New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1885-05-01
CORNELL ALUMNI AT DINNER.
Mr. BEECHER AND GENERAL wooDFoRD ABsENT-
PRESIDENT WHITE on COLLEGE STUDIES.
Cnrn,,i, ,,nnnhnrc Of the Now. Xnrl, Alumni

BEECHER AND Gl.NEkAJ NOOBfDlSD Ab~ENi
PRESIDENT WHITE on COLLEGE STUDIES.
Seventy members of the New-YOrk Alumni
Association OF Cornell University sat at dinner Wed
nesoay evening at MorellI's, No. 8 West Twenty
eighth-st. Much poetry adorned the menu.
Calvin Tomkins presided while ut his night and his left
sat President Andrew White, Ex-Governor ABB Cornell.
Erastus Brooks, Samuel L. Clemeus. Alumni Trns-
tee John DE Witt Warner, and chair which
the Rev. Henry Ward Beecher would have had
had he not ben unable u be present After the dnrer
had bern made thing Of the past Mr.. Tomkins
that he was AFRAID OF tobaccosmoke. and that
this and other considerations kept him away. II was
suspected that the real Of his absence was the
toast 1.-THE Mugwumps which had been assigned 10 him.
Stewart L. woodiord could not be present because he
had bad to move his family before the 81 Of day.
President White responded TO the first toast. % The
President of the University He said that he had been
preaching the doctrine OF freedom Of choice university
studies for twenty years and yet one editor had
only recently found This out According to President
Eliot OF Harvard, said President White, nedgling
Of sixteen years should have the privilege OF choice
among zoo studies In that ease the youth wonld
probably choose lutte French some music and great
deal OF athletics On the other hand this was tho idea
OF OF Dr MGGosaone course io m,ve eVery9Gsy
tn system OF ages, ages. ana went went. q, TO
DR.. Mccosh's. The old college course had Tor
years been "an eDgncrY OF evil" TO
take Greek by choice the Others n compelled to study
IT, would be found with ponies and interllnearie, to
% aR et% To an" and to pun S
through This c0mpnlsiOn IN studies had had great
with ethical deterioration or the RfAlu-
siderable number Of courses had been established
them for at least two years; then more latitude was
allowed. Good order and earneStness among
had virtually aS''o addpsd this system 0 TSs
president spoke Of the recent establishment at
and said that the classes had visited neghhOTing
pauper and insane nsylnDs and woald bring MP In time
thought that Cvi Service rules would In time
the consular and diplomatic service when Offices would
he cd m haai nf M l0ua
Other to M ana those responding were THE
and the state. ex-Goyernsr Cornell "The Trustees
Erastns Brooks; "The Ncw-York Association"
John Dewitt Warner; Present Progress IN American
Colleges" John Frankenheimer; The Politician"
Samuel L. Clemens and toasts on the Cornell lawyers
II was after midnight when Ex-Governor Cornell
spoke. He took up President Whites plea the
reform and said that he thought he could tell the
president OF kind of Civil Service reform that would
person advocate that "a reform In the character OF
the men sent to the LEGISLATURE lie characterized recent
afterward qualified this by excepting many upright and
illustrated his view Of the matter by the action Of the
LEGISLATURE concerning prison reform Under Governor
Iilden, he said. method OF reform prison control
was begun that afterwari completed. made the prisons
sesuppsrng and required those who had violated the
laws OF me state To support themselves. Then alegis
lature decided 10 submit TO the people the question
whether The system should continue Some busy bodcs
distributed few thousand ballots Ia the cities that
cast largely by persons didn't know what they were
voting about. and ever since the Legislature acting
uer hS aoSuiu assumption tbat Tue people had con
demned the labor system had been actively hui unniel
genty destroying that which had cost labor
build up. IN the matter OF higher education greater
credit was due 10 the Legislature The school
system OF NewYOk WIS deserving OF all praise but the
State had absolutely done nothing for higher education
Mr. Brooks took occasion sharply 10 resent the mpnta
ton that Governor Cornell had cast upon the Legisa-
ture Whatever blame there for the state OF
affairs should be put upon the voters who allowed
machine politicians TO control the election OF bad
The following oicers of the association were elected
President. Eugene Prayer rs; vcepresidonts GEORGE
+. Behrnger 90; Gram Curtis, ~ George X Yande-
wafer "a; recording SECRETARY, Louis VI. Fulton. "a
corresponding SECRETARY. j. DagObert Mcssner, '7O
treasurer, A. IL. Humphrey, rs,