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THE MAROON TIGER
^3he Students <§ay
WHAT MOREHOUSE MEANS TO ME
By H. E. Banks
In reference to the endowment campaign now in prog'
ress, I consider this to be the most important moment
in the history of Morehouse College. History shows that
every worthwhile institution and every great nation
reaches a great moment, a challenging crisis, a period of
stress and storm, of doubt and uncertainty when it con-
fronts the double decision: “To be or not to be.” Dur
ing the darkest moment of the American Civil War when
the defeat of the Union cause seemed to be inevitable,
Abraham Lincoln stood over the graves of the fallen dead
and uttered these significant words: “Now we are en
gaged in a great civil war, testing whether this nation or
any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long en
dure.”
As I see the situation in the case of Morehouse College,
it seems to me that the students and friends of More
house are engaged in a great struggle testing whether
this institution or any institution, so conceived and so
dedicated can long endure.
Morehouse College is a great school, not because she
is situated in the heart of the South, not because she has
one of the most beautiful campuses of any Negro school
in America.
Morehouse College is a great school because of the fact
that she is a builder of great men. Some of the leading
Negroes of America are graduates of Morehouse. The
scholarly and eloquent Mordecai Johnson, the brilliant
literary genius and silver-tongued speaker, Benjamin
Brawley, the philosophic and towering giant of intellect,
Howard Thurman—are just a few of the many distin
guished Negroes who are making valuable contributions
to the progress of the Race and American civilization in
general. This is what Morehouse has already done.
This is due in large part to what we call the “More
house Spirit,” something very intangible, very imponder
able but dynamic. It is a creative force that sends young
men out with a zeal and a determination to make good.
It is an inner, motivating force, that in times like these,
moves mountains. To those young men who have ears to
hear, eyes to see, and a will to do and dare, Morehouse
offers inspiration, encouragement, illumination, and a
challenge. No young man here can possess even a little
of the Morehouse spirit without having a desire to hitch
his wagon to a star, to dream dreams, see visions, and
build houses not made with hands.
But what interests me most is a recent talk which
President Archer delivered to Morehouse men a few
Tuesday evenings ago. In this talk he said that Morehouse
College will have a new aim, a new purpose. Its purpose
will no longer be to produce more Howard Thurmans,
Mordecai Johnsons or Benjamin Brawleys. Its new pur
pose will be to aid every man here to develop into his
most capable, finest self.
To aid every man here to develop into his most ca
pable and finest self—that purpose so well expressed re
minds me of a powerful sermon by one of the foremost
liberal American preachers who said:
“These powers and virtues of the soul without which
the good life is impossible are in us already. They are in
us already, undeveloped, imprisoned, but there—seeds
that never have been watered and, so have never grown,
dynamic powers that have slumbered in our souls because
the right prince never called their sleeping beauty to
awake. That is life in a nutshell. Powers and possibilities
in us—somehow to set them free, somehow to get out of
us the best that is in us.”
To me, this is in perfect agreement with President
Archer’s aim to aid every Morehouse man to develop
into his most capable and finest self.
The aim to aid students to develop into their most
capable selves is the aim to keep students to be efficient
in their chosen task. It is a noble effort to train Negro
students to take part in the great drama of civilization.
The work to be accomplished in this world demands effi
ciency, accuracy; it calls for alert, wideawake minds.
To keep young men to develop into their finest selves
is to help them to develop character, to rally their mo
tives, attitudes, impulses, desires, and aspirations around
high ideals and lofty ethical purposes.
It takes efficiency to guide the Twentieth Century Lim
ited as it thunders down shining rails with headlong
speed, but it takes character as well, for the lives of scores
of passengers are in the hands of the man who sit at the
throttle.
For these reasons, I firmly believe that every true More
house man ought to make it his serious business to pre
sent to the Morehouse endowment fund five dollars. Now
is the time to prove our loyalty to a school that helps to
build men. Now is our opportunity to give the More
house spirit a chance to move a mountain.
“To each man’s life there comes a time supreme;
One day, one night, one morning or one noon,
One freighted hour, one moment opportune,
One rift through which sublime fulfillments gleam,
One Once in balance ’twixt Too Late, Too Soon,
And already for the passing instant’s boon
To tip in favor, the uncertain beam, to wait
Knows also how to watch and work and stand
On life’s borad deck alert, and at the prow
To seize the passing moment, big with fate,
From opportunity’s extended hand,
When the great clock of destiny strikes—NOW!”
—Anonymous.
MATRIMONY VS. DEPRESSION
By Leon C. Greenwood, ’34
(Editor’s J\[ote: I am at a total loss to explain the romantic
aspirations of Mr. Greenwood. However,
read this for yourself.)
One of the most tragic features of the depression is
that the bottom has dropped out of the matrimonial mar
ket as it has out of the stock market and Cupid Preferred.
And Hearts Incorporated have taken a slump along with
the other securities, in which so many of us had invested,
invested.
During these times of depression, when so many men
are out of work and jobs are scarce, what is going to hap
pen to the beautiful romances of so many young couples
who are in love and cannot afford to marry? There are
thousands of boys and girls waiting for better times, when
they can make their dream of being together come true.
Surely these dark days will end, but we are reluctant in
saying when.
No one will deny that those who have suffered most