The age-herald., 1897-11-11
TECHNICS FROM
 CURRENT TOPICS,

cOnnllILeu D1uDuSTS, WHtCn were uuc lO inexperience. and a lack of a proper con- sideration of very serious questions One of these haplsss errcrs was the separa- ton of the two educational institutions of the state which were founded for the benefit of the young men of Alabama The placing of one at Tuscaloosa and the other at Auburn inaugurated an un- necessary and unfortunate rivalry, be- tween the two. and a division of inter- ests which should have been united in wholesome harmony. The financial aid given by the state, would prove far more valuable and accomplish greater good for a greater number of students, if it were used to make one grand institu- tion of learning-equal. to the varying and diverse tastes and talents of young Alabamians, which could be divided into different schools from the classical and professional to the industrial and me chanicaI. The position taken by John B. Knox, of Annfston, few days age, at Atlanta, in this matter, has attracted much attention to Alabama's glaring blunder, In separating her two colleges and the placing of one at Tuscaloosa and the other at Auburn.
 MT. huOX, III dH lHleISdSWt by an Atlanta paper, takes the correct position concerning the question when he said:
 When we established a state agricul- tural college in Alabama, it was To- cated at Auburn, while the state univer- sity is located at Tuscaloosa. Our peo- pie have never ceased to regret the di- vision, and the sentiment of the state is practically unanimous in the opinion that such division was serious mistake, and that beth institutions would have done much better had they been located at the same place. The agricultural col lege should have been located at Tus- caloosa with the state university, or the state university should have been To- cated at Auburn with the agricultural college. There would have then been a concentration of energy which would have been vastly better for each in- stitutions giving both the benefit of better equipment and larger fund for support It is a question of common con- sent in Alabama that the state made a mistake in dividing these two institu- tions."
 There should have been no conflicting of interests, and no division of educa- tional bequests. The folly of Alabamas experiment should prove helpful lesson to Georgia, now that her legislature is considering certain me easures looking to separation of the state university from the agricultural college. Concentration of energies and interests is the keynote to permanent success, educationally and otherwise.
 AA.. when there is a division, usually is the greatest sufferer from the separation. This is doubtless the case in the major ity of instances, but Alabama's experi- ence has bsen to the contrary. Auburn, with Its appliances and equipment for the preparation of young men for the practical duties of life, has grown with surprising rapidity in the esteem of the people of the state, as is proven by the large increase of matriculations each year. This growth evidences the demand of the present day for industrial and me- chanical training, combined with a clas- sical curriculum. It also indicates that the parents of the youth of the south have recognized the fact that 1t is worse than folly to attempt to educate the av- craze young man as a lawyer or physi- clan. when his tastes and talents lie in another and far different direction.
 Many a man who would have been a success as a farmer, mechanic, or in any other non-professional pursuit, has had his whole business career wrecked by ambitious parents, who desire to have their son known as a lawyer, or doctor. The man who succeeds must be in AL l-s Io.rx ness duties; an antagonism of taste and occupation ultimately ends in dismal failure. The aspirations of parents have caused the ruin of many mans subsequent life, and are responsible for most of the business misfits.
 This is an era of common sense, of the most practical common sense. and the fathers and mothers of the south are awakening ito the necessity for that kind of education, which prepares their sons and daughters for the inevitable duties and obligations which await them. The growth and advancement of the Auburn college proves that the advan- tages afforded by its curriculum ara those that are demanded by the major ity of the people of the state. The unit sHS Ol ihidpdiiia D tWO COiiS6tSf tuS oleeuo university at Tuscaloosa and the A. and M. at Auburn, would soon give the state one grand educational institution worthy of the progress of the citizens of the commonwealth and of this period of ac- tivity and advancement.
 That the state university has bright future ahead of it every Alabamian who is familiar with Its recent rehabilitation, has reason to hope. But that future would be brighter and more hopeful if it were possible to combine with it's splendid classical and professional courses of study, the mechanical, indus trial and agricultural training which is now demanded as an essential adjunct to the preparation of the majority of the young men of Alabama for their serious struggle with the solemn problems of daily life. BALL.
 Shal<espear Up-to-Date.
 From tJ,a Chicakn Jmtpr- Ocean.