New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1900-08-18
SAVED!
PENSIONS FOR TEACHERS.
REASONS ADVANCED FOR GRANTING
THEM IN SCHOOLS AND UNIVERSE
uEs-HARvARD's EXPERIENCE.

TTEs-HARVARD's EXPERIENCE.
To The Editor OF The Tribune
Sir: At the recent meeting of the National
Educational Association certain resolutions
were passed dealing with the subject of proper
standards of scholarship IN teachers, security
OF tenure better salaries and pension sys-
tenn In an editorial IN your issue OF July 10
you commended the first three. saying that they
would doubtless meet with the unhesitattng
approval OF thoughtful men With the one
that dealt with the establishment Of pension
system you disagreed holding that there Is no
more reason for pensioning teachers than for
penstoning doctors, nurses, preachers men in
business life etc. Instead Of the establishment
Of a pension system for teachers, you propose
that they shall be paid what their services are
worth and thus be enabled to make proper pro
vision for themselves
The Tribune is so regularly and steadily right
upon educational matters. and It's influence IN
the discussion Of them SO deservedly great. that
an erroneous view on its part-such as De-
neve the one Just stated to be-is much TO be
regretted I therefore beg, in no controversial
spirit to point out certain elements in the
problem which seem to have been overlooked Ia
the article referred to.
AS q university professor am possibly liable
TO the personal equation But am at least, on
my side. well acquainted with existing oondi-
tons having served over a quarter Of q cen
tury, and in three large institutions, both
East and West Ny knowledge Of the condi-
tons in the schools is less exact Let me
therefore speak first Of pensions in colleges
only.
The large majority OF men attain only moder-
alta financial success at the best. But, except
in q few occupations, there is a good chance
that an able man will after while, succeed
IN making an income upon which with care he
can 1--we with reasonable comfort and that he
VIII IN time make good deal more, SO that he
may provide for his old age (f he lives TO be
old and Tor his family after mis- death There
IS even in business, in the law, in medicine, the
possibility Of the making Of a fortune word
being used IN an elastic sense The eondiuons'
in other words. are all fluid. A man Is likely
70 succeed according TO his ability and. If he
Is a picked man, success on large scale Is at
least conceivably open TO him
For the college professor, on the other hano,
these conditions are reversed. He never al any
rate after having other mouths than his own
TO feed, possesses income upon which Win
care he can live with reasonable comfort An
examination OF the actual state OF affairs in any
Of the colleges or universities IN which the larS-
est salaries are paid viii show that. unless the
professor has an independent income he is
either living under considerable privation, OF is
giving time and strength to the earning OF
something with which to keep the immediate
wolf from the door, and this TO the distinct IN
Jury Of his college or university, 70 which ne
ought to be able TO give his whole energies, as
teacher, investigator and writer. Moreover MS
means Of earning this addition from the outside
are generally limited, and his returns poor only
a few books and these in a few departments
only are lucrative The larger part Of the out
side work done is distinctly hack work. Of slight
interest and Of slight profit As for saving, IT
is extremely difficult and cannot possibly reach
the point of a capital sufficient TO support a
family even with rigid economy when age comes
and strength is gone.
Nor is this state of things IN the least likely
TO change materially. Even II salaries should
everywhere be considerably raised, there is no
likelihood Of their being raised to the point at
which the saving Of a suffciency against old
age could be made possible. One other con-
dition. also would always remain The income
Of professors would not rise in proportion to
their success. The majority OF the who
reach the higher positions could not possibly be
paid what their services are worth" No uni
versity could stand the drain OF paying its most
successful professors upon a standard COM
rnensurate with that of eminent success in bust
ness life, or in law or medicine
All this may be translated into the terms OF
active life by imagining that 70 a young man
who was thinking Of becoming a business man.
a lawyer or a doctor the conditions should be
laid down that no matter how great his
cess should be- matter what erninence ne
might reach. he should never receive more than
a professor in one of our larger universities And
a practical commentary may be found in the
fact that, within short time. several professors
or assistant professors in our great universities
wearied by the struggle with their conditions
have left their profession for business positions
at salaries three times what they were
receiving before.
So much for the matter from the side OF the
professor From the side Of the university the
reasonableness Of the pension system is not less
clear The great majority OF the young in
structors do not remain, but seek their fortunes
elsewhere A system OF pensions FOR all teach
srs" is accordingly, not in question at all OF
those who rise and reach permanent places the
majority do not live 70 age which a pen
sion would be given. OF those who do nearly
all prefer to keep teaching. If possible liking
occupation better than inaction, and liking
whole salary better than a partial one II is
therefore to only a few a time, at the ut
most that a university would ever be called
upon 10 give a pension. Facts bear out this
natural prOba blty. l haven't the material at
hand for exact statement about Columbia.
but the state Of affairs is substantially the same
as at Harvard, except that the latter possesses