JuiT 24, 1908] 



SCIENCE 



103 



jective selection on a mathematical basis, 

 the other an attempt of the foundation to 

 correct the false impression which a selec- 

 tion only on that standard might give, will 

 together present an approximately com- 

 plete statement of the financial status of 

 the teacher in the institutions of higher 

 education in the United States and 

 Canada. Nevertheless the total, number 

 of institutions which assume to deal with 

 the higher education can not be disre- 

 garded, although many of them are occu- 

 pied in a large part with education that is 

 not of a collegiate grade. While these 

 colleges of meager support and limited 

 facilities can not be grouped, as mentioned 

 before, in significant educational divisions, 

 it is evident to one who studies the coun- 

 tries as a whole that the problem of higher 

 institutions must be taken up from the 

 standpoint of the state or province as a 

 unit. The state governments have them- 

 selves in all eases a system of education 

 limited by state lines. The same denomi- 

 nations have erected colleges and universi- 

 ties in different states, so that the problem 

 of higher education is almost necessarily 

 studied from the standpoint of the state. 



Looked at from this standpoint, it is 

 evident that if the system of higher educa- 

 tion is finally to have unity, strength, and 

 thoroughness, enormous sums of money 

 must be spent to develop these numerous 

 institutions, or else many of them must be 

 in the end abandoned. One can scarcely 

 doubt that the latter course will finally 

 come about by the mere progress of events, 

 for there can be no doubt that many of 

 these institutions are wholly unnecessary. 

 They have been produced partly from a 

 genuine interest in education; partly by 

 denominational and local rivalry; some- 

 times by the enterprise of real estate 

 agents; and under a system of laws which 

 allowed any group of men to come to- 

 gether and call the institution which they 

 founded a college. There are in most 



states many more such institutions than 

 are necessary for the work of higher edu- 

 cation and the multiplication of the num- 

 ber undoubtedly lowers the general stand- 

 ard of institutions. 



Thus the State of Iowa contains six in- 

 stitutions of higher education in organic 

 connection with the Methodist Episcopal 

 Church.' Two of these, Cornell College 

 and Upper Iowa University, are both 

 under the control of the Upper Iowa Con- 

 ference of that church. The combined 

 revenues of these six institutions are only 

 a little over one fifth of the sum appro- 

 priated each year by the people for the 

 support of the state university. They 

 about equal the annual revenue of Vander- 

 bilt University. It is apparent that here 

 has been a great dissipation of energy, 

 when by a wise concentration of resources 

 the Methodists of Iowa could have built 

 up a single institution comparable with 

 the excellent facilities of Vanderbilt, and 

 able, if its organization had not been too 

 widely extended, to have been an ad- 

 mirable colleague of the state university. 

 The Presbyterian Church has also con- 

 trolled four colleges in Iowa,° whose in- 

 comes, if combined, would have been equal 

 to the incomes of Haverford or of Lafay- 

 ette. 



In Ohio the Methodist Episcopal Church 

 has founded or given its official patronage 

 to five separate institutions of learning.^" 



' Cornell College, Mount Vernon ; Momingslde 

 College, Sioux City; Simpson College, Indianola; 

 Upper Iowa University, Fayette; Iowa Wesleyan 

 University, Mount Pleasant; and Charles City 

 College, Charles City. 



' Coe College, Cedar Rapids ; Parsons College, 

 Fairfield; Buena Vista College, Storm Lake; 

 Lenox College, Hopkinton. Coe College, however, 

 with the consent of the Synod of Iowa has re- 

 cently taken into consideration an abrogation of 

 this relationship to the Presbyterian Church. 



'" Ohio Wesleyan University, Delaware ; Ohio 

 Northern University, Ada; Mount Union College, 

 Alliance; Seio College, Scio; and Baldwin Univer- 

 sity and the German Wallace College, Berea. 



