The Washington herald., 1914-01-18


makes forward step in higher educa-
ton so important that it would be am.
cult to overstate its significance and
value. The full text Of the agreement
is printed on a later page of this issue.
1t will repay careful reading. What hes
behind it is the fact that neither Haf-
ward nor the Institute has sought or
gained any superior advantage IN the
arrangement for cooperation. 1t IS
simply a generous joint undertaking TOR
the benefit of the whole community
and the advancement of scientific edu-
cation. The gain to the public lies IN
the vast increase of opportunity for stu
dents in both institutions, and the con-
seoueut enrichment of the training
which they will carry to their work IN
the world. The service of the public
comes first in any large view of the
matter; but the sons and friends OF
Harvard and of the Institute must
equally rejoice in the great accessions
to the resources of each of these in
stitutions. In rendering the funds and
equipments, in faculties and courses,
mutually available for students in GER
tain fields of science, Harvard and the
Institute-in addition to. all they have
done for the public-are doing much to
draw to themselves the seekers for the
best training in applied science.
"The new arrangement will go into
effect when the Institute occupies its
new buildings in Cambridge. Obvious
ly no time could be more auspicious for
the joining together of Harvard and
its sister institution in their pursuit Of
common ends./ 1t is understood that
even before the completion of the In
stitute buildings arrangements will be
made for bringing to pass some of the
benefits of the agreement.
The Meaning of the Agreement.
when the terms of the agreement
between Harvard and the Massachu-
setts Institute OF Technology for the
joint work in certain specified fields
comes to be analysed point by point,
many possibilities of great significance
will reveal themselves. At the mo-
ment of its adoption it is not necessary
to go into these points. 1t is desirable
rather to consider the general drift OF
the new plan.
For some years the project of CO.
operation between the University and
the Institute has periodically been under
consideration. In spite of previous fail
ure. to make it a reality, it was shown
to be in the minds of both President
Lowell and President Maclaurin a year
ago, when they published their annual
reports. President Lowell then wrote,
at the end of a paragraph dealing with
the matter: NO plan of cooperation
has been devised, but the difficulties
ought not to be insuperable If ap-
preached with mutual good will and a
sense that an educational institution
does not exist solely for its own glory,
but as means to a larger end. Pres
ident Maclaurin, after a longer treat
ment of the subject, presented three
general considerations of the possibili-
ties involved, the first of which read d:
No extensive cooperation can be main-
| tanned with any satisfaction to either
party and consequently with any chance
of performance unless the idea OF COM
petition between the institutions is elim-
mated
The spirit of these two declarations
is borne out by the following statements
made by the two presidents on the COM
pletion of the arrangements, and by
, the text of the agreement itself, printed
after the words OF President Lowell and
President Maclaurin."
Statement by President Lowell.
Friends of Harvard University and
the Massachusetts, Institute of Tech
nology-and they have many friends in
common-have long deplored the rivalry
of two schools of engineering compet-
ing on opposite sides of a river. The
disadvantages have been made even
more evident by the decision of the In
stitute to cross the Charles; but the
difficulty of making an arrangement
satisfactory to both parties has hither-
to been very great, and in fact the OBJ
stacles to a combination between rival
institutions supported by and serving
the same community have been one of
the grave defects of higher education in
America. This difficulty seems at last
to have been overcome here by a plan
for cooperation in the conduct of one
school of engineering and mining. The
plan is favorable to both institutions.
Both gain thereby. Which gains the
most can probably not be determined
and certainly has not been computed,
for the leading motive with the authors
of the agreement has lain in another
plane. Both institutions exist for the
promotion of instruction and research.
Each is a means to an end larger than
a. II e al,