GRADUS AD PARNASSUM
Dr. James Alfred Spalding '66, M.D. and Litt.D. writes describing the visit of General Sherman to Hanover at the time of the old Doctor's Commencement. The General's nephew, Henry Stoddard Sherman, was a member of the graduating class of '66. In honor of this occasion in the life of the Sherman family the General came to Hanover and was feted and cheered at every turn. After several hours of academic addresses the crowd adjourned to the alumni luncheon where the General and Salmon P. Chase were heard. Dr Spalding recalls that "a joke was passed around on the 'salmon' for lunch being served with so few 'peas' that you had to 'chase' them with a fork to get a few to eat." And the Doctor adds:
"Last of all General Sherman made histhird speech and after further remarksabout the war he brought down the houseby saying in a clear, ringing voice, that hehad had a great time in graduating withthe famous boys of '66 and that he wasmightily pleased to see his nephew sohighly thought of as a classmate as to bemarshal of the finest class that he had everseen; but that he parted from Hanoverwith but one sad thought: 'You have heardit said, perhaps, that General Shermanonce said of marching through Georgiathat 'War was hell; but I can now add afurther definition of hell and say that is thejob of making three speeches in one day atthe Commencement of the class of '66!'"
The fact that Commencement this year will be shortened by one day means that there will be a certain amount of hell involved for those who have found themselves pressed for time during a four-day Commencement, as in recent years. As recently as 1926 the festivities lasted five days, beginning Friday night and running through Tuesday night when the Senior Ball was held. The program this year starts with two major events—the President's reception and the Ball—both Friday evening, June 15. Class Day exercises, the Alumni Luncheon, and the annual league baseball game with Cornell preceded by the alumni parade to the game will fill Saturday. Class dinners and the Players' show are scheduled for Saturday night. Sunday will be devoted to Baccalaureate in the morning and class outings in the afternoon, with the annual musical clubs concert that evening. The Bema exercises Monday morning will finish off a full and concentrated program.
The President will again give the Baccalaureate address. At opposite ends of the College year he gives the two addresses that are so eagerly looked for. Between June and September there is a summer of golf and boating in Maine. His schedule from September to June has hardly a break in the round of office appointments and correspondence, traveling, speaking, and attending meetings, not to mention the cares of responsibility for the welfare of 2,400 students that he carries through the year. Certainly it will be a great relief to him to see Commencement draw to a close and to give undivided attention to a small round white ball or gleaming tall white sails, if not to an Opening Address for next September!
Those who direct the destinies of the Baker Library announce, from time to time, the acquisition of gifts of documents or papers of one sort or another having to do with the history of the College. Alumni who may have in their possession letters or other manuscripts that are at all apt to be of value to present or future Dartmouth generations are invited to send them to the Library for safe keeping, or to communicate with the authorities in regard to doing this at some future time
Prof. Artemas Packard made an excellent talk to the secretaries during their Association meetings in Hanover the middle of May. As the final item of the two-day meetings a talk on the Orozco frescoes was scheduled. Professor Packard willingly took on the assignment. The program just preceding the talk was delayed and it was nearly 12:30 when Artemas began to expound on the Myth of Quetzelcoatl. He warned the large and attentive group of sec'y's that he couldn't dispose of this subject in a nonce. His story of the significance of the frescoes, their interpretation, their several and various meanings, fell on fertile ground. Some of the secretaries, who were heard to mutter low oaths of condemnation, became visibly mellowed as the talk progressed. Certainly it was most enlightening—more so than individual study and reflection could be. Artemas talked for about an hour and a half and his audience was still with him very much so, and cheering at the end! There will be gallery talks at the scene of the frescoes during Commencement. The skeptical owe themselves the allotment of time to hear an expert explanation of the artist's work.
The Secretaries meetings were, as always, wonderful. The meetings and the dinner are of that superlative sort of cooperative enterprise that makes them seem better every year, even if they aren't. But this year they were better, the best we ever had! Speaking at the dinner session in Stell Hall by Prexy, Craven, Earl Blaik, and Marty Dwyer, new secretary-chairman for '34, was never excelled at any Dartmouth affair. It was inspiring. It will be cherished by every man present, not alone for what was said but for the way it was said. And the way people listen has a lot to do with the success of any program.
Although the Alumni Fund committee has said "Again—No Pressure" it is evident from early returns (to be found in Newsof the College in this issue) that better times mean better support to the Fund to Dartmouth men. With hardly a semblance of the high-pressure promotion campaign in vogue up until last year the drive is well ahead of last year and promises to produce a most respectable final result. Class agents have not entirely given up their efforts to secure contributions as many members of many classes will attest! This is very much as it should be. If the personal relationship between agents and their classmates brings a higher total in gifts and number of contributors the Fund is functioning as it properly should.
The host of friends that cheers for Chub Sterling 'll will be pleased if the Fund totals this year are well ahead of last. No Dartmouth man is better qualified to have staged a great selling campaign in behalf of the Fund. None saw the wisdom of "No Quota" in these times more clearly than he. Chub's ambition is to see the day of quotas for the Fund come back and to see the totals rise above those of any previous record year.
One thing that grew out of the Secretaries meetings was the approval of a rise in the subscription rate of the MAGAZINE to $2.50 per year. This is necessary to meet high costs of publication and to immediately adopt a long-cherished plan of giving the MAGAZINE to graduating classes for five years for $5. This is being done for the class of 1934, and similar offers will be made to all classes now less than five years out of college. If this move helps toward the development of class unity and strength in the younger classes it will be a wise move. Group subscriptions at the old price of $2 will be available.
Au revoir, until October.
Red Rolfe '31 Making good with the Yankees.
