JG Machen to Family, 1913

My dearest Mother; This week I have several very Sweet letters of yours to acknowledge. Of course I shared in your worry about The quarrel between William and Maggie, and am delighted to hear that owing to your wise ministrations the wound seems to be healing all right. The cold must have been hard to bear on top of all the rest. I am afraid that out of consideration for me you are keeping from me much of your troubles. But you mustn’t let that motive enter In. During the past week a situation has

arisen here at the seminary which may possibly in the end cause me to prefer some other job. If it were not for my feeling of gratitude to Army and the pleasure which I have (with) in association with him, I should feel a good deal like packing my trunk and leaving town. But the trouble must not be exaggerated. I say merely that is the way I feel – second thoughts will no doubt keep me from doing anything at all rash. The unpleasant- ness results from a change which has recently taken place in the policy of the Seminary with regard to colored students. They have always been received, though in previous years the registrar has

taken occasion to warn them that our course is not so well adapted to their needs as is that of other seminaries (all of the) which the church provides especially for them. The case is not as though this were the only place to which they could come if they are to be educated for the ministry. Lincoln University, Pennsylvania, ie, except for the name, an excellent institution with professors of the caliber of William Hallock Johnson, Army’s friend, Who is fully the equal of the Men that we have here. This year The policy of such a letter of advice (the letters were of course always written on the registrar’s own responsibility) has been abandoned (and this) unwisely I think,

since we have found that for all ex- cept one or two at the most of the colored men who have been here our course is ridiculously ill-adapted. This year for the first time a colored man is in one of my small Greek classes. But this is all aside from the point. I am certainly not objecting to the presence of a colored man in the Seminary classes. But this year, for the first time A colored man has been given A room in (the) one of the Seminary dormitories, and to that I must emphatically object. The intimacy of the relation of the men in the same dormitory, where there is only one bath-room, exceeds, in some respects

at least, that of table – companion- (at least for ten or fifteen years) ship. Formerly ^ the Seminary has paid for a room in town for every colored student. There has never been the slightest friction in the matter at all, [] no evidence of hard feeling either on the part of the colored students themselves or any- body else. I have never seen a place where this particular problem is handled more wisely and moderately. Two years ago, at a faculty meeting, in connection with some informal (in the chair) (meetings) discussion, Dr. Warfield ^ dropped the remark that if another colored student came there was no objection to having him room in (a) the dormitory.

From those present (Whether) There was no objection ^, simply because no concrete case was up, and the subject is a thorny one. Yet the Registrar took that to Be a formal ruling of the chair, un- objected to and therefore settling the policy of the institution. This year the Registrar of the superintendent of buildings have acted accordingly, and in reverse of their previous policy. I have talked to a number of the members of the faculty. They all sympathize fully with me. According to Dr. Warfield himself, not one single member of the faculty agrees with him. It is true some of them are “sticklers” for the civil rights of negroes – it always

makes me intensely angry to hear people talking glibly about equal civil rights of negroes when in many parts of the South those equal rights would mean that every legislator and every judge would be a savage of a low type and the white man would be more unsafe in parts of this country than in the most uncivilized parts of the world where at least the protection of his (house) home government is to some extent with him. But that is all by the way. With regard to the narrower question now before us they are all perfectly agreed with me. Conditions being as they are here in

Princeton, they are all agreed that it is the height of unwisdom and of unkindness to all parties to have the colored man living in the dormitory. How then has Dr. Warfield power to accomplish anything? Simply by forcing a vote on the principial question and (perhaps by) therefore risking a publicity that could be disastrous. We have simply been advising these colored men – stating the facts and asking them to act in a sensible way accordingly. Dr. Warfield thinks he will feel bound, if the faculty is forced to take a vote, to place his discretion upon the minutes.

Nothing has as yet been done. I Decided, for various reasons, not to present my letter of protest at the meeting of the faculty yesterday. What of course we are most anxious of avoiding is the reviving of this question in any principial way. And please say nothing about the whole matter to anyone outside of the family. The colored man is at present Rooming in Brown Hall. But any time a room is vacant he may move over here. If I am to make any objection, now is the time to make it. Of course if he came over here

I could simply move out. It would be a big sacrifice to me. You probably have no idea how much the association with (the) my friends here has meant to me. I am very fond of dormitory life. I should hate ap[p]artments in town beyond words to express. But it’s not heartless to be unwilling to sacrifice myself for another. For the colored man, in the nature of the case, cannot enjoy the pleasures of life here of which I speak. And then I am very sorry for the Seminary men who haven’t the money to do as I would do. But my personal sacrifice is a minor

consideration. If the present state of affairs goes on, my interest in the institution is gone. Dr. Warfield himself admits that I am quite right [from] on prudential grounds. The presence of a colored student in the dormitory will be an exceedingly serious injury, he admits, to the institution – [But] at least so far as its immediate influence is concerned. But he looks to some (out?) of broader influence which prevents us from stating the facts to the colored man and telling him that under the circumstances he will be happier in a room in town!

I had a two-hour argument with Warfield on Friday – about as poorly conducted an argument on his side as I ever listened to. My total impression was that, despite his remarkable gifts (to my mind he is the biggest man in the Church in this country), he is [re] bitterly lacking in appreciation of the facts of human nature. I cannot have my deepest feelings of patriotism trampled upon without pain. This letter gives you only a very imperfect account of the situation. But if I go on with it, I shall get to be trembling so with rage as to be unfitted for the duties of the day. I hate a fight. I love peace with all

men. And I am going to try to conquer my angry feelings and I think I shall be suceesful [successful]. What will be done I do not know. But I am coming to doubt whether I have any responsibility for further action. I have placed the facts in the hands of some members of the faculty. Let them do as they please. As for me, I can get along for the present, and if the worst comes to the worst I can leave town at the end of this year. I do not despair of getting another job, though of course the wreck of my hopes for Princeton and in Princeton

would be sad. I cannot imagine a pleasanter place to spend one’s life. It has meant the world to me. But do not think of me in any tragic way. I am happy enough --happier, I think, so far as my own life here is concerned, than I have been in some previous years. Of course I am troubled and worried. perhaps It seems to me ^ unwise to let But use your own judgement Tom read this letter ^. Let us keep the little disagreements of theologians to ourselves. I know Arly will sympathize with me about Warfield[‘s] crank views about the one subject. my ad- miration for Warfield in the last few years has been perhaps even greater than before. There are just lots of pleasanter things that I should like to tell you, but I have run on about an unpleasant matter until I am simply

exhausted, and duties are pressing in upon me so that I feel distracted. I begin today as superintendent, and my lesson is not prepared. During the week I have been working pretty hard for the Sunday – school. Through Army’s help I have secured a teacher for the new boys’ class, so that the problem is at last solved. During the week I have gotten no reading done at all, and am afraid I shall be inefficient in my extra- curriculum work. It looks as though my class in Acts were to have in it at least eight men, and most of them are good men. Three of the Benham fellows are coming in. One of

these is an excellent Scotch – Irish fellow, who spent his first year at Glasgow. I wish Dr. Kirk, with his contempt for America, could see how the Scotchmen seem to prefer us. These latter men seem always very sorry when their church requires of study them to spend their last year in Ireland. The man of whom I have just spoken is, with some risk to his prospects, violating the regulation in order to stay. All this is rather re- freshing in view of the contempt which some people feel for us at home. My Greek classes, I regret to say, are rather large this year. Yesterday two men took the test in Greek-examina-

tion delayed for various reasons. One of these handed in this [the?] best paper [in the class. He] of all. He is an “honors” man in classics from Aberdeen University, Scotland. I am inclined to like the introduction of “honors” courses at Princeton University. It seems to me too that it could be well too to have an “honors” degree which should be quite separate, as in Great Britain, from the pass degree. Some of our Irish students are in Greek not particularly well-prepared ^ . But when they have an honors degree in classics (which is not very commonly the case) that always means some-

thing. We had a Seminary “stunt-night” on Friday. The boys seem never to get tired of my “Bill Smith” stunt which you have never heard. I got it from “[quotation mark in the shape of a heart]Col. Brank. Very gratifying! No word from Dr. Kirk about the time when I am to meet Presbytery. Your loving son Gresham P.S. I am feeling better – much better. And after the first shock of this unpleasant matter has passed off, I shall be in first rate spirits. The sympathy of my friends has meant a great deal to me. And perhaps the whole matter will be happily settled. Warfield does make me mad. But he makes everybody mad on account of his

domineering ways. His power after all he owes chiefly to the fact that in the majority of cases he is right. In the argument with me was very Courteous. He nearly always is that.