Categories
Economics Programs Wisconsin

Wisconsin. Programmes of Political Economy, Political Science, and History. 1904-1905.

A few posts ago Economics in the Rear-view Mirror added the programme of the Department of Political Economy at the University of Chicago for 1904-05 to its collection of artifacts. The printed copy that I transcribed for Chicago was filed with an analogous publication of the University of Wisconsin from the same year. Both rest quietly in an archival box at Harvard containing records of the Division of History, Government, and Economics (the exact archival coordinates are provided at the end of this post).

Fun Fact: the text-book used for the graduate course on modern economic theory in 1904-05 was Gustav von Schmoller’s Grundriss der Allgemeinen Volkswirtschaftslehre. Erster Teil, (Leipzig, 1900.) Zweiter Teil (Leipzig, 1904). 

__________________

Research Tip

Lampman, Robert J. (ed.). Economists at Wisconsin: 1892-1992. (Madison: University of Wisconsin, Department of Economics) 1993. A total of 380 pages of information on a century’s worth of insruction and research in the department of political economy/economics at the University of Wisconsin.

__________________

University of Wisconsin
1904-1905

POLITICAL ECONOMY, POLITICAL SCIENCE, AND HISTORY.

Contents

Staff of Instruction
General Statement

Outline of Courses:

Political Economy
Political Science
History

Special Training Courses:

Statistics
Practical Sociology
Public Service
Journalism

__________________

Staff of Instruction.

Van Hise, Charles R., Ph.D., LL.D., President of the University.

Birge, Edward A., Ph.D., Sc. D., LL.D., Dean of the College of Letters and Science.

__________________

Commons, John R., A.M., Professor of Political Economy.

Ely, Richard T., Ph.D., LL.D., Professor of Political Economy.

Meyer, Balthasar H., Ph.D., Professor of Institutes of Commerce.

Munro, Dana C., A.M., Professor of European History.

Parkinson, John B., A.M., Vice-President of the University. Professor of Constitutional and International Law.

Reinsch, Paul S., Ph.D., Professor of Political Science.

Scott, William A., Ph.D., Director of the Course in Commerce. Professor of Political Economy.

Turner, Frederick T., Ph.D., Professor of American History.

__________________

Adams, Thomas S., Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Statistics and Economics.

Burchell, D. Earle, Assistant Professor of Accounting and Business Practice.

Coffin, Victor, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of European History.

Fish, Carl R., Ph.D., Assistant Professor of American History.

Sparling, Samuel E., Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Political Science.

Blackmar, Frank W., Ph.D., Professor of Sociology and Economics in the University of Kansas. Lecturer in Economics.

Garrison, George P., Ph.D., Professor of History in Texas University. Lecturer in History.

Thwaites, Reuben G., Secretary and Superintendent of the Wisconsin Historical Society. Lecturer in History.

Woodburn, James A., Ph.D., Professor of American History in Indiana University. Lecturer in American History.

__________________

Lorenz, Max O., A.B., Instructor in Economics.

Phillips, Ulrich B., Ph.D., Instructor in History.

Sellery, George C., Ph.D., Instructor in European History.

Taylor, Henry C., Ph.D., Instructor in Commerce.

Dowd, Jerome, A.M., Resident Lecturer in Sociology.

__________________

Barnett, James D., A.B., Assistant in Political Science.

Lyle, Edith K., M.L., Assistant in History.

Putnam, James W., A.M., Assistant in History.

Tuthill, James E., A.M., Assistant in European History.

__________________

Boggess, Arthur C., A.B., Fellow in History.

Field, Arthur S., A.B., Fellow in Economics.

Gannaway, John W., A.B., Fellow in Political Science.

Scholz, Richard F., A.B., Fellow in History.

__________________

Faber, Charlotte A., A.B., Scholar in Economics.

Hockett, Homer C., B.L., Scholar in History

Lloyd-Jones, Chester, B.L., Scholar in Political Science.

Note, —The above lecturers, assistants, fellows, and scholars are members of the instructional staff for 1903-04. Appointments for 1904-05 have not been made as yet.

__________________

General Statement.

                  The departments of Political Economy, Political Science, and History, though separate in organization, have arranged their work so as to coöperate with each other in a systematic attempt to cover the field of the historical and social sciences The undergraduate and graduate courses are so arranged as to furnish a comprehensive general knowledge of political economy, political science, European and American history.

                  Advanced courses and seminaries for special investigations offer an opportunity for detailed work in these allied subjects without sacrificing any to a hard and fast system. The student is thus given an opportunity to gain a sound knowledge of historical method, to secure training and knowledge in contemporary, social and political activities, and to provide for the comparative and analytical study of institutions.

                  The purpose of the department of Political Economy is to afford superior means for systematic and thorough study in economics and social science. The courses are graded and arranged so as to meet the wants of students in the various stages of their progress, beginning with elementary and proceeding to the most advanced work. They are also designed to meet the needs of different classes of students; as, for instance, those who wish to enter the public service, the professions of law, journalism, the ministry, or teaching, and those who wish to supplement their legal, theological or other professional studies with courses in economics or social science.

                  Capable students are encouraged to undertake original investigations, and assistance is given them in the prosecution of such work through seminaries and the personal guidance of instructors. A large fund has been placed at the disposal of the senior professor of the department to defray the expenses of an exhaustive investigation of the history of labor and allied movements in the United States, and special attention will be given to this field of research for several years.

                  The fundamental purpose of the department of History is to develop in the student the power to use critically and constructively the historical method. Familiarity with history and with the historical method of study is an essential element of a liberal education, promotes more intelligent citizenship, and is important in the special training for such professions as law, journalism, and the civil service. The department offers advanced courses leading to the master’s and doctor’s degrees, and prepares students for the teaching of history and for historical investigation. Numerous elementary and advanced courses are offered in the various fields of European history. Training in original research is given by means of seminaries and by special courses in palacography, diplomatics, historiography, editorial technique, and historical bibliography and criticism. In American history the aim is to give a thoroughly continental treatment to the subject. For the study of the interior and the southern states, exceptional opportunity is at. forded by the unique collections of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin and by special courses on western and southern history. Particular attention is given to the study of the evolution of the various sectional groupings — social, economic, and political — in the history of the United States, and to the physiographic factors in American development.

Libraries.

                  The libraries at Madison, all of which are at the service of members of the University, are five in number, viz., the Library of the University of Wisconsin, the Library of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin, the Library of the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters, the State Law Library, and the Madison Free Public Library. These libraries duplicate books only to supply exceptional demands, and have an effective strength approximately equal to the total number of volumes possessed by them. The total number of bound volumes and pamphlets exceeds 400,000.

                  The first three libraries above named are all housed in the new library building of the State Historical Society on the Lower Campus of the University. This building, erected by the State of Wisconsin at a cost of $620,000, was occupied in the fall of 1900, and affords exceptional facilities in the way of convenient and commodious quarters to University students. In the planning of the building, the special needs of the University were equally consulted. In the south half of the first floor are located three department libraries of the Historical Society, viz., documents, newspaper files, and maps and manuscripts. In the north end of this floor is a series of five fine seminary rooms, allotted to American history, European history, economics, political science, and mathematics. The greater part of the second or main floor is occupied by the general reading room and the periodical room, which are used in common by the two libraries. In these two reading rooms 275 readers may find ample accommodation at one time. In open cases in the reading room are shelved several thousand reference and “reserved” books. To these, as well as to the large collection of general and engineering periodicals in the adjoining periodical room, all readers have direct access. The main portion of both libraries is stored in the stack wing adjoining the delivery room on the west. Officers of the University have direct access to the shelves in all parts of the library, and students engaged in advanced work, upon recommendation of their instructors, are allowed access to those parts of the collection dealing with their special subjects.

                  In general, the library of the University of Wisconsin aims to be uniformly developed in all fields, but appropriations and gifts in recent years have rendered it especially strong in the lines of European history, economics, political science, and in Germanic and classical philology. During the academic year 1900-1901, the library received two notable gifts, one of $2,000 from three Milwaukee citizens for the purchase of books for the Course in Commerce, and the other of $2,645, contributed by friends of the University in New York City, Milwaukee, and elsewhere, to the departments of Economics and Political Science for the development of the library in those fields. These gifts have greatly increased the library facilities of the two schools mentioned. In December, 1901, the late President Charles Kendall Adams presented to the University his fine private library of 2,000 volumes, especially rich in material on European history. A gift of $500 from Mr. Frederick Vogel, of Milwaukee, in 1902, has been expended for a collection of 600 volumes in the field of political science and modern French legislative history.

                  The library of the State Historical Society is remarkably rich in manuscript and other material for the study of the history of the Mississippi valley. The collections of the late Dr. Lyman C. Draper are included in the library. These manuscripts are particularly useful for the study of the interior of Virginia, the Carolinas, and Georgia, and of Kentucky, Tennessee, and the Old Northwest. The Society files of newspapers, periodicals and the publications of historical societies are among the most complete in the United States. There is an unusually complete collection of published colonial records and the United States government documents, and the material for the study of American state and local history, western travel, the revolution, slavery, and the civil war, is abundant. Among the sources of English history, the Library possesses the Calendars of State Papers, the Rolls Series, the publications of the Records and Historical Manuscripts Commissions, as well as the journals and debates of Parliament, of almost all the important historical societies, and many works of local history. The Tank collection (Dutch) offers special resources for the study of the Netherlands.

                  More than 500 periodicals are regularly received. The University possesses complete sets of the most important historical, economic, political, and philological journals, and the current publications enable the students to follow the most recent investigations in the various sciences in Europe and America.

                  The State Law Library, of 32,500 volumes, and the especial library of the University College of Law, of 4,000 volumes, furnish an ample law library.

Graduate Work.

                  The graduate work in these departments may lead to the master’s degree in not less than one year, and to the doctor’s degree in not less than three years. Among the subjects offered, any one of the following may constitute a major in the work for a higher degree:

                  Political economy, political science, sociology, European history, or American history.

                  Any one of the following may constitute a minor:

                  Political economy, political science, sociology, statistics, jurisprudence (including public law and historical jurisprudence), administration, European history, or American history.

                  Candidates for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy are required to present in their principal subject the equivalent of at least two full graduate courses during three years; in their first subordinate the equivalent of at least one such course during two years; and in their second subordinate the equivalent of at least one such course during one year.

                  Candidates for the master’s degree must present in their principal subject the equivalent of at least two full graduate courses during one year; and in their subordinate subject the equivalent of at least one such course.

                  Special attention is here called to the fact that graduates who are pursuing the law course may prepare to take their master’s degree at the same time with the degree in law by completing the equivalent of two full studies during one year’s work. Graduates of the College of Law are encouraged to devote an additional year to broadening out their training in economics, polities, and jurisprudence.

                  The University offers each year fourteen fellowships of the annual value of $400, and honorary fellowships and scholarships whose holders are exempt from the payment of fees. One of the University fellowships is permanently assigned to American history, one to European history, and two to economics and political science; applications should be in the hands of the President of the University before May 1. There are also established by the University ten graduate scholarships, two of which are assigned to economics and political science, and one each to American and to European history. They represent an annual value of $225 each; the student pays an incidental fee of ten dollars per semester. For further information concerning the qualifications and duties of fellows see the University Catalogue for 1903-04, or the announcement of the Graduate School.

__________________

OUTLINE OF COURSES.

Department of Political Economy.

Professor Ely, Professor Scott, Professor Meyer,
Professor Commons, Assistant Professor Adams,
Assistant Professor Burchell, Dr. Brauer,
Mr. Dowd, Mr. Lorenz, and Dr. Taylor.
Special lecturers: Professor
Blackmar, Mr. Hunter,
and Dr. Rosewater.

                  The work of this department has the following distinct but related aims:

  1. To provide instruction in economics and sociology for undergraduates in all the courses of the University.
  2. To provide advanced and graduate work in the studies falling within its field.
  3. To assist and encourage the development of these studies.
  4. With the coöperation of other departments, to provide special training courses for various practical pursuits.
  5. To supplement the work of the College of Law.

                  The requirements for an undergraduate major, in addition to the thesis are twenty-one semester hours as a minimum, selected in part from the introductory courses and in part from the advanced courses.

Primarily for Undergraduates.

  1. The Elements of Economic Science. A general survey based upon the study and discussion of a text-book, supplemented by lectures, assigned reading, and exercises. Required of sophomores in the Course in Commerce and of all students beginning the subject of economies. Repeated each semester; M., W., F., at 8, 9, and 10. Mr. Lorenz.
  2. The Elements of Sociology. A study of primitive man, followed by an investigation of the phenomena of civilized societies, leading up to a statement of the general principles of social evolution. First semester; M., W., F., at 10. Mr. Dowd.
  3. Elements of Public Finance. An introductory study of the general principles of public expenditure, public revenue, public indebtedness, and financial administration. First semester; M., W., F., at 9. Assistant Professor Adams.
  4. Agricultural Economics. This course is designed for short-course students in the College of Agriculture. Twelve lectures: December and January; Tu, Th., at Dr. Taylor.
  5. The Elements of Money and Banking. An introductory course, repeated each semester. In the first semester the course will be adapted to the needs of those who expect to continue the subject. In the second semester the needs of those who do not expect to specialize in banking and finance will be chiefly consulted. First semester; M., W., F., at 8; second semester at 9. Professor Scott.
  6. The Economic Functions of the State. This course has special reference to pharmacy. One lecture a week; first semester. Professor Meyer.
  7. Economic Geography. A general survey of the resources, industries, and commerce of the chief countries of the world, followed by a special study of the production and distribution of the staple articles of commerce, with special reference to the foreign trade of the United States. Throughout the year; M., W., F., at 8 and 9. Dr. Taylor.
  8. Business Administration. In this course students are given thorough instruction in bookkeeping, accounting, auditing, and the various other branches of business administration. The work is graded and arranged in three groups, adapted respectively to the attainments of sophomores, juniors, and seniors. In each group a careful study is made of office equipment, business relations, and administrative duties by means of lectures, text-books, and outside reading in trade journals, and this is followed by laboratory practice, each student being appointed to various positions, and promoted through the various branches of administrative work in merchandizing, manufacturing, banking and transportation.
    1. Sophomore Year. The work of this year centers in business forms and correspondence, bookkeeping, and clerical duties.
    2. Junior Year. The special feature of the work of this year is the study of legal forms, credit instruments, funding operations, accounting, and executive duties.
    3. Senior Year. During this year emphasis is placed upon the work of supervision and auditing, especially in connection with passenger transportation, light and power companies, savings institutions, insurance, jobbing, the commission business, brokerage, importing and exporting. Throughout three years; two hours a week. Assistant Professor Burchell.
  9. Commercial Law. The law of contracts, commercial paper, agency, partnership, corporations, sales, bailments, and insurance, treated from the point of view of the business man rather than the lawyer. Three times a week throughout the year. Dr. Brauer.
  1. Senior Seminaries for Thesis Students. Professor Meyer, Professor Scott, Assistant Professor Adams, and Dr. Taylor.

For Graduates and Undergraduates.

  1. Industrial Evolution and its Problems. A general survey of industrial development followed by an examination of special problems such as competition, monopolies and trusts, concentration of wealth, municipal ownership, the inheritance of property, etc. First semester; Tu., Th., at 10. Professor Ely.
  2. History of Economic Thought. The principal topics will be the following: the history of economic thought in classic antiquity; its subsequent development to the time of the mercantilists; the rise and growth of economics as a distinct branch of social science, with a brief discussion of existing schools of economic thought. Second semester; Tu., Th., at 10. Professor Ely.
  3. Modern Socialism. A study of the socialist movement during the nineteenth century, and an examination of the theories of those writers who are usually called socialists. First semester; Tu., Th., at 9. Mr. Lorenz.
  4. Economic Problems. This course is devoted principally to the important labor problems of the day: strikes, trades-unions, employers’ associations, arbitration, immigration, child labor, etc. Second semester; M., W., F., at 9. Assistant Professor Adams.
  5. Problems in Taxation. Comprehends the more concrete problems of the day: mortgage, railroad, insurance, and double taxation, the personal property and inheritance taxes, etc. May be taken by those who have not had course 3. Second semester; M., W., F., at 10. Assistant Professor Adams.
  6. Labor Legislation. Comprehends a study of the labor law of the United States and foreign countries, the practical working of important statutes, and the sphere and function of the labor law in general. First semester; M., W., F., at 10. Assistant Professor Adams.
  7. The Elements of Agricultural Economics. This course treats of the economic principles which underlie the prosperity of the farmer, and of all other classes so far as they are dependent upon agriculture. The subject is divided into two parts. In part one the point of view is that of the farmer, and in part two that of the nation as a whole. First semester; Tu., Th., at 12. Dr. Taylor.
  8. Historical and Comparative Agriculture. This course consists of lectures and assigned readings on the agriculture of the Romans; on the development of agriculture in England and the United States, and on the present status of agriculture in the most important countries, with an attempt to find the explanation of historical changes and geographical differences. Second semester; Tu., Th., at 12. Dr. Taylor.
  9. Agricultural Industries. An investigative course for seniors in the commercial and agricultural courses, and for other advanced students. Second semester; at hours to be arranged. Dr. Taylor
  10. Manufacturing Industries. An investigative course for seniors in the Course in Commerce, and for other advanced students. First semester; at hours to be arranged. Dr. Taylor.
  11. Social Statistics. Includes a study of vital statistics, suicide, crime, pauperism, etc. In this and the following course the laboratory method is followed. Students are required to do a thorough piece of statistical investigation under the immediate guidance of an instructor. This course is specially recommended to students taking thesis work in economics. Two lectures and two hours’ laboratory work a week, for which a credit of three-fifths is given. First semester; Tu., Th., at 12, and M. from 2 to4. Assistant Professor Adams and Mr. Lorenz.
  12. Economic Statistics. Prices, wages, family budgets, labor and financial statistics will be studied. Second semester; Tu., Th., at 12, and M. from 2 to 4. Assistant Professor Adams and Mr. Lorenz.
  13. Government Statistics. A course on public statistical bureaus: their organization, methods, and publications. Second semester; Tu., Th., at 11. Assistant Professor Adams.
  14. Currency History. A systematic presentation of the currency of England, France, Germany, and the United States. Special attention will be given to the history of bimetallism, to the development of the banking system of these countries, and to the chief monetary problems which have arisen in these nations, and the methods which were employed in their solution. An elementary knowledge of money and banking is needed as a preparation for this course. Second semester; M., W., F., at 8. Professor Scott.
  15. Corporation Finance and Securities. A study of the methods of financiering employed in great corporations, with special reference to the various sorts of negotiable securities which they issue, and the circumstances which affect their value. The course includes a study of the stock and produce exchanges, and of their relations to the business of banking. Open to students who have had Money and Banking. Lectures and assigned reading. First semester; Tu., Th., at 12. Professor Meyer.
  16. Transportation and Communication. This is a general introductory course dealing with the most important principles and facts relating to railways, waterways, and the express, telephone, telegraph, and post office services. Repeated each semester; M., W., F., at 9. Professor Meyer.
  17. Special Problems in Transportation. This is an advanced course in which the more important special transportation problems are discussed in detail. Each student pursues an independent line of investigation. Lectures and reports. Open to students who have had course 35 or its equivalent. Second semester; Tu., Th., at 9. Professor Meyer.
  18. Foreign Systems of Railways. This course embraces a study of the railways of the leading countries of the world, historically and economically. Each student may select the railways of a particular country, or read systematically in connection with the lectures on railways in different countries. Open to students who have had course 35 or its equivalent. Second semester; Tu., Th., at 8. Professor Meyer.
  19. This course deals with the general principles of the different forms of personal and property insurance and the main problems connected with each. Lectures and reading. Open to students who have had the Elements of Economic Science. First semester; Tu., Th., at 11. Professor Meyer.
  20. Modern Sociological Thought. A survey of sociological writers, beginning with Bodin and including the principal writers down to Gumplowiez, Schäffle, Giddings, and Small. First semester; M., W., F., at 8. Mr. Dowd.
  21. Charities and Corrections. This course embraces first, a study of the dependent class, with special reference to the slum conditions in London, New York, Chicago, and Philadelphia; second, the defective class and the institutional treatment of this class; the delinquent class, causes and prevention of crime, prison management and discipline. Reformatories and other public institutions will be visited. First semester; M., W., F., at 11. Mr. Dowd.
  22. Public and Private Charity. A comparative study of poor relief in the United States, England, and the principal continental countries. Second semester; M., W., F., at 11. (Omitted in 1905.) Mr. Dowd.
  23. Charity Organizations. A study of poverty in American cities, with special reference to the work of charity organization societies. Second semester; Tu., Th., at 9. (Omitted in 1905.) Mr. Dowd.
  24. Field Work. Students are encouraged to study charitable and correctional institutions in Madison and the vicinity, and opportunity is afforded for continuous work elsewhere during the summer months. During the past years students from the University have engaged in field work, and several of these students have taken up work of this kind as a career. It is believed that this method of continuous study, followed by field work, yields the best results. It is the aim of this department to furnish secretaries of charity organization societies, and other trained workers.

Primarily for Graduates.

  1. Economic History. A study of the development of economic institutions and economic doctrines, and of their influence upon each other and upon the other phases of social life. The period 1776 to 1850 will be studied in 1904-05. An investigative course for advanced students and graduates. Two sessions a week, at hours to be arranged. Credited as a full study. Professor Scott.
  2. Modern Economic Theory. Designed to give students some acquaintance with recent movements in economic theory, and practice in reading German texts. As a point of departure and contrast Schmoller’s Grundriss der Allgemeinen Volkswirtschaftslehre will be used as a text. Second semester; Tu., Th., at 9. Assistant Professor Adams.
  3. The Distribution of Wealth. Part I. This course deals chiefly with the fundamental institutions in the existing social order and their relation to the present distribution of wealth. The principal topics discussed are: private property, contract and its conditions, vested interests, custom, competition, monopoly, authority, and the caritative principle. First semester; M., W., Th., from 2:30 to 4:00. Professor Ely.
  4. Distribution of Wealth. Part II. This course deals with the shares of the various factors in distribution, viz.: rent[,] interests, profits, and wages. May be taken by those who have not had Part I, course 52. First semester; M., W., Th., from 2:30 to 4:00. (Omitted in 1904-05) Professor Ely.
  5. Public Finance. This course deals first with the nature of public finance as a science, and with its history, with the development and working of the public economy, and then proceeds to a discussion of public expenditures and a brief examination of public revenues. Second semester Tu., Th., from2:30 to 4:00. (Omitted in 1904-05.) Professor Ely.
  6. American Public Finance. Part I. The financial history of the United States. A critical and historical discussion of the finances of the federal government. Second semester; Tu., Th., 2:30 to 4:00. Professor Ely.
  7. American Public Finance. Part II. An historical and critical account of the finances of the American commonwealths and local political units. Second semester; Tu., Th., 2:30 to 4:00. (Omitted in 1904-05.) Professor Ely.
  8. The Theory of Taxation. This course covers the general theoretical problems of taxation, equality and uniformity, shifting and incidence, etc. First semester; Tu., Th., at 10. Assistant Professor Adams.
  9. Monopolies and Trusts. This course deals with the theories of monopoly, historically and critically; and examines the tendencies of large-scale business with reference to competition and monopoly. (Omitted in 1904-05.) Professor Ely.
  10. Principles of Transportation. This is a lecture course designed exclusively for graduates who do not desire to specialize in transportation. An endeavor will be made to present the most important facts and principles of railway development as illustrated in the leading countries of the world. Second semester; two-fifths study. (Omitted in 1904-05.) Professor Meyer.
  11. The Psychological Sociologist. This course deals with that group of sociologists who approach sociology from a psychological point of view. First semester; Tu., Th., at 8. (Omitted in 1904-05.) Mr. Dowd.
  12. Seminary in Sociology. Topics in theoretical and practical sociology, selected with reference to the needs and interests of the students, will be investigated. Two hours a week. Mr. Dowd.
  13. Race Elements in American Industry. The unique feature of American industrial and labor problems is the variety of races and nationalities that have participated. In order to prepare a way for the proper understanding of labor history in the United States, this course will include an examination of the industrial qualities of the several races, their capacities as producers, their part in promoting American industrial supremacy, their standards of living, the relative influence of climate, civilization, and heredity on industrial capacities, the sources of immigration, the distribution of races in industries and localities, the competition of races, the influence of industry and labor organizations in the assimilation of races, legislation regulating immigration, etc. The course will be divided into two parts: Part I consisting of lectures, three hours a week; Part II consisting of reports and discussions, two hours a week. First semester; M., Tu., W., Th., F., at 8. Professor Commons.
  14. The History of Labor and Industrial Organization Prior to the Civil War. A survey of labor conditions in colonial times, the beginnings of labor agitations, the origins of labor unions, the communistic, sentimental, and utopian programs and experiments, free labor and slavery, political and civil rights of wage-earners, the rise of manufactures and rapid transportation. This course is divided into two parts like the foregoing. First semester; M., Tu., W., Th., F., at 8. (1905-06.) Professor Commons.
  15. The History of Labor and Industrial Organization since the Civil War. The effects of the Civil War on capital and labor, the rise of the Knights of Labor and the American Federation of Labor, the effects of machinery, inventions, divisions of labor, and large-scale production, the changes in wages, hours of labor, and working conditions, the policies of trade unions, the influence of socialism, radicalism, and conservatism in labor unions, the beginnings of employers’ associations, the concentration of capital, growth of arbitration and trade agreements, and their practical results, labor legislation and judicial decisions, labor and public employment, women’s and children’s work and wages, etc. This course is divided into two parts like the foregoing. First semester; M., Tu., W., Th., F., at 8, (1906-07.) Professor Commons.
  16. Research Course in Labor Problems. This is designed especially for students electing thesis on these subjects. Special attention will be given to thesis work by way of personal and seminary conferences, in which the student will be associated with the instructor in the special investigations of the labor history on which he is engaged. First semester; F., from 2:15 to 4:00. Professor Commons.
  1. Economic Seminary. This is designed for graduate students who wish to carry on special investigations under the guidance which the department affords. A subordinate feature of the seminary work is a review of recent books and important articles published in the periodicals. Tuesday evening, throughout the year, from 7:30 to 9:30. Professor Ely, Professor Commons, Professor Meyer, Assistant Professor Adams, Mr. Dowd, Mr. Lorenz, and Dr. Taylor.

__________________

Department of Political Science.

Professor Parkinson, Professor Reinsch,
Assistant Professor Sparling, and Mr. Barnett.

Arrangement of Courses.

                  The introductory courses are open for election in the sophomore and junior years. As a rule, at least five semester hours of this work should be done before electing any of the advanced courses. The advanced courses are open for election by juniors, seniors, and graduates. Sophomores of advanced standing may make arrangements to take some of these courses (courses 12, 15, and 20). The requirements for an undergraduate major in political science, in addition to the thesis are twenty-one semester hours as a minimum.

Primarily for Undergraduates.

  1. Elements of Political Science. A general survey of the field of political science. First semester; M., W., F., at 8. Assistant Professor Sparling.
  2. Elementary Law. The nature and sources of law, and the methods of its application. First semester; Tu, Th., at 8; M., at 3. Mr. Barnett.
  3. Elements of Administration. The theory of administration, and a survey of the administrative systems of the chief states of modern Europe, and of the United States. First semester; Tu., Th., at 8. Assistant Professor Sparling.
  4. The Constitution of the United States. An outline course of lectures designed, primarily for those who cannot give more time to this subject, but which may be taken with profit in connection with any of the longer courses in constitutional law. Second semester; F., at 10. Professor Parkinson.
  1. Administrative Problems. A survey of the primary administrative activities of the chief states of Europe and the United States. Second semester; Tu., Th., at 8. Assistant Professor Sparling.
  2. Government and Politics in the United States. A general study of the American system of government in its local, state, and federal organs, and their relations to each other, as well as of the methods of political action. Second semester; M., W., F., at 8. Professor Reinsch.

For Undergraduates and Graduates.

  1. Roman Law. a. History of the development of Roman law from the Twelve Tables to the Corpus Juris of Justinian. b. Institutes of Roman law. These divisions are given alternately. First semester; M., W., at 12. Professor Reinsch.
  2. History of English and American Law. Second semester; M., W., at 12. (Omitted in 1905.) Professor Reinsch.
  3. Jurisprudence. Analysis of the main concepts of the science of law on the basis of the juristic classics. Open to students who have had an elementary course in law. Second semester; Tu., Th., at 12. Mr. Barnett.
  4. Constitutional Law. A short course of lectures on the English constitution, followed by a detailed study of the constitution of the United States. Throughout the year; M., W., F., at 9. Professor Parkinson.
  5. Constitutional Law. Designed to follow, or at least to supplement, course 12, with emphasis upon the study of cases; may be taken independently by those of suitable preparation. Open only to graduates and other advanced students. Throughout the year; Tu., Th., at 9. Professor Parkinson.
  6. Seminary in Constitutional Law. A comparative study of the essential features of the leading constitutions of the world. Open to graduates, and to seniors who have had courses 12 and 13, or their equivalent. Second semester; M., W., at 10. Professor Parkinson.
  7. Municipal Government in Europe and the United States. Second semester; M., W., F., at 8. Assistant Professor Sparling.
  8. State Administration. A study of the local and state administrative systems of the United States. First semester; Tu., Th., at 9. Assistant Professor Sparling.
  9. American Administrative Law. This course has in view the needs of the legal profession. Second semester; Tu., Th., at 11. Assistant Professor Sparling.
  10. International Law. First semester; M., W., F., at 10. Professor Parkinson.
  11. Seminary in International Law. Emphasis will be placed upon diplomatic relations, treaties, the rights and obligations of neutrals, and the methods of settling international disputes without resort to war. Open to graduates, and also to others who have had course 18. Second semester; M., W., at 10. (Omitted in 1905.) Professor Parkinson.
  12. Contemporary International Politics. In 1905 the oriental situation will be the special subject of this course. Second semester; M., W., F., at 10. Professor Reinsch.
    In connection with the above course a series of public lectures on problems of international politics will be given.
  13. Colonial Politics. A study of the principal systems of colonial government. First semester; M., W., F., at 10. Professor Reinsch.
  14. Party Government. Special attention will be given to party organization and the methods of legislative bodies. First semester; Tu., Th., at 11. Assistant Professor Sparling.
  15. Federal Administration. A study of the organization and functions of the different branches of our federal service. Second semester; Tu., Th., at 9. Assistant Professor Sparling.
  1. The Law of the Press. The law of copyright, literary property, libel, privileged publications, and other topics relating to the publication of books and newspapers. Designed especially for students preparing for journalism and the law. Second semester; M., at 3. (Omitted in 1905.) Professor Reinsch.

Primarily for Graduates.*

  1. History of Political Thought. The development of political philosophy from the Greeks to the present time, and its connection with political history. (May be taken by seniors of suitable preparation.) First semester; M., W., F., at 11. Professor Reinsch.
  2. Philosophy of the State. A critical study of contemporary political thought and terminology. May be elected by seniors who take their major in political science. Second semester; M., W., at 11. Professor Reinsch.
  3. Juristic Classics. In 1906: Reading of Gaius, with commentaries. Second semester; M., W., at 11. Professor Reinsch.
  1. Seminary in Administration. Some important phases of state administration will be studied. Two hours throughout the year. Assistant Professor Sparling.
  2. Seminary in Politics. For 1904-05: Parliamentary institutions of the present time. A study of parliamentary procedure, legislation, and party development in Germany and Italy during the last quarter century. Throughout the year; W., 7:30 to 9:30. Professor Reinsch.

*Studies given under the heading, “For Undergraduates and Graduates,” may also be taken as graduate work, but in this case special reading will be assigned by the instructor in addition to that required of undergraduate students.

__________________

Department of History.

Professor Turner, Professor Munro,
Assistant Professor Coffin, Assistant Professor Fish,
Dr. Tilton, Dr. Sellery, Dr. Phillips, and Assistants.

Arrangement of Courses.

                  The courses in history are divided into three groups, as follows:

A. Introductory courses 1 to 9 are primarily for undergraduates, and are planned to afford a comprehensive survey of the general field of history. They cannot be counted toward advanced degrees, and graduates are required to have completed an equivalent of sixteen semester hours of these studies as a preparation for graduate work for a degree. It will be noted that a substantial historical basis can be laid for advanced work by such an election as the following: freshman year, Medieval (course 1) and Colonial (course 3) or English (course 6); sophomore year, Modern (course 2) and United States (course 4). The study of Greek and Roman history (courses 8 and 9) is particularly recommended to those who may intend to teach history. It is not recommended that students shall cover all of the introductory courses to the neglect of advanced work.

B. Advanced courses 11 to 45 are designed to continue the work begun in the preliminary courses in the direction of greater specialization. These courses are open to undergraduates and graduates who have taken the necessary preliminary work.

C. Graduate courses 51 to 60 are not open to undergraduates. They consist of courses in the technique of history, and seminaries in American, Medieval, and Modern history, in which the subject of study changes from year to year.

History Major.

                  The requirements for an undergraduate major in history, in addition to the thesis, are twenty-six semester hours as a minimum, selected as follows:

I. One or more introductory courses in both European and American history.

II. Advanced courses to the amount of at least ten semester hours.

For Undergraduates.

  1. Medieval History. A general survey of the history of continental Europe from the barbarian invasions to the close of the fifteenth century. Advanced students will be given special quiz sections and more advanced work. Throughout the year; M., W., at 11, for lectures, and a third hour in sections. Professor Munro, Dr. Tilton, Dr. Sellery, and assistants.
  2. Modern European History. A general survey extending from the close of the fifteenth century to the present day. Not open to freshmen. Throughout the year; Tu., Th., at 11, and a third hour in sections. First semester, Dr. Sellery; second semester, Assistant Professor Coffin.
  3. American Colonial and Revolutionary History. An introduction to the history of the United States, designed to acquaint the student with the beginnings of American institutions. Text-book, lectures, and topics. The class meets in divisions. Throughout the year; Tu., Th., at 9 and 10. Assistant Professor Fish and Dr. Phillips.
  4. History of the United States. A general survey from the Revolutionary era to the present, with emphasis upon political history. Lectures, text-book, collateral reading, and topics. Not open to first year students. This course, or an equivalent, must precede all advanced courses in American history.
    4a. To the presidency of Jackson. First semester; M., W., F., at 11. Assistant Professor Fish.
    4b. From the presidency of Jackson to the present. Second semester; M., W., F., at 11. Assistant Professor Fish.
  5. English History. A general survey with especial reference to economic and social conditions. Text-book, lectures, and topics. Throughout the year; M., W., F., at 9 and 11. Dr. Tilton and Dr. Sellery.
  6. English History. A course with especial reference to social and political conditions, useful for students of English literature, and recommended to those who expect to teach history. Students are not permitted to elect both courses 5 and 6. Throughout the year; Tu, Th., at 9. Assistant Professor Coffin, Dr. Tilton, Dr. Sellery, and Dr. Phillips.
  7. History of Europe in the Nineteenth Century, 1815-1900. Designed for freshmen in the Course in Commerce. Throughout the year; M., W., F., at 11. Assistant Professor Coffin.
  8. Ancient and Greek History. A brief outline of primitive and oriental history and a general course in Greek history. Recommended to all who expect to teach history. First semester; Tu., Th., F., at 11. (Omitted in 1904-05.) Professor Munro and Dr. Tilton.
  9. Roman History. A general survey with especial emphasis on the period of the later Republic and Early Empire. Recommended to all who expect to teach history. Second semester; Tu., Th., F., at 11. (Omitted in 1904-05.) Professor Munro and assistants.

For Undergraduates and Graduates.

  1. The History of the West. Particular attention is paid to the conditions of westward migration and to the economic, political and social aspects of the occupation of the various physiographic provinces of the United States, together with the results upon national development. Lectures, collateral reading, and topics. Throughout the year; M., W., F., at 12. Professor Turner.
  2. History of the South. The course deals with the period since the Revolution, and especial attention is given to the economic and social forces involved in the plantation system, slavery, and the occupation of the Gulf Plains, as a basis for understanding the political history of the South and its place in national history. Throughout the year; Tu., Th. at 3. Dr. Phillips.
  3. History of New England. Special attention will be paid to the colonial period, and to New England expansion. Second semester; M., W., F., at 2. (Omitted in 1904-05.) Assistant Professor Fish.
  4. Economic and Social History of the United States. Designed to treat economic topics in relation to the general movement of national history. Throughout the year; M., W., F., at 12. (Omitted in 1904-05.) Professor Turner.
  5. Diplomatic History of the United States. An historical survey of our foreign relations from the Revolution to the present time. Throughout the year; Tu., Th., at 10. Assistant Professor Fish.
  6. Constitutional and Political History of the United States from the Confederation to the Presidency of Jefferson. First semester; M., W., at 2:15. (Omitted in 1904-05.)
  7. Undergraduate Seminary in American History. Designed to train undergraduates in the use of sources, by studying different problems in different years. The period since the Civil War will probably furnish the field for 1904-05. Elective by semesters to students who have had course 4 or its equivalent. M., W., at 2:15. Assistant Professor Fish.
  1. Roman Imperial Institutions. A study of the organization and government of the Empire, especially in the second century A.D. First semester; Tu., Th, at 10. (Omitted in 1904-05.) Professor Munro.
  1. Medieval Civilization. Designed to supplement course 1 by a more special study of the social and intellectual life of the Middle Ages. First semester; Tu., Th., at 10. Professor Munro.
  2. Feudal Institutions. Tu., Th., at 10. Open to graduate students and seniors of suitable preparation. (Omitted in 1904-05.) Professor Munro.
  3. Constitutional History of the Middle Ages. A comparative study of the governments in Germany and France, especially during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Open to graduate students and seniors of suitable preparation. Second semester; Tu., Th., at 10. Professor Munro.
  1. Period of the Renaissance. An investigation of the chief political problems in the epoch of the foundation of the great European states, 1300-1500. Open to juniors and seniors who have had course 1 or an equivalent. First semester; Tu., Th., at 11. Dr. Sellery.
  2. Age of Louis XIV. A study of the development of the absolute monarchy in continental Europe. Open to juniors and seniors who have had course 1 or 2, or an equivalent. Second semester; Tu., Th., at 11. Dr Sellery.
  1. The French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Periods, 1789-1814. Open to those who have had course 2 or its equivalent. Throughout the year; M., W., F., at 10. (Not offered in 1904-05.) Assistant Professor Coffin.
  2. History of Europe in the Nineteenth Century, 1815-1900. Open to those who have had course 2 or its equivalent. The work will be devoted especially to tracing in this period the influence of the French revolutionary ideas in the development of social and political institutions. First semester; M., W., F., at 10. Assistant Professor Coffin.
  1. Constitutional History of England. A study of the growth of English institutions. Throughout the year; Tu., Th., at 12. Open to juniors and seniors who have had course 5 or 6. First semester, Dr. Tilton; second semester, Assistant Professor Coffin.
  2. Economic and Social History of England, 1300-1600. A summary of English civilization in the thirteenth century and a view of the chief economic and intellectual changes from medieval to modern civilization. Open only to students who have had course 1, 5, or 6. Second semester; Tu., Th., at 9. Dr. Tilton.
  1. The Development of Modern Prussia, 1640-1871. This course is intended to explain the development of the Prussian state and trace the Prussianizing of modern Germany. Open to those who have had course 2. First semester; Tu., Th., at 12. Assistant Professor Coffin.
  1. Methods of History Teaching, with special reference to the work of secondary schools. For seniors of suitable preparation and graduates. Throughout the year; F., at 3. Professors Turner and Munro.

For Graduates.

  1. Historical Bibliography. An account of the present state of the materials for historical research, and an examination of the bibliographical tools most essential to the special study of history. First semester; W., at 10. (Omitted in 1904-05.) Professor Munro.
  2. Historical Criticism. An introductory survey of the principal problems of historical method, accompanied by practical exercises. Second semester; W., at 10. Given in alternate years. Professor Munro.
  3. Paleography and Diplomatics. (a) Elements of paleography, with practical exercises in the reading of manuscript facsimiles; (b) Elementary exercises in diplomatics. The first part of the course is identical with the first part of course 18 in Latin, and is arranged for the benefit of advanced students of language as well as for students of history. Second semester; F., 9 to 11. Given in alternate years. Professor Munro.
  1. Seminary in Medieval History. In 1904-05 the First Crusade is studied by special topics, illustrating the causes, the relations of the chiefs with the Greek emperor, and the social conditions in the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem. Th., 4 to 6. Professor Munro.
  2. Seminary in Modern European History. The work will center about the diplomatic revolution of 1756. Throughout the year; S., 11 to 1. Assistant Professor Coffin.
  3. Seminary in American History. For 1904-05, the seminary will study the history of Monroe’s administration. Throughout the year; three hours a week in two sessions. Professor Turner.
  1. Historical Conference. A fortnightly meeting of the instructors and graduate students of the school for conference and consideration of papers. A considerable portion of the time of the conference is devoted to a coöperative study of the work of important historians, so planned as to give in successive years a general view of modern historiography. Throughout the year; alternate Fridays, 4 to 6.

Special Lectures.

                  Besides the regular courses of class instruction described above, two series of lectures were given each year by scholars from without the University. In 1903-04, the following were delivered:

                  Transcontinental Explorations, with especial reference to Lewis and Clark. Four lectures by Reuben Gold Thwaites, Secretary of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin.

                  The Causes of the Civil War. Four lectures by Professor James A. Woodburn, of Indiana University.

Summer Courses.

                  Elementary and advanced courses in history are offered each year in the Summer Session of the University. For a fuller description see the Summer Session circular, which may be obtained by application to the Registrar of the University.

__________________

Special Training Courses.

Statistics, Practical Sociology, Public Service
and Journalism.

                  In order to offer opportunity for careful and systematic training in practical pursuits, the studies offered by the departments of Political Economy, Political Science, and History, together with a number of allied subjects, have been arranged so as to form four special courses, viz.: in statistics, in practical sociology, in preparation for public service, and in preparation for journalism.

                  The course in statistics will give special training in the use and collection of statistical material, with a view of fitting the student for practical statistical work in connection with public administration or with the business of railway and insurance companies.

                  The course in practical sociology consists of studies in modern social and economics problems, social theory, and practical charity and reform. The class work of the student is to be supplemented by the direct study of social conditions, and reformatory and charitable institutions. The course is primarily intended as a preparation for pastoral work, and the activities connected with organized charity and other ameliorative agencies.

                  The course in public service covers the subjects of politics, administration, diplomacy and modern history. A thorough knowledge of the mechanism and workings of contemporary government is becoming increasingly important with the constantly expanding sphere of political activities. To the training in the general principles of politics and methods of government, there will added in this course specific instruction in the work of the various governmental departments, and the students will be kept informed concerning the various openings for a career in the public service, as well as the requirements and examinations that form a condition for entering thereupon.

                  The course in preparation for journalism does not aim to offer technical instruction in the methods of practical journalism, but to provide a fund of information on social, economic, political, and historical questions, which is indispensable in journalistic work of a high grade.

                  The special training courses cover a period of three years, beginning with the junior year. At the end of the second year the bachelor’s degree is conferred. At the end of the third year the master’s degree. No thesis is required with the latter. Any students in the above courses will be under the special supervision and advice of that member of the instructional force under whom the major part of their work is done. The faculty will keep in close touch with men of experience and representative position in the branches to which these courses relate, and will make use of their aid and suggestions to render the instruction most helpful to the students.

                  Upon the completion of the course of three years the graduate will receive a certificate, stating that he has taken a special course, and indicating to what group of studies he has devoted his attention. No rigid uniformity is required of the students in the matter of selection of their studies. They must, however, select at least ten-fifths a semester from the work recommended, and this work must be taken in the sequence indicated, unless exceptions are made for special cause. Some studies which are absolutely indispensable in a certain course are italicized, and others will be indicated by the special adviser of the student, according to the work for which the latter is pre-paring. Beyond this the students are left free to take electives in other departments.

                  Admission. Students who have completed the sophomore year in any college or university of approved standing are admitted to the special courses, but all such students will be subject to the same conditions as students entering other courses in the junior year. The graduates of any such college or university may arrange to complete any one of the courses in two years. It is presumed that students entering the school have studied ancient, medieval and modern history, as well as the elements of economics and political science. In the absence of such preparation students will be expected to make up their deficiency during the junior year. The language requirements will be adapted to individual needs, but the minimum requirement will be that of the regular course in the College of Letters and Science.

__________________

The Course in Statistics.

[The first numeral following the name of the course indicates the number of hours per week, the Roman numeral the semester.]

Junior.

                  Economic Statistics, 3-II; Social Statistics, 3-I; Analytical Geometry and Calculus, 3; Commercial Geography, 4; Agricultural Industries, 2-II; Economic Problems, 3-II; Money and Banking, 3-I; Elements of Administration, 2-1.

Senior.

                  Railway and Insurance Statistics, 2-I; Government Statistics, 2-II; Theory of Probabilities, 2-II; Expert Accounting, 2-II; Insurance, 2-I; Railways, 2-II; Social and Economic Legislation, 3; State and Federal Administration, 2-II; Markets and Securities, 2-II.

Graduate.

                  Distribution of Wealth, 5-I; Public Finance, 5-II; Economic Seminary; Seminary Administration, 2; Laboratory Work in Statistics, 2; Railway Economies, 2-I; Public Accounting, 2-II.

__________________

The Course in Practical Sociology.

Junior.

                  Charities and Correction, 3-I; Field Work; Elements of Sociology, 3-I; History of Education, 3-I; Municipal Government, 3-II; Physiology, 3-I, 2-II; Psychology, 3-I; Ethics, 3-II; Moral Education, 1-II.

Senior.

                  Social Ethics, 2-I; Social Statistics, 3-I; Psychology and Sociology, 3-I; Modern Sociological Thought, 3-II; Field Work in Charities; Charity Organization, 2-II; Communicable Diseases, 1; Biology of Water Supplies, 5-I; American History, 2.

Graduate.

                  Seminary in Sociology, 2; Advanced Ethics, 3-I; Anthropology, 2-1; Abnormal Psychology, alternating with Comparative Psychology, 2-II; Distribution of Wealth, 5-I; History of Political Thought, 2-I; Labor Legislation, 3-I; Economic and Social History, 3; Laboratory Work in Statistics, 2.

__________________

The Course in Preparation for Public Service.

Junior.

                  Elements of Administration, 2-I; State and Federal Administration, 2-II; Constitutional Law, 3; American History, 2; Elements of Finance, 3-I; Colonial Politics, 2-I; Elementary Law, 3-I; Advanced English, 3; Social and Economic Statistics, 3.

Senior.

                  Federal Services, 2-I (a study of the organization of the various departments of the federal government with methods of work and conditions of entry); International Law, 3-II; Diplomacy, 3-II; Municipal Government, 3-II; Nineteenth Century History, 3; Administrative Law, 2-I; Contemporary Politics, 2; Political Thought, 3; English Constitutional History, 2; Social and Economic History, 3.

Graduate.

                  Seminary in Administration, 2; Administrative Services (relating to state and municipal services), 2-II; Public Finance, 5-II; Seminary in Political Philosophy, 2; American Constitution and Political History, 3; Seminary in Modern European History, 2; Seminary in Public Law, 2; Social Ethics, 2-I; Roman Law, 2-II; Municipal and Sanitary Engineering, 2-I.

                  In order to adapt the course to the special needs in individual cases, the students will be advised to devote a part of the senior and graduate year to more special preparation for some branch of the public service, and will be encouraged to take a group of electives with that end in view. Every student is, moreover, required to take as part of his senior and graduate work one of the following groups of obligatory studies, or one of other groups hereafter to be arranged, intended to form the basis of more special preparation.

a) Financial: Public Finance, 5-II, first half of semester; American Federal Finance, 5-II, second half of semester; Public accounting, 2-II; Money and Banking, 3.

(b) Internal Governments: Agricultural Industries, 2-II; Social and Economic Legislation, 3; Social and Economic Statistics, 3; American Social and Economic History, 3.

(c) State and Municipal Governments: Municipal Government, 3-II; Public Securities, 2; Municipal and Sanitary Engineering 2-I; Public Accounting, 2-II; American State and Municipal Finance, 3-II.

(d) Diplomacy: Diplomacy, 3-II; International Law, 3-I; Contemporary Politics, 2; Nineteenth Century History, 2; Advanced French and a thorough study of another European language (German, Spanish, Italian, Russian or Norse).

__________________

The Course in Preparation for Journalism.

Junior.

                  Economic Problems, 3-II; American History, 2; Constitutional Law, 3; Modern Systems of Education, 2-I; Agricultural Industries; 2-II; Municipal Government, 3-II; Moral Progress and Moral Education, 1-Il; Advanced English, 3; General survey of English Literature (with special reference to the great prose writers of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries), 3; American Literature, 2.

Senior.

                  English Constitutional History, 2; Nineteenth Century History, 2; Political Thought, 2-I; Contemporary Polities, 2; History of the West, alternating with Economic and Social History, 3; Colonial Politics, 2-I; Social Ethics, 2-II; Press Laws, 1; State and Federal Administration, 2-II; International Law, 3-I; Advanced English, 2; English Literature (Courses 32, 33, 36, 39, and 43).

Graduate.

                  Advanced English, 2; Seminary in American History, 2; Distribution of Wealth, 5-I; Public Finance, 5-II; Modern Sociological Thought, 2-II; Seminary in Political Philosophy, 2; Seminary in Economics; Diplomacy, 3-II; History of Institutions, 2.
Seminary work in some line will be required.

Source: “University of Wisconsin, Departments of Political Economy, Political Science, and History.” Bulletin of the University of Wisconsin, no. 89 (Madison, Wisconsin: May 1904). Transcription from a copy in the Harvard University Archives, Division of History, Government, and Economics. Ph.D. exams and records of candidates, study plans, lists, etc. pre-1911-1942. Box 2, Unlabeled Folder.

Image Sources: Collage of cropped portraits of Richard T. Ely (left, ca. 1910) and John R. Commons (1904) from University of Wisconsin-Madison Archives and Commons’ autobiography Myself (after p. 94), respectively.

Categories
Economists Gender Northwestern Uncategorized Yale

Yale. Economics Ph.D. Alumna, 2nd wife of Richard T. Ely, Margaret Hahn Ely

One can imagine the raised eyebrows when colleagues learned that Professor Richard T. Ely at the tender age of 77 married his former student who was a gentle 32 years old, leaving a 45 year age gap to fill with conjugal bliss. It even became national news when it was reported that Richard T. Ely became father for the fourth and fifth times at ages 78/79, respectively. Robust Professor Ely lived another ten years and his widow Margaret Hale Ely, née Hahn, went on to teach economics at Connecticut College for Women for two decades after his passing. Along the way, she picked up her Yale economics Ph.D. Her retirement years spanned another seventeen years.

______________________

Professor Ely is Married to Former Pupil

Madison—Prof. Richard Theodore Ely, 78, honorary professor of political economy at the University of Wisconsin, was secretly married last summer to Miss Margaret Hahn, 30 [sic, 32 years is correct], once his student at Northwestern university friends here learned today.

The economist and his bride are living at Radburn, N.J., near the Institute for Research in Land Economics and Public Utilities established by Dr. Ely several years ago in New York.

He was professor of political science at the University of Wisconsin from 1892 until 1925, when he went to Northwestern. There he met the co-ed destined to become his wife.

In 1933 he received an LL.D. degree from the university.

Before coming to Wisconsin he was head of the department of political economy at Johns Hopkins university for 11 years.

His marriage to Miss Hahn was his second. In 1884 he was married to Miss Anna Morris Anderson, who died in 1923. He has three children, Richard S. Ely, John T. A. Ely and Mrs. Anna Ely Morehouse.

Dr. Ely received his A.B. and A.M. degrees from Columbia university, his Ph.D. at the University of Heidelberg, and another LL.D. from Hobart college.

He was founder of the American bureau of industrial Research, one of the organizers of the American Economics association, first president of the American Association for Labor Legislation, and founder of the Institute for Research in Land Economics and Public Utilities.

He has written several books dealing with economics.

Source:  Wisconsin State Journal, December 21, 1931, pp. 1,4.

______________________

L.A. Times exclusive, 1932

Economist Ely Becomes Father
at 79 (sic, should be 78) Years of Age

New York, July 15 (Exclusive)

Prof. Richard T. Ely, the economist, 79 years of age, who last year married Miss Margaret Hahn, still in her early thirties, became the father of an 8-pound son on the 1st, it was learned today.

Prof. Ely proudly confirmed the news at the offices of the Institute for Economic Research, Inc., of which he is the head.

“He’s a fine, big, kicking fellow,” he said. “We named him after William Brewster, a leader in the Mayflower colony and an early ancestor of his.”

Prof. and Mrs. Ely live at Radburn, N.J., the model motor-age real-estate development planned by the professor and financed by John D. Rockefeller, Jr., and others.

Prof. Ely and the mother of his child, who was born in a Paterson (N.J.) hospital, met at Northwestern University, Evanston, Ill., where he was teaching in the summer of 1931. She was one of his students, and received a Ph.D. degree at that institution of learning (sic, she did not).

The professor, a noted economist, is the author of a number of books. He came to New York several years ago to establish the institute he heads.

Source: The Los Angeles Times (July 16, 1932), p. 1.

______________________

Associated Press, 1934

Dr. Ely Father Again at 79
Daughter Second Child
Since He Wed Former Pupil in 1931

By the Associated Press.

New York, March 30.–Dr. Richard T. Ely, 79-year-old economist and president of the Bureau of Economic Research, became the father of his sixth child last Wednesday, friends here have learned.

A nine-pound-seven-ounce daughter, named Mary Charlotte, was born to his wife, the former Margaret Hahn of Chicago, in Paterson General Hospital, Paterson, N.J. Dr. Ely will be 80 April 13. Dr. and Mrs. Ely have another child, William Brewster Ely, born in July, 1932. Mrs. Ely is the economist’s second wife. Dr. Ely, founder of the American Economic Association, married her, a former pupil, in 1931.

SourceSt. Louis Post-Dispatch (March 30, 1934), p. 2.

______________________

From the horse’s mouth:
Richard T. Ely’s Memoir
1938

It was at Northwestern, also, that I found the young woman who later became my wife, Margaret Hale Hahn was a member of my round table, a dynamic personality, with many varied interests. She was a Northwestern graduate and had attained distinction in athletics, as well as in scholastic work. She was a member of the debating group and was one of the first women to represent the university in a joint debate with Wisconsin; she was also president of the hockey team and had obtained her letter. We were married in 1931. Her companionship and her vitality have greatly enriched my life. We are now the proud parents of two loverly children, Billy, six, and Mary, four.

Source: Richard T. Ely. Ground Under Our Feet, p. 250.

______________________

Personal and professional timeline of
Margaret Hale Ely, née Hahn

1899. June 29. Born in Ohio to Parents Raymond C. Han and Mary Katruah Hahn née Hale.

1923. B.S. from Northwestern University.

1931, August 8. Marriage to Richard Theodore Ely in Old Lyme, Connecticut.

1932, July 1. Birth of son, William Brewster Ely in Paterson, New Jersey.

1934, March 28. Birth of daughter, Mary Charlotte Ely in Paterson, New  Jersey. [Family residing at 2 Audubon Place, Rayburn, N.J.]

1936, May 12. Third child, stillborn.

1943, October 4. Richard T. Ely dies at home in Old Lyme, Connecticut.

1944. Appointed assistant professor of economics at Connecticut College for Women.

1947. A.M. from Yale University.

1954. Ph.D. in economics from Yale University.

1966. Retires from Connecticut College for Women.

1983, May 24. Died May 24. in Waterford, Connecticut.

______________________

MRS. MARGARET H. ELY
Associate Professor of Economics

Mrs. Margaret H. Ely’s life, on this campus and away from it, has been expressive of a personal philosophy which will continue to pervade her experience after she leaves her position as Associate Professor of Economics at Connecticut. She believes strongly in a commitment to education as a challenge and as a creative process, and she considers the lack of such a commitment the main problem in education today. In accord with this belief, Mrs. Ely has taught the Senior Seminar in Economic Research since she has been here. This course emphasizes creative research and enables students to talk with experts in their particular area. Labor and investment have always been Mrs. Ely’s own favorite areas of interest and instruction. She was originally trained as a banker in the investment division of the Irving Trust Company. In addition to her love of teaching, she has actively extended her own education. Last summer she attended a Contemporary Economics Seminar and this year at Connecticut she has studied mathematical statistics. In the language of economics, Mrs. Ely feels there is a great deal of manpower, the country’s most valuable resource, which is being wasted in the form of the unmotivated student. She believes this situation can be improved and, with this in mind, she intends to continue working in the educational system: We can expect further significant accomplishments by Mrs. Ely, a woman dedicated to her field and her profession.

Source: Connecticut College for Women student yearbook, Koiné 1964, p. 74.

______________________

Retirement note by Connecticut College President

Mrs. Margaret Ely joined the Faculty in 1944 as a recent widow and the mother of two young children. Ten years later she had received her Doctor’s degree in Economics at Yale, created new courses in Labor Economics and Corporations at this college and brought her own children into young manhood and womanhood. She likes to teach the lore of corporations by the case study method. A study of her own case suggests that she is the sort of educated American woman who has demonstrated to the undergraduates of this college that a woman of purpose and courage can do anything she wants to do. Her human warmth and ingenious teaching methods will be available to us for one year more in the absence of her Department Chairman.

SourceConnecticut College Alumnae News, August 1964, p. 19.

Image SourceConnecticut College Alumnae News, August 1964, p. 19. Colorized by Economics in the Rear-view Mirror.

Categories
Popular Economics Suggested Reading Syllabus

Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle. Economics Readings, Topics for 1889-1890

The Chautauqua Institution established a four-year cycle of reading assignments that provided a popular college liberal arts education. Beginning in 1885 an introduction to economics was introduced into the program with an economics textbook listed every fourth year among the half-dozen or so books to be read by participants in the circle.

This post begins with a brief history of the Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle (a.k.a. the C.L.S.C.) followed by a list of the economics texts assigned during the first sixty-six years of the C.L.S.C. The economics content from the outline for 1889-90 published in the C.L.S.C. journal, The Chautauqua, is the core artifact of this post. As an added bonus, 140 questions and answers provided for study of Richard T. Ely’s textbook, An Introduction to Political Economy, have been included as well.

On October 24, 1889 the C.L.S.C. held an Adam Smith Memorial Day. Q&A’s for discussion were included in The Chautauqua.

___________________________

Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle.

Excerpt from “A Brief History of the CLSC”

…Bishop [John Heyl] Vincent [cofounder with Lewis Miller of the Chautauqua Institution] conceived the idea of the Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle (CLSC), and founded it in 1878, four years after the founding of the Chautauqua Institution.

At its inception, the CLSC was basically a four year course of required reading. The original aims of the CLSC were twofold:

To promote habits of reading and study in nature, art, science, and in secular and sacred literature

and

To encourage individual study, to open the college world to persons unable to attend higher institution of learning.

On August 10, 1878, Dr. Vincent announced the organization of the CLSC to an enthusiastic Chautauqua audience.

Over 8,400 people enrolled the first year. Of those original enrollees, 1,718 successfully completed the reading course, the required examinations and received their diplomas on the first CLSC Recognition Day in 1882.

The idea spreads and reading circles form.

As the summer session closed in 1878, Chautauquans returned to their homes and involved themselves there in the CLSC reading program. Many introduced the CLSC idea to their friends and neighbors and, in turn, additional groups were established for the purpose of studying and discussing the CLSC course of instruction. The concept of local “CLSC Reading Circles” spread and, by the turn of the century, over 10,000 “circles” had been formed.

Clearly, the rapid and widespread growth of the CLSC filled a deeply felt need for a structured program of reading and learning. As such, its importance both to the Chautauqua movement and to the spread of education was significant to the history of our country. Arthur E. Bestor, Jr., president of the Institution 1915-1944, wrote in his Chautauqua Publications: “Through the home reading courses of the Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle, it (Chautauqua) reached into innumerable towns, especially in the Midwest, and made education a powerful force in American life.”

The CLSC becomes a role model.

With the success of its program of planned reading, book selections
and local circles, the CLSC became the prototype for book clubs, study groups and university extension courses. According to the World Book Encyclopedia, the CLSC was “an example to American universities when they developed their extension programs, and influenced adult education leaders in such countries as England, Japan and South Africa.”

Dr. Vincent’s ideal yields nationwide results.

From 1878 through the 1920s the CLSC maintained a preeminent position in the field of adult education and augmented the general support for learning. This, in turn, prompted the spread of libraries in small communities, the extension of adult education, the growth of book clubs, the availability of book review services, the increasing opportunities for enrollment in institutions of higher learning, and the involvement of people in community life and social organizations generally.

More nationwide reading opportunities result in a period of decline.

The accumulated effects of the Depression, the spread of libraries
in small communities, the extension of adult education, the growth
of book clubs, the availability of book review services, the increasing opportunities for enrollment in institutions of higher learning and
the involvement of people in community life and social organizations steadily detracted from the influence of the CLSC….

Economics from the CLSC Book List:
1878-1944

1885-1886

George McKendree Steele. Outline Study of Political Economy. New York: Chautauqua Press, 1885.

1889-1890

Richard T. Ely. An Introduction to Political Economy. New York: Chautauqua Press, 1889.

1893-1894

Richard T. Ely. Outlines of Economics. Meadville, Penn.: Flood and Vincent, 1893.

1895-1896

Carroll D. Wright. The Industrial Evolution of the United States. Meadville, Penn.: Flood and Vincent, 1895.

1899-1900

Richard T. Ely. The Strength and Weakness of Socialism. New York: Chautauqua Press, 1899.

1903-1904

Richard T. Ely. Studies in the Evolution of Industrial Society. New York: Macmillan, 1903.

1907-1908

John R. Commons. Races and Immigrants in America. New York: Macmillan, 1907.

1910-1911

Edward P. Cheyney. An Introduction to the Industrial and Social History of England. New York: Macmillan, 1907.

1915-1916

Albert Bushell Hart, ed. Social and Economic Forces in American HistoryChautauqua, New York: Chautauqua Press, 1913.

1943-1944

John W. McConnell. The Basic Teachings of Great Economists. New York: Blakiston, 1943.

Source:  Chautauqua Literary & Scientific Circle. Book List 1878-2017.

___________________________

The Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle.
Books for 1889-90.

An Introduction to Political Economy. Ely $1.00

Bible in the Nineteenth Century. Townsend $0.40

How to Judge of a Picture. Van Dyke $0.60

Outline History of Rome. Vincent and Joy $0.70

Physics. Steele $1.00

Preparatory and College Latin Course in English. 1 vol . Wilkinson $1.30

___________________________

C. L. S. C. OUTLINE AND PROGRAMS.
FOR OCTOBER [1889]

First week (ending October 8).

“Political Economy.” Chapters I.-VII. inclusive.

Suggestive Programs for Local Circle Work:

The Lesson. (The uneven division of the work in Political Economy as laid out in the Outline is made that the work might be taken up by topics; first, the growth of industrial society; second, the characteristics of industrial society; third, the definition of political economy; fourth, the division, methods, and utilityof political economy.)

Second week (ending October 15).

“Political Economy.” Chapters VIII. and IX.

In the Chautauquan: Helen Campbell, Child Labor and Some of its Results (pp. 21-24)

The Lesson. (As marked out in the Outline)

Debate—Resolved: That the Government should abolish all restrictions on the rate of interest. (See Ely’s “Political Economy,” p. 79.)

Third week (ending October 23)

“Political Economy.” Chapters X. and XI.

**  **  **  **  **  **  **  **

Adam Smith Day.—October 24.

“The wise form right judgment of the present from what is past.”—Sophocles.

  1. Paper—Life and Character of Adam Smith.
  2. Questions on Adam Smith in The Question Table.
  3. A Symposium of Letters—The best method of national taxation. Each member is to write and read a letter addressed to the president of the circle, giving his views on this subject. He is to commend or censure the American system—that of protection—and show that it is either in harmony with, or in opposition to, the four maxims regarding taxation laid down by Adam Smith:

    1. The Subjects of every state ought to contribute toward the support of the government, as nearly as possible, in proportion to their respective abilities: that is, in proportion to the revue which they respectively enjoy under the protection of the state.
    2. The tax which each individual is bound to pay ought to be certain and not arbitrary. The time of payment, the manner of payment, the quantity to be paid, ought all to be clear and plain to the contributor and to every other person.
    3. Every tax ought to be levied at the time and in the manner in which it is most likely to be convenient for the contributor to pay it.
    4. Every tax ought to be so contrived as both to take out and keep out of the pockets of the people as little as possible over and above what it brings into the public treasury of the state.

SPECIAL MEMORIAL, DAY.—ADAM SMITH.

  1. Of what nationality was Adam Smith?
    A. Scotch
  2. What happened him when he was three years old?
    A. He was carried off by Gypsies.
  3. His introduction as an author was made by an article in the Edinburgh Review on what famous book?
    A. Dr. Johnson’s Dictionary.
  4. Under what sobriquet is Smith spoken of in the “Noctes Ambrosiae”?
    A. Father Adam.
  5. Upon what work does his fame mainly rest?
    A. His book “The Wealth of Nations.”
  6. What probably induced this “Kirkcaldy recluse” to accept the office of traveling tutor to the young Duke of Buccleuch?
    A. The opportunity it would afford him for collecting facts for this book.
  7. What great event was transpiring in America at the time the “Wealth of Nations” was published?
    A. The opening of the Revolutionary War.
  8. If according to the historian Green, “books are measured by their effect on the fortunes of mankind,” what rank must be assigned to the “Wealth of Nations”?
    A. It must be classed among the greatest of books.
  9. Who said that it was “perhaps the only book which produced an immediate, general, and irrevocable change in some of the most important parts of the legislation of all civilized nations”?
    A. Sir James Mackintosh.
  10. What does Smith consider the only source of wealth?
    A. Labor
  11. What method of compulsory education did he propose?
    A. That every one wishing to enter upon a trade be required to pass a test examination.
  12. From what three classes or orders of civilized society did he contend came all the revenues which supply every other class?
    A. Landlords, laborers, and capitalists.
  13. From what great historian did the “Wealth of Nations” receive its first emphatic welcome?
    A. David Hume.
  14. What prime minister of England took the principles it taught as the ground-work of his Policy?
    A. William Pitt.
  15. What great event not long after its publication set England against the doctrines of political innovation taught in the book?
    A. The French Revolution.
  16. What change of opinion did Pitt undergo regarding Smith’s free trade notions?
    A. At first warmly participating in them, he became one of their leading opponents.
  17. What habit of Smith’s, indulged even in society, caused much amusement?
    A. The absent mindedness which led him to talk to himself.
  18. What acts showed his beneficent nature?
    A. Much of his ample fortune was spent in secret charities.
  19. What did he call himself in reference to his weakness, the collection of a fine library?
    A. A “beau in his books.”
  20. Throughout his life who was his closest friend?
    A. His mother.

Questions: pp. 97-98. Answers: p. 229.

**  **  **  **  **  **  **  **

Fourth week (ending October 31).

“Political Economy.” Chapters IX.—XV. inclusive.

Source: The Chautauquan. Vol X. No. 1 (October, 1889), pp. 87-88.

**  **  **  **  **  **  **  **

Questions and Answers.
On Ely’s “Political Economy.”

  1. Q. Of what science does political economy form a branch?
    A. Sociology, or social science.
  2. Q. What is sociology?
    A. The science which deals with society.
  3. Q. Into how many departments has social science been divided?
    A. Eight: language, art, science and education, family life, social life (in the narrower sense), religious life, political life, and economic life.
  4. Q. What is meant by economic life?
    A. That part of man’s life which is concerned with “getting a living.”
  5. Q. What forms a fundamental fact of economic life?
    A. The dependence of man upon his fellows.
  6. Q. In what respect does the economic life of a nation differ from that of an individual?
    A. The basis of national economy is political independence.
  7. Q. What is a state?
    A. The union of a stationary people, occupying a defined territory, under a supreme power and a definite constitution.
  8. Q. What are the two great factors in a national economy?
    A. Territory and man.
  9. Q. Cite one example showing the tendency of a national economy to change?
    A. Landed property was once largely common property; in civilized nations it came into the possession of individuals; now a reverse process is seen in the fact that forests are becoming public property.
  10. Q. Viewed from the standpoint of production, into what five stages is the economic progress of humanity divided?
    A. The hunting and fishing stage; the pastoral; the agricultural; the commercial; and the industrial.
  11. Q. Viewed from the standpoint of transfer of goods, how many economic stages are there?
    A. Three: truck economy; money economy; and credit economy.
  12. Q. What people are a type of the hunting and fishing stage?
    A. The American Indians.
  13. Q. Where are vivid pictures of people living in the pastoral stage found?
    A. In the earliest chapters of the Bible.
  14. Q. To what manner of life did the pastoral stage give rise?
    A. To the nomadic.
  15. Q. What was probably the earliest form of settled agricultural life?
    A. Village communities.
  16. Q. What remain to-day as witnesses of the former common ownership of land?
    A. The Boston “Common”’ and the “commons” of other New England towns.
  17. Q. What radical changes mark the commercial stage?
    A. Important cities arose along the sea-coast and on rivers; mines were worked; and the use of money became more general.
  18. Q. What made possible the far-reaching changes marking the industrial stage?
    A. The application of steam to industry and the improvement in the means of communication and transport.
  19. Q. With what periods was the truck, or barter, economy coincident?
    A. The hunting and fishing, the pastoral, and part of the agricultural periods.
  20. Q. What one fact is sufficient to show the change from money economy to that of credit?
    A. The fact that banks now form an essential part of the entire national economy.
  21. Q. What are some of the main causes for the existence of the present economic problems?
    A. The industrial revolution; the new importance of capital; the possibility of improvement; and the higher ethical standards.
  22. Q. What are some of the remarkable features of the recent development of the industrial revolution?
    A. Increased domestic and international commerce; corporations and trusts; problem of the working day; resistance to improvements; and sudden riches.
  23. Q. What great change in production occurred during the industrial revolution?
    A. Two of its chief factors, capital and labor, were separated.
  24. Q. What has been the result of this division?
    A. Capital has acquired a new power which has created modern socialism.
  25. Q. What is the wide-spread belief of reformers regarding the solution of this problem?
    A. That labor and capital must be again united, but they differ as to the methods.
  26. Q. In what are three characteristic features of modern economic life to be found?
    A. In the relations which it bears to freedom, to ethics, and to the state.
  27. Q. Under what condition has economic freedom ever been absolute?
    A. Under primitive anarchy.
  28. Q. In what way may real freedom be increased by restriction laws?
    A. Such laws may remove restrictions to liberty arising outside of law.
  29. Q. In what five ways does economic freedom manifest itself?
    A. Freedom of labor, of landed property, of capital with respect to loans, in the establishment of enterprises, and of the market.
  30. Q. What restrictions have been placed up on freedom of movement?
    A. Tramp laws, the anti-Chinese legislation, and a law forbidding contracts with foreign laborers to come to the United States to work.
  31. Q. In what respect is freedom of the market restricted in the United States?
    A. Heavy taxes are laid on foreign trade.
  32. Q. What is mentioned as the leading advantage resulting from a general freedom of the market?
    A. Competition would develop new forces, and reveal new resources of economy, excellence, and variety of products.
  33. Q. What disadvantages is it claimed would follow such a freedom?
    A. The moral standard of economic life would be lowered; and there would result longer hours of labor and cheaper prices.
  34. Q. What does ethics demand for the truly civilized life of each individual?
    A. That so far as possible each should be supplied with economic goods to satisfy his reasonable wants and afford the completest development of his faculties.
  35. Q. What is the basis of the economic life of modern nations?
    A. Individual responsibility.
  36. Q. What part, then, does the state enact in this life?
    A. It enters where the individual’s powers are insufficient.
  37. Q. Give the derivation and meaning of the term political economy.
    A. It comes from three Greek words and means the housekeeping of the state.
  38. Q. Give a definition of political economy in its most general terms?
    A. It is the science which treats of man as a member of economic society.
  39. Q. What is the true business of the political economist?
    A. To describe the best means for the promotion of the welfare of the people as a whole.
  40. Q. What aims does political economy distinctly include within its province?
    A. Ethical aims; it does not merely tell us how things are, but also how they ought to be, and shows that in many cases the general honesty which exists now as a mere matter of course was once a future ideal.
  41. Q. Into what three parts is political economy commonly divided?
    A. Into general eco nomics, special economics, and finance.
  42. Q. By what three methods is all knowledge acquired?
    A. The inductive, the deductive, and the statistical.
  43. Q. What term has been selected by the author as the most fitting to describe the laws governing political economy?
    A. Social laws.
  44. Q. What assertion is often made against political economy by business men?
    A. That it is not practical.
  45. Q. In return what assertion may be made against the opinions of business men?
    A. Their range of facts is too narrow, and each man is apt to be absorbed in his own affairs
  46. Q. What is brought forward as an illustration of this point?
    A. That the attempt to improve politics by putting practical business men in office has often resulted disastrously.
  47. Q. What elements have united in forming the science of political economy?
    A. Business, philosophy, jurisprudence, politics, and philanthropy.
  48. Q. Give examples showing how different systems of religion have affected the character of nations?
    A. The fatalism of the Turks led to indolence; the Jewish religion stimulated its followers to activity and accumulation; Christianity dignifies honest labor.
  49. Q. What service does political economy perform for law?
    A. It explains the reasons for a great part of the laws, their nature, and the principles which should govern them.
  50. Q. For what is a body of international law now needed as never before?
    A. To regulate international economic relations.

Source: The Chautauquan. Vol X. No. 1 (October, 1889), pp. 94-95.

___________________________

C. L. S. C. OUTLINE AND PROGRAMS.
FOR NOVEMBER. [1889]

First week (ending November 8).

“Political Economy.” Part II. Chapters I. and II.

Second week (ending November 15).

“Political Economy.” Part II. Chapters III. and IV.

“Questions and Answers on Political Economy,” in The Chautauquan.

Third week (ending November 22)

“Political Economy.” Part III. Chapters I. and II.

Debate—Resolved: That by granting private ownership in land the state permits a monopoly of one of the bounties of nature. (See text-book on “Political Economy,” pp. 77-78, 161, and 296-297.)

Fourth week (ending November 30).

“Political Economy.” Part III. Chapters III. and IV.

Debate—Question: Is the coinage of silver as authorized by the “Bland Bill” a source of financial danger to the United States?

Source: The Chautauquan. Vol X. No. 2 (November, 1889), pp. 217-218.

**  **  **  **  **  **  **  **

Questions & Answers
ELY’S “POLITICAL ECONOMY.”

  1. Q. What is the only operation man can perform upon matter?
    A. He can simply move it.
  2. Q. What can he produce by this action?
    A. Quantities of utility.
  3. Q What is the economic term applied to the creation of utilities?
    A. Production.
  4. Q. What is the term applied to the results of labor?
    A. Wealth.
  5. Q. If the quantity of cotton cloth should double between two censuses, and the price fall one half, would the wealth of the country be increased?
    A. It would be doubled.
  6. Q. What sets the limit to all production?
    A. The power of consumption.
  7. Q. What supply motives of economic activity to man?
    A. His wants.
  8. Q. Into how many classes may those things which man wants be divided?
    A. Into necessaries, comforts, conveniences, and luxuries.
  9. Q. What are luxuries?
    A. Whatever contribute chiefly to enjoyment, rather than to a better training of man’s powers.
  10. Q. What are the three factors of production?
    A. Nature, labor, and capital.
  11. Q. Considered in an economic sense, what is meant by nature?
    A. Simply land.
  12. Q. What is capital?
    A. Every laid-by product which may be used for further production.
  13. Q. What tendency marks the development of industrial civilization?
    A. It becomes constantly more complex.
  14. Q. What forms at present a characteristic feature in the organization of the productive factors?
    A. The division of labor.
  15. Q. To what part of political economy is the name exchange applied?
    A. To that dealing with transfers of goods.
  16. Q. What is value?
    A. The measure of utility.
  17. Q. What is price?
    A. Value expressed in money.
  18. Q. Upon what does price depend?
    A. Immediately, upon supply and demand; secondarily, upon cost of production.
  19. Q. What is money?
    A. A universal standard of value and a medium of exchange.
  20. Q. Under the different conceptions concerning it, what single form of money will pass as money in every sense of the word?
    A. Gold money.
  21. Q. When is paper money said to be redeemable?
    A. When government pays coin for it on demand.
  22. Q. How much paper money can be issued by a nation with safety?
    A. An amount equal to one-third of the government revenues payable in this kind of money.
  23. Q. What effects follow the arbitrary de crease or increase of the amount of money?
    A. In the former case burdens are added to every debtor; in the latter, creditors are robbed.
  24. Q. What is the established ratio between gold and silver in the United States?
    A. One to sixteen.
  25. Q. What is meant by the term demonetization of silver?
    A. The withdrawing it from current use as full legal tender.
  26. Q. What is meant by bi-metalism?
    A. The use of both silver and gold at a fixed ratio of value as legalized currency.
  27. Q. On what condition only could the introduction of bi-metalism be regarded with favor by economists?
    A. That it become an international measure.
  28. Q. What restriction does the Bland Bill lay upon the coinage of silver in the United States?
    A. Not less than $2,000,000 or more than $4,000,000 worth of silver must be coined every month by the mints.
  29. Q. What is John Stuart Mill’s definition of credit?
    A. Permission to use the capital of another person.
  30. Q. What instrument of credit is known as a check?
    A. An order on a banker by a person having money on deposit to pay to the bearer a certain specified sum of money.
  31. Q. What is a draft?
    A. A check given by one banker against another.
  32. Q. What are bankers?
    A. Middle men between borrowers and lenders.
  33. Q. What banks are allowed to issue notes which circulate as money?
    A. National banks.
  34. Q. What is a clearing-house?
    A. An institution designed to save for the banks of a city, time, labor, and circulating notes.
  35. Q. What is protection as used in political economy?
    A. A regulation which lays a tax on all imported commodities when similar commodities can be produced at home.
  36. Q. What are the two leading arguments of protectionists?
    A. The diversified-natural industry argument and the protection-to-infant industry argument.
  37. Q. What are the leading arguments of free traders?
    A. That protection is not needed to accomplish either of the above mentioned ends; that it is not a benefit to the laboring man; and that it fosters monopolies.
  38. Q. What reform is needed at the present time more than a tariff reform?
    A. That of municipal government.
  39. Q. What have been far greater forces in adding to the wealth of modern nations than the tariff policy?
    A. Inventions and discoveries, especially the application of steam to industry.
  40. Q. If it be true that American labor would be better off without it, why should the protective system not be removed suddenly?
    A. It is an historical growth which has taken deep root, and sudden removal would be dangerous.

Source: The Chautauquan. Vol X. No. 2 (November, 1889), pp. 225-226.

___________________________

C. L. S. C. OUTLINE AND PROGRAMS.
FOR DECEMBER. [1889]

First week (ending December 8).

“Political Economy.” Part IV. Chapters I-V. inclusive.

Book Review—“Looking backward.” By Edward Bellamy.

Debate—Resolved: That the formation of trusts and combinations are a development in the right direction. (See Ely’s “Political Economy,” p. 241.)

Second week (ending December 16).

“Political Economy.” Finish Part IV. Part V.

Third week (ending December 23)

“Political Economy.” Part VI.

Questions and Answers  on “Political Economy,” in The Chautauquan.
Debate—Resolved: That I have a right to know how much I shall do for the state, which is impossible under the present tariff system.

Fourth week (ending December 31).

“Political Economy.” Part VII.

Roll-Call—A written question on any point in political economy.
Table Talk—Discussion of the above named questions. (If preferred, the questions may be taken from the list in the back part of the text-book, or the whole time may be devoted to any one of these questions.)

Source: The Chautauquan. Vol X. No. 3 (December, 1889), p. 344.

**  **  **  **  **  **  **  **

Questions & Answers
ON ELY’S “POLITICAL ECONOMY.”

  1. Q. What is private property?
    A. The exclusive right of a person over economic goods.
  2. Q. In the case of what land in the United States was it felt that the individual elements in property encroached upon the social elements?
    A. That surrounding Niagara Falls.
  3. Q. Into what four parts are the products of industry usually divided?
    A. Rent, interest, profits, and wages.
  4. Q. What is rent?
    A. The annual return of land in itself.
  5. Q. What determines the amount of rent?
    A. The surplus yielded above returns on labor and capital.
  6. Q. What is interest?
    A. The sum paid for capital lent to others.
  7. Q. What determines the rate of interest?
    A. The opportunities for, and the fruitfulness of, investments.
  8. Q. What are profits?
    A. Whatever is left after paying rent, interest, and wages.
  9. Q. Under what circumstances do profits tend to equality?
    A. When the flow of capital is free—that is out of the power of monopolists.
  10. Q. What is the difference between capital and capitalization?
    A. Capital is the amount actually invested in property; capitalization is the amount at which property is valued.
  11. Q. What familiar form is often assumed by capitalization?
    A. “Stock-watering.”
  12. Q. What determines the wages of labor?
    A. The “standard of life” fixed for the laborer; called also the iron law of wages.
  13. Q. What methods have been found better adapted to keep the industrial peace than the ordinary wages system?
    A. The sliding scale of wages, and arbitration and conciliation.
  14. Q. What one factor of production is embraced in modern labor organizations?
    A. The laborers.
  15. Q. What are mentioned as some of the advantages secured by labor organizations for their members?
    A. Diminished intemperance; educational opportunities; and social culture.
  16. Q. What is meant by profit sharing?
    A. Securing to laborers a share of the profits in addition to their wages.
  17. Q. Where voluntary co-operation is carried out successfully, what good effects on character has it produced?
    A. It has made men diligent, frugal, intelligent, and considerate of the rights of others.
  18. Q. By what name is a coercive co-operation for productive enterprises known?
    A. Socialism.
  19. Q. What good service has socialism rendered?
    A. It has called general attention to social problems and to the need of social reform.
  20. Q. Of what American laws is it claimed that they create artificial monopolies?
    A. The tariff laws.
  21. Q. What other privileges are classed under artificial monopolies?
    A. Copyrights and patents.
  22. Q. What are natural monopolies?
    A. Those businesses which become monopolies on account of their own inherent properties.
  23. Q. What plan is advocated for the prevention of private monopolies?
    A. The limitation of charters for natural monopolies.
  24. Q. What is one of the most serious social evils of the present?
    A. Child labor.
  25. Q. What should be the constant aim of public authority and private effort, regarding social troubles?
    A. To anticipate and prevent their existence.
  26. Q. What is the meaning of consumption as used in political economy?
    A. The destruction of a utility.
  27. Q. When does consumption become wasteful?
    A. When nothing is left to show for it.
  28. Q. When is there most danger of a glut in the market?
    A. When least is produced, or in crises of industrial life.
  29. Q. What is public finance?
    A. That part of political economy which deals with public revenues.
  30. Q. At what are the annual revenues of the various governments of the United States—federal, state, and local—estimated?
    A. At about $800,000,000.
  31. Q. What would be the result if these governments received a surplus of money each year and kept it from circulation?
    A. A panic.
  32. Q. In the United States how alone can the money flowing into the treasury from the revenues get out again?
    A. In payment of claims on the United States.
  33. Q. What makes the importance of finance plainly apparent?
    A. A knowledge of the magnitude of the revenues and expenditures of governments in modern times.
  34. Q. Of what in general are these increased expenditures of government a sign?
    A. Of national health.
  35. Q. What are the three permanent sources of revenue?
    A. Productive domains, industries, and taxes.
  36. Q. How is it shown that by means of taxation popular rights have been secured?
    A. Monarchs were obliged to ask money of the people; the people granted them on condition of receiving their demands.
  37. Q. Do large expenditures of public money for the public ever prove ruinous to a nation?
    A. Not if the money to be collected is justly distributed among the people.
  38. Q. What are customs duties?
    A. Taxes on imported articles.
  39. Q. What are excise taxes?
    A. Taxes on articles produced in the United States.
  40. Q. What is one of the greatest evils against the present system of taxation?
    A. It is not properly proportioned, and falls more heavily on the poor than on the rich.
  41. Q. What seems the most promising remedy against the evils of taxation?
    A. An income tax.
  42. Q. When did political economy as a distinct science come into being?
    A. A little more than a hundred years ago.
  43. Q. Why did it not arise earlier as a separate science?
    A. Chiefly because finance and labor—its two most fruitful sources of inquiry—have only in modern times become questions of importance to governments.
  44. Q. What side of economics was taught and practiced in the Orient?
    A. The ethical side.
  45. Q. How did Aristotle regard industrial life?
    A. He strictly subordinated it to the higher callings of society.
  46. Q. What does the economic life of the Romans plainly show?
    A. The disastrous consequences of slave labor and of landed property.
  47. Q. In what particular does Christianity teach the opposite of all former instruction in economy?
    A. It asserts the honorableness of toil.
  48. Q. To what standpoint have modern economists arrived?
    A. That law, morality, and utility must harmonize.
  49. Q. What is the laissez faire theory of political economy?
    A. The non-interference of government in matters of trade.
  50. Q. In what two countries is the greatest activity in economics to be found at the present time?
    A. Germany and the United States.

Source: The Chautauquan. Vol X. No. 3 (December, 1889), p. 352-353.

___________________________

C. L. S. C. OUTLINE AND PROGRAMS.
FOR JANUARY. [1890]

First week (ending January 8).

Second week (ending January 15).

Third week (ending January 23).

In the Chautauquan: The Railroads and the State [by Franklin H. Giddings, pp. 413-417]

Debate—Resolved: The state ownership of railroads is the best remedy for the evils connected with the present system.

Source: The Chautauquan. Vol X. No. 4 (January, 1890), p. 472-473.

___________________________

C. L. S. C. OUTLINE AND PROGRAMS.
FOR FEBRUARY.

Second week (ending February 15).

In the Chautauquan: “Economic Internationalism.” [Richard T. Ely, pp. 538-542.]

Source: The Chautauquan. Vol X. No. 5 (February, 1890), p. 602.

___________________________

C. L. S. C. OUTLINE AND PROGRAMS.
FOR MARCH.

Third week (ending March 22)

In the Chautauquan: “The Nationalization of Industry in Europe” [by Franklyn H. Giddings, pp. 668-672]

Source: The Chautauquan. Vol X. No. 6 (March, 1890), pp. 729-730.

[Other economic writings in this issue]

Charles J. Little. Karl Marx. 1818-1883, pp. 693-698

George Gunton. Trusts and How to Deal with Them, Part I,  [Feb. 1890] pp. 573-575

___________.  Trusts, and How to Deal with Them. Part II. pp. 699-703.

 

Categories
Johns Hopkins Popular Economics Syllabus

Chautauqua University Extension. Three Lectures on Labor Movement. Ely, 1889

While preparing a later post on the economics component of the 1889-90 C. L. S. C. (Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle), I came across a reference to a syllabus for a series of lectures given by Richard T. Ely in Chautauqua, New York. I tracked down the three reports of the syllabus (transcribed for this post below) in the Chautauqua Assembly Herald which can be consulted on-line from what appear to be scans of microfilm images.

For a brief history of the Chautauqua Education Movement in the United States.

________________________

Chautauqua University Extension.
Lectures on the Labor Movement in the Hall of Philosophy
by Dr. Richard T. Ely.

I.
The Nature of the Labor Problem, August 7, 1889.
SYLLABUS OF TOPICS

  1. Introductory Remarks
    1. University Extension lectures are primarily for instruction and not for entertainment. They are to give popular presentations of serious subjects. Those who do not care for this sort of lectures are advised to remain away rather than annoy the lecturer and disturb the rest of the audience by coming and going.
    2. The character of the present course, which is an adaptation of class-room work.
    3. The examination at the close of the course.
  2. Comments on the Annotated Bibliography.
  3. The Existence of Social Classes.
    1. What is meant by classes? Stormonth gives this definition: “A number of persons in society supposed to have the same position with regard to means, rank, etc.” Webster’s definition is as follows: A group of individuals ranked together as possessing common characteristics.” Modern classes are industrial, especially in republics, but industrial pursuits are everywhere acquiring increasing importance in class-formation.
    2. Ancient and modern classes compared. The influence of occupation in early times seen in the castes of India. “Sir Henry Maine.”
    3. Law and industry as a basis of classes compared. Economic forces often more powerful than legal forces. Illustrated by the contrast between nominal and actual freedom. “The Tribe of Ishmael.”
    4. It is a mistake to shut our eyes to the fact of the existence of classes in the United States, and to the further fact that with us class lines are becoming more inflexible and difficult to cross. America is becoming more like European countries.
    5. The good and evil effects of the existence of classes. The ideal is the harmonious and helpful co-existence of classes. “For…the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that body being many are one body…But God hat tempered the body together, having given more abundant honor so that part which lacked, that there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another. And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; if one member be honored, all the members rejoice with it.”—St. Paul, First Epistle to the Corinthians. This bring us naturally to
  4. The solidarity of social classes.
    Modern society cannot prosper unless all parts participate in this prosperity, but wealth may increase while society decays. The oneness of society and the oneness of social life, illustrated by Professor Burrough’s Chautauqua sermon of Sunday, July 7, of this year.
    “While there is a single guilty person in the universe, each innocent one must feel his innocence tortured by that guilt”—Hawthorne in the Marble Faun.
  5. The labor problem, a problem of such real living importance that it may be called the problem of problems, but it must never be regarded as a class-problem.
    The error of the more radical forms of socialism in treating the labor problem as merely a class-problem, thereby promoting class-hatred and delaying social reform.
    The emancipation of the laboring classes can never be accomplished by the laboring classes alone.
  6. The true meaning of this phrase of Gladstone. The individual and social standpoint contrasted. The social standpoint illuminated by the labor problem.
    “A sense of wrong is a mighty strong eyewash. It will clear out a lot of sophisms which blind men’s eyes.”—Dr. Heber Newton—Also true of love. Illustrations taken from American and English experience, of social benefits from the agitation of the labor problem.

Source: Chautauqua Assembly Herald. Vol. XIV, No. 13 (August 7, 1889), p. 3.

________________________

II.
The Causes of Existence of the Modern Labor Problem
August 8, 1889.
SYLLABUS OF TOPICS

  1. Introductory Remarks
    The multiplicity of causes render their comprehension difficult.
  2. The organic character of all forms of social life, and the youthful features of the present politico-economic organism in civilized nations.
    The hopefulness of this view.
  3. Movement the law of life.
    The newness of our present economic life. Illustrations.
    1. Transportation one hundred years ago.
      Adam Smith, in 1776, assumes that beef and grain are too bulky to be transported with profit from Ireland to England. These are his words:
      “Even the breeding countries of Great Britain never are likely to be much affected by the free importation of Irish cattle. *** Even the free importation of Irish corn could very little affect the interests of the farmers of Great Britain. Corn is a much more bulky commodity than butchers’ meat. *** The small quantity of foreign corn imported, even in times of greatest scarcity, may satisfy our farmers that they have nothing to fear from the freest importation.” With this, contrast American competition in the supply of wheat and beef in 1889, in its effects on European agriculture.
    2. Banks One Hundred Years Ago.
      Banks have increased in number, and their functions have changed within fifty years.
      “in [illegible] the fourth bank was established, the Bank of Maryland, in the city of Baltimore, if I am not mistaken; and that bank was open one year before a single depositor came to its counters. Bagehot, the English authority, says that as late as 1880 all the discussions of bankers were upon the circulation and not at all upon the deposits of their banks. *** I looked at the bank statements of the banks of New York the other day, and the figures were these: The circulation of all banks was $5,000,000; the deposits of the banks in the same week were over $400,000,000.
      Seth Low in a speech before Boston Merchants’ Association, January 8, 1889.
    3. Corporations one hundred years ago compared with corporations and trusts to-day.
      One hundred years ago Adam Smith expressed the belief that corporations could not succeed on account of their inability to hold their own in competition with individuals and private firms. Now, the conviction is expressed that the individual as such is disappearing in industrial life, and Mr. Seth Low holds that this must be offset by increasing the importance of the individual in political life.
    4. Free Trade in Land a modern fact.
      Former system of land tenure in Europe and America.
    5. The Relative freedom of Trade and Commerce likewise Recent.
    6. The Free Choice of Occupations a new right.
    7. The freedom of migration a nineteenth century right.
      Illustrations of the former condition of the law taken from Adam Smith’s “Wealth of Nations.”
    8. The right of free combinations of labor and capital likewise a modern fact.
    9. The universal, personal freedom of the manual laboring classes, in all civilized lands, is a fact not a generation old.
      The opinion of Aristotle on slavery quoted.
    10. Capital, as we understand it, a force peculiar to modern times.
      “Such war cries as we find, Lassalle raising against capital would not have been understood among the ancients and the oppressed classes of the middle ages.”—Kaufman.
      Confirmation of this view found in Aristotle. The word “capital” not found in the index of Jowett’s Aristotle’s “Politics.”
    11. Railroads, telegraphs, telephones and other applications of steam and electricity very recent facts.
    12. The division of labor as now understood a recent fact.
    13. Our present manufacturing class a recent creation.
      The use of the word “manufacturer” in 1776.
    14. Some common materials are new discoveries.
      Cotton, anthracite coal, and protection.
  1. A new industrial world requires a new industrial organization and a new industrial science, but both the organization and the science are incomplete.
    As a consequence of the foregoing, progress produces long-continued social distress.
  2. Some of the results of the above described changes on the laboring classes.
    The changes a condition without which the labor problem would be an impossibility.

    1. Deterioration in the condition of the masses may be relative or absolute.
      The condition of the masses must be examined in both respects.
    2. Diminished security of [illegible word, “asistence”?]
      Illustrations taken from North and South.
    3. Irregularity of employment and income, and attended evils.
    4. Increased reparation of classes.
    5. Changed and deteriorated environment of the majority of wage-earners.
      “Beyond a doubt, sickness is the greatest foe of the poor. It absorbs their savings, creates poverty and pain, and fills our public and private institutions. It is the tenement house system that creates or fosters most of the prevalent disease, degradation, misery and pain. It invites pestilence and destroys morals.”— F. Wingate. [Charles F. Wingate]
      Father Huntington’s testimony quoted.
    6. Industrial and moral evils attendant on frequent migrations of wage-earners.
    7. Machinery both a blessing and a curse.
    8. Increased wants and their effect on the industrial situation.
      Character of these increased wants, some good, some bad.
      Table showing comparative percentage expenditure of working men’s families in Illinois and Massachusetts.
Items. ILLINOIS. MASS.
Subsistence 41.38 49.28
Clothing 21.00 15.95
Rent 17.42 19.74
Fuel 5.63 4.30
Sundries 14.57 10.73
[Totals] [100.00] [100.00]

Source: Chautauqua Assembly Herald. Vol. XIV, No. 14 (August 8, 1889), p. 3.

Cf. Table on p. 282 of Ely’s An Introduction to Political Economy (1889) .

________________________

III.
Industrial Evils and Their Remedies,
August 9, 1889.
SYLLABUS OF TOPICS

  1. Child Labor.
    “The number of males over sixteen engaged in manufacturing in 1880 was 2,019,035, an increase in ten years of 24.97 per cent. The number of females over fifteen was 531,639, an increase in the same time of 64.2 per cent. and of children 181,921, an increase of 58.79 per cent. ** The employment of women in all gainful occupations is increasing fifty per cent. faster than the population, or than the employment of men, and the same is true to still greater degree of the employment of children, save in the very few states which have stringent factory laws and make any genuine effort to enforce them.”— W. Bemis in the article “Workingmen in the United States,” in the American edition of the Encylopaedia Britannica. A workingman’s paper quoted on child labor in the coal mining regions. The testimony of President Crowell.
  2. The increasing number of women wage-
  3. The dwellings of the laboring classes in cities.
  4. Sunday work an evil of increasing magnitude.
    The opinion of workingmen on the “abolition of Sunday.” Is there any law of New Jersey in defense of Sunday? If so, why is it not enforced against the railroad corporations? When laboring men violate any law of the money power it is anarchy, and the law breakers are imprisoned or hanged. But when the money power violates all laws, both human and divine there is neither penalty nor remedy.
    “Look at the Central Railroad of new Jersey running coal trains every Sunday, compelling its employes to work upon that day. ** God knows it is hard enough to work for a mere pittance six days in the week, but it is intolerable to be compelled to work on Sunday for nothing as we do—to desecrate the Sabbath and to be deprived even of the boon of preaching. If this is not anarchy, what is it? And how much longer shall the Golden Calf rule in New Jersey?—Correspondence of John Swinton’s Paper.” Comment on the statement, “work on Sunday for nothing.”
    The agitation for a free Sunday on the part of the bakers in New York and Philadelphia. Remarks of the former secretary of the Journeyman Bakers’ National Union in a letter to the lecturer.
    The agitation of the Sunday question by other workingmen in New York; also in Chicago. Editorial in the “Knights of Labor” on Sunday slavery.
    The American Sabbath Union and the testimony of its secretaro, Rev. Wilbur F. Crafts.
    The true spirit of Sunday observance and the Sunday reform socially considered.
  5. Over-work and night-work:
  6. Excessive mortality of the wage-earning classes, especially of their children.
    This evil economically and socially considered. The principal causes of death are social. “Some 16,000 children under five die every year in New York—just twice the normal mortality for a large city. ** If viewed rightly, this would be called simply massacre.”— F. Wingate.
    Mortality among the white and colored people of the South:
WHITE. COLORED.
Memphis, 1888 19 37
Average for nine years 19 37
Chattanooga, 1888 16 33
Knoxville, 1888 13 29
Average for 8 years 14 31
Clarksville, av. for 2 years 13 28
Columbia, av. for 2 years 13 16

These cities are in Tennessee. Statistics for Columbus, Savannah and Atlanta, Georgia, for Richmond, Mobile and Charleston, are similar in significance.
Dr. G. W. Hubbard, of Meharry Medical School, gives four causes of the large mortality of colored people, viz., poverty, ignorance of the laws of health, superstition and lack of proper medical attendance.
“At present the average age at death among the nobility, gentry and professional classes in England and Wales was 55 years; but among the artisan classes of Lambeth it only amounted to 29; and while the infantile death rate among the well-to-do classes was such that only eight children died in the first year of life out of 100 born, as many as 30 per cent. succumbed among the children of the poor in some districts of our large cities. The only real cause of this enormous difference in the position of the rich and the poor with respect to their chances of existence lay in the fact that at the bottom of society wages were so low that food and other requisites of health were obtained with too great difficulty.”
Dr. C. H. Drysdale, in report of Industrial Remuneration Conference, 1885. Investigations of Joseph Korosi, director of municipal statistics of Buda Pesth. Comments on other data.

  1. Intemperance as an Industrial Evil
    Intemperance must be regarded both as with cause and effect.
    Music as a remedy for intemperance. Experiments in London where oratorios like “St. Paul,” the “Messiah,” “Elijah,” and Spohr’s “Last Judgment” have been appreciated by “crowds of the lowest classes, some shoeless and bonnetless, and all having the savor of the great unwashed; who sat in church for two hours ‘quietly and reverently.’” See Barnett’s “Practicable Socialism” p. 56. Testimony: “If I could hear music like that every night I should not need the drink.” A New York experiment.
    Positive measures required for the cure of intemperance and not merely negative. Working-men’s halls. The efforts of working-men in Baltimore. Modified Prohibition considered.
  2. Other Evils.
    “Pluck-me Stores.” Excessive immigration, monopolies, accidents, a wide-spread spirit of lawlessness, pauperism.

Source: Chautauqua Assembly Herald. Vol. XIV, No. 15 (August 9, 1889), pp. 6-7.

Image Source: The University of Wisconsin yearbook, The Badger 1894.

 

Categories
Cornell Economist Market Economists Michigan

Michigan. Henry Carter Adams’ Plea on Own Behalf, 1887

 

The dirtiest my hands have ever become from archival work was during my exploration of Columbia University’s collection of John Maurice Clark’s papers. Now having the luxury of digital images to scroll through, I can work without forsaking the pleasures of biting my finger nails, rubbing my eyes and scratching my nose. The younger Clark was quite a paper hoarder so it pays to return to my folders with the images of  his documents.

This post builds on notes Clark took after a talk given by his colleague Joseph Dorfman on the economist Henry Carter Adams. Clark was struck by a phrase used by Adams, “all power carries responsibility,” that was a recurring theme in Clark’s own “preaching”. Attached to his brief note was a typed copy of a transcribed letter that Henry Carter Adams had written to the President of the University of Michigan to plead the case that he wished to be judged for a professorial appointment for the right reasons, i.e. not for any particular policy positions he might be thought not to hold but for exhibiting high scholarly virtues in his research and teaching.

Adams had earlier managed to attract the ire of a Cornell trustee, businessman Henry Williams Sage, much in the way Paul Samuelson was to attract the ire of the former member of the M.I.T. corporation, Lamott Dupont II, some 60 years later. Clearly not wanting his Cornell history to repeat itself, Henry Carter Adams successfully went pro-active with the University of Michigan in lobbying on his own behalf. He did get the appointment.

_________________________

Socialist Tease?

Henry C. Adams along with Richard T. Ely was attacked for “Coquetting with Anarchy” in The Nation (September 9, 1886), pp. 209-210. In that article Adams was incorrectly identified as President [C. K.] Adams of Cornell. The correction was immediately forthcoming in the following issue, September 16, 1886 issue, p. 234. The essay by Henry Carter Adams being attacked was “Principles that Should Control the Interference of the States in Industries” that was read before the “Constitution Club”of New York City.

_________________________

Several biographical accounts of Adams

Joseph Dorfman. The Economic Mind in American Civilization, vol. 3. Pp. 164-174.

S. Lawrence Bigelow, I. Leo Sharfman, and R. M. Wenley, “Henry Carter Adams,” The Journal of Political Economy, April 1922, pp. 201-11 (includes a selected bibliography);

Memorial to Former President Henry C. Adams,” The American Economic Review, September 1922, pp. 401-16.

Mark Perlman’s review of the 1954 publication of Henry Carter Adams’ Relation of the State to Industrial Action (1887) and his American Economic Association Presidential Address (1896) edited by Joseph Dorfman with introductory essay. [Note: this re-publication of two of Adams’ essays includes the letter transcribed from Dorfman’s copy in J. M. Clark’s papers.]

A. W. Coats. Henry Carter Adams: A Case Study in the Emergence of the Social Sciences in the United States, 1850-1900. Journal of American Studies, Vol. 2, No. 2 (October 1968), pp. 177-197.

Nancy Cohen. The Reconstruction of American Liberalism, 1865-1914. University of North Carolina Press, 2002. (Especially Chapter 5 “The American Scholar Revisited”, pp. 154-158, 162-164, 169-174)

_________________________

Henry C. Adams, some early publications

The Position of Socialism in the Historical Development of Political Economy. Penn Monthly, April 1870, pp. 285-94.

Outline of Lectures upon Political Economy (Baltimore: privately printed, 1881); (second edition, Ann Arbor: privately printed, 1886).

The Labor Problem,” Sibley College Lectures.—XI. Scientific American Supplement, August 21, 1886.

Adams’ statement in The Labor Problem, edited by William E. Barns (New York: Harper, 1886), pp. 62-63.

Principles that Should Control the Interference of the States in Industries” read before the “Constitution Club” of the City of New York. [Fun Fact: Frank Taussig’s copy]

Relation of the State to Industrial Action. Publications of the American Economic Association, 1887. Pp. 471-549.

Public Debts: An Essay in the Science of Finance (New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1887).

_________________________

Note by John Maurice Clark attached to transcribed copy of Henry Carter Adams’ letter

Letter of Henry Carter Adams (1851-1921)
to President James B. Angell, March 15, 1887.

J.M.C. Nov. 27, 1951, Comment, from memory of Dorfman’s remarks yesterday.

President Angell appointed Adams professor after receipt of this letter, and Thomas Cooley (father of Charles Horton Cooley?) who was on the original Interstate Commerce Commission, got Adams the job of chief statistician of the Commission, where he created the system of control of accounts of railroads aiming at enough uniformity to make financial and operating reports comparable, so totals for the country and comparisons of companies would mean something.

Adams had already commented on Jevon’s “The State in Relation to Labor[”] and Adams’ original paper on this theme was later (later than Mar 15, 1887) worked over and enlarged, and came to be regarded as a classic by economists between Adams’ generation and mine.

_______________

[Clark’s note] This is the letter of a man 36 years old who had earned his academic freedom by a sober and responsible attitude. From my standpoint, it is especially interesting because Adams gives such central importance to the principle that all power carries responsibility (presumably inner responsibility plus subjection to checks and controls where appropriate). This is the principle I’ve been preaching (or announcing factually) as the only alternative to regimentation or chaos.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

COPY

Ithaca, N.Y. March 15, 1887.

Dear Dr. Angell:

I don’t think there is any danger of my misunderstanding your letter or the spirit in which it was written. Last year, your questions came to me with the shock of a complete surprise, but I am coming to be pretty well accustomed to such expressions now.

You ask if I can help you any more so you can see your way clear on my nomination. I don’t see as I can, except it be to suggest that, in my opinion, your point of view in this matter is not the right one. If you make a man’s opinions the basis of his election to a professorship, you do, whether you intend it or not, place bonds upon the free movement of his intellect. It seems to me that a board has two things to hold in view. First, is a man a scholar? Can he teach in a scholarly manner? Is he fair to all parties in the controverted questions which come before him? Second, is he intellectually honest? If these two questions are answered in the affirmative, his influence upon young men cannot be detrimental.

Upon these points, certainly, nothing new can be said. I have served for five years as an apprentice and you have had opportunity to know. Or, with regard to the fairness in which topics are presented in the classroom, you have the outline of (the) lectures. My conscious purpose in teaching is two-fold. To portray social problems to men as they will find them to be when they leave the University and to lead men to recognize that morality is an every day affair.

But all this, you will say, is by the point. You say you do not know what my views are on capital and labor. I am not surprised at that for I have intentionally withheld them. No one knows them and I had madeup my mind to keep them to myself until I had worked through my study of the industrial society. My reason for such a decision was, that, in my study of social questions I had found myself on all sides of the question, I started as an individualist of the most pronounced type. But my advocacy of it led me to perceive its errors, and my criticisms were formulated before I read any literature of socialism. But when, upon coming into contact with socialistic writers I found their criticisms were the same as my own I was for a while carried away by their scheme. But upon further study, I found their plans to be, not only as I though impracticable, but contrary to the fundamental principles of English political philosophy, in which I still believed. You can imagine that was not a pleasant condition for one appreciative of logical symmetry. You said a year ago that my views were not logical, that is, that some of my expressions were contradictory to each other. I don’t doubt that they appeared so, it seems bad logic to admit the purpose of individualism and the criticism of socialists at the same time. You say now in your letter that I have not worked out my ideas into clear and definite shape. That is true, but I am doing it as fast as I can and in my own way. My book upon Pub. Debts is one stage in this direction.

But to go back to the development of this subject in my own mind. The illogical position into which my mind had drifted as the result of the first five years of study, was the occasion of keen intellectual pain: but the sense of the necessity of harmony led me finally to discover a principle, which I thought, and still think, adequate to bridge over the chasm between the purpose of individualism and the criticisms of socialism. This principle is the principle of personal responsibility in the administration of all social power, no matter in what shape that power may exist. This principle has given form to our political society: I wish it to be brought over into industrial relations. Its realization will cure the ills of which socialists complain, without curbing or crushing that which is the highest in the individual. I thought, at first, this principle to be so simple that its statement must gain for it quick recognition. But when I tried to make that statement, and work the theory out, I was at once surprised and chagrined to see what a task lay before me. It is useless to deny that the interests of the privileged classes in our civilization is against responsible administration of industrial power. I worked at it for a year, and then came to the conclusion that I did not yet know enough, nor was I sure enough of my position, to make public the thought which had assumed direction of my studies. It was then that I took up the study of finance and went to work upon Pub. Debts. This is the most simple of any of the topics which must be treated as the subject of constructive economics opened before me: it was also furthest removed from the points likely to cause controversy. I thought I might, perhaps, gain the reputation of a sound thinker so that expressions of views more unusual might attract a candid reading from scholarly men. It has taken a year and a half longer than I had anticipated, and now that it is done seems to have dwarfed in importance.

I do not think this narration will relieve you from embarrassment. I do not see that anything can do that, except a promise on my part to give expression only to orthodox views of social relations. But it has relieved me somewhat and I trust you will consider that an adequate apology. I have of course full confidence in your personal friendship: I only wish you might have equal confidence in my scholarly purposes.

Very truly yours,
H.C. ADAMS.

P.S.

May I add a postscript, for I am sure it is an unjustifiable pride which kept me from inserting it in the body of the letter. I presume the expression(s) of my views which have given you the greatest solicitude are to be found in the Sibley address of last year, and in the syndicate article which I wrote on the Knights of Labor. I do not wish to recall anything said, but I am willing to say that these expressions were as unwise as they were unpremeditated. In justice to myself I should say: that the Sibley address was on Friday afternoon and my invitation was on the Wednesday previous. Professor [R. H.] Thurston said he had been disappointed in his lecturer for the afternoon, that he did not like to postpone the meeting, and that he would like me to open a discussion on the labor problem. He told me, who besides myself would speak, and they were all decidedly opposed to any expression of sympathy with the struggle of the Knights then going on. After my opening address, the man against whom I talked, who, it was said, would reply to me, took his hat and left. Others spoke, among them President [Charles Kendal] Adams, Mr. Smith [sic, perhaps Mr. Frank B. Sanborn?] and Henry [W.] Sage. The President was not dogmatical but did not understand what I tried to say. The others were. My part in the discussion has cost me a professorship, for I do not see how, with the views of Mr. Sage to the functions of a teacher, he can vote for me. It was after the address was made that the talk began, and I thought it then cowardly not to let it be printed, and dishonest to change it. So it went in, as nearly as I could remember as it was given. I think it unfair to judge of my classroom work on this address.

With regard to the syndicate article [“What Do These Strikes Mean?”, a copy attached to Adams’ letter to James B. Angell dated March 25, 1887], I confess myself to have been deceived by the attitude of the Knights of Labor during their strike on the Gould system or I should not have written it. In their articles of complaint, they said certain things which I believed to be true, and I thought the men who drew them up had thought the labor problem through to its end, and had made a stand on a principle in harmony with English Liberties. If so, it was time for men of standing to declare themselves. But it turns out that the Knights hit the mark by a chance shot. They did not know what they were about and got whipped as they deserved. The result of this unfortunate venture is, that I believe more strongly than ever in the necessity of scholarship as one element in the solution of this terrible question that is upon us.

Have you seen “The Ind. Revolution” by Arnold Toynbee? His death is a loss. The scraps of his lectures and letters show him to have had much the same purpose as myself in his studies.

Respectfully
H.C.A.

Source: Columbia University Archives. John M. Clark Collection, Economic Theory and Methodology, Box 28. Folder “Group Power carries moral responsibility”.

Image Source: Johns Hopkins University Sheridan Libraries, graphic and pictorial collection. Henry Carter Adams (Ph.D., Johns Hopkins, 1878). Photograph by Sam B. Revenaugh (1847-1893), Ann Arbor, Mich.

Categories
AEA Bibliography

American Economic Association. Monographs: 1886-1896

 

Besides transcribing and curating archival content for Economics in the Rear-view Mirror, I occasionally put together collections of links to books and other items of interest on pages or posts that constitute my “personal” virtual economics reference library. In this post you will find links to early monographs/papers published by the American Economic Association. 

Links to the contents of the four volumes of AEA Economic Studies, 1896-1899 have also been posted.

A few other useful collections:

The virtual rare-book reading room (classic works of economics up to 1900)

The Twentieth Century Economics Library

Laughlin’s recommended teacher’s library of economics (1887)

_____________________

PUBLICATIONS OF THE AMERICAN ECONOMIC ASSOCIATION. MONOGRAPHS.
1886-1896

_____________________

General Contents and Index to Volumes I-XI.
Source: Publications of the American Economic Association, Vol XI (1896). Price 25 cents.

VOLUME I

No. 1 (Mar. 1886). Report of the Organization of the American Economic Association. By Richard T. Ely, Ph.D., Secretary. Price 50 cents.

Nos. 2 and 3 (May-Jul. 1886). The Relation of the Modern Municipality to the Gas Supply. By Edmund J. James, Ph.D. Price 75 cents.

No. 4 (Sep. 1886). Co-öperation in a Western City. By Albert Shaw, Ph.D. Price 75 cents.

No. 5 (Nov. 1886). Co-öperation in New England. By Edward W. Bemis, Ph.D. Price 75 cents.

No. 6 (Jan. 1887). Relation of the State to Industrial Action. By Henry C. Adams, Ph.D. Price 75 cents.

 

VOLUME II

No. 1 (Mar. 1887). Three Phases of Co-öperation in the West. By Amos G. Warner, Ph.D. Price 75 cents.

No. 2 (May 1887). Historical Sketch of the Finances of Pennsylvania. By T. K. Worthington, Ph.D. Price 75 cents.

No. 3 (Jul. 1887). The Railway Question. By Edmund J. James, Ph.D. Price 75 cents.

No. 4 (Sep. 1887). The Early History of the English Woolen Industry. By William J. Ashley, M.A. Price 75 cents.

No. 5 (Nov. 1887). Two Chapters on the Mediaeval Guilds of England. By Edwin R. A. Seligman, Ph.D. Price 75 cents.

No. 6 (Jan. 1888). The Relation of Modern Municipalities to Quasi-Public Works. By H. C. Adams, George W. Knight, Davis R. Dewey, Charles Moore, Frank J. Goodnow and Arthur Yager. Price 75 cents.

 

VOLUME III

No. 1 (Mar. 1888). Three Papers Read at Meeting in Boston: “The Study of Statistics in Colleges,” by Carroll D. Wright; “The Sociological Character of Political Economy,” by Franklyn H. Giddings; “Some Considerations on the Legal-Tender Decisions,” by Edmund J. James. Price 75 cents.

No. 2 (May 1888). Capital and its Earnings. By John B. Clark, A.M. Price 75 cents.

No. 3 (Jul. 1888) consists of three parts: “Efforts of the Manual Laboring Class to Better Their Condition,” by Francis A. Walker; “Mine Labor in the Hocking Valley,” by Edward W. Bemis, Ph.D.; “Report of the Second Annual Meeting,” by Richard T. Ely, Secretary. Price 75 cents.

Nos. 4 and 5 (Sep.-Nov. 1888). Statistics and Economics. By Richmond Mayo-Smith, A.M. Price $1.00.

No. 6 (Jan. 1889). The Stability of Prices. By Simon N. Patten, Ph.D. Price 75 cents.

 

VOLUME IV

No. 1 (Mar. 1889). Contributions to the Wages Question: “The Theory of Wages,” by Stuart Wood, Ph.D.; “The Possibility of a Scientific Law of Wages,” by John B. Clark, A.M. Price 75 cents.

No. 2 (Apr. 1889). Socialism in England. By Sidney Webb, LL.B. Price 75 cents.

No. 3 (May. 1889). Road Legislation for the American State. By Jeremiah W. Jenks, Ph.D. Price 75 cents.

No. 4 (Jul. 1889). Report of the Proceedings of Third Annual Meeting of the American Economic Association, by Richard T. Ely, Secretary; with addresses by Dr. William Pepper and Francis A. Walker. Price 75 cents.

No. 5 (Sep. 1889). Three Papers Read at Third Annual Meeting: “Malthus and Ricardo,” by Simon N. Patten; “The Study of Statistics,” by Davis R. Dewey, and “Analysis in Political Economy,” by William W. Folwell. Price 75 cents.

No. 6 (Nov. 1889). An Honest Dollar. By E. Benjamin Andrews. Price 75 cents.

 

VOLUME V

No. 1 (Jan. 1890). The Industrial Transition in Japan. By Yeijiro Ono, Ph.D. Price $1.00.

No. 2 (Mar. 1890). Two Prize Essays on Child-Labor: I. “Child Labor,” by William F. Willoughby, Ph.D.; II. “Child Labor,” by Miss Clare de Graffenried. Price 75 cents.

Nos. 3 and 4 (May-Jul. 1890). Two Papers on the Canal Question. I. By Edmund J. James, Ph.D.; II. By Lewis M. Haupt, A.M., C.E. Price $1.00.

No. 5 (Sep. 1890). History of the New York Property Tax. By John Christopher Schwab, A.M. Ph.D. Price $1.00.

No. 6 (Nov. 1890). The Educational Value of Political Economy. By Simon N. Patten, Ph.D. Price 75 cents.

 

VOLUME VI

No. 1 and 2 (Jan.-Mar. 1891). Report of the Proceedings of the Fourth Annual Meeting of the American Economic Association. Price $1.00.

No. 3 (May 1891). I. “Government Forestry Abroad,” by Gifford Pinchot; II. “The Present Condition of the Forests on the Public Lands,” by Edward A. Bowers; III. “Practicability of an American Forest Administration,” by B. E. Fernow. Price 75 cents.

Nos. 4 and 5 (Jul.-Sep. 1891). Municipal Ownership of Gas in the United States. By Edward W. Bemis, Ph.D. with appendix by W. S. Outerbridge, Jr. Price $1.00.

No. 6 (Nov. 1891). State Railroad Commissions and How They May be Made Effective. By Frederick C. Clark, Ph.D. Price 75 cents.

 

VOLUME VII

No. 1 (Jan. 1892). The Silver Situation in the United States. Ph.D. By Frank W. Taussig, LL.B., Ph.D. Price 75 cents.

Nos. 2 and 3 (Mar.-May 1892). On the Shifting and Incidence of Taxation. By Edwin R.A. Seligman, Ph.D. Price $1.00.

Nos. 4 and 5 (Jul.-Sep. 1892). Sinking Funds. By Edward A. Ross, Ph.D. Price $1.00.

No. 6 (Nov. 1892). The Reciprocity Treaty with Canada of 1854. By Frederick E. Haynes, Ph.D. Price 75 cents.

 

VOLUME VIII

No. 1 (Jan. 1893). Report of the Proceedings of the Fifth Annual Meeting of the American Economic Association. Price 75 cents.

Nos. 2 and 3 (Mar.-May 1893). The Housing of the Poor in American Cities. By Marcus T. Reynolds, Ph.B., M.A. Price $1.00.

Nos. 4 and 5 (Jul.-Sep. 1893). Public Assistance of the Poor in France. By Emily Greene Balch, A.B. Price $1.00.

No. 6 (Nov. 1893). The First Stages of the Tariff Policy of the United States. By William Hill, A.M. Price $1.00.

 

VOLUME IX

No. 1 (Supplement, Jan. 1894). Hand-Book and Report of the Sixth Annual Meeting. Price 50 cents.

Nos. 1 and 2 (Jan.-Mar. 1894). Progressive Taxation in Theory and Practice. By Edwin R.A. Seligman, Ph.D. Price $1.00, cloth $1.50.

No. 3 (May. 1894). The Theory of Transportation. By Charles H. Cooley Price 75 cents.

No. 4 (Aug. 1894). Sir William Petty. A Study in English Economic Literature. By Wilson Lloyd Bevan, M.A., Ph.D. Price 75 cents.

Nos. 5 and 6 (Oct.-Dec. 1894). Papers Read at the Seventh Annual Meeting: “The Modern Appeal to Legal Forces in Economic Life,” (President’s annual address) by John B. Clark, Ph.D.; “The Chicago Strike”, by Carroll D. Wright, LL.D.; “Irregularity of Employment,” by Davis R. Dewey, Ph.D.; “The Papal Encyclical Upon the Labor Question,” by John Graham Brooks; “Population and Capital,” by Arthur T. Hadley, M.A. Price $1.00.

 

VOLUME X

No. 3, Supplement, (Jan. 1895). Hand-Book and Report of the Seventh Annual Meeting. Price 50 cents.

Nos. 1,2 and 3 (Jan.-Mar.-May 1895). The Canadian Banking System, 1817-1890. By Roeliff Morton Breckenridge, Ph.D. Price $1.50; cloth $2.50.

No. 4 (Jul. 1895). Poor Laws of Massachusetts and New York. By John Cummings, Ph.D. Price 75 cents.

Nos. 5 and 6 (Sep.-Nov. 1895). Letters of Ricardo to McCulloch, 1816-1823. Edited, with introduction and annotations by Jacob H. Hollander, Ph.D. Price $1.25; cloth $2.00.

 

VOLUME XI

Nos. 1, 2 and 3 (Jan.-Mar.-May 1896). Race Traits and Tendencies of the American Negro. By Frederick L. Hoffman, F.S.S., Price $1.25; cloth $2.00.

No. 4 (Jul. 1896). Appreciation and Interest. By Irving Fisher, Ph.D., Price 75 cents.

 

Image Source: As of 1909 the former Presidents of the American Economic Association (S. N. Patten in the center, then clockwise from upper left are R. T. Ely, J. B. Clark, J. W. Jenks, F. W. Taussig.) in Reuben G. Thwaites “A Notable Gathering of Scholars,” The Independent, Vol. 68, January 6, 1910, pp. 7-14.

Categories
Johns Hopkins Pennsylvania Suggested Reading

Johns Hopkins/Wharton. Linked Reading List for History and Theory of Money. Sherwood, 1891-92

 

 

Sidney Sherwood, 1860-1901 received his Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University in 1891 where he was to become the successor of Richard T. Ely as head of the department of Political Economy.

This post includes two memorials that provide a bit of biographical background followed by a rich, linked course of readings that were published in an appendix to the University Extension lecture material for Sherwood’s course, The History and Theory of Money, during the year he taught at the Wharton School of Finance and Economy (1891-92). 

The next post will provide the course outline with the specific reading assignments for Sherwood’s twelve lectures.

____________________

SIDNEY SHERWOOD.

Sidney Sherwood, Associate Professor of Economics in the Johns Hopkins University, died after a brief illness at Ballston, New York, August 5,1901. While spending a part of his vacation on a farm he accidentally cut his right hand. Blood poisoning ensued which led to fatal results in spite of the best medical aid. He was buried at Cornwall-on-the-Hudson, where for many years he maintained a summer home.

Dr. Sherwood was born at Ballston, May 28, 1860. He graduated from Princeton College in 1879, then entered Columbia University, where he studied law. He afterwards practiced that profession in New York City, but having become interested in economic questions he entered the Johns Hopkins University in 1888 in order to pursue advanced studies under Professors Ely and Adams. He received the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in 1891 and was called at once to the University of Pennsylvania as Instructor in Economics. In 1892, Dr. Sherwood returned to Baltimore, having been appointed Associate in Economics; in 1895, he was made Associate Professor.

At a meeting of the Board of University Studies a committee was appointed to draft appropriate resolutions. Their report is as follows:

“The Board of University Studies is compelled with sorrow to record the death of Associate Professor Sidney Sherwood, who as student and teacher, was connected with this University for more than twelve years.

“During all this period Dr. Sherwood grew steadily in the esteem and affection of his colleagues. Beneath a modest demeanor he revealed most amiable as well as most substantial qualities. As a writer he gave evidence of solid learning and sound judgment. As a teacher and counsellor of students in this University his services were of great value and his absence will be deeply felt.

“The members of the Board desire to extend to Mrs. Sherwood and her family their heartfelt sympathy in this bereavement.”

Source: Johns Hopkins University. University Circulars. (Vol. XXI. No. 154, December 1901) p. 9.

____________________

SIDNEY SHERWOOD: A MUCH LOVED PROFESSOR OF OTHER DAYS
BY BERNARD C. STEINER, PH.D. 1891

ABOUT a month after the opening of the University year of 1888, there came into the Historical Seminary, a quiet, rather reserved man, somewhat older and considerably more experienced than the rest of the graduate students. He chose for his subjects, history, political economy, and English, and wrote, as his dissertation, a “History of the University of the State of New York.” In 1891, he took the degree of Ph.D. — such is the skeleton of the University life of Sidney Sherwood. To those who were his fellow-students, the mention of his name recalls a personality of gentle force, an accurate and careful scholarship, a faithful friend, who could be relied upon in any emergency. In the large third story room, known as the Bluntschli Library, the historical students came into such close contact that they knew each other thoroughly and all came to esteem Sherwood highly. In a little quiz class of a few men who took their degree together, he showed his thoughtful studiousness, even more than in the larger seminary, and also displayed his sane and ripe judgment.

He was born on May 28, 1860, at Ballston Spa, Saratoga County, N. Y., his parents being Thomas Burr and Mary Frances (Beattie) Sherwood. He prepared for College at Mr. Buckley’s private school in his native town, having the reputation of being the brightest boy that the master had ever taught. In the fall of 1875, he entered the College of New Jersey, as Princeton University was then called.

After graduating from Princeton in the well-known class of ’79, with Woodrow Wilson and other prominent men, to use his own words, written to his class secretary in 1894, he “tackled life, in the capacity of professor of Latin, Greek, mathematics, French, and German in the Newton Collegiate Institute of Newton. N. J. I likewise officiated as coach in football. The idea of a college course, as giving general culture, was certainly realized in the Princeton curriculum of that period, otherwise I never should have been fitted for that broad chair.” After a year of teaching, he went to Europe and spent two years, to quote him again, “in Great Britain and Western Europe, trying to get more general culture.” When he returned to the United States, he served a few months as a reporter upon the New York Tribune, “reading law on the sly.” Then the death of his father, in February, 1883, made it necessary for him to spend a year on the paternal farm in Saratoga County, during which time he read law at Ballston Spa. In the autumn of 1884, he entered the Columbia Law School; but, after a year of study there, he left the school and entered the office of Abner C. Thomas, LL.D., with whom he formed a partnership, when admitted to the bar in February, 1886 and for whom he did much of the hard research work connected with the preparation of the well-known and useful work known as Thomas on Mortgages. He continued this connection, until he gave up the practice of law and came to Baltimore. This change of purpose came through the mayoralty campaign, in which Henry George was one of the candidates, in which campaign Sherwood was much interested. He found that it “opened up a new field of study and work — the field of social philosophy and social progress. An academic career, the study and teaching of the forces and mechanism of human progress became henceforth my chief aim.” He said “I belong to the party of progress” and his mind in an unusual manner faced the future, while preserving conservative modes of thinking.

Few men ever held opinions more firmly, or with less bigotry than Sherwood, nor did he ever confuse the essential principles, which must be held firmly, with the unessential ones, which may be changed. So he was a moderate Republican and a Presbyterian, but he was a thoroughly convinced patriot and Christian.

Shortly after leaving the University, on September 3, 1891, he married Miss Mary A. Beattie of Cornwall, N. Y.

In a sketch such as this, the delightful home life of Sherwood’s family may not be more than mentioned and yet all who knew him know also that no sketch of him should be written without some such mention. The loving devotion of that true woman, who linked her fortunes with his and the ingenuous charm of the children made a fine background to the picture, and in that home, he found refreshment and strength. Four daughters and a son came into the family — the last too late, however, to remember his father, for he was born only a few months before the end.

In the autumn of 1891 he began teaching in the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, as instructor in finance. While in this position, he delivered a course of lectures on the “History and Theory of Money,” which was published in 1893. In 1892, Professor Richard T. Ely was called from the Johns Hopkins to the University of Wisconsin and Sherwood became his successor in Baltimore. He carried on the work of the economic department until his death, growing yearly in power and influence, giving faithful and patient attention to each of his students, and showing equal faithfulness in the directorship of such institutions in Baltimore as he found time to enter. His thought ripened slowly and his great work on finance was ever in preparation. One summer towards the close of his life, he forewent the pleasure of staying with his family and crossed the Atlantic Ocean to Germany to collect material there, but the book remained unwritten to the end. His History of the University of the State of New York published in 1893, widened to an History of Higher Education in New York State, a bulky volume, printed by the United States Bureau of Education in 1900 as part of a series, in the preparation of which Professor Adams had enlisted the services of a number of Hopkins men.

With fearful suddenness came the interruption of the useful work he was doing. Hale and strong, in the mellow maturity of his powers, he went into the garden of his summer home one day to prune some bushes. A scratch must have conveyed some vegetable poison into his veins, blood poisoning followed, and, after a very few days’ illness, he died “during a beautiful golden sunset” on August 5, 1901. The poignancy of the grief at the loss of a friend mingled in the minds of those who knew him, with the keen regret that the University was deprived of a scholar whose teaching by his example, what should be the attitude of a professor, was as important as the principles of political economy which he laid down in his lectures. The influence of such a man is pervasive and permanent and one of the privileges which lengthening years bring to the University is that it can look back upon the unselfish and complete service of such men as Sidney Sherwood.

Source: The Johns Hopkins Alumni Magazine. Vol. 5, No. 1 (November, 1916) pp. 32-35.

____________________

READINGS FOR THE HISTORY AND THEORY OF MONEY

USEFUL BOOKS OF REFERENCE.

The literature of Money is so vast that a wise selection of a few books is almost impossible. The list here given is meant to contain books which are easily accessible, and which will tempt to further study after the lectures are finished.

Two books mentioned in the list — viz., Report of the International Monetary Conference of 1878 and W. S. Jevons’s Investigations in Currency and Finance — contain extensive and valuable bibliographies of money which will be of great service in making a thorough study of the subject.

Reference to works in foreign languages has been avoided. The French literature on this subject is very rich; the Italian and German also. The student reading any of these languages can easily find trace of the books he needs from references in the books here mentioned.

 

THE GENERAL SUBJECT OF MONEY.

Andrews, E. B., Institutes of Economics.

Bastable, C. F.,Money.” Encyclopaedia Britannica [9th ed.]

Colwell, Stephen, Ways and Means of Payment.

Ely, R. T., Introduction to Political Economy.

Jevons, W. Stanley, Money and the Mechanism of Exchange. [Text-book of the course, which should be in the hands of every student.]

Mill, J. S., Principles of Political Economy. [Ashley edition of 7th ed., 1909]

Nicholson, J. S., Money and Monetary Problems.

Patterson, R. H., The Science of Finance.

Poor, H. V., Money: its Laws and History.

Ricardo, David, Works.

Smith, Adam, Wealth of Nations. [Cannan ed. (1904)]

Walker, Francis A., Money in its Relations to Trade and Industry. [Text-book of the course, which should be in the hands of every student.]

_______, Political Economy (larger edition).

_______, Money.

Walker, J. H., Money, Trade, and Banking.

Willson, H. B., Currency.

 

SPECIAL MONETARY TOPICS.

Ashley, W. J., English Economic History. [2nd ed. Volume I; Volume II]

Atkinson, Edward, Report on Bimetallism in Europe. (Sen. Exec. Doc, No. 34, 50th Congress.)

Bagehot, Walter, Lombard Street: A Description of the Money-Market.

Böhm-Bawerk, Capital and Interest.

Bolles, Financial History of the United States. [1774-1789; 1789-1850; 1861-1885]

Carey, H. C, Pamphlets on the Currency. See Works, Vol. XXXI. [Perhaps “The Currency Question” in Miscellaneous Works of Henry C. Carey (1872?)]

Dunbar, C. F., Theory and History of Banking.

Evans, History of the United States Mint and Coinage.

Giffen, Robert, Essays in Finance. [1880; Second series, 3rd ed (1890)]

Gilbart, J. W., History, Principles, and Practice of Banking. [1904 ed.: Volume I; Volume II]

Goschen, Theory of the Foreign Exchanges.

Horton, S. Dana, Gold and Silver. [sicSilver and Gold and their Relation to the Problem of Resumption (1877)]

_______, The Silver Pound.

_______, [Appendix: Historical Material for and contributions to the Study of Monetary Policy] Report of International Monetary Conference of 1878. (Sen. Exec. Doc, No. 58, 45th Congress.)

Ingram, J. K., History of Political Economy.

Jacob, William, Historical Inquiry into the Production and Consumption of the Precious Metals. [Volume I; Volume II]

James, E. J., “Banks of Issue.” Lalor’s Cyclopaedia.

Jevons, W. S., Investigations in Currency and Finance.

Knox, John Jay, United States Notes.

_______, “Banking in the United States.” Lalor’s Cyclopaedia.

Laughlin, J. L., History of Bimetallism in the United States.

Laws of the United States relating to Loans and the Currency, Coinage and Banking. (Compilation published by the Government in 1886.)

Leslie, T. E. C, Essays in Political and Moral Philosophy.

Linderman, H. R., Money and Legal Tender in the United States.

Liverpool, Lord, A Treatise on the Coins of the Realm.

Macaulay, T. B., History of England. [Volume I; Volume II; Volume III; Volume IV; Volume V; Volume VI; Volume VII;Volume VIII; Volume IX; Volume X] [Popular edition (1889) in two volumes: Volume I; Volume II]

Patterson, R. H., The New Golden Age. [Volume I; Volume II]

Rogers, J. E. T., The First Nine Years of the Bank of England.

Sherman, John, Speeches and Reports on Finance and Taxation.

Sumner, W. G., History of American Currency.

Upton, J. K., Money in Politics.

Wells, David A., Recent Economic Changes.

 

MISCELLANEOUS.

Annual Finance Reports of the United States, containing reports of

Comptroller of the Currency, Director of the Mint, etc.

Congressional Record.

House and Senate Documents.

Report of the International Monetary Conference of 1878.

Journal of the Royal Statistical Society, London.

American Bankers’ Magazine.

Rhodes’s Journal of Banking.

Reports of the Annual Meetings of the American Bankers’ Association.

Bradstreet’s and other periodicals devoted to economic, financial,

commercial, and monetary subjects.

Encyclopaedia Britannica.

Lalor’s Cyclopaedia of Political Science, Political Economy, and United States History. [Volume I (Abdication-Duty); Volume II (East India Company-Nullification); Volume III (Oath-Zollverein)]

 

OUTLINE OF A COURSE OF READING.

Two books are essential, and should be carefully studied:

  1. Jevons’s Money and the Mechanism of Exchange.
  2. Walker, F. A., Money in its Relations to Trade and Industry.

For the purpose of this course of lectures, no substitutes for these books could be suggested which would be of equal worth. If students wish to purchase a few more books, the following are recommended: Knox, United States Notes; Dunbar, Theory and History of Banking; Andrews, Institutes of Economics; Bagehot, Lombard Street: A Description of the Money-Market; Sumner, History of American Currency; Laws of United States relating to Loans, etc., 1886.

 

SHORT COURSE OF READING.

Jevons and Walker should be followed by the reading suggested at the beginning of each lecture. The reader will find frequent reference in these books to other books, and can follow the line of his special interest still further if he wishes. Some good text-book in Political Economy should be always at hand for the close study of the economic principles involved. Walker and Andrews are especially good on money.

 

LONGER COURSE OF READING.

After Jevons and Walker, Professor Bastable’s article on “Money,” in the Encyclopaedia Britannica (9th ed.), may be read as giving an admirable general review of the subject.

The historical evolution of money and money substitutes should be grasped before going deeply into the theory and the practical aspects of the subject.

Enough is given in Jevons, Walker, and Bastable on the subject of primitive money. Books of travel, writings of anthropologists, accounts of early institutions, history of ancient or barbarous peoples, old laws, early records of state, etc., furnish innumerable instances of all types of early money. The student should form the habit of making all his general reading aid his systematic special study.

On the subject of coins and coinage, read articles “Mint” and “Numismatics,” in the Encyclopaedia Britannica, Liverpool’s Coins of the Realm, pp. 25-56, Walker’s Money, Chapters IX., X., XL, and Linderman’s Money and Legal Tender. Linderman was formerly Director of the Mint, and has given a very clear and interesting account of the history of United States coinage and some of the processes of coinage. Consult the Laws of the United States relating to Loans and the Currency, Coinage and Banking (1886). The coinage laws from 1792 to 1886 are there given, pp. 211-288. Consult, also, Evans, United States Mint and Coinage. Visit the Mint, and learn as much as possible of the technical processes of coinage, and examine the various collections of United States and foreign coins.

The subject of the production of the precious metals is very important. Jacob’s book is the great authority, and will repay reading through, although rather long. Walker’s Money (the large work), in Chapters V.-VIII., treats historically of this subject, and follows Jacob quite closely. An excellent plan would be to read these chapters in Walker, referring constantly to Jacob, and reading such parts as are of special interest. Having thus got the general facts clearly in mind, read Adam Smith, Wealth of Nations, Book I., Chapter XI., ” Digression on the Variations in the Value of Silver,” for the sake of getting an idea of this old master. The most valuable discussions of the problems involved by great discoveries of gold and silver have been written since 1850. Read in Laughlin’s Bimetallism, Chapter V., on the gold discoveries; VIII., on production of gold since 1850; and XII., on cause of fall in value of silver. Follow this with the essay in Nicholson’s Money on the “Effects of Great Discoveries of the Precious Metals,” and Chapter VII. in the same book, on the international influences that fix general prices. The second article in Jevons’s Investigations, etc. (on the fall in the value of gold), may then be read, followed by “Changes in General Prices and in the Purchasing Power of Gold,” being Part VII. of Appendix D in Atkinson’s Report on Bimetallism. Various other parts of this Report will be found helpful. Patterson’s New Golden Age may be consulted with much profit. Wells’s Recent Economic Changes is excellent, as pointing out other factors than the quantity of money which may be operative in change of prices.

Passing on to credit substitutes for money, we take up first the “Organization of Credit” in the Banking System. Begin with Adam Smith’s account of the Bank of Amsterdam, Wealth of Nations, Book IV., Chapter III., Part I. Then read the chapters of Gilbart’s Banking, indicated below. Mr. Gilbart was a practical banker for half a century, from his twentieth year till his death in 1863. After twenty years’ experience in a London and in an Irish bank, and after publishing various writings on the subject of banking, he was made General Manager of the London and Westminster Bank, — the first of the Joint-Stock Banks in England, opened in 1834. It was largely through his efforts that the Joint-Stock Banks survived the opposition encountered on every side, and became established as a part of the English banking system. His book may be relied on for accuracy, and is clear in statement. Read §§ I. and II. for the early history of banks in England and elsewhere; §§ III.- VI. for an account of the Bank of England and the other English banks; § XXVIII. for a discussion of the relation of the Bank of England to the currency since the Act of 1844; § XXXV. for a sketch of the Clearing-House; and §§ XXXVI. and XXXVII. for a history of the crises of 1857, 1866, 1875, and 1878. Macaulay, in History of England, Chapter XX., tells in his graphic way the story of the founding of the Bank of England. It would be well to read also his third chapter on the state of England in 1685, and his account of the controversy over the Recoinage Act of 1696 (Chapter XXI.). Rogers’s First Nine Years of the Bank of England is very suggestive, admirably bringing out the political side of the movement for the Bank. Then read Professor Sumner’s discussion of the “Bank Restriction” in his History of American Currency, which also con tains the “Bullion Report.” Ricardo’s Works might well follow. Read Chapter XXVII. in his Principles of Political Economy, on “Currency and Banks,” and also one or two of his classical essays on currency questions. Next take up Bagehot’s Lombard Street: a Description of the Money-Market, a book written with all the nervous vigor and keen insight of this versatile author. While the book treats mainly English conditions, a clever shifting of recitals to the American money-market will throw much light on the intricate subject.

This reading will have taken the student over the Bank Charter Act of 1844 and its effects. Then read the article in Lalor on “Banks of Issue,” by Professor E. J. James, to get a general view of the subject and a clear idea of the scientific questions involved.

Turning now to American Currency and Banking, the article in Lalor, by John Jay Knox, on “Banking in the United States,” will be found the best introduction to the subject. He has described the National Bank system in his report as Comptroller of the Currency (Finance Report, 1875). Then read Sumner’s History of the American Currency. The subject of paper money is best approached through the history of American Government issues, both colonial and national. Follow Sumner with Knox’s United States Notes, Upton’s Money in Politics, and Sherman’s Speeches on the Currency. The Government compilation of Laws relating to Loans and the Currency, Coinage and Banking, published 1886, and before mentioned, should be constantly at hand for reference. Study the Legal-Tender Act and Legal-Tender Cases, the National Bank system, and the present coinage laws of the United States, so as to understand clearly our present currency. Bolles’s Financial History of the United States is especially useful. Colwell’s Ways and Means of Payment is an able, systematic treatise on money and credit, and might well be read at this point.

This reading will bring into view the principles underlying the whole monetary system as well as the practical questions at issue. For clear exposition and able discussion of these principles, especially in regard to the part played by credit as organized in the banking system, turn to J. H. Walker’s Money, Trade, and Banking, C. F. Dunbar’s Theory and History of Banking, and R. H. Patterson’s Science of Finance. This latter book discusses also the question of the relation of the state to the currency.

The problem of the monetary standard remains, — “The Battle of the Standards.”

A great classic is A Treatise on the Coins of the Realm, by Lord Liverpool, published at Oxford in 1805. The writer had held many high offices, — Secretary of the Treasury, Lord of the Treasury, President of the Board of Trade, among others. In 1774 he had successfully urged the recoinage of the gold coins. England had always had a silver standard; gold, however, being a legal tender at a certain fixed ratio to silver. The silver had become very worn. Coin was scarce, the bank having stopped specie payments in 1797. Lord Liverpool urged the change from a silver to a gold standard, the making of gold the sole, full legal tender, giving only a small legal- tender limit to silver as a subsidiary coin. This policy was substantially carried out by the Recoinage Law of 1816, which as amended in 1870 is the English law to-day, and Englishmen have now forgotten that they ever had a silver standard. S. Dana Horton says of this Treatise, it “became the great charter of Monetary Right for the Nineteenth Century.” It contains much valuable historical information on English coinage, as well as formal discussions of the nature and functions of money and the principles applying to a monetary system. Its bearing upon the bimetallic controversy is obvious. Then read Ricardo’s essay, “Proposals for an Economic and Secure Currency.” The book to be next read is Horton’s The Silver Pound and England’s Monetary Policy since the Restoration, or Horton’s Gold and Silver [sic, “Silver and Gold” is the correct title]. Laughlin’s Bimetallism in the United States should follow. The Report of the International Monetary Conference of 1878 is very valuable, containing an appendix filled with historical material bearing on this question, a brief account of the Latin Monetary Union, and an extensive bibliography mentioned above. Atkinson’s Report on Bimetallism in Europe will also be found useful. Nicholson has several good essays in favor of Bimetallism in his Money and Monetary Problems. Giffen writes on the other side. Read also Jevons’s essays on the subject in his Investigations, etc., and the chapter on “Bimetallism” in Walker’s Political Economy. Henry C. Carey’s Pamphlet on Financial Crises, and Willson’s Currency, pp. 250-284, would be a good introduction to the subject of panics. Follow with Jevons’s essays on Crises, in his Investigations, etc., and with Wells’s Recent Economic Changes.

A work of the highest importance is Lalor’s Cyclopaedia of Political Science. It should be diligently referred to throughout this entire course of reading. The unique value of this book is that it contains the whole political and eco nomic history of the United States in compact form, and with abundant reference to special authorities, while at the same time treating particular questions not merely in the light of American experience, but with a broad outlook upon European conditions, and in a manner truly scientific.

Finally, when the above outline of reading is exhausted, take up Andrews’s Institutes of Economics and study Part II., Exchange; Part III., Money and Credit; Part IV., Chapter III., Interest; Part VI., Chapters I.- III., United States Currency. It is compact with suggestive thought and an excellent stimulus to independent thinking on the part of the reader.

 

Source: From Sidney Sherwood, The History and Theory of Money, Appendix “Syllabus of the Preceding Course of Twelve Lectures on the History and Theory of Money” (Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott, 1896) pp. 359-365.

Image Source: Photograph of Sidney Sherwood by photographer Blessing. Johns Hopkins University. Sheridan Libraries.

Categories
Cambridge Chicago Columbia Economists Germany Harvard History of Economics Johns Hopkins LSE Oxford Teaching Undergraduate Wisconsin Yale

Survey of Economics Education. Colleges and Universities (Seligman), Schools (Sullivan), 1911

 

In V. Orval Watt’s papers at the Hoover Institution archives (Box 8) one finds notes from his Harvard graduate economics courses (early 1920s). There I found the bibliographic reference to the article transcribed below. The first two parts of this encyclopedia entry were written by Columbia’s E.R.A. Seligman who briefly sketched the history of economics and then presented a survey of the development of economics education at  colleges and universities in Europe and the United States. Appended to Seligman’s contribution was a much shorter discussion of economics education in the high schools of the United States by the high-school principal,  James Sullivan, Ph.D.

_________________________

 

ECONOMICS
History 

Edwin R. A. Seligman, Ph.D., LL.D.
Professor of Political Economy, Columbia University

The science now known as Economics was for a long time called Political Economy. This term is due to a Frenchman — Montchrétien, Sieur de Watteville — who wrote in 1615 a book with that title, employing a term which had been used in a slightly different sense by Aristotle. During the Middle Ages economic questions were regarded very largely from the moral and theological point of view, so that the discussions of the day were directed rather to a consideration of what ought to be, than of what is.

The revolution of prices in the sixteenth century and the growth of capital led to great economic changes, which brought into the foreground, as of fundamental importance, questions of commerce and industry. Above all, the breakdown of the feudal system and the formation of national states emphasized the considerations of national wealth and laid stress on the possibility of governmental action in furthering national interests. This led to a discussion of economic problems on a somewhat broader scale, — a discussion now carried on, not by theologians and canonists, but by practical business men and by philosophers interested in the newer political and social questions. The emphasis laid upon the action of the State also explains the name Political Economy. Most of the discussions, however, turned on the analysis of particular problems, and what was slowly built up was a body of practical precepts rather than of theoretic principles, although, of course, both the rules of action and the legislation which embodied them rested at bottom on theories which were not yet adequately formulated.

The origin of the modern science of economics, which may be traced back to the third quarter of the eighteenth century, is due to three fundamental causes. In the first place, the development of capitalistic enterprise and the differentiation between the laborer and the capitalist brought into prominence the various shares in distribution, notably the wages of the laborer, the profits of the capitalist, and the rent of the landowner. The attempt to analyze the meaning of these different shares and their relation to national wealth was the chief concern of the body of thinkers in France known as Physiocrats, who also called themselves Philosophes-Économistes, or simply Économistes, of whom the court physician of Louis XVI, Quesnay, was the head, and who published their books in 1757-1780.

The second step in the evolution of economic science was taken by Adam Smith (q.v.). In the chair of philosophy at the University of Glasgow, to which Adam Smith was appointed in 1754, and in which he succeeded Hutcheson, it was customary to lecture on natural law in some of its applications to politics. Gradually, with the emergence of the more important economic problems, the same attempt to find an underlying natural explanation for existing phenomena was extended to the sphere of industry and trade; and during the early sixties Adam Smith discussed these problems before his classes under the head of “police.” Finally, after a sojourn in France and an acquaintance with the French ideas, Adam Smith developed his general doctrines in his immortal work. The Wealth of Nations, published in 1776. When the industrial revolution, which was just beginning as Adam Smith wrote, had made its influence felt in the early decades of the nineteenth century, Ricardo attempted to give the first thorough analysis of our modern factory system of industrial life, and this completed the framework of the structure of economic science which is now being gradually filled out.

The third element in the formation of modern economics was the need of elaborating an administrative system in managing the government property of the smaller German and Italian rulers, toward the end of the eighteenth century. This was the period of the so-called police state when the government conducted many enterprises which are now left in private hands. In some of the German principalities, for instance, the management of the government lands, mines, industries, etc., was assigned to groups of officials known as chambers. In their endeavor to elaborate proper methods of administration these chamber officials and their advisors gradually worked out a system of principles to explain the administrative rules. The books written, as well as the teaching chairs founded, to expound these principles came under the designation of the Chamber sciences (Camiralia or Cameral-Wissenschaften) — a term still employed to-day at the University of Heidelberg. As Adam Smith’s work became known in Germany and Italy by translations, the chamber sciences gradually merged into the science of political economy.

Finally, with the development of the last few decades, which has relegated to the background the administrative and political side of the discipline, and has brought forward the purely scientific character of the subject, the term Political Economy has gradually given way to Economics.

Development of Economic Teaching

Edwin R. A. Seligman, Ph.D., LL.D.
Professor of Political Economy, Columbia University

Europe —

As has been intimated in the preceding section, the first attempts to teach what we to-day would call economics were found in the European universities which taught natural law, and in some of the Continental countries where the chamber sciences were pursued. The first independent chairs of political economy were those of Naples in 1753, of which the first incumbent was (Genovesi, and the professorship of cameral science at Vienna in 1763, of which the first incumbent was Sonnenfels. It was not, however, until the nineteenth century that political economy was generally introduced as a university discipline. When the new University of Berlin was created in 1810, provision was made for teaching in economics, and this gradually spread to the other German universities. In France a chair of economics was established in 1830 in the Collège de France, and later on in some of the technical schools; but economics did not become a part of the regular university curriculum until the close of the seventies, when chairs of political economy were created in the faculties of law, and not, as was customary in the other Continental countries, in the faculties of philosophy. In England the first professorship of political economy was that instituted in 1805 at Haileybury College, which trained the students for the East India service. The first incumbent of this chair was Malthus. At University College, London, a chair of economics was established in 1828, with McCulloch as the first incumbent; and at Dublin a chair was founded in Trinity College in 1832 by Archbishop Whately; at Oxford a professorship was established in 1825, with Nassau W. Senior as the first incumbent. His successors were Richard Whately (1830), W. F. Lloyd (1836), H. Merivale (1838), Travers Twiss (1842), Senior (1847), G. K. Richards (1852), Charles Neate (1857), Thorold Rogers (1862), Bonamy Price (1868), Thorold Rogers (1888). and F. Y. Edgeworth (1891). At Cambridge the professorship dates from 1863, the first incumbent being Henry Fawcett, who was followed by Alfred Marshall in 1884 and by A. C. Pigou in 1908. In all these places, however, comparatively little attention was paid at first to the teaching of economics, and it was not until the close of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth that any marked progress was made, although the professorship at King’s College, London, dates back to 1859, and that at the University of Edinburgh to 1871. Toward the close of the nineteenth century, chairs in economics were created in the provincial universities, especially at Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, Sheffield, Bristol, Durham, and the like, as well as in Scotland and Wales; and a great impetus to the teaching of economics was given by the foundation, in 1895, of the London School of Economics, which has recently been made a part of the University of London.

— United States 

Economics was taught at first in the United States, as in England, by incumbents of the chair of philosophy; but no especial attention was paid to the study, and no differentiation of the subject matter was made. The first professorship in the title of which the subject is distinctively mentioned was that instituted at Columbia College, New York, where John McVickar, who had previously lectured on the subject under the head of philosophy, was made professor of moral philosophy and political economy in 1819. In order to commemorate this fact, Columbia University established some years ago the McVickar professorship of political economy. The second professorship in the United States was instituted at South Carolina College, Columbia, S. C, where Thomas Cooper, professor of chemistry, had the subject of political economy added to the title of his chair in 1826. A professorship of similar sectional influence was that in political economy, history, and metaphysics filled in the College of William and Mary in 1827, by Thomas Roderick Dew (1802-1846). The separate professorships of political economy, however, did not come until after the Civil War. Harvard established a professorship of political economy in 1871; Yale in 1872; and Johns Hopkins in 1876.

The real development of economic teaching on a large scale began at the close of the seventies and during the early eighties. The newer problems bequeathed to the country by the Civil War were primarily economic in character. The rapid growth of industrial capitalism brought to the front a multitude of questions, whereas before the war well-nigh the only economic problems had been those of free trade and of banking, which were treated primarily from the point of view of partisan politics. The newer problems that confronted the country led to the exodus of a number of young men to Germany, and with their return at the end of the seventies and beginning of the eighties, chairs were rapidly multiplied in all the larger universities. Among these younger men were Patten and James, who went to the University of Pennsylvania; Clark, of Amherst and later of Columbia; Farnam and Hadley of Yale; Taussig of Harvard; H. C. Adams of Michigan; Mayo-Smith and Seligman of Columbia; and Ely of Johns Hopkins. The teaching of economics on a university basis at Johns Hopkins under General Francis A. Walker helped to create a group of younger scholars who soon filled the chairs of economics throughout the country. In 1879 the School of Political Science at Columbia was inaugurated on a university basis, and did its share in training the future teachers of the country. Gradually the teaching force was increased in all the larger universities, and chairs were started in the colleges throughout the length and breadth of the land.

At the present time, most of the several hundred colleges in the United States offer instruction in the subject, and each of the larger institutions has a staff of instructors devoted to it. At institutions like Columbia, Harvard, Yale, Chicago, and Wisconsin there are from six to ten professors of economics and social science, together with a corps of lecturers, instructors, and tutors.

Teaching of Economics in the American Universities. — The present-day problems of the teaching of economics in higher institutions of learning are seriously affected by the transition stage through which these institutions are passing. In the old American college, when economics was introduced it was taught as a part of the curriculum designed to instill general culture. As the graduate courses were added, the more distinctly professional and technical phases of the subject were naturally emphasized. As a consequence, both the content of the course and the method employed tended to differentiate. But the unequal development of our various institutions has brought great unclearness into the whole pedagogical problem. Even the nomenclature is uncertain. In one sense graduate courses may be opposed to undergraduate courses; and if the undergraduate courses are called the college courses, then the graduate courses should be called the university courses. The term “university,” however, is coming more and more, in America at least, to be applied to the entire complex of the institutional activities, and the college proper or undergraduate department is considered a part of the university. Furthermore, if by university courses as opposed to college courses we mean advanced, professional, or technical courses, a difficulty arises from the fact that the latter year or years of the college course are tending to become advanced or professional in character. Some institutions have introduced the combined course, that is, a combination of so-called college and professional courses; other institutions permit students to secure their baccalaureate degree at the end of three or even two and a half years. In both cases, the last year of the college will then cover advanced work, although in the one case it may be called undergraduate, and in the other graduate, work.

The confusion consequent upon this unequal development has had a deleterious influence on the teaching of economics, as it has in many other subjects. In all our institutions we find a preliminary or beginners’ course in economics, and in our largest institutions we find some courses reserved expressly for advanced or graduate students. In between these, however, there is a broad field, which, in some institutions, is cultivated primarily from the point of view of graduates, in others from the point of view of undergraduates, and in most cases is declared to be open to both graduates and undergraduates. This is manifestly unfortunate. For, if the courses, are treated according to advanced or graduate methods, they do not fulfill their proper function as college studies. On the other hand, if they are treated as undergraduate courses, they are more or less unsuitable for advanced or graduate students. In almost all of the American institutions the same professors conduct both kinds of courses. In only one institution, namely, at Columbia University, is the distinction between graduate and undergraduate courses in economics at all clearly drawn, although even there not with precision. At Columbia University, of the ten professors who are conducting courses in economics and social science, one half have seats only in the graduate faculties, and do no work at all in the college or undergraduate department; but even there, these professors give a few courses, which, while frequented to an overwhelming extent by graduate students, are open to such undergraduates as may be declared to be advanced students.

It is necessary, therefore, to distinguish, in principle at least, between the undergraduate or college courses properly so-called, and the university or graduate courses. For it is everywhere conceded that at the extremes, at least, different pedagogical methods are appropriate.

The College or Undergraduate Instruction. — Almost everywhere in the American colleges there is a general or preliminary or foundation course in economics. This ordinarily occupies three hours a week for the entire year, or five hours a week for the semester, or half year, although the three-hour course in the fundamental principles occasionally continues only for a semester. The foundation of such a course is everywhere textbook work, with oral discussion, or quizzes, and frequent tests. Where the number of students is small, this method can be effectively employed; but where, as in our larger institutions, the students attending this preliminary course are numbered by the hundreds, the difficulties multiply. Various methods are employed to solve these difficulties. In some cases the class attends as a whole at a lecture which is given once a week by the professor, while at the other two weekly sessions the class is divided into small sections of from twenty to thirty, each of them in charge of an instructor who carries on the drill work. In a few instances, these sections are conducted in part by the same professor who gives the lecture, in part by other professors of equal grade. In other cases where this forms too great a drain upon the strength of the faculty, the sections are put in the hands of younger instructors or drill masters. In other cases, again, the whole class meets for lecture purposes twice a week, and the sections meet for quiz work only once a week. Finally, the instruction is sometime carried on entirely by lectures to the whole class, supplemented by numerous written tests.

While it cannot be said that any fixed method has yet been determined, there is a growing consensus of opinion that the best results can be reached by the combination of one general lecture and two quiz hours in sections. The object of the general lecture is to present a point of view from which the problems may be taken up, and to awaken a general interest in the subject among the students. The object of the section work is to drill the students thoroughly in the principles of the science; and for this purpose it is important in a subject like economics to put the sections as far as possible in the hands of skilled instructors rather than of recent graduates.

Where additional courses are offered to the Undergraduates, they deal with special subjects in the domain of economic history, statistics, and practical economics. In many such courses good textbooks are now available, and especially in the last class of subject is an attempt is being made here and there to introduce the case system as utilized in the law schools. This method is, however, attended by some difficulties, arising from the fact that the materials used so quickly become antiquated and do not have the compelling force of precedent, as is the case in law. In the ordinary college course, therefore, chief reliance must still be put upon the independent work and the fresh illustrations that are brought to the classroom by the instructor.

In some American colleges the mistake has been made of introducing into the college curriculum methods that are suitable only to the university. Prominent among these are the exclusive use of the lecture system, and the employment of the so-called seminar. This, however, only tends to confusion. On the other hand, in some of the larger colleges the classroom work is advantageously supplemented by discussions and debates in the economics club, and by practical exercises in dealing with the current economic problems as they are presented in the daily press.

In most institutions the study of economics is not begun until the sophomore or the junior year, it being deemed desirable to have a certain maturity of judgment and a certain preparation in history and logic. In some instances, however, the study of economics is undertaken at the very beginning of the college course, with the resulting difficulty of inadequately distinguishing between graduate and undergraduate work.

Another pedagogical question which has given rise to some difficulty is the sequence of courses. Since the historical method in economics became prominent, it is everywhere recognized that some training in the historical development of economic institutions is necessary to a comprehension of existing facts. We can know what is very much better by grasping what has been and how it has come to be. The point of difference, however, is as to whether the elementary course in the principles should come first and be supplemented by a course in economic history, or whether, on the contrary, the course in economic history should precede that in the principles. Some institutions follow one method, others the second; and there are good arguments on both sides. It is the belief of the writer, founded on a long experience, that on the whole the best results can be reached by giving as introductory to the study of economic principles a short survey of the leading points of economic history. In a few of the modem textbooks this plan is intentionally followed. Taking it all in all, it may be said that college instruction in economics is now not only exceedingly widespread in the United States, but continually improving in character and methods.

University or Graduate Instruction. — The university courses in economics are designed primarily for those who either wish to prepare themselves for the teaching of economics or who desire such technical training in methods or such an intimate acquaintance with the more developed matter as is usually required by advanced or professional students in any discipline. The university courses in the larger American institutions which now take up every important subject in the discipline, and which are conducted by a corps of professors, comprise three elements: first, the lectures of the professor; second, the seminar or periodical meeting between the professor and a group of advanced students; third, the economics club, or meeting of the students without the professor.

(1) The Lectures: In the university lectures the method is different from that in the college courses. The object is not to discipline the student, but to give him an opportunity of coming into contact with the leaders of thought and with the latest results of scientific advance on the subject. Thus no roll of attendance is called, and no quizzes are enforced and no periodical tests of scholarship are expected. In the case of candidates for the Ph.D. degree, for instance, there is usually no examination until the final oral examination, when the student is expected to display a proper acquaintance with the whole subject. The lectures, moreover, do not attempt to present the subject in a dogmatic way, as is more or less necessary in the college courses, but, on the contrary, are designed to present primarily the unsettled problems and to stimulate the students to independent thinking. The university lecture, in short, is expected to give to the student what cannot be found in the books on the subject.

(2) The Seminar: Even with the best of will, however, the necessary limitations prevent the lecturer from going into the minute details of the subject. In order to provide opportunity for this, as well as for a systematic training of the advanced students in the method of attacking this problem, periodical meetings between the professor and the students have now become customary under the name of the seminar, introduced from Germany. In most of our advanced universities the seminar is restricted to those students who are candidates for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, although in some cases a preliminary seminar is arranged for graduate students who are candidates for the degree of Master of Arts. Almost everywhere a reading knowledge of French and German is required. In the United States, as on the European continent generally, there are minor variations in the conduct of the seminar. Some professors restrict the attendance to a small group of most advanced students, of from fifteen to twenty-five; others virtually take in all those who apply. Manifestly the personal contact and the “give and take,” which are so important a feature of the seminar, become more difficult as the numbers increase. Again, in some institutions each professor has a seminar of his own; but this is possible only where the number of graduate students is large. In other cases the seminar consists of the students meeting with a whole group of professors. While this has a certain advantage of its own, it labors under the serious difficulty that the individual professor is not able to impress his own ideas and his own personality so effectively on the students; and in our modern universities students are coming more and more to attend the institution for the sake of some one man with whom they wish to study. Finally, the method of conducting the seminar differs in that in some cases only one general subject is assigned to the members for the whole term, each session being taken up by discussion of a different phase of the general subject. In other cases a new subject is taken up at every meeting of the seminar. The advantage of the latter method is to permit a greater range of topics, and to enable each student to report on the topic in which he is especially interested, and which, perhaps, he may be taking up for his doctor’s dissertation. The advantage of the former method is that it enables the seminar to enter into the more minute details of the general subject, and thus to emphasize with more precision the methods of work. The best plan would seem to be to devote half the year to the former method, and half the year to the latter method.

In certain branches of the subject, as, for instance, statistics, the seminar becomes a laboratory exercise. In the largest universities the statistical laboratory is equipped with all manner of mechanical devices, and the practical exercises take up a considerable part of the time. The statistical laboratories are especially designed to train the advanced student in the methods of handling statistical material.

(3) The Economics Club: The lecture work and the seminar are now frequently supplemented by the economics club, a more informal meeting of the advanced students, where they are free from the constraint that is necessarily present in the seminar, and where they have a chance to debate, perhaps more unreservedly, some of the topics taken up in the lectures and in the seminar, and especially the points where some of the students dissent from the lecturer. Reports on the latest periodical literature are sometimes made in the seminar and sometimes in the economics club; and the club also provides an opportunity for inviting distinguished outsiders in the various subjects. In one way or another, the economics club serves as a useful supplement to the lectures and the seminar, and is now found in almost all the leading universities.

In reviewing the whole subject we may say that the teaching of economics in American institutions has never been in so satisfactory condition as at present. Both the instructors and the students are everywhere increasing in numbers; and the growing recognition of the fact that law and politics are so closely interrelated with, and so largely based on, economics, has led to a remarkable increase in the interest taken in the subject and in the facilities for instruction.


Economics
— In the Schools 

James Sullivan, Ph.D., Principal of Boys’ High School, Brooklyn, N.Y.

This subject has been defined as the study of that which pertains to the satisfaction of man’s material needs, — the production, preservation, and distribution of wealth. As such it would seem fundamental that the study of economics should find a place in those institutions which prepare children to become citizens, — the elementary and high schools. Some of the truths of economics are so simple that even the youngest of school children may be taught to understand them. As a school study, however, economics up to the present time has made far less headway than civics (q.v.). Its introduction as a study even in the colleges was so gradual and so retarded that it could scarcely be expected that educators would favor its introduction in the high schools.

Previous to the appearance, in 1894, of the Report of the Committee of Ten of the National Educational Association on Secondary Education, there had been much discussion on the educational value of the study of economics. In that year Professor Patten had written a paper on Economics in Elementary Schools, not as a plea for its study there, but as an attempt to show how the ethical value of the subject could be made use of by teachers. The Report, however, came out emphatically against formal instruction in political economy in the secondary school, and recommended “that, in connection particularly with United States history, civil government, and commercial geography instruction be given in those economic topics, a knowledge of which is essential to the understanding of our economic life and development” (pp. 181-183). This view met with the disapproval of many teachers. In 1895 President Thwing of Western Reserve University, in an address before the National Educational Association on The Teaching of Political Economy in the Secondary Schools, maintained that the subject could easily be made intelligible to the young. Articles or addresses of similar import followed by Commons (1895), James (1897), Haynes (1897), Stewart (1898), and Taussig (1899). Occasionally a voice was raised against its formal study in the high schools. In the School Review for January, 1898, Professor Dixon of Dartmouth said that its teaching in the secondary schools was “unsatisfactory and unwise.” On the other hand, Professor Stewart of the Central Manual Training School of Philadelphia, in an address in April, 1898, declared the Report of the Committee of Ten “decidedly reactionary,” and prophesied that political economy as a study would he put to the front in the high school. In 1899 Professor Clow of the Oshkosh State Normal School published an exhaustive study of the subject of Economics as a School Study, going into the questions of its educational value, its place in the schools, the forms of the study, and the methods of teaching. His researches serve to show that the subject was more commonly taught in the high schools of the Middle West than in the East. (Compare with the article on Civics.)

Since the publication of his work the subject of economics has gradually made its appearance in the curricula of many Eastern high schools. It has been made an elective subject of examination for graduation from high schools by the Regents of New York State, and for admission to college by Harvard University. Its position as an elective study, however, has not led many students to take it except in commercial high schools, because in general it may not be used for admission to the colleges.

Its great educational value, its close touch with the pupils’ everyday life, and the possibility of teaching it to pupils of high school age are now generally recognized. A series of articles in the National Educational Association’s Proceedings for 1901, by Spiers, Gunton, Halleck, and Vincent bear witness to this. The October, 1910, meeting of the New England History Teachers’ Association was entirely devoted to a discussion of the Teaching of Economics in Secondary Schools, and Professors Taussig and Haynes reiterated views already expressed. Representatives of the recently developed commercial and trade schools expressed themselves in its favor.

Suitable textbooks in the subject for secondary schools have not kept pace with its spread in the schools. Laughlin, Macvane, and Walker published books somewhat simply expressed; but later texts have been too collegiate in character. There is still needed a text written with the secondary school student constantly in mind, and preferably by an author who has been dealing with students of secondary school age. The methods of teaching, mutatis mutandis, have been much the same as those pursued in civics (q.v.). The mere cramming of the text found in the poorest schools gives way in the best schools to a study and observation of actual conditions in the world of to-day. In the latter schools the teacher has been well trained in the subject, whereas in the former it is given over only too frequently to teachers who know little more about it than that which is in the text.

See also Commercial Education.

 

References: —

In Colleges and Universities: —

A Symposium on the Teaching of Elementary Economics. Jour. of Pol. Econ., Vol. XVIIl, June, 1910.

Cossa, L. Introduction to the Study of Political Economy: tr. by L. Dyer. (London, 1893.)

Mussey, H. R. Economies in the College Course. Educ. Rev. Vol. XL, 1910, pp. 239-249.

Second Conference on the Teaching of Economics, Proceedings. (Chicago, 1911.)

Seligman, E. R. A. The Seminarium — Its Advantages and Limitations. Convocation of the University of the State of New York, Proceedings. (1892.)

In Schools: —

Clow, F. R. Economics as a School Study, in the Economic Studies of the American Economic Association for 1899. An excellent bibliography is given. It may be supplemented by articles or addresses since 1899 which have been mentioned above. (New York, 1899.)

Haynes, John. Economics in Secondary Schools. Education, February, 1897.

 

Source: Paul Monroe (ed.), A Cyclopedia of Education, Vol. II. New York: Macmillan, pp. 387-392.

Source: E.R.A. Seligman in Universities and their Sons, Vol. 2 (1899), pp. 484-6.

 

Categories
Courses Curriculum Economics Programs Gender Wisconsin

Wisconsin. Economics Courses and Faculty, 1893-94

 

Early economics course offerings for Harvard, Columbia, Chicago, and a guide to graduate economics study at 23 universities from 1898 have been posted earlier. Today’s post for the University of Wisconsin serves as a reminder of the humble scale of economics departments just(?) 125 years ago: one professor (Ely), one associate professor (Scott), an instructor (Kinley) and two teaching fellows (Swain and Hubbard) covered the sixteen economics courses offered at the University of Wisconsin then. It is also worth noting the disciplines of the academic triplet joined at the hips: School of Economics, Political Science, and History. Finally I note that of three scholarships offered at the school, one was reserved for women.

_________________

Richard T. Ely

Richard T. Ely, the illustrious Director of the School of Economics, Political Science and History of the University of Wisconsin, was born in Ripley, New York, April 13, 1854. In 1876 he graduated from Columbia College, and, as the holder of the Graduate Fellowship of Letters in that institution, spent the next three years abroad in the study of social science, taking the degree of Ph.D. at Heidelberg in 1879. For several years he lectured in Cornell, Johns Hopkins and other Eastern colleges, and in 1885 Dr. Ely went to the associate chair of Political Economy at Johns Hopkins University, which institution he left to become the Director of the new School of Economics in Wisconsin University at the opening of the present college year.

Dr. Ely can receive no eulogy at our hands. His fame is world-wide, and the prosperity of the department under his control attests his powers of organization and successful management. The foundation of this school has been the beginning of a new order of things in the Universsity. A superior class of post-graduate effort has come under the direction of Dr. Ely, and the University of Wisconsin has attracted students from the far East and from the West.

Dr. Ely’s own writings need no comment. His field is large and accurately sustained. He stands foremost in the ranks of the new-school writers on econoimcs, and he has done much to advance economic study to its present enviable position of wide sympathies and scholarly effort.

David Kinley.

David Kinley was born in Dundee, Scotland, August 2, 1861. He came to this country at the age of twelve, and was fitted for college at Phillips Academy, Andover, Massachusetts, graduating from Yale in 1884. For the next six years Mr. Kinley was prinipal of the High School of North Andover, Mass. He then studied a year in Johns Hopkins, and at the end of that time was elected instructor in History and Political Economy in that institution, and instructor in Political Economy and Logic at the Woman’s College, Baltimore. At the beginning of the present college year Mr. Kinley came to the University of Wisconsin as fellow and instructor in the School of Economics.

[Note: David Kinley’s Ph.D. thesis (1892-93) at Wisconsin, “The Independent Treasury”.]

Willam A. Scott

Prof. W. A. Scott was born in Clarkson, Monroe County, New York, April 17, 1862. When sixteen years of age he entered the State Normal School at Brockport, New York, from which he was graduated in June, 1882. In the fall of the same year he entered the University of Rochester, and received therefrom in 1886 the degree of B.A., and a scholarship in political science. The latter was granted for success in a competitive examination on the works of Bluntschli and certain selected French writers on political economy.

During a portion of the academic year 1884-5 Prof. Scott occupied temporarily the position of instructor in Latin and Greek to the Normal School at Oswego, N.Y. The year following his graduation he spent in post-graduate study, occupying at the same time the position of librarian of the Reynolds Library at Rochester. In the spring of 1887 he was appointed Professor of History and Political Economy in the University of South Dakota, and after occupying this position for three years he was granted leave of absence to complete his course of post-graduate study. He entered Johns Hopkins University in October, 1890, was appointed instructor in that institution in January, 1891, and in June, ’92, received the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Since September, 1892, he has occupied the position of Assistant Professor of Political Economy in the University of Wisconsin.

Besides numerous articles published in the newspapers and periodicals, Prof. Scott has in process of publication at the present time by T. Y. Crowell & Co. of New York, a book entitled: “The Repudiation of State Debts in the United States”.

Prof. Scott is a member of the Alpha Delta Phi and Phi Beta Kappa fraternities.

Source: The University of Wisconsin yearbook, The Badger 1894, pp. 26-29. Portraits inserted between pp. 26 and 27.

_________________

Faculty and Courses of Instruction
1893-1894

Officers of Instruction.

CHARLES KENDALL ADAMS, LL.D., President of the University.
RICHARD T. ELY, Ph.D., L.L.D., Director and Professor of Political Economy.
JOHN B. PARKINSON, A.M., Professor of Constitutional and International Law.
FREDERICK J. TURNER, Ph.D., Professor of American History.
CHARLES H. HASKINS, Ph.D., Professor of Institutional History.
WILLIAM A. SCOTT, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Political Economy.
VICTOR E. COFFIN, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of European History.
DAVID KINLEY, Ph.D., Instructor in Administration and Political Science, and Lecturer on Money and Banking.
H. H. SWAIN, A.B., Fellow in Economics.
CHARLES M. HUBBARD, A.B., Fellow in Finance.
O. G. LIBBY, B.L., Fellow in History.

 

Introductory.

The purpose of the school is to afford superior means for systematic and thorough study in economics, political and social science and history. The courses are graded and arranged so as to meet the wants of students in the various stages of their progress, beginning with the elementary and proceeding to the most advanced work. They are also designed to meet the wants of different classes of students; as, for instance, those who wish to enter the public service, the professions of law, journalism, the ministry or teaching, or those who wish to supplement their legal, theological, or other professional studies with courses in social science or history. Capable students are encouraged to undertake original investigations, and assistance is given them in the prosecution of such work through seminaries and the personal guidance of instructors. A means for the publication of the results of investigations of merit and importance is provided in the University studies, the expense of which is met by the state.

 

Courses of Instruction.

I. ECONOMICS.

  1. The Principles of Political Economy. — A survey of the principles of political economy in their present state. Emphasis will be laid upon the sociological character of the science and upon the importance of the subjective standpoint in the explanation of economic phenomena. — Ely’s Outlines of Economics. — Three hours per week during the fall term. — ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR SCOTT and MR. SWAIN.
  2. The Classical Economists. — A study of the development of economic theory as exhibited in the writings of Adam Smith, Ricardo, Mill and Cairnes. Characteristic parts of the writings of these authors will be assigned to the students for careful study, and conversational lectures will be given for the purpose of summarizing, systematizing and supplementing the class discussions. Three hours per week during the winter term. — Associate PROFESSOR SCOTT.
  3. Money and Banking. — A study of the functions and history of money and banks and of the problems connected therewith. Especial attention will be given to the history of bi-metallism in this country and Europe, to the various banking systems of the world, and to our own monetary and banking problems. — Walker’s “Money, Trade and Industry,” Laughlin’s “History of Bi-metallism in the United States,” and Dunbar’s “The History and Theory of Banking.” — Three hours per week during the spring term. — ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR SCOTT.
  4. Practical Economic Questions. — Socialism, Communism, Co-operation, Profit Sharing, Labor Organizations, Factory Legislation and similar topics will be discussed in this course. Its aim is to familiarize students with the problems of our social life and the plans suggested for their solution, and to give them actual practice in the investigation of such topics. — Three hours per week during the winter term. — MR. SWAIN and MR. HUBBARD.
  5. The Financial History of the United States. — A survey of the financial legislation and experiences of the United States, including the finances of the Colonies and the Revolutionary epoch. — Three hours per week during the spring term. — MR. HUBBARD.
  6. Distribution of Wealth. — Rent, interest, profits and wages. Plans which have been advocated for bringing about what their authors regard as a better distribution of wealth will be discussed. — Two hours per week throughout the year. — PROFESSOR ELY.
  7. History of Economic Thought. — The history of economic theories in classical antiquity will be sketched; their development under the influence of the Christian era and the middle ages to the time of the Mercantilists will be discussed at greater length. The rise and growth of economics as a distinct branch of social science. Existing schools of economic thought. — Three hours a week during the winter term. — PROFESSOR ELY.
  8. Theories of Value and Interest. — History of value and interest theories down to the present day. The seminary method of instruction will be employed, and each student will be expected to study critically the writings of the theorists examined. — Twice a week throughout the year. – ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR SCOTT.
  9. Theories of Rent, Wages and Profits. — A critical study of the history of these theories conducted in the manner described in the previous course. — Twice a week throughout the year. — ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR SCOTT.
  10. Theory of Exchange. — The history, methods and theory of domestic and foreign exchange will be considered in this course, under the two following heads:
    1. Money. — This is an advanced course, open only to those who have done the equivalent of courses 1, 2 and 3. In it a knowledge of the history of money will be assumed, and attention devoted to the critical consideration of such topics as the international movement of the precious metals, the theory of prices, bimetallism, paper money, etc. — Two hours a week throughout the winter term. — MR. KINLEY.
    2. Banking. — This is also an advanced course. The history, theory and practice of banking will be studied, including a comparison of the existing banking systems of different countries, the theory of credit, bank paper, the management of stringencies and panics, and the proper attitude of government towards the banking business. – Two hours a week throughout the spring term. – MR. KINLEY.
  11. Socialism. — Historical account of its origin, followed by a critical examination of its nature, strength and weakness. — Three hours per week during the fall term.— PROFESSOR ELY.
  12. Business Corporations. — The nature and economic functions of corporations, including a sketch of their origin and history. Lectures. — One hour per week during fall term. — MR. HUBBARD.
  13. The Economics of Agriculture. — A discussion of those economic topics which are of especial interest and importance to farmers. This course is designed primarily for the students of the college of agriculture, though any student who desires may be admitted. — Lectures.—One hour per week during the winter term.—ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR SCOTT.
  14. American Taxation. — Brief examination of federal taxation and a more detailed study of taxation in American states and cities. — Three times per week during the spring term. — PROFESSOR ELY.
  15. Sociology. — This course will consist of an historical study of the nature and principles of growth of the social body, and of a critical investigation of the positivist, the synthetic, the evolutionary, and other theories of society. — Three times a week throughout the fall term. — MR. KINLEY.
  16. Economic Seminary. — This is designed primarily for advanced students who wish to carry on special investigations under the guidance which the department affords. Each student, with the consent of the instructors, may select a topic of investigation for himself, or one may be assigned him connected with the subject selected for the main seminary work of the year. The subject for 1893–94 will be American Taxation. A subordinate feature of the seminary work will be the review of recent books and important articles published in the periodicals. — PROFESSOR ELY and ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR SCOTT.

ARRANGEMENT OF COURSES.

Of the above courses, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 12 are elementary. All beginners will take course 1; for those who wish to make a more special study of political economy, — with a view, possibly, of making it their major subject of study, — course 1 will be followed by courses 2 and 3 and these by course 6; those who expect to do most of their work in other departments, but desire such a knowledge of economic science as is needed for purposes of general culture and the proper performance of the duties of citizenship are advised to take courses 4 and 5 after course 1. Special students in economics are also urged to take courses 4 and 5 during the first year of their economic study, if their time will permit. Courses 7, 8 and 9 are theoretical. Course 7 is designed to furnish students with a general knowledge of economic literature and the general features of the development of economic thought. Courses 8 and 9 furnish opportunity for critical and exhaustive study of the most important economic theories, and are designed to cultivate the power of independent judgment; in other words, to equip competent students for original work in the domain of economic theory.

At least courses 1, 2 and 3, or their equivalent, must have been taken as preparation for courses 8 and 9. Graduate students will find it to their advantage to take at least courses 7 and 8, and, if possible, course 9 during the first year of their graduate study. Courses 10, 11, 12 and 14 furnish training in the application of economic principles to the affairs of practical life.

 

II. HISTORY
[11 courses listed…]

III. POLITICAL SCIENCE
[7] Courses by Professor Parkinson
[…]

ADMINISTRATION
[3] Courses by Mr. Kinley
[…]

 

Library Facilities

The General University Library, including the department libraries catalogued therewith, contains about 29,000 volumes and 8,000 pamphlets. About 200 of the best American and Foreign periodicals are taken. The College of Law has a special library of 2,300 volumes, and in addition students have access to the state law library, containing about 25,000 volumes, and to the city library of Madison, containing a well-selected collection of over 12,000 volumes.

The library of the State Historical Society contains about 76,000 volumes and 77,000 pamphlets. It is exceptionally rich in manuscript and other material for the study of the Mississippi valley. The collections of the late Lyman C. Draper are included in this library. Its files of newspapers and periodicals are among the most complete in the United States. There are over 5,000 volumes of bound newspapers published outside of Wisconsin, and the files cover, with but few breaks, the period from the middle of the seventeenth century to the present.

There is an excellent collection of United States government documents, and the material for the study of American local history, Western travel, the Revolution, Slavery, and the Civil War, is unusually abundant. In English history the library possesses the Calendars of the State Papers, the Rolls Series, and other important collections, including works on local history. The Tank collection (Dutch) offers facilities for the study of the Netherlands. The library of the Historical Society is accessible to students of the University, and thus affords exceptional facilities for the prosecution of advanced historical work. The Historical and Economic Seminaries have been generously granted special facilities in the rooms of the library. The Historical, State, University and City libraries afford duplicate copies of books most in use, and to a large extent supplement one another.

During the year 1892–93 the Regents of the University appropriated five thousand dollars for the supply of special works for the use of the seminary students of the school. The works supplied by this fund afford good facilities for investigations of an advanced nature.

These library facilities are unsurpassed in the interior, and equaled by very few institutions in the country.

 

Fellowships and Scholarships.

The University offers nine annual fellowships of $400 each, which are open to general competition without restriction except in one instance. During the current year three scholarships of $150 each will be awarded to members of the school. One of these is furnished by the Woman’s Club of Madison, and is open only to Women.

For further information, address

PROFESSOR RICHARD T. ELY,
Director,

Or the
REGISTRAR OF THE UNIVERSITY.

 

Source:  University of Wisconsin. School of Economics, Political Science, and History. Announcement for 1893-94 (Madison, Wis., 1893), pp. 3-8, 14-15.

Images Source: The University of Wisconsin yearbook, The Badger 1894.

Categories
Bibliography Johns Hopkins Pedagogy

Johns Hopkins. Richard T. Ely on Teaching Political Economy, 1885

 

A few posts ago we saw what J. Laurence Laughlin thought about how economics should be taught. This post follows with a chapter contributed by Richard T. Ely that was written somewhat earlier and essentially on the same topic. Laughlin quoted Ely in his book chapter. The mystery “proudest institution in the United States” mentioned by Ely in his first paragraph that used Fawcett’s Political Economy for Beginners could very well have been Harvard. The Harvard Catalogue from 1874-75 indicates that Professor Charles Franklin Dunbar indeed used that textbook.

_____________

On Methods of Teaching Political Economy.
By Richard T. Ely,
Johns Hopkins University.

[61]

IT is easy to compress into the compass of a single sentence all the information needed to qualify any man of fair native ability and liberal education to teach political economy as it was taught eight years ago in one of the proudest institutions in the United States. The information in question is this: Buy Mrs. Fawcett’s “Political Economy for Beginners” [5th edition]; see that your pupils do the same; then assign them once a week a chapter to be learned; finally, question them each week on the chapter assigned the week before, using the questions found at the end of the chapter, and not omitting the puzzles which follow the more formal questions; as it is a test of the academical learning and grasp of economic science of a senior to have a puzzling problem like this hurled at him: “Is the air in a diving-bell wealth; and, if so, why?”

Let no one suppose this description satirical or exaggerated. It is the literal truth; and the hour a week for a part of a year of such instruction was absolutely all the teaching of political economy done in any department of the rich and powerful college. It is scarcely necessary to describe the state in which the students’ minds were left. They learned by heart a few truisms, as, e.g., that it is a [62] good thing to be honest, diligent, and frugal; that products are divided between capitalists, laborers, and landlords; and that values being defined as certain relations of things to one another, there cannot be a general rise or a general fall in values; and they acquired an imperfect comprehension of certain great fundamental facts, like the Ricardian theory of rent and the Malthusian doctrine of population. This, with not a very high opinion of political economy, was the sum-total of results for the student, and prepared him for the degree of A.B. first, and afterward for that of A.M. In our national banks we have a wonderful and unique economic institution, but they were not once mentioned, nor was a single allusion made to the financial history of this great country. And yet this instruction was to fit the elite of the youth of the land for the duties of citizenship

This is a true picture of one way to teach political economy, and it is a method of instruction for which a high salary was paid. Is it a state of things entirely exceptional? It is to be feared not. A preface to Amasa Walker’s “Science of Wealth,” edited 1872, contains these words, which seem to have met with very general approbation: “Although desirable that the instructor should be familiar with the subject himself, it is by no means indispensable. With a well-arranged text-book in the hands of both teacher and pupil, with suitable effort on the part of the former and attention on the part of the latter, the study may be profitably pursued. We have known many instances where this has been done in colleges and other institutions highly to the satisfaction and advantage of all parties concerned.”

The writer holds that better things than this are possible, even in a high school; and it is certain that political economy ought to be taught in every school of advanced grade [63] in the land.The difficulties are by no means insuperable. It is, in fact, easy to interest young people in economic discussions which keep close to the concrete, and ascend only gradually from particulars to generals.

1In Belgium it has been proposed to introduce political economy even into the elementary schools; and in view of the immense importance of the economic problems which will one day be pressing for solution in the United States, it is to be hoped that such a proposal at some future time will not be Utopian in our country.

The writer has indeed found it possible to entertain a school-room full of boys, varying in age from five to sixteen, with a discourse on two definitions of capital, — one taken from a celebrated writer, and the other from an obscure pamphlet on socialism by a radical reformer. As the school was in the country, illustrations were taken from farm life, such as corn-planting and harvesting, and from the out-door sports of the boys, such as trapping for rabbits. Some common familiar fact was kept constantly in the foreground, and thus the attention of the youngest lad was held.

Perhaps money is as good a subject as any for an opening lecture to bright boys and girls, and the writer would recommend a course of procedure somewhat like this: Take into the class-room the different kinds of money in use in the United States, both paper and coin, and ask questions about them, and talk about them. Show the class a greenback and a national bank-note, and ask them to tell you the difference. After they have all failed, as they probably will, ask some one to read what is engraved on the notes, after which the difference may be further elucidated. Silver and gold certificates may be discussed, and the distinction made clear between the bullion and face value of the five-cent piece, etc. Other talks, interesting and familiar, about alloys, the extent to which pennies and small coins are legal tender, the character [64] of the trade-dollar, etc., etc., will occupy several hours, and delight the class.The origin of money is a topic which will instruct and entertain the scholars for an hour. Various kinds of money should be mentioned; and it is possible you may find examples of curious kinds of money in some hill town not very remote, e.g., eggs, and you are very likely to find several kinds of money in use among the boys and girls, e.g., pins. In one boarding-school, near Baltimore, bits of butter, served the boys at meals in quantities less than they desired, passed as money, and quite an extensive use of bills and orders, “negotiable instruments,” was established.After this, a work like Jevons’s “Money and the Mechanism of Exchange,”or at least parts of it, will interest the pupils.

2The teacher will find the necessary information in the Revised Statutes of the United States (Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C.), which should be in the school library. It is contained in more convenient shape in the “Laws of the United States relating to Loans and the Currency”  and “Instructions and Regulations in Relation to the Transaction of Business at the Mints and Assay Offices of the United States.” These pamphlets, like most other government publications, can be obtained gratis of the congressman of the district in which the school is situated. They are kept on sale by various book-dealers in Washington.
3Cf. Mr. John Johnston’s instructive paper, ”Rudimentary Society among Boys,” published in the “Johns Hopkins University Studies in Historical and Political Sciences,” second series, No. XI, edited by Dr. Herbert B. Adams.
4This is published in paper covers in the Humboldt Library for forty cents, as well as in the ” International Scientific Series ” of D. Appleton & Co.

Banking, very properly comes under the head of political economy, performing as it does most important functions in industrial life; and the most prominent banking institutions in this country are the national banks, which have also played an important role in our history. There is likely to be one in every town where there is a high school, and it is well to continue the course of instruction with the village national [65] bank. Procure for this purpose “The National Bank Act,”5 and study it with your class in connection with reports and advertisements and circulars of the village bank. You will find a certain minimum number of directors prescribed by law: ascertain the number in the bank in question, and their functions. Some members of the class will be acquainted with them, and all the class will know of them, and this will give a personal interest to the study. Then compare the amount of capital required with the actual amount, and have the class ascertain from the law the amount of bank-notes which the bank could receive from the comptroller of the currency, and the actual circulation! After the various features of the bank have been examined, it is desirable that some bright boy should write a history of the bank, to read before the class, and afterwards, perhaps, to publish in the village paper. Files of the paper, to which the editor will doubtless give access, will contain all the published reports of the bank, as well as the proceedings and the village talk about the bank at its foundation. If officers of the bank are properly approached, they will assist with hints and information. In this way the pupils will acquire a new interest in banks; and when they pass by the national bank, it will never again seem quite the same lifeless institution. From the history of one national bank it is easy to pass over to the history of national banks in this country, and to a description of the State banking systems, which preceded the national banking system.Then the student may be glad to read what General Walker says on banks, in his “Political Economy,” [66] and in his “Money, Trade, and Industry,”and a work like Bagehot’s “Lombard Street”  will not be without attractions.8

5A government publication; also published by the Homans Publishing Company, 251 Broadway. Care should be taken to secure the latest edition, as there have been various changes in the banking laws.
6For this purpose the teacher should consult the reports of the comptroller of the currency, especially for the years 1875 and 1876.
7Published by Henry Holt & Co., New York.
8Published by the Scribners, New York.

Taxes can be studied in the town or village. The pupils can learn from their fathers what the taxes are, how they are assessed and collected, and what part of the revenues is used for village purposes, what part for schools, what part for the county, and what part for the State. In any village it cannot be difficult to induce one of the assessors to explain before the class in political economy the principles upon which he does his work. All the pupils can then write essays about taxation in the said place, and perhaps one of them will be able to write a financial history of the town. In this way the pupils will be prepared for the perusal of a work like the “Report on Local Taxation,” prepared by Messrs. Wells, Dodge, and Cuyler.It may be learned from the reports of the Secretary of the Treasury10 how the expenses of the federal government are defrayed. In this way a complete view of taxation in the United States is obtained,11 and in many respects a small town or village offers better facilities for such a course than a large city, where manners are less simple, and where city officials for well- known reasons often show a manifest unwillingness to impart information. This course will teach pupils to observe economic phenomena, will impart to them an interest in financial questions, and will prepare them in later years to deal with large problems. As Carl Ritter prepared himself for his [67] great geographical work by the study of the geography of Frankfort,12 so bright pupils, beginning with the study of local finance, will learn how to deal with even the difficult problems of war finance when they arise.

9Published by Harper & Brothers, New York.
10Government publications.
11The United States Census Reports contain valuable information, and every high school should be provided with copies.
12This illustration is taken from Dr. Adams’s paper, v. p. 161 of first edition.

The two great impelling causes of economic study have ever been financial difficulties of government and social problems, or discontent with the condition of social classes, coupled with a desire to improve this unsatisfactory condition, and it is with these two kinds of topics that political economy chiefly deals. In a manner similar in principle to that described, the administration of public charity and its relation to private charity may be studied in the town and county. If poorhouses, insane asylums, hospitals, etc., are in the vicinity, and can be visited, so much the better. The manner of caring for the criminal classes may be studied locally. Reports of State boards of charities will enable the pupils to connect local with State charities.13

13Teachers and pupils will find much useful information in the large work of Dr. Wines, entitled “The State of Prisons and of Child-Saving Institutions in the Civilized World,” Cambridge (Mass.), 1880.

Then there is the ordinary laborer. Let the pupils describe his manner of living, his wages, etc. If the school is a mixed one, some young girl of sufficient tact will be found to visit the ordinary laborers in their homes, to talk with them, and obtain their ideas. In some towns a real laboring population can scarcely be said to exist; but factory towns afford favorable opportunities for studies of this character. Many a Massachusetts factory town furnishes an excellent field for such study, and the reports of the Massachusetts Bureau of Labor Statistics will be found helpful. [68] A book like “Work and Wages,” by Thorold Rogers,14will then be enjoyed by many of the class.15

14Published by G. P. Putnam’s Sons, New York.
15In his “French and German Socialism”   (Harper & Brothers), the writer has attempted to give a brief sketch of the more prominent Utopian theories in a manner adapted to school and college use. Albert Shaw has described admirably an American communistic society in his “Icaria: A Chapter in the History of Communism.” Published by G. P. Putnam’s Sons.

After part or all of this ground has been gone over, it will then be time to take up the more systematic study of political economy. The work described might be gone over in exercises once a week, extending through one year, and the second year a systematic course might follow; and this is not too much time for so all-important a study in a high school. There are few good text-books of political economy, but for the English-speaking student the writer would recommend Francis A. Walker’s “Political Economy,” or Laveleye’s “Elements of Political Economy,” with additions by Taussig.16 Here is an admirable high-school course sketched out. All the works referred to ought to be accessible to the teacher, and should be mastered before he begins to teach.17 This may seem like requiring a great deal; but preparation is as necessary in a teacher of political economy as in a teacher of mathematics; and it is as absurd to venture to teach political economy, without a knowledge of the subject, as to teach trigonometry without a knowledge of trigonometry. It is because this has been attempted that such contempt has been thrown on the study of political economy, and that the science is in such a sad condition.

16If there is sufficient time, Walker’s larger work is preferable; if less time can be devoted to the study, Laveleye’s is better. The teacher should have both. Laveleye’s “Political Economy” is published by the Putnams, New York.
17Let one who proposes to teach political economy master, first of all, F. A. Walker’s “Political Economy.”

[69]

For a more advanced course, a preliminary training in logic is advisable, as the discussion of deductive and inductive methods, of conceptions and definitions, etc., will otherwise hardly be intelligible.18 Besides this, the training one obtains in the study of logic is excellent preparation for much of the work required in political economy. It teaches students to analyze conceptions, to combine elements, and to reason closely. The writer has often felt that a want of this training in his pupils was an obstacle in his way.

18The two little works by Thomas Fowler, “Deductive Logic”  and “Inductive Logic,” published in the Clarendon Press Series, Oxford, are recommended.

The more profound one’s knowledge of history the better for teacher in high school or college. This economic life, this working, buying, selling, this getting a living, is only one part of the historical life of a people; and the more that is known about the whole, the better will each part be understood. For the advanced investigation, a knowledge of foreign languages, especially of German, is indispensable. Roscher,19 Wagner,20 Knies,21 Schmoller,22 Schönberg,23 and Leroy-Beaulieu24 should be studied.

19System der Volkswirthschaft. [5 ed. (1864) Volume I; 3 ed. 1861, Volume II]
20Lehrbuch der politischen Oekonomie. [3d ed. (1893) Volume 1.1; 3d ed. (1894) Volume 2.1-33d ed. (1883) Volume 4.1; 2d ed. (1890) Volume 4.2; (1889) Volume 4.3; (1901) Volume 4.4]
21Die politische Oekonomie vom geschichtlichen Standpunkte”, and his “Geld und Credit.”
22Ueber einige Grundfragen des Rechts und der Volkswirthschaft.
23Handbuch der politischen Oekonomie. [3ed. (1890)]
24Traité de la science des finances. [5ed. (1891/2). Volume I; Volume II]

Colleges and universities ought also to provide periodicals like the “Jahrbücher für Nationalökonomie und Statistik,” “Jahrbuch fur Gesetzgebung, Verwaltung und Volkswirthschaft,” the “Tübinger Zeitschrift für die Gesammte Staatswissenchaft,” the “Journal des Économistes,” the English “Economist,” “Bradstreets,” and the “Banker’s Magazine.”

[70]

The teacher of college students, who ought always himself to be an original worker, should be perfectly independent. It is doubtless owing largely to a lack of independence on the part of the teacher that political economy has not made more progress in this country. Men are too often employed to teach free trade or to teach protection, — and as usually taught, it is difficult to tell which of the two is more unscientific, — or to teach Henry C. Carey’s system, or teach monometallism or bimetallism, whereas the teacher should be encouraged in the pursuit of truth, regardless of where it strikes.

Independence is nowhere more necessary than in the study of economies. A new theory of the iota subscript does not move the mass of men profoundly, but a new theory of taxation is bound to call forth from some one the cry “heresy.” In fact, as there are always large and powerful classes interested in the present condition of things, every change proposed, no matter what it is, is certain to meet with a storm of opposition. Ignorance, prejudice, and selfishness have always combined in their attacks on every political economist who has contributed to the advance of his science.

The political economist requires likewise, if he is to do his best work, a salary which shall enable him to mingle with the world, to become, to a certain extent, a man of the world, in order that he may the better understand the world with which he deals. He ought further to be able to travel and conduct investigations in industrial regions at home and abroad. So important is travel, indeed, that one great French school, that of Le Play, has made travel the chief method of investigation.25

25The following note on Le Play may be interesting in this connection: In 1820 Le Play began a series of journeys, which continued for over fifty years, and extended themselves into all parts of Europe, and even into the regions of Asiatic semi-civilization. These travels have borne plenteous fruits, of which the most prominent are the following: the publication of numerous works, the establishment of a method of study in social science, and the foundation of a school. Le Play’s method, which he calls ” La Méthode social,” centres in what maybe called the doctrine of travel. The quintessence of his theory is, that it is as essential for the economist to observe economic phenomena as for the mineralogist to observe minerals. The economist, however, not being able to gather together and arrange in a laboratory manufactories, laborers’ quarters in cities, agricultural villages, extensive mines, and the commercial phenomena of a great port, must travel to them, observe the manifestations of social and individual life which are there to be seen, and classify the results thus obtained in such manner that instructive and useful generalization may be drawn therefrom. The most important among the works of Le Play bears the title “les Ouvriers Européens,”[2d ed. (1879), Volume I; (1877), Volume II;  (1877), Volume III; (1877), Volume IV; (1878), Volume V; (1878), Volume VI] in which the author describes from actual observation the minutest details of separate laborers’ households in every part of Europe. The third service to science, which these journeys enabled Le Play to render, consists in the foundation of a school, called “L’École de la Paix Sociale,” which manifests its activity in various ways, of which the most striking is the publication of their semi-monthly organ, “La Réforme Sociale.”

[71]

The thoroughly equipped teacher of political economy ought, in addition to his qualifications in history and philosophy, including chiefly logic, to be a careful student of the principles of law. Evidence and practice, and the formal details of law, are not of great importance to him; but real- estate law, the law of contract and of banking, etc., are. The political economist lays the basis for legal study, he tells the reason why such and such legal institutions, e.g., private property in land, exist, and should exist; but he can manifestly lay a much better basis if he knows the superstructure which is to be erected thereon.26

26In many German universities every law-student is obliged to take a course in political economy. The study of political economy is likewise obligatory in French law-schools.

A legal friend, at the same time a political economist, recommends the following course in law for advanced students of political economy: “Blackstone’s Commentaries,”27  [72] which should be thoroughly digested; Parson on “Contracts“; Washburn on “Real Estate [4ed (1876, Volume I; 3ed (1868) Volume III],” Benjamin on “Sales of Personal Property,” and Bispham on “Equity.” I would add, at least, Morse on “Banks and Banking,” Cooley on “Taxation,” and Morawetz on “Corporations.”

27Chase’s edition is one volume.

Only one point more remains to be mentioned. The best original economic work is, for the most part, expensive. Laws, government reports, as blue-books and financial statements, and all sorts of original documents are required. Much economic work can be done only in connection with a learned institution or a government office, or by a very wealthy person. Any university which would have good work on the part of its teachers of political economy must not begrudge the expense of material as necessary to the economist as chemicals to the chemist. Of course, it cannot be expected that an American college will provide the political economist with a special library of seventy thousand volumes, like the Library of the Prussian Statistical Bureau; but it is doubtful whether a fair working university library of political economy can be produced for less than five thousand dollars.28

28It will readily be understood that a university library, designed to aid original research, is something quite different from a high-school library. One hundred dollars would purchase economic books which would answer fairly well the needs of a high school.

 

Source: Richard T. Ely, “On Methods of Teaching Political Economy,” in Vol. I. Methods of Teaching History (pp. 61-72) in the series Pedagogical Library, edited by G. Stanley Hall. Boston: D.C. Heath & Company, second edition, 1885.

Image Source: Universities and their sons; history, influence and characteristics of American universities, with biographical sketches and  of alumni and recipients of honorary degrees, Vol. IV (1900), p. 505.