The picture painted by Professor Francke and by others who have been abroad recently of German students struggling with poverty, hunger, lack of every kind of equipment and even textbooks, to satisfy an intellectual craving which is not diminished by material hardships is an almost incredible one, from an American point of view. That any one should possess such an unquenchable thirst for knowledge seems strange; that an entire student body should possess it is more than remarkable. Occasionally, it is true, seniors on the verge of graduation feel a faint and indefinable sensation of regret that there are still some few fields of human knowledge into which they have not delved; and quite often, this develops into undoubted industry in the graduate schools. But in general, the American learns what he is taught--if he is taught well enough--and has little incentive to go out of his way for additional knowledge.

It is unfair, however, to draw from these premises any conclusions overwhelmingly complimentary to the foreign student, and disaparaging to the American. One has every reason to believe that in normal times the continental scholar was, on the whole, quite as dilatory, as indisposed to hard work, as his American counterpart. Where there were lean and hungry students there, working overtime to gain a higher education, there were also men of the same type here. But whereas conditions in the United States have been what is considered "normal" for a long time, and at present seem inclined to remain so, political and social, not to mention economic conditions in Europe have been in more or less continued turmoil. And where there is change, there is intellectual stimulus.

In Germany today, therefore, with the past shattered, the present tottering and the future unbelievably blank, the provocation to study, to gain power and information for reconstructing the badly-shaken fibres of the native land must be great. And that the youth of Germany are responding so enthusiastically is certainly the best guarantee of the German future. Meanwhile in America, a perfectly definite future, with few uncertainties other than the usual vicissitudes of business lends little to inspire the undergraduate to unusual efforts or to increased curiosity.