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Page 25 text:
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THE UNIVERSITY YEAR HATS in a name? The University of Chicago is more than a name to intellectual centers of the world, to the worlth scientists and scholars. It is mare than a name to natives of Egypt? Nile: and the nomads of Persiats plateau where the past, unearthed, reveals its wisdom and its errors to the present. It is more than a, name even to the natives of the American provinces whose sweet nothings range from the good Elizabeth Dilling's dictum: That dammt filthy, dirty, communist place ought to be clesed up I to Uncle Charlie Walgrecnk senor- ous judgment; 'tThe University of Chicago is the great- est university in the United States! Behind the name. University of Chicago, lie fnrty-four years of honest pursuit of truth. The pursuit has 0c- casionally been confused; it has sometimes been in er- ror; there has been only recently some interest in learn- ing how to communicate the truth intelligibly. A debilitating skepticism since tllciwar has raised the question whether any truth can be found, andI if found, can be worth while. This skepticism found expression in the reluctance of researchers in certain quarters of the University to go beyond the mere gathering of data, because a fact could be noted and dated and be forever true as of that date. This procedure had many advani tages: it was honest, as far as it went; it was easy; it was the truth-efor an instant of time anyhow. But it re- mained for President Robert M. Hutchins to dennm- strate that the procedure was intellectuallyr reprehensi- ble. It exercised the moral virtue of industry but considered the intellectual virtues of analysis and syn- thesis mere vanity. It left facts, information, data, unrelated to ideas, principles, concepts, Relations be- tween ideas were never stated, even with the care they always should be stated, Propositions were intelligible and true only when dated. The whole skeptical tendency was cripplin to universities. They were afraid of the truth, afrai there was no truth, afraid that if there were, it must be 30 partial as not to be worth stating. This situation is almost 8.5, had as though universities were afraid to communicate what they know to be true. Emergence from. skepticism has just begun and an intellectual historyr of this year, 1935-36 at the University will be a, history of a segment of that emergence. 4' Senate Investigatibn Hearing No. 3, at Hotel LaSalle, May 1935. H Address to Union League Club, May, 1935. WOODCARW'NG III' BILL KING 21
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Page 26 text:
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Alfred Emerson Whafs In a Year? yearly history nf the University. Since it has been discontinued, there has been no history of the University except in the isolated files of timing; othces. The Cap and Gown is pleased this year to write e com- prehensive hietimq.r of the year in terms of the aims of the University in education and research UNTIL 1932 the University record published a This year began for the University in an atmos- phere of suspicion of everything foreign to it. Students and faculty felt certain the attacks from outside would hardly cease so soon, Many were very badly con- seating a hope for a little more excitement; the facutty enjoyed absolute unity against the chauvinism whlch would fm-hid them to operate: students were prepared to have a wonderful time tellin what they think of those who want to tell them w at is safe for them tn learn. Nopromiaea........ N October LL, more than 500 members of the fee- 0 ulty met for their homecoming dinner in the Hutchinson Commons. President Hutchins, pre- siding, said ominously: ttLest year at this time I promised yeti a year of peace and relaxation. Every- thing proceeded placidljr enough until the middle of Aprileand then look what happened. So thlS year I am making no promises. . . h Many new faculty members were introduced and three newly appointee administrative officerPW'iIEiam H. Taliaferm, Dean of the Division of Biological Science; Arthur C. Bachmeyer, Director of University Clinics,- and Richard P. McKeDn, Dean of the Division of Humanitiesigave addresses on subjects upon which each was peculiarly qualified to speak. Emerson and Termites N the audience was Dr. Alfred E. Emerr son who had just returned from the Panama. Canal Zone with his famiiy where he had spent the summer investigating the amazing Social organieation and coupera- tive existence of some I50 species of ter- mite insecta. It is submitted as a typical piece of research in the natural sciences. A colony of termites has a king and queen with two or three million progeny consisting of workers and soldiers. The workers build the nests and procure food, while the soldiers defend the colony against their traditional enemies, the ants. These facts have long been known, but Dr. Emerson had much to add to this information. We observed four general kinds of soldiers umung the many species af ter- mites, Dr. Emerson said. The difference lies in the function of the large heads of the soldiers, One maims or kills the enemy by biting with a. large pair of jaws. Another is equipped with Snappers that- can kill an ant at une stroke. The most deadly tighter1 however, exudes a sticky substance which disables and often kills theI attackers. A fourth kind, which has not been fullg,r investigated1 gives' out a kind of poison gas that is deadly for other insects. Z0010 ists have not yet been able to explain the origin of the ing and. queen, but they now know why only one of each exists in a. single colony. ttWhen a. king is removed from a colony, 8. tsubstitutet king develops from one of the tnymphst which are the younger progeny not yet grown into soldiers or work- ers, said Dr. Emerson, hut 01113.r one kingIdeveiops because he then proceeds to secrete a. substance that inhibits the growth of anyr other patential kings. The same phenomena is. observed in the queens. Some exr ceptions to this rule exist, but the;- would taike many paragraphs to explain. . . hUnlike man, termites never attack each other under natural conditions or interfere in any way with the functions of other members of the species. They conduct a. perfectly cooperative society performing the functions of faod-getting, nest-building, breeding, and defense without intramural conHict, but often with a leek of ehieieney which indicates to us that their cooperative action is not intelligent, but instinctive, said Dr, Emerson. ' Like man, however, the termites dumesticate animals ethat is to say, other insects such as beetles and flies, called termitophiles. When we transplanted these termitophiles to a colony of another Species, they were immediately killed. al- thbugh they resembled very closely the domesticated insects of the foreign species, said Dr. Emerson. In a series of experiments conducted to observe the fighting capacities of the termite soldiers, Dr. Emerson re ated: I found one termite soldier that was able to repel BliCceSSquy '72 ants. The evidence of more than a thousand experiments shows that the termite soldiers can always defend their colony if not too hopeless! out- numbered by the ants. The workers, unprotecte , are easily overwhelmed. However, if the ants set out to capture a. colony, theyr can always succeed in the end with tremendous sacriiice of their own fighters. The results of Dr. Emersonts six months of research are expected to contribute to the field of ecology in the biological sciences. Dr. Emerson has added 20 species of termites to a. list of m which were known to live in the Panama. region. In addition, a countless number of experiments were conducted which will contribute to scientific knowledge about the regimented, cooperative life of insects. Van Bieehroeek, and a new comet NOTHER member of the audience at the Faculty Homecoming Dinner was Dr. George Van Bias- broeeh, Professor of Astronomy. He had recently discovered a new comet through the powerful Yerkes Observatory telescope. The comet is located in the southern skies in the Saggitarius Constellation and i5 imrisible to the naked eye. It was promptly named Comet Van Biesbroeek and even more promptly two observer tions were made about Comet Van Biesbroeek: Uh It was approaching the Sun and it continued to do so until December 9 when it began to swing away, and t2; its chief peculiarity was thet its tail was not away from the sun, as is normal, but swings at a ninet;r degree angle from a line drawn between the sun and the comet. 22
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