The National tribune., 1896-05-28

pride in Harvard University. 1t is the
oldest of our universities and colleges,
but it has allowed itself to be far out
stripped in every way by younger instr
tutions, which kept in close touch with
the genius of the people and the progress
Of the age. 1t has excelled in nothing
but age and wealth. In the latter re-
spect many of the younger universities
are approaching, and some surprising
it, for wealthy men realizing Harvard s
inferiority, in spite of its pretenti-
business, have preferred to endow more
promising institutions. Its faculty is
nowhere considered more than medi-
OGRE. Brighter and more learned men
can be found in plenty in every State.
Not a man of eminence is numbered
among its professors. The same barren
ness is found among its graduates. 1t
is common saying that " Harvard is
nursery of snobs.' Also, that Har-
ward has not produced a man in 90
years"
We hear constantly Of great things
by Cornell men, by Ann Arbor men,
by Amherst men, by Pennsylvania men,
by Columbia men, by Yale men,
by Washington and Lee men, but who
ever hears of Harvard man being or
doing anything?
The explanation is not far to seek.
Instead of maintaining Harvard as a
distinetively American institution, i'm
bued with the spirit of our people, and
representative of their best thought,
the Harvard faculty have been striving
to make it servile copy of English
universities. Like all mere imitators,
they have succeeded mainly in copying
only the inferior and Objectionable
features Of their models, with few of
their real excellences.
An Illustration Of this is the avidity
with which they snapped up the Free
Trade doctrine. The English professors
had developed system of economics
which they felt represented the best in
terests Of their country. Very properly,
they were thinking and celebrating only
for their own country, and for no other
Had the Harvard professors been worthy
their places they would have developed
a system of economics as well adapted
for the interests of their own country as
the English had for theirs. But the
emasculated men who occupied Harvard
chairs were utterly incapable of such in
dependent and original thought. In
stead, they gulped down the English
Professors theories to the last letter, and
became more ultra Free Traders than
the English themselves, Just as they
teach the English pronunciation in a
more exaggerated form than prevails at
Oxford and Cambridge
The President of this precious forcing
house for Anglomania is one Prof Chas.
w. Eliot All that is known of him is
that by some dispensation, probably by
natural selection, he has become the
President He is not known for an
achievement in any department of in
tellectual effort. His scholarship has
never attracted the least attention. In
eNSi blinS uS StSllls OH SACccuiISll
commonplace man, elevated to very
conspicuous position. of course, the
GAR, from its intense Americanism,
is quite obnoxious TO such a man and
bis fellows, and he recently went far out
Of his way to wantonly insult the Order.
This was TO be expected from the man
and bis cultivation. The GAR. is
not built on English models, it does not
draw its inspiration from England and
does not sneeze every time England
takes snuff, On the contrary, it insists
that this country gained its independence
from Great Britain more than century
ago, and that that independence was not
only political, but extended to IFS career
and National ideals. To such servile
mind as that of Prof. Charles w. Eliot
this amounts to fat blasphemy"
The GAR can very well stand the
abuse of President Eliot. 1t is COM