24

A  Study  of  Student  Loans  and

doubt,  a  conservative  estimate  of  the  funds  permanently  invested  in
higher  education,  since  it  is  based  on  the  information  furnished  only
by  those  universities,  Colleges,  and  Professional  schools  which  report
to  the  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Education  (780  institutions  in  all—119  public  and
661  private).  It  includes  the  property  held  in  1921-22  and  does  not  take
account  of  the  many  gifts  and  appropriations  that  have  been  made  since
for  permanent  investments,  nor  the  increase  in  value  of  the  property
held.  On  the  basis  of  the  above  figures,  it  should  be  safe  to  say  that
the  present  value  of  such  property  owing  to  accretion,  additional  gifts
and  appropriations  amounts  to  almost  three  billion  dollars.
Accepting  with  due  caution  the  estimates  in  Table  2  made  by  the
U.  S.  Bureau  of  Education,  some  light  may  be  thrown  on  the  distribution
of  these  values  as  in  the  different  forms  of  property.  The  forms  of  property ­
  listed  in  Table  2  are  very  definite  sources  of  income  to  institutions
of  higher  learning  and  must  be  included  as  such.  It  is  not  possible  to
assign  to  philanthropy  and  the  public  their  proper  share  of  this  income
from  fixed  assets.  It  is  reasonably  accurate,  however,  to  assign  the  income
from  the  property  of  public  institutions  to  public  sources  and  that  of  the
property  of  private  institutions  to  philanthropic  sources.  The  overlapping
will  just  about  balance.
Philanthropic  Sources
The  philanthropic  sources  were  the  first  means  of  support  for
higher  education.  Religious  organizations,  later  on  individuals,  and  at
present  both  of  these  as  well  as  certain  corporations,  associations,  and
foundations  are  contributing  heavily  to  higher  education.  The  motives
underlying  these  different  gifts  are  diverse.  Philanthrophy,  the  desire
to  help  society  in  a  general  way,  is  a  strong  incentive;  religious  zeal
is  also  an  important  factor  and  is  closely  allied  to  the  purely  philanthropic ­
  sentiment—it  is  a  desire  to  spread  one’s  own  religious  belief.
(The  numerous  religious  institutions  of  higher  learning  are  ample  evidence
of  this.)  Next  should  be  noted  the  desire  to  advance  learning.  This  has
come  to  the  fore  recently  and  is  exemplified  in  the  numerous  foundations ­
  and  institutes  for  research—all  endeavoring  to  ascertain  truths
along  certain  specific  lines.  Millions  of  dollars  have  been  set  aside  for  this
purpose  within  recent  years  and  the  result  should  be  a  rapid  advancement
of  knowledge  rather  than  just  the  dissemination  of  knowledge  already
acquired,  as  was  the  case  in  the  most  part  under  the  purely  philanthropic
and  religious  motives.  The  other  motive  of  primary  importance  is  the
personal  one.  When  donations  and  endowments  are  given  for  philanthropic, ­
  religious,  or  research  purposes,  there  is  offen  in  them  the  personal
Stimulus;  thus  large  endowments,  gifts,  professorships,  and  scholarships,