Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-05-19
portunities they have and to appreciat
these opportunities"

portunities they have and to appreciate
these opportunities"
Dreadful Waste" Hit.
what do they go to college or
university for If they don't go for
scholarship" he asked. There are
good many who don't, I agree, but
those who do not, don't go for the
proper purpose, go for social reasons.
sometimes to establish themselves by
reason of the fact that they are called
college men, but those men don't under
stand what they are there for. When
q man grows as old as have. he then
feels like resorting to profanity as he
ought not to do, at the misconception
of life and the use of education and
the use of universities by these feather
headed young men. 1t is a dreadful
waste"
They don't understand that there
are three things that will make them
useful 10 themselves and the world.
One is work and hard work, another
is self-denial and third is the dis
cipline of character the practice of the
university is for. 1t is to develop char
acter, not alone for the subject himself
but for the country Of which he hopes
to be a useful part.
Il don't know what the occasion is
or has been for the slump. The war
played havoc with a great many con-
ceptions and we haven't gotten over it
yet, but the only saving strength in the
country is the high ideals and the will
ingness to sacrifice on the part of those
who lead the communities. We can't
get along without the leaders; if We do,
it is just like losing vision"
Superficialities Are AssaiIed.
Superficial Educators and education
next came under Mr.. Taft's fire:
Il suppose there are a good many
educators that know what they mean
when they use these strange words in
educa tional vocabulary, they are the
persons most free with those the recent
graduates of normal Schools" he said.
Il am very certain that were they called
upon to define in any way by which
anybody else could understand what
they mean, there would be a stir In
educational circles. We must cultivate
thoroughneSS in our education, even If
we don't go far in that education. The
trouble now Is the superficial nature Of
what we are trying to teach and we
must get our public schools and our
private schools down to a simpler cur
riculum so that when We know thing,
we know it."
Illustrating the stern discipline in the
colleges and universities Of former years
and the seriousness with which young
men went forward with a view to get
ting all they could out of the narrow
curriculum" the Chief Justice con-
tinued:
Extremes Are Raped.
II am seeking to get down to the
real thing and not dwelling in the
ethereal without knowing what we are
talking about. That is the reason why
1 yielded Il am glad l did now TO
come here. wanted to say some things
that l thought were true about our ire
mendous condition with respect to edu-
cation and with respect to the use of
our efforts to get real education and
to stimulate the raising of the standard
Of scholarship.
"Oh, it means SO much, so much to
all OF us and TO the country that We
should do that. I don't want TO criti-
CHE athletics, / don't want to criticize
a great many eXtra-curriculum duties,
but think they are carried to a great
extreme. I think there is great deal
Of time and money wasted In those
things that many of you most enjoy.
1t is all right, but when you get to my
age you will see how much more you
might have made Of the time than you
did. You will see it when you come to
adopt your profession. You will see the
| vacancies that you find in that prepa-
| ration for your profession that you get
| by general education which you will
| then look back upon and say, well, I
am sorry; I wish I had studied more at
| that time"
"Of course, you won't. What mean
is that this will go on this way. but we
can help 1t and we can avoid the i'm
mense expenditure of money that
! doesn't go for real education. Right
here in this presence we can resolve