The daily morning journal and courier., 1901-08-24
CONCERNING ROBERT COLLEGE.
It's Students, Professors, Great Oppor-
 tunity and Need.


 Robert college, at the capital of Mo hammedanism, is distributing center directly for the moral and intellectual blessings and indirectly for the mate rial blessings of Christianity. It rightly puts central emphasis upon a sincere faith in Christ and obedience to his will. It is not specifically missionary institution. It is not specifically a mis- sionary institution, but it was founded by missionary and its work is mis- sionary in the largest sense. Mission ary work in land where every. one be- lieves In but one God, while the ma jority call themselves Christians, must be mainly educational, 1t would seem, else 1t could present no good reason for existence to those whom 1t wishes to help. Robert college aims to be- stow, through education, as many as possible of the highest blessings or Christian civilization, recognizing that this is possible and desirable only when religious influence is considered the chief concern.
 A few statements will indicate the success that follows the maintenance of such an attitude. In regard to the religious influence of the college, the head of one of the great Christian churches of the East said to President Washburn recently that among all his
 people the only young men who really believe in God and Christianity are those who have been educated In Rob ert college, From its early days the college imparted to its Bulgarian stu-
 dents such a desire and capacity for the civil liberty that grows out of Chris tianity as to make them chiefly influ- ential in the libera tion of their country
 from the Turkish yoke and in it's gov ernment afterward. Though the col lege has had no strongly emphasized commercial course, its students have
 been judged to be the best business men of the region.
 Robert college has now nine profess sors, of whom five are Americans and one an Englishman. It has about 20 instructors, of whom four are Amert- cans Owing to the condition of the country, the college must stand much more in loco parentis to the students than is necessary in America. It boards and lodges about two-thirds of them, keeps record of where they may be at any time and cares for them gener- ally in sickness and health. The 300 | students are divided into three pre- paratory classes and five college class es The curriculum, while more con- | densed and not so fully supplied with elective studies as that of the most ad- | vanced American colleges, is much be- yond that of any other school of the re-
 zion. The independent activities of the students have created many organiza
 tions, such as the class and national lit
 erary societies, the latter including Ar menian, Bulgarian, Greek and French
 There is a genral athletic organization
 and separate class and national athletic and gymnastic clubs. There is a four fold Young Mems Christian association
 and a young peoples society of Chris tian endeavor. The students publish two or three monthly papers.
 The students are of many national ities and many tongues-Georgians Russians, Armenians, Bulgarians, Jews Greeks, Turks, Italians, English, Amer
 jeans, etc. The number of Bulgarian
 students, who were once the backbone
 of the college, has been decreasing of late, while the number of Greeks has
 been increasing. At the present time, the college is entirely filled with stu dents and many have been turned
 away. The study hall the dormitories,
 the recitation rooms, and the laborator-
 ies. are much to crowded for the best
 results. A building, the gift of kind
 friends in America, is in process of con-
 struction for the younger students. This
 will relieve the pressure for time
 Robert college has done and is doing
 great work in bringing to the station
 ary eastern Christians and the retro-
 gressng Mohammedans, a true Chris
 tianity and something of it's attendant
 blessings If, however, the college is
 to utilize its opportunity there is need
 that America should make to it a con-
 siderable gift of men and money. There
 is reason to believe that such gift
 would be a good investment financially.
 When the rapidly expanding American commerce reaches Turkey in Europe in
 earnest, the discovery will be made of a very useful body of agents who have been trained in Robert college, men conversant with American methods and habits of thought, knowing the En- glish language well, and of course thor