The Portland daily press., 1890-10-24
A CORRECTION.
what President SmalIiSaId to the Col
by srudents-No Reflection Upon
the state College.

TO the Editor OF the Press:
Dear Sir:-As your Waterville cores
pondent has given the PRESS brief report
of remarks not intended for the public, it
seems just to ask space in your columns for
the remarks in full, which am able to fur
nish as they were read from notes.
The occasion of the talk was newspaper
article with reference to the Maine State
College which have good reason to believe
most unjustly and ungenerously reflected
upon the administration Of that institution.
The sentence upon which commented par
ticularly was as follows: "THe Alumni be-
liere, and the people tchc are familiar pith
the college ,oiH agree toiM them, that under
proper handling, such as the Colby and
Bordoin students haze, for instance. there
,gould not periodically appear in the Maine
papers sensational reports of hazing and the
consequent suspensions Of students at the
Maine State College"
In commenting upon this paragraph / said
Nothing could be more untimely than the
suggestion contained between these lines
The present head of the Maine State College
has stood at his post like hero during The
last twenty years, making friends for the
Institution; developing its resources; matur-
ing its plans; securing financial assistance,
until he Is now able TO see In immediate pros
pect the realization of his ideals through the
appropriations made by the national govern
ment. just at this time critics start up in
various quarters and presume to inform the
administration how the college ought to be
regulated. Candid observers must certainly
believe that no one can be better informed
about the interests of the institution than
those who have been its administrators dur
these struggling years.
"The writer Of these comments does not ap-
pear to realize that no government In the
world, civil, ecclesiastical or academic, can
keep its people from periodically disgracing
themselves unless those people are incarna-
tions of the principles of government and of
the spirit OF the laws. do not wish to do
an injustice to the students at 0rono, but 1t
would seem to be much fairer, from all that
have observed, to judge that the students
themselves are half century behind the
times in their ideas of civilization, than to
charge that the Faculty are responsible for
the trouble OF which the newspapers have
contained exaggerated reports.
But the point which particularly concerns
us is that Bowdoin and Cclby have acquired
reputation which makes the newspapers
and others, both in Maine and in other
States say: See how they manage things
at Bowdoin and Colby This reputation
Is state of things 10 these colleges In wide
contrast with that in many colleges Of the
country. but this newspaper Interpretation
does not go to the bottom of the explanation
1T Is altogether mistake to suppose that
the different handling of students at Bow
doin and Colby accounts for the difference
between us and many other institutions. l
think understand Colby students pretty
well, and l had an opportunity during my
visit to bOwd0in last Sunday to get evidences
that the Bowdoin students resemble you,
and that you resemble them, very closely, in
general attitude towards college affairs. My
explanation is that the students of Bowdoin
and Colby never had such high degree of
SeJ-respect as they have to-day, and this
self-respect makes them govern themselves
to es~ap6 the humiliation OF being governed.
I'm other words, believe Colby ana Bow
doin are showing great deal more of the
genuine spirit of old time A.nericanism than
they ever have before: the spirit that is too
proud to subject itself to external rule when
there is consciousness of enlightenment and
judgement enough for self-rule. 1t is very
significant that while indifferentism, on the
one hand, and corruption, on the other,
are so invading our municipal and
State aud national politics, that we
have in many cases unconsciounsly
turned free institutions into abject
slavery, this old spirit of self-government by
right of conscience and integrity and COM
petence for government Is finding its best
representatives In some Of the American
colleges. l believe that the influences which
dI6 W purify our anu DTlUR Ddck
American institutions to their original ideal,
IL they ever are brought back, are to come
largely from these best American colleges In
which the students appreciate and apply the
American self-government idea.
Il did not take up this subject as text
for exhortation, but wish TO call your at
tention particually to this fact, which out
siders notice. namely, that Bowdoin and
Colby have at last reached plane OF rivalry
on which the old unscholarly and unmaniy
| jealousies can and will be thrown aside, III
order that we may provoke each otner 10
| good works. The two faculties feel TINS
| each feels the spur of the others enterprise.
| The two student bodies have been more or
| less conscious of 1t for some time. This Is a
| kind Of rivalry that is healthy and hope II
will always continue. The Colby faculty In
| tend TO do their part towards confirming the
good name Of the college, and, as l often
said last year, the Colby students can In
some respects do more than the faculty In
the way Of establishing the college reputa-
tion. -,
we have stock in 1t. We are all snare
holders together In the reputation OF Colby.
This newspaper criticism of the Maine State
college gives me opportunity to repeat the
platform which | have argued upon you,
first, be sure to demand of everything that
seeks the students endorsement that II snail,
first, Justify itself TO your own seJ respect
then. second, make it run the gauntlet OF
OF your good judgment, aud do not endorse
ANYTHING winch outsiders can possibly
misunderstood or misinterpret to cur dis
credit"
Very respectfully.
ALBION W. SMALL.