Princeton University - Bric A Brac Yearbook (Princeton, NJ)

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1867, at New Haven, Yale was beaten by the. score of 58-52! Each side wore out six pitchers. On November 8, 1869, McCosh took his place behind the side-fence of a New Brunswick playing field. He was about to witness the first intercollegiate football game. The field was 360 by 225 feet and each side had twenty-five players. Rutgers carried the day 6 to 4, but not until Big Mike of Rutgers and Large of Princeton had collided beside the fence and knocked the spectators off their feet. Interest in the sport continued and in 1876 Columbia and Penn were defeated. When it came time to play Yale and Harvard, Princeton found that the rules had been changed. The team played under the new rules and lost. Vic- tories the next year made up the losses in ' 76, however. It was one of the mysteries of Prince- ton ' s history as to why Yale has been se- lected as the chief athletic antagonist and not Harvard. Of the seven founders, six had gone to Yale, one to Harvard. In the early days Harvard attracted many Old Lights and helped keep alive the intra- church rivalry. Finally, in 1 886 came what % might have been considered the final blow. McCosh was attending the two hundred and fiftieth anniversary of Harvard ' s found- ing. He heard Harvard eulogized by nu- merous speakers and grew wrathful as he saw forty-two Honorary degrees given out without a mention of a Princeton man. When the ode which Oliver Wendell Holmes wrote for the occasion was read, McCosh heard the lines: O ' er Princeton ' s sands the far reflections steal, Where mighty Edwards stamped his iron heel. He considered this a slight against Prince- ton and an attack on Calvinism, and caught the next train to Princeton in a huff. There was an exchange of notes and the affair was a long time in dying down. But Yale still remained the chief rival on the athletic field. McCosh disliked the hazing which went on at Princeton and made several attempts to put an end to it. In this he eventually succeeded. But he never let ideo- logical compulsions stand in the way of practicality. Once he called the victim of a recent hazing before him. He demanded to know who had committed the acts. The freshman refused to talk. Then get out of me college! roared McCosh. Remembering a moment, he said, But wait a bit. Is it true that your father gave a chapel to Dartmouth? Yes, sir, it is, replied the student. Then come back into me college! was McCosh ' s hasty answer. Actions like these served only to en- dear him to the students. When, in 1874, William Thomas asked if he couldn ' t re- main in Princeton u nder his beloved mas- ter as a graduate student, the foundations for a graduate school were laid. After Thomas was allowed to stay, others sought 22

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Eliot of Harvard and Dr. McCosh under the auspices of New York ' s Nineteenth Century Club. McCosh proved his point, for Eliot was ahead of his time and only the later-day improvements in preparatory schools made his plan eventually feasible. Thus, Princeton ' s curriculum remained fairly tight compared to present standards, but it was a considerable improvement over MacLean ' s inflexible system. McCosh undertook a tremendous pro- gram of expansion in the seventies and eighties. His college was attracting more students every year, and furthermore, he hoped to create an intellectual atmosphere such as those Avhich had so impressed him at Oxford and Heidelberg. He was for- tunate in having the support of several wealthy alumni and friends. With their aid, the program was started. Thus it was that Dickinson Hall was built, standing northwest of the present building of that name. Then followed the Chancellor Green Library. It stands today as an architectural hodgepodge, but it was then considered the most beautiful college library in the country. A gymnasium which resembled a chateau sprang up where Holder Hall now stands. There were sev- eral new dormitories built: Witherspoon Hall, Reunion Hall, and Edwards. A new chapel was completed, and, near it, Mur- ray Hall was erected as a center of religious activities. In 1882 Dr. William C. Prime offered the college a priceless collection of china and procelain, if a suitable build- ing is promised. Again McCosh was equal to the occasion and the School of Art was built. Concurrently, a Hall of Science and Engineering was developed under a grant from John C. Green. The ultimate was reached when McCosh received enough money to start a preparatory school which would train future Princetonians. This is now Lawrenceville School. The club movement was growing sim- ilarly. McCosh found that there were still secret societies on campus, but in 1875 he obtained enough evidence to suspend many members, and with that action finally rid the college of the societies which the fac- ulty had always disliked. However, the fac- ulty had no such objections to the club system. In 1879, Ivy Club led the way by building a home on Prospect Street after it had incorporated itself. The so-called cannon war presented McCosh with an opportunity to exercise his diplomacy and understanding person- ality. By the time he came to Princeton, the large British cannon was already buried in the center of the green behind Nassau Hall. It had been placed there by a group of students in 1838, after they brought it back from New Brunswick, whence it had been taken originally to bolster that to vn ' s defenses in 1812. The little cannon, mean- while, lay buried halfway between Whig and Clio. However, one morning in 1875 the campus was alarmed to find that it had disappeared! Several Rutgers men had de- scended on Princeton and removed the cannon in the middle of the night. Their excuse was a long-standing rumor that the cannon had originally come from New Brunswick. McCosh restrained the stu- dents ' first impulse to go to Rutgers im- mediately. He secured the appointment of an impartial commission which awarded the cannon to Princeton. McCosh rubbed his hands in great pleasure, saying, I told you so, as the students sunk the little cannon in concrete, where it rests today. Thus ended the cannon war. McCosh ' s figure was prominent on the sidelines at any athletic event. He backed athletics to the fullest extent and the records of the period reflect this sup- port. The baseball team continued to com- pile a large percentage of victories. In 21

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the same privilege. McCosh fostered the idea, and engineered grants of money to aid in founding of a school for graduate study. Fellowships were granted to out- standing students; soon McCosh ' s highest hopes were fulfilled. As the gi ' aduate body continued to expand each year, Princeton was on the way to becoming truly a uni- versity. In 1887 James McCosh tendered his resignation to the trustees. He had served Princeton for 19 years and was several years above three score and ten. The trustees expressed profound regret in ac- cepting his decision. As one considers the multiple achieve- ments of Dr. McCosh, it is strange that the one great deed which he effected did not actually become a reality in his administra- tion. He had made Princeton a university. Despite his continued urgings, backed by the alumni, the trustees refused to take the necessary measures to make the change. Yet McCosh could take reasonable con- solation in the fact that his accomplish- ments had made it a university in actuality. The graduate school, the schools of Science and Art, the higher degrees, the enlarged library, the new buildings, the improved faculty, and the more intellectual student body all pointed to the consolidation of the college. McCosh had pointed the way which Princeton must take and had set her upon the path. He had responded to the vitality which was shaping the nation and had shaped Princeton accordingly. To him, more than anyone else, belongs credit for making a great university out of a strug- gling college. The trustees insisted that McCosh ' s successor be a Presbyterian minister, ac- cording to the unbroken tradition of Princeton history. Thus, Francis L. Pat- ton was elected over the protests of the alumni. Patton was a professor in both the college and the Theological School, but vas neither a Princeton graduate nor even an American citizen. It was upon these lat- ter two points that the opposition centered its attack. Patton, however, soon won over his opponents. He frankly discussed the ob- jections and answered each in detail. When he pointed out the pride with which Princeton men looked upon Witherspoon and McCosh, and added that they were not citizens either, the alumni came to his sup- port. By showing great interest in athletics and extra-curricular affairs, Patton en- deared himself to the undergraduates. Patton ' s greatest accomplishments lay in the expansion of the physical plant, and a conglomeration of architectural monu- ments arose on the campus. Dod Hall was built first, followed by Brown Hall. Alex- ander Hall went up as a graduation and assembly building. To further the note of incongruity, the Grecian halls of Whig and Clio were constructed. Several members of the faculty and alumni noted with considerable anxiety the lack of uniformity among the campus buildings. Dean Andrew West suggested that the Gothic motif be adopted. This plan was sanctioned and as a result Blair and Little Halls were constructed along Gothic lines. These were followed by the library addition, which went up in the place of the Philosophical Building. Old grads called it the crime of ' 96, but the new library was generally recognized as a valu- able addition to the college. The present- day infirmary was constructed and named for McCosh ' s wife, Isabella. To complete the growing need for expansion, a large modern gymnasium was built, and stood until the fire in 1944 destroyed it. The faculty continued to shine in the reflected glory of McCosh ' s administration. Patton did little to add to its membership 23