54

A  Study  of  Student  Loans  and

nation  of  political  knowledge.  The  other  three  fourths  AECD  which
should  be  supported  by  society  and  the  Student  should  be  devoted  to  the
dissemination  of  learning,  excepting  a  small  portion  YTD,  which  should
go  toward  the  advancement  of  learning.  We  admit  here  that  an  arbitrary
Start  is  being  made,  but  only  such  an  arbitrary  start  as  can  be  readjusted.
If,  as  our  information  on  the  subject  increases  and  experiments  warrant,
too  large  a  portion  of  the  intellectual  endeavor  is  being  given  to  any  one
of  the  purposes,  the  lines  FH  or  RK  or  both  can  be  shifted.  This  also
applies  tö  the  other  lines:  AD  can  be  moved  at  its  A  end  towards  F  or
towards  E  and  ED  can  be  moved  at  its  E  end  towards  A  or  towards  B.
As  it  is  found  necessary  to  give  more  attention  to  the  different  purposes,
a  new  proportion  of  the  field  of  intellectual  endeavor  can  be  assigned  to
them,  and  as  it  is  found  more  advisable  to  give  more  attention  to  advancement ­
  of  learning  or  dissemination  of  learning,  the  line  XY  may  be
shifted,  and,  as  such  shifts  are  made,  the  three  major  sources  of  income
should  be  tapped  proportionately.

Reasons  for  Such  Allocations
The  question  which  arises  here  is  why  these  proportions  are  taken
as  a  basis.  The  reasons  are,  first,  that  the  proportions  are  not  meant  to
be  fixed,  but  adjustable,  and  so  can  be  adapted  to  changing  circumstances
and  the  type  of  the  institution  and  thus  form  a  permanent  basis  for  policy
and  action.  Second,  these  proportions  as  represented  are  believed  to  be
fair  approximations  of  ideal  conditions  and  in  fact  approach  existing
conditions  in  some  institutions.  Advancement  of  learning  has  been  given
mainly  to  philanthropy,  since,  if  left  to  the  individual,  little  progress  could
be  made  because  of  the  increased  cost  of  the  development  of  information
due  to  actual  cost  of  apparatus  and  salaries,  and  also,  because  as  our
society  becomes  more  complex,  there  are  more  fields  that  require  intellectual ­
  attention  and  inquiry.  In  a  more  intricate  society,  methods  of
inquiry  become  more  costly  and  therefore  more  money  must  be  spent
to  obtain  accurate  knowledge. 25  The  share  of  society  has  been  assigned
mostly  to  the  dissemination  of  learning  since  society  cannot  always  be
relied  upon  to  promote  the  advancement  of  learning  where  social  and
economic  factors  are  pitted  against  each  other  in  rivalry  and  such  rivalry
25  W.  C.  Mitchell  in  “Quantitative  Analysis  in  Economic  Theory”  American  Economic
Review,  March  1925,  p.  2,  in  speaking  of  the  increased  cost  of  the  acqui'sition  of  economic,  knowledge ­
  (and  it  should  be  true  of  any  other  fields,  especially  those  with  a  political  purpose)  says  in  part:
“*  *  *  prospects  are  improving.  One  of  the  chief  obstacles  in  the  way  of  quantitative ­
  analysis  in  economics  has  been  the  heavy  bürden  of  routine  labor  involved.  A  qualitative ­
  worker  requires  hardly  any  equipment  beyond  a  few  books  and  hardly  any  helper  except
a  typist.  A  quantitative  worker  needs  often  a  Statistical  laboratory,  a  corps  of  Computers,
and  sometimes  a  staff  of  field  workers.  Few  economists  command.  such  resources.  But  of
late  the  endowment  of  economic  research  has  begun  on  a  scale  which  reduced  this  handicap
upon  quantitative  research  and  promises  to  reduce  it  further  in  the  future.”