1912
With little news this month, we have two items that may induce a feeling of nostalgia. Warde Wilkins '13 recently sent Doc O'Connor a snapshot of the 1911 Election of Mayor of Hanover Parade that is reproduced herewith. Can you locate Doc or identify any of the others in the picture?
A communication from Joe Richards "To the Editor" that recently appeared in the Boston Herald also goes back to the dim past by its allusion to agitation for equal suffrage. In referring to an editorial that had appeared in the Herald upon the trend toward co-education in our colleges which had described Dartmouth "as one of the last strongholds of the he-minded," Joe wrote, "It happened that the writer broke the Dartmouth tradition while in college by arranging the first woman suffrage lecture held in Webster Hall." Apparently Joe is still a feminist, telling the editor, "Dartmouth needs the feminine touch. It would become more democratic rather than suffer a diminution of democracy by widening its clientele and making more intensive use of its facilities. The writer had advocated coeducation at Dartmouth since soon after he arrived there in the Fall of 1910. If the war emergency and aftermath forced Dartmouth to co-education as a financial necessity, the old saying that 'it is an ill wind that blows nobody good,' will have been proved correct once more." Those who wish to debate the negative with Joe may communicate with Boss Geller in support of the Alumni Fund.
Lt. Col. John D. Brewster received a certificate of commendation from Major General Philip Hayes, commanding the Third Service Command, at retreat ceremonies at Camp Pickett, Va., on March 23. The citation was for "meritorious and outstanding performance of duty as Post Training Officer and Assistant to the Post Commander." For more than two years while Camp Pickett was serving as an advanced training base for troops in the Army Ground Forces, the Army Service Forces and, to some extent, the Army Air Forces, Colonel Brewster was in charge of training facilities and coordinated training activities of several hundred units—sometimes more than one hundred at a time. He was recently appointed post inspector at Camp Pickett in addition to his duties as assistant to the post commander. He was called to active duty in April, 1942, from his real estate management business in Forty Fort, Pa. In World War I he received his commission from the first officer training school at Fort Niagara, N. Y., in 1917, was overseas with the 79th Division from June 1918, to May 1919, and participated in the Meuse-Argonne operations.
Doc Viets has a new address: 1731 Beacon Street, Brookline 46, Mass., but apparently a doctor feels called upon to furnish an alibi when he finds living accommodations in Boston. From my Dedham correspondent come the details:
"You probably know Doc Viets has moved. He had a very nice quiet tenement here in Dedham. His landlord has been sick for over a year and for physical and help conditions desired to sell his own big house and take over Doc's apartment. Doc wished to stay in Dedham but he spent several months with no luck finding anything anywhere. Finally a woman died in Hotel Beaconsfield, Brookline, and Doc got her rooms. He swears she was not his patient." .. . . Lt. Col. Jake Orr also has a new address—Quarters 236, Camp Holabird, Baltimore 19, Md.
Other classmates who either have had to or have been able to move recently are Randy Burns, 21 Hawthorne St., "White Plains, N. Y.; Harry Wanner, Box 67, Auburn, Ind.; and Brian Robie, 2307 Naomi St., Arcadia, Calif.
As president of the Cigar Manufacturers Association of America, Alvie Garcia recently appeared before the House "Ways and Means Committee at "Washington at a hearing on the proposed three-year extension of the Reciprocal Trade Act with supplemental authority to grant further tariff cuts of as much as fifty per Cent. Alvie was "agin it" and called attention of the committee to "a situation of discrimination and inequity under the existing trade treaty with Cuba," in so far as it fixes an arbitrary limitation upon the amount of cigar tobacco which may be imported at fifty per cent of the applicable duty. He pointed out that the twenty-two million pound annual quota thus established for 1945 was exhausted by 9 A.M. on January 1, 1945, after which all of the other cigar manufacturers importing Cuban tobacco were required to pay full duties upon their Cuban tobacco requirements. We will bet that Alvie was up early New Year's Day. There must have been a number of cigar smokers on the Ways and Means Committee because the news account states that "Mr. Garcia's appearance evoked a barrage of questions from the Committee as to reasons for increased cigar prices." As always, Alvie had a snappy comeback. He said the absence of price control in Cuba and increased prices ranging from 300 per cent to 400 per cent, together with a 100 per cent increase in excise taxes, were responsible. On the basis of such statistics, Alvie's cigars are a bargain, even at present sales prices.
The death of President Roosevelt necessitated a month's postponement of Doc O'Connor's trip to the Pacific for inspection of Red Cross activities in that area.
At the Dartmouth Alumni Dinner in New York City on April 26, the following members of the class were in attendance: Dick Remsen, Jim Steen, Carle Rollins, Charley Gateley, Randy Burns, Les Snow, Unc Bellows, Irv Goss, Ed Mitchell, Cliff: Sugatt, and Louis Ekstrom all the way from Bethlehem, Pa. Reservations were made by Doc O'Connor, Chief Wheeler, Lee White and Ned Whittemore, who could not get there at the last minute. There could have been other classmates present who are not reported because your acting secretary was called out of the City on business the day of the Dinner and Jim Steen, who was requested to give us the information, did not seem to have any clear recollection of who was present, or even what he had to eat at the dinner. All that he was sure of is that he got home safely. Dick Remsen supplied the names.
So that you won't be under the impression that there are only two Remsen boys, Ted Remsen is following the fine record made by his older brothers at Choate School where he played end on the football team last fall, and is now president of the Junior Class and editor of the school paper.
Acting Secretary, 120 Broadway, New York, N. Y. Acting Treasurer, Court House, Dedham, Mass.
