The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-10-04

Columbia, Mr.. Low has demonstrated by
this performance his absolute .unfltness for
the post which he processes to wish to aban-
don. He has shown them in his own per-
son, tickle In his ambitions, disloyal to his
present engagements, and fiagrantly disin-
genuous in his methods Of political self
promotion, exactly what sort ola President
Columbia does not need and should not
have. BY revealing himself he has defined
negatively, but in the most effective man.
ner possible, some of he qualifications
which his successor ought to possess.
The next President of Columbia should
be a man Of steady purpose and genuine
loyalty to duty undertaken. He should not
be a self.promoter, whose deliberately ex-
pressed views of duty vary according to the
personal temptation Of the moment. The
concentration and continuity of effort which
are requisite for the successful management
of such u school of learning as Columbia
ought to be, will he forever at the mercy
of that weakness of character which, in it's
own turn, is at the mercy of every jack.o'-
lantern of politics, every three-cent collec-
tor of petition signatures. There Is some
thing grotesque in the idea Of Mr.. SETH
Lows returning to Columbia as a pts aAer
after a hustling but unsuccessful campaign,
and putting on his gown and cap again for
such time as may elapse before the next
demand upon him to come forth and save
the country.
The next President Of Columbia should
be much more than a mere administrator,
money getter, and business promoter. In
come Is essential, but it does not follow
that the institution Is the most respected
and successful whose President displays
the greatest activity in the solicitation of
gifts and the greatest talent in the per.
suasion Of testators. Nor do the quail
ties which advertise the energetic organ.
izer and the persistent collector of funds
always connote the breadth of mind and
soundness of judgment assuring conserva-
tive management, prudent expenditure,
and permanent prosperity.
Whether the next President Of Columbia
Is or is not a MAJ of affairs, he should be a
scholar who has gained remarkable dis.
tinction in one or more of the fields of study
and research, the cultivation Of which a
seat of learning is intended to stimulate.
He should stand forth an incarnate proof of
what a collegiate training may aid the
recipient to accomplish in scholarship, in
thought or in scientific attainments. Mat.
tiers of academical organization and discip-
line may be relegated to a dean the collec.
tion, investment and distribution of funds
to a treasurer. The primary and principal
duty of a President is to maintain the
Intellectual prestige which originally
gained for him the post, and to impress
upon undergraduates by the lustre of his
example the Importance of turning their
opportunities to account. That was the
view taken Of his function at Harvard
when such men as EVERETT, SPARKS,
WALKER, and FELTON, were invited to oc.
cupy the Presidential chair. To such a
conception of the qualifications for the
place Of presiding officer Yale has invari.
ably adhered. Princeton has as faith
fully conformed to it from the day when
she summoned JONATHAN EDWARDS from
Massachusetts, up to our own time, when
she called DR.. MCCosH from the other side
Of the Atlantic. Columbia repealed the
precedent when she conferred the post of
President on Mr.. Low, who, not even as an
undergraduates, had made any conspicuous
mark, and who had never given any public
proof of postgraduate devotion to scholas-
tic or scientific pursuits. For defining the
aims and methods of scholastic and scien-
titic exposition or investigation he was no
better qualified than is the ordinary gradu-
ate, whose place, obviously, for many years
should be, not with the teachers, but with
the taught. He was known, however, to
be a rich man, and it was hoped that he
would be generous, and quicken generosity
in others. We submit that the university,
IL 1t values it's reputation, cannot continue
to seek funds in the same way. Wisdom
would suggest the avoidance of a second
experiment of the kind.
The next President of Columbia Univer-
sity, in fine, should not be a scheming poll
tician, but a man of broad learning, capa-
BILE of an adequate comprehension of the
true idea of a university. ambitious only of
distinction in it's wide and lofty field, and
who will attract to his assistance spirits of
kindred elevation and devotion.
Unless the fog is dense over Morningside
Heights to-day these all-important truths
will be apparent in that region. We take
1t for granted that II the action Of the trus-
tees is determined by a wise regard for the
future of the diversity, an adequate sense
of What the dignity of the institution re-
quires, and a due appreciation of the oppor-
tunity now unexpectedly offered, the resig-
nation of Mr.. Low will be accepted with
courteous p%romptness. The proper formula
of regret and of eulogy will be observed,
but the acceptance will be not the less con-
elusive. A poor judge of human character,
an inefficient guardian of the interests of a
great seat of learning, whereof the destiny
is as limitless as the possibilities of the
New York of the twentieth century. must
that trustee OF Columbia be who does not
perceive hat Mr.. SETH Lows usefulness
as a university President ended when, after
some slight show of resistance, he surren-
dered Internationally, eagerly, joyfully, to
the maggot that infests his brain.