2
INTER-SOCIETY BANQUET
Two hundred students and alumni
attended the inter-society banquet
held in Commons Hall Saturday night.
D. B. Teague of the Philanthropic
Society, who acted as toastmaster,
welcomed the visitors in a speech in
which he told of the difference in the
positions occupied by the societies
today and in the years when those
who were the sruests Saturday night
were undergraduate Phi's and Di's
a difference which was only one of
degree. "The two literary . societies
are today not the all absorbing, all
powerful factors they once were in
University life but today they still
remain the most potent forces in our
University democracy, their impor
tance is still sufficiently recognized to
attract 200 voluntary members into
each society.
Mr. Teague introduced Mr. V. L.
Stevenson of the Charlotte Observer as
4ia man who left the University in
1906 and has made good."
Reinforced by present day condi
tions, education ought to tend to pro
duce the citizen of the world. Who is
he? What are his ear marks and how
may we know him? Citizenship im
plies acqaintance with its source, in
terest in it, sympathy with its pur
poses and a willingness ' to work for
their furtherance. The ideally educa
ted man of the future will be untram
meled in thought and action by local
consideration. He will esteem nothing
large merely because it is nearest.
No prejudice born of environment,
urban, state-wide or national, shall
blind his vision or distort his perspec
tive. Possessing the distinct charac
teristics of race, of period, of nation
ality, developing out of them and
loyal to them, he will yet tower head
and shoulders above them all. Vast
world currents of thought and feeling
will not escape him. No people will
be so different from his own that in
their philosophies of life he may not
see and appreciate whatever of ap
proach there be to universal truth.
He and his fellows will be unifying
factors working for oneness at all
poor points where the discernment of
the future deems unity desirable.
Wherefore, I present you the cultural
question of the hour: is modern educa
tion sufficiently responsive to modern
impulses? While emphasizing and
properly so, the languages, the gov
ernments and the philosophies of the
past, does it remember not to forget
that today we are ourselves making
history as important, if no so pictur
esque, as any between the covers of
textbooks. It is a far cry from our
world citizen to the young gentleman
who holds that already North Caro
lina has gone over to the fold of pro
tection with all impediments and is
even now represented in the United
States Senate by Rhode Island's Sena
tor and a New York representative.
I would not that our colleges should
abate one whit their enthusiasm for
the fundamentals of the past, but I do
submit, with all admiration for their
splendid achievements, that the pres
ent has a stronger claim to their
attention than has ever yet been rea
lized. I do believe that its fuller
recognition will signalize the day of
an even higher efficiency than that
which has won for the college its
impregnable place in the economy of
civilization.
Mr. W. R. Edmonds, who as Mr.
Teague said, had only , the preceding
morning received as a token of the
esteem of his classmates, the office of
president of his class for his whole
life, was the next speaker.
Mr. Edmonds attempted to give the
"campus viewpoint" on certain mat
ters of interest and importance to
University life. Mr. Edmonds made
the startling disclosure that during
the past year the University has been
forced to go $20,000 in debt. The
remedy proprosed by Mr. Edmonds
was a closer alumni- association be
tween classes and in classes. Univer
sity men must go to, the , Legislature
and make sure that the appropriation
for the support of the State University
be made at least somewhat appor
tionate to the needs of the institution.
Mr. J. A. Highsmith who, Mr.
Teague said, had been selected to
represent the Phi Society on this occa
sion as a representative society man,
spoke next. '
In keeping with the spirit of self
government in vogue at Chapel Hill,
and purporting to make more self
consciously responsible alumni and
a more effective structure of adminis
tration, Mr. Highsmith proposed that
each senior class elect two members
for the beard of trustees. Mr. High
smith by investigation had found the
plan practicable. By his talk he sub
stantiated its advisability. He advo
cated this addition to or substituting
into the board of trustees the sixteen
men whom his plan would put upon
the board.
The principal address was made by
Hon. Clarence II. Poe.
Nowhere else in the world, unless it
be in Japan, is one likely to find people
so thrilling with the same expectancy
of a marvelous future which distin
guishes the men of the South today.
And nothing seems more sure than
the realization of these ambitions. To
develop our state we must develop the
intelligence and efficiency of our aver
age population and the material re
sources of the state are valuable or
worthless in proportion to the efficiency
and character of the average citizen.
There are two methods practicable for
reaching this end, educating our own
population and taking into our midst
desirable immigrants. The method
which Mr. Poe forcibly and at length
advocated was educating our own
average man.
PHI BETA KAPPA ADDRESS
At the close of the Senior Class
exercises Saturday morning, the Phi
Beta Kappa Society annual address
was delivered by Dr. Phelps, Professor
of English at Yale University.
At the oeginning Dr. Phelps told
of the cordiality that has for so long
a time existed between Yale and South
ern educational institutions. John
C. Calhoun, a southern man was, in
Dr. Phelps' estimation; the most dis
tinguished graduate Yale ever had.
Dr. Eben Alexander, recently de
ceased, Professor of Greek and Dean
of the University of North Carolina,
was a man who ideally combined those
qualities most admirable in the North
ern and Southern types of men.
Dr. Phelps' address might be titled
"Happiness, as the Result of Culture".
He repeated the definition of happi
ness given him in his student days by
President Dwight, "The happiest
person is the person who thinks the
most interesting thoughts". Happi
ness then like virtue - has its real
source within the individual. A cer
tain sort of so called virtue is that
based upon the opinion of your fellow
man. Certain students will cheat to
get thru but will not cheat for honors;
certain politicians will refuse a bribe
of $100 but can be bought 'for a seat
in Congress. This is not real virtue,
nor is happiness real happiness which
is based upon exterior things, either
estimation of friends, possession of
wealth or even health. The happiness
of some person is at the mercy
of the first of life's clouds, the first
whisper of blighting scandal. Such
persons are never really happy. Hap
piness can really survive any external
"is
or physical happening. 'Tennyson
could write ; In Memoriani after the
death of Arthur Hallam: -The cripple
who has lost his leg in the railroad
accident, the millionaire who has lost
his wealth in a financial crisis, the
man who has lost only his place in the
estimation of his neighbor, priceless
as this is, has not necessarily lost his
chance for happiness, r
"On what," asked Dr. Phelps,
this theory that youth is life's happiest
time based?" Everybody must either
grow old or die, no - normal person
wants to die all the time, tho most of
us do at times. It is but natural that
we should grow happier as we grow
older. Why should we dread and seel
to fight off old age? If we can ad
vance securely upon old age, we have
gained the secret of life.
The theory of the poet who apostro
phizes the happiness of youth is based
upon the love for careless strength.
The young man can live contrary to
certain physiological laws. He has
no responsibilities. He can "chawnk
green apples" and doesn't have to
worry over serious matters of life.
But apply this principle and we have
the absurd deduction that the cow is
the consumately happy animal. She
has no worries over financial or relig
ious or political questions. "Why then
not be a cow? It is just as rational to
want to be a cow as to wish to regain
lost youth. The enthusiasm aroused
in children by certain things does not
cease to be enthusiasm when these
things have changed.''
What does then make for happiness?
Here culture comes in. The man who
does prefer the music of the street
organ to grand opera, may hope to
develop himself to a capability for
enjoying Beethoven, so long as he is
honest enough to admit to himself and
others that he is bored when he is
bored. We may not have in us an
inherent power for appreciating the
masterpieces of great sculptors and
painters but culture, which is some
thing to be attained by development,
brings to us this power. And since
culture is thus obtained by develop
ment why should it not deepen in us
every year? The normal man increases
his capability for happiness the older
he grows.
"This address is a confession rather
than a sermon. I do not reason that
there shontd be. but I confess that,
for me, there are four sources of hap
piness, music, art, nature, books."
Dr. Phelps defined literature as stuff
'written for fun. Shakespeare was a
great writer because he wrote for love
of writing. Literature has two ad
vantages over science and mathemat
ics. In mathematics the answer is
either right or wrong. The amount
of effort makes no difference, if the
conclusion is incorrect. But if two
critics disagree over Winston Church
ill's latest novel, both are right. "Lit
erature is a great garden in which we
pluck the flowers that we want." The
advantage of literature over science
is of individual liberty. But literature
is truer than science. Textbooks of
science have to be constantly revised
to keep up with changes in the so
called truths of science. "Hamlet was
written in 1604 and who dares to revise
it?" Darwin sneered at novel reading
and yet novels had been written before
Darwin was born which, unchanged
shall see numerous revisals of The
Origin of Species made to meet
changed conditions, (ireat literary
productions of the past will never be
obsolete even if the forms of govern
ment change. This is true because
real literature is based upon human
nature which never really changes.
We differ from our uncivilized ances
tors only because ofour grea ter degree
of self control.
An individual library is necessary
for 'every happy man. "Begin its
accumulation at five years and keep it
up until you die. , A book that you
own differs from one from a public
library just as home folks differ from
visitors. We treat or should treat
borrowed books with certain formali
ties. Our own books are ours to be
friends with. ' 3 '
"What is - thefoundationf of- real
culture?" asked Dr. Phelps.- "By this
I mean what are the best books for
children? Literature has now become
a trade' as well as an art". The books
called childrens' books are absolutely
worthless. They are written down to
children when we should give them
the very best things wehave in liter
ature. The Bible came first in Dr. Phelps'
list of books which are a source of
happiness. Next, he considered Bun
yan's Pilgrim1 s Progress as having
been most fruitful in his happiness.
Below Bunyan came Shakespeare.
Shakespeare, he thought, should be
read as early as the child can read
with facility. At first he gets nothing
but the story. Later he realizes the
beauties which he sees.
The man who would enjoy his read
ing must read with imagination. He
must not see in, "Hannibal crossed
the Alps and descended upon the
plains of Italy", merely so many parts
of speech. He must picture to himself
the wonderfulness of this feat, must
thrill with admiration for the spirit
which made this man lead an army
made up of the inhabitants of North
ern Africa over the snows of Alpine
mountain tops down upon the plains
of Italy and there defeat the Roman
army, made up of the best trained
soldiers in the world.
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