you to come back for football only. I want you to promise me to stay the full year." They talked for two hours. Later in the fall Dartmouth "took" Princeton 6-0, with the Sanbornville representative playing right guard.
THE SPEAKER OF THE House of Representatives recognized William Nathaniel Rogers, chairman of the subcommittee of the House Military Affairs Committee. Angry at a partisan attack against it, Rogers forcefully urged adoption of a resolution empowering his committee to investigate "profiteering and irregularities" in procurement of military aircraft and other War Department material. "It involves matters more dear than politics," he exclaimed. "These matters relate not only to property and lives, but to the very integrity of the Nation itself." The resolution was adopted. In his office, a few minutes later, Rogers answered the telephone. A hard-boiled, news-wise staffer of Washington's Associated Press Bureau was on the other end: " . . . . and by the way that was a damned fine speech you made." He ought to know—he's listened to plenty of them. Turning to your interviewer, Rogers said: "If it hadn't been for Frank Cavanaugh, I might never have made any speech in the House of Representatives."
WHEN BILL WENT back in the fall of '13, he stayed the full year and took a new interest in life. After Dartmouth, he went up to Bangor, Maine, to coach the high school team. Between games, he completed his legal education at the University of Maine where he received a law degree in 1916. Admitted to the New Hampshire bar that same year, Bill practiced in Rochester and Concord. So frequently were his clients awarded verdicts against the Boston & Maine Railroad that counsel for the latter began to sit up and pay attention. Not long thereafter the firm of Streeter, Demond, Woodworth & Sulloway had the name Rogers added to the rather imposing shingle that hung out over Main Street in Concord.
Bill stepped on the first rung of the political ladder when he was elected to the New Hampshire House of Representatives in 1917. Two more terms there in 1919 and 1921, and he stepped up another rung when the First District sent him to Washington for the Sixty-eighth Congress in 1922. He came back for the Seventy-second and now, in the Seventy-third, he's one of the busiest men in the House as Chairman of the subcommittee investigating the mess in which private aviation finds itself. There are rungs higher up the ladder, and today a rumor rumbles around New Hampshire's hills that Bill plans to run for Governor in the fall. If he is, you'll have to seek in pages other than these for an official announcement.
POLITICS RUNS in the Rogers family. When Bill was born on January 10, 1892, his grandfather, John W. Sanborn was well known in the Granite State's political circles. A pioneer in the coming mode of transportation in his day, Grandfather Sanborn was at one time superintendent of the Northern Division of the Boston & Maine with headquarters at Sanbornville. He later served in the New Hampshire legislature.
Before following the family footsteps in politics, however, Bill had a lot of football in his system. In 1909 he captained his team at Brewster Free Academy in Wolfboro. At Dartmouth he played with several famous old-timers including Fat Spears, Bud Whitney, and Moose Englehart, the latter an all-American tackle. Bill himself was mentioned by several sports writers as all-American guard. During those undergraduate days he lived in old Thornton Hall and could be found either there or at the Phi Kappa Psi house.
Bill still gets a heap o' livin' out of his farm in Sanbornville where he makes his home with his wife, two daughters, and a son—at least he does when Congress is not in session, or when his law partners can dispense with his services. He's a crack shot with a rifle or shotgun, and when the open season for deer and rabbits rolls around, Bill's fingers begin to fidget for the trigger. The chances are better than even, however, that you'll find his extra-curricula activities are confined to contract bridge at the Roosevelt Hotel in Washington. Like all the rest of us he plays the Cumbersome system and feels like a millionaire when he wins sixty cents.
Here in Washington his colleagues on the Hill hold him in the highest esteem. An impartial observer rates him as follows: He's one of the hardest working members we've got up here. He's in his office every day, and you'll find him there early in the morning and late in the evening. Furthermore, I think Bill has never ducked a roll call in his life. He seldom speaks on the floor, but when he does he's got something to say and you'd better keep your ears open. Watch how thoroughly and on what a non-partisan basis he conducts this aviation investigation. New Hampshire has every reason to congratulate itself for sending him down here. Besides being capable, honest, sincere, and energetic, Bill Rogers is one hell of a nice fellow.
A Political Future
