Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 64.djvu/86

82 of foreign navies, our sea-power was threatened, as now, in consequence of the increase of foreign universities, our brain-power is threatened.

The nation slowly woke up to find that its enormous commerce was no longer insured at sea, that in relation to foreign navies our own had been suffered to dwindle to such an extent that it was no longer capable of doing the duty which the nation expected of it even in time of peace. At first, this revelation was received with a shrug of incredulity, and the peace-at-any-price party denied that anything was needed; but a great teacher arose; as the facts were inquired into the suspicion changed into an alarm; men of all parties saw that something must be done. Later, the nation was thoroughly aroused, and with universal agreement the principle was laid down that, cost what it might to enforce our sea-power, our Navy must be made and maintained of a strength greater than those of any two possibly contending powers. After establishing this principle, the next thing to do was to give effect to it. What did the nation do after full discussion and inquiry? A bill was brought in in 1888, and a sum of 21,500,000l. was voted in order, during the next five years, to inaugurate a large ship-building program, so that Britain and Britain's commerce might be guarded on the high seas in any event.

Since then we have spent 120,000,000l. on new ships, and this year we spend still more millions on still more new ships. If these prove insufficient to safeguard our sea-power, there is no doubt that the nation will increase them, and I have not heard that anybody has suggested an appeal to private effort.

How, then, do we stand with regard to universities, recognizing them as the chief producers of brain-power and therefore the equivalents of battleships in relation to sea-power? Do their numbers come up to the standard established by the Admiralty principle to which I have referred? Let us attempt to get a rough-and-ready estimate of our educational position by counting universities as the Admiralty counts battleships. I say rough and ready because we have other helps to greater brain-power to consider besides universities, as the Admiralty has other ships to consider besides ironclads.

In the first place, let us inquire if they are equal in number to those of any two nations commercially competing with us.

In the United Kingdom, we had until quite recently thirteen. Of these, one is only three years old as a teaching university and another is still merely an examining board.