Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1864-10-13
THE COLLEGES.

emit colleges in Vermont shopid not be
He adIajts that one col
lege is absndantly sufficient for the
State; also that sci .entiHc or "poly-
technic" Institution il imperatively
but contends that there are
ipzuperable Objections to the plan OF
uniting the ,&hole into one.
What are these objections? They are
mainly I. That the college proper
would be injured by the union; and z,
That the Agricultural and Scientific De
psrtment would be still more seriously
injured by it.
In support of his first proposition we
respectfully submit that Educator
hrst takes the position of begging the
question, and then entrenches himself
behind he tpse DIRT of President Hop
kins of Williams College. His language
is, "Those colleges flourish best, and
accomplish their true object best, that
are hampered by no outside depart
ments. President Hopkins OF Williams
College, one of the wisest educators OF
the land, as is reported, told the alumni
of that callege at its last commence
ment that he thought 1t much better. to
make their institution good college,
than to try to make a university of 1t;
and spoke deprecatingly of the DISPOSE
ton that was manifested by some to
cucumber Williams College with extra
scientific departments. Now the opin-
ions and assertions of Educator" and
President Hopkins, are entitled to the
same consideration as those Of other
experienced and talented men-and no
more. DR.. Wayland in a very able re-
port which he read before the corpora
ton Of Brown University, in 1850, gives
statistics from the twelve principal
New England Colleges for the preceding
twenty years, from 1880 TO 1850, show
ing that Notwithstanding the great in
crease Of population, the impulse that
was given to the cause OF popular educa-
ton. and the vast sums of money that
were contributed by the friends Of edu-
ton TO cheaper the price Of tuition and
board in colleges, still the number of
college students, had relatively dimin-
ished. Comparing the year 1880 with
the year 184s, one in 1850 inhabitants
was pursuing college course IN 1880,
while only one in 14080 was thus en-
gaped in l849. He also shows by facts
that the standard Of scholarship, profess
sional ability, and college instruction
has not improved; and he comes to the
conclusion that the college pepper"
A derived from Oxford and Cambridge
3 In England and copied originally in this
country, does not meet the demand of
the present age. Unless these colleges
are so remodeled as to furnish that kind
OF education which the country needs,
the Doctor expressed the opinion that
they would eventually die out. He ac-
oordingly laid down a plan embracing
several courses of Instruction, which
was substantially adopted by the Board
of Trustees. We shall allude to it again
hereafter. Without the least intention
Of being invidious, we may safely say
that the opinion of President Wayland,
supported as 1t is by q formidable array
of stubborn facts, may at least serve to
offset that of President Hopkins. Ed
ucator" makes similar assertioas with
regard to Dartmouth, Harvard and
Yale, but he does not give us the facts
and statistics. He simply says, those
who are acquainted" say SO and so-and
1--WE believe that investigations would
show that the same is true of all our
colleges" &c. This certainly must be
regarded as very loose way of treating
an important subject. 1t can hardly
have much effect upon the minds of
grave legislators, ifindeed such was the
design of the writer.
There is one fact which stands out
prominently with regard to colleges.
Those which are the most flourishing in
respect to numbers, and stand the high
est In public estimation are precisely
those which give the greatest prom
inence to useful and practical studies.
Disclaiming again all intention of being
invidious, let us compare the colleges
of Williams and Amherst.
- We have no catalogues st hand later
than those of 1852, when Amherst had
an aggregate Of 2S5, and Williams 2l2
undergraduates. We believe that the
difference, in series of years, would be
much greater in favor of Amherst, and
that the alumni of this college contain
by far the greater proper tion OF thor
ongh scholars and eminent men. Be
You'd all question the one man who has
done the most for the reputation and
prosperity of this institution was the
Late DR.. Hitchcock, who was thoroughly
identified with its interests for more
than thirty years. His speciality, as we
all know, was Geology, science which
literally, and most emphatically lies at
the Foundation of all true agricultural
hnoule6ua Tho Gef,lOUical Cahi,n+ ~