BoletiÌn mercantil de Puerto Rico. (San Juan, P.R.) 18??-1918, 1901-12-24
SAN JUAN, DECEMBER "a
A National University.

l. is q matter Cf just pride 10 every Amer
lean that siogle days news should an
nounce two priucey gifts-Mrs. Stanford's
[ transfer of 5 80, 100000 of securities to the
! university whcl commentaries her sons
name, and Mr. Carnegie's reported offer OF
$40 100000 to found national university
at Washington. This latter plan, which
looks to the creation of a new institution.
naturally excites the greater interest, and
all the more because committee OF we'll
known educators haye recently reported
adversely on the project OF university
\ under national control at Washington. A
superficial observer might well be surprised
I that so astute pklilanthropist as Mr.. Gar
! negie should appear as the supporter of
!. plan discredited by the highest educational
! authority.
It is, of course, impossible that Mr.. Car
) negie aad his advisers have put themselves
j in any such position. We do not know
\ precisely the kind of university they may
] have in mind, hut we may safely assume
\ that it is free from the Objectionable feat
-' ures of fearlier plans. What the committee
of the American Educational Association
declared in-expedieht was university under
= Government control, the teaching depart
ments OF which should be largeley recruited
from the present sciept tific departments at
Washington. There were two prime Objsc
tions to such an institution: first, the fact
that Government control would almost
! inevitably mean Congressional control, and
the creation of university on political
I rather than an academic basis; second, the
! certainty that most OF the scientific depart
ments were little incined to undertake the
task of regular instruction, and in fact, could
do SO only at the expense Of their efficiency
4 in their proper work. No one who has seen
J hoB politics intrude into the French schools,
Y although their mOrals in this matter is
probably higher than that of some Uf our
! State universities, can for moment believe
! that a national university under Congress
, sicnal control is expedient. What might
happen in Washington may be seen in
j what has happened in Paris-5he attempt
of Reactionary students to boot a Liberal
professor out of his chair at the College de
: France; the smuggling into the same insti.
tuition of a famous specialist, who, because
he was Roman Catholic priest, received
no official rating and depended for the
support of his department upon stipend
informally procured by tellow-p professor.
These are s5me of the fruits OF political
control.
LII ludy ldIIiy U6 dcoulucU blltt buO uuttOI
g sity which Mr.. Carnegie has in mind will
:. be national only in name, and that Con
gresS will have no voice either In determin.
alton of its policy or in the choice of profes.
sors. It'wouId be idle to speculate as to the
exact form which the nations patronage of
J tue new university will assume. One may
imagine that the President and other high
officials will be tex olfcion members of tue
(lnuaruinry Rnar1. but fho nnivy ;fu ..of
if it is to succeed, have its own Governing
- Board, and, SO far as administration is cen
cerned, must have no more to do with the
Government than Harvard University has
to do with ths State of Massachusetts, Mr..
, Carnegie has not given himself to unsuccess-
ful cau;es in the past, and will feel sale in
snpposiag his plan to be simply TO establish
at Washington university which, SO far as
! its policy and administration are concerned,
will be like our existing universities.
1919 Al character OF its own the new institut on
must have, from the very fact that it is at
Washington. 1t is not only that properly
qualified students will undoubtedly enjoy
, the courtesy of the Government collections
and laboratories, and that the Congressional
Library is already at hand for purposes Of
i research; but quite as important is the fact
that Washington offers unique opportunities
j. for association along the lines of science and
humane scholarship. The presence of a
cosmopolitan society and the acquaintance
of scores Of great specialists are among the
advantages which the professors of the new
university. will enjoy. This should inn
mediately lend it q prestige which the older
universities may well envy.
That the National University is to ac-
eept only graduate students is emnently
proper. Tnere ara in or about Washington |
7 some half dozen colleges which give the |
Bachelors degree. These vary from eX.
cellent to very bad, but they will all inn
prove, and all eventually offer a good
collegiate education. With them the Ma.
.tional University very rightly refuses to
compete. The older universities should /
have no feeling that this new conner offers
an unfair rivalry OF is likely 10 DO so. |
Ogerproduetion OF good uniyersities has NOT
yet become national evil. A dozen iu-
siifutions to day, in charitable view,
deserve fnll university Standing. II we are
10 have the desirable diversity Of training we
should fad place for many more uniyer-
sites. The new university, If its destjnies
Z ere wisely c1osen, should also do something
to break up the deplorable lack Of initiative 4
among our graduate students, which leads
them generally to accept unquestionirgly |
the methods Of single university and Of . /
few masters German students seldom are
content to get their education exclusively at
one university. Thay habiiuslly seek ont /
notable professors II their respective sub.
"