University of Chicago - Cap and Gown Yearbook (Chicago, IL)

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founding of the Order of Blackfriars can be traced back to 1898 and the University Settlements need for money. To raise funds, Professor George Vincent, inspired by the success of the productions of the Haresfoot Club at Wisconsin, called together the faculty and students to organize a show to be presented by Professors Linn, Barrett, and Miller. The show, on March 10, 1898, sans females, with A. A. Stagg in one of the leads and Henry Gordon Gale in the chorus. netted $1,600 for the Settle! ment. Not until 1902 was another production attempted, which again was successful in materially helping the Settlement. With this basis for a oermanent organizav tion, Frank R. Adams became the first Abbott in 1904 with a board including one man from each fraternity. The name of the show for that year was llThe Passing of Pali Khan, derived from the nickname for the subject, Political Economy. Costumes were furnished by professors1 wives, sisters. and sweethearts, who, no doubt, contribr uted mueh practical advice in overcoming costume diiiiculties. Later in the 19003 the women gave a quad! tangle fete with Maypole dances on the second night of each show. By this time the Board of Superiors was reduced to five men. Only men in the cast or chorus were eligible for membership, thus the technicians, an indi5' pensable factor in producing a show, were left out. While campus life was developing, tragedy was prepar' ing its' entrance. The heavy duties of the University seemed to be wearing on Dr. Harper. After a rest in Europe, but still unmindful of his hidden malady, he continued his work. In 1904 President Harper told Dr. Goodspeed and Major Rust that he had received his death sentence-cancer. During the remaining 18 months of his life he wrote five books and continued to preside over aitairs of the'University. With true efhcieney he consulted with-Dr. Judson, preparing in detail his funeral program. Vigorous as an individual, he left a vigorous memory, for he requestedlthat except for the half day of the funeral, all classes should be continued. President Harper died on January 10, .1906. Black Bagging .A. prominent feature in the Universityls development was Harperls black bagt One never knew what endow' merits might be found in it after one of Harper's trips; or what new faculty names might appear on contracts secreted in his bag' after friendly visits to other inr' stitutions. Early in the Uni versity's history, while still gathering a faculty; Harper received word that at Clark University there was a breach in the faculty. Hastening to the scene of action with the black bag full of unsigned contracts, Harper profited from this situation which re! sulted in the resignation of fifteen members of the faculz ty. The black hag returned full of signed contracts. Three outstanding signa- tures were those of Michel' .5011, Net, and Whitman. ' Judson, and John D. Infheirs to the throne. Fou rteen Financing was on a more clashing, if local scale. Ru' rots would reach Harper ipeonle often wondered if it was instinctt and he would rush off in his buggy, bag in hand. Yerkes, Chicago utility' baron at the turn of the century, one morning received a plump, hurried-Iooking individual into his inner sanctum. Somewhat startled, he covered by saying, Have a seat and after .a second glancel HIn fact, have two seats. Harper, put on the defensive by the personal implication, reeovered with the statement Pin the President of the University of Chi- cago. A few minutes ensued during which he explained with an aggrieved air what and where the U. of C. was. Then, becoming more enthused, he explained how a uni- versity existed;- adding that there was a lamentable lack to be met before the University of Chicago could take her placeiamong self-respecting universities! That deficiency could result in the commemoration of some noble, public: minded, to'sa'y nothing of generouse etc. Despite the linguistic camouflage, Yerkes got the idea. Harper wanted an observatory; he asked, How much? Harper was not prepared'with figures; he knew though that the Work would cost much. Yerkes put out a feeler-$S0,000. No. no! Wouldnlt do! Yerkes raised the ante to $100,000. Harper hedged. He didnt think that much would do the donors name justice. Yerkes stalled. But the subtle mention of the fact that the market was I still open and the vision idrawn by Harperl of-a green hill crested by a monumental Yerkes observatory did the trick. Yerkes got a monopoly at the cost of $250,000. The evidence went back to the campus in the black bag. The same procedure resulted in the widow Snell's con, tribution of Snell Hall in memory of her husband, notoriv ously skilled in financial transactions. However, Harper's efficiency went into reverse when he negotiated with A. A. Stagg. Stagg, situated in New Jersey at the time. was called in to interview Harper. .After passing a. barricade of secretaries, he entered a room only to see the top of a bent head belonging to a man. industriously writing. Harper continued to write as Stagg shuflled'nervously from one foot to the other. Two more paragmpththen the head snapped up only to snap out: Give you $1200 a year and an 1'nsttuctorship.ll Another paragraph and silence. Stagg was too dum' founded to speak. At the time he didn't make that much, and his future prospects could not be compared with those at Chicago. His thoughts were interrupted by a terse, liRaise it to $2,000 and an assistant professorship. ttBut, buteIe, Stagg was stopped. All right, all right,

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A new series of championships started in l05. Eckersall, because of his spectacular runs and his miraeulous dropr kicks, was for four years the idol of Chicago football. Already many stories of the golden days had sprung UP? such as Eckersall's 50 thrilling the crowd by running - through the whole Wisconsin team on the kickoff that spectators fell forward over the seats while cheering or straining forward to l'see every move he made. In'1905 llEckie supplemented by other Chicago immortals such as Babe Meigs, Wally. Steffan. and John Sehommer, reached his peak, and Chicago defeated Michiganls 'most famous Champions 210, when. Mark Catlin tackled Clarke. Michiganls stat behind the goal for a safety. Later that year Eckie -'saved the day at Wisconsin by kicking the winning field goal out of a sea of mud. Eckersall C051 was the first western player ever chosen on Walter Campis All'Ametican Team. In the peak 'year, 1905', a strong basketball team reached the top in a three way tie .with Minnesota and Wisednsin; the tennis team regained its old 'foothold; the outdoor track Championv ship was brought to Chicago with the help of Ned Merriam; and'swimming and cross-country brought in two more championships. -' ' Campus Activities The fraternity spiritentered with the opening of the Un'ivei'sityis doors, even though fairly adequate housing facilities had been provided for the men. There were- a. number of national -fraternities represented on the campus from the start, as some of the men had been initiated at Northwestern, and eventually the local Clubs were absorbed .by-them. The hrst fraternity was formed in 1893. In the early days the men met in-their rooms, but gradually the more - ambitious fraternities rented rooms, for their meetings, then apartments and houses, and hnally built or bought their own houses. I These early men on the campus, like the college men of today, were swayed by campus politics and fade. The Cap and Gown? published first in 1895, was under no particular monopoly until 1898, when Iron Mask seized l mm u u. u. a I m I' l . l! l.': m ' 1 control of it. Then in 1906 the Junior class broke the monopoly and in turn gained control of the board by .1907. 'In later years the editing and publishing of Cap and. Gown became too large for any one organization ortlass to handle.-As for fads, the Reynolds Clubiin days of yorewwas- an organization patronized almost exclusively by fraternity men-and all who used it had to pay dues. Despite Harperls plan to limit the students' expenditures, it never worked. Then, as now, there were wealthy students .and students who had to work their way. Lighting the gas street lamps was one of the jobs available to those who wanted to Work. All in all these early students, playboys and plebians, had the right material in them, for out of the early graduating classes have come many of the men now prominent in our national life. The women also have had their share of recognition. Early students did not overlook dramaties as a means of intelligent self-expression. The history of dramatics at the University is long and varietl but illustrates vividly the spirit of progress so native to the school itself. It is a far cry from the early satirical marionette shows of the 903 to theirecent presentation of Maxim Gorki's LlLower Depthsff 'The dancing dolls tunmistakably prominent members of the Universitv facultvl brought down the housein those first entertainments characterized bv satire and. wit, given in Kent Theater, the largest auditorium until Mandel Hall was built. The lyrics and dialogue were written chiegv by members of thefaculty. In time 'the faculty withdrew, leaving the field entirely to student orgamzatlons. . - .r - ' - Student productions, given on Academic Days, were rather hopeless. Imagine in the modern Aristotelian atmosphere a production such as the pantomime, HThe Three Lovers, given in 1894, with a cast including Farmer Jeremiah HollyhockgEZekiel Green Gtassgrower, and Reginald Van Marshall. Nevertheless, the very students who participateti in such productions had so vital an interest in dramatics that they formed the Dramatic Club in the Spring of 1895. The club, consisting of 13 members, was directed by E. H. Lewis, and was intended to give annual-per' formances. It rated one insig' nificant paragraph in the 1897 uCamp and Gownf1 as follows: A triple bill was given, consisting of a curtain raiser, llCourtship Withi- Variations, Barbara by .Jerome K. Jerome, and . ?Cupid's Touchdown, a local play. the work of James Weber Linn, 96. . . . In short, the warm reception given the plays proved conclusively that a good local production is not only a possibility but an accomplished fact. Many people must be puz' zled as to how Blackfriats en! tered the dramatic held as a separate organization. The I The old library. Fire threat- ened Harpefs peace of mind. Thirteen

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$2,500 a year and an associate professorship. but that's all! That was enough! A weaker man would have fainted. Grahitiuna wnnttnmh Great as the loss of Harper was to the University, it was modified somewhat by the fact that there was a capable man ready to fill the gap left by his death. Henry Pratt Judson was well schooled in Harperls policies, ideals, and hopes for the future. for he had served a number of years as Assistant to the President. This factor come bined with the close friendship between the two men, based on a similarity of ideals and opinions, accounts largely for Harper signifying Judson as his suceessor. Judson energetically took control. It took but a short time for him to demonstrate his inheritance of his prev decessor's organizing skill and practicality. By 1909 the annual deficit was extinct. Rockefeller, who had always considered it his duty to see the University financially sound, now felt that he was able to withdraw. So, with a ten-milliontdollar gift to the General Education Fund, he announced that he would make no more contributions He might have added uuntil the next time. John D., Jr. i011 the Board of Trustees from 1898-191m had already been eontributing generously to the Universityls funds. and was to continue to do so in the future. Also, in 1910 a gift of two'million dollars was made by Hobart Williams. With hnancial matters so hrm Judson turned to that problem of expanding the Universityls Educational facili' ties. At this point Judson demonstrated his soundness;' like Harper he was a classical scholar; yet he was not blind to the increasing streSs being placed on scientific research, and to meet this trend' he concentrated on enlarging the scientific departments of- the University. The Physics department was the first to feel his touch. In. 1910 an annex to Ryerson Laboratory was added by the original donor. ' It was in 1912 that Harper Memorial Library was ' dedicated. The library answered a need long felt by H-arper-that of adequate and safe library facilities. Harper once said that he never retired at night without the terrible dread that perhaps by morning the temporary library, with all its valuable books, might be destroyed by iire. The imposing English'Gothic bui1ding, inspired by the Kings College Chapel at Cambridge, Christ Church, and Magdalen College at Oxford, was made poSsible by contributions from the many friends of the former President. Scientific progress was continued in 1915 as a result of a $260,000 gift from julius Rosenwald to be used for a geology and geography building. RosenwaIcI Museum completed the row of buildings planned to occupy the south side of 5 8th Street. In 1914 the monumental Classics building was dedicated -thus another dream of Harperls was realized It was made possible by $150,000 bequeathed by Mrs. Hiram Kellyr to the University for a memorial to her husband. In 1916 the long planned drive for obtaining funds to establish a Medical School was begun. However, the World War delayed action so that it was not until 1922 that actual building was resumed with the starting of temporary laboratories for Pathology, Bacteriv ology. and Hygiene. In the following year thetemporary red brick structures were finished and named after Howard Taylor Ricketts. whose isolation of the typhus fever germ, recognized as one of the most important of all achieve; ments in the history of medical research. Ricketts un- fortunately died of typhoid fever while carrying on his research in Mexico. It was not until late in the 305 that the medical group, as we know it today, was actually. started. A fund of $5,300,000 was raised in a surprisingly short time. One million dollars was contributed by the General Education Board iRockefellei-y; and another million by a quartet consisting of C. K. G. Billings, Charles H. and Albert Billings, and Dr. Frank Billings. Mr. and .Mrs. Julilis Rosenwald gave $500,000. Other donors were Mrs. F. H.. Rowson, Dr. Norman Bridge, Martin A. Ryerson, R. T. Crane, JL, Charles R Crane, J. Ogden Armour, Messi. Max Epsteins, Shedd, Pullman, and Haskell. Judson, as his predecessor, favored athletiCs as a unify; ing factor in University life. Consequently by 1914 the athletic plant had been enlarged by adding to Stagg Field iformerly Marshall Field, but renamed in honor of Chicago's famous coachl the west stands and the surrounding stone walls. These well earned improvements made it one of the best Stadiums in the country. Although l06 was a bad year for athletics on the Mid! way, the school came -.' , back stronger than ever in '07 by retain: ing the swimming and tennis and recovering the football and has ketbail championships, and hoIding them, football until .09 anti basketball until 111. Furthermore, the days of baseball, for any other teams, were over from Chicagols point of view, with Ned Merriam, Pat Page, and Slip Madigan on the scene. In the l0? game with Illinois ihnal score 4243 favor of Chicagm the football team was 0 Harper Library in con- struction. Fifteen