The morning call., 1893-05-07
SHALL 1T CLOSE?
Cogswell School Pupils
Have a Say.
THEY START AN AGITATION.
Ambitious Boys See Their Careers
Blasted and Will See What They
Can Do About 1t.
THEY START AN AGITATION.

The interest in the future of the Cogs-
well Polytechnic College is not held ex-
clusively by the merely wandering public,
which has curiosity to know what the
benevolent doctor will do with the in sttu-
tion to which he appears to have a string
attached.
About 200 students, whose indu ustrial edu-
Cation Will receive a sudden stop at the
close of this term, when the school will be
''closed indefinitely" have far deeper in
terest in its immediate future than even the
teachers. who will lose their jobs.
These boys and girls very naturally do not
want to suddenly drop a course OF training
for practical life in which their energies and
ambitions have been centered, and now
they have come forward to figure in tie
situation.
1t was discouraglng and disheartening to
great many of them to be told that the
school was about TO close. Some could con-
tinue their studies we'll enough in the Com
mercial or other high schools, but the
future suddenly seemed hopeless to many
ambitious youths, who looked forward to
success in mechanical trades rs a result of
the scientific and manual training which
they were receiving. Apprentices in
machine and other shops was about all they
could see ahead
DNS oNiiAV VI pIbpUSt III sHt WIdI
they can do about getting the school kept
open. They are going to consult lawyers
about the legal right of DIR. Gogswel 20
close the school he has decided ana dedicated
to the public through board of trustees,
and they are going to try tn enlist public
cooperation of some sort They have an
ldea that the city might take the school up
again; and they have an idea, too, that sub
scrlptlons to pay part of the expense of
running the school might be raised.
4 .Nsn1f ftn. rf
youths were out on preliminary inyesti-
CATION yesterday. The committee consisted
OF ). A. Copper, A. LanSburgh, w. r. Pid-
well, }. Walker and G. r. King and they
said that they represented a majority OF the
pupils of the school.
Some days ago." said one of the men,
bers of the committee, ''the pupils of the
CoGswell School were informed that at the
close OF this term, June l next, the college
would be closed indefinitely. Fifty pu-
pills graduate in two weeks ard all the
classes VIII advance one grade in cOnse-
Quence. We, who are juniors this years,
who have worked hard and studied hard,
find that Our work will be we'll nigh useless
If the school is closed even those who have
the money al their command must give up
the line OF study they lave marked out for
themselves and pursued for three or four
years because there is no other polytechnic
institute in the State and the universities of
PalO Alto and at Berkeley are not equipped
to receive us and allow US to continue our
Work. The boys and girls who have no
money and who have been fitting them
selves for trades will be out altogether.
"On Friday last the pupils met quietly 10
consider what should be done. The reason
given for closing the school was a lack of
funds. there not being enough money il is
claimed, to even pay the taxes on the prop
erty belonging to the school. What we now
want Is to know what we can do. We are
going 10 consult lawyers TO see whether
under the trust deed of DR.. COgswell and
| his vile the city could not take the school
| and keep it open. or whether, if outside
| parties would con ntrlbute enough to run the
| institution. we could not keep 1t open in
| that way.
I'VE want TO finish our course of study.
| The college IS splendGly equipped and all
the pupils are going right ahead, but this
threatened move by the trustees simply
| renders our years OF work well nigh value
less to us. The college should run fort~
weeks out Of the year, commencing January
| 20, with q vacation of six We at the end
| OF the term. the next term commencing
July 20 with like "acation at its eIose.''
| Cne OF tne boys went on to tell how it
! was almost impossible for boys to learn
| trades by being apprenticed owing to the
| fact OF the stringent rules of the labor
| unions regarding apprentices, and finally he
| asked
IF they close this college and the shops
| against US, what'is to become of the boys
| who want to learn a trade SO as to earn
| decent livelihood? ?"
The pupils express no hard feelings
| toward DR.. COgswell or any one else
! They care nothing about the quarrel going
on between the doctor and others, only in
so far as IL influences the keeping open or
closing of the school. The boys and girls
are in earnest and they are willing to have
the public judge as to the justice of their
| cause by an examination of the work they
| have done and are doing
| DR.. Cogswell was seen last evening and
absolutely declined TO enter into any par
| ticulars as to the future of the college
Il have known nothing of the workings
| OF the college for The last eight months"
said he, land have no idea of reopenng the
| school. Matters have reached such point
now that the only thing possible for me to
| do is to close the school when the present
term ends"
! When asked If he would allow the school
to be run by the city or by private sub
scripIion the doctor said he had not thought
OF that at all, and would not give any opin-
| ion until such a proposition was made In
| fact, the charitable doctor was not at all In
clined to be communicative as 10 the results
OF the sudden ending of his attempts to es-
| tabliSh seat Of learning.