Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1877-05-17
(CoMnuErcArEp.

CoNnUEIcArED.
MAarlAHp AsalcuEruaAL ColIrss.
May Is. 1877.
-. e. sin reply 70 your ediio-
nal spea - Maryland Agricultural
Cole 30 NJ - Say that it win
give - IRE to discuss viii you the
psoeoD ouicslturai education. You
say c. - are made that We teach
theoEy vlEont practice. A We seek
only b = - The wishes Of the people
Of naTy u We viii be glad to get,
through -. any indication Of those
vists6. > the duty Of he press to
Jet - 80 what the people want.
#hereveflher is = demand, there will
be . suppl5. I'll venture to assert that
there are rot SIX men in Maryland who
agree - b what IN Agricultural College
should 81 I have not found fco yet.
The peopb who planned it were in the
dark-welnre in the dark. We look 10
the light which comes from the Agri-
cultural Colleges Of Massachusetts,,
Michigs3Snd Iowa. We see that stu
dents ! onired to work in those Col
leges a. oeeIsres II once. that We must
adopt IL, too. We forget that many Ma
ryland men have raised their children
to shun work; We forget that Maryland
men don't want their sons to work in
what they call q manual labor school.
They say that their boys can get the
practice a: home. What would you do
thenl Compel them to work when you
know it will drive every boy from the
College, We must be educated to this
question. II is question Of time and
not the work Of q moment.
Old prejudices are deep sea,ed. We
must be patient. The practice of the
College has been to offer to any. who
wish to labor, all the advantages of that
labor. In short, to make It remunera-
tive enough to pay board and tuition.
The classes in Agriculture ought to
be out upon the farm. to examine, prac-
tice, observe and investigate, and thi.
is already marked out in our course.
The work Of the class room ought to be
by lectures in the field.
This is also proposed as the work Of the
future. Further than this, we cannot
go. Bodily labor and mental labor do
not 60 together. If we are to develop
leaders in the science, the ordinary time
allotted to College course is too short,
If half is to be taken up BY manual la.
Dor. II is the drudgery of the farm
which drives too many of our youths
from the profession OF their faith
ers. We want formers who can handle
questions of theory, for practice is moth
ing without true theory. There must
be limit and that limit, we think, has
been fosaad. We propose TO make stu
dents familiar with the practice by OBJ
servation, examination and BY daily con-
tact upon the farm.
Now, as to the charge that this is
school for fitting boys for West
Point or the Naval Academy. can
show, conclus,vely, that not one dollar
of the States money has erer been ex-
pended for any such purpose. Here
are the facts. President Parker, it is
true, previous to his call to the Presi-
dency Of the College, held the Chair of
in the Naval Academy.
His reputation, as one Of the first math-
ematicians of the country. brought to
the College, each year, about dozen
students, who wished to place them
selves under his experienced tuition.
As all were from different States, they
were charged forty-fve dollars per
month for board and tuition, thus bring
ing into the treasury the sum of 50. 900
a year or $4,000 more than the State
gives. This has enabled resident Par
ker to hand over the whole State fund
to the debt of $4,000, bequeathed to
him by former administration. These
students, also. are required to study all
the branches Of a general education and
are required also to attend all agricultu-
raj lectures. Instead Of costing the
State anything, they are actually aiding
the State to pay its honest debts. Need
make this clearer.
Hoping. sir, that you win enable me
10 throw full glare oflight upon an in
which seems 30 little under
stood. I am yours. most respectfully.
J. d. WARrrELD,
Prof Of English Literature
MARYLAND Az. Co,leSe.