Swarthmore College Alumni Bulletin 1945-10-01

Volume X
Number 2

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SWARTHMORE’S FOREIGN FRIENDS

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A NEW POLICY OF ADMISSIONS
L U M N I whose children are planning to enter Swarthmore
in the near future w ill be interested in the new statement
o f admissions procedures adopted by the Faculty after the
current catalogue had gone to press. Although a candidate’s
preparation under the terms outlined in the catalogue is ac­
ceptable for admission in 1945, the new policy included here
is also in effect. The new statement differs from the old chiefly
in respect to its increased flexibility.

A

In 1934 Swarthmore became one o f two hundred American
colleges and universities to agree to accept (fo r a trial period
o f eight years) qualified graduates o f thirty selected secondary
schools without regard to specific Carnegie units o f instruction.
The schools were thus encouraged to develop new courses and
to m odify the pre-college curriculum to the interests and capa­
bilities o f individual students. This carefully controlled edu­
cational experiment established the fact that college scholastic
success was based more upon a student’ s ability in certain basic
skills rather than upon his completion o f the conventional
preparatory courses.

From the new statement it is clear, provided the general
requirements are met, that a candidate may deviate consider­
ably from the usual pattern. T he increased flexibility may not
be immediately apparent to prospective college students but
to their high school principals the change w ill becom e signifi­
cant as interpretations are made o f the point that variations
o f choice and emphasis are n ow acceptable. T h e only definite
prescription now made is that, " A ll, or almost all o f the
preparatory course should be com posed . . .” o f subjects in
the broad fields o f history and social studies, literature and
art, natural science and mathematics, and languages. It is
further stipulated that some w ork should be taken in each
group, but just h ow much is left to the judgm ent o f the high
school student and his counselors.
Formerly candidates were required to take a m inim um o f
IOI/ 2 specific units and were confined in their electives to 4 y 2
courses. A careful reading o f the titles o f the courses listed
below and the variety they represent within each o f the four
fields w ill indicate the degree o f freedom that is now permitted.

PROCEDURE FOR ADMISSION
Admission to the Freshman Class is normally based upon the satis­
factory completion o f a four-year program preparatory to advanced
liberal study. Applicants are selected on the follow in g evidence:
1. Record in secondary school.

4

2. Recommendation o f the school principal or headmaster and o f
others w ho know the applicant.
3. Ratings in the Scholastic Aptitude Tests, and in three o f the
Scholastic Achievement Tests given by the C ollege Entrance Examina­
tion Board. Other ratings w ill also be considered, and in some cases,
special tests may be given by the College.
4. Personal interview with one o f the Deans or an appointed repre­
sentative.
5. Reading and experience, both in school and out.
Applicants should have high rank in school and in aptitude and
achievement tests, and should show strong intellectual interests. They
should also give evidence o f sturdiness o f character, prom ise o f growth,
initiative, seriousness o f purpose, and a sense o f social responsibility.
As future members o f the college community, they should represent
varied interests, types, and backgrounds.

P R E P A R A T IO N
Applicants are urged to make their choice o f college as early as
possible in order to plan the work o f their school years with the
k assistance o f the Committee on Admission. In general, preparation
should include:

1.
Skills: The fo llow in g skills are essential to success in college
work and should be brought to a high level by study and practice
throughout the preparatory period:
a. The use o f the English language with accuracy and effectiveness
in reading, writing, and speaking.
b. T he use o f the principles o f arithmetic, algebra, and plane
geometry.
c. T he use o f one, or preferably o f two, foreign languages to the
point o f reading prose o f average difficulty at sight, and o f writing
and speaking with some ease and proficiency.

2.
Subjects: A ll, or almost all, o f the preparatory course should be
com posed o f the subjects listed in the fo llo w in g fou r groups. V ari­
ations o f choice and emphasis are acceptable although som e work
should be taken in each group.
History and Social Studies: A m erican, English, European, and
Ancient H istory; Political, social and econom ic problem s o f modern
society.
Literature and A rt: Am erican, English,
ancient and m odern ; .music, art, architecture.

and

foreign

*Natural Science and Mathematics: chemistry,
astronomy; algebra, geometry, trigonom etry.

literatures,

physics, biology,

t Languages: English, Latin, Greek, German, French, Spanish, other
European or Oriental languages.

A D M IS S IO N O F V E T E R A N S
Swarthmore w elcom es veterans o f the A rm ed Services, both men
and wom en, w ho are qualified to d o the w ork and w h o are interested
in the type o f program and com m unity life fo r w hich the College
stands.
Questions o f admission and academ ic status w ill be determ ined on
the merits o f each individual case. In addition to the procedures
described above for all applicants, consideration w ill be given to
experience o f intellectual significance in the training program s o f the
various services, and to courses o f the A rm ed Forces Institute. A p p li­
cants w ill be accepted at as advanced a level as they can maintain,
and transfer credits granted provisionally w ill be confirm ed after the
successful com pletion o f a term’s work.
Applicants should take the fou r tests o f general educational develop­
ment administered by the A rm ed Forces Institute. T hese are available
at, most dem obilization centers, but may also be taken at the College.
In special cases additional aptitude and subject-matter tests may be
given by the C ollege.
* A college m ajor in science or engineering presupposes substantial
work in algebra, plane and, i f possible, solid geom etry, and trigo­
nometry.
f Applicants w h o expect to m ajor in science are strongly advised to
include German and, if possible, French, in their school programs.

Tü ALL SWARTHMGRE COLLEGE ALUMNI
A t the D ecem ber m eeting o f the Board o f M anagers o f Swarthmore C ollege the A lum ni
A ssociation w ill submit the name o f a Swarthmore alumna w h o w ill be appointed to the
Board as one o f -four official alumni representatives. T h e A lum ni Council has chosen
tw o candidates, and asks you to vote for one on the enclosed card.
PLEASE R E T U R N B Y N O V E M B E R 15, 1945.

ELEANOR
R U N K was
graduated w ith the Class o f
1919 from Swarthmore C o l­
lege into a varied but always
active life. For a year she
taught English and Social
Studies in the Phillipsburg,
Pa.,
Junior H ig h
School.
W h e n this career was inter­
rupted by marriage to James
H arold Reppert, a M in in g
Engineer, her interests turned
toward the form ation o f a
20th Century Club fo r the
com m unity and activity with
the G irl Scouts. A m ove to
Altoona, Pa., in 1926 fou n d her organizing the G irl Scouts
and serving as a Com m issioner there. In Plainfield, N . J.,
during nine years’ residence she substituted in tw o high
schools, served a year as D ean o f W o m e n fo r o n e ; studied
at Rutgers and Teachers C ollege, Colum bia, where she w on
the M .A .

degree in Student Personnel Adm inistration;

served on the Executive Board o f the N ational Association
o f Deans o f W o m e n and as President o f the A . A .U .W .;
organized the M ariner Scouts, and was active in numberless
welfare agencies.
A change o f environm ent has always offered a challenge
to Eleanor Reppert. W h en the war years brought a m ove to
W ashington, she taught Social Studies at Sidw ell Friends
School and was Assistant D irector o f the H om e N ursing
Service fo r the Am erican Red Cross. N o t the least important
of

Mrs.

R eppert’ s achievements

is

represented

by

her

fam ily o f six girls. T he eldest, Jane Reppert Jenks, attended
Swarthmore, married a Swarthmore alumnus, and is now
A lum ni Recorder. Another, Laura G w endolyn, w ill unpack
her trunk in Parrish this fall. T h e tw o youngest are at­
tending h igh school in Lewisburg, Pa., where their mother
is n ow Dean o f W om en at Bucknell University.

L IL Y T I L Y
received her
d ip lom a fr o m President
A ydelotte in June, 1929, and
decided to en joy a w ellearned vacation. It d id n ’t take
her lon g to discover that to
be happy she had to be busy.
A business school course was
fo llo w e d by a three-year jo b
as secretary to D r. Creighton,
of
Swarthmore
Chemistry
fam e. M arriage to Pierce L.
Richards, ’ 27, d id n ’ t deter
her from her w ork, and she
also managed to take an
active part in the Pi Phi
A lum nae group. In 1933, Sally Richards was born, and in
1936 her sister Jill made an appearance.
"S is” Richards has always been active in Swarthmore
and alumni affairs. For tw o years she served as President
o f the Swarthmore Alum nae Club o f Philadelphia, and has
recently been an alumnae representative on the committee
to choose M rs. Blanshard’s successor. H er interests are by
no means lim ited to the C ollege, how ever. A s a m em ber o f
the Maternity Com m ittee o f the University H ospital, she
has helped operate the M oth ers’ Club, an organization de­
signed to give fu ll pre-natal care to all w om en. 1941
fou n d her w ork in g w ith the Em ergency A id in a project
to fingerprint all war workers. This necessary jo b accom ­
plished, M rs. Richards enrolled in a course fo r G irl Scout
Leaders, and fou n d that it eventually led her through most
o f the trails o f M ontgom ery, Chester and D elaware C ou n ­
ties, fo r she became Chairman o f O utdoor Activities. Last
summer, assisted by a volunteer staff, she organized a Day
Camp in W y n n ew ood fo r sixty girls. N o w she desires to
g o into Senior Scouting as soon as she can find som eone to
lead her present Scout T roop .
"P ete” and "S is” share an interest in their garden. "S is”
served as Chairman o f the Juniors fo r the Bala-Cynwyd
Garden Club last year, w hich meant contacting som e o f the
schools in the district and brin ging program s o f Garden
Club interest to the students. In her spare time she enjoys
bicycling and g o lf, and is renew ing her love o f music by
taking lessons on the pip e organ.

These candidates are outstanding Swarthmoreans and deserve the support o f every alumnus.
D on ’t fail to cast your vote at once.

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3

SWARTHMORE'S FOREIGN FRIENDS
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By H elen H all , Special Instructor of Foreign Students

W A R T H M O R E C ollege has been asked by the State D e ­
partment to act as one o f fou r orientation centers in the
United States fo r young foreign students. This request is un­
doubtedly a direct result o f the happy relationship between
the town, the C ollege and the Chinese officers during their
sojourn here.
Ever since the first group o f Chinese naval officers appeared
on the campus there have been some foreign students here,
but recently the number has increased until there are now
eighteen in the special group, w hile three "graduates” are
still at C ollege in regular course. A ll o f these have com e here
with little or no facility in English, but with the expectation o f
receiving not only intensive instruction in our language but
also orientation to life in our country. This latter goal is o f
prime importance since many o f their ideas o f Am erican life
have come through the m ovies and it is our duty as w ell as
our privilege to interpret life and customs w ithout the H olly ­
wood touch.
1
These special students have form al instruction in English
with classes five days a week fo r at least three hours a day.
Wartime experimentation has outm oded many o f our old con ­
ceptions o f h ow to teach a foreign language and the present
methods used to master English fast are guided by the experi­
ments conducted in the A rm ed Forces Institute. Naturally the
amount o f determination, the health and stamina, the back­
ground o f study habits and the degree o f facility with
languages w hich each student has in his personality makes his
development an individual affair, but usually progress is amaz­
ingly rapid.
The orientation o f these students is not the sole responsi­
bility o f their teachers but can be shared by anyone interested.
Swarthmore’s co-eds contribute immeasurably with dates fo r
dances or movies, and are in turn rewarded by an opportunity
to brush up on their French or Spanish. (So far none have
acquired any com m and o f the Chinese language.) T he town
and college hostesses are generous with their homes and ration
points and entertain all or part o f the grou p frequently. Som e­
times the hostess and the guests collaborate on a dish which
turns out to be deliciously different even i f some o f the m ore
exotic ingredients had to be omitted.

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Excursions, too, are an important part o f the orientation
program. A b ou t twice a m onth a carefully planned trip is
i OB made to the A rt M useum or the Franklin Institute; to historic
lures Philadelphia, or, by boat, to view the concentration o f in ­
n to dustry along the Delaware from Philadelphia to W ilm in gton .
f the A special visit to the Scott Paper Com pany inspired and
ppliitaift thrilled all w ith its m odern efficiency. H om e "electric servants”
r the are intriguing; som e o f the students w ou ld gladly trade an
indolent native servant fo r a Bendix, a vacuum cleaner and
elopj a Presto cooker. There are shopping expeditions and movies
jablt and special calls at the homes o f business or professional men
liege] whose advice is sought. In fact, the free time hours are as
ly be
•mportant as the class schedule.

China and six Central and South Am erican countries are
represented in the unit: M exico, Guatemala, Costa Rica,
Colombia, Peru and Bolivia. O n e young lady, Julia M aldonado]
ed 1#| nolds her place w ith the seventeen men. Last term there were
is.
two Cuban girls in the prelim inary class and tw o Chinese

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In

the

Classroom . . .

girls in the advanced group. Perhaps the most prom inent
figure here now is D r. Chen, Sen-Yen. This young man is
the D r. C. endeared forever to Americans for his part in
rescuing M ajor T ed Lawson and his crew forced dow n in
occupied China after the first Tokyo raid. M any people have
seen the m ovie w hich was taken from Ted Law son’s ow n story
Thirty Seconds over T ok y o.” Naturally Dr. Chen did not
appear in person in the m ovie. The State Departm ent is
g ivin g the doctor his cherished w ish: to study m odern surgery
in the United States. WTiile he is learning English, he often
steals away to the University o f Pennsylvania Hospital to watch
some special operation and to begin his period o f observation.
A tall, soft-spoken man from China is another distinguished
visitor.. H e is D r. D en, Chwen, w ho has served for the last
ten years as judge in the Chungking court. Since the United
States and other nations have given up the extraterritorial
privileges w hich they enjoyed so long, it is likely that more
Americans w ill appear in the Chinese courts. Consequently,
¿he Chinese G overnm ent has dispatched D r. D en to the U nited
States to get to know American people, to study Am erican law,
and to understand us so that justice can be done. W h en D r.
D e n ’s English is sufficiently fluent he w ill study law fo r two or
three years before returning to China. Some o f his daily
papers tell o f wartime courtroom incidents and give a thrilling
peep into the lives o f these little know n people.
T h e list is too numerous to m ention individually: A civil
engineer from Colom bia, South A m erica; an electrical en­
gineer from China; a Chinese pilot recently returned from a
tour o f duty on the run "over the H u m p ” ; all are mature
students o f impressive sincerity. T h e younger persons w ho are
planning for undergraduate w ork in the States are equally
interesting. Sometimes they are less w orried by the language
barrier and tell o f thrilling life on a cattle ranch in west
Colom bia, o f coffee plantations and a divinely different brew ,
o f orchid day in Costa Rica (ten cents each o r ch id ), o f the
Indians in Peru, or o f the Japanese invasion o f H on g K o n g .
Everyone w h o works or plays with these foreign friends
is thrilled with the opportunity to foster international under­
standing and appreciation.

the

4

garnet

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A RECORD OF OUR ZOOLDGI DI
only defense appeared in the developm ent o f airplanes which

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could fly higher and faster. T he conditions o f aerial combat)
subjected men to physiological stresses w hich had not yet been!
encountered. T o meet these stresses oxygen had to be provided!
and other devices had to be prepared to extend the limited!

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natural range o f tolerance o f men at high altitudes. The;
Swarthmore zoologists were soon involved in providing some}
o f these means. D etlev Bronk, ’ 20, w h o had been professor of
physiology from 1927-31, was now coordinator o f research ini
the Office o f the A ir Surgeon, and Laurence Irving, director

tions
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met the emergency o f the war.

o f the Martin Laboratory, was a m em ber o f three divisions of
the National Research Council. They could foresee the necee
sity fo r physiological research to provide greater effectivenessj
for our fliers w hile under the stress o f aerial combat.
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The Swarthmore group therefore developed methods foil

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In the m ind o f the late D r. Martin and President Aydelotte
the Edward Martin B iological Laboratory was to provide the
students o f Swarthmore with the best opportunities and im ­

protecting and increasing the ability o f fliers in combat open
ations. Their first practical contribution was a simple analyzer}
for the analysis o f expired air. M ilitary and naval establish)

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pulses for appreciating and doin g biological work. The objec­
tive was to be the developm ent o f an understanding o f biology
and o f the obligation o f the biologist to w ork fo r the im prove­
ment o f society in a practical and cultural way.

ments, university and hospital laboratories, immediately begant
to request the instruments to measure the leakage o f oxygen •
masks. Several hundred o f them were prepared and distributed!
by the staff in Z o o lo g y w hile regular methods o f production!
were being established. These analyzers are n ow used by flight;
surgeons and personnel equipm ent officers in all allied aiij

mater
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stations. Strange as it may seem, the porpoises w h o for a time}
lived and dived in the Prep School sw im m ing p o o l material

Charle
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RECENT issue o f ''Science” listed the thirty institutions
that have the highest percentage of distinguished scientific

men on their faculties. Swarthmore was the only college in­
cluded, and stood seventh on the list. O f even more significance
is the relative high percentage o f Swarthmore Alumni who
have achieved scientific distinction. This is, in a way, to be
expected, for while graduate students may be fortunate enough
to come in contact with outstanding men during their advanced
training at universities, Swarthmore students are in contact
with distinguished scientists from their freshman year on. The
article below shows how the Biology Department tries to offer
this stimulating contact as well as how the teaching staff has

A fter 1937, when the laboratory was established, instruction
was increasingly im proved because o f the staff’s interest in
research. M any o f their investigations were concentrated upon
the ways in w hich the diving animals— seals, beaver, whales
and others— were able to breathe successfully. Some o f the
physiological adjustments w hich enable the diving animals to
h old their breath for lon g periods were disclosed by those
studies. M ost significant was the recognition that the respira­
tion o f the diving animals could be regarded as an accentuation
o f an ability w hich also existed in m an; for in a moderate
manner man’s respiration reacts during diving as does that o f
the seal. The seal is much better able to meet the stress o f
diving, and his responses show clearly what man does rather
weakly.
In 1939 it became apparent that our survival w ould depend
upon man’s ability to endure the stresses im posed by war. The
air attack upon civilization was particularly severe, and the

aided in this development.

| during

Carbon m on oxide is another hazard o f flight. The gas is. on life
produced from the operation o f internal com bustion engined millioi
firing o f guns, and the use o f heating devices in closed spaces, are sti
The Swarthmore zoologists, w orkin g with a distinguished that ir
English colleague, D r. F. J. W . Roughton, developed a simple} Army,
analytical system fo r determining the amount o f carbon monoxj
ide in the blood. T h e practical value o f this device was so
obvious that urgent requests for it came in from the A ir Forces,
Tank Corps, N avy hospitals and laboratories fo r medical ref
search. T h e staff set to w ork m aking the analyzers available
and within a few months had prepared and distributed mane
hundreds o f them. T o carry out this task in addition to regular!

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This analytical system was further applied to studying the
oxygen and carbon dioxide content o f the blood, inform ation
essential for determining the adequacy o f respiratory conditions during flight. The first practical field test o f this analyzer
came in determining the cause fo r the occasional serious
poisonings which Arctic and Antarctic explorers have suffered
while burning their stoves in closed tents and snow houses.
Two winter expeditions from Swarthmore to M t. W ashington
showed that a blue flame stove in a closed snow house or
impervious tent could cause dangerous carbon m onoxide poisoning. The group developed a m ethod o f using these stoves
safely, and members o f the staff are still carrying on the work
in flight tests near the A rctic Circle.
The Mt. W ashington expedition showed that the clothing
and shelters for such operations were inadequate. Continual
research is being made by the staff in an attempt to develop a
material with the insulating quality o f milkweed dow n or
reindeer skin. As early as 1940, Irving and one o f the garden-

tionj

ers broke the ice on Crum and submerged themselves. They
wore waterproof suits used by the N orw egians for the protection o f their sailors after torpedoing on the N orth Atlantic,

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Similar tests were made in the icy waters at W o o d s H ole, the
Charles River near Cambridge, Lake Ontario and the Ottawa

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River. The results showed that the suits w ould preserve men
during an hour’s immersion and w ould further protect them
is ill on lifeboats from the freezing effect o f w ind and spray. A h alf
ines, million o f these protective suits have been distributed and they
aces, are still giving g ood service. Their success has been so great

shed that investigation fo r their developm ent was continued by the
tnpltj Army.

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In 1942 Detlev Bronk proposed to Irving that he establish
a physiological section in the A ir Forces to test devices used
for increasing or preserving the effectiveness o f air men. The
Swarthmore zoologists had traveled on field studies from
Northern Ontario to Panama. They had been accustomed to
work in strange situations w hile making a study o f animals
in their various natural habitats. N o w the strangest situation

I was presented by the physiological conditions involved in air
i warfare. General Grant, the A ir Surgeon, asked Irving to test
| oxygen equipment, clothing, emergency and protective equip| ment of fliers. (D r. Bronk, in his intermission speech for the

j|. New York Philharmonic this summer, described some o f the
Pl| experiments and developments made by the g rou p .)
Rapid changes began to take place in the teaching personnel
at the College. Brooke W orth ’ 31 left to becom e an instructor
in tropical medicine in the A rm y M edical College, a field for
which he was prepared by experience gained during expedi­
tions to Panama w ith Enders. A s a captain in the M edical
Corps he is follow in g a service in w hich D r. Martin preceded
him 46 years ago in the Spanish-American W ar. W h en M ajor
Irving was recommissioned (h e had been an Infantry Officer
in France during ’ 17, ’ 18, T 9 ) , G eorge Edwards and Lloyd
Merrits were busy preparing the analyzers so urgently required

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by the services. Their w ork com pleted on a Sunday afternoon,
they reported for induction M onday m orning. Because o f the
interest o f the A ir Surgeon in physiological testing, Edwards,
Merrits and Per Scholander, now a Captain, soon joined
Irving at the A ir Forces Proving G round at Eglin Field,
Florida.
Professor Robert Enders* experienced in tropical jungles
and in India, was sent to CBI to instruct special troops for
operations in the jungle. D ave Bishop ’ 34 w h o had been
doin g research with Enders was com m issioned as an aviation
physiologist; after service in this country and in CBI he is
now on duty with D r. Bronk in W ashington. Kaj Strand
entered the A ir Forces from Astronom y and was transferred
by the A ir Surgeon to Eglin Field. H is fam e was soon great,
not only because he had discovered a planet, but because, an
Arm y private, he addressed the Am erican Philosophical Society.
His special ability caused him to be com m issioned and placed
in charge o f a department fo r testing devices and m ethods fo r
navigation. Lt. Peter M orris ’43 is now w orking w ith him.
G eorge Llano had spent a winter in research at Swarthmore,
and was sent to join Irving at the P roving G round. M any
graduates o f the department are serving in similar capacities.
Capt. W a rd Fow ler ’ 37 is at the Central M edical Establishment
o f the Eighth A ir Force and Joe H afkenschiel ’ 37 is doin g
similar w ork in India. Sam Reynolds ’ 27 is in the A ir Surgeon’s
office in W ashington. Staff Sgt. Lloyd Merrits is now in CB I
(Continued on Page 36)

the

6

garnet

letter

□F THE FACULTY AND ADMINSTRATION
T
H E members o f the faculty
and o f the administration

w hose retirements and resig­
nations have been recently re­
ported in the G arnet L etter
have rem oved only a short

distance from the cam p us;
the Pittengers and the Spillers
a few miles, the Blanshards a
few score. But Frank K ille,
w h o in August resigned his
position as associate professor
of
Frank R. K ille

Z o o lo g y ,

most

has m oved

halfw ay

across

intervals, fo r w hich he had much responsibility, form a valu­
able contribution to the literature on this subject and are of!
particular interest to Swarthmore as the new curriculum is
being established.
W h ile he has been a mem ber o f the faculty here Frank I
K ille ’ s research has been concerned with regeneration in marine
invertebrates. H is experiments have been carried on at Woods
H ole, the Carnegie Laboratory at D ry Tortugas and at sev­
eral west coast stations, w ith financial support from several
foundations. H is results have been published in a series o f ten'
papers.

Hul
aire
for

H is colleagues and friends bid him g ood -by with regret
and anticipate for him much success at Carleton.

the
Ach

al­

R uth M cC lung Jones , ’21 !

the

country to Carleton College,
in N orthfield, M innesota. T his considerable geographical dis­
tance between successive positions is habitual with him. H e
went, in his pre-Swarthmore years, from W ooster C ollege in
O hio, to graduate study at the University o f Chicago, to an
associate professorship at Birm ingham Southern University in
Alabama, back to Chicago to com plete the w ork for his Ph .D .
and then to Rochester University as an instructor in the
Z o o lo g y Department.
Professor K ille ’ s appointm ent at Carleton as dean o f men
and professor o f Z o o lo g y does not in volve an entirely new
pattern o f w ork, fo r he acted as dean here during the second
term o f 1944 w hen Everett H unt was on leave, and he w ill
continue to teach Z o o lo g y at Carleton begin ning w ith a class
in em bryology this fall.
Swarthmore has reason to regret his loss, for he has served
the C ollege faithfully and w ell. In his w ork on committees,
and as co-ordinator o f the V -1 2 pre-m edical program, he
showed foresight, careful planning and efficiency. A s a teacher
he is thoroughly successful. H is students admire his k n ow l­
edge and his ability to impart i t ; they find him understanding,
able and w illin g to advise them ; he has made many friends
am ong them.
D uring his eleven-year term here he has devoted much time
to study o f the relationship o f pre-m edical to m edical educa­
tion, and to the function therein o f the liberal arts college.
Evidence that his results are highly regarded by other zoologists
is fou n d in his appointment tw o years ago to a committee o f
the N ational Research C ouncil form ed to consider desirable
m odifications o f biology courses in w artim e; his present editor­
ship o f the section on Education in B iological Abstracts; and
his part in the recent conference at U n ion C ollege between
pre-medical and medical educators, in w hich a clearer under­
standing o f the problem s o f each grou p was sought. H is
constructive address, delivered at this symposium, was an im ­
portant factor in the decision o f the m eeting to form a per­
manent board w hich w ill act to facilitate exchanges between
the faculties.
H is interest in education in b iology has not been lim ited to
the preparation o f the pre-professional student; he has also
been actively concerned w ith the teaching o f non-science
majors. A s a m em ber o f a com m ittee sponsored and supported
by the Carnegie Foundation fo r advancement o f teaching, he
has made an intensive study o f the place o f b iology in general
education. T h e three reports o f this committee, issued at yearly

T

cite
out
dut
ene
offe
the

T

HE

arrival o f the

N avy

unit at Swarthmore was
view ed with considerable ap­
prehension

by

faculty

Get
to
Bad

and

students. It was necessary to
play an honorable part in the
national em ergency; it was
also necessary to keep a con ­
tinuing stream o f men flow ­
ing through the College. But
what w ou ld be the conse­
quences o f naval discipline?
W h at freedom o f instruction

that
and
fedi
only
were
advi
ties
N

by tl

ingtc

homi
of tl
had
w ou ld be lef t? W o u ld there
Lt . G lenn Bartle , U.S.N.II
senic
really be a college o f liberal
the h
arts at Swarthmore ? Even w ith wise planning o f the national!
that
program o f naval training, much w ou ld depend upon tk|
of tl
' wise administration o f each local unit.
desir
Executive Officer Christopher Purdom was the first to arrive
the j
to make prelim inary arrangements. H is Kentucky drawl, conj
Mrs.
trasting w ith his quickness o f perception, soon w on friends!
Th
By the time he had headquarters installed in the basement ol
vote
W harton H all, every one was glad to cooperate w ith him t«
one c
the fullest extent, and he enjoyed faculty and student friend!
hence
ship in all he did— picking beans in faculty gardens, telliifl
Kentucky stories, dancing w ith the ladies, or m aking qui(|
decisions about N avy requirements, courses and credits. Hi
departure fo r Chungking was universally regretted.
A b ou t ten days after Lieutenant Purdom , came the Grail
Llama him self— T h e Skipper— D r. Dean Lieutenant GW
Bartle, late o f the University o f Kansas City. It was coflj
fortin g to kn ow that he had been in a university, and «;
assuring to som e that he had a doctor’ s degree in geolo|
But no one could really be sure what a dean turned nan
officer m ight do. His quiet confidence and competence, how
ever, soon allayed fears. T h e faculty soon wanted the Skippj
and his Exec, to attend all meetings. In the difficult mattef
o f the new curriculum, the transfer o f students from otkjj
schools and other studies, the im position o f discipline, W
"w ashing out” o f academic failures, the rigid requirements if
physical fitness, the judgm ent o f academic along with otff
officer-like qualities, the freedom o f naval trainees to p*j
ticipate in college life, the naval officers soon demonstratfj

DR;

the B
ment
theD
Thj

Assist
being
the 0
supen
Comn
and is
the ne
respec

th e

arnet

letter

7

SWARTHMUREAN RECEIVES CITATION
valu­
te of
im is
Frank I
larine
<7oods I
t sevleverai!
o f ten

T

HE First Battalion o f the
394th

Infantry has been

cited for battle honors fo r
outstanding perform ance o f
duty in action against the
enemy during the Ardennes
offensive. T h e Com m ander o f
the Battalion is Lt. Col. Robert

Hulburt Douglas, ’ 3 - 1 /'D o u g ”
already wears the Silver Star
for Gallantry in A ction and
regret | the Bronze Star fo r H eroic
Achievement in Belgium and
’ 21 I Germany, and is n ow entitled

Lt . Col . Robert
D ouglas, ’ 31

to the Distinguished U nit
Badge awarded to the men o f his battalion. T h e citation

that the enemy attack was spearheaded directly at the First
battalion, w ith an unprecedented artillery concentration. "F o r
tw o days and nights the battalion was under intense . . . fire,
with little fo o d and water, and no h ope o f replenishing a
rapidly dw in dlin g supply o f ammunition. K n ow in g that re­
serves were unavailable, the men o f this battalion, w ith in­
dom itable spirit and confidence, repeatedly beat back the
superior numbers o f the enemy forces com in g at them from
the front, flanks, and rear. M any times the men rose out o f
their foxholes to meet the enemy in fierce hand-to-hand com ­
bat. Outnumbered six to one they inflicted extremely heavy
casualties upon the enemy. By their tenacious stand, the First
Battalion prevented the enemy from penetrating the right
flank o f an adjacent division, and permitted other friendly
forces to reinforce the sector. T h e unflinching courage and
devotion to duty displayed by the officers and men o f the
First Battalion, and in the face o f overw helm ing odds was in
keeping w ith the highest traditions o f the military service.

MAJOR DONALD R. FERGUSON, M.C., A.U.S.

,, U.S.NI

nation!
lpon th(
to arrivi!
awl, con,
i friends
jement ot
:h him td
nt f riendj
as, tellinfl

that they possessed horse sense, the m ilk o f human kindness,
and a sense o f hum or. A lth ou gh in the beginning there was a
feeling that these possessors o f authority should be approached
only through the President or the Dean, the faculty members
were soon calling them Chris or G lenn, and asking or g ivin g
advice on all matters w ith no loss o f respect or o f any form ali­
ties which really mattered.
Now, at the end o f the war, Lt. Bartle has been released
by the Navy. H is unit has an established reputation in W a sh ­
ington and am ong the colleges. T h e faculty assembled at the
home o f President N ason to present the Bartles with a token
of their esteem and affection. They recalled that Robert Bartle
had won an open scholarship at Swarthmore w hen he was a
senior at Friends Central, and that he is n ow chairman o f
the Men’ s Executive Committee. They also rem inded the fam ily
that Mary Lou Bartle had announced her engagem ent to one
of the naval trainees at Swarthmore, but had exercised the
desired restraint in not announcing this college romance until
the young man had left. They expressed their gratitude to
Mrs. Bartle as a gracious and charm ing hostess.
The C ollege gives to Lieutenant and Mrs. Bartle a rousing
vote o f thanks fo r skillful and understanding cooperation in
one o f the difficult periods o f its history, and regards them
henceforth as loyal Swarthmoreans.
Everett L. H unt

in g <31

M ajor
D onald
Renw ick
Ferguson, ’ 12, a veteran o f
tw o wars, died o f a cerebral
hemorrhage at Camp Shanks,
N . Y . on August 27, 1945. A
captain in the last war, he
served overseas in the M edical
Corps, and returned to the
A rm y with the rank o f M ajor
in 1942. D on and A m y Baker
Ferguson, also T 2 , made their
hom e in Philadelphia, where
he was a diagnostician and
internist, and taught clinical
m edicine at Hahnemann M ed ­
ical C ollege. H e served as secretary o f the state and county
H om eopathic M edical Societies, and was a diplom ate o f the
Am erican C ollege o f Physicians. M ajor Ferguson’s assign­
ments in this war were first in the South. H e was C h ief o f
M edical Service o f the Regional H ospital at Ft. M cClellan,
Ala., w hen he was transferred to the H ospital Ship Queen
Mary as C h ief o f M edical Service. H is last post was that o f
Asst. C h ief o f M edicine at the Station H ospital, Camp
Shanks.

edits, hi

the Gran!
mt Glen
was cot!
and t
n’ geologj
rned nal»
ence ho*
he Skippi
ult matte]
from Ü
upline, tlj
irements«
with otkt
ees to

;monstratej

T l^ - C L A IR W I L C O X , Professor o f Econom ics at Swarth-LI more College, has been granted a leave o f absence by
H Board o f Managers o f the C ollege to accept an appointment as D irector o f the Office o f International Trade Policy in
3 Department o f State.
This is one o f three offices reporting to M r. W ill Clayton,
Assistant Secretary o f State fo r E conom ic Affairs, the others
king the Office o f Financial and D evelopm ental Policy, and
the Office o f Transportation and Com munications Policy. It
supervises the w ork o f the D ivisions o f Com m ercial Policy,
Commodities, Petroleum, Labor and Health, and W a r Areas,
and is charged w ith responsibility fo r tariff matters, including
the negotiation o f reciprocal trade agreements, for policy with
resPect to international com m odity agreements and inter-

national cartels, fo r relations w ith the International Labor
Office, and fo r supplies fo r liberated areas.
D r. W ilc o x has taught at the C ollege since 1927. D u rin g
this time, he has also served on the editorial staffs o f the St.
Louis Post-Dispatch and Fortune Magazine and contributed
to the Sunday M agazine o f the N ew York Times. H e has
previously served the G overnm ent as D irector o f Research o f
the W ickersham Com m ission, m em ber o f the A dvisory C ou n ­
cil o f the N ational Recovery Adm inistration, consulting econ ­
omist to the Social Security Board, econom ic expert fo r the
Tem porary N ational Econom ic Com mittee, and most recently,
as D irector o f the Industrial Materials D ivision o f the Office
o f Price Adm inistration. D urin g the past year, he has acted as
Chairman o f the Conference on Price Research.

the

garnet

letter

FROM THE PRESIDENT
T T L O O K S like a busy year.
1 T he N avy V -1 2 program
was originally scheduled to
end in June. It was subse­
quently extended to O ctober.
T h e C ollege has just received

iff!

**»

w ord (I am w riting in m idSeptember) that it w ill con ­
tinue
until
June,
1946.
Swarthmore w ill be one o f 13
institutions to retain a V -1 2
unit. T w o years ago there
were 131 colleges and uni­
versities participating in the
program . W e shall have 238
N avy men, 28 o f w hom w ill be engineers in their senior year
and the balance, classified as V - 5 ’s, w ill take much the same
program as deck officers in preparation fo r naval aviation.
This means fo r the most part English, history, physics, mathe­
matics, and engineering drawing. T h e number 238 represents
the maximum houseable in sections C, D , E, and F o f W h a r­
ton. T h e N avy asked us to take 330 men. This was larger
than our original quota o f tw o years ago and w ou ld have
involved the continued use by the N avy o f all o f W h arton
H all. A s A and B sections were badly needed for civilian men,
the N avy agreed to a reduced quota.
That brings me to the enrollment o f civilian men. A fter
the last three years, it is a very pleasant subject. Last June w e
anticipated about 90 men, perhaps 100 in the fall. B eginning
N ovem ber 1 w e shall have 150 and possibly m ore. Since the
first reports early in August o f the end o f hostilities in t e
Pacific, there has been an increase in the number o f applica­
tions from 17- and 18-year-olds w h o understandably feel less
enthusiasm fo r enlisting n ow that the war is over. There is a
steady but small stream o f daily inquiries from veterans most
o f w hom unfortunately prove not to be interested in or quali­
fied fo r Swarthmore’s program . Nevertheless, there is an o c ­
casional m eeting o f m inds and interests with the result that
there w ill be 15 or so veterans enrolled in the term beginning
N ovem ber 1. O f these about h alf are form er students. T he
civilian men w ill occupy Palmer and Pittenger and W h arton
A and B.
There w ill be around 375 girls in residence this winter.
This is slightly m ore than average and w ill result in some
crow ding o f our dorm itory facilities. A nice freshman class
o f 100 was selected last spring, but to date only tw o o f these
freshmen and three upperclass w om en have withdrawn in the
course o f the summer. Bassett H ouse had to be reconverted
into faculty apartments— that is, if w e were to be successful
in persuading some necessary new faculty members to com e
to this com pletely sold out and rented out community. That
meant letting the w om en have Roberts H all again. T h is is
not the most desirable arrangement, but w hen w e get the new
w om en ’s dorm itory that w e need so badly, w e can avoid all
these temporary shifts and devices.
A few o f the students this fall w ill be foreign . Mrs. H elen
H all, w h o holds both Swarthmore and W ellesley degrees, is
in charge o f the group and has written an account o f their

activities in this issue o f T he G arnet L etter . Both Harvard
and M .I.T . have asked us to take students for one or two
terms b efore they accepted them fo r graduate or professional
training. It has becom e a problem o f selection, fo r many more
are eager to com e than w e can accept. A few foreign students
are highly desirable. It is a w on derfu l thing fo r our ow n stu­
dents to k n ow intimately and to learn directly from students
from other countries. There is n o need to expatiate on the
values o f understanding, breadth o f view, tolerance, inter­
national g o o d w ill, and the like w hich result from such as­
sociation.
Some foreign students com e to this country fo r the same
reasons that have led Am erican students to g o abroad for the
last seventy-five years. But there is n ow an additional and
urgent reason. In China and in Europe higher education has
been badly dislocated, if not destroyed entirely, by the war.
Schools and universities were destroyed, and in many areas
the policy o f exterminating the intellectual groups was sys­
tematically fo llow ed . A few days ago three attractive young
Greeks presented themselves at the college. T w o had studied
at the University o f Athens, the other at a polytechnic insti­
tute. A ll three had w orked fo r the resistance m ovem ent. One
had been connected w ith the British Intelligence Service. All
three had been in concentration camps at on e time or another.
O n e’ s heart was m oved in talking w ith them by the thought
o f what they had gon e through and by their hopes for the
future. A ll o f us w h o saw them had the feelin g that w e owed
it to them in a sense to help them get started again. T w o of
them had funds supplied by citizens o f G reek ancestry in this
country. O n the other hand, I have a letter on my desk at the
m om ent o f w riting asking what Swarthmore could do fo r some
N orw egian students w hose universities have been virtually de­
stroyed and w hose resources exhausted. O ught w e not to help
at least one such N orw egian as a gesture to one o f our allies,
as a venture in international g o o d w ill, and as an act of
human charity tinctured, to be sure, w ith a certain amount of
obvious self-interest ?
I have g on e on, at perhaps too great length, about the fall
enrollm ent and the nature o f the students. W ith the war
over our college p eop le turn as naturally to the prospects of
a norm al student bod y as businessmen concentrate on the
problem s o f reconversion. W ith the term begin ning on Novem­
ber 1 the new curriculum fo r the first tw o years w ill g o into
operation. A s it was described in considerable detail by Pro­
fessor Spiller in a recent issue o f T he G arnet L etter, I
shall do no m ore than to call attention to the fact that our
plans were made during wartime and that w e are now ready
to begin im provem ents in the educational offerings o f the
C ollege. Some o f you may have seen the public a n n o u n ce m e n ts
this summer o f the new Harvard and Y ale programs. Differ­
in g in details, they are similar in principle to the Swarthmore
plan w hich was adopted by the faculty and approved by the
board a year ago last June.
T h e w ork o f revam ping the entire program has not been j
com pleted. T he Curriculum Com mittee w ill continue its labors;
this winter. W ith a college chock-full, w ith a new freshman
and sophom ore program , w ith the many problem s o f return­
in g to peacetime operation, this should keep everyone well
occupied. It looks like a busy year. It promises also to be»
healthy and a fruitful one.