Daniel Colt Oilman 63 



From the moment that Mr. Oilman was called to the 

 presidency of what was to be the Johns Hopkins Univer- 

 sity, there was one idea that was absolutely central in his 

 mind. It was not worth while to take this munificent 

 bequest of Johns Hopkins and do with it once more what 

 had been done so often; make one more college, or one 

 more so-called university, to do work which could be done 

 as well, or better, by existing institutions. The contribu- 

 tion of the Johns Hopkins University to the nation's 

 intellectual resources must be in the nature not of a mere 

 addition to quantity, but of an advance in quality. It 

 must be given such a character as to place America on a 

 new plane of scholarly and scientific achievement ; it must 

 undertake the task of creation and not merely that of 

 instruction. I have said that this idea was dominant in 

 his mind ; but the thought may occur to you that the idea 

 was a simple one, and might have been adopted by any 

 one. What made the real distinction of Mr. Oilman was 

 not the novelty of the idea, but the spirit that vitalized 

 the idea and converted it into a working reality. To do 

 this may seem now to have been easy ; but to those of us 

 who were in at the birth of this University, it was plain 

 enough that the qualities which were necessary to the 

 achievement, and which Mr. Oilman displayed in so 

 remarkable a degree, were qualities that are extremely 

 rare. Optimism is not, perhaps, a rare quality; but the 

 kind of optimism which constantly expects success, and 

 yet which knows that success can only come through care- 

 ful planning and full calculation of opposing forces, is 

 very rare. Courage may not be rare ; but in Mr. Oilman's 

 courage there was a certain cheerfulness and serenity that 

 made it both enduring in himself and infectious as to 

 others. Firmness and the power of command and discipline 

 may not be rare ; but they are not often found in connec- 

 tion with such quick perception of the qualities of one's 

 co-workers as to insure harmonious and willing co-opera- 

 tion. All these things, and more, Mr. Oilman had; and 



