New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1898-12-12
nryovJyiTIONAL COLLEGES.

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| UNCONVENTIONAL COLLEGES.
| ,rhere is discussion going on just now IN the
| In,sconoI Church regarding Church colleges that
suggests some interesting questions as 10 the
status of denomlnational colleges \ little over
| month ago President Smith Of Trinity COZ
| lcrc Hartford Conn. wrote n letter TO ne
| Churchman." Of this city. making plea ior TIC
srpport by Episcopallans Of their colleges Jon"
Y. l.. Prmyn of Albany. trustee OF -. sic
phcn's College. Annandac, y. Y. replies to TINS
| He takes the ground that the actiial cohoi''oN
| of Episcopal colleges is far from satisfactory
Wealthy lavmcn have not given them the neces-
| sary financial support and Episcopal fam'i'cS
! have passed them by when considering the
ouostion of n college for their sons. SUI MI
pruvn thinks that the colleges themselves nave
| hcon partly 10 blame for this. Until recently
| they have been content with inferior standards
and q narrow and conventional atmosphere
| "For one of the smallest religious denoillila-
tione" he SAYS 1.-THE Protestant Episcopal
| "Church talks altogether too much about the
| "Church' II dwclls too much on its medieval
"history and attaches too much Importance to
| "mcdiryal customs. Let it turn its face to IN"
| .problems Of the present and be American
"in words" He does not think that the remedy
for this will be found in establishing new col
leccs or even in expanding the existing colleges
| into universities but rather in placing the small
and struggling colleges under the wing of some
| great university.
Dcnominati onalsm in itself however in the
opinion of Mr.. pruyn, does not interfere with
the efficiency of college. The greatest universe
| I'll. b,v ham nj iopo
and oven to-day they are more or less under re-
| ligious influence. But they have not been con
tent to remain merely schools of dcnominatiOnal
| theology On the contrary, they have let theol-
ocy 90 and have aimed to keep fully abreast
with the thought and intellectual progress of
the age This Mr.. Pruyn thinks. has not been
| done by the Episcopal colleges. and he adds:
Until there Is Il firstclass liberal Church col
"lege it cannot be expected that parents will
| sacrifice their sons to religious sentiment. when
| the colleges controlled by other denominations
| "havc higher requirements and superior courses
I'"of study than can be found within our own
| fold 1t has been remarked that no college
university in this country has been really sue
"ccssful when developed on solely Scctarian
| lines
President Jones of Hobart does not think that
the comparison instituted by Mr.. Pruyn is fair.
Church colleges, he says are told that they
must not expect any large cndowmcntS until
they rank up with Harvard or Yale. whereas
they cannot possibly do that until they get large
cndowmcntS. Moreover, an Episcopal college
cannot expect to get much. If any, financial sup
| port outside the denomination. because of the
Episcopal Church'S supposed attitude of aloof-
ness, while at the same time EpiscopalianS
| themselves for one reason or another. take little
| interest in Episcopal colleges. From this he
concludes that the almost unavoidable infer
"cnce is that suggested by the representative of
kenyon at the General Convention Church
people do not want Church colleges"
Professor McCook. of Trinity College. does
| not believe that Churchmen are Influenced by
| high educational standards in choosing a col
lrgc for their sons. They either send their boys
to the college from which they were graduated
themselves or they let the boys choose Il college.
in which case they decide to 90 where the crowd
goes. Nor. in his opinion. does scctarianism cut
much Of Il figure in the ease. rs is shown by the
prosperity of Congregational Yale Moreover.
he denies fatty that the standards Of Trinity
College. with which he is best acquainted. are
inferior To those of other New England colleges.
It's rivals. II has been as often ahead of. them
| behind them, ana ne recalls no instance III
which Il boy dropped from Yale succeeded in
entering the same class in Trinity. While the
general atmosphere of the college Is churchly,
there are no religious tests in government or in
strucion. Its president in my day was lay
man; and since have known 1t it has had in
Its corps of instructors Presbyterians Congre
"gationalistS. Catholic Apostolic, Swedenborgian
and Of course. the usual assortment Of high,
"low and broad Church men, with those numcr
"ous melting shades which give such variety to
"our ecclesiastical landscape. The students. on
"thc other hand. have represented Baptist Con.
"grcgat iOnaliSt. Methodist Presbyterian, Roman
"CathOlic and know not what besides
As 10 the merits of this controversy we can
not undertake 10 pronounce an opinion The
fact that all seem to he agreed on is that Epis-
copal colleges are not adequately supported by
fpiscopalians. and that the really great univer-
sites of the country to-day have largely ceased
10 represent the rigid Theological views of the
men who founded them.