Morning journal and courier., 1888-01-23
THE BOYs AT YALR.
A Spicy Artfclefn a Leading New York
 Daily.

AAG801nG
 Daily.
 Pref. D. Cady Eaton of this city has in the New York Tribune of Friday a spicy ad- dress "To the Mothers and Fathers of the Boys at Yale" He says with napier direct ness that the fond fancy of parents that the supposed honor of being selected to represent the class or the college on "Tbe Yale Lit" "Yale Record" "Yale Courant," Yale News," the ''nine," the "crew," the ''eleven," or the junior promenade commit tee is delusion and a snare, and that one of the chief reasons why these positions are de- sirable is because they are pecuniarily profit able. Take any one of the college papers.
 They are full of advertisements and these
 "ads" are obtained of ''the butcher, the
 baker and the candlestick maker" by drum ming. Nor is the soliciting always of the gentle nature the term implies At times it is aggressive inpertinent and threatening. had no notion of the thing till while ago met pair of seniors at it. If I had been the particular tradesman would have kicked the fellows out of the shop. I wondered at
 his patience and forbearance; for to the ordi- nary cockloftiness of certain seniors they added the insults and threats of professional boycotters. If you destine your boys for
 trade this training may be valuable. But what injury must be wrought to the finer sen- timents of youth and adolescing manhood. Think of gentlemen doing such things, and that, too, amid the calm shades of aca- demic culture s1d learning! How much they make out of their various positions, how much they t'divy up" before handing the machine over to their successors in office js of course secret. I have had sums men tioned that seem fabulous-hupdreds and hundreds of dolle-s, the fruit of skillful bull dozing.
 Emoluments of this kind are not confined to students whom literary distinction e'evates to editorial dignity. Those juniols whom their classmates select as representa- tive gentlemen, to have charge of the promenade" have, in college slarg, 'a very fat thing.n The more tickets they sell, the more money they clear: the meaner the supper the lower the caterers bills. There is custom that freshmen shall not attend the ball; but there is no custom that they shall not buy tickets. On the con- trary the freshmen are to the representative gentlemen of the junior cless what the Own tradesmen are to the distingu u;shed literary members of the various classes; that is prey. If freshman can be bullied bamboozled into buying half dozen tickets the br'Iy or bamboozler who has accomplished the feat shines forth among the other representative gentlemen with special lustre. No freshman escapes; and in such awe does he stand of junior that he meekly delivers h;s change, large and small. For corsolation he is told that in two years he may be doing the same thing himself, and in that case will have chance to recoup. Th:s is all very true. There is not a ps-ticle of exaggeration in my writing.
 Up to last year the balls were held in the theater now known by the odd name lily for the ball. Now they are held in a down. town armoly. There is more money in the armory. All about the hall are erected pens, called boxes. A pen is necessary to avoid the crrsh and to have a sefe place for wraps; so the pers bring large prices. But let not the artless soul who pays $15, $2O, or even S35, imagine that he has performed all the requisites for entering and enjoying his pen. Not bit of it. Without purchasing additional entrance tickets ct full prices for himeelf and friends he will get no nearer his box than the front door of the edi6ce- A master stroke of fi- nance! Who would suppose representative junior gentlemen endowed with such bril- liancy of economic wisdom? Dancing cards for gentlemen-ffty cents; for ladies-seven- ty-hve cents. Everything ''on the make" and most of it at the expense of the excluded freshmen!
 Have not W.itten enough to call the at tention of parents to the eYils For years past It hes been growing slowly, but so surely and strongly that now the atmosphere of Yale ;s saturated with it. The spirit is un- healthy and degrading. It confronts cour- tesy, kindness, generosity and self-sacriice in all departments of the students life and is getting the better of them. It is the spirit of the advertising agent and of the professional athlete: Open trade and fair traffic are honorable the world over, if you wish to engage in them. But Yale college wes not established for the purpose, of encouraging commerce. Moreover, robbery is robbery, though the victim be freshman, and custom forces him D smile complacently at the felony. It would be better for sport at Yale. as at every other college, if not penny could be made | by thine, D "crew" or seleven.n The idea of gate money or of a subsidized railroad is foreign to the instincts of gentleman. To play ball before crowd of paying spectators cannot be ennobling The honor and the victory should be the fullest compensa- tion. So let the activities peculiar to bilI- poster and ticket vender be known no I more at Yale. Better leave undone what I cannot be done without lowering the tone of | college membership.
 The theme is too unpleasant for detail or expansion. The boys don't know what they I are about. They are the victims of custom | and have TO realization of how deeply they | Ire injuring the very best and noblest part of ! themselves. Do explain to them and help | stop the mischief.
 FROM THE CoURANT.
 The Hartford Courant says editorially of | the above:
 MT. D. Cady Eaton, of New Haven has discovered | the secret of the degeneracy at Yalea degeneracy shown by larger classes greater zeal universal and university grow sh. and uni and concord all l spil t nat prevails. The %yaie al Lit oldest end noblest of college publicatiors, is sold and the ad vertis ementS in it paid for The boys love mon ey: They ,l tickets even to balls and concerts ssll to freshuen, then keen the freshmen out and dan a-Clc expense or the excluded freshmen" Just now the freshmen pay for dancing-cards sold on the floor that they are exclud from is not elucidated The letter, which appears in full in the New York Fri bune, is an entertaining appeal for freedom in lit era. ire and in the ball room.
 ACKNOwLEDGMEN