New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1892-02-15
SELECTIONS FROM THE MAIL
COLLEGES AND BUSINESS SUCCESS.
SOME DEDUCTIONS FROM THE ARGUMENT AGAINST
LIBERAL CULTURE.


Sir: few years ago man was appointed TO an
important Office The general public. in it, partisan
ignorance knew him f. be a cad. n nlncOmpoop ana
| t'ckster. Int one Of your contemporaries. In the
omnIscence Of Mngwumpery. regarded that fact
ms having In the words Of Of your recent cor
respondents, rOthng to DO with the case. and eX
cathedra declared that he possessed exactly the quall-
cations necessary for usefulness In the Office lie was
10 I'll. not long after, the paper condescehded
20 learn what every else had long known anu ue-
cared that tbs was a smart brassy chap the
product Of corrupt politics and the door OF dirty deeds
Whereupon a writer In The Tribune justly observed
that the ohce for which such qualifications were
necessary ought Immediately TO he abolished, Tor the
sake Of public decency.
reminded forciby Of this incident by the cam
pagn against dam lteiy fclleTS7 which Mr. Carnegie
has aroused into renewed activity by his recent con-
tpilu0n to your columns.
The question Is. whether the young man who Is 70
enter business life and who wishes 10 succeed therein
should should rot have n college education. Mr.
Carnegie says he should not that he Will be more
likely TO succeed without it than with it, indeed that
with il he is almost SIRE t. fail Very we'll "A
college or university education means liberal culture
Snch cannot readily be obtained in any other way
than by pursuing college university course WD't
is this liberal culture THAT man. says Professor
IIuXley,-wth whose definition do not suppose even
Mr. Carnegie Mr. Henry Hall will take ISSUE
that has n liberal education who has been so
trained in youth that his body IS the ready servant OF
Ids WILL and does with and pleasure all the work
that, mechanism, 1t is capable Of; whose intellect
(, q clear cold logic-engine, with all its parts Of equal
strength and in smooth working order ready, Ike
,tcamcnelne. to he turned to any kind Of work, and
spin the gO Gamers well forge the anchors OF
the mind, whose mind Is stored with knowledge OF
the great and fundamental truths Of nature and OF the
laws Of her operations; one who, no stunted ascetic'
is full Of life and fire. but whose passions are trained
to 10 halt by vigorous VIII, the servant OF
tender conscience, who has learned to love all beauty.
whether Of nature Or of art, to hate all veness and
10 respect Others himself such QUE and other,
has had q liberal oducaton."
And told by the anti-cnlture propagandSts
that such man by the possession Of such an educa-
ton is almost hopelc.sy handicapped in the race for
business Then IL seems to INC that the bus
nesscs that thus require the absence OF such quail
ties should, for the sake Of public dccency, be nbol-
ished ANY avocation I'm which u well-tralned body.
a disciplined intellect, richly stored mind. fervent
spirit strong viii. tender conscience. love OF
beauty hatred OF vcness and respect for others as
for SELF are detrimental and fatal to success IS
disgrace 10 humanity.
TO Mr.. Carnego's demand which Mr. Hall vocIf-
crousy echoes, for the College mcn Ia business to
stand up and counted It is scarcely necessary TO
make serious reply Members Of the Species rs
Mr.. Hall courteOusly terms them, might naturally
dislike to reveal themselves a so few and as such
failures though some Of members OF the species
cherish the fond thought that the species" Is both
numerous and successful. But perhaps 1t Is worth
while 10 show how sophstical Is the argument based
the fact that most of the founders OF great bus
ness houses not college graduates. II for that
their successors should avoid liberal culture rs
pestilence, 10 what other conclusions may we as
legltimatey Gomez Well. for one We NAV conclude
that since Columbus founded began transatlantic
travel In a little wooden sailing vessel the big iron
steamships In which Mr. Carnegie makes the trips
are all wrong should stick to the caravel Since
mi, country was settled and its National indepen-
dence won by men who travelled in stagc-cOachcs,
fought with hintlock muskcts and read By The Eight
Of candles pine knots, all succeeding generations
.hould stick 10 the same primitive manners. In
brief, there should be no progress. That Is the
legitimate the only rational. conclusion Of the argu-
mcnt.
And then IL II not strange that most me- who,
not having college educntons. succeed I'm business.
send their Ia collcgei They say that they do
81 I'm order that Their sons NAY have advantages
which they did not enjoy. The rascally old hypo
crltcsl According TO Mr.. Carnegle's docIin, they
must know that they are lopclcssly handlcapping
their sons and destroying their chances Of business
success Probably they DO It through Jealousy, fearing
that otherwise their would WIN greater success
and fame than they. But what "a shocking motive that
IS 10 influence fathers treatment Of his s0nl And
what TO think Of the nnumcisblc company Of
men who, not having college educauonS. succeeded
in business and then devoted their wealth TO founding
md cndowing colleges and universities Men like
Ezra Cornell and James Lick and Leland Stanford
Is possible that We have been wrong In reckoning
them bcncfact0rs Of the race, and that really they
have been Inspired only by malignant dtsiH TO
And is It not shameful that 80 many OF our COMPARE
lively new western states should follow pciyrrscly
tabl,h officially and literally endow with lands and
money great schools 81 hI,lncS, iaiIhi,n me I'LL
other Western Institutions now number their mpIceS
inmates by thousands, and In respect Of general
III the Eastern Stllcs How sad is that this should
be- that these pcstilent concerns should not only he
Nlh their nefariors work. lnhng the flower Of The
Western youth within their walls there % be initiated
And Is i true ,ha, every man who ama'ScS fottlo
should dIsinherit his sons and turn them pennies
years oi age 1t must be- If honest poverty be-
lndeed, the most desirable state for the Young men
cndows HIN with capital FOR business purposes ana
finally makes him hi, heir. mnst b. looked on .. az
was /, saint. II j, ~ rcht that man ,Aunld
profit by the labor and wisdom Of another. Each
any right to start In buslncs- oap'm anlasscd 1'
another he should begin a. inc bottom ard earn hls
rs career with all The Advantages Of CIVILIZATION ara
culture attained by is predecessor should begin IL
Snvag,ry and w0ik ont It's own civilization. When
one generation pa.s"s AWAY. al H. achIeremcni IN
invention, in science. IN art In Industry should DC
smell thing. lot Il hustle around md get them Tor
Itself What earthly bushes ha, man 10 20 into
ne Of Mr.. Caincgc's libraries and read book that
some clsc has written II lc wants 10 kn.N
things let him - out INTO the world ard hnd them ont
for himself a. tho man WhO wrote IN" book had 10
DO That IS tho tue principle Blot ont all the
pact ard LEI the present work ont lis own SaNnt0n
Eut Mr Carnegie does not believe such doctrines he
prachcs them eoqueny, but I'm more clo9ucntE d.
his own acts rciutc his wOrls The vcry libraries he
has founded perpetual and magnificent vindicators
Of the very education he deciies vndlcator' Of i
against the attack he has just made H. yonr coumn'
that may OF him that he buldcd II moi better
than he knew, AZ least better than he is willing -
confess. Even Mr.. Hall IN his letter Ia sundays
Tribune glad 10 a purely classical cNpTcssi0n
from the Greek. thn n practical and successful
business man. he cmphatcally scOrns And 50 !
think fiat not vet for two. M any rate, shall
be ready to nscrihr above the doors % every college
he warning t' yonng men who would succeed In hic
Abandon hope all yc who enter here
Now York, Feb. :, l-92. FABIAN GRAl.