Letter from Alfred E. Stearns, Home Camp, Pittsburg, New Hampshire, to Charles Sun, MIT Dorm, August 29, 1927
Dublin Core
Title
Letter from Alfred E. Stearns, Home Camp, Pittsburg, New Hampshire, to Charles Sun, MIT Dorm, August 29, 1927
Subject
Letter from Alfred E. Stearns, Home Camp, Pittsburg, New Hampshire, to Charles Sun, MIT Dorm, August 29, 1927
Transcription
Dear Charlie:
Your letter of August 24 has been read with very great interest. I should much prefer to discuss with you in person the proposition suggested, rather than attempt to reach a decision at this distance.
I have decided, however, to fill out the application as requested and am returning it herewith, leaving you to complete the form and send it on to Norwich, if you so desire.
I can't quite think of you as a military man, for it seems as if your natural inclinations and tastes were of a higher order. On the other hand, if there were a stable government in China, or if your military knowledge can aid in establishing one, I should favor the scheme most heartily. Military men of high ideals like Gen. Leonard Wood, for example, can do wonderfully constructive work in the world and of the very finest kind. The average military man, however, is content with much less important things, and often become a mere troublemaker. I am sure that you would be actuated by the highest motives in whatever profession you engaged, so that I am perfectly willing to endorse this plan of yours, if you really wish to carry it through. I should do so, however, on the understanding that your father would approve. On that point I am not qualified to speak, though probably you know how your father would feel.
Anyway, I can see no harm in filing the application, for probably it could be canceled later if you desired. Even if you decide on some other profession, a year of military training at Norwich would be bound to prove of real value. Though, of course, it is possible that you might invest a year to better advantage if you were going into another line of work. I shall hope to find an opportunity to talk the plans over with you in person, in the not distant future. For since I have recently been elected a trustee of Amherst College, I shall probably have occasion to visit Amherst oftener than before.
Trusting that the coming year of college will prove to be best of all to date. With kindest regards, believe me. Always.
Very sincerely yours,
Your letter of August 24 has been read with very great interest. I should much prefer to discuss with you in person the proposition suggested, rather than attempt to reach a decision at this distance.
I have decided, however, to fill out the application as requested and am returning it herewith, leaving you to complete the form and send it on to Norwich, if you so desire.
I can't quite think of you as a military man, for it seems as if your natural inclinations and tastes were of a higher order. On the other hand, if there were a stable government in China, or if your military knowledge can aid in establishing one, I should favor the scheme most heartily. Military men of high ideals like Gen. Leonard Wood, for example, can do wonderfully constructive work in the world and of the very finest kind. The average military man, however, is content with much less important things, and often become a mere troublemaker. I am sure that you would be actuated by the highest motives in whatever profession you engaged, so that I am perfectly willing to endorse this plan of yours, if you really wish to carry it through. I should do so, however, on the understanding that your father would approve. On that point I am not qualified to speak, though probably you know how your father would feel.
Anyway, I can see no harm in filing the application, for probably it could be canceled later if you desired. Even if you decide on some other profession, a year of military training at Norwich would be bound to prove of real value. Though, of course, it is possible that you might invest a year to better advantage if you were going into another line of work. I shall hope to find an opportunity to talk the plans over with you in person, in the not distant future. For since I have recently been elected a trustee of Amherst College, I shall probably have occasion to visit Amherst oftener than before.
Trusting that the coming year of college will prove to be best of all to date. With kindest regards, believe me. Always.
Very sincerely yours,
Creator
Alfred E. Stearns
Publisher
Letter from Alfred E. Stearns, Home Camp, Pittsburg, New Hampshire, to Charles Sun, MIT Dorm, August 29, 1927
Date
August 29, 1927
Rights
All Rights Reserved by Phillips Academy
Language
English
Type
Correspondence