St Xavier College - Xaverian Yearbook (Cincinnati, OH)

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Alumni Lectures Among the many activities of the Alumni Association in- augurated during the regime of Mr. John E. Hoban, none created more favorable comment than the series of lectures given at the Sinton Hotel. The lectures Were free, and if attendance alone was a cri- terion of judgment, the Alumni and their friends owe ailarge debt to their Lecture Committee. For the first lecture, Sunday, November 16th, the commit- tee secured the Right Reverend Abbot Joseph MacDonald, 0. S. 8., Lord Abbot of St. Benedict Abbey, Fort Augustus, Scotland. The Abbot was in the States in connection With the founding of the Benedictine School for Research, at Washington, D. C., and through one of the members, Rev. Dom. Augustine Walsh, 0. S. B., '03, he was persuaded to accept the invitation to speak. In a rather informal talk, livened with sharp Highland wit, he placed before those present a concise history of Scotland, and the effects of the Reformation upon the people of the Low- lands and the Highlands. The Abbot was followed, on Sunday, December 7th, by Rev. John McClerey, S. J., an old Xavier boy, now Professor of Philosophy at the University of Detroit; Father McCloreyts fame as an orator is national, and his name drew a large crowd. His topic, ttThe College Course, or the Forlorn Hope , was one of the most brilliant, clear cut, closely reasoned pieces of ' forensic literature Cincinnatians have heard in years. On Sunday, January 18th, Dr. Martin H. Fischer, Profess- or of Physiology in the College of Medicine, of the University of Cincinnati, was the guest lecture of the Association. Dr. Fischer chose for his subject, Gregor Mendel't, and though the lecture was transferred to a larger hall in the hotel the room was uncomfortably crowded. For a subject of such timely interest, the Committee could not have selected a better speaker. Standing as he does among Page Forty-four

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.v-vlctwhvt 'l , The Alumni Ball On Friday evening, December 12th, the Alumni with wives and friends, gathered in the French Ball Room of the Sinton Hotel for the Inaugural Ball of the graduate body. When the orchestra struck up the rythm of the Grand March, John Hoban, President of the Alumni, had the honor to lead his fellow graduates. That this dance will be a fixed date on the social calendar of all Alumni of St. Xavier is now beyond doubt, The event was enjoyed by all for it not only afforded the older men the opportunity of meeting old friends, but also of becoming better acquainted with the younger men just out of college. Luke J. Leonard, of the Class of ,23, was chairman of the committee in charge of the affair, ably assisted by HARRY GILLIGAN PETER MCCARTHY FRANK VERKAMP FRANK AMAN Page Forty-three

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the leading scientists of the world in his field, Dr. Fischeris tribute to Mendel, and his explanation of the Mendelian law carried the Himprimatur of authority. Sweeping aside, with facile sarcasm, the loose speaking and looser thinking of pseudo-science the Doctor tabulated the claims of heredity and ttacquired characteristics in their true ratio. Following Dr. Fischer, on February lst, Rev. William Rob- inson, S. J., former President of Saint Louis University, ad- dressed the Alumni and their friends on uEducation. Approaching his subject from a different angle than that of Father McClorey, Father Robinson pleaded for tteducation in contra distinction to instruction . Alleging that there was a false spirit of materialism and evaluation in present educational demands, he advocated a true education which developed all men, body, mind, and heart. For the lecture on Sunday, March 8th, the committee in- vited Mr. Louis E. Wetmore, of New York. Mr. Wetmore was formerly connected with the literary and editorial departments of the New York Times . ' The development of his thesis concerning Catholicity in Europe Since 1914 was extremely novel and interesting. It was his conclusion, borne out by personal observations, that the intellectual centers of Europe which up to 1914 were either actively anti-Catholic, or indifferent, are now swinging to Catholic philosophy and Catholic culture. The lectures were brought to a close on Sunday, April 26th by Dr. James J. Walsh. With Cardinal Gasquet, Ralph Adams Cram, and a few others, Doctor Walsh has done much to place a true value upon those glorious Middle Ages. For this lecture, however, the Doctor left his beloved Thirteenth Century to pay tribute to Pasteur. According him the honor of having saved more lives than any man in the long story of mankind, Dr. Walsh traced the activities of Pasteur from the little village of his birth, through his life, to his saintly death in ripe old age. WM. L. REENAN, t03. Page Fnrtyefive