BRAIN-POWER AND HISTORY. S3 



In Germany there are twenty-two universities; in France, under 

 recent legislation, fifteen; in Italy, twenty-one. It is difficult to 

 give the number in the United States, because it is clear, from the 

 tables given in the Eeport of the Commissioner of Education, that 

 some colleges are more imjDortant than some universities, and both give 

 the degree of Ph.D. But of universities in title we have 134. Among 

 these, there are forty-six with more than fifty professors and instructors, 

 and thirteen with more than 150. I will take that figure. 



Suppose we consider the United States and Germany our chief com- 

 mercial competitors, and apply the Admiralty principle. We should 

 require, allowing for population, eight additional universities at the 

 very lowest estimate. 



We see, then, that instead of having universities equaling in num- 

 ber those of two of our chief competitors together, they are by no 

 means equal to those of either of them singly. 



After this statement of the facts, any one who has belief in the 

 importance of higher education will have no difficulty in understanding 

 the origin of the present condition of British industry and its constant 

 decline, first in one direction and then in another, since the tremendous 

 efforts made in the United States and Germany began to take effect. 



If, indeed, there be anything wrong about the comparison, the error 

 can only arise from one of two sources; either the Admiralty is 

 thoughtlessly and wastefully spending money, or there is no connection 

 whatever between the higher intelligence and the prosperity of a nation. 

 I have already referred to the views of Mr. Chamberlain and Lord 

 Eosebery on this point; we know what Mr. Chamberlain has done at 

 Birmingham; we know the strenuous efforts made by the commercial 

 leaders of Manchester and Liverpool; we know, also, the opinion of 

 men of science. 



If while we spend so freely to maintain our sea-power our export 

 of manufactured articles is relatively reduced because our competitors 

 beat us in the markets of the world, what is the end of the vista thus 

 opened up to us? A Navy growing stronger every year and requiring 

 larger votes to guard our commerce and communications, and a vanish- 

 ing quantity of commerce to guard — a reduced national income to meet 

 an increasing taxation ! 



The pity is that our government has considered sea-power alone; 

 that while so completely guarding our commerce it has given no 

 thought to Que of the main conditions on which its production and 

 increase depend: a glance could have shown that other countries were 

 "building universities even faster than they were building battleships; 

 were, in fact, considering brain-power first and sea-power afterwards. 



Surely it is my duty as your president to point out the danger 

 ahead if such ignoring of the true situation should be allowed to con- 



