Semi-weekly herald., 1909-10-18
CALIFORNIA is EAGER
FOR HIGHER LEARNING
tBy VIM. e. Curtis. Correspondent
r,hi.o1n uaoo~t tfa.nta,

tBy VIM. T.. Curtis. Correspondent
Chicago Record Herald.)
BERKELEY, Cal. Oct. There are
many interesting features at the Uni
versity of California that are not
found In eastern institutions, and the
ratio OF young men and women seek
Ing higher education In the state is
inrger than in any other state In the
Union. There are about 1000 students
enrolled at the University OF Call
fornia. of whom last year $500 were
undergraduates. 324 were taking post.
graduate courses. 552 were enrolled
I in the summer schools. and the re-
mander were in the professional
schools Of law. medicine, dentistry.
pharmacy and art There arc 2S1
members OF the faculty. or these 1876
rank as professors. and 30 per cent of
them are engaged In original research
In the natural science. and 10 per cent
In literary lines. There is popular
impression that instructors In state
universities confine themselves to the
most practical and utilitarian branches
OF learning. and that may be true 10
the eastern states; but In the facul
ties of California the proportion OF
productive scholarship Is quite as large
as at Yale, Harvard or Chicago. and
| In some cases much larger. The most
nbtruse inquiry that know of is being
| conducted here by Professor Jacques
Loeb. who is trying TO discover the
origin of life, AT the expense OF sugar
king, and has succeeded In producing
In an artificial way. sea urchin
which is considered the lowest form
OF animate life and the highest form
OF vegetable life. and n sort of con
Meeting link between the two
The biographical department also IL
conducting other Investigations of the
very highest character at the expense
of Miss Annie Alexander; William Fl.
Crocker has financed an eclipse cxpe-
dition: d. o. Mills has financed an
astronomical exploration of the south
ern hemisphere with generous dona-
ton. and the state legislature has ap-
proprIated $4,000 year to pay for
extra work with the biggest telescope
In the world. which the late james
Lick mounted upon the top Of Mount
Hamilton. about fifty miles south OF
San Francisco, at an expense OF $780,.
600
There Is also a popular impression
that the people of California. and par.
ticulariy of San Francisco, are pos
terprise than OF intellectual culture
and scientific taste; but no community
is more liberal In contributing money
TO promote scholarship and the diffu-
sion OF knowledge. The University OF
California had received more personal
gifts up to n recent date than any
other institution In the world that is
supported by public taxation. Omit
ting recent gifts to the University OF
Virginia and the University OF Wis
benefactions than all the rest of the
state Institutions In the country put
together President Jordan OF Stan
ford declares that the pressure to OBJ
tain a higher education Ia greater TO
the square inch In California than In
any other state" which accounts for
the largo number of students at Berke-
ley and at Paio Alto; and II Is as
serted that newspapers and magazines
which offer prizes for literary contri.
buttons receive more manuscripts from
California than from Massachusetts or
Indiana or any other state. The at
mosphere may not be so intellectual
as in Boston, but the intellectual ae-
tivity Is quite as great
The new plans for building at Berke'
ley are designed to accommodate 5000
students, but there are likely to be
10000 before they are completed.
There has been an Increase OF l.200
students during the last ten years, and
nearly 1000 during the last twenty
years.
The largest Increase has been In the
social science departments. 1t is even
greater than In the natural sciences,
although the cOileBeS vi uihhb' '''''
engineering and mechanics have grown
rapidly.
Like other state universities. the fac
ulties at Berkeley admit freshmen
upon certificates from public schools
and there are l47 high schools on the
accredited list For the last seven
years the averages show that 5l.52 per
cent OF the students from the public
schools passed the annual freshman
and sophomore examinations. while
the corresponding percentage OF stu
dents from private schools who were
admitted upon examinations was only
81 SO per cent In other words. more
than one-half OF the freshmen prepared
at the public schools made good while
nearly two-thirds OF those who were
specially prepared flunked upon the
flrst or second annual examinations.
EApMiNCTON FRUIT EXHIBIT.