Page:A History of the University of Chicago by Thomas Wakefield Goodspeed.djvu/352

 3io A HISTORY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO safety, and when we consider what would have been the result in case of acci- dent six years of sincere work being thrown away, and six years more would surely elapse before the same results could be obtained we can imagine some- thing of their feelings of satisfaction when they saw the final accomplishment of their labors. That we have done a good deed, and one which will revert to our satisfaction, we have no doubt That the work will produce good results, I am, after a thorough examination, fully satisfied, and my satisfaction is still more intense when I learn of the great and enthusiastic men which the University of Chicago has gathered around it for the purpose of taking charge of the work to be performed in this Observatory; and I therefore, with the fullest feeling of satisfaction and pleasure, turn over to you this structure, with all its contents, feeling satisfied that it is now in the best of hands, and that the labors here will be serious, conscientious, and thoroughly done. I feel that in your attempts to pierce the mysteries of the universe which are spread before you by our great Creator, the enthusiasm of your natures will carry you to success. Mr. Ryerson, on behalf of the Board of Trustees of the Univer- sity, accepted the gift, saying in part: When the many expressions of gratitude have found utterance on this occasion, there will remain, what must be a source of even greater gratification to Mr. Yerkes, the continuing and increasing usefulness of his great gift. I use the word "usefulness," not only because I am convinced that we are here at the inception of a great work which will justify itself by the practical value of its results as well as by the ideal nature of its aims, but also because I feel that in an age when so much of the ability and energy of the community is devoted to the advancement and the improvement of material conditions, each new agency for the upholding of the ideals of life through the cultivation of science for its own sake has a usefulness of the highest order. We need not fear the materialism of an age in which an intense pursuit of the useful and the practical is accompanied by an ever-widening conception of true utility, in which the satisfaction of intellectual demands is keeping pace with the meet- ing of physical requirements. Let us by all means be practical, if we can at the same time broaden our conception of the meaning of the word so that it may include that development of the intellectual side of life without which any improvement of material conditions is absolutely vain. While recognizing fully the great practical services which Astronomy has rendered to the world, I still feel that its proudest claim to recognition and appreciation must dwell in its tendency to establish and maintain in the feelings of mankind the con- viction that, amid the services of science, the increase of knowledge for the sake of knowledge is not the least. Mr. Yerkes, on behalf of the Board of Trustees of the University of Chicago, I accept your generous gift, and I assure you that we feel sincerely grateful for the new force for the advancement of learning which you have placed