1900

It was a pleasant surprise to receive in my Christmas mail a fine letter from Bill Emerson '34, son of Natt W. Emerson. Over the years he has become very much of a globe-trotter. His business connection requires him to make long trips away from his home base in Massachusetts. He and his wife have had the good fortune to visit most of the countries in Europe, and Bill has also made many trips to Hawaii, Alaska, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and other ports of call on the Pacific coast. He has become well acquainted with the economic and other conditions in the United States and foreign countries.

Charles Proctor, son of our CharlieProctor, after 31 years as park manager at Yosemite National Park retired in January. He and his wife plan to enjoy their retirement in Santa Cruz, Calif. They undoubtedly will feel considerable relief from the exacting duties at the Park.

I regret to report the death of Effie, widow of Edward Marshall, September 25, at Coral Gables, Fla„ at the age of 97. She was very active in the feminist movement for many years and was associated with such well known personalities as Susan B. Anthony, Carrie Nation, and Emma Willard. She continued active until a short time before her death and maintained a lively interest in current affairs.

After a long illness, Arthur S. Roberts died November 29, in a nursing home in Massachusetts. Memorial services were held at the Bacon Street Chapel of the First Congregational Church, Natick, and at St. Columba's Chapel, Middietown, R. I.

EDITOR'S ADDITION : At the request of several persons we are printing the following from the 1900 class secretary's Christmas letter:

We are living in troublesome and turbulent times. The news media reverberate with and people are concerned about wars and rumors of wars. The spread of enmity, hate, and cruelty. Of deeds of violence. The rising tide of criminality. Disturbances on college campuses. The existence of relatively small groups of militant activists who want to blow everything to smithereens and perhaps the equally dangerous group of stubborn conservatives who insist on leaving well enough alone. This is a sad picture but in the offing there are glimmerings of hope.

Someone has said that "we are victims of our environment, but we make the environment," — and so we do. This country has passed through many crises in its long history. It is to be hoped that this, one of the most violent, will result in making The American Dream a reality.

We, the citizens, have a strong moral responsibility and moral involvement in establishing a sound, constructive, workable democracy, in which there is a common consensus of support for authority, law, and order. The mistakes of the past and the violent eruptions of the present can be molded into a workable arid effective society in which there is respect for our courts and for those who make and administer the laws. Without authority, law and order there can be no happiness or freedom for anyone. The price to be paid is eternal vigilance and a respect for the rights of the other fellow. In the midst of all the present-day alarms there are indications of constructive efforts to improve relations between the races, to raise the quality of life, and to improve the environment. As Lincoln once said: "With justice for all, with firmness in the right, let us bind up the nation's wounds" — and look forward to a happier and fairer day in which this nation may set the example of good government without the trappings of a ruthless and tyrranical system of control. Each of us, in his own way, through alert and helpful thinking, can contribute to the establishment of a society in which there is freedom and justice for all.

Secretary and Treasurer The Austin Home Warner, N. H. 03278