Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1919-02-15
CHAPTER iii
The Hardest Task
By DIR. RUSSELL H. CONwELL

TT TOOK ten years of incessant, hard
L work and thousands Of dollars Of
hard.earned money to overcome the
ingrained idea prevalent among the
people that it was not possible for the
poor American boy to get as thorough
and as comprehensive an education as
was obtained by the sons of the rich.
The most insurmountable opposition TO
our work came from the reputation of
charity schools, Y. n. c. A. evening
classes. They had not aimed at high.
grade instruction and had necessarily
confined their teaching to primary
books and they often were primitive,
inexperienced or careless in their
methods. Students attended when
they conveniently could, took one les
son or more and the larger portion OF
the classes never tried to complete
any textbook. Those classes did much
good and should not be discontinued
where it is impossible to do more erri-
cient or more complete work. But
the State of public opinion concern
ing evening schools made attendance
to them a confession that the students
were objects of charity and that the
instruction was voluntary and weak
The scholars did not expect first-class
instruction and undervalued the work
at all times. Therefore We found there
were three foes stubbornly working
together to overthrow our efforts to
establish a high.grade institution Tor
the Industrious poor. The young peo-
pie themselves felt il humiliation
to attend a college with any evening
classes. and all established institutions
and public schools looked upon the
claim by our college to do high-graae
work as a hypocritical pretense. we
were associated in the minds OF educa.
tors and editors with great numper OIL
sham evening institutions, whicn
taught ANYTHING and sold unauthorized
diplomas and degrees. Then, too the
well.eauipped teachers Of accredited
schools and colleges feared the loss
of standing among the teaching pro-
fession il they accepted a CHAIR IN
our governmental institution. Thou-
sands of our most gifted young men
borrowed the money 10 go elsewhere
IN pet the same instruction which they
could obtain at home at no expense
College ExcIusiveness
The autocratic notions which were
insinuatinR themselves dangerously
info American college societies before
This great war awoke again the pa
triotic fever of the people were making
the old colleges more aristocratic ana
creating a kind of college exclusive
ness which looked down or the less
favored common people. An actuai
effort was made by influential bodies
+ ~ mako the number Of hours scholar
had spent at an accredited college the
b, only test of mis- fitness for a profes'
sion. The real merit of scholar $
ability or knowledge was not testeu
by what he actually knew or ON an eN'
animation into wfat he could do out
il he had paid his tuition at one OF
those older colleges and had stayed
about the place for four years ne
was accountable to the aristocracy un'
crnsciously growing into power. The
states and the nation fell into the un'
American trap and refused often 10
helm institutions because II was clear
that those institutions needed heip
"Giye only to the rich" was openly
advocated in reference to educational
work. The movement had no leader
but was an insidious, dangerous uh,
democratic tendency. The rich and
the educated were in collusion to Keep
down the poor and create an Amerl
can peasant class and to make I'M
pa ssable the gulf between the aristoc
racy and the laboring classes.
Our experience was costly and dis
heartening. Often 1t seemed as II we
had uselessly lifted the last pound and
that strength was utterly exhausted
Al to "Conwelrs Folly"
We began our work by raising thu
money TO pay the teachers and givins
All instruction free. We had crowded
classrooms at the opening Of the year
and hardly a dozen were left to TAKE
the examination at the end OF thu
wear. We began with lectures ant
blackboard illustrations, leaving thu
amount of actual learning largely Il
the student. Some learned much ant
were ashamed of their associates
some learned little; while the ma
tority dropped out or went away tt
colleges where the high tuition elm
mated the most needy class. Deserted
defeated, money wasted, the pres
ridiouling shortcut" schools. ant
our best friends unable to believe W,
could succeed, we went home at mid
night in tears. If we could find nov
the placard in red which some run
ming" critic pasted on the door of ou
frst schoolroom on Marvine street
glaring at the passersby and declar
ing "Conwell's Folly" there are man!
among our alumni who would gladly
give $1,000 for 1t.
Church Missed its Chance
The means which made the Univer
sity an out-and-out nonsectarian Co
lese have not been understood, ant
the history of that time may show i'm
portant lessons for the aid of others IA
Distress. The need of some kind o
public recognition was SO apparent t
ali that the workers all felt that, a
the school had been opened in Bar
tist Church building and was laugh
by Baptist teachers, the natura
and necessary procedure was to cal
a council OF the Baptist churches. ant
offer to the Church the control an
ownership Of the school. But the over
confident and overhopeful schoo
teachers suffered a reverse whicl
drove away the weak, but made tn
remnant stronger. The most infiuer
CnNWETT pHIT OSOPHY