“we americans are an intensely practical people. our investments must promise liberal returns in cents and dollars. from this standpoint a college education is an absolutely safe and most profitable business venture. in this country the average annual income of the college graduate is $600 greater than that of the man not holding a college degree. now, $600 is 5 per cent. of $12,000, and this means that the average college-bred man has safely stored away in his brain an educational capital equivalent to $12,000 in gold, in excess of the capital at the command of his brother without a college training. no father can leave his son a more valuable or profitable heritage, for the young man cannot lose it, no one will ever be able to steal it from him, it is safer than a government bond, and the interest from it will never be in arrears. large as they are, however, the financial returns from a college education are not as great as other benefits. the intellectual training, increased mental powers, enlarged capacity for rational enjoyment, the increased efficiency for service to god and man—these are, after all, the essentially great benefits to be derived from a college education of the right sort. 287

“you have heard scores of men express the deepest regret because of their lack of a college education, but you have never heard anyone regret having taken a college course.

“it has been calculated that the college man has three hundred times the chance of winning fame and distinction over the man without a college education. it is the shortest road to success.”