The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1913-07-13
The Romance of Modern Broader Horizon

hand OF masters, to the far boundaries
OF human knowledge. These UNIVERSE
ties soon established more or less uni
form entrance requirements, the chief
items of which were a reading knowl-
edge of French and German, and
adequate instruction in chemistry,
physics and biology, in addition to the
bachelors degree, in due course. Our
colleges were quick to conform to these
standards, and, in SO doing, broadened
their courses Of study in proportion.
The Cry for Trained Men.
But, most important Of all, in bring
ing about the establishment of better
schools in the South, was the cry
throughout the country for trained
technical experts. In 1893-to go back
but twenty years-we were in the midst
Of an era of industrial depression, but
of economical transformation. The
great manufactures of the country
were being reorganized, the trusts"
being formed, engineering enterprises
of colossal magnitude were in contem-
plation. All of these cried for men
not men merely grounded in general
culture, but men with an expert knowl-
edge of technical calling. Confronted
with the alternatives of preparing our
boys for this work or else of seeing
them outstripped by the young men of
other sections the South began techni-
cal and professional training on a new
scale.
The Bounds of the New Horizon.
In this way the new order came into
being, and the bounds of our new educa-
tional horizon were extended. TODAY
they have been so widened that there
is in the South school for practically
every aspect of advanced training, a
system that can compare favorably
with those of the other sections of the
country. Our colleges are broad in their
courses, our universities offer wide
range Of study, our professional schools
meet the growing demands Of an
ambitious generation.
The New College Course.
AS typical of the new horizon, let
us compare the colleges which advertise
in this section with the same schools
generation ago. Thanks to the early
high standards of classical training in
the South, our colleges to-day can boast.
of no greater achievement in this direc-
ton than the maintenance of the old
ideals. Indeed, some of their wisest
teachers are questioning whether boys
to-day are as Well-grounded in their
Latin and Greek as they were a genera
ton ago, and some are not willing to
concede that these subjects of study
are less important to-day than in the
past. But these things apart, our col
leges assuredly offer a wider field of
study in every school. A generation
ago, for instance, most of the small
colleges of the South were still group
ing physics, chemistry and biology
under the general head Natural
Science" and were teaching these
subjects in more or less superficial
way. Great chemists there were in the
Sollth-men like Mallet, at the Univer-
sity of Virginia-but these were in the
pitiful minority. Most of our colleges
contented themselves with a single
years course in physics and chemistry,
and with practically no course in
biology. To-day the average Southern
college has separate departments for
each of these three subjects, and is
equipped to prepare man for graduate
studyjn any of them.
And this means something more
than the requirement Of new culture
1t means an entire reimbursement of our