University of Wisconsin Madison - Badger Yearbook (Madison, WI)

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In November, 1918, Van Hise entered the hospital for a minor operation, infection developed, and he died vmexpectedly in the same month. At the regents ' meeting in December, Dean Edward A. Birge was named president. It was during Birge ' s administration and partly because of his activities that buildings began to be named for past Lincoln Tcrr.iCL- unckr construction — 1909. presidents. This was stimulated by Florence Bascom, who wrote indignantly and sadlv that at meeting of the ridicu- lously young alumni of the University of Pennsylvania she had been forced to recognize the fact that the name of John Bascom is quite unknown among them. She remarked that It is irony of fate that the name of Chadbourne, whose stay was so brief and whose influence was relatively so peripheral, should be known to every alumnus of the University. She asked whether some building was to Ik named for her father. During the next year a project went forth to name the central Dad Morgan — he had the money. Popular studi nt haniiout, Keele ' s Palace of Sweets. building tor John Bascom and on June 22, 1920, the building was formally dedicated Bascom Hall. Birge, too, had been instrumental in fixing the name of Paul Chadbourne upon Ladies ' Hall. He had proposed Chad- bourne ' s name not only because the dorm was built during his administration but because it amused him that the name of the ($r :m Bascom ' s dome burns, Sept. 10, 1916. president who most bitterly opposed co-education would be permanently fixed to the oldest women ' s residence hall on the campus. But the early ' 20 ' s under Birge wasn ' t a quiet period. The close cooperation which marked the relationship between the two ends of State Street during the Van Hise-LaFollette reign had begun to die. When LaFoUette opposed America ' s entry into World War I the internationalist-minded faculty condemned it. This completed the rupture between the capitol and the hill. 25

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' M Mk -Ja ' ' ■ SBt- 1 ' ' WllkS0m %e£t - 1 USH m The Lake Rush, abolished in 1909. University plan. Van Hise, completely amazed that his joke had not got across was compelled on his return to set the students straight by informing them that his statement had been intended as humor. For the rest of the semester, It ' s a joke was a campus by-word. The practice of hazing still continued on the campus. Sopho- mores often kidnapped groups of freshmen, herded them in trucks and locked them in outlying barns. The freshmen soon learned to blacken their faces in order to distinguish friend from foe. Hazing was finally abolished at a meeting of the student body on October 19, 1909. Interference with freshmen going to University exercises or student organizations was for- bidden; no student was to be put into the lake. Upperclassmen, particularly W men, members of Iron Cross, junior and senior oflicers, and the student conference committee, were charged with the special duty of preventing hazing. In line with this, the bag rush replaced the lake rush. Ten canvas sacks five feet high filled with straw were set up on opposite sides of the lower campus. Freshmen and sophomores lined up on either side of the playing field, tried to capture the A few years later saw the birth of one of the great Uni- versity songs in the parlor of a Chicago boarding house. Had anyone peered through that parlor door on a frosty Sunday morning in September, 1909, he might have been more than a little amazed at the strange antics of the pair within. Purdy was the musician of the pair, a graduate of Hamilton College where he had played the college organ and had led the glee club. Beck, knowing nothing about music, illustrated his ideas with gestures and wild lunges better suited to the gridiron than the parlor. Before the end of that fall day the two had dreamed up the simple, catchy tune, the stirring battle cry that has been identi- fied for more than a generation with the State University of Wisconsin — On Wisconsin. The idol of this vig- orous young era was none other than Van Hise, who now has be- come an almost legend- ary figure in the history of the University. Once, when the local police had arrested 50 students ( all the local jail would hold) for rioting, the unjailed students pelted the jail front with beer bottles. Van Hise rode his horse down State Street to Dad Morgan ' s pool parlor and borrowed enough cash to bail out the rioters. A period of rapid construction was the five years between 1908 and 1913. The growth and attendance continued until America entered World War I — the war to end all wars. The war brought about a slowing down of University activity, as both personnel and students were drained by either the service or the federal government. With the end of the war came the end of a greater chapter in the history of the Uni- versity, which can most easily be summarized by Van Hise ' s statement, I shall never rest content until the beneficent influ- ences of the University are made available to every home in the state. The rejoicings that followed the Armistice were stilled on campus by the unexpected death of beloved Van Hise. Charles R. Van Hise, beloved by all. The Bag Rush replaced the Lake Rush. enemy sacks, and tore off each other ' s clothing. Another cus- tom was peanut rolling, designed to rub freshman noses in the dust. John R. Commons, and labor legislation. 24

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Dailv Cardinal Office 1914. The early ' 20 ' s saw the introduction of Varsity Welcome on the upper campus. With impressive ceremony, the freshmen were made welcome to the University by the president and other officials. Tlie late Carl Russell Fish, resplendent in the red vest he always wore to welcomes, and bonfires, was for many years an integral part of the ceremonies. Fish, a noted historian and teacher, early endeared himself to Wisconsin students. When he first came to the campus he was mistaken for a freshman during the lake rush, and thrown into Mendota. Surging out of the water toward the now aware and aghast group of upperclassmen, he shook him- self and said. Well, my name is Fish, I should feel right at home. Dr. Birge, who took Van Hise ' s place, re- mained in the presidency until 1925. For the Uni- versity it was a slow- moving period, as Birge fully realized that his was only a temporary appointment. Perhaps he was overly reluctant to commit the school to long range poli- cies, as he saw that the University was being caught in the backwash of post-war socio-eco- nomic conditions. The only ultimate result of this could be a lessening of public support and a decline in the leadership which Wis- consin had enjoyed. In 192 President Birge reached his seventh year as president and 50th year of service. The decision of retirement could no longer be postponed and action was started to find a new president. Several men were asked and refused. On a trip to the East one of the regents, believed to be Zona Gale, pro- posed Glenn Frank, editor of the Century Magazine. Frank showed interest and was appointed to enter office September 1, 1925. For the first time in 25 years the president of the Uni- versity was entrusted to a man unfamiliar with the institution; for the second time in history, the regents selected a man for Edward . . Birgc. betwixt and between. president whose experience lay largely outside University life. In 1925 the University entered a bright period. Dr. Frank arrived in Madison. Prof. Harry Steenbock made the discovery of a way to irradiate foodstufifs artificially with vitamin D, which meant the end of rickets. Two men ' s dormitories, Tripp and Adams Halls, were in construction and the building of the Memorial Union commenced. The editor of the Wisconsin llumntis was moved to state, Wisconsin ' s golden age is here! Over the Hdl at noon — 1920 The prosperity of the twenties was reflected in the first five years of the Frank administration. He soon gained a national name which had its beginnings in the baccalaureate address on The Six Lamps of Liberal Learning delivered in June of 1926. By 1927 Frank ' s ideas on education began to take a verbal form. He requested a large budget from the legislature, declaring that I am willing to make a sporting proposition to the people of Wisconsin, and surprisingly enough he received it. The Frank household started to entertain distinguished guests, such as Baron Ago von Maltzan, the German ambassa- dor. By 1928 he had already commenced work on Thunder and Dawn. In December of that year he participated in the house- Varsitv Welcome — 1920. 26