572 CHARLES FRANKLIN DUNBAR. 



distractions from his chief task as professor iu a great institution of 

 learuin 



Professor Dunbar's career as editor, and bis administrative work in 

 Harvard University, need to be borne in mind when making an esti- 

 mate of his work >lar and man of Bcieuce. To those who knew 

 him well, nothing was more admirable in his career than the* solidity of 

 lii> scholarly attainments, the breadth of his interests, the maturity of 

 hia conclusions on his chosen subjects. It might have been expected 

 that one who bad been a busy newspaper editor, and who remained to 

 the end keeuly interested in current political happenings, should con- 

 tinue to deal largely with questions of the day, and take an active part 

 in current discussion of public issues. Professor Dunbar, however, had 

 too clear a perception of the ideals and duties of a scholar to give him- 

 selfto newspaper and periodical writing. For many years he delved in 

 the literature of political economy at large, and equipped bimself in the 

 whole range of his subject. Not only the writings of contemporary 

 economists, but those of earlier days, especially the English and French 

 authors of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and those of 

 I; mlo's school, were thoroughly examined. It is characteristic of 

 1' »or Dunbar that notwithstanding the wide scope of his reading 

 in tin- theoretic literature of political economy, he published virtually 

 nothing on this phase of the Bubject : though tin' maturity of the conclu- 

 sions derived from that reading are unmistakably evident in some of his 

 vs on the recent phases of economic theory. He regarded these 

 researcl utial to his equipment as a University teacher, partly 

 also a- preparation for the inquiries by which he hoped eventually to 

 contribute to the world's stock of knowledge and thought. 



The special subjects on which he planned to publish the results of 



arch, and to which he gave nio-t attention in the later years of his 

 life, were public finance, taxation, currency, banking. It was to t 1 

 that he had given most attention among the economic topics that pre- 

 sented tin to him as editor of the Advertiser; it was to these 



that his own bent mo-t attracted him. Hi- range of information on 



them was remarkably wide. I hie. again, his writings L'ive but I 

 mentary indication of the extent of bis attainments. He was familiar 

 with the financial history and fiscal experiences of England and Prance 

 quit ".h as with those of the United States, to which his writ- 



chiefly devoted. And not only was he familiar with the 

 fads; he was singularly skilful in interpreting them. All who had 



•c of following his courses of instruction in the University 



