davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
New-York tribune., 1910-12-25
Wafer Peril Wbfcb Is Vanishing

is duty-perhaps the most immediate and
pressing duty that the nation has before 1t.
Wherever there are long rivers and rich
land beside them the need Of greater con-
troll is fearfully apparent With the cut
ting of the timber on the highlands the
foods grow yearly more violent and more
destructive. Farms in the mountains suf-
fer by having their best soil swept away
in the current. Farms in the fat bottoms
by the sea suffer from floods and sand de-
posits Factories and towns at the larger
falls lose buildings, dams and bridges, and
In the lower reaches OF the river the sedt-
ment brought down from the uplands Sits
into sandbars and blocks the channel. SO
agriculture, manufactures and commerce,
the three fundamental trades Of mankind,
all suffer from the uncontrolled river
Not long ago a plan by which the gov
ernrnent was to spend $125,OO00O0 for build
ing reservoirs for the headwaters of the
Ohio was seriously brought forward by an
expert Of the Geological Survey and seri-
ousy received by practical men. The plan
was only beginning, for in order to con-
trol the flow OF the whole Mississippi sys-
tenn four times as great an expenditure was
suggested. It was generally admitted that
in the long run such an enormous invest
New-York tribune., 1910-12-25

DR.. Pritchett. In the course of more tnan
a hundred and thirty large pages the au-
thor, Mr. Cooke. makes a number or eX-
ceIlent suggestions, which are none the
less excellent because of their lack Oh
novelty. He is aware that the charge
of Philistinism might easily be suggested
by the tenor of his remarks, and he makes
some effort to protect himself accordingly
His peculiar point of view seems to give
undue prominence to the cost per stu
dent hour but although we hear much OF
this phrase in the report we are distinctly
told in one place that 1T should be borne
in mind that the cost per student hour mas
absolutely no value in distinguishing reia-
tive educational values If this had been
placed as headline to all the pages 1t
would have greatly improved the value OF
| the report and would have been in har-
mony with this other admirable sentence
which might with equal propriety have been
! inserted as a footnote to every page: In the
| last analysis the usefulness of a university
| is the measure of its mental, moral and
! spiritual product-and product interpreted
! as broadly as you please.
New-York tribune., 1910-12-25

IAN auditor sent in to audit the accounts
of these institutions would inquire as to
the warrant for the expenditure OF such
large sums on research. At five OF these
institutions the money devoted to research
renresents not only a considerable propor-
ton of the income of the department, pur
a considerable amount Of money At no
one of these five institutions are there
funds available for research which any
where near equal what is spent. At Har-
ward. for instance, the endowment for re-
search in physics is in the neighborhood OF
500 600. which at ) per cent would yield less
than $1,000 per annum. The expenditures
for research appear to be five times this
amount. or in excess of $4,000. There are
certain annually made gifts and annually
renewed guarantees for research winch
NAV amount to s1000 or $1,000 more in any
one wear. 1t is impossible under the pres
ent system of accounting to be more detl-
mite. But allowing the outside figure ($2,-
OoA. it still leaves over $4,000 spent on re-
search out of the general educational funds
of the institution AS is pointed out else
where. considerable expenditures are also
made for research at Harvard which do
not pass through the books of the treas
Irer
New-York tribune., 1910-12-25

His path is not too smooth aEeafy, and
even now there are many forces CRAVING
him from the educational sphere "hsro oess
he can serve society. Think for . moment
OF the effect on men like Newton or f1rS-
day OF the snap and vigor treatment rnes
Mr. Cooke suggests IN his discussion OF 70
search They must make freGuen reports
on the progress OF their research ana con-
stautIy Justify the expenditure thereon The
s,,periutendent OF buildings and grounds. or
other competent authority. calls upon M.
Newton
superintendent of Build.ngs'and Grounds
your theory of gravitation is hanging Ere
rnduIy. The director insists on n1ished
renort. fled In his ONCE by a. m MonoAy
next. summarized on one page type~fie-
tan. and the main points underlined Aiso'
q careful estimate Of the cost OF the ~
search a student hour
..Newton-Bur there IS one dfncniey rnAs
has been puzzling me for fourteen yearA
and I am not quite
..sIIperintendent Of Buildings and GROUNDS
with suap and vigorI-Guess you hao pet
ter overcome that difficulty by Monoay
morning or quit
New-York tribune., 1910-12-25
G37fe c/oac41zc G7zo7t@

land banlxsr Four years ago his daughteB
ran down and killed little girl. and TINS
week his chauffeur killed ten-yeaf-o!o
boy as he was returning with MIS- HEN
shaw and her daughters from a oistriou-
ton of Christmas gifts among the poor-
Last September Henshaw himself narrowly
escaped death when his automooile crashed
into a streetcar.
Jackson Hatch, few years ago one OK
the most prominent lawyers OF San jose.
was sentenced this week to seven years in
San Quentin prison for embez7linS S'-""
from the estate OF Mrs. Sarah Sage Hascn
was counsel and manager OF Mrs SAxes
property, and In this capacity IL "2s
charged he applied the revenues or the
estate to his own use- This was MS Sec
ond trial, as he obtained new trial on
legal technicality after his hrsc CONVICTION
The aviation meet set for January ! TO 70
In this city promises to be OF unusual m
r~res, and value. Adequate provision u TO
De made for automobiles. as SrandstAnd
which Will accommodate one thousand mA-
chimes will be provided TO give tre view
of the aviation field at South San Fran
cisco. In the novice class number os
vounx San Francisco clubmen VIII enter.
One OF the features OF the meet VIII % Al
ATTEMPT OF ayiators to alighr on the deck
of a warship in San Francisco Bay
Michael Joseph Conboy. former captain
OF police who was sentenced TO seven
years for shooting a man In the street, VIII
get a new trial on technical grounds Tho
testimony was strong against the accused
officer, who. IL was alleged. had been
drinking and was quarrelsoms. When the
Jury came into court. after seven hours,
and requested further instructions. Judge
Dunno rebuked them and declared that the
evidence was ample TO reach an agreement
The appellate court declares that the judge
"impiiedly instructed and urged The tnsy
| to- convict
New-York tribune., 1910-12-25

church is used only a few hours week or
a life belt only when II is actually neeoeo-
In some Of his criticisms under this mead
ing he seems to forget that colleges nave
TO make the best OF the materials tnat
are available. and that in many cases an
apparentIy uneconomie use OF rooms IS
forced upon them because their buildings
are old or were designed for other pur-
noses than those to which they have now
to be put He commends one institution Tor
a space saving device and wonders that IL
is not adopted in all departments, the fact
being that the newer buildings were oe-
signed for It's use, but the older ones were
so constructed that its adoption there
would not have been real economy
Mr.. Cooke displays unusual weakness
when he takes up the subject OF research
Indeed. most OF what he says on this SUD-
tect must be received with that mixture
of astonishment and embarrassment with
which we listen to the words of a dlstln-
e1ished friend who pronounces an ABSURD
Judgment on an important subject that ne
has evidently not mastered Listen to this:
IT believe there is q distinc. disadvantages
TO undergraduate students to be near re-
New-York tribune., 1910-12-25
Great Storage Dams Give
Power and Do Away
With Floods.

They are strange creatures, our American
rivers. They stand with their feet in the
sea. the nlightiest, wickedest genii that the
world ever saw. The shadow of their dis
Measure stretches for a thousand miles
Their YEARLY breakfast is houses, bridges,
factories the very land itself Yet let The
nayoa of the great prophet electricity be
snolsen in the ear of one Of them and he
will creep into a copper thread and slave
for millions of men without whimper
There were days when Americans noas'ea
themselves too hard headed and practicai
TO believe in genii or TO care much aoou'
them if they did. Thanks to Theodore
Roosevelt and the recent floods, those days
ara now gone The public sees what
thoughtful men have long believed, that the
control of the nations rivers and their de-
ve!opment as waterways and as sources o.
mower is more than an opportunity, that
New-York tribune., 1910-12-25
Says Some American Colleges Waste Money and Effort

think IN the case Of physoc4
-.s.,-cn worrer. their good influence
moro than Offset by the introcuctD" A@A'
tho UNDERGRADUATE laboratories OF the nec-e
sssars1v deliberate and experimental metn-1
oes OF the research lAborAtory-
r,nfo~.unare IL .deIfberation, and sne eA-
narir,,eufaI methods should contarninate tn~
laboratories-it la might detract from tno s'@N
and vigor OF these promising unders'ao"
ates And vet one wonders what poe~0io
use there can be in teaching physics AZ AZ
If SO much care is to be taken 70 snAfa la~
students from catching its spirit and grasp
ing its method. We. IN our ignorance ns<1
imagined that the method and the spfrfs,
of science were its very essence especiAAiy
where undergraduates learning is concerned
We should have accounted any system OK
education that failed to recognize THIS "A
bu. 40 much dross and dung OF, at this!
sea son- a ScripruraI phrase may be permit 4
tedl even IL IL resulted in every undergrad-}
nate gaining 100 per cent in the sxanfna-
,ions conducted by Mr.. Cookies bureau OK
inspection
perhaps enough has been said TO fncs-1
cate that there are serious oiernisnes m
this bulletin II, however, 1t be taken fof
lust what II is worth, il can do no naf1n
and may do much good We should regsfof
as a friend every one who helps US 10 III
prove our methods. and IL this report en-'
ahIes Ms tc keep our accounts better, a.
make a more economical use of our ma
chinerv. Of course it will be heartily well
coined The most serious objection shaf
see to it lies In its abuse rather tnan i1S
legitimate use I fear that 1t viii tend 70
increase the administrative machinery OK
our educational institutions. machinery
that is already far too much IN evidence
When one listens to all the criticism OF
our colleges and thinks OF the great Things
| that have been accomplished elseVners
with so little machinery and so little NOISE,
| one wonders whether il might not be bet
| ter for US also 10 settle down 70 quiet
j 1vN~
New-York tribune., 1910-12-25
HIS PATIENCE STRAINED.

"Then confess that all this talk OF cosS
a student hour strains my patience 10 the
limit. especially when IL Is presented onoef
the heading gauge of efficiency MI Cooks
frankly recognizes its uselessness 20 tnls
end. but Others may be led astray by tho
specious analogy with the workings or
factory. Already there are plenty OF forces
st work to give sufficient proninence TO
mechanical conceptions and mechanical
tests 1t does not require any special efiors
in this country TO stimulate admiration for
the snap and vigor OF the business admin
istrator,' and the value OF snap In the do
main of education may very easily os over
estimated. Especially am I fearful OF ITS
effect on the teacher and the investigator.
New-York tribune., 1910-12-25

that either President Wilson or Dean Fine
could have decided the matter in way
that would not have allowed it to come up
again. but the custom Of the place probably
restrained them from doing so.
AT the University of Wisconsin. the eX-
ecutive committee Of the Board of Regents
(as well as the head of the department
the dean, the president and the secretary
approves every requisition for the purchase
Of supplies In some cases these requlsl-
tons amount to a few dollars, and IN only
few cases do they amount TO more than
enc thousand dollars. It has been some
time since the board Of directors OF any
properly organized industrial establishment
has done detail work Of this kind The
thought was expressed that the approval
of reo1Iisitions was Synonymous with pass
ing budget. The two things are OBJ
,-sor-STz- distinct
New-York tribune., 1910-12-25

rBv Telegraph to The Trib1ne-1
san francisco, Dec 24.-The postofhce
and axnress money order business IN San
Francisco for the holiday week has broken
all records. even SURPRISING the large busi-
ness of the prosperous year berore lhe
ereat fire. One feature is the unusually
large number of postoffice and express
money orders that have been sent TO the
Eastern states and Europe All the stores
report surprising Christmas trade
The grand Jury has indicted three men
and one woman for completely IN the tneis
of s57 go worth Of gold bullion from tne
steamer Humboldt last September as the
metal was being transferred from the Ia
mana district, in Alaska. TO Seattle feo-
eral and city detectives swooped down on
the suspected persons and captured NUM-
her of bars of bullion. but they could not
identify IL as any part OF the lost snip
rnent. so TO prevent the escape of the al
legged thieves they procured the indictment
OF the prisoners
The three daughters Of the late DAVID II
nveIand. of Stockton. have obtained pos
session of the 80. 900 estate which wnen ne
was over eighty years old he bequeatheo
70 A man and wife who had been KIND &c
him in his last years. The court held that
ToveIand was of feeble mind and was un-
5,,Iv Influenced to disinherit his daughters
Frank Booth ana the Western FIST
Comnany were freed this week from Grim
inaI charges of having conspired to form
esh trust In San Francisco. The difticuits
= oh.asnipp evidence was given as ths
cause Of quashing tho indictments Aoou
the only result OF the crusade against ioca
fish dealers. who. it Is alleged, nave raises
the cost of fish beyond reason, IS Juus
ment for $4,000 secured by the Portoia FIST
Company against the alleged Fish trust
| III luck seems to follow the autohooii
| of William G. Henshaw, wealthy oaA
New-York tribune., 1910-12-25
THE WAY OUT.

.eTbe wav out lies through functional /,
mana cement, where the effort IS mace
constantly to have each man perform
those functions which he is best. fitted to
perforrl. and TO prohibit him from inter-
fering in the perfornan of those func-
4ions about which he is not specially quail
fed to give an opinion This means Ior
every one connected with the universities
more sharply defined function, and 90
not think from the talks / had thal any
change viii be more welcome IN the IdS'
field where you would expect to ma IL,
80 encounters perhaps the extreme of
,1r,warranted interference. A professor
,.il1 freonentIy have to conduct a long
feht-and in the end an unsuccesslui u
fgbt-to maintain an obviously correct
,,osi+ion because a committee Of the trus-
tees which has but a nlodicum OF lnloriiid-
ion unon a given situation. and no speclai
snritude for discussing II, has the power io
interfere and does interfere.
.e1-be dean of one college, who mad re-
,a-,+Iv attended a gathering of the admin
ie+rative- officers of the colleges in ms I'M
-,a5iate vicinity told me that on coIn-
caring notes with those he met ne touho
+be, he was the only dean who had any
-..I authority, and that most OF those WIN
-.-t,,,, he talked did not know how n1uch
-. ,.,ere supposed to have AS VIII pe
a:-,+o5 o,,t more in detail later, most DIS
e.n,;ra * rneted out with the fun under-
-.a,.ztnpr that it may be upset by some one
I4-,-<,. in authority In almost every case
,5tscir,ina even Of a minor order Is SUD-
iect TO revision
a. Princeton. while as matter OF
--ac.iee the deDartments were allowed TO
( attend to the detaiis-and only OCCASION
an they were upset-pile most unlhtelh-
! oan. counsel prevailed at times On matters
I ~ real moment In other words, there
/ - M hounds TO the authority or those
.l,iqFer M when they cared to use II.
ona or Two committees of the eoard Oh
/ +-,,stees had the power TO enter aliiios.
a-e,,- nook and corner of the educahotiai
s.-.,~t,,ye This inspection. OF course
,,o,,1d be all righe-exceilent-af IL Were
80 for the purpose OF seeing that fhe
- roIicieg were being carried out.
b,,, TOO frequently there is no permanent
,-s-aI uolicy and these acts are the
/ e--.,,,t;-,as of personal whims Of preJu-
s;ces Every one, from tie president oo"n'
! - me that committee management was
za,,+ed because it was a democratic form
e lovernu1ent The result struck me as
- . a far cry from real democracy.
New-York tribune., 1910-12-25
LACK or STANDARD METHODS.

* Is rra-r5raIlv impossible to fnd any
one broad r.yoslera O university govern
MEM solved in the same way py Two IN
stitu1ous. Tl.ss lack Cf standard methoos
Is particularly marked n the hnaIicaai a4-
1a-listrariou q colleges. thus, Ia the MAJ
Ier Ct lnvanrorying lands and buAdlhss, ~ II
Eliot taen president of Harvard Chi-
Tersiry. said. We try to ccTne as near lot- l
getting rae val1le Of our lands ana Duli1-
i1gs as r.sssE6isz. This makes the Simple
5ooklzee.lnrs Al the University OF To-
roato al lands AID buildings were he'u a
values reac gnlzed as having 10 reai sis gin
cance. ana the beard Of trustees va : :
meet T. the near future TO cec4de 1S
Ehe-ae- tae whole plant would De iiis s9li
tSried at = or present values asslsiieu =
eael item. ~ the University CT Wlscoii7-i-
TIE f1ast recent methods Of inventor !. as 4--zs
sad u vaiusug everything going I" iii-A'A'7
q Tie plant were in use
As accounting 10 a great degree l"I l,l1
abssIee n -aages. there may De hoeeo -
general lack Of lntensigeness WIFI -
1isas every where pervadIng the ufaiFsl
and colleges. A concrete example o. ei--a :
iound in the length OF the working uas
4 Is almost invariably the case ina '-.e
Aoars observed by the accounting osi'''-- &c
neu1s and b. The janitors ana gaios'e'
bsar d direct relation 10 the hours u H.e
Reaching star or e the student Doa3, :
sood practice 20 close practically an III
G activity at princeton University On
= Wednesday afternoon because tiste :" :
New-York tribune., 1910-12-25
SOME DIFFERENT TYPES.

"As may be imagined many different
types of organization We're found On the
one hand, several notable examples of the
military or so-called one-man management
were encountered; but committee manage
ment, sometimes in an extreme form, was
more prevalent Committee management
seems TO be the typical scheme under which
our colleges are administered. Curiously
enough-but nevertheless quite in harmony
with the general lack of unifornity-at
some institutions the military system and
the committee system exist side by side
An extreme case of committee manage
ment in the general administration of a
university was found at Princeton, where
about one hundred and twenty men sit in
the faculty. The faculty sitting as whole
and through its committees decides large
and small questions. The write- found
that. as a rule, only so per cent of the
members attend faculty meetings, but that
when certain questions Of general interest
are scheduled to come up nearly every
body is apt to be present At this same
institution the trustees, and especially the
various committees of the trustees. take
an active hand in the details of administra-
ton While I was visiting this university
the question was being debated as to
whether the prices at which the outgoing
class was disposing Of its furniture to the
incoming class were exorbitant or not. Ac-
ton was suspended for two weeks pending
a meeting of the trustees committee on
buildings and grounds. One of the higher
officials of the university told me that the
question in one phase or another had been
a burning one since he had been an officer,
which, If I remember rightly, had been for
nearly twenty-five years I am confident
New-York tribune., 1910-12-25
ONE TEACHERS COMPLAINT.


Those teachers of physics who have
done notable research work are undoubted-
" those who are in the greatest demand.
To have done research work is almost as
essential for one holding high place in
q department of physics as it is for an in
structor in any department to have doc
tors degree This is little difficult to
understand in view of the obvious differ
ences between research work in physics
and the ordinary teaching of physics.
The feeling is so strong, the amount CT
effort and money going into research is
SO large as compared with what goes into
teaching. that some of the places visited
are research laboratories first and after
that schools for teaching physics as
branch of general education.
Another weak point in my opinion, in
the research work as it is carried on now
at the colleges is that it is being done with
the minimum of inspection and control.
believe that few workers can be at their
maximum of efficiency unless their work is
subject to fairly constant, intimate and
impartial review of some kind At present
the character of review which any piece OF
research work enjoys depends largely on
the pe,zso.lal relations which may happen
to exist between the research worker and
his associates in his own department Some
work IS done with practically no review,
either because no one is interested in it.
or if interested, no one feels warranted in
offering suggestions criticisms. l was
shown one piece of work which had been
in progress for more than two years which,
in the opinion of several who had had an
opportunity to study it, was sheer waste
of time. And yet no one protested because
no one felt he had the authority. Even
when research work is done by a physicist
who is not only intimate with his associ
ates but who seeks their opinions, it is not
as apt to be checked where it is wrong
and encouraged where it is right as eff
cientIy as it would be by equally able Sci
entists not brought into such intimate day
to-day contact with the department.
'iAt none of the institutions visited was
there any means Of controlling the amount
of research work done in the various de-
partments except through the general de-
partmental appropriations Given an ap-
preparation of $4,000 or $4,000, in every case
the considerations which ordained how
much of this money should go into research
and how much into teaching lay within the
department. These considerations for the
most part had to do with the idfosyncrasies
of individuals connected with the depart
ment rather than with conclusions reached
bv the department officially. There is nc
machinery for regulating it elsewhere. In
fact, no one connected with any OF the
departments studied knows, even in the
| broadest way, the relative cost OF teachlne
and Of research.
New-York tribune., 1910-12-25
SEES MANY WEAKNESSES.

although there is much that is excel
lent in the report, it has many weaknesses
It is written from the point of view of the
man who is used to report on the efficiency
of a glue factory or soap works. When
ever it touches the strictly educational field
and gets away from the soap factory the
trail of the amateur is over it all. 1t is
full of comnonpIaces. and there is scarce
ly a question raised that has not been
discussed ad nauseam by college profess
New-York tribune., 1910-12-25
WHAT PRES. MACLAURIN SAYS

President MacLaurins pungent letter
follows:
1.-THE latest bulletin of the Carnegie
Foundation has many attractive features.
The report has evidently been made up in
g spirit Of good will TO education, and any
sting that it may contain should be re-
moved by the admirable introduction by