Political Experiment Grows
THE Dartmouth-in-Politics movement, which the Department of Political Science has been quietly working on for several years in an effort to increase the participation of Dartmouth alumni in active political life, was brought directly to the attention of three more alumni classes late in March when a letter offering assistance was mailed to all members of the Classes of 1928, 1929 and 1930. Previously, during the past year, the directors of the movement—Professors James P. Richardson '99 and Harold J. Tobin 'l7—had sent a similar letter to all graduates from 1931 through 1936. It is not likely that the direct-mail approach will be carried beyond the alumni classes of the past decade, and within those limits the stage has been set for a political experiment which is being watched with great interest by colleges and universities throughout the country.
The latest letter, sent to nearly 2,000 alumni, described the purpose of Dartmouth-in-Politics as that of rendering "practical assistance to recent Dartmouth graduates who wish to do some active political work for the benefit of themselves and others. It is not to get people political jobs; nor to urge them to 'go into politics' as a career.
"The conviction is spreading among intelligent young men and women that, even from motives of self-interest, participation in politics, considerably more intense than just voting at elections, is essential if democratic institutions are to be saved. Sharing this belief, for two years or so we have been organizing a 'service agency' to help those who 'have the urge' but do not quite know how to realize it."
Through various agencies, but mostly through the wide acquaintanceship of the directors of Dartmouth-in-Politics and through the trial-and-error handling of cases from Maine to Oregon, there has been built up a corps of 234 "contact men" to whom young alumni can be referred for a start in political activity. All but 25 of these are Dartmouth men. So far 65 contact men have been called upon to aid 140 interested graduates from the classes of 1931 through 1936, and the others are geographically filed as possibilities for cases which arise in their particular localities. Frequently the Hanover operatives of Dartmouth-in-Politics have to do an involved piece of detective work to find their contact man, and rarely do they fail to locate him, either among alumni of the College or among non-Dartmouth political workers.
Six COMMITTEES FORMED
As a recent development of the Dartmouth-in-Politics movement, committees have been formed in the more active political areas to provide openings for young alumni. Such committees, in varying stages of organization, now exist in New York, Chicago, Boston, Cleveland, New Jersey, and Westchester County, N. Y. The New York committee has had 31 applicants referred to it; Boston, 13; New Jersey, 12; Chicago, 11; Westchester County, 6; and Cleveland, 3; making a total of 76 cases in all. The complicated political life in the larger cities has created a special problem for the Dartmouth-in-Politics experiment, and for this reason as well as because of the larger number of applicants to be placed in the populous centers, the establishment of committees has been undertaken. A feature of the committee plan is the mixture of political parties represented on the various committees and the strictly non-partisan way in which the groups function.
Since Professor Richardson and Professor Tobin canvassed the classes of 1931 through 1936 they have heard from 378 young alumni. Of this number, 156 asked for assistance in entering upon political work; 61 wrote that they could not participate because of business reasons, and 18 others because of unsettled location; 11 reported themselves as not interested, while 10 protested against politics in general; 77 said that graduate studies kept them from participating; and 44 wrote that they were in law school and would seek political affiliations later.
The voluminous file of correspondence which Dartmouth-in-Politics is building up makes interesting reading. Replies run the gamut from great enthusiasm to utter despair, but all hands seem to agree that the political life of the nation is badly in need of more intelligent direction and that a movement such as Dartmouth-in-Politics is likely to accomplish great good. A number of young alumni have entered into political work upon their own initiative, and the frank description of their experiences and reactions is an engrossing part of the correspondence file. The willingness of Dartmouth alumni in politics to help other graduates of the College, coupled with the excellent organization of the Dartmouth alumni body, has been a tremendous factor in the success which the movement has enjoyed to date.
No less an important factor has been the enthusiastic and tireless direction of the Dartmouth-in-Politics movement from Hanover. The nerve-center of the whole project is 313 Thornton Hall, where Professor Richardson and Professor Tobin have their joint office, and where Mrs. M. R. McNally has created an amazing filing system of folders, colored cards and tabs which will produce any desired bit of information at a moment's notice. Correspondence and pertinent information are carefully preserved at the Dartmouthin-Politics headquarters, and through geographical and general files it is possible to keep track of hundreds of applicants and contact men and to tell quickly just who is available to handle a request. Convenience is a great asset, for the growing Dartmouth-in-Politics movement is still a side-issue to the teaching of Political Science.
EXPERIMENT BEING WATCHED CLOSELY
What Dartmouth is doing with this pioneer movement is being watched closely by political leaders and educators throughout the country. Because of the College's strong alumni organization, Dartmouth is looked upon as an ideal testing ground for such a movement, and if the experiment is considered successful, the next step will undoubtedly be an intercollegiate effort along the same lines. Dean William E. Mosher of the Syracuse University School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, who perhaps should be credited with being the fountainhead of the whole movement, has been conducting a survey preliminary to a country-wide effort, and during the recent spring recess he and Professor Tobin met with politicians, lawyers and teachers to discuss the progress being made at Dartmouth. Once again, it seems, the College has the opportunity to lead the way in an important educational field.
ALUMNI COLLEGE SPEAKER Prof. Hugh L. Elsbree of the Dept. ofPolitical Science, on Hanover Holidayprogram the week of June 20.
