THE PROPOSED BUSINESS SCHOOL

The plan proposed for the establishment of a Graduate Business School in the University, announced by President Eliot at the meeting of the Associated Harvard Clubs Saturday, is in line with the modern conception of the relation of a college training to practical life. Although a college education is generally admitted to be a valuable asset in all walks of life, it does not generally fit a man to enter at once into business. The college graduate who enters upon a business career at the foot finds himself passed at the beginning by men whose common school education has been supplemented by several years of practical experience. As the college man gains this experience, however, his value to his employers increases much more rapidly. His view of life is broader, and his judgment as a rule is more mature.

Harvard has asserted the importance of a general education by requiring an A.B. degree for admission to the Law and Medical Schools, and by the recent founding of a Graduate Scientific School. Is there any reason why a college education, which is now considered preparatory for those taking up professions, should be final for the large proportion of men who enter the business world? It may be objected that no matter how excellent the theoretical training of a graduate business school might be, it would not be equivalent to contact with actual business conditions. It is equally true that no lawyer or doctor is fitted to undertake difficult cases immediately upon receiving his degree. Practical knowledge is everywhere essential, but it is acquired much more easily by those having a good theoretical preparation.

The proposed Graduate Business School is a recognition of the scientific principles which govern the highly organized system of modern business, and, if properly carried out, should prove a valuable addition to the University.