Omaha daily bee., 1899-09-24
BUSINESS SIDE OF COLLEGES
Represent an Invested Capital Of Two Hun
dred and Fifty Millions.
ALL STUDENTS CLAsStD AS CHARITY BOYS
Generous Endowment of Great In
situations of Learning-How the
Funds Are Invested and
Where the Money Goes.

Although 1t is seldom thought of in thii
connection, the business of college education
is one OF the great businesses OF the coun'
try. The 426 colleges and universities tina
are about TO reopen their doors to the LIS,
900 American college students represent ar
invested capital of $3.50, 900, 900 and give
employment to % 1000 persons as teachers
and officers. II all the professors, students
and buildings Of all the American colleges
were brought together in one locality they
would form a city CT the first magnitude
Counting the amount expended by the
students themselves and that expended in
their behalf by the colleges, the total sum
paid out for college education in this coun-
try each year can not fall short Of 500, 900, :
600, a sum greater than the entire civil
expenditure Of the government, 500, 900, 900
In 1898.
1t Is a fact that the United States spends
more pro rata for higher education than any
other country In the world. The amount
per unit of population invested in colleges
and universities Is nearly twice as great as
In England, and more than twice as great
as In Germany, where, although universities
are numerous, their endowments are much
smaller than in this country. Yet the
total holdings of the 426 American COLLEGES
and universities represent an investment
CT only a little more than So for each per
son in the country, which is not a large sum
considering the important place assigned to
liberal education by the founders of our re.
publican government.
While the total wealth Of our colleges Is
zoo,0oO,00O or an average of 1857, 900 for
each, 1t is a fact that the greater part Of
the total sum is in the possession Of a few
Of the leading universities. There are seven
institutions that have together property
worth $91, 600, 900, or an average of 81, 900, 600
each. This leaves an average of $3.50, 900 for
the remaining 419. If the twenty-seven in
situations having productive wealth amount
ing to $1,000, 900 or more were deducted, 1t
would be found that the average endowment
in productive funds Of the great majority of
American colleges is only s113, 900.
A Gift of Ten Million.
Mrs. Stanford's recent gift Of $40, 900, 900,
added to ite previous endowment of SO, 500, 900,
makes Leland Stanford, jr., the wealthiest
educational institution in the country, with
one exception. The exception Is Girard col
lege, in Philadelphia, which is worth $15,-
600 1000 and has long stood at the head of the
list. The work Of Girard college, however.
is the giving Of technical and trade instruc-
tion, so that the newly acquired fortune of
the California university makes 1t the richest
OF the institutions devoted to higher educa-
tion. Next on the list comes Harvard, with
productive funds amounting to $40, 900, 900.
The Cambridge university is followed closely
by Columbia, Cornell and the University of
Chicago. Contrary to general opinion, Yale
has less wealth than any Of these, its pro-
ductive funds amounting to only s4,5 0 900.
The figures quoted show, not the total
wealth OF the institutions named, but the
amount from which their incomes are de-
rived. Counting in the property held by
them In buildings and equipment and the
total would be considerably larger. The
following table gives approximately the
wealth OF these seven colleges: