Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1921-09-13

words, only by doing it well will revenue
and interest be increased.
Good useful efforts will be readily sup
ported. Frequent appeals in themselves are
not tiresome, but the form may be, and the
alumni secretary must use skill, experience
and tact in this work. The well recognized
power of continued suggestion s his foun-
dation, and his thought must be greatly
given to its expression.
at is often difficult for the busy aumnus
to understand the needs and methods of uni
vcrsity alumni service, because only inti
mate experience shows that commercalism
and much that is common in business prac-
ticc cannot be successfully applied to It.
Ethics and ideals are more favOrably re-
gnrded by, scholars and by men of the pro,
fcssions than the brisk, concise commercial
methods Of the business man.
The university and its service are essen
italy human, and the individuals involved
are different from the ordinary person with
whom the business man has to deal. Mis-
understandings with the faculty are gener-
ally caused by the failure to appreciate this
fundamental idea.
The officers OF an alumni association are
serving and leading n voluntary. altruistic
membership organization. They strive to
achlcVc for group Of cultured gentlemen
who serve sentiment but who are almost
entirely engrossed in the press of their own
AFFAIRS. Consequently alumni officers must
Judgments formed from the intimate contact
ana experience with the alumni whose sup
port they must gain to achieve success.
Much Must BE Given
mo alumni society can pay the ideal
alumni secretary a salary that would make
it business proposition for him. The hon
orarium which they can afford to give him
for the sacrifice of his business life and
future in devotion to his university appro-
priatcly removes any idea of the position
being money making one for him or of his
motives being selfish.
university service is like that of the
army or navy, the ministry or teaching; its
attraction is not in dollars, but in LOYALTY
ana IN accomplishment. TO be successful
1t must be undertaken in n spirit of unset
hSh devotion. These things nre fundamental
ana criticism of men or methods which does
not recognize and regard them is not helpful
Speaking more specifically of our own
University, ] think there is no doubt that
the seizure of the college by the State in 1TI0
destroyed n true college took away it's ira
dltlons, tone and spirit and substituted
shan' For 100 years the University suffered
| from this blow for until 1880 the University
| never graduated more than seven pupils
| year from its college department and some
times went down as low as three During
TINS same period Yale and Harvard were
graduating about forty students year The
OF pennsylvania prominent until 1900 was
| the medical school This predominance of
| our professional schools until the last dee.
| ade ana the late development Of our under
| graduate department are different from other
| universities, whose development has been ex-
| actIy the reverse. Their alumni organiza-
tons are founded upon the college graduates
| ana thus are not so complex az ours
| Most OF our alumni outside of Phila-
| delphia are graduates of our professional
| schools. Many OF them owe their first allie
| glance to another college, and many came
| TO fennsylvnnia as n business proposition
AS compared with the standards at Yale or
| harvard, Tor instance, we can count upon
TO back us up Loyalty an alumni body of from
| seven 10 ten thousand men, widely scattered
over the United States.
| pennsylvania graduates are busy mon
We have very few men of wealth or leisure
| ihcS can give only much time to the
| University, ana this Is usually given TO their
| local organizations. Little class SOLIDARITY
Is encouraged at the University. and the
! weakness or these natural units affects tho
whole, II Is harder to put the germ nf
enthusiastic group organization into thom
| nller leaving the university when they are
busy making their livings NV
| There was little university spirit uptiI
recently. The duplication of effort md d.
NloGd zeal existed until 1911, when provost
nhnlh Drought the scattered elements TO.
grther IN union which WAS chilled thn Gan
cral Alumni Society, an existing cornorottm,
| whose assets were valuable for the s,rvico
| i.oynl graduates capitalized the work md
| iehhsSiynnia's alumni body i lust berin.
nlns TO develop university spirit and over.
: years" VI