Evening Star Newspaper, September 18, 1936, Page 20

PRESIDENT URGES FREEDOM OF MIND Harvard Tercentenary Gath- ering Told Importance of Tolerance. By the Associated Press. CAMBRIDGE, Mass., September 18. ~President Roosevelt declared today that “in this day of modern witch- burning, when freedom of thought has been exiled from many lands,” it is up to Harvard Uaiversity and Amer- ica “to stand for the freedom of the human mind.” Speaking in the vast Harvard Ter- centenary Theater before assembled sons of the Crimson and visiting scholars, Mr. Roosevelt sald: “Iam here today in a joint and sev- eral capacity. First, as the President of the United States. Second, as chairman of the United States Harvard Tercentenary Commission, which ls‘ composed of five members of the Sen- ate, five members of the House of Rep- resentatives, a representative of the | United States Army and one of the Navy, and two representatives of the | universities of the United States, the | distinguished presidents of the uni- | versities of California and North Car- olina. Finally, I am here as a son of Harvard who gladly returns to this £pot, where men have sought truth for | 300 years. | ‘The roots of Harvard are deep in the past. It is pleasant to remember to- i day that this meeting is being held in pursuance of an adjournment ex- pressly taken 100 years ago on motion | of Josiah Quincy. Concern Over Government. At that time many of the alumni of Harvard were sorely troubled con- cerning the state of the Nation. An- | drew Jackson was President. On the | 250th anniversary of the founding of | Harvard College alumni again were | sorely troubled. Grover Cleveland | was President. Now, on the 300th | enniversary, I am President. In the words of Euripides: | “There be many shapes of mystery, And many things God makes to be, Past hope or fear. And the end men looked for cometh not, And a path is there where no man | sought. | So hath it fallen here” | In spite of fears Harvard and th2 Nation, of which it is a part, have marched steadily to new and successful achievements, changing their forma- tions and their strategy to meet new conditions; but marching always under the old banner of freedom. In the olden days of New England, it was Increase Mather who told the students of Harvard that they were *pledged to the word of no particular master,” that they should “above all find a friend in truth.” That became the creed of Harvard. Behind the tumult and the shouting it is still the creed of Harvard. In this day of modern witch- | burning, when freedom of thought has been exiled from many lands which | ‘were once its home, it is the part o(f Harvard and America to stand for the | freedom of the human mind and to | carry the torch of truth., Triumph of Truth. | The truth is great and will prevail. | For centuries that grand old saying has been a rock of support for perse- cuted men. But it depends on men’s tolerance, #elf-restraint and devotion to freedom, not only for themselves but also for others, whether the truth will prevail | through free research, free discussion | end the free intercourse of civilized | men, or will prevail only after sup- | pression and suffering—when none | cares whether it prevails or not. | Love of liberty and freedom of | thought is & most admirable attribute of Harvard. But it is not an exclusive | possession of Harvard or of any other | university in America. Love of liberty and freedom of thought are as pro- " found in the homes, on the farms and in the factories of this country as in eny university. Liberty is the air Americans breathe. Our Government | is based on the belief that a people | can be both strong and free, that civ- | ilized men need no restraint but that imposed by themselves against abuse | of freedom. Nevertheless, it is the peculiar task of Harvard and every | other university and college in this | country to foster and’ maintain not | only freedom within its own walls but | also tolerance, self-restraint, fair- dealing and devotion to the truth throughout America. Many students who have come to | Harvard in the past have left it with | inquiring and open minds, ready to| render service to the Nation. They | have been given much and from them much has been expected. They have | rendered great service. It is, I am confident, of the inner | essence of Harvard that its sons have | fully participated in each great drama | of our Nation's history. They have | met the challenge of the event; they | have seen in the challenge opportunity to fulfill the end the university exists to serve. As the Chief Executive of | the Nation I bring you the solicitation of our people. In the name of the American Nation I venture to ask you to cherish its traditions and to fulfill its highest opportunities. The Nation needs from Harvard to- day men like Charles William Eliot, William James and Justice Holmes, who made their minds swords in the service of American freedom. They served America with courage, wisdom and human understanding. They were without hatred, malice or selfishness. They were civilized gen- tlemen. The past of Harvard has been deep- SATURDAY SPECIAL a group of Riziks’ Finer Lingerie DRASTICALLY REDUCED! Only because these fine gar- ments have become 'slightly soiled from handiing, can you buy them ot the ridiculous prices we've marked them! RIZIKS’ 1213 F Street 1108 Conn. e | the second: these I would affirm are | | distinguished from the ly distinguished. This university will never fail to produce its due propor- tion of those judged successful by the common standard of success. Of such the world has need. But to produce that type is not, I am sure, the uiti- mate justification that you would make for Harvard. Rather do we here search for the atmosphere in which men are produced who have either the rare quality of vision or the ability to appreciate the significance of vision when it appears. Where there is vision there is tolerance, and where there is tolerance there is peace. And I beg you to think of tolerance and peace not as indifferent and neutral virtues, but as active and positive principles. “I am not, you will observe, conceiv- ing of the university as a mere spec- tator of the great national and inter- national drama in which all of us, de- spite ourselves, are involved. Here are to be trained not lawyers and doctors merely, not teachers and business men merely; here is to be trained in the fullest sense—man. “Harvard should train men to be citizens in that high Athenian sense which compels a man to live his life unceasingly aware that its civic signifi- cance is its most abiding, and that the rich individual diversity of the truly civilized state is born only of the wis- dom to choose ways to achieve which do not hurt one’s neighbors. “I am asking the sons of Harvard to dedicate themselves not only to the perpetuation, but also to the enlarge- ment of that spirit. To pay ardent reverence to the past, but to recognize no less the direction of the future; to nderstand philosophies we do not ac- cept and hopes we find it difficult to share; to account the service of man- kind the highest ambition & man can follow, and to know that there is no calling so humble that it cannot be in- stinct with that ambition; never to be | indifferent to what may affect our neighbors; always, as Coleridge said, to put truth in the first place and not in the qualities by which the “real” u‘ “nominal” scholar. “It is only when we have attained | this philosophy that we can “above all find a friend in truth.” When America is dedicated to that end b the common will of all her citizens, | then America can accomplish her highest ideals. To_the measure that| Harvard participates in that dedica- | tion, Harvard will be justified of her | effort, her purpose and her success | in the fourth century of her life.” | Chimes of Southwark Cathedral, THE EVENING London, which was the parish of John Harvard’s family, were transmitted by radio across the ocean as the cere- monies began. Sheriff John McElroy of Middlesex County called the gath- ering to order at 10:40. Throughout an address by Prof. Samuel E. Morison, tercentenary his- torian, on the founding of Harvard College since it began with a scant £400 fund in 1936, the President sat without sheiter, his hands clasped in his lap. Distinguisihed Groap. Mr. Roosevelt, who took an A. B. degree from Harvard in 1904, sat be- tween James Bryant Conant and A. Lawrence Lowell, present and past presidents of the university, on a plat- form sprinkled with scholars and sci- entists of world reputation. Behind him sat Gov. James M. Curley and the President’s military and naval aides in their gold braid over blue. Admiral William H. Standley, chief of naval operations and member of the Tercentenary Commission, occu- pied a seat close by. The rain let up a little as the ter- centenary chorus sang “In Deo Sa- lutari Meo.” “As Governor of Massachusetts” declared Curley as he brought the geetings of the Commonwealth, “I am happy indeed on this felicitous occa- sion to extend greetings and best wishes of a grateful people to this great in- stitution for its contribution to the enlightenment of mankind the world over.” He had recalled the visit to Har- vard of another Chief Executive— Gover Cleveland—and started more hand clapping when he added: “And, strange to say, both are Dem- ocrats.” President Conant followed Curley with brief addresses to the Univer- sities of Paris, Oxford and Cambridge from which, he said, “we are proud to claim our descent.” As the names of the foreign schools were mentioned, the chief delegate to the tercentenary from each arose and Novelty Net Curtains 2.25 to 4.50 Pr. Col McDevitrs Drarery Swor 1317 F St. New Location 32n 3rd Floor American Building the peak of chie in CASUAL FELTS! IMPORTANT F —| PUB BY CA Including the Major Spanish Mrs. Burt FURNITURE—Complete Bedroom Room Suites and Occasional Cha Rennassiance Inlaid Walnut Dinii hogany Twin Bedroom Suite, a Chi Tea and Coffee Se! ton Service Plates, twelve Royal Glassware, etc., etc. ORIENTAL RUGS AND TAPESTRI “Teniers Group.” WasHingron AND LIC SALE Furniture, Art Objects, China, Silverware, Oriental Rugs, etc. Franco Former Air Attache of the Sold by His Order and Property of Seld by Her Order With Additions hogany Butler's Desk, a pair of Chippendale Mahogany Corner Cup- boards, a three-part Duncan Phyfe Mahogany Dining Room Table, a Sheraton Inlaid Sideboard, an Antique Spanish Chest, a Shera- ton Inlaid Bookcase, a Chippendale Highboy, a Secretary Bookcase, 'French Curio Cabinet, Occasional Tables and Commode, etc., etc. CHINA AND SILVERWARE—A Six-piece Sterling Silver Tea and Coffee Service by Bailey & Co., Philadelphia; a 181-piece Sterling Silver Flatware Service by Reed & Barton, a Sterling Punch Bowl, pair of Three-light Sheffield Candelabras, an Old English Sheffield ice, @ Three-piece Sterling Coffee Set by Gor- ham & Co., a Sterling Serving Tray by Titfany & Co., twelve Min- Skyrocketing crowns, upswept brims, de- bonair feathers set new altitude records for Fall! In felts that are equally smart with town or tailored costumes. This one ia black and brown, OLED e 1224 F 5T ALL OPENING TALO! Property of Ramon Embassy C. Farrar ond Dining Reom Suites, Living irs, including a ten-piece ltalian ng Room Suite, an Empire Ma- ppendale Divan, an Antique Ma- | Dolton Service Plates, twelve Limoges Service Plates, a completé one-hundred-piece Spode Dinner Service, a collection of Antique American ard English China and ES—An 8x14 Antique Kirman, o 9x12 Lavere Kirman with ivory background, @ 12x19 Lilehan Carpet, an Antique Anatolian Silk Rug and many other room and scatter size rugs in various weaves and on Aubussen Tepestry ALLERIES INC. 722 Thirteenth Street N.W. EXHIBITION DAYS Thurs., Fri., Set., Sept. 17, 18, 19 Open 9 to 6' ond Evening From 8 to 10 P.M. MET. 2241 SALE DAYS Men., Tues., Vsl:d., Thurs,, Fri, t. Sept. 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26 At 1 P.M. Every Day BENJ. S. BELL, Auctioneer STAR, WASHINGTON, took a position in front of and facing Conant. Masefield Recites Ode. The rain had stopped when John Masefield, poet laureate of England, recited an ode to Harvard, followed by the singing of the “Hymn of Praise” by the chorus. After President Conant’s oration on “Tise University Tradition in Amer- ica—Yesterday and Tomorrow,” and the awarding of honorary degrees to 62 world-famed scholars, the chorus and entire assembly sang “O God, Our Help in Ages Past.” The President then retired to Ap- pleton Chapel for luncheon and to await the start of the afternoon cere- monies. President Conant, in his prepared tercentenary oration, called upon his hearers to maintain and protect the “university tradition,” against the wave of anti-intellectualism which he said is passing around the world today. Freedam of Expression, “For the development of a national culture based on a study of the past, one condition is essential” he de- clared. “This is absolute freedom of discussion, absolutely unmolested in- quiry. We must have & spirit of | tolerance which allows expression of all opinions however heretical they may appear. Since the seventeenth century this has been achieved in the realm of religion. “Unfortunately there are omihous signs that a new form of bigotry may | arise. This is most serious * * =, The origin of the Constitution, for | example, the functioning of the three branches of the Federal Government, the forces of modern capitalism mule‘ be dissected as fearlessly as the geolo- s s A materials a D. C, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 1936. gist examines the arigin of the rocks. On this point there can be no com- promise.” ‘The conferring of honorary degrees by President Conant was next. The 62 scholars chosen for the honor repre- sented the four main fields of learning —the humanities, the social sclences, the physical sciences and the biological sciences. Included were nine Nobel Prize winners. ‘The sons of Harvard, 10,000 strong, gathered in ancient Harvard yard, paid homage last night with fireworks and a torchlight parade. Two thou- sand paraded through crowded Cam- bridge streets. President Conant, in his address to the alumni gathered in the Tercenten- nial Theater, stressed the need for adjusting educational methods to the advances of science. Although the president’s report on the contents of a package sealed for the tercentenary after the bi-cen- tennial in 1836 revealed compara- tively few letters of interest, the rais- ing of the flag preserved from the century-dead festivities afforded an impressive spectacle. Quoting the words of the last speaker of the 1836 alumni meeting, who said of the flag, “our hope is that a century hence it will collect under its folds the alumni of Harvard. Over what a scene will it on that day display its blazonryl What a feeling of rela- tionship will it establish between that era and the present!” Dr. Conant concluded: “Gentlemen—the hope of 100 years ago has been fulfilled.” Dr. Stephen Duggan, the Institute for International Edu- cation, addressed the gathering upon the development of Britisn educa- director of | tional methods of Emmanuel College since the days when John Harvard Was & student there. Fred C. Sze of the Harvard Club of China presented the university with a marble Chinese dragon, 20 feet high, and Dr. Masaharu Anesaki of the Harvard Club of Japan pre- sented a ceremonial lantern, Aboard the presidential train which left the Capital late last night were James A. Farley, Democratic national chairman, who planned to leave it at New York; Secretary of Labor Per- kins and Admiral William H. Stand- ley, chief of naval operations. SEA SAFETY LAWS DELAY 3 VESSELS By the Associated Press. 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H’AHN HOSIERY SHOPS--&!M F 7hak 3212 14h liners reflected today the influence of | stay in the bay until the drastic safety-at-sea provisions of the 1936 merchant marine act. The Borinquen of the Puerto Rican Line, with 223 passengers for island ports; Pastores of the Columbian Line, with 78 passengers on & West Indies cruise, and Quirigua, bound for Kings- ton and Jamaica, with 120 passengers, sailed from New York yesterday, but anchored as soon as storm signals were flashed to them. ‘This is the first serious storm since | adoption of the legizlation that now throws complete responsibility on op- erating departments of steamship lines for the safety of passengers on ves- sels venturing to sea after storm warnings have been posted. Officials of the three lines said the ships would official word that the storm had passed. Six freighters also were anchored in | Gravesend Bay. ; Blast Damage Repaired. { Damage caused by an explosion in @ secret underground magazine at the naval dockyards at Rosyth is being | repaired by the British government, oo MR e Ml B it REDUCTION ON Bed Room Furniture in mahogany and maple during September. H. A. LINGER 5 G 8T. NW NA 411 =front Suedes take their cue from the altitude-breaking hats ... as the shorter skirt. the more dra- matie silhouette lift footwear to new heights of § ortance ... Suede. of course! highlighted with sleeker leather. ... the Autumn mode perfectly interpreted in - « DYNAMIC STYLES In black, brown, or Malaga suede The Bag, black or brown suede. Scot green, smoky with patent piping. .00 In black suede only, gore fitting with patent leather toe and trimming. The Bag. b k or brown suede. 2.00 In black, brown, Scot green, smoky or Malaga suede with patent piping. 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