[Dr. Ben Mark Cherrington (1885-1980) was national secretary of the YMCA from 1919 to 1926 and assisted the Reverend Sherwood Eddy in organising European
seminars. In 1926 he became the Executive Secretary of the newly-established Foundation for the Advancement of the Social Sciences at the University of Denver, and wrote to Gandhiji, among others, on March 15, 1928, seeking advice on how the foundation could be of greatest use to the world. He enclosed several questions (the enclosure is not available37).
Dr. Cherrington was Executive Secretary of the Foundation from 1926 to 1951; Chancellor of the University of Denver, 1943-46; and director of the Regional Office of the Institute for International Education, 1951-69. He served in the State Department in 1938-39 and 1946.38]
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Satyagraha Ashram,
Sabarmati
June 22, 1928
Dear friend,
I have your letter. You altogether overrate my ability to help you. I however try to answer your questions to the best of my ability.
Yours sincerely,
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Ben M. Cherrington, Esq.
Executive Secretary
University of Denver
Denver, Colorado
[Enclosure]
I have never had occasion to study the history of the foundations in the West. My knowledge of them being too cursory to be of any value.
1. In my judgment, the growing need of the times however is restoring to the things of the heart, that is, moral well-being, its true place in life. Social science, according to my view, should therefore be approached from that moral standpoint. No tinkering will answer the purpose. Your foundation, therefore, if it is to be true to itself, should be utilised for subverting the system under which the extraordinary
accumulation of riches has been possible in America. It would seem then that if you adopt my suggestion, it becomes for the most part independent of monetary help.
2. In view of my answer to the first question, I need hardly answer the second. But I would say independently of the first that the organisation of the
foundation round industrial, racial and international relationships would be any day preferable to the traditional academic departments. If the view underlying my answer to the first question is accepted, you will have to do original research work.
3. In view of the foregoing the answer to this is unnecessary. It would certainly be wise to have all nations, races and classes represented. If you can
take care of the youth, the citizens will right themselves.
4. I should lock up in fairly commodious but not too comfortable rooms a few professors and students and insist upon their finding a way out of the present intolerable position, if you hold with me that the present is an intolerable position.
5. I am unable to answer this.
6. The idea is good. Perhaps the most effective way of securing the proper type or exchange of visiting members would be to send out a representative to the
countries from which you may want such members so that he may come in direct touch with the living institutions of the country or countries in question.
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