The Athens School

Editor Courieu :- In iny eommunieatlon publtshed In the Coiiukr of Sept. ICtli, I asked some questions in reference t the American School at Atliens, of wliicli Prof. D'Ooge has been cliosen director for the year 1 36, and for whlch purpow he baa been granted leave of abaenoe, wlth full puy, by tliu regenta of the Universily. Those quostions were nsked in guoj falrli, In the hope Ihat a "Frtend of the líniversity, " who hiul written a communication for the Courieii of the prerioui week, wonld answer theni, so tbat the people miglit kuow ¦ometblDff more bout this school at Athens. If the people's nioney s to be used for tb malutenauce the peoplcought to know its ohjects and ils valué to thein or to t lie contraen weultli which they represent. If a tblnj( is rlgbt and just it wlll not bu injnred bybelngmade public; if un the con tía ry it is wrong it tsliuuld be exponed to the public view. Since writinjr the comnmniciition published by you [ have obtained a copy of the report of the tirst Director oí the American School at Athens, Dr. VVm. W. Goodwill, of Harvard l'iiiversity, and issucd in 1884 by the jrverninent bureau of edaoatlon, ander the Biuploei of ilie Department of the Interior. To prove that thcre was a necesilty for tbeettHblUbmeutof this school, the Director snys: That there was a real denmnd for an AraerlOftD school of classlcal btudies In AMicns is ubundaully showu by the faclthut 1 louml li Atliens, last October, no lrss than ctght Aioerlcan HtuüeuUt full of eutliuslHHtn for work umi ready tojoin our n-1 1. Seveii of itit-sr entered as regular students of thü scliool for Kif fullyeur. After relating the hardships nttendant upon eatabllshlog the school, tindinif convenieut quarters for it, etc, the report ¦aya: The temporary liome of the school. In whlcli 11 mi 11 reiiiaius. U the upper part of a large house near the Uate of Hadnan, the lust building on the west uldeof the f 'im'Jat;. Thls contaliiH comfortable rooms lor the director and nis fainlly, and a large cheerful IHirury for the school, la whlch Uk meeting are held and the studenls eau do tliclr work. It wonld appear trom the abore paragraph that the Director has furnished iipaitnients for himtelf and familt, free. An item that must lessen the Director's living expenses considerably, etpecially Ifreutl are as high in old Athens as they are in what ia soinetimrs terined it3 modern namesake in Michigan. The next paragraph w hich I shall quote doe not refer exactly to the school itself, or to its intluence abroad, or to the benetit to be derived by the people who are paying for it, but serves to show its iulluence in Atheng : A most gratlfylng clrcumstance has been the great interest whlch all classes of Intelligent people ef Athens, and even of the rest of Uraeoe, have taken In the establlshrAent of the school. The kind feellng of the Ureekg towards our own country, which our interest In struggle for Iroeilum agalnst the Tnrks awakened, has neverdled out. I shall never forget the truly affuctlonate klodness with which a oobbler at the l'ini'iis once mended my boot lu 18 6, alter he had refused to do it even for pay bofore he knew my nationallty. The local Influence of the school among the Greeks is very great it 11 bc Men, so tliat the Director will fret hls cobbliiif; free (whether or not the Athens bootblacks have come under tliis influence the report does not raentiou) - aside Grom a lurnished huose in whicli to live. Afler giving an iteinized statement oi the expenses for the firet year, about $3,593, the Director proceeds : This of course lncluües the extraordlnary and unexpecled expenses of furnlahlng the house iti AtlieiiN. Mucii reinal ns to be done belore tho huuae wlll be properly supplled wlth all tliat is needed by a director who does notwlsh toprovldemany art leles ot hisown: but the future expenses on thls account wtll be llght in comparl.sou wilh past, and they can probubly be ülstribuled over several years. lt wlll be remembered that a very Important part of the contrlbutlon of each of the colleges whlch jolu in supponiuK the school Is the engagement to allow one of lts professors leave of absence fora single year to go to Atheus as director, with at least a part o hlê talary pakt. It was hoped that by tuis means we luigtitalways secure for the school a competent iiead and that the aunual change of director would not prove to be a serioti8 lmIMiinuent to the success of the school. Now, afterone year's trial of thls plau, and wltli all my BWD shortcoralngs and erubarniKsmenta vlvldly bafore my eyes, and after muili oarafal conslderalion of the plans of Misother scnools at Athens, I am very deelded in my opinión that we munt have a permanent director, resident at Alhena, like the director of the Frenen and Germán schools anü the future director of the Kngl ïsh ? ei 11 idI. If our school is to hold a posltlon on a level wilh the others and la to accompllsh work whlch can be compared favorably wlth theirs. There are certaln tulngs which a director ought to know, but whlch can be learned only on the spot. Besldes the many mallors of topography and hls tor v, there is the famlllarlty wlth the rulns of Athens, kuowledge of the best plans for travellng In Oreeoe, and acqualutance wlth the resources of Athens for the use of students, wlth her librarles and museums, wlth the other Nehools of arcliicology and thelr work, and, further, wilh the language of Greece. Wlth all these eaob director must generally make bil acqualntnnce after hls arrival, and he can leave llttle of hls experienceforthe benefit of hls suecessor. I quote so extensively for three purposes : lst. - To show tlmtoneof the greatest expenses of the school has been to lit tip a residence for the Director that he uiay live chenply. ¦ld.- Is the point found in the italicised words, sliowing tliat only a portion of the regular salary of the professor who is delesabad to net as director is askcd for. 9a.- That the pystem of changing the liead of this institution every year is a üerious draw-back to the usefulnesa of the school, thougk it is a line tliing for the professors sent there. The men wlio compose our board of regents. had they been managing their own private all'alrs, would have solved this problem in :i practical, business like way. Thcy would have ascertained how miich pro rata it would have cost each o the fourtecu institutions sust.iiiiinr tliis college to have procured a competent Di cector, and Uien they would have paic thelr skare. Such a method would be advantiigeous to the college in two ways II would furnisli the Director with a permanent and satisfactory income, anc it would have furnlslied the college with a permanent and satlsfnctory Director- a man who wotild be superior in the particular branch of knowfedjre tangbt in the college, to tbe ttudeota under him. Havirifi aflcertalned this nmeh in reference to tlie School at Atliens, I hope you will be kind enough to give place to the same in tfao columni of your journal, Mr. Editor, belteTlng that there are a mimber Of your readers who will be sum'ciently lntereted (o repay you for the somewhat extended spaee it will occupy. Very truly yours,