36 
Proceedings of the Inauguration 
science, to aid in the clearing of new paths through the wilderness 
of the unknown, fallen short of a fair measure of success, the 
failure would have brought no distress to others. Had I been 
permitted to accomplish anything worthy of record it would have 
been a record of a beginning and not a continuation. Had I 
failed, it would have been my own failure and would have brought 
to ruin no work of abler men. It is a new experience to feel a 
burden of responsibility extending back to the past as well as 
forward to the future. You and my predecessors, as co-trustees 
with you, have directed the affairs of these colleges with such in- 
tegrity, devotion and love that any mishap which might occur 
under later leadership would bring grief to thousands of loyal 
hearts and constitute a public calamity. This conviction inten- 
sified the earnestness with which I enter upon my joint labors 
with you. 
Not all Boards admit their administrative officer to their 
councils. Your Board has followed this order since its establish- 
ment. Furthermore, it has given him earnest and loyal support. 
The president of a college may plan ever so wisely ; he may spend 
himself in its service with an energy and zeal that knows no rest, 
but unless the Trustees of the college uphold his hands his labor 
must surely fail. Large encouragement may be drawn from the 
days that have passed. You have loyally supported the men into 
whose labors I have entered. 
You have had the doubly hard task of directing the affairs of 
this institution and at the same time of providing the larger share 
of its resources. Denison possesses no greater asset than the rec- 
ord of the past. Its Board has been served by men who literally 
gave their lives that the college might live. It is a noble heri- 
tage. “Should we live a thousand years, we never could forget 
it.” 
To the Representatives of the Universities and Colleges: 
Your presence here makes public declaration of the fact that no 
college is sufficient unto itself. Each is indebted to some other for 
its origin. Harvard had its beginning on the other side of the 
Atlantic. Dartmouth was born on English soil. Yale repro- 
duced itself in Western Reserve and Brown in Denison, which 
in turn sowed the seed which later sprang to life in Chicago, on 
the Pacific Coast and in China. We are engaged in a common 
task. We belong to one family, and as one prospers so do all. 
