Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1920-06-25
PROF. CHARLES B. WRIGHT
DELIVERS ADDRESS
Continued from page two

:
also is the simple exposition of its
Significance 4 can surely affirm, he
tells us, that I have as my constant
companions the dolphin and the an
Choir | have accomplished much by
holding fast, and much by pressing
on The dolphin and the anchor-may
they be our constant companions, too,
in the days that lie ahead
COLLEGE AND COMMUNITY
Turning then, our faces forward l
have thought to consider, in the little
time that is left me, the common aims of
the college and the community; and l
trust it may not be thought presuming
if essay to speak in a double capacity.
have striven to be, in helpful ways,
citizen of the village no less than an
officer of the college, and have craved
the respect and affection of my towns
men equally with that of my students
and my colleagues Examining their
functions, we see that college and COM
munity fall into one category: they
are social organisms. And my con-
tention today is simply this, that in
striving for a common end, to give
their members unhindered chance for
full development, the college and the
community should work together. On
the college side, for the time we are here,
all of us should be citizens of the type a
village needs: modest, to be sure, as
BELTS newcomers, and remembering
ever-though in all probability we shall
not be allowed to forget it-that it
takes some fifty years at least to com
plete the long novitiate and to stand
at last upon equal terms with those to
the manner born; not rashly urging
innovations, being mindful that estab-
lished ways, however strange they
seem, have at least the presumption
on their side and perhaps justiica-
ton that the surface does not reveal
but in all that concerns the public
good Loyalty and intelIigently devoted
to the civic order of which we have
become a part. Such citizens fully
believe, the great majority of us sin
cerely wish to be.
"The training we give our students,
too, should be directed to the same
end; it should be, through its entire
extent, training for civic life The
constant and most important course
in our curriculum, not down in the
catalogue, perhaps, but permeating all
the rest with its vivifying power,
should be one in practical citizenship,
with this region and all it represents,
with this State and all its interests for
a working laboratory The days of
the Cloister are over in the academic
life-the days of special privilege and
of antiquated immunity from common
obligations; these i'll comport with the
spirit of a democratic world But
aristocracy, rightly based, can never
be annulled by statute; rank will re-
main, it is certain, while civilization
cndures, and noblesse oblige must be
mems motto still All that this college
possesses the resources of its equip
ment, the experience of those who
teaCh-should be dedicated to the pub
lie good; should ever be freely offered
for the solving of community problems
and the enriching of community life.
In a score of ways-one NAV not re-
hearse them here the training given
upon this hill could not only be vital
lied itself by being brought into closer
touch with the throbbing life about it,
but could in its turn contribute much
for the benefit of us all.
VILLAGE DEBT TO COLLEGE
"And that proffer of service gladly
made should be as gladly accepted by
those to whom it is rendered. There
are obligations resting too, on the
party of the other part. For the vii
lage owes much, and in many ways, to
the college within her gates. BY viz
tue OF its presence here, her line is
gone out through all the earth, and |
her words to the end of the world. 1t |
is, potentially at least, the communitys |
greatest asset the very nature of its |
output assures it that prominence. 1t |
IS, in truth, manufacturing plant, and
Ruskln'S CaustiC query at once sug-
gests itself: whether among national
that of souls of a good |
quality may not at last turn out a
quite leadingly lucrative one. And it
IS to partnership in that splendid work,
the nurture of superior souls, that the
is called Why should it
De left for the college alone to rejoice
n the beadroll of her distinguished
sons; Why should not the village de-
clare as well that these are her Jewels,
90, trained here in the arts of com
nunity life and carrying inbo wider
fields the lessons learned in four rich
years of civic apprenticeship: A COM
nunity might well subsidize good
college. Fortunately, here, a financial
subsidy is not needed but we of the
college always need-we cannot pros
Der without 1.-THE subsidy of a gen
erous goodwill. And why should it not
BE given us: Self-interest would sug-
gest as much. What is it that deter
mines the comparative value to a com
nunity of manufacturing enterprise?
undoubtedly, the proportion of skilled
needed in the carving on of
IS work. Other things being equal,
watch factory is a more valuable addi-
ion than a shirt factory, because of its
arger proportion of expert employees;
md what enterprise other than a col