Letter from Alfred E. Stearns to Mary Sun, Elmira College, September 22, 1926
Dublin Core
Title
Letter from Alfred E. Stearns to Mary Sun, Elmira College, September 22, 1926
Subject
Letter from Alfred E. Stearns to Mary Sun, Elmira College, September 22, 1926
Transcription
My dear Mary:
This morning’s mail brings me your good letter of recent date, the receipt of which I have been anxiously awaiting. Yesterday I mailed you a check for $20.00 in answer to the request contained in your telegram: so that I hope you will be able to tide things over until more cash arrives.
Just a word about your accommodation for the year. Of course I have been badly in the dark. My own feeling was that you ought to be in a dormitory and that at your age and with your past experience at Abbot and elsewhere you were perfectly capable of handling yourself under dormitory conditions. On the other hand, I know from experience that many of the Chinese girls go to college here have, in the past at least, invested their first year in good private homes. When Mr. Robinson assured me that it was your father's earnest wish that such an arrangement should be made for you and that he himself was prepared to go to Elmira and select a home, I naturally felt that this was the only wise and proper course to pursue. You can understand, I am sure, that I could not be expected to know that Mr. Robinson did not fully and impartially represent your father's views. Under the circumstances it was only natural that I should have taken the position I did and insist you should follow his wishes.
The situation was further and very seriously complicated by your failure to notify me that you were planning to spend the week-end in Trenton, for I had naturally assumed from your earlier letters that you would go at once from Springfield to Elmira and that you could, therefore, be reached in one at least of these places. I did not appreciate the fact that a night in New York would be necessary to accomplish this. Under the circumstances I did not criticize the plan that was made but do criticize, and rather severely, your failure to keep me posted. I had to send at least a half a dozen telegrams to various persons in my attempts to locate you. Mr. Robinson had made his arrangements to meet you part way and take the trip with you. When he discovered that this was impossible and I did not even know where you were, he naturally inferred that you had taken the law into your own hands too much and that I, as your American guardian, was not keeping proper oversight of you. Undoubtedly he will report this to your father and to my embarrassment. I am sure you will appreciate my position and why I complain.
Miss Robinson telegraphed me after her visit to Elmira, stating that her talk with the college authorities and convinced her that the dormitory arrangement was the proper thing. Miss Mallett, the Registrar, wrote me to the same effect. I immediately wired Miss Robinson approving the dormitory plan and wrote Miss Mallett a similar endorsement. Under the circumstances I do hope that the matter has been satisfactorily straightened out, but I am sure you will agree now that most of the trouble has arisen from your earlier failure to keep me clearly and promptly posted of your whereabouts and plans. Please don't let this happen again, for it has caused me an enormous amount of worry and good bit of time at just the busiest season of the school of the school year, when I could ill afford to suffer either.
For some time I have been planning to put you on a definite allowance, for I think you are old enough now and are disposed to be careful in your expenditures. Certainly Charlies and Quincey do better in this way than they did under the old scheme. I am always glad to send them lump sums which they can disburse as they wish. If you can do as well as they, the arrangement will prove in every way wise. Anyway, I shall be glad to take the matter up on the new basis beginning next month, and after you have had a chance to figure a little more closely and clearly what your college expenses are likely to be. I have already sent a check to the college treasurer for $250., which from the catalogue I supposed necessary but which from the bill received from them yesterday would seem to be a bit too much.
Do write me often and keep me fully informed about your work and life at college. I shall be interested in everything that concerns your welfare.
With all good wishes, believe me
Very sincerely yours,
This morning’s mail brings me your good letter of recent date, the receipt of which I have been anxiously awaiting. Yesterday I mailed you a check for $20.00 in answer to the request contained in your telegram: so that I hope you will be able to tide things over until more cash arrives.
Just a word about your accommodation for the year. Of course I have been badly in the dark. My own feeling was that you ought to be in a dormitory and that at your age and with your past experience at Abbot and elsewhere you were perfectly capable of handling yourself under dormitory conditions. On the other hand, I know from experience that many of the Chinese girls go to college here have, in the past at least, invested their first year in good private homes. When Mr. Robinson assured me that it was your father's earnest wish that such an arrangement should be made for you and that he himself was prepared to go to Elmira and select a home, I naturally felt that this was the only wise and proper course to pursue. You can understand, I am sure, that I could not be expected to know that Mr. Robinson did not fully and impartially represent your father's views. Under the circumstances it was only natural that I should have taken the position I did and insist you should follow his wishes.
The situation was further and very seriously complicated by your failure to notify me that you were planning to spend the week-end in Trenton, for I had naturally assumed from your earlier letters that you would go at once from Springfield to Elmira and that you could, therefore, be reached in one at least of these places. I did not appreciate the fact that a night in New York would be necessary to accomplish this. Under the circumstances I did not criticize the plan that was made but do criticize, and rather severely, your failure to keep me posted. I had to send at least a half a dozen telegrams to various persons in my attempts to locate you. Mr. Robinson had made his arrangements to meet you part way and take the trip with you. When he discovered that this was impossible and I did not even know where you were, he naturally inferred that you had taken the law into your own hands too much and that I, as your American guardian, was not keeping proper oversight of you. Undoubtedly he will report this to your father and to my embarrassment. I am sure you will appreciate my position and why I complain.
Miss Robinson telegraphed me after her visit to Elmira, stating that her talk with the college authorities and convinced her that the dormitory arrangement was the proper thing. Miss Mallett, the Registrar, wrote me to the same effect. I immediately wired Miss Robinson approving the dormitory plan and wrote Miss Mallett a similar endorsement. Under the circumstances I do hope that the matter has been satisfactorily straightened out, but I am sure you will agree now that most of the trouble has arisen from your earlier failure to keep me clearly and promptly posted of your whereabouts and plans. Please don't let this happen again, for it has caused me an enormous amount of worry and good bit of time at just the busiest season of the school of the school year, when I could ill afford to suffer either.
For some time I have been planning to put you on a definite allowance, for I think you are old enough now and are disposed to be careful in your expenditures. Certainly Charlies and Quincey do better in this way than they did under the old scheme. I am always glad to send them lump sums which they can disburse as they wish. If you can do as well as they, the arrangement will prove in every way wise. Anyway, I shall be glad to take the matter up on the new basis beginning next month, and after you have had a chance to figure a little more closely and clearly what your college expenses are likely to be. I have already sent a check to the college treasurer for $250., which from the catalogue I supposed necessary but which from the bill received from them yesterday would seem to be a bit too much.
Do write me often and keep me fully informed about your work and life at college. I shall be interested in everything that concerns your welfare.
With all good wishes, believe me
Very sincerely yours,
Creator
Alfred E. Stearns
Publisher
Phillips Academy
Date
September 22, 1926
Rights
All Rights Reserved by Phillips Academy
Language
English
Type
Correspondence