Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1920-08-11


marily is it's debtor. Nothing will be
gained" as contemporary statesman
once remarked in n different crisis. by
leaving this essential thing unsaid."
The 1910 financial report of the chief
institution of higher learning in Phila-
dclphia, and one Of the foremost in
America. revealed deficit of S416,000,
the largest in the history of the Cniver-
sity. The half million mark is now
said to be passed. This means. more
over, that the expenditures exceed the
sum total Of income derived from all
sources. from tuition fees. beQuests and
| donations.
Not the least Of the disturbing fea
lures of the disclosure is the emphasis
placed upon the relation of money to
! spiritual and scholastic values. The
public would like to ignore this. and not
because humanity in the mass is tight
fsted. On the contrary, its impulses
are often idealistic Hence the re-
pugnance To connect cash with culture.
It would be 50 much simpler il bust
ness could be business and education
could be education. the latter soaring
to the heights Of progress on wings
fashioned Of lofty thoughts and elevat-
ing purposes.
But reality. If it be frankly faced.
dashes any such illusion. The people
Of Philadelphia and the commonwealth
OF PENNSYLVANIA must either help to fur
nish in some large. scale way the tinan.
cial fuel necessary to enable the Uni.
yersity to function properly or else
..,Ii n
illustrious institution now at the part
ing Of the ways.
Without material aid, degeneration is
inevitable. DR.. Lightner Wilmer as
serted the other day that the prevailing
low wage scale at the University IS
driving experienced instructors to seek
more lucrative fields.
Lower the faculty standard and
ardsome buildings and elaborate equip
ment typify pretensc. A decreased stu
dent hodv is the next index OF diSinte-
grafton ard the descent to obscurity and
futility is swift.
At the present moment. happily. the
corrosive process may hardly be said to
have started. The reputation Of the
University. Notwithstanding faculty
losses and the inability to replace them
fttingly. is still brilliant in the Scho'
lastic world. It's plight has not yet
affected the attendance. which ranks
with that Of three or four of the leading
colleges in the country
The immediate weakness is the bank
| balance. or rather the deficit. mat
this cannot be wiped out by carefully
devised economies or even by organlza
| tion carried 10 the pinnacle of ofhciency
| is Of course largely due to the dimin-
ished purchasing power Of the dollar
which Is another way Of charncterizing
our unpopular incubus, the high cost OF
| production.
Hence it is not merely the present
debt which is alarming, but the train
of calamitous consequences which may
issue thcrefrom The complete extin
enlistment Of this deficit, however rirhIy
welcome. would lack permanency as a
restorative. Post bellum economic con -
ditiops call for a revised post be'lum
Wow, generous and comprehensive, OF
the University and its needs.
The secretary Of the Alumni Society
| Mr.. Horace Lippincott. urges the cr'a
tion Of an endowment fund. similar 10
! those possessed by Yale and Princeton
AS a solution. He alludes also TO the
difference in the policies adopted by
Provost Harrison and Provost smith
The former was exceptionally resource
flI in winning financial support for the
| I-riyersitv from private individuals.
The latter has adhered more paruru
larIv TO the program of state ald. h"'h
methods served we'll enough amid con =
ditions that have passed. Ihls year th'
state appropriation OF S'Oo'oOo Is not
pxpeCted to cover the deot'
obviously the time has come for the
! University and the public frankly ana
vigorously 10 join in some system OF
sunnort which may consistently be fol ,
lowed and which will eliminate for good
md nil the recurrence OF crises on mn =
nual DAYS Of reckoning An unstable
noIicv will lead only to confusion and
decay. ..
Candor is among the Prerequisites
University pride, understanding anc
vet not always salutary in IT'S erect"
Las fostprpd a reluctance TO accept dom
mating state control as the price o.
financial stability.
Mr. Lippincott speaks for "onsid
cradle portion Of the graduates wh"r
no advocates the endowment remedy
Many arguments in its favor are ap
parent. Although never in tn" sIghteS
degree rich mans collrge--ind""d' th'
democracy Of the University is one O.
il. nrime virtues-there arc thousands
of alumni sufficiently wealthy to Com'
substantially to the aid Of their alm'
| mater.
Beyond these is the general public o
tho city. whose interest in the in
stitution and pride in its fine achieve
P ments are deeper than is sometimes ad
D mitted. An endowment drive, shoul'
1 one be inaugurated, ought to reject tn
k slightest tendency toward exclusiveness
t The University is an integral part 0
' PHILADELPHIA considered as civic en-
! tity. Many Of its most vital claims T.
n scholastic cminenCe are pinned upol
. this institution. In sense this com
d munity is the largest Of all coll"g
. towns. In few Of the great mrtrOpOIise
of the world are the higher eduCationa
interests so concentrated.
The failure of an endowment cam
paign. properly launched, is almost in
s conceivable Certainly no public
o sniritrd PhiladClphian cares to contcm
. n,ote such an outcome. There are un
. tapped millions here to prevent It,