The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-06-16
The State University.

! OF good deal more discipline at the uni
versity than is maintained there at
present. He was there for eight days
investigating the Institution and its affairs,
and, apparently, he'is by no means satisfied
with all that came under his observation.
In communication 10 the Constitution, he
mentions several things which, to say the
least, are not very creditable to the man
agement of the university. For instance,
lie saws:
| What is vice? II using tobacco is vice,
then it seems to be almost universal'there.
NO institution that ever | saw is SO bad III
| tins. The boys praise loudly some Of the
members of the faculty who "set up" the
cigars at certain times Is physical man
| hood worth anything to the stated Is it
worth anything to these young menS
| w hat says their science about tobacco and
the physical mani Is it hurtful or not to
the average throat and brain and general
nervous systeml Did the state establish
| This delightful tobacco chair in the univer-
| sity! What is the degree! Bachelor of in
| decencies. | went into the recitation room,
| where the seniors were examining in
chemistry. The air was full of the smoke.
Can it be possible that there are members
OF the faculty who encourage boys to use
tobacco by treating them to cigars? Can
the influence of teachers who win the favor
of the students by such means be beneficial!
Should not the use of tobacco by the
students be discouraged in every possible
way! The majority of them are mere boys,
and the effect of tobacco upon them cannot
be otherwise than harmful, both morally
and physically-morally because boys who
indulge freely in smoking are, as a rule,
easily led into other bad habits, and, physi-
cally, because tobacco is injurious to their
nervous systems. Think of a recitation room
where young men are undergoing exami-
nation in chemistry being full of tobacco
smoke! What would the parents of these
young men have thought if they had sud
denly stepped into that recitation room?
Was such a scene as that described
by Mr.. Ford ever witnessed at
Harvard, or Yale, or Vanderbilt, or Tulane!
Truly Mr.. Ford is right when he says there
is need of a strong executive head at the
university.
Speaking of the DETACHMENT of the build
ings, Mr.. Ford says:
All over some of the buildings, outside
as well as inside, malicious hands have
detaced with knife, chalk and lead pencil,
the walls. Over the door to the chapoi
| room, in which daily services are conducted,
is in large words an advertisement of an
| eating house. Everywhere the lead pencil
has done its perfect work i'll this line. The
| indecencieS in the dormitorieS are entirely
| unmentionable. But 'boyS will be boysn
| excuses it before God and decent men.
| When spoken of for the report, it was OBJ
| jected to as not being immoral, and, there
TO hn 1,olrs
| Institution. When decency is at a discount
manklnd-and especially womankind-are
| sufferers. What is needed here is a promi-
| nent officer known as missionary. That there
| are young men here whose parents would
be shocked to see and know their true moral
surroundings cannot be doubted. They must
wonder, when their boys return from col
| lege, what gave them all their daring impu-
| dence and disregard for all former teach
ings of purity, refinement and christian
grace. / know what does it, One mother
was with her sick son. Did she see any of
| this revolving indecency! The officer of the
| institution said TO mo: "You cannot go in
| that building. There is sick boy in the
third story" Yes. What would | hurt
him! was the query to me. Within a few
windows of his was a drunken student, or
lunatic, or Yahoo-I cannot tell which he
was-howling like a mailman.
This is absolutely startling. Can it be
that such things are permitted in the states
boosted institution of learning2 These
things not immorall Then in what does
immortality consiste What place to send
youths who have been trained in pure
| homes and under christian influencesl The
indecencies on the walls of the dormitories
counteract all the teachings of the chapel
| a chapel for which there is SO little respect
that the advertisement of an eating house
| is permitted to remain over its door.
Mr., Ford may be condemned by some for
| making these things public, but he should
be commended from one end of the state to
the other How are the evils which he points
out to be corrected if they are not made
known 1t is certain that Mr.. Ford's reve-
lations will arouse a public sentiment
throughout the state that will cause reforms
to be inaugurated in the university at once.
Mr.. Ford also says that the desks in the
| lecture rooms in which the students do
| their writing remind one of the carpen-
ter's saw-horse," they being cut and carved
until their original shape has about disap-
| paared. Is there no authority at the uni
versity to prevent this sort of vandalism d?
| Why have not previous boards of
visitors taken notice of these things in order
that they might be remedied7 The univer-
sity is too great and too useful an institu-
ton to be permitted to go down in this
way, because down it will surely go if the
evils which Mr.. Ford points out are not
| speedily corrected