Professor Hamilton's Diary: Feb. 7, 1935
'Fascism' speaker sparks lively debate; Justices eat with gold flatware at White House
Professor Hamilton had a day packed with meetings at Albright College today. The college trustees met and chose new officers, he had afternoon coffee with a colleague, a telephone conversation with a rabbi, then returned to the college for the 9 p.m. meeting of the International Relations Club, of which he was faculty advisor. (Their programs started late, didn’t they?)
The topic was “Fascism” and the speaker was Dr. Joseph Roueck of Penn State. According to a short summary in the Feb. 8 Reading Times, Roueck made the following provocative statements:
“Fascism is not a passing fancy and international peace is only another panacea.”
“Americans have no democracy — only an exploitation by a few specialists, the elite.”
Professor Hamilton wrote, “A lively discussion followed.” I bet!
At the White House that night, the justices dined were honored at their annual dinner with the president, using gold tableware. The forks pictured above, purchased in 1894 during the Cleveland administration, are gold plated silver. The knives had pearl handles. (The picture is from the White House Historical Association.) The forks have eagles at the top of the handles and the words “President’s House” engraved underneath.
Paid subscribers can read on about the tableware and the subtle meaning behind them. Click below to upgrade for just $5 a month or $50 a year.
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Baptists, Bootleggers, and Everything in Between to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.