JUNE 7, 1912] 
The rest of the plan seems to me no better 
than the one in use here, which has stood the 
test of use admirably. 
I rather believe in finding the right man 
and then giving him a good deal of power. 
I confess the practical workings of democratic 
systems do not inspire me with confidence. 
In short, I believe in a centralized form of 
government for universities. This is more a 
matter of personal feeling than anything I 
can back with logic. I am quite ready to 
admit that such a system may not work well 
in a great many eases, though I think it is 
satisfactory here at Harvard. If the govern- 
ment of a university is to be of a democratic 
type then I have very little to criticize in your 
circular. I don’t think a president and a 
chancellor would work very well. Why not 
have the trustees elect a president who would 
be commander-in-chief and then let there be a 
vice-president chosen by the senate to repre- 
sent the academic side on the board of trus- 
tees? As to units, twenty seems to me too 
small a number. Why not have two or three 
faculties of fifty or more each? General dis- 
cussion is a good thing. But these are minor 
points. 
I can do no better than state my own ex- 
perience in two universities, viz., Harvard and 
Toronto. First, I must say that I do not 
regard the university professor as such, as a 
progressive entity. He appears to me on the 
whole to be much less progressive than the 
average non-academic man. As a consequence 
of this feature of his psychology, it is often to 
the advantage of the institution, with which 
he happens to be connected and certainly to 
the advantage of his more progressive col- 
leagues, if he has any, that he should feel the 
spur of presidential displeasure at times. 
When I was connected with the University of 
Toronto, there were many things which badly 
needed setting right, so much so that the 
university was investigated by three royal 
commissions within a decade. The remedy 
which was finally chosen was the appointment 
of an autocratic president of the American 
SCIENCE 
897 
type. So far as I am aware the academic 
machine has worked very well since this 
change. At Harvard the forces of con- 
servatism, not to say the vires inertiw, are 
quite as strong as they are in any other uni- 
versity I have had experience of, and I happen 
to know that the academic lives of some of 
the members of the Harvard staff who may 
possibly be more progressive or energetic than 
their immediate colleagues, would scarcely be 
endurable, but for the fear of the omnipotent 
president. This is true not only of President 
Eliot’s regimé, but also of that of the present 
incumbent, President Lowell. It appears to 
me that, on the whole, autocratic powers on 
the part of a university president are a neces- 
sary evil. It does appear, however, that there 
should be some machinery which, in cases of 
extreme injustice, might exercise a veto on his 
acts. I do not think that a president having 
only a limited tenure would be valuable to the 
university, nor do I believe that it is very 
desirable to make his position less dignified 
than it is at present. A very great desid- 
eratum at the present time seems to be a pro- 
fessor’s protective association, which among 
its functions might insure its members against 
unjust loss of position, and which might also 
act as the advocate of professorial rights in a 
general way. University professors at the 
present time in American universities are too 
much at the mercy of the administration. 
I hardly feel qualified to express an opinion 
about general university organization that 
would be worth while. I will outline to you 
the organization that we have in the Harvard 
Medical School, because it seems to work satis- 
factorily under our conditions, and this may 
be of some help to you. (1) The Medical 
School has an independent budget made up of 
the income from funds given definitely to the 
Medical School, and of fees from students. 
The Medical School pays its proportionate 
share of the expenses of the general univer- 
sity, such as the president’s salary, ete. (2) 
The Medical School has its own faculty, which 
is large, as is the custom with Harvard fac- 
ulties. This faculty is presided over by the 
