The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1890-12-24
THE JESUIT COLLEGE.
PrOeurator General Van Corp
Talks About 1t.
THE SITE ALREADY SECURED.
Establishment Of the school VIII BE
the Work of the Rocky
Mountain Mission.

Father Van Gorf. of Spokane Falls, the
procurator general Of the Rocky Noun
tain mission of the Jesuits, is spending a
few days in this city. as the guest of Father
Prefontaine. Tall, slender and dressed in
the usual clerical habit, he is a man OF
striking appearance. Iron gray hair still
abundant, nnely cut features, an aquiline
nose, dark clear eyes, and a mouth
marked by lines OF firmness and benignity,
show that he is scholar and an ecclesias-
tic of the highest type.
In regard to the college which the Jesuit
order is 10 establish in Seattle he said yes
terday: when / was in the city last
secured block of land for the college on
the corner of Madison street and Broad
way. The site I regard as q very good
one.
I'VE intend to start a college here as
soon as possible When the beginning
will be made / cannot certainly say, and
prefer TO make no definite promise until
matters have progressed further, but hope,
though cannot promise, that we can do
something in the spring.
'.The JeSuits form an order devoted 20
the cause of education. We now have
colleges in Santa Clara, San Francisco,
Spokane, Chicago, ST. Louis, Cincinnati,
Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia,
New York, Fordham, Boston, Georgetown,
Worcester, Detroit, Cleveland, Milwaukee,
Kansas City, 1T. Mays, Kan, Baton
Rouge and New Orleans.
THE Jesuits in this country are divided
into four provinces, the Eastern, with
headquarters at New York; the Missouri
province, embracing the Middle states; a
Southern province, with headquarters at
New Orleans, and a province for the Pacific
coast. This latter province is divided into
Rocky Mountain mission, including Ore
gon, Washington, Idaho and Montana,
and a California mission.
Thus the establishment of the college
here will be part of the works of the
Rocky Mountain mission, which has il.
headquarters at Spokane.
1.-The country, as you know, is develop
ing very rapidly, and ii is hard for the gov
eminent TO keep it supplied with postal
and other facilities, for the railroads and
business men to keep pace with it. We
also md il hard to keep our church and
mission work up to the requirements OF
the quickly growing community. But we
are doing our best to keep up with the
line Of progress.
''The educational facilities are inadequate
I'D the Teal nttQS OF Inc people, ana the
starting OF our college here is an effort on
our part TO supply in SO far as We can
this deficiency. OF course the majority OF
the pupils will be boys and young men
who belong to our own church, but the
college will be open TO people of all reii-
gious beliefs.
I'VE shall begin modestly with a day
school in which a staff of perhaps four or
hve instructors will give the regular clas-
steal and commercial course which covers
six years. The teaching Is thorough and
great stress is laid upon the classical train
ing. Latin and Greek, the grammar, the
humanities, poetry and rhetoric are the
subjects to be taken up.
They have received training in our spe-
cial schools in the East and in Europe.
The time taken to form a man in our
order IS seventeen years. So you can see
that he is subjected 10 a severe drill before
being ready to teach.
1.-The money for the school is not drawn
from general fund, but is raised locally.
Though We shall begin modestly, we hope
that as the community advances We shall
advance till We can have such a college as
that AZ Santa Clara. In Spokane, for ex-
ample, we have a school costing 1000.
1t has been found inadequate, and now
plans have been drawn for one costing
Sa00o0. Those plans, however, have not
vet been apprOyed