The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-05-22

who show the capacity and desire to make 1t succeed.
 The selection of President is a mat ter of the greatest importance. Some do not seem to care from what State the President may come. But. for our part. we prefer that he should have the accent of an Alabamian. Unknowr men have unknown deficiencies and unknown faults. The glamor of dis tance wears off by daily contact, and reputation counts but little in tht work of directing young men. If a man has held a conspicuous place abroad. and In the discharge of his du- ties has shown real ability, he will not ordinarily be disposed to come here and take lower place. If he does, he will think that he has made concession or suffered descent. And If an able and faithful Alabama man should be called to this position from a work less prominent. 1t may be that he would prove to be more appreciative. mere ac- tive. and more efficient He would have one advantage over the other The acquaintance of man born and reared among us, and the knowledge he has of the social, educational, eco homie, and general conditions of the State make sort of capital which he can use for the benefit of the Univer- ssity. We recognize that in a great in. stitutiUn of learning il is sometimes best to have an infusion of new blood But in the case of the University some of this infusion has already been made in the various chairs. We want the man who is to overlook all the de- partments. and all the students, and to give tone and character to the whole institution--we want this man tc hail from Alabama. Many are of the opin- ion that. if other things are equal. the President should he an educator, and we respect this view. But as to the place of President. 1t appears tha, the other conditions are frequently not equal. Indeed. the habits of thought and life which make a man good professor or great scholar may, to some extent, actually unfit him for a line of work So different from shat in which he has been engaged. The President should be young enough to be kind and sympathetic. and old enough to have acquired some wisdom and experience. He should be man who would establish mild penalties for small effenses and heavier penalties for graver offenses. and impose these graded penalties with firm and i'm partial hand. Though he need not re- member McLaurin's formula. or the rules of Latin quantity. he should be man of intelligence and general culture. He should be versatile enough to look carefully after all the students, to supervise all the officers and em- ployes. to preside on public occasions with ease and dignity. and to present to the people of the State, with clear ness and force. the merits and claims of their I1uiyerSifv Ahovn all fhtn0s he should be man of honest purpose and religious mind. On this last trait too little stress is sometimes laid. About 3 University President there is a great and unconscious influence. Having an opprtunity to train, develop. and impress for years many of the leading young men of the State. he should himself represent the highest type of manhood. The things which a student incidentally learns at college, the views of life and habits of thought he there acquires, and the character which he there slowly and firmly builds, may be worth more to him than all the balance of his college course.
 Our University has. along with fipe equipment of buildings and apparatus, a magnificent faculty and 1t Is doing excellent work. Parents who wish their sons and daughters to have an opportunity to obtain within their own State an education of the highest order should rally around the University, favor every effort to promote its use- fitness, and help to make it, more and more, a source of pride to the great State by which it is fostered.
 Er Frank s. Moody.
 Tuskaloosa, Ala, May IS, 1901.