Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1914-03-20

three colleges. 1t is this practice which |
is condemned by the report as unwise
public policy. There is no argument of
the question, simply the fiat dictum
that it is impossible for a State to find
any middle ground between absolute
ownership and control of single insti
tuition and cutting itself loose from all
connection with higher education.
This, of coure, is dogma, pure and
simple.
We doubt if the older American
commonwealth, which have already a
sufficiency of colleges and universities
on private foundations, are shut up to
such dilemma. If it is true, it is
certainly a thousand pities. The East
ern colleges need more of the spirit of
the great institutions of the West, and
if something of the zeal for public serv-
ice and the feeling of participation in
the life of the commonwealth, which
has proved 30 fruitful and stimulating
in Western institutions, could come
over the older endowed colleges, it
would render them far more useful.
A State should welcome the opportunity
to relate its colleges to its public schools
and make them an integral part of its
educational system. Vermont is fortu-
nate that its colleges believe themselves
public institutions of their State and
should do bill it can to strengthen State
connection and stimulate the spirit of
State service.
The theory of the experts employed
by the Carnegie Foundation seems to be
that there can be no cooperation be-
tween public and private philanthropy.
That theory is certainly belied by a
thousand successful examples of the
opposite practice in every State in the
East In New York City the munich
pality erected 81, O00, 900 library on
its own land, appraised at 500, 000,0 900,
and made over its control to the trustees
of three private foundations, to whom
it appropriates $500, 900 year, and sub
jected them only to contract to main
tain free public library. New York
neither owns nor controls the library,
yet the city support it, and is satisfied
with the results. Over half the libra
ries in the State of New York, which
receive annual State appropriations, are
administered under the same conditions.
Museums. hospitals, orphanages, homes
for detectives, are all managed in
thousand instances through the friendly
cooperation of public bodies and pri-
vate corporations. Why not colleges
and universities? We are not aware
that either Johns Hopkins or Cornell, or
Dartmouth, or the Massachusetts, Insti-
tute of Technology, all of which have re-
ceived public grants for private admin
istration, have either failed in educa-
tional efficiency or disappointed their
public benefactors. The mention of
these institutions certainly disproves
the statement of the Vermont report
that continuance of State aid would
"dry up the springs of private philan-
thropy," since few Institutions have
been more prospered from generous
gifts than these which fall under the
condemnation of the Carnegie princi-
pal.
OF course State aid should be accom-
panied by full financial accounting, to-
gether with adequate inspection by
qualified State officers and direction of
the expenditure of State money. 1t
may be that Vermont has been negli-
gent in these respects, but if so the
fault should be corrected and the State
should not be advised not to concern
itself with higher education under any
consideration. 1t would be particu-
larly unfortunate if the State of Senator
Morrill,, whose bill creating the land
grant colleges did more to stimulate
higher education in America than any
, other educational act in the history of
the nation, should become the only
State in the American Union to make
no provision whatever for higher educa-
ton. Wyoming, with less than half the
population of Vermont and third as
many college students, would not dream
of cutting off its university. The new
/ est States, Arizona and New Mexico,
neither of which has third as many
, people DIS NerLlonl, nor even sui
smaller fraction of the wealth, both
support higher education. We had sup.
posed that Vermont youth were particu-
larly ambitious for education and that
Vermonters were especially proud of
their boys who press up from humble
homes and become men of influence
, and power through college training.
The little Yankee State, additionally
chary of its independence, should con-
slider well before it yields to outside
counsel, however high its authority, and
denies college opportunity to its youth.
This report shows that the Vermont
colleges are now receiving only 500, 900
a year out of the $1,895, 900 expended
annually for education. The proportion
q for higher education is not too great