Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1920-10-04
DARTMOUTH
HEAD DEFENDS
UNDERCRADS
Denial of Wholesale
Traffic in Booze
Among Students
Charges Grew out Of Tragedy Last
Summer When Meads Killed Class
mate While Under Influence Of
Liquor - But Three Students
Known to Have Dealt in Booze

sN'S"h ~ SVQtt III SoVLO
Hanover. \. H.. Oct. S.---President
Ernest NJ. Hopkins of Dartmouth Col
lese issued statement tonight in de-
Tense of the undergraduate discipline
and in denial of charges that more
than leo students had filed dispositions
admitting their participation or
knowledge Of "a traffic in booze" at
the institution. The statement was
made as result of cnai ges last
summer by Albert H. Meads of Chi
cago. father of Robert I. Meads, a
Dartmouth student who vas recently
convicted of manslaughter for killing
his ciassmate, Henry Maroney, when
under the influence of liquor.
The statement said;
In connection with the charges
that we're published during the summer
concerning participation in any sys-
tenn of smuggling of liquors or the
consumption of them among Dart
mouth students. now that the court
action has been completed / believe it
to be due both undergraduates and the
outside public, who have shown sucl,
confidence in the college, to make one
statement of fact as 4 matter Of rec
ord
In the daily papers of Saturday
july 10th. there appeared an inter-
view with Mr. Albert H. Meads OF
Chicago making assertions in an at
tack upon the college, among which
the most sensational was, speaking for
the college:
What l found out about condl-
tons was so revolving as TO be almost
unbelievable. There are on file in the
Office of County Solicitor Noonan of
Grafton county the dispositions OF
more than a hundred students in
which they state that they either en-
gagged in or knew about the traffic in
booze
In response to a query from me
the case had been completed in the
courts, he made reply the essence of
which is contained in the following
quotation:
II have the names Of only three
men who were engaged in and knew
ABOUT the traffic i'll Intoxicating Ii
quors at your institution. | mean by
this, three men. including Robert T.
Meads.' who had knowledge of the
smuggling for consumption and dis
tribution'
The policy Of the administration
at Dartmouth is to thrust responsible
itH for the code of the undergraduate
life as definitely as possible onto the
undergraduate body and to maintain
only so many rules or as much detail
ed oversight as is necessary to insure
an orderly conduct of college affairs.
leaving to the undergraduate body as
largely as possible IA freedom which
shall put its men upon their honor
free from an atmosphere Of espionage
or minute personal supervision.
Any discipline which permits free
dom. also of necessity permits indi-
vfdual departures from mechaa ical
obedience. These departures may. of
course. in individual cases, seriously
contradict the theory of the good
sense and honor Of the men who make
up the student body or may seem to
reflect discredit upon. the undergrad
uate code
Il have never had any reason to ac-
cept such an implication as true, new
erthetess. not even in the clrc,,m-
stances attendant upon the tragedy Of
last spring, for to one who knows the
character of the men of the college it
has always been evident that these cir
cumstances were eXtraneous to COL
lege life as d whole.
The dehniteness of the specific
charges which, I have cited above.
however was such that it seemed that
Il permanent injustice might be done
the reputation Of the college were the
facts not to be cited, and | have.
therefore. reluctantly decided to give
them the publicity that attended the
original charge"