OBJECTS OF THE COLLEGE

The second annual dinner of the Harvard Club of Boston was held at the Hotel Somerset last evening. Nearly three hundred members and guests were present. Speakers not only from other New England colleges but also from England gave expression to their sympathy and cordial interest in the work that is being done at Harvard for the ultimate benefit of all educational institutions and of the nation. Major Henry Lee Higginson '55 president and introduced Governor E. S. Draper, who spoke of Major Higginson as "the truest Harvard man of the Harvards," and characterized the dinner as unique in being devoted to Harvard University as an intellectual and educational centre rather than a seat of social and athletic prominence.

President Harris of Amherst emphasized the fact that the true value of a college course is the training of men for the service of life. It has become a path to a useful and productive career; but it should be above all a cultural work rather than a vocational training.

Professor Adams of Dartmouth referred to Harvard as the mother of all colleges in that she has set a high standard of achievement which all endeavor to equal.

Approval of the recent modification of the elective system was expressed by President Maclaurin of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Professor J. H. Ropes '89 showed that the present wide-spread criticism of colleges in general is a distinct advantage inasmuch as it may be easily answered.

Visiting Professor G. W. Prothero drew some interesting comparison between Harvard and Cambridge University. He complained of the fact that English universities are not attended by the mass of the people, that they are hampered by tradition, and have not adapted their courses to the needs of public life. Until the system is reorganized, the English university can hold no such place in the public estimation as does the American university. He hoped for a closer relation between the countries.

President Lowell, the speaker of the evening, pointed out that all colleges were but a means to an end; namely, the uplift of the nation and of mankind. Friendship among them is growing as they realize the unity of their task. The best university is that which strives to correct its faults and this the public will in the end appreciate.

A man's greatest opportunity comes during his college career, and few realize it until years later. Parents and alumni must assist the student to get the best in college life by helping him to gain a sense of proportion. They must require more than social or athletic prominence and teach him the value of intense scholastic application. Both sides of life in college are good, and the student should follow all the paths of good. He, however, does not realize this; it is for the Faculty to bring about the true proportion between intellectual and athletic effort. The College must produce men of virility to help insure the future of the country.