The sun., 1907-03-28
THE AMERICAN NEED.
Lack OF Intellectual Leaders Chargai
Against the Universities.

To THE EDITOR OF THE Sun Sir. Pres.
dent Butler OF Columbia University. in HI,
address at the University OF California laS
Saturday, remarked that "the United States
il in sore need to-day OF an aristocraCy n
intellect and service. Because such m
aristocracy does not exist in the popular Coz.
sciousness We are bending the knee IN wor-
ship to the golden calf Of money" The need
he spoke OF does exist and is a crying one
and the need IL felt in every department oi
our national life, and especially in the in.
teIlectual and spiritual sphere
The American people, who will soon num-
ber hundred millions, are spiritually dead
We have no philosophy. no poetry. no ar,
and no religion. The philosophy taught l
American universities ia nothing bat rchash
OF European scepticism. Poetry and an
our people know nothing of, and their re-.
ligion Ia on its deathbed. In literature We
have nothing to show but trash. We have
produced an immense amount of fools liters-
ture, such as novels newspapers and mag9-
zines, but little or nothing that can he called
literature in any higher sense. And in SCI
ence the only important discovery ever msd-
in America is the one made more than a cen
tury ago by Franklin.
Thus our need OF intellectual men m he tho
leaders and guides OF the people is manifest,
and the question naturally arises why hs
universities do not produce such men The
exist for that purpose and have been endowed
with enormous sums of money TO enable
them to accomplish it, vet their failure "a
conceded. The reason. think. is not far lo
seek. The universities fail to produce fr'
class men because they do not want or ~.
preciate such men. We cannot have A.
aristocracy OF intellect without men Of geniA
to be its leaders and inspirers. but the IN.
versities refuse to recognize genius or su
perior merit OF anyklnd. Among their thou.
sands Of professors there is not a single msT
OF genius, and there are not many of snPerlo.
talent, Yet there is genius OF the hiGhes'
order in the country. and is services coul'
be had II they were wanted.
The fact is the presidents and professors o.
the universities make their own opinions
their standard OF truth and judge every ma
by his agreement or disagreement with then
selves; They illustrate John stuart Mill'
remark; remark How can great minds mind be pr, n1S
mind is agreeing in the opinions of he slna,.
mindsg" That is the test applied at America
universlties, and as natural Conselrn,'
instead dead level OF medioCrity,
must add that the universities are not
1 sS Ss and
are just as bad, and the churches are even
worse. But from editors and publishers w
only object is to MI their tsv own pockets. 80,
can we look for help in this matter from me
Christian churches, which have always been
bitter enemies OF progress and lntellectut
freedom. But from the universities We have,
the right TO expect better things because
the discovery and development Of superior
minds is their special function in lfe yet
they not only fail to develop such minds but
refuse 70 recognize them when they appeai
IL Plato was living in the United States nov
there ia not a university in the land that wonld
employ him as a teacher, nor a publishing
house that would pay for his writings, and
the same thing may be said Of every nrs
class thinker and writer in history.
Yet there is no country in the world that
needs the services Of the highest intelligence
80 much as ours does. What the American
people need ia spiritual awakening. an
awakening to truth and beauty and mora
usefulness. But IL they ever have such an
awakening ii will be due to men Of genius
not connected with the universities nor Win
the churches JAMES j. Peterson
NEW YORK, March 81.