USA > Pennsylvania > Philadelphia County > Philadelphia > Municipal government history and politics, Vol. V > Part 39
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" Cunningham, 'English Industry and Commerce,' Book I., chaps. i., ii .; Books II., III., IV .; Rogers, ' Work and Wages,' chaps. ii .- vi., viii .- xii., xiv .- xx. ; Toynbee, ' Indus- trial Revolution of 18th Century,' lectures ii .- v., vii .- x. The last-named writer's essay on 'Ricardo and the old Political Economy,' will explain the assumptions common to Mill and
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all the great English Economists. Then it will save time and trouble to run rapidly through some short treatise, such as Jevons' 'Primer,' so as to gain familiarity with modern terms. After this one may address oneself to Mill, and read with especial care, Book I., chaps. x .- xii. ; Book II., chaps. vi .- xvi .; Book III., chaps. i .- iv., x., xiii., xvii., xxiv .; Book IV., chap. vii .; Book V., chaps. ii .- iv., vii., xi.
" As to the reading necessary for the Periods and Special Subjects, reference should be made to the lists of books in the Examination Statutes, and it would be scarcely possible to make here any detailed suggestions. But some words as to the general character of the work may not be out of place.
" The work is of three kinds : attendance at lectures, read- ing, essay-writing. And in the History School, essay-writing has become the usual way of 'doing work for one's tutor.' Men are advised at the beginning of the term to give special attention to some particular Period, certain books are sug- gested, and ' subjects' falling within their reading are 'set ' for essays. Now, why has this particular method been adopted ?
"For boys at school there is probably no better way of teaching than to cause them to learn the main facts in such a way that they can remember them. But in the study of His- tory in the University the learning of bare facts is the smallest, and in a sense the least important, part of the work. By going to the usual authorities, any tolerably industrious man can readily find a sufficient number of facts,-of dates and events. What he really wants to know is the meaning of these facts, what stages they mark in the growth of such and such an institution, what policy they show in the action of a particular statesman, what contrasts they suggest between different ages and nations. And essay-writing seems the best way to develop this habit of looking for causes and effects. Let the student first quietly read the necessary authorities upon the subject, making as he does so a rough abstract of what they contain ; then let him jot down his ideas, in some dozen words, and make up his mind what his line of argument is going to be,
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what he is going to say first and next, and how he is going to end; and then, when he sees to the end of what he is going to say, and not before, let him begin. The salvation of an essay is 'point.'
"Now of course this, like all other conceivable methods, has its risks. It dangerously encourages fine writing; it may make a man undervalue reading and investigation in compar- ison with facility in constructing neat arguments. Yet, under the criticism of a tutor, it is the best way of making the read- ing for the History School a really valuable mental discipline. For, as Professor Seeley has so admirably said, 'in History everything depends on turning narrative into problems. So long as you think of History as a mere chronological narra- tive, so long you are in the old literary groove which leads to no trustworthy knowledge, but only to that pompous conven- tional romancing, of which all serious men are tired. Break the drowsy spell of narrative; ask yourself questions; set yourself problems; your mind will at once take up a new attitude ; you will cease to be solemn and begin to be serious.'
" Nor is it as unnecessary as it ought to be to insist on the importance of impartiality. No such opportunity will ever come again of forming right judgments, and it were a pity to lose all the benefit that could be gained, because of previously created bias. This does not mean that a man is to get rid of all his opinions beforehand, or that he should not hope to retain those he has. He may fairly think Strafford a hero, and Cromwell a hypocrite, or Cromwell a saviour of liberty, and Strafford a tool of despotism ; and he may fairly hope that the result of his reading will be to confirm him in these opinions. But this need not cause him always to take for granted that the one was wrong or the other right. Let him try to be scrupulously fair, and to think how the matter pre- sented itself to the actor himself.
" What is necessary in dealing with individuals is still more necessary in dealing with institutions. Be ready to rec- ognize that a great organization had some value for its own
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time. It will be a great help towards clearness of perception if question-begging terms are scrupulously avoided ; thus, even if a man thinks that the medieval papacy was a curse to the world, he will not be giving up any principle if he speaks of its ' claims,' instead of its 'pretensions.'
" Perhaps, at this point, we are in a position to answer the question : Why should a man read for the History School ? Because, in the first place, it is in many cases a peculiarly valuable preparation for after life. Suppose, for instance, that a man intends to take Holy Orders. Theology is a study which, more than any other, requires a combination of powers, -the power to understand and sympathize with high feeling and emotion, the power on the other hand of estimating at its true value the 'practical side' of life. And in each direction, History will help him. It will give him, moreover, a wider horizon ; he will learn something of the relation of the Church to Society and the State ; he will see how men, in other times and conditions, have dealt with the problems with which he also has to deal.
" Or again, suppose he intends to enter 'business.' There is no danger so great to the business man as the danger of being immersed in the present, of caring only for the imme- diate circumstances of the immediate occupation. For such a man it will be a great safeguard to have made acquaintance with other motives and forces than those which he is likely to meet in business, to be able to appreciate forms of society very different from those in which he is placed, to understand how much the world has changed in the past, and, therefore, how much it may change in the future.
" Again, does not the History School offer an excellent training for the politician or journalist? The business of politics is becoming increasingly difficult ; it demands, above all, knowledge and seriousness. Only by studying the past can the necessary knowledge be gained, and nothing is so likely to impress a man with the tremendous importance of the issues which the pettinesses of party warfare conceal.
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" But the History School would not be so highly valued as it deserves, were it only regarded as suitable to men who look forward to certain particular professions. Of course, like any other mental discipline, it teaches industry and method ; but its peculiar value lies rather in the training of the judgment. It may make us discover the good in some cause or movement which yet we may feel it our duty to oppose; may make us see the long past causes of present evils, and the far future results of action now lightly begun; and it may encourage the habit of suspension of judgment till the judgment has sufficient materials to build upon."
RECENT IMPRESSIONS OF THE ÉCOLE LIBRE.
The following letter, addressed to the Editor by one of his advanced students, Mr. T. K. Worthington,1 who, after pur- suing the three years' graduate course in history and politics at the Johns Hopkins University, went to Paris upon a university appointment for further study in historical and political science before taking his Doctor's degree in Balti- more. This communication, of course, embodies only first impressions ; but they are altogether favorable to the Parisian School of Politics, and supplement President White's earlier observations. They are, moreover, confirmed by impressions communicated orally to the Editor by Dr. Frederic A. Bancroft, a graduate of the Columbia College School of Political Science, who has studied at the École Libre des Sciences Politiques for a considerable period, as well as in Berlin and at Freiburg with Dr. H. von Holst. While deeply and gratefully appreciating the advantages of graduate study at German universities, the Editor strongly believes that many of his countrymen make a serious mistake in not spending at least a portion of their graduate study in Europe in one of the schools of Paris. In form and methods of presentation, in lucidity of style and logical directness of statement, in the adaptation of scientific means to practical
1 Mr. Worthington is the author of the Historical Sketch of the Finances of Pennsylvania, published by the American Economic Association, vol. II. No. 2. 85 pp., 1887.
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ends, the French are good masters, and in the substance of historical and political knowledge they are richer to-day than ever before. Men who can afford to do so ought to combine the best that France, Germany, England and America have to teach in the line of methods and special literature in their chosen branches of history and politics, and to make the resultant culture connect with the academic, civic, economic or political needs of our own country. The whole weight of college and university influence in America ought to be thrown into higher education in history and politics for the sake of promoting good citizenship, elevating public opinion, and improving American administration-local, State and national.
PARIS, December 1, 1887.
Your letter of November 3, asking me to give you my impressions of the advantages which Paris offers as regards instruction in Political Science, has been received and duly considered. It is impossible so early in the academic year to commit myself to anything more than first impressions, but to these you are more than welcome.
The lectures at the École Libre des Sciences Politiques began on the 14th of November, but no other courses of any importance will be open until the middle of December. If one may judge from the official programmes there are a great many opportunities to hear valuable and interesting lectures on subjects directly and indirectly connected with political science. As soon as I was comfortably settled in lodgings, I procured M. Fourneau's " Programme des Cours publics de Paris " and " Le Livret de l'Étudiant de Paris," from which, with the programme of the École Libre, may be gathered exact information as regards all the courses to be given during the coming year.
Leaving the École Libre out of consideration for a moment, I shall attempt to give a brief account of the announcements so far as they have been made up to the present time. The Faculté de Droit, the Faculté des Lettres, the École pratique
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des Hautes Études, the College de France, the Institut Na- tional Agronomique, the École des Ponts et Chaussées, the Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers, the École Na- tionale des Chartes, and the École d'Anthropologie, have announced twenty-three courses (thirty-seven hours a week) on subjects which may fairly be covered by the term " Political Science." This seems to afford a large field for selection, but it is one which is soon limited by close inspection. The courses at the technical schools consist mostly of elementary lectures on political economy. At such institu- tions as the École National Agronomique, the École des Ponts et Chaussées, and the Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers, the courses are almost entirely supplementary to some particular phase of technology. At the last named the second year of study is devoted to Diplomacy, History of Political Institutions, and Administration, the Sources of French History, and the Classification of Archives : one lec- ture a week on each subject. None of the above-named schools would be of much value to the general student of political science. The courses in law, on the other hand, are too special for the average American, unless he wishes to go deeply into the study of Roman Law. In this case the advan- tages are very great: Fifty lectures a week will be given by the Faculté de Droit, most of which are closely connected with the study of Roman Law. At the École pratique des Hautes Études there will not be a single course this year in political science. There is a course of one hour a week at the École d'Anthropologie on the History of Civilization, which might prove interesting. In the programme of the Faculté des Lettres I came upon a welcome announcement : M. Fustel de Coulanges is booked for two hours a week on the Institu- tional History of the Middle Ages. As the course does not open for two weeks I am compelled to postpone my impres- sions of M. de Coulanges as a lecturer. M. Pigonneau is down for a course of two hours a week on the History of French Diplomacy under Richelieu. M. Pigonneau is lec-
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turing with great success at the École Libre, on the Diplo- matic History of Europe from 1648 to 1789. He is followed by about 90 auditors. There is also a lecture once a week by M. Lavisse on the History of the Prussian State from 1648 to 1815.
At the College de France, M. Paul Leroy-Beaulieu will give two hours a week on Political Economy; M. Flach, two a week on the History of Comparative Legislation ; M. Joly, two a week on the Law of Nature, and the Law of Nations; M. Levasseur, one a week on Historical Geography and Economic Statistics. It appears, therefore, that the choice lies between the College de France, and the Faculté des Lettres. Whatever I do this winter, I expect to hear MM. Fustel de Coulanges and Leroy-Beaulieu.
You are doubtless anxious to hear something about the École Libre des Sciences Politiques. As you know, it is an institution whose aim it is to give advanced and special instruction in political science. That it meets a need in the community may be emphasized by the statement that it was founded in 1871, and that it opens the present academic year with about 500 students on the rolls. It is very difficult to get information as regards the number of students, the number of books in the library, the financial situation of the institution, and such matters, which are more freely discussed in America. Before going any further, I should like to give you a brief account of the origin of the school.
The École Libre is the result of private enterprise. It is a joint stock company with a moderate amount of capital, all of which is paid up. The institution was founded in 1871, and the first courses were opened January 10, 1872-a red-letter day in the history of practical education. At the start, the resources of the school were exceedingly moderate. Scarcely fifty shares of the stock had been taken. The only resources were several thousand francs, collected by the director of the school, as endowments for certain chairs, and various amounts advanced by the comité de fondation.
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The founders of this great institution, when they trace its history back to 1871, realize the magnitude of the task which they had set before them. They had very small means, they were at the mercy of the government, inexperienced, with a hostile public to oppose them. No one believed that they could succeed in an undertaking which seemed to need all the power of the state to back it, or that they could keep aloof from the strife of political parties. Such an experiment, without doubt, needed the greatest caution.
The school opened in very humble style. A single room was rented, in which five lecturers delivered each a course of twenty-five lectures. The first students were apathetic : they had "la physionomie de simples curieux." For the most part they took no notes. Success followed close upon the opening of the door of the humble lecture-room. MM. Janet and Levasseur gave the school a certain prestige. M. Sorel at once excited attention by his admirable lectures on diplomacy, and M. Paul Leroy-Beaulieu, already well known as a publi- cist, soon acquired an equal reputation as a lecturer on political economy and finance. In the selection of this staff, the directors were influenced by no party consideration whatever. This has been the key-note of the history of the institution : in this sense alone is it a " free school." Within five months after the first lecture was delivered, all the capital was subscribed, and the management was put in possession of a considerable fund. The field of action was at once enlarged, and in the fall of 1872 the school was moved to more commodious quarters in the rue Taranne.
The first plan of instruction was found to be defective in two ways. First (in M. Boutmy's own words), lectures which covered so much ground and were delivered " du haut de la chaire" could not embody much analysis of detail. They kept out of sight the method pursued by the professor in reaching his conclusion : his rules of criticism and research. " L'Élève est transporté tout d'abord au point d'arivée, il ne connaît rien de la route parcourue. Il n'est capable ni de
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la parcourir à son tour, ni de prendre exemple de ce qu'il a vu faire pour trouver sa voie dans des études du même genre." The directors recognized the advantages of the seminary- method.
Secondly, they found that, unless their institution had some object beyond the completion of a liberal education, they would be compelled to close their doors for want of students. They found that young Frenchmen were devoting less and less time to the interval between completing their collegiate studies and their entrance into business or professional life.
These considerations dictated the arrangement of the new plan. In the first place, the teaching force was increased and the ground which each lecturer covered was limited and better defined. In the second place, the conférence or seminar was introduced. The seminary system has been a great feature in the instruction of the Ecole Libre. M. Boutmy defines the conférence as "an informal lecture, where the professor and students meet around the same table to handle documents (a budget, a file of diplomatic papers, or a statistical table-as the case may be), to comment upon texts, to study statistics, to discuss and settle points of difference, and to clear up all obscurities by means of their united efforts. The object of the conférence is not less important than that of the formal lecture. It is to exercise the understanding, to cultivate certain faculties which the ex cathedra instruction fails to develop, to give the student access to original sources and to teach their critical use." By referring to the programme of the École Libre, which I sent you some time ago, you may easily see how great a part the conférence plays in the course of instruction for the coming year. There are sixteen lectures and eleven conférences a week. In seven cases the maître de conférences holds a government office.
The conférences are divided according to subjects as fol- lows :- Finance and financial administration, 4; diplomacy and diplomatic history, 2; international law, 1; money bank- ing, etc .; 1; colonial geography, 1; France in North Africa,
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1. As I said above, it appeared at the beginning that if the school was to be a success it must have a practical end in view : the managers, accordingly organized the courses in such a way, that they might be able to offer candidates for certain branches of government service, a thorough prepara- tion for the duties of their respective departments. It is to serve this end that practical administrators are chosen as maîtres de conférences. The candidates of the École Libre have always been the most successful in the state examinations. From 1876 to 1886, out of 60 men who passed the examina- tions for the Conseil d' Etat, 47 (78 per cent.) were prepared by the École Libre. Out of 46 who passed the examinations for the Inspection des Finances, during the same period, 41 (89 per cent.) were prepared by the École Libre. Since 1880, all the successful candidates in this department, were prepared by the school.
In the examinations for the Cour des Comptes held in 1879, 1882, 1884 and 1886, the men trained at the École Libre obtained sixteen places out of seventeen. During the last few years all candidates prepared by the school for the ministry of foreign affairs have been admitted to the highest places. In 1886, out of eleven candidates received into this department, nine, who stood highest, belonged to the École Libre.
These are the practical results. Each year witnesses some addition to the advantages offered to candidates for the State examinations. If time and space permitted, it would be interesting to trace the growth of the practical tendency by comparing the curriculum during the early years of the school with the announcements made for the coming year. The organization has changed somewhat since 1872. At that time the whole system of instruction was grouped under two sections : (1) Administration and Finance. (2) Diplomacy. In the programme for this year the courses are classified as follows : Diplomatic Section, Administrative Section, Eco- nomic and Financial Section, Colonial Sector General Sec-
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tion, Public Law and History. These correspond to the following departments of the government service : Diplomacy, Conseil d'État, Administration, Inspection des Finances, Cour des Comptes and the Colonial Service. Such courses as do connect directly with these branches form a valuable prepara- tion for business and commercial life, or " le couronnement naturel de toute education libérale." I know a Frenchman from the South who is taking the courses in finance, in order to prepare himself for a position in his father's bank.
The progress of the school may be illustrated by the increase in the number of students :
1871-72
89
1873-74
96
1874-75
150
1876-77
191
1878-79
222
1887-88
500
This is a remarkable record. Such an institution as this we must have some day in Baltimore or in our national capital. When the time comes to make the experiment, the experience of the École Libre will be invaluable.
Before closing this over-long communication, I must say a few words about the impressions gained from my short experience. The building occupied by the École Libre is at 27 Rue St. Guillaume, a few steps from the Boulevard St. Germain. It is about fifteen minutes' walk from the Place de la Concorde, and easily accessible by 'bus and tram. On entering the building you pass through a small ante-room, with the office of the concierge on the left, and come into a large cloak-room. To the left of the cloak-room is a large room with a glass roof, where the men walk, smoke and talk between the lectures. At one end of the promenade is the lavatory, and at the other, across a passage, are the offices of the director and secretary. The amphitheatre is at the end of the passage, which also opens on the cloak-room. All the
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lectures are delivered in the Salle de Cours, which is entered from the recreation hall. This room is furnished with eight baize-covered tables, each about a yard wide and seating ten men. The chairs around the walls accommodate twenty or thirty more. Sometimes the room is uncomfortably crowded and very hot, though the average attendance is about ninety. The lecturer's desk is at one end of the room on a platform. There are no windows but a glass roof, consequently there are no cross lights.
Up stairs, in the rear, are three library rooms containing, I should say, about 8,000 volumes. There are three library funds belonging : (1) to the school, (2) to the société d'Enseigne- ment supérieur, (3) to the société de linguistique. In the second story front are two journal rooms containing about 100 foreign and French reviews and the daily papers. The build- ing is exceedingly comfortable. A large addition is being erected which will give greatly increased accommodations.
The lectures are very formal. The professor is ushered into the hall by the concierge, who conducts him with great cere- mony to the platform, takes his hat and coat and retires. On the table is a small waiter holding a tumbler, a carafe of water and a bowl of sugar. From these ingredients the pro- fessor compounds a drink, which must be singularly unex- hilarating, takes a sip thereof, and the lecture begins. To an American, accustomed to a less pretentious début on the part of his professor, the above performance gives an unexpressible sense of éclat. The lecturer and the auditors evidently con- sider the lecture to be the event of the day. Nearly all my lectures are at four o'clock in the afternoon. Professor and students, almost to a man, appear in high hat, black coat, and gloves. The happy possessor of an eye-glass sports it. All this is very pleasant, though it is objected to by some Ameri- cans as incompatible with good scholarship.
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