July 12, 1307] 



SCIENCE 



41 



stand upon exactly the same level; it is 

 necessary that each shall have a large con- 

 stituency ; it is necessary that all shall con- 

 nect with some schools that are below them. 

 It is imperative that all shall value the 

 man at his true worth and not reject him 

 because his preparation has lacked, an in- 

 gredient which a professor has been 

 brought up to worship. Essentially so 

 when, in case the boy has studied the sub- 

 ject in the high school, the professor is as 

 likely as otherwise to tell him that he has 

 been wrongly taught and that he must get 

 what he has learned out of his head before 

 he can start right and hope to know the 

 thing as he ought. It is necessary that all 

 shall be keen enough to see what is of hu- 

 man interest and broad enough to promote 

 every activity in which any number of 

 people may engage. 



The American university will carry the 

 benefits of scientific research to the doors 

 of the multitude. It will make healthier 

 houses and handsomer streets, richer farms 

 and safer railways, happier towns and 

 thriftier cities, through the application of 

 fundamental principles to all the activities 

 of all the people. It will train balanced 

 men and women and therefore it will pro- 

 mote sport as well as work and control the 

 conduct of students as well as open their 

 minds. It will not absolve itself from any 

 legitimate responsibilities which instructors 

 are bound to bear towards youth. It will 

 preserve the freedom of teaching, but it 

 will not tolerate freakishness or license in 

 the name of freedom of teaching. It will 

 engage in research as well as instruction, 

 but when men absolve themselves from 

 teaching for the sake of research it will 

 insist upon a grain of discovery in the 

 course of a human life. "We have a dis- 

 tinct national spirit in America. An 

 American university will understand how 

 that has come to be and what it is aiming 



at, will fall in with it, will be optimistic 

 about it, and will help it on to its fullest 

 consummation. 



I have discussed this theme here because 

 it ought to be realized by the people and 

 particularly by the universities of New 

 York ; because I think the university which 

 I have the honor to address is— quite as 

 completely as any institution in the state — 

 actuated by the spirit and outlook which 

 an American university must have, and 

 therefore because I had reason to believe 

 my discussion would have hospitality under 

 this roof. I would be false to my sense of 

 justice and my standard of public useful- 

 ness if I did not say that since my return 

 to the state it has appeared more and more 

 clearly to me that the marvelous growth of 

 Syracuse University has resulted from the 

 fact that it has been moved by the true 

 spirit of modern American university 

 progress. 



I know something of the details of uni- 

 versity evolution. I know that many 

 people have combined to produce this 

 splendid evolution. It has all come from 

 individual giving and cooperative effort. 

 The people of this thrifty inland city have 

 surely done much for it. The return upon 

 the investment will be a great one— how 

 great only a few can now foresee. The 

 Methodist church has been true to its his- 

 tory, its character and its aggressive demo- 

 cratic spirit, in the valiant support it has 

 given to this university. The donors who 

 have made its equipment possible, the trus- 

 tees who have kept it in the middle of the 

 road, the teachers who have given it tone 

 and distinction, the students and the grad- 

 uates who have given it reputation for en- 

 ergy and valor, are all entitled to a warm 

 word of commendation and congratulation 

 from an educational representative of the 

 state. And to yoii, Mr. Chancellor, for the 



