The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1865-09-19

LrEnIo, the distinguished German Pro-
fessor, has written to the Secretary of
the Ohio Agricultural Society very in
teresting letter in reference to tho Agri-
cultural Colleges, which are to be estnt-
lished by the proceeds of the lands
granted to governments, and adds some
sensible remarks concerning colleges in
general. He says:
I'm America you spend too much
money in putting up your educational
buildings, and then St,IrVe your profess
sOrs. l learn that you put up very
grand building in your city of Colum-
bus, called the Startling Medical College;
L have II picture of il. l am told it cost
some $4,000 or So, 200, and now you
are starving the professors in il. You
did the same i'll Cleveland and Cincin-
nnti. Then L am told you built two
Universities in Ohio, and now the pro-
GessOrs can barely live on the salary
You pay The consequence IL that
these schools, colleges or universities
must run down. There is no place
in the whole world where knowledge
can make SO much money as in Ameri-
"a therefore your best mon will not be-
come teachers or professors, simply
because they can make more money out
of something else; and they naturally
apply their talent and ability where il
pays the best. No nun will engage i'll
am educational course of life, for life,
ON salary of Sl2OO or Sl5OO IL year,
when he, by applying the same ability
i'll some other pursuit, can make $1,000
or 5000 year, Hence, you have no
first class professors in all America;
but You have instead first class bust
Z ness men, first class mechanics, and
managers of large and colossal estab-
lishments."
There is too much truth in this. 1t is
not strictly true that no man will retain
the place of professor on II low salary
/ when he can secure IA high salary by
engaging in some other pursuit. There
are not n few good men who are so de-
voted to the work of teaching as II kind
of sacred profession, that they will not
be tempted from it by pecuuiary in
ducements. But it is fact that our
college professors are as u class poorly
remunerated, and that trustees of col
1 leges are too apt to think that the way
to attract students is to put up big brick
/ blocks and to pay too little heed to Sc
curing the highest professional talent.
/ Almost every device to make the col
lege prosperous is resorted to, except
the very simple and sensible one of OBJ
tanning the very best professors
1t has always seemed TO us that
wherever the best instructors are known
to be, there not only many stu
dents, but the very highest class of
students, will also be found. And as a
general rule, college which will pay
good salaries, can secure the ablest in
structors, if it will. Men to teach well,
whether in the pulpit or the college,
should be lifted above the necessity OF
a constant contest ''to keep the wolf
from the door" To secure and retain
the best talent in the professional chairs
of our American colleges, we must pay
the professors better salaries. Whether
the money for the purpose shall be
raised by contributions or by increas-
ing the price of tuition is another ques-
ton. But we are inclined to believe
that for the highest order of instruction
much higher rate of tuition might be
obtained than is now demanded in oul
colleges. A very large proportion o.
/ our citizens pay more annually for the
: instruction of their daughters in music
: alone than for the instruction of theil
sons in college.