The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1895-04-23
AMERICANS IN GERMANY.
Different Classes of Young Men Who
Go To the Famous Universities.

Berlin Letter to Philadelphia Telegraph.
There are at the German universities
more students from America than from
any other foreign country except Russia.
The Russians. however, have only
short distance to come. 1t is only "a
question OF crossing over the line 10
reach, for instance, the University of
koenigsburg. and in nearly every case
it is a shorter trip for their young men
than 10 go TO Moscow or St Peters
burg. With the Americans. however,
the case Is quite different one. They,
many of them. cross their own continent,
then sail over a wide ocean and pass by
England and France in order to reach
the universities of Germany. This move
ment from the one country to the other
must rest upon some very good ground.
or else ii is a mistake, and probably IL
the matter were carefully examined there
would be found to be traces of both.
The Americans who come 10 the Ger
man universities would seem 10 be Of
three kinds. They are, first, those who
come for the curiosity of il. They have
read concerning German student life.
and have heard of it from their friends,
and find it to be so unlike such life as 1t
is at home that they persuade their par
ents 10 let them come abroad for
longer or shorter period. These persons,
and there are quite number of them
catalogued at the German universities,
are usually not more than tourists and
as they go again before they come 10
have any knowledge of the German Ian
guage, they can scarcely be considered
"a students at all
Second. there are students who are at
tracted TO Germany because both the
life and the instruction are cheap, and
IL is actually possible for those whose
branches rest outside of the laborat ories.
which are not always very cheap TO cross
the ocean, live in little room as the
German students do, and work in free
libraries at a less expenditure than IL
would require a. an American university.
Students who are thus limited in their
resources will naturally continue TO come
To Germany in preference to remaining
at home until such time as we become
wise enough TO enlarge the opportunities
for cheap university instruction in Amer
lea.
The third class is of those who come
out of the simple motive OF being
instructed in = way that they cannot be-
elsewhere; those who come in the honest
belief that they can secure in Germany
instruction which, in subject or method.
Is in some respect superior To that which
IS TO be found at home or In other coun-
tries. With the latter class Il Is alone
necessary To engage ourselves.
Whether or not the proposition, as we
have announced II. that there IS better
university instruction In Germany than
elsewhere is true or not. there are
other matters to be considered in send
ing young men away from home which
many think should be regarded I'm form
ing a right estimate OF this subject. Ad-
miring many features OF the German
university system, as / naturally must
/ believe, If / may speak I'm the first
person, that the proposition is in gem
eral to he denied. ! cannot think that
il ia in general an advantage 10 a boy
or a young man 10 come into such a
center Of social and political materialism
as Germany has got TO he. Our uni
versities in America. subsisting usually
on the voluntary gifts of individuals
rather than at the cost OF the state
are in very many cases. not what they
ought 90 be. and for some branches OF
study IL IS undoubtedly still necessary
20 20 10 Germany. There are some
branches OF scholarship which are either
not at all or at least very inadeQua tely
represented both at home and likewise
in England and France. Whether Ger
many has this superiority or not IS a
question which ought 20 be Investigated
into in every individual case, and we
ought 10 all 20 70 work unitedly TO
bring about a state OF things where this
promiscuous expectation Of young men
shall az once be brought 20 an end.