Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1902-06-19
Treasures Constantly Lost By the Sea.
BY BISHOP WARREN A. GAMBLER.
RoF. WOODROW WILSON.

- a southern-born man, who
kept for a time a law office
in Atlanta, believe has
been elected recently to the presi-
dency of Princeton university.
Prof. Wilson became famous by
his admirable works entitled Con
gressional Government" and the
state" The latter treatise is an In
teresting and scholarly study OF the
constitutions of all the constitution
al governments OF ancient and mod
ern times. On these and cognate
themes he is easily the best au-
thority in the United States.
He is the son Of a Presbyterian
minister we'll known to many OF
the people of Georgia. Had he not
become an authority on the special
lines of study chosen by him ne
might now be a professor In one
of the poorly paid faculties Of some
one of the southern colleges. But
since he is a celebrity he is at the
head of one of the strongest and
richest. universities in the north.
He is one of many such instances.
Georgia had the LeContes at
Athens once, but the far western
state of California. territory, won
from Mexico by Georgia troops,
carried the distinguished scholars
away by more appreciatiye compen-
sation for their services.
Columbia university carried Thos.
Price from Virginia to New York,
and the dean of the law school at
that opulent seat of learning is Will
liam A. Keener, a Georgia boy.
brought up in Augusta and gradu-
ated from Emory college in the
class of 1s74-the class Immediately
before my own.
The University of Michigan car
ried Winchell from Vanderbilt, as
later the University. of Wisconsin
took Charles Forster Smith from
the same institution, and the uni
versity of Chicago took DR.. Bemis.
These cases of southern colleges los
ing some of their strongest men to
northern institutions come to my
mind without effort, and others also
might be named If it were neces-
sary. But cannot recall that any
southern college has won from
northern institution single man
whom any such institution cared
specially to keep.
What do such facts signify? This,
at least: No southern college is
able to retain any one of its fac
ulty who becomes an authority on
any subject unless he stays from
a, 20 a
tachment or loyalty and at f1nan-
cial loss. Once a southern educator
becomes a celebrity he is lost to us
or stays with us at a heavy cost Of
self-sacrifice.
BY consequence the richest minds
depart from us, and the poor we
have always with us.
Can any people stand long such
a drain upon it's highest and most
precious resources? We have al
ready suffered much and we must
suffer far more unless we speedily
apply the only remedy that can
avail to check the evil.
The college authorities have
sought to offset this drain by con-
stantly importing young professors
from northern and European uni
vsrsities. But this cannot accom-
plish the result desired. The ten
dency of such a policy is to the
overestimation of the academic de-
grees which a young man has Sc
cured and the characterization Of
the power of personality. In some
collection OF men labeled with the
academic title Of doctor of phi
losophy" who make a sort of muse
UNI Of professionally incompetency.
They are boolkish, but know next
to nothing of the constituencies
they serve, and make up courses
of study and adopt methods of In
struction not with a view to meet
ing the wants of the students whom
they are called to teach, but appa-
rently with view to please the in
situations from which they secured
their degrees. They are feeble imi-
tators without originality and
without comprehension of the sit
uation about them, but they are
doctored passed all understanding.
They mean well, and they continue
where they are placed until they or
the institution employing them
can find something better. Then