Imagens das páginas
PDF
ePub

that they were intended to assist and promote all industrial development, not as trade schools, but as schools of applied science, where the theoretical and practical elements of industrial advancement are brought together in courses of study requiring broad training in mathematics, physical science, economics, and other subjects forming the basis of a liberal education. That engineering had not proved detrimental to agriculture in the same institutions was shown by quoting from the registrars' records of the Land Grant Colleges. Of the 49 Land Grant Colleges in the United States, 20 are combined with state universities, and 29 are maintained as separate institutions. Of the latter, nine are in states in which there are no state universities. During the seven years ending with 1911-12 the student enrollment in the regular four-year courses in agriculture increased from 1,668 to 5,725, or 243 per cent.; in engineering from 5,847 to 7,404, or 26 per cent.; while the total enrollment in these institutions increased from 19,373 to 33,856, or 84 per cent. Evidently agriculture had not been suffering on account of engineering. Another point brought out was the correlation of the engineering course with the work in agriculture. Many engineering processes are absolutely essential to agriculture. The building of roads, construction of drainage and irrigation projects, care, operation, and maintenance of farm machinery, all call for engineering skill in no small degree. Both engineering and agricultural courses are essential to carry out the great plan conceived by the founder of the Land Grant Colleges. The Board of Higher Curricula in Oregon, by its decision to maintain engineering courses at the Oregon Agricultural College, again confirms a principle which is inherent in the very foundation of these institutions.

The engineering courses at the Oregon Agricultural College have been placed upon a higher entrance basis since this ruling went into effect. Prior to that time, such a step had not been deemed advisable on account of the slow development of the high schools in the smaller towns of the state. This year twelve Carnegie units are required for admission to the freshman classes in all of the degree courses, and next September, four full years of high school work will be required for entrance.

The School of Mines was established in 1913 as a separate school at the Oregon Agricultural College, in which courses in Mining Engineering are offered with a choice of major courses in ceramics, geology, mining or industrial chemistry.

The School of Forestry now offers a course in logging engineering for those men who are preparing to enter the lumber industry in Oregon. This is important in our state which contains one-sixth of all the standing timber in the United States.

In accordance with the ruling of the Board of Higher Curricula, no students are now received in civil engineering, but those desiring to specialize in highway or irrigation engineering may take regular courses in these subjects leading to a degree. In addition to the regular engineering work of college grade already mentioned, the Oregon Agricultural College has this year inaugurated a three years' vocational course with options in shop work covering patternmaking, cabinetmaking, machine shop work, electrical construction, blacksmithing and foundry work. These courses are designed to meet the needs of a considerable number of young men who are unable to continue in school long enough to complete a degree course in engineering, or who feel that they are better qualified for vocational work. There is only one other city in the state where work of this kind is offered, and the facilities there are taxed to the utmost,

hence it is felt that the college is performing a real service to the state at large by offering these vocational courses. The aim is to assist the industrial development of the state in every way possible. The recent action of the Board of Higher Curricula in permanently establishing the engineering courses at the Agricultural College has made this possible to an extent never attained before. A large amount of laboratory equipment has been added in order to extend and strengthen the courses offered to students, as well as to afford facilities for investigation and some commercial testing. The higher entrance requirements have made it possible to reduce the number of credits per week required of students, and to concentrate and improve the character of the work in many particulars.

The college has for years been a source of agricultural development and activity, but has divided the engineering field with another institution. Under the present arrangement its scope is extended to the entire field of engineering, including electrical, mechanical, mining, highway, irrigation, and logging engineering, together with possibilities for vocational and extension work. It is now in a position where the ideals of the Land Grant College can be realized to the fullest extent, where all lines of industry in the state may be benefited by the work done there, and where those who have completed the four-year high school course may come for further technical training to prepare themselves for leadership in chosen lines of engineering work.

Also opportunity is not withheld from the less fortunate who must be content to tread the humbler walks of industry. To such are offered the vocational courses, which afford practical instruction in mechanical skill and at the same time teach the principles of good citizenship. Nor is it the intention to neglect the humbler citizen who finds it impossible to attend the College, for, when the plans are fully matured, the College will carry information and assistance to him by means of traveling instructors, bulletins, and correspondence.

PRESIDENT MARSTON.-We now have before us these four extremely interesting and important reports from the states in which there has been action during the past year of importance as affecting the status of engineering in the separate land grant colleges. These papers are now open for discussion. The whole subject is open for discussion.

DEAN RICHTER.-As I understand from Dean Covell's report from Oregon, there is still a course in mechanical engineering at the university?

DEAN COVELL.-No; there are no courses in engineering at the university.

DEAN RICHTER.-Then you have practically the same conditions that we have.

DEAN COVELL.-Yes; engineering practically is eliminated from the university.

DEAN BENJAMIN.-May I inquire what is the basis of the elimination of civil engineering at Corvallis? I do not understand that. DEAN COVELL.-That is the result of a peculiar condition, that I do not fully understand. I suppose it must have been brought about by some compromise at the meeting of this board, but they have permitted us to offer degree courses in irrigation engineering and in highway engineering, while the university is prohibited from giving any courses relating to civil engineering. I take it, therefore,

that the matter will eventually be adjusted so that we will be able to restore the civil engineering.

DEAN H. S. BOARDMAN (of Maine).-I would like to ask how the new ruling affects the state university?

DEAN COVELL.-Since it has been such a short time in operation, it would be very difficult to answer that. The university, I neglected to say in my paper, has the privilege of continuing these courses in civil and in electrical engineering until the classes already enrolled are graduated. The electrical engineering is to continue, for the senior class only, until the end of the present year.

The effect, so far as it is outlined, seems to be that the university is strengthening its other work, since relinquishing the engineering. It has introduced other courses, particularly in economics and in liberal arts, and has also extended its field of state work, that is, extension work outside of the university.

As to what the ultimate effects will be remains to be seen.

DEAN POTTER.-I would like to ask the members of the association as to whether any legislative decisions rendered in any state of the Union confined the word "engineering" to a state university in states where two state institutions have been giving engineering instruction?

DIRECTOR S. B. EARLE (of South Carolina).-In South Carolina we have rather a peculiar condition, probably different from that in most other states, in that we derive no funds from direct appropriation by the state. The college was established in 1889. Senator Tillman was governor at that time and was very much interested in the establishment of the college. A small appropriation was made about that time to begin the building of the plant. A law was passed requiring that twenty-five cents be paid for every ton of fertilizer made or shipped into the state. This fund was to be used to defray the expenses of analyses, and any balance over and above these expenses was to be given to Clemson College. The promise was made that if this fund were given no appropriation would be asked for. The fund gradually increased until last year we derived from this source $274,000. It costs us something like $50,000 to make the analyses. The legislature also requires us to pay for a large number of scholarships from this fund. While we have never gotten any money directly from the state, it looks now like we are going to need some from somewhere. Our cotton situation is in a bad state of affairs, as you probably know. It is very likely that the fertilizer tax will be reduced by probably 50 per cent. next year. A part of this fund has been used for agricultural extension work in the past. We think the best thing for us to do now is to cut out, as far as possible, appropriations for this extension work, believing that the legislature will give money for that work, since the farmers of our state have realized the advantage of the extension work. We hope this will enable us to still have sufficient money to carry on the work of the college without seriously reducing its efficiency.

PRESIDENT MARSTON.-I would like to say that we have been making a fairly concerted effort to have published in our proceedings verbatim copies of documents and reports bearing on the general subject of the status of engineering in the separate land grant colleges. You may have noticed that last year we had in our proceedings a resolution passed by the Association of American Agricultural Colleges defining the term "mechanic arts" within the meaning of the Morrill Land Grant Act, and also a summary of a report of President Kerr on the same subject presented at one of the meetings

of that association. We obtained, also, three original letters from Senator Morrill, which were published, as read into the minutes.

PRESIDENT C. C. THACH (of Alabama).—There is a point on which I wish information. If a state legislature makes a definite bestowal of the land grant to a certain institution, can it revoke that grant? Has that been passed on in any state at all?

PRESIDENT MARSTON.—As I understand it the decision in Michigan disclaimed passing on that particular point.

SECRETARY BISSELL.-You are correct, but there are at least two instances on record in which the legislatures have transferred the funds, Connecticut and Rhode Island. In both of these cases, however, they paid indemnities for doing so. In Rhode Island the federal grant was taken away from Brown University and bestowed upon the agricultural college, and Brown University was paid $40,000 as compensation.

In Connecticut, Yale University was at one time the beneficiary of the land grant act, but the fund was taken away by legislation and Yale was paid $135,000, together with some interest, as compensation.

PRESIDENT THACH.-Was not attempt made to remove the grant from the University of Vermont at one time?

DEAN VOTEY (of Vermont).—At several sessions of the legislature about thirty years ago. I have the impression it was about the time it was taken away from Dartmouth College and transferred to the New Hampshire Agricultural College. We succeeded in retaining it. I think you will find some decisions quoted possibly in addition to what Dean Bissell has stated, in a recent report of our Commissioner of Education, following the Carnegie investigation. The Educational Commission's own report is now out. Judge Watson in this report discusses all the decisions.

PRESIDENT THACH.-I know that soon after the Hatch bill was passed the Governor of Alabama held when the attempt was made to distribute a part of the Hatch fund to agricultural schools over the state, that it could not be done legally because, the legislature, having once granted that fund to the board of trustees of the Alabama Polytechnic Institute, "had emptied itself of all its power," as he expressed it.

Speaking to the point raised by the chairman, as to the attitude of Senator Morrill on the developments in education resulting from the Act of 1862, a letter from Senator Morrill to me states that the great idea of the land grant act was a change in the nature of education, and second only to this idea was that of enabling the industrial classes to acquire higher education at low cost.

We all know the old type of education, and we all sympathize with it and owe the greatest debt to it. It is still one of the indispensable things of civilization to every commonwealth. But this was a new type or a new kind of education, and that was what Senator Morrill was in favor of.

Secondly, it was to make more economical, by the use of these great public lands of the country, the acquisition of this education, and to lessen the cost of higher education to the student.

PRESIDENT MARSTON.-We hope President Thach will find for us a copy of the original letter from Senator Morrill. The history of transfers of the land grant from one institution to another is important and interesting. If I understand the situation correctly, such transfers have been made in Connecticut and in Rhode Island by a mutual agreement between all the parties interested, including the institution and the state, and presumably with the approval of the

national government representatives; do I understand that that is true also in New Hampshire?

DEAN HEWITT (of New Hampshire).--When the Land Grant College was established in New Hampshire, it became a part of Dartmouth College and for some twenty-five years it remained a part of Dartmouth.

In 1891 there was a man by the name of Benjamin Thompson, of Durham, N. H., who offered to give a large sum of money if the college would move to Durham; on March 5, 1891, the legislature accepted the munificent gift and at once proceeded by appropriation enactments to provide for the removal of the New Hampshire College of Agriculture and the Mechanic Arts from Hanover to Durham. New Hampshire College receives the full benefit from the land grant act and Dartmouth College receives none from this source, but Dartmouth has received, every biennium since the removal, $40,000 from the state.

PRESIDENT MARSTON.-That amounts, then, to compensation?
DEAN HEWITT.-Practically, yes.

PRESIDENT MARSTON.-It seems to me that those cases are all alike, then, in that by mutual arrangement, compensation was made to the institution.

PRESIDENT THACH.-The Board of Education in Iowa ruled in the discussion between the state college and the university, that the federal law required that instruction should be given in engineering at the state college?

PRESIDENT MARSTON.-Yes.

PRESIDENT THACH.-And that it was a very definite point?

PRESIDENT MARSTON.-Yes; it was a definite point, carefully considered by some of the able lawyers on the board.

PRESIDENT THACH.-The board of education in Alabama ruled that the federal law requires this instruction.

DEAN VOTEY.-I would like to inquire whether Connecticut followed the same rule in regard to Storr's Agricultural College?

SECRETARY BISSELL.-The legislature, in passing the bill removing the land grant fund from Yale, granted to Yale the privilege of raising the question of damages before a commission. This was done and compensation awarded in the sum of $135,000 in lieu of the land grant and also some thing additional on account of the second Morrill act.

DEAN TALIAFERRO.-In Rhode Island was it practically a consolidation of the funds for agriculture and for engineering in one place, when they took it from Brown University?

DEAN R. S. WALES (of Rhode Island).—I think Dean Bissell stated it correctly in the first place. When the state legislature first determined to avail itself of the funds made available by the Morrill act, there was no state college, no institution of the kind, contemplated. The legislature made over those funds to Brown University, with the understanding that work in the mechanic arts and agriculture should be given by that institution. It developed, however, that while Brown University was giving a course under the name of agriculture, it was a course of one hour a week during the senior year, and that was about all the agricultural work that was obtainable, and the students were getting courses in theology and law and various other branches at the expense of the Morrill fund.

After the passage of the Hatch act it was thought desirable on the part of some of the agricultural people of the state to have an experiment station established, but as it was necessary that this be established in connection with some agricultural college, it was

« AnteriorContinuar »