NATIONAL UNIVERSITY. History.— The proposition to establish a national uni versity was first made by George Washington. He discussed such a university in his first Presidential message to Congress and from his private fortune bequeathed $25,000 to the na tion as a basal sum around which a national university might be built. President Madison likewise urged upon the Congress the wisdom of establishing such an institution. Three of his Presidential messages deal with the matter. John Quincy Adams returned to the subject in a message to Congress, urging upon that body the consummation of Washington's plans. Congress was hostile to the plan. Jefferson opposed it. In 1811 a Congressional committee reported against a national university, pro nouncing the scheme unconstitutional. Since then the proposal has been revived by several Presidents and by many statesmen but without favorable results, in spite of the George Wash ington endowment fund and a popular sub scription fund of $30,000, which was paid in in 1795.
In 1869 the National Education Association espoused the cause of a national university by appointing a nermanent committee of the asso ciation to promote the plan. Through this com mittee the subject was kept alive for more than 30 years. In 1899 a majority of the committee was composed of university presidents and rendered a report calling for Federal aid, but vigorously opposing Federal control of national education and declaring against a university maintained by the Federal government at the national capital. In 1907 the National Associa tion of State Universities pronounced in favor of organized facilities for research in the sci entific departments of the Federal government, but opposed a national university as a degree conferring institution.
Educational and Research Facilities in The various bureaus, depart ments, libraries, literary and scientific collec tions, museums, etc., maintained by the Federal government in Washington in themselves con stitute valuable facilities for university re search. They are equipment for university work.
While these facilities are not organized in in stitutional form, they are open to investigators by resolutions passed by Congress in 1892 and again in 1901. The Act of Congress, 3 March 1901, provides: "That facilities for study and research in the government departments, the Library of Congress. the National Museum, the Zoological Park, the Bureau of Ethnology, the Fish Commission, the Botanic Gardens. and similar institutions hereafter established shall be afforded to scientific investi gators and to duly qualified individual students and grad*. ates of institutions of learning in the several states and territories, as well as in the District of Columbia, under such rules and restrictions as the heads of the departments and bureaus mentioned may prescribe." The resources for study at the national capi tal are very great. The Library of Congress ranks high among the libraries of the world. The Smithsonian Institution has great value to the scientific student. In addition to depart mental records and collections in various fields, there is the Corcoran Art Gallery, the Patent Office, the Geological Survey, the Medical Mu seum, the National Museum and various scien tific bureaus, which together constitute an edu cational equipment far greater in value than that of any one organized educational institu tion anywhere in the world. Its value has been roughly estimated at $75,000,000. In a real sense this vast equipment is part of the equip ment of every university in the United States in so far as such university makes use of it. In its best sense this is a national university where research is carried on under most favor able circumstances; its equipment is maintained by the national treasury; but the seal of ap proval for scientific achievement is granted in the form of degrees conferred by the univer sities located in the various States.