Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1891-01-08
For the Ellsworth American.
College Education.

| too have read the articles in your pa
per signed by f. F. @. and One of the
Common Herd, also that signed IL b.,
and | feel that justice demands another,
though | should prefer to have it come
from more able pen than mine
1t seems to me that the articles referred
to take the two extremes. | would prefer
to strike a happy medium. wish to ac
knowledge at the very beginning that am
one of those conceited fellows known as
college graduates, yet am not and never
was conceited enough not to know that
meet upon the street every day of my life
men and women, with no more than com
mon school education, who in the true
meaning of education are far my superiors,
but am not willing to admit what seems
to me the vital and in fact only point to be
considered, viz that am not more of
man and therefore more Of a success, than
probably would have been had not
gained college education.
In the main agree with +. +, q. In
my judgment the principal fault with his
article is the manner in which he has stat
ed his reasons and in one or two cases he
makes too sweeping statements; he was
unfortunate in selecting the language with
| which he clothes some of his thoughts.
The article was undoubtedly written with
out the thought of criticism,
also agree in the main with the article
written by II B but it seems to me that
it is at the same time misleading and liable
to produce harm, as it may lead some
students or parents to decisions which if
followed may in after years lie cause of
serious regret.
| II. b must know that it is a fact that
the lime was when there were very few
college educated men and that they were
almost holly found in one Of the profess
sionS. | think too that it is fact that
! people generally had very erroneous ideas
of such men, thinking that they ought to
! known almost everything. But as more
/ of these conccited fellows were sent out in
/ to the world ard came to mingle in the
every day work with all classes and in all
branches of labor, people in common and
/ | suppose these are the people referred to
/ by T.. +, u. as the common herd" an un-
! fortunate tenn discovered that these col
! lege men didn't really know as much as
| they once gave them credit for knowing,
! and they found too, a. H. b. says, that
/ many men educated in the little red school
/ house in the common district school were
| really more able than many college men.
! Very likely too some graduate. entertain
! ing the mistaken idea that heory is the
: only thing uecdtul. attempted to run
/ farm, conduct a mercantile business or
/ even manage railroad with, of course,
( complete failure. Hence, as We are very
| liable To do when we find that we have
/ been entertaining false ideas people rushed
| TO the other extreme and >tigmatized the
/ college student a> an educated fool, unfit
/ to learn and successfully enter upon any
\ business pursuit But think that this
theory has become pretty well exploded in
the business centers at least. though the
\ college graduate is still held up to rdicule
I by some practical business men and often
/ has to suffer unwarrautablc charges as lie
\ has recently in the case of the Union Pa
+ cihc railroad.
1t is true that many college graduates are
conccitcd and have high notions As to their
abilities on entering into the business
world. but my experience and observation
lead me to the belief that they are no more
apt to be filled with conceit than the aver
age graduate from our High schools, Nor
nal schools OF academies, aud are a. east
I ly brought to a realization of their ind-
vidual worth and Importance in the every
| day world. | deny that education, even
college education. tends to make per
| son conCeited; on the other hand affirm
that it tends to the opposite effect Nine
out of every ten young men who come out
of college with such bumps of conceit, had
them on entering, and ten 10 one the bumps
have been reduced some" hat for they are
apt to get some pretty hard rubbings, even
during q college course.
| do not believe il is true that a college
| is a place where pebbles are polished aud
diamonds dmmed;" on the contrary be-
lieye they tend TO make broader and better
balanced minds, better capable to enter
I upon and bring to final success any bu>i-
ness Whatsoever. The theory that a col
| lcge man is only lit for profession, that
he is not and will not become practical, is
fortunately being >upplanted by the other
theory, based on the fact that intellectual
! training is useful and practical and better
fits a man for any pursuit in life, business,
social or political.
| All will agree with III. b. that it is the
education and not the place where aC
| quired that gives one man an advantage
| over another, and all will unite with him
| in paying homage to our loved and hon
! ored Lincoln, but possibly he forgets
that, while our country produces one Lin
coin who, with but six weeks schooling,
becomes self-educated and rises from
rail-spltter to the highest honor our peo-
Pile can bestow, it produces thousands of
others who under the same circumstances
would bring up at our poor houses and
pententiaries Robert Ingcrsol says
truly, Lincoln was not a type. He stands
alone-no ancestors, no fellows and no
successors"
While it is true that Elihu Burrtt with
very limited school instruction became
| self-taught master of many ancient and
modern languages, it is also true that while
one man will become self-educated very,
very many will not, even though they may
have the ability.
1t is even said Of Andrew johnson that
he could neither read nor write at the age
of 81, but through his own perseverance
and his wife's assistance he became edu-
Gated and rose to the highest positions in
city, state and nation. But these exam
pies merely prove possibilities; they do
not preve probabilities. They can be cited
IN an argument against common school
education just as well as against college
education; they prove nothing as to the
utility of college training any more than
does the fact that man died in Boston the
other day said to be worth one hundred
and fifty to two hundred thousand dol
| lars who could neither read nor write