The Henson Journals

[97]

Wednesday, October 9th, 1912. Hartford, Conn.

The weather is deteriorated, as the sunset last night promised. This is the more regrettable since today is 'Mountain Day', an annual institution at Williams College. The day is indicated on the previous afternoon by the chapel bell. During the night, or in the earliest hours of the next morning, the students climb the hills, and after spending the day amid the autumnal glories of the woods, return to the College.

After breakfast mine host took me to the Auditorium which is a fine building modelled on the Senate House in Cambridge. Here a large new organ was being instituted. It was a memorial gift, & had cost about 30,000 dollars. Then he shewed me more of the college buildings, and expounded the nature & purpose of the 'Fraternity' buildings, which form so notable a feature of the place. They are incipient colleges, including graduates as well as undergraduates: housing their senior members: supervising the life & work of the juniors: & generally wielding much influence on the whole life of the place. It appears that a certain number of the freshmen are admitted by Fraternity, on the recommendation of the executive, which is composed of the senior undergraduates. A single black–ball excludes. No applications for membership are entertained. I inquired on what basis members [98] were selected, & I was told that 'the freshmen were looked over, & those of their number who seemed clubbable were chosen for admission to the fraternity'. In some fraternities a desire to secure athletes had influenced the choice; but never either money or social status.

I observed that the system seemed to carry the promise of much injustice to individuals. Such undergraduates as could not gain entrance into a Fraternity were provided for by the College itself: but their position was held to be unfortunate & even humiliating. I inquired as to the modes by which discipline was maintained in the College. There are no 'proctors' or 'censors': although the President thinks that the early introduction of such officials is desirable. A 'janitor' is responsible for the good order of the dormitory: he is in fact a 'college porter'.

We packed, bade farewell to our hosts, & left for Hartford. While waiting on the platform, Mr Lowell, brother of the President of Harvard, introduced himself to us. Mr Carter, the ex–President of Williams College, travelled as far as Northampton, entertained us with a vivacious description of the political situation in this country. He is a loyal supporter of Taft, denounces Roosevelt, prophesies the victory of Wilson.

[99]

At Springfield we changed trains, here we bought a newspaper from which we learned the war had actually broken out in the Balkans. Montenegro has declared war against Turkey. Is this the beginning of Harmageddon?

At Hartford we were met by our hostess, Mrs Goodwin Mrs Burgess, were motored to a spacious comfortably appointed house with a very fine garden. (83 Woodland Street,). We were taken to the Art Gallery which Mr Pierpoint Morgan has erected to the memory of his father, a London Merchant, Junius Morgan.

Talking of the "Titanic", our host Archdeacon Goodwin commented on the ill fortune that had attended the White Star line. He said some queer stories had been told of an earlier disaster to that line, when the steamer 'Cedric' came to grief. An old lady was found moaning on the companion ladder, when interrogated as to the cause of her trouble, replied with sobs, "I placed my gums in my bosom, they've fallen out: I can't find them"! A country fellow from the western states hastened to his cabin arrayed himself in his dress clothes, giving as his reason for so strange a proceeding that in his part of the country it was the custom to array the corpse in the best garments for the wake! So nearly does tragedy jostle the broadest farce in this amazing world!

[100] [symbol]

I wrote letters to Dr Tait and Dr Ballance.

An interesting company was at dinner. The men were Dr Mackenzie, the Head of a College here, Bishop Brewster, Dr Goodwin. These were joined afterwards by Dr Luther, Mr Miel, Mr Goodwin, a nephew of our host. We discoursed of many things, mainly of the Presidential election, of American institutions, of the Putumayo atrocities, of the merits of a written constitution, of the danger of war between Britain Germany. I observed with respect to the last that if Britain were more warlike, Germany less so, there might be some hope of peace.

I was interested to hear what was said of Roosevelt. There seemed quite a general consensus that he was showing signs of mental instability. It was allowed that during his Presidency he had done much good to the country, notably by introducing young men trained at the Universities to go into municipal politics. But his present course was condemned. The saying runs, 'Vote for Taft: pray for Roosevelt: bet on Wilson'.

I rashly promised to address Dr Mackenzie's students on Friday morning at the unearthly hour of 8.30 a.m.

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Issues and controversies: Putumayo