Letters to the Editor

Honor thy Civilization

It was good to see some kind words for our Western civilization. Professor Hart's article [November issue] was a good beginning. The crisis of our times, the great issue, is precisely our reluctance to accord our civilization the honor and respect it deserves. We have, instead, denigrated it or ignored it in favor of a profoundly introspective and compassionate concern for the subtlest and most refined motivations of individual and national life. We have allowed ourselves to forget that Western civilization has been an extraordinarily creative and dominating force in the world. Through intense self-discipline and dedication to work, ideas, and progress, it has enabled its bearers to conquer nature as well as man. It has developed techniques which the Third World admires and emulates, but fails to grasp. High technical skills and creative engineering belong only to the heirs of Western civilization, and this includes the Japanese with their ability to channel self-discipline into a Western style of life and achievement.

The dominant theme in the Third World today is the wish to attain the artifacts and ways of Western civilization in juxtaposition to the inability to achieve them. The crisis in Iran is precisely this kind of struggle. The Iranians represent self-seeking, undisciplined anarchy at its highest development, and they have had a set of alien Western values imposed on them by the Shah. Their ability to exercise the selfdiscipline and technical creativity required by our civilization has been countered and negated by opposite values. The strain of reconciling two antagonistic ways of life has resulted in the explosion at the Teheran embassy. It is a violent abandonment of impossible and unachievable values, and a headlong slide back to the uncomplicated nostalgia of pure Islam, a simpler way of life. We cannot blame the Iranians for wanting their souls back. That is the underlying theme of every "anticolonialist" outburst. The power of our productions creates a profound and degrading sense of inferiority in the essentially anarchistic and incompetent Third World, and their response is invariably to reject us, and dwell in a glorification of their own natures or in some pseudo-Marxist dogma.

We of the West, then, have achievements, even beyond our great and unparalleled literary thinkers. We have a technology which has gone to unimagined lengths, to the furthest frontiers of knowledge and practical creativity. We have a right to be proud and to exalt our great literature but our civilization has evolved beyond that to the great works of science and engineering. It would be good, then, if we were to become increasingly aware and consequently proud of our technological achievements which are of the same lineage of our great literary tradition. We have what others want but we have ceased to value it. Awareness and pride of what we are, collectively, should be written into The curriculum, to raise the consciousness (using modern jargon) of our proud heritage

Merrick, N.Y.

In regard to Jeffrey Hart's article in your November issue, I would like to suggest that the narrow-minded and ethnocentric approach that Hart takes in comparing as a "matter of quality" Western with non-Western civilizations is in itself inimical to the proper goals of a liberal arts education that Hart has taken upon himself to examine.

It would already be somewhat impudent to describe a non-Western figure of prominence in terms of a Western counterpart, i.e., an "African or Asian Shakespeare or Mozart." The implication of such types of reference is that the individual cannot stand upon or be recognized on his/her own unique merits. It is a double insult therefore to contend, as Hart does, that there are no non-Western figures who even qualify for the dubious distinction of being referred to, not in terms of his/her own accomplishments, but in terms of those of a Western counterpart. I wish to remind Hart that there is no Confucius or Ghandi of the West, either.

I also wish to question Hart's knowledge of the non-Western civilizations. Does he base his comparison on a comprehensive and in-depth understanding of the works that best represent the non-Western civilizations, or rather on a few misconceptions that are supported by nothing more than his biases and ignorance?

Hart's assertion that a Chinese cannot get very "far" in the study of philosophy if he relies solely on Chinese philosophy is questionable. Whose definition of "far" are we concerned with here? Certainly, a notion cannot penetrate very far into the mind that is already biased against it. My humble position here is that the Western and non-Western philosophies should be compared and contrasted, and that perhaps the resulting synthesis of ideas or the birth of new ones shall take one further than either a Western philosophy or a non-Western one alone could.

We live in a pluralistic world, where cultural, ethnic, and racial differences often threaten to attain disastrous proportions. Faced with this, the question of what things are worth learning in an institution like Dartmouth takes on a new light. How can Dartmouth best realize its goal of educating men and women so that they are likely to exert a "significant positive impact" on society? Is it through molding herself along the lines proposed by Hart, i.e., to focus on Western civilization in the belief that it is superior? Or is it to engender an equal appreciation of all civilizations so that her students might develop the broad perspective and tolerance for diversity that are so vital for the peaceful coexistence of all? To me, the only viable option is the latter, and I applaud the significant strides that Dartmouth has made in its direction during this decade.

Durham, N.C.

Three Mile Island and After

Words don't express the joy I had in reading the article in the December issue, "An extremely small malfunction...," by our illustrious president.

I knew President Carter made the right decision when he selected John G. Kemeny to head the inquiry commission. I predicted that the report would be issued on time, and it was within two weeks and that anyone who read it would understand what happened. The latter I still have to do have to get a copy. Just the same, the article told me that the accident was basically a human failure, and that with proper training and controls our country should count on nuclear energy to overcome the oil crisis.

Hats off to John Kemeny for another excellent job.

Florham Park, N.J.

It reassures me that President Kemeny became deeply involved in the perplexing, highly politicized issue of nuclear power through his chairmanship of the Three Mile Island accident commission. A more accurate, unbiased analysis of the accident could not have been hoped for, and so only with thankful acknowledgment do I criticize the Kemeny Commission's report and recommendations.

In a televised debate shortly after release of the commission's recommendations, President Kemeny seemed to assure that a corrected nuclear power program could be acceptably safe. In a transition from a damning set of findings President Kemeny has been lulled into some faith that dramatic change can be expected both within and outside the scope of his commission's work, a faith that entrenched political and economic entities will suddenly reverse character. President Kemeny assures that public health impacts of Three Mile Island are negligible, despite the fact that during the critical early hours of the accident incomplete radiation release data was gathered only by the not impartial plant operators, and despite the fact that there is considerable scientific controversy over even the order of magnitude of health effects resulting from human exposure to low levels of radiation.

The nuclear industry has not yet subjected to credible analysis the serious and perhaps unresolvable technical issues concerning the socalled front and back ends of the nuclear fuel cycle. Through a complex isotopic decomposition process, residual uranium in mill tailings piles, scattered on land surfaces throughout the southwestern U.S., continue to deposit longlived radioactive lead onto our grainbelt soils. At least 26 of 70 obsolete high level nuclear waste dumps continue to leak radiation and radioactive particulates irretrievably into the biosphere. Spent fuel rods, the most significant waste product resulting from nuclear plant operation, must now be stored indefinitely in each nuclear plant because there is not yet even a proposed nuclear waste management program.

Tens of thousands of small accidental and non-accidental radioactive releases may individually be harmless, but result in cumulative increases in the level of radioactive elements in the human food chain, once contaminated requiring decades and even millenia to cleanse. The Seabrook, N.H., nuclear plant continues to be built with no hope that the large nearby populations could be evacuated in the event of an emergency. Indeed, technical and management flaws both within and outside the scope of the Kemeny Commission report have been vainly announced to the deaf ears of the nuclear establishment since the late 1960s. Needed changes will come about only under pressures more severe than that of reasoned analysis.

White River Junction, Vt.

"Special Bond"

With reference to your article in the November issue entitled "Your Basic Fraternity?", I feel that it is necessary to outline the progress that Heorot-Chi Phi has made this fall.

The Chi Chapter of Chi Phi voted to become a local fraternity, Heorot House, in 1968. I am happy to report to all concerned that the house voted on November 26, 1979, to reaffiliate with the Chi Phi national.

I personally have known the brothers as Chi Phis and Heorots. In spite of the name of the house, the brotherhood shared the special bond that has always united us in our common purpose. It is hard to describe this bond unless you were part of the scene during the two different nomenclatures. The spirit was there as Heorot welcomed back members of the Chi Lodge time and time again.

The scenario need not be mentioned but briefly for the existence of Chi/Heorot Association. After an early football weekend in the fall of 1978, a group of Chi/Heorot alumni met to discuss the plight of the house. It was strongly felt by all in attendance that if something was not done to help the cause, the house would be in great financial and physical disrepair.

From this original meeting of interested alumni sprang the organizational network to rehabilitate and revive the corporation that owns and manages the house. The previous organization had been defunct for at least three years. By-laws were adopted unanimously for the Chi/Heorot Association on July 10, 1979.

The new Chi/Heorot Association had every confidence that it could mount a fund-raising effort to restore the 50-year-old house to its original condition. We were about to embark upon a program of alumni solicitation when, unexpectedly, I was called to a meeting with the assistant national director of Chi Phi Fraternity.

I attended this meeting with a very open mind. I had every confidence that we Dartmouth Chi Phi and Heorot alumni could carry the ball ourselves. Afterward, I was greatly impressed with the fact that Chi Phi wanted to reinstate the Dartmouth Chi Chapter. They were willing to expend not only money to help us renovate our physical plant but also help to produce a solid rush, pledge, and leadership program for the house.

On November 26 our board of directors voted unanimously to recommend reaffiliation with the Chi Phi national. That same evening, the undergraduate body voted to reaffiliate with the national.

The work that has been done thus far has been to insure the existence of the Chi Lodge or Heorot House at Dartmouth for another 50 years.

Weston, Mass.

A Master's Work

Under the title "Modern Music" in the December issue, the control mechanisms for the bells in Baker Library Tower are referred to as "three custom-built machines." Actually, these three machines were not simply custombuilt by some anonymous manufacturer; they were invented and constructed by Walter M. Durrschmidt, long-time master instrumentmaker here on campus in the Dartmouth College apparatus shop. His mechanism has served exceedingly well since 1929, although perhaps after 50 years it deservedly may be occasionally somewhat "temperamental." It is a memorial to him and his fine craftsmanship.

Durrschmidt's invention replaced a so-called "ingenious mechanism which... has been designed and prepared by the General Electric Company to our plans" that proved inadequate within one year of its installation (quotation from The Dartmouth, June 16, 1928). "Through his efforts," wrote Barbara M. Wells in the April 29, 1946, issue of the HanoverGazette, "Dartmouth has pioneered in consistently and regularly ringing bells mechanically. By way of tribute to the Durrschmidt machine, Yale is copying it in their bell system this year." Thus Yale's and Dartmouth's are the only known examples of Walter Durrschmidt's bell-control mechanism. He also designed and constructed the machine for punching rolls and testing them. Because of their uniqueness and historical significance, these several machines should not be discarded. It is well that the computer-programmed music still "activates the same temperamental bellstriking mechanism that has been in use all along."

Hanover, N.H.

[Allen King is professor emeritus of physics. Ed.]

Quiet but Admired

The December ALUMNI MAGAZINE noted an event that, while sad, has led me to write this note in belated admiration for a late member of the Dartmouth community.

Miss Jeanette Gill directed the Dartmouth Dining Association while we attended Dartmouth, and while many scoffed at the "mystery meat" and other dishes presented, most of us lost no weight and suffered no dire consequences. But even more meaningful than her obviously efficient management, two contributions stand out.

First, Miss Gill assisted many of us by providing employment. I personally worked for D.D.A. for two years and now view that as a part of my Dartmouth experience.

Second, Miss Gill employed many persons who probably would today be classed as handicapped, and they seemed to thrive in her work-living arrangement. Many high-sounding rehabilitation programs today would marvel at her success 25 years ago.

Miss Gill's contribution to Dartmouth was one of the quiet type, and I trust we appreciate her years of service.

University, Miss.

[Jeanette Gill, manager of the D.D.A. from1951 to 1968, died in October. Ed.]

The Sexes

The program for the de-masculinization of Dartmouth reached a questionable and controversial pinnacle, to my way of thinking, in the December issue of the ALUMNI MAGAZINE, when in your "Big Green Teams" section the "Dominating the Opposition" article superseded the "Gaining Momentum" item. The former, of course, dealt with the success of the women's field hockey team, the latter extolled the meritorious doings of a gutty, if not overly talented, football squad.

First, I might best classify myself as a biased, set-in-his-manner-of-thinking, nostalgic old alumnus ('33) who was first shocked, then disappointed, and finally disenchanted when the first woman undergraduate set foot on the Dartmouth campus. Try as I may, I cannot accept the wisdom of the final goal: to attain virtually equal male-female enrollment at the ultimate cost of denying admission to some 80-100 male students who would have normally matriculated. I wonder what some famous early Dartmouth sons (e.g., Wheelock, Webster, Hoppy, and Dickey) would think?

I have absorbed the news concerning the current forces (both federal and social), the modern permissive trend, and the many other pro-coed theories. Somehow, I cannot heal my hurt nor soften my thinking. Researching the campus, I am led to believe that a new poll of the male Dartmouth undergrads might show a startling reversal of their pro-dames-for-Dartmouth vote of yore. I haven't heard yet how "Men of Dartmouth" is to be dealt with, either in song or in fact. I trust the solution shall not be deferred as long as the solution to the also preposterous conflict concerning the Dartmouth Indian.

Philosophically, I truly believe that the recent feminine rush to Hanover, the Big Three, and such, is born of a not-too-academic passion to do the in-thing or to do the sophisticated or conversation-piece thing. Were I a woman, I would adore boasting of a Dartmouth degree; but being a man, I can't say I would relish citing a degree from Vassar. Would you? Are the best women's schools opening their doors equally to men? Do their ultimate goals parallel that of Dartmouth? Do they have the same federal pressure that men's schools have? Is Dartmouth increasing the number of female instructors proportionately? If the answers to these questions are no, then even a child must ask, Why not?

Among the tangibles, let's patiently wait and see if (at the turn of the century) the women grads support the College financially and spiritually as well as do their male contemporaries. Among the intangibles, again, let's patiently wait and see if the women contribute the success stories, the nationally known personages, and the captains of industry and science in favorable proportion to the contributions of their male counterparts.

Redington Shores, Fla.

What Counts

I do not believe many Dartmouth alumni are fooled one second by the drivel from Yuan K. Ha '73 in the October "Vox." It is nevertheless necessary to slay the same old dragon for the thousandth time. America's interest is an America that survives, not the elimination of Marxism or the propagation of human rights or the abolition of slavery or anything else. Without its independence everything else is lost. Every other nation knows this from infancy. Only Americans somehow get lost between 17 and 24 as has Y. K. Ha.

Of course there are no human rights in China. With the U.S.S.R. as a neighbor they are not so foolish. Neither are there any in... the catalogue of states is too long to recite. It is simpler to say they exist to varying degrees in the West only. Other than South Africa (a Western country) there are none in Africa at all. Nor in Asia anywhere including Japan. There is no word in Japanese to describe adequately this mysterious concept. They are totally meaningless and unimportant in this world. What counts is one's security. In this world the Soviet Union is running wild and intends to destroy the U.S.A. They've said as much during and since Lenin's life. Only a fool can't see this. China sees itself in line for this destruction. It has made the enormous switch to support of the U.S. from the Soviets. There is no event of recent years as important as this to the U.S. And that child Ha blabs on about human rights in China.

I must finally repeat that I know something about China, having already lived there or next door for 32 years before Y. K. Ha was born, and 28 years since. I was speaking Mandarin and Shanghai fluently before Baker Library was constructed and when President Hopkins was a young man.

Hong Kong

[In his "Vox" essay, Yuan K. Ha '73 spoke outstrongly against what he termed the "perfidious" totalitarianism of China. Ed.]

Praise

I thought you might like a pat on the back today.

I just received a letter from Betty Smith, the widow of Herman L. Smith '18, and one of my closest friends in the "good old days." She mentioned reading something in the ALUMNI MAGAZINE and ended her letter with: "I sure do enjoy the ALUMNI MAGAZINE."

Put me down for the same statement. And keep up the good work. There isn't an alumni magazine anywhere, in content or appearance, that can touch it.

Asbury Park, N.J.

And Punishment

In the November issue a letter by Andrew P. Saunders '67 was printed which criticized the ALUMNI MAGAZINE. It provoked the following editorial comment: "Ah, the great cure-all, nostalgia! Ed."

Are we to believe that the ALUMNI MAGAZINE is sensitive to the criticism of its readers, and will stoop to making snide remarks at any impertinent soul who questions its policies? Or is some renegade editor running amok up there? Please advise.

New Hampton, N.H.

Suggestions

As rumors of Doctor Kemeny's resignation as president of Dartmouth College become rife and rampant, there has to be concentration upon the caliber and the talents of a successor to be chosen by the Board of Trustees.

With due deference, yet with the incisive candor so peculiar to elderly alumni, a couple of suggestions for the trustees seem appropriate.

A chief executive for the College is better qualified by actual business experience than by enviable honors in academe, regardless of how exemplary and exquisite such skills as a pedagogue, a researcher, or a litterateur may be. Can he administer? Has he proven it?

On the basis of 60-odd years as an alumnus and better-than-average familiarity with College policies and their execution during that period, my primary recommendation has to be: the ultimate selection of a candidate who has ex-campus administrative experience following the acquisition of a Dartmouth baccalaureate degree.

Though I have known five Dartmouth presidents (four during their incumbencies and one who was living in Hanover during my undergraduate years), I have to recall With the most gratification and admiration the man, the record, and the exemplar of Ernest Martin Hopkins.

Forgive, then, my partiality and my preference when I ask that the alumni trustees heed this ardent entreaty and bend every effort to choose a new president who comes as near as possible to filling the Hopkins boots!

Oh, yes! And offer him an unstinted salary as an enticement, an incentive, and a reward!

Hampton Falls, N.H.

[At a faculty meeting in mid-January, JohnKemeny said that he "does not plan to bepresident of the College four years fromtoday." Ed.]

Author's Query

Mary Ross's informative article "Giving and Getting" [December issue] interested me because I am writing the biography of Edward Tuck (Dartmouth 1862), whose beneficences to Dartmouth and to many groups in America and in France exemplify the practice of philanthropy before the birth of the foundations.

Ross reminds us that Dartmouth graduates are now administering some of those. Mr. Tuck would have approved their purposes; for they were his own: historic preservation, medical services, libraries, cultural exchanges, urban planning, and, most of all, education.

He could not have conceived, for all his financial acumen, fortunes so vast that no individual could spend them no matter how many causes deserved help. Yet his ability to diversify his charities amazes anyone familiar with his long active life. Dartmouth always came first. Then there was his hometown of Exeter, N.H., his state, and the nation. What distinguished him among his contemporaries was his love of France, where he practiced American-style philanthropy in an unrivaled way for over 50 years. For instance, he and his wife chose to remain there during World War I to organize their private war relief.

Are there Dartmouth graduates with personal information about the Tucks to share? Do your readers include any who visited the Tucks' chateau Vert-Mont outside Paris or their residence on the Champs-Elysees? I would appreciate your publishing my letter in hopes that they will contact me at Box 6125 Station B, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tenn. 37235.

Nashville, Tenn.

Author's Reply

Tom Holzel '63, in his curious letter [December issue] about my recent Wearers-of-the-Green piece on Professor Walter Arndt, wonders why a non-Jew might have wanted to leave Hitler's Germany.

I'm afraid that anyone who has to ask that question would be incapable of comprehending the answer.

Hanover, N.H.

Football Play

In a recent letter [December issue] Brad Borden '54 bemoaned the current quality of Ivy League football. This is in the hallowed tradition of alumni quarterbacking.

This year has seen a rash of college sports scandals, with football forfeits at Arizona State University and basketball blunders at the University of New Mexico. I am pleased that Dartmouth has continued to "play" football and not win at the cost some universities pay. Alumni and public pressure and the greed for fame-and-funds-through-football have dominated college sports for some years. One hopes that more schools will return football to sports and sports to a part of college.

Dartmouth and the Ivy League are to be congratulated on their view of football. If games are "punctuated by occasional spectator laughter," does that matter? Laughter is good for our health.

Scottsdale, Ariz.

The letter written by Brad Borden '54 was very interesting. However, the Ivy League is not as bad in football as he states. The real problem is the lack of spring practice which makes us look lousy in the early non-league games. We should either go back to spring practice or play the non-league games later in the season. Under present conditions, the first three games should be Ivy League games. This would offset the advantages the non-league teams have. Holy Cross and U.N.H. have spring practice and also start fall practice two weeks ahead of Dartmouth.

The same recommendation applies to other Ivy League schools that have the same disadvantage in early non-league games. These early season losses make the Ivy League teams appear lousy, when the real cause of their sloppiness is lack of practice. In 1973, Dartmouth lost to Holy Cross and U.N.H. in early games. Had these two games been played late in the season, Dartmouth would have won them both easily. In 1974 and 1975, we lost to U. Mass. Here again, we would have won these two games later on in the season. In 1978, we lost to Holy Cross and Boston University. We would have beaten them both in November.

Let's raise the prestige of the Ivy League by playing the non-league games later in the season. The athletic directors in the Ivy League should follow my suggestion of making the first three games league games.

Worcester, Mass.

[Since 1976, Dartmouth has opened its seasonagainst an Ivy League opponent, but has playedits second and third games against non-leagueteams. Ed.]

Words and Meanings

One of the puzzling aspects of the controversy caused by the "Native Americans" at Dartmouth is their insistence on that name instead of "Indians." Even more puzzling is the imprimatur given to their choice by officialdom at the College.

I have recently read On Becoming American by Ted Morgan, formerly Sanche de Gramont who, upon becoming an American citizen, changed his name. (As Sanche de Gramont he was the only French citizen ever to win the Pultizer prize.) Mr. Morgan comments that although the Indians are held up as the custodians of native American values, in fact they were no more the first Americans than the aborigines were the first Australians.

He goes on to say that they did not regard themselves as Americans but as Sioux or Iroquois or Blackfeet, and as such they could not have cared less about the Declaration of Independence, or the three branches of government, the flag with stars representing the number of states, or a country named after a 15th-century Italian navigator. Mr. Morgan's observations open up an area worth exploring, all too briefly in this limited space.

The word "Americans" in the name "Native Americans" has two meanings, geographical and cultural. Unfortunately, its cultural sense is always present, and they are simply not entitled to that. In fact, it would be hard to think of a group less entitled to it than the Indians whom the Europeans found here. The whole concept of this country, its laws derived from the Common Law of England, its outlook and approach to self-government from the time of the Magna Carta, through the French and English philosophers and social thinkers, through the Mayflower Compact and the Constitution in short, its civilization coming as a fresh breeze blowing across the world was all European in origin and perfectly incomprehensible to the Indians of that time. And their descendants cannot lay claim to it now as being "Native" to them.

Admittedly, the Indians have been abused, plundered, decimated, Cherokee-marched, starved, and pushed off into wasteland corners. But one cannot make amends for all that by distorting historical facts, by euphemizing names, by banning a college cheer, a college song, or well-meant murals.

The older Indian alumni whose letters have appeared here seem proud of the word "Indian." Good for them! The words "Indians" and "American Indians" (see any encyclopedia) have a certain depth and integrity from centuries of usage that make the term "Native Americans" seem shallow and phony.

Why did the College fall for all this? How did it stumble into purging Richard Hovey from the pantheon of Dartmouth heroes? It all seems so silly, and one wonders how much of it stems from the sloppy, thoughtless, and inaccurate use of the language in choosing the term "Native Americans."

Newport, N.H.

The Symbol (cont.)

One of my prized possessions is a Castor Hoffman original of the Dartmouth Indian. Under present ruling am I required to scratch off the "D" which he proudly wears on his chest?

I could substitute a "C" (Cleveland Indians), but that is a humiliating come-down. Will appreciate your advice.

Canton, Ohio

So now the Hovey murals must go. What picayunish nonsense! Is this the age of prejudices? The "Sage of Baltimore" died too soon!

What's next to go? The College Charter? It ain't American, you know.

A wha-hoo-wha for the Indian chief who dances at the University of Illinois football games.

Aurora, Ill.

The ALUMNI MAGAZINE welcomes comment from its readers. For publication, letters should be signed and addressed specifically to the Magazine (not copies of communications to other organizations or individuals). Letters exceeding 400 words in length will be condensed by the editors.