Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1905-06-29

and above all, Of character, which shall
fit them to do work both honorable and
ef!icient-' -.-.-
Much Of the effort To ac:..r,, 'islI the
ilfst function, that of developing men
capable OF productive scholarship. az
distinguished from merely initiative,
annotative. or pedagogjc scholarsh' p.
must come through the graduate
school. The law school and medical
school do admirable work In fitting men
for special professions, blu. they in no
shape or way supply any shortcomings
in the graduate school Of any more thar
does the college proper the college .!
the undergraduates. The ideal for the
graduate school and for those under
graduates who are to go into it must
he the ideal of high scholarly produc-
ton. which is to be distinguished in the
sharpest fashion from the mere trans
| initial of ready-made knowledge with
int adding to it. II America is to con-
tribute its full share, to The progress
not alone of knowledge, Tut of wisdom
then we must put evcr-increasing
emphasis on university work done
along the lines Of the graduate school,
| I'VE ran best help the growth Of ATneri-
can scholarship by seeirg that as a
career it is put more on level with
| the other careers open to our young
| men. The general opinion of the COM
| munity is bound to have very great
f"nect even upon its most vigorous and
| independent minds. Ii in the public
| mind the career of the scholar is Ie-
garded as of. insignificant value when
| compared with that of Glorifiel
pawnbroker-and some of the most
conspicuous of our financial magnate2
| come fairly within the latter category
then it will with difficulty be made
attractive to the most Ijsorous and
gifted of our American eoung. men
Good teachers, excallcnt'. institutions
| and libraries are all" demanded In i
graduate school worthy Of the naIrfa
But there is an even more urgent de:
mand for the right sort of student
No first-class science, nos first-clase
| literature or art, can ever be built W
with second-class, men. The scholarly
career. the career Of the mar, of letters
| the man of arts, the man Of science
must be made such as to attEact those
strong and virile youths WHO now fee
| that they can only turn to. business
law. or politics. There is no. one thins
which will bring about this desired
| change, but there Is one thing which
Will materially help i'll bringing II
| about. and that is to secure to scholars
the chance Of getting one of few bril-
liant positions as prizes if they rise tt
the first rank in their chosen career
Every such brilliant position should
have as an accompaniment an added
salary, which shall help indicate how
high the position really is: and 1t must
no the efforts of the alumni which car
alone secure such salaries for sucf
positions.
As q people I think we are waking VI
to the fact that there must be better
pay for the average man and aNelas'
woman ...geynd in the work at :" iuC.i'
ton. But | am not speaking of thi:
now; | am not speaking of the desira
bility. great though that is, of giving
better payment to the average educa'
tor l am speaking of the desirabiiitI
IF giving To the eX =; t.'..'a Ian th'
chance of winning an exceptional prize
| lust as he has the chance to do in law
and business. In business at the pres
ent dar nothing could be more healthy
than an immense reduction in the none.
| value of the exceptional prizes thus t
he won; but in scholarship what i:
| needed is the reverse. In this cOuntr,
we rightly go upon the theory that it i:
more important to caro- for the welfare
| of tn" :,"";&So man t'ti. &c put a PR
in,.,u l.lon the cxert:on.5 Of he cXcep
| tiOnal. But we must not forget tina
| the establishment of such premium
for the exceptional. though of less i'm
portancc is, nevertheless. of very grea
| inheritance. 1t js important even t
| the development of the average maj
for tho average of all of us is raised by
| the work of the great masters.
1t is. | trust, unnecessary to say thai
appreciate to the full the fact that Tho
| highest work of all will never be at
footed one way or the other by any
question of compensation. And mucf
of the work which is really best for the
| nation must from the very nature OF
things be on-remunerative as com
pared with the work of the ordinary
industries and vacations. Nor would Il
ever be possible or desirable that Tho
| GrWdTuS III SuStNSo IL
scholarship should even approximate
| from a monetary standpoint, the re-
wards in other vocations. But it /:
also true that the effect upon ambition:
minds can not but be bad if as IL peO-
| pie we show our very slight, regard fol
.chc lIrly achievement by making nj
| provision at all for its reward. Tht
chief use W The Increase mercy wax.
of the Scholars prize would be the i'll:
dcx thereby afforded of the respect II
which it was popularity held. The
| American scientist the American
scholar, should have the chance at lcas
Of winning such prizes as are open tc
his successful brother in Germany
| England, or France, where the rewards
paid for first class scholarly achieve
ment are as much above those paid il
| :hIr country as MT -.'".:,:dS Tor first
| class achievement in industry Or law
arc above those paid abroad
But of course what counts infiniteiI
more than any possible outside reward
| is the spirit of the worker himself The
prime need is to instii into the minds
Of the scholars themselves Il true ap-
probation ofircal as distinguished from
sham success. In productive scholar
ship. in tho scholarship which adds by
its work to the sum of substantial