Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-01-25
AT ANNUAL BANQUET
President Taft Talks to Dart
mouth Men of College Days.
MAKES A J0vIAL SPEECH
Praises the Advantage of the
Smaller Institution.
PRESIDENT NICHOLS HEARD
Speaker Cannon and the French
and British Ambassadors
Among the Speakers.

and British Ambassadors
Among the Speakers.
guests at the thirty-tifth annual banquet
OF the Dartmouth Alumni Association at
the New Willard last night that the list
of guests had the appearance almost of
roster of the great. 1t was al
unique, pleasant and notable mixture Of
college spirit from old and young grads.
speeches from the President of the United
States, President Nichols, newly inau-
gurated head of Dartmouth: Speaker
Cannon. Ambassador Bryce and Ambas-
sador Jusserand, all interspersed with
snappy college cheers.
President Taft made a iovial college
dinner speech, and his references to the
love which Dartmouth men have for their
college were received with glow of
pleasure by the alumni present. The
President came to the dinner in time for
the speeches, and whispered to John
Barrett, POSTMASTER, that he wanted to
listen TO Uncle Joe'' and one Or two
others so that he could become acqtlaint-
He listened attentively to Uncle joe
and Ambassador Jusserand, and was then
introduced. while typical college cheer
leader led the old grads in a roaring
Dartmouth yell, which ended with a rous-
ing cheer for the chief executive
The opening address was to have been
made by James b. Reynolds, but un-
avoidable tariff business kept him at work
instead of at play
British Ambassadors. Remarks.
In his place Representative Foster
spoke. and led the way to Ambassador
Bryce's speech, in which the popular
diplomat jokingly remarked that in the
American college he had found the fount
of perpetual youth Mr. Bryce received
a degree from Dartmouth in 1901, and
made several references to the feeling of
youthfunesS he experienced in being a
member of the class of Naughty One. He
also said that England has nothing to
correspond exactly with the alumni as
sociations of America
He spoke of the college men who had
been President of the United States, and
predicted a Dartmouth man some
future President He said he favored
greater pay for college professors and
Dartmouth. and to all the old line New
England colleges.
The Presidents Speech.
The President tilted lightly-and with
rare humor-wfth Uncle joe The
Speaker had preceded him. and had paid
tribute to the small college. and had
discoursed on college men and non-college
men. The President argued that perhap s
Dartmouth was not SO small after all:
"One thought that came to me during
the speech of the Speaker was that
the college education or university edu-
cation was not a great advantage. but
that great must lie a country which with
out those advantages could produce such
men called for admiration from him in
Andrew Jackson and Abraham Lincoln
and Joseph Cannon.
Another thought that came to me was
that our Uncle joe was on just a little
hit of thin ice; that in order to make
his point in favor of small colleges he
haps Dartmouth men are not now willing
to admit. for / have understood that
Dartmouth claimed now to be on the
other side Of the line, and to be one of
of small colleges and had become q great
college.
Harvard and Dartmouth.
Il have been trying to formulate in my
mind an idea that I have had with ref
erence to yarmouth and Harvard. but
was frightened out of expressing myself
fully upon it by the presence of Har-
ward man. We had presiding at a Yale
meeting once In Washington, away back
in $780, when Uncle Joe and were
young. Senator Wolcott, and he referred
to Harvard University as university
that prepared men to shine in Boston
society and made them insuf7erable else
where
Now my experience with reference to
Dartmouth and Harvard In coming into
contact with the capital of New England
and the men who make the wheels go
there, is that, when you meet a man OF
social grace or literary excellence, you
can trace him back to Harvard. but when
you meet a man who is making the
wheels go and who is forcing public opin-
ion. you usually call him a Harvard
man. but you find he was graduated at
Dartmouth. Just why that Is l don't
know, Perhaps it is because the men of
the great university have spread over a
wider territory and that Dartmouth has
devoted it's attention chiefly to New Eng
land. Certain 1t is that at Dartmouth
that if they would have anything worth
having they must earn it; that they are
willing to start In the race of life even
with an education and nothing else, and
that with no other luggage they are able
to make the race better than if they had
that wealth and appreciation Of comfort
that make one willing to accept some
thing less than the first place in the race.
The Smaller College.
Now, I agree with Uncle Joe that
the smaller college is of the utmost ad-
vantage to this country. One who has
attended a large university may advance
| arguments in his individual case why he
has been favored by that opportunity
but I think all of them present this
| advantage and benefit, wholly aside
from the knowledge or education that
one gets, which one has to go through
college to understand the advantage Of
and that is the association and friend
ship that YOU form with the men whom
you meet at college during the formative
four years of your life.
Such association makes character.
The desire to stand well with the men
who for four years stood shoulder to
shoulder with you as the warmest friends
and the humiliation you would feel il it
were to come to them who gave you
their highest hopes for YOUR success that
you had departed from the path of honor
and gone downward and disgraced your
selves, your education. and your college,
is self-restraint than which / know no
stronger to keep men in the path of yir-
tue and make them work for the uplift
of their fellowmen.''
Where Learning Leads.
Tho Esrapeb auho eco dow ,.,<.a -,..A ~.