THE MICHIGAN DAILY

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PAGE THREE

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Oldest Building
On Campus Is
Ruthven House
Three Other Homes
Built at Same Time
By ALICE JORGENSEN
You may not know it, but the'
president's house is the oldest build-
ing on campus.
It was in 1837 that the University
moved from Detroit to Ann Arbor. A
resolution, adopted by the first Board
of Regents, directed that an avenue
100 feet wide should run through the
center of campus from north to south
and that four professor's houses
should be located in pairs on either
side of this avenue.
Four Houses Built
The other three houses, excluding
that of President Ruthven, were built
on the present sites of the Natural
Science Building, the Chemistry
Building and the William L. Clem-
ents Library. However, the proposed
avenue was never actually laid out
and the resolution directing its con-
struction was rescinded.
During the first years of the Uni-
versity's existence in Ann Arbor, the
faculty consisted of four professors
who occupied these houses. The first
man to occupy the house as Univer-
sity president was Dr. Henry Philip
Tappan. Since then all University
presidents have lived there with the
exception of Dr. Harry B. Hutchins.
Various Uses Made
In later years, various uses were
made of the houses. The eastermost
house facing North University be-
came the University Hospital, was
later taken over by the Dental Col-
lege and was torn down in 1908. Its
neighbor to the west was used by the
homeopathic department of the Med-
ical School and later by the pathol-
ogy and psychology departments. It
was finally razed in 1914 to make
way for the Natural Science Build-
ing. The easternmost house facing
South University survived until 1921-
22. It had been used by the Dental
College and is today remembered by
many almuni as the 'old Engineering
Building.'
The Regent's report of 1840 de-
scribes the president's house as "a
substantial, appropriate and classical
model." The original plan consisted
of a central hall and two rooms with
fireplaces on each side.
. Today, after several additions and
alterations, the president's house still
occupies one of the most beautiful
spots on campus. Endowed with- sim-
plicity by its first architect, it has re-
tained a diginity quite in keeping
with its purpose and surroundings.
Buy Victory Bonds!

DISCUSSION OF REQUIREMENTS CONTINUES:
Prof. Pargment Backs Need for Language Study

Statistics Hold Key to Success
In Veteran Business Ventures

The remainder of the text of the
statement of Prof. Pargm.enton the
need for foreign language study in
which he advocates that all college
students be required to study foreign
language for at least two years, is as
follows:
Q. Don't you think that some
students are not endowed by na-
ture with the aptitude that is re-
quired to master a foreign lan-
guage?
A. This I categorically deny. The
unhonored and prejudicial idea, so
long and so stubbornly cherished,
that some of our young men and
women are incapable of learning
foreign languages isna myth that
must be broken down. Throughout
the entire world, including all South
American countries, foreign lan-
guages are compulsory in all secon-
dary schools, and I have never heard
or read of more students failing in
them because of natural inability
than in other subjects. Our students
are not made of different, and worse
stuff than they. I can also testify
from my own long and varied expe-
rience with American students that
only those fail to learn who either
have made up their mind that they
cannot do it, or, more frequently, are
unwilling to furnish the required ef-
fort.
Q. Is it true that students with
ability in mathematics are often
poor in language and vice versa,
and that, for this reason, students
should not be made to study both?
A. It is true that these two sub-
jects call for twohdifferent abilities,
just as any two other dissimilar dis-
ciplines. This does not mean, how-
ever, that a student cannot be study-
ing successfully both with, perhaps,
a different degree of success and a
different expenditure of time. That
these two subjects do not interfere
with each other is proved by the fact
that both are studied successfully in
all the schools where both are re-
quired.
Q. The number of important
foreign languages being so large,
what can an individual hope to
accomplish by the knowledge of
only one of them?
A. Much more than by the knowl-
edge of none. Moreover, while the
knowledge of one language may
prove to be insufficient for meeting
all the possible needs of the individ-
ual graduate,, proficiency in the use
of one language by every graduate
will meet all the possible needs of the
community and of the nation. Reflect
upon the following incident that
took place in the war:
An American unit advancing into
Tunisia caught a German patrol in
the act of laying a mine field across

the path of the Allied advance. The
Germans put up no resistance, and
seemed glad enough to be taken pris-
oners. The first concern of the Amer-
ican commanding officer was to get
them to remove the mines that they
had just laid. But here a major dif-
ficulty arose: none of the Americans,
including the commanding officer,
spoke any German. The Germans
probably understood English, but
none of them would admit it. The
advance had to be held up until an
interpreter arrived on the scene,
about two hours later. Had there
been in the group one man whose
mental equipment contained a few
dozen German words, the delay
would have been avoided. . . Two
hours is a lot of time in some con-
tingencies.
Q. Is it not true that foreign
languages are quickly forgotten by
disuse?
.A. Not as quickly and not as com-
pletely as some other subjects, such
as, for instance, chemistry, physics,
algebra, etc. The ability to read in a
foreign language is retained very
long; besides, it does not have to be
lost, for it can be used. Conversa-
tional power, when not used, is lost
very quickly, but, if the learner had
the proper oral-aural training, it is
quickly restored when there is an
extended opportunity to use it.
Q. What are the educational and
cultural values that are supposed to
derive from the study of foreign
languages?
A. To enumerate all the cultural
and educational benefits that are

claimed would take too much space.
Hundreds of articles nave been writ-
ten to this effect. I shall, therefore,
mention only those that are most
widely recognized:
1. Language study is a strict yet
varied discipline. It necessitates close
and orderly thinking; it exercises both
memory and powers of concentration;
it trains in precision, accuracy, defi-
niteness, and clear thinking. The
study of a foreign language, by its
very nature, trains in the habit of in-
ter-relating words and ideas.
2. Another great opportunity for
culture from the study of foreign
languages consists in the insight
this study gives into the material,
intellectual, and psychic life of an-
other people in at least some of its
aspects and manifestations. The
study of foreign languages pro-
motes the power of self-detach-
ment, effectively combats chauvin-
ism and parochialism, and broad-
ens the student's understanding of
human problems.
?. Foreign languages are also use-
ful as a key to stores of information
for the scholar, the professional man,
as well as the business man. No coun-
try can rely upon its domestic stores
of knowledge.
4. Another great benefit that is
derived from the study of foreign
languages is its beneficial influence
on the learning of one's own tongue.
Here I wish to quote from an article
written by one of the most distin-
guished American linguists, Hayward
Keniston:
"It has been the experience of cen-


turies, and it is no less true today,
that the understanding of one's own
native language is greatly enriched
by the study of other languages. The
reasons are many. First of all, such
a study provides a perspective by
offering comparisons of identity or
divergence of expression. It awakens
the mind to a consciousness of dis-
tinctions in meaning made possible
by differences in form or function; it
sharpens the sense of value in word
meanings through associations with
foreign cognates; it encourages a
more precise and careful articulation
in speech by providing a basis of
comparison in other tongues. The
foreign language teacher is the chief
ally of the teacher of English."

The chances for success of a vet-
eran going into business today are
rather promising, but, he should not
ignore aids which will serve to assist
him.
This is the opinion of Prof. Charles
L. Jamison of the school of Business
Administration expressed in a recent
interview.
"One of these aids is carefully pre-
pared statistics," Prof. Jamison
points out. Statistics is the yard-
stick that will measure his chances
for success. The veteran should make
use of these statistics in planning his
business future.
Types of Businesses
"The United States Department of

Commerce has computed the stand-
ard proportionate distribution of
types of businesses throughout the
country. The veteran, by finding the
number of businesses of his particu-
lar type in a community and-the per-
centage this number is of total busi-
nesses, can determine whether or not
his field has reached saturation."
Ann Arbor Figures
By way of a concrete example, he
notes that Ann Arbor is 31 per cent
over the average in apparel stores, 37
per cent over the average in drug
stores. This would seem to indicate
that these fields are overrun, but the
influx of students with their purchas-
ing power explains the discrepancy.



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