Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-03-20
TAFT At YALE DINNER
Old Campus, Historic EIms and
Famous Fence Reproduced.
wv. H. T." CUT IN ITS WOOD
1880 Grayheads Sing College Songs
Known to Old Eli.
PRESIDENT HADLEY's TRIBUTE
Praises First Son of University Who
Has Ever Come to Be Chief
Magistrate of Nation.

NEW YORK. March 2O-Old Father Eli
and Big Son Bill. with 1,.,30 lesser Yale
! lights. satherer last night at The Waldorf
Astoria to Join IL an enthusiastic celebra-
ton over the first Yale man who ever
came 70 the presidency Of the United
| States
And Yet the baldheaded men who be
came boys for the time thought less of
| the high dignity 10 which one of their
number had been called than they did of
| tlle cid campus. the. elms and the bit OF
| fence that turned back the hands of the
| clccil Of Time.
Men with statistical bent figured that
the dinner of the Yale CLUB surpa ssed all
| previous records. Where the Republican
tluh had gathered Loo for a Roosevelt
feast and LOO had come To hono,' Prince
Henry Of Prussia, last night there assem-
bled tie record number Of ,.330 Yale men.
each bearing the mystic bi-numerals that
told OF a year that made them one of the
sons of Eli.
For the first time also the boxes i'll the
ballroom OF the Waldorf became anneNes
for the banquet floor.
Old Ellis Scenes Brought Back.
The ballroom had been transformed
into the old Yale campus-not the campus
Of the present day but the one of the
time when the elders went through their
PAGES. \ huge picture of the old campus
stood behind the guest table
Practically all the men present had gone
about their quest of knowledge i'm the old
hilck row. The stage setting. beginning
al the south of the ballroom and extend
ing around the north reproduced the old
campus IN its every detail. A section of
the famous old Yale fence, which had long
ago been torn down and in part sold. had
been rebuilt in front of the guest table.
On its ancient front appeared the in
; itials wv. II. T." cut by the vandal
hand OF fone now truly famous. and
thanking the similar vandalism that had
left "A. T. H to show that President
Arthur Twining Hadley now the sedate
head of the college had also In those
days OF fantasy and song possessed a
jackknife and a bump OF destructivenesS
The old fence had totally disappeared
in 1890 Billy Taft. IS. and Arthur
Hadley, 20. looked through the evidence
of their early indiscretion last night and
joined uproariously in the merriment of
| their fellows.
Yale Elms Raise Their Heads.
Raising their time honored heads above
the south end of the guest table the Yale
elms arose, spreading their fatherly
branches over the entire ballroom. The
effect was though these men of sub
stance had suddenly gone back and We're
sitting under the branches of the elms
| on the old campus.
| Noble r. Hoggson. whose artistic bent
| had conceived and directed the execu-
| ton of this scheme of decorative art. was
| one of the merriest OF the throng.
In one box, facing the guests of
| honor bevy of women looked down
upon the prankish youths. In this box
were Mrs, Henry W. Taft. Mrs. Shelf
| f1.,1. -
Sheffield, Mrs. James X. Sheffield. Mrs
| Thomas Thatcher, Mrs Arthur i. Had
ley. Mrs Arson Phelps Stokes. ir..
whose husband is secretary of the
university; Mrs. Julian w. Curtiss
| Mrs Walter r. James. Mrs. William
NJ. Barnum and Mrs Noble r Hoggson
All are wives OF prominent Yale men
| About the guest table We're grouped
| a notable lot of youngsters. They WEE
William II. Taft, IS: Arthur r. Had
William H. richards. -; Alfred l..
Ripley. IS Thomas Thacher. II, QUO
/ I. Barnard. -; William NJ Harrum
! -; Julian W. cnrtiss. -, and Senator
Chauncey NJ. Depew, 30.
| Grouped in the center Of the room
4 We're thirty-iive old members of tn.
/ various glee clubs. They We're led by
Frank SIM mons eRtweeen the courses.
they Whooped up the dear old songs
1 the songs that old Yale sang. not the
new ones Of the present day Among
The songs that came from this noble
band We're: Eli YALE. Down the
. Field. Wake, Freshmen. Wake"
i Should Fortune Prove 'nhInd, My
College. The stein Song. stand by
! Your Glasses steady" and then. going
/ back to the ante-Taft epoch. they res
urrectei "Amacio." Inter Zita" and
\ .'Gaudemus.
The Song They Loved Best.
4 But the song that brought the most
applause and the most tuneful tapping
OF many feet was that harmony Bright
College DAYS" III (which everybody came
in for the chorus
The menu was elaborate The card
showed Mr.. Taft's face. and under il
was 4 quotation from T.. A. alderman
| TO this effect.
IF / We're an artist and wanted &c
symbolic a Yale man on a pedimenl
OF irieze o. somewhere | should stand
4 him NJ. clean Of body. strong Of arm
! with uplfted head and steady tender
eyes and The slogan sounding from his
I twin trumpets w"t.id he the slogan OF
| Progress ana Service
! Opposite this picture was quota
ton from An old Yale song that typi-
i ted the spirit 81 the night:
/ Rmt nov tonight. are hoys once moro:
Who cares Low the Fates have s.un1
! a rlrdg. I" The mother Of years score.
/ \ pledge 10 iicr favoriic son.
] Here ; wishing him wealth and wishing him
4 health.
! Long life and an easy trail.
! With the heel OF The glass
i am NJ and pass,
I 70 the dust of Eli Yale.
The speeches We're lot intended to he
! the prominent features of the night
! President Esadley spoke to the k9ast
Beneath the Films. President Taft re-
sponded TO 'Far God, Our Country and
| For Yale.
Mimic College Lights Twinkle
| Just the speechmaking was about
| to begin the lights on the mimic campus
| were lowered. making a twilight effect
| E.ue calcium was turned upon the nigh.
scene. and from tie mimic windows OF
| the old h~i"k fcw there flashed the lights
| OF tie college. with the students clingina
! 10 tie I'D fence. singing the old songs
! or. F'r-sn. put out that light" came
| the stentorlan call from the assembled
guests
Then. as the cries died out there came
a perfect imitation o. the chimes of the
college chapel and all Of the singers
| started the song Wake. Freshman
| Wake" President Taft joined n artily in
the singing.
Toastmaster James X. Sheffield. who
presided. said: