Cash is the criterion of success in the United States, Clyde K. M. Kluckhohn, professor of Anthropology, said yesterday, and he used Harvard students to prove his point.
Speaking at a sectional meeting of the Massachusetts Conference of Social Work at the Hotel Statler, Professor Kluckhohn declared, "The ablest undergraduates in Harvard College do not always receive the highest honors.
Clubs Detour Many
"The energies of many, realistically enough, are often consecrated to 'making contacts' through activities, or through a sedulous campaign to acquire membership in a 'final club.' This is not necessarily because they are congenitally uninterested in ideas, but because they have been effectual conditioned by family pressure and certain schools.
"They have considerable intuitive insight into the structure of our culture. They know that intellectual endeavor will lead them to little 'recognition' and less salary. They know how vital 'success' is to security in our society."
The speaker attributed prevalent materialism to the pioneer spirit in American life. Harvard men were not the only ones to be singled out for attack.
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