OXFORD ON THE UPPER GRADE 13 



American youth, who will be among the most serious com- 

 petitors of our youth in the future, are forced at an early 

 age to help themselves and that the alertness of American 

 in comparison with English workers has long been matter of 

 comment. In taking command of a situation, when difficulties 

 suddenly arise, the Englishman is probably without his equal — 

 it is his congenital quality ; but in seizing an opportunity he 

 seems to be far behind his competitors of other nations — 

 probably our school ways are much to blame for this and 

 one duty of the Universities is to promote reform in this 

 direction. It should, however, be added that the men who 

 have displayed individuality and the faculty of assuming 

 command under exceptional circumstances, as a rule, have not 

 been University scholars but rather men who have escaped 

 its influence on the intellectual side. 



At Oxford and Cambridge it would probably be far better 

 if scholarships were greatly reduced in number and the funds 

 were applied in promotion of University teaching — if the 

 University were made so attractive and efficient that it would 

 be the desire of all parents of moderate means to secure a 

 University education for their sons. 



Without the assistance of scholarships, large numbers of 

 students are now attending Universities other than Oxford and 

 Cambridge, often with greater advantage and at a cost by no 

 means so very far short of that entailed by residence at the older 

 Universities. Now that lotteries of one kind or another are 

 resorted to so freely by tradesmen of every shade to attract 

 customers, the ancient Universities might well pursue a policy 

 of altruism advisedly in deprecation of the growing selfishness 

 of the age. 



Lord Curzon in referring to the proposals that have been 

 made to destroy the prize character of scholarships remarks 

 that, if the course suggested were adopted and exhibitions 

 were confined to poor men, it appears certain that the 

 intellectual standard would deteriorate rapidly and in the long 

 run it would be found that the fairly well-to-do men with 

 some brains had been exchanged for poor men without them. 



This argument would imply that brains are only to be had 

 for money by the Universities — a sad confession if true ; more- 

 over that brains, as a rule, go with money. There is more truth 

 in the latter conclusion perhaps than appears on the surface, 



