It is claimed by some that the number of colleges in this country exceeds at present the demand. It should be remembered, however, that we are building for a population that is likely to reach 500,000,000 people. There is no doubt but that the planting and expansion of colleges on a meager basis has been somewhat over done. The duty of the hour is for the American people to cease establishing more colleges, and to give their attention to strengthening those already founded, in order that they may increase their power and efficiency. The founders have planted better than they knew. The unfavorable conditions and sacrifice surrounding many of their beginnings strengthen the desire that these colleges may grow and flourish with each succeeding generation, and continue in their beneficent work of moulding Christian character and promoting human brotherhood. III. CHARACTERISTICS OF THE AMERICAN COLLEGE. The American college occupies a distinctive place among the educational systems of the world. It differs from the English and Scotch systems, and is diverse in form and purpose from the German university system. The American college signifies more than the English _Grammar_ school, the French _Lycee_ or the German _Gymnasium_, and its course of study is broader and more comprehensive. The German _gymnasia_ hold the place of our high schools and academies, and their course of study carries the student through what is an equivalent to our Sophomore year in college. The colleges established in the early history of our country were shaped in some measure after the English model, but the American college of to-day "is the bright consummate flower of democracy." We may apply to it what Lowell says of Lincoln: "For him her old-world moulds aside she threw, And choosing sweet clay from the breast Of the unexhausted West, With stuff untainted shaped a hero new." The American colleges have held fast to the best of the ancient learning and utilized the best experiences and ideas of the English, German and French systems of education, and mapped out a distinctive system for themselves. They have sought to meet the needs of our age and the requirements of our generation, and we have as a product the modern American college, adapted to the wants of the people and the formation of a strong national character.