, 1908-06-25
TAFT AT COLLEGE.

speaking of his achievements in life,
Raymond, the able correspondent of
the Chicago Tribune, says:
Young Taft was no one of your
brilliant students. That is TO say,
everything that came to him came
from hard work, and l believe that
has been the dominant Characteristic
OF his whole life. There were other
fellows, n of whom is a bank presi-
dent, l think, in Boston, and the other
1 know Is a clever lawyer, and a third
the head OF a great trust company in
New York, who snatched knowledge
quickly. They could learn things in
half the time Taft took. 1t was neces-
sary for him to goat a thing laborious-
ly and even ~tirelessly. He studied un-
til late at night, and his recitations in
the class were conducted with an alb
sence of briiliance, showing that it was
no offhand effort.
"On the other hand there was a SOL
fdity, a pelmanence about the know
ledge that he acquired through his
studies which always was recognized
by the other fellows and by all of the
students. He wrote out carefully the
most elaborate summaries, made
painstaking analyses, and would with
great labor personally corroborate the
correctness of long chemical formulate.
There was nothing frothy, nothing
dashy, but nothing obscure. If he had
an essay to write. 1t was almost wholly
lacking in literary gracefulness, but
n could depend upon it that 1t was
full of meat. Logic was his strong
point and he was almost as irresist-
ible in a debate as in a wrestling
match, being prepared for both.
1T Is no idle task to set for yourself
the goal of the valedictory address in
a hustling Yale class. 1t means con-
slant effort, the hardest kind of work,
and the sacrifice of ambition In other
directions. 1t mean Taft giving up
the ball nine and the crew, at least dur
ing his earlier years, and he had to de-
vote a lot of time to patient study
which he. as a young fellow, would
much rather have spent on the athletic
field or at the boathouse. =
"He graduated salutatorian. That Is
to say he was second in a class which
wound up with something like $50
members. That would be honor enough
for most men, but during his course he
took prizes and at the time of his grad
uation was unquestionably the most
notable all round student and athlete
who had been in the university for
many years.
1T was no collection of weaklings,
that famous Yale class of rs as their
subsequent have shown. Taft's
friends have crossed and criss-crossed
since then with a dozen different men
who were his classmates in the olden
days, and many of them have reached
unusual distinction in public life.
John Addison Porter was secretary
to Mckinley. Harry Hoyt is now so.
hcitor general of the United. States.
billy Hunt was governor of Porto
Rico. John Proctor Clark Is a famous
Judge in New York state. Ed whitney
was assistant attorney general under
olney. Paul Charlton is law officer Of
the insular bureau. Howard Van
Buren, was known to all European
travellers as United States consul at
Nice, Herbert Bowen defended the
consulate at Barcelona against "a
Spanish mob and later on was minister
to Venezuela.
Howard Hollister was a Common
Pleas judge in Cincinnati, and there
nave e a dozen others more or less
famous in athletics. business, medicine.
the church, and social life. To be at
the head of a class of hustling young
Americans. graduating second. with a
splendid athletic record and unbound
ed personal popularity means the be-
ginning of a great career"