AMERICAN COLLEGE PROFESSORS. 125 



college is under no obligation whatever to the alumnus; its obligations 

 were all discharged when he graduated; on the other hand, the stu- 

 dent's pecuniary obligation increases each year, reaching its maximum 

 at his graduation. This matter can not be presented too frequently 

 or too emphatically. 



An excellent man of large means once informed the writer that he 

 would never send his grandson to a college in which tuition is free, 

 a?, he always paid for what he received. He was taken aback when 

 told that, although paying a large sum for his grandson's tuition, he 

 was still an object of charity to the extent of several hundred dollars 

 a year, the cost per student at that institution being, as the writer 

 knew, four times the fee. It is probable that in no college to-day is 

 the cost less than three times the fee, and in those with small fees the 

 cost is proportionately very much greater. Before giving voice to a 

 demand for a share in control of college affairs, the alumnus will do well 

 tc discharge the debt of $1,000 to $1,500 which he owes to ' dear old 

 alma mater.' Were alumni to do this, the pangs of poverty would be 

 less severe in many of our colleges. 



Eeturning from this digression. It is very true that immense sums 

 have been given to colleges and universities during the last thirty years 

 and that such giving is likely to continue. Much of the money thus 

 contributed was for the founding of new institutions, too often with 

 inadequate equipment, thus making the condition worse by adding to 

 the number of struggling colleges; much was given for the erection of 

 buildings, most of them needed, but not in all cases useful in proportion 

 to the cost and, until recently, not always endowed; much has been 

 bestowed upon the endowment of scholarships; not a little has gone 

 toward the founding of fellowships for the encouragement of graduate 

 study; some large sums have been given for the advancement of 

 outdoor athletics and intercollegiate contests; and in many cases funds 

 have been provided for the employment of instructors in new branches. 

 But unconditional gifts of money have made up only a small part of 

 the whole, and even where these have been given, those in charge of 

 affairs have rarely seen fit to strengthen the institution by increasing 

 salaries, preferring rather to ' expand ' by creating new chairs to be 

 filled by young men at, to speak within limits, modest salaries. 

 In all probability, there are institutions with a net endowment not 

 so great as it was thirty years ago, though showing a great increase in 

 number of students and instructors as well as in property. The aver- 

 age salary is much less and the president's energies are devoted to 

 raising money to meet the annual deficit. So it has come about that 

 the college president of our day has duties very different from those 

 of thirty years ago. The loss of the old-time president has been a dis- 

 aster and the good of our colleges requires that he be brought back. 

 There should be an officer at the head of the business affairs and 



