University Missourian. [volume] (Columbia, Mo.) 1908-1916, 1913-01-23
NEED AND VALUE
OF SOCIABILITY

dustin A. Runyan, author of the
following communication, is former
student of the University of Missouri
now secretary of the Board of Com
merce of Bay City, Mich)
Editor the Nissourian: / have
seen several articles recently in the
NIissourian lamenting "a lack Of So
ciability among the University stu
dents" | cannot understand why
such a condition should exist in the
Missouri University. l am extremely
sorry that it does exist. Not knowing
Just what the reason is for this la
mentable condition, l am at a loss
what remedy to suggest for same, but
it should be remedied, if possible, and
every effort of everyone connected
with the University should be towards
that end, for the students of the Uni
versity are losing a great opportunity
in not knowing one another, let
alone the loss of good fellowship and
sociability.
Possibly / had advantages that
many of the students do not possess
at this time | was a student in the
University when there were less than
500 others and | was raised in Colum-
bia from a mere lad up to full man.
hood, and | learned to know many
students by their names and the
places in which they lived, and this
acquaintanceship has been a wonder
full advantage and often a great pleas
ure to me. During the past ten years
| have attended conventions and asso-
citation meetings in Columbia, Spring
field, Joplin, Jefferson City, Cape
Girardeau, Hannibal, ST. Louis and
St. Joseph, Mo-; Muskogee and Okla
homa City. Ok; Chicago, st. Paul,
Minneapolis, Des Moines, Cedar
Rapids and Sioux City, Iowa; Omaha,
Neb, Denver, Colo; Salt Lake City and
Logan, Utah: Houston, San Antonio
and Galveston, Texas; Shreveport
and New Orleans. La Jackson, Miss. |;
Mobile and Birmingham, Ala; Men,
phis and Nashville, Tenn; Louisville,
KY; Dayton, Cleveland, Columbus
and Cincinnati, Ohio; Pittsburgh and
Philadelphia, Pa; Washington, d. c.;
Buffalo and New York City, N. Y;
Boston. Mass. and in many of these
cities l met and was associated with
alumni and ex-students of the Mis-
souri, University and it was a real
and genuine pleasure to me to know
these men again.
At Denver, several years ago, a.
a meeting of the Trans-Mississippi
Commercial Congress held in their
great auditorium l was addressing
said congress on the Conservation OF
the Public Domain" and some speak
er who objected to what | was say
ing, interrupted me and asked me
what my name was and where | was
from. Ex-senator Teller was pre-
siding at the time, and he answered
the inquirer and said: "The speak
er's name is Runyan, and he is from
Missouri When | took my seat
there gathered around me twelve men
who had formerly attended the Mis-
souri, State University, such men as
Senator Charles Hughes, Walter j.
Davis, John T. Bottom, Jerrold R.
Letcher and others who were also
delegates at that congress from diff
ferent states. Through that meeting
in this public hall we then came to-
gether and that night we had a din
ner together at one of the hotels.
There were men in the crowd who
had gone to the University covering
period of eighteen years, and yet
when they were introduced to one
another they we're like a family of
boys. OF course the present students
do not recognize a single man | have
mentioned, but the people of Colum-
bia will.
At a convention i'm San Antonio,
Texas. two years ago. there were
twenty-seven ex-university men in
that meeting. At a meeting in Bos-
ton last year I did not expect to see
anybody that l knew, but there were
three men in the convention that
had gone to school at the Missouri
State University. Last December I
attended the Michigan State Tax Con-
ference in Detroit, and the first man