28o THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY 



boiled, but in any case he is probably warned that the shoemaker should 

 stick to his last. 



It is also unfortunately true that any criticism of the policy of the 

 administration is often resented as " a personal attack on the president." 

 A member of the faculty may question the wisdom of admitting stu- 

 dents poorly prepared, or of retaining students whose ill health makes it 

 difficult for them to do their college work, or of dismissing students 

 who have presented a petition stating what they believe to be grievances, 

 but all such questions are too often interpreted as " attacks on the 

 president." 



In one institution where autocratic rule has been carried to an intol- 

 erable degree, one of the professors at one time suggested some improve- 

 ments that might be made in the institution. He was quickly removed 

 and no protest was made by his colleagues either collectively or indi- 

 vidually because they were too timid to do so or because they were too 

 much hampered by the meager salaries paid to feel justified in running 

 the risk of removal. But in spite of apparent acquiescence in the action 

 of the president, one by one the members of a small group were dropped 

 on the suspicion of being sympathizers with the erring professor be- 

 cause known to be his personal friends. They were afterwards pursued 

 by a relentless persecution that for years prevented any of the number 

 from securing positions in the educational field for which their ability 

 and professional qualifications fitted them. 



At the time of friction between a president and members of the 

 faculty due to the unexplained demand made for the resignation of 

 several of its members, the professors involved sent to the board of 

 trustees a respectful petition asking for a full and open investigation 

 of their work. This petition was characterized by the board as " rank 

 insubordination," since a by-law of the university provided that all 

 communications from the faculty should come to the board through the 

 hands of the president. "The communication should be treated with 

 just the respect it deserves," said a member of the board of trustees in a 

 public meeting. " It is an insult to the board and to the President ; it 

 is rank discourtesy, and for one, I do not propose to stand it. I move 

 the letter be sent to the writer." "And the board concurred," is the 

 comment of the press, " smashing the right of petition at one very large 

 and full swoop." 



The policy of concealment that prevails makes it difficult for the 

 public to know what the situation really is. The public knows that 

 more than one university professor has been dismissed, or his resigna- 

 tion has been demanded " for the good of the institution," and it draws 

 the conclusion that these are examples of martyrdom in the cause of 

 academic freedom of speech. In a few instances such has been the case, 

 but in other instances, men have been relieved of their positions because 

 they have been incompetent to fill them. Such men have sometimes 



