Memorial in regard to a national university

Contents

Page.

Action of the Sknate of the United States 11

Memokial letter to the Senate 13

Index To Historical Summary

[The brackets indicate committal to institutions, national in scope, but not to a National University established by tiie Government at Washington.]

Adams, President C. K., Cornell University, addi-ess, 1888 85

Adams, Dr. Herbert C, Johns Hopkins University, address, 1889 92

Adams, John, President of the United States:

In Constitntioual Convention 41

luangnral address, 1797 41

Adams, John Quincy, President of the United States, message, 1825 53

Agassiz, Prof. Lonis, Harvard College 55, 68, 112

[Alahamian, an, 1857J 62

[Albany, University of] 54-58

American Journal of Education, indorsement by, 1875 82

[American University, the] 106-109

Atherton, Hon. Charles H., resolution offered by, 1816 52

Bache, Alexander Dallas, 1855 58, 112

Baird, Spencer F 68

Baker, S. S 64

Barlow, John, Minister to France:

Letters to President Jefferson 44

Prospectus, etc., 1806 44

[Bashford, Rev. Dr., President O. W. University, address, 1892] 108

Bills to establish National University:

Of Minister Barlow, offered by Mr. Logan, 1806 44

Of House committee, 1816 51

Of 0. W. Wight, introduced by Senator Howe, 1892 68

Of University Committee of National Educational Association, 1872 67,68

Of Senator Edmunds, 1890 102

Introduced by Mr. O'Neil, 1890 104

Blackmar, Prof. F. W., University of Kansas, report, 1890 101

Blodget, Samuel :

Fir.st suggestion of university by, 1775 27

Contribution by, 1806 44

Advocacy of, 1810 45

Boardraan, Rev. Dr. George D., leaflet, 1889 98

[Bronson, Hon. Greene C] 55

[Brooks, Rev. Charles, 1855] 59

Caldwell, Dr. Charles B., Transylvania University, 1828 53

Carpenter, Senator Matthew Hale 68

[Catholic University of America] 98-100

Index To Histoeical Summary

Chase, William H 64

Columbian Institute and College, appropriations for, 1823, 1832 52, 54

Committees :

Of House of Eepresentatives, reports by, 1810, 1816, 1873 48, 49, 68

Of National Educational Association, reports by, 1870, 1871 65, 66

Select, of U. S. Senate, creation of, 1890 102

Continuances of, 1890-'91 105

Of Pau-Eepublic Congress, 1891 „ 110

Congress, memorials to:

Of District Commissioners, 1796 39

Of Samuel Blodget, 1803, 1805 42,43

Appropriations by, to Columbian College and Institute, 1823, 1832 54

Connelly, Thomas G 64

Constitutional Convention, discussions in 27

Cox, Dr. C. C 64

Crauch, Judge William 52

Culloin, Senator Shelby B., 1890 105

Custis, George Washington 46

Cutbush, Edward 52

[Dana, Prof. James] ; 55

Davidson, James 46

[Dean, Amos] 55

District Commissioners, memorial of, to Congress, 1796 39

Eaton, Gen. John, address, Cleveland, 1870 66

Edmunds, Senator George F. :

Introduction of bill by, 1890 102

Motion by, to continue select committee, with remarks, 1891 105

Educational Association, National :

Eesolution by, with appointment of committees of,1869, 1874 64, 81

Adoj)tion of committee's reports by, 1870, 1871 65, 66

Creation of permanent National University Committee by, 1871 67

Discussions before, 1873-74 70, 75

Eesolution of, reaffirming original proposition, 1874 81

Educators, eminent, mention of Ill

[Edwards, Isaac] 56

[Everett, Hon. Edward] 58

[Fidelis, Eev. Father, address, 1889] 100

[Fowler, Bishop Charles H., address, 1892] IO7

Franklin, Benjamin, in Constitutional Convention 28

Fuston, James M 64

Gallatin, Albert, letter to Jefferson, 1806 47

Garland, Senator James H 68

[Gilmour, Et. B.ey. E., Catholic Bishop of Cleveland, 1889] 99

Goode, Dr. G. Brown, Smithsonian Institution :

Efforts of 102

Paper by, Philadelphia, 1891 109

[Goodly, Dr.] 56

Gould, Prof. Benjamin Apthorp, oration, 1856 60

Grant, Ulysses S., President of the United States, message, 1873 73

Guyot, Prof. Arnold Henry 55

Hail, Prof. James 55,56,112

Hancock, Dr. John, speech Detroit, 1874 76

[Harris, Judge Ira] .55

Harris, Dr. W. T., U. S. Commissioner of Education, address, Detroit, 1874 76

[Hastings, H. J.] 56

Haupert, Albert, in Ohio Educational Monthly, 1889 91

Index To Histoimcal Summary. 7

Page.

Hayes, Rutherford B., President of the United States, messages, 1877,78 82,83

Hays, President George P., Washington and Jeflerson College, speech, Detroit,

1874 71

Henry, Dr. Joseph, Smithsonian Institution 56, 68, 112

Hill, Hon. Mark L., introduction of rcsohition by, 1819 52

Hinsdale, Prof. B. A., historical account, 1890 103

Holley, President Horace, Transylvania University 53

[Hough, Prof. George W.] 58

House of Representatives:

Address of, in response to President's message, 1790 31

Howe, Senator Timothy O. :

Aid in preparation of bill 68, 73

Introduction of bill by, 1872 68

Hoyt, John W. :

Government report of, 1867 63

Addresses, Trenton, Detroit, Washington, 1869, 1874, 1891 63,80,111

Publication of volume on University Education, 1870 64

Draft of reports of National Committee, 1870, 1871 65, 66

Draft of bill presented in 1872 67, 68

Conferences at various places during 1875, 1876, 1884, 1885 82

Offer of resolutions by, Pan-Republic Congress, 1891 110

Leaflet, with correspondence, 1891 • Ill

Human Freedom League, resolution by, 1891 109

[Hurst, Bishop John F., Chancellor American University] 106

IngaUs, Senator John J 68

Jackson, xVndrew, President of the United States, a])proval of bill by, 1832... 54 Jefferson, Thomas, President of the United States :

Letters to Washington and Gallatin, 1795, 1808 33, 47

Message, 1806 47

Johnson, Hon. Samuel, in Constitutional Convention 28

Journal of Education, indorsement by, 1881 83

Kennedy, Rev. Dr 56

Lamar, Secretary L. Q. C, report, 1885 83

Law, Thomas 52

Logan, Hon. Mr., introduction of bill by, 1806 44

MacArthur, Judge Arthur, chancellor of National University 64

Madison, James, President of the United States :

In Constitutional Convention 27

As indorser of memorial, 1796 40

As chairman of committee of House of Representatives, 1796 41

Mason, Dr. Otis T., letter and lecture, 1889, '90 . . ' 93

Mayo, Rev, Dr. A. D 84

[McCabe, Rev. Dr. Charles, address, 1892.] 108

McCosh, President James, Princeton College, Detroit, 1869 71

Mc Williams, Dr. Alexander 52

Meigs, Dr. Josiah 52

Memorials to Congress :

Of District Commissioners, 1796 39

Of Samuel Blodget, 1803, 1805 42,43

Mitchell, Hon. Samuel, as chairman of committee, 1810 48

Monroe, James, President of the United States, letter of, 1820 52

8 INDEX TO HISTORICAL SUMMARY.

Page.

[Moore, Rev. Dr. David H., address, 1892] . , 108

Morris, Gouverneur, in Constitutional Convention 28

Mowry, Superintendent William A., address, Nashville, 1889 97

Museum, American, indorsement by, 1789 30

Nation, The, indorsement by, 1889 1 101

National University Association, steps toward formation of 112

National University Committee of educational association :

Preparation of bill by, 1872 67

[Newman^ Bishop John P., address, 1892] 106

New York Times, approval by, 1890 102

Norton, Prof. John F 55

[Olcott, Thomas W.] 55

O'Neill, Hon. Mr., introduction of bill by, 1890 104

Pan-Republic Congress, resolutions by and committee of. 1891 110

[Parker, Araasa J.] 55

Patterson, Senator J. W 68

[Payne, Rev. Dr., address, 1892] 107

Peirce, Prof. Benjamin 55, 59, 112

Perce, Hon. Legrand W., report as chairman, 1873 68

[Phelps, William F.] 56

Pickering, Hon. Charles C.,in Constitutional Convention 27

Potter, Bishop Alonzo 56

Press, suppott by, during Revolutionary times 29, 30

[Raymond, Henry J.] 55

Read, President Daniel, University of Missouri 72

Reports :

To House of Representatives, 1810, 1816, 1873 48, 49, 68

To National Educational Association, 1870, 1871 65, 66

Resolutions :

Of the legislature of Virginia, 1795 36

To amend the Constitution, offer of, 1816 50

Of the House and Senate, appointing committees of inquiry, 1819, 1825. .. 52, 53

Of the National Educational Association, 1869, 1874 64, 81

Of the Pan-Republic Congress, 1891 110

Richard, A. C 64

Richards, Prof. Zalmon 64, 71

Rickoff, Superintendent Andrew J., offer of resolution by, 1869 64

Robbins, Senator, offer of resolution by, 1825 53

Roberts, John L 64

[Ruggles, Samuel B.] 57

Rush, Dr. Benjamin, argument and appeals, 1787, 1788 28

Rutledge, James, in constitutional convention 28

Sawyer, Senator Frederick A 68

Scholars and scientists, mention of 112

Scott, Hon. Gustavus, commissioner, memorial to Congress, 1796. ..i 39

Senate of the United States :

Concurring response to President's message, 1790 31

Approval of university proposition by, 1796 39

References to select committee of, 1825, 1890 53, 102

Creation of select committee by, 1890 103

Continuances of select committee 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

Thol)nrn, 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

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

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

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

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,

Mr. Proctor. I present the memorial of Hon. Jolin W. Hoyt in regard to a National University, with an accompanying docnment, which is a very valuable historical statement on that subject. I move that it be printed and referred to the Select 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 docnment be printed for the use of the Senate, and that the motion be referred to the Committee on Printing.

The Vice-President. Will 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 tliat subject, of which I happen to be a member, and printed. I move that 5,000 extra cojdes may be printed for the use of the Senate. I do not know what it will cost to print that numl>er. I ask that the motion to print extra copies be referred to the Connnittee on Printing.

The Vice-President. That order will be made in the absence of objection.

SESSION OF AUGUST 5, 1892.

Mr. Manderson, from the Committee on Printing, to whom was referred the following resolution, reported it without amendment, and it was considered by unanimous 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 accomi)auying paper, be printed for the use of the Senate.

MEMORIAL.

Washington, D. C, August 3, 1892.

To the Honorable the Senate of the United States:

Responding to the request of the chairman of the Select Oommittee 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 univ^ersity in this country, together with a statement of what is now deemed desirable in tliis behalf from the standpoint of such eminent citizens and national organizations as are committed to that enterprise, 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 resi)ectfully,

John W. Hoyt.

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 prevalenceof provincial ideas and local jealousies, besides more or less doubt concerning the constitutional powers of the Government an<l a suju-eme 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 institutions of the university class.

The first of these embarrassments, though somewhat slow to disappear, is now rapidly i)assiug away. With the spread of educational facilities, the growth of institutions for the higher culture, the marvelous progress of science and learning, and the consequent increase of those discoveries, practical inventions, and literary achievements, which have greatly added to the pleasures, security, and dignity ot life, there has also come a new recognition of the high value of learn, iug; so that intelligent citizens everywhere now vie with each other in their efforts to promote its advancement. Even the uncultured have learned the tlieory of a necessary connection between science and progress 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 ui)building and maintenance of the higher institutions.

So, too, with the construction of numberless railways and the constant intermingling of the people of all sections, provincialism has died a natural death. Each community has learned not only to resi»ect 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 Government 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 I'ramers 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.

16 A NATIONAL UNIVEKSITY.

Finally, there is reason to believe tliat 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 land with persons most competent to fill their chairs of instruction, in return for the multitude of bachelors of arts, letters, science, and philosophy that would flock to the national standard.

One can hardly conceive of a more powerful 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 exxjected of both people 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.

Wliilo the term university has had so great a variety of applications tliat it is practically without deflniteness of meaning-, it is nevertheless manifest that it has a proper sigiiitication as well as application. Stating these as simply as i^ossible by defining the offices which such an institution may be expected to fulfil, it is hardly necessary to say, first of all, that it ranks above and beyond the academic and collegiate institutions, 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.

Tlie studies therein mastered are snpposedto have simply fnrnished ji key with which, if intellectually capable and of resolntc puri)ose, they who have been certificated by them may enter those vastly broader and higher fields of science, art, and philosophy which themselves border 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 scliools for the present l)ear the high title of which they anxiously hope to make them some day Avortliy.

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 university 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 alile to furnish to each and to all the very ultimate of what has been achieved in every realm and dei)artment of learning.

It will be not simply one more of the vast number of schools of academic 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.

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 professions — 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 respective 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 perform still another function, that of building new professions, as justified in so doing, on the basis of known facts and established i)rinciples, by opening proper courses of study therein; thus lifting the so-called occupations and trades out of the domain of empiricism 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 partially performed anywhere. And yet how inconceivably great are the possibilities of an institution not only ever at the front in its mastery of all that is known, nor yet by its members of genius ever at work on new problems in every realm and department of the material, intellectual, 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 important 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 comiDleteness in all other respects there would still remain an aching void. An insatiable spirit of inquiry, an unquenchable ambition to advance the boundaries of human knowledge by new conquests in the infinite realm of the unknown, must pervade and will pervade an institution deserving the high title of university. It can instruct, elevate, coordinate, and originate effectively, only in proportion 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 proportion 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 inscrix)tion upon its portals. It will be not alight-house only, but also a bulwark of liberty and a watch-tower for the nation and the world.

II. Reasons For Founding A National University

'First of all, the task of planting and eudowiug 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 munificence 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 nature of the case they usually, if not invariably, somewhat limit or prevent subsequent benefactions to the same end by the very terms of the donation and the naming of the institution.

On the other hand,r^e United States, richest, most powerful, and most progressive of all the nations, could easily confer such an endowment on an institution of its own founding as to make it very soon foremost 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 i)owerful incentive to all persons of fortune desirous of promoting any kind of instruction or any line of investigation by afibrding every assurance of security and permanency of the institution itself, by offering them the opportunity of connecting their benefactions and names enduringly with the most important, as well as most brilliant, cluster of schools on the earth, and by giving them to realize that high sense of dignity and honor which must attach to a permanent 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 argumentj 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, the 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, sux)reme institution the whole series lacks the immeasurable 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 power of the 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 standiioint of a complete systematic scheme; it is also a patriotic necessit y.' ! It is only a national university that could in the most eminent degree cultivate, 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 i)eriod 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 certain to be among the most influential of their citizens, as well as potential 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 x)leased to make, but it is hardly conceivable 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 neglect its duty as to leave this vital interest to even the best attempts of competing 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.

^^gain, 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 sympathies and upon the moral as well as material resources of the whole

American people^ A university founded on denominational preferences, or any other preferences, is by that very fact largely limited in its patronage to tbe great family of faith to which it belongs. It can not win all alike by the banner it floats. I^or can sncli an institution, however pure and lofty its aims, free itself utterly, if it would, from preferring that all who come to it for any purpose should accept the particular faitli it represents. A national university need not be, and would not be, devoid of religious sentiment, since that is something which inheres in the individual soul, but it could liave no special shibboleth, no banner but that of truth 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 imi)artial truth and justice. It must not force its sons and daughters of genius to enter less than the broadest as Avell as most exalted tenijde of learning that can be established with the heli) of unstinted 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 I)oweriul indirect means of promoting the growth of free institutions in other lauds.

Criually, a great nation like ours has resting upon it the solemn obligation 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. Discoveries 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 purpose of maturing plans for a congress of the representatives 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 the first place, the District of Columbia is the only sufficient and suitable spot within the United States where the Federal Government has exclusive and perpetual jurisdiction.