Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1910-06-24

administrative uut1eS DecOfHeS Dcdu
of the Faculty and as such the most
influential personal factor in the inner
life of the College.
Overshadowed as we are by the
suspicious presence of one who has
won for the college a worlds record
that can never be broken, / had not
meant to make any reference~to my
completion of twenty-five years OF
service here. The Faculty, however
the other day by presenting a beautl-
full and permanent tribute of their al
lection makes it impossible to pass
the occasion by without word OF
thanks to them and explanation to the
public. The optimist or other mas
spread abroad the notion that the COL
lege is at present sound and prosper
Gus. That l should not wish to deny,
but kind persons, in view of the TACT,
that this happens to be my twenty.
fifth anniversary, have been attribut-
ing more credit for this prosperous
condition to me than / deserve. The
principal thing that l have had to do
in bringing about this happy state OF
the college has been the indirect work
or building I'D here a faculty of men
who are not only scholars and teachers
but sharers in the administration OF
the college and a personal power for
good in the life of the students. There
can be few. colleges in the world
where the President directly does SO
little and has so little authority; thert
are few colleges where the faculty
does so much and does it with such
perfect freedom and such a sense of
both common and personal RESPONSE
bility for the result. To secure men
capable of exerting such power
through absolute freedom and to
maintain conditions which make this
influence possible has been my chlef
contribution during these twenty-five
years. The generosity of the Alumni
also compels me to express my re-
newed thanks to them. They have
united with outside friends in raising
our endowment from a little over $780,
600, to over 81. 100000, and adding about
a million to the value of our plant.
That this generosity comes from
the heart and not from the
mind is attested by the fact that
in our recent subscriptions $277,000,
only a fraction of one per cent. of the
amount of the several SUBSCRIPTIONS
remained unpaid on the day when by
the terms of the subscription payment
was due. In addition to these large
generous gifts the Alumni have re-
Gently also arranged to give the COL
Iege a portrait by one Of the Tore
most artists of the country which Will
make me perpetual proctor at all the
examinations and chaperon at all the
dances, and participant at all the pam
DUETS that shall ever be held in the
Memorial hall. For this last example
of their generosity and this PROOF OF
their willingness after twenty-five
wears of trial. to adopt me into the
Bowdoin family, l return my heart
felt thanks.
7 think you will all bear me witness
that during all these years l nave
strictly observed the scriptural rule
that when man marrieS he snail
forsake his mother and cleave unto
his wife Not once in these twenty
five years have | spoken of myself
as a Harvard but always as q Bow
doin man, still, one must be justly
loyal to his own Alma Mater and af-
ter this long silence l feel that 1t is
due 10 my OWE tAllllel fho1ti ~ 49,
that whatever | have been able TO
contribute here has been due to the
training that l received there. 1odav
the undergraduate work in forty lead
ing colleges, and universities is prac-
tically the same. There is no differ
ence of principle but merely dlfter-
ence of atmosphere and personality
TWENTY-FIVE years ago this was not
So Harvard, through the genius Oh
President Elliot was then twenty-five
years ahead of all the universities
and colleges of the country. l 90 not
mean merely that Harvard had de-
veloped the elective system though
that was enc phase OF 1t. Harvard
had established principle that IN the
college curriculum the great psychol-
ogy and philosophy were to be begun
early and taught consecutively with the
same continuity and thoroughness as
Greek, Latin and mathematics. Al
together aside from the individuality
If the person. it was probably wise
act of the Bowdoin Trustees and
.Overseers that they chose as president
young Harvard man who knew SYM
pathetically and enthusiastically this
ltlen mover pIiIlClIJlt vi NoiiSSV S'"S'"
ton and did not know much of any
thing else. AT any rate, as Harvard
was among the universities, so Bow
doin among the small colleges speedily
became recognized as q leader and
pointer of the way in adopting this,
which is now the generally accepted
principle of college education.
That fight has now become COM
pletely and universally won. AS l
said a moment ago, all the better col
leges and universities stand on
common level as far as the adoption
of this principle is concerned. We
all are now called upon to face the
common problem of stimulating a
genuine intellectual interest and high
moral earnestness and an intense civ
ic responsibility, and we are all COM
ing to realize that these things cam
not be successfully imposed on stu
dents by a faculty from above but
must be infused into the student body
by free and friendly intermingling
of faculty and students through pre-
ceptorial methods, in membership of
clubs for special intellectual purposes
and through friendly sharing of the
io1