Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1896-01-02
The People with The Tribune.

Inc People WITH Inc 1IlOune.
Letters and words Of approval give
assurance that THE TRIBUNE's dis
cussion of matters pertaining to the
university is commanding attention
and is receiving general favor. One
friend writes:
You stated the whole case, and you
may say as did the preacher when
reproached for repeating sermon
for the third or fourth time: When
you live up to that sermon | will
give you something different So
you can say of your article: Answer
it. If it be untrue show wherein.
If it be true acknowledge it. before
entering upon other branches of the
| theme.
"While ! do not join the clamor
raised about the heads of the presi-
dent and faculty, do say, as you said,
the course we are following in re-
gard to the university is nnwise, un-
democratic, unAmerican. And If, in
applying the remedy, which will
come, for there are not wanting
strong men of high and noble pur-
pose back Of this effort who will see
it through, the university suffers, it
will be at the hands of its unwise
| friends.
"Very much of the work done in
the freshman year might better be
done in the high schools. 1t has
shaped, in part at least, the course in
the high school To meet the require
ments Of the university; and in so
doing has deprived hundreds of
young men and women of the oppor-
tunity Of getting fairly complete
education at home This drawing
away from the high schools the best
students has done infinite harm to
those schools.
"The circumstances of nine-tenths
of those who attend the high schools
compel them to regard the course
pursued there as an end, not means,
as not more than one-tenth can pos
sibly hope to 60 further.
"If under present management the
university is absorbing funds which
can be better spent in the common
and high schools; or again, if it is
arrogating to itself educational work
which can better be done in those
schools, it must give up both. And
the sooner done the better for it as a
university and for the other schools.
"rhe university is peculiarly UNI
fortunate in its location, unless it be
the aim to continue it in the kind OF
work it is now doing. The city of
Madison and the university, as it
now is, fit into each other as the
upper and lower jaws Of Il wild beast
fit each other. Indeed, l am con-
WINGED that the city has shaped the
university To her own ends to the
lasting damage of the latter.
"Given a course Of study shaped to
the requirements of great number
of young men and women, you have
necessarily attracted great numbers
Of mediocre young men and women,
among the number many whose
wealthy parents are ambitious TO
educate them, which means in the
accomplishments of society as well
as i'm the duties Of the classroom.
And | know il to be problem, in the
minds of at least some Of the profess
sors, how to reconcile the recitations
Of society favorites' with the re-
quirements Of the curriculum.
1T would surprise one not ac-
qnainted with the facts to see the
efforts of the many chapters and
fraternities to enlarge their member
ship and to control the social life Of
the institution, the details of which
are given with disgusting detail in
the Madison Democrat.
"Can much true university work
be done under such conditions ?
/ Why, two or three years ago Judge
Clementsons son, land before the
crazy notion that numbers in attend
ance means everythingl, after, !