12 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. XXIII. No. 575. 



their value used to be universal and, al- 

 though the more enlightened part of the 

 public have ceased to regard the number 

 of students and lectures as the most im- 

 portant thing, the old way of estimating 

 values is still far too prevalent. At the 

 present day, the real distinction of a uni- 

 versity depends more on the amount and 

 quality of the higher work than on the 

 amount of instruction of a low grade. It 

 was supposed, a few years ago, that the 

 universities and colleges would gradually 

 differentiate themselves into classes; the 

 better endowed into institutions where the 

 higher studies would be made prominent, 

 while those with only a moderate endow- 

 ment would confine their work to the in- 

 struction of undergraduates. But it is not 

 likely that this will be the result. The 

 advent of the multi-millionaire makes ill 

 possible that at any time some very rich 

 man may leave his millions to one of the 

 poorly endowed colleges. Since any col- 

 lege may succeed in capturing the millions, 

 there is a new inducement for colleges to 

 live beyond their means rather than limit 

 themselves to what they can do well with 

 the money they actually have. In the uni- 

 versities, as in the government depart- 

 ments, there is a disposition to branch out 

 in too many directions and to believe that 

 one university must try to do everything 

 that other universities are trying to do. 

 Sooner or later there must be some limita- 

 tion to what any given university can ex- 

 pect to do; otherwise, since the amount of 

 money which even the best endowed i;ni- 

 versities can expect will never be sufficient 

 for them to do everything, some, if not 

 many, of the branches of science must be 

 kept on a starvation basis. The governing 

 bodies of universities are altogether too 

 much inclined to ask themselves the ques- 

 tion. Is there not some new subject which 

 can be introdiiced? without stopping to 

 consider the more fundamental question 



whether the subjects already included in 

 the curriculum are properly provided for. 



Briefly, the main difficulties to be met 

 with in the universities are, first, as we 

 have seen, the organic connection of a 

 studious and a non-studious body which 

 would be remedied were it possible to draw 

 the line between work of a low grade and 

 the higher studies and place those in charge 

 of the latter in an independent position. 

 Two other difficulties are the excessive de- 

 mand on the time and energy of the pro- 

 fessors by lectures and class work and, in 

 many cases, the insufficiency of the salaries. 

 In a way, the two are phases of the same 

 difficulty. If there were plenty of money 

 both would disappear. Since so large a 

 portion of the income of most universities 

 is derived from students' fees, there is a 

 tendency to pay the larger salaries to those 

 having the larger classes or, at least, those 

 with large classes feel aggrieved that the 

 fees should be spent largely on those in 

 charge of the higher studies in which there 

 must always be a few students. There is, 

 it seems to me, no better way of aiding 

 universities than by endowing chairs iii the 

 departments ■ of higher studies in which 

 there can never be many students and 

 where the amount obtained from fees is 

 hardly worth considering. 



Perhaps the most important question 

 aff'ecting the future not only of science in 

 the limited sense, but of learning of all 

 kinds in this country, is that of the proper 

 relation of the faculties of the universities 

 to the tiiistees. That the question has come 

 into prominence at the present time is due 

 to the fact that, since in business the tend- 

 ency is toward a greater concentration of 

 power in a few hands, so, if we regard edu- 

 cation as a business, the control of all edu- 

 cational questions should be in the hands of 

 a few trustees. In the universities, how- 

 ever, there is the purely financial question 

 of the management of the funds and the 



