Here we have a letter from the chairman of the Columbia University economics department, Edwin R. A. Seligman, to the chairman of the trustees of Columbia University, George L. Rives, boasting of the large market share of Columbia with respect to graduate education in economics and sociology. We’ve seen earlier (1900) that Seligman kept a jealous eye on Columbia’s competition.
_____________________________________
[carbon copy of letter Seligman to Rives]
No. 324 West 86 street
New York, February 13, 1909
My dear Sir:
You may be interested in the enclosed statistics which have been compiled by me from answers to questions sent out to the various universities. It shows the relative position of Columbia compared to its six leading competitors, and it is a curious coincidence that the totals of Columbia on the one hand, and of the six universities together on the other, should be precisely the same.
Faithfully yours,
Edwin R. A. Seligman
(Enclosure)
To Mr. George L. Rives,
New York City
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STUDENTS WITH DEGREES ENROLLED IN
GRADUATE COURSES, Dec. 1909
| Economics | Sociology | Total of Economics and Sociology | |
| Harvard |
27 |
— |
27 |
| Yale |
16 |
12 |
28 |
| Cornell |
10 |
4 |
14 |
| Johns-Hopkins |
12* |
— |
12* |
| Chicago |
12 |
19 |
31 |
| Wisconsin |
22 |
4 |
26 |
| Total in the 6 universities |
99 |
39 |
138 |
| Columbia |
67 |
71 |
138 |
*including duplications
Source: Columbia University Archives. Central Files 1890-, Box 338. Folder: “Seligman, Edwin Robert Anderson. 1.1.110 2/5”
Image Source: Universities and their Sons, Vol. 2 (1899), pp. 485.