"The Old Dog" Bites

To the Editor of the CRIMSON:

As an alumnus of Harvard the feature that most interested me about the endorsement of the candidacy of Alfred E. Smith for president of the United States by forty of our distinguished professors was that forty Harvard professors could be found able to agree on anything. Looking over the names one finds them impressive--more impressive than the, arguments as is so often the case with those who endorse popular brands of cigarettes and tooth paste.

To say that Smith is better prepared than Hoover for the job seems to me to ignore their respective records. To say that Smith expresses a greater desire for action than Hoover on certain national issues seems to me to confuse a loud voice with a quieter attitude. Their familiarity with undergraduate "bull" should help them to avoid this mistake. With the statement that Smith, if elected, will arouse the citizens of the United States, I agree.

To my mind there is a certain similarity between the qualities to be desired today in a president of the United States and a university president. I like to think that a man could step from one job to the other as Roosevelt might have done, as Wilson did, and is Coolidge might do, conceivably. Hoover could do this but I am wondering about Smith. He might--stranger things have happened--become president of Harvard. If he should I can recognize some of those forty professors who would stay on their jobs but I recognize others who I think, would "fold their cents, like the Arabs, and silently steal away." Respectfully yours,   Frederick Orin Bartlett. '00