The Portland daily press., 1895-05-17
MAINE STATE COLLEGE ALUMNI.
Held Their Annual Banquet Last
Evening.

At the West End notwithstanding Re-
marks by Hon. William L. Haines,
President A. W. Harris and DR.. Charles
F. Allen, the First President The Col
lege Has the Largest Freshman Glass
and Annual Income of Any College in
the History of the State.
At the West End hotel last evening, the
Western Maine state College Alumni Asso-
citation, held its third annual banquet. The
guests of the evening were President Harris
of the college. he venerable DR.. Charles f.
Allen of this city, the first president of the
college. and Hon. William Il. Haines of
Wsterville, one of the trustees of the
college. The members of the Alumni asso-
citation who were present were President
S. W. Bates, Secretary E. II. Elwell, E. j 3.
Haskell of Westbrook, r. W. Eaton and ".
H. Atkinson of Brunswick, Horace Earring
ton and G. F. Atherton of Cape Elizabeth,
and John Locke, Jr., Charlss T. Vose. Thos'
j. Stevens, Leonard q. Paine. W. H
Holden, G. A. Neatly and Edmund W.
Morrill, of Portland.
President Bates. who presided, referred
to the extraordinary growth of the college
attendance since the advent of President
Harris and the encouraging fact that the
entering class last fall was the fifth largest
Freshman class among the colleges of New
England. He referred to tile love and
veneration that all alumni of the college
feel Cor its first president, DIR. Charles F..
Allen, and then introduced, as the first
speaker and as one o f the strongest friends
the college has or ever had, Hon. VIM. I.
Haines of Wateryille, one OF the board of
trustees.
Mr.. Haines spoke of the long contest in
the last legislature for an appropriation for
| the college lin which he took the prominent
partl and which resulted in an appI opra-
tion of $20,O00 for two years. With this
addition. the annual income of the college
| for the next two years will be S5S.00O In
| viev of the fact that this past year the
| Freshman class was over one hundred in
num1er and the largest college Freshman
| class in the history of this state and also
| the fact that the college is but twenty four
years of age there is every reason for en-.
couragement.
DR.. Harris the president of the college
was next introduced as having recently
come from similar Maine State College
Alumni banquets in Boston and New York.
He spoke of The pleasure and value of such
casions and then made brief statement
of what will be done with the $4,000 that
has been received from the legislature.
' After the departments have been more
properly equipped the buildings will be
changed and repaired.
II is proposed to spend $1,000 upon the
Oldest dormitory, Wingate Hall. There will
be special la boritory for the Freshmen SO
that they as we'll as the upper elassmen
shall practice chemistry as they study it.
He believes that the time is past when any
student shall graduate from the college
without practical knowledge of the use
of the test-tube and the breaker.
The most important new building will be
the new chapter house for the Kappa Sigma
| society they providing part of the expense
and the college the remainder.
are number of plants and trees will
be sci out upon the campus.
| Three new courses have been added: the
preparatory medical course. the pharmacy
course and the course in electicaI engineer
| ing. Last year in this latter course were
over forty students and it seems destined
to be the most popular course of all in the
near future.
A new feature of the curriculum that is
now being considered is proposed summer
school. During the summer vacation it is
proposed to offer laboratory courses in
chemistry. physics and natural history for
the instruction of teachers in the common
schools; also there may be courses in Eng
lish and domestic economy the latter being
designd to suggest to teachers the value of
| teaching scholars those simple practical
men tai Iequirements of every day life.
| The exact number of students is two hun
number will be increased next year. In re-
| gard to the college income, he stated that
| the average availa Dle income for the next
two years will be $4,000, and with the Sl5,.
900 for the United States experimen,
station. national appropriation. the entire
income will be $73. COO which is much large,
than that of any college in the state.
President Bates introduced the venerab BILE
| DR.. Allen. one whose voice was familiar
twenty years ago in the college chapel tc
| some of those present.
..sDr. Allen spoke briefly, but with his usual
fervor of the great change in the- college
since it's beginning. when he was in charge
of it, and the reason for pride in it's gradu.
ates since then, and in its present splendid
condition and equipment, and the fact that
it is the state institution of the Grand old
State of Maine.