New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1906-01-12
WILLIAM r. HARPER.

No Dart of President Rarper's life of devotion
TO young men was more practically useful
more spIendidly inspiring, more sprltua4ly
strengthening than his last year of suffering
and work and cheerfulness. He was nero
whose perfectly natural and unconscious reVe
lation of his own character makes MN an e4-
ample to all men Of courage and devotion anu
faith It is not wonderful that men trained ana
disciplined are brave on the battlefield, where
martial sounds, excitement, tradition, PUBIC
opinion, even fear itself, lift them above naturai
weakness and nerve them to self-sacrtfce. Ii
"a n different sort and d nobler sort OF herolsm
that enables a man bearing his death warrant
with him to go cheerfully about his daily tasks
when general custom, the influence OF otneF
minds the sorrow Of friends, the wasting power
of disease and the strain of slow moving tlme
all conspire for depression The man VINO goes
on with his work in the face of fate, conquer
ing human fraiIty every day where the nero
of the battlefield conquers it only once, COM
mands our admiration even when his NOBILITY
of spirit is marred by self-ptty. How much
more unlftinc is the example of one who
takes DEATH like life, a matter of course
and as a mere incident of his souls progress,
TO be faced with awe and reverence as one Oh
Gods mysteries, but with unbroken cheerful
ness and simple continuance in the joy OF work
ing! President Harper'ss life and death should
Ea a light of inspiration and publication TO
whole generation of American youth, especially
the college youth for whom his energies were
chiefly expended They must have a higher
vision of life and its possibilities because of
him, and find ft less easy to drift into self
centred conceptions Of duty and success.
No great university can be created out of hand,
and any estimate of Dr. Harper's work as an
educator must recognize that limitation. He at
tempted by tour de force to build In few
wears in Chicago what elsewhere has been the
growth Of generations. His success was won
derfuI He erected buildings, he gathered In
structors OF great ability from all over the
world, he attracted thousands of students. he
made the institution centre Of research and
of publication almost TO the point of excess, he
sent out young men and women with sound
training and character. Everywhere his great
force and Industry and his irresistible enthu-
sasm carried the day. If he could not manu-
facture traditions, If he could not create at
mosphere and secure ripeness for what had not
undergone times process Of ripening, It was
not his fault. Perhaps he yielded too much TO
the commercial spirit of his surroundings and
helped to spread the notion that the modern
university should be factory for turning intel
Iectua raw material into a finished product,
and is to be judged by its accessibility 10 the
raw material the condition of its plant and
the per capita cost of manufacture Perhaps
the work which he did and which he inspired
seemed to be done under excessive pressure.
Nevertheless with rare power he made the
most of an opportunity. and when some other
leading teachers were wondering If the long
talked of foundation would be worthy of their
direction he with faith in the future. took
what came and launched out boldly trusting
that the work would find its support when it
was under way DR.. Harper was often thought
Of as fhe executive of a great henefaction He
was in larger sense it's creator: for the bene-
factions came almost entirely as he created
the field for them. Other men prepared
to stipulate beforehand for the spending of
large sum Of Mr.. Rockefellers money. He
with small initial sum- built a university
which commanded both Chicago's and Mr.
Rockefeller'S support