annual bepomt—Convention. 
55 
a large number of other schools throughout the country, giving 
almost exclusive attention to the application of the sciences. Lib¬ 
eral private benefactions and state aid have in many cases been 
given to advance the interests of this practical education. 
It would be useless then to prove by argument, the benefit of 
these industrial institutions to the country. Their advantages are 
universally admitted, They have already given a great impetus 
to advancement in all industries by educating men for their pro¬ 
fessions, but the greatest harvest is still to be reaped. In the 
sudden introduction of this new educational element into schools 
and colleges, unforseen difficulties have been encountered, difficul¬ 
ties that have been proved hard to solve, because of their compli¬ 
cated nature. In an ordinary college, the methods and de¬ 
tails of its internal affairs are well established by long experi¬ 
ence. But in the management of these new colleges, nearly 
everything is tentative, and the wisdom which experience alone 
can give is still to be acquired. 
The first, and one of the most important of these unsolved 
questions is, “what are the relations between industrial and gen¬ 
eral education? Shall a course of study in these industrial col¬ 
leges consist of practical studies' only ? Shall it be purely pro¬ 
fessional, or shall there be mingled with professional, other studies, 
that are intended to develop the mind in other directions, and that 
will give to the student broader and more comprehensive notions 
of life, and will give him some correct idea of his relations to 
the world ?” 
In the act of congress for the endowment of these institutions, 
the question is left unsettled, and yet impliedly it is settled. The 
words of the act are, “ the endowment, support and maintenance, 
of at least' one college, where the leading object shall be, wdthout 
excluding other scientific and classical studies, and including mil¬ 
itary tactics, to teach such branches of learning as are related to 
agriculture and the mechanic arts, * * * in order 
to promote the liberal and practical education of the industrial 
classes, in the several pursuits and professions in life.” 
The experience of these colleges has shown that the act was 
wisely worded, the “ liberal and practical education of the indus¬ 
trial classes.” 
