New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1892-02-03
MR.. CARNEGIE IND THE UNITERSIIIES.
EXPLAINING HIS VIEWS UPON THE PRESENT
sY;TEM OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN RE-

|
| TO the Editor of The Tribune.
Sir II is pleasing 10 have the powerful aid OF The
Tribune In the assault upon university education Is
exists present but permit ire t. correct an error
into which You have fallen in your edit ial in to-
days issue regarding my first article How TO Win
Fortune You say:
"In the former article. to which have referred
he assumed rs a fact from which safe to make
broad deductions the tota y Of the college grad
ua.c in every department If affairs lie had in
qurcd and searched everywhere Ia all quarters but
found scarcely trace OF him. Moreover he thought
that this not surprising. II hs assumption were
a fact should regard it as an extraordinary one
But il Is not a fact s1r Carnedc's search had been
| negligent lie was quickly confronted with a list
Of college graduates who eminent in the world OF
affairs long and impressive to surprise even
those who knew that his assertion was far too sweep
ing
You will find upon referring to that article, written
for the encouragement Of the poor young men OF To-
day cannot afford :, college university educa
ton. II IL desirable, that made list Of
the principal establishments throughout the country IN
manufacturing. banking and mercantile business, ctf
and then / said / had searched through Appleton 5
Encyclopaedia for the founders of all these great es
adjustments and having found scarcely college grad
uato in the list of the founders Indeed, did not
find one but may have overlooked one or two), fol
lowed Win the remark:
This total absence Of the college graduate in every
department OF affairs should be deeply weighed
have inquired and searched everywhere In MI quar-
ters but find scarcely trace Of him" as found
ers or pre-emin.nt. That graduates Of universe
ties have succeeded In winning respectable places In
institution with the creation OF which they had moth
Ing do. but with which some relative gencEd'y mas
been ii. is too obvious to require srlich The
reply made by crlncs 10 my nrst arlce CAV u ~
Of college graduates, some Of whom occupied respectable
places This obviously no answer 20 ne con
tenon that university He tends TO handicap men In
the for success IN business that II "as not worm
while take notice Of IT, bur ;hcn The Tribune ailS
into the same mistake editorially 1t i different
matter. There some exceptional mon who cannot
be altogether spoiled for bu,nss even by the pitS
university educatiGn and pleas remember Mr.. "a
ltor. that the point wish u impress upon The young
men Of the country who read The Tribune l., that for
those who must make living IN .0me Mnd 81 bus
ness, IL T. far better to launch form early IN life
have givca the of the leading establishments
Of this country and their founders, the men VINO
| created them list which | nope The Tribune VIII
earnest work in their teens. some defender Of Pres
ent modes Of university education sh"uld give a e r
responding list of establishments created ~ graduate,
who spent their da's within university walls until
they were twentythrce or twenty four years of age
hS would he proper reply * my r SSn !>q: an9 as
NewYork, Feb. 1, 1892
MFR Carnegie is mistaken in supposng that he
has the powerful aid of The Tribune in his rs
ssult upon university education as at present con-
Quoted. The most ,agacious and fruitful efforts
10 modify AMI inviGoratc the processes Of educa-
ton are directed from within. not from without
the universities. II Is the rational ana orderly
work Of development not the destructive assault.
which deserves and receives the powerful aid Of
The Tribune. And this il not Mr.. Carnegics
only error. In his former article on the subject,
TO which our editorial Of Monday referred, he did
not say, This total absence Of the college gradu
ate in every department OF affairs If he were
pointing back directly and exclusively to his pre-
vious statements respecting the founders of great
establishments He said: The total absence
etc. The phrase began a paragraph, and had al
the effect Of a wide and emphatic generalization
an effect which he reinforced and confirmed i'll
subsequent paragraph by saying that the almost
total absence Of the graduate from high position III
the business world seems 10 justify the conclusion
that college education it exists is fatal TO sue
cess in that domain Mr.. Carnegie further AS
-erts that we shall find. upon referring 10 the
article in question, that he says he had searched
through Appletons Encyclopedia for the founders
Of the great establishments named by him. and
had discovered scarcely college era .uate in the
list in fact. not a single one What We do find
upon referring 10 the article in question: is that
it. does not mention allude 10 Applctons Ency-
clopcdia but declares that Mr.. Carnegie had IN
quired and searched everywhere in all quarters
and found scarcely "A trace Of the college grad
nate in any department Of afiais-or. as he cN
pressed It "a few lines below, in high position in
the business world Ii is obvious that Mr. Car
negic's convictions are not fortunately conveyed
in the article under discussion. and also that the
errors which We have now corrected are not our
errorS.-Ed)