The evening times., 1898-10-11
THAT UNIVERSITY.
An Educational journal on the Com
mfttec Just Announced.


(From the Educational Revicw.)
At its Washington meeting the Nation
al Council of Education took most inn
portant action in regard to the project
for the establishment OF a national uni
versity. This action was the passage OF
a resolution empowering Prof. Charles
De Garmo, retiring president OF the coun-
ell, to appoint a committee of fifteen to
make a thorough inquiry into the pro-
posed national-university scheme and to
report to the council hereafter. The mem
hership Of the committee has just been
announced, and it will be at once recog-
nized as thoroughly representative both
of the best educational thought of the
country and of the various geographical
sections. The committee is constituted
as follows:
President William r. Harper, of the
University of Chicago, chairman; Presi-
dent Edwin a. Alderman. Of the Cniver-
sity of North Carolina; President James
B. Angel of the University Il Michigan;
Prof. Nicholas Murray Butler, OF Co.um-
bia University; President James H. Can
field of Ohio State University: DR.. j. l..
NJ. Curry, of Washington. D. c., Agent
of the Peabody and Slater funds: Super
intendent Newton c. Dougherty, OF Peo-
ria, III President Andrew S. Draper. of
the I nlNerSlly pl lllIIolS. IItSidSiit
Charles W. Eliot, of Harvard University :;
Prof. Edmund ]. James, of the tniver-
sity of Chicago: Superintendent William
H Maxwell of New York. n. Y; Prof
Bernard J. Moses, of the University of
California: President J. G.. Schurman, of
Cornell University; Superintendent +.
Louis Soldan of st. Louis, Mo; President
William l. Wilson, of Washington and
Lee University.
1t is understood to be the function of
this committee to take up it's work in a
thoroughly unbiased spirit. II has not
been constituted to favor any particular
scheme or to oppose any special plan.
Its hands are free, and the country and
the council will naturally expect 1t to
deal thoroughly with two distinct ques-
tions. and so set them at rest for gen
Grafton TO come: "a Should there be a
national university established under
government auspices, and 90 if so, what
should be its scope and the form of its
organization? Up to this time these CUES
tions have been but very superfcially
dealt with. A large part Of the litera-
ture on the subject of national uni
versity is sentimental, sloppy, and inane
There is no public interest in the plan
and no general knowledge of its exist
ence. a small, but persistent, lobby has
kept the matter before Congress for some
years, but no real progress has beer
made. 1t is high time that the whole
subject should be taken up Vigorously
and intelligently by a competent and rep
resentative committee, and report pre-
pared that will illuminate and guide sub
! seQuent discussions of the subject, as
well influence any legislative actor
| that may be taken.
azl- ,ot,,
the names of eight college or university
presidents, three university professors
three public school superintendents, ant
one CDr. CurryI who falls in none o.
| these classes. One is a new Englander
| three represent the Middle States, three
the South, seven the Central West, anC
one the Pacific Slope. From such a com
mittee an authoritative report may justl,
! be expected.