The New York herald., 1922-05-28

will, grow larger as our population
grows more homogeneous and watchfui
censorship becomes less necessary"
From the West Comes
Sharper Criticism of Article
The Western college president is
sharper in his criticism. After ex-
planning why he does not care 10 re-
veal his identity as a critic of the
author of THE Empty College" he
thus proceeds:
Il am obliged TO say that the views
of American cultural life published re-
Gently by contributor to THE NEW
YORK HERALD strike me as being super
fetal. The note OF lamentation uttered
by the author of them in his criti-
cism-applied generally-to what he
calls the empty college is one 10 be
expected from one who has within him,
although he may not know ii, preju-
Glces bred in the bone as a foreigner
His claim that we fail in promoting
ideals of liberty, variety. personality
and distinction is so wide that its ex-
preston defeats itself.
Without conformity to certain rules
in education as in social life the coll
lege, per Sc, could not exist. Perhaps
that statement may be accepted as a
maxim. 1t does not preclude the recog-
milton of genius in certain teachers.
And when a college is so fortunate as
to find a genius on it's faculty its
habit is to make much of him.
The difficulty is to define genius or
10 separate it from eccentricity. The
college quite rightly does not tolerate
eccentric professors, it long ago foucd
that whatever else these were they
were not in any true sense educators.
Perhaps the man who is instanced by
your contributor as being described
by the undergraduates as a nut be-
longed to this class.
But because in order that the COL
lege may do what it considers to be
its duty, which is the greatest good
TO the greatest number it seeks to
run smoothly and that may be done
only by rule Any professor who sub
stitutes his personal whim for a tried
rule is an obstruction. Surely this ad-
mits Of no argument.
This does not mean that college
faculties refuse TO consider means OF
reform and Improvement. On the con-
trary everywhere colleges are seriously
and prayerfully considering changes
of many kinds, willing to adapt them
selves TO variations of thought, feel
ing and value which possibly might
enrich the curriculum. But these
changes are not made by sensible
president and dean without deep con-
sideration being given to them.
The college of to-day is not empty
nor does it seek to grind out its stu
dents in a condition of stupid con-
formity. Instead it aims to do the
best it can for the individual and so
far as is humanity possible it seeks TO
select for him what he most needs
New blood of student and professor
brings independent ways of thought.
feeling and action and these the mod
ern college would not willingly weed
out but would cherish. Nevertheless
there must be Standardization. With
out 1t we should not accomplish a
tithe OF our present result"
| President Harry Pratt Judson OF the
| University of Chicago says OF the
Empty College" article that it i'm
| presses him as interesting rhetoric,
but so far as his knowledge goes the
/ article is not based on very wide
! collection of facts. He adds: at is
useless for me 10 discuss il, for I sus-
pect that it is a normal case OF gen.
eralization from inadequate data"
The following is the reaction to the
article of Professor OF Economics T. y.
Carver OF Harvard:
1
Soul" Says Economist, Is