216 MICHIGAN STATE AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE 



French, German, Italian, Russian, Hungarian, Danish, and 

 Dutch. Simultaneously it crossed the stormy Atlantic. Few 

 men had have a profounder or farther-reaching influence. 



In short, Mr. Spencer and those who espoused his views, or 

 something like them, once for all protested against the domina- 

 tion of the former ideal in education, that mental discipline was 

 the supreme thing. Knowledge, to be of worth, must not only 

 train the mind; it must also furnish it for the immediate, pressing 

 practical affairs of life. 



Parallel with the scientific and philosophical treatment of 

 education by Mr. Spencer came the movement which led to the 

 establishment of the land-grant colleges. This also originated 

 in round numbers just fifty years ago, and was a movement from 

 outside the schools. It sprang from the soul of that wonderful 

 farmer, blacksmith, village banker, and for many years influen- 

 tial member of Congress, the late Senator Justin S. Morrill of 

 Vermont. Mr. Morrill contended that Congress and the legis- 

 latures of the several states should unite in furnishing a liberal 

 and practical education. We should equip all young men and 

 all young women for success in life — some for usefulness in the 

 learned professions, others for success in the great basic, eco- 

 nomic industries. The history of the development of these land- 

 grant colleges I need not here trace, so familiar with it are we all, 

 and so profoundly convinced are we of the educational wisdom 

 and foresight of this grandmaster of public affairs. The prac- 

 tical program of Mr. Morrill, like the educational ideas of Mr. 

 Spencer, met with opposition — prevailed in spite of it. The 

 first Morrill bill was, as Dr. Abram Harris reminded us six years 

 ago, vetoed by the gentleman-president, James Buchanan; the 

 Morrill Act of 1862 was approved by the rail-splitter, Abraham 

 Lincoln. 



Happily, however, as the years have passed, the new educa- 

 tion and the old have been joining hands. The old college has 

 affected the new, and the new college has modified the old. The 



