SCIENTIFIC AND INDUSTRIAL EDUCATION. 175 



time there were twenty institutions calling themselves colleges and uni- 

 versities of various religious denominations clamoring at Albany for a 

 scrap of this endowment. As scrip was selling, the whole fund, had 

 not an individual come forward to " locate" it, would have amounted 

 to about $600,000. Dividing this among the twenty, there would not 

 have been enough money to give a single professorship to each. 



This the Legislature of New York saw, and, despite the pressure 

 from these institutions, it wisely determined not to fritter away the 

 fund, but to concentrate it. It recognized the fact that for primary 

 education the rule is diffusion of resources, but, for advanced educa- 

 tion, concentration, and it wisely concentrated the fund upon an insti- 

 tution known as the People's College, at Havana. 



The endowment was given to the People's College on certain con- 

 ditions. Among them, it was required that the institution should 

 have a certain amount of land, accommodations for a certain number 

 of students, a Faculty of a certain size, a certain equipment, and that 

 it should be free from incumbrance. A year went by, and these con- 

 ditions were not complied with. Still the Legislature waited, and 

 sturdily refused to yield to clamors for frittering away the fund. An- 

 other year went by, and still nothing was done ; and, what was worse, 

 it was discovered that a bill had been introduced to relieve the People's 

 College of these conditions. At this, Mr. Ezra Cornell came forward 

 and offered to pledge an endowment of $500,000 to a new institution, 

 provided the funds were transferred to it. A bill was passed charter- 

 ing such a new institution ; but, in order that full justice might be 

 done the People's College, it was allowed three months to put itself 

 in possession of such sum as the Board of Regents of the State 

 should declare equivalent to compliance with the conditions of the 

 original act. 



The Regents, after full examination, fixed the sum at less than 

 $170,000. For nearly three years, then, that institution might have 

 obtained the whole endowment had its friends, or had that locality, 

 raised for it a sum of less than $170,000. The time passed — they still 

 did nothing. Mr. Cornell then came forward and redeemed his 

 pledge; and thus was founded, for scientific, industrial, and general 

 education, the Cornell University. 



So much for the main features of the struggle toward the establish- 

 ment of what has been called the " New Education " in the United 

 States and the State of New York. 



But what is this new education ? I ask you to look first at its 

 special purpose, and finally at its general scope. And, first among 

 the special departments grouping themselves under such a system, I 

 name the College of Agriculture. 



And here let me refer to a misapprehension, which should be cor- 

 rected at the outset. For a typical example of this, I take up a paper 

 read at the recent Educational Convention at Elmira, by the Rev. Dr. 



