Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1904-11-22
MAKES APPEAL
FOR UNIVERSITY
President James in Address to
People Of the State Asks Sup
port of Big School.
EXPECTS 5000 ON THE ROLLS
But Holds Mere Greatness i'm Size is
Not Principal Aim of Those
in Charge.

Champaign, Ill, Nov. 22.-President
Edmund j. James of the University
of Illinois last night issued an address
TO the people of Illinois, pledging his
best efforts to make that institution
one of the great universities of the
world, and asking for their help in d.
ing so.
President James reviews the pros
ress of the state university and its Ie-
lationS to the other educational .nSti
tutions of the state. Abiding to the
fact that 400 new students register
ed this autumn, he predicts al attend
ance of 5000 before many years.
Needs of the University.
After referring To the work and
growth of the Northwestern uhiv@r
sity, the University of Chicago. Al
mour institute, and the colleges at
Jacksonville. Alton. Lebanon, GaleG-
burg, Bloomington, and Eureka, Pres
ident James continues:
You may be personally interested
III one or anot..er of these pri.t Q IN
st,.LtCns mentioned above. If so You
SO Go:ng the education of IN" state
service for which your fellow citi
zens should be grateful. For, after
ALL Northwestern. and Chicago, and
Knox, and st. Ignatius are not merely
Methodist. Baptist, Congregational, o.
Catholic institutiOns-they are Illinois
institutions as well. in whose success
and glorious record we rejoice. l:ut
you are also. by the fact that you are
citizens of Illinois, constituents, aid
you ought to be friends and helpers
of the University of Illinois. which in
peculiar sense is the insti:.tioc of
all its citizens.
Grcat Center of Schoiarship.
The desire of the people of Illinois
as We understand it, is a simple oac--
viz: That the University of Hin as
shall occupy among the univsrsitiee
OF the country d position in eqlIpnicn.
and in scholarship similar in rank to
tnat which the state of Illinois holds
i'll wealth and population amn.s' l:er
sister states in the union.
ITO do this it is nece Ssary. OF
course to accept the same higE STAN
dards of scholarship as prevail in the
great universities of this II other
countries. We must develop here IN
our midst at the state university ore
Of the great centers of scholarship 70
which our youth will naturally resort
for the highest kind of training.
"You-each citizen of the safe
may be of great help in this work.
You can acquaint yourselves with he
importance and significance of this
great undertaking. You can AXE
pains that your friends and leighboT5
shall know about the unive. a'ty and
it's work You can hold up the hands
of the senator and representatives,
from your district in the lessl ttuTe
in their support of the institution
You can say to them that yea as i
citizen and one of their Constituents
desire that they should support and
sustain by every Legitimate means.
and especially by liberal apprcpria
tions. the purpose and work % the
trustees for the university.
Not Mere Greatness Desired.
"Our desire is not for mere great
ness, though numbers are to solne eX-
tent an indication of the degree cf
which the university is supplying the
popular need: nor for many depart
ments. though we should certainly pro
vide facilities for the leading careers