The weekly times-record. (Valley City, N.D.) 1912-1922, 1922-02-09
DESCRIBES POWER
TRADITION YIELDS

l. lie EulIOI u IIc ouu6Ct A0SCA'So
the following description Of some OF
the observations whichPresident c. E
Allen has made since writing his let
ter of last week.
A western man visiting in New
England is quite sure to be impressed
with the regard for tradition and the
reverence for age, of which there is
abundant evidence on every hand
Last week 700 alumni Of Dartmouth
college had a reunion and dinner in
Boston, and the hero Of that occasion
was an alumnus who has seen and
talked with one or more members OF
every class graduated from Dart
mouth in the last 103 years! did not
come east to see historic places, but
one cannot go anywhere, with his
eyes open, without seeing records OF
interesting events of long ago. On
nv way to Rotary Club dinner in
Boston, / passed the Park Street
Congregational Church, and saw on
tablet by the door the statement that
'"America" was first sung In that
church, and later, while in Andover,
we were reminded Of the fact that
"America" was written in the Clarke
house there. The Park Street church
boasts of having started several move
ments which have become Of world
wide Importance, and records the fact
that Sumner and Garrison delivered
their greatest orations there.
At Andover we were guests at The
Phillips Inn, the stone house which
Harriet Beecher Stowe had remodeled
for her home, where she wrote all her
later books. Uncle Toms Cabin was
published in book form during her
residence there. The Andover visitor
may see the chair in which Washing
ton sat while reviewing troops in that
town, but if he is at all sentimental
he will be more interested in the story
known to all Andover people, that on
a certain other visit to Andover,
Washington rewarded the daughter OF
the tavern for n1ending his glove by
CALAMITY kissing her.
| visited the normal school at
Bridgewater, Massachusetts, the other
day, and found tablet there an
nouncing the fact that the Bridge
water school had the first permanent
normal school building in this coun-
try.
It was not my purpose when l be-
gan this article to make it historical
There are, of course, scores OF places
and events in New England that are
older and more important than these
to which I have referred. Old Salem,
which we visited last week, is filled
with interesting old things, many OF
; which we saw.
I think that reverence for the past,
and the force of tradition, which are
especially strong in New England
have had an effect on education and
educational institutions. At the
Brideewater normal school the chapel
exercises come the first thing in the
morning, despite the fact that a large
number of their students, who come IN
each morning by train, arrive too late
to attend chapel. When l asked the
principal why he didn't have his as.
sembly exercises later, so that al
might attend, he replied that he pre-
sumed he should. but that the Ne"
ENGLAND custom of having chapel ex
ercises before beginning the days
work made it inadvisable, if not i'm
possible, to change. A visit to sew
eral schools here reveals the fact that
chapel exercises in New England are
practically the same in all schools
and they never vary from day to day
in any individual school.
New England's regard for tradition
and her pride in things of the past
are reflected in the character OF tht
courses offered by the leading edu
cational institutions Of this section
Changes are made slowly, and olt
customs are discarded reluctantly
Examinations seem to hold as i'm
portant place in the program a.
they ever did, despite the attitude O
most modern educators on this sub
iect. Last week Dartmouth COLLEGE
was giving organ recitals to sooth'
!, the tired brains of students who wer'
having their mid-years.
| Another evidence of New England
stability and dislike for change il
found in the fact that only two of tn
ten Massachusetts normal schools OF
fer any summer courses. When
! asked the Bridgewater principa