Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1876-06-30

to preach the Gospel. He had been strusgn'n.
after God, hampered by mass OF rules snd Iois~
tions and observances. Every Jew must nav ~ 40
many minute precepts. But new light had oro.s "a
in upon Paul. Laws Were not to restrain put aia
the sinner in the search for light. The APoetS ~
": g 10 vent forth With ali ths srdOr OF youth
fal enthusiasm.
His preaching divided his hearers. TO most OF
them IL tsoomed q simple thing. They nso ooLo
simply as curious hearers. They could leave inc y.
sceEe, forget the preaching, live Afterwards Is 20
fore and consider the preacher as the victim y
fusion and his preaching an idle tale; AND tney
doubtless did SO. But 1t was not all the same = a
they had not heard Paul. As soon as rev beiieseu
there was separating line between the Two ciAss
OF hesrers-and in all ages since the doctrines o.
the Gospel have made and are making separations
between believers and disbelievers. There was
restlessness among those who heard faul Anu ,an
fused 70 believe. The things which he hao fpoAen
troubled their minds The Jews were not aione ~
this, for simple the Gospel is there IS
in it that makes men thoughtful. But the Apost.e
kept steadily at work. II one believed he reloiced
If others donbted, passed on TO further laDors.
This course belongs to the very nature ol the uos
pei. Paul said to the Jews q BE 1t known unto
you that the salvation OF God 10 sent unto the ten
tiles and that they will hear It -" There are
men who will believe me 1t is a critical moment
Tor you while YOU are wondering, questloninE,,
doubling, they will have entered the iamily Oh
God" Tine Gospel has stood through the ages,
glorying in Its victory over those behind IL: 10
the student and the believer on the one hama ana
the doubter and disbeliever on the other thefe -
no more imp ressive lesson. We must determine
these questions for ourselves. The unbenei OF the
Jews rested on a wrong basis and so with the inn-
deity OF later times. Thirty years ago, as cen
tury ago, infidelty made an onslaught upon Chris-
tianity, with arguments now forgotten. Ihlry
years hence the arguments now used Will seem as a
dream. As religion goes on new arguments arc
constantly brought up against II, 10 be forgotten 10
turn. .
Nearly twenty-seven years ago left college: Que
Of class OF 800. We had our doubts and question
iuys then. But now there are twice as many Do
levers as then. We have reached the calmer anu
ripper and sounder judgments OF middle lie. Iyou
do not now believe point you 10 the coming care
The sceptic at ~ IS the believer at 60
Celebration OF the Phi Beta Kappa.
That ancient and honorable College orcer.
the Phi Beta Kappa, which this year cele-
brates the Centenary Of its existence, held its
anniversary on Tuesday forenoon. Prof. H.
A. p. Torrey, president of the Chapter pre-
sided, and the Chaplain OF the Society, rev;
DR.. L. Cutler, Of Worcester, Mass, offered
PRAYER. The beautiful music OF the occasion
was furnished by the list Regiment Band
of New York. The orator was Prof. L. n.
Adams, of Michigan University: His sub
iect was " The Relations of Higher Edu'
cation 10 National Prosperity"
PROF. ADAxs's ADDRESS.
Now, as never before thoughtful men are review
in. the history of the country and scrutinixns the
| foundations which our government has been
| reared. In few years the active men of to-day
will have passed from the stage, and the country
will be in the hands Of the young men who TO-
day, are leaving the schools, But one generation
cannot inherit the learning and skill Of the genera
ton before. Each must acquire Tor Itself all The
knowledge. the art the refinement It possesses
Hence the Importance o. education. In TINS coun-
| try elementary education has nourished as no.
where else II has received the direct !osterin Z
| care o! the government. But while our common
schools have multiplied and prospered our higher
| institutions have lsnguished, or have been com
| PEI ed 10 depend on private munitcence TINS l.;
not as il was in the times OF the fathers. The Pur-
itan iathersIconsdered higher education one OF the
great interests OF the stste-not less 50 than the
common schools For the first seventy years OF Its
| history, the salaries of Harvard College were
paid by the General Court, and 70 the care OF the
| Legislature it owed It's prosperity. The early his
| tory Of Yale was similar. William and Mary Col
| lege was founded Iby Royal endowment and sup
| ported by a tax laid by the government In South
Carolina the state gave in three years s5oO,Oo to
the College OF Charleston. And to these and other
colleges founded and sustained in like manner in
other states the nation owed its early statesman.
Prof Adams proceeded 70 trace the decline OF the
| colleges owing TO the multiplication OF them
| through the demands Of local interest, and espeo
| ially from the rivalry Of religious nominations
| The various denomi nations established denOmina
| tiOnal colleges. The state could not support al
| and consequently would not support any. The
| competition between struggling Institutions lower
| ed the standards Of instruction. The colleges he
| came emharras sed and enieebied. HOW many nave
| ge now that are worthy Of the wealth, the enter
| PRISE and the Intelligence Of the country Iht
| trouble is not that uur colleges are young. Inc
| Universities O: Bonn and Munich and Berlin were
established " thin a century. Aiebuhr ald Liehl-
| and He.el all acquired their renown IN lnlvorsl'
| ties less than quarter OF 4 century old. Wha'
| have the IS American colleges accomplished, il
| comparison with these in the advancement o.
| learning With US the excessive number OF littls
colleges has lessened the esteem in which they
| are held One result has ieen the lessenin. d
the numoer %: students seeking higher educa
! ton. In l,-f the proportion OF college students
| was one in 1913 Of the population. N le| II WA
| one in 1852 in ,t9 one 10 1877. Though the col
| eses fall Of in popular estiinat!on Their hunters
| still increase. A single Western state las nine
| Universities and fhuig-fhree colleges. AS ths
hi cher Institutions multiply and grow ms gun
| cant. the youth eschew Them The proportion o
CO iese-hred men is less than IN the eesinnins o,
the century. There are PROFESSIONALLY fewer col
| lese graduates IN the present United etates Sen
| ate than there were in the first Senate Our Col
| leIe graduates are less conspicuous as vel as .ess
| numerous. With the decline OF the standards O.
| scholarship in the colleges comes resulting De
| cline o! the preparatory schools. And as long q
the feeble CO. eyes accept any thing that comes u
| them, i IS hard 10 raise the standard
| What has been the result on the character OF the
| public men Without any spirit Of p6ssn'sm, admit
| ting that there have always been corrupt mon II
politics and pretenders IN science. we must acknoW
led 20 that we are living IN an age OF low standard
| OF morality and cheap fame. The remedy rests IN
| radical change O. public opinion. Aeonsttuuona
| cure is needed. Specific remedies viii not answer
| the purpose. They but aggravate the evil, 81
witness the effect OF strikes on The prce OF LABOR
OF Potter laws on railroad ireights, OF proHibitory
| legislation On temperance. We must be raisln-
| stra ght and sound trees rather tnan be Wastin.
our 9Th in endeavoring to strengthen crooked
| timber We must return 20 the methods OF tins
| fathers, II we would have their pure government
To effect this change the hope OF the country IS II
its hi CHER institutions Of learning. The euluYstec
| II nds are always the controlling ones IN society
| Our age needs, and its educators must give H.
HI gheT standard OF morals and Intelligence in th'
! controlling clssses. We need not more but oettei
lawyers and clergyman and doctors and architects
| and editors. Not more men but bett0r men 10 thf
| need OF the Republic. As Illustrating what can o'
accomplished by thorough general training th'
speaker instanced Prussia, which by such means
| inaugurated by a single master mind, had IN tuJ
| generations risen from crushed and bleed n.
| people to be the educator Of the world and Inc
| mil htest power on the continent, nation whose
common soldiers sang their songs Of triumph in th'
capital Of conquer France, in fArfg fpO languages
| With en- Injunction 10 his younger hearers e
remember that the life Of the scholar is one o.
work that signing Tor greatness will not br n
greatness or its rewards, and pointing 10 the iao
| that what has been taken to be the trumphs o.
genius, as in the case Of Choate and Jefferson and
! John Quincy Adams, the "Old Man Eloquent.
| were really the results Of thorough scholarshp
| Prof Adam, closed finished. scholarly and mos
effective discourse
Tho impressive words of this admirable
address were listened to with the closest
attention, and it was heartily spplauded al
intervals and at the close.
On motion Of r. D. Benedict, Esq, sec
onded by Hon II. n. Illbbard, of Chicago
the thanks of the society were voted to Prof
Adams for his eloquent, able and eminently
practical discourse, and on motion OF Prot
Goodrich it was voted that q copy of II BE-
requested for publication.
The occasion closed with music by the
band.
Annual Meeting of the Associate
Alumni.
The annual meeting Of the Associate
Alumni Of the University Of Vermont and
State Agricultural College. was held at the
University Chapel, on Tuesday morning
June -, 1876, at ten o'olOok.
In the absence of the President, Prof. 5.
IL Peabody, of Chicago, H., the meeting
was called to order by the Vice President
Hon. William q. Shaw, of Burlington, Vt.
The records OF the last meeting were read
BY the Secretary. and on motion they were
approved The report of the Obituary Com
mittee was presented by II. .. Wheeler.
and on motion of Prof. j. f. Goodrich. it
was accepted and adopted. and the Secre-
tary wgs reqested to publish the same with
the records of the meeting.
NecroIogy L. v. VI. and =. a. 4. Iss5-so.
The list Of Alumni who have died during
the past year, and previously. and the in
formation Of whose death has reached your
committee during the year, contains the
following
JoHH BROwNsoS, class Of 1910. died
March %. lob5.
GEORGE ALLEN, class Of 1927, died May
%, 1876.
prof. George Allen. LID. Professor of
Greek in the University OF Pennsylvania,
died in Philadelphia on Monday. lie was
born in Milton, in this State, the son of the
late Hon. Ueman Allen, subseq of
Burlington. lie graduated at the Univer-
sity of Vermont, in 1927, in the same class
with III p. Uiekok of this city, and subsa-