Daily press. [volume] (Newport News, Va.) 1896-current, 1907-03-12
COLLEGE EXPENSES,

|
Professor Bailey, of Yale, has been
looking into the expenses OF students
nj New Haven. and from an inyestiga
| ton of some five hundred accounts
| discovers various things of interest to
papas, mammas and sociologists The
| five hundred young money spenders
fall statistically into five groups of
varying disbursing power The low.
est group, financially speaking, Is
composed of high class, Sselr-maling
men who work their way through col.
lcge AT an average annual cost OF
$292.SG. The highest group has nine
members, each Of whom puts more
than $4,000 yearly into dizzy circula-
ton. The largest group represents
the middle class OF students, who pur-
sue knowledge and worldly wisdom at
n cost of from $500 to $1,000 d year
There is nothing startling in these
figures. The proportion of "plung
ors" and poor students to the middle
class OF spendcrs is normal. And the
absolute amount of money spent by
the great majority appears decidedly
moderate, as soon as we take into
consideration the prices and harmless
habits prevailing in college communi.
ties. But Il somewhat less pleasing
light Is thrown upon the classified
ton by Professor Bailey's analysis OF
the purposes for which money is
spent. A student in the largest class
spends q per cent of his total on
clothes. while a representative of the
high-flyer class uses up onc-quarter OF
his funds for the SAME purpose. FL
nally, while nearly all students are
thier ones spend more on intoxicants
than on nicotine. Computed by clas-
SEES, the wealthiest group spends eigh.
ty-two times rs much on liquor and
tobacco as the poorest class does.
While these figures are suggestive
III reinforcing the age old belief that
uS".'AiS Niic SitbitoA tNll tllul Cuu Dt-
fall youth IN knowing that at col.
lege patronized by 80 many wealthy
families there should be so few stu
dents who fairly merit the title of
"spendcrs." We wish Professor Bailey
had given MS one more piece of In.
formation-namely, the number of
students enjoying practically unro.
stricted allowances. We might then
have discovered to what extent par-
entail authority is responsible for the
totals expended and to what extent the
self.control of the students is respon-
sible. This, after all, is what many
persons would like to know 1t might
give us some real insight into the
character of modern American cole
Sians.
The American student is generally
reputcd to spend much less proper
tionately upon books, art works and
the theatre than European students
do. And this Is sometimes held to
his discredit, though not in perfect
fairness, we think. The European
student is more dependent for his cul.
turc upon his own books than the
American is, chiefly owing to misara-
bio library management in European
universities. Furthermore. the family
library in the home of the American
student is vastly superior to its Eu-
ropean counterpart. And as for
money spent in theatregoing, the I'M
lucky American student has scant op.
portunity to invest his funds wisely
in that fashion, unless he happens to
attend one of the metropolitan univer
sites.
On the whole, a propensity for to-
bacco and an occasional blow" is not
very damning charge to bring
against student. A youngster might
be good student for all that. Col
lege education must be measured by
its results. Ii the men of Yale make
good citizens, nobody will he stern
In auditing their accounts. We sug-
gest that statistics be kept for gen.
Grafton or two, so that the relation
between college expenses and success
fnl manhood may be established. If
that relation can be fixed, its dscov-
cry will relieve fond fathers and
learned sociolosists of much RESPONSE
bility.