Indiana University - Arbutus Yearbook (Bloomington, IN)

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President W. L. Bryan have been enhanced to her sons and daughters through the theories and facts which they have learned from the philosophies of life which they have studied within her walls. It matters not that we cannot measure these things. The only truth is that they have existed and that they do exist. The scoffers and sneerers cannot deny this fact. Now that we have defined this spirit, let us proceed to the proof of its existence. The proofs which have been offered during its defi- nition were merely incidental, convincing as they might be to a person open to conviction. But within recent years, indisputable proof has been added. It is also well to point out to the undergraduate of today and the alumnus of tomorrow that many of the tangible things which he sees about him were not procured through absolute necessity. In 1917, when the nation took up arms against a foreign power in the greatest conflict of which she has ever been a participant, Tndiana University im- mediately became a contributing factor to the mili- tary forces of the United States. Students rushed to volunteer for the defense of their nation ' s standard. They knew not if they should be able to pursue knowledge further; they could not foresee whether they should take the places in life for which they had prepared or whether they should not. They only knew that there was necessity for them in the ranks of the armed forces, and, despite the horrible contingencies of modern war- fare, they did not hesitate in filling the places which were open, regardless of the danger to which they might be exposed. It is again a matter of history that they fulfilled their destiny on the field of battle well. No one who has read this enviable record can deny that the sons of Indiana who took part in the conflict did their respective parts in a creditable manner. A nut her phase of Indiana ' s Memorial W. A. Alexander Director of the campaigns [PAGE 2 1]

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David Starr Jordan Pioneer in Indiana ' s development of its members was Joseph A. Wright. It is not recorded with what honors he left the school, whether they were high or low; the average Indiana student of today knows not whether he was a shining student, a mediocre one, or a poor one. The people of the State of Indiana do know, however, that he served the state and the nation as an executive and as a statesman. We find that from the very start, humble and inaus- picious as it might have been, men and women were unconsciously inspired by this mighty spirit to obey its unspoken commands. To trace the growth of the University through the first hundred years belongs to another agency. It is our part to show the continuity and permanence of the products which were illustrated at the very start. The years passed on and, when the nation was plunged into civil strife that threatened its very existence, the students of Indiana University responded to the utmost of their ability. This, too, is a matter of history — history of which we, as her sons and daughters, may well be proud. But not all of her feats and achieve- ments occurred on the field of battle or in diplomatic and political fields. We find that in everyday life, not only in this state nor even in this nation, thousands of men and women have been per- forming deeds worthy of remembrance which have never been recorded. There is no definite record of how many lives are due to the teach- ing of Indiana, of how much misery and poverty have been eradicated through her agency, nor of how many industrial and economic advances have been influenced by the foundations which she has laid. We do not know definitely to what an ex- Memorial Hall, part of the project tent the beauties of the earth Alumni of ' 73 returned for commencement si-iif l v .. — f jilt m lift 1 H IB ■1 [ I A G E 2 0]

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I ROIL OF HONOR they laid down , v THEIR LIVES FOR US WROUGHT TO LAY DOWN H l OUX UVES FOR THE BSFTIIS! i: T tiunniHitaw rari«WBir»TW!i,ivii twicmiPMiiJMWVW, inAiiiw, ' ii run anas nmagtnnnvu iMviwian RmmLMMBMA ' ir I »i :: j uauuAivn JilULC»ISKCl- II I ' .l.llit:i-ril hUAIt ' lf Iir3V-HI -| ' aUJMMKUl ' cu-siiaLMUU- uamiusinnivu L li.l .■-. ' -■ l ' . f When these men returned, they went about their tasks in the University and the different phases of life outside its walls with a matter-of-fact dis- regard for that course which they had completed. For some time they contemplated the list of those who had not returned, and felt it fitting that some reminder of the noteworthy manner in which they had lost their lives be established. Thousands of suggestions poured in. At the very outset the ordi- nary means of memorial were rejected. It was felt that the most permanent and satisfactory monu- ments to the memory of these men should be means by which the real In- Honored Dead Recollections of the first drive diana should progress and work toward the goal which she has al- ways in mind. The final decision was reached. A girls ' dor- mitory, a Union building and a stadium were to be erected as tangible proof of the gratitude of In- diana University for the actions of her sons who had expended their whole treasure of mind and body in fulfilling the ideals which the true spirit of In- diana had indelibly fixed within them. And now came the proof of this great spirit. This proof cannot be measured by dollars and cents. It must be measured by the mental attitude with which the task was undertaken. No one, when the project was analyzed, de- nied that its purpose was not the right one. No one thought that tools for the real work of the school were in- apropos for a memorial to an expres- sion of the genuine spirit of the school. Teams of workers went forth, it is true; we deny that they were for the purpose of soliciting. They ex- plained to the younger members, it is true, what the memorial was and how it was to be financed, but the ma- jority of the school needed no ex- planation. It was a spontaneous move- New Library extension ment, and it met with spontaneous .■ j • « s ' i ■,.-, ■ -i-: -. ' ■:. ' ■■ ' - ' ■ j - • - 1 . a --■■-■ , ' ■■ ' ■■- - ' .- [PAGE 22]