Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-11-23

that no student, unless he be 81 years
old, can enter the School Of Journalism
without two years of college work to his
credit. A friend Of his for many years.
a charming matron of st. Joseph, wrote
to know whether the dean wouldn't
waive his rule in the special instance
OF her daughter, who, though she had
studied in a fashionable school on the
Hudson and in Europe, had never At
tended a college.
II should have thought" replied the
dean, that as daughter, wife and
mother OF lawyers, you would be the
last person In the world to assume that
the rules might be broken"
My dear DEAN" came the immediate
answer, that Is exactly why thought
they could be-" The daughter, however,
was not entered at Missouri until she
was 81.
Refused State Office.
The Democrats in Missouri on several
occasions have asked Dean Williams to
become a candidate for the governor
ship, but he has consistently refused
He has. however, played an active
part In the field Of the press and paper.
He was director of the Press Congress
In San Francisco in 1915, president Of
the Press Congress of the World from
1915 until 1925, first president of the
Departments of Journalism in 1915, ex-
change professor at the National Uni
versity of Mexico in 1925 and president
of the first Pan-American Congress of
Journalism, which assembled In Wash
ington in 1928. BY his tact and his
friendliness during the performance of
these duties, he accomplished much Of
lasting worth to this Nation-he made
friends for. America among important
TNoOY1lo AWNING the aditOrc of tho fOraioy1
press
The people Of Missouri have a deep
affection for Dean williams, feeling
that Is long-founded and of rich root.
His power hasn't removed him from
them. In the last generation the dean
has become q celebrated man, jour-
nalist known virtually to every nation,
yet his distinction has left him un-
altered. He Is the same citizen Of
Boone County, as loyal to Missouri as
ever.
Home Kept In Woods.
During those years when it was fash
ionable in America to sneer at Main
street and at the poverty Of intellectual
life in the Midwest. the twinkling- eyed,
unimpassioned Walter Williams was q
major oasis in that desert which the
sophisticates declared stretched all the
way from Cincinnati to Denver. His
devotion never wavered. The dean con-
tinued to interpret to his fellow citizens
the fine qualities OF the haze above the
Ozarks, of the importance OF hickory
logs in q Missouri fireplace, and of the
majesty of their river, the most bur.
dened In the world.
That Is one of the most attractive
qualities of the deans personality
although he has Travelled over the
world, he has never lost this fence rail
flavor of Missouri. Time and again
he has returned home from some
the guest of Prince Tokugawa, first of
the japanese peers, or from Switzer-
land, where he had presided over some
session Of the international press, to
begin talking to the home folk again
of the farming and spinning of Mis-
souri, and of the catching of wild
game.
Keeps Spirit Of State.
Missouri people to him are still "We."
I'VE are not q people Of the drum and
trumpet" he told them only recently,
I'VE are a people OF the home In Mis-
souri,. The spirit Of our people Is the
spirit Of its own secure position, some
what too careless at times Of the worlds
opinion, but hoSpitable, generous and
brave. The dream of the greatest
statesmen is Nation of citizens dwell
ing in happy homes. In Missouri the
dream finds realization"
At the time of "ArTowsmith's" great
est vogue Dean Williams, smiling, even-
tempered, subtle, suggested that the dia-
lect of Missouri should be adopted as
the language of the land. Half the
civilized world at that time guffawed at
the mere mention of Middle Western
twang, but said Dean Williams, ''our
speesh in large measure comes pure
from the King James version Of the
Bible. Even the you all in our dialect
came from the hearing by our fathers
at church meeting of the wording of the
apostolic benediction, The grace of our
Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. ,"
Apostle Of Own Life.
Dean Williams possesses many atti-
tudes of mind markedly akin to those Of
Mark Twain. Like the great humorist,
he Is the sort of American who most
confoundS foreign understanding-tha
citizens who can talk of wagons among
the stars without once losing sight of
the fact that a hundred copper pennies
make a silver Yankee dollar.
Mark Twain sent Huck Finn voyaging
on a plank. Dean Williams says Amer
leans are born tramps, that We can't sit
still and we can't help it. There are
more rocking chairs sold In the United
States" he declares, than In all the
other countries together. Some Of us
start our travels In rocking chairs and
some of US end them that way-but that
Is no matter"
Friends Come From Far.
The dean is a man Of middle stature,
a white-haired, vigorous man in the
sixties, who when he walks has the
peculiar habit of holding his arms sta
tionary at his sides. This adds an odd
Williams spend much Of their time In
their fine early American home at Co
lumbia entertaining their friends from
everywhere. There during the Winter
they burn logs in their fireplaces as a
matter of Missouri tradition, and at
their table the guests are served hominy
and hot biscuits and fried smoked ham.
Often in the evening they talk of
the Sunken harbor of Sydney, Of the
perhaps they read-the dean prefers
such oldfashioned classics as "Alice In
Wonderland" and Robinson Crusoe."
So time moves along. The dean will
be formally inaugurated as the new
president early in the new year, and
on that occasion, If he so chooses, this
gentleman from the red schoolhouse
may march with those others who will
have gathered to honor him and Mis-
souri, in a gown of black and purple.
For although the dean himself never
went to college, two schools in Missouri
and another in Kansas have bestowed
honorary doctors degrees upon him.
Thus does the Middle West care for the
dignity Of her gifted sons where dignity
Is re- .uired.
Deserter From Army