The Owosso times., 1902-01-31

The president did not answer for
little while His face was very thought
full.
1T depends on the attitude OF tn,
trustees. | do not know how majori
ty OF them feel. know that some o.
them will urge the need of the money
4 at just this time in our history. Oi
course 1t is public knowledge that tn,
college Is very much embarrassed JUS
at present for funds. But what shall
we do, my boy. in the face of such 0
situation as confronts us novi Shall
we yield to the demands of men OF
means who do not wish certain things
taught in college when that teaching
conflicts with the very me.ho1s which
have made Possible the great wealth Of
the men who object? There is a great
principle at stake here. 1t is the sacred
right of free and unrestrained speech
when that speech is perfectly right and
proper and imperatively needed for the
good Of an educated man. Professor
Clark is giving his class in political
economy exactly the ethical truths they
need to train them up in ways of
Christian integrity in business affairs.
| That is one of the things this college
WAS founded to do. Hope college was
started by devout Christian men, who
| put In the charter the words We de-
sire to found a Christian college, whore
the foundation principles of the Chris
| tian religion shall be nculcated no less
[ than the humanites, and, indeed, made
| foremost in the training of the youth
| who shall receive instruction there If
| this purpose of the founders of the col
lege is to be carried out, it can only be
done by making all our instruction vi
tally Christian. There is nothing in the
subject Of political economy that bars
it out of f'the Christian education. In
deed, as | told Mr.. Rankin, the very
foundation of any true political econo-
my must be its moral account of the re-
lations between man and man. And
that is just what Professor Clark has
begun to do If the actual result is
necessary criticism of the business thai
Mr.. Rankin makes his money by, it is,
of course, unfortunate for him person
ally, but it does not disprove the truth
of Clark's teaching, and 1t certainly
ought not TO put stop TO It,.
"he president was silent again, and
EDWARD began to understand some
thing of the seriousness of the question
that faced the president and the col
lege. For the first time also in his
own mind one of the phases of modern
wealth getting became clear to him.
He was not old enough to realize how
ma pttt hie. .y,.1x ,,,1
generally clear sense OF justice placed
his sympathy at once with the presi-
dent. Even to the young college sopho-
more the question. new as it was to his
mind seemed to have but one answer.
1t was monstrous proposition to put
before men that they were not to in
vestigate or discuss the methods en-
ployed 10 acquire wealth If it was go
ing to arouse the i'll will of men who
had money to give TO the college When
that Ill will took the form of q direct
threat to withhold Q possible bequest
if the teaching was not discontinued or
changed it certainly looked to Ed
ward as If the power OF wealth was
assuming to dictate terms to the col i
lege which it could not for a moment
submit 10 without dishoior ana the
loss OF those principles Oh which il
was originally established. Possibly
some reader OF this part Of the story
OF Edward Blake viii be inclined &c
think that the author has drawn en-
tircly on his Imagination Ter this scene
between the president and Mr. Rankin
| may say that the president Of 4 col
lege recently showed mr letter writ
ten ny wealthy dcnor. IN which n
threat was muae TO withhold lagSy
SUM Cc massey from the college unless
certain professor. who occupied the
chair Of political economy, were re-
moved frcn the institution on account
of the nature of his teaching, which |
according to the best judgment Of Il |
majority Of students and teachers. was
not un-Christian teaching. but distinct.
~ and positively Christian The pro |
fesSor WAS not removed in this in |
stance. believe that the history of |
educational institutions in the United |
States would, If truly written. disclose |
very many similar attempts to dictate |
the nature of the teaching in college |
on the part of men who do not desire
TO have wrong methods Of money max |
ing studied or discussed.-Charles NJ |
Sheldon.
Two weeks later the president finish
cd his business and went away for
little vacation The matter that had
been discussed so frankly between hin
and Edward would come Up for actIoa
before he board OF trustees when the
college opened again In the fall Nr
lankin had nocn rs good rs his were
IN tu!kiog with as many Of the faculty
ann tWSyvts aS he could lind in Ray
n9r during the suAmvr And the sub
jcct wunld nave created more excite
mpnt tlElu II actually dia ir the college
had been ~ SESSION and the news OF
the var had not been so prominently
uppnrmCSt.