Letters

Note of Appreciation

To THE EDITOR: This is just a note to express the appreciation of one alumnus for your publication of the Great Issues lecture on Technology by Professor Wolfenden in the January ALUMNI MAGAZINE.

Such articles arouse a certain amount of envy of the undergraduates who are offered such lectures as a regular part of their diet. At the same time, Wolfenden's insistence that technology is perpetually shifting the basis of fact on which political decisions must be based seems to make the incidental point that the type of education that Dartmouth offers, as reflected by the Great Issues course, is increasingly vital in today's world.

I happened to read the article the day after hearing Chick Camp discuss working with undergraduates on administration problems before the Nashua alumni group. The combination added up to a strong jolt of envy, nostalgia, and admiration for the job the College is doing.

Milford, N. H.

"Congratulations '32!"

To THE EDITOR: Congratulations to 1932 on having a fearless class secretary who has turned his back on the musty concepts of the past—namely, that a secretary should report news and seek to be a cohesive force in his class—and has elected to use his column as an organ of political propaganda. This entry into the field already occupied by such great unprejudiced minds and molders of public opinion as Pearson, Winchell and Jay Franklin is to be commended, and, it is hoped, will soon be emulated by all other class secretaries.

In line with a hint that our selective system of admissions may need overhauling, I am going to be so bold as to go one step further and suggest a positive program with respect to our scholarship aid system and with respect to the College curriculum. I propose that the following scholarships be established:

1. THE HAGUE SCHOLARSHIP—open to those applicants from the State of New Jersey who have demonstrated throughout their secondary school careers a solid grasp of the liberal principles which dominate the Democratic party.

2. THE KELLY-NASH SCHOLARSHIP—open to those applicants from Cook County, Illinois who are interested in making clean, liberal, efficient government their respective careers (only those whose fathers have voted the straight Democratic ticket in the last five presidential elections need apply).

3. THE PENDERGAST SCHOLARSHIP—open to those applicants from the State of Missouri who intend ultimately to make Washington, D. C. their permanent place of abode (no other qualifications necessary).

4. THE HUEY LONG BILBO SCHOLARSHIP— open to those applicants from the deep South whose great grandparents, grandparents and parents have been as liberal as the great Democrats whose names grace this scholarship.

I would not be so presumptuous as to claim that this list is exhaustive. It merely will serve to plant the seed of a glorious idea which can be expanded without limit in our brave new world.

Now, for the curriculum. I propose that the following courses be instituted, all compulsory, and all in the Freshmen year (on the theory that it is never too early to be indoctrinated) :

1. GRAY TISSUES I and II (any similarity between this course and any other course, living or dead, is purely coincidental). This course will eloquently demonstrate that concepts which prior to 1933 were accepted almost without question, such as that white is white and black is black, may be only figments of the imagination, or tissues (thereby giving the course 50% of its name) of lies. It will also demonstrate that white may be black and black may be white, depending upon the persuasion of the definer. The teachings in this course will undoubtedly create much confusion in the adolescent mind, this confusion being exemplified by the blending of white and black, resulting in gray (thereby giving the course the other 50% of its name). This confusion will be dissipated, however, by the teachings of No. 2 below.

2. ONE PARTY GOVERNMENT—A WORTHY GOAL. The title of this course adequately discloses its contents. Other liberal arts colleges please copy. After the first hour examination, which will be held in November of each year, the top ten per cent of the class will not be required to take this course, but will be placed in a seminar doing special work in course No. 3.

3. PRESERVATION OF DEMOCRATIC CLIMATE I and II. The first semester will be devoted to a study of all of President Truman's 1948 presidential campaign speeches, both prepared and extemporaneous, with special emphasis upon the liberal address wherein hanging was recommended for all Republicans. The second semester will be devoted to lively classroom discussions as to whether or not hanging is too good for them (all Republicans, that is). The seminar group mentioned in connection with course No. 2 will furnish clinical material showing the comparative merits of hanging, boiling in oil, drawing and quartering, and other pleasant means of improving the climate. With this solid core of liberal teaching, it will make very little difference whether any other courses are taught or not. If they are not, the College will be that much better off financially and the diminishing returns from the endowment will be of small concern.

4. The last recommendation that I have to make is that there be established a course captioned "Vox Clamantis in Deserto." This course will be offered through the means of transcribed radio addresses open only to students who are deaf. The use of hearing aids will not be permitted."

Cleveland, Ohio

The Secretary Replies

To THE EDITOR: I have seen some of the letters protesting against my discussion of political views in the '32 Class Notes. To all who have been offended, I apologize most sincerely. Whether or not we all agree on the question of using the column to reveal the political views of the members of the class, including the secretary, and their reasons for holding such views, certainly it is agreed that class notes should not be used in a way that gives offense to any Dartmouth man.

The episode started as an innocent description of the seemingly surprising results of one question in a class poll distributed in the spring of 1948. It did not seem inappropriate to publish the composite views of the members of the class, and even the individual views of those two lonely voices in the desert who had, respectively, revealed preference for Wallace and Truman. Actually, the only intentional expression of my own political views appeared in that first column, in the November issue, and I felt constrained at that time to explain very briefly why I was so far out of step with the class.

I have tried to induce members of the class to give something of their current thinking when sending in their news. To me, some of the most significant current news of a man is what he is thinking about the world and its affairs. Hereafter, however, in reporting such news, I shall be doubly careful not even to give the impression that I consider my own political thoughts newsworthy.

My raising a question on the political effect of the working of the selective system has been referred to as a "slur" on the system and an expression of my personal political views. I should have raised the question, however, as readily if the peculiar unbalance, now slanted in a Republican direction, had, on the other hand, been slanted towards Democrats, Communists, New Englanders, football players, oreven a particular religious group. The answerto the question may be, of course, that thepolitical slant of the student and alumnibodies is irrelevant in evaluating the selectivesystem, but surely a question respecting aminor aspect of the system should not beinterpreted as a slur. Again, however, I amsorry to have let the column convey offense.

Arlington, Va.