UNIVERSITY CONTROL. 4°5 



proper province, would be so important that unless it were well per- 

 formed, that of architects and builders would be imperfect. They 

 should plan liberal things for the work, but should not leave the execu- 

 tion, as now, chiefly to one man. Under such conditions the bond 

 between the boards would be close, for in frequent conferences each 

 would become familiar with the general conditions and needs of the other, 

 so that they would work, not merely in harmony, but also with the 

 view to mutual helpfulness. 



The writer has been informed that this plan is impracticable ; that 

 it has in itself the seeds of destruction; the faculties would be self- 

 perpetuating bodies; conservatism would be crystallized; it is hard 

 enough now to get rid of incompetent or antiquated professors, it would 

 be impossible then ; available funds would be applied to salaries and not 

 to development; jealousies would paralyze the work; et cetera to the 

 end of a list which does credit to its author 's power of imagination. 



An answer in part would be Tu quoque, for certainly trustees are 

 usually self-perpetuating bodies and it is equally certain that crystal- 

 lization of conservatism in trustee boards has not been the least of the 

 difficulties with which energetic faculties have had to contend. It is 

 quite possible that salaries might be increased, or that an effort would 

 be made to increase them so that a college instructor could live in modest 

 comfort upon his salary. But there is no need of trustee supervision to 

 prevent selfish grasping of funds. Chairs have been divided, new 

 courses established, new methods introduced, the grade of instruction 

 elevated — all upon the initiative of the faculties, and this in face of the 

 fact that such expansion means decreasing salaries. 



With educational matters under control of the faculties more atten- 

 tion would be paid to the qualifications of candidates for appoint- 

 ments than to the qualifications of their supporters; there would 

 be fewer instructors of the type which some regard as burdensome; a 

 college professorship would not be a haven of rest in which a failure 

 might be anchored by his friends; expansion at the expense of efficiency 

 would cease ; there would be an end to extreme specialization in narrow 

 groups but a wiser specialization in studies of a different type. No 

 doubt mistakes, and many of them, would be made, as college professors 

 are like other men; but the faculties are less likely to err in their 

 management than are those who know very little about educational 

 affairs. 



It has been suggested that strong men would not serve as trustees; 

 but the suggested conditions would change tbe actual conditions very 

 little so far as most of the trustees are concerned. It is altogether 

 probable that able men would be much readier to serve than they 

 are now. A man who would not entrust any part of his business to 

 a college professor simply because he does not understand it, can hardly 



