Douglas daily dispatch., 1926-02-23
DOUGLAS DISPATCH TUESDAY MORNING FEBRUARY 2

opinion, it is essential that public
! opinion should be enlightened"
He urged it more strongly in a let
ter to the Commissioners of the Dis
trict of Columbia in 1895, and finally
he declared in his will:
THAT as it has always been a
/ source of serious regret with me to
! see the youth of these United States
! sent to foreign countries for the pur-
pose of education, often before their
minds We're formed or they had inn
bibed any adequate ideas of the hap
piness of their own, contracting too
] frequently not only habits of dissipa-
tion and extravaganza, but principles
unfriendly to republican government
and to the true and genuine liberties
of mankind, which thereafter are
rarely overcome. For these reasons
it has been my ardent wish to see q
plan devised on liberal scale which
would have a tendency to spread sys-
| tematic ideas through all parts Of
this rising empire, thereby to do
away local attachments and stata
prejudices as far as the nature OF
| things would, or indeed ought to ad.-
nit, from our national councils.
! Looking anxiously forward to the
accomplishment of so desirable an
! object as this is Tin my estimation),
my mind has not been able to con-
| templated any plan more likely 10
effect the measure than the estab.
! lishment of a university in a central
part of the United States to which
| the youth of fortune and talents from
! all y1oio hn for
| the completion of their education in
all branches of polite literature in
| arts and sciences-in acquiring know
| ledge in the principles of politics and
| good government-and Gas a. matter
| Of infinite Importance in my judg-
ment) by associating with each other
and forming friendships in Juvenile
years, be enabled to free themselves
in a proper degree from those local
prejudices and habitual jalousies
which have just been mentioned and
which when carried to excess are
never failing sources of disquietude
to the public mind and pregnant Of
mischievous consequences to this
country"
And he therefore made bequest
to the national government on condi-
ton that it cooperate in carrying out
mis- wish for na4ional university
His desire for the Increase of know
ledge was further elaborated and re-
iterated in his viii. In that instru-
ment he even provided for educating
| the slave children which he SET free
He made bequests to two academies
| besides that for the founding of
national university. Although the
/ congress failed to cooperate, so thar
! this wish was never carried into et-
feet as he had contemplated it, yet
the city of Washington has been made
the seat of no less than 10 colleges
and universities, and the larger in
stitutions all over our country are
more national than local in their
precepts and teaching.
While there has been agitation
lasting almost up to the present day
for national university, if me idea
ever prevails it will probably not be
an institution devoted to the regular
collegiate courses, but one for post
| graduate and original research work,
! for which there are such abundant
sources and opportunities already To-
Gated in the Capital City. The feder-
al government, however, has not been
remiss in the support of advanced
learning and of vocational training.
| for which it has appropriated more
than $900O0,0OO in the last 35 years,
while for general educational purpos
es it has donated about 95,000,000
acres of the public lands.
The country at large has not failed
to follow the precepts of Washington.
From the three institutions of higher
learning in existence at the time Of
his birth the number has grown to
91S, with total enrolment of over
664,00O students and over $4,000
teachers, an endowment of nearly
1915, ,000,0 900, and property value OF
over 1,O0O,000,O0O. Our elementary
and secondary schools have expanded
until they provide for more than 26,
100000 pupils and require over $4,000
teachers. In 1912 the total amount
expended yearly for all educational
purposes was about $7O6,000,000. This
has been increasing with great rapid
ity, until in 1924 it reached $2,400,-
10000 The source of this enormous
expenditure, so far as public money
is concerned, is almost entirely from
the local and state governments.
This represents the result which
has been secured by the carrying out
Of some of the most important poll
cies of our first president. 1t should
be noted that these are the policies
of peace. They are based on desire
for intellectual and moral enlighten-
ment. They are the only means by
which Observation-Disclosures suspicious,
hatreds and wars can finally be
the foundation of order, of law, and
of an advancing civilization. 1t is
these elements of domestic tranquili-
ty and foreign harmony that Wash !