Daily Kennebec journal., 1910-05-30
Many Pay Last Tributes Of Respect Il
boWdoin'S Loved Professor -PreSi-
dent Hyde Delivers Eloquent Eu-
|ogy Upon Late Associate.

OF them Things precious as gold and
priceless as life; by his testimony in
| courts of law, his advice to investors,
his contributions to the development of
disinfectiOn, his experiments in the
purfication of water. his service on the
State Board of Health. and his presi-
dency of the American Public Health
Association. Professor Robinson made
himself easily the foremost expert in
Maine, and a recognized authority
throughout the country.
Still, even here there is an element
of faith. The world sees and values
the results, but trusts blndly to the
processes and methods it cannot under
stand There is one more test-one
which it is hardly fair to judge
scholar by, yet one which Professor
Robinson met gladly and triumphant
ly. Can you leave aside your special
training with the advantage it gives,
try your hand at one of the common
tasks in which other men are engaged
and beat them at their own game?
Can YOU earn money and manage prop
erty, make shrewd investments, and
show your fellow directors how to
make a bank or railroad pay divi-
lends? Then everybody will honor
YOU; for they can see with their own
eyes both your methods and your re-
suits. Professor Robinson was equal
to this third and popular test; he was
a successful business man; and to a
degree that is not approached by one
scholar in a hundred to a degree not
aqualed by one business men in 10
who is business man and nothing
else. Professor Robinson proved his
power by industry and enterprise to
transform one dollar into two.
AS | have said. this is not a fair
test by which to judge a college pro-
feSsor and taken alone would be a
very Inadequate test of his success;
but Wnen added to the other two: as in
the case of Professor Robinson, it gives
conclusive proof of the surprising
strength of the man who is able to
pass all three of these tests; that in
which the public can see neither pro-
cess nor results, that in which the
public secs results but not processes,
and that in which the public can see
and appreciate both process and result.
Strength alone, however. even if sub
jected to this triple test, does not make
one great There must also be breadth.
Besides his own work which he does
forcefully and effectively, one must
bear his part with his fellows in the
joint undertakings of society.
How broad Professor Robinson was
is attested by our public library build
ing. our High school building. our
Searles Science building. in the plan
ming and construction of which he took
a leading part; our public school sys-
TEN. which he was connected for 80
years; the care of our college buildings
and grounds which by natural selec-
ton fell to him as the most competent
among us; and by all the civic, re-
ligious. social, educational and sanitary
work of the community in which he
took vital interest and bore a leading
part The calls for help from every
quarter, for all sorts of enterprises. his
answer was always a hearty Yes,
never a reluctant NO"
Finally Professor Robinson was kind,
Strong in doing his own work, broad
in cooperating with the works of
others, he still had a kindly charity
for those who either failed to do their
part or even in thoughtlessness and
selfishness did positive harm. The
great problem of all administration in
dealing with the shortcomings and sins
of others is to balance nicely the far
reaching, wide spread, but remote eff
fects on the many of maintaining
standards of efficiency, attainment and
character on the one hand: and the
suffering caused to offenders and their
friends by arbitrary penalties on the
other. The ideal attitude, the will of
God in other words, would be so to ad-
Just these conflicting interests as to get
the maximum of good to the many.
with the minimum of suffering to the
individual offender. None of us, how
ever. gets near enough to omniscience
and absolute benevolence to strike this
balance absolutely right. Some of us
can more to the protection of the wide
spread interests of the many; others
to the shielding of the one or few from
needless suffering. Professor Robin
sons leaning was very strongly in the
latter direction. He was ever the
friend and advocate of the man who
was in trouble. He was always in
clned toward leniency in the treat
ment of the individual and now that
he is gone, all of us who were asso-
ciated with him. whether in the col
lege, or the schools or other interests,
/ will have to ask for a double portion
| of his charitable spirit; Tor we have
so relied on him to present that side
that. probably unconsclously. some OF
us who were his associates may have
developed leaning in the opposite di-
rection. OF course both these inter-
ests have their claims; yet we cannot
forget that justice which seeks the
equal good of all is perhaps primarily
the Old Testament virtue; and mercy
which emphasizes the claims of the in
dividual wrong door. is especially SET