EDITOR'S TABLE. 



269 



of the situation, and for his efforts as Sec- 

 retary of the Baltimore and Ohio Employes 

 liehef Association. 



Spealdng from a close association with 

 the class of labor he seeks to benefit, it is 

 my belief that both it and the spirit of 

 our people resent a " paternal care and so- 

 licitude " while welcoming a " friendly inter- 

 est," and perhaps even a " guardian's care." 



Some of the members of his Association 

 have characterized it as " too paternal," and 

 though it has done and is doing great good, 

 not only for the Baltimore and Ohio em- 



ployes but among employes generally, as an 

 example of what can be accomplished, it is 

 well to remember that "compulsory pro- 

 vision for their future welfare " excites op- 

 position, and does not educate his " wards " 

 as would a more friendly help. 



This is indicated by the Pullman experi- 

 ment, of which the popular judgment is : 

 that it is not approved by the employes, and 

 is not so successful as to deserve imitation 

 by employers. G. C. Hewett. 



WlMIFEEDE, TVeST VrKGIKTA, I 



September 16, 1S35. ) 



EDITOR'S TABLE. 



PRESIDENT LESLETS ADDRESS. 



TUOSE of our readers wlio carelessly 

 pass by the recent discourse of Pro- 

 fessor Lesley before the American Asso- 

 ciation for the Advancement of Science 

 without reading it vrill make a bad mis- 

 take. There is not much danger of this, 

 for the address is sufficiently attractive 

 and brilliant to engage general attention. 

 Professor Lesley enforces many whole- 

 some truths upon the students and devo- 

 tees of science, and maintains a high 

 ideal of the great purpose that should 

 govern scientific pursuits. On these 

 points we can have nothing to add. 

 But there is a bearing of the whole dis- 

 course on common education which 

 should not be overlooked. His address, 

 in one of its chief aspects, is a coun- 

 terblast against "cram" in science — 

 against the mere accumulation of scien- 

 tific facts — and it is a ringing demand 

 for more persistent and concentrated 

 labor in small and unobtrusive fields of 

 investigation. His plea for what is 

 called " dead-work " in science, as con- 

 trasted with more showy performances, 

 is especially effective. But his obser- 

 vations on "the over-accumulation of 

 scientific information " have an appli- 

 cation outside the limits of strict re- 

 search. " The science of learning and 

 the science of knowledge," he says, 

 " are not quite identical ; and learning 

 has too often in the case of individuals 

 overwhelmed and smothered to death 



knowledge. The average human mind, 

 when overstocked with information, 

 acts like a general put in command of 

 an army too large for him to handle. 

 Many a vaulting scientific ambition has 

 been thus disgraced. Nor is this the 

 only danger that we run ; for the accu- 

 mulation of facts in the treasury of the 

 human brain has a natural tendency to 

 breed an intellectual avarice, a passion 

 for the piling up of masses of facts, old 

 and new, regardless of their uses." 

 " Xot only the avarice of facts, but of 

 their explanations also, may end in a 

 wealthy poverty of intellect for which 

 there is no cure." "How much we know 

 is not the best question, but how we 

 got what we know." Professor Lesley 

 touches upon the subject of general 

 education from this point of view as 

 follows : 



I do not intend to discuss the subject, 

 to define the quantity and quality of knowl- 

 edge adequate for the various classes of hu- 

 man society, or to propose any plans for its 

 distribution. All I wish to say about it is, 

 that it seems to me Nature limits both the 

 responsibilities of teachers and the rights of 

 learners more narrowly than is commonly 

 supposed. The parable of the sower is a good 

 reference for explanation. Most of the sur- 

 face of the globe is good for little else than 

 cattle-ranches or sheep-farms, and the large 

 majority of mankind must in all ages be sat- 

 isfied with the mere rudiments of learning. 

 What they want is unscholastic wisdom with 

 which to fight the fight of life, and they must 

 win it for themselvesv Only a limited num- 



