. » * ,G^ \b ♦/XT* .'V <^ 'o . » * . V'^^ <►. '-'»• ^0 0- .---.V /\, "°^^-'/ *3, 102 Creation of select committee by, 1890 103 Coutinuan(;es of select comjuittee of, 1890, '91 105 Sewall, Dr. Thomas 52 Statesmen, eminent, mention of 112 Sumner, Senator Charles 68 INDEX TO HISTORICAL SUMMARY. 9 Page. Superintendents of public instruction, indorsement by 112 Tlioburu, Bishop James M., address, 1892] 108 Thornton, Hon. William, commissioner, memorial to Congress, 1796 39 Van Ness, Col. John P 45 [Van Vorst, Hooper C] 56 Verdi, Dr. Tullio de Suzzara 64 Virginia, resolutions by legislature of, in response to Washington, 1795 36 Ward, Lester F. : In International Review, 1885 85 Paper by, before American Association for Advancement of Science, 1891. 105 Washington, George, President of the United States : Prophecy of, 1775, and remarks after war 27 Messages, 1790, 1796 31,38 Letters : To John Adams, 1794 31 To Edmund Randolph, 1794 32 To District Commissioners, 1795, 1796 32, 38 To Thomas Jefferson, 1795 34 To Governor Brooke, 1795 36 To Alexander Hamilton, September 1 and 6, 1796 37, 38 Farewell address, 1796 38 Last will and testament, 1799 41 Wedgewood, Dr. W. B. : Opening of National Law School, 1870 64 Speech, Elmira, 1873 71 Welling, President James C, Columbian University, paper, 1889 95 White, Hon. Alexander, commissioner, memorial to Congress, 1796 39 White, President Andrew D., present minister to Russia : Address, Detroit, 1874 75 Papers by, in Forum, 1888-'89 88, 89, 91 Wight, Dr. O. W., preparation of bill by, 1872 68 Wilde, Hon. R. H., report as chairman, 1816 49, 51 Wilson, Hon. James, in Constitutional Convention 28 Wright, Senator G. W., speech, Elmira, 1873 70 ACTION OF THE SENATE. SESSION OF AUGUST 3^ 1892. I I Mr. Proctor. I present tlie memorial of Hon. John W. Hoyt in regard to a Na- tional University, with an accompanying document, which is a very valuable his- torical statement on that subject. I move that it be printed and referred to the Se- lect Committee to Establish the University of the United States. The motion was agreed to. Mr. Sherman. I move that 5,000 extra copies of the document be printed for the use of the Senate, and that the motion be referred to the Committee on Printing. The Vice-President. WiU the Senator from Ohio please repeat his statement? The Chair did not hear it. Mr. Sherman. The Senator from Vermont presented a memorial accompanied by a very valuable document in regard to the National University and moved that it be referred to the committee on that subject, of which I happen to be a member, and printed. I move that 5,000 extra copies inay be printed for the use of the Senate. I do not know what it will cost to print that number. I ask that the motion to print extra copies be referred to the Committee on Printing. , The Vice-President. That order Avill be made in the absence of objection. / ; SESSION OF AUGUST 5, 1892. Mr. Manderson, from the Committee on Printing, to whom was referred the fol- lowing resolution, reported it without amendment, and it was considered by unani- mous consent and agreed to : Ordered, That 5,000 additional copies of the memorial of John W. Hoyt in relation to the establishment of the University of the United States, with the accompanying paper, be printed for the use of the Senate. 11 MEMORIAL. Washington, D. C, August 5, 1892. To the Honorable tJie Senate of the United States: Responding to the request of the chairman of the Select Committee to Establish the University of the United States, for an account of what has been done hitherto in support of the proposition to found a national university in this country, together with a statement of what is now deemed desirable in this behalf from the standpoint of such eminent citizens and national organizations as are committed to that enter- prise, I have the honor to submit the accompanying paper, and pray that the same may be printed in the usual number and referred to the aforesaid committee. Very respectfully, John W. Hott. 13 A NATIONAL UNIVERSITY. The subject of a national university has received much attention among" thoughtful and patriotic citizens in all periods of our national history. Thus far, the main hindrances to the enterprise have been, less than a just appreciation of its importance by the masses of the people, coupled with the early prevalence of provincial ideas and local jealousies, besides more or less doubt concerning the constitutional powers of the Govern- ment and a supreme devotion to the work of material development, on the one hand, and on the other a misapprehension of the relation that would be sustained by a central and truly national university to existing in- stitutions of the university class. The first of these embarrassments, though somewhat slow to disap- pear, is now rai^idly ];)assing away. With the spread of educational facilities, the growth of institutions for the higher culture, the marvel- ous progress of science and learning, and the consequent increase of those discoveries, j)ractical inventions, and literary achievements, which have greatly added to the pleasures, security, and dignity o± life, there has also come a new recognition of the high value of learn, iiigj so that intelligent citizens everywhere now vie with each other in their efforts to promote its advancement. Even the uncultured have learned the theory of a necessary connection between science and prog- ress in the useful arts, and hence, for their own immediate good, as well as for the advantage of their children and for the general welfare, willingly bear a share of the light burden necessary to the upbuilding and maintenance of the higher institutions. So, too, with the construction of numberless railways and the con- stant intermingling of the people of all sections, provincialism has died a natural death. Each community has learned not only to respect every other, but to find pleasure in the prosperity of all as portions of a common country. Moreover, as a result of what has been done by the Federal Govern- ment for the safety, convenience, and progress of all, those larger views now prevail which have made us one people, more loyal than ever to the Constitution, yet wisely regarding it, as did the framers themselves, an instrument formed with a view to national development and to high rank among the nations as well as to the preservation of our liberties. 15 16 A NATIONAL UNIVERSITY. Finally, there is reason to believe that the hindrance last mentioned will yet more quickly vanish when it comes to be understood at the educational centers that the real purpose of the friends of the proposed university is not to build up a powerful rival to existing institutions, but rather, first, to supplement the instruction the college now gives in its graduate courses with the highest and fullest post- graduate teaching the world can furnish, and, secondly, to supply such facilities for original work under the guidance of master minds as are still so greatly needed, and as would enable it incidentally to supply all the collegiate institutions of the laud with persons most competent to fill their chairs of instruction, in return for the multitude of bache- lors of arts, letters, science, and philosophy that would flock to the national standard. One can hardly conceive of a more powerfid and effective agency than such an institution would be, whether for the uplifting of the schools of the whole country of every class and grade, for the advancement of science and learning in the world, or for giving to the United States a true intellectual supremacy among the nations of the earth. In view of all these facts and considerations the general question of establishing some such central university should now find an easy and ready solution. Hence this new revival of it, and this further appeal to the Congress of the United States, with a statement of what should be deemed requisite in this regard, of what has been attempted in that direction heretofore, and of what may reasonably be expected of both I)eople and Government in the interest of science and learning, and as a crowning act of this first full century of the national life. I. OFFICES OF A TRUE UNIVERSITY. While the term iiuiversity has had so great a variety of applications that it is practically without defiuiteuess of meaning, it is nevertheless manifest that it has a proper signification as well as application. Stat- ing these as simply as possible by defining the offices which such an in- stitution may be expected to fulfil, it is hardly necessary to say, first of all, that it ranks above and beyond the academic and collegiate in- stitutions, those stepping stones by which it is conveniently reached, or that its applicants for admission should have completed the courses of instruction which those classes of schools offer, and have fully gained both the priceless discipline and the very moderate attainments in knowledge which they represent. The studies therein mastered are supposed to have simply fnrnished a key with which, if intellectually capable and of resolute purpose, they who have been certificated by them may enter those vastly broader and higher fields of science, art, and philosophy which themselves bor- der on infinity. As the common schools of this country, broadly viewed, represent what is elementary in the processes of development and acquisition, so the college properly stands for what is secondary, leaving all beyond as the realm of the true university. This is well understood by those who stand at the head of the multitude of so-called universities in America. They do not need to be told of the deficiencies they represent. They are simply willing to let their growing schools for the present bear the high title of which they anxiously hope to make them some day worthy. Following the example of the German universities, several of our greater institutions have bravely thrown their forces across the line and are doing a large amount of the very best of university work ; but the bulk of work still done in the majority of such as bear the univer- sity name is the work of the college — the preparation of youth for the degree of bachelor. The university proposed will open its doors for regular courses with graduation to such only as are at least bachelors already — eventually to multitudes of such as have been honored with even the doctor's degree, since it will be able to furnish to each and to all the very ultimate of what has been achieved in every realm and department of learning. It will be not simply one more of the vast number of schools of aca- demic rank, but the crown and culmination of the now incomplete American system of education — a flowering of the magnificent growth we have been nursing through sunshine and storm these more than a hundred years. S. Mis. 222- 2 17 18 A NATIONAL UNIVERSITY. A second office of the university is that of forming a complete circle of schools of corresponding- grade for each and all of the recognized x)ro- fessions — not schools limited, like those of the present, to that modicum of attainments which barely represents the bachelor's degree, but rather such as, beginning with the bachelor's grade, would meet the demands of students aspiring to the highest possible attainments in their respec- tive departments, and confer degrees in none of lower rank than those of master and doctor. Thirdly, a university of this high character, doing post-graduate work in its central departments and in all other fields now occupied in any efficient manner by existing institutions, could properly i)erform still another function, that of building new professions, as justified in so doing, on the basis of known facts and established principles, by open- ing i^roper courses of study therein; thus lifting the so-called occupa- tions and trades out of the domain of emxnricism into the high realm of science; A fourth office of a true university is that of enlarging the field of human knowledge by means of the researches and investigations of its professors and fellows. Thus far this high function has been but XDartially i^erformed anywhere. And yet how inconceivably great are the possibilities of an institution not only ever at the fi'ont in its mastery of all that is known, nor yet by its members of genius ever at work on new i)roblems in every realm and department of the material, intellec- tual, and moral universe, and making new discoveries in aid of further progress, but also in a truly philosophic manner teaching its members the very art and science of investigation itself. In an imi)ortant sense this last-named function of the university is to be its leading one; for an institution wholly, or even very seriously, deficient in this exalted role would in no proper sense be a university at all. With the utmost completeness in all other respects there would still remain an aching void. An insatiable spirit of inquiry, an unquench- able ambition to advance the boundaries of human knowledge by new conquests in the infinite realm of the unknown, nnist pervade and will pervade an institution deserving the high title of university. It can instruct, elevate, coordinate, and originate effectively, only in propor- tion as it entitles itself to the confidence of the learned and scientific world by its sure command of all the heights and outposts, nay, in i)ro- portion as by its high courage, restless energy and skill, it adds to the sum total of human achievement. Finally, it is an important office of such a university to defend, as well as determine, the truth. Among its members there will always be moral heroes as superior to the menaces of power as to the insidious arts of the most skillful and corrupt devotees of false gods — men able to unmask error and bold to stand for the right at all hazards. The sacredness of truth, freedom of thought, and freedom of speech will be the inscription upon its portals. It will be not a light-house only, but also a bulwark of liberty and a watch-tower for the nation and the world. 11. REASONS FOR FOUNDING A NATIONAL UNIVERSITY. First of all, the task of jDlantiiig and endowing a true university is herculean, requiring an amount of means not hitherto furnished nor likely to be furnished without the help of the nation. Great munifi- cence has been practiced here and there in recent years by noble-hearted Americans, whose gifts have far eclipsed the benefactions of all other countries and times ; but the endowments thus accorded, besides being insufficient, are ever liable to be in some manner restricted, so as more or less to embarrass the administration of them. Moreover, in the na- ture of the case they usually, if not invariably, somewhat limit or pre- vent subsequent benefactions to the same end by the very terms of the donation and the naming of the institution. On the other hand, the United States, richest, most powerful, and most progressive of all the nations, could easily confer such an endow- ment on an institution of its own founding as to make it very soon fore- most in all the world in point of resources and possibilities. Nor is this all; the very giving to it the stamp of the nation, with means enough to insure its supremacy, so far from deterring any other giver, would operate as a powerful incentive to all persons of fortune desirous of promoting any kind of instruction or any line of investiga- tion by affording every assurance of security and permanency of the institution itself, by offering them the opportunity of connecting their benefactions and names euduringly with the most important, as well as most brilliant, cluster of schools on the earth, andby giving them to real- ize that high sense of dignity and honor which must attach to a perma- nent copartnership with the Government in an undertaking of the highest character possible to man or to nations of men. Secondly, that a national university of this sort would meet a vital want of American education, by supplying the head and culmination it lacks, is too manifest to require argument. At present we have a series of schools in the States quite complete, beginning with the kindergarten and ending with the university. But there the work of building has rested even until now. Viewed in all its relations and obligations, th'e proudly- styled "American system" is a truncated pyramid. A national post-graduate university is therefore a logical necessity. Without it our youth must stop short of the full measure of learning and discipline to which they aspire, or seek for them wholly outside. Nor is this all; without the final, supreme institution the whole series lacks the immeas- 19 20 A NATIONAL UNIVERSITY. urable advantage that would come of a complete coordination of all grades from the lowest to the highest, so that each link in the series below would be controlled and lifted by the regulating x)owerofthe highest, exercised through the fixing of its own standards of admission ; this, to say nothing of the further incalculable gain of having such a supreme institution as a constant source of supply for teachers of the highest qualifications to be found in the world. But, thirdly, it is more than a logical necessity from the standpoint of a complete systematic scheme; it is also a patriotic necessity. It is only a national university that could in the most eminent degree cul- tivate, strengthen, and fortify that sentiment of patriotism on which the security and future glory of the American Eepublic must depend. It was this consideration, next to the interests of learning, that so weighed with Washington that he never forgot it in his eloquent appeals to his countrymen. The gathering of youthful persons of character and scholarship from every quarter of the country, for association on the high plane of the university for a period of years, would not only make them fellows socially and in things intellectual; it would also powerfully tend to strengthen the patriotism of each and all; first by an increase of their respect, admiration, and affection for a government at once wise and so beneficent, and, secondly, by the promotion of lasting friendships among a class of representatives of diverse sections of the country cer- tain to be among the most influential of their citizens, as well as poten- tial leaders of thought and sentiment in the country at large. Possibly the present greatness of our own country, with the marked progress of some of our foremost institutions, may have diminished the force of Washington's argument as to the influence of foreign associations in weakening the patriotism of our sons who were obliged to cross the ocean for the best facilities for study ; but, on the other hand, that very greatness has become an unanswerable reason why America should now herself provide educational opportunities proportioned to her relative importance, her undeniable supremacy among the nations. The country will cordially welcome such contributions to this end as the churches, or any of them, are pleased to make, but it is hardly con- ceivable that a great nation whose aspirations look to ascendancy not only in wealth and power but also in those noble achievements which are conditioned on preeminence of the higher culture, should so neg- lect its duty as to leave this vital interest to even the best attempts of cbmpeting religious organizations, or to voluntary agencies of any sort whatsoever. The duty of the nation to meet this demand on its own account, and to meet it most thoroughly, is a solemn duty. It may not be shirked, and should not be longer postponed. Again, it is only a university with a base as broad as the nation itself, aye, as broad as universal truth, that could hope to draw upon the sym- pathies and upon the moral as well as material resources of the whole A NATIONAL UNIVERSITY. 21 American people. A university founded on denominational preferences, or any other j)references, is by that very fact largely limited in its pat- ronage to the great family of faith to which it belongs. It can not win all alike by the banner it floats. Nor can such an institution, however pure and lofty its aims, fi-ee itself utterly, if it would, from preferring that all who come to it for any purpose should accept tlie particular faith it represents. A national university need not be, and would not be, devoid of religions sentiment, since that is something which inheres in the individual soul, but it could have no special shibboleth, no ban- ner but that of trnth and virtue. To its halls all truth-seekers would be alike welcome. The great American nation owes the founding of an unbiased, independent, and truly national university to the sacred cause of impartial truth and justice. It must not force its sons and daughters of genius to enter less than the broadest as well as most exalted temple of learning that can be established with the help of un- stinted resources and the highest available wisdom. And again, the American nation owes it to the cause of republican liberty to establish such a university; since, if established, it would not only help to strengthen our own bands, but, through the influence of men of genius who would come to it from all parts of the world, become a po^verful indirect means of promoting the growth of free institutions in other lands. Finally, a great nation like ours has resting upon it the solemn obli- gation to contribute in large measure to the advancement of knowledge as a means of general human progress. To this end such a university would contribute to a degree beyond the power of calculation. Dis- coveries and inventions of every sort would greatly multiply under the force of its inspiration and systematic direction. As a consequence, the burden of toil would be earlier lightened in all civilized lands; added millions of unfettered minds would earlier find new profit as well as pleasure in the world of thought; and mankind would advance with more rapid strides towards the goal of a true civilization. Hence it was that the patriots and philanthropists of America but lately gathered in Independence Hall, for the organization of a human freedom league and for the x)urpose of maturing plans for a congress of the representa- tives of all the republics, adopted resolutions strongly supportive of the proposition to found a national university at the earliest possible day. III. REASONS FOR THE UNIVERSITY AT WASHINGTON. These are not far to seek. In tlie first place, the District of Cohinibia is the only sufficient and suitable spot within the United States where the Federal Government has exclusive and perpetual jurisdiction. Secondly, the District of Columbia, besides being in every way suita- ble as a location, is the spot designated by the Father of his Country, who was the first to propose its establishment, and who left such en- dowment as he was able for its establishment there. Moreover, Washington is far more than a "sufficient and suitable" spot for a national university. (1) It is built in the midst of one of the finest landscapes in Amer- ica — one that becomes to the lover of nature a constant source of pleas- ure and inspiration, (2) It is one of the most healthful, as well as most agreeable, locali- ties in the country — warm enough in summer, yet never so hot as some others, never intensely cold in winter; its climate, all in all, more equable than that enjoyed by other cities east of the Eocliy Mountains. (3) The city of Washington is witliout parallel in this country for the excellence of its plan; for the number of its parks, squares, triangles, and circles; for the breadth and beauty of its streets, the magnificence of its public structures, and the extent of its adornment with historic monuments and the statues of heroic men. (4) It abounds in historic associations of priceless value. One sees on every hand the private abodes and places for public activity of statesmen, orators, scholars, and scientists who have won immortal honors and added unfading luster to the American name. (5) As the city stands to-day it is hardly equaled by any other for the elegance of its private mansions; and the building of new ones, each vieing with the other, still proceeds at a steady if not rapid pace. (6) It is a desirable place for the residence of advanced students and professors, because of the unequaled proportion of its citizens eminent for culture in science, art, letters, and philosophy. (7) It is no less desirable on account of its metropolitan character. Here are gathered annually and almost constantly leading representa- tives of all geographical divisions; not only the statesmen of all sec- tions, but also the representatives of every sort of national organiza- 22 A NATIONAL ITNIVERSITY. 23 tioii. It is fast becoming- tlie rallying point for every great interest of tlie country and tbe world. (8) With its varied culture and elegance of manners, it is als^o tlie most democratic of cities. Men and wonu^n of worth and genius, whose modest means and humble abode would limit them in some other cities to the more lowly associations, are here made welcome in the costly palace of the cultured and opulent. (9) The nuiltitude of religious, charitable, and philanthropic organ- izations in active operation, with less than the average proportion of the haunts of vice, make it a comparatively safe place for advanced students whose ambition would lead them to Washington as a high seat of learning, (10) For all these reasons — for what Washington is, embraces, and represents — there is no place like it in America for the culture and sure growth of a love of country. The students here gathered from every quarter, and here taught, not alone by the university, but likewise taught and molded by the spirit and patriotic influences of the city itself, would in time return to their thousands of homes more ardent patriots, the better qualified to serve their country, the more resolute in purpose to protect it from perils of every nature and to promote its highest welfare. Thirdly, Washington has already an aggregation of facilities and op- portunities in the way of legislative bodies, courts of every class, scien- tific bureaus, and like organizations, as well as libraries, museums, art collections, laboratories, workshops, and other sources of help available to a greater or less extent, such as is hardly surpassed by any in even the Old World. Behold the inventory of them : In the Treasury Department of the United States — The Office of the Coast and Geodetic Survey. The Office of the Life-Saving Service. The Marine Hospital Service. The Bureau of Statistics. The Bureau of Engraving and Printing. In the War Department — The several military bureaus. In the ISTavy Department — The IS'aval Observatory. The Office of the Nautical Almanac. The Hydrographic Office. The Bureau of E'avigation. The Bureau of Yards and Docks. The Bureau of Ordnance. The Bureau of Construction and Repair. The Bureau of Steam Engineering. The Museum of Hygiene. The Bureau of Medicine and Surgery. The Dispensary. 24 A NATIONAL UNIVERSITY. In the Department of the Interior — The Patent Office. The Bureau of Education. The Office of the Geological Survey. The Census Office. In the Department of Agriculture — The Botanical Division, with the gardens and grounds. The Division of Vegetable Pathology. The Pomological Division. The Microscopical Division. The Chemical Division. The Ornithological Division. The Forestry Division. The Entomological Division. The Silk Section. The Experimental Stations. The Office of Statistics. The Bureau of Animal Industry. The Weather Bureau. The Agricultural Museum. Of establishments not under Departmental control — The Smithsonian Institution. The National Museum, with its twenty-two departments. The Medical Museum. The Medical Library. The Bureau of Ethnology. ^' T*Ae Light-House Board. The Commission of Fish and Fisheries. The Arsenal. The Congressional Library. The United States Botanic Garden. 'The Zoological Garden (in preparation). The Government Printing Office. The Soldiers' Home. Office of the ISTational Board of Health. Government Hospital for the Insane. The National Deaf-Mute College. Courts, District, Circuit, and Supreme. Of local institutions and establishments — The Columbian University, with its professional department of law and department of medicine. The Howard University, with its like departments. The Georgetown University, with its departments. The " National University" law school and school of medicine. The Corcoran Art Gallery. The Columbia Institution for the Deaf and Dumb. A NATIONAL UNIVERSITY. 25 Of local institutions and establishments — Continued. The Columbia Hospital for Women. The Children's Hospital. The Providence Hospital. Of learned associations of men — The Philosophical Society of Wasliington. The Anthroj)ological Society. The Biological Society. The Chemical Society. The Botanical Society. The National Geographical Society. To all of which might be added, since their annual meetings are held at Washington, the National Academy of Sciences, and the American Historical Society. Already the total valuation of the collections, literary and scientific, belonging to the Government and available for purposes of instruction, is over $30,000,000; the aggregate expenditures for the care and use of them in the work of the Government, nearly $4,000,000 annually. And the collections are rapidly growing. The Congressional Library, already the largest in the New World, having long since outgrown its present accommodations, is soon to be l)ut in possession of the finest library building on the face of the earth and will then rapidly advance to its proper rank by the side of those great collections at London and Paris. The Smithsonian Institution, having relations of exchange with every government, institution, and society of importance in the world, is pre- pared to offer to the University, when established, unparalleled ad- vantages in the departments of natural history and the arts. Fourth. We have at Washington, in all departments of the Govern- ment, nearly a thousand experts in a great number of classes or branches of service, from the shops in the navy-yard to the Supreme Court itself; the whole body of them constituting the most important cluster of men of genius and rare attainments in the world. Hundreds of these men could serve a great university, either as lecturers and instructors, or by furtherance of its scientific work in some other way; thus greatly aid- ing it, while also adding something to their very moderate regular in- comes, and gaining new inspiration for a still better service in their usual rounds, if not, indeed, for the supreme work of new discovery. For a great and powerful nation to allow all these vast and varied resources to remain indefinitely without the fullest possible use in the interest of science and learning, while at the same time multitudes of its citizens are suffering irreparable loss for want of them, is incom- prehensible. It is certainly the worst economy conceivable and seems hardly less than criminal. Fifth. Washington is becoming not only the most beautiful large city in America, as well as one of the most healthful, and also a favorite 26 A NATIONAL UNIVERSITY. place of residence for people of talent, culture, aud fortune; it is also to be tlie seat of many institutions of learning; adding to the universi- ties already tliere, witli the several law and other professional schools, which have made it an important educational center, great institutions of the university rank for the Catholic and Methodist churches, and probably for yet other religious bodies. Plant there, in the midst of all these, a national university, with its great central faculties of art, let- ters, science, and philosophy, its high departments of the mathematical and physical sciences, of applied chemistry, of mining aud metallurgy, of civil and mechanical engineering, of topographical and hydrograph- ical engineering, of architecture, of geology and mineralogy, of the bio- logical sciences, of agriculture, of sanitation, of medicine, of jurispru- dence, of education, of commerce, of the social and political sciences, with its superior schools of every other sort, bringing into relations with it the navy and military schools as well, and there will also come the great theological schools of every denomination, each w4th its inde- I)endent control, yet each borrowing from the university in many de- partments, and in turn strengthening it by augmentation of numbers consecrated to high aims, and giving to it that increased invigoration which comes of the attrition of intellectual forces. Sixth. Since Wasliington is the seat of government for the nation, it is for the interest of good government that the representatives of the people who concentrate there should have the benefit of such an atmos- phere and of such personal contact as would be afforded by a university city. Larger information, broader views, and loftier aims would be theirs, even the ablest and best of them, by reason of the influences that would envelop them even as the earth is enveloiDed in its own ocean of ether. Seventh. The presence of a great university in the national capital would have a direct influence on the character of the i)eople's repre- sentation in Congress; encouraging men of the highest type, of highest culture, and of purest aspirations to seek these positions of so great im- portance to the country and to the cause of good government every- where, and yet from which some may now shrink because of the sacri- fices involved. Last of all, the presence of a great national university at the seat of government, with all it involves of opportunity, intellectual associa- tion, social refinement, and moral dignity, would tend to insure to the United States such representation from foreign courts as would yet further improve the tone of the national capital, while in an important manner adding to the influence of our country in all matters of diplo- matic intercourse and in the satisfactory adjustment of international questions. lY. SUMMARY OF EFFORTS IN THE PAST. A summary of the notable efforts hitherto made in behalf of a national university would probably surprise even those most familiar with the history of education. While it can hardly be doubted that others than those herein noted have been made, it is nevertheless true that great care has been taken to make the memorandum complete, and to present the steps known to have been taken in due chronological order, begin- ning with the few important words to that end in Gen. AVashington's headquarters at Cambridge, and ending with the resolutions recently adopted by the Human Freedom League in old Indei^eudence Hall, and bj" the General Committee of Three Hundred charged with the duty of arranging for a Pan-Eepublic Congress, to be held in 1893. Passing such known efforts in simple review, we note: I. The suggestion of Samuel Blodget, afterwards author of the first formal American work on i^olitical economy, in the presence of Gen. Washington, Gen. GreenOj and Maj. William Blodget, in Washington's military camp at Cambridge, in October, 1775 — a suggestion made in answer to remarks upon the damage the militia were doing to the col- leges in which they were quartered, and in the following words : Well, to make amends for these iujiiries, I hope after our war yve shall erect a noble national university at which the youth of all the world may be proud to receive in- structions.' II. The important words of Gen. Washington in response to the fore- going, namely: Young man, you are a prophet, inspired to speah ivliat I am confident will one day he realized. III. The yet more memorable remark of Washington after the Eevo- lutionary war, the permanent location of the national capital, and a most careful consideration of the university interest, to wit: While the work of establishing a national university may be properly deferred until Congress is comfortably accommodated and the city has so far grown as to be prejiared for it, the enterprise must not he forgotten; and I trust that I have not omitted to take such, measures as ivill at all events secure the entire ohject in time. (Referring to his intended bequest.) IV. The strenuous efforts of James Madison and Charles C. Picker- ing, doubtless with the earnest encouragement of Washington, and with 1 Samuel Blodget's "Economica," p. 22. 27 28 A NATIONAL UNIVERSITY. tlie active support of Beiijauiiu Frankliu, James Wilsou, William Sam- uel Johnson, James Eutledge, and yet others of its distinguished mem- bers, in the Constitutional Convention of 1787, who desired to have provision for a national university expressly made in the Constitution itself — efforts only at length discontinued in deference to the general opinion that the power to establish such an institution was sufficiently implied. Following is a correct summary of the j)roceedings on this subject in the convention, as recorded by James Madison: May 29, 1787. — Mr. Charles Pickering laid before the House the draft of a Federal Government, which he had prepared, to be agreed upon between the free and inde- pendent States of America : The legislature shall have power * * * ******* To establish and provide for a national university at the seat of government of the United States. ^ *****»'* August IS, 17S7. — In convention Mr. Madison submitted, in order to be referred to the Committee of Detail, the following powers j)roposed to be added to those of the general legislature : * * * To establish a university .^ #**#*## Septeniher 14, 1787. — Mr. Madison and Mr. Pickering moved to insert in the list of powers voted in August a power to establish a university in which no preference or distinction should be allowed on account of religion.^ Mr. Wilson and others supported the motion, but Gouverneur Morris strongly insisted that such addition to the Constitution would be a superfluity, since "the exclusive power at the seat of government would reach the object." This view was shared by enough members to defeat the proposition; Pennsylvania, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Mr. Johnson, of Connecticut, voting for it as a means of making the university more sure, and Massachusetts, Il^ew Hampshire, ISTew Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Georgia, and Mr. Sher- man, of Connecticut, voting in the negative. Not one Avord appears to have been said against the desirability of the proposed university. V. The argument and appeal of Dr. Benjamin Rush, signer of the Declaration of Independence and a leading scientist of his time: (1) In his address to the people of the United States, in 1787, among other things, strongly arguing for a Federal university, as a means of securing to the i)eople an education suited to the needs of the country, a true university with post-graduate scholarships, and fellowshix3S in connection with the consular service, and an educated civil service generally. (2) A year later, in another appeal through the Pennsylvania Ga- zette, in which are found the following passages : Your government can not be executed ; it is too extensive for a republic. It is contrary to the habits of the people, say the enemies of the Constitution of the United States. However opposite to the opinions and wishes of a majority of the citizens • Madison Papers, II, 740. 2;Madison Papers, III, 1354. » Madison Papers, HI, 1577. A NATIONAL UNIVERSITY. 29 of the United States these declarations and predictions may be, they will certainly come to pass, unless the people are prepared for onr new form of goverument by an education adapted to the new and peculiar situation of our country. To eftect this great and necessary work let one of the first acts of the new Congress be to estab- lish within the district to bo allotted for them, a Federal university, into which the youth of the United States shall be received after they have finished their studies and taken degrees in the colleges of tlieir resxiective States. * * * Should this plan of a Federal universitj', or one like it, be adopted, then will be- gin the golden age of the United States. While the business of education in Europe consists in lectures upon the ruius of Palmyra and the antiquities of Herculaneum, or in dispute about Hebrew points, Greek particles, or the accent and quantity of the Roman language, the youth of America will be employed in acquiring tliose branches of knowledge which increase the convenience of life, lessen human misery, improve our country, promote population, exalt the human understanding, and establish do- mestic, social, and political happiness. Let it not be said. This is not the time for such a literary and political establish- ment. Let us first restore public credit. * * * Let us regulate our militia, let us build our navy, aud let us protect and extend our commerce. * * *^ This is false reasoning. We shall never restore public credit, regulate our militia, build a navy, or revive our commerce until we remove the ignorance and prejudices and change the habits of our citizens, and this can never be done until we inspire them with Federal principles, which can only be effected by our young men meeting and spendiug two or three years together in a national university, and afterwards dis- seminating their knowledge and principles through every county, town, and village of the United States. — [Republished by Dr. Goode, 1790.] VI. The efforts of the newspaper press diiriDg the closing years of the last century, as reported by Samuel Blodget in his work entitled " Economic^," — efforts so many that in speaking of them he remarks: It woiild be an endless task] and require volumes to hold all that has been written in favor of a Federal heart and university in our perodical papers since 1775. As examples, extracts are taken from some of tlie newspaper articles quoted by Blodget ^ as published September, 1787. If a Federal university should be established I shall advance my humble opiuion on the plan; here it is enough to observe that the institution mu.st be simple, com- plete, and grand. The great science of politics requires a ijarticular professorship, and a person qualified for this place must be one of the first characters in the United States. A mere financier or ciAdlian is not a politician; this philosophic character must understand morals, war, finance, commerce, manufactures, agriculture, police, philosophy; he must have a perfect view of all the great aifairs of a nation in their whole extent and intimate connection. *f * * The belles lettres or elegant literature claim also particular attention. These are both in the ancient and modem stile called humaniora, because they humanize and refine the human heart. They are not merely ornamental, but extremely useful by ennobling those affections which are the bands of civil society ; and by qualifying- men in several respects for all the important offices of government. * * * Natural philosophy and mathematics are the same everywhere, but moral and sen- timental literature has a great influence on manners and government. A critical in- quiry into the species and forms of learniug most proper for America would be a no- ble object to a man of genius and political knowledge. * * * America must have her own sterling, even in learning ; let her estailisli an academy of belles lettres; of this every fine genius in the Union should be a member; it must be central, and under the patronage of the Federal power. lEconomica, Appendix, pp. iv-vii. 30 A NATIONAL UNIVERSITY. From tlie Independent Gazetteer, PMladelpMa, 1788. No. 548 : A gentleman under the signature of Nestor, some months since, gave the public a hint for erecting a Federal university. How much this will promote learning in general is evident from the situation of this young country, whose pecuniary and literary resources can not yet be great enough for more than one iUustrious assemhly of the muses. It would be an excellent institution for promoting Federal sentiments. In the happy spring of youth all our affections bloom — the high sense of honor, the Avarmth of friendship, the glow of jiatriotic virtue there animate the enrap- tured soul; sublime and elegant literature there has its highest relish, retines and exalts these noble jiassions. What glorious effects may not then a nation expect from a concourse of her best sons at the temple of wisdom ! Society in the sweet enjoyment of wisdom, literature, and the many social pleasures of an academic life will create a mutual endearment and form those charming friendships that will con- tinue to the grave. When after a finished education they depart to their different stations and places of residence they will be so many ca-pital linlcs of the Federal Union; so many stately columns under the grand fabric; so many bright luminaries to shed a radiance through the whole Federal system, and so many powerful centripetal forces to give eternal stability. YII, In this connection may also be cited the following from The American Museum, October, 1789 : Whether viewed by the contemi^lative eye of the philosopher or fanned by the more active mind of the politician and legislator, the happiness arising to society from the progress of science in the world presents the most pleasing consequences as our encouragement to establish institutions for the education of youth in every branch of literature. No country is more indebted to the cause of learning than America. To the well-informed mind of her citizens does she owe her present im- portant rank in the scale of nations ; to this is she indebted for her unparalleled advances to greatness and empire, and on this does the preservation of her future liberties and all the invaluable rights of human nature essentially depend. « * * America, from her local situation, possesses greater advantages for the promotion of literature and the arts than have marked any other nation in the early stages of its political existence, not being subject to the constant inroads of barbarians or the tyranny of suj)erstitiou, nor interrupted by the frequent din of arms, ever hostile to the arts. * * * While the lesser schools and every literary institution, however small, must be thought worthy the attention of Government, I hope to see the establishment of a Federal university. It is an idea which has been heretofore suggested, and which presages much fu.ture advantage to the public. Such a university may be erected in a central situation of the Union, under the management of able instructors, to which the students graduating at the different State colleges may repair to finish their education, by remaining two or three years, and pi'incipally directing their studies to the political interests of the country, the great object of legislation and national jurisprudence. As we have taken oux station among the other nations of the world, it is highly proper we should form on national principles, which can be best done by promoting such institutions as have a tendencj' to remos^e local views and habits and beget mutual confidence, esteem, and good fellowship between those who * * * must rise or fall together. The institution above alluded to, I think, will be hapiiily calculated to answer those valuable purposes and have the most beneficial effects in a political view. * * * It remains for America, by an early attention to the encouragement of every art and science, and the cultivation of the human mind to the highest pitch of im- provement, to fit the inhabitants of this Avestern world for the enjoyment of that freedom and independence for which they have so nobly fought, and which wiU A NATIONAL UNIVERSITY. 31 never be wrested from them while they iiubibe with their milk the first principles of civil liberty and are uniformly educated in au abhorrence of every attempt that may be formed to deprive them of this mighty boon of heaven.' VIII. The words of President Washington in his address to Congress on January 8, 1790 : Nor am I less persuaded that you will agree wilh me in the opinion that there is nothing which can better deserve your patronage than the promotion of science and literature. Knowledge is, in every country, the surest basis of happiness. In one in which the measures of government receive their impressions so immediately from the sense of the conuuunity as in ours it is proportionably essential. To the secur- ity of a free constitution it contributes in various ways — by convincing those who are interested with the public administration that every valuable end of govern- ment is best answered by the enlightened confidence of the people and by teachino- the people themselves to know and to value their own rights ; to discern and provide - against invasions of them; to distinguish between oppression and the necessary ex- ercise of lawful authority, between brethren, proceeding from a disregard to their convenience, and those resulting from the inevitable exigencies of society ; to dis- criminate the spirit of liberty from that of licentiousness, cherishing the first and avoiding the last; and uniting a speedy but temperate A'igilance against encroach- ments with an inviolable respect for the laws. AVhether this desirable object will be best promoted by affording aids to seminaries of learning already established, by the institution of a national university, or by any other expedients, will be worthy of a place in the deliberations of the legislature.^ IX. The Senate's concnrring response of January 11, 1790, to Presi- dent Washington's message of January 8, iDreceding. Literature and science are essential to the preservation of a fair constitution ; the measures of government should therefore bo calculated to strengthen the confidence that is due to that important truth.'' X. The address of the House of Representatives, on January 12, 1790, in answer to the President's message of January 8. AVe concur with yon in the the sentiment that agriculture, commerce, and manufac- tures are entitled to legislative i)rotection, and that the promotion of science and literature will contribute to the security of a free government. In the progress of our deliberations we shall not lose sight of objects so worthy of our regard.* XI. President Washington's letter of IS'ovember 27, 1701, to John Adams, Vice-President of the United States, relative to the i)roj)osi- tiou of Thomas Jefferson to imi)ort the Genevan faculty of learned men as a nucleus for a national university : I have not been able to give the papers herewith enclosed more than a hasty read ing, returning them without delay that you may offer the perusal of them to whom- soever you should think proper. The picture drawn in them of the Genevese is really interesting and affecting. The proposition of transplanting the members entire of the university of that place to America, with the acquisition of means to establish the same, and to be accompanied by a considerable emigration, is impor- tant, requiring more consideration than under the circumstances of the moment I am able to bestow upon it. 1 American Museum, Vol. 6, pp. 290, 291. ^Id., p. 936. * Annals of Congress, 1st Cong., 2d sess., p. 933. "ild.jp. 1052. 32 A NATIONAL UNIVERKITY. That a national university in this country is a thing to be desired has always been my decided opinion, and the appropriation of ground and of lands for it in the Federal City has long been contemplated and talked of; but how matured or how far the transportation of an entire seminary of foreigners, who may not understand our language, can be assimilated therein is more than I am prepared to give an opinion upon, or indeed how far funds in either case are attainable. **■><■ I shall at any leisure after the session is fairly opened take pleasure in a full and free consultation with you on the subject, being with much esteem and regard, etc' XII. President Washington's letter of December 15, 1794, to Ednnmd Randolph, Secretary of State, requesting his assistance, and that of Mr. James Madison, in maturing the measures proper to be adopted by him in disposing of the stocks designed to begin the endowment of the proposed national university : For the reasons mentioned to you the other day, namely, the Virginia Assembly being in session, and a plan being on foot for establishing a seminary of learning upon an extensive scale in the Federal City, it would oblige me if you and Mr. Madi- son would endeavor to mature the measures which will be proper for me to pursue in order to bring my designs into view as soon as you can make it convenient to your- selves. I do not know that the enclosed, or sentiments similar to them, are proper to be engrafted in the communications which are to be made to the legislature of Virginia, or to the gentlemen who are named as trustees of the seminary which is proposed to be established in the Federal City ; but as it is an extract of what is contained in my will on this subject, I send it merely for consideration. The shares in the different navigations are to be located and applied in the manner which has been the subject of conversation. ^ XIII. Washington's formal letter of January 28, 1795, to the Com- missioners of the District of Columbia, plainly announcing his intention to contribute a considerable sum towards the founding of a university IDCculiarly American in teachings; in which letter he said: A plan for the establishment of a university in the Federal city has frequently been the subject of conversation. « * * It has always been a source of serious reflection and sincere regret with me that the youth of the United States should be sent to foreign countries for the purpose of education. Although there are doubtless many, under these circumstances, who escape the danger of contracting principles unfavorable to republican govern- ment, yet we ought to deprecate the hazard attending ardent and susceptible minds from being too strongly and too easily prepossessed in favor of other political sys- tems before they are capable of appreciating their own. For this reason I have greatly wished to see a plan adopted by which the arts, sciences, and belles-lettres could be taught in their fullest extent, thereby embrac- ing all the advantages of European tuition with the means of acquiring the liberal knowledge which is necessary to qualify our citizens«for the exigencies of public as well as private life, and (which with me is a consideration of great magnitude) by assembling the youth from the different parts of this rising republic, contributing from their intercourse an interchange of information to the removal of prejudices which might perhaps sometimes arise from local circumstances. The Federal city, from its centrality and the advantages which in other respects it must have over any other place in the United States, ought to be preferred as a ' Writings of Washington, Sparks, XI, 1. '-'Id., p. 2. A NATIONAL UNIVERSITY. 33 proper site for such a university. And if a plan can be adopted upon a scale as ex- tensive as I have described, and the execution of it should commence under favor- able auspices in a reasonable time with a fair prospect of success. I will grant In perpetuity fifty shares in the navigation of the Potomac Eiver toward the endow- ment of it. What annuity will arise from these shares when the navigation is in full opera- tion can at this time be only conjectured, and those who are acquainted with it can form as good a judgment as myself. As the design of this university has assumed no form with which lam acquainted, and as I am equally ignorant who the persons are who have taken or are disposed to take the maturing of the plan upon themselves, I have been at a loss to whom I should make the communication of my intentions. If the Commissioners of the Federal city have any particular agency in bringing the matter forward, then the information which I now give to them is in proper course. If, on the other hand, they have no more to do in it than others who may be desirous of seeing so important a measure carried into eifect, they will be so good as to excuse my using them as the medium for disclosing these my intentions ; because it appears neces- sary that the funds for the establishment and support of the institution should be known to the promoters of it, and I see no mode more eligible for announcing my purpose. For these reasons I give j'ou the trouble of this address, and the assur- ance of being, etc. ' XIV, The indirect approval of tlie national university proposition by Thomas Jefferson, in his letter of February 23, 1795, to Washington on the subject of transferring to this country the faculty of the College of Geneva, Switzerland, in which he said : You were formerly deliberating on the purpose to which you should apply the shares in the Potomac and James River companies preseuted to you by our Assembly, and you did me the honor of asking me to think on the subject. As well as I remember, some academical institution was thought to offer the best application of the money. Should you have finally decided in favor of this, a circumstance has taken place which would render the present moment the most advantageous to carry it into exe- cution by giving to it at the outset such an eclat and such solid advantage as would insure a very general concourse to it of the youths from all our States, and probably from the other parts of America, which are free enough to adopt it. The persecution which has taken place at Geneva has demolished the college of that place, which was, in a great measure, supported by the former government. The colleges of Geneva and Edinburg were considered as the tAVO eyes of Europe in matters of science, inso- much that no other pretended to any rivalship with either. Edinburg has been the most famous in medicine during the life of Cullen; but Geneva most so in the other branches of science and much the most resorted to from the continent of Europe, because the French language was that which was used. A Mr. D'lvernois, a Genevan, and a man of science, known as the author of a history of that republic, has proposed the transplanting of that college in a body to America. He has written to me on the subject, as he has also done to Mr. Adams, as he was formerly known to us both, giving us the details of his views for effecting it. Proba- bly these have been communicated to you by Mr. Adams, as D'lvernois desired should be done, but lest they should not have been communicated, I will take the liberty of doing it. His plan, I think, would go to about ten or twelve professor- ships. He names to me the following professors as likely, if not certain, to embrace the plan. * * * 1 Sparks, xi, 14. S. Mis. 222 3 34 A NATIONAL UNIVERSITY. It could not be expected tliat any proposition from strangers tmacquainted with our means and our wants, could jump at once into a perfect accommodation with these. Biit those presented to us would seem to trend on and are cajiable of modifica- tions reconcilable perhaps to the vicAvs of both i)arties. (1) We can Avell dispense with her second and third colleges, the trial being too jiartial for our extensive country, and the second sufficiently and better provided for already by our public and private grammar schools. * * * (2) We are not to count on raising the money from lands, and consequently avo must give up the proposal of the colony of Geneva farmers. But the wealth of Gen- eva in money being notorious and the class of moneyed men being that wliicli the new government are trying to get rid of, it is probable tluit a capital sum could be borrowed on the credit of the fund under consitleration sufficient to meet the first expenses of the transplantation and establishment, and to supply also the deficiency of revenue till the profits of the shares shall become sufficiently superior to the sup- port of the college to rejiay the sums borrowed. (3) The composition of the academy can not be settled there. It must be adapted to our circumstances, and can therefore only be fixed between them and persons here acquainted with those circumstances, and conferring for the purpose after their ar- rival here. For a country so marked for agriculture as ours, I should think no pro- fessorship so important as one not mentioned by them —a professor of agriculture — who, before the students should leave the college, should carry them through a course of lectures on the principle and practice of agriculture; and that this pro- fessor should come from no country but England. Indeed, I should mark Young as the man to be obtained. These, however, are modifications to be left till their arrival here. A question would arise as to the place of the establishment. As far as I can learn it is thought just that the State which gives the [first] revenue should be most con- sidered in the uses to which it is appropriated. But I suppose that their expecta- tions would be satisfied by a location within their limits, and that this might be so far from the Federal city as normal considerations would recommend, and yet near enough to it to be viewed as an appendage of that, and that the splendor of the two objects would reflect usefully on each other. Circumstances Iiave already consumed much of the time allowed us. Should you think the proposition can be brought at all withiu your views, your determination, as soon as more important occupations will admit of it, Avould require to be con- A'^eyed as early as possible to M. DTA^ernois, now in London, lest my last letter should throw the parties into other engagements. ' XV. President Washington's letter of Marcli 15, 1795, to Thomas Jefferson, in answer to inquiries of Febrnary 23: I received your letter of the 23d ultimo, but not at so early a period as might have been expected from the date of it. My mind has always been more disposed to apply the shares iu the inland navigation of the Potomac and James Rivers, which Avere left to my disposal by the Legislature of Virginia, toAvards the endoAvmeut of a university in tlie United States than to any other object it has contemplated. In pursuance of this idea, and understanding that other means are in embryo' for estab- lishing so useful a seminary in the Federal City, I did, on the 28th of January last, announce to the commissioners thereof my intention of vesting in perpetuity the fifty shares I held under that act in the naAngation of the Potomac, as an additional means of carrying the plan iuto effect, provided it should bo adopted on a scale so liberal as to extend to and embrace a complete system of education. I had little hesitation in giving the Federal City a preference OA'er all other places for the institution, for the following reasons: First, on account of its being the i^er- 1 Sparks, xi, 473. A NATIONAL UNIVERSITY. 35 manent seat of the Goverumeut of this Union, and where tlie laws and policy of it must be better understood than in any local part thereof. Secondly, because of its cen- trality. Thirdly, because one-half (or near it) of the District of Columbia is within the commonwealth of Virginia, and the whole of the State not inconvenient thereto. Fourthly, because as a part of the endowment, it would be useful, but alone would be inadequate to that eud. Fiftlily, because many advantages, I con- ceive, would result from the jurisdiction which the general government will have over it, which no other sjiot would jjossess. And lastly, as the seminary is contem- plated for the conijiletiou of education and study of the sciences, not for boys in their rudiments, it will afford the students an opportunity of attendinjr the debates in Congress, and thereby becoming more liberally and better acquainted with the principles of law and government. My judgment and my wishes point equally strong to the application of the James River shares to the same subject at the same phice; but, considering the source from whence they were derived, I have, in the letter I am writing to the executive of Vir- ginia on this subject, left the application of them to a seminary within the State, to be located by the legislature. Hence, you will perceive that I have in a degree anticipated your proposition. I was restrained from going the Avhole length of the suggestion by the following con- siderations : First, I did not know to what extent or when any plan would be so matured for the establishment of a university, as would enable any assurances to be given to the ai)plicatiou of M. D'lvernois. Secondly, the propriety of transplanting the professors in a body (from Geneva) might be questioned for several reasons* among others, because they might not all be good characters nor all sufficiently ac- quainted with our language. And again, having been at variance with the leading party of their country, the measure might be considered as an aristocratical movement by more than those who, without any just cause that I can discover, are continually sounding the bell of aristocracy. And thirdly, because it might preclude some of the first professors in other countries from a participation, among whom some of the most celebrated characters in Scotland, in this line, might be obtained. Something, but of what nature I am unable to inform you, has been written by Mr. Adams to M. D'lvernois. Never having viewed my intended donation as more than part of the means that were to set this establishment on foot, I did not incline to go too far in the encouragement of professors before the plan should assume a more formal sliape, much less to induce an entire college to mlorate. The enclosed is the answer I have received from the commissioners, from which and the ideas I have here expressed, you will be enabled to decide on the best communi- catioii to be made to M. D'lvernois. My letter to the commissioners has bound me to the fulfilment of what is therein engaged, and if the legislature of Virpinia on considering the subject, should view it in the same light as I do, the James River shares will be added threto, for I tliink one good institution of this sort is to be preferred to two imperfect ones, which, without other aid than the shares in both navigations, is more likely to fall through than to succeed upon the plan I contem- plate, which is, in 3, few words, to supersede the necessity of sending the youth of this country abroad for the purpose of education, where too often the principles and habits unfriendly to republican government are imbibed, and not easily discarded. Instituting such a one of our own as will answer the end, and associating them in the same seminary, will contribute to wear off those prejudices and unreasonable jealousies which prevent or weaken friendships and impair the harmony of the Union, i Mr. Jefferson himself was finally convinced of tlie impracticability of the D'lvernois plan; and yet his interest in the national university increased with the years, as will appear from his ofiBcial support as iSparkSj xi, X9. 36 A NATIONAL UNIVERSITY. president. His lieart was indeed set upon a university for Virginia, but lie was nevertlieless ready, and all tlie more ready, on that account to promote the founding of a culminating institution at Washington, to be established and maintained by the National Government. XVI. President Washington's letter of Marcli 16, 1795, to Governor Brooke, of Virginia, concerning the disposition to be made of the shares in the Potomac Company, finally accepted by him for x^ublic use: It is "with, indescribable regret that I have seen the youth of the United States migrating to foreign countries in order to acquire the liigher branches of erudition and to obtain a Ivuowledge of the sciences. Although it Avould be injustice to many to pronounce the certainty of their imbibing maxims not congenial to republicanism, it must nevertheless be admitted that a serious danger is encountered by sending abroad among other political systems those who have not well learned the value of their own. ' The time is therefore come when a j)lan of universal edtication ought to be adopted in the United States. Not only do the exigencies of public and j)rivate life demand it, but if it should ever be apprehended that prejudice would be entertained in one part of the Union against the other, an efficacious remedy will be to assemble the youth of every part under such circumstances as will, by freedom of intercourse and collision of sentiment, give to their minds the direction of truth, philanthropy, and mutual conciliation. It has been rejiresented that a university corresponding with these ideas is con- templated to be built in the Federal City, and that it will receive considerable en- dowments. This position is so eligible from its centrality, so convenient to Vir- ginia, by whose legislature the shares were granted and in which part of the Federal District stands, and combines so many other conveniences, that I have determined to invest the Potomac shares in that iiniversity. Presuming it to be more agreeable to the general assembly of Virginia that the shares in the James Eiver Company should be assessed for a similar object in some part of that State, I intend to allot them for a seminary to be erected at such place as they shall deem most proper. I am disposed to believe that a seminary of learn- ing upon an enlarged plan, but yet not coming up to the full idea of a university, is an institution to be preferred for the position which is to be chosen. The students who wish to pursue the whole range of science may pass with advantage from the seminary to the university, and the former by a due relation may be rendered coop- erative with the latter. I can not, however, dissemble my opinion that if all the shares were conferred on a university it would become far more important than Avhen they are divided ; and I have been constrained from concentring them in the same place merely by my anx- iety to reconcile a particular attention to Virginia with a great good, in which she will abundantly share in common with the rest of the United States. I must beg the favor of your excellency to lay this letter before that honorable body at their aext session, in order that I may appropriate the James Eiver shares to the lilace which they may prefer, i XVII. The action of the Virginia legislature, on December 1, 1795, in responding to the foregoing communication of Washington to Governor Brooke. (1) By passing at once the following resolutions, to wit: Resolved, therefore, That the ai)propriation by the said George Washington of the aforesaid shares in the Potomac Comi)any to the university intended to be erected I Sparks, xi, 22. A NATIONAL UNIVERSITY. 37 in the Federal City is raaile in a manner most worthy of pnhlic regard, and of the approbation of this Commonwealth. Resolved also, That he be reqnested to appropriate the aforesaid shares in the James River Company to a seminary at such place in the upper country as he may deem most convenient to a majority of the inhabitants thereof. ' (2) By also declaring that — The plan contemplated, of erecting a university in the Federal City, where the jouth of the several States may be assembled and the course of their education finished, deserves the countenance and sujiport of each State. XVIII. The further argument for a university and the importance of its early establishment, contained in President Washington's letter of September 1, 1796, to Secretary of State Alexander Hamilton, wherein he expresses regret that the Secretary had deemed it advisable to omit from the farewell address, then in preparation, the reference to a na- tional university, which- he had seen fit to include in the rough draft sent to himf in which letter he said: I mean education generally, as one of the surest means of enlightening and giving just views of thinking to our citizens, but particularly the establishment of a uni- versity, where the youth of all parts of the United States might receive the polish of erudition in the arts, sciences, and belles-lettres, and where those who were disposed to run a political course might not only be instructed in the theory and principles, bnt (this seminary being at the seat of the General Government where the legisla- ture would be in session half the year, and the interests and politics of the nation would be discussed) would lay the surest foundation for the practical pai't also. But that which would render it of the highest importance, in my opinion, is that at the Juvenal period of life, when friendships are formed and habits established that stick by one, the youth or young men from different parts of the United States would be assembled together, and would by degrees discover that there was not that cause for those jealousies and prejudices which one part of the Union had imbibed against another. Of course sentiments of more liberality in the general policy of the country would result from it. What but the mixing of jieople from different parts of the United States during the war rubbed off these impressions? A century in the ordi- nary intercourse would not have accomplished what the seven years' association in arms did; but that ceasing, prejudices are beginning to revive again, and never will be eradicated so effectually by any other means as the Intimate Intercourse of char- acters in early life, who, in all j)robability, will be at the head of the counsels of this country in a more advanced stage it. To show that this is no new idea of mine, I may appeal to my early communica- tions to Congress, and to prove how seriously I have reflected on it since, and how well- disposed I bave been and still am to contribute my aid towards carrying the meas- ure Into effect, I inclose you an extract of a letter from me to the governor of Vii*- ginia on this subject, and a copy of the resolutions of the legislature of that State in consequence thereof. I have not the smallest doubt that this donation (when the navigation is iu com- plete oijeratlon, which it will be in less than two years) will amount to 1,200 or 1,500 pounds sterling a year, and become a rapidly increasing fund. The i^roprie- tors of the Federal City ha^^e talked of doing something handsome towards it like- wise, and if Congress would appropriate some of the western lands to the same tises funds sufficient and of the most permanent and increasing sort might be so established as to invite the ablest j)rofessors in Europe to conduct it.^ 1 Sparks, xi, 25, note. ^ Works of Alex. Hamilton, vi, 147. 38 A NATIONAL UNIVERSITY. XIX. The second letter of Wasliingtou to the Secretary of State on this same subject, on September C, 1796, in which, while acqniescing in the view of Hamilton, he not only confesses his donbt as to the wisdom of omitting his proposed national nniversity paragraphs from the farewell address, but manifests anew, and more touch in gly than else- where, his deep and abiding interest in the subject: If yon think that the idea of a nniversity had better be reserved for tlie speech at the opening of tlie session, I am content to defer the conuuunica-tion of it nntil that period; bnt, even in that case, I wouid pray you, as soon as convenient, to malce a draft for tlie occasion predicated on tlie ideas with which you have been fur- nished, looking, a,t the same time, into what was said on this head in my second speech to the first Congress, merely with a view to see what was said on the subject at that time; and this, yon will perceive, was not so much to the point as I want to express now, though it may, if proijer, be glanced at, to show that the subject had caught my attention early. But, to be candid, I much question whether a recommendation of this measure to the legislature will have a better effect now than formerly. It may show, indeed, ray sense of its importance, and that it is a sufficient inducement with me to bring the matter before the public in some shape or another at the closing scenes of my political exit. My object for proposing to insert it where I did (if not improper) was to set the people ruminating on the importance of the measure, as the most likely means of bringing it to pass.' \ XX. Washington's Farewell Address, on September 17, 179G, wherein, without specializing upon tins one particular point, on which he had, as above, spoken " once for all," he said: Promote then, as a subject of primary importance, institutions for the general dif- fusion of knowledge. In proportion as the structure of government gives force to public opinion it is essential that public opinion shall be enlightened.^ XXI. Washington's letter to the commissioners of the Federal Dis- trict, on October 21, 1796, announcing his tinal decision as to the grounds to be set ajmrt for the i)uri)Oses of the national university: According to my promise I have given the several matters contained in your letter of the 1st instant the best consideration I am able. The following is the result, subject, however, to alterations, if upon fuller investi- gation and the discussion I mean to have with you on these topics on my way to Philadelphia I should find cause therefor.^ [Designation of the lands chosen.] XXII. The eighth annual message of President George Washington, delivered December 7, 1796, in which he said : I have heretofore proposed to the consideration of Congress the expediency of estab- lishing a national university and also a military academy. The desirableness of both these institutions has so constantly increased with every new view I have taken on the subject that I can not omit the opportunity of once for all recalling your attention to them. The assembly to which I address myself is too enlightened not to be fully sensible how much a flourishing state of the arbs and sciences con- tributes to material prosperity and reputation. True it is that our country, much to its honor, contains many seminaries of learning highly respectable and useful ; but the funds upon which they rest are too narrow to command the ablest professors, in the dift'erenfc departments of liberal knowledge, for the institution contemplated, 1 Hamilton's Works, vi, 149, 150. » Id., p. 322. * Sparks, xii, 14. A NATIONAL UNIVERSITY. 39 though they wouhl l)c excellent auxiliaries. Among the motives to such an insti- tution, the assimilation of the principles, opinions, and manners of our countrymen, by the common education of a portion of our youth from every quarter, will deserve attention. The more homogeneous our citizens can bo made in these i^articulars, the greater will be our prospect of permanent union; and a primarj'- object of such a national institution shouUl be the education of our youth in the science of goveru- ment. In a republic what species of knowledge can be equally important, and what duty more pressing on its legislature than to patronize apian for communicating it to those who are to be the guardians of the future liberties of the country? '■ XXIII. The approval of tlie proposition by the Senate of the United States, in its address of December 10, 1790, to President Washington, saying, as it did unanimonslj'- : \\A- national university may be converted to the most useful purposes; the science of legislation being so essentially dependent on the endowments of the mind, the public interests must receive effectual aid from the general diffusion of knowledge; and the United States will assume a more dignified station among the nations of the earth by the successful cultivation of the higher branches of learning. ^ XXIV. The memorial of Gnstavns Scott, William Thornton, and Alexander White, commissioners appointed nnder the "Act to establish the temporary and permanent seat of the Grovernmeut of the United States," and to whom also was referred that part of the President's speech relating to a national nniversity; said memorial presented on December 12, 1796, and being as follows, to wit: To the RonorahJp the Congress of the United States of America: The Commissioners appointed under the act entitled "An act for estublishing the temporary seat of the Government of the United States," respectfully represent: That the institution of a national university within the United States has been the subject of much conversation ; that all men seem to agree in the utility of the measure, but that no effectual means have hitherto been i)roposed to accomplish it; that recent transactions seem to call upon them in a more particular manner than on their fellow-citizens at large to promote this desirable object; they therefore take the liberty to state that after the temporary and permanent seat of the Go-s'ernment of the United States was located by the President, agreeably to the act of Congress above mentioned, the proprietors of the lands adjacent to and including the sites designated for the public buildings ceded a large territory for the purpose of a Federal city, and by their deeds of cession authorized the President of the United States for the time being to appropriate such portions thereof as he shoxild deem necessary to public use. In virtue of this power, the President has apxiropriated 19 acres 1 rood and 21 perches, part of the land so ceded, for the site of a national uni- versity. That he has likewise declared to them his intention to grant, in perpetuity, fifty shares in the navigation of the Potomac River as soon as the system assumes a shape which will enable him to do it with effect; and that they have no doubt when that event shall take plice, but many liberal donations will be made as well in Europe as in America ; that the money actnally paid on these fifty shares is 5,000 j)ounds ster- ling; that the navigation is now nearly completed; and that all who are acquainted with the river Potomac and the adjacent country are sensible that the produce of« these shares will be very great. They do not think it necessary to dilate on a sub- ject in respect to which there seems to be but one voice. The preservation of the morals and of the political principles of our youth; the savings of the expense of foreign education ; the drawing to our shores the youth 'Annals, 4th Cong., 2d sess., p. 1519. * Annals, 4th Cong., 2d sess., p. 1694. 40 A NATIONAL UNIVEESITY. of other countries, particularly those attached, to republican government, and the proportionate accession of wealth; the removal, or at least the diminution, of those local prejudices which at present exist in the several States, by the uniformity of education, and the opportunity of a free interchuuge of sentiment and information among the youth from all the various points of the Union, which would consequently take place, may, with certainty, be accounted among the benefits resulting from such an institution. We flatter ourselves it is only necessary to bring this subject within the view of the Federal legislature. We think you will eagerly seize the oc- casion to extend to it youv jiatronage, to give birth to an institution which may perpetuate and endear your names to the latest posterity. How far it would be proper to go at the present moment we presume not to de- termine, but would bog leave to observe that, although the ultimate organization of the institution may be postponed to a future period, when the means of establish- ing and supporting it should be more fully ascertained, yet much good will arise from a law authorizing proper persons to receive pecuniary donations and to hold estates, real and personal, which may be granted by deed or devised by last Avill and testament, for the use of the intended establishment, with proper regula- tious for securing the due application of the moneys paid. Without some provisions of this kind (to the establishing of which we consider the Federal legislature alone competent) the benevolent wishes of the virtuous and well disposed will be rendered abortive. Having performed Avhat a sense of duty strongly impressed upon us to perform, we, with great respect, submit the consideration of the premises to your houorable body, with the further observation that the relative state of Europe and America seems to render this a favorable era for the commencement of the work. Whether the flames of war shall long continue to rage within the bounds of the former, or whether they shall be extinguished by a speedy peace, the learned and the wealthy in those unfortunate regions will seek an asylum from future oppression in our more happy country, many of whom will, no doubt, be among the foremost to promote those useful arts, the benefits of which they so well understand. ^ In presenting the foregoing memorial Mr. Madison warmly indorsed the same: Observing that it had been the subject of much conversation, but no efl'ectual nujasures had been adopted toward its accomplishment, that a portion of land suffi- cient for the buildings, together with fifty shares on the Potomac River, fast becom- ing very valuable, had been appropriated by tfhe President of the United States, that there would doubtless be many liberal donations and subscriptions both in this country and in Euroj)e toward its support, and that it Avould also introduce youths from other countries and tend to the general wealth of this country by the more general dissemination of useful knowledge. Tlie record adds : Mr. Madison moved that it be referred to a select committee, and he conceived that it would be proper for the same committee to take up that point of the Presi- dent's speech which relates to the same subject. Mr. W. Smith wished to inquire of the gentleToan from Virginia, Avhether it would not be more orderly for the memorial to lie on the table until that part of the President's speech came up under discussion in the House. He suggested this idea from the consideration that it would look more respectful to the Chief Magistrate to let it come from him as he had recommended it to the attention of the House in his address. Mr. Madison replied that it would be more consistent with order for the memorial to go through a select committee. 2 * * * The motion passed, and a committee of three members was appointed. 1 Annals, 4th Cong., 2d sess., p. 1591. ^Id.. pp. 1600, 1601, 1694-7, 1704-11. A NATIONAL UNIVERSITY. 41 XXV. Tlie affirmative actiou of James Madison on December 21, 1796, and of the committee to whom was referred the said memorial of the commissioners aforesaid, and of which committee he was chairman, in reporting back such memorial together with the following resolution: ^ Resolved, That it is expedient at present tliat authority slionltl be given, as prayed for by the said memorial, to proper persons to receive and hold in trust pecuniary dona- tions in aid of the appropriations already made towards the establishment of a uni- Tersity within the District of Colnmbia.' This resolution was made the order of the day for the Monday fol- lowing, Avhen it was called up and discussed, laid over, and discussed again and again until, on the 27th of December, by a vote of 37 to 36, it was T)ostponed until certain information could be obtained from the legislature of Maryland, and was not again considered. XXVI. The cordial support by John Adams of the general principles of according aid to progress in science and learning, as shown — (1) By his part in the establishment of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, incorporated by the legislature of Massachusetts, in 1780. (2) By his support of the propositions of Madison and Pickering to put a provision for a national university into the Constitution of the United States. (See Xo. IV.) (3) By the spirit of his inaugural address of March 4, 1797, referring as it did with usual warmth to his — Love of science and letters and a wish to patronize every rational eifort to encour- age schools, colleges, and universities, academies, andevery institution for propagat- ing knowledge, virtue, and religion among all classes of the people, not only for the benign influence on the happiness of life in all its stages and classes, and of society in all its forms, but as the only means of preserving our Constitution from its natural enemies, the spirit of sophistry, the spirit of party, the spirit of intrigue, the profligacy of corrujition, and the pestilence of foreign influence.^ (4) By the warm hospitality he is known to have extended to the subject of a national university whenever introduced. That he did not directly and explicitly recommend the establishment of such an institution was. manifestly because he deemed the time and circumstances unpropitious and did not wish to make a fruitless attemj)t. XXVII. Washington's last will and testament, July 9, 1799 : It has always been a source of serious regret with me to see the youth of these United States sent to foreign couiitries for the purpose of education, often before their minds were formed, or they had imbibed any adequate ideas of the happiness of their own ; contracting too frequently principles unfriendly to republican govern- ment, and to the true and genuine liberties of mankind ; which, thereafter, are rarely overcome. For these reasons it has been my ardent wish to see a plan devised on a liberal scale, which would have a tendency to spread systematic ideas through all the parts of this rising empire, thereby to do away local attachments and State prej- 1 American State Papers, No. 91. * Annals, 4th Cong., 2d sess., p. 1585. 42 A NATIONAL UNIVERSITY. ndices, so far as the nature of things Avonkl, or indeed onght to, admit, from onr national councils. Looking anxiously forward to the accomplishment of so desira- ble an object as this is (in my estimation), my mind has not been able to contemplate any plan more likely to effect the measure, than the establishment of a university in a central part of the United States, to which the youths of fortune and talents from all parts thereof might be sent for the completion of their education in all the branches of polite literature; in arts and sciences, in acquiring knowledge in the" principles of politics and good government, and (as a matter of infinite importance, in my judgment) by associating with each other, and forming friendships in juve- nile years, be enabled to free themselves in a proper degree from those local prejudices and habitual jealousies which have just been mentioned, and which, when carried to excess, are never failing sources of disquietude to the public mind, and preg- nant of mischievous consequences to this country: under these impressions, so fully dilated, '^ * * I give and bequeath in perpetuity the fifty shares fvalue, $500 each) which I hold in the Potomac Company (under the aforesaid acts of the legislature of Virginia) toward the endowment of a university to be established in the District of Colum- bia under the auspices of the General Government, if that Government should in- cline to extend a fostering hand toward it; and until such a seminary is established and the funds arising on these shares shall be required for its support, my further desire is that the profit accruing therefrom shall, whenever dividends are made, be laid out in purchasing stock in the Bank of Columbia, or some other bank at the discretion of my executors, or by the Treasurer of the United States for the time being, under the direction of Congress; and the dividends proceeding from the pur- chase of such stock is to be invested in more stock, and so on until a sum adequate to the accomplishment of this object is obtained.' Would it not be a very proper tiling for tlie Congress of tlie United States, as the fiduciary of so sacred a trust, to institute without further delay an inquiry into the whole subject of what has become of the prop- erty interests thus committed to its keeping"'? And in case it should be found impracticable to recover what has thus been lost througli neglect, could the Grovernment justly do less than to make it good, both the principal and the compound interest enjoined, by according such ag- gregate sum as a part of what will be required as a foundation for the university so wisely planned by Washington"? XXVIII. The memorial of Samuel Blodget, presented to the Con- gress of the United States Monday, January 10, 1803, as published by himself in Economica: Mr. Van Ness presented a representation from Samuel Blodget on the subject of a national university, as follows : The memorial of Samuel Blodget, late supervisor of the city of Washington, rep- resents, that owing his appointment chiefly to his zeal in forming several probation- ary plans for a national university, he conceived it an indispensable duty, after the death of Washington, to follow the commanding advice and noble example of the common father of his country, so irresistibly portrayed in his farewell address, and in the clause of his will annexed to his liberal donation therefor. In thus call- ing, most respectfully, the attention of your honorable body to this part of the will of Washington, he fulfills a pronuse made' in behalf of more than one thousand sub- scribers to the same object, whose respectable names accompany this memorial, with • Sparks, i, 572. A NATIONAL UNIVERSITY. 43 a request that a committee may be aiipointed to consider Tvliat portion of the public lots, and of lands in tke western territory of the United States, shall be appropriated by Congress to this important institution, in addition to the contents of either of the sites already contemplated therefor within the city of Washington, by Wash- ington himself, and by the commissioners thereof. And further, to consider the expediency (should it comport with the monumental plan to be adopted) of erecting the statue of 1783, or, in lieu tlieref, any appropriate and characteristic equestrian statue of the original founder of the national university, as a beautiful centerpiece for the entire plan, to be surrounded by halls and colleges as they may be built in succession by the fund to which the whole people of America are now so liberally and honorably contributing by voluntary subscriptions from Maine to Georgia, in- clusive, thus virtually following an ancient custom of the original Americans, when men, women, and children all carried a stone to the monumeiital pile of a be- loved chief. It is humbly conceived that no further aid will be necessary for your honorable body to give till in your wisdom it may be deemed proper to follow the sublime and prophetic advice of Washington, and to assume the entire direction of the most im- portant object ever contemplated in the miited eiforts of all parties, persuasions, and classes of the American people, under a firm belief that the governmental plan and synopsis thereof will be maturely considered and wisely adapted to promote the views of the sage and provident Washington, namely, "to do away with local attach- ments and State prejudices, as far as the nature of things would or indeed ought to admit, from our national councils;" and, in short, to promote a true amor pair 'uv, as well as the advancement of new arts and universal science, in all useful knowledge, while "our youth, by associating with each other for these purposes, and forming friendships in their juvenile years, will free themselves from those narrow local prejudices which, when carried to excess, are never-failing sources of disquiet to the public mind and pregnant of the most mischievous consequenoes to this country." Such are the principles under which this sublime institution, founded by Washing- ton, and indubitably the best monument to his memory, is now rapidly progress- ing, to the immortal honor of the American name; nor does it require uncommon in- spiration to foretell, that so long as it shall continue true that parents are naturally attached to the most amiable of their offspring, so long will the founders throughout the Union, themselves and their posterity, delight to preserve a noble fabric, which in itself v;'ill unite the most sublime points that can with reason interest a generovrs, industrioirs, and an enlightened people, and equally endear them to their country and to each other. And so long as the divine principles that gave birth and strength to the infancy of the university may continue, so long by turning the tide of emi- gration in search of learning shall the American character be the pride and boast of the liberal and learned of all nations and the dread of every foe to human excel- lence. A synopsis for the university, uniting with it a plan for a free college, adopting and combining therewith the interest of the existing seminaries throughout the Union, accompany this memorial, together with descriptions or duplicates of several monumental plans, which will remain before the present committee of subscribers till Congress may think proper to assume the entire direction of this object, in con- formity with the ardent wishes and earnest advice so irresistibly enforced by Wash- ington. 1 XXIX. The memorial of Samuel Blodget, presented to the House of Eepresentatives on December 23, 1805, and" thus referred to in the an- nals of Congress : A memorial was received from Samuel Blodget, representing that subscriptions for a university at Washington have already been made to the number of eighteen 1 Economica, Api^endix, j). xii. 44 A NATIONAL UNIVERSITY. thoTisand and a snm received amounting to $30,000, and requesting Congress to des- ignate the site, with the lots or lands that may be intended therefor, and to grant such further patronage as they may think proper. ^ Reference of the memorial was made to a select committee of fiv^e, whose report appears not to have been submitted. XXX. The earnest efforts of Minister John Barlow for the founding, by Congress, of a great university, as shown — (1) By his letters to President Jefferson and others, while represent- ing our country at the court of France. (3) By his " Prospectus of a ISTational Institution to be established in the United States," which opens with these words : The project for erecting a university at the seat of the Federal Government is brought forward at a happy moment and on liberal principles. We may therefore reasonably hope for an extensive endowment from the munificence of individuals as well as from Government itself. This expectation will naturally lead us to en- large our ideas on the subject, and to give a greater scope to its practical operation tlian has usually been contemplated in institutions of a similar nature. Two distinct objects, Avhich in other countries have been kept asunder, may and ought to be united; they are both of great national importance, and by being em- braced in the same institution they will aid each other in their acquisition. These are the advancement of knowledge by associations of scientific men and the dis- semination of its rudiments by the instruction of youth. * * * The leading principle of uniting these two branches of improvement in one institution, to be ex- tended upon a scale that will render it truly national, requires some development. We find ourselves in possession of a country so vast as to lead the mind to antici- pate a scene of social intercourse and interest unexampled in the experience of man- kind. This territory presents and will present such a variety of productions, natural and artificial, such a diversity of connections abroad, and of manners, habits, and pro- pensities at home, as will create a strong tendency to diverge and separate the views of those who shall inhabit the different regions within our limits. It is most essen- tial to the haiipiness of the people and to the preservation of their republican prin- ciples that this tendency to a separation should be overbalanced by superior motives to a harmony of sentiment, that they may habitually feel that community of interest on which their federal system is founded. This desirable object is to be attained, not only by the operations of the Government in its several departments, but by those of literature, sciences, and arts. The liberal sciences are in their nature republican; they delight in reciprocal communion; they cherish fraternal feelings and lead to a freedom of intercourse, combined with the restraints of society, which contribute together to our improvement.^ (3) By his preparation of a bill to establish such an institution; which, bill was introduced in the Senate by Mr. Logan, of Philadelphia, in 1806, and by him reported to the Senate without amendment. XXXI. The dedication by Samuel Blodget, in 1806, of the proceeds of his "Economica," the first work on political economy ev^er published in America, to " the benefit in trust for the free education fund of the university founded by George Washington in his last will and testa- ment." ^ 'Annals, 9th Congress, 1st session, vol. i, p. 301. 2 Origin of the National Scientific and Educational Institutions in the United States, by Dr. G. Brown Goode, p. 85. ^Economica, p. 2. A NATIONAL UNIVERSITY. 45 XXXII. The further advocacy of Samuel Blodget, in "Economica," first iDublished in 180G, and republished in 1810, from which the fol- lowing passages are taken : ^ After a secoud visit to Europe the writer returned in 1791; and informed President Washington of the plans he had attempted, from the best points only of the ancient and modern cities of the old world and adapted to his views, for a federal heart or CAPITOL for this country. But his views for the university were what he most prized, designed in part at The Hague and completed at Oxford, where he had all the uni- versities of ancient and modern times to guide his pencil. From these he borrowed and rejected agreeably to the opinions of the best informed friends he could meet, in order that no childish bias for his own questionable taste might by any means prevent the iinal success of tlie inqyortant object in view. Again : //That we shall soon have a national university <7ie?-e is now the greatest reason to hope, since many gentlemen who had read only of some objectionable institutions in Europe, and ivho conceived we should of cotirse imitate them, are now fully convinced that they were ivholly mistaken; hence many members of Congress have contrib- uted to augment the fund of Washington, on finding that this national institu- tion was intended both to give additional stability to the Union, and yet to assist in the j)reservation of the independence of each individual State seminary ; and that, in- stead of interfering Avith the minor schools, it Avas to have nothing to do with them; - that,instead of controlling and humbling the State colleges, it was to contribute to their independency and to increase their importance, inasmuch as a principal controlling power over the most commanding features of the university might be vested with the principals of the State seminaries..' The injuries complained of by some writers, from the too independent situations, by the too great salaries and too secure hold of their durable places in the perma- nent oificers of Europe, will no doubt be aA'^oided in ours, and everything done to make the university not only an epitome to correspend and harmonize always with the x^rinciples of our Government and Union, but highly conducive to the preserva- tion of that freedom and independence possessed by all classes of the people com- posing our American commonwealth. And again: Although our Washington had nothing nearer his heart, after the completion of our independence, than a federal citj^ and a central university, as he felt a diffidence when the question for the republican form for the university arose in his mind, lest it might militate with the prejudices of those Avho were educated at aristocratical seminaries, and thereby fail from formidable opposition, he nevertheless recom- mended the attention of Congress, in two instances, to this object, in his speeches while President of the United States. Referring to Washington's confident expectation that his own wishes and bequest would inspire Congress to action, he further says: If no aid from Congress or any other source had folloAved this noble chaUange of Washington, his donation, at compound interest, Avould in twelve years have given $50,000, and in twenty-four years $100,000. At this period one of the colleges of the university might have been erected and endowed, and yet a part of the surplus might remain at compound interest for the completion of the Avhole design. XXXIII. The efforts of Col. John P. Van Ness, president of the Branch Bank of the United States at Washington, of George Washing- lEconomica, p. 23; Appendix, pp. iii-x. 46 A NATIONAL UNIVERSITY. ton Custis, James Davidson, and many other distinguislied citizens of Washington, early in the present century, and especially during the the administration of Jefferson ; efforts so earnest and practical that, with the proper cooperation of Congress, they would certainly have re- sulted in the beginning of the proposed university under auspices that would have insured its success. In farther illustration of these efforts, the following extracts from ^he writings of Mr. Blodget are offered : \ \Tbe ifiemorial was iiccomjjaiiiecl by a plan of the equestrian statue of Washington, snrrounded by halls and colleges regularly arranged, the whole to be styled " Wash- ingtonia", or, ''The Monument to Washington." It was also stated in handbills that, in conformity Avith the nomination and ap- pointment at the first meeting of the subscribers, Samuel Blodget had accepted the office of secretary, and the cashier of the Branch Banlc of the United States, James Davidson, esquire, that of general treasurer to the subscribers. * * * It is left to the discretion of a majority of the trustees, at any of their meetings, to commence one of the buildings on such ground as they may deem proper after con- sulting the President of the United States, with due deference to his opinion in aid of the views of Washington and of the entire plan of his subscribing followers. It shall be the duty of the secretary to make known, at discretion, to all the friends of science in Europe and universally, that presents are admitted from any quarter of the globe, either to the museum or library, and that foreigners (although not ad- mitted in the list of contributors to the monumental pile in honor of the Father of His Country) may, nevertheless, contribute to the endowment of the university in any way consistent with the liberal and honorable views of an institution at which the youth of all nations are to be admitted on equal terms, excepting only in the provi- ' sion for the free education of indigent youth of genius who inteiul to remain citi- zens of the United States. ^ XXXIV. President Jefferson's correspondence with Albert Gallatin, Secretary of the Treasury, in ]!:Tovember, 1806, concerning his draft of the annual message to be delivered in December following, from which it appears that he then had two important projects in mind: First, the establishment and endowment of a national university, and, secondly, an amendment to the Constitution explicitly defining the powers of the Federal Government in matters of education and internal imi^rovements, so as to place both of those great interests beyond the possibility of a question. It further appears that Mr. Jefferson had framed his message with a view to the very certain establishment of a national university by the Fourth Congress, and the aijpropriation of money therefor out of the general fund so soon as the condition of the Treasury would warrant it. The letter of November 14 to Mr. Gallatin dealt with questions of the army, the tax on salt, and the university, his comments on the last- named point being as follows: 3. The University. This i)roposition will pass the States in all the winter of 1807-08, and Congress will not meet, and consequently can not act on it, till the winter of 1808-'09. The Florida debt will therefore be paid off before the university can call for anything. * 'Ecouomica, Appendix, px>. xiii, xiv. ^ waitings of Gallatin^ Vol. i, p. 313. A NATIONAL UNIVERSITY. 47 XXXV. The very practical letter of Albert Gallatin, Secretary of the Treasury, to President Jefferson, on November 10, 1806, the same being in answer to Mr. Jefferson's of the 14th, and consisting of sug- gestions concerning the several points embraced in the forthcoming message to Congress, wherein he dealt with the national university passage, sentence by sentence, in the following critical manner: University. — ''They cannot, then, be applied to the extinguishment of debt, etc." I would wish that between. the words tlteii and he the following should be inserted: " w^ithout a modihcation assented to by the public creditors " ; or that the idea should be inserted in some other way in the paragraph. It will be consistent with the opinion expressed that the extinguishment, etc., and liberties, etc., are the most desirable of all objects, and Congress have now under consideration a plan for the purpose, wh^cli I submitted last session, and was post- poned because reported too late by th^ Committee of Ways and Means. Again, under the head "On Fortifications, etc.", he says: The surjjliises, indeed, which will arise, etc. [Quoting Mr. Jefferson]. It may be ob- served on whatever relates to the connection between these surpluses and the suj)- posed improvements and universitj^ first, that, war excepted, the surpluses will certainly and under any circumstances — even Avhile the debt will be in a course of payment — be, after January 1, 1809, sufficient for any possible improvement. I have no doubt that they will amount to at least two millions a year; and, if no modifica- tion in the debt takes place, to nearly five. Second, that it Avill take at least the two intervening years to obtain an amendment for the laws designating improve- ments and make the arrangements preparatory to any large expense. Third, that the existing surxjluses are at this moment sufficient for any tiniversifcy or national institution. But the whole of this part of the message rests on the supposition that a long time must elapse before we are ready for any considerable expenditure for improvements and that we would not be able to meet even that for the university before the time which must elapse in obtaining an amendment. The general scope of this part of the message seems also to give a preference to the university over general improvements ; and it must not be forgotten, apart from any consideration of the relative importance, that the last iiroposition may pi'obably be popular and that the other will quite certainly be unpopular. * * « ' It appears to me, therefore, that the whole of that x^art from the Avords "the sur- pluses indeed," etc., to the words "to which our funds may become equal," should undergo a revisal, introducing in the same the substance of the last paragraph of the ninth page^ respecting a donation of lands. ^ [The message will shoAv that the last recommendation prevailed for the most part. But this fact counts for nothing against the exceeding liberality and farsightedness of Mr. JefK'erson, who had planned an appeal for money appropriations; nor indeed against his high courage, for that was in the youth and poverty of the nation, when a million seemed an enormous sum, and the people of the country generally had not only not become accustomed to vast expenditures for education, but had not come to even an appreciation of the priceless value of science and learning.] XXXVI. The sixth annual message of President Thomas Jefferson, delivered on December 2, 1806, .containing these words : ii Education is here placed among the articles of public care; not that it would be i-proposed to take its ordinary branches out of the hands of private euterxjrise, which 1 Writings of ftallatiu, Vol. 1, pp. 318, 319. 48 A NATIONAL UNIVERSITY. iiianagos so much better all the concerns to wlilcli it is equal, but a public institii- tiou can alone supply those sciences which, though rarely called for, are yet neces- sary to complete the circle, all the parts of which contribute to the improvement of the country, and some of them to its preservation. * * * The present consider- ation of a national establishment for education particularly is rendered proper by tills circumstance also, that if Congress, approving the proposition, shall yet think it more eligible to found it on a donation of lauds, they have it now in their power to endow it with those which will be among the earliest to produce the necessary income. This foundation would have the advantiige of being independent in war, which may suspend other improvements by requiring for its own purposes the re- sources destined for them.' XXXVII. The second annual message of President James Madison, delivered December 5, 1810, embracing- these words: While it is universally admitted that a well-instructed people alone can be perma- nently a free people, and while it is evident that the means of diifusing and improv- ing useful knowledge from so small a proportion of the expenditures for national purposes, I can not presume it to be unreasonable to invite your attention to the ad- vantages of superadding to the means of education provided l)y the several States a seminary of learning instituted by the national legislature within the limits of tbeir exclusive jurisdiction, the expense of Avhicli might be defrayed or reimbursed out of the vacant grounds which have accrued to the nation within these limits. Such an institution, though local in its legal character, would be universal in its beneficial effects. By enlightening the opinions, by expanding the patriotism, and by assimilating the principles, the interests, and the manners of those who might resort to this tem- ple of science, to be redistributed in due time through every portion of the com- munity, sources of jealousy and prejudice would be diminished, the features of national character would be multiplied and greater extent given to social harmony. But above all a well-constituted seminary in the center of the nation is recommended by the consideration that the additional instruction emanating from it would con- tribute not less to strengthen the foundations than to adorn the structure of our free and happy system of government. ^ XXXVIII. The favorable opinion of the committee of the House of Representatives, to whom was referred, on December 10, 1810, that ijart of the President's message which related to the establishment of a semi- nary of learning" by the national legislature; the report of which com- mittee as presented by Samuel L. Mitchell, chairman, while raising the questions of authority to ai)propriate money for that purjiose, and of practicability also in view of the then slender resources clearly avail- able, nevertheless set forth the importance of such an institution : In obedience to the order of the House the committee has duly considered the im- portant matter referred. An university or institution for the communication of knowledge in the various departments of literature and science presents to the mind at one view subjects of the most pleasing contemplation. To a free people it would seem that a seminary in which the culture of the heart and of the understauding should be the chief object would be one of the first guards of their privileges and a leading object of their care. Under this conviction the patriotic spirit of Washington led him more than once to recommend in his speeches to Congress such an undertaking. He even be- 1 Annals, 9th Cong., 2d sess., p. 14. ^^mijiis, 11th Cong., 3d sess., p. 14. A NATIONAL UNIVERSITY. 49 queathod a legacy to the uational university, which he persuaded himself would at some future day be brought into being. Two other Presidents have subsequently presented the subject to the Legislature as worthy of special consideration. Authorities so respectable in favor of a project so desirable carry great weight. A central school at the seat of the General Government, darting its rays of intel- lectual light or rolling the flood of useful information throughout the laud, could not fail to make a strong impression. A noble and enlarged institution may be con- ceived to impart to its pupils the moat excellent instruction, and, by properly quali- fying persons to be teachers and professors, to introduce an uniform system of educa- tion among the citizens. »f * * The Constitution does not warrant the creation of such a corporation by any ex- press provision. But * * * under the right to legislate exclusively over the District wherein the United States have fixed their seat of government Congress may erect a university at any place within the 10 miles square ceded by Maryland and Virginia. This can not be doubted. « « * The message before the committee proposes, however, the institution of a semi- nary of learning by the national legislature within the limits of their exclusive juris- diction, the expense of which may be defrayed or reimbursed out of the vacant grounds which have accrued to the nation within these limits. On inquiry into the value of these public lots they fall so fiir short of the sum requisite for the object that if there was no constitutional impediment, they could not be relied upon on account of the smallness and unproductiveness of the capital they embrace.' XXXIX. President Madison's seventh, annual message, delivered December 15, 1815, wherein he said: The present is a favorable season, also, for bringing into view the establishment of a national seminary of learning within the District of Columbia, and with means drawn from the property therein, subject to the authority of the General Govern- ment. Such an institution claims the patronage of Congress as a monument of that solicitude for the advancement of knowledge without which the blessings of liberty can not be fully enjoyed or long preserved ; as a model of instruction in the formation of other seminaries; as a nursery of enlightened preceptors; as a central resort of youth and genius from every part of their country, diffusing on their return ex- amples of those national feelings, those liberal sentiments, and those congenial manners which contribute cement to our Union and strength to the political fabric of which that is the foundation. " XL. President Madison's last annual message, December 3, 1816: The importance which I have attached to the establishment of a university within this District on a scale and for objects Avorthy of the American nation, induces me to renew my recommendation of it to the favorable consideration of Congress, and I particularly invite again their attention to the expediency of exercising their ex- isting powers, and where necessary of resorting to the prescribed mode of enlarg- ing them, in order to effectuate a common system of roads and canals, such as will have the eff"ect of drawing more closely together every part of our country by pro- moting intercourse and improvements and by increasing the share of every j)art in the common stock of national prosperity. ^ XLI. Eeport to the House of Representatives, submitted by Mr. E. H. Wilde in behalf of the committee to whom was referred so much of the President's message as relates to the subject of a national uni- lEx. Docs., 11th Cong., 3.d sess., p. 975. ^Annals 14th Cong., 1st sess., p. 17. ^Id., 2d sess., p. 14. S. Mis. 222 i 50 A NATIONAL UNIVERSITY. versity. Eead December 11, 1816, and, with an accompanying bill for the establishment of a national nniversity, referred to a Committee of the Whole House on December 12 ; which report,' with accompanying- estimates, is as follows : Tlio committee of the House of Representatives, to Avhom was referred so much of the President's message as relates to the subject of a national university, report to the House, as the result of their deliberations, a bill for the erection and endowment of such an institution. The committee, pursuant to usual forms might, perhaps, without impropriety, re- gard this a sufficient performance of their duty, and after presenting the bill without comment, have left it to find its approi^riate place among others, and to receive or be denied consideration, according to the ox)iuion entertained of its conse(i[uonce and urgency. But the number of communications relative to thesubjectwhich, though they have received attention, seem to have escaped it because they have not been definitely acted on, may possibly expose the House to a censure more serious than that of merely neglecting the successive recommendations of several successive chief magis- trates — a censure as injurious as unjust, yet not unbecoming that body to prevent by making as soon as possible some disposition of a question that ought to be de- termined on account of its freqiient occurrence, even though it should not otherwise be thought particularly interesting. ^ * * Your committee therefore have ventured to suggest some of the reasons which recommend the present as a favorable time for investigating, and perhaps, also, adopting, the plan they have proposed. Among these, the prosperous state of our finances, leaving a large unappropriated siirplus, the prol)al)ility of a long continued peace, the flourishing condition of our Capital, and the facility witli which a portion of the public property within it miglit now be advantageously disposed of, so as at once to increase the convenience of the city and support the proposed institntion, may fairly be enumerated. Besides, the information heretofore collected has enabled the committee to report at an early jjeriod, and it is believed that the present session, though inevitably a short one, Avill not present so many objects of great difficulty or deep interest as entirely to exclude others of a more tranquil and less obtrusive character to which it is possible a portion of time might be profitably devoted. The acquisition of a scientific and literary reputation not unworthy of their naval and military renown can never be beneath the ambition of a people, since the most durable of all glory is that of exalted intellect. The Avorld is still a willing captive to the spells of ancient genius, and the rivalry of modern empires will be perpetiiatod by their arts and their learning — the preservers of that fame which arms alone may indeed win, but can never keep. Ar.y measure which contributes, however scantilj^, to give American literatiu-e and science a rank and name among mankind, can not, therefore, be regarded with in- difference by our citizens, and every eff'ort toward that end must be witnessed at the present moment with universal satisfaction, since it will present the interesting spectacle of a young nation bending its whole strength to the pursuit of true great- ness, and anxious to emulate all that is amiable in peace as well as all that is noble in war. That the institution contemplated will have a happy influence on the harmony and welfare of our country and the unity of our national character has been often sup- posed, and your committee feel inclined to anticipate eft'ects no less happy from its operation on the genius of our people. If America's invention, unassisted as it has been, already excites the astonishment of Europe, what may not be expected from it when aided and encouraged ? And why should not aid and encouragement be yielded by institutions like the present, founded and endowed by the munificence of the State? A NATIONAL UNIVERSITY. 51 In onr own day "we liave seen theui work wonders in physical science, even when directed by a stern, jeah)ns, and exacting government, which, while training the mind to be qnicl^, dextroas, and daring, darkened its vision and circninscribed its fliglit. Is it here alone they would be impotent, where no dejith could be hidden irom its glance, no height forbidden to its Aving. But your committee, fearful of exhausting your patience, forbear to extend this re- port by arguments which it is easier to multiply than to withhold. For the same reason thej'^ refrain from answering objections which could be stated without in- jury; since in replying to them, force and perspicuity must be sacrificed to con- ciseness. Nor can such a course he required, when it is intended merely to present a general result, not the particular process of reasoning by which that result has heen attained. Your committee, however, desire it to be understood that they have not declined examining any objection which occurred to them ; and though some have been found, which, it must be confessed, are not without difficulty, all are thought capable of a satisfactory answer. Under a conviction, therefore, that the means are ample, the end desirable, the object fairly within the legislative powers of Congress, and the time a favorable one, your committee recommend the establishment of a national university, and have di- rected their chairman to submit a bill and estimates for that purpose. Estimates of the value of lots and squares belonging to the United States, as furnished by communications from the superintendent of the city. Four thousand building lots of 5,265 square feet each, and about 2,000-foot front on the waters of the Potomac Eiver, Eastern Branch, valued at $750, 000 Sqtiares 1 to 6 proposed to be laid off into building lots, containing in the whole, 816,000 square feet, or 155 standard lots, valued at 200, 000 But the latter amount is the only one which it is supposed could be speed- ily utilized. Estimate of the expense of buildings for the national university, on a plan susceptible of extension, but calculated for the present to answer for 160 persons 200, 000 Mr. Wilde's committee also presented a bUl for tlie establishment of a ^N'ational University, as follows : j\ ' Be it enacted, etc., That the President of the United States be, and he is hereby, au- thorized and required to cause to be surveyed and laid off into building lots such Ijart as he shall think proper of the ground reserved of the United States in the city of Washington, and to cause the same to be sold at such times and places and in such proportions and under such regulations as he shall prescribe ; and the proceeds thereof, after defraying the charges of survey and sale, to be invested in such stocks or public securities as shall by him be deemed advisable; and the same, when so in- vested, and the dividends thereon arising, shall constitute a fund for the support of a national university. Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That the President of the United States be, and he is hereby, authorized to cause to be erected, on such site within the District of Columbia as he shall elect, the buildings necessary for a national university; and for defraying the exjDense thereof the sum of dollars is hereby appropriated, to be paid out of any money in the Treasury of the United States not otherwise aj)- propriated by law. Sec. 3. And be it further enacted. That the President of the United States be, and he is hereby, required to cause to be prepared and laid before Congress at its next session, a plan for the regulation and government of the said university.^ 'Auuals, 14th Cong-., 2d sess., p. 257. 52 A NATIONAL UNIVERSITY. Which bill was twice read and committed. Near the close of the session. Mr. Wilde, chairman of the committee, having' failed to secure proper consideration for the measure, himself moved and secured its indefinite postponement. XLII. Support of the general proposition by the Hon. Charles H. Atherton, of New Hampshire, who, seeing that there were doubts in the minds of some as to the powers of Congress under the Constitution, on the 12th of December, 1816, offered for consideration a resolution pro- viding for an amendment thereto, in the following words: The Congress shall have power to establish a national university. i The House, deeming sucli amendment unnecessary, decided against the consideration of the resolution by a vote of 86 to 54. XLIII. The efforts of Drs. Josiah Meigs, Edward Cutbush, Thomas Sewall, Thomas Law, Dr. Alexander McWilliams, and of Judge William Cranch, who, having lost confidence in aid from Congress, avowedly went to work to realize the aspirations of Washington and his suc- cessors by founding, first, the Columbian Institute for the Promotion of Arts and Sciences in 1819, and, secondly, the Columbian College, at lengtli incorporated in 1821. XLIV. The introduction by Mr. Mark L. Hill, of Massachusetts, of the following resolution in the House of Eepresentatives, on the 23d of December, 1819: Resolved, That a committee he appointed to inquire into the expediency of estab- lishing a National University within the District of Columbia, and that the com- mittee have leave to rex^ort hy bill or otherwise. * Mr. Hill said, in introducing his motion, that the adoption of this measure bad been recommended by each of our illustrious j)residents, and with the particular view among other things, to perpetuate the Union and form a national character. Whatever had this tendency he wanted to promote. The motion failed. XLV. The efforts of President Monroe, whose sympathy with tbe plans of Washington were often expressed, and who was glad to believe that Columbian College would in time become a national university, as appears from his letter of March 28, 1820, in which, he says: The establishment of the institution within the Federal district, in the presence of Congress and of all the departments of the Government, will secure to those who may be educated in it many important advantages, among which are the opportunity to hear the debates in Congress and in the Supreme Court. * * * If it receives hereafter the proper encouragement, it can not fail to be eminently useful to the nation. XLVI. The action of Congress in this general interest — (1) By granting to the Columbian Institute the use of rooms in the > Annals, Utt Cong., 2ndsess., p. 268. ^^nnals, 16th Cong., 1st sess., p. 780. A NATIONAL UNIVERSITY. 53 Capitol, as well as the use of the Hall of Representatives for the annual meetings. (2) By giving grounds to said institute for a botanical garden, in 1823.1 XL VII. John Quincy Adams's no less persistent than brilliant cham- pionship of science and learning as demanding the encouragement of Congress, and the strong moral support given by him to the ]!^ational University in both messages and speeches ; as, for example, in his first message, 1825 which contains this eloquent and touching reference to the efforts of Washington in that behalf: Among the first, perhaps the very first, instruments for the improvement of the condition of men is knowledge; and to the acquisition of much of the knowledge adapted to the wants, the comforts, and enjoyments of human life, public institu- tions and seminaries of learning are useful. So convinced of this was the first of my predecessors in this office, now first in the memory, as he was first in the hearts, of his countrymen, that once and again, in his addresses to the Congresses with whom he cooperated in the public service, he earnestly recommended the establish- ment of seminaries of learning, to prepare for all the emergencies of peace and war, a national university, and a military academy. With respect to the latter, had he lived to the present day, in turning his eyes to the institution at West Point he would have enjoyed the gratification of his most earnest wishes. But in surveying the city which has been honored with his name he would have seen the spot of earth which he had destined and bequeathed to the use and benefit of his country as the site for a university still bare and barren. - XLVIII. The action of the United States Senate on Thursday, December 20, 1825, in passing the following resolution, upon motion of Mr. Bobbins, of Ehode Island, namely : Resolved, That so much of the President's message as relates to a National Univer- sity be referred to a select committee to consist of members, that said commit- tee be instructed to report upon the exj)ediency of such an institution, and if deemed by them expedient, to report the principles on which it ought to be established and a plan of organization that will embody those principles.'' XLIX. The efforts, in 1820 to 1827, of the eloquent Dr. Horace Hol- ley, D. D., president of Transylvania University, Kentucky, whose views and earnest advocacy of them were made the subject of eulogy by his biograiDher. L. The no less zealous eiforts of Dr. Charles Caldwell, professor in Transylvania University, especially by means of his biography of Dr. HoUey, published in 1828, in which he says of him : For the better and more certain accomplishment of thio latter purpose [to promote progressiveness in education and uniformity throughout the country], he was an advocate for the erection of a national university and the arrangement of schools on a federal plan, analogous to that of our political institutions. He was an advocate, indeed, for the federalizing of everything susceptible of such modification, with a 1 Annals, 18th Cong., 1st sess., p. 787. *Cong. Debates, vol. ii, part 2, 19th Cong., Ist sess.. Appendix, p. 6, 'Cong. Debates, vol. ii, part 1, 19th Cong., 1st sess., p. 23. 54 A NATIONAL UNIVERSITY. view to tlie production and confirmation of federal feelings, practices, and tabits, to strengtlien throughout the country the federal and national bond and aid in perpet- uating the union of the States. For he believed that as concerns the permanency of that union, the stability and endurance of a moral tie, the result of education, social intercourse, early friendships formed at school by leading characters, and a consist- cut interchange of kind offices, the whole cemented and strengthened by a liberaliz- ing and humanizing spirit of letters derived from a central and common source, are much more to be relied on than those of a connection exclusively political. As a further reason for advocating the establishment of a national university, he believed that in the nature of things great literary institutions are best calculated for the production of great men, at least of accomplished scholars and jiupils distinguished for attainments in science. For, morally and intellectually, as well as physically, it is the law of creation that everything begets in its own likeness. * * * ^ national university, therefore, being necessarily a grand and magnificent institution, on the same scale must be the educated men it would regularly send forth to partici- pate in the management of national affairs and shed a luster on their native country. His views of the important influence of a great national institution did not stop here. Considering it as operating on a much more extended scale and covering a field of Avider compass, he duly api)reciated the eft'ects it would produce on our literary and scientific rejiutation as a i)eople, in foreign countries. He believed that it would tend much more certainly and effectually than any other measure to secure to us, in that species of reputation, the same ascendency which we are hastening to acquire in arts and arms, and which we have already acquired in practical legislation and diplomatic policy. LI. Tlie action of Congress in appropriating $25,000 casli to Colum- bian College, Avith the approval of President Jackson, in 1832, and that, too, on account of the generally acknowledged " utility of a cen- tral literary establishment", and of the failure hitherto to make any more distinct recognition of the recommendations of Washington and of other Presidents.^ It should be said in this connection that during the years between 1849 and the opening of the late civil war there was a temporary re- vival of the old demand for a national university. The pressing need of such an institution was a common theme of conversation among the leading educators, scholars, and scientists of the time. It found advo- cacy upon the rostrum and in the public prints. Members of various organizations made it the subject of public discourses, and at one time, as will hereafter appear, something was done toward founding a na- tional university at Albany, New York. That its advocates did not press the thought of a national university at Washington was, perhaps, because at that time Washington was little more than a mere political center, and a not very attractive one at that, and because sectionalism held such despotic sway as to preclude the thought of governmental action in that behalf. But since they who orig- inated and cooperated in the movement earnestly contended for the main idea of a true university that should be national in character and in- fluence, and since, moreover, nearly, if not literally, all of them twenty * Register Debates in Cong., Vol 8, part 3, p. 3210, A NATIONAL UNIVERSITY. 55 years later fully accoi'sted and indorsed the proposition of a national in- stitution to be established in the national capital, with a sufficient endow- ment secured to it by Congress, it seems proi^er that place should be accorded to them in this paper. The subject appears to have been first publicly broached at Albany by Henry J. Raymond, in the State legislature of 1849. Finally, by agreement between leading educators, scholars, scientists, and states- men, in the year 1851 a preliminaryarrangementwas made for the organi- zation of a university of the highest type, as the same was then appre- hended, and in accordance with the folloAving governing principles: The concentration of the ablest j)ossible teaching force for each and all the dejiart- ments of hnnian learning. The \itmost freedom of students to pursue any preferred branch or branches of study. . Support by the State, for a period of two years, of one student from each assembly district, to be chosen by means of oj^en competitive examinations, so conducted by competent examiners as to exclude all considerations but that of real merit ; such public support to be had, however, only after at least fifteen dej)artments had been so endowed as to command the best professional talent the country could afford. The movement awakened so much interest among distinguished educators that conditional engagements are said to have been made with such men as Profs. Agassiz, Peirce, Guyot, Hall, Mitchell, and Dana. The efforts in this behalf first resu/ted in the passage on April 17, 1851, of an act to incorporate the " University of Albany." Some forty- eight iDcrsons of that city were named as trustees, with power to create departments of medicine and law, and such others as might be deemed desirable. The institution was authorized to confer degrees and was made subject to the visitation of the regents. In accordance with the general plan, on April 21, 1851, a law school was organized, with Thomas W. Olcott, president of the board of trustees; Hon. Greene C. Bronson, president of the faculty, and Ira Harris, Amasa J. Parker, and Amos Dean as the other members. The first course of lectures was begun in the following December by Amos Dean. By a donation of land and by generous contributions from the faculty and private citizens, an excellent building, with considerable equipment, was in time erected. In 1873, upon the establishent of Union University, the Albany Law School was merged in that institution. Likewise an attempt was made in 1851 to establish a department of scientific agriculture, and lectures were announced upon geology, ento- mology, chemistry, and practical agriculture. A course on the '^con- nection of science and agriculture" was begun in January, 1852, by Prof. John F. Norton, of Yale College, at the opening of which, as re- ported by the Albany Evening Journal, he spoke of the need of a national university as follows : No one was of more advantage to connnunity than the close, investigating student. He would assuredly bring forth something of value to the world. True science was 56 A NATIONAL UNIVERSITY. always useful, always noble; always elevating. It was tlms for the interest of everyljody to encourage its advancement. We had done so but little yet. Our youth Avere compelled to cross the Atlantic to find the advantages they wished. There was no school among us where they could go and find all they desired. Subsequently, courses of lectures were also delivered by Prof. James Hall and Dr. Goodly. In Marcli, 1852, there was great activity at Albany among tlie friends of the proposed national university. Public meetings were held on the 10th, 11th, and 12th in the Assembly Hall, attended by members of the legislature and addressed by distinguished gentlemen from different parts of the country, including Messrs. Hooper C. Van Vorst, H. J. Hastings, Isaac Edwards, Judge Harris, and Samuel B. Euggles, Profs. William F. Phelps and Joseph Henry, and Bishop Alonzo Pot- ter. In order that the sentiments, purposes, and hopes cherished by leading citizens at that time may appear, extracts from the Journal's reports of some of the speeches then made, especially those of March 11, are here introduced. From the speech of Eev. Dr. Kennedy: Now, there is an intellectual Mont Blanc as well as a physical, and there are multitudes of young men panting to ascend this mount. They come from every quarter of our country. * * * Where are they to find intellectual guides? * * * But further, the character of our political institutions demands that we should have greater facilities for education. These institutions rest upon the fun- damental principle that all men are born equal. This is a great practical principle with us, for Ave have no aristocracy here. » * * The road to eminence must be opened to the masses — equally open to all. There are no royal avenues; intellect must be the recommendation. * * * We should encourage the desire and fur- nish tlie means by which to gratify the aspirations of those who wish to be master in whatever pursuit or calling they engage. There is another demand for such an institution. It seemed to him that there was a native energy in the American mind and character that asked for means for greater development than has been furnished. As a nation we are in our infancy; we have accomplished much ; not by the means at hand, but by the energy we possess — by indomitable perseverance. * * * American ingenuity and energy have done much and will yet do more. Let, then, this energy and genius be fostered. Give them facilities for improvement and you will see yet greater wonders. Profl O. M. Mitchell, director of the Cincinnati Observatory: The question had been asked, was such a university needed ? * * * jje thought it not requisite to argue this i)oint, but would take it for granted that a necessity exists. He had about him a sort of dcA^otion to his own country. He could not con- sent in his humble way to follow eternally the lead of others. Europe has pointe best thing to be learned; to give such insight is the A NATIONAL UNIVERSITY. 79 province of tlie university. Whatever want of adaptation between our common schools and higher schools might arise, would speedily become manifest through ttie highest link of our system and its causes would be remedied. As to the influence of a national university upon our National Government, this would obviously be salutarj'. Properly protected from sudden legislation, it would soon grow to be an object of national pride, and it would exert a molding influence upon education in all the States just in proportion to its achievements and rank. The Kepresentatives of each State in Congress would learn through it the types and models of educational institutions which they would become zealous to found at home among their constituents. Secondary education, at jiresent sustained by so precarious a tenure by the several State and municipal governments, would become firm and secure through the influence of a national university in educating the ideas and feelings of politicians into the support of a complete system of public education as a necessary concomitant of democratic self-government. It is impossible to con- ceive of a more efficient influence in favor of education in this country. It would effect far more than the i)roposed grant of the proceeds of all our public-school lands to the school funds of the several States. The great want of our time is not a funded endowment of education in the several States, but a conviction in the minds of the peoj)le and their representatives of the essential importance of a complete system of free education supported by public taxation. This conviction alone will render us safe. It is the trite lament of our time that our Government needs purifying ; that it should be surrounded by elevating influences. It is the mistake of certain abstract political theorists in this country, who would attempt to purify the Government by divorcing it from the concrete relation to civil society, that has prevented the growth of a science of statesmanship here and has caused the humiliating spectacle of acts of corruption done through sheer ignorance of the proprieties of statesmanship. When we consider the great advantages that would ensue from the connection that a national university would have with the several bureaus of our General Govern- ment, and of the digested results that Avould proceed from the investigation of the statistical data there collected from the various phases of our social political life ; when we consider the effect of collecting, by means of a vast endowment, the best educated intelligence of the time in a university faculty, and the resulting study of our institutions by free disinterested investigation, elcA^ated above the atmosphere of strife wherein the practical every-day world is immersed, the importance of this movement to found a national university is fully apparent. Its advent will correct and prevent wrong tendencies in the direction of common schools, and likewise of colleges and private schools. It willbe the source of supply for teachers and pro- fessors who shall take up the work of secondary education in the several States. From its lecture rooms will emanate the science that will solve our social and politi- cal problems, and furnish the philosophy for a true statesmanship.! LXXI. The speecli of Eev. Dr. George P. Hays, president of Wasli- ingtou and Jefferson College, at the meeting of the National Educa- tional Association at Detroit in 1874 : For my part I am earnestly, heartily for a national university by any means that will give us success. We do not want another institution chartered as a university but doing only collegiate work. We do not want a national university with any such pitiful income as two or three hundred thousand dollars. As I understand it, what the friends of this project seek is an institution devoted exclusively to true univer- sity or post-graduate work, to whose privileges all may come on equal terms, but where none shall be candidates for its degrees without the diploma of some college of recognized standing, or after such an examination as shall enable the university 1 Proceedings Nat. Ed. Ass'n,, 1874, pp. 82, 86. 80 A NATIONAL UNIVERSITY. itself to confer the bachelor's degree. This institntiou ought to have an income of at least $1,000,000, and so be able to subdivide the fields of study and call to its chairs fit men to work them up until the best instruction to be found amoug mea maybe had here. Have wo no national pride, that, having outstripped the peoples of the old world, we must yet be tied to them as our schoolmasters ? Every year we have hundreds in Europe at their universities. * * * j blush for my country when I see her ex- pending her millious for a centennial which shall leave no permanent fountain of progress behind, and remember what untold thousands she has squandered on im- provements built by fraud, and see that American folly of a bald unfinished pile of marble — the mockery of a monument to Washington — and think that a national uni- versity is opposed on grounds of economy! It is time we should rise to the recogni- tion of our duty to progress and civilization; and I congratulate the president of Cornell, that, though he is at the head of a rich institution, he is above the little- ness of a jealousy that seems to be suggested elsewhere through fear lest something be put within the reach of our people better than themselves. We patronize science in a cheap way in this country. We have sacrificed Kane and Hall in a hunt for the north pole, and we have now a few men at national ex- pense looking at the transit of Venus, but our aping of scientific manners, while we found no unsurpassed university, is like the poor man who sent his son to a rich man's house "with a patch on both knees and gloves on." I may not be able to help this cause greatly, but my country shall have what I can give to- obtain a university with the men and means to open to the world a place of learning taking the first rank in scholarship and pervaded with the best spirit of American life, social, political, and religious'. LXXIl. The address of Joliii W. Hoyt, before tlie higher department of the National Educational Association, at its annual meeting held at Detroit in 1874. From said address, the concluding passages : I Certainly no American will deny that self-reliance is an essential element of indi- vidual manhood, as well as of a noble national character. It is precisely for this reason, among others, that we urge the duty of the Government to care for the highest practical education of the whole people. For there is no dependence so afb- ject as that of a profoundly ignorant man or nation ; no self-reliance so complete and royal as that which comes of intelligence. Ignorance is slavery; knowledge is power and independence. | * * * * * * * As I understand it, the Government of this country is nothing very different from a trusteeship or agency, established by the whole people for the public convenience and for permanent as well as present advantage. The Constitution is a binding agreement of the people as to the purpose and organization of this agency, the kind of agents to be employed, the manner of their choosing, and the nature and scope of the duties they are to perform. Cherishing the theory of self-reliance, the people have not usually deemed it duty or wisdom to take of their common substance and give to the individual citizen or the individual State, even when such giving would promote a necessary public object, unless it has seemed very clear that such object could not, or pretty certainly would not be attained without the national aid. But who will say that the people, acting through this agency — the Government — are not both competent and in duty bound to lend the public aid to all such enterprises not in conflict with expressed provisions of tJie Constitution, and in acknowledged harmony with its whole spirit and purpose, as are by them, the people, deemed essential to the general welfare, and as are either not possible of accomijlishment without that aid, or, being possible, are in great danger of being too long delayed? ' Proceedings of Nat. Ed. Ass'n, 1874, p. 98. A NATIONAL UNIVERSITY. 81 Admitting, for the sake of the argunieut, tlie full force of the tloctriuo of some, that government is not to do a puhlic good even unless that good be otherwise unat- tainable, the argument is still good for nothing against the object we seek to accom- plish, since it is a public good otherwise unattainable. Primary schools there would be without public aid, but they would be scattering in location, irregular and inef- ficient in their work, and worst of all, utterly wanting in many cases where most needed. Colleges there would be, as anyone may see who looks abroad, but except here and there, when particularly favored with the accumulations of generations or the princely gift of a noble nuxn, they must of necessity have a sickly life and do a feeble work. Wliile of a great university, with its vast array of auxiliary establish- ments, its multitude of learned professors, aud its requisite annual income of a mil- lion and more, it is hardly necessary to say the hope of such an institution on any merely private, denominational, or even State foundation must be long deferred. Last of all, if the question of means were not involved there is one broad rea- son why this public good, the schools the country needs, including the univer- sity, are otherwise unattainable, this, namely, that if established and maintained In sufficient number, and of every class and rank, by private means, they would still not be public schools, wholly free from the warping influence of private or denomi- national aims of whatever sort, institutions equally open to all qualified candidates, as Avell as purely consecrated to the culture of the people, and to the advance- ment of science aud learning among men. * * * The Goverumeut caunot now repudiate or reverse its beneficent educational policy. The logic of facts aud of reason will not permit it to stop short of the most complete provision for every department of American education. The people are growing in their realization of the necessity there is for insuring the best possible education of the masses. Tlie variety and vastness of the national resources and the rapid prog- ress of other nations are making a strong and growing demand upon the iudustriiil arts, which they are powerless to meet without the help of the best technical schools ; while the conspicuous place we hold among the great nations of the earth, the nature of our Government, and the genius aud aspirations of our people are reasons deep and urgent for a high and thorough culture that must early move the nation to adopt measures tliat will give to the United States a true university. ^ « # * LXXIII. The action of the National Educatioual Association at the concluding- general session of its said annual meeting of 1874, in unani- mously adopting the following resolution: Resolved, That this Association does hereby reaffirm its former declarations in favor of the establishment of a national university devoted not to collegiate but to university work, providing higher instruction in all departments of learning, and so organized as to secure the necessary independence and permanency in its manage- ment.'^ Forgetr;ing for the moment that the committee appointed at the St. Louis meeting in 1872 was to be "a i)ermaneut committee/' the asso- ciation also adopted the following resolution: Resolved, That a committee of this association consisting of thirteen members, be appointed to lay this subject before Congress, Avith power to appoint a subcommit- tee in each State for cooperative eftbrt.^ The committee so appointed was to consist of the following persons: John W. Hoyt, Madison, Wis. ; Andrew D. White, New York; .John Hancock, Ohio; Wm, T. Harris, Missouri; David A.Wallace, Illinois; Mark Hopkins, Massa- 1 Proceedings Nat. Ed. Ass'u, 1874, pp. 183-7. ^Id. pp. 138, 139. S. Mis. 222 6 82 A NATIONAL UNIVERSITY. chusetts ; Joseph Henry, Washington City ; J. P. Wiokersham, Pennsylvania ; W. F. Phelps, Minnesota; D. F. Boyd, Louisiana; Alex. Hogg, Alabama; E. E. White, Ohio; Geo. P. Hays, Pennsylvania; Z. Eichards, District of Columbia.^ LXXIV. The American Journal of Education, published at St. Louis, has ever been an advocate of the university proposition. In illustration, the following passages from the January number, 1875 : It must always be a subject of regret that the convention which framed our con- stitution voted down the x)roposition [to include a provision] for the establishment of a national university. We hail the revival of such a measure now with joy. # * * We need the minds, and, therefore, must rear the minds which can push forward this frontier of knowledge, so as to bring these truths with all their benefactions from the further to the hither side, from the barren possibility of being enjoyed into actual realized enjoyment. And this is just what a national university will acomjjlish for the people of 'these United States. By its location at the national capital, by its vast endowment and array of distinguished ability, by its nationality and by the high attainments de- manded for admission to its privileges, it will furnish us the minds that would otherwise be delayed in their appearance, to open to us the treasures that lie buried in nature's beneficent storehouse awaiting the genius of some scientific Columbus to lead the way to their utilization or multiplied adai3tatious to the diversified wants of man. LXXV. A tour of the country by JohnW.Hoyt, in 1875, and personal interviews by him with leading friends of education in nearly all the States east of the Eocky Mountains, to the end of a systematic and unremitting effort in support of the university proposition; also, efforts at Washington, in 1876, in connection with the revival of the bill favor- ably rejiorted by the Congressional committee of the House of Eepre- sentatives in March, 1873 — efforts finally thwarted by the excitement growing out of the electoral contest and by other circumstances occa- sioning a further postponement. LXXVI. The recommendation of President E. B. Hayes, in his mes- sage of December 3, 1877, to wit: The Avisdom of legislation upon the part of Congress in the aid of the States for the education of the whole people in those branches of study which are taught in the common schools of the country is no longer a question. The intelligent judgment of the country goes still further, regarding it as also both constitutional and ex- pedient for the General Government to extend to technical and higlier education such aid as is deemed essential to the general welfare and to our due prominence among the enlightened and cultivated nations of the Avorld. It is encouraging to observe in connection with the growth of fraternal feeling in those States in which slavery formerly existed evidences of increasing interest in universal education; and I shall be glad to give my approval to any appropriate measure which may be enacted by Congress for the purpose of supplementing with national aid the local systems of education in those States and in all the States; and having already invited your attention to the needs of tlie District of Columbia with respect to its public-school system, I here add that I believe it desirable, not so much witli reference to the local wants of the District, but to the great and lasting benefit of tlic entire country, that this system should be crowned with a university in " 1 Proceedings Nat. Ed. Assn., 1874, p. 138. Ud., p. 139. A NATIONAL UNIVEESITY. 83 all respects in keeping with the national capital and thereby realize the cherished hopes of Washington on this subject. ' LXXVII. President Hayes' message of December 2, 1878, in whicli occurs this passage : To education more than to any other agency we are to look as the resource for the advancement of the people in the requisite knowledge and appreciation of their rights and responsibilities as citizens ; and I desire to repeat the suggestion contained in my former message in behalf of the enactment of an approj)riate measure by Congress for the purpose of 8upj)lementing with national aid the local systems of education in the several States.^ LXXVIII. The Journal of Education, published at Boston, in its issue of February 3, 1881, supports the university proposition in these terms : But whoever carefully considers the present growth of Washington as an educa- tional center, can not resist the conviction that, in the fullness of time this vision of the fathers will also " materialize," and the national university, perhaps in some original plan of organization, will become an accomplished fact. Meanwhile it is interesting to see how rapidly the conditions are being proposed, and the materials accumulated for a university of broader scope than has yet been established. * * * It is not difficult to see, if these things go on for ten years to come as in the past, that in a j)erfectly natural way a central faculty of examination will get itself estab- lished as a national university, conferring degrees, arranging courses of study, giving not only to the residents of Washington, but attracting the aspiring youth of every portion of the country. Then will be realized, even in a grander way than the fathers imagined, some of the noblest dreams of that wonderful group of men who founded the Kepnblic. The more we study the career of the dozen leading minds of that first revolutionary epoch, the more are we compelled to admire their prophetic foresight. We are just coming to the point in national affairs where we glimpse the vast horizon which bounded their wide survey. Unless Ave mistake, the coming few years aie to realize, in the education of the people, some of their loftiest dreams. LXXIX. Advocacy of the national university proposition by Hon. L. Q. 0. Lamar in his report as Secretary of the Interior, for the fiscal year ending January 30, 1885, wherein he said : Eighty years ago President Jefferson, then in the fullest tide of his authority as a party chief, told Congress that to complete the circle of Democratic policy a national university was a necessity and should at once be created. In this he followed the recommendations of his predecessors, Washington and Adams, the former of whom ten' years before declared that the desirableness of a national university had so con- stantly increased with every new view he had taken of the subject that he could not omit the opportunity of recalling the attention of Congress to its importance. Mr. Madison, in 1810, renewed the recommendation, with the declaration that such an institution would contribute not less to strengthen the foundations than to adorn the structure of our free and happy system of government, and that it would be universal in its beneficial effects. This national institution which Washington, Adams, Jefferson, and Madison thought so necessary has never been established; and in these later years the idea of a national university constitutes no part of the plans of statesmen and seems to have been lost sight of by the people. In the meantime scientific bureaus have grown up one by one under the Govern- ment, with observatories, laboratories, museums, and libraries, until the whole range 1 Cong. Eecord, 45th Cong., 2d sess.. Vol. 7, p't. i., p. 7. *Cong. Record, 45th Cong., 3d sess., Vol. 8, p't. i., p. 7. 84 A NATIONAL UNIVERSITY. of physical science is represented by national institutions established by the Gov- ernment for the purpose of prosecuting researches embracing astronomy, meteorol- ogy, geograpliy of land and sea, geology, chemistry, statistics, mechanical inven- tions, etc. If the various commissions, bureaus, and divisions of the Executive De- partments at Washington which laave for their object the prosecution of scientific research could be combined as integral parts of one scientific institution, such an institution would be of greater proportions and more comprehensive than any other in the world ; and should a university be erected thereon, with a superstructure commensurate with the foundation, it would be without a rival in any country. The common- school system, designed to furnish every citizen with an education which ought to be a strict necessity for his daily work of life, constitutes the foun- dation of our democracy. But this is not enough to satisfy its instincts. In the history of nations democracies have been the cradles of pure thought and art. The same cause which operated in tliem exists in American society, and whether through a national university or in fragmentary institutions in the several States, sooner or later a higher education, higher than the common school or the academy or the col- lege can furnish, will alone realize and express the higher aspirations of American democracy.' LXXX. The advocacy of the university idea by Eev. Dr. A. D. Mayo, in Education, March number, 1885 : A new claim to our admiration of the father of our country is found in a review of his life and o]5iuions on the theme which is now so rapidly coming to the front in our national life — the education of the j)eople. But his favorite educational idea was a national university, to be located in the national capital, under the auspices and suiiervision of the General Govern- ment. * * * According to the best ideals and the imperative necessities of a century ago, this plan of Washington was one of the greatest thoughts of the new American life. « * * But this noble design of AVashington has never been realized, partly from the sharp rivalries of States, localities, and religions bodies, jealous of a great central institution that would overshadow them all. These rivalries only multiplied by the vast and unexpected growth of the country. But there are other and lai'ger reasons for the failure. Within the past century the idea of university life and of the higher education has greatly changed. The contacts of college life have greatly enlarged. A whole hemisphere of elaborate culture — to some the most important hemisphere — has been added to the narrow curriculum of classics, mathe- matics, and philosophy of that day; the varied departments of physical studies, and the industrial, technical, and artisan training develo]3ed by applied science and inventive skill ; with immense exj)ansion in the realm of history, philology, lit- erature, music, and the fine arts; and, not inferior in importance to any, the science and art of instruction. It is doubtful if any university, however magnificently en- dowed, even supported by national patronage, could possibly assume the direction of the whole circle of the higher education as understood to-day. This can only be understood by groups of schools, generously endowed, supervised by experts, and, at best, connected Avith each other by a bond that is little more than an abstract name. ■* * * Every large American city has its special merit, and many of them are superior in certain lines of power, culture, and virtue to the city of Washington. But Wash- ington is the only city which is growing to be metroiiolitan under the soleinfiucnce » Eeport Sec. of Int. for 1885, p. 86. A NATIONAL UNIVERSITY. 85 of the n.ational idea. This is tlie ouo spot in the Union where no man can safely put on airs of local superiority; where State and sectional pride are of little account; where religious sects and social cliques, and even the shar]) distinctions of country and race, all subside in the presence of the mnjestic natiouality Avhich, like a gracious mother, assures to its children the largest freedom, with only the strong compulsion of the law that shall make our people one. So here, if anywhere, must we look for the realization of what Washington saw in vision. LXXXI. Advocacy of the proposition, iu tlie International Eeview for December, 1885, by Lester F. Ward. In commenting' upon references to tlie recommendation of Hon. L. Q. C. Lamar, Secretary of tlie Interior, in Ms report of 1885, Mr. Ward says : But a true university is not a mere school for the training of great numbers of young people. It is an institution in which the most i^erfect appliances for original research may be brought together, and Avhere a few who are able and willing to avail themseh^es of them may have the opportunity to do so. The tenor of the Sec- retary's report clearly shows that this is what he contemplated by a national uni- versity. He regards the existing scientific bureaus of the Government, with all their apparatus and appliances, as the " foundation" upon which to erect a nniversity as a " superstructure," thus making a positive aid to the necesssary research that the Government must carry on. The whole would thus become a great American insti- tute, analogous in some respects to the Institute of France. ' LXXXII. Tbe article on a national nniversity by G. G. H., dated January 1, 1880, and published in Vol. Yii, p. 12, of Science. LXXXIII. The contributions of Dr. Charles Kendall Adams, presi- dent of Cornell University, in an address on " Washington and the Higlier Education," delivered on February 22, 1888; from which the following quotations are made : The time when the Federal Government was formed was the occasion when provi- sion should have been made fbr education in all of its grades. But the golden op- portunity was lost. A few saw the " Tide in the affairs of men Wbicli, taken at the flow, leads on to fortune," but the number was too few to accomplish any result. Alas ! that the next genera- tions were to realize that "The goklen opportunity Is never offered twice." If there were not wanting a few who saw the need of more general and systematic provisions for higher education, I think it may justly be said that there were only two whose efforts are worthy of note— Jefterson and Washington — the one through his successful end.eavors to establish a university of character in his own State, the other through a still loftier though unsuccessful desire to found a national university at the national capital. * * * The next contribution of Jefferson to the cause of higher education in America was still more characteristic of his fertile and peculiar genius. It was that inter- esting proposal of his to take up one of the European universities and transplant it to the soil of the United States. * * * But the Genevan episode, though in itself it never for a moment had any prospect of success, was not without one important result. It performed the service of calling ' International Eeview, Vol. 6, p. 539. 'J 86 A NATIONAL UNIVERSITY. attention to the weakness of the prevailing educational system. It tended to clear the atmosphere of the haziness on educational questions that everywhere seemed to prevail. Most important of all, it brought Washington to a decision on one impor- tant question concerning which, for a considerable time, he had been in doubt. If he did not turn the scheme lightly aside, as a project of no importance, we must sup- pose it was because of the really serious and elaborate importunities of Jefferson. The father of the project knew that Washington had contemplated an important gift toward the establishment of a national university. But even Jefferson's impor- tunities failed to shake the wise judgment of Washington. The idea of a national university he was indeed in favor of. But the objections to the Swiss project seemed to him insurmountable. He distinctly avowed his unwillingness to subordinate the idea of an American university to a foreign body of professors, even were they, as a body, to constitute the most learned faculty in Eurojie. He declared that a foreign importation en masse might preclude some of the first professors in other countries from participation in the proposed national university. In short, while insisting that the new university should be distinctively American in character, he took, a broadly international view of the subject, and declared that they ought to hold them- selves free to choose the ablest professors, in whatever country they were to be found. * * * 1/ Washington announced his views and purposes on many different occasions. There are two or three utterances, however, which contain so much wisdom, as well as clearness of purpose, that no mere abstract can do them justice, and, there- fore, I beg to quote the passages in full. Before doing so, however, I would call your attention to the three reasons em- bodied in the extracts I shall quote. The first is a postulate, not so much expressed as taken for granted, that special, and careful, and somewhat elaborate training in governmental affairs is necessary to the political welfare of the country. In the second place, he deplores in express terms the going abroad of so many young men to complete their education, since, in their formative days, they are likely to imbibe political principles antagonistic to the institutions under which they are to live. And, in the third place, as if anticipating the very misunderstandings and prejudices that formed so large an element in bringing about our civil war, he dwells espe- cially upon the importance of bringing the youth from all parts of the country to a common educational center of higher learning, in order that, " by freedom of inter- course," and " collision of sentiment," their misunderstandings and prejudices may be worn away. * * * Thus fully did Washington set forth his views. With what wisdom and prescience did he behold what was before the country I He foresaw the sectional jealousies that were likely to arise, and he sou^ght to avert them. He deplored the alienation from republican institutions that would spring up in immature minds, educated under foreign skies. He saw, and again and again proclaimed, the necessity of thorough and elaborate instruction in the science of government, and he ardently desired that the necessity of going to foreign lands for such instruction should be obviated. He knew that private benevolence, even if supplemented with the resources of the States, would be inadequate to establish the needed institution. He saw that, of all forms of government, those which are most dependent upon the intelligence and morality of the people, must make the most careful provision for education in morality and intelligence. He was fully aware that the ends which he sought could not be attained without the help of secondary as well as university education, and, there- fore, he divided his gift between a preparatory school in Virginia, and a university at the national capital. Thus we see that he labored under no such pestilent delusion as to suppose that an education in the mere rudiments of knowledge is a guaranty against the political dangers that were to be averted. It was a university — a university in the broadest and highest sense of the term, that was the peculiar object of his educational solici- tude. A NATIONAL UNlVEESITY. 87 There is something in the persistency and the nobility of Washington's thought on the subject of a national university that reminds us of what occurred only tea years later at the capital of one of the nations of Europe. Prussia had fallen under the contemptuous displeasure of Napoleon ; had been humiliated and well nigh des- troyed. Despoiled of her fortresses, robbed of half her territory, her army, even for purposes of defense, reduced to a handful of men, to her more than to any other of Napoleon's foes, it had been permitted " To read tlie book of fate, And see the revolution of the times Make mountains level, and the continent, Weary of solid firmness, melt itself Into the sea." But through the welter of that sad ruin there rang out the clear voice of a philoso- pher, proclaiming that the only gospel of salvation for Prussia was the gospel of ed- ucation. At the very moment when French bayonets were in possession of Berlin, Fichte lifted up his voice in the "Eeden an die Deutsche Nation," in which, throughout the elaborate argument of fourteen lectures, there was this ever recur- ring refrain: ''Education is the only means by which we can be rescued from our present helpless condition. " The keynote of that appeal, the pathetic eloquence of which resounded throughout Germany, was in the sentence: ''I hope to convince Germans that nothing but education can rescue us from the miseries that overwhelm us." And the foundation of his argument was laid in a doctrine which he has con- densed into a single sentence. " Education, " said he, " education, as hitherto con- ducted by the church, has aimed only at securing for men happiness in another life; but this is not enough, for men need to be taught how to bear themselves in the present life so as to do their duty to the State, to others, and to themselves. " The lectures, which were little else than an eloquent and impassioned elaboration of this theme, made so profound an impression upon the country, and especially upon the Government, that a commission of five of the most eminent scholars of Prussia was appointed to elaborate and recommend a system that would embody these ideas. All grades of education were remodeled and reduced to substantial uniformity of system. To us, in this discussion, it is of chief interest to note that one of the first fruits of the movement was the founding of the university at Berlin ; a university which, now that three-quarters of a century have passed, brings annually together, for the most advanced learning the world can give, more than five thousand of the most intelligent and the most aspiring young men of Germany. It would be easy to point out how the works of such men as Niebuhr and Eauke and Mommsen and Savigny and Boeckh and Virchow and Helmholz, and others of kindred renown, each of whom, in his sphere, has stood at the very pinnacle of hu- man knowledge, have inspired the thoughts and illuminated the paths of scholars in allparts of the world. But, fascinating as this theme would be, it would be more to our purpose to-day to contemplate the effect of this system of education upon the Ger- man people and the German nation. It must, however, suffice simply to say that it has taken the shattered and impoverished and disheartened Germany of 1810 and made it the united and prosperous and confident Germany of the present day. And it was work in some sense akin to this that Washington, our Washington, desired to do for the American people. He saw and deplored certain disintegrating tendencies in education as well as in politics.; In the political field, thanks to the efforts chiefly of Hamilton and Marshall and'Webster, the thoughts of the country were so led that when the hour of trial came, the tendency was successfully thwarted and the danger, as we now trust, permanently overcome. But there were no Hamil- tons or Marshalls or Websters for the work of education. The tongue of history is silent as to what has become of the bequest for a national university embodied in the last will and testament of Washington. Certain it is that the general apathy on the subject was so profound that the means provided for from Washington's jirivate for- tune for such a university have never been devoted to the noble purpose for which 88 A NATIONAL UNIVERSITY. tliey were designed. lu striving to live, the conntry forgot to make provision for living well. It is perhaps in vain to si>eculate as to what results would have followed if Wash- ington's plan had been met in the spirit in which it Avas intended aud announced. But it is at least not difficult to imagine that, if the same wisdom had prevailed in organizing our education that characterized our early political history, we should have had an educational center that would have shed its elevating and inspiring iu- tiuence over the whole country, and, as Washington said, by bringing the youth from all parts of the land together, would have tended, at least, to bind all sections of the country into a more sympathetic and harmonious union. ^ LXXXIV. The paper of Dr. Andrew D. White, ex-president of Cornell University, published in the Forum for June, 1888, from which the following extracts are taken : Two or three years since the newspapers announced Mr. Tulane's gift of over a mil- lion of dollars to found a university in Louisiana; a little later came Mr. Clarke's gift of 'two millions, with hints of millions more, to found a university in Massachu- setts; and now come details of Governor Stanford's gift of many more millions to found a university in California. During this recent period, too, have come a multi- tude of noble gifts to strengthen universities already established; among them such as those of Mr. Agassiz, Mr. Greenleaf, and Mr. Boyden, at Harvard ; of Mr. Kent, Mr. Marquand, and Mr. Chittenden, at Yale ; of Mr. Phcenix, at Columbia ; of Mr, Green and Mr. Marquand, at Princeton ; of Mr. McCormick, at the University of Virginia. ; of Mr. Crwuse, at Syracuse ; of Mr. Sage, Mr. Sibley, and Mr. Barnes, at Cornell, and scores of others. All these are but the continuation of a stream of munificence Avhich began to flow in the earliest years of the nation, but which has especially swollen since the civil war, in obedience to the thoughts of such as Peabody, Sheffield, Cooper, Cornell, Vassar, Packer, Durant, Sage, Johns Hopkins, Sibley, Case, Rose, and very many more. Such a tide of generosity bursting forth from the hearts and minds of strong and shrewd men, who differ so widely from each other in residence and ideas, yet flowing in one direction, means something. What is it? At the source of it lies, doubtless, a perception of duty to the country and a feeling of pride in the country's glory. United with this is, naturally, more or less of an honorable personal ambition ; but this is not all ; strong common sense has done much to create the cvirrent and still more to shape its course. For, as to the origin of this stream, the wealthy American knows perfectly that the laws of his country favor the dispersion of inherited wealth rather than its retention ; that in two or three generations at most his descendants, no matter how largo their inheritance, must come to the level determined by their character and ability; that their character and ability are most likely to be injured, and therefore the level to which they subside lowered, by an inheritance so large as to engender self-indulgence ; that while, in Great Britain, the laws and customs of primogeniture and entail enable men of vast wealth to tie up their property, and so to found families, this, in America, is impossible ; and that though the tendency to the equalization of fortunes may sometimes be retarded, it can not be prevented. So, too, as to the direction of the stream; this same common sense has given its main channel. These great donors have recognized the fact that the necessity for uni- versal primary education will always be seen and can be adequately provided for only by the people as a whole; but that the necessity for that advanced education which alone can vivify and energize the whole school system, drawing a rich life up through it, sending a richer life down through it, will rarely be provided for, save by the few men wise enough to undexstaud a great national system of education and Btrong enough to efficiently aid it. iPp. 17-36. A NATIONAL UNIVERSITY. 89 It is, then, plain, good sense which has led mainly to the development of a mnuif- icence such as no other laud has seen; therefore it is that the long list of men who have thus distiuguished themselves aud their country is steadily growing longer, and it may be safely prophesied that the same causes which have led to this large growth of munificence will lead to yet larger growths. It is in view of these vast future gifts to the country that I jireseut this paper. It is the result of no sudden impulse or whim; it is the outgrowth of years of observa- tion and thought among men as well as among books, in public business as well as in university work, in other countries as well as our own, in other times as Avell aa our own. Our country has already not far short of four hundred colleges aud universities, more or less worthy of those names, besides a vast number of high schools aud acade- mies quite as worthy to be called colleges and universities as many which bear those titles. But the system embracing all these has by no means reached its final form. Probably in its more complete development the stronger institutions, to the number of twenty or thirty, will, within a generation or two, become universities in the true sense of the word, restricting themselves to university work, beginning, perhaps, at the studies now usually undertaken in the junior year of our colleges, and carrying them on through the senior year, with two or three years of special or professional work afterwards. The best of the others will probably accejjt their mission as colleges in the true sense of the word, beginning the course two years earlier than at i)resent and con- tinuing it to what is now tlie junior year. Thus they will do a work intermediate between the general school system of the country and the universities, a work which can be properly called collegiate, a work the need of which is now sorely felt, and which is most useful and honorable. Such an organization will give us as good a system as the world has ever seen, probably the best system. Every man who has thought to much purpose upon this mass of institutions de- voted to advanced instruction must feel that it is just now far more imi)ortantto strengthen those we have than to make any immediate additions to their number. How can this best be done? My answer is that this and a multitude of other needs of the country can be best met by the foundation of a university in the city of Wash- ington. LXXXV. The contribution by ex-President A. D. White, of New York, to the Forum in January, 1889, wherein he discusses the need of another university : Down to about twenty-five years ago an American university was a very simple thing indeed. Apart from a few outlying professional departments, it generally consisted of the " college proper," in which the great mass of students Avas carried, willingly or unwillingly, through the same simple, single course, without the slight- est regard for diiferences between them in aims, tastes, or gifts. * ^ * That was probably the lowest point in the history of higher education during the past hundred years. It had not the advantages either of the tutorial system in the English universities or the professorial system in the German universities. Nor had it the advantages of that earlier period in our own country, when strong teachers came directly into living contact with their students, as in the legendary days of Yale, when President Dwight in the chair grappled w^ith Galhouu upon the benches, or of exceptional places later, as when President Hopkins fought over various ques- tions with his student Garfield. The whole system had become mainly perfunctory. A few students did well in spite of it, but the scholarly energies of most were paralj^zed by it. Anything like research or investigation by an undergraduate, in any true sense, was unknown. * * * Such universities required little endowment. The professors, though frequently V 90 A NATIONAL UNIVERSITY. men of high character and ability, were few and poorly paid, the snlaries heing mainly determined by the price at which trustees could fill the facultj'^ with clergy- men who had proved unsuccessful as pastors. Money was also saved by requiring one professor to teach many different subjects, his instruction being considered satis- factory if by diligent reading he could keep just ahead of his students. Much money was saved by the employment of tutors, for tutors came cheap. They were, as a rule, young men just out of college, ''very poor and very pious," who while study- ing in the adjacent theological school would, for a small stipend, sit in a box three times a day and "hear recitations." This, as a rule, meant having yormg men give the words of a text book as nearly as possible, or construe Latin or Greek mainly from the inevitable surreptitious translation, the tutor rarely discussing the subject or making the slightest comment on it, but simply making a mark upon his private book to denote his view of the goodness or badness of each performance. This was probably the most woeful substitute for education ever devised by the unwisdom of man. Occasionally a bright instructor galvanized an appearance of life into it, but it was dead. A few great men rose above it, but generally the aspi- rations even of excellent teachers were stifled in the atmosphere it engendered. Cheapest and worst of all were the instructors in modern languages, refugees thrown on our shores by the various European revolutions during the first half of the cen- tury ; an unkempt race who were willing to submit to the practical jokes of sopho- mores for wages which would barely keep soul and body together. As to equipment, all was on the same cheap scale. * * * Such was the general condition of the leading American universities about the middle of this century. Now, all has been changed; the development in the higher education, even during the last twenty years, in the subjects taught, in the courses presented, in the number of professors, in libraries, laboratories, collections for illus- tration and research, and in buildings, has been enormous. Institutions for the Mgher education, when they have been fitly developed toward the proper standard ot a university, have been obliged to enlarge their teaching force equipment, and buildings, on very much the same scale of increase seen in our railroads, ocean steamers, hotels, and business generally. * * * To found an institution and call it a university in these days, with an income of less than a quarter of a million of dollars a year, is a broad farce. Even with that sum many of the most important spheres of university activity must be neglected. Twice the amount is not more than adequate, and Harvard University, which has an in- come of more than twice that amount, is at this moment showing cogent reasons for demanding more. And the tendency is ever toward a greater expenditure. This is neither to be scolded at nor whined over. Just as the material demands of this wonderful time have created vast hotels, steamships, and railway systems, so the moral and intel- lectual demands are creating great universities. One result is as natural andnovmal as the other ; indeed, all are parts of one great demand. To go back from the pres- ent universities to the old sort of colleges, would be like giving up railroads and go- ino- back to stage coaches. The gentlemen who purpose to meet this demand in ed- ucation by endowing colleges and universities no better equipped than the best of thirty years ago, are like men who should oti:er skiffs to persons wishing to cross the Atlantic, or gigs to those wishing to visit California. To provide and maintain an eflicientuniversity library to-day costs more than was required thirty years ago to maintain a large college ; to carry on any one of the half dozen laboratories required for a university may cost in these days a sum larger than some of our largest universities then required. * * * Regarding the advantages of Washington as the seat of a university, the splendid foundations already existing there in men, means, and material, and what might be built on this basis, I shall speak in another article. A NATIONAL UNIVERSITY 91 LXXXVI. Ex-President A. D. White's discussion of "A University at Washington," in the Forum for February, 1889, from which the follow- ing passages are taken: Eegarding the position of Washington as a center in which are hronght to- gether great educational resources, and from which are radiated vast influences upon American life, the iirst main point is, that it is a permanent or temporary residence of very many leading men upon whom a tiniversity might draw for iiis lecture rooms or council chambers. In Congress, from which most people expect little of the sort, are many who can speak with acknowledged authority on subjects which every uni- versity worthy of the name has to consider. * * * Next, as to men specially known in literary pursuits, the veteran historian and statesman who years ago chose Washington as his residence has proved to be a far- sighted pioneer ; others have followed him, and the number constantly increases. Everything combines to attract them : the salubrity of the place, save in midsummer, the concourse of men best worth knowing from all parts of the world, and the at- tractiveness of a city in which intellectual eminence has thus far asserted itself above wealth. So well known is this that the various societies of a literary tendency are more and more making Washington their annual place of meeting; the American Historical Society was one of the first to do this, and others are following its ex- ample. But it is more especially as a source of scientific activity that Washington has taken the foremost place in the nation. It is rapidly becoming one of the great sci- entific centers of the world. The Smithsonian Institution, the National Museum, the great Govermnent surveys, sundry Government commissions and bureaus whose work is largely scientific, and many retired officers of the Army and Navy who have interested themselves in scientific pursuits, all combine to lay strong foundations for scientific activity. * * * This aggregation of so many investigatoi's in so many fields has naturally led to the gathering of apparatus and means for carrying on scientific inquiry. * * * There is no need to dwell upon all the advantages accruing to the country from such an organization; most of them can be easily seen; but I will touch on one which might, at first sight, not be thought of. The city of Washington is rapidly becoming a great metropolis. It is developing the atmosphere which is to give char- acter to the executive, the judicial, and especially the legislative business of the nation. What shall that atmosj)here be ? Shall it be made by luxurious millionaires, anx- ious only for new fields in which to display their wealth ? Shall it be an atmos- phere of riotous living, without one thought of better things ? Shall it be redolent merely of political scheming and stock-jobbing by day and of canvasbacks and terra- pin by night ? In such a future, legislative cynicism and corruption will be, of course, for they will present the only means by which men can adjust their lungs to the moral atmosphere. Shall it not rather be a capital where, with the higher satisfac- tion and graces of civilized living, there shall be an atmosphere of thought upon the highest subjects of work in the most worthy fields, of devotion to the noblest aims? Such an atmosphere a great university, with the men and work involved in it, would tend to develop, and jin it demagogism would wither and corruption lose the main element of its support,' j We may well suppose that some considerations of this kind passed through the mind of him whose great name our capital bears, and that they were among the thoughts which prompted him to urge, again and again, the founding there of a university worthy of the nation. LXXXYII. The significant contribution to the university cause by Mr. Albert Haupert, in a communication of February, 1889, to the Ohio Educational Monthly, from the great University of Berlin, where, like 92 A NATIONAL TJNIVP]RSITY. SO many otliers, lie liacl been constrained to seek advantages not to be fonnd in his own country: "The main hhidravce to literary and scientific progress in the United States is the tuant of a ffrcat central univcrsiti/." In this manner did Dr. Dollinger, one of the ablest scholars and theologians in Europe, recently speak before the Munich Academy of Science. I Avas so struck by the remark that many thoughts about the matter have been awakened by it. The doctor thus not only furnished me with a text, but in- sjiired an entire discourse. * * * The main weakness of our educational system, as a whole, is its fragmentary, dis- connected character. Just herein, then, is the main necessity for establishing a great central national university to be found. Such an institution would at once become the most powerful factor for unity in the entire system, and form the great center for all edxxcational aims and movements. This is what we preeminently need at present — unity in the whole structure, from the humblest schoolroom in the country to the most celebrated university class room — consistency, unity. * * * Hear what Prof. Lord, of Dartmouth College, says about unity in German schools: "It is impossible that teachers of different grades should be ignorant of the methods and principles that guide each other. They are all memljers of one iody and work in a common plan." In this union lie the strength and suiieriority of German edu- cation. * * * * -s * • Before concluding this part of the subject I would only emphasize the statement that a great central university would be the most potent general factor for harmon- izing the various eccentric movements in our schools, and then we would have re- moved the reproach which Dr. Dollinger has so justly cast upon us. What have we as a nation to compare with the universities of Berlin, Oxford, or Vienna? We could secure a coml)ination of talent which would become the pride of the nation and rival the greatest seats of learning in Europe. Then so many American students would not be compel]ed to go to Europe because they are not satisfied with the attainments of the average student at home. This institution is bound to come into existence sooner or later, and I am surprised that our Government, whose generous heart is so ready to respond to the welfare of the people, has not taken steps with regard to the matter. * * * Then our educational system, like the great solar system, would have a sun and a center of gravity, around which all the planets and their satellites would revolve in unity and unbroken harmony, i LXXXVIII. The address of Prof. Herbert B. Adams, of Johns Hop- kins University, before the National Educational Association, at a meeting in Washington, March, 1889 : It is needless to give further illustrations of State aid to American universities. * * * The principle of State aid to at least one leading institution in each Com- monwealth is established in every one of the Southern and Western States. » * * Turning now from historic examples of State aid to the higher education by individ- ual American Commonwealths, let us inquire briefly concerning the attitude of the United States Government towards institutions of science and sound learning. Washington's grand thought of a national university, based upon individual en- dowment, may be found in many of his writings, but the clearest and strongest statement occurs in his last will and testament. There ho employed the following significant language: [Quoted already, on p. 41.] # * * « « ■ * * Here was the individual foundation of a national university. Here was the first suggestion of that noble line of public policy subsequently adopted in 1816 by our » Ohio Educational Monthly, Vol. 30, pp. 193-196. A NATIONAL UNIVERSITY. 93 General Goverument in relation to the Smithsonian Institution. The will of James Smithson, of England, made in 1826, was "to found at Washington, under the name of the Smithsonian Institution, an establishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men." A simpler educational bequest, with such for-reaching results, was never before made. Whether James Smithson was inliuenced to this foundation by the example of Washington is a curious problem. Smithson's original bequest, amounting to something over $500,000, was accepted by Congress for the purpose designated, and was placed in the Treasury of the United States, where by good administration and small additional legacies (in two cases from other individ- uals) the sum has increased to over $700,000. Besides this, the Smithsonian Institu- tion now has a library equal in value to the original endowment, and acquired by the simple process of government exchanges, and it owns buildings equal in value to more than half the original endowment. During the past year, as shown by the Secretary's report, the Institution was "charged by Congress with the care and dis- bursement of sundry appropriations," amounting to $220,000. The National Museum is under the direction of the Secretary of the Smithsonian, and the Government appropriations to that Museum since its foundation aggregate nearly $2,000,000. The existence and ever-increasing prosperity of the Smithsonian Institution are standing proofs that private foundations may receive the fostering care of Govern- ment without injurious results. . ^ George Washington, like James Smithson, placed a x^rivate bequest, so that the \ General Government might extend to it " a favoring hand;" but in those early days Congress had no conception of the duties of Government towards education and \ science, although attention was repeatedly called to these subjects by enlightened\ ^ executives like Thomas Jefferson, "Father of the University of Virginia," James* ] Madison, James Monroe, and John Quincy Adams. It took Congress ten years to es- , tablish the Smithsonian Institution after the bequest had been accepted and the//' money received. Unfortunately, George Washington's Potomac stock never paid but one dividend, and there was no pressure in those days towards educational appro- jiriations froni an ever-increasing surplus. The aifairs of the Potomac Company were finally merged into the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, which became a profitable enterprise, and endui-es to this day. What became of George Washington's "con- solidated stock " of that period, history does not record. Jared Sparks, Washing- ton's biographer, thought the stock was "held in trust" by the new company for the destined university. There is probably little danger that it will ever be thrown upon the market in a solid block by the Treasury of the United States, to which the stock legally belongs, unless the present surplus should suddenly vanish, and the General Government be forced to realize upon its assets for the expenses of the admin- istration. * * * Washington's dream of a great university, rising grandly u^pon the Maryland bank of the Potomac, has remained a dream for more than a century. But there is nothing more real or persistent than the dreams of great men, whether statesmen like Baron von Stein, or poets like Dante and Petrarch, or prophets like Savonarola or thinkers like St. Thomas Aquinas, the fathers of the church and of Greek philoso- phy. States are overthrown; literatures are lost; temples are destroyed; systems of thought are shattered to pieces like the statues of Phidias; but somehow truth and beaiity, art and architecture, forms of poetry, ideals of liberty and government of sound learning and of the education of youth, these immortal dreams are revived from age to age and take concrete shape before the very eyes of successive genera- tions. ' LXXXIX. Support of the proposition by Dr. Otis T. Mason, curator of the ethnological department of the ISi ational Museum — I Proceedings Nat. Ed. Ass'n, 1889, pp. 267-270. 94 A NATIONAL UNIVERHITY. (1) In a communication of 1889, to the president and trnstees of Columbian University, from wliicli tlie following, quoted by Dr. J. 0. Welling in liis published paper hereinafter mentioned: In the first place, such au iustitiition Avould draw students from all parts of the land, and instead of imiioverishing the State institutions would only stimulate them. Secondlj^, an increased local jiatronage might be expected from Maryland and Virginia, but this increment would be small so far as it is determined by geograph- ical considerations alone. Thirdlj', and preeminently, all who have written about this subject seem to have entirely overlooked a principal source of supply in the immediate vicinage of such a university. I refer to the Government employes. There are not far from 10,000 clerks in our Washington civil list, 2,000 of whom, it may be estimated, are anxious for university instruction of some kind; but let us say 1,000. Already in the Co- lumbian, Georgetown, Howard, and other law and medical schools of Washington, we find 500 persons earning a living by working for the Government, and at the same time pursuing professional studies. The National Museum, the Geological Survey, the Patent Office, etc., are thronged with young men — some of them graduated from our State colleges — who Avould be glad to pursue university studies. I have given much thought to this subject, and there is scarcely a month in which I am not importuned for sx^ecial instruction which now can not be had short of Bal- timore, in the Johns Hopkins University. ^ (2) By his lecture before the historical seminary of Johns Hopkins University on the Educational Aspect of the United States National Museum, from which these quotations are made : The interpretation of Smithson's bequest, elaborated by the four men whose names I have mentioned — Henry, Baird, Goode, and Langley — makes our Institution a great world university in the highest sense of the word universitas. The increase and dif- fusion of knowledge to all men so far as in us lies, the increase of knowledge by the exploration of the heavens, the earth, and the waters for new knowledge of all and every kind, and the diffusion of knowledge by communicating to all the researches of all which last is only another name for increase by diffusion. The Smithsonian Institution has come to be a world university for the increase of knowledge, first, by research; second, by publication; third, by the international exchange, Avhich I may be permitted to explain at a little more length. For the increase of knowledge among men, the Smithsonian Institution has inter- national exchange, its publications, its library, its bureau of ethnology and other explorations, and its museum. By the international exchange it is the aim of our Institution to put its publica- tions and those of the Government into every great library of the world, to place its monographs into the hands of every specialist in the world, to afford a central office through Avhich every explorer for knoAvledgo may s^ieak to every other ex- plorer of knoAvlcdge, without money and without price. ^ * » * By the elaboration of these several points the author makes a showing not only of the marvelous achievements of the Smithsonian Institution, but also of the instrumentalities and agencies directed by its officers ^The Columbian University: Notes on its relation to the city of Washington con- sidered as the scat t>f a national university, p. 16. ^Notes su])plementary to the Johns Hopkins University, Studies in Historical and Tolitical Science, 1890, No. 4. A NATIONAL UNIVERSITY. 95 and staff of scientists^ that more than justifies the already accepted theory of their practical availability and incalculable value as constitu- ent or coordinate parts of the proposed national university. XC, Support of the general proposition by President James 0. Welling, in the publication of June, 1889, entitled "The Columbian Uni- versity: Notes on its relations to the City of Washington considered as the seat of a National University j" from which are quoted the follow- ing passages, to wit : Suffice it to say, that the Goverutnent of the United States makes an annual ap- propriation of nearly $3;000,000 for the support of scientific work which, in its sev- eral departments, has its headquarters in Washington. * * * ^ university founded here might immediately profit by the fruits of that vast expenditure. But; in studying the intellectual resources of Washington in connection with the possibilities of a great university, it is not enough to consider the educational plant here provided, and the eminent masters of science here congregated, but we must also consider the special constituency from Avhich such a university might hope to draw its patrons and pupils. Washington is to-day a great educational center, not simply because it is a great political center, and not simply because it has become since the civil Avar a brilliant social center, but because it has become the great scientific center of the whole country, and is tlie favorite meeting place of learned societies, many of which gather in Washington from all quarters of the land for an annual exchange of discussions and ideas. When Prof. John Tyudall was delivering in Washington, some years ago, his course of popular lectures on light, he remarked to me that he knew of no city in Europe which could gather a congregation of scientific workers and original investi- gators so large as that which he then met in The Philosophical Society of Washing- ton, under the presidency of Joseph Henry. This society, the oldest of its kind in Washington is only one of the scientific bodies which surround that parent organi- zation at the present time. * « * It remains to say that all these great centers of scientific study and activity are surmounted, sustained, and replenished by the best and largest collection of books in the whole country. This collection consists not only of the library of Congress, the largest single collection in the land, but is also supplemented by important special libraries connected with each of the great Departments of the General Gov- ernment, and with each of the several bureaus among which the scientific work of the Government is here distributed. Everj^ branch of human knowledge has a liter- ary deposit in Washington. For instance, under the head of science alone, the Smithsonian Institution has a deposit ^reckoned by more than 250,000 titles in the alcoves of the library of Congress. In law the same library comprises an invaluable collection of more than 50,000 volumes, covering the jurisprudence of the civilized world. We thus have in the city of Washington more than a million of volumes, selected by experts in the several departments of knowledge, and so housed and administered in close juxtaposition that they are easily accessible to students, whether for reference, for comparative research, or for careful reading ; and all this without money and without price on the part of the university or its pupils. How large a saving of university funds may be effected under this head in Washiugton can be inferred when I recall the fact that the Congress of the United States has just made an appropriation of $6,000,000 for the proper preservation of the literary treasures of the Government in a national library building to be erected almost under the eaves of the National Capitol. In the Corcoran Gallery of Art, the most richly endowed institution of its kind in the country (it has a free endowment of $1,000,000), provision is also made among ua 96 A NATIONAL UNIVERSITY. for the study of the fine arts. Free iustruction in draAving and painting is given in the art school of this gallery. To show how all these appliances may be made directly tributary to university studios with a vast saving of expense on the score of university administration, let me take one or two illustrative examples — say, the National Museum and the chem- ical bureaus of Washington. The National Museum has twenty-two distinct scientific departments under its jurisdiction: The departments of comparative anatomy, of mammals, of birds, of reptiles, of fishes, of mollusks, of insects, of marine invertebrates, of plants, of fossil vertebrates, of j)aleozoic fossil invertebrates, of mesozoic fossil invertebrates, of cen- ozoic fossil invertebrates, of fossil plants, of geology and petrology, of mineralogy, of metiillurgy and mining, of prehistoric archie ology, of ethnology, of oriental antiq- uities, of American aboriginal i)ottery, of arts and industries, comprising under these last-named heads numismatics, graphic arts, foods, textiles, fisheries, historical relics, materia medica, naval architecture, history of transportation, etc. Each of these departments is placed under a curator;, and is jirovided with the necessary ax>pliances for original research; and these apj)liances are yearly increas- ing in completeness and efficiency. In addition to these special appliances each cu- rator has his laboratory with its necessary apparatus, his working library, and his study-series of specimens for use in original investigation. In connection with his sectional library each curator has access to the central library of the museum, now containing over 20,000 volumes, as also to the library of Congress. These scientific laboratories are always open to students and iuA^esfcigators who come either to observe methods of work or to pursue researches of their own with the aid of these aippli- ances. It should be added, as bearing directly on the prolilem of university education, that each of these departmental libraries and laboratories is of the kind which a univer- sity would require if it has a specialist of its own engaged in a minute subdivision of science corresponding to that of the Museum. Some of these laboratories, nota- bly those of zoology, geology, and botany, have a fuller outfit than those of any American university, while others of these laboratories have no analogues at all in the best equipped of our educational institutions. Prof. Otis T. Mason, so honor- ably known to the scientific world as one of the learned curators of the National Museum, can authenticate all that I have said concerning the possible relations which this great scientific workshop is actually bearing, and can be made to bear, to the cause of university education. * * * jjf * *■ ^ * * * ' ' But, it may be said, what relation has all this affluence of scientific apparatus to tiie special behoof of a great viniversity in Washington ? I answer, much every way. A very large part of the sum required for the establishment of a university at Cam- bridge, at New Haven, and at Princeton must needs be exjiended for what is techni- cally called "the educational plant" — buildings, books, costly apparatus, specimens, collections in zoology, botany, archseology, etc. And then large sums must be an- nually expended for the preservation and administration of these buildings and of these illustrative materials. The necessary expenditures of this kind are reduced to a minimum at Washington, for here the choicest materials of education already exist under the custody of the Government, and are off"ered ready-made to the hands of the university which is able to wield them in its service. Nor is this all. In connection with these scientific departments may be found very many of the foremost men of science in our country, and (in certain specialties) in the whole world.M I need but call the names of Newcomb, of Maj. Powell, of Asaph Hall, of Laflgley, of G. Brown Goode, of Dr. John S. Billings, and of many others to set this fact in a clear light. * * ■'■ ';'jSuch a university as I here prefigure would come in no rivalry with any existing (institution under the control of any denomination. It would aim to be the crown and culmination of our State institutious, borrowing graduates from them and repay- A NATIONAL UNIVERSITY. 97 iiig its debt by contributing to tbeni in turn tlie inspiration of bigb cducationnl staudards, and helping also in its measure to train the experts in theology, law, medicine, science, philosophy, and letters, who should elsewhere strive to keep alive the traditions of a progressive scholarship under the auspices of Christianity; \ It is not enough that our colleges should perpetuate and transmit the existing Sum of human knowledge. We must also have our workers on the boundaries of a progress- ive knowledge, if we are to establish our hold on the directive forces of modern society. We must have our men who can work effectively for the increase of learn- ing, because they stand in this living age of ours on the summit of the world's actual achievements in every branch of human thoxight and inquiry. Let us now turn to consider, for a moment, the opportunities which Washington offers for the study of chemical science — that science which to-day is transforming in so many asi)ects the private and the public economy of the world. There are at least seven centers of chemical activity conducted under the auspices of the Govern- ment at the national capital.' XCI. Support of the proposition by Superintendent William A. Mowry, of Salem, Massachusetts, in a paper read before the National Educational Association, at Nashville, in 1889, which j)aper, entitled "A National University, a Study," emphatically declares: The success of Johns Hopkins University has been pheuomeual. It gives oppor- tnnities for a higher standard of scholarship than we before possessed. It has heljied to elevate the work of all the colleges, but it has also served to show clearly the ne- cessity of still further advances. What is needed now is an iustitiition far beyond Johns Hopkins. The liberality of wealthy Americans has been so great as almost to make it seem that it had no limit, but it certainly is not without limit. It can hardly be expected that private muniticence will be able to establish a university in this country with sufficient means to perform adequately the service required in the higher realms of learning. We are, therefore, shut up to the necessity of having this needed institution established by the whole people as represented by our National Government. That, and that alone, will be able to accomplish this great work. Again, I do not think there could be found sufficient reasons fcr establishing by the Gov- ernment a national college of the ordinary type. The State uniA^ersities and the large number of colleges established in the several States by private munificeuce are sufticient for the needs of the people. If the proposed national university were to be modeled after the plan of Harvard or Yale, Cornell or Ann Arbor, or even Johns Hop- kins, it had better not be founded. The purpose and scope of such an institution should be for higher and broader work than can now be done in any existing in- stitution. Its object should be largely for original investigation. It .should, in many departments, at least, aim primarily to reach out to the unknown. Its stand- ard should be higher than that of any institution in the Avorld. j ; And again : / ' The United States should be not only the greatest and strongest of the na- tions, but should be the wisest and most beneficent. She has laid a broad founda- tion for a pyramid (which should be larger and more enduring than those of Egypt) in the general diffusion of the elements of learning for all her youth in our benefit cent system of public schools. Let her now, by the establishment of this national university, build securely and strongly upon this basis, and extend npAvard this great i)yramid till its apex shall be high up in the heavens, above all mists of igno- rance, superstition, vice, and crime. ^ 'pp. 7, 16. 2 Proceedings Nat. Ed. Ass'n. 1889, pp. 189-202. S. Mis. 222 — -7 98 A NATIONAL UNIVEESITY. XCII. Support of the main proposition by Eev. Dr. George D. Boardmaii, of riiiladelpliia, in a leaflet of October 30, 1889, entitled "An American University at Washington," in which occurs the following: Let me mention a few reasons why, as it seems to nie, the city of "Washington is the best place for the proposed university : First. Wasliington is already the capital of our country. As such it is neutral ground for our whole nation, the common property of the North, South, East, West. If our national university is planted at Washington no one can complain of sectional partiality. Again, Washington is not only the civic capital of our Union, it is also our scien- tific capital, and bids to he our intellectual center. Recall its magnificent educa- tional appliances, for example, the Smithsonian Institution, the National Museum, the Geological Survey, the Bureau of Ethnology, the Patent Office, the Army Med- ical Museiim, the Naval Museum of Hygiene, the Weather Bureau, the Coast Survey, the Bureau of Hydrography, the National Observatory, the Agricultural Department, the Botanical Garden, the Zoological Gardens, the Department of Education, the Cor- coran Gallery of Art, the Anthropological Society, the Biological Society, the Botan- ical Society, the Chemical Society, the Geographical Society, the Historical Associa- tion, the Mathematical Society, the Philosophical Society, etc., bringing together a national body of some 600 eminent experts; in fact, nearly all the leading scientific bodies of our country now hold their annual meetings at AVashington. Recall also the magnificent libraries of Washington, containing more than a million volumes, on every variety of subject, open to every inquirer. All these, with educational oppor- tunities, and many others, already exist at Washington and could hardly be dupli- cated excejit at cost of many years of toil and many millions of money. Again, Washington is becoming more and more the Avinter home of cultivated, opu- lent families, thus rapidly taking rank as one of the social centers of the United States. President White, Senator HaAvley, and others in recent contributions to our periodical literature, have iioiutod out the preiiminent advantages of Washington, as the university city of America. In brief, Washington is largely, so to speak, the nation's sensorium — the point where the nation's impressions are received, and whence the nation's conclusions are distributed. Having in another portion of this paper made room for an outline of the movement of 184y-'52 for the establishment of a "national univer- sity " at Albany, notwithstanding the fact that it was not in pursuance of the plan originated by Washington and supported by the long line of its advocates from his day to the present, and, more than anything, because such movement gave evidence of the yearning desire of that day; so now, after just forty years of national growth and the multi- X)lication of institutions broader, higher, and better equipped than any in that day, mention is here made of new enterprises, with similar ends in view, lately begun by two of the great churches of America. The Catholic University of America, incorporated in 1886, and thus begun but yesterday, was inaugurated M'ith imposing ceremonies, on November 13, 1889. The event is thus briefly chronicled iu the offi- cial report of that date : The first centenary of the hierarchy iu the United States was fittingly crowned by the inauguration of the Catholic University of Ameiica. Our Holy Father, Pope Leo XIII, In his apo?tolic letter of March 7, 1889, notes the relation betAveen these A NATIONAL UNIVERSITY. 99 two eveuts. "In this matter," he says, "we deem most worthy of all praise ;vour intention of inaugurating the university duriug the centenary of the establishment of the Ecclesiastical Hierarchy in your country, as a monument and perpetual me- morial of that most auspicious event." The happy coincidence thus alluded to by his Holiness was an incentive which principally spurred on the work of preparation and secured its accomplishment in due time. An army of workmen were engaged on the building [for the theological department] up to the very eve of the dedication ; but when the eventful day dawned all was in readiness. The structure was richly and tastefully decorated from ground floor to roof. The chajjel, with its thirteen altars, was exquisitely adorned. The professors and most of the students were already lodged in their apartments, ready to receive and welcome the host of expected guests. The twofold object of this institution is set forth in a spirit of candor and conrage. ' It is to be not only a university, but a Catholic university. As such it sends its greetings to all Christendom, and also sets forth its claims to the confidence of lovers of truth everywhere, irrespective of church or creed. That its purposes may be duly represented, we quote the following- passages from the formal discourses of those who had part in the inauguration. From the sermon delivered by the Et. Eev. E. Gilmour, bishop of Cleveland : Civilization is limited only by education. The civilization of this nineteenth cen- tury is but the accumulated results of the world's history. The serpent tempted Eve with the offer of knowledge, and the limit was : "Ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil." * * * The motive that has brought here to-day the Chief Magistrate of this great Repub- lic and these high dignitaries of church and state, and this distinguished audience of the laity, is worthy of deepest thotight. Kind friends ! you are not here to assist at the dedication of this fair building — classic in its lights and shades of art — to the mere cultivation of the arts and sciences, valuable though they are. A higher motive has brought yon here, and a higher motive prompted the first munificent gift and sub- sequent generosity that have rendered this institution possible. This building has just been blessed and forever dedicated to the cultivation of the science of sciences — the knowledge of God. It was well to have begun with the Divinity department, if for nothing else than to teach that all true education must begin in God and find its truth and direction in God. * * * There is a widespread mistake, a rapidly growing jjolitical and social heresy, which assumes and asserts that the state is all temporal and religion all spiritual. This is not only a doctrinal heresy, but if acted on would end in ruin to both spiritual and temporal. No more can the state exist without religion than can the body exist without the soul, and no more can religion exist without the state, and, on earth, carry on its work, than can the soul, on earth, without the body, do its work. * * The morality of the citizen is the real strength of the state, but the teaching of morality is the function of religion, and in so much is religion necessary to the state. # * * In the light of the above fundamental all-important truths, it is not difficult to see how valuable Christian education is to society. Education refines society, elevates man, and directs all to the higher good. No nobler mission than that of a teacher; by office a leader, by talent an inventor, and by genius an originator and director of power. Gioja of Amalfi gave the mariner's compass; Columbus, America; Watt, the steam engine ; and Morse, the telegraph; and these four men have revolutionized the material world. The single thought, "No man shall be oppressed for conscience sake", has given more peace and security to society than all the armies of the world; 100 A NATIONAL UNIVERSITY. and that other thonght, "All meu are created equal", has given a continent its po- litical faith. Now, in the light of these gr.iA-e and fundamental truths the (luestion naturally arises, "What are the end and scope of a University?" — a question that -svill be au- iWered according as we understand the end and mission of the education. * •* * \The end, then, of a university is to gather within its walls the few who are brighter in intellect and keener in thought, and to expand and vivify Avithin them knowledge; then send them forth leaders to instruct and train the masses. * * * The tendency of the age is to level down; to make smatterers instead of thinkers. Perhaps not since the days of Plato and Cicero has there been less depth of thought than at present. Education has increased in quantity, but lessened in quality. * * * To break away from the past is the monomania of the day, and he who does that most recklessly is the Star in the East. Amid this general leveling down and break- ing away we have but faint echoes and fewer voices standing for the truth or giving sturdy blows to error. * ■* * Much has been done, much is doing; but much re- mains to be done to train the few to be leaders. * * * In the curriculum of this Catholic University the best in each of the several branches Avill be adopted, and in the light of European and American experience improved upon. *' * * Let the great ambition of this university be to lead in all that tends to elevate our race, benefit our fellow-citizens, and bless our country. ^ \^ From the discourse of Eev. Father Fidelis on " The Vitality of the Church a Manifestatiou of God": The work which the Catholic Church has accomplished in this country during the century which we are bringing to a close is the same which she has done in other ages and in other lands, btit she has done it in a new way, and in her own way. She has taken hold of neAV conditions of things and adapted herself to them ; and the result of her work is a structure distinctive and typical of the age and country in which we live, and differing from anything that has preceded it as truly as the church of the middle ages differed from the church of the fathers. And, mind yon — for this is the point of all my discourse — she has done this not by any prudence of human forethought, not by any cunning adaptation of policy, but simply because she s a living force, caj)able of acting in all time and in all places, so that srepare great plans for the oncoming generations, it comes to us more and more that in the roll of the centuries, in the ordering of time, God Almighty, the God of our fathers, has selected Bishop Hurst to lay the foundation of the American University for American Methodism. From the address of Eev. Dr. Payne: The time has come for a fuller recognition of the fact that the character of the work now to be done by the Church demands the highest qualities in the workmen em- ployed. Methodism proposes to do her full share in taking this world for Christ in the shortest possible time ; and her full share is a large share. To meet her re- sponsibilities and fulfill her mission she must have the best officers and best com- manded army in Christendom. * « * And to secure the best educational institutions makes necessary the best educa- tional system, the wisest counectional care and supervision, and a loyal, united, enthusiastic rallying of this vast Methodistic host to the support of its own educa- tional institutions and work. ^ * * Methodism is building for a vast future and for uncounted millions. Let us build this glorious temiile of Methodism with its marble front toward the future; build for the coming generations, build for all the years of time and eternity. From tlie address of Bishop Fowler : In this war of the giants our champions must not be wanting. This American University, located at the heart of the nation, not far from the most distant home, with vast accumulations of aijpliances, and to offer the utmost possible advantages, can not wait long for any good thing. AVe can not afford to miss our opportunity. God never forgives a blunder. History moves forward, and destiny approaches by the most certain and discernible laws. Spain can not consign scores of thousands of her most industrious, most intelligent subjects to the torture of the Inquisition with- out suffering severe loss in her wealth. It is not the most profitable use to make of able aud skilled citizens. No wonder Sjiain was transferred from the banker to the paiijier of the race. * * * 108 A NVTI(~»NAL UNIVERSITY. These blunders are never forgiven. If we fail to see our day of opportunity, we shall drop into the rear, and cease to do our part for the evangelization of this land and this world, and that sad voice from the broken-hearted watcher of Olivet will come to us: "O Methodism, Methodism; if tliou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong to thy peace!" From the address of Eev. Dr. MeOabe: If the past is prophetic of the future, this American University will have much to do with the cause of missions. The name of a university professor is a household word in Methodism, because it is connected with that all-couqueriug theology which is believeable and preachable, and which is destined to take the woi'ld — James Arminius, of the University of Leyden. * * * Now it is our purpose to establish in Washington a training school for missionries, where they will have every facility to learn languages and customs and manners of the countries to which we propose to send them. * * * Another feature of our work will be to bring to our country the highest minds of the Orient and educate them, and send them back to their homes saturated with the love of liberty and tlie love of God and of His Son Jesus Christ. From the address of Eev. I>r. Bashford: The cost of maintaining the college in a large city, the diversion of young and im- mature minds through the entertainments of city life, the prevalence of the commer- cial spirit, and, above all, the difficulty of bringing spiritual forces to bear in the most effective manner, may lead the Church for generations to maintain her colleges in more retired localities. But the great cities are absolutely essential to university work. The demand for concentration and study amidst the whirl of business and entertainment is in itself a discipline for professional students. The great hospitals and courts of law, the leading pulpits, the galleries of art, and the great libraries are absolutely essential to the professional student. But what great city is more fa- vorable to university work than the capital of the nation? The University of Paris at the capital of France, is^the largest university in the world. The history of the University, of Berlin is a more striking illustration of this principle. It is a modern university, organized less than a century ago. It was planted in a nation full of universities. And yet with the marvelous advantages of the capital of that great em- pire Berlin University has become within three-quarters of a century the leading university of the world. From the address of Bishop Thobuni: Every naticm, like every individual, has a personal mission, a personal responsi- bility. God gives to a nation as to an individual an opportunity. He lays upon every nation its responsibility. A nation will be held responsible for what is given it, as an individual would be. The position of America is unique. There has never been a great power in human history that occupied such a position as we occupy in the world to-day; and I think one of the great questions which the American peo- ple have not yet fully settled is that of the mission of their own nation in the world. I fear the prevailing opinion is that we have been jiut in this western Avorld, with sui)erb opportunities, simply that we might become the greatest people on the globe. If that foolish conceit takes possession of us, as a people, we are lost. * * * My own conviction has long been that the mission of America in the world is that of be- •ing the missionary nation of modern times — a great agent in the hands of God in bringing all the nations of this Avorld to Christ. * * * Education maintains a prominent place in mission work, and I believe that in the fullness of time this university idea has been started. From the address of Eev. Dr. Moore : But the university period has only dawned in America. Its harbingers have been many, but itself is not older than the opening of Johns Hopkins. It must certainly A NATIONAL UNIVERSITY. 109 be gratifyinjj to I^r^^fclioilists that thus early tlie ]»laii.s are matured aud the enter- j)rise auspiciously inaugurated to found in our national capital a Methodist institu- tion, -which shall be an university in the broadest sense of the term, the scope of whose work is suggested by the fact that it doi's not pro])ose to open its doors until it has an endowment greater than that gathered by all the institutions of our church / in a hundred years. / CIV. Th8 action of the Human Freedom League at the time of its org-auizatiou in Independeuce Hall, Philadelj)liia, on the lltli of Octo- ber, 1891, by resolution iucluding among its duties aud responsibilities that of promoting the establishment of a national university; said reso- lution being as follows: (3) To take up the work outlined by Geoi'ge Washiuglou in his will, whereby he left a large share of his property for the purpose of endowing a university Avhere the youth of tlie country might be educated in statecraft, and push the same to a successful conclusion. Such a university should be national, and yet have its doors always open to the youth of every land. CV. The reading of a paper entitled, "The IsTatio rial -Debt of Honor," by Dr. George Brown Goode, of the Smithsonian Institution, at a meeting of the general committee of the Pan-Republic Congress, held in the Academy of Music at Philadelphia, on the 13th of October, 1891 ; which paper, besides presenting the main facts of Washington's efforts tor a national university, as herein mentioned, strongly urges the obliga- tion of the nation, not only to establish and liberally endow such an institution, but to make good the full amount of the bequest intended by him to be the beginning of its endowment, and concludes with an indorsement of the national committee's plan of the proposed institu- tion, and with a moving appeal in behalf of the great enterprise: xCongress has, however, failed to extend its direct patronage to any educational en- terprise of the highest grade. Unlike most of the governments of the old world, it sujiports no faculties of learned men whose duty it is to discover truth and give it to the world. It has not yet provided a national university so excellent that it is not necessary, in the language of Washington, "for tlie youth of the United States to mi- grate to foreign countries in order to acquire the higher branches of education." While it has established a great system of schools under the patronage of the several States, it has failed to provide a central institution which shall serve as a model for all the others, train teachers for their faculties, afford their scholars post-graduate instruction, and add character aud dignity, intellectual and moral, to the nation's capital. * * * The sum of $4,401,000 [amount of Washington's bequest with compound interest to the present time], if appropriated for this purpose by Congress, and placed in the Treasury of the United States, there to remain paying interest at 6 per cent, would yield over $264,000 each year, a sum that would provide for many professorships, lectureships and scholarshij)s, and fellowships, as well as for the current expenses of several seminaries or colleges. Private gifts would in time be added in large amounts, and Congress would of course erect such buildings as from time to time were found necessary. * * * Among the various plans for the organization aud government of a national uni- versity, that proposed by Governor John W. Hoyt, of Wyoming, and embodied in a 110 A NATIONAL UNIVERSITY. bill unanimously reported by a coiumittee of the House of Representatives, in 1873, is by far the best, and, in its practical features, seems all that could be desired. This bill received the approval of Charles Sumner, Joseph Henry, Louis Agassi z, Spencer F. Baird, John Eaton, William T. Harris, as well as many other distinguished citizens, aud had the sanction of the National Educational Association. CVI. The adoption, by the Paii-Kepublic Congress General Com- mitteeofThree Hundred, ofthe following- preamble andresolntionoifered by John W. Hoyt, at the conclusion of the paper read by Dr. Goode, of the Smithsonian Institution, on the ISth of October, 1891, as above re- cited : Whereas, this general committee, formed for the purpose of advancing the cause of peace and liberal government throughout the world by means of a succession of congresses of the representatives of all civilized lands, could yet further contribute to these great ends by encouraging such organizations and entei'prises as look to the increase of knowledge and of liberal thought among men; and Whereas, it is manifest that a truly national university established at the seat of government of the United States, aud aiming, first, to crown the present incomplete system of American education; secondly, to promote the advancement of knowledge by means of the researches and investigations of its members as well as by its influ- ence upon the science and learning of other lands ; and, finally, to encourage a larger intellectual intercourse and community of feeling among the leading minds of the Avorld, Avould at once prove conservative of our own free institutions, strengthen the bonds of fraternity among all peoples, and contribute to the betterment of govern- mental institutions everywhere ; and Whereas, it appears from the records of history, not only that on this very spot sacred to liberty and independence the importance of such a university was urged by the framers of the American Constitution, but that several of the Presidents, in- cluding George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jeff"erson, James Madison, James Monroe, John Quincy Adams, Ulysses S. Grant, and Rutherford B. Hayes, pressed its early establishment as a patriotic duty ; that President Washington even remembered it witli a liberal gift in his dying bequest ; * * that the proposition to establish it has been sanctioned by other leading statesmen throughout the period of our national history, and, finally, that such proposition has been thrice unanimously indorsed by that great body of American educators, the National Educational Association; therefore, Besolved, That in order to aid in the founding of such an institution, the chairman of this general committee is hereby requested to aiipoint a special committee consisting of one or more members from each of the States and Territories, whose duty it shall to be adopt and carry forward such measures to this end as to them shall seem proper ; reporting to this committee in their discretion, or as required from time to time, and in particular at the time and place of the Pan-Republic Congress to be held in the year 1893. The following committee was appointed : John W. Hoyt, Laramie, Wyo., chairman; Dr. G. Browne Goode, Smith- sonian Institution ; ex-President Andrew D. White, Ithaca, N. Y. ; Dr. Edward Everett Hale, Boston; President A. S. Andrews, Southern University, Greens- boro, Ala.; Rev. Dr. Geo. D. Boardman, Philadelphia; Dr. Chas. B. Cadwal- lader, Philadelphia; President Thomas J. Burrell, Universitj'^ of Illinois; Hon. J. W. Anderson, State superintendent iniblic instruction, Sacramento, Cal. ; Hon, Harvey L, Vories, State superintendent public instruction, Indianapolis, Ind. ; President John R. Winston, University of North Carolinai, Chapel Hill; Dr. JamoB Hall, State geojogietj Albanj^, N. Y. | cx-Pvesideot Horace M. Hale, A NATIONAL UNIVERSITY. Ill University of Colorado; Hon. Edwin F. Palmer, State superintendent public instruction, Waterbury, Vt. ; ex-Senator J. W. Patterson, Concord, N. H. ; Dr. James Grant Wilson, New York Citj'^; Hon. Albert J. Eussell, State superin- tendent public instruction, Tallahassee, Fla. ; Hon. Cortez Salmon, State super- iutendeut public instruction, Pierre, S. Dak. ; President Francis E. Nipber, Academy of Science, St. Louis, Mo. ; Dr. Charles C. Jones, Augusta, Ga. ; Hon. J. E. Preston, State superintendent x^nblic instruction, Jackson, Miss. ; Dr. M. Scheie de Vere, University of Virginia; Hon. William Wirt Henry, Eichmond, Va. ; President Newton Bateman, Knox College, Galesburg, 111. ; Hon. J. W. Dickinson, secretary State board of education, Boston, Mass.; Hon. Thomas B. Stockwell, State commissioner of schools. Providence, E. I. ; Dr. Frank H. Kassou, editor of Education, Boston, Mass.; Dr. H. B. Adams, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Md. ; President T. C. Chamberlin, State University of AVisconsin, Madison, Wis. ; Et. Eev. Ethelbert Talbot, Protestant Episcopal bishop of Wyoming and Idaho ; Hon. S. M. Finger, State superintendent public instruction, Ealeigh, N. C. ; President J. C. Gilchrist, University of Nortliwcst, Pierre, S. Dak. ; Hon. Gardner G. Hubbard, Washington, D. C. ; Col. W. O. McDowell, editor of Home and Country, Newark, N. J. CVII. The address of John W. Hoyt before the Philosophical So- ciety, at Washington, in October, 1891, by request of that body. CVIII. The preparation and wide circulation, by John W. Hoyt, of a leaflet late in 1891, wherein were set forth the claims of tlie pro- posed National University j the same being an outline of this i^resent paper, to wit: A great and true university the leading want of American education. The offices of a true university. Eeasons why the Government should establish such a university. Eeasons for founding such a university at Washington. Summary of the notable efforts hitherto made in this behalf. Eeasons for a renewal of such efforts at this time. The proposition of to-day. The conditions of success. CIX. The interest manifested in various ways and at different times during the past twenty years by numerous distinguished citizens in all portions of the country, including, besides those already named: (1) Such leading educators as — President Thomas Hill, of Cambridge, Mass. ; President F. A. P. Barnard, of Columbia College, New York; President Alexander W. Winchell, of Syra. cuse University, New York] President Erastus O. Haven, of Michigan Uui^ versity; President J. L. Pickard, of Iowa State University; President Paul A. Chadbourne, of Wisconsin State University; Dr. Henry Barnard, United States Commissioner of Education; President J. M. Gregory, of Illinois State University; President J. M. Bowman, of Kentucky University; President W. G, Elliot, of Washington University, St. Louis; President Newton Bateman, of Knox College, Illinois; President David S. Jordan, of Leland Stanford, jr., University; President George T. Winston, University of Mississippi; Dr. M. Scheie de Vere, University of Virginia; President A. S. Andrews, of the South- ern University, Alabama; President Thomas J. Burrill, University of Illinois; President T. C. Chamberlin, University of Wisconsin; President Horace M, Hale, University of Colorado; President James B. Angell, University of Mich- igan j President Francis "W^yland, of Brown University. 112 A NATIONAL UNIVERSITY. (2) Superintendents of public instruction in nearly all the States; the unanimity and cordiality of their support resulting from a convic- tion of the great service a national imiversity would render to the whole system of public schools. (3) Such eminent scholars, scientists, and promoters of science as — Rt. Rev. Bishop Alonzo Potter, New York; Dr. Henry P. Tappaii, chancellor of the University of Michigan ; Prof. Arnold Henry Gu^^ot, Princeton ; Dr. Alex. Dallas Bache, early superintendent of Coast Survey; Prof. Benjamin Peirce, former superintendent of Coast Survey; Prof. Spencer F. Baird, former Secre- tary of Smithsonian Institution; Prof. H. V.Hayden, United States Geologist; Prof. John W. Powell, Director of the U. S. Geological Survey ; Prof. Benja- min Apthorp Gould, astronomer; Prof. Ormsby M. Mitchell, astronomer; Prof. J. Lawrence Smith, president American Association Advancement of Science; Admiral Sands, former Superintendent of National Observatory; Lieut. M. F. Maury, former Superintendent of the Naval Observatory; Dr. S. P. Laugley, present Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution; Dr. Simon New- comb, Superintendent of the Nautical Almanac; Prof. James C. Watson, as- tronomer,Michigan and Wisconsin State Universities; Prof. T. C. Meudeuhall, present Superintendent of the Coast Survey; Dr. James Hall, State geologist. New York; Dr. F. Nipher, president Academy of Science, St. Louis; Hon. Edwin Willits, Assistant Secretary of Agriculture ; Dr. Mark W. Harrington, Chief of the Weather Bureau; Dr. J. S. Billings, Superintendent United States Medical Museum; Gen. A. W. Greely, Chief of the United States Signal Office; Gardner G. Hubbard, president National Geographical So- ciety; Dr. Persifer Frazer, of Philadelphia; Rt. Rev. William Paret, Bishop of Marj'land; Rt. Rev. Thomas M. Clark, of Providence; President William R. Harper, University of Chicago; Prof. Hinsdale, of Michigan University; Dr. J. C. Pumpelly, of New York; Dr. Clark Ridpath, of Indiana; Prof. E. P. Powell, of New York; Dr. Edward Everett Hale, of Massachusetts; Dr. Frank W. Kasson, editor of Education; Dr. James Grant Wilson, of New York; Rt. Rev. Thos. A. Starkey, Bishop of Newark. (4) Such distinguished statesmen, not already cited, as — Ex-President Grover Cleveland, Chief Justice Salmon P. Chase, Gen, W. T. Sherman, Senator Justin S. Morrill, Senator Carl Schurz, Senator Stanley Matthews, Senator James R. Doolittle, Senator Redheld Proctor, Senator John Sherman, Senator Charles F. Manderson, Senator W. F. Vilas ; also, many members of the House of Representatives, such as Samuel Shellabarger, George F. Hoar, James A. Garfield, and William A. Wilson. ex. The steps already taken toward the organization of a National University Association of the United States, to be composed of many of the most eminent citizens of the country, and to have for its sole object the furtherance of this great enterprise. In view of this record of more than a hundred years, showing how deei^ly the subject of a National University has interested a great num- ber of citizens, not a few of them foremost in the history of the Ee- public, the question arises, Why all this effort with so little of visible result? A NATIONAL UNIVEKSITY. 113 The answer is not difficult. At tlie opening of tliis pax)er certain positive liiudrances were pointed out and commented upon. Altbougii these have been almost entirely overcome in the natural course of events, so that today they do not appear an important factor, yet it is true that throughout the greater part of the period since the move- ment was begun by George Washington they were together sufficient to cause much embarrassment and long delay. But there is also to be assigned a negative reason of very great importance, namely, the lack of systematic cooperation on the part of those who have been friends of the measure. Steps in this direction were taken in the palmy days of Joseph Henry, Alexander Dallas Bache, Louis Agassiz, James Apthorj) Gould, James Hall, Bishop Potter of New York, Prof Benjamin Peirce, and their many distinguished associates, as we have seen, but were not persevered in because of the gathering of the storm which shortly after burst with so much fury upon the country. The same is also jDartly true of the university committee of the National Educational Association, whose labors were interrupted for a time by the circumstances hereinbefore mentioned, but whose active work has been at length resumed with even more than the old zeal and energy. It is certainly true, in a general sense, that the National University cause has been without the necessary help of organized agencies. The great amount of work done has been individual, intermittent, unrelated; and hence it is that all who are in sympathy with the enteri^rise may hail with satisfaction, as the concluding memorandum of this summary, the announcement of such cooperation of forces in future as will prove helpful to the worthy statesmen destined to be effective leaders of the movement in Congress, and thus assure to it an earlier victory. S. Mis. 222 8 V. REASONS FOR RENEWED EFFORT AT THIS TIME. The chief reasons for reviving the question at this time are these : First. The general education bill, so long before Congress, having been disposed of, there is no longer any obligation on the part of the friends of the national university proposition to remain quiescent, as they were willing to do while they who were committed to that measure were still hopeful of victory. Second. The failure of the general education bill should but consti- tute a new reason for the passage of a bill to establish a great univer- sity. Not alone because, having failed to pass one measure in the in- terest of education. Congress should be all the more ready, and find it the more easy, to favor another of equal or greater importance, but also because the chief objection to that measure in no manner api)lies to this one. For, if it be true that the people in the several States, districts, and neighborhoods are abundantly able to provide schools of the lower grade for the youth of the land, the same is certainly not true of the people in their local and individual capacity in relation to a central university of the highest type. No one man, no one community, no one State is equal to the establishment of such an institution. And if that were possible, in so far as means are concerned, still it is manifest that neither community nor State, nor even the most powerful of the relig- ious organizations, could possibly establish and maintain a national university. That is a sole prerogative of the whole people in their leg- islative capacity. On Congress alone that great obligation rests. Third. The present condition of the country, now fairly recovered from the industrial and commercial depression of recent years, with new buoyancy of spirit, and with hopes well founded on census returns that astonish the world and establish our superiority among the nations, is exceedingly favorable. It is now beyond question that the Government I, of the United States could henceforth pay at least a million a year as / interest on a registered certificate and not feel the draft in any degree. Fourth. It is no less true that the public mind, which in recent years has been slowly but surely coming to the opinion that President Hill, of Harvard, was right when in his last official report lie said " a true universityis a leading want of American education," is now ready to un- dertake the supply of that want. As we have seen, j)rominent educators, leading scholars, and scien- tists, distinguished statesmen, and great organizations of men, educa- 114 A NATIONAL L'NIVERSITY. 115 tioTial, scientific, literary, patriotic, and philaiitliropic, have strougly confirmed the truth of this declaration; while powerful organizations of the church, both Catholic and Protestant, have also considered the question, resolved, and begun to act. It is seen that the rapid growth and present enormous value of university facilities at Washington are now so well known as to constitute a great attraction for students, scholars, and scientists the world over when brought into relations with, a national university. Fifth. This circumstance of a movement for a university at Wash- ington, by two powerful church organizations is higlily favorable to the early establishment of a national university. They are both of them effective agitators of great questions, and will be preeminently influential with the masses, who alone of all the people may need to be convinced. Both because of their philanthropic aims and of the help- ful pioneer work they Avill of necessity do, we may bid such organized efforts Godspeed. There is room enough for all. Should they each succeed in founding an important institution they will simply swell the grand chorus and contribute yet more to make of the national capital the intellectual center of the world. And if, on the other hand, seeing that the nation itself is to found the American university, they and the multitude of like organizations should eacb see fit to concentrate their efforts uiDon great schools of theology to be clustered about the national university as a high cen- tral source of general instruction and of inspiration for all, then this grand unity of all in the cause of pure learning and of progress in science and the arts would only yet more enhance the dignity of the university itself, yet further promote the great interests of American education, and contribute yet more to brighten the halo which already encircles the brow of the Republic. Sixth. The present is also a favorable time from a political point of view, since with the present constitution of the national legislature the honor of founding the proposed institution may and must be equally shared by the two great political parties; since, moreover, there is reason to believe that of late there have been im^Dortant accessions in both Houses of Congress to the very considerable body of members known to have been favorable to this enterprise from the beginning of its agitation in recent years. Seventh. The present time is auspicious for the reason that numbers of men of vast fortunes and of honorable ambitions are now in the spirit of making large contributions to education. The Hopkinses, Yan- derbilts, Drexels, Clarks, Tulanes, Rockefellers, Stanfords, Carnegies, and Fayrweathers have only set examples which a much larger number are preparing to follow. And hence it is again urged that if Congress should now establish and liberally endow the national university, gifts of many millions for the founding of fellowships, professorships, facul- ties, and departments, would flow into its treasury as contributions to the vast aggregate sum that will thus constitute its final endowment. 116 A NxiTIONAL UNIVERSITY. Eiglitli. Now is the appointed time for historic reasons. Action by the present Congress wonld enable ns to make tbe beginnings of the national university a part of the great Columbian celebration in 1893, and its proper inauguration a most fitting centennial commemoration of Washington's last earnest appeal in its behalf to the people and Congress of the United States, in 179G. It was with the help of science that Christopher Columbus found these wonderful new continents, and hence America could not more truly honor him than by inaugurating on the four hundredth anniversary of his discovery an institution of learn- ing sublimely dedicated not alone to the diftusion of knowledge, but also to the discovery of unnumbered continents of truth in the coming centuries. The Columbian Exposition will of itself be a grand but a vanishing monument. Let us also, in commemoration of the achieve- ments of 1492, found here an institution that shall lead the world in its grand career of progress, and proudly endure through all future time. And what of Washington, with all his eloquent pleadings and his dying bequest, added to achievements in behalf of his country and of universal freedom which have made him immortal? The Centennial Exposition of 1876 was a worthy commemoration of those heroic be- ginnings which led to American independence and the founding of a great nation, but it was for the honoring of all alike who had part in the grand drama of the Revolution. Do not the hearts of the American iieo- ple prompt to some centennial recognition of tlie sui)reme services and example of him whom the world delights to call the Father of His Country? True, on that beautiful swell of ground near the Potomac he loved stands a proud shaft of marble whose whiteness symbolizes his purity aiul whose towering summit suggests that stateliness and that loftiness of character for which he was so incomparable that he has seemed to be unapproachable — a shaft that plainly shows the place he holds in the affections of the people, and which also honors the mul- titudes out of whose contributions it was erected. But is that enough'? 'There was One who said, " If a man ask bread, will ye give him a stone?" And yet is not this what we have literally done? Twelve times in formal utterance, and times untold in familiar speech and silent prayer, he who had rescued his country from the grasp of tyranny and laid for it the deep foundations on which this great Ee- public was reared asked for a university that should supply to this peo- ple the bread of knowledge, and we have builded for him a monument of stone ! Shall we not at last redeem ourselves from his just reproach and the reproach of succeeding generations by such granting of his re- quest as shall fittingly atone for the neglect of a hundred years? Finally, there is a reason broader and more far-reaching than all of these, one in which a genuine patriotism mingles with a i)ure philan- thropy in equal measure. During the past several years the American people have celebrated many great and stirring events in America^n history. A NATIONAL UNIAH^RSITY. 117 It is well. Sucli celebrations serve at once to keep in remembrance thQ heroic deeds of a noble ancestry, and to deepen in the hearts of the people their love of country and their appreciation of fi'ee institutions; but they will have failed of their highest use after all if they do not arouse in us a like zeal in the interest of country and human kind. We need not wait for occasions precisely theirs. The opportunity is ever l)resent. It is not by glorying in the deeds of our sires, but by great and honorable deeds of our own that we are to stand ai^proved. We must continue to rear upon the foundations they laid such superstruc- tures as will make at once for tlie further prosperity and security of our country and for the peace and progress of the world. Having fitly celebrated the pshst, shall we not now face about and begin anew the great work of the coming century? Was it not in this spirit that were formed the many patriotic organizations we now see on every hand, with their efforts not alone for general progress but also for the perfect cementing of all sections of the American Union and for peace and concord among the nations? And what better beginning on the intel- lectual side of so beneficent and glorious a mission than the founding of a great university, comprehensive not only of all present knowledge, with competent agencies for its diffusion among men, but also of wisely directed efforts for the discovery of new truth as well as for new ai^pli- cations of knowledge in the common interest of mankind — an institu- tion so supreme, toto ccelo, so consecrated to the highest good of human- ity, and so truly a guiding star in the intellectual firmament as to be gladly recognized and accei^ted of all the nations of the world! VI. THE DEMAND OF THE PRESENT. What the friends of education now ask is this : That the Government of the United States, after more than a hundred years since the earnest api)eals and final bequest of Washington, at length extend the needed '^fostering hand " to that great enterprise of which he fondly believed he had made a worthy beginning; that Congress now begin the establish- ment of a true national university in harmony with the general princii)les already set forth by what may be regarded as the highest authorities ou this subject — A university, whose board of regents, representing all sections, shall be so chosen and so limited when chosen as not only to insure the pro- motion of its general interests, but also to avoid the dangers of partisan interference, religious or political ; Whose provision for internal management shall duly i^rotect the in- terests of learning and the rights of all members ; Whose conditions of admission shall relate to character and com- petency only; The doors of whose regular courses of study, looking to graduation, shall be open to such only as have already received the bachelor's degree from recognized institutions ; Whose students of every class shall be permitted to utilize the vast facil- ities and forces in the many Departments of the Government so far as this can be accorded without detriment to the public service; Whosesystemof scholarships shall supply at once a reward of merit and a stimulus to the youth of the country in every grade of schools, shall hold the schools themselves to proper standards, and insure the highest character of the university membership ; Whose fellowships shall be open to all the nations and so endowed as to fill its places for original work with aspirants of superior genius from every quarter of the globe ; Whose professoriate, like that of the German universities, shall by its system of gradations and promotions supply its professorships and lectureshij)s with the best talent and proficiency the world can aftbrd ; Whose graduates, receiving none but the higher degrees, shall be to all the schools, colleges, and universities of the laud a means of reen- forcement from the highest x)ossible source; Whose high faculties of letters, science, and philosophy shall be the center of a grand constellation of ranking schools for all the professions save theology, with surrounding of such independent religious institu- tions as the hundreds of denominations may choose to set up; U8 A NATIONAL UNIVERSITY. 119 Whose beginnings sliall be with such means as befit the great under- taking, and whose final aggregation of endowments by Government, States, organizations, and i^hihinthropists, shall fully comport with the demands of learning, witli the asi^irations of a great people of surpass- ing genius as well as material resources, and with the incalculable in- terest of other peoples in those free institutions which, being ours by inheritance, it is our solemn duty to perfect and illustrate for the best good of universal man. According to the plan of endowment once proposed — that of issuing a registered certificate unassignable and bearing interest at a fixed rate in perpetuity — there need be no considerable draft upon the pres- ent money resources of the Government. It is now paying out more than three millions for the support and development of its invaluable scientific bureaus, libraries, and museums. Let it now add a million more to this sum for the support of an institution equal to the task of further, and as comx^letely as possible, utilizing the vast collections and forces already here, and it will render an incalcuable service to the cause of learning, the country, and the world. As it was the university of Paris that brought new prosperity and distinction to France, and the university of Berlin that helped im- mensely to build up the little Kingdom of Prussia into the majestic Empire of Germany, thus creating two intellectual centers whose achievements are the envy of the world, so will the National University of America, if thus established and endowed, powerfully contribute to I)lace the United States in the forefront of the nations. VII. THE CONDITIONS OF SUCCESS. First, tliey who are in power must give tlie matter its full measure of consideration. Absorbed in other matters, pressed by measures oi iinance, commerce, lands, industrial development, and much else, even the most intelligent and large-minded of men are in danger of over- looking a measure, however important, comprehensive, and far-reach- ing, that is neither vital to party success nor boldly insists on being heard. Secondly, while it may be assumed that such of our statesmen as already aiipreciate the importance of the enterprise, seeing clearly how it would promote the national welfare and advance the cause of learn- ing in the world, are equal to the responsibility of taking it up and carrying it forward to a successful issue on the high ground of duty alone, it is but right as well as desirable that they be duly reenforced by the enlightened sentiment of the country. And they certainly will be. Educators at the head of our schools, academies, colleges, and uni- versities, with the multitude of their friends, none of whom can fail to see the incalculable value of a crowning institution like the one pro- posed, will naturally join hands for its early realization when they dis- cover an earnest purpose in Congress. Last, but not least, the i^ress of the United States, so liberal and evei on the alert for new measures of ijrogress, can be safely counted on to more fully interest the general public in a proposition so often urged by the Father of his Country, so repeatedly indorsed by other of our statesmen in all x)eriods of the national history, and so clearly a condi- tion of the highest dignity and welfare of the Eepublic. Such opposition as may manifest itself in any form will disappear on a nearer, more scrutinizing, and broader view. Tlie old and once popular objection to government institutions on the ground of "i^olitical" interference, has long ceased to be valid as against Coiigressionally-endowed State institutions, many of which are now among the most important in the land, and is sufficiently met by the adoption of such provisions as are embodied in charters wisely drawn in the sole interest of learning — charters under which there is seldom occa- sion for submitting to the legislature such questions as could be made to assume a partisan form, which leave the internal affairs of such an institution almost entirely in the hands of its professional members, themselves governed by university laws which give both security and efficiency to the entire service. 120 A NATIONAL UNIVERSITY. 121 No institutions in the land are better managed or liave larger immu- nity from partisan interferenee than our State universities, and none are more prosperous. Indeed one of these, the University of Miehi- gan, is in point of numbers the strongest institution in America, hav- ing in all its numerous departments nearly three thousand students. And not only in point of numbers does it hold high ground. For the character of its many dei^artments, the number and ability of its professors, its standard of scholarship, and skill of general management, it stands in the front rank. Peace reigns within its borders, the whole people regard it with pride, and the legislature accords to it a cheerful and generous support. In one respect, that of exerting a guiding and elevating inliuence upon all the lower schools of the State, in a manner similar to that proposed for the national university, it has long been foremost; afibrding a most useful example to all other State universi- ties. The extraordinary career of the Smithsonian Institution, always free from even the slightest taint of " politics," and already become the most important institution of its kind in the world, affords yet another total refutation of this ancient theory that no interest, of however exalted a nature, may come to be sacred in the eyes of political ambition. In fact, with the growing respect for science and learning, and the consequent sx:)irit of an honorable rivalry among the higher institutions of the country, especially those of them annually reporting to the Gov- ernment, there has come an almost total emancipation from the once potent iutluence of political partisanship. The supreme interest in- volved has so far determined both legislative and executive action in the several States that scrupulous care is coming to be taken every- where to balance the control of all such public institutions so evenly as to leave no room for the jealous scheming of iiarties. Time has also settled another question. The old argument against a national university, based on the centralization theory, has long per- ished from the earth. It was early shown to be unphilosophical, and time has added countless illustrations of its falsity. The error was in making no radical distinction between a centralization of political power, which always demands vigilance lest it advance to the point of endangering the liberties of the peoi)le, and centralization of educa- tional opportunities, which is not only absolutely necessary to the highest results in the interest of learning, but is itself the best safe- guard against the encroachments of political ambition by furnishing to thousands of local centers trained thinkers who are also, in the very process of training, Imbued Avith the spirit of liberty and independence. Every intelligent citizen now knows that, while political centralization is like a congestion, fatal if carried to a certain limit, educational cen- tralization is, on the other hand, like the concentration of the vital fluid in the heart — a prerequisite to that diffusion of knowledge which insures health and security to every j)art of the body politic. 122 A NATIONAL UNIVERSITY. Opposition based on local ambitions will also disappear when a just view is taken of tlie relation that is normally sustained by a central and national post-graduate university to all other institutions; when it is once seen how potential for the good of all would be that central co- ordinating and uplifting force to which allusion has been made ; how powerfully the national university would inspire every faculty of in- struction and every ambitious institution of learning in the land ; how, with open doors for those worthy to enter them, it would in turn prove a great training school for such as might desire chairs in the nearly five hundred colleges and universities of the country ; how by its exalted service and by the supreme dignity through it and for its sake accorded to science and learning it would reflect new honor upon all institutions of learning wheresoever found. It is a source of high gratification that this view is already shared by the great body of educators in the United States, as must have ap- peared from the foregoing summary, and especially gratifying that almost witbout exception the presidents of great and growing uni- versities, l!^orth. South, East, and West, have warmly declared their sympathy with the national university movement. There has not been named in all the past, nor can there be named in any future, one argument against the national university proposition of George Washington that will bear the scrutiny of i)hilosophy or the test of history. VIII. CONCLUSION. This present labor may now be concluded. It has been shown — That the offices of a true university, although of the most important character, are not all of them now duly fulfilled in this country; That these offices could be best fulfilled by a great national univer- sity, and that such university would be most conveniently, suitably, and advantageously established and maintained at the seat of the National Government; where the chief elements of a university exist already, needing but their organization, suitable halls for instructional imr- poses, and means for the support of a large and superior working force; That certain functions, vital in their character, that would be per- formed by a national institution, to wit, the completement of an Ameri- can system of public education, the coordination and highest develop- ment of the schools of the States, and the most effectual cultivation of the patriotic sentiment in the minds of those certain to be potential in the direction of our national affairs, can he performed hy none other than a truly National University; That this conception, originating in the mind of General Washington during the stormy days of the Eevolution, and cherished by him through life with a fondness and constancy only matched by his love of country, has also engaged the thoughts of many other statesmen, as well of leading citizens in every walk of life ; that Congressional committees have favorably considered it, and that national organizations founded in the interest of learning and of human progress have made earnest appeals for its realization ; That the need of a central American university, thus recognized ajid thus urged, not only remains, notwithstanding the development of ex- isting institutions, but for important national reasons increases with the years; That such institution could be established and endowed without heavy drafts upon the National Treasury ; and That this i^resent is in all respects a favorable time for the final ful- fillment of a solemn duty so long delayed. It can not be doubted that a nation of such vast resources in every realm, of such superior intelligence, and of such aspirations and aims, has already come to realize what is due in this high regard; due to its own members craving the opportunities such a university would offer, due to the sacred cause of learning, due to the honor and welfare of a Eepublic rightfully ambitious to lead aU the nations in the grand march of civilization. O 123 SE:n^ATE. ( .Report 2d Session. ' ) \ No. 1384. 52d Congress, I m THE SEl^ATE OF THE UNITED STATES. March 3, 1893. — Ordered to be printed. Mr. Proctor, from tlie .Select Committee to Establislitlie University of tlie Uuited States, submitted the following REPOET: ^ LTo accompany S. 3824.] The Select Committee to Establish the University of the United States, to whom was referred the bill (S. 3824) to establish a national university, having considered the same, report: The value of knowledge is recognized in all civilized countries, but ill DO country does it deserve higher recognition than in, our own, for our Government is founded upon it, and we need it everywhere and all forms of it for our highest development. Hitherto there has been practical recognition of this in the United States in providing for State universities, tor schools of agriculture and the mechanic arts, for mili- tary and naval schools, for the Department of Agriculture and the different surveys, and for great libraries. It is the purpose of this bill to make such organization more complete and more worthy of a great and progressive people by creating at the capital of the nation one su- preme institution that (1) shall complete the system of American edu- cation by supplying the crowning and true university it lacks, both as a means of furnishing upon American soil every possible facility for the highest available culture, and of exciting a stimulating and ele- vating influence upon all classes of schools of lower rank; (2) that shall bring together in friendly as well as high intellectual intercourse a large number of the most gifted and aspiring representatives of all the States for the pursuit of the highest knowledge in all departments of learning, thus supplying in endless succession the best trained thinkers and workers for every field of intellectual activity, and with broader views of men and things, as well as increased love of country and a juster regard for the citizens thereof, irrespective of locality, and thus more certainly assuring to the United States their proper place in the forefront of advancing ;iations. That there has ever been in the -psist a deep realization of our defi- ciencies in this field is manifest : First. From the great number of the ambitious young men of the country who, from the beginning, have been accustomed to go abroad for opportunities they could not find at home. Second. From the zealous and repeated efforts of many of the fore- most scholars, scientists, and statesmen to have in tliis country at least one post-graduate university of the highest possible grade. Third. From the many honorable, but still inadequate, efforts of ex- isting institutions, and of large-minded, philanthropic men to meet this demand' by increase of endowments devoted to x)roper university work. 2 NATIONAL UNIVERSITY. Fourtli. From the strong declarations repeatedly made by individual citizens and organized bodies of men most comjjetent to judge, that when all shall have been done that can be through individual and de- nominational agencies, it will still be the high duty and interest of the nation itself to establish and liberally endow an institution of such rank as is proposed by this bill. Such an institution only could in any proper sense complete the now incomj)lete system of American education and most wisely direct all worthy efforts in the field of original research and utilize the facilities for it so rapidly accumulating at Washington. • Such an institution only could possibly become the long-deferred realization of the aspirations and official appeals of those profoundly wise founders of the Eepublic, some of whom not only outlined the principles upon which it should be established, and the relations it should sustain to the Government and people, but, also, devised for it sources of revenue, and set apart lands of the District of Columbia deemed suitable for the location of its buildings. The proposed bill is intended to represent and give fruition to the plans and desires of Washington, Jefferson, Madison, and other Presi- dents, together with a multitude of citizens in other high stations. It was prepared with the concurrence of citizens most competent to advise in such matters; and not only the ends sought to be attained, but also the means and agencies to be emploj^ed have received the sanction of many of the foremost scholars and statesmen of all portions of the country. It provides for the establishment of a university of the highest type, resting upon the State universities and other institutions of collegiate rank as they rest upon the high schools and academies — a university whose facilities shall be open to all who are competent to use them, but whose degrees shall be conferred upon such only as have already received a degree from some institution recognized by the university authorities; whose opportunities are to be open without price to quali- fied representatives from every State and Congressional district of the United States; whose several departments shall have endowed fellow- shi]ps, open to persons of genius fi-om whatever quarter of the world, for the advancementof knowledge by means of original researches; to whose professors, fellows, and students, all government collections, literary, scientific, and practical, are to be freely open without detriment to the public service; and whose several heads of departments are to have advisory and cooperative relations with the heads of Government bureaus for the mutual advantage of the Government itself and the cause of universal science. The plan of government for the university seems well calculated to keep the institution in close relation with the people of all sections and yet safe from the dangers of i)olitical interference, while at the same time leaving the internal affairs and whatever is most vital to its wel- fare in the hands of those who are at once most competent to manage them and have the largest stake in its i)rosperity. As a partial provision for the location of the necessary buildings the biU grants the site selected for this purpose by President Washington in 1796, and now, since the removal of tlip Naval Observatory, without important use; and for the support of the institution sets apart one- half the net proceeds of the public lands, one-half of such half to be used currently in x>roviding for tb'i opening of the institution and for carrying it on, the remainder t(/ accumulate in the Treasury of the United States as an endowment until competent to yield a sufficient NATIONAL UNIVERSITY. 3 revenue, togetlier witli tlie gifts and bequests that may be attracted to ,^ itj for the permanent sui)port of the institution. ,jr Your committee are of the opinion that the cause of American learn- '..' ing demands such an institution as this bill provides for; that the -■ highest dignity and welfare of the nation demand it; that it should be established at the capital of the country ; and that after a delay of one hundred years since it was first proposed and sought to be established by the founders of the Government it would be unworthy of so great a people to wait longer for a more favorable time in which to meet all these high demands. The committee, therefore, unanimously approve the bill and recom- mend its passage. ■ O 52D CONGEESS, 2d Session. IN THE Mr. Proctor introd the Select Oomi m .i- T( 1 le it em 2 tiv(OftheL gTiip.100013 Sm9q no 5 bers to be a 6 the advice 7 bers ex off 8 who shall 1 9 dent of th 10 States, the 11 missioner 12 Institution. 13 a quorum. 14 ated a bod 15 Eegents of I 16 power, sub et' at 5.1 it sir' id a sc iir m 17 utes for tb a 18 thereof, to 19 versity, to 20 mended b} w 21 any and al 22 stitution ai J 23 sary to the t r .52d congress, 2b Session. / ^ iS'3824. ' EeportNo. 1384.] I]^ THE SETATE OF THE UNITED STATES. FebkuAKT 4, 1893. Mr. Proctor introdu^^d tlie following biU; whick was read twice and referred to tlie Select Oommttee to EstabUsh the University of the United States. March 3, 1893, BdiX)rted by Mr. I^KfioxoE without an To establish a nati^xial university. 1 -Be it enacted by the /Senate and House -of Bepresenta- 2 tiv( 'S of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 3 T?jat an institution s2all be, and is hereby, established in the 4 /district of Oolumljia, to be called "The University of the 5 / United States," where instruction shall be given in the higher V- in aboard of rftffe.nt« nnrl ^ n^un/>n ^.^^liiefe. 1 Sec. 3. That the board of regents shaM consist of one 2 member from each State of the United States \p be appointed 3 by the governor thereof, with the concurreoce of the chief 4 justice and the chief educational officer of his Hate, six mem- .^I^BPI^^HM^^ i3 9rl? ppointed by the PresidentViie UnitedStates, with and consent of the SenaV ^.j^^ following mem- icio, to wit, the President V^ IJnited States, )e honorary president of the by ^\^q yice-Presi- e United States, the Chief JuVg ^f the United Speaker of the House of RepreseLjygg the Oom- 3f Education, the Secretary of L Smithsonian and the president of the universii\^fteen to be The regents and their successors a\\ereby cre- y politic aid corporate, with the nie\of " The the University of the United States)^ and with ject to limitations herein prescribed, to Hopt stat- ^ government of the u>iiversity, to elect tlLfficers determine the conditions of admission to th um- Gonfer such degrees, and st^h only, as are r^m- the council of faculties, and k general to perlVm 1 acts not inconsistent herewith V with the Coi- iL'l laws of the United States which mav be nece^ ■^ay ends herein proposed. lat the first meeting of the board of regents V 7 to an alp 8 sented. 9 order of s 10 the end o 11 tively, and 12 the term (^ 13 neglect to 14 after the 15 board ma; 16 suitable ci 17 by the T\ 18 names on 19 of one, two, n^i JO noisTAjQdns 9q^ JO (^UOpiSQld QT{\ 32 transaction of 33 Special meet^ 34 committee a; 1 Sec. 5.1 2 a president' 3 during their ^ 4 regents and 5 supervision 6 as are presc" 7 The treasur- 8 regents, ano 9 the duties 10 duties as ai 1 Seo. ( 2 president o 3 charged w 4 discipline 5 duties pree 1 Seo. , 2 shall be e^' '/~'!i3e^^p* several States shall be divided, as nearly as 6 possib s equal classes, such division bein^ according ■y 2 ppointed by the PresidentWe UnitedStates, with and consent of the Send\ ^i^^ following mem- icio, to wit, the President Ve United States, )e honorary president of the bVj ^^g Yice-Presi- e United States, the Chief JvLq ^f the United Speaker of the House of RepreseLjygg^ the Oom- 3f Education, the Secretary of i Smithsonian and the president of the universii\gj^een to be The regents and their successors a\\ereby cre- y politic aj?d corporate, with the n4e\of " The the University of the United States\ and with ject to limitations herein prescribed, to Lpt stat- ^ government of the i^iiversity, to elect tlApfficers determine the conditions of admission to tkuni- Gonfer such degrees, and siXih only, as are r^om- the council of faculties, and ki general to periym 1 acts not inconsistent herewith V with the OOi- iL'i laws of the United States which^nay be necei:^^ ends herein proposed. '"'lat the first meeting of the board of regents / n V>rs ohj 2 gion or par 3 rived from 4 any form, g 5 in the appo 6 maintained, 7 versity; bu 8 ment of lea 9 and the pai 10 trustees, sh 11 the board o 12 instruction j 13 amount les 14 shall be cc eq \\^T[s iCeq^ su 'A^m raoq!^ Shim! 7 degree, froi 8 the universi 1 Seo. 1 2 university a 3 public instri 4 and Territo] 5 shall be ent 6 than one fc 7 and two for 8 mine. The 9 may, for sui 10 arship, or c 1 1 university. 1 Sec. 1 2 ing by mea 3 established 4 and numbei 5 sources at c 6 yield a part 7 They may 1 32 transaction of general business and the conferring of degrees. 33 Special meetings may also be held upon call of the executive 34 committee as the exigencies of the university shall require. 1 Sec. 5. That the chief officer of the university shall be 2 a president chosen by the board of regents and hold office 3 during their pleasure. He shall be president of the board of 4 regents and of the council of faculties, shall have general 5 supervision ,of the university, and discharge such other duties 6 as are prescribed by the board or by the council of faculties. 7 The treasurer of the university shall also be appointed by the 8 regents, and give bonds approved by them. He shall perform 9 the duties isually required of such officers and such other 10 duties as aie imposed by the board of regents. 1 Sec. (). That the council of faculties, embracing the 2 president of the university and all heads of faculties, shall be 3 charged w th the planning and direction of instruction and 4 discipline in the several departments, and with the other 5 duties pref cribed in the statutes or designated by the regents. 1 Sec. 7. That the immediate government of each faculty 2 shall be e' itrnsted to its own members. Its chairman, to be .- r-^- +1.0 faculty, oln^l T.^ rhnT^II ]M|jj^|^^g|^^ 4 tive comntf e provided for out of the university income, or 1 Sec. v. 2 sons to place 3 shall be the 1 Sec. 1^ 2 sites for the 3 ing tract of 1 4 ington for t 5 him and in 6 will and test 7 ton long kn 8 by the Natit 9 for the use a 10 when no Ion ^c^u9mni9A09 9t^^ -lun^^ioddo pu-B 's 'ss9iSnoQ iCq poq 13 other sourct 14 sity, after v< 15 lands "so us 16 general fun 17 All moneys 18 the provisi 19 drawn, as i 20 of the boar 21 tion, name] 22 organizatio) 23 the aforem 24 buildings a 25 one year. 1 Sec. ] 2 receive and 3 are made fc 4 and beques 5 urer of the 6 terly at the 1 Sec. 1 6 7 degree, from some institution recognized for this purpose by 8 the university authorities. 1 Sec. 10. That in order to extend the privileges of the 2 university and to improve the collegiate and other grades of 3 public instruction in the country, it is provided that each State 4 and Territory of the United States, in the ratio of population, 5 shall be entitled to free scholarships of such number, not less 6 than one for each Representative and Delegate in Congress 7 and two for each Senator, as the board of regents shall deter- 8 mine. The executive committee of the board of regents 9 may, for sufficient reasons, withhold the award of any schol- 10 arship, or cancel its privileges, or those of any student in the 1 1 university. 1 Sec. 11. That for the advancement of science and learn- 2 ing by means of researches and investigations, there shall be 8 established fellowships in the university of such character 4 and number as the interests to be represented and the re- 5 sources at command shall warrant ; which fellowships shall 6 yield a partial or a full support, as the regents shall determine. 7 They may be provided for out of the university income, or ' Huiy h e , cp g-j wed by gift oi* othorwiao, and th p- pftrson^ or- 9 ganizations, corporate bodies, or States endowing them may, 10 subject to :he approval of the board of regents, designate 11 their titles tnd the researches or investigations they shall be 12 used to encnuraffe. 6 i\ some institution recognized for this purpose by ty authorities. 0. That in order to extend the privileges of the ud to improve the collegiate and other grades of iction in the country, it is provided that each State cy of the United States, in the ratio of population, itled to free scholarships of such number, not less ^r each Representative and Delegate in Congress each Senator, as the board of regents shall deter- ^ executive committee of the board of regents Ificient reasons, withhold the award of any schol- Imcel its privileges, or those of any student in the ll. That for the advancement of science and learn- lis of researches and investigations, there shall be I fellowships in the university of such character i as the interests to be represented and the re- lommand shall warrant; which fellowships shall llal or a Ml support, as the regents shall determine. I>e provided for out of the university income, or 1 Sec. i: 2 sons to plac( 3 shall be the 1 Sec. 1^ 2 sites for the 3 ing tract of 1 4 ington for t 5 him and in 6 will and test 7 ton long kn 8 by the Natic 9 for the use 3 10 when no Ion '(^U0TIinJ8A0r) QT[^ -lun^ioddo pu-B 's ^ssaiSnoQ Xq p9q 13 other source 14 sity, after \^ 15 lands "so us 16 general fun 17 All moneys 18 the provisi 19 drawn, as r 20 of the boar 21 tion, name] 22 organizatio) 23 the aforem 24 buildings a 25 one year. 1 Sec. ] 2 receive and 3 are made fc 4 and beques 5 urer of the 6 terly at the 1 Sec. 1 7 1 Sec. 12. That in the admission and appointment of per- 2 sons to places in the university, character and competency 3 shall be the sole test of qualifications. 1 Sec. 13. That as a means of partially providing building 2 sites for the several departments of the university, the folio w- 3 ing tract of land selected and appropriated by President Wash- 4 ington for the site of the national university proposed by 5 him and in part actually endowed by provisions of his last 6 will and testament, to wit, that tract in the city of Washing- 7 ton long known as "University Square," and now occupied 8 by the National Observatory, is hereby granted and set apart 9 for the use and benefit of the university of the United States 10 when no longer required for observatory purposes. 1 Sec. 14. That for the practical establishment, support, 2 and maintenance of the university, there is hereby appropri- 3 ated and set apart one-half the net proceeds of the sales of 4 the public lands, as the same shall accrue from year to year. 5 Of this amount, one-half shall be held by the Treasurer of 6 the United States for use in securing an ing grounds 7 for the seat of the university, for pro^ j necessary ^buildings a nd equip ments, and for cond ?. institution 9 after its opening ; but the remainmg one- be allowed 10 to accumulate in the Treasury as a permai yielding in- 11 terest at the rate of five per centum pei s a fmiher 12 revenue, until such fund, together with t ^ ments fi-om 8 ii)S, shall be sufficient for the support of the univer- t^hich all the net proceeds of the sales of pubHc Ced for university purposes shall be passed to the Id or otherwise used, as Congress shall determine. I' held by the Treasurer of the United States under ^ons of this act shall be subject to requisitions nay be necessary, by the president and secretary Jd of regents under its order, but with this limita- 'y, that after the first five years subsequent to the I of the board, not more than ten per centum of i^entioned proceeds available for the erection of >'Qd providing equipments shall be so used in any [I5. That the board of regents shall have power to |.« administer all such gifts, devises, and bequests as k the benefit of the university ; which gifts, devises, [■ s, if in money, shall be deposited with the Treas- oUnited States, who shall pay interest thereon quar- [ii rate of five per centum per annum. >'6. That after the formal opening of the university V. jiu^ i»MMiil>or^ iltoTPof. nnrler rules approved bv 7 public ser 8 utilized to 9 may in tu 10 the univer 1 1 organizati< 12 justify it, 13 brought in 14 heads of c 15 committee 16 aforesaid c 17 advantage! 1 Sec. 2 of regents 3 erations, c« _j;^^j^i3gi*^j^2332KSjaESB33t»««o*i«!=- 8 13 other sources, shaU be sufficient for the support of the univer- 14 sity, after which all the net proceeds of the sales of public 15 lands so used for university purposes shall be passed to the 16 general fund or otherwise used, as Congress shall determine. 17 All moneys held by the Treasurer of the United States under 18 the provisions of this act shall be subject to requisitions 19 drawn, as may be necessary, by the president and secretary 20 of the board of regents under its order, but with^ihis^ limita- 21 tion, namely, that after the first five years subsequent to the 22 organization of the board, not more than ten per centum of 23 the aforementioned proceeds available for the erection of 24 buildings and providing equipments shall be so used in any 25 one year. 1 Sec. ] 5. That the board of regents shall have power to 2 receive and administer all such gifts, devises, and bequests as 3 are made for the benefit of the university ; which gifts, devises, 4 and beques .s, if in money, shall be deposited with the Treas- 5 urer of the United States, who shall pay interest thereon quar- 6 terly at the rate of five per centum per annum. 1 Seo. 1 6. That after the formal opening of the university % ff i m l i j B i niffHot -^n ib p Tr i pmhprs th fireot-jmder, rules, jtpnroyed bv. 3 the officers, subject to any regulations prescribed by Congress, 4 shall have access to all institutions, collections, and opportuni- 5 tiefe for study and research under control of the Grovernment, 6 so far a3 ^^^ s,BmQ can be accorded without detriment to the i 8 t)S, shall be sufficient for the support of the univer- Vhich all the net proceeds of the sales of puhhc ''-ed for university purposes shall he passed to the Id or otherwise used, as Congress shall determine. I' held by the Treasurer of the United States under -ons of this act shall he subject to requisitions iaay be necessary, by the president and secretary •^d of regents under its order, but with this Hmita- y, that after the first five years subsequent to the i of the board, not more than ten per centum of [Mentioned proceeds available for the erection of J-nd providing equipments shall be so used in any [15. That the board of regents shall have power to |« administer all such gifts, devises, and bequests as k the benefit of the university ; which gifts, devises, I- ,s, if in money, shall be deposited with the Treas- cUnited States, who shall pay interest thereon quar- iii rate of five per centum per annum. i>6. That after the formal opening of the university :^'.^iho iruMTi^or^ ilu'voof. iinrler niles approved bv 7 public ser 8 utilized to 9 may in tu 10 the univer 1 1 organizati( 12 justify it, 13 brought in 14 heads of c 15 committee 16 aforesaid c 17 advantage 1 Sec. 2 of regents 3 erations, d .-Jgia^fciasei^s^ipS 7 public service ; and to the end that all such facilities may be 8 utilized to the fullest extent and that the Government service 9 may in turn derive the largest benefit fi-om the work done in 10 the university, the heads of all bureaus, institutions, and other 11 organizations of the Government, whose work is of a sort to 12 justify it, shall be by the executive committee of the board 13 brought into such advisory and co-operative relations with the 14 heads of corresponding departments of the university as such 15 committee, with the advice of the heads of faculties, and the 16 aforesaid officers of the Government shall agree upon as being 17 advantageous. 1 Sec. 17. That at the close of the fiscal year the board 2 of regents shall make a report to Congress, showing the op- 3 erations, condition, and wants of the university; one copy of 4 which shall be transmitted free to all institutions of learning 5 endowed by the Government under any act of Congress, and 6 to all other institutions of learning in the United States whose 7 degrees are recognized by this university. S. 3824- 2 W (TD ST ® o > o W ^ H ^ p pj S. is' 4 * o 1^ I. o pi in ■"^^"^^ »°^*^ V 4* .*. ^<^ .^-^ .• '?:^ /. 0° *r «^^ * ^'- ■^o t.* V ""■■ 0*' . ' • •. % '° • ■ '/ .-. v • o > << ^ *^,.** /J^\ \„./ .*ii»i'. "*-.** •• v\^ vs- r ♦ ^^ «J\ o^ * AT ^ • 0° >• -'* *'■