The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1881-04-22
PETER COOPER.
sketch of the life Of fie veseral,Ie P,sifnn'
thropIste--The Cooper Union.


thrcpiste--Thc Cooper Union.
On the recent anniversary Of Peter
Coopers ninetict,, birthday the New
York Herala contributed the following
sketch Of this aged phiIanthropist's life
and OF his munifcent gift TO the people
Of New York--the Cooper Union; -. Z.
He was born in this city on the twelfth
OF February, 1871. lis maternal grand
father, John Campbell, OF this city, who
was deputy acknowledgements in
the Revolutionary army, ex4nded-mueh
of his private fortune in the cause, and
Mr.. Cooper's father was a lieutenant in
the Revolutionary army. The son, fp-
prenticed to q coachmaker, learned that
trade, but went into other industries,
and at length began to deal in glue and
isinglass, and in that branch of trade
he continued for more than
forty years. In 1880 he
erected extensive iron works in Canton,
near Baltimore, and in 1916 he founded
in Trenton, N. j., what was then the
largest rolling mill in the United States,
for making railroad iron In 1880 he
built, after his own designs, the first
locomotive engine ever constructed in
the Western hemisphere, and it was
operated successfully on the Baltimore
and Ohio railroad. He served, many
years ago, in both branches Of the New
York common council, and was one Of
the promoters of the Croton aqueduct
In 1876 he was the candidate of the
Greenback party for President of the
United States. As vice-president of the
New York Public School society, ere it
was merged in the board of education,
he became impressed with the made
luacy of our common school system, and
II became his ambition to found an edu-
cational institution. for the working
classes. Hence the Cooper Union for
the advancement of science and art
When Mr.. Cooper transferred the edi-
ice to the trustees in 1857 it had cost
$3.50, ,226; the additional story he has
just, completed cost $4,000, and to
these sums the founder has added a
special endowment of $3.50, ,O0O. for the
support and increase of the free reading
room and library. Since dedication day,
in 1857, the trustees have expended
more than S850,000 in free instruction,
and the cost of the free schools has been
gradually increased until it amounts to
$4,000 annually. Day and evening
schools have been maintained eight
months in every year, and more than
four thousand pupils have been taught
| the rudiments of science and art. In
addition to all this the professors
employed by the institution have
| delivered in the lecture rooms
free discourses on natural philosophy,
chemistry, English literature, rhetori,
and elocution, and in the large hall, which
seats | 1896 persons and has standing
J room for 500 more, popular free lectures
nave been delivered every Saturday
evening in winter. There are more thar
two thousand students in the evening
schools of science and art-most of then
youths whose ambition it is to becom,
producers. 1t is the purpose of th,
trustees to guide the pupils to indepen
dence, and their theory sput in practic,
in the woman's art school. Its pupili
earned for themselves last year S13,00t
from the sale of their works.
The woman's art school has a perma
nent endowment, and many gifts hay,
been made to it by philanthropic mel
and women. The women's centennia
committee, having surplus left in thei
financial arrangements, gave 81, 700 o
it to the art school, to help such indi
| gent students as cannot pay all theil
expenses of living while attending tn,
school. The class in wood engraving
earned for themselves s1,24S while pur
suing their studies last year, and som,
of the graduates found employment a
good wages Immediately after severinl
their connection with the school.
In the school of telegaphy the West
ern Union telegraph company pays
teacher to train pupils in the company'i
methods, and previous to the introduc
tion of the telephone the increase in til,
number of private instruments in thii
city created greater demand fol
women operators than the school coull
supply but the situation is changed
since the telephone has begun to super
sede telegraph instruments.
One hundred and fifty-three American
and fifty eight foreign newspapers, daily
and weekly, and ninety-four magazines
are kept on file in the free reading-room
which is the largest in superficial aret
of any in the world. The library con
tains about fifteen thousand volumes
The reading-room is open from eigh
every morning until ten o'clock ever.
evening, except on Sundays, when it i
opened at ten A. NJ. and closed at MIN
p. NJ. 1t is vifited by an average of tw'
thousand persons daily, and in the win
ter evenings it is one of the most popu
lous spots in New York. Every chair i
occupied by reader the alcoves ar
filled with readers and Writers of bot
sexes, surrounded by reference book
and charts, ard hundreds of men stan'
at the newspaper files.