The Indiana State sentinel., 1874-02-10

more than one instance. But before q
movement is made to suspend attempts at
the new education, every member of Con-
gress and every intelligent citizen eught to
read carefully the power full address of Prof.
Andrew ID. White of Cornell, delivered on
the twenty-first of last month before the
state agricultural society of New York at
Albany AS may be presumed, the effort is
a special argument for the existing ag-
ricultural colleg and pointed defense
of the Morrill, bill and, the doubtful
policy of giving away the government lands
to institutions of learning. There are plen-
ty of interested, parties and dof.othsns-ineo con-
siderate who clsmors to give away lands for
any and all purposes, bat especially to pro-
mote education. The bald stupidity of
such sch emes Of corralaion need not
be argued here. The whole ground
is covered, and the stupendous mischief
uncovered in the exhaustive letter of the
Hon. George w. Julian. on land bountiss to
soldiers written more than twelve months
ago. In this part of his argument. Prof
White descends to some narrew special
pleading that is capable of easy refntation.
But when he rises above this to the defense
of scientific industry, and skilled artizan-
ship, his showing of facts and logic is
both conclusive and elegant. 1t need
not be said that the address is a classic in
style, beauty and finish. That isimplied in
its author. 3ut it is as overwhelming as an
avalanche to. the mind of o strict business
man, to the economist and the tax-paying
citizen. Think of this in mechanics. The
writer says
A few years since, with small party of
our fellow sitizens> visited the West Indies
in a national ship. She was noble vessel
and her engines bad cost, it is said, nearly
eight hundred thousand dollars. The en-
gines showed ingenuity !. but they were so
deficient in the psoper elementsof construct
ion that cur voyage was prolonged until we
were all given up as lost and had the honor TO
have ourObituaries in the leading newspa-
pers. The first voyage q those engines ives
the last, They were sold for old iron and tia
sum loss on thsm alone was sufficient to ea-
dow ths finest institution foa mechanical en-
gineering in the world.
OF cayil engineering. Pr. White asserts that
on the seventy Thousand miles Of railwaxin
the United States, It Is no exaggeration to
say that millions of dollars are lost every
year by ths employment of hslf-ednaatsd
civil engineers. Add to this the
damage, waste and nonsensical squ.nder-
ings on public works, streets, bridges,
and water works in cities, the eonse-
Qsence OF incompetent engineering and the
amount CT waste for want of knowledge
becomes incalealahle. But greater fact
than this is the loss of life. Eminen5 English
authors show by statistics that vicious sew
erage engineering costs Great Britain 1O0, 900
lives annually. A gentle hint for the little
village of indianapolis. 1t is Impossible
to review the six column address,
all of it full of sound thought,
and conclusive in demonstrating the econ
omy of that education which links labor
with learning and crowns both with the best
glory of humanity. 1t is no time to turn
back the wheels of educational progress
into the old professional ruts. Rather open
the way for a broader sweep of science that
will comprehend the whole people.