Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-06-29
c. OLLEGE FUNCTIONS
Presidents Address at Har-
ward Yesterday.
LOFTY IDEALS FOR MEN
PRACTICAL AND STIMULATING
WORDS TO THE GRADUATES.
Best Way to Help the Growth OF Amer
lean cholarship-Athletics
and Education.

three public addresses one at Harvard
Union, second and the principal one Of
his tour, at the annual Alumni dinner at
Memorial Hall, and third from the steps
of Memorial Hall to the members of the
alumni. who could not gain admittance to
the Memorial Hall exercises.
The speech in Memorial Hail. which was
a general discussion of the mission of the
college, evoked the greatest enthusiasm.
In an eloquent address, voicing his tribute
of friendship and admiration, Bishop Law
renee introduced the President. The ap-
plause that greeted the President sur
passed all previous demonstrations. He
stood for several minutes bowling his ac
acknowledgements before he was able to pro-
coed. He said:
A great university like this has two es-
pecial functions. The first is to produce a
small number of scholars of the highest
rank, small number of men who, in sci
ence and literature, or in art, Will do pro-
ductive work OF the first class. The sec
ond is to send out into the world very
large number OF men who never could
achieve, and who ought not to try 10
achieve such a position in the held OF
scholarship but whose energies are TO De
felt Ia every other form of activity; and
who should go out from our doors with the
balanced development of body, OF MIND
and above all, of character, Whlch shall
fit them to do work both honorable and
efficient.
Much of the effort to accomplish the
first function, that of developing men ca
pable of productive scholarship as as
tinguished from merely initiative, annota-
tive, or peda gogic scholarship, must come
through the graduate school The law
school and medical school do admirable
work in fitting men for special profess
sions but they in shape or way supply
any shortcomings in the graduate school
any more than does the college proper
the college of the undergraduates
fTsy fl.n ty.. a
for those undergraduates who are 10 go
into 1t must be the ideal of high scholarly
production, which is to be distinguished
in the sharpest fashion from the mere
iransmittal of ready-made knowledge with
out adding to IT, If America is 10 contribute
its full share TO the progress not alone OF
knowledge, but of wisdom. then we must
put ever-iucreasing emphasis on university
work done along the lines of the graduate
school We can best help the growth of
American scholarship by seeing that as a
career it Is put more on a leVel with Inc
other careers open to our young men,
The general opinion of the community Is
bound to have very great enect even
upon its most vigorous ana independent
mi1ds If in the public mind the career
of the scholar is regarded as of lnsignih-
cant value when compared with that OF a
glorified pawnbroker, then it will with ar
ficulty be made attractive to the most Wig
orous and gifted of our American young
men Good teachers, excellent institutions
and libraries are all demanded in a graou-
ate school worthy of the name.
But there is an even more urgent demand
for the right sort of student. No tirst-class
science no first-claSs literature or art, can
ever be built up with second-class men.
The scholarly career the career OF the man
OF letters the man OF arts, the man vi
science must be made such as to attract
those strong and virile youths VINO now
feel that they can only turn to business,
law or politics.
Paw and the Educated Man.
AS a people think we are waking up to
the fact that there must be better pay for
the average man and average woman en-
gagged in the work of education. But l am
not speaking of this now; L am not speak
ing of the desirability, great. though, that
is, of giving better payment to the average
educator; l am speaking of the desirabillty
of giving to the exceptional man the chance
of winning an exceptional prize, just as he
has the chance to do in law and business.
In business at the present day nothing
could be more healthy than an immense re-
duction in the money value of the eXcep-
tional prizes thus to be won; but in schol-
arship what is needed is the reverse. In
this country we rightly go upon the theory
that it Is more important to care for the
welfare of the average man than to put
premium upon the exertons of the excep-
tional.
But we must not forget that the estab-
lishment of such a premium for the excep-
tional though of less Importance, is never
theless of very great Importance. 1t Is I'M
portant even to the development OF the
average man, for the average of all of us
is raised by the work of the great masters
1t is, / trust, unnecessary to say that
appreciate to the full the fact that the
highest work of all will never be affected
one way or the other by any question of
compensation. And much of the work
which is really best for the nation must
from the very nature of things be non-re-
munerative as compared with the work of
the ordinary industries and vocations. Nor
would 1t ever be possible or desirable that
the rewards of transcendent success in
scholarship should even approximate, from
a monetary standpoint, the rewards In
other yocations.
The Normal Function of College.
So much for the first function of the
university, the sending forth of small
number of scholars of the highest rank
who will do productive work of the first
class. Now turn to the second and what
may be called the normal function of the
college, the function of turning out each
year many hundreds of men who shall pos
sess the trained intelligence, and especial
ly the character that will enable them to
hold high reno1n Of this ancient seat Of
learning by doing useful service for the ma
ton.
Neither college training nor anything
else can do much good to the man of weak
fiber or to the man with twist in his
average undergraduate has enough robust
ness of nature enough capacity for enthu-
siasm and aspiration, to make it worth
while to turn to account the stuff that is
in him.
The Matter Of Sports.
The SECOND point upon which l wish to
speak Is the matter of sport. Now I shall
not be suspected of a tendency unduly 10
minimize the Importance of sport. l be-
lieve heartily in sport. believe in out
door games, and do not mind in the least
that they are rough games. that those
who take part in them are occasionally
injured. / have no sympathy whatever
with the overwrought sentinentality which
would keep a young man In cotton wool,
and J. have a hearty contempt for him If
ne counts broken arm or collar bone as
of serious consequence, when balanced
against the chance OF showing that he pos
sesses hardinood. physical address and
courage.
J,,,< nd mn