El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1910-06-03
By
Frederic
J. Haskin

! Theology has not had many pupils
! While il may not be said that any of the
! returned scholars have as yet set the
! world on fire, it is yet fair to them 10
! say that almost without exception they
] usefulness fully commemorate with tho
| hopes and ambitions Of the man through
whose bounty they attended oxford.
| Graduates Have Organisa ton.
! The American Rhodes scholars have
| formed an alumni association. and they
| publish a quarterly magazine which
| tells of their whereabouts, their work
and their prospects. The chapter of
I personals is one of the most interesting
features Of the magazine and the read
ing Of these personals disclOSeS the fact
that while they have become liberal
enough 10 see the good that lies in Eng
fish customs and English institutions.
! their American patriotism has suffered
nothing, and they are by no means a
| 'denatiOnaIized" set of young men.
One of them is the International sec
rotary Of the Y. NJ c. i. Another
writes that lin addition to Is lectures
a week, L have been taking part of the
work of the head of my department
while he was off lecturing TO the uncul-
turcd masses in the celluloid- collar belt
of Arkansas" Another has been do
ing excellent work as a field agent Of
the Geological Survey.
From the South comes a message in
which the writer states that he is a
quiet parsOn with a marriage in pros
pect- One scholar who settled in San
Francisco has figured prominently in
running down a gang of Chinese muir
derers- Another tells that he is a row
ing worker with a shirt on his back
and bed under his arm. and an ad-
dress wherever he happens to be. Sew
eral have taken up life insurance as a
means Of livelihood, but they EXPECT TO
leave 1t for chairs in certain American
universities.
American Students Are Serious.
When the first thirty-seven American
scholars started for Oxford, they sailed
from Boston, and, in order to promote
mutual Identification, they pinned Wis
iting cards on the lapeIs of their coats
When they got to Oxford they found
warm reception. Everybody seemed
willing to give the Rhodes idea a fair
trial, although some were skepticaI Of
It's ultimate success At one time, they
seemed 20 be threatened with the han
dicap Of the bad name which sticks to
man through life once given to him
The newspapers were inclined to over
play the athletic end of the career Of
the Rhodes scholars and when they
carried away more than two thirds Of
the honors at the first field day after
their arrival, the world was ready TO
conclude that they were more set Of
athletes than a group of American stu
dents So widespread did this belief be-
come that the secretary of the Rhodes
foundation wrote an article for an
American magazine, in which he de-
clared that the Rhodes students were
serious and earnest and deserved the ex-
cellent standing they held in the schools
of the university.
Students from Each State.
The American candidates for scholars
are selected by local committees from
each state According to the terms Of
the bequest, the students are to be cho-
sen literally without reference to race,
color, or previous condition of servi-
tude.' II has been provided by the
trustees of the foundation that the stu
dents are to be selected from either the
state of domicile or of education, vet
in most of the states only residents are
held to be eligible, and the scholarship
often is passed from one university to
another in the state.
Spend Vacations on the Continent.
The atmosphere and the conditions of
study at Oxford are vastly different
from those at any American university.
Much stress is laid on social intercourse.
which is one Of the features of the work
of the institution among its thousands
Of students Very little time is given
for reading during the scholastic year.
The vacations are much longer than
those in American universities, and 1T is
expected that the Rhodes students will
have so husbanded their annual allow
ance Of $500 as to be able TO spend
the vacation season in Switzerland and
elsewhere, where they are afforded OPP
pOrtunity 10 do the general reading that
is precluded by the social customs 1T
Oxford
American Students Brighter
Comparing the American Rhodes stu
dent with the others of the student body
at Oxford, one of the leading teachers
of the university declares that they are
found to be brighter. to comprehend
more readily the things with which they
deal, but that they are somewhat more
superficial than the average English =
student This shows up more clearly at |
examination time than at any other pc
riOd in the course Of their student ca
roer- While the university man in the
American schools takes his examfna- |
lions by pieceTCeaI AMI a. LIfferant |
times in his scholastic year, Oxford !
holds back everything until the work is |
ended, and then the student is required |
to undergo an extensive examination on /
his whole course
Tomorrow, Recent Naval Progress"