The evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1907-1908, 1907-11-08
QUAD" SYSTEM
PRINCETON ALUMNI CHEER
MITCHELL.
Interesting Speeches Made at Annual
Banquet Of College Men in
East Orange.

of the happy life Of young budding man
hood within the sacred walls OF their alma
mater We're exchanged over the dinner
table at the third annual function of the
Alumni Association of the oranges In
English's Hall. East orange. There was a
feast of good things and a veritable flood
of oratory, and the songs OF Old Nassau
were interspersed with a good things of
the evening.
The banquet hall had a truly Princeton
ian flavor, the orange and black, with the
Princeton tiger, being very much In evil
dence. Several good talks were given by
the speakers down on the program and
the addresses were closely listened to and
~applauded when the speakers referred to
men of Princeton or touched a responsive
chord in the minds of the men at table.
Songs by a quartet added to the pleasure
of the affair, and the function proved a
successful one in many respects.
Clarence B. Mitchell gave an extended
talk in which he attacked the quad" sys-
tenn of arranging for college associations
of the undergraduates in place of the time
honored and traditional arrangement OF
choice of associations as now in vogue,
and said that he was satisfied tho plan as
proposed by President Woodrow Wilson
would not work out for the best interests
of the college and the arbitrary selections
CT associates for the young men by faculty
committees was un-American. opposed to
the instincts OF human nature and would
be a cost both in money and the loss Of de-
slrable young men as students for the fG-
rure.
The carefully prepared speech reviewed
the arguments against the system and
while the speaker said the men of the
Princeton organizations would gladly burn
down their fraternity houses and abolish
the old associations IL they thought accep-
lance of President Wilson'S plan was for
the betterment of the institution all loved
they were catisfied the quad system was
not a satisfactory arrangement; was losing
caste in England and would not be nc
oeptable to the students nor for the better
lnent of the social life at the university.
He was applauded for his expressions BY
the enthusiastic graduates present who
were especially delighted with the speak
ers view that the quad" idea died a
natural death when 1t was formally opposed
ind rejected by The alumni last spring.
The big speech of the evening was by
Professor H. A. Garfield. recently chosen
lead Of Williams College in Massachusetts.
who discussed the corporation and trltst
question in replying to the toast Prince
ton University"
The address of the Princeton aIumnus
was a scholarly treatment of the trust ques-
ton from the college mans point Of view.
and while he did not favor restricting the
good accomplishments of trusts, he advo-
rated a regulation and control of the cor
Torations of the country. to the end thet
the big race in commercial life would BE-
more even TOR the business men WHO nld
not enjoy the advantages of consolidation
There are certain inequalities In men
due TO their possession of especial gifts
or ad Nr as g e n %tr S1Tn e. and md e ID Sor nIac.
ing all men on a dead level, as some
trades councils have made the mistake
Of doing, guaggilng men to days work or
due TO the talent or advantages of the
individual which could not be suppressed
Blu in corporations, the advantages util-
/ ICED arc artifiriaI efnpp nv nrppniZQtiOn
into corporate, life concerns are given per-
petual life. Men hold shares with a linn
tied life, but after they pass on the bust
ness Is carried on by their successors in
office. the same organization continuing to
do business.
These corporations should be regulated
and controlled, therefore, as they enjoy
artificial privileges that are not the pos
sessions Of their competitors, but are we
regulating and controlling the corporations
In the right way? Have we put our fin
gers on overspeediEg in our community?
You will notice in the forms of legisla-
tion, enacted in the various States the reg
ulation and control has to do principally
with those features of corporation life
that have to do with the existence of ac-
counts. The bankers must be convinced
that the business methods are such that
the concerns are sound. and the stock
holders have to be convinced that their
stocks are sound.
people Is overspeeding. The nation as a
whole is not going ahead fast. If 1t were
there would be nc danger. as we would all
be making the same progress as a people,
and the only question would be whether
or not the progress was good or bad, as
guaged by the experience of other nations.
But we are going ahead only in parts, The
much ahead of their fellows who are not
so well organized, that there Is danger of
a falling apart of our system. There ought
to be progress so that every man would
have an equal chance, and the homogenity
Of our people provided for. Speed should
be about the same, allowing only for the
natural advantages of men.
But when one part of our people get so
far ahead Of another that the other is
distinctly in the rear. there would be de-
the stability of our institutions, and we
would not stand long as a nation. When
one section is so far ahead of another
that classes are formed, with one section
ahead and the other far in the rear, we
will have reached the danger point. 1 do
not believe In stopping progress OR in do
ing away with successful corporations, but
We must regulate them and bring them
back to a proper relation TO the others.
'Wha we ought to be doing as Prince
ton men, is not looking to business merely
as to the corporation existence, but to the
regulating Of the profit and loss sides Of
our ledgers. so hat when doing business
two ends; 1t is a question whether we
ought not TO be giving our attention to
this boldly, so as to accomplish the pest
results. The trouble In tackling big prob
L @@H@1 80 SN@@ - - 1t|1 AA0&6 -
opinions, when it affects other peoples
interests, but we hesitate when asked to
apply them to things that affect our par
ttcular business or our pocketbooks.
IF trained Alright at Princeton We ought
to stand ready to do our share In securing
solutions to the questions of the State and
nation. We must recognize that the old
has to give way to the new, whether as
undergraduates in the four walls of
Princeton or in the world as men of bust
ness. We have to recognize that changes
must come ano il is our business to guide
and direct them and not be subject to a
policy of drifting with the tide, and
Princeton has a right to expect this of
every one of her sons"
Clarence b. Mitchell, OF THE
Orange and the Black" while assuring his
auditors that the alumni would back Presi-
agreed was right, and hoped to be able to
do so for years to come, made a lengthy
argument against the introduction of the
quad system in the university as un-
American and against the policy and ira
dittol. of Princeton. The system as pro-
posed would result in dissatisfaction, ac-
cording TO the speaker, and would injure
the college life. The system. he said. was
losing caste In England, and he cited the
experience at Christ College, at Cam
bridge, England, where the forced a~ssocia-
tions at dinner in the evening were pro-
v~ocative of much unpleasantness. The plan
was opposed to the tradition of the uni
Versity and he stated 1t was characteris-
ucally Princetonian for men to eat to-
gether with the understanding that the
man seeking to eat with his fellows Sc
cured the right by their consent.
fThnrp WAS q LONG ofofafaop4" 80