Princeton's new departures in the field of university training

are being everywhere watched with deep interest. Sometime during the coming academic year the new graduate school building, or buildings, will be ready for occupancy. Contrary to a widely held idea, the purpose of this project is not to provide additional equipment for studying; but additional equipment for living. It is a housing proposition, pure and simple, whose interesting function it will be: first, to ensure comfortable and adequate conditions, of existence for the graduate students of the University; second, by bringing into close personal contact young men of varying aims and interests, to cultivate in the budding specialist a sympathetic understanding of fields of knowledge far removed from his own. The fundamental idea might, then, seem to be that of counteracting the possible narrowing physical and mental effects of restricted research by ensuring breadth and variety of social opportunity.

A further step in this direction has now been taken in the establishment of the Charlotte Elizabeth Procter Fellowships, the conditions governing which are of sufficient interest to merit printing in full:

"These fellowships are established on an endowment of $300,000, given in memory of Charlotte Elizabeth Procter by her son. The terms of the fellowships are as follows:

"1. The fellowships shall be known as 'The Charlotte Elizabeth Procter Fellowships', and the holders thereof shall be exempt from tuition fees.

"2. The fellowships are open only to unmarried men who are graduates of not more than six years' standing and who hold the Bachelor's degree in distinctively liberal studies from Princeton University or from some other institution maintaining a similar standard for the Bachelor's degree.

"3. Appointment is to be made by vote of the university faculty on nomination by the Dean of the Graduate School after consultation with the full professors in the department interested.

"4. The tenure of each fellowship is one academic year, subject to re-appointment for not more than two years longer, except on evidence of extraordinary ability and upon unanimous vote of the university faculty.

"5. The fellowships are not to be allocated to separate departments, but are open to all departments conducting graduate work in the liberal arts and sciences.

"6. Every fellow appointed on this foundation shall reside in the buildings of the Graduate College, unless dispensed therefrom by the Dean of the Graduate School, and shall devote himself to advanced study to the exclusion of tutoring, teaching, lecturing or any other occupation or employment.

"7. In case the conduct or work of any fellow is unsatisfactory, the tenure of his fellowship may be terminated by the university faculty.

"8. The stipend of each fellowship shall be $1,000 annually, and no fellowship may be divided.

"9. The income of the foundation is to be applied to maintaining as many fellowships, each yielding $1,000 annually, as 80 per cent of the income will warrant. All income in excess of 80 per cent shall be applied first, to maintaining the principal of the foundation, and then to re-investment for the purpose of increasing the stipend of the fellowships in amounts of $100 each, as rapidly as 80 per cent of such re-investment will permit.

"Provided, however, that whenever the stipend of such fellowships amounts to $1,500 each per year, thereafter no further increase in the stipend shall be made, but additional fellowships of $1,500 shall be founded as rapidly as said 80 per cent of such re-investment will allow. All excess of income remaining at the end of each fiscal year is to be applied to the increase of the capital fund."

Princeton thus appears as the first American institution of learning to recognize the unsatisfactory conditions at- tending the meagre fellowship stipends now usually awarded, and to offer, at the same time, an effective remedy. Its action affords striking testimony to the truth of a part, at least, of THE MAGAZINE'S January editorial; since what is wise for a university, whose graduate departments occur as an immediate and natural transition from undergraduate courses, would seem doubly wise for a college, whose new-fledged alumni must be encouraged to pursue advanced studies in alien environment.

No doubt these Procter fellowships are designed less to tempt Princeton undergraduates to look forward to postgraduate work, than to attract from all parts of the country the best qualified candidates for university training. Yet such honorable rewards of scholarship are quite likely to produce in Princeton College beneficial effects that will reach even as far back as freshman-year. The matter is here given predominant space, however, not for the sake of praising Princeton or of analyzing the motives of its administration; but for the sake of emphasizing an issue raised in the January MAGAZINE : namely, the need at Dartmouth of adequate fellowship allowances for promising Dartmouth men. Such swift and unexpected confirmation of what was, at the time, but an individual opinion should add some weight of authority; while the example which has been set by a sister institution may well arouse a spirit of reasonable emulation.

The draft for the proposed Alumni Council is now in the hands of the alumni, who will register their opinion of the project at the same time as they cast their ballots in the forthcoming election of an alumni trustee. The constitution which is now presented for ratification represents the best thought of an able and conscientious committee of alumni who have devoted nearly two years to examining the systems in vogue at other institutions, and to adapting them to the peculiar needs of Dartmouth. It is not expected, however, that these men have been endowed with such inspiration as has enabled them to produce a document that is entirely beyond present criticism or that will never need amendment. Their wisdom has, indeed, been shown largely in the omission of complicating provisions and in the inclusion of such details only as are needed to establish a broad working plan. It is this working plan that the alumni are called upon either to accept or to reject. There is every reason to believe that they will be nearly unanimous in the former action. After that, the work of organizing the Council should go forward as rapidly as possible. There are a number of problems affecting the inner life of the College that are, or should be, of prime interest to the alumni and that demand their careful study and united action. There can be no question as to the fact that the Council will have plenty to do for years to come, and that its activities may have an important bearing upon the future welfare of Dartmouth.

THE MAGAZINE wishes to express appreciation of the excellent editorial in The Dartmouth for April 22, written in reply to a discussion of certain aspects of the local fraternity situation which appeared last month in these columns. There still remains, however, material for several more first-rate leaders in the undergraduate organ: the one here cited attacks but a single feature of a rather inclusive arraignment. It may be stated that nothing would please THE MAGAZINE better than to be proved totally wrong. To be sure, that has not been done in the case of the first point raised. But since the purpose of its attack upon the fraternities was to stimulate action rather than debate; and healthy consideration rather than heated argument, this periodical will for some time to come hold its peace, as well as its position. Meanwhile it offers itself very gladly for target practice.