Remedying 'Social Evil' and 'Guilty' Liberal Journalists

Every week, The Crimson publishes a selection of articles that were printed in our pages in years past.

February 18, 1913: Remedies for Social Evils

That the social evil in American cities is the fault of men and not of women was the conclusion reached by Dean Walter Taylor Sumner of the Cathedral of St. Peter and St. Paul, Chicago, in his lecture on "Efficient Citizenship" at the Union last evening.

He first proved the futility of remedying the social evil by segregation, which, he says does not stop the white slave traffic. A social evil law to better the situation is hopeless, for it is unconstitutional. He summed up the fallacies of our present ignorant system as follows: "We turn the entire problem over to police, giving them three distinct powers which they abuse. They are allowed to make pseudo-laws to regulate vice; they are then expected to enforce these laws and punish offenders."

February 18, 1942: Army Will Commission Pre-Med Students Now

Moving to forestall a threatened shortage of doctors, the Army last week extended draft deferment and a chance for commissions to men in their first and second year of medical school and pre-med students who have been accepted by a reputable graduate school.

The new ruling is a broadening of the procedure which has been followed until now, under which commissions were offered to third and fourth year medical students only. In the past these men have been commissioned in the Medical Administration Corps of the Army and then sent back to finish their training.

February 20, 1965: Harvard Hits Top of Gift List in '64

Harvard has regained its position as the nation's number one money-attracting university.

Collecting almost $39 million from a variety of private sources including alumni, foundations, and bequests, Harvard topped Stanford, last year's winner in the dollar sweepstakes, by nearly $3 million. Cornell amassed some $27.7 million for third and Yale $22.5 million for fourth. The figures for fiscal year 1963-64, compiled by John Price Jones Company, Inc., New York firm of financial consultants, now that all eight Ivy League colleges rank among the nation's top twenty universities in private gifts. Dartmouth, the poorest, received $5.3 million in gifts. And Pennsylvania, the second poorest, received $9.6 million.

February 19, 1969: The Washington Monthly

If this country is falling apart, no one feels more guilty about it than the liberal journalist. He feels guilty for the entire year 1968—the assassinations, the riots, the rise of Wallace, the blood in Chicago. Saying that liberals feel guilty about things is somewhat a cliché (that is, after all, how we normally discount what they say). But look at what it means to feel guilty.

First, guilt implies a sense of responsibility for events. Few normal people feel guilty about what happened in Chicago. They may feel outraged or happy about it, but to feel guilt is the prerogative of those who feel responsible. The liberal journalists who feel this way are saying that somehow they could have prevented what happened in Chicago or that they could have refrained from causing what happened. But how?

February 23, 1974: Dan Rather Criticizes Nixon at Winthrop House Discussion

When it comes to "foul and odorous things," the Nixon administration is in a class by itself, Dan Rather, White House correspondent for CBS evening news, told an informal gathering of approximately 100 in Winthrop House yesterday afternoon.

"There have been a lot of foul and odorous things in previous administrations, but just look at Nixon's record," he told the group. Citing former Vice President Spiro T. Agnew's felony conviction and the indictment of 14 White House associates, Rather added, "the Harding administration is not even comparable."

Rather declined to say whether he thought Nixon should be impeached, but did say that if he were "betting the rent money," he would wager that the president stays.

—Compiled by Katya Johns and Rebecca D. Robbins