第65章 CHAPTER V(3)

All this places the executive in a very delicate position. On the one hand the principles of competitive business， embodied in a plenary board of control and in a critical scrutiny from the side of the business community at large， demand that all appointments， promotions， dismissals， ceremonials， pronouncements and expenditures， must be made with a constant view to their highest advertising effect； whereas the notions current as to what is fitting in a seminary of the higher learning， on the other hand， somewhat incongruously demand that all these deeds of commission and omission be done with an eye single to the increase of knowledge， regardless of appearances. And this double responsibility falls， of necessity， on the executive head of the university， under the present r間ime of centralized autocratic rule. Any ethical code that shall permit the executive head to accomplish what is expected of him in the way of a competitive enterprise under these circumstances， will necessarily be vague and shifty， not to and men who have tried to do say tenuous and shadowy； their whole duty in these premises are ready to admit that they have been called on to face many distasteful situations， where honesty would not approve itself as the best policy.(1*)Whatever expedients of decorative real-estate， spectacular pageantry， bureaucratic magnificence， elusive statistics， vocational training， genteel solemnities and sweat-shop instruction， may be imposed by the exigencies of a competitive business policy， the university is after all a seat of learning， devoted to the cult of the idle curiosity， -- otherwise called the scientific spirit. And stultification， broad and final， waits on any university directorate that shall dare to avow any other end as its objective. So the appearance of an unwavering devotion to the pursuit of knowledge must be kept up. Hence the presence of scholars and scientists of accepted standing is indispensable to the university， as a means of keeping up its prestige. The need of them may be a need of their countenance rather than of their work， but they are indispensable， and they bring with them the defects of their qualities. When a man achieves such notoriety for scientific attainments as to give him a high value as an article of parade， the chances are that he is endowed with some share of the scientific animus， and he is likely to have fallen into the habit of rating the triumphs of science above those of the market place. Such a person will almost unavoidably affect the spirit of any academic corps into which he is intruded. He will also， in a measure， bend the forces of the establishment to a long-term efficiency in the pursuit of knowledge， rather than to the pursuit of a reputable notoriety from day to day. To the enterprising captain of erudition he is likely to prove costly and inconvenient， but he is unavoidable.

This will hold true in a general way， and with due exceptions， for men prominent in those material sciences that have to do with data of such a tangible character， and give their results in such terms of mechanical fact， as to permit a passably close appreciation of their worth by the laity. It applies only more loosely， with larger exceptions and a wider margin of error， in the humanities and the so-called moral and social sciences. In this latter field a clamorous conformity to current prepossessions， particularly the conventional prepossessions of respectability， or an edifying and incisive rehearsal of commonplaces， will commonly pass in popular esteem for scholarly and scientific merit. A truculent quietism is often accepted as a mark of scientific maturity. The reason for this will appear presently. But so far as popular esteem is a truthful index of scientific achievement. the proposition holds， that scientists who have done great things have a business value to the captain of erudition as a means of advancing the university's prestige；and so far the indicated consequences follow. In some measure the scientific men so intruded into the academic body are in a position to give a direction to affairs within their field and within the framework of the general policy. They are able to claim rank and discretion， and their choice， or at least their assent， must be consulted in the selection of their subalterns， and in a degree also in the organization of the department's work. It is true， men whose talent， interest and experience run chiefly within the lines of scientific inquiry， are commonly neither skilled nor shrewd managers in that give and take of subtleties and ambiguities by which the internal machinery of the university is kept in line and running under a businesslike administration； but even so， their aims and prepossessions will in a measure affect the animus and shape the work of the academic body. All this applies particularly on the higher levels of research， as contrasted with the commonplace (undergraduate) work of instruction. But at this point， therefore， the principles of competitive publicity carry with them a partial neutralization of their own tendency.