The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1903-09-10
EDUCATIONAL LACK
IN GREAT BRITAIN
President of Scientific Associa-
ton Laments Superiorityof
United States.

SOUTHPORT, England, Sept g
Inc British Association for the Ad
Vancement of Science met tonight at
the opera house here. Sir Norman
Lochyer delivered his presidential ad-
dreSS, entitled The Influence of Rrafn
Power on History" He referred to tbe
struggle for existence in modern COM
mun1ties, showed that British indus
tries were suffering from international
competition, dwelt on the necessity for
a body such as the British association.
deallng with the organization of sci
ence, and said:
Our position as a nation. our sue
cess as merchants, are in peril chiefly
dealing with preventable causes
because of our lack Of completely eff
Client universities and our neglect of
research.
we in Great Britain have eleven
universities competing with 1874 state
and privately endowed in the United
States and twenty-five state endowed
in Germany. The German state gives
10 one university more than the Brit
1sh government allows to all the uni
verslt1es and university colleges in
England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales
put together. These are the condi-
tons which regulate the production of
brain power in the United States, Ger
many and Great Britain respectively,
anu the excuse Oh the government IS
that this is a matter for private effort.
Do not our ministers of state know
that other civilized countries grant
efficient state aid, and that private eff
fort has provided in Great Britain less
than 10 per cent of the sum thus fur
nished in the United States in addi-
ton to state aid?
Trusting to Broken Reed.
What are the facts relating to pri-
Vate endowment in this country? In
spite of munificence displayed by a
small number of individuals in some
localities, the truth must be spoken. In
depending in our country upon this
form of endowment we are trusting to
a broken reed. If We take the twelve
English university colleges the fore
runners of universities unless we are
to perish from lack of knowledge, we
find that private effort during sixty
years has found less than G4,000,000;
that is, &2,000,000 for buildings and
e 10000 year income. This gives US
an average Of 6 10000 for buildings
and Ga 1900 for yearly income.
What is the scale of private effort
we have to compete with in regard to
the American universities? In the
United States, during the last few
years, universities and colleges have
received more than 6 40,000,000 from
this source alone and private effort
supplied nearly 6 100000 in the years
189S-1900
Next consider the amount of state
aid to universities afforded in Ger
many. The buildings of the new Uni
versity Of Strasburg have already cost
nearly a million; that is, about as
much as has yet been found by private
effort for buildings in Manchester, Liv-
erpool, Birmingham, Bristol, Newcastle
and Sheffield. The government annual
endowment of the same German uni
versity is more than $4,000.
when we consider the large en-
dowments of university education both
in the United States and Geramny 1t
is obvious that state aid only can make
any valid competition possible with
either. We are between two stools, and
the prospect is hopeless without some
drastic changes. And first among these.
If we intend to get out of the present
slough of despond, must be the giving
up of the idea of relying upon private
effort"
The president then compared the
vast sums spent by the British govern
ment on sea power" and the small
amounts expended on brain power"
and advocated duplicating the navy bill
Of 1883, $120,00G,000. and devotlng
that amount to the increase of Great
Britain's brain power, adding:
Money Not Gone When Spent.
LET this sum be assigned and bor-
rowed as 1t is wanted. There will be a
capital sum for new buildings to be
erected in the next five or ten years,
the interest of the remainder to go to-
wards increased annual endowments.
1t is the case of battleships over again
and money need not be spent more
freely in one case than in the other.
This sum is not to be regarded as prac-
tically gone when spent. as in the case
Of a short-lived irOnclad. 1t is loan
which will bear a high rate of inter-
est"
President Lockyer concluded with
advocating the establishment of a sci
entific national council, to act as an
advisory committee to the government.
The various sections of the association
will begin work tomorrow.
The general committee of the Brit
fish Association for the Advancement
of Science held it's first meeting here
this evening. Prof. Dewar the retiring
president, announced that the council
recommended the acceptance Of the in
vitation to hold it's meeting in 1905 In
South Africa, and added that the South
African colonies had promised to con-
tribute 100000 toward the cost of the
transportation of the members Of the
aSSOcia ton.