Rockefeller: Dartmouth

Author’s note:

What follows is a selection of excerpts from letters I received from classmates of Nelson Rockefeller at Dartmouth and from classmates of Richard Nixon at Whittier High School, Whittier College, and Duke University Law School.

It seems to me that these excerpts are worth preserving. Indeed, to anyone interested in these two remarkable men, the letters are oddly revealing—one catches a sudden vivid glimpse of the boys they used to be, as in an old photograph album. The Nixon letters seem to me more interesting than the Rockefeller letters—Rockefeller was so universally liked that the letters about him are repetitious. But the reader will, I think, find both selections worth leafing through, at least.

S.A.

Before answering them specifically, I should tell you that I have the highest regard and affection for Nelson.… He is the same wonderful fellow to-day that he always has been, and we all love him.

As sophomores I was responsible for collecting the money for our fraternity picture. The price was fifty cents unframed and a dollar framed. When I told this to Nelson he said he would take it unframed for he could frame it for less than fifty cents.

When Nelson was here in Venezuela in November right after the elections, he reminded me that one of his first experiences in politics was when he and I ran against each other for the presidency of the senior class at Dartmouth. Nelson and I had moved in pretty much the same circles at Dartmouth and if either one of us had run alone, the one who did run would have won the election fairly easily. What actually happened was that we split the vote and a third (and very deserving) candidate stepped in and nosed us both out. This proves, I suppose, that neither he nor I was much of a politician back in those days.

Nelson was then, always has been, and still is a born leader. I am sure that Nelson’s ability to make and keep friends, his intelligent, enthusiastic and all-out approach to any problem, his liberal philosophy which somehow has evolved out of a highly conservative heritage, and a whole lot of just plain executive ability would have meant that Nelson today would have been an important public figure even if his name had not been Rockefeller.

I not only was in college with Nelson; I worked for him and with him for twelve years after graduation and therefore feel that I know him well.

In case any of the above sounds as though I might be trying to gain a few points with the boss, I should point out that I haven’t worked for Nelson since 1943.

While his name and fortune may have been a hurdle between him and easy companionship with the rest of his class and college mates, it was one which he had little difficulty clearing. He went a long way toward overcoming this hurdle during his first week at college. I know of no count that was made of the number of rugs he beat and rooms of furniture he moved for upper classmen during those first days, but it is certain that most of the latter preferred to have their work done by a Rockefeller, if available, than any one of the rest of us and he was unable to make himself very scarce. The good grace with which he took this indoctrination to undergraduate life gave him a fine start in his very successful undergraduate career. As you know, he went on to become a member of the varsity soccer team, a Senior Fellow and was president of both The Arts and The Dartmouth Pictorial, to which he was a liberal photographic contributor.

Always an extrovert and friendly, he had and apparently still has the personality for a natural politician and there is no question but what he has the mental ability, judgment and fortitude to make an outstanding statesman.

If Nelson had gone to Dartmouth under any other name, no one would have known him as anyone except a normal college student. He was as much a part of us as any other friend. Nelson won many honors, both scholastically and socially, but he won them on merit and would have won them no matter what his name. In my opinion he is one of the most self-effacing persons that I have ever known.

Personally, I would vote for him anytime but whether the average man will accept his personification of Capitalist remains to be seen.

“Rocky” had the ability to make others feel perfectly at ease. Sometimes boys who first met him might have been impressed because he was the grandson of “John D.” but it was not long before everyone liked him for himself and never gave a thought to the significance of his name.

“Rocky” was a great credit to his heritage. He never imbibed as others did during prohibition; he never smoked, and certainly led a good Christian life.

I recall that during Fraternity days, on Wednesday meeting nights, it was a requirement that the boys wear detachable stiff collars. “Rocky” used to be kidded because he would wear a formal shirt, as he did not want to spend the money for a regular shirt. I also recall the time he was kidded by many about going home to New York with a large rip in his trousers. There was another story about the time his father and mother came to visit him, and they were entertained by President Hopkins. On leaving, President Hopkins’ daughter, Ann, asked the Rockefellers to give her a lift up town. On the way, Mr. Rockefeller told his chauffeur to pull into the Standard station for gas, and immediately Ann told the chauffeur to go across the street to the Texaco station, as her father had often said that they sold better gasoline, so Mr. Rockefeller directed the chauffeur to go to the Texaco station. “Rocky” used to laugh and enjoy being kidded about such incidents.

In college, Nelson was a big, handsome lad with a friendly smile and an unassuming attitude. He was one of the most liked and respected boys in the class, and was on a first-name basis with all the boys. In those days, the conventional garb of the Dartmouth undergraduate was white duck pants and a dark green (Dartmouth green) crew-neck sweater. When the temperature went down—as it frequently did to below zero—we wore sheepskin-lined coats, knee length or shorter, and wool knit caps or “beanies” of the Dartmouth green. When the melting snows made the campus a sea of water and mud, we added galoshes, which were worn unbuttoned and flapping. Nelson dressed according to this custom, as did practically all of the 2,000 or so undergraduates.

One amusing incident he might recall was on a visit to West Point. The game was scheduled late in the afternoon, and toward the end of the game, the sun went down. This was signalled by firing a cannon, and all cadets came to attention to salute the stars and stripes as they were being lowered, including the cadets on the playing field. At that instant, the Dartmouth boys had the ball, and proceeded through the cadet line, which stood at attention like rigid mummies, and put the ball in the net for a goal before the referee awakened to the situation and called a time-out.

My first recollection of the name Nelson Rockefeller was after I’d been four weeks a Freshman. There weren’t many job opportunities available for Freshmen who might want to help themselves financially through school. A fellow could, however, if he was lucky get a job waiting on table at one of the many private eating clubs in Hanover. As I recall it was about four weeks after school started that word got around that one of our classmates by the name of Nelson Rockefeller, who really was a son of John D. Jr., had gotten himself a job waiting on table at one of these clubs. The management, however, upon learning his identity persuaded him to give up the job in favor of someone else who might need the money more than he.

As fellow members of the Arts, a student organization which, among other things, entertained visiting celebrities, Nelson and I served as joint hosts to Edna St. Vincent Millay. Since Nelson was, and, as far as I know, still is a complete teetotaler, I carried the ball alone in providing liquid refreshments for Edna after she became bored with the reception we had arranged for her through the English Department and the Library. The following day Edna and her husband, who had accompanied her, and I were nursing hangovers, while Nelson was his usual fresh and energetic self.

There were many people in our Class who were closer to Nelson than I was, and who have seen more of him since graduation than I have, but to sum up my evaluation of Nelson it would appear to me that he is eminently well qualified, both by temperament as well as ability, to handle his assignment as Governor of New York, and to serve as President of the United States, if that should be his destiny.

In his whole college career, Nelson was “one of the boys.” He has always had a genuine interest in and liking for people, no matter who they are or where they came from, and his friendships in the class were wide. Answering your specific questions, he was extremely well liked, and his wealth was no bar to easy companionship with the other students. He was an extrovert and gregarious. At the same time, he required occasional periods of solitude, especially before exams, when he would bury himself for days in some place like Woodstock. He maintained the highest standards of personal conduct (he didn’t smoke, swear or drink) without any trace of a holier-than-thou attitude. His normal appearance—a crew cut, dirty corduroy pants and a green sweater—was as sloppy, if not more so, than the college average. He was exuberant, loved rough-housing and participated in such dubious ventures as the kidnapping of the leading members of one of the other classes.

In financial matters, there was no show of wealth, one reason being that he had no wealth to show. He was on a rather strict allowance and accounted regularly to his father. Although his expenditures were very moderate, there were a number of times when he was completely out of cash and was obliged to borrow from his roommate.

In his studies he was a hard, conscientious (though not a brilliant) worker with an inquiring mind which brought him into more after-class contacts with the professors than most people had.… His spelling was (and probably still is) atrocious, and he had to make a special deal with the English Department, which had a rule that any theme with more than a certain number of misspellings would automatically flunk.

This was the era of the Kellogg-Briand pact, which we thought had eliminated war forever; of the Hoover prosperity and the booming stock market. The 1929 crash made very little impression on us. We had no reason to question the status quo. I would think it fair to say that Nelson, along with the rest of us, accepted the existing order pretty much as it was.

There is one story that answers several of your questions. I labelled it “When I threw millions over my shoulder”—, never dreaming that today he would be Governor of New York, and with the possibility of being President.

It occurred one night in our senior year at the Casque and Gauntlet house. For some reason or other I was first in bed in our dormitory. I was almost asleep when a couple of roommates crept in and turned over somebody’s bed. I stayed awake to see who came next, and it was Nelson. I watched as he made his way down the room to go to bed and then, evidently thinking I was responsible for the sculduddery, came crawling up on his hands and knees to tip my bed over. As he jumped for mine, I was ready, and threw him over my shoulders. We both felt like wrecks for a while, but had a good laugh.

A small bit of college give-and-take roughhouse, perhaps, but it is an indication of the regular kind of guy he was, even then.

Nelson Rockefeller’s father, John D. Rockefeller, Jr., spoke at a dinner during our graduation in 1930. If I remember correctly (1930 is so long ago) he told us to live so (that is, with such integrity) that we could tell anyone to go to hell at any time of our lives. I’m not sure that that is valid advice but I was impressed then and they are the only words I remember out of the entire graduation week.

His interest in teaching Sunday School in Vermont was due to his normal interest and respect for this activity and he did not do it to conform, please his parents or because it might have been expected of him. He was just thoroughly wholesome, in a very masculine way and was always on the “go.”

In our days of Prohibition while at school it was “smart,” of course, to have several drinks at any of the few social functions we had. Nelson neither drank nor smoked; however, he was not critical of those who did and was no prude on the subject. He would have such a good time at a house party dance and would be charging around the dance floor as enthusiastically as those who were slightly in their cups.… He had boundless energy and it was directed in the proper channels. He never paraded as a “Rockefeller” and he took pains to try to hide his identity, since he wanted to be accepted as a “regular guy.”

Visiting with the Rockefellers for these three days was like dropping in on the Joneses. There was no sign of class distinction, ostentation, or privilege, and their welcome was warm and honest. They were totally disarming in manner and most of us had a charming vacation before settling down to whatever jobs we could find in 1930.

… he wore the same type corduroy knickers during the winter that everyone else wore, and they weren’t any cleaner than the other fellow’s after a long winter. He did not have an unusually large ward-robe and he was not a flashy dresser. He was not fastidious about keeping an orderly room, which was in keeping with his C & G brothers. He was alert to someone trying to shine up to him because he was a “Rockefeller,” but he was kind in dealing with this type and did not hurt their feelings. He was tolerant in argument, but dogged in his devotion to a “cause.”

Nelson’s spelling was terrible. This deficiency was due, I believe, to his progressive secondary education at the Lincoln School. During English exams his professor would tell him to put a question mark after all words whose spelling he questioned. There were question marks all over his blue books. He would ask us how to spell connected words such as whomever, nevertheless, since he could not grasp these words from his progressive schooling background.

In summary on Nelson: he was gregarious, friendly, unassuming, vigorously athletic, companionable, full of drive—this composite spells out a natural, honest politician of the Eisenhower type. His character, then and now (I had a conference with him less than a year ago), is one to invite respect and honor. There is nothing cheap or superficial about him. He is a “good guy.”

I hope that I have given you some honest answers to your inquiry.

In passing, I might say that I am the fellow who ran for Junior Class President against Nelson and I had the tremendous good fortune to defeat him at that time. It seems to me Dartmouth College deserves some credit for the breadth of her education, when the son of a poor shoe worker could defeat the son of such a wealthy and famous family.

In the past this accomplishment meant a lot to me, but in the light of Nelson’s popularity and success in the State of New York and his potentiality as a candidate for the Presidency of the United States, I am sure it is gathering importance in my own mind.

I hope you may find some small idea here that would help you make American people and the people of the world realize how fortunate we are to have Nelson available.

At Dartmouth he was, if not the worst dressed boy in his class, he came pretty close to being the most casually dressed. He just didn’t care about “show” and he did like to be comfortable. Dartmouth’s a pretty democratic school, anyway, and, really, the idea that he might have quite a bit of money didn’t seem to enter into his friendships and his acquaintances—here again, in a small school like Dartmouth he got to know almost everyone in the class, as most of us did. He was, indeed, very well liked by all of his classmates, and still is!

I remember him vividly at the time of the annual Freshman-Sophomore “rush,” which always turned into a chaotic melee. There was so much shoving and pushing going on between about 1,000 members of the Freshman and Sophomore classes that I saw him only briefly with his shirt torn off his back, laughing like crazy and having the time of his life.

He has a great joy for life, he is full of zest, and always was—in a way, I wouldn’t be surprised if he has a lot of the same ebullience and energy and love of life that characterized Teddy Roosevelt.

There are many fine things I could say about Mr. Rockefeller, but the thing that stands out in my mind above all else is a statement he made during a discussion we had during the latter part of our senior year. This was in the spring of 1930. The depression was upon us. In our group as we sat around one evening we reported on what we planned to do after graduation. Some were planning to go into business, some law, a few in medicine, and I was planning to become a teacher.

In somewhat of a joking way the question was put to Nelson along these lines: “How in the world are you ever going to get a job and support yourself during this depression?” “What are you going to do?” After some informal joking about this he answered in all seriousness somewhat along these lines: “My job will be to take the wealth that will come under my direction and use it to do the greatest good for the greatest number of people.”