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LD 4241 A z 1935

March

My address, or more appropriately, my talk, t h i s a f t e r ­noon Is directed to you, young nien and young women of the graduating class . This i s your afternoon, the exercises are held. In your honor, i t i s upon you that the University l a soon to confer I t s coveted degrees. I t i s , therefore, f i t t i n g that what I have to say should be directed to you. I mention this because when President Rlghtmire asked me to speak to you, I wrote an address that I expected to give; but when I read I t over c a r e f u l l y I found that what I had to say was not directed to the members of the graduating class, but to a general audience. So i t promptly found i t s way into a receptacle along with many other s i l e n t companions that never saw the l i g h t of day, and another took i t s place, which whatever may be i t s demerits, has at least the merit of being addressed to the proper persons. I have often thought that we sometimes mis-Judge a speaker because we have the impression that he i s d i r ­ecting h i s thoughts and ideas toward us, when as a matter of fact they are directed to someone else e n t i r e l y . And this reminds me of a l i t t l e incident i n the l i f e of the l a t e Pres­ident E l i o t of Harvard University, t o l d by Henry James i n hie masterly biography of Dr. E l i o t and undoubtedly f a m i l i a r to many of you. I t was on the occasion of the celebration of Dr. E l i o t ' s n i n e t i e t h birthday when appropriate exercises were held at Harvard University i n his honor. That evening while he and Mrs. E l i o t were enjoying a game of dominoes and ta l k ­ing over the events of the day, he said to Llrs. E l i o t : "I

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could hear everything that was said today, except Frank Peabody's prayer." Whereupon Mrs. E l i o t r e p l i e d : "But thee must remember, my dear, that Mr. Peabody i n his prayer was not speaking to thee."

I f I were asked to assign a subject to my t a l k to you t h i s afternoon, I think I should c a l l i t "The Zest of L i f e " or, I f you prefer, "The Joy of L i v i n g . " My choice of t h i s grew out of numerous conversations I have had with members of the graduating classes i n recent years, especially with those receiving graduate degrees, because my contact with stu­dents i s confined c h i e f l y to them, I regret to say I have found among these young men and young women a good many who were not looking forward to what our Commencement programs term, "The Work of the World" with that Joyous a n t i c i p a t i o n that I should covet for them. As my subject would suggest, I believe, and I believe profoundly, that while l i f e often has i t s discouraging aspects, i t s d i f f i c u l t i e s , and even i t s tragedies, i t also has i t s Joys. I t bids us have f a i t h i n the future, no matter how dark the present may look, and i t offers to everyone who has the w i l l and the strength, opportunities to render some worthwhile service to the urgent needs a l l about us. And there le ugliness i n the world — a l l too much of i t — but there i s also great beauty the trained eye can detect — the wide plains, the forests, the mountains, the coming of dawn, the sunset clouds. And there i s noise a l l about us, but there Is also music for those whose ears are attuned to i t . How ex­q u i s i t e the song of the woodthrush wafted across our campus

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In the gray t w i l i g h t of the Spring evening, the murmur of flow­ing waters, the symphonies played "by the winds In the treetops. And there l e discord In the world. Discord so great that i t seems at times as though i t would s p e l l the doom of c i v i l i z a t i o n , ss i f i t were indeed l i k e that t e r r i b l e music Wagner heard as Walhalla f e l l i n ruins. But there Is harmony there also for those who care to look f o r i t . We have our enemies - none of ue can r e a l l y accomplish great deeds without ranging someone against us; but we have our friends on every side I f we but welcome them and play our part i n the great adventure of friendship.

Yes, there i s Joy i n l i f e . The sad part of i t a l l i s that there are some who do not seem to f i n d i t , who go through l i f e a n t i c ipating f a i l u r e , haunted by fear, wondering i f the game i s worth the candle. I f a dark side to anything i s possible, they w i l l f i n d i t . They can always f i n d something to complain of, some b i t of ugliness that mars the beauty i n the world, some sor­row to overpower Joy. I r e c a l l an experience l a s t Autumn when a number of good companions were passing through one of the sub­urbs of our c i t y and one pointed out what seemed to him a beauti­f u l lawn. "Yes," r e p l i e d another, "but the grass on i t i s badly In need of cutting." 1 And the bed of beautiful roses? "Yes, but can't you see how the colors clash. Anyone ought to know better than to plant the Crimson Queen and the Golden Dawn In the same bedj" And what a wonderful tree, so symmetrical, with i t s beau­t i f u l lacework of slender branches. "Yes, but i f you w i l l observe closely, you w i l l see a l o t of dead branches that completely s p o i l the picture. 1 1

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Now, I don't d i s l i k e the pessimist or defe a t i s t , i f we apply some name to distinguish such persons. I have known many of them - good friends we have been and are. I am ju s t sorry for them. I t seems to me they are missing the outlook and the s p i r i t that contributes so much to making l i f e worth the l i v i n g . I r e a l i z e , of course, that some pereons have reasons f o r looking on the dark side; perhaps physical suffering or loss of much that was dear to them; yet, some of the f i n e s t s p i r i t s I have ever had the good fortune to know were persons whose every day was f i l l e d more or less with pain and to whom sorrows never seemed to come singly. Rare souls they were whose s p i r i t enabled them to r i s e above t h e i r sufferings and l i v e a wonderful l i f e that blessed a l l who came Into contact with them.

There are also courageous fight e r s whom nothing daunts. Throw them into J a i l f o r t n e i r b e l i e f s , and l i k e Bunyan they w i l l write a Pilgrim's Progress; s t r i k e them b l i n d and l i k e Milton they w i l l add to the great poems of the ages; paralyze them In the prime of manhood, and l i k e Roosevelt they w i l l become the leaders of t h e i r nation. You can't daunt souls such as these, nor take from them the zest of l i f e .

Now, I wish I knew Just why some people have the faculty of always seeing the good and the beautiful, while others see only the bad and the ugly. I t Is a state of mind to be i n t e r ­preted by the psychologist, not by the chemist. But of one tning I am sure, and that i s , Joy i n l i f e i s not something to be sought for d i r e c t l y . He who goes f o r t h with the sole purpose of hunting for Joy w i l l never find I t . I t i s a by-product, as we say i n chemistry. I t Is the consciousness of an honest day's

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work well done, the f e e l i n g that comes to one who has done a good deed, has helped someone i n trouble, who has gained a victor y over the e v i l i n himself, who has solved some perplexing problem, who has pushed the confines of our knowledge a l i t t l e farther out, who has contributed i n any one of the thousand of ways, however slight, toward making our country a f i n e r place i n which to l i v e . I have often wondered what greater joy could come to a man than the knowledge that he had discovered a way of curing some dreaded disease that causes suffering and takes i t s t o l l of mankind; and the diseases of the nation are Just as serious as are those of the in d i v i d u a l and he who can help i n any way to cure them w i l l know the meaning of r e a l Joy.

Yes, Joy i s a by-product of a l l good l i v i n g . And i n t h i s i t i s l i k e much else In our make-up. Mr. Wicks, Dean of the Princeton Chapel, In a recently published book e n t i t l e d "The Reason for Living," states: "The best i n l i f e comes as a by­product when our attention i s directed elsewhere. Growth of a l l Individuals i s a by-product. We attend to eating, sleeping, and the expenditure of energy, and growth i s added when we are not giving i t a thought. There i s always sometning that we do, f i l l s i n gaps, and adds result s by means that are out of our hands." Even an atheist has said that "When one can give his whole strength and attention to some good cause he finds that a l l the rest of l i f e automatically takes care of i t s e l f . "

Joy, r e a l joy, i s inseparably associated with work: the lazy man, the i d l e one has never experienced i t s delights. And I am aware of the fact that there are many, f a r too many, who regard a l l work as drudgery. I r e c a l l the discussion aroused

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by President E l i o t i n 1907 when he gave i n Paneuil H a l l an ad­dress on "The Joy of Work." Many considered i t a sort of Joke, others said of course President E l i o t had never done any r e a l work and therefore knew nothing about i t and was not to be taken too seriously. But I am sure President E l i o t was r i g h t . There i s joy i n work and I do not know of any other thing that contributes so much to the joy of l i v i n g .

I have always had a very great interest i n the study of the l i v e s of r e a l l y great men. One always finds them, no matter how humble their surroundings, how simple t h e i r l i v e s , men of contentment, whose hearts are f i l l e d with Joy because they r e a l i z e that they are contributing something of value to the world. I know of no one who better i l l u s t r a t e s t h i s sort of l i f e than the great s c i e n t i s t , Louis Pasteur. I o f f e r no ap­ologies for mentioning him f o r he has always been a hero of mine. His whole l i f e was f i l l e d with work and with the Joy that comes from a r e a l i z a t i o n that his discoveries were doing so much f o r his countrymen. Even i n his early 20's we find him solving a d i f f i c u l t problem that had long worried older s c i e n t i s t s . He tnought his way c a r e f u l l y through the maze, and the decision as to whether his ideas were r i g h t or wrong f i n a l l y was to be made by simply looking through an instrument we c a l l the polariscope. We can well imagine the excitement with which he performed t h i s f i n a l and c r u c i a l t e s t , I quote from his biographer, Vallery Radot: "With anxious and beating heart he proceeded to his experiment with the polariscope, and after looking through i t , exclaimed, 'I have i t . , , f His excitement

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was such that he could not look i n the apparatus again; he rushed out of the laboratory not unlike Archimedes. Re met a curator i n the passage, embraced him as he would have embraced h i s dearest friend, and dragged him out with him into the Luxembourg garden to explain his discovery. Many confidences have been whispered under the shade of the t a l l trees of those avenues, but never was there greater or more exuberant Joy on a young man's l i p s . "

But t n i s was only the beginning of Pasteur's achievements. Happening one day much l a t e r i n his l i f e to see the t e r r i b l e suffering of a l i t t l e c h i l d a f f l i c t e d with that dreaded disease, hydrophobia, he determined then and there to spend the remainder of his l i f e , i f need be, i n t r y i n g to f i n d a cure. I t i s a long story, but one of the most t h r i l l i n g I have ever read. I have not the time to t e l l i t here, of the days and nights spent i n carrying out his experiments - how success f i n a l l y attended his efforts and with i t such great happiness that, says his biog­rapher, "His very heart seemed almost to burst with the Joy of his discovery." Money he had but l i t t l e , but he seemed to have no use for any except the amount necessary to provide himself and his family with the absolute necessities of l i f e . His country was torn with dissensions f a r greater than those of our own country today. In a l e t t e r to hie father, written i n his early 20 rs, he says: "I have given to France a l l my savings amounting to 150 francs." A small amount to be sure, but i t was his a l l . Generosity, s e l f - s a c r i f i c e , kindliness, even to unknown strangers, seemed the most natural thing possible.

Ig l i f e worth the l i v i n g ? Is there no joy i n l i f e ? Let him who doubts read the l i f e of Pasteur,

And now to i l l u s t r a t e my theme further, may I c a l l at­tention to a few Incidents i n the l i v e s of other men. The name of the great French chemist, Molsean, i s undoubtedly f a m i l i a r to a l l of you. Among his many achievements was that of the use of e l e c t r i c i t y as a source of great heat so that by means of i t he was able to study the reactions of substances at extremely high temperatures. In the preface of his book on the " E l e c t r i c Furnace," I f i n d the following l i n e s : "But what I cannot convey In the following pages i s the keen pleasure which I have ex­perienced i n the pursuit of these discoveries. To plow a new furrow; to have f u l l scope, to follow my own Inc l i n a t i o n s ; to see on a l l sides new subjects of study bursting upon me, that awakens a true Joy which only those can express who have them­selves tasted the delights of research."

And In E ngland we see the lovable and kindly Faraday whose zest i n carrying out his studies led him to work day and night on his experiments. Some of them very simple and yet so far-reaching i n t h e i r applications. He was thinking, however, only of unearthing new knowledge, of "plowing a new furrow," as Moissan phrased i t . L i t t l e did he r e a l i z e that his d i s ­covery of the fact that a current of e l e c t r i c i t y i s produced when a magnet i s either thrust Into or withdrawn from a c o l l of wire, would ultimately lead to the production of the dynamo and the e l e c t r i c motor, two tnings that play such a marvelous part i n our modern c i v i l i z a t i o n . Most of you r e c a l l , I am sure, the

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oft repeated story of how the King honored him with a v i s i t i n his laboratory and was shown this simple experiment. And af t e r he had explained i t , the King said: " I t i s a l l very Interesting, taut what i s the use of I t ? " Faraday hesitated and f i n a l l y re­plied that he had not thought of that — i n fact he didn't know of any use for i t ; but added Jocosely, "perhaps you can tax i t some day." I t i s needless to point out that Faraday's Jocular remark has come true — e l e c t r i c i t y pays taxes — large amounts; inci d e n t a l l y , i t has ushered i n a new c i v i l i z a t i o n and gives employment to ten m i l l i o n s of our c i t i z e n s .

But coning down to more recent times, I l i k e to think of those two English s c i e n t i s t s , Rayleigh and F.amsay — giants they were any yet so simple In t h e i r l i v e s . In the l a t t e r part of the l a s t century, as many of you w i l l r e c a l l , Rayleigh concluded that some of the result s of certain experiments he had performed could only be explained on the assumption that there existed i n the atmosphere an unknown element. But could I t be possible thst such an element had escaped detection during a l l these years? Assured of the soundness of his assumption he summoned to his a i d one of his s c i e n t i f i c friends — the chemist Ramsay — and they two agreed that there must be such an unknown element and to­gether they l a i d t h e i r plans to capture i t . I am sure that no hunter of wild animals ever had half the eagerness of these two men i n their pursuit of t h i s new element. Each worked separately In his own laboratory and each by methods of his own, but ex­changing views, discussing t h e i r r e s u l t s together and planning anew. When f i n a l l y they had traced i t to i t s l a i r they found

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that there was not one but four new elements to be added to our l i s t . I am sure i f the King had paid them a v i s i t — perhaps he did — and had said to them, " I t i s a l l very nice, but what i s the use of a l l t h i s ? " they would have rep l i e d l i k e Faraday that they had never thought of that. And yet today these same elements help to l i g h t our streets and our homes and save us m i l l i o n s of dollars each year i n the cost of our e l e c t r i c l i g h t s ; and the end i s not yet. In commenting upon the character of Ramsay, his biographer points out that Ramsay's l i f e had been a most j o y f u l one and adds: " I t i s only those who have Joined i n serious at­tempts to solve the problems presented by nature wno can under­stand the exultation which f i l l s the heart at the moment of success. Honors or rewards which may follow are not thought of. And the triumph belongs not only to the 'watcher of the skies' but i s shared by the humblest discoverer of things on earth."

To show further the character of Ramsay and h i s desire to render assistance whenever possible, I r e c a l l that when England entered the World War he was suffering from an incurable disease and knew that he had only a few months to l i v e . Yet we f i n d him writing to the Council of War and asking that he be assigned to the medical branch of the Army, saying that i t was hisg*eat desire to render some assistance; that, while his strength was fast ebbing, nevertheless he thought he could a s s i s t , at leas t i n washing the soiled beakers and other anparatus used i n the hospitals of the army.

And I must not pass by the great scholars of our own country — hundreds of them and many r i g h t here on our own campus.

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I have only time, however, for a b r i e f reference to one selected from a large l i s t . Recently you have read i n the papers that the Nobel Prize i n Chemistry for 1934 had been awarded to Professor Urey of Columbia University. Certain calculations had l e d him, as well as our own Dr. Johnston, to believe that there existed along with hydrogen of atomic mass 1, also hydrogen of atomic mass 2, and l i k e Rayleigh and Ramsay, he started out to f i n d i t . The experiments that seemed to give the greatest promise of suc­cess required a large supply of l i q u i d hydrogen — and hydrogen i n the l i q u i d state i s extremely d i f f i c u l t to prepare, requiring apparatus so costly that very few laboratories are equipped for i t s preparation. Knowing that the Bureau of Standards at Wash­ington had such apparatus, arrangements were made with the Bureau to supply this material. I t was about two months before the hydrogen could be furnished. Dr. Urey confesses, "We were a l l on pins and needles with eagerness to carry out t h i s c r u c i a l experiment.**** F i n a l l y , a fl a s k of hydrogen came from the Bureau of Standards. Dr. Murphy and I went to work immediately and i n one month did about four months' work. We did f u l l y two ordinary days' 7/ork each day and labored Sundays and Thanksgiving as well." And he adds, "Mrs. Urey was a s c i e n t i f i c widow for that month." We can well understand the great excitement and Joy that were his when the experiments proved beyond doubt that his predictions were true. But why a l l this fuss about hydrogen of atomic mass 2, someone i s probably thinking. Well, the s c i e n t i f i c world i s of one accord i n the b e l i e f that the award of the Nobel P r i z e , the greatest honor that can be bestowed on any s c i e n t i s t , was r i g h t l y

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awarded to Urey for his discovery; and i f you i n s i s t upon some immediate economic value, I have only to add that already this newly discovered member of the atomic world has proven of great help In the study of that fundamental problem — the constitution of matter; and i t may some day help to make pos­sible the unlocking of the enormous supply of energy stored up In the atoms with p o s s i b i l i t i e s beyond our wildest dreams — who knows? Urey's work has also lead to the discovery of heavy water concerning wnlch so much has been said i n recent days and this new compound bids f a i r to be of value i n many f i e l d s .

But time does not permit of further i l l u s t r a t i o n s althougi history i s f i l l e d with them. I have confined my statements to scientists engaged primarily In the f i e l d of research, yet I have done so simply because of my greater f a m i l i a r i t y with t h i s domain. Il l u s t r a t i o n s could easily be drawn from every f i e l d of learning, and from every walk i n l i f e . The glory of the Joyous l i f e i s that i t i s not confined to any station or to any kind of work, provided I t i s honorable work. One i s as l i k e l y to f i n d i t i n the humble cottage as In the castle, i n the work shop as i n the University. Wherever one finds the in d i v i d u a l who within reason, has forgotten self and Is giving a l l his energy to the work at hand there one w i l l f ind the Joyous l i f e .

But to get back to our beginning, I r e a l i z e from my con­versations with students that the chief cause of discouragement at the present time, and naturally so, i s the condition of af­f a i r s i n our country. As nearly as I can r e c a l l , the following statement i s t y p i c a l of the f e e l i n g of many of the students:

• 'The time i s out of Joint,• everything seems discouraging, positions d i f f i c u l t , i f not impossible, to secure; the ranks of the unemployed are constantly increasing; misery and want etalk on every side; graft, banditry, dishonesty, fraud — everywhere r i f e ; charlatans and mountebanks a l l u r i n g the un­thinking with th e i r wild schemes; p o l i t i c i a n s playing for party and personal advantage. How can anyone look at such a world as this with any other f e e l i n g than that of d i s i l l u s i o n ­ment and hopelessness?" Well, that i s not a pretty picture, I w i l l admit; and moreover I have to confess that most of the statements made are true. And I can understand how one may have such an attitude of mind; but to me i t i s losi n g the battle without a struggle, and t h i s i s not warranted even under present conditions. Of course, everyone r e a l i z e s that a l l i s not well — there are problems to be solved and d i f f i c u l t of solution many of them are. But afte r a l l , who wishes to l i v e In a world where there are no problems to solve, where there i s nothing to test our strength of mind or muscle, where the sun i s always snining and the storm never beats around us. A finished world was not given us and i f i t had been I am sure that l i f e would be f a r less Interesting and less worth the l i v i n g i n i t . One often hears today persons longing f o r the return of the so-called "good old times" which we are sometimes told are Just around the corner. But afte r a l l , I am wondering whether these "good old times" were r e a l l y so good as we think they were and whether at the present time some of our I l l s may not be due to the extravagance and short-sightedness of our

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those times. Good In t h e i r day, f o r some, but would they serve without modification today and do we r e a l l y want them to return? James Truslow Adams i n a recent a r t i c l e states: "We could not and cannot now return to any previous condition. I t would be highly undesirable that we should. Every good American must wish, even at cost to himself, to try to make l i f e safer and better for a l l . " One of our greatest s c i e n t i s t s to whom we owe more than to anyone else the development of the whole f i e l d of wireless Invention recently stated: n7!e are at a turning point In the history of humanity. A thousand signs show us that economic relations are i n course of change. One age has gone, a new one begins. Whatever may be the economic structure toward which we march, i t Is certain that i t w i l l be very different from that which molded the l i f e of men when we were born." Each new generation adds something worthwhile to our possessions. New knowledge, new Ideas, new worthwhile contributions of 3ome kind, and these must be woven Into the warp and woof of our economic and so c i a l l i f e i f we are to go forward. There w i l l always be tnose who are e a t l s f l e d with the status quo or advantaged by i t , who w i l l r e s i s t the adjust­ments necessary f o r the program tnat w i l l benefit the nation as a whole. But cnange Is one of the constant factors i n the world's progress, and i t i s not to be expected that our s o c i a l order should be an exception to t h i s general law.

In place then of longing f o r the return of the "good old times" why not do at l e a s t our b i t i n helping mould a social order that w i l l meet the new conditions and i n a s s i s t i n g

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to create a world adapted to these conditions — a world i n which each one has reasonable interest i n s e l f , yes, but also an interest i n the welfare of a l l ; one i n which every person who has the strength, w i l l also have the opportunity to earn by honest labor of some kind, an adequate l i v i n g , and i n which the laggard w i l l be compelled to do his share or suf­fer the consequences; a world i n which sound reasoning rules, and i n which the responsible positions are held by those best f i t t e d to f i l l them, without regard to influence or party af­f i l i a t i o n s . And i t must be one i n which there i s due regard for the great natural laws. Wnether we l i k e i t or not, man belongs to the animal kingdom and within l i m i t s i s subject to the same fundamental laws or pr i n c i p l e s that govern the lower forms of l i f e . Some of these laws we may n u l l i f y or neutral­ize by opposing forces, but with others i t i s impossible; and while the punishment for disobeying them may not be spectacular or immediate i t Is inevitable; and the longer the disobedience continues the greater w i l l be the f i n a l punishment. I do not believe that our nation can continue to Ignore some of these laws as i t has i n the past without creating conditions that w i l l ultimately tax our strength to withstand.

How to bring about such a cnange does not mean a revolution, neither i n my humble opinion, does i t mean the a b o l i t i o n of the c a p i t a l i s t i c system as some believe; but i t does mean the i n t r o ­duction of suoh modifications of the system as are made necessary by the conditions that now p r e v a i l .

You may say that such a world, as I have so b r i e f l y and

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BO inadequately pictured, i s a b i t of Imagination at l e a s t as fa r away as Arcadia. Perhaps i t i s ; but that i s no reason why we should not work toward I t . I t has often seemed to me that one of the greatest causes of disappointment and of pessimism l a the fact that so many of us want to change things over night. I often r e c a l l an old phrase printed i n large l e t t e r s on the wall i n a lecture room where I was p r i v i l e g e d to hear the lectures of a great teacher. Only four words: "Nature makes no leaps." I thought l i t t l e of the meaning of t h i s phrase as I sat i n that lecture room, but the truth embodied In this simple statement has impressed i t s e l f upon me with ever increasing force i n my post-school days. I t i s almost a natural law — at least i t embodies a great truth. How many years were necessary for the development of man from the lower forms of l i f e — even from the lower forms of man himself. And the same thing i s true of the development of great ideas and the weaving of them into our c i v i l i z a t i o n . Too many of us want to change conditions over night and we become discouraged on finding that this cannot be done — discouraged to such an extent that we are apt to conclude I t i s Impossible. May I quote again from James Truslow Adams: "In snlte of the present economic depression," says Adams, "we cannot changeover night a character and way of looking at things which have been molded "or three centuries i n one d i r e c t i o n by some of the most oowerful rces to which any people has been subjected."

I t Is true that a very p r a c t i c a l cause of discouragement at the present time among our college graduates i s the f a c t

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that positions are d i f f i c u l t to o b t a i n . Now I e a r n e s t l y be­l i e v e that there i s a p o s i t i o n f o r every c o l l e g e graduate i f he but seeks i t wisely and with a l l h i s energy. This i s not the time f o r us to s i t down and wait f o r a p o s i t i o n to come to us. And we cannot be too p a r t i c u l a r about the k i n d of p o s i t i o n , e i t h e r . I r e c a l l a recent experience with a student i n the University who came to ray o f f i c e on se v e r a l occasions previous to his graduation to t a l k over matters w i t h me. He stated that he was gr e a t l y discouraged because he could f i n d no p o s i t i o n . I gave him some advice — the Deans always have a good supply of t h i s on hand. I d i d not see him again u n t i l the day of his graduation when he came to me h i s f a c e wreathed i n smiles. "What i s the good news?" I asked him. "I have my Job, - he r e p l i e d . "I secured the names and addresses of a large number of persons who I thought might be i n t e r e s t e d i n a young man of my t r a i n i n g . The l i s t i n c l uded the names of 133

persons, and I sent each one a l e t t e r . I spent s e v e r a l hours i n framing and refraining that l e t t e r . I r e a l i z e d t h a t i t had to be b r i e f and to be typewritten — otherwise i t would not be read. Of course a l l t h i s took time, but the r e s u l t i s , I have a p o s i t i o n — not a very good one, but I w i l l make good at i t and a better one w i l l come i n time." Of course he w i l l make good. Any young man WHO refuses i n the face of a d v e r s i t y to give up w i l l go f a r In l i f e . You can't s t i f l e a s p i r i t l i k e that.

I t i s our custom on each Convocation D^y to have the buglerB c a l l our graduates to the work of the world. We who

ve been present on these occasions must have n o t i c e d , I am sure, that the sound of the bugles has been f a r d i s t a n t . Some­one has said i n a Jocular mood that t h e f a i n t n e s s was due to the f a c t that the world had no work f o r our graduates to do. No work? I can only repeat, when has our country ever been faced with more d i f f i c u l t problems than a t the present time? And when was i t ever more In need of w e l l - t r a i n e d young men and women such as those who go f o r t h from our U n i v e r s i t y today? I f I were i n charge of those buglers I would have them blow a b l a s t so loud that I t would s t i r your very so u l s .

And now i n conclusion, may I express the hope that you are l eaving the U n i v e r s i t y with r e a l a f f e c t i o n f o r your Alma Hater, I can assure you that you have her best wishes and that she w i l l always have a k i n d l y i n t e r e s t i n your w e l f a r e . As f o r myself, I can express to you no g r e a t e r hope than that the Joyous l i f e I have discussed with you today, may be yours.