The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1909-06-24
THE CARNEGIE JOKER.

! 1t has come 10 bc much the fashion
of late TO look for "jokcrs' in va.
rious propositions OF legislation, soclolo'
gy, business, education, and religion
and so il is not n cause of special sur
prise that there should be found a
"ioker'' in the Carnegie Foundation
for the Advancement of Teaching
! That foundation was laid in April, 1905,
| by the establishment of the fund by the
notoriety seeking gentleman named, for
the purpose of aiding superannuatcd
teachers and helping professors in edu-
cational work to better pay, Certain
regulations were laid down in that foun,
dation, Of eligibility for professors and
other teachers to obtain the benefits of
the income from the fund thus created.
A great many schools, denominationaI
and otherwise. have changed their reg
ulations, and, in some cases, their basic
organization, so as 20 enable their pro
fcssors to get the benefits of this fund.
Even States have made changes in the
laws governing their colleges and uni
vcrsities in order that the professors
might obtain a place in the Carnegie
bcncGciarics. While, of course, a good
many professors have so changed their
positions or relations to various educa-
tional institutions rs to bring them.
selves personally within the Carnegie
regulations, so as to get the moncy of
| fcrcd.
All this seemed to he plain and
straightforward. and in ii all, while
| there has been shown more or less re.
luctance to como under the Carnegie
yoke, the "ioker" did not especially
appear. This comes later when !. is
found that tho trustees VINO hanale
this Carnegie beueficence claim the
right, and exercise it, of deciding
whether an educational institution does
In fact conform TO the standards which
they themselves have set up. And
| it is found that they do not IN the
least hesitate 10 cut of from the bene-
| fits of this Carnegie fund the professors
and teachers in any college or unlver-
sity which does not conform In It's
standards, curriculum, and spirit, 10 the
requirements which the trustees exact
Accordingly, the George Washington
University at the National caPltar,
whose professors have been on this Car
negie roll Of benefits, and recipients OF
the income therefrom, has been stricken
from the list of the institutions deserv-
ing Of these favors. The claim is tnar
this university does not maintain the
standards required. Applications of
other educational institutions for par
ticipation in these Carnegie benefits
have been refused; conspicuous among
the refusals being that of thc applnca-
ton of the University Of Illinois. The
University of Wisconsin, on tho othe"
hand, is praised as the best in the coun-
try, so far as its standards of adnlS-
sion and their maintenance is con
cerncd. So that it is solid with the car
negie foundation.
The University Of Utah, we under
stand, has made application, by permis-
sion of the State, for admission to ths
Carnegie list. Doubtless it Will be ahl5
TO show that its standards and require
ments arc ample TO enable it TO be ad-
mittcd to that roll Of honor and emo
lument.
But the great public feature III al
this is that it makes these Carnegie
trustees virtually ccnsors of all the ami
versties, public AS we'll as denomina'
tional, In the United States; directly
as to those which apply to participate
in the benefits of this fund, and lndl-
rectly in the reflex action which the
standards of these Carnegie-favorcd
educational institutions Will have upon
all the higher educational establish
ments in this country, This is censor
ship which wonld have caused good
many Of the institutions to pause il
they had realized just what was com
ing. before they applied for admission