The daily morning journal and courier., 1905-06-28

vantage from this than 1t might wisely
 have done. I suppose that Yale uni-
 yersity may fairly claim to be 8 start ing point of modern scientific agricul-
 ture. Certainly the development of az
 ricultural experiment stations, which have proved so important in revolu-
 tiOnizing the practice of our farmers,
 and have done so much to increase the productivity of our soil, started from Sheffield Scientific school. This move
 ment has extended all over the world.
 Its cardinal importance in theory and
 in practice is everywhere recognized.
 But nobody gives the credit to Yale.
 We hear of what Wisconsin does for
 agriculture; we hear of what half a
 dozen other universities do. Of Yale,
 we hear chiefly of what she. has failed
 to do. Why? Simply because this
 whole important movement was in its
 initial stages carried on so quietly that
 its importance never properly im-
 pressed itself upon our graduates or
 upon the public; and those universities
 reaped the benefit which, seeing the
 real importance of the work Yale was
 doing, gave it the recognition which
 we had withheld.
 We are in danger of repeating the
 same kind of error to-day. We are in
 danger of ignoring the existence and
 usefulness of some of the things among
 us which are most important for our
 public influence. Scarcely one in ten
 among the Yale students or graduates
 knows the extraordinary value, and in- terest of our art collections. If our
 own students do not realize seriously what we have in the way of art treas
 ures and what we might do with them for our own culture, we can hardly ex- pect the outside public to realize it more fully. Our various scientific col- 1ections are somewhat better known than our art collections, both to the
 students and to the public; but even these fall short of having the useful
 ness which they might we'll attain in
 stimulating scientific interest among
 the students and throughout the city.
 The public work of our Music school is still better known. Indeed, this de- partment of the university may serve
 as an example of what can be done in
 the way of public service with some- what small materials, provided men 1 like Professor Parker and Professor
 Sanford are in charge. With relatively small means at command. this school has developed symphony orchestra which serves at once as Ia laboratory | for the students of music and a means of enjoyment and education to the I public. ! The most recent development of our public activity has been connected with the appointment of Dr. Sheath as
 professor of the theory and practice.of IeGucatiof. Of his work in organizing l the Summer school it will be more ap- propriate to speak in next years re- port when we have a season behind us, than to attempt to prophecy in ad- vance. But I regard Professor Sneatr's work in communicating with
 the teachers as having even greater 1 importance. He has shown the school
 men of the country what we are trying I to do in such a way as to help us to | work together instead of separately. A word should be said of the plan for I a Forest Museum which is in the mind of Mr. Clifford Pinchot. The Yale For est school was organized just at ajtime 1 when the American public was begin- ming to see the importance of the sub- 1 ject. We have had the good fortune to I take the lend in this line of education, | so that students come to us from eve l " quarter of the world. MT. Pinchot
 feels that it would be possible, by the i establishment of a museum in connec- l ton with this school, to take the same position before the public as a whole l that our courses of instruction have given us,in the minds of students and l specialists, ani to make Yale the cen l ter to which the whole world will turn I for it's record of progress in forestry in l the past and it's sugge estions of possi- He lines of progress for t,le fut.,re..
 l Beides it's function in maintaining l these public collections gand lee .ures. 2 :! university should also be governed by
 a sense of public obligation in arranging
 its courses of study and requirements 1 for admission. I The whole question of entrance re- I quirements is often discussed as though these were things winch the
 college had a right to fix for itself.
 This is an error. There is a great diff ference in this matter between the po-
 sition of a public institution, such as I we think Yale to be, and a purely pri-
 vate one. If a man keeps a private school he can make any rules which he
 pleases regarding the admission of his
 pupils. If we think these rules are ar
 bitrary or whimsical we may question his right to make them. The case is different with public institution. If a
 place like Yale, honored by the pres-
 ence of the highest officers of the com 1nonwealth in it's corporation, and ex-
 empt by law from many of the taxes I which are paid by others, should
 choose to make it's rules arbitrary, the
 public would have a grievance. Il
 would say, and say justly, that Yak 1oc ayoaadad ifs 1-iohtsy 5'3