THE HESPETtlAN
15
One morning a few days later the early
arrivals at the University were astounded to
find a large viaduct of high plasterers' tres
tles and planks built from the front entrance
to University Hall, far out across the campus
to Twelfth and B streets. At the end of it
were a couple of huge, old dry-goods boxes
labellod Chancellor's Headquarters.
Everything again seemingly died away.
But one morning a week later overybody
was surprised by iinding little bills pasted
about on the fonco surrounding the campus,
on the trees, on tho steps everywhere.
They wore to tho ofioot that live hundred
students were wnntod to act as detectives,
and that they might apply at room 4, tho
Chancellor's oflico. "Whether this was
caused by any indiscretions on tho part of
tho Chancellor I do not know.
Nothing more was heard of this for some
time. But at last appeared a little notico
that tho detoctives appointed had deliberated.
Their conclusion was that tho viaduct had
been built by Miss Smith and the girls.
THE STANDARD OF LIVING AMONG STUDENTS.
Stanford University, Cal., January 22,
1994. Dear Mr. Editor: Your request for
a contribution to tho anniversary number of
Tint Hrsperian rominds mo tho first ro.
quest ever made of mo for i-article camo
from tho editor of tho samo periodical, thon
The Hespeeian Student, a thin octavo
monthly making strenuous efforts to have "a
literary flavor." Your present suggestion
that 1 write on tho oarly standard of living
among tho students, and especially among
those who did their own cooking, brings back
tho early incident still more forcibly. Tho
three hundred words which I handed to your
predocosBor fifteen years ago wore under tho
title 'Batching." Thon, as now, 1 turned
to tho dictionary to seo if tho word waB or
was not spelled with a "t," and then, as
now, I was disgusted with the dictionary for
not telling mo. Your conservative prede
cessor changed the title to "Self-Boarding,"
and rather than run the risk of a second edi- ,
torial mutilation I place at the top of these
notes a title sufficiently proper and dull to
pass muster with any editor.
The editor of The Hesperian Student of
1878 ought to have been able to edit, an ar
ticle on batching with discrimination, for he
was living by the uncouth method indicated
by the uncouth word. I remember that when
I went to his room with tho "copy" was
pleased to learn incidentally that the great
man's method of cooking miiBh did not dif
fer greatly from my own, and that in the
matter of cleaning the pot I was distinctly
ahead of him.
Tho "Biz Man" of The Student roomed
next to Mills and mysolf that term. Wo
were in tho second story of a ramshackle
frame building on 0 street, since torn down.
Thero wore two other families on the same
floor, besides tho four students. Tenement
house problems did not interest mo as much
thon as they have since, or I might have col
lected some useful ' notes. Our one room
,wps so small that the bod lounge on which
wo slept had to be folded up and the bod
ding piled on top of it every morning before
wo could sit down to breakfast. Our kitchen
table was also our dining room table, and
alau our study table. This insured our wash
ing tho dishes promptly so as to got tho ta
ble to put our books and papers on.
Tho othor boys had a larger room than
wo, but thon they wore Juniors and wo were
only First Preps. They also wore not afraid
to pay five dollars per month whilo wo only
paid four. A door opened directly from one
room into tho othor, and a joke which was
considered good as long as it could be worked
was to call to tlie man in tho other room and
when ho opened the door throw at him a
baked potato or other harmless missle. One
day when the doys in the other room wore
"having a spread," of which Mills and 1
