To Commemorate Whitney.

To the Editors of the CRIMSON:

Courage, alertness of mind, strength of body, staying power, loyal devotion-nobody doubts these qualities in some athlete who makes the great adventure, wins prestige for his college, and gains the admiring interest of untold millions of newspaper readers, and hears the wild applause of the thousands who see the great game. But I've often asked myself whether it ever occurs to the athlete to think that it is precisely these qualities-in a word, downright sand- that go to the making of the great scholar.

And a great scholar Whitney was, indeed the greatest American scholar of his century. He was Professor of Sanskrit at Yale for forty years, and one of the men upon whose brilliant achievements was founded the prestige of Yale.

It is just twenty-five years ago that the seven leading American societies organized to promote the study of languages and archaeology came together as a Congress at Philadelphia to do honor to the memory of Whitney.

But in 1919 it is not a question of rendering him the honor that is his due. Indeed, I'm not so sure as to how much comfort Alexander-wherever he now may be-is taking in the thought that, 2242 years after his early demise at Babylon, lots and lots of people on this little pin-head in the cosmos still persist in calling him "the Great." The real point is this, that Whitney's career as a man "who did things" is still a lesson, an example, an inspiration, for the young American of today.

And so I am venturing, on Tuesday evening, to repeat the address which I made at the Philadelphia Congress, in the hope that one or another who aspires "to do things" may take knowledge of this man, whose name is one of the glories, not of Yale alone, but of American science.  CHARLES R. LANMAN.