Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1924-03-17
RECORD ASSEMBLY
HEARS EDDY talk ON
College PROBLEMS


Sherwood Eddy on his talk OF college
campus problems. For the third Of
series of lectures Mr.. Eddy took this
subject, and the entire student body
of the college turned out to hear him.
In three meetings II has been estimated
that 1900 students have listened to the
noted speaker. who is at Colby College
with a message.
The speaker had promised something
extraordinary In the line Of a talk and
before time for his address the college
chapel was DAMNED to the doors with
students. many of whom were required
| to stand throughout the talk Mr.. Eddy
first asked IL the students were the
, kind of men and women to meet the
great campus problems, and then went
on to mention these In straightforward
talk. In part he emphasized the fol-
lowing:
There are in colleges touchstones of
character which test out the character
or the college men and women for their
weaknesses. and through these it is
possible to lead a true and pure life IL
that man or woman cares to follow the
path of right and leave the wrong be-
hin. The army tests given to men
In the selected draft were very poor in
their results and showed smaller
percentage Of moral leaders than Of
physical. although the number of phys
icai leaders was very small in compar-
ison with the number Of men selected
by the army.
The vital question Of asking ones
self If one was honest was brought up
in the course of the talk. A great and
powerful nation can not be built on
sand. neither can a great Office build
-. -
untruths. and consequently great char
acters can not be built on a founda-
ton Of swamp OF crookedness, un-
truth and deceit.
In the middle OF the lecture Mr.. Ed
dy turned his subject somewhat aside
and scathingly denounced the princi-
pals in the recently brought-to-light
Teapot Dome oil scandal In which
some Of the leaders of the country are
mixed up. He stated that Fall ard
his criminal associates in the form of
the gambler Harry Sinclair and others,
thought II n joke to sell out the pco-
pie of the United States for their own
gain. and that such an action was not
sin or crime in the estimation Of these
crooks. Taking an example from his
college days, Mr.. Eddy told Of a stu
dent who was working his way through
like. One Gay he set basket of APP
pies near a doorstep to one Of the col
lege buildings and placed a sign over
saying that the apples were five cents
each. Some student stole the entire
basket--merely as a joke. Mr.. Eddy
pointed OFT the great wrong in this
Necausc- Of the effect on that poor stu
fent end the low ideals of the student
who would do this. saying that stu
dent who would steal basket of ap-
pies in college when he thought there
was no chance of being caught would
, some day steal the nation Of he thought
there wns no way in which he could
be exposed. He said that was the mani
nor Of conduct OF the present principals
of in the oil scandal who stole with
the thought that there would never be
any light cast on the deal. Mr.. Eddy
, declared that there was never crook
! cd deal but what came TO light at some
time or other.
I College Jokes OF this type result in
tragedies in after life because they so
undermined the character of the stu
dent towards the moral right that 1t
Is hard to steer straight. Many OF the
great crimes could be traced. either
directly or indirectly, back to college
DAYS.
NtHe lIClueIlt Ill tHc tooh SS 70 W
morning talk caused considerable
laughter among the students. The
speaker brought out OF his pocket
the front page of certain Boston
newspaper with its flaring red head
lines and held it for the inspection
of the audience. After the laughter
had subsidized, Mr.. Eddy said that he
! realized the cause for laughter but
| that this was q serious matter in
connection with education. THE
publisher of this paper" he declared
has done more to prostitute the
American press than any man or all
time. He would have America wage
war against England. Mexico and
Japan for his own good. 1t is n per-
feet education in crime" Mr.. Eddy
did praise the editorials in the pa
per as taking the peoples part in
affairs
In his destructive criticism of the
paper he pointed to the flaring head
ines which carried stories OF muir
ders, deaths and scandals saying
that this was all the education that
many young people received today
and their standards of life were low
cred to the level of those of the
scandal stories.
He asked if'the students Of the
college were studying four years in
order that they might leave college
and accumulate quick wealth. In
continuing, he pointed out that it
should be the inspiration of every
student to get as much out of his
college course as possible not to
make money but to advance civiliz-
alton in their training of high ideals,
to make them look for the truth. de-
sire the truth and learn the truth.
Cribbing was one Of the college
crimes that should be banished by
the will of the students.
Mr.. Eddy then presented heart to
heart talk in the frankest Of words
to the students regarding morals in
college and their relations in later
life to the welfare and happiness of
everyone. Speaking the courage of
his convictions, the speaker held the
rigid attention of the audience for
more than half an hour. He told OF
how hard 1t was to talk frankly to
such a mixed audience on his topic
but that it was his belief and that Of
all modern educators that the old or
der OF hiding the facts. of Gods
greatest truth from the young people
of today was practically a crime and
that they should be discussed openl.
and without reservations in the pres
ence OF both sexes.
In the afternoon, Mr.. Eddy met
more than 100 students in a small
and informal discussion group in the
chemical lecture room of chemical
hall and frankly discussed many
topics and answered numerous ques-
lions which were piled by interestes'