October 4, 1901.] 



SCIENCE. 



515 



of Education ' — a system such as this great 

 republic certainly should have without 

 further delay. 



In the words of the editor of Science, 

 issue of February 5, 1897, " A great nation- 

 al university would be the head of our 

 educational system. It would not inter- 

 fere with existing universities any more 

 than these interfere with our colleges, or 

 our colleges with our schools. Our present 

 universities consist chiefly of professional 

 schools, on the one hand, and of colleges 

 for the instruction of boys on the other. 

 They are indeed developing toward true 

 universities, but nothing could better hasten 

 and direct this development than a national 

 university." 



2. A national university could more 

 properly than other institutions, with less 

 embarrassment to the Government, and 

 with great common advantage, still further 

 utilize the resources already at Washington 

 in the form of libraries, museums, gardens, 

 laboratories and observatories, at a cost of 

 $40,000,000 to the whole people, and all of 

 which, together with the $7,000,000 a year 

 for maintenance and utilization, and the 

 possible help of scientific and practical ex- 

 perts, are, in some part, as I have said be- 

 fore, an enormous capital running to waste. 



3. A national university would power- 

 fully influence ambitious students in the 

 public schools of whatever grade, even 

 though purposing to make their college 

 studies, or even a measure of post-gradu- 

 ate study, in denominational institutions of 

 their preference. They would keep it in 

 view as the final goal, the place of final 

 preparation for special spheres of activity 

 in life. 



4. Moreover, a national university would 

 at the same time in many ways help, and 

 in nowise hinder, all the other institutions 

 of the country ; for in the first place, being 

 without general academic courses of study, 

 like a college, it would receive college and 



university graduates for special studies 

 only, leaving the general work looking to 

 purely academic degrees (certainly those 

 below the doctorate) to existing colleges 

 and universities ; and, secondly, being free 

 from both local and denominational ambi- 

 tions, it would naturally deal with all in- 

 stitutions of high rank and doing any work 

 supremely well, in a most liberal manner, 

 and in harmony with the best system of 

 cooperation that could be devised. 



5. When in full operation the national 

 university would be more effective than all 

 other institutions in keeping at home the 

 three to five thousand of our graduates who 

 now annually go abroad for the completion 

 of their studies. The honor of its approval 

 would soon come to be esteemed before 

 any that could be offered by the foreign 

 world. 



6. A national university would at length 

 attract thousands of students of high char- 

 acter and attainments from other lands, 

 whose return, after years of contact with a 

 prosperous, cultured and happy people liv- 

 ing under free institutions, would tend to 

 promote the cause of liberal government 

 everywhere. 



7. A national university would be able, 

 as would none other, to attract to its own 

 service, as lecturers, expert workers, guides, 

 and directors, many of the most gifted and 

 best qualified of those in the Government 

 service at Washington, with the triple ad- 

 vantage of economy to the university, of 

 increase of revenue to those so employed, 

 and of an improved service in the Govern- 

 ment through the added attraction thus 

 furnished to superior men and women who 

 now hesitate and ofttimes refuse to enter 

 the service because of insufficient salaries 

 and the less than satisfying dignity of 

 many positions on this very account. In 

 other words, men of genius and rare ac- 

 quirements would accept places in the Gov- 

 ernment, and of lower grade than otherwise, 



