Swarthmore College Alumni Bulletin 1945-05-01

2

the

garnet

letter

AN INTERIM REPORT
"V' O G R E A T E R inspiration fo r the current
A lum ni Fund Cam paign
can be found than that
which is provided by let­
ters and gifts we receive
from our alumni overseas.
These letters make us feel
proud o f the College for
w hat it has accomplished
and m ake us believe ever
m ore firmly in strengthen­
ing it fo r the. future. W e
are proud o f these alumni
fo r their loyalty, their faith
in the College, and their
H O W A R D S. T U R N E R '33
great generosity. W e would
like to fill this page w ith quotations from these letters, but
a few sentences must suffice.
A n officer on the Italian fron t w rites: "Tw enty-nine
m onths overseas hasn’t helped my financial status any, but
here is a m oney order to throw in the pot. It has become
increasingly evident to me that the combination o f intellec­
tual freedom , stim ulation, and tolerance which abound at
Sw arthm ore are not com m on enough in our educational
system. I am very happy to have had the opportunity o f
going to college where and when I did, and it is a pleasure
to help how ever slightly in its perpetuation.”
A soldier whose studies at Swarthmore were interrupted
by the draft, writes as follows from southern Fran ce:
"W h ile I am n ot yet really an alumnus, I felt I would be
neglecting the C ollege if I did not, when I was able, con ­
tribute w hat I could. I w ill not try to tell you how much
the College and the associations I form ed there have meant
to me. T h at would fill a book, and even then, my remarks
would be inadequate.”

College experience means not only education in the
bookish sense, but also the form in g o f fast friendships and
the opportunity fo r a well-rounded development. This is a
very im portant part o f our concept o f Swarthmore. W e want
to perpetuate this, as well.
A fter the w ar the College must be sturdy financially if
it is to be properly fitted fo r the job ahead. Some— w e hope
many— o f these " e x students” will be com ing back to take
up their studies. O ne o f these w rites:
. . when the war
is over, I am looking forw ard to my return to C ollege and
the com pletion o f my w ork there. T h at has been m y objec­
tive ever since I was drafted. A n d my years in the Army
have brought about no change in my attitude.” It w ill be a
function o f Swarthmore College to help these, returning
veterans and to offer them the best in education and en­
vironm ent.
A fte r the war, other students attending colleges fo r the j
first tim e, will be m aking their choices o f institutions in the
norm al m anner. Com petition fo r the best o f these students
will be keen. Swarthm ore must be prepared to m eet this
com petition. Y o u r gifts w ill help achieve this goal.
Y o u all know, o f course, that Swarthmore was selected
as the college to receive the group o f Chinese N aval officers
sent to this country by their governm ent fo r a long period
o f training. Y o u probably do not know that these men, after
a stay o f only 8 months, recently gave expression o f their
adm iration fo r the College by sending a g ift o f substantial
size to the 1 9 4 5 A lum ni Fund. In fact, they become the
first class to reach 1 0 0 % participation in any o f our five
A lum ni Fund cam paigns.
A s we g o to press, 1 2 1 1 alumni have contributed $14,1 6 7 .3 0 to the 1 9 4 5 A lum ni Fund. If you have not done so
already, please see that your name gets on the donors’ list ;
w ithout further delay. Send your g ift now.
H O W A R D S. T U R N E R ’33

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G eneral Chairman 1945 A lum ni Fund
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“ B yw ays in Q u a k e r H is to r y ”

“S w a rth m o re S in g s”

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N S A T U R D A Y , A pril 14th , the Swarthmore College
G lee Club m ade a recording o f College songs w hich
will be on sale on or about June 1st.
This recording was m ade in the W O R Playhouse in
N ew Y o r k City under the m ost favorable conditions. T h e
perform ance was described by professionals as excellent.
Fo u r hundred o f these albums have been purchased in
advance by the student body. T h e rem aining six hun­
dred w ill be offered to A lum ni, students, and friends o f
the College. I f you are interested send your Check fo r
$ 3 .2 5 (m ade payable to Swarthm ore C ollege) to the
Alum ni Office.
T h e follow ing songs are included:
A lm a M ater
W e ’re G oing to the
H am burg Show
N avy Hym n
K w ink Song
It’s the T eam T h at
W ears the G arnet

Bl

A

B O O K o f special interest to Swarthmore A lum ni has
just been published. It consists o f a collection of

historical essays by leading Q uaker w riters written in
honor o f Professor W illiam I. H u ll, Who was associated
w ith Swarthmore College fo r nearly fifty years. The

m;

authors are: Jan et P . W h itney, Rufus M . Jones, Henry

or
thi

J. Cadbury, C. M arshall Taylor ’0 4 , D . E lton Trueblood,
W illiam W is ta r Com fort, Thom as E . Drake, Charles F.
Jenkins, Bran d Blanshard, G eorge A . W alto n , Charles
M . Andrew s, H ow ard H . Brinton, Frank Aydelotte.
T h e price o f B y w a y s

in

Q

uaker

H

is t o r y

is $2.50.

H ip H ip Song

It may be obtained by w riting to the Publications Secre­

H ere Comes the Team

tary, Pendle H ill, W allin g fo rd , Penna. Richm ond P.

Student Song
Everybody Takes T h eir

M iller (Sw arthm ore ’2 4 ) in review ing the book fo r The
F rien d w rites: " W e urge everyone to keep it right out

H ats Off to U s
E rie Canal

on the library table where it may be picked up and read
again and again. It is a book to becom e a constant com­

(Arrangements for many of these songs were made by Herbert 1L. Brown ’ 16)

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panion and not to be catalogued and laid away.”

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the

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3

THE FIRM OF BLANSHARD AND BLANSHARD
7JH, distinctly I rem em ber, it was in a fair September that
i l the firm o f Bran d and Frances first appeared upon our
campus. In nineteen hundred twenty-five th at was. T h e m aster
firm o f Frank and M arie Aydelotte had been keeping the col­
lege spinning since 1 9 2 1 , with a special im portation o f Rhodes
Scholars into the faculty, the introduction o f H onors w ork as
a stimulating m ethod o f study, and a general impetus on every
front. H ere was another O xonian, one deeply concerned for the
Honors system, one who, like Frank A ydelotte him self, had
so impressed O xfo rd dons in his day that he had been per­
mitted, contrary to custom, to continue in academe though
accompanied by a w ife. A sympathetic quartet this, to keep
Swarthmore in coeducational harm ony!
Brand Blanshard, trained at M ichigan, Columbia, O xford ,
and H arvard, w ith teaching experience at the University o f
Michigan, had com e to Swarthmore, not to fill a vacancy, but
to expand the departm ent o f Philosophy. F o r his first year
there was required also a part-tim e instructor in the departm ent
to substitute fo r one who was absent on leave. " Y o u can do
no better, was the advice from M ichigan, w here Frances after
an apprenticeship at H ollins and at W ellesley had been teach­
ing at the Y p silan ti State T eachers’ College— " Y o u can do no
better than to use the services o f Mrs. B lanshard.” A nd so, for
the year 1 9 2 5 -1 9 2 6 th e Firm o f Blanshard and Blanshard set
up in'Philosophy.
A t the end o f that year the then dean o f wom en was determ[ned. to embark upon a lon g delayed sabbatical leave. A
sabbatical fo r a dean at the tim e seemed out o f the question.
W hat was to be done about the unfinished Bond M em orial ?
W hat o f the new system o f interviewing fresh m en ? W h a t
would be done about this— what, about th a t? " Y o u can do
no better, echoed the persistent dean who had been observing
a thing or two fo r herself, "you can do no better than to use
the services o f M rs. B lanshard.” A nd so Frances Blanshard
started upon a career o f deandom , fo r several years in an act­
ing and associate capacity.
Occasionally th ereafter Frances indulged in courses in
Aesthetics, but these she term ed her "hobby.” Soon she settled
down to the job o f deaning, and the Firm o f Blanshard and
Blanshard expanded its sphere to include the interests o f both
acuity and administration. B rand as an idealist in philosophy,
adding research to a very vigorous teaching program , soared
into the empyrean, w hence h e ultim ately deduced, in two
ponderous tomes, the abstract Nature o f Thought. Frances, a
wizard for organization, gradually acquired assistants, tackled
the chaos norm al to a dean’s office, plotted and ordered the
mass, and through countless interviews fo r admission to college
or advice to the troubled, becam e involved o ft in denatured
thought— but it was all very concrete.
It would be impossible in these brief notes to attem pt to
appraise the contribution o f th e Blanshards to Swarthmore
o ege and to educational principles and ideals that reach
eyond Swarthmore. B ran d Blanshard, as was expected, helped
0 initiate and to m ould the H onors m ethod o f study fo r which
e College is widely known. Syllogisms and philosophical
, , T eS ^ave k.een sought through his classes and seminars as
ey were plums— so effective is his presentation th at year
iter year testing sharpness o f observation, he can stage a sham
attie with a student and g e t away with it, as many, caught,
m [estify; A t Swarthmore he becam e chairm an o f the depart1 en, ? Philosophy. Afield, h e captured a Guggenheim Felws ip , for a year h e was summoned to Colum bia University
visiting Professor. Elected by his peers at large, he became

president o f the A m erican Philosophical Association. U nd er
their aegis he participated in a comm ission on Philosophy in
Education, which aided by a R ockefeller grant, toured the
country. H e has recently contributed chapters to a handbook
for the A rm ed Forces Institute. H e has reached the heights of
his profession, but he has rem ained the same affable, approach­
able, understanding friend. H e is a fan at tennis matches and
at baseball gam es. H e w ill interrupt the chosen retirem ent o f
his study to act th e gracious host on— oh so many occasions!
H e w ill break a reverie on a walk w ith P ixie Cocker to chat
with a neighbor or acquaintance. H is experiences in W o rld
W a r I, in India and M esopotam ia w ith the British, in France
with the A .E .F ., have broadened and deepened his sympathies.
Frances Blanshard has developed a technique fo r the ad­
mission o f freshm en Which has been bringing a fine group o f
w om en students to Swarthmore. She has travelled fa r fo r them.
Latterly she has dropped the confining tag " o f w om en” and
has become one o f T h e D eans. As interviewer she has shown
keen insight into personality and student needs. A s adviser she
sought to develop independence and judgm ent in students by
m aking them themselves responsible fo r their m anners and
their ways. A s hosts she and B rand have welcom ed so many
groups and com m ittees th at their hom e and board are as
fam iliar as Parrish, W o rth , or W h arto n . T h e Extended Som er­
ville P rogram whereby a group o f alumnae return fo r several
days to inspect new modes o f A lm a M ater is one o f M adam e
D ean s special concerns and has achieved high success m ainly
through h er impetus and organization. H e r newsy talks to
alumnae w herever assembled, choice tidbits happily selected
and salted, are greatly relished— I m yself have gone many miles
to discover so piquantly w hat is happening on campus. A nd in
the m atter o f "Introd uction s” she is masterly, w ith quiet wit
and graceful phrase.
Frances B lanshard’s abilities have been m anifested in many
quarters. A graduate o f Smith College, w ith a M aster’s degree
from Colum bia U niversity when s h e . came to us, she has
secured a P h .D . from Colum bia in the m idst o f busy deaning
days. She has published a num ber o f papers on educational
m atters, had early in h er stride edited the Letters o f Ann
Gillam Storrow to Jared Sparks, and has now on the press a
volum e on T h e Retreat fro m L iken ess in the T heory o f Painting. She has served as president o f the Pennsylvania Associa­
tion o f Deans o f W om en , and president o f the College Section
o f the N ation al Association. In the A m erican Association o f
University W o m en she has been especially active in the P hila­
delphia Branch, T h e W o m e n ’s U niversity Club, o f w hich she
is at present vice-president and chairm an o f its Education C om ­
m ittee; in this capacity she recently staged an inspiring C on ­
ference w th A P rogram for W om en T od ay ,” featu rin g am ong
the speakers two o f our Congress W o m en and M rs. Franklin
Delano Roosevelt. A s a m em ber o f the International Fed era­
tion o f University W om en , Frances has taken Sw arthm ore to
the International meetings at London and at Stockholm.
N o w Why should these two good people who have become
so thoroughly identified w ith Swarthm ore, this Firm o f B lan ­
shard and Blanshard so strongly established, tran sfer them ­
selves to Y a le ? O ur students w ill miss th em ; th e faculty will
miss th e m ; the alumni will miss th e m ; the Sw arthm ore M eet­
ing w ill miss th em ; fo r both have becom e Convinced Friends,
are pillars o f the M eeting, and B ran d is steadily contributing
to Q uaker literature. F o r the answer to the question posed, we
knock at the door o f Destiny. Perhaps it is D uty, stern daughter

(Continued on Page 32)

the

4

garnet

letter

VICTORY SHIP NAMED FOR THE COLLEGE
T H E G O O D S H IP SW A R TH M O R E H A S JO I N E D T H E F L E E T !!
N a recent statem ent by a

In deadweight tonnage, the

representative o f the U nited

V ictory Ship approxim ates the

I

Liberty’s 1 0 ,8 0 0 .

States M aritim e Commission

the follow ing announcement

T h e U nited States Lines in­

was m ade:

form s us th at the skipper will

"T h is vessel, S.S. Swarth­
m ore Victory, is one o f a

ham Smithies, good looking

be Captain
and

ican colleges and universities.

thirty-three years old. H e was

N am es

born in Los Angeles in

been

selected

feet

Cunning­

series being named fo r A m er­
have

six

A llan
four,

who is

1912

from a list made up o f all

and has been with the United

senior colleges in the U nited

States

States having a student body
o f m ore than five hundred.

1 9 3 9 , when he joined the S.S.
American Im porter as fourth

The order o f assignment fo l­

officer. H e has also served in

lows, as closely as possible,

that capacity and in higher

the chronological order o f the

Lines

since

January,

Broadway,

ranks on the S.S. American
Farmer, American Manufac-I
turer, the C-2 Shooting Star
the Liberty Ships Charles J.
Folger, A bbott L. W ells, and
Henry ,E. Huntington. He

N ew Y o rk City, fo r operation

served as third officer on the;

under the W a r Shipping A d ­

new America, the largest and;

m inistration.”

m ost luxurious passenger ship.;

dates o f founding. T h e S.S.

Swarthmore Victory will be
delivered, on or about A pril

12,

1 9 4 5 , to the U nited States

Lines Company,

1

ever built in this country and

T h e launching took place
on M arch

14,

Richm ond,

California,

also on the W ashington and;

1 9 4 5 , at the

Manhattan,

ship­

second

largest!

yards o f the Perm anente M etals C orporation. Representing the

A m erican passenger liners, before they w ere taken over by the

College at the launching cerem ony was Edw in A . Cottrell. ’0 7 ,

N avy to be used as transports. Since the w ar he has served on

Dean of the Social Science D epartm ent at Stanford U niversity.

the S.S. "John Ericsson” (fo rm er K u ngsholm ) as third officer,;

The ship’s sponsor was M rs. Thom as Butler, Jr ., w ife o f the

H e has been a m aster since September

supervisor o f assemblies at the shipyard. H er husband is one of

16,

1943. . - -

T h e Swarthmore Victory carries a crew o f fifty-four— 22:

20

the thousands of young men who have risen from the ranks to

in the D eck D epartm ent,

in the Engine D epartm ent, and 12|

take im portant positions in our expanding shipbuilding in­

in the Steward’s D epartm ent.

dustry.
This new V ictory type ship, designed by the M aritim e Com ­
mission as an im provem ent o f the Liberty Ship, is a faster

R e c e n tly , th e

vessel, with finer hull lines and equipped w ith turbine-gear

A l u m n i A ssocia­

propulsion m achinery of m ore than twice the horsepower of

tion sent Captain

the reciprocating steam engine used in the Liberty.

A llan C u n n i n g ­

G reatest advantage o f the V ictory Ship over the Liberty is

ham Smithies a set

her increased speed. T h e Liberty has a speed o f a little m ore

o f S w a rth m o re

11

knots, w hile the V ictory is designed fo r 15 knots or

C o m m e m o r a tiv e

more. A nother difference between the two types o f ships is

Platew are fo r use

the design o f finer bow and stern lines fo r the V ictory to con­

in

form to its greater propulsion power.

q u a rte rs

than

T h e new V ictory Ship also has slightly greater length—
4 5 5 feet com pared w ith 4 4 1 .5 feet fo r the Liberty. T h e V ic­
tory has a beam o f

62

feet, while that o f the Liberty is 57 feet.

the

C aptain’s
of

th e

S. S. Swarthmore
Victory.

. . . Swarthmorean Cottrell

and Sponsor Butler . . .

II

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the

garnet

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5

SWARTHMURE'S PITT RETIRES
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22 '
12'

O n Ju n e 3 0 , 1 9 4 5 , the name
o f N . O. Pittenger w ill be written
on a Swarthm ore College check
fo r the last time. Y es, P itt and
Cornie are retiring to Pittw illow
Farm on the O ctorara. Son Jack—
now six feet one inch tall— will
get ready fo r his first term at
E xeter Academ y. D aughter Jan e—
after a sum m er’s vacation— will
take up residence with G rand­
m other Chapman, so she may con­
tinue her training in the Swarth­
m ore Schools.
If we want to be absolutely accurate "retirement” is som e­
thing o f a m isnomer, fo r in P itt’s m ind the change simply in­
volves devoting all his m any talents to his farm enterprise
which by this tim e has reached rather sizeable proportions.
From a run-down country place in 1 9 2 6 Pittw illow has grow n
to include 3 3 4 acres o f land, two very livable houses, a like
number o f w ell-kept barns, and a dairy herd which averaged
11,000 pounds o f milk fo r the months January, February and
March. Currently 1 0 0 acres are under cultivation, 5 0 acres are
in lush pasture, and the hillsides are flourishing with 7 2 ,0 0 0
planted trees, 7 ,0 0 0 o f which w ere set out the year P itt bought
the farm. The dam site in fron t o f the house, which was started
in 1929 is now providing good canoeing and somewhat muddy
swimming. C ornie’s flower beds are at the peak o f their beauty
and the big house is undergoing renovations in preparation
for the grand hom ecom ing on Ju ly 1st. U p the creek aways the
women s A .A . cabin is doing a rushing week-end business.
Back in the barn is a miscellany o f chickens, ducks and pigs.
The vegetable garden is b igger than ever before and shelf
upon shelf o f canned goods is m ute evidence o f Cornie’s sum­
mer industry and o f many good meals to come. P itt’s three
riding horses are in top condition and just rarin ’ to go. T o
complete the happy picture a reliable farm m anager is completing his second year o f faithful service to the Pittengers
with the result that the "L o rd and Lady” w ill have m ore time
to do their share o f reflective thinking.

delphia and back a g a in ), which aggregate $ 1 3 ,3 2 2 ,0 3 8 .0 0 . But
when he thinks about the college m ortgage p ortfolio, he should
radiate absolute satisfaction. (Since 1 9 3 5 the college m ortgage
holdings have been under P itt’s personal supervision and the
p ortfolio has increased steadily to its present value o f $ 1 ,0 0 0 ,0 0 0 .0 0 . T h ere has not been a single foreclosure on a m ortgage
taken during this period and the net interest therefrom , has
yielded an approxim ate 4 .9 % annually. O ne Philadelphia bank
executive calls this the m ost astute m anagem ent o f m ortgages
in his recollection .) Furtherm ore, he w ill take great delight in
rem iniscing over his many successful "h orse trades” and those
which he should have m ade but didn’t.
Strangely enough, rem em bering his m oney transactions will
probably interest him far less than the m em ory o f his helping
those dozens o f "h ard -u p ” students to make financial ends
meet. N om inally P itt has been ranking financial officer o f the
College— actually h e has been a great deal m ore. Significant
as his financial genius is, his greatest contribution has been in
the field o f hum an understanding. A t times, a hard taskm aster
with faculty and students alike, h e has been truly unselfish in
his desire to help the other fellow when the other fellow is
w illing to help him self. H is apparent abruptness at times is
nothing m ore than an obstacle which the man o f strong char­
acter is supposed to h u rd le; fo r behind P itt’s seem ing unpre­
dictability, is a sound reason fo r virtually everything he does.
H is attitude tow ard his job has been to see how m uch he can
do in the course o f the day. H is periods o f reticence are simply
milestones in a perpetual m otion o f thought given to College
problems.
T en
in the
W h en
ago, it

years ago the Pittengers moved into their present hom e
m iddle building o f the old Prep School dorm itories.
these dorm itories w ere named by the college five years
was significant and appropriate that the one in which

(Continued on Page 7)

Reflection for P itt should be a rich and adventurous expe­
rience. In his spare m om ents he is bound to think about the
nine years it took him to g et a B .A . degree at Indiana U niT O ity -h o w during this trying period he, in alternate years,
worked for an undergraduate education and helped with the
support of his family. Likewise, it w ill be difficult fo r him to
orget the mom ent in 1 9 2 3 when Frank A ydelotte weaned him
w ay from the Indiana University bookstore and m ade him
omptroller of Swarthmore College, and how his first assign­
ment, once he arrived on the Quaker campus, was to mind
young Bill, Prexy’s son.
Sooner or later he will recall the many efficient changes he
adopted in the handling o f Sw arthm ore’s operating budget—
I l l s 6t Whidl in 1 9 2 3 was $ 3 5 0 ,0 0 0 .0 0 and in 1 9 4 5 is
$ ,1 8 2 ,7 5 0 .0 0 . H e is sure to smile contentedly when he re­
members the rise in college endowm ent from $ 3 ,3 3 0 ,5 0 4 .0 0
P 1923
^ present $ 8 ,0 6 5 ,6 5 3 .0 0 . H is usually steady right
, an *s 'p e ly to grow a bit shaky when circumstances remind
im that in his period o f twenty-two years o f service, he has
signed approximately 1 5 0 ,0 0 0 college checks (laid end to end
mey would stretch from P itt’s office to the City H all in Phila­

P IT T . I JA N E . . C O R N IE . . JA C K

£

the

garnet

letter

GRUENBERG'S TRAVELS
T H R IL L IN G w ar odyssey has
been told recently and the
hero is Swarthm ore’s Captain
Ernest M . G ruenberg ’37.

A

In 1 9 4 2 , after receiving his
m edical degree at Johns H opkins,
G ruenberg entered the Arm y.
Follow ing a period o f special
training at Carlisle, P a., he joined
the Paratroops. A t the time of
the N orm andy invasion, he was
attached to the now famous
10 1 st A irborne Division. Fortyeight hours after "ju m p in g” on
D -D ay, G ruenberg was captured
by the Germ ans. T h e transport carrying them from England to
France had overshot its m ark and dropped its paratroopers
about 25 miles back o f G erm an lines. In July, he was loaded
into a b oxcar and shunted back and forth across France for
23 days while en route from Rennes to Chalon-en-M arne, a
distance o f 1 0 0 miles. D u rin g that journey not one man am° n£
the 3 0 0 on the train, except Captain Gruenberg, who tended
the wounded, was allowed to stand up. T h e wounds o f every
injured m an becam e infected and there was scarcely enough
w ater to drink— absolutely none was available fo r washing.
F o r three m onths he was a prisoner at Oflag 6 4 at Synbin,
Poland, when suddenly th e Russians began their w inter ad­
vance. A t this point the G erm ans herded the A m erican officers
together and started them in a westerly direction just ahead of
M arshal Zhukoff’s First W h ite Russian A rm y. T h e sick and
wounded w ere left behind. T h e band o f A m erican officers sud­
denly found themselves w alking down a secondary Polish road
jam m ed w ith "frigh ten ed fat G erm an housewives, perspiring

devoid o f a single item about him self, and is reproduced in
part as follow s:
" I have been trying to think of w hat aspect of my experigficgs would be o f greatest interest to the readers o f the
G a r n e t L e t t e r , It occurred to me that the problem o f education as I saw it vividly in Poland and w hich has not been
emphasized in the papers, would be a m atter about w hich they
would care to read.
I spent about three weeks in Poland after being liberated.
O ne week was spent in the town o f K cynia taking care o f the
m edical needs as best I could. T here were no civilian doctors
there at the time. I go t to know several families fairly well and
became acquainted w ith many others. A side from the health
problems o f the comm unity, the fact w hich struck m e most
forcibly was that there had been no education o f Poles for
five years. B y education I mean, of course, form al education
o f the young people. In 1 9 3 9 education came to a dead stop.
This means that there have been no high school classes which
graduated during this period and no college classes. This fact
in itself would be devastating enough to a country Which had
never had a large num ber of university graduates, but the
added systematic exterm ination o f Polish intellectuals by the
Nazis turns it into a national calamity. O f course this is just
one aspect o f the tragic picture Europe has becom e because of
the dom ination o f the N azis. It is, however, to m e one o f the
key problem s fo r the future. T h ere are not enough educated
people left to teach those w ho are now young and who are
destined to becom e the national leaders. T h ere w ill be a tre­
mendous need fo r educated people to organize the disorganized

foot, G ruenberg hardly ever walked, fo r always a truck or
train gave him a lift. A s an A m erican, nothing was too good
fo r him and no one ever asked for m oney or tickets. Finally he
entered M oscow in a car reserved fo r Russian officers. T h e
entire westward trip was negotiated in absolute safety and
com parative com fort because o f a little slip of paper given
him by a Russian wom an doctor. A m iracle o f simplicity, it
had proved a m agic passport— it simply stated th at Captain
Gruenberg, an A m erican prisoner o f w ar and a surgeon, had
helped care fo r Russian wounded in a m ilitary hospital at
E xin, Poland. O nce in M oscow he was taken to the A m erican
Embassy. Several days later he arrived in W ash in gto n after a
56-h ou r flight from the Russian capital.
Several days ago the A lum ni Office received a letter from
Captain G ruenberg in answer to our request for inform ation
concerning his fantastic experiences. H is m odest reply was

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slaves.” Finally, G ruenberg and his fellow officers w ere shoved
into a barn on a m anor estate w hich had been confiscated by
the Germ ans. M eanwhile the Russians w ere m oving westward

eral Sherman tanks.
T h en began a long 14-day trek eastward. Starting out on

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but these tw o factors w ill not begin to m eet the needs o f the
countries w hich the Ueberm ensch has tried, unsuccessfully,
It seems to me that it is in this connection that Swarthmore
can be o f positive assistance in the reconstruction o f Europe.

and drink. D u rin g the repast, the Red A rm y rolled up in G en­

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to return to a medieval state o f ignorance.

Americans m ade contact w ith some Poles w ho provided food

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countries. Some o f this w ill be satisfied by the im portation of
teachers from other lands and some by the return o f refugees,

m ale civilians, m inor mem bers o f the N azi party and Polish

too rapidly fo r G erm an com fort. A s the Russian tanks came
hearer the G erm an guards disappeared. Shortly after, the

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It w ould seem inevitable that m any young people w ill have to
come from the form erly occupied countries fo r a general and
technical education and return to their homelands to become
educators and leaders. I can think o f no greater service Swarth­
m ore could render than to shoulder a large share o f this
burden. I w ould like to see a special scholarship fund raised
from alumni subscriptions to bring young people from Europe

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and pay for their expenses while studying at Swarthmore.
Special attention should be directed to getting young people
who had already demonstrated their capacity for leadership and
the sincerity o f their patriotism by becom ing leaders in the re­
sistance movem ents. In this way Swarthmore w ould be per­
form ing a real service in the reorganization o f the liberated
countries and would benefit by personal contact w ith some of
the outstanding young leaders of the European resistance move­
ments.
T hose o f us w ho have been in the arm ed forces— and many
o f those w ho have not— have been working these last few years
tow ard the exterm ination o f fascism and the liberation of
Europe from tyranny. A lthough that job is not yet finished,
even Goebbels can see that it is nearing its end. T o follow up
and m ake this job w orth w hile we w ill have to do our part in
returning w hat we can o f the academ ic tradition to Europeans.

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Last July 4 9 Chinese N aval Officers, who had been study­
ing at Swarthmore since N ovem ber, 1 9 4 3 , left the campus
to pursue a course o f further training at Massachusetts Insti­
tute o f Technology and at Annapolis. These men left a
profound impression upon the College comm unity and we
hated to see them leave. Oiir disappointm ent, however, has
been eased somewhat by the presence o f a group o f six
Chinese civilians w ho are now enrolled as special and
regular students.
Two o f this group have com e to us with international
reputations. One, Robert T . Chang, a form er Captain in the
Chinese A rm y A ir Forces and the other, D r. Chen Yen-Sen,
the Chinese surgeon who gained prom inence in this country
following G eneral D oolittle’s epic raid on Tokyo during the
early stages o f the w ar. Recently the A m erican public has
been seeing D r. Chen portrayed in the film entitled "T h irty
Seconds O ver Tokyo.”
Bob C hang is a pleasant, vivacious young man who
enlisted in the Chinese A rm y in 1 9 3 7 . A fte r prelim inary
training he was assigned to the A ir Forces where he made
a very creditable record. Shortly after the U nited States
entered the war, C hang was released from A rm y duty and
assigned to the Chinese N ation al A viation Corporation, a
government organization concerned prim arily w ith the air
transport o f essential w ar materials and personnel to China
from India. W o rk in g w ith A m erican A irm en exclusively,
he served as co-p ilot on 3 0 6 missions over the "h ump ”—
a trip across the H im alaya M ountains which has been de­
scribed as the m ost hazardous air route in all the world. On
one flight from C hungking to Calcutta his plane carried
General D oolittle soon after that great A m erican airman
had made his raid on the Japanese capital. D u rin g C hang’s
travels over the w orld ’s highest m ountains he spent 1 4 0 0
air hours covering 2 5 0 ,0 0 0 miles. In N ovem ber, 1 9 4 4 , he
was granted an indefinite leave o f absence by the Chinese
Government. H e arrived in Swarthmore on M arch 1st w here
he is studying our language and customs and im proving his
knowledge o f aviation mechanics.
In contrast to lively Bob Chang, D r. Chen is a quiet,
studious medico who left a w ife and child in C hina so he
could come to this country fo r further w ork in the field o f
surgery. H e w ill stay at Sw arthm ore until he has sufficient
grasp o f our language to m ove on to H arvard M edical
School for advanced surgical training. P rior to the first

Credit Philadelphia Evening Bulletin

CH EN AN D CHANG
A m erican air raid on Tokyo, he was an obscure doctor who
had been p racticing m edicine in a small Chinese village in
Chekiang Province. D u rin g this great raid a num ber o f
A m erican crews w ere forced down in or near territory occu­
pied by the Japanese. D r. Chen helped in the rescue o f
many o f the fugitive fliers, tended their injuries and finally
guided them to safety across 1 0 0 0 miles o f China. F o r his
heroism, he was decorated by G eneralissim o C hiang K aishek. Subsequently he offered his service to the Chinese
A rm y and served fo r two years as flight surgeon w ith the
air force.
T hen came the offer by our State D epartm ent w hich gave
him the opportunity to visit A m erica and to study m odern
m ethods o f surgery at H arvard . H e arrived in W ashin gton
in the m iddle o f M arch. T h e day before he entered Sw arth­
m ore he was given a trem endous ovation when presented
to the Congress o f the U nited States.

S w arth m o re’s Pitt Retires ( Continued fro m Page 5)
Pitt had given so much wise counsel to undergraduate m er
should be called "P itten g er H a ll.”
In 1928 Pitt m arried Cornelia Chapman, an honors graduate
o warthmore in the class o f 1 9 2 6 . Cornie, as she is affeclonately known to h er hundreds of. Swarthm ore friends, has
een a model w ife and one o f the com m unity’s outstanding
Hi°
fA voidinS 111 lim elight, she has devoted herself to
e jo of rearing tw o fine children, taking an active p art in
e campus activities, providing h er fam ous Sunday night
uppers for the men in the dorm itory, and catering to P itt. H er
tin60 pinf,ss’ Sincerity’ and unselfishness have won the admiracom M B ^ h° have known her. N o account o f P itt w ould be
P e without paying tribute to the significant p art Cornie

has assumed in this m em orable Swarthm ore partnership.
Indeed, Swarthmore A lum ni w ill miss the P itten g ers! In
any m ention o f fam ous Swarthm ore families their names will
stand high on the list. L ast w inter on the occasion o f the 57th
annual banquet o f the Sw arthm ore Club o f Philadelphia, P itt
was presented a handsom e silver bowl in hon or o f his loyalty
and devotion to Swarthmoreans o f all generations. O n the bowl
was inscribed th e follow ing legend:
A n able A dm inistrator, a real friend, a loyal Sw arthm orean.”
Such are the desserts o f P itt s twenty-two years at Swarth­
m ore. O n hearing the recent news o f his retirem ent, one
Sw arthm ore alumnus rem arked " W e ll h e’ll be succeeded but
never replaced.”