New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1888-12-03

and bearing the ambitious name OF colleges or
universities but which are IN reah,y IN many d1
stances only elementary schools when compare,
with the old universities. President Elot sald
that both the small and the great colleges haa %
mission to perform ana pom Mcre uIIauo ~ 80
emf degrees: but while the larger coileges wcre ~
sadly i'm need of money 10 meet the demands MADE
upon them and were so far removed from the lueai
Institutions of Europe especially ,ne lain oo5
Stuttgart, he felt that we had already as many
small colleges as the country needed. -, ,,.o
He expressed in the highest terms MS adnlra-
tGn for tho devotion, energy and consclentious
effort of the men who were devotlng tnelr hNes
TO the advancement Of the cause OF education III
places remote from the great centres OF learn
ing Some Of the small colleges were but niue
better than high schools. They were properly
elementary schools They could not, however,
be regarded. like the high schools as feeders 10
the large universities. Young men entered them
at the age at which they might enter Harvard
or Yale, or Princeton, and spent the usuai mum per
OF years in passing through the various graues
and when they were graduates, IL was necessity
I'm most instances for them to enter upon aon'c
business pursuit or profession. Tor thls country
did not encourage idleness. mus, put rev WI" In
were graduates from the small colleges couIu uc-
vote time 10 special study at the large unlver-
sites. President Eliot spoke OF the freedom
with which degrees were conferred IN TINS conh-
try II was of the incidents OF educauoh
in young Nation which time woald c or ;n'
sitpton with the right TO send out scores OF young
men with the degree of bachelor OF Arts ana
this tended of course, 10 cheaper ana !csseh ule
value Of similar degrees conferred Dy arger III
situations of learning
THEY DID GOOD IN THEIR DAY.
When the means Of communication between dis
tant points Of country so great ours were
somewhat primitive, it was more desirable that
there should be a multiplicity Of colleges Bat
to-day, with our ma gnifcent system Of railways
and our rapid means of travel, it was not essen
tal to establish many small colleges. 1t ght
be truthfulIy said however that the establish
ment Of numerous colleges throughout the coun-
try had tended in no small measure toward the
building up OF small centres of refinement in
sparscly settled communities, and in this way
they had done much good, even though the stand
ard of education was not as high as could be
desired. Time would rectify some of the evils
of which dcalists complained We could not eX-
pect to reach at a bound the heights attained by
the German universities, where centuries of pa
tent oil with liberal Government contrihu-
lions had built. up magnificent system oil edu-
cation the admiration Of the world:
President Eliot leplored the lack OF suiiclent
funds TO carry on the university as he would hh
to see 1t conducted Millions of money were
needed to reach the highest standard But while
there were many feeble sO-c,lled colleges and uni
versities, institutions which lacked the real es-
scntals which would entitle them properly TO use
that nome, and while the larger colleges with an
honorable record were struggling against poverty,
there was an opening for elementary schools.
They could be made seli-supp0rtlng ana even
profitable, and would confer an inestimabe, boom
upon the public and at the same time would not
be comforting fictitious titles upon those who
earned the parchmcntS In short, President Eliot be
hcvcd that the real universities and older colleges
needed to be fostered; that there are enough col
legcs in America to-day, and that 1t would he al
yi>lhIe 10 make the best better rather than to
multiply institutions that could not expect to rise
above mediocrlty for many years, II ever.