816 THE PRINCIPLES OF PERSONAL INTEGRITY
The comparison reflected no credit on the "first family" boys.
It is with no feeling of exaltation that I express my gratitude for not
having been brought into the world by parents from a "first family:'
That, of course, had not been a matter of choice, and if it had been
perhaps I, too, would have selected parents of the "first family" type.
Not long ago I had been invited to deliver an address in Boston,
Massachusetts. After my work was finished, a reception committee
volunteered to show me the sights, including a trip to Cambridge,
where we visited Harvard University. While there, I observed many
sons of "first families;' some of whom had Packard cars. Twenty
years ago I would have felt proud to be a student at Harvard, with a
Packard, but the illuminating effect of my more mature years has led
me to conclude that had I had the privilege of going to Harvard I
might have done just as well without the aid of a Packard.COMMENTARY
For any readers unfamiliar with the Packard, they were expensive grand
luxury cars known for their quality construction, extreme durability, and
classic styling, the latter no doubt being why they showed up at Harvard.
The first Packard automobile was produced in 1899 in Warren, Ohio, at
the Packard Electric Company's subsidiary plant, the New York and Ohio
Company. The Packard division began as the Ohio Automobile Company
and became the Packard Motor Car Company in 1902. Production ceased
in 1958, but today there are still Packard car clubs, a museum, and
The Packard Motor Car Foundation, a nonprofit educational organization
dedicated to the preservation of the products and history of The Packard
Motor Car Company.I noticed some Harvard boys who had no Packards. They were
working as waiters in a restaurant where I ate, and as far as I could
see they were missing nothing of value by not owning a Packard; nor