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men; such an income; indeed; as may afford the means to cover the
conventional routine of such polite expenditures。 So that; in the
absence of an independent income; some sort of a business career
that promises well in the pecuniary respect becomes the necessary
recourse of the men to whom these amenities of expenditure have
become habitual through their undergraduate training。 With like
effect the mental discipline exercised by these sports and polite
events greatly favours the growth of tactful equivocation and a
guarded habit of mind; such as makes for worldly wisdom and
success in business; but which is worse than useless in the
scholar or scientist。 And further and perhaps more decisively; an
undergraduate who does his whole duty in the way of sports;
fraternities; clubs; and reputable dissipation at large; commonly
comes through his undergraduate course with a scanty and
superficial preparation for scholarly or scientific pursuits; if
any。 So that even in case he should still chance to harbour a
penchant for the pursuit of learning he will be unfit by lack of
training。
NOTES:
1。 Cf。 George T。 Ladd; 〃The Need of Administrative Changes in the
American University;〃 reprinted in University Control; by J。
McKeen Cattell; especially pp。 352…353。
2。 Cf。 George T。 Ladd; as above; pp。 351…352。
3。 Apart from the executive's need of satisfying the prejudices
of the laity in this matter; there is no ground for this
competition between the universities; either in the pecuniary
circumstances of the several establishments or in the work they
are to take care of。 So much is admitted on all hands。 But the
fact remains that no other one motive has as much to do with
shaping academic policy as this same competition for traffic。 The
cause of it appears to be very little if anything else than that
the habits of thought induced by experience in business are
uncritically carried over into academic affairs。
Critics of the present r間ime are inclined to admit that the
colleges of the land are in great part so placed as to be thrown
into competition by force of circumstances; both as to the
acquisition of funds and as to the enrolment of students。 The
point may be conceded; though with doubt and reservation; as
applies to the colleges; for the universities there is no visible
ground of such rivalry; apart from unreflecting prejudice on the
part of the laity; and an ambition for popular acclaim on the
part of the university directorate。
4。 An incumbent of executive office; recently appointed; in one
of the greater universities was at pains a few years ago to speak
his mind on this head; to the effect that the members of the
academic staff are employees in the pay of the university and
under the orders of its president; and as such they are bound to
avoid all criticism of him and his administration so long as they
continue on the pay…roll; and that if any member of the staff has
any fault to find with the conduct of affairs he must first sever
his connection with the university; before speaking his mind。
These expressions were occasioned by the underhand dismissal of a
scholar of high standing and long service; who had incurred the
displeasure of the president then in charge; by overt criticism
of the administration。 As to its general features the case might
well have been the one referred to by Professor Ladd (University
Control; as above; p。 359); though the circumstances of the
dismissal offer several details of a more discreditable character
than Professor Ladd appears to have been aware of。
5。 The strategic reason for this is the desire to retain for
graduate registration any student who might otherwise prefer to
look for graduate instruction elsewhere。 The plan has not been
found to work well; and it is still on trial。
6。 At least one such businesslike chief of bureau has seriously
endeavoured so to standardize and control the work of his staff
as to have all courses of lectures professed in the department
reduced to symmetrical and permanent shape under the form of
certified syllabi; which could then be taken over by any member
of the staff; at the discretion of the chief; and driven home in
the lecture room with the accredited pedagogical circumstance and
apparatus。 The scheme has found its way into academic anecdote;
on the lighter side; as being a project to supply standard
erudition in uniform packages; 〃guaranteed under the pure food
law; fully sterilized。 and sealed without solder or acids〃; to
which it is only necessary to 〃add hot air and serve。〃
7。 So; e。 g。; it is known to have; on occasion; became a
difficult question of inter…bureaucratic comity; whether
commercial geography belongs of right to the department of
geology or to that of economics; whether given courses in Hebrew
are equitably to be assigned to the department of Semitics or to
that of Religions; whether Church History is in fairness to be
classed with profane History or with Divinity; etc。; questions
which; except in point of departmental rivalry; have none but a
meretricious significance。
8。 Nugatory; that is; for the ostensible purpose of reducing
inter…academic rivalry and duplication。 However; there are other
matters of joint interest to the gild of university executives;
as; e。g。; the inter…academic; or inter…executive; blacklist; and
similar recondite matters of presidential courtesy and prestige;
necessary to be attended to though not necessary to be spread
abroad。
9。 The English pattern of boys' schools and gentlemanly
university residence has doubtless afforded notable guidance to
the 〃Educators〃 who have laboured for the greater gentility of
American college life; at the same time that the grave
authenticity of these English customs has at many a difficult
passage sewed opportunely to take the edge off the
gentlemen…educators' sense of shame。
10。 Illustrative instances have little value as anecdotes and not
much more as circumstantial evidence; their abundance and
outrance are such as to have depreciated their value in both
respects。 Yet to any who may not know of this traffic by familiar
contact one or two commonplace instances may perhaps not seem too
much。 So; a few years ago; in one of the greater of the new
universities; a valued member of one of the athletic teams was
retained at an allowance of 40 a month as bookkeeper to the
janitor of one of the boys' dormitories on the campus。 At the
same university and about the same