The daily morning journal and courier., 1907-06-01
YAEE,S TUITION FEE

It will be interesting to watch and see what the Yale corporation does with the suggestion, said to have been made to 1t, that the tuition fee for un- dergraduates in the historic college be increased from $155 year to $16S. It is not q. new question. It has been forced, as it has been forced before, by the ever increasing expense of the col- fsge and the difficulty it has in mak- ing the two ends meet at the close of the year. It is possible that the ad- ministration of the college might be made more economical but as no one looks to see it managed as a manufac- tory ar some other money making ven. ture is managed, only one of two courses appears open to the corporation, Either the fee must be increased or the graduates and friends of the col lege must more literally endow it.
 The advocates of an increase in the tuition fee give five reasons for the belief that is in them. Tn the first place they note the general increase in the cost of living and of college adminlstra- ton since the fee was last raised and that they place at 25 per cent. Second ly, they rely upon the increased earn- ing power of the average parent whose son is sent to Yale. They also at> tribute to the student a corresponding increase in earning power and in op, portunity to earn. In the third place stress is laid upon the fact that the present tuition charges do not pay the cost of instruction and the other edu- cational expenses incident to the con- duct of the college. Fourthly, there is at specific need for additional revenue to meet salaries to be given an in- creased number of instructors, and that then the revenue from endowment funds could be used for a somewhat different line of advance. Fifthly and lastly, there is no evidence that stud erts have been discouraged from enter ing Yale College because fees have from time to time been increased.
 As there should be in discussion of this far-reaching character, there is an Intelligent negative party, which is not without strong reasons for oppos- ing any change in the tuition fee at this period in the life of the college. It gives six reasons for the attitude it takes In the first place the democratic traditions of Yale College demand that she should keep her doors open to the many and to raise it only in the face of a pressing emergency. Second, that a larger fee would weaken her self help and middle class groups and prob- ably drive them to other institutions. Thirdly, that the increased earning power of parents and students has been fully offset by the increased cost for living for both, while the profess sional and salaried classes have had imposed upon them increased cost for living with no corresponding increase in income at any time. Fourthly, the endowment funds, which the advocates of an increased fee would have used for special purposes, were created for the very purpose of aiding the cost of instruction, includ- ing salaries. Flfthly, the diminished length of the college year and of in- struction. and the income released to the college treasury by the Carnegie pensions weaken the argument for the Increased fee. Finally, Yale turned her face against an increase three years ago, when she was financially more embarrassed than now, and