Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1900-01-18
Tie Evening Session.

Tie Evening Session.
Prof. James s. Stevens of the Uni
versity Of Maine the profess n in tie
chair Of physics. gave the address OF
the evening. having for his subject
The Democracy e Education" 1t i.
| an interesting discourse and one thaJ
was Il true credit to the university
which the professor represents.
we give herewith an abstract Of the
address to set forth some of the ideas
he advanced and to give the public thu
benefit Of the views Of the edu ator
! He touched on the last part of the ad-
dress, on the University of Maine, Civ
! ing a history Of the State university
work from its earliest history. telling
| all the details of the history in Main4
Of the present condition and workings
of the Maine institution Of its alumni.
of which they are so proud. and he, in
addition. gave long list Of the posi-
tons held by the members of the
alumni. He pointed with pardonable
pride to the work being done at the
college, and gave the members of the
| board, as well as the others, many in
teresting points that they had not pre-
viously known of the institution.
The following is the abstract
Although my line of work is not di-
rectIy connected with the science OF ag-
riculture. it cannot fail to broaden one 70
meet a company like this; company
made up of representatives Of so impor-
tant a science. Acting on suggestion
from your secretary, | nave chosen 70
talk for a little while this evening on the
subject Of The Democracy OF Educd-
ton
From the earliest times. the idea has
prevailed that there are certain Kinds 0f
education which should have the pre-eTn-
inence over all others; that to be an edu-
Gated man. one must have knowledge Of
certain branches, but upon the multitude
Of subjects lying outside of this domain,
he might not only be ignorant. but II
was rather To his credit il he We're. The
central thesis which | wish to establis
is something like this: there is no arts
is a unit. To know Latin is part Of an
education; to know physics is also a
part; course in classical philology
makes a man scholarly; a course in az
riculture makes him equally 50. In short,
in all the range Of human learning there
is no subject. unless We except the three
RS. which may any longer be referred TO
as essential to an education. or when
may boast in the pride Of its exclusive
ness without which not
The democracy If the various branches
recognized in our day. but that ii IS not
universally accepted may be Inferred
from passages from remarks OF many
leading educators
lirve in such doctrines as they present.
Nor need | take time to refutc them bc-
cause | know that you 40 not.
The fundamental fallaCN seems to be
this: At the time when there was only
one style uf education. that style pro
duced our statesmen. Therefore ProfcS-
SCR Peck argues that it is the only kInd
of education that would produce states
men. Give to certain men any type ol
education whatever. and they VIII still b
statesmen; others. even the perfume OF
Attic violet viii make nothing bui
Cheese mOngers.' An aristocracy Of ed
ucatipn will take ii. never be tolerated
in America. any more than an aristoc-
racy Of birth.
ANY survey Of the history of education
will show Us that the kind OF learning il
vogue at given period was the direct
outgrowih of the demands IF the period
10 SlY that classical studies constitute
an education. ana that modern science.
do not. would h" PARALLEL by saying thai
to be n gentleman one must wear knick
erb"ckyrs. ruif!ed shirt fronts. ana pow
dcred wigs. The Greeks ana Roman:
h"Id Il man t. nv educated when he ha,
mastered his own language ana coul,
dispute in the mlrkc, place. outside y
these countries Greek was not include,
in the list Of humanitirS until the tim
Of the revival Of learning. From tina
time until the beginning III the nineteenth
century Greek. Latin ana m1thematic'
We're regarded as constituting the 'baci
bone Of any true education. The reaSOl
| Of this is not far to seek. Education VA
! for the lev: in the judgment Of the au
| thuriticS the misses had no need for il
ana were only rendered DISCONTINUED an,
| inSuburlinItr by its possession. Natural
| ~ the ideas prevailing in England cam
over tu us. and for the first three hun
| dred years VI American history we hat
| 1 "a 81 In
| era of stage coaches and slow SAILING
ships. Of mails few ana far between. o
agriculture in It's hardest methods, 0
| small ambitions for commercial or me
| Chaniral progress. After a time some
! body found "A better way Of traVelin
| than the old stage coach and ii soon be
| came apparent that it was not Latin an
Greek which We're wanted 10 enable me
| To level railroad beds. design engines
| ana construct cars. Naturally, therefor,
| during the present century, the old-fash
| Toned curriculum came to be modified
| Mathematics Is studied. but in its an
| Piled form ii has been developed into M
| chanics. physics. ana the Variou
| branches of engineering. And as sma
railroads have combined into larger one:
and these in turn into great corporation.
| II is still the man who with special train
ing. the man who knows the details {
| the system from the bottom IN, who Ia
the key to the situation. Again until II
Gently, there has been but little necessit
| for training along the lines of natur;
history W nen the country was new
| and sparsely settled. the microbes an
bacilli either did not exist. or kept :
! completely out Of sight that they WEI
not troublesome. Land was plentiful an
the air was pure and germ diseases wei
| far less prevalent. With our preser
condition Of affairs. however. came N
demand for training that would enab
uS to Srapple with these enemies of OF
| peace and therefore now no We
equipped institution of learning is witt
out its special force in the department
natural history.
lhen again. we may consider ii
science Of agriculture. When an the lar
) was in the hands Of few men whose Ii,
lhgS were secured under all circun
stances. II was of comparatively lit
importance now the fields We're titled.
what crops should be cultivated ,ra,Ja
different condition of affairs exist
We nave our small farms living side
sldf ana i i only the man who ca
make use or scientific principles con
pinned with a GOOD dnarnn - -. -,