The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1910-04-05

For this is when that luckless youth
Was birched because he told the truth.
Pauline Frances Camp, in st. Nicholas.
War on College Snobbery.
A Harvard democratic club arrayed
against itself over the Boston-Ir1sh sit
uation; a senior class election with gold
coast and yard interests fighting each
other, the reopening of old wounds. due
to snob bishness; a considerable discord
in the coaching systems-these are
among the causes of an undesirable
amount of publicity which has befallen
Harvard recently.
for granted that the four years Of COL
lege should mean a period of complete
democracy, a time when general good
fellowship reignS, when all undergrad
yates stand on the same social level.
AS a matter Of fact, the natural tend
ency is for the wealthy men to live in
the better dormitories where they can
get modern, up-to-date accommoda-
tons in the way of living, and, thus
continue to have what they have had
in their own homes. With primitive
buildings in the yard, with almost un-
sanitary conditions in many OF the col
lege dormitories, it is not surprising
for young men of means to gather
along Mt. Auburn street, where private
buildings afford better quarters.
Because of the present dormitory
regulations, the tendency to segrega-
ton according to wealth is emphasized.
Such a state of affairs necessarily pre-
walls wherever there is no rule re-
straining choice of residence. But
President LowelPs segregation scheme
for freshmen and the appeals made 20
seniors to take rooms in Hollis, Slough
ton, and Holworthy will tend to coun-
teract the present natural course OF
things and bring about to a greater ex-
tent the story-book kind OF college life.
There are many democratic in
f1uences already at work. Mere posses
sion of wealth may be the means of OBJ
tanning a particular suite of rooms in a
particular building, but that amounts
to little enough, and is a stepping stone
to nothing more than desirable locality.
Probably the legitimate social ambi-
ton Of every Harvard undergraduate is
to make one Of the so-called big clubs.
Those clubs control, in a large meas
ure, class politics and class matters
generally. But the best of them have
power, not because they go under GER
tain names, but because they are COM
posed of certain Northumberland of
ability. of efficiency, of strength Of
character. 1t would not take longer
than one year for the strongest, most
influential college organization in Cam
bridge to sink into nothingness If 1t
ceased to be made up of representative
students. athletes, leaders of the class
by merit alone. 1t is sometimes said
that Hasty Pudding controlled such
and such an election. The truth is,
Hasty Pudding man ran for office, and
got it because he was generally recog-
nized as fitted.
Evidences Of democracy are found not
only in the clubs and in class elections,
but in the athletic and social spheres.
Whatever may have been true ten or
even five years ago, the fact is that
today it makes no difference whether
man comes from Groton or st. Marks
Or Exeter, the question at the Stadium
in September and October is. Can he
play football? If he is one of the best
players in the college, he makes the
team, and that is all there is to it. It
must be remembered, however, that a
Groton boy, for example, is likely to
play better football because of superior
school than the youth from some small
public institution in the west or middle
west.
In the Harvard graduate schools
ability alone is the summum bonum OF
existence. A student of law makes the
law review because he knows the law,
not because his father is wealthy or be-
cause he happens to have blue blood
running through his veins. 1t would
seem to be difficult to find a more
thoroughly democratic place than the
lecture rooms of Austin or Langdeu
Hall. The same is true of the other
professional schools.
While Yale is, to be, sure, national
distinctly that of New England, with
New England tastes and ideas of life.
There is a characteristic unity at New
Haven. Harvard has more difficult
problem to solve, for it is more national
in scope and in composition. The inter-
ests are varied, and naturally it is hard
to combine preconceived prejudfces OF
the west with conservative opinions OF
the east.-Cambridge (Mass.) CORE
spondence of New York Evening Post
Night Blindness.
Inability to see by day is matched by
the commoner night-blindness which
most of US have known in friend or
relative. This defect. which includes
an inability to see even by artificial
light, is congenital with some people
and never overcome. 1t is often her
editary. 1t may also be caused. how
ever, by long exposure to overbr1ght
light, coupled with fatigue. A strange
story is told concerning a ships crew
two centuries ago, which was over
come by night-blindness so extreme
that their captain was obliged to force
a fight with a Spanish privateer dur
ing the day, knowing that by night his
men would be helpless In order to
obviate this difficulty for future occa-
sions, he ordered each sailor to keep
one eye bound during the daytime, dis
covering, to his qualification, that this
eye, having rested. was then free of
the defect. The sailors were very
amusing in their efforts to retain the
bandage well over the eye that must
be ready for night duty, and so a.
method Of modifying this trouble was
HfarsnuaPM6. Strand