Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1901-07-26
EDUCATION FOR ALL.
National Capital a City of Colleges
and Universities.
Titans of Every Age Were Men OF
Humble Parentage Who Secured
Their Education by Applf-
cation and Self-Denial.

Especial Washington Letter.l Z
THE close of the college year is
called commencement" be-
cause the young people who
are given degrees are supposed to
have completed educations, and be
ready in every sense for the "com-
mencement" of their careers in con-
tact with the world.
The national capital is becoming
more and more an educational CEN
ter. Colleges have been here from
the early days of the past century,
and now we have prosperous univer-
sites. There are many busy people
who do not understand the differ
ence between college and a univer-
sity, but well-informed people know
that each university is composed of a
number of colleges. The college
bears the same relation to a univer-
sity that king bears to an emperor.
An empire comprises kingdoms, and
university comprises colleges.
It is well known that George Wash
ington advocated the establishment
of a national university in the ma
tional capital; and his desire is grad
ually being developed. But the ma
tional university is yet only in en-
bryo. It will not be perfected until
the congress definitely acts upon the
proposition which number of good
men have been projecting for NOSE
than a quarter of a century, out of
their own individual means.
The secretary of agriculture says
that the ideal national university
would be a term of service in the
executive departments for young
men who have been graduated from
secular or religious colleges and uni
versities; a term of service in which
they would learn all about the fed
eral government, as government
clerks, with opportunities for attend
ing the congressional debates, the
use of the congressional library and
contact with the statesmen from all
of the states.
The idea of the secretary, as
cleaned from many conversations, is
that poor young men may thus have
opportunity to earn their bread and
butter by working in the government
departments, while they also earn
their educations by devoting their
extra time in taking advantage of
their environments. To the writer
this seems impracticable, because a
national university of that character
could furnish no diploma, ECO insignia
to demonstrate the course of study.
It would be good thing for the
poor young men who constitute the
majority of students, and would
greatly enhance their worth to them
selves, to the republic and to the
world; but it would be difficult to
systematic such a comprehensive
course of studies.
In this city, as in all educational
centers, it is safe to say that the
number of students who support
themselves in part, or in fact wholly,
is constantly increasing. Although
not possessed of exact statistics as
to the number of men who support
themselves wholly or in part when
going through college, it is known to
be much larger than the outsider
who gets only a superficial view of
matters would believe.
Not only this, but the percentage
of poor young men increases as well
as does the number. Perhaps our
colleges have certain extent more
of the poor young men than other
colleges. OF course, there is a large
number of very wealthy ones, more
of them in every entering class, but
that is accounted for merely by the