The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-12-01
Dr. Henry Noble McCrdcken

H WAS With some SHght degree or II misgiving that dropped in Ut the
 Tutwiler yesterday to ask Dr. Henry Noble McCracken, president of Vassar, for an interview.
 It is all very we'll to approach the singer, the actress, the professional as 1t were, for then the "interview-ee" is more or less at your mercy; he or she may not criticize your techniqus;, the only thing for the victim to do is to summon few good anecdotes and ar range life story that will seem ad- vantageous without being boassful; even the most expert are on the defen- sive with representatives of the press; but here, if you please, was a man Of letters an educator; one of the most prominent and eminent men in scholdr- ly circles in the world today; a former professor of English at Smith college; graduate of Harvard and also a grad uate of the University of New York, where his father for 30 years was som nected with that great institution.
 More than that, Dr. McCracken has occupied chair at Yale; he has a first cousin once removed who is a distin- guished educator in China, So he comes to quote him verbatim, naturally by being professor, since it is a propri- ~etary business in his family" and here was l scared to within an inch of my life, for 1 had expected the president of tie great Vassar college to be old and grizzly and gray and critical and maybe -"grouchy;" but imagine, If you can, my astonishment when I behe1d a very youngish-looking man with the pinkest sort of cheeks and blonde hair; the most charming smile and cordial man ner-in other words, a very handsome and a very youthful person-more like matinee idol" or a moving picture hero than learned college profes sor!
 must confess the surprise was very agreeable, and before many moments of acquaintance I felt as if I had known pr. McCracken all of my life; I learned very quickly that his life is written in the "Key of B Natural;" I also learned that he is exotic in the land of would be highbrows as a samovar, for there is no put on" about him, only healthy, wholesome, attractive normality which is fascinating and delightful to a de- gree.
 'The atrocious crime of being a young man" neither did I lay at his door, for with all his youth, the young college president has acquired worlds Of Knowledge, boise and dignity, and to my way of thinking, is "just as plain as an old shoe'-with quite as much practical common or garden vari- ety of sense tucked away in the back of his head, as he has book larnin'." higher mathematics, psychology and physiology.
 And kindly tell me how it happened that a youngish, good looking man like VODrSalf Nf ar-9, r asked the very first shot out of the box, because I always would say just what is in my mind.
 Probably by the process of elimina- t1on,' pr. McCracken said. Maybe the list of young women who were eligible Tor the position had omething better, and so was chosen to fill the bill. As a matter of fact any one who had tes- tified to the fact that he was interested in the education of women believe would have been acceptable, and I had done this"
 "The subject of the college girl is an interesting one from any angle" con- tinued Dr. McCracken. Many people have the erroneous idea that she is an unsettled quantity. As a matter of fact, the American college girl is the quint- essence of Americanism. Modern sdu- cation is merely the mirror of the ,om- munity; if there are socialists among us then there is a socialistic element in that community from which she comes. The college is the refining pro- cess through. which the girl, just as gasoline must besrefined from the crude oil before it is usable in the best way.
 Only today have attended a lunch cen given by one of Birminghan's prominent clubs" said pr. McCracken, "and was impressed by the spirit of group action dividing the Christmas plans So that everything might be car ried out efficiently and in good order. That is distinctly American; It couldn't happen anywhere else in the world. I have just returned from a six months tour of Europe. where I visited six countries in the League of Red Cross Societies, and was never more im- pressed with any fact than that Amer fca Is country of action: of hard tasks; what psychologists call .inhibi- tions; our modern college is splendid argument for this type.
 Tn other words, the college protects the student as the football player IS protected by his football togs," pr. McCracken said. His knees, his el-