The sun., 1919-08-24
What the Great War Has Taught
Colleges About Their Own Work.
Define Your Objective This Is Wars First Lesson-The
Second Is, Create Morale-Teach Men to Be Free and
to Use Freedom Wisely, and to Fight for 1t
PaSsonatelv
PaSSiOnatelV
oxrN. President of L.f.yett. College.

| ate body, have very decided views as
individuals, and so far we have been
unable to harmonize our views with
each other much less with those of
diverse trustees and alumni" But
the fact remains that the American
College Of Arts Of the last generation
has lacked definiteness Of aim. Many
Of the friends Of the College. indeed,
have felt that any coordination Of the
course of study with definite task
or purpose would vitiate the true col
lcge spirit; would introduce the utili-
tartan, the vocational point of view;
that learning for the love Of learning,
truth for truths sake, growth for
growth's sake, would disappear. They
have forgotten that even In that most
heavenly estate of which Kipling
could conceive, the artist, relieved
from lower compulsions and compro-
mlses, would still not be purposeless,
but would be drawing things "for the
God of things as they are
The first great lesson of the war
for the American College then, take
1t, is.to announce to the world, or at
least make clear to its own conscience,
what 1t is struggling for and by what
specific advances certain specific OBJ
jectives are to be attained. 1t will
not be sufficient to say in the future
as we have said in the past, the OBJ
ject Of the college is to make men, to
prepare for life, to teach men not only
to make a living but to live a life, to
be at home in the world-to know
and to enjoy-it will be necessary for
US to go more into particulars and to
tell what kind of men, what kind of
life, at home in whose world, con-
genial amid what surroundings. Just
as war, now that the mass of people
are intelligent, must seek to justify
itself In. their eyes with a moral pur-
pose, to help an outraged Belgium, to
restore a raped Alsace, to make the
world safe for democracy and for
weak nations everywhere, so the ques-
tioning, experimenting, testing spirit
of the times demands of the tra-
ditional college that it define some
what more definitely just what 1t pro-
poses to do, on pain of being passed
by for the more obvious schools of en-
gineering, business, medicine, archi-
lecture, &C., or turned over to the
devotees Of pleasure and sport. very
pleasant Monaco but of no real conse-
Quence in the world of affairs.
The American College Is the out
growth Of Christian philosophy
which rates men as unique and lndi-
viduals as each of UNREASONABLE value.
The raw material with which it deals
is human beings. 1t Is not concerned,
primarily, with imparting specific
knowledge, or with training the indl-
vidual in the knack of doing certain
things, whether It be writing, or dane
Ing, or screwing two pieces of pipe to-
gether. Nor Is 1t concerned primarily
In creating and preserving and dis
semina ting knowledge, with an un-
prejudiced attitude like that of the
University, toward all truth as of
equal interest. The College In its
truest function is school of applie,:
psychology, a school of humanity
rather than of the humanities. If the
Christian point Of view of the eternal
significance of individuals is wrong,
ii we shall be nearer the truth IL we
substitute therefor a biologic concep-
hon Of genus and species, a faith in
a natural world which knows nothing
of individuals and 10 rather careless
of types, and counts time by aeons,
then we may expect the American
College to disappear. It's reason for
existence will have passed and some
broader, more socialized institution
will take its place, motivated by quite
different aims and with a totally diff
ferent conception of its task. 1t was
| thought at one time that war might
bring about such a change. The great
General, 1t was said, must be ruthless.
never mind what the price In human
lives. If military necessity demands,
never mind what the price of human
life. When the State is in danger, it
was said, not only can law be silent
and Justice abdicate or at least tear
the bandage from her eyes according
to the old maxim, but the Christian
| doctrine of individual worth freadom