The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1913-06-16
Dean E. A. Birge, in Bacca-
laureate Sermon, Defines
Probable Advantages.
TWO BIG THINGS
WILL BE RETAINED
''way Of Looking at Things" and
"Point of View" are important Fea-
lures, Declares spesker-Universaty
Acknowledges its Duty, He says.

sts De6n y. "A. blf8o OF the OnlVefolty
Of Wisconsin. addressing the graduates
OF the University Of: North ,Dakota at
the. baccalaureate service Sunday
evening, gave q splendid statement Of
what they should expect from their
college training.
'The Undergraduate Course was
his subject. and he spoke In part -
follows:
Dean Birge directed his address to
the graduating class and to the alumni
and discussed the question OF the per-
rnanent value which the student may
hope to, carry away from college.
haps the only one Of the great medi-
aeval guilds which has persisted in
modern society. This continuance Of
life II due, in part. to the unchanEed
nature Of the work Of the college. The
fundamental alterations Of business
life have caused the practical extinc-
ticn Of the industrial and mercantile
guilds Of the middle ages: These an
dealt with business primarily as 2 part
of life rather than. as a means OF pro-
duction. No society's point OF view
has changed and college. which still
remains q part Of life rather than an
instrument Of productive activity, 10
in an isolated position.
Want Factory Basis.
Many OF the criticisms now directed
against the college come from those
who ignore this historical fact or. from
those who desire to reorganize the
college rs the factory has been reor-
ganixed. But the fundamental con-
Germs themselves will probably make
such q change very slew.
At all events, the college graduate
OF today must find the value Of his
course rather in himself than in any
ccncrete product OF college work. Tho
diploma may help to secure position
for him and the teachers certihcata
has an immediate cash value. but In
the perspective Of years these things
viii become very small.
The knowledge gained in college
will largely disappear; either forgot.
ten Or lost I'D the Jaeger kn3wledke
wl,fctt fife hrjnrs Is EitA a. NJ, 90 the
Y0ffii. d6iinHb1E sre tsr uf the font
years spenE5 kafattl He college walls
wHEsfxM6 t6. becoEIs smaller and to
dts1ppAer % the ysarsspass.
TWO Things WIN Remain.
II I may Judge from my own ex-
any college course which is worthy
of the name. The first ID what may
be called 80 way Of looking at things"
Every great department of human
thought has It's own way Of looking
at Its facts, Of ordering its material.
o. interpreting that part Of the world
y hitch belongs to 1t. Those who fol-
low long and faithfully the work OF
any such department find that grad
ually they become able to SEQ and
understand not merely facts but the
ideaa and the ideals Of the subject.
Thew ret the feeling for letters, tho
legal habit Of mind. the scientific atti-
tude, the engineer's way Of conceiving
nroblemas This result is not t1,ing
that can be learned or taught. It
Rrows in tho student as tho outcome
Of thousands Of bits Of mental work;
each Of them wholly unimportant In
itself but collectively Of supreme
value. Not ali or most graduates
have Kained this way. Of looking q.
thinrs when thew receive their d.
sts s rt.d u ut th.t = = v,;ia dsve,on % TO 10 ma. ma
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