The sun., 1919-02-09
NE danger Of a relapse into ma
terialism following the tremen-
: doua moral efforf nxerfed In -ar

dous moral effort exerted in war;
and the suspicious part that should be
played by colleges and universities In
combating such reaction are among the
points brought out by President A.
Lawrence Lowell OF Harvard University
in his annual report to the board
OF overseers. Among the strongest
agencies to prevent such relapse"
states President Lowell, Fought to be
our colleges and universities. which
should feel more than ever before their
duty to keep before the minds Of young
men the eternal values and the spiritual
truths that endure when material things
pass away"
President Lowell remarks that 'fhe
rapidity with which our whole COM
munity has turned from the excitement
OF the war to the conditions of peace
has already been noted, and II may well
provoke serious reflection. During the
war many people felt that the heroic
temper. the spirit of self-sacrfce for
an ideal. the exaltation OF sentiment
called forth were certain to raise our
civilization to a higher level and to
produce a lasting effect on the national
character. But that has not be IN the
experience with great wars hitherto.
The wars OF Napoleon were followed by
an era OF material progress, where in
wealth. Our own civil war was fol-
lowed by the lowest state of political
morals that we have ever known, reach
ing it's climax in the Tweed ring in
New York. The war of 1870 was fol-
lowed in Germany by the growth of
materialism that eliminated in the
present attempt to exploit mankind by
force. Nor are these unnatural results.
On the material side war destroys vast
quantities of property which have to
be replaced. rolls up debts that have
to be paid and II Is natural that after
a war people should seek to repair the
damage 1t has caused. On the spiritual
side also any great moral effort Is
liable to be followed by a period of
moral relaxation. After n great war.
therefore. and not least perhaps after
war that has awakened so great an
enthusiasm and devotion 1t is wise to
beware OF a materialstic reaction. -
The war and IT'S inevitable disturb
ance Of the ordinary college routine.
has furnished" writes Mr.. Lowell, IAN
occasion for reviewing our methods Of
education and considering whether We
ought not to proceed further in the di-
rection we have pursued for some years
that Of paying more attention TO the
student as the man TO be educated. or
provoked to education, and less exclu-
sive heed TO the single course of instruc-
ton as the means OF educating him"
The president goes on to state that
I'VE need among the students. and even
among the instructors, a better sense OF
proportion. clearer conception of the
aim Of the college and OF what means
are best fitted for attaining II. Too few
of the students have a definite idea OF
their object in coming to college, even
after completing half of their work for
degree Too many have a dispopor-
Tomato idea OF the value OF Intellectual
as compared with athletic strength, rat
ing exceptional physical achievement too
highly, exceptional Intellectual power too
low. and thinking FAR too little about
the Importance to the ordinary man Of
cutivating both his mind and his body.
The conscientious instructor on the
other hand--and instructors who are not
conscientious are rare-is too much In
clned to deal with his subject as a final
aim in itself. thing apart from every
other side of education, instead OF one
element among others in the training Of
an immature mind. The tendency to
, cut the knowledge OF a subject into
fragments separately taught in distinct
courses, with nothing to weld them into
whole In the mind OF the student. is
| artificial and harmful An exaggerated
Importance seems to be attached by
! teachers In our universities and colleges
TO the dignity OF giving courses. as COM
pared with other methods OF instruction
or directing study. or with eXerttng a
control over the whole system OF edu-
cation by conducting examinations Of
the kind used In foreign universities.
This is partly because the value of a
department Is too often measured by the
number of courses offered. rather than