Fordham University - Maroon Yearbook (New York, NY)

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JOHN JAMES BASSO Special Pliilips-Andovcr Academy Gymnasium Director (3. 4). “Ht'» tough, ma’am: tough is J. H.‘ IHckt ns—Dotnbey and Son. am Ihi tiachtr of at hit Its.” Whitman—Leaves of Grass. IN a hot gymnasium on the lower East side crowded galleries have been watching lithe youths go through such swift, precise, and bewildering feats of agility and strength that they could now look unastonished upon a man walking upon the ceiling. There is a sudden voice commanding silence, then launching upon an unexpected eulogy of the man who had taken untrained boys and in a year transformed them into finished athletes. And a mighty volume of cheers. That is an attempt to summarize the achievements of John Basso, but it is hopelessly inadequate. For his work in the settlements is more than mere physical training. It is the work of an ardent and fearless missionary, who pounds ethics, and a respect for the Church into many a hard thug and many a harder bigot, a natural leader who holds his position by a fiery enthusiasm and a ready sympathy for the affairs of others. He is interested in men, not to get something out of them, but to give them something. His work outside has given him little opportunity to do things at Fordham. But this, strangely, is not a loss. We have no wrestling team on which the former lightweight champion of New England could compete, no boxing, fencing, basketball or gym teams upon which he could represent the college. And outside he does such remarkable work spreading good Christian ethics that we can hardly regret his absence. 7

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 2: HI FRANCIS HOWARD BARRETT Special Xavier Hitch School Basketball (I); Tennis (4); University Orchestra (2, 3, 4); Class Football (3): Class Baseball (3. 4); Class Hockey (3, 4): I. C. Sodality. .I ipjueakinp engine he applied Unto his neck, on northeast tide. —Butler- Unit Unas. THERE is a prejudice against musicians. But if Chuck Barrett chooses to draw out of so much wood and catgut and horsehair, harmonies that send upon the soul the winds of Olympus, or if it pleases him to follow the fashion of the day. and dispense jazz—if he wishes to do all these things, as he most excellently can. who is to say him nay Not we who listen to him, most certainly. For here’s no Bohemian in dirty linen and a Windsor tie. Here’s no absinthe-bibbing Greenwich Villager. Here’s no lank, long-haired, sallow, saturnine, intense virtuoso for you. Out upon all such dull dogs who must prop up their art with eccentricity! Give us a jolly fellow, full of the joy of life, a man of the kidney of Barrett, whose exuberant temperament has made him the most accomplished practical joker in all Fordham. has put into his eye that twinkle that not all the skill of an expert retoucher could blot out of his photograph. We have some dim memories that in Freshman he made quite a promising showing on the baseball and basketball squads. But he never followed up this success, preferring to engage himself in running dances, jazz bands and other ventures, in all of which he showed a fine managerial hand that augurs well for his success as a business man. We hear, however, that he intends to study law. Cut it out. Chuck! Cut it out! vi ’A A 1 x I A

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DENIS QUINN BI.AKE A. B. I'oidli.im Prep. Class Medal (2b); Essay. Meda (2. 3) : I he Kam. Correspondence Editor (3); I he Monthly. Asso ciate Editor (3. 4); Debating So r.iety (I. 2. 3, 4); Treasurer (3) President (4); Team (4); Prize De bate (2. 3. 4) ‘Varsity Play (3) I. C. Sodality. ' «- u'its hi Logic great critic I’rofoiiNill7 skilled in aiialutic. But hr—Huilitimx. LIKE his illustrious namesake. St. Dionysius of Athens (or as the French called him. Denis), who disputed on philosophy before the F.mperor Augustus, our Denis is a philosopher with few equals. 1 o hear him in circle hacking the argument of the objector into little bits, is an intellectual treat. This logical power stands him in good stead in debating, where he has achieved remarkable success, winning a place in the prize debate for three successive years, and a position on the team. His work as a writer has also been notable. I lis essays have won prizes. His critical judgments have been listened to with respect. His opposition to sentimentality has made him a dreaded Exchange Editor. With just wrath he tears into the slushy stories and maudlin love poems of his contemporaries, transfixing the quivering authors with his facile pen. It is a strange quality in one who has such a devotion to Terpsichore. But if you don’t offend this aversion of his. or comment unfavorably upon the Irish question (if you do you will have an opponent who is terrible in his knowledge of the facts of that question) and if you have a liking for puns (in the making of which he is so nearly a rival of Thomas Hood that among his intimates they have become known as Blakeisms)—or even if you differ with him on these matters—you will find in him a friend who is to be cherished.