New-York tribune., 1876-12-25
PRINCETON COLLEGE.
: rn,rrp rpoM rHE REY. nR. WARD.


TESTIMONY.
tn me Rdffor Of The Tribune.
SIN: have noticed that the several articles ema-
Mating from Princeton College, offered In THE IRlB-
1NE and elsewhere in reply to your structures upon
the poliey of that institution, have all taken UNI
bro0e af your reference TO article on Princeton
College contributed IS myself TO The IRoepeaae' o,
June 90 and editOrally referred to by you. snOuu
be very far from assuming that any crltcisHs oI
suggestions of my own could have had any speciai
ipNuenoe ON the action of the trustees for Kho"
,,ras;dont and trustees TO be intelligent and ener-
,etie men and doubt not that they understand the
ts and the failures of the college. Still the artl-
les referred to- which appear, as indicated by le1
tar from "Many Alumni in The TRIBUNE 10 DO
from the pen of the treasurer of the college, Wnoso
initials they bear show such an impatient sprlt To-
ward nv criticisms that Iyenture to write once moro
on the subject from another point OF vew taxing Us
nv occasion the leading editorial in The Paceoa'aH
Of Dee. ID. .,.-o. :,
I pass by the insinuatiOn against my mOtiVeS IN
writing before on the subject, as have already puD-
rIyen mvcordia consent to the writer's publish
inc them. as he threatened to do ii desired"
wish 10 sneak of the claims set forth by authority OF
+, nresept administration for progress made since
Dr. McCosfis Inauguration.
The writer in The Princet0nian says and the same
has been repeated elsewhere:
Pnt we shall try to show that Princeton had actually
tanrs scmetTinp In the way or progress before LIiS
tiFring criticism aud exhOrtGon appeared since ISSo
tine date of Dr. McCoshs nauguratonl nnlnncnaed Dy
ifber DIR Ward or TIE TRIBUNE, the college autnOiiuts
have added TO the curriculum the following s1Dees OI
study: Psychology the Hist0Ty od pSs Ijteratre
fbsiSGerman Language and Literature, the fIencn
4Hgesss ana ana Astronomy tfepacin the old branch OF
NsiIral Philosophy Applied and Organic Chemistry iy
Analytical Chemistry, Mlneracgy, Ol'H E"si"'0'i"e'
APPLIED Mathematics, and Architecture.
Notice that these Subjects of study have Deen
added to the curriculum" since 1SGS. Ihis claim
is gross exaggeratiOn, and as gloss an injustice 10
the instructors in tho college previous TO leoo lhAs
snot the first time that the claim for great progress
there has been based on depreciation OF the con-
ditim of things before 1868 Princeton has had
and still has great deficiencies; but they are in the
line of the biological sciences rather than OF those
which constitute the bulk of this bOastcd advance
I,oarn bv communication with older alumni or by
examination of the catalogues Of 1867 and lS67-o
jssned under DR.. Macean's presidency the ioiioW-
inc facts about the subjects Of study CLAIMED 20 nave
been introduced since 1898:
The first studies mentioned are Psychology and
the History of Philosophy. They have been taught
from time immemorial under the title OF Mental
Philosophy Prof Atwater had those departments
as President Carnahan had before him; and the UNI
yersal testimony is that they were well taught
tboueh less relative time, presume, was given 10
them than now, when Mental Philosophy is divided
hetween two instructors. Civil Government" IS
only new name and replaces the Political Econ
orny taught by Prof. McIlyaine. Englist Litera-
+nre il down in the catalogues previous TO 1868 as
n snhiect on which regular instruction given by
DR. Hart man whom DR.. McCOsh would hardly
call incompetent French" and German" had
been electives as they still are certainly for thirty
years before 1868; and were Taught by competent
instructors History was also in the curriculum,
and if We can Judge from the catalogues, received
then as much attention as now. The old graduates
remember that Botany" was admirably taught
forty years ago by that prince OF ootanists'
David Touey and no competent instruction
i given in that department today. The less
said about Zoology" as now taught IN
Princeton the better; and the catalogues
of 1867 and 1868 include the department then as
now. "Physies and Astronomy" have been taught,
and. especially the latter, admirably taught for
MANY wears and under precisely these deslgnatOns'
and not merely as Natural Philosophy, as the names
of Profs Henry and Alexander viii remind any one.
Even Architecture" has been the subject OF regl-
lar lectures for very many years, and Is included IN
the list of lectures for the year previous to the dae
Of this great pretended advance OF instruction.
am well aware that there has been some increase III
the efficiency of the teaching force OF the coIege
This has been chiefly in more prominence being
of three men into the School of Science who increase
the efficiency Of instruction in Physics, Analytical
Chemistry and MineTalogy, and Civil Engineering
and Apphed Mathematics What is now needed
most of all is the promised increase OF strength Ill
the languages and some competent instruction IN
the department Of Natural History, including Pale
ontology as well as ordinary Zoology and Botany.
I venture 10 add word on one further pointwhich
the apoogist for Princeton has offered in reply to
THE TRIBUNE. He says:
We wonder. for example, whether it knew anything o.
prof Gyo when il stated editOraly that Princeton mad
moi professor who could give the names OF ho lOss'
oil NewJeIsey. We nave students here VINO can DO tS
Most excellent if true, but 1 very much doubt il
the writer consulted Prof GuyOt before writing
this sentence He is an authority in certain depart
ents of the vast science of geology, but like many
other geologsts has never pretended TO DO paeoh
toloeist. but rather student Of surface geology
and comparative geography. New-Jersey has
welded important fossils both vertebrate and nver-
tebrate. am positive that Prof. Guyot has never
published single memoir vertebrate paleon'
toogy and If he has published critical paper oi
made any determinations invertebrate paleon-
fology the fact has escaped me. lie IL an able man
and doubtless could identify shell that has been
figured, and so can any intelligent man who has
read textbook Even an undergraduate can dc
this with the picture before him. But to say that we
have students here who can" name the fossils OF
NeW-Jersey, who give the names OF unigured
invertebrates; much more, who are competent To de
termine unknown or new vertebrate species from
such fragnentary bones as Prof. Marsh had III hand
when he made his brilliant New-Jersey discoveries
is patent nonsense to any decent scientific student
only state a notorious fact when say that there
never has been in Princeton with the exception OF
the late DIR. Torrey, any one distinguished in the
a6ieDee of living beings whether recent or extinct