The Savannah morning news., 1901-12-10
CARNEGIE'S LATEST
$4,000, 900 FOR A NATIONAL UNI
VERSITY.
OFFER MADE TO PRESIDENT.
FUND TO BE GIVEN TO THE UNITED
STATES.

President Roosevelt VIII Refer the
Letter to Congress in n Special
MessnGe-Mr. CarneRies Idea LIS
to Make 1t the Greatest Institution
in the World for Higher LEARN
ing-Would Only BE Open to Post
Graduates and Would Rival Fa-
nous German Universities.
Washington. Dec. 9.-The Washington
Post tomorrow will say:
President Roosevelt has received a
letter from Andrew Carnegie, in which
the latter offers to make donation of
$40, ,OOO, 900 to the United States. The
letter will be referred to Congress by
the President in a special message.
MIR. '-7srrnegiei gift rs Tor the purpose
of establishing in Washington a uni
versity for higher education. AS Ear
as his idea has been developed, it pro-
poses a gift after the manner of the
beauest of James Smithson, the Eng
lishman who gave $1,000, 600 for the es-
tablishment and maintenance of what
is now known as the Smithsonian In
stitution. Smithson desired. the insti-
tuition founded by him to be a factor
edge"
Mr.. Carnegie proposes that the uni
versity which he is to endow shall be
the greatest institution in the world
for the development of higher educa-
ton. He has consulted President Gill
man of Johns Hopkins University, ex-
President White of Cornell and all the
leading educators of the country. They
heartily indorse his plans. The pro-
posed university will not interfere in
the least with the educational insti-
tutions already established, but will
supplement them for according to the
present plans, it's doors will open only
to those who desire to take up a post
graduate course Mr.. Carnegie also
wants the new university to take the
lead in original reasearch, so that the
United States can eventually stand
side by side with Germany, If not ex-
eel that nation, in scientific develop
ment.
| Mr.. Carnegie's plan does not propose
a national university in the sense thai
an appropriation will be asked or need
ed. The government is simply TO bt
1
rnent just as 1t administers the Iuno
bequeathed by Smithson.3 1t is prob
| able that a board of regents viii be
appointed, as in the case of the Smith
| sonian Institution, or ii may be that
| the government will be represented
upon the board of directors, which. IT
is contemplated, shall consist of men OF
national reputation.
Mr. Carnegie has kept the proposed
endowment a secret until he could def1-
nitely arrange the plans and scope OF
the new university. Even yet all these
details have not been arranged, so that
little more than the outline of his gift
can be published. 1t is known, how
ever that he does not propose to ask
from Congress a single foot of land
upon which the university buildings
will be constructed. The entire ex-
pense is to be borne out of his endow-
ment. No site has yet been selected.
1t will. however, necessarily be very
large, as it is proposed 70 erect a series
of magnificent structures.
The amount of money to be given
by Mr.. Carnegie equals the sum of the
present endowment fund of Harvard,
and is considerably more than the In
vested fund of Yale. With the Catho-
lie University. the Methodist Univer-
sity, and the proposed Carnegie Uni
versity, Washington will be the edu-
cational center of the country