Evening star., 1928-05-19
TEXT~OF PRESIDENTS ADDRESS
AT ANNIVERSARY OF ACADEMY

- ,
ANDovEls. Mass. May 10. -speRk
| ing at the one hundred and fiftieth an
niverSarv of Phillips Academy, at Il
O'Clock this morning, President Coolidge
said. --~..-
MY Fellow Citizens:
1T is more than the passage of time
that brings us here to observe ana cele'
brate this anniversary Of Phillips Acad'
emY One hundred and fifty years Is
very respectable period Of modern his
tory The IalNafbsr of chartered mStl'
t0tionS &hich can claim an existence
of that length is not large The sig
nificance of this occasion, however. lies
not in the number of DAYS but IN ult
Importance Of purpose and. the magnt
tueie Of accomplishment.
This institution had its beginnings
in a very interesting era. The morning
mist al Lexington and Concord nae
scarcely been diSSipated The Declara-
ton of Independence was still novelty
Liberty and independence were IN the
making. A new nation was coming INTO
existence Men were turning toward the
dawn. intent upon establishing instltu-
tions stamped with their own indi-
Slduahty.
1T was a time when the teachings OF
the Puritans were becoming diSengageu
from the forms and customs with when
they had been surrounded and were
emerging into practical application IN
broader field of human affairs. Inc
principles of freedom and equality were
not only talked about, but they were
coming to be observed. The doctrine
that the individual was endowed WITH
certain inalienable rights was not new.
Under the constitution of England
the people were protected from the
power nf the crown. though LEFT almost
entirely at the mercy of the Parliament
In these revolutionary days i vAS the
individual who stood out as the. spo-
litical and social unit. Hereafter SOW
ereignty was to repoSe in him alone.
The right Of the people to govern them
selves was coming TO be practically APP
plied. That action was revolutionary.
Need of Education.
These eonuitions brought new
thoughts to mems minds. Not only were
there battles to be fought. but conSu-
tutionS to be adopted. and the mde.
pendent foundations of an enlightened
society we're TO be laid. Under these
it was but natural that
the needs of education should be can
vassed anew. If there was TO be pop
ular sovereignty. If there was to be pop
ular gosegnment, there must oe popular
soon after Its. settlement MaSSachu-
settS had started 10 found a college at
Cambridge. At about the same time
public school hadsbeen opened. But at
The outset the college was primarily. 70
train youth for the ministry and Tor
u fxNfss sspaf1fSF3 in IL
BEGINNINGS to serve, the ends of de-
but to provide learning for the
ruling classes. In the light of the revo-
lutionary day it was recognized by
thoughtful men that there were no
longer to be ruling classes. The people
we're to rule themselves. Knowing that
q college course was necessarily limited
70 a very few. 1t was seen TO be neces-
sary to extend to- larger number ad-
yantageS beyond these provided by the
public schools and tue Latin schools AS
the high school had q local and limited
field. this was 10 be done through the
of academies
THE founders of this school may
have had another motive. They were
intent on creating their own institu-
tons. Five months before the General
Court granted a charter tor & Phillips
Academy a long lixk of the prominent
men of Massachusetts. including Sam
uel Phillips, jr., HAD secured charter
for the American Academy Of Arts and
Sciences Perhaps this was to develop
into a society corresponding to the
Royal Academy. It was no doubt real
izeL that the secondary schools of Eng
land held a position which was coIsid-
cred of even more Importance than the
influence of her colleges.
"A man Of liberal culture acquainted
with the opinions of Locke and Milton
on education ike Judge Phillips. who
must have been in contact with English
Df7cerse$ Stationed in the colony, must
haH rned of the general school sys-
teri of@Mngland But whatever knOwl-
edge the founders may have had of Old
World 2BpecHlations and New World
practice. they entered on a somewhat
new field which can best be described
as resting upon sound common sense.
Promotion of Virtue.
The. new academy was TO represent
the. spirit Of the time. II stood upon
foundStions that were deeply religious.
1ts4frst and principal obiecf was de-
chre6 TO be the promotion 'oI .trae
ptety and virtue 1t provided instruc-
ton In the classics, the sciences and the
arts. While a new emphasis was laid
on the teaching of English, 1t held
otherwise 10 the regular courses in the
education of that day.
But this academy was conceived to
have a broader purpose than To serve
any profession or class, and ii was
therefore dedicated TO teaching its
students the great end and real busi-
ness of living II was 10. be ever