It is a curious thing that proud as is our boast of the advance of America beyond the old world in the solution of the public questions of the times and in practical affairs, we yet feel little humiliation that in the artistic and, to a certain extent, in the scholarly world we are still far inferior to our European brothers. Every day we watch with complacency the departure of friends "to study abroad." With unconcern we see the annual exodus of a quota of our graduating classes to Berlin, Paris, and other foreign centres of learning; and yet we know that this flight for knowledge is a confession of the inability to acquire that knowledge here. Does it not seem as if this great western half of civilization might at least equal the eastern in its opportunities for learning? We hear almost daily of bequests for new colleges among us. Our people would almost seem to believe that our universities had reached their greatest height and the only thing left to do was to scatter them around more profusely. But no; in distribution of knowledge among all classes we do not fall behind other nations. Our masses are recognized as the most intelligent in the world. It is in height, not in breadth, of scholarly development that we are lacking.

We hope yet to see the day when the fullest knowledge of any branch can be gained right here in our country, and pilgrimage to foreign resorts of study will no longer be necessary. But concentration of money and energy upon a few or even one of our institutions can alone bring about this result.