Evening star., 1934-06-21

Il Cushing, the parents of the viii
New London, Conn, for the Ys
through these years with Yale men.
and I want to tell you also very
simply Of my thought that, while
there has been a certain amount Of
comment about the use Of brains in
the National Government, it seems to
be a pretty good practice-a practice
which will continue-this practice Of
calling on trained people for tasks
that require trained people.
Defends Government.
Today. more than ever before in our
public life, it is true that we are calling
on the teaching profession, on the
graduates of scientific schools and
other schools, and I think it Is also
true that in the conduct Of govern
ment there has been no period in our
history where what We call in the
wrong sense politics and in the wrong
sense politicians enter less than they
do today in the conduct Of govern
ment. I find, for the sake of example.
that in my own mind and, am quite
sure, in the minds Of most Of the lead
ers Of the Federal Government, quail
fication from the standpoint OF ability
rather than from politics enters into
most of the choices that are made.
There are, of course, repercussions
to that Sometimes appointments are
made and people are called In 10
serve their country and weeks go by
before anybody discovers which party
they happen to belong to. couldn't
tell you today the party Affiliations Of
probably the majority Of people hold
ing responsible positions in Washing
ton, and it Is mighty good thing
that cannot.
60 back a great many years IN
calling on Yale men for help.
One of the most pleasant surprises
this morning was the statement by
the dean OF the School Of Forestry
that this years graduates were not
present because they we're already at
work, and I looked down at Clifford
Pinchot Governor Of Pennsylvania
and smiled and he knew what meant.
Tells of Early Fight.
Twenty years ago or, more than
| that, % years ago, when / was
youngster in the State Legislature, for
some perfectly unknown reason / was
made the chairman of committee
think it was because nobody else
wanted the chairmanship-on forests,
| fish and game. 1t was a subject about
which I knew very little. discovered
Immediately that one Of the problems
before us was the denudation of the
Adirondacks. Timber had been cut
there without rhyme or reason or
thought and many Of the upper slopes
were being washed away until only
the bare rock appeared. ! began TO
take an interest and sent letter
to the chief forester of the United
| States, asking him to come to Albany
to advise me and the Legislature, and
Clifford Pinchot came up there and
| delivered a PROFESSIONAL lecture. He
was one Of the first Of the brain
trusters.
And the thing that sold it to the
layman's mind-to the mind Of the
average member Of the Assembly or
the Senate-was not so much what
he said as what he showed, photo
graphs Of North China, region once
covered with magnificent forests,
region which today is a desert. We
passed our legislation and that was
the first step toward practical govern
ment supervised forestry, so far as I
know, in the Eastern part Of the coun-
try. 1t started me on the conservation
road. From that time on, in company
with a great many other graduates of
Yale, we have gone ahead by the slow
process Of education until today the
! whole country, I believe, is thoroughly
| familiar with the purpose of the great
national plan for the better use of
land and water throughout our con-
tinental limits.
I cite this merely as an example
of what may grow from the enthu-
siasm of men. There are hundreds
of other things we are doing today
| that are new, and the Government
of this country is seeking to progress
| In all of the affairs of governing the
country in the same way that the
great universities of this country have
succeeded because they would never
stand still. Harvard and Yale have
pointed the way In education for a
great many generations and today
Harvard and Yale stand out in the
world of education as being willing
to experiment-thank God.
Just so long as that spirit remains
IN our education, and, as President
Conant suggested, we have still quite
way to 20 to catch up with the
seventeenth century, and just so long
as that spirit Is abroad in education,
we need not worry about the future
of the Nation.
I want to say one word about the
national point of view. Every since
l graduated from college have been
more and more interested In the pro-
posal, today in part fact, that these
great Eastern universities should
make themselves national In so far
as 1t lies within their power, and the
body of graduates of Yale and the
body of graduates Of Harvard every
year are increasing the useful infiu-
ence of the two universities In all Of
the sections of this country.
Opposes Sectionalism.
The danger for all Of us graduates,
especially, I believe Of the larger
Eastern Universities, lies in a narrow
ness of point of view-the living
within the confines of ones own COM
munity, of living within ones own
profession and of typifying too
greatly the man who is described by
the west as the man who never went
west of the Hudson River. To get to
know our country is going to help us,
not only individually but our own
| Government.
We hear much In the more erudite
press Of the East about members Of