Early Warnings Effective.

On the whole, the Freshmen seem to be taking college life distinctly more seriously at the outset, and the November grades show that they are certainly not less studious than before. The scholarship of many Freshmen suffers from the sudden transition from the prescribed daily tasks of school to the larger freedom of college. Accustomed to constant supervision, they do not, when left to their own devices for regulating their hours of study, realize the need of self-discipline and systematic work, and are inclined to put off exertion until an examination is near. An experiment was therefore made last year of getting from the instructors reports in the early weeks of the term, and warning the delinquents. This proved very effective, as may be seen by the figures given in the report of the Dean of Harvard College for the subsequent failures on the part of these men, as compared with others who had not been warned. Such a policy is in accord with the principle that the duty of the college consists not only in providing large opportunities for education, but also in making all students feel the importance of taking advantage of them. That can be done by disciplinary measures only in small part, and in the main only for the idle. Far more can be accomplished by personal contact, and by an improvement of the general attitude toward college work. For this reason it is gratifying to refer again to the remarks of Dean Hurlbut on the effect of the rules about the choice of electives upon the seriousness with which the students regard the selection of their courses.

But faithfulness and ordinary proficiency in scholarship are not enough. During the last generation a tendency to disparage the high scholar has run through the educational system of America. It has been the fashion to say that he is generally passed in later life by the man of mediocre intellectual achievement in school or college,--an idea as irrational as it is contrary to the evidence derived from actual statistics. This is the only country where it is popularly believed that superior diligence and aptitude for knowledge are poor preparations for success in life. Keen competition in examinations may, or may not, have been carried too far in Europe; but we have certainly disregarded it too much here. No means ought to be neglected to encourage a desire and respect for excellence, and for this purpose the element of competition ought not to be left out of sight. Much may be done by drawing attention to the records of scholars and of schools. An example of this is the recent publication of the honor grades achieved at our entrance examinations by the boys from the different preparatory schools, which has attracted no little attention, and will help encourage the teacher to set his aim above merely getting candidates for admission through with a pass mark. To raise the respect for scholarship at school raises it in college, and vice-versa. Conditions have in fact improved; and one hears far less of "C" as "the gentleman's mark," or of derogatory epithets for high scholars.

To Supervise Written English.

After an investigation of the writing of English by students the Board of Overseers adopted on the eleventh of May last the following vote:

"In view of the various and convincing proofs brought to the attention of the Board of Overseers that the students both in their entrance and college examination papers, especially in courses other than English courses, fail to write correct, coherent and idiomatic English: Resolved, that the Faculty of Harvard College be requested to devise suitable measures to remedy this condition of affairs, and to report to this Board not later than January first, 1915, a definite plan for bettering the written and spoken English of Harvard students."

In pursuance thereof the Faculty on May 19th voted to appoint a committee to examine the subject, and in accordance with the recommendations of that committee it adopted on December 15th the following resolutions, which seem well devised to promote the object in view:

"1. A permanent Committee of the Faculty on Students' Use of English shall be appointed, such Committee to be made up of members of several Departments, and to have general supervision of our students' written English.

"2. The executive officer of this Committee shall be its Secretary, who shall be a member of the Committee and of the Faculty. It shall be a part of his duty to inspect, from time to time, the written work of students and to report to the Committee on its quality.

"3. Instructors in all departments, especially men recently appointed, shall be invited to confer with the Secretary concerning our students' usual faults and the best methods of correcting them.

"4. All instructors shall be expected to refer students who seem to them deficient in English to the Secretary, who shall advise these students, and who may impose on them special tasks, such as outside reading and reports, or additional prescribed work in English Composition, such work not counting for the degree." In this connection it is interesting to observe that the School of Business Administration has found itself confronted by the same problem; for American students, even if quite capable of writing good English, are very apt to forget to do so in ordinary work. They regard it as an ornament assumed on occasion, not a habit of life. The Faculty of the School has felt the need of insisting on good English so strongly that they have employed a special instructor to examine the theses and confer with the students.

The generosity of an ananymous benefactor has enabled the College to take better care of its students in another respect. The gift is for a Professorship of Hygiene to be held by a physician who must give up his private practice, and, except for hospital work, must devote his time to the students as their medical adviser and friend. The influence on the health, conduct, and character of young men that a man in such a position can exert is incalculable, and the selection for the post of Dr. Roger Irving Lee was made after very careful consideration. It so happened that last winter the Faculty of Arts and Sciences made a new departure in the case of students' health at Harvard by providing, with the approval of the Governing Boards, for a physical examination of all Freshmen at the opening of the year. Such an examination, which has been in use in other colleges, was conducted here for the first time this autumn by Dr. Lee and his assistants. It was justified at the outset by the discovery of many cases of irregularity in the heart or kidneys, perfectly curable but needing to be watched.

Budget Growing Larger.

The most serious difficulty confronting the College, the Graduate School, and, infact, the University as a whole, is financial. The amount of instruction under the Faculty of Arts and Sciences has been very much increased during the last score of years by the appointment of a large number of young instructors, and as they have grown older their salaries have increased. A steady growth of the budget has therefore taken place and will continue until a normal distribution of age in the staff has been reached. The result of this and other causes has been a deficit for several years in the join account of the College, Library, and University, which for last year was $52,009.29. We are thus faced with the alternative of increasing our income, or of cutting down instruction severely, which would be most unfortunate. In view of the improbability at the present time of raising any large additional endowment the only resource would seem to be an increase of the tuition fee. In 1869 it was suddenly raised from one hundred and four dollars to one hundred and fifty and, except for the addition of four dollars for the Infirmary fee, it has not been raised since that time, although prices have increased, and the purchasing power of money has declined, very much in the interval, especially within the last few years. Other colleges and universities have felt the pressure, and many of them have recently raised their tuition fees, until our charges, instead of being distinctly higher than in almost all other institutions, are on a level with those of the smaller endowed colleges, and are on the whole lower than those of the larger institutions not supported by the State. The figures for a number of leading colleges are given in the table of the opposite page.

Harvard cannot compete with the State universities in providing education cheaply, but only in the quality of the instruction offered. We must strive to offer the best, even if it costs the student more. This matter has been considered by committees of this Board twice within a score of years, and it now under consideration in the various faculties, for although the subject to most pressing in the College and Graduate School, the same questions aries to all the professional schools except the Medical School, where the tuition fee for already two hundred dollars, and the Divinity School, which by its connection with other theological schools is debarred from increasing its fee at resent. Under the agreement with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology the fee for instruction in engineering will hereafter be $250.