The Wichita daily eagle., 1898-01-02

600 worth Of patronage into the hands ot
every influential congressman OF tbs
party in power who desires to make Use
Of IL At the same time, the best stats
| ticians in the country are united in say
ing that no census worthy the name can
be taken on this basis. There is a per
feet agreement that the taxpayers will
have to pay several million dollars more
to get from 1t worthless or semi worth
| less results
Many conservative persons are ask
ing what qua; artee there is that the Ma
tional University would be run more in
teEigently than the census or other SIM
lar Undertakings. OF course. multi
tude fansweTs to this question viii at
| once appear. \ National University
would have no such amount Of patron
age as a census bureau; it would be man
! aged by a board OF trustees OF regents.
| on life tenure, Tfro would be appoint
/ ed with as much care as judges Of the
! supreme court. But il mas net yst been
! proved that an increase in machinery
| eliminates the troublesome character
istics o. human nature. There nave been
| unpleacant stories in connection with
| appointments even to the SUPP eme
bench. Somebody will have to make all
| these appointments, and can it be taken
for granted that William ]. Bryan, for
instance, would appoirst for regents of
the university an entirely safe class of
men?
II objection is made TO comparing the
university 20 the census, how about the
Library of Congress? That is an insti-
tution which, in its magnificent new
nome, would seem to ris above the dust
and smoke of politics, and yet this mas
not been wholly the case. Mr.. Young,
the new head Of the library, is a genial
gentleman, but he is not a librarian, and
was not appointed because OF any special
training for that work. Some of the ap-
pHcants for positions in the library who
have presented the best evidence of spe-
cial fitness have been frankly told that
! they could not be considered because
they did not have enough political infiu-
enoe; and this is a time w4len the library
is known TO be crippled in its force be-
cause so very few of its clerical staff
nave had the necessary preparation for
their work. If the United States govern
ment would only conduct this great Il
brary in such a way as to be a model
the argument for national university
would be much strengthened.
Many persons believe that the advo-
Gates Of the university have not yet suffi-
ciently explained how they are going 10
keep politics out of such an institution.
trN-
ment Of political economy should take
the same view OF the money question as
the great privately endowed universities
Of the land, and that congress should
fall into the hands of the free-silverites.
The senate is today in that condition and
the next house is liable to be. Would
not free silver congress at once order
an investigation" of the teachings of
the university and make it very unpleas-
ant for self-respecting professors TO re-
main there? The state universities in
Kansas and other western states have
suffered tremendously from the inroads
of politics, and unless We are sure tina:
the United States government is to re-
main in the hands of the conservative
and intelligent classes of the country, it
is not safe to predict that a national uni
versity would not presently suffer from
the same evil. The United States senate,
in voting supplies, etc, would have a
controlling influence over any university
that might be established. II might be
interesting 70 take the list of the tus-
tees OF Harvard university for Illustration
and place beside them the names of men
who as United States senators would be
back Of the national university. We
should have in the latter list Gallinger,
and Chandler OF New Hampshire, Plat
and Murphy OF New York, Quay and
Penrose of Pennsylvania, German and
Wellington OF Marylani. Maso, and Cul-
lom of Illinois. and SO on.
There are several other considerations.
The economic question, in deciding
whether to leave the higher grade OF ed
ucation TO private enterprise or commit
it 10 the government is whether all the
people or only a part OF the people
should pay for it A national universal
would be paid for by general taxation,
while the privately endowed universities
are generally supported by the benefac-
tions OF the rich. In our country partic-
ularly this has been one OF the ways in
which the possessors of great fortunes
have shown their sense of obligation % !
society by returning to It some part Of
their accumulations The students of /
are generally drawn from the /
well-to-do or richer classes Of the COM /
There is an element Of unfair /
ness IN making all the people pay for the 1
education of a small minority os the rich /
people in the land
For the last three days these and other /
questions have been discussed in Wash /
ington till everybody is familiar with /
them. It is needless 70 say that there .
are strong arguments for the national 4
project, and among its sup (
porters are found some ct the ablest and /
most practical minded men and women !
in the country. Perhaps the objections
which are now being considered might
disappear in operation; but congress and /
the country VIII do well 20 think the
Ting over fully before setting out on the
project.
ALFRED NEBEL's WILL PROVED.
Provisions for Five Annual Prizes fo-
Notable Discoveries
London, Jan. 1.-The viii Of the late
Alfred Nebel, the Swedish chemist AMI
expert in higl explosives, who d.ei a,