The Brown and White

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Article from The Brown and White

Brown and White in Congress: Dr. Drinker’s Letter Quoted in Canal Debate”. The Brown and White. Lehigh University. Volume 18, No. 33, February 24, 1911.

Because he was devoted to his duties at Lehigh, President Henry S. Drinker was not eager to take any time off from work. His time out of the office was nearly always work related:  visiting donors and Lehigh Alumni clubs, attending Forestry conferences, giving speeches at the surrounding educational institutions. In 1911, the Lehigh Board of Trustees unanimously awarded him with a mandatory paid vacation, after convincing him that Lehigh would be fine in his absence, to travel around the world with his family. His youngest daughter Catherine Drinker Bowen, celebrated historian and author, stated in her memoir “Family Portrait”, during the journey to foreign countries, such as China and Panama, Henry S. Drinker found time to visit Lehigh men living in those countries. He kept a dairy with detailed notes and sent letters to “his boys at Lehigh”. These letters, which contain his sophisticated observations about the countries’ economical and industrial status, were published by the Brown and White as they were received. Displayed here is the Brown and White issue from February 24, 1911 with Henry S. Drinker’s letter from Panama. The article indicates that Drinker’s observations about the Panama Canal were used in the U.S. Congress as evidence that the Canal needed more security.

Drinker served as president of Lehigh from 1905 to 1920. He was much loved by Lehigh students who sent the Drinker Family on vacation from the South Bethlehem Union Station with a cordial farewell and greeted them with a warm welcome when they returned.