FOURTEENTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK— PART VI. 513 



ticularly because of our splendid student body; and whenever I stand 

 before an audience of farmers, as I did a few days ago in Cedar Rapids, 

 I feel that I am talking to some parents of students at Ames, and a 

 large number of others who are closely in touch with parents of students 

 at Ames; and therefore that I am talking to an ^audience exceedingly 

 interested in that student body. Now, I can say without any flattery 

 whatever (and if it were not true I would not mention it) that I do not 

 believe there ever was a better student body in any institution. A 

 more earnest, aggressive, self-respecting and ambitious lot of young 

 men and women could not be gotten together, so far as I am aware, and 

 I have seen a good many student bodies. They seem to feel that there 

 are things worth while learning, and that their time is short and it 

 costs money to get an education, and that the state is investing more 

 money than they are. We hear a good deal about the pranks of students 

 in college. You would be sorry for a young man who didn't have some 

 life and red blood. But let me tell you something about those pranks 

 at this institution. Last year the freshman class got together and 

 passed a resolution which said, in effect, that "we think the time has 

 come when freshmen and sophomores in institutions of higher learning 

 should cut out all this nonsense of antagonizing each other and annoy- 

 ing each other at every opportunity; we think it should be stopped 

 once and for all; and in the place of it there should be substituted a 

 genuine feeling of friendliness and helpfulness." That was an epoch- 

 making thing in connection with colleges and universities, for I don't 

 believe in all the history of the country, such a resolution has been 

 passed before. They instructed their president to appoint a committee 

 of thirty young men to carry out their resolution, and he appointed 

 thirty of the most popular fellows in the class; and this year, before 

 college opened, those boys — then sophomores — came to Ames a few 

 days early, put on badges, "Sophomore Reception Committee for Fresh- 

 men"! Just think what that means, you men who have been to college 

 and crawled under the bed thinking that somebody was going to get 

 you out and play pranks with you! They met every train that came 

 to the city, day and night, and when a young man got off the train 

 there was an outstretched hand: "Glad to see you; we are here to 

 help you!" They took them out and showed them where to register, 

 and got them places to stay, and those who came at midnight were 

 taken to the rooms of the Commercial Club, where the boys had twenty- 

 five or thirty cots. 



Do you approve of that kind of an attitude at your state college? 

 Isn't it remarkable? Well, you would think it remarkable if you 

 could see the communications that come to me from presidents of some 

 of the greatest universities and colleges in this country, stating that 

 they wish their student bodies would take a position of that kind, and 

 asking for information for the benefit of their student bodies. I am 

 very proud to be connected with an institution of that kind, and I 

 can't explain in any other way that our students have such a fine spirit 

 than by the fact that they come from fine homes and farms, and have 

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