Swarthmore College - Halcyon Yearbook (Swarthmore, PA)

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recommendation of always going along on an even keel and consider- ing matters from a jjroad, basic angle, rather than fly off half-cocked, because of immediate situations without considering the larger situa- tions. He always advised me to try to turn a bad situation into a good situation. I know a man in the Middle West whose tone of voice, geniality and genuineness draw men to him. In many respects he is much like Dr. Swain. He lavishes time, interest and inspiration upon the thou- sands of students with whdm he comes in contact. His judgment of men seldom if e ' er goes wrong, and this judgment was never sounder than when he said of his friend and former colleague, A great char- acteristic of Dr. Swain is his ability to find the good things in the people with whom he comes in contact. He believes that every one has a good side and tliat, if this is developed, it will crowd out the evil. Time after time, I ha e heard persons criticized in the presence of Dr. Swain, and almost invariably he would mention some good quality in that person. In all my life, I never saw a man more generous toward his fellow men. This could not mean that he indorses evil. On the contrary, I know of no man who hates sin more than he. He hates sin but loves the sinner ; because he sees in the sinner a person who can eventuall} ' see and do the good thing ' s in life. The strong man is not too sensitive. He does not assume that whene ' er he puts his best foot foremost somebody is going to tread on it. He is not looking for trouble. He is too busy to imagine that some- body lower down or higher up has it in for him. He plugs away at his work and lets the work answer for itself. The strong man deals little in post-mortems over past misdeeds. If he goes back again to the beginnings, it is that he may take a fresh hold, not that he ma} dig sometliing up that were better dead and buried. He wastes little time in repairing broken resolutions, and the spiritual ' oltage that might be fretted away in remorse he uses to drive himself forward. The strong man does things. He acts while others doubt. On absolute frankness he insists, and he cannot get along with an}- who ecjuivocate. He has courage and inspires courage, and he puts all bis strength into helping those whom he finds around him. Such a strong man is Joseph Swain. William Albert Alexander.

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could not do. He is a great frien l. He knows how to earn friend- ship. Sometimes he puts up witli all sorts of incon eniences in the process of adjusting himself to some one else ' s personality. Some- times he accepts grave annoyances and cruel disillusionment as a por- tion, and then vea es them into the whole pattern with skill and toler- ance. He has the unselfishness and sacrifice required for the give and take of friendship. Being always prepared to pay the price of adjust- ing his wishes and plans to those of some one else, he establishes a well grounded, deeply founded friendship. His deep concern for the welfare of his students and friends, the encouragement, adA ice and inspiration which he gave to others is his greatest work. A Swarthmore man writing from the Middle ' est attests this fact in the following words, No longer than I have been out here, I have met scores of people who were directly influenced by Dr. Swain and who regard him almost as a father. A prominent administrator in educational work pays him this tribute : I have acted upon his judg-ment in critical cases as I ha ' e not upon the judgment of any other man. His big, hearty sympathy and his common-sense grasp of situations have united to make him the sort of a friend that one prizes most highly. Another man, a life-long friend, prominent in the educational life of the nation, says, He lo -es folks. His friend- ship never wavers. He is always the same, never blows hot or cold. He never goes ofif at a tangent, but is always sane, considerate, kind, agreeable, honest. He never indulges in tricks or sharp practices. He is never envious or jealous. He sees the good points in all persons, his friends and others (so far as I know, he has had few if any enemies). One who is associated intimately in business with President Swain knows him to be a great teacher, who has penetrated to the heart of human nature. With a business associate, his attitude is that of a friend. He impresses one as exceedingly human, and in this way merits one ' s confidence. In another way he Ijecomes a learned judge or recognized expert. He inspires one to do things because one be- lieves that he has the wisdom to direct. It is always easy to do the thing that Dr. Swain wants one to do. A Swarthmore man success- ful in scientific research and in business expresses what many have found to be true when he says, The big influence, and a very impor- tant one, too, that Dr. Swain had on my career was his practice and

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President- Elect Frank Aydelotte