The Portland daily press., 1897-06-24
CoLLEGE PREsIDENTs.

At best the president of a college or
university is only one OF many equally
good authorities, but with the young
student taught to revere and respect him
and with those unlearned who magnify
his Importance he exercises an undue in
duence when he allows his opinions to be
placed in the foreground, when he be-
comes publicly identified with partisan
movements, SO jealous in furthering the
cause he takes up that he devotes more OF
his time to it than his college duties can
well spare. With thinkers equally en-
dowed, or who think themselves to be, or
with his own or other college students
i've years after they have left college his
views will have no disproportionate effect.
AT most they would only encourage the
other person to study the matter more
closely for himself.-Kennebec Journal.
1t seems to us that we must allow the
college president just as much latitude as
is permitted to any other prominent man
in the community. If we are going to
take the ground that the college president
must refrain from discussing political
questions, because he may have large in
iuence in the community, and conse-
quently, if he happens to get on what we
regard as the wrong side of them. he may
do a good deal of harm, to be logical we
must object to other persons of large in
| fiuence dealing with such questions. Car
ried to its extremity this argument
would withdraw from the con-
| sideration and discussion of po-
litical and economic questions about
| which parties might be differing
all persons whose standing was such
| that what they said was likely to have
weight. This would leave the field to
nincompoops and ignoramuses. The
truth is that the most of this condemna-
| ton of college presidents and professor S
for having views on political questions
| and expressing them is born of intoler-
ance. The president or professor is seldom
condemned when we agree with him. 1t is
| only when we are hostile to the views
that he expresses that we feel quite GER
tain that he ought to have kept entirely
quiet. During the last campaign almost
every college president in the land ex.
pressed his views publicly on the economic
question that was then prominently be-
fore the country. They were published in
the newspapers and used as campaign
documents. The people who are now Sc
sure that President Andrews was guilty
of improperly in expressing himself on
political question, never rebuked any OF
the college presidents who talked on the
other side. Indeed they were quite well
pleased to have them express themselves
for the very reason that they thought,
since they were college presidents, theil
words would have great weight. Presi
dent Harper of Chicago University was
one of the strongest gold men in the
country, and he did not hesitate to let his
influence be felt in favor Of that standard
during the campaign. But he is broad
and tolerant man and has no sympathy
with any attempt to punish g
man because he expressed views
differing from those held by the majority
of the community. Here is what he says
| Even in the sacred circle of the ssuniyer
fsity, where, if anywhere, there should be
opportunity to think and express ones
thoughts, not infrequently is felt the iror
and self interest. In free and fair New
England, the ground on which the strug.
gle for freedom of opinion was fought ou1
an old and established institution only
yesterday censured it's head because. fol
sooth, he had the courage to think fol
himself, and, still worse, to speak wha1
he thought. This censure, ordered to BIZ
administered by q committee of trustees
is a blot upon the history of thai
| honored college which century of pros
perity will not wipe out. The world which
does not think is loath to grant the priv
| ilege to the thinking few
The more freedom given for the discus
sion of political questions in this country
| the better, and the more able the nier
| that are interested in these discussions
the better. We believe any man, whether
he is college president or min.
lister has right to have
views upon questions which are
prominently before the country, and
to help settle the policy of his government
by his voice as well as his vote. The
North has been justly complaining of the
ostracism practiced by the South against
people whose political opinions differed
from the majority of their neighbors.
Certainly it behooves the complainant to
set an example of tolerance
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