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FIRST STJPPLBME1TT
THE NEBRASKAN-HESPERIAN
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INAUGURAL ADDRESS.
Chancellor Andrews' Spoech at tho Audi
torium, Sept. 22, 1G00.
In his Inaugural address delivered In
tho Lincoln auditorium on Saturday
morning, Septembor 22, Dr. Kllsha Hon
Jamln Andrews said:
Mr. President, Regents of the Univer
sity, Colleagues, Students and Friends,
Undies nnd Gentlemen: In common with
all tho newcomers present, whether in
structors or pupils, 1 thank those of you
who have been here before for tho wel
come von extend to us who now appear
for the Ilrft time. Already domiciled
among you, we shall soon be naturalized
In the community nnd have our vote.
May the year now opening be richer
than any preceding one In all the unl
versllv's history! It can be. It should
be, 1 know you all Join me In vowing, It
shnll be.
To be permitted to address you today
affords me rare pleasure. For years 1
have cherished an ambition to become
a Nebrnsknn, laying plans to that end
long before I had any expectation of
membership In this university. What
seemed to me a neoullar solidity of char
acter In the people of the commonwealth
powerfully attracted me. If the proverb
ial enchantment of distance possibly
helied originate this liking, the liking
has been contlrmed by all that 1 huve
seen during the weeks since 1 set foot
upon Nebraska soil as a resident.
When the foreman of an educational
stabllshment like this begins his work
j?ople more or less naturally expect from
him some sort of a pronunclamento
touching the policy which he would like
the Institution to pursue. It Is Impos
sible for me to announce any such policy
In detail. If I had a new university
policy bristling with particulars 1 should
not wish to set It forth publicly, for ih"
reayon that, provided It contained nov-M
matter enough to lw worth onouncinr.
the publication of It would be thought 10
threaten a sudden break In university
growth. If I wished radical changis. 1
should wish to introduce them gradually,
producing hn evolution, not a revolution.
Hut I say frankly that I harbor no plan
for any changes In the university sae
those involved In Its natural, rapid and
healthy growth. Some things which I
think the university ought to hope and
strive for will emerge as I proceed, tut
I have no detailed program. 1 think to
extremely well of what others nave
placed here for me that I am quite con
tent to let it be. deeming myself happy
If 1 can only add more of the same kina.
If any word escaping me In this ad
dress seem like criticism on things that
arc or have been, on the doings of any
of my predecessors or colleagues. I beg to
assure you beforehand that It Is not xo
Intended. I am Impressed by the honor
able and useful history of the unlver- j
slty. the vers- high rank It has won
among institutions of Its class, the tan
Ity ot Its organization and the careful
methods by which It has been adminis
tered. The builders have built well. I
feel a profound sense of Indebtedness in
ward all my predecessors In the chan
cellorship. Including my esteemed col
league who sat In the chair last year,
for the wisdom and the unselfishness
with which they have wrought So lar
as I can ditcover. nothing has been over
looked, nothing has been mismanaged,
it would have leen Impossible for ihe
business of the office to be turned over
to a successor In more perfect order
than when 1 took it up.
It Is fitting on an occasion like this
to review the present condition of uni
versity life In the United States in tVie
light of current criticisms thereon. Such
criticisms, you know, are irequent and
various. Many "bogy" men are abroad,
whom not a few ieoile believe to hall
from the university. The Infidel, the
"rake," the "'dude," the shaggy athlete.
the spectacled pedant, the pale recluse,
and many more, are supposed to frequent
every university walk and pretty ac
curately to reprew-nt university life.
Vet ober men and women are of the
ojdii.oi) that we pay too little attention
to the moral and the esthetic side f
students" development and too much to
the physical fcide. and that in dealing
with the mind Itself, the part of our
work on which roey ay we lay all the
iross. we are jruiltv o! rave faults of
aim and method, training our pupils to
pedantry, mentai pride, mental depend-
once and a number of other faults.
Ko doubt tnese critic groatly exag
gerate the evils which lhay allege, and.
no far itx uch .evils oxlJrt. many-wise
mlnrtprs-Jt them; yet it would he' rank
unwlsdov tor the frlewd of unlversi.y
educatiw to ignarc those rlctrs
FrohaM) ach of them Is isore or e
Icts&rwd oy aM iMKoriUg ami der'fl
without muck abatement by oe It
wflt iMf ee that part of tho Informa
tion lodged again m relates to the
pnw ol ewerl university lttflwewr-f.
AtHuriut: ibtB done that might not
to le done and iMhp loft undone that
-Wight jo he done, said defect being o
neto& a rather remote way. if at
aW. with av class-row work. a4 -
ibw part of it to alleged malfoasanje i
In or concerning tne urnvorwuy ta--9ng
oflica. ljei us consider first the
4lomt affocllng ur goHoral walk
anfl oiwverKalltin.
?lguriiig the ohttrg thai AmerJeaw
unlvjly iife Is wuak in tuflueneit of
hfl moral rder. the cavils far frem
ibalng wt huA as U Is ofton roprtint.
IrroJltflwi In InntllulJons of learning If
Turw than formerly, anfl 9b decroaig
rather than Increasing. It Is certainly
less prevalent In university circles than
In other large aggregations ot youth, and
not more prevalent In state universities
than In denominational colleges. To re.nl
tho religious stntlstlcs of this university
for last year you would think we wore
the collegium de propaganda llde Tor tho
entire western hemisphere. Explain It
how you will, the fact Is that the re
ligious element In a community Is tho
part which furnishes most of tho uni
versity and college students. Moreover,
owing to a happy change In the spirit
ot science nnd In the spirit ot religion,
the schism between those two vital In
terests at Universities as In tho general
world of thought Is less and less angry
n" the years pass, science growing de
vout and religion comprehensive nnd
sweet.
What has been said In regard to re
ligion Is nearly ns true of morality. It
must be admitted that forms ot im
morality flourish In certnln universities.
This Is due, however, not to any causo
Intrinsically connected with university
life, but to dniigerous Influences of jur
time In society at large. The vast fort
unes possessed by many families foster
aristocratic feeling nnd other vicious
sentiments. When scions of such fam
ilies enter the university they not onl
bring with them whatever vices they
mnv alrendv have, but often use tho
freedom of their new life to nurse thosj
vices into greater vigor. But such mani
festations of evil are local. With all due
allowance for them where they exist. It
will still have to be admitted that the
main tendencies at work In the unlver
sltv domain make for morality.
A well known fact shows this. ery
few college graduates permanently go
wrong Find a graduate of an Ameri
can university anywhere and you are
nearly sure to find a pillar of society, r.
man or a woman who Is upright, trust
worthy, public-spirited, philanthropic, a
good example for youth to follow. This
Tact Is explained In part by the large
proportion of vice proof characters
among the young people who enter upon
advanced study, but the generalization
could not be so sweeping as It Is old not
university Iniluences themselves rein
force morality rather than break It down.
Were universities hotbeds of vice, as they
are sometimes represented, did they in
any degree approach this character, tnelr
graduates, however exemplary" on enter
ing, would not turn out so well as tiny
actually do In their mature years.
After all, while a youth in a reprcson
tative Amerlcat university Is subject to
no moral strain which he would likely
escaie elsewhere and Is likely to be oy
his university experience morally
strengthened lit many vital points. it
cannot be denied that most of our edu
cational Institutions come short of utiliz
ing fully the advantages which they nat
urallv possess for the creation of nobk
fHnractor in their students. Considering
the plastic age during which they have
young people in charge, the much which
ihey achieve for them morally Is far less
ihnn thev micht achieve. I intensely
reprobate the view, said to have been
expressed by the head of one university,
that we are not responsible for the moral
welfare of our pupils, our work for them
being purely Intellectual. This univer
sity president may have had main ref
erence to graduate students engaged In
technical and professional study. Even
so. 1 think him wrong. With uniler-craduau-s.
at any rate, wt fall In dut
unless to the uttermost of our power
we aid them to form right and strong
.characters. The public expects this ser
vice of us and has a right to expect It.
How quickly and fatally our patronage
would fall off should we renounce this
part of our task! University authorities
do not renounce it; they dare not; they
try lo fulfil it. I do not underestimate
the efforts they are making here, but 1
feel that they ought to accomplish a
great deal more.
The university must be as free from
larrownes and partisanship In its moral
attitude a in its presentation of sclen-.
tlfic trmli. No one wihe it turned into
a Sunday schoo' c- Into a Salvation army
corpii. Kut there are certain moral re
sources riot objectionable to any. on
which universities might draw far more
co.Mously than most have yet irawn.
Instruction In ethic ejuld be made
mtrT" Inspiring, practical and concrete.
Professorship" could be created lor giv
ing instruction, of course in a purely
scientific and non-sectarian way. in Old
and Xew Testament literature that se
j rles of aswtent tractate rammed with
moral life far beyond most else which
meij have written
i have olten reflected, moreover, on
the valuable moral lessons latent in
many present courses of university in
struction and waiting only to be col
lated and made patent. I wish that every
student were obliged to pass an exam
ination on the chapter entitled "lUMl"
William James' Psychology. Political
economy Nkewlse has many deep moral
bearings, particularly on the subject of
tnperanc The ettc abuts upn
4M.s at various points The queJHlan
whether an operation is economically
IrolMcilve or the reverse olton turn
wholly on the answer yon give the othr
question, whether ot not tho operation
eoMdtieo lo man's moral weal fertaln
physiological facts and certain deduc
tions from vital Watiwics feak olo
luewtly for morality In weighty per
gonal wd .social particular. Kvery row
Hti& tluu occur within the university r
ntvu onough to arrest the attention of
all students ovonta furnishing lmiroslve
toxts for momentous lons In condtict.
ftvtiii ocoas-lons should le utilized, it
MWims to mts, ly tmrnoat worda from lh
unlvorwltj' rotruin.
Let each member of the teaching force
Interest himself personally In tho pupils
whom he Instructs or knows and en
courage them to resort to him for ndvlco
In affairs or conduct. ' hen they come,
as most of them will, do not fear to
eounjcl them In detail about right liv
ing, sound habits, and solid character
those conditions on which so Infinitely
more depends than on mere scholarship.
If I dwell on this subject It Is because
of Its general, not because of Its local
Importance. Far from regarding the
mentis of moral grace unusually neces
sary here, 1 consider them much less
needed here than at most universities.
The earnest chnracter of Its students
draws mo to this university ns hardly
any other consideration could. Our stu
dents have throughout tho country a
high reputation for their zeal and sin
cerity In pursuit of university alms.
Whereas In the more 'effete" parts of
our land, lr I mny so speak, many pupils
In Institutions ot this grade have to be
coaxed and urged to their tasks, the
students of the university of Nebraska
are If possible almost too serious In
their determination to profit by their
residence here. They use the university
for genuinely Intellectual and moral
alms, not for any of those more or less
reprehensible side purposes which so at
tract young eople to college In some
localities. All have heard of "salt water
colleges and "fresh water colleges.
Unfortunately there are also "cologne
water colleges," which many patronize;
Institutions of learning where devotion
to mental growth has tar less to do with
giving tone ;o student life than sociality,
even conventional sociality ind conven
tional sociality of doubtiul character.
The social side of life Is certainly im
portant, and I should be the last to dis
parage the proper furtherance of It; still
a university career ought not to be pri
marily dedicated to social development
however good, but to interests which arc
directly mental or moral, or both.
The evil sociality complained of Is not
to be put aside by decrying sociality, but
by proper attention to sociality of the
right sort. Co-education Is fulfilling a
great function In producing this. Our
studios In sociology are helping to ;he
same result by another path. Cultivate
the democratic, by which I mean the re
publican, tendencies In every student
body so that no sharp separation of so
cial classes shall ever appear therein.
We do not want levelling, but we do
want the most perfec possible sympa
thy among human beings, however
variously born into life or circumstanced
In life. Attention to music and the line
arts, happily encouraged now In and
about all our progressive universities, ts
valuable both socially and morally. One
need not be a virtuoso or a connoisseur
In the fine arts to feel the Influence of
their neighborhood In elevating and en
riching his nature.
Critics of university life not seldom
sneer at the zeal, now so ardent in most
American Institutions of learning, for
physical education. This enthusiasm for
physical training I regard as almost
wholly good.
Nothing of course can be more ridicu
lous than the folly of such students as
make gymnastics their main business at
the university. If any have come among
us with such a purpose let them this
very day change It or else buy tickets
for home. College sport Is good within
limits and in Its place as a means of
physical and mental health and to large
lite. In this it is like eating; we eat to
live, we do not live to eat.
It Is a great mistake to suppose the
benefits of physical exercise by students
confined to the conservation of th"!r
health and mental alertness for the time
being. These benefits reach Incalculably
far and arc of the most varied value.
Systematic bodily exercise In college of
ten cures grave and even con&enltal ail
ment. It relieves many complaints
which cannot be cured. It wards off phy
sical and mental Ills to which persons
of a sedentary life arc especially prone.
It lengthens the active years and the to
tal years of men and women who are
free ftom s-peclie diseases. It lessens In
violence. In frequency and In duration
sue); attacks of illness as befall quite
strong people It put ease and cheer
into hard work and good temper Into all
the relatioi. of human being. It tends
to impart iermanent strength, sanity
and order to the mind and to develop
that firmness of will without which, par
ticularly In the great crises of life, the
most gifted of mortals become the sport
of fate.
In cholH whose pupils are mainly
from cities careful physical training is
eertalnly necossary- City youth are vtfry
ant to hi HI -developed In the r vltxi parts
Kven If thy romp and play much, urhlch
many of them will not do. they rarely
engage in the strenuous exercises needed
to xleel the muscles of heart, lungs and
dlaphram. For most farmers' son and
daughter this reult is produced by the
hard work they do. making that worc a
blessing for which they ought to be de
voutly grateful Most city young people
coming to the university llll have time
to perfect tneir physical condition, out
not fl.ie in a hundred of them will take
the proper means to this end save under
some sort of university impulse either
from a faculty rule or from a student
custom.
Lt not country youth imagine that
they need no prompting of such a nature.
The young man or woman from the
farm requires to continue and to sys
tematize bodily exercise: else baneful if
not fatal weaknesses will occur in apo
dal part, or a general breakdown, re
covfiry proving Impossible. I have known
many case of early death on the part
f Titan who came to college from rural
homes. Strong, they fancied that they
must continue o. Sad illusion; they
had been accustomed to taxing exertion
and tho sudden and total remission ot
this proved fatal.
Kcgular drill In the gymnasium Is ol
course to bo highly prized. All studonts
should utilize tho gmnaslum long enough
lo be taught where thoy aro weak and
to obtain the Idea of system In schooling
the body. But outdoor exercises should
always be Indulged In as often ns pos
sible, partly for tho benefit of frosh air
nnd partl to secure the Invaluablo zest
of play. To perfect this zest of play i
certain number of match games, d y
regulated, are not only admissible t
desirable. 1 therefore approve un r
reasonable regulations all the usual forms
of college sport track athletics, tennis,
baseball, basket ball, football and row
ingthough rowing Is not to bo spe
cially commended, partly because lew
can engage In It nnd partly because It is
not a safe sport for matches.
At the risk of being thought queer, I
am going to commend, particularly to
such as do not play ball or tennis, cer
tain outdoor exercises which perhaps
cannot be made very popular, but can
bo made exceedingly useful. It Is not
golf or cycling that 1 have In mind, tloth
those I dare say aro praiseworthy, but
each requires an outfit of some cost,
and also, most seem to think. Its own
uniform. The exercises which I should
like to "boom- are slow running, walk
ing, especially with some object In view
aside trom mere exercise, and tho ac
curate throwing, cither of balls or of
pebbles. I wish these exercises might
become fashionable llko golf. They eni
for no outfit, no special uniform, no ele
gantly graded and kept grounds, nnd
they are suitable for well people of
either sex, whether older or younger.
As already hinted, the benefit of sound
physical education reaches beyond tho
body. Many sports prevalent In unlvjr
sltles are of extraordinary Intellectual
value. Football excels In this respect.
Good play proceeds much more from
brain than from muscle. The same Is
true to a considerable extent of baseball
and tennis. Nearly all earnest sport
properly carried on also has immen,",
moral value fornll participants. It de
velops Independence of action, the sense,
of Individual responsibility and at the
same time fits for Joint activities, co-'
operation and obedience to authority. It
cultivates the will, particularly the pow
er of Instantaneous decision. It trains
the sense of fairness. It Imparts moral
poise, the ability to be tulr when under
powerful provocation to take advantage.
On the whole, then, while the non-ln-tcllectual
features of higher education
are to some extent out of order In uni
versities, the shortcoming Is less serious
than many suppose, while the best In
stitutions arc rapidly remedying nnd re
moving It. Meantime a good part ot
what Is blamed Is not blameworthy, but
deserving of praise.
There are some criticisms of another
stripe which pe-haps we cannot quite
so successfully meet, those, namely, al
leging faults In the mental work done
at universities; teachers halting and wry
modes of presenting truth, errors Into
which pupils are suffered to fall in con
nection with their choice of studies; and
various distempers mental and moral of
which It Is said pupils arc permitted to
become the victims through their Intel
lectual pursuits.
There Is a widespread belief that uni
versity teaching on certain subjects Is
here and there biased, perverted, dishon
est, not reflecting the best results of
scientific investigation, but shading, ig
noring or suppressing these at the be
hest of powerful Interests, social, mon
etary or political. That a university
may get pus In Its blood In this way
professors need not be thrust out of
their chairs or formally muzzled therein.
Pressure so silent that the victim Is un
conscious of it will suffice, and it Is in
this quiet way that freedom In teaching
Is most often destroyed. This evil has
I not gone far and there Is no danger of
its necoming general in tne united
States: but the malady Is In Its nature so
terrible that a single case of It or even
the threat of such may well prompt pre-cautlo-.i.
like the rumor that a cholera
ship has cleared for America from a for
eign port.
How ineffably Important, how vital lib.
erty of teaching Is I need not set forth
here Kven the most arbitrary govern
ments have sought to guard It In their
schools. The argument has been ably
gone over point by point hundred of
times. Rut there are two remarks which
I beg to emphasize.
One Is that the entire community needs
to have university teaching unbiased
and cannot but suffer from a gag policy'-
When shall we learn what all his
tory so clearly teache. that the real foe
of progress Is never the Innovator the
man wishing to force Into belief and
practice hi mistaken new Idea. The
quack, the harebrained gabglfted fel
low has little power. Like the wind, he
bloweth where he llsteth: ye hear he
sound thereof, but cannot tell hi point
of departure or where he will bring: up.
Why should such a man be tormented
before hi time? The real foe of prog
ress I the well-meaning, stolid, insight
lews, leaden-minded conservative, who
deem each new Idea a crime, the creat
ure against whom Shakespeare warn
u in the passage:
"What custom will, in all thing
should we rto't.
The dust of antique time would He un-
swept
And mountainous error bo too highly
heaped
For truth to oVrpecr."
The professor's privilege of declaring
In a proper manner what ha believe to
be the teachings of science this person
al prerogative is therefore not the main
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