The times., 1899-06-05
COLLEGE EDUCATION.
An Alumnus Who believes In SELF
Rather Than University Training.

R"thtr ihhn tntferSity Training.
To the Editor Of the Times;
II we are substituting pondcrous book learnins
for genuine. practical c,iucaiion. Il would m
to be time TO call halt.-Timcs editorial MAY Is
Colonel Ingersoll characterizes colleges
as institutions where young men acquire
useless knowledge. He is not a college
graduate I an. and concur with bis
view.
AT three years OF age / began to attend
school. They say l had already learned
the alphabet At thirteen | entered an
academy to prepare for college. / began
the study OF Latin. and. a year later. OF
Greek. At seventeen l entered the junior
class at Union College, Schenectady. y.
Y. The class numbered more than a hun
dred and my standing was satisfactory.
At graduation my theme was The Violin
half humorous. II was well applauded
and was followed by n violin solo by
competent artist My diploma | never had
occasion to produce: il was practically
useless.
| chose to become a portrait painter.
self-taught. After ten years. having
learned Isaac Pitman's stenography so that
| could report speeches verbatim, 7 com
bined reporting with portrait painting l
reported for the New York Tribune the
scientific lectures of Louis Agassiz and
the astronomical lectures OF Prof Mitchell.
In 1S4S l became first assistant on the
corps of reporters OF the United States
Senate for the "Washiongton Union"
After six years the Union threw up its
contract whereupon | established myself
in New York as n stenographer. doing
much law reporting. My career as
stenographer. lasted twenty-five. years,
when 1 retired and for thirty years past
| have occupied much OF my time in liter
airy work without pay. And | believe l
have made a greater number of literary
discoveries than any other living man
But my college education has been of
little use. / could not now solve problem
in geometry or do an equation in algebra
without recourse to text books
used to hear that the study OF Latin
was discipline of the mind l affirm that
there is more mental discipline in n game
of whist than the study of Latin grammar.
Indeed, grammar is the bane of language.
No wonder the ancient scholastic tongues
are dead. They died of too much grammar.
Nor are the living languages free from
the hereditary leprosy. But. happily the
English is far less tainted with 1t than the
rest, and Is. therefore, bound TO have
world wide prevalence.
A former examiner in the Patent Office
| told me that he went to a brother ex-
| aminer for a translation OF sentence in
Greek. 1t was cheerfully made and the
| translator remarked: Thank God. | have
| at last found use for my Greek"
But l have to confess that, latteriy. l
have had occasion to translate Latin for
/ publication. With the assistance OF a
| Jesuit priest l made translations from
Luther's Latin works and / have made
other translations, notably Wagenseil's
Latin version OF the Hebrew legend.
"Sepher Toldoth Jeshu'-"Book Of the
| Generation OF Jesus" But 1 have derived
no pecuniary profit from such work
The only practical education is self-edu-
/ cation. Lord Bacon quit college at If
| teen, and thereafter educated himself
1 Historian Buckle did the same at sixteen.
! He condemned the study of the dead Ian
! guages. Benjamin Franklin was self-edu-
! Gated. Thomas Paine. who wrote the let
4 ters OF Junius. and drafted for Jefferson the
| Declaration Of Independence, had little
schooling. Horace Greeley, the most re-
/ nowned editor of his time, was self-edu-
/ Gated. So was Abraham Lincoln, the ablest
of all our Presidents.
/ If all colleges were wiped out literature
and science would suffer no detriment.
SENEX.