Omaha daily bee., 1899-09-24

tue state OF pennsylvania, and both college
have found themselves seriously hampere
by the sharp fluctuations in the earnin
capacity Of their funds.
Municipal bonds have been a f~avorite forI
OF investment with colleges for the reaso
that they are generally safe and return
fair rate of interest. Many Of the Ne
England colleges have their funds investe
in this manner.
Yale's funds are so probably invaste
that with a productive capital only ha,
that OF Columbia 1t has an income almost a
large, both institutions receiving abou
$4,000 a year.
Cornell is looked upon as having been es
pecially we'll managed. About $4,000, 900 O
It's holdings came from gifts. The re
mainder was derived from the profits Of tn
land granted to 1t under the terms of tn
Morrill, act. TIL policy OF Cornelrs man
ayers has been TO invest its funds in municl
pal bonds and western farm mortgages
One of the curiosities OF college hnancier
Ing is the fact that the good times Of tn,
past two years has injured the university
The farmers OF Kansas and other western
states have paid their s per cent mortgages
instead of renewing them, and the univer.
sity was compelled to reinvest at a mucl
lower rate OF interest. Many of the colleges
wi city real estate, having received giftt
In that form, but the majority of college
endowmeDts are In bonds of one sort or an
other. The largest real estate owner of all
the colleges is the University of Texas
which holds title to more than 1000, 00C
acres Of land and should some day be one
OF the richest institutions in the country.
Tremendous business Organization
The actual management OF a university's
affairs is conducted much like thai of a town
or city. At the beginning OF the year an
estimate OF the probable income Is made.
From this the expenses of the business
management are first deducted, leaving
about so per cent for instruction and ad-
ministration.
There are certain fixed charges to come
out Of the latter sum-, such as the salaries
OF professors, the repair and care Of build
ings, fuel, lighting and insurance and the
payment Of scholarships and prizes. The
remainder is distributed among different
departments. just as a board Of apportion-
ment does in the case Of a city.
All this is done by q committee of the
Board Of Trustees and the annual meeting
OF this committee is the occasion of a fight
between the different departments of the
university, each one OF which wants about
twice what can be actually allowed it. This
IVA ~ vi kut part
of the institution's own officers, and from
without on the part of students seeking ad-
mission, makes every university live I'D to
dts full income and keeps it in a condition
OF poverty. no matter how great It's wealth
may become. Thus the constant cry for
more funds that goes up from almost every
institution of higher learning In the country
is not ill-founded. There is probably no
college OF the first rank in the country that
could not use twice the wealth it now pos
seeses to advantage.
Their wealth is growing rapidly. During
the last year American colleges and uni
v~ersities have received $50, 900, 90 in bene-
factions of one kind and another from in
dividuals. The ~princely nature of some of
these gifts, especially of Mrs. Leland STAN
fcrd's donation Of $40, 900, 900 to the ~institu-
ton named for her son. has removed the
cry that too much of the money given for
philanthropic purposes in this country goes
to great universities and that it is creating
an "aristocracy of learning" On the other
hand, the managers of these institutions say
that the greater the amount OF funds at
their disposal the more free scholarships
and prizes they can found the greater will
be the number of poor but deserving youth
who can receive the advantages of a college
~ eNo 6ioWiu6 uuulDe VI
students applying to them for admission are
to be received. 500, 900, 900 per year is none
too large for private philanthropy to beetow
toward keeping up the equipment of the
colleges and their present grade Of ~instruc-
ton.
While a large part of the business man
agement OF a university is directed by the
board Of trustees, the growth in size and
wealth Of our greatest institutions has made
1t more and more necessary that their presi-
dents shall be men of business ability as
we'll as Of broad scholarship. 1t is gen.
orally admitted nowadays that the ability
to obtain and successfully administer large
sums for the benefit of a college is a more
important qualification for the presidency
than an intimate knowledge of Greek roots
or Hebraic history. While scholarship is
not sacrificed in the case Of the modern col
lego president, business ability is also de-
manded. If it comes to a question between
the two, business ability is likely to have
the preference.
Business Men as Presidents
Columbia led the way in this movement
by putting Seth Low at the head of its
affairs. A generation ago a man like Mr..
Low, who had made his career in business,
never would have been thought Of for such
a position. Presidents Schurman of Cornell,
Angel of Michigan, Harper Of Chicago and
Jordan OF Leland Stanford were all college
professors before being appointed to their
present positions. But they had all proved
that they were successful administrators, as
is shown by the fact that they have all
been called upon to fill important govern
mental positions. The appointment Of Presi-
dent Hadley to be president OF Yale Is
understood to be due to the belief that that
university has suffered from a lack Of
business enterprise, and needs a clever
business man to direct its affairs.
The whole tendency of the present time
is, without detracting from the educational
work of the university, to make 1t more and
more a business undertaking, conducted on
strict business principles and arriving at its
results by business methods.
The actual direction of a university's
business affairs is usually in the hands of a
treasurer, whose duties are much the same
as those of a bank president. He investi-
gates proposed investments and has the gen.
eral oversight Of all the financial activities
of the institution. These activities are d.
rectly in charge Of separate bureaus or de-