The contribution of Sooner engineers214-215_1933... · The contribution of Sooner engineers W...

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188 Building the college of engineer- ing of the University of Oklahoma into one of the foremost in the country has been the accomplish- ment of James F. Felgar who this year celebrates his twenty-fifth year as dean The Sooner Magazine The contribution of Sooner engineers W HEREVER there's en- gineering work to be done, you'll usually find a Sooner engineer there to do it . Whether it's Sumatra, Venezuela, Mexico, Argentine, Cuba, Canada, Ok- lahoma or New York, you'll find Soon- er engineers at work, contributing to the advancement of our times with their ability and their training gained at the college of engineering . Some of them have made places for themselves at the front of engineering . and scientific advances . Some of them branched from the fundamentals learned at Oklahoma into another field of en- gineering, all the better for the basic work done at Norman . Clarence Karcher, '16as, for instance, was one of the first scientists to learn of the possibilities of geo-physics in oil ex- ploration . Those straight "A's" won in electrical engineering on the O. U. campus, supplemented by physics, car- ried him to rapid success in his chosen field . After completing his work at Norman, Mr Karcher earned his doctor-' ate in physics at the University of Penn- sylvania . Success came to him, each new position an advancement . During the war he was with the Bureau of Stand- ards at Washington . This was followed by research in the processing department of the Western Electric Company in Chi- cago . Like many engineers, for Mr Karcher qualifies best, perhaps, as an engineering physicist, he discovered that the basic training of O . U . could be applied to another field, this time one hitherto pre- empted by the geologist . With the late Dr . W. P. Haseman, formerly head of the physic department of the university, he made the first exploratory work with geo-physics in America . This was in 1920 . Since that time, Mr Karcher has been one of the world's leaders in geo- physical work . L. J . Hibbard, '14E .E ., for years a special engineer for electric railways with the Western Electrical and Manufactur- ing Company at Pittsburgh, was long interested in the matter of the drive on electric trains . His plan was tested, adopted and first used on the electric motors installed on Henry Ford's electric railway line serving Detroit . Verne E. Alden, another electrical en- gineering graduate of the class of '11, more than saved the Westinghouse Elec- trical and Manufacturing Company the cost of training several university en- gineering colleges in the economies he effected in his re-design for electric trans- formers for that company, resulting in consequent lower manufacturing costs . An engineer is never "fixed" in vocation, nor was Mr Alden, who turned from the electrical field to that of the mechanical, to the design of steam generating plants for the Vacuum Oil Company, the Vir- ginia Electric and Power Company and others . Mr Alden is one of the nation- ally recognized power engineers, having had responsible positions in the A. I . E. E. and the A. S. M . E. Although it was in mechanical en- gineering that Earl Bartholomew ob- tained his degree from the university in '22, it is in a phase of chemical engineer- ing that he has made a national name for himself, not only as one of the young- est research laboratory chiefs in the country, but in the making of a com- modity all Americans use, Ethyl gasoline . After completing his work here and serving for a year as an instructor in mechanical engineering, Mr Bartholo- mew became an instructor in Harvard university, wrote several text books in engineering, then went to the Ethyl April Gasoline Corporation as director of the engineering laboratory . There he has been concerned with research concerning greater accelerating and hill-climbing ability from a given size engine . Mr Bartholomew's scholarship was recog- nized by election to Phi Beta Kappa . Jack Bolles, '26civil eng ., finds op- portunity to satisfy the travel urge more than the average engineer . He has ac- companied various expeditions as civil engineer, first the Hittite expedition of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago, during which he attended the presidential ball given in honor of Mustapha Kemal Pasha, and later the Carnegie Institute expedition in Yuca- tan . The four graduates of the class of '14 in electrical engineering have all carved enviable positions for themselves . Rodney D . Evans, for instance, is the general engineer for the Westinghouse Electrical and Mechanical Company at Swissvale, Pennsylvania . His creative mind has resulted in sixty patents either granted or pending, and his work in connection with power transmission for central stations and a-c. railway systems has brought him national recognition as a leader in solving the power system sta- bility problem . C. E. Carey is the elec- trical engineer for the Westinghouse company for the Pacific northwest, with headquarters at Seattle, and D. E. Ren- shaw is the electrical engineer for the mining section of Westinghouse at Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania . Mr Hib- bard's work has already been mentioned . Another electrical engineer who has achieved notable success in pure research is E H. Reid, '23E .E ., who is develop- menc engineer in the mercury arc de- partment of the General Electric Com- pany, Schenectady, New York . His

Transcript of The contribution of Sooner engineers214-215_1933... · The contribution of Sooner engineers W...

Page 1: The contribution of Sooner engineers214-215_1933... · The contribution of Sooner engineers W HEREVER there's en-gineering work to be done, you'll usually find a Sooner engineer there

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Building the college of engineer-ing of the University of Oklahoma into one of theforemost in the country has been the accomplish-ment of James F. Felgar who this year celebrateshis twenty-fifth year as dean

The Sooner Magazine

The contribution of Soonerengineers

WHEREVER there's en-gineering work to be done, you'll usuallyfind a Sooner engineer there to do it .Whether it's Sumatra, Venezuela,

Mexico, Argentine, Cuba, Canada, Ok-lahoma or New York, you'll find Soon-er engineers at work, contributing tothe advancement of our times with theirability and their training gained at thecollege of engineering .Some of them have made places for

themselves at the front of engineering .and scientific advances . Some of thembranched from the fundamentals learnedat Oklahoma into another field of en-gineering, all the better for the basicwork done at Norman .

Clarence Karcher, '16as, for instance,was one of the first scientists to learn ofthe possibilities of geo-physics in oil ex-ploration. Those straight "A's" won inelectrical engineering on the O. U.campus, supplemented by physics, car-ried him to rapid success in his chosenfield. After completing his work atNorman, Mr Karcher earned his doctor-'ate in physics at the University of Penn-sylvania . Success came to him, each newposition an advancement. During thewar he was with the Bureau of Stand-ards at Washington . This was followedby research in the processing departmentof the Western Electric Company in Chi-cago .Like many engineers, for Mr Karcher

qualifies best, perhaps, as an engineeringphysicist, he discovered that the basictraining of O. U. could be applied toanother field, this time one hitherto pre-empted by the geologist. With the lateDr . W. P. Haseman, formerly head ofthe physic department of the university,he made the first exploratory work withgeo-physics in America. This was in1920 . Since that time, Mr Karcher has

been one of the world's leaders in geo-physical work .L. J. Hibbard, '14E.E ., for years a

special engineer for electric railways withthe Western Electrical and Manufactur-ing Company at Pittsburgh, was longinterested in the matter of the drive onelectric trains . His plan was tested,adopted and first used on the electricmotors installed on Henry Ford's electricrailway line serving Detroit.Verne E. Alden, another electrical en-

gineering graduate of the class of '11,more than saved the Westinghouse Elec-trical and Manufacturing Company thecost of training several university en-gineering colleges in the economies heeffected in his re-design for electric trans-formers for that company, resulting inconsequent lower manufacturing costs.An engineer is never "fixed" in vocation,nor was Mr Alden, who turned from theelectrical field to that of the mechanical,to the design of steam generating plantsfor the Vacuum Oil Company, the Vir-ginia Electric and Power Company andothers . Mr Alden is one of the nation-ally recognized power engineers, havinghad responsible positions in the A. I. E.E. and the A. S. M. E.Although it was in mechanical en-

gineering that Earl Bartholomew ob-tained his degree from the university in'22, it is in a phase of chemical engineer-ing that he has made a national namefor himself, not only as one of the young-est research laboratory chiefs in thecountry, but in the making of a com-modity all Americans use, Ethyl gasoline .After completing his work here andserving for a year as an instructor inmechanical engineering, Mr Bartholo-mew became an instructor in Harvarduniversity, wrote several text books inengineering, then went to the Ethyl

April

Gasoline Corporation as director of theengineering laboratory . There he hasbeen concerned with research concerninggreater accelerating and hill-climbingability from a given size engine . MrBartholomew's scholarship was recog-nized by election to Phi Beta Kappa.Jack Bolles, '26civil eng., finds op-

portunity to satisfy the travel urge morethan the average engineer . He has ac-companied various expeditions as civilengineer, first the Hittite expedition ofthe Oriental Institute of the Universityof Chicago, during which he attendedthe presidential ball given in honor ofMustapha Kemal Pasha, and later theCarnegie Institute expedition in Yuca-tan.The four graduates of the class of '14

in electrical engineering have all carvedenviable positions for themselves . RodneyD. Evans, for instance, is the generalengineer for the Westinghouse Electricaland Mechanical Company at Swissvale,Pennsylvania . His creative mind hasresulted in sixty patents either grantedor pending, and his work in connectionwith power transmission for centralstations and a-c. railway systems hasbrought him national recognition as aleader in solving the power system sta-bility problem. C. E. Carey is the elec-trical engineer for the Westinghousecompany for the Pacific northwest, withheadquarters at Seattle, and D. E. Ren-shaw is the electrical engineer for themining section of Westinghouse atWilkinsburg, Pennsylvania . Mr Hib-bard's work has already been mentioned.Another electrical engineer who hasachieved notable success in pure researchis E H. Reid, '23E.E ., who is develop-menc engineer in the mercury arc de-partment of the General Electric Com-pany, Schenectady, New York . His

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work has consisted in developing largerectifyers of high voltage. He contributesfrequently to the magazines of the pro-fession .The civil engineering school has con-

tributed many engineers to the Oklaho-ma state highway department . CharlesG. Keiger, '08as, whose work was doneprincipally in engineering but at a timewhen it was felt not sufficient work wasoffered to grant an engineering degree,is chief of division maintenance for thedepartment, while Clarence McFerron,'11C .E ., is chief of the division of con-struction . Other C.E . graduates in thestate highway department include : Law-rence C. Bernard, '17, assistant statehighway engineer ; Paul L. Laws, '22,resident engineer at Oklahoma City ;Admiral M. Pownell, '22, field engineer,Oklahoma City ; Samuel P. Barnes, '23,resident engineer, Hugo; Robert F.O'Carroll, chief of party, Hugo ; WayneE. Miller, resident engineer, OklahomaCity ; James D. Powell, '23, division en-gineer, Tulsa; Horace Brown, '24, di-vision engineer, Harrah ; Jesse L. Heflev,'25, engineering department ; LlewellynG. Leavitt, '26, field man; Marion Hef-ley, '27, assistant bridge engineer ; HomerD. Harrison, '28, investigating engineerfor oil products ; Louie E. Acker, '29,bridge department ; Sam E. Griffin, '29,engineering department ; Chester Park-er Burns, '30, field engineer ; Billy Fair-field, '30, testing department ; MaynardG. Fuller, '30, resident engineer ; JoeKeeley, '30 and Lawrence T. Matson,'30, resident engineers, Miami; Ray B.Parker, '30, inspector, Oklahoma City ;Veater E. Willoughby, '30, field en-gineer ; Gertrude Collier, '31, draftsman ;Le Roy Crabbe, '31, testing department ;Bond T. Gerbracht, '31, field engineer,Roosevelt; Charles W. Roberts, '31, fiel,lengineer, Waurika; Ray G. Andrews,'32, field man ; Johnson Forbis, '32, in-spector of bridge work; Wyatt B. Hen-drick, '32, field work ; and Ray W.Lynch, '32, inspector, Waurika.

Sooner civil engineers occupy highpositions in the highway departments ofother states, as well . George LoganDolph, '18, is highway engineer for theNorth Dakota bureau of public roads ;Carl Alexander, '21, is highway engineerof the state of Kansas; William C. John-ston, '21, is highway engineer of the stateof Arkansas ; Charles E. Waite, '22, ishighway engineer with the Californiahighway commission; William E. Dil-worth, '24, is with the Kansas state high-way department ; Lewis W. Hall, '24, isoffice engineer of the Arkansas statehighway department ; Harold W. Ric_°,'25, is engineer on oil process for the NewMexico highway department ; HerbertL. Oakes, '26, formerly with the en-gineering faculty of Kansas State Agri-cultural college, is now general inspectorfor the Kansas state highway department ;

The Sooner Magazine

Kenneth Donaldson, '28, is testing en-gineer for the Missouri state highwaydepartment ; Asa N. Porter, '28, is fieldengineer for the Illinois state highwaydepartment .A number of other Sooner civil en-

gineers have entered either governmentor municipal service . Captain Henry G.Schenk, '12, is with the United StatesEngineering corps in the Panama Canalzone; Kenneth W. Markwell, '20, isconsulting engineer for the Memphisharbor commission, in charge of the har-bor development there ; Sabert A. Hott,'14, is Grant county engineer ; John ClydeMilliken, '20, is efficiency engineer forthe Oklahoma board of affairs; C. H.Salwaechter, '20, is Woods county en-gineer ; Roland Horton, '21, is municipaland sanitary engineer of St . Louis, Mis-souri; Gerald T. Gouin, '22, is Osagecounty consulting engineer ; Schooler S.Cobb, '23, is office engineer of OklahomaCity ; Hubert A. Paton, '23, is with theUnited States coast and geodetic surveyat Washington, D. C. ; Edward W. Mars,'24, is county engineer at Matadon, Tex-as ; Newman B. Smith, '24, is an en-gineer with the City of Los Angeles,California : Ralph N. Greer, '25, is Sem-inole city engineer ; Oakley F. Wadsack,'25, is civil engineer with the city en-gineering department of Van Nuys,California ; Lieut. John H. Coffman' '26,is with the United States marine corpsat Washington, D. C. ; Marcys H. Hargis,'26, is pavement engineer for OklahomaCity ; John A. Shumate, '26, is a fieldengineer for the United States geologicalsurvey at Washington ; Clarence Stoldt,'26, is Blackwell city engineer ; HarlanE. Chase, '27, is engineer of sewer de-sign for Oklahoma City ; J . GeorgePointer, '28, is assistant engineer of theOklahoma corporation commission .A number of chemical engineering

graduates rank at the forefront of lead-ing national industries . Some of theseare: Albert E . Gartside, '13, chief chem-; st of the Eagle Picher Lead company a:St . Louis, Missouri ; John O. Donaldson,'19, chief chemist for the Colorado Iron& Fuel company at Pueblo, Colorado ;Robert S. Gordon, '20, is scientific ad-viser of the legal firm of Sullivan &Cromwell, New York City ; Robert W.Henry, '21, assistant superintendent ofthe Cosden Oil company, Big Springs,Texas; Guy S. Mitchell, '21, assistant chiefchemist of the Barnsdall Refining com-pany, Barnsdall; Ludwig Schmidt, '21,assistant director of research for the bu-reau of mines laboratory at Bartlesville ;Loy G. Horn, '23, chemical engineer forthe Standard Oil company at Whittier,California ; Dana G. Hefley, '26, chem-ical engineer for the I . T. I. O. companyat Oklahoma City .

It was geology and geological engineer-ing which perhaps first attracted nationalattention to the university, and it is in-

189

teresting to note the remarkable list ofexecutives in the oil world who are grad-uates in geology and geological engineer-ing. A number of these are : Lee EverettDeGolyer, '11, president of the AmeradaPetroleum Corporation, Montclair, NewJersey ; Ben C. Belt, '10, district chiefgeologist for the Gulf Production Com-pany, Houston, Texas ; Ebert Boylan, '17,general manager of the Caracas PetroleumCorporation at Caracas, Venezuela :Glenn Clark, '13, chief geologist Of theContinental Oil Company at Ponca City ;Roland L. Clifton, '25M.A ., chief geolo-gist of the Champlin Refining Companyat Enid ; Rodger Denison, '21, '25M. S.,district chief geologist of the AmeradaPetroleum Corporation at Fort Worth,Texas; Herbert Fuqua, '19, district chiefgeologist of the Gulf Production Com-pany at Fort Worth, Texas; CharlesWalter Hamilton, '12, assistant to thevice president of the South AmericanGulf Oil Company, New York City ;Dow Ham, '22, district geologist for theShell Petroleum Corporation, Dallas,Texas; Chester A. Reeds, '05, associatecurator of the American Museum ofNatural History at New York City ;Luther White, '14, chief geologist of theJ . A. Hull Oil Company, Tulsa; AndrewC. Wright, '21, district geologist of theShell Petroleum Corporation at Corsi-cana, Texas; Dollie Radler, '20, '21M.S .,administrative geologist of the AmeradaPetroleum Corporation at Tulsa.Petroleum engineers are scattered over

the globe, holding important executivepositions. Many foreign students, senthere by their governments in many cases,have returned to further the advance ofthe oil industry in their native lands aftertraining at Norman . A number of thesegraduates and Sooners serving in foreigncountries follow : Cecil D. Alworth, '28,petroleum engineer for the Standard OilCompany of Argentine: Lewis A. Cocke,'28, petroleum engineer for the Standardof Indiana at Port of Spain, Trinidad ;Ransome G. Holland, '29, petroleum en-gineer for the Creole Petroleum Corpor-ation at Maaturin, Venezuela; Jose Ama-dar Ibarra, '29, petroleum engineer forthe Huasteca Petroleum Corporation atTampico, Mexico ; Harold C. Scoville,'29, petroleum engineer for the Lago Pe-troleum Corporation at La Salina, Marai-cabo, Venezuela ; Arthur Maddox, '30,petroleum engineer for the InternationalPetroleum Company at Megritos, Talara,Peru ; J. W. Miller, '31, with the Stand-ard Oil_ of Argentina; Juan de laPena .'31, with the Huasteca Petroleum Cor-poration at Tampico, Mexico ; L. N. Cor-onado, '32, petroleum engineer with theMexican government, Mexico City ;Vicente Fuentes, '32, with the MercedesOil Company at Renosa, Tamanlipas .Mexico .Among the electrical engineers hold-

(TURN TO PAGE 214, PLEASE

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21 4

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The Sooner Magazine

PATRICIO GIMENO(CONTINUED FROM PAGE 199)

before the first settlers of Massachusettsarrived in this country."This book of Marco Polo's travels

also carries the license of the Spanish In-quisition and has some amazing factsbetween its covers . Centuries before theworld knew anything of petroleum andcoal, the writer carried a description inthis hook about a peculiar sort of oilfound in the creeks of Southern Russiathat the barbaric natives used as fuel andlight . Centuries have passed and nowthe Standard Oil Company has develop-ed oil fields in this vicinity," ProfessorGimeno points out.But his activities are not limited to

reading and collection of books, for withall his other achievements, he is a jour-nalist too, and this interest has led himto edit and illustrate a number of books.

Professor Gimeno is somewhat of aphilosopher and an economist. In thisconnection his estimate of the value oflearning Spanish and the relation totrade brings out some most interestingside-lights. He says :

"I have always felt that my missionwas to instill an interest in Spanish andSpanish literature in the students withwhom I come in contact. Being ableto express one's self in another tonguehelps one express himself in his owntongue . Many of our great Americanshave been scholars of Spanish and itsliterature, Washington Irving, Longfel-low and James Russell Lowell . In mylibrary I have many of the volumes ofSpanish literature from Lowell's history ."By knowing the language and the

literature of a people, you learn the na-ture of that people . There never was abetter time to learn about Latin Ameri-ca . We are in the trough of a depression,our factories are closed and the wheelsof industry are thirsting for more mark-ets. There are seventy millions of peo-ple south o£ us, Spanish speaking peo-ple, who are still `buying European .' Wehave only scratched the surface of trade.Millions of them are wearing clotheswhich were woven in England out ofAustralian wool and Indian cotton!"Englishmen are very good at learn-

ing the ways of others and their likes.And a noteworthy fact is that one of thebest texts I have been able to find inteaching Spanish commercial practice inconnection with export and import tradeis written by an Englishman and pub-lished in London. In the preface theauthor gives the following wise adviceabout certain peculiar customs of SouthAmerica : Such letters are expected byOur foreign customers, and if we wishto trade with Rome we must write asthe Romans write, and not as we thinkthey ought to write.

"I foresee for the very near future vastoutlets and markets for our machinery.

April

The wealth is there and the wealth ishere but it needs circulation . And itwill take trade with these millions tothe south of us to start that circulationand get us out of this temporary periodof stagnation ."With many years of teaching service

to his credit and the exertion of a whole-some influence on the lives of many Ok-lahomans who have carved their niches inthe world of business, Professor Gimenohas performed a worthy task and thereare many years of a peaceful, contentedand happy life in store for this man, whohas made a place for himself in the heartsof all those who have had the privilegeof coming in contact with him. A toastto the Spanish gentleman.

THE CONTRIBUTION OFSOONER ENGINEERS

(CONTINUED FROM PAGE 189)ing important executive positions are:L. B. Curtis, '10, secretary-treasurer ofthe Mining Research Bureau at Boulder,Colorado ; Leo H. Gorton, '13, presidentof Dresser & Gorton, Inc., at Tulsa; C.T. Hughes, '18, superintendent of powerof the Electric Railways of Connecticut,Milldale, Connecticut; R. F. Danner, '20,general superintendent of the OklahomaGas & Electric Company, in which firmfifty-seven Sooner engineers are employ-ed ; Enoch B. Ferrell, '21, radio engineerwith the Bell Telephone laboratories inNew York, where Mr Ferrell is at theforefront in short wave transmission ex-perimentation; W. H. Reilly, '23, assist-ant to the general manager of the South-western Bell Telephone Company; P. H.Robinson, '25, transmission engineer forthe Houston Light & Power Company atHouston, Texas ; Watson Jones, '28, en-gineer with the RCA Photophone Com-pany at Oakland, California .Notable among the successful gradu-

ates of the school of mechanical en-gineering are the following : Joseph C.Gordon, '15, mechanical engineer forthe Pure Oil Company, Fort Worth,Texas; Harry S. Odermann, '16, presi-dent of the Detroit City Service Com-pany, Detroit, Michigan ; Eugene Pem-bleton, '17, superintendent of the refineryof the Henry L. Doherty Company, Bos-ton, Massachusetts; Edward H. Reeves,'18, professor at the Massachusetts In-stitute of Technology, Boston, Massa-chusetts ; Benjamin Stockwell, '18, man-ager of the Southwestern Pipe Line, Bris-tow, Oklahoma ; Floyd Waterfield, '20,superintendent of the Oklahoma PipeLine Company, Muskogee and presi-dent of the Oklahoma section of the A.A. E. ; John H. Baxter, '21, sales managerfor the Inland Gas Company, Ashland,Kentucky ; David E. Fields, '25, mechan-ical engineer for the Tulsa Boiler andIron Works, Tulsa ; Guy S. Mitchel, '25,gas engineer for the Pittsburgh Light andPower Company, Pittsburgh, Pennsyl-

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1933

vania ; George W. Russler, '26, researchpetroleum engineer for the Mellon In-stitute, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania ; H. B.Prewitt, jr., '27, sales engineer for theAmerican Blower Corporation, Flint,Michigan ; L. L. Gray, '28, district en-gineer, Gypsy Oil Company, Hobbs,New Mexico ; R. L. Mallory, '28, salesengineer for the Foxboro Company, Tul-sa ; W. K. Ritter, '29, research engineerfor the United States government, Lang-ley Field, Virginia ; and C. W. Arm-strong, '32, engineering accountant forGeneral Mills, Inc., Minneapolis, Minne-sota .

In many universities, in practicallyevery industry employing engineers,Sooner engineers are found, contributingto the building of the nation with theirtechnical foundation laid in Norman .

TUBERCULOSIS AND GENIUS(CONTINUED FROM PAGE 203)

for him to recognize his physical defici-encies, he now flung himself into the pursuit of divine love, accepting poverty,fasting and suffering as stepping-stones tohigher plains of living, ever marching for-ward with songs of praise in his heartuntil in his death agony he wished to liebare on the bare ground to show that hehad nothing and was nothing. Withoutattempting to catalogue his thoughts anddeeds, it is easy to see that the life ofSt . Francis was consistently inconsistent,conventionally unconventional . Evidentlyhis secondary personality was in the fore-ground and his genius was at large.

St. Francis was only forty-six when hedied, but he was prematurely old. Betweendisease, fasting and fighting, his energywas spent, but his spirit still gave offsparks when exposed to the hammer .Though his life was now saddened byphysical debility and his failure to "endthe crusades by the conversion of Islam,"imagine his disappointment when he wastold that he was going blind and only thecautery could give him some promise ofrelief . Think what this must have meantto this brother of all living creatures andall things beautiful in the world! But hisseeming inconsistency was constant . Whenthe moment for cauterization arrived andthe iron was taken from the furnace, hesaid : "Brother Fire, God made you beau-tiful and strong and useful ; I pray yoube courteous with me."

After a period of fasting on Mount Al-verno it is said that he was no longerable to walk and it was apparent that hisstrength was spent and that life could notlast much longer . Evidently tuberculosishad done its work and no doubt at thatvery moment "his eyes glowed with thefire that fretted him night and day." Likemany other fellow-sufferers, as death ap-proached, he was carried from place toplace; even Cortona, by the Lake of Peru-gia, did not satisfy him, and finally hewas stung by the pathetic sense of hishomelessness, even though homelessness

The Sooner Magazine

had been a part of his gospel, and heturned his face toward Assisi ; and, if hedid not see, with his seared eyes, the Por-tiuncula, his soul rejoiced when its pillarsfirst appeared to those who were with himand he must have experienced all the gloryof homecoming when they placed hisdying body in the little room just outsidethe Portiuncula . With the strange psychicenergy which often accompanies the tuber-culous into the depths of the valley ofdeath, he emphasized this final sense ofplace and possession by saying to thoseabout him, "Never give up this place. Ifyou would go anywhere or make any pil-grimage, return always to your home ; forthis is the holy house of God ." After hav-ing the brethren sing canticles and psalmsin which he joined, he requested that hisbody be laid on the bare ground in orderthat his soul might mount unhamperedto its source . With the silencing of songand the lowering of the frail body from itscouch, there must have been a penetratingstillness punctuated by every footstep onthe porches of the Portiuncula, as thebrown figures suddenly saddened, movedcautiously and aimlessly about.

It was the third of October, 1226, when.tuberculosis won the final victory andforced the separation of spirit and body .Just what the toxines of tuberculosis hadto do with the creative energy of thisimpetuous mind and to what extent itwas influenced by the restraining effectsof disease upon his physical activities, wecan never know, but it is certain thattuberculosis played a part in this unprece-dented expression of genius .

St . Francis was chief pathologist at thedeath of the Dark Ages . With the accu-racy which could come only through afine dissection, he discovered the maladieswhich had dragged humanity down, andset about to free society from their rav-ages-as a consequence, he has beencalled "the morning star of the Rennais-sance." In the words of Gilbert K. Ches-terton :

From him came a whole awakening of theworld and a (lawn in which all shapes and colorscould be seen anew . The mighty men of geniuswho made the Christian civilization that weknow, appear in history almost as his servantsand imitators . Before Dante was, he had givenpoetry to Italy ; before St . Louis ruled, he hadrisen as a tribune of the poor ; and before Giottohad painted the pictures, he had enacted thescenes . . . . He was the spiritual essence andsubstance that walked the world before anyonehad seen these things in visible forms derivedfrom it : a wandering fire as if from nowhere,at which men, more material, could light bothtorches and tapers . He was the soul of medievalcivilization before it even found a body.

His charity was as spontaneous, as farreaching, as godlike as the blue heavenvaulting the plains of Umbria-as refresh-ing as a perpetual fountain in an ancientmarket place. A spiritual genius walkingin the shadow of the Dark Ages, yetdelicately attuned to all the needs of mod-ern mankind. We bow our heads in hum-ble recognition of his influence in theworld today.

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