78 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY 



in the management of affairs, in the handling of men, in the planning 

 of large enterprises, have, in a small way, every chance in college that 

 the later life affords. This is apparently true, but the real situation la 

 quite different. 



In extra-curricular interests the choice of undergraduate managers 

 with all the rivalry of various clique-candidates has in the past called 

 into play the methods of the ward politician rather than those of men 

 of business ability. The system produced such woeful results, largely 

 due to incompetence and ignorance, that of late the undergraduate 

 managers have been themselves under the control of a man of tested 

 value. The large opportunity has gone, sacrificed by the students 

 themselves. In what remains, the chance is open for few comparatively, 

 and here popularity still counts for more than real ability. At best it is 

 work to be taken on in addition to the requirements of the curriculum, 

 and this fact is in itself sufficient to restrain many of the most worthy 

 from attempting more than they can do well. Further, the leaders of 

 these activities must have time to spare for their duties, an immediate 

 result of which is the elimination of all men who must earn their 

 education as they go. Often these are the most in real need of the 

 training for responsibility. And those students who carry outside work 

 requiring business ability are generally found to be spending too 

 large a portion of their time away from the work supposed to be of 

 first importance. 



What of the curriculum itself? In what way do the present courses 

 of study lead a man to find himself in the particular field under dis- 

 cussion? More than one college president has admitted the short- 

 coming, sometimes on the ground that the training in college must of 

 necessity be theoretical, sometimes that the development in the direction 

 of affairs is new and that time is required for the readjustment. It is 

 wrong to belittle the content of the courses offered for students to-day. 

 The material is without question more accurate and of greater variety 

 and amount than ever before, but, judging from the results, it does not 

 sufficiently develop in men a very important side of their natures. 

 They are not sufficiently acquainted with the actual working to produce 

 results. 



Perhaps the laboratories train students in the way of accurate anal- 

 ysis and systematic coordination. It is certain that there is opportunity 

 for such education. A quotation from a recent laboratory manual will 

 throw some light on the way in which this works out in practise. 



The forms for recording results and the outlines for computation hav« 

 abundantly justified the wisdom of their insertion in the immense saving of time 

 and energy to the busy instructor. While it has been urged by some that stu- 

 dents readily and intuitively devise explicit, symmetrical and logical arrange- 

 ments for their data and computations, such students have as yet entirely efl- 

 eaped our observation. 



