St. Paul daily globe., 1885-06-11
satisfaction. he said, in that he had been

heard any member of the faculty, and your
judgments were impartial. We found 1t
easy to confer with you, and you did not
hesitate to confer with us on matters per-
tanning to the development of the unlver-
sity. These are not mere compliments,
but the honest sentiments of independent
men. 1t remains only to say we pledge
you our cordial support. You have solid
faculty-there is no division i'll our ranks
and views. You viii find us obedient With
out servility; independent without obSti-
macy. You will find us men and women
with the one object of developing our be-
loved university and fitting its students Tor
men and women of the highest Christian
civilization"
The welcome and congratulations OF the
alumni were presented by Eugene a. Hen
erickson of the class of 1876. His address
was quite long one and referred more es-
pecially to the fact that the alumni had mad
its first annual meeting, in connection Win
commencement week, that day, and that
this auSpicouS event would always be asso-
ciated with the Inauguration OF President
Northrup.
James Gray of the senior class rendered
the congratulations of the students i'll one
of the best addresses of the day. Ii the
language was sophomore, the sentiments,
touching and genuine, found an echo in the
heart of every student present, as was evil
denced by the hearty applause.
THE EVENT OF THE DAY
was of course the inaugural address OF
President Northrop, which followed: 1t
was very elaborate and comprehensive eX-
position of his views of higher education
and his policy of conducting college. and
Il of tha nnliCN cd
orator. Before he began the address, he
expressed his appreciation OF the words OF
welcome he had Just heard and for the hos
pitable welcome of the state Of Minnesota,
voiced in that grand and gracious assem-
blage His inaugural began with a polished
review af the educational principles Of the
first cOlOnists of America, from which he
traced out the gradual development OF New
England Institutions and contrasted with
it the phenomenal growth of Minnesota
during the last quarter Of Il century. In
this connection he paid g glowing tribute to
the benefcent system OF public education,
which Minnesota, true to the enlightened
instincts of the American people, has estab-
lished-crOwning the system with uElvel-
sity which, in respect to the number Of
students, will show that it is keeping pace
with the progress OF the state
THE STATE UNIVERSITY
differs only from other universities in that
it is state institution. The objects ard
methods are essentially the same. Only in
the fact that this university is the child OF
the state and bound III law to honor and
serve the state, does it present any feature
specially different from other colleges and
universities. In the case Of state uni
versity, the state may absolutely determine
both the extent and direction of the uni
yerSity'S growth. II the state would see in
its university any evidence OF that growth
which is the real result Of vitality within,
there must be stability, undistracted by
apprehension by change and revolution.
The university must, on the other hand, be
so administered as to meet the wants OF all,
and to violate the rights Of none. Studies
must be selected without bias, and instruc-
ton given with fidelity to truth. It's
aim must be to promote real scholarship
and true learning, to cultivate intel
lects and to make additions to the world S
knowledge. l am the more happy to
express these views because l find that
| it is the manner in which this state exercises
its power of control, and desire to say that.
after long acquaintance and association
with one of the best colleges OF the East,
am not in the least ashamed to be at the
head of the University of Minnesota. Its
faithful student, when he graduates, need
not blush to compare himself with the stu
dents of any other institution in the coun-
try.
RADICAL CHANGES SHOULD BE RESISTED.
The speaker maintained that as radical
| changes in studies i'll some of the Oldest
| Eastern universities proved that no perfectly
| satisfactory system had been devised, the
tendency to surrender those studies that
have proved to be the most Salutary for dis
ciplinary purposes should be resisted, and
not encouraged. An important principle in
education is that attainments must be based
upon broad, general culture. No arrange
ment Of studies for the purposes Of educa-
ton can be made which will not require the
grand discipline of mathematics and Ian
guages as foundation. The problem III
| education is, ''How shall the young be best
| fitted to perform. the highest work for
their own age and the ages that
are to Gomez" The answer to the
problem cannot always be the same. The
amount and kind of knowledge varies, but
clear thinking, logical reasoning, the power
| to discover truth and to enforce it, do not
depend upon the changing elements of
knowledge and ages. They belong to the
human mind itself, the laws OF which re-
main unchanged from age to age. The
method of culture for the human mind may
therefore properly remain the same from
age to age, if any method is confessedly
| effective The speaker held that such a
method was through the discipline of math-
ematics and the languages. and should not
be given up with the call of panic-stric6en
| 4boOricfc Isri7o wont fn hnrir RI oal louI IN
eclipses before they have studied arithme-
tic. AS the perfection Of the states edu-
catiOnal system increases, the
REQUIREMENTS FOR ADMISSION
| to the university should be gradually raised,
although to this process there is necessary
limit. The speaker cited at some length
the moral and intellectual greatness of
Abraham Lincoln, the man. of 'imper-
feet education," to show that real
education, perfect or imperfect, is
acquisition of knowledge. 1t is the ap-
produce power. Real education is the re-
suit of work done by the student and not
for him. 1t is just here, if anywhere, that
our modern system Of education is in dan
ger of being broken down. We are in great
danger of substituting examining for train
ing, and of making human minds merely
reception reservoirs instead of living
springs. When the disciplinary part of
education has been properly attended to
other things will almost take care of them
selves. In the
HIGHER WORK OF THE UNIVERSITY,
however. it is proper that there should be a
reasonable degree of choice given to the
student as to what branches he will study.
1t is a humbug that man must always
study what he most dislikes. It is like try
ing to make painters of the color-blind and
orators of the deaf and dumb. A man will
do better work and be a better man by fol-
| lowing the natural bent of his mind. No