CLOSING ADDRESS. 167 
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Jown at night without thinking, with solicitude and dread, of the possi- 
vilities that are before us in the presence of the great economic problems 
centred right here, of the rich growing richer and the poor growing 
poorer in this country. And now, if you are to keep this up forever, and 
if you are to widen this gulf by saving the higher education for the rich 
alone, and remand the poor boys and girls to the wilderness of ignorance, 
God have mercy on this land! Who knows what is before us ? But if 
you can make it possible, as it is still possible to-day, if you can open the 
Joors of the highest colleges and universities to a large number of poor 
soys and girls, as well as to the rich, you need not cherish longer this 
solicitude. The poor boy, with the brains under his hat and crutch under 
his arm, will soon vindicate his position and show that he is the equal of 
:he boys beside him on the bench. He will go forth with his mind calm, 
and his colleagues and friends in life will be soothed and calmed by the 
-eflection that to nearly every one this path is also clear and open. And 
here is one of the great justifications for making our higher education 
as free and open as it is possible to make it, to every boy and girl on 
our soil. And when your rich friends are challenged because they are 
bestowing their millions in the endowment of colleges and universities, I 
shink you need only call attention to this fact; and when the states are 
shallenged because they are taxing their citizens for the support of higher 
sducation, my answer is right there—it is for your poor boys and girls ; 
really, it is for the same boys and girls you are taxing yourselves to sup- 
port common schools, and that argument, in my judgment. is perfectly 
ananswerable. 
I fully respond to the words which my predecessor has uttered here to- 
lay, about this large view of citizenship and manhood which is opened 
apon us in this Christian era, concerning education and concerning life. 
[ believe that our public higher institutions of learning are doing their 
full part in maintaining it. I cannot, therefore, but believe that, firm as 
& my faith in the durability of our public-school system, I cannot but 
renew my expression of the fullest faith that the day will never come when 
our people will be so blind to their highest interests, so blind to the high- 
ast interests of our public schools themselves, as to cripple in any way our 
aniversities and our colleges. 
CLOSING REMARKS, BY PRESIDENTS GILMAN AND HARPER. 
PRESIDENT GILMAN: It has been a most inspiring thing to attend the 
congress, and see so many college presidents and so many college pro- 
fessors and so many representatives of the best seats of learning, the 
sldest and the newest, assembled to consider what is wisest and best for 
American education. I do not believe that such a gathering as has been 
held in this room for the last three days had ever been seen in this coun- 
ry. There had been larger gatherings, there had been select gatherings,