The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-02-12

Cambridge, Mass, Feb. 1O.--1905-An attempt is quietly making this winter to secure a fund for paying better sal- aries to professors and instructors of Harvard College. The present situa- tion is generally admitted to be bad colleges where high-grade work is dono by men who receive ridicuiously in- adequate compensation, but bad enough to occasion concern among friends of Harvard who believe that a college teacher should be paid at least an adequate living salary. Despite the general advance in standards of living in American cities, 1t is a fact that the average instructors in the old- est Amercan institution of higher learning is worse off financially In 1905 than was the average instructor in 1868
 There are to be sure a number of teachers now in the service of the College who get larger compensation than any instructor received thirty-fiv years ago. New professorsnlps have been endowed and the income from old foundations has been increased. The average of compensation. how ever, has not gone up while the expense of living has risen steadily Nor have the incomes of even the head pro- fessors in any way kept pace with the development of compensation in other professions. Probably at no period in the history of Harvard has the college teacher been at such a disadvantage, In financial sense, In comparison with the class of people amongst whom he has to live. A professor in 1899 on salary of $2.000 or in 1868 when the normal stipend was $3,0OO, could cer- talnly hold his own better in the mat ter of occupying a house in the same street with lawyers, physicians, bank CTS and book publishers than now, when man who has risen by dint of years of scholastic accomplishment to full professorship may expect sal ary of about $4.o00.
 A reasonable income for an Instruc- tor this last may seem, in a country in which educators receive lower pay for their services than any other class of skilled workers; where there are colleges of high reputation whose president receive much less. But only small contingent of the aggregate body of Harvard College teachers get as much; and these are men of mature years who have made a marked suc- cess of their chosen life-work Below them in responsibility, honor and emo lument, are associate professors. assls- tant professors, lecturers, tutors, in- structors, and assistants, all men who have shown exceptional ability as scholars and teachers, who in most in- stances have served the College and the cause of the higher education in America faithfully for many years, and whose salaries in a profession that be- comes more exacting each year range from two or three hundred dollars up to tnlrty-five hundred dollars. These teachers have, according to the belief of the members of the graduate com mlttee who want to see that they arc better paid. other duties to perform besides appearing in the classroom must marry and bring up families of children; must pay their bills in re- turn for the necessities of life. and. if possible enjoy a few of it's luxuries: must keep in touch with the world of events; must lay aside something against old age and disability. It is q longer road now than formerly for a young graduate to travel from his position as assistant. which he may. hold while still studying for an ad- Vanced degree, up through the various grades to a full professorship; and all the while the cost of living increases and the standards of living in and around such a city as Boston are be- ing raised rapidly year by year. Temp tation not infrequently assaiIs tne man
 
 service of the College and get into something more commercial and bet ter remunerated.
 The incomes of many of the Harvard professorships and lectueships are de- rived from conditional bequests, and yield amounts that vary somewhat rom year to year. There is further more. no fixed standard of salaries even among the unendowed positions.
 Making allowance, however. for so many exceptions that the general rule seems hard to establish 1t may be said that a full professor Tn Harvard College gets $40O0 a year; an assoc late professor, $3,000; an assistant professor $2.0OO; an instructor, $1,OO0; an assistant from $25O to $400.
 In 19O3-04 there were in the College fifty-one full professors; two associte professors; thirty-eight assistant pro- fessors. seven lecturerss one tutor eighty-eight instructors; eighty-sOyeu assistants In each of these classes the salaries are apt to vary greatly A tabular view of last years amounts shows that of the professors fourteen received $5,o0O; nine, $4.600; fifteen. S4.0OO: one, $3.615.44: ten, S3.500: three 5000; four. $2,000; one. S1.063.- 90. This gives a total salaries item of $227.119.34 with an actual average of S3,9s4, which confirms the general impression that the Harvard professor is a four thousand dollar man.
 The figures for most of the other classes of instruetorship show similar iy remarkably variations. Both the | associate professors receive ss,500, but