Washington and Lee University - Calyx Yearbook (Lexington, VA)

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TTTl VV . :... LliAii Gl ON THE ROBERT E. LEE MEMORIAL ENDOWMENT MOVE- MENT. BEING A CONSIDERATION OF ITS PRESENT STA- TUS AND ITS POSSI BILITIES, BY ITS EXECUTIVE HEAD. GOVERNOR DUNCAN C. HEYWARD. OF THE CLASS OF ' S5. A NATIONAL tribute to Robert E. Lee will be one of the most unique ted country lofty character of the South ' appreciates the nobility of purpose and th greatest son since Washington. That the National memorial to Lee should take the form of an endowment for some Southern institution of learning was first publicly suggested by President Roosevelt, and with practically one accord it was deemed appro- priate that Washington and Lee University should be the location for this memorial. Soon after the suggestion by President Roosevelt definite steps were taken to carry it into effect and the Robert E. Lee Memorial Associa- tion was formed. I esteem it one of the greatest honors of my life that I should be selected to take the active management of this movement, and the work has been one of great pleasure. We have succeeded in forming an Advisory Board com- posed of a dozen or more of the most prominent citizens of the Nation, men whose names stand for more than the names of any other twelve men in the country. This Board has been formed without regard to state or section and- IS one of the most truly national committees which has ever been gotten together in this country. In addition we have secured committees in each of the South- ern States and these state comr-.ittees are also composed of men of weight, influ- ence and great prominence in their respective sections. Upon these committees 17

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thus to give adequate expression, not only of admiration for General Lee, but of appreciation of his services. An advisory committee, which includes some of the men highest in the nation ' s respect, has been appointed. Plans of a very definite nature are being made, and Governor Heyvvard announces that he will be ready to launch the movement in a very short while. Already several unsolicited gifts have been made. It is patent that the Lee Memorial Endowment means much to Washington and Lee. It means a Greater University — an institution of unlimited influ- ence for good; it means that at last the hopes of years are about to be realized. Let us not forget in our contemplation of material progress, the essential char- acteristic s of independence, high collegiate standards, intellectual honesty and democracy which have formed so vital a part of our Alma Mater ' s past. In the end they alone constitute all that is worth rescuing from oblivion. They are our traditions, to be surrounded by an impenetrable wall of respect and mem- ory. Without them all the massive growth of which our University is capable can not overreach the limitations of a sordid conception. With them ever pres- ent, it becomes a living, breathing organism, capable of attaining heights of power undreamed, and in its triumphant course using material progress as a means for the personification of long existant ideals.

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are many of the alumni of Washmgton and Lee, and these graduates and former students of the University are taking a very natural interest in our efforts. The readiness with which service upon these committees has been accepted by men of all classes and stations has been one of the most encourag- ing features of my work. Up to this time we have not attempted to take any active steps towards the raising of the memorial fund. Conditions of various sorts have seemed to indicate that haste in this great work would not only be inadvisable but possibly detrimental. The plans of the Memorial Association, however, are far enough advanced for the Calyx to carry the news that before long the million-dollar National Memorial to the great post-bellum President of Washington and Lee University will eventually be an accomplished fact. ra ra [ Z l