The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1910-03-08

ihio liSolseO the aOcIillOD OF the GA-
penslve and exclusive clubs which
have been so marked a feature of
NE at Princeton. But though the
FACULTY approved a proposal which
navy consider evolutionary the
trustees have thus far declined TO give
their assent 10 il. This is clearly the
question about which the 'dissen-
sions' have sprung up. involving. as
Is known. q great deal of bitter feel
ing, with runlors that President vii
son would be forced TO resign.
NOW, II this We're an affair that con
cerned Princeton alone. it would be
important. but not nearly so impor-
taht as 1t appears when we reflect
thdt the same question is troubling
college authorities all over the coun-
Try. How TO resist the INVASION. not
OF luxury. bat of the spirit OF caste
that 50 ln~sidiously attaches itself to
luxury, and how to reserve that demo-
cratic mingllng of young men which
many still think of as the best thing
mat college life has to give them
these are problems yeXing professors
and presidents from east to west.
faie mas, III eSSence, the same ques-
ton TO meet as Princeton. and 50
mas Indeed, President Low
els pla for dOrmitories in Cam
bridge. III which at least all fresh
men shall be compelled TO reside,
might almost be taken as an echo of
president Wilson's plea for the quad
system at Princeton. The reasoning is
much the same in both cases. In
expressly cited DR.. Wilson'S 'lumin-
Gus Phi Beta Kappa oration.'' III
which he had dwelt upon the chasm
that has opened between college
studies and college life DR.. Lowell
assented to the view that daily asso-
I afn Stn-> 80
minds are alert is III itself a large
part Of a liberal education" This is
what men mean when they speak of
keeping democracy alive in the coli
leges.
1t is said, we know, that the intro
duction Of rich mems dormitories'
and luxurious clubs to which only the
sons of the wealthy can belong, does
not really cut into the old democratic
spirit. There remain the rubbing of
elbows in the classroom, and the free
contact in college meetings, debating
societies.. and the like. But we are
not saying that nothing remains, only
that there is danger Of something be
ing taken away. Normal college life
is probably the nearest approach to a
pure democracy than we have-mean-
ing by that a society in which a man
is ranked strictly according to his tai
ents and his character. with all social
accidents put one side. Anything
which impairs that natural matching
of man against man, with the result
ing moral judgments all the while be-
ing formed. would be q fearful blow
at the college ideal. The whole AGA
denlic life would suffer, but most Of
all would suffer, in our opinion, the
very boys whom foolish parents or
weak instructors allow to find cush-
Toned retreats whence they NAV p9-
caps from the rough but wholesome
friction with their fellows. The chief
victims of the destruction of college
democracy would be the college aris-
tocrats. They would have lost what
hey can gain in no other way, and
would go through life morally MAIN
ed. The possession of money may be
a great advantage, but If it is used
to shield a young main from the
tonic criticism of his kind. and to
take him out Of the field Of equal
and honorable striving. it is q great
curse. A sound philosophy is implied
in the old saving of the Oxford barge
man in a student fight: II likes
humping a lord" 1t is good for the
commoHalty when rich noblernen take
pot luck with it, and it is also good
for the noblemen. Thumper and
thunlpee alike benefit.
1t is To be hoped that when the
Princeton trustees come to act upoH
the larger question before them they
will approach it with q fitting sense
of the weighty and f~ar-reaChing issues
involved. Least of all need they be
influenced by any fear that a de-
cision clearly in the interest Of col
lege democracy will repel needed
gifts. The great wealth of this
country is still democratic at heart,
and would respond to any appeal in
the name of equality. If President
Wilson should lose $500, 0oe by going
against ex~clusiyeness. he could easily
gain $1,000, 900 by standing for in
clusiveness. AS for Princeton men
putting an affront upon Dr.. Wilson,
the thing is unthinkable. He has
taken his place among the leading
and fruitful minds Of the nation, and