Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-01-06
GATHERING OF GRADS
Annual Meeting of the Columbian
Alumni Association.
An EVENffUL EVENING PASSED
Addresses Full of Interest Precede
Election of Officers.
UNITED FOR THE UNIVERSITY

| cation OF the Columbian University attract
| ed congenial gathering to the fonored in
| stltut:on last night and the exercises which
were conducted in the lecture hail. were en-
Joyed by an unusually appreciative audi
| ehce. II was easy to perceive when the
| speeches. were commenced that single
| spirit inspired all who were there and that
| was enthusiasm for alma mater combined
with determination to make her greater and
| more tllustrious, more potent for achieve
! ment and more powerful for good. All the
| addresses were literally punctuated with
| applause, and 1t was a pity the several
thousand graduates of the college and uni
| versity could not have been present to have
| added to the approval and Joined in the de-
cision to exert every effort to advance Co.
| lumbar interests. There were many ladies
| present, and while they enjoyed the adj
dresses no less than the men, they became
| still more attractive part Of the occasion
| when adjournment was followed by delight
| full social interminglng in The adjoining
| apartment, where a collation. was spread.
President b. l.. Whitman of the university
| was introduced after the order of the meet
| ing had been announced and made a char
| acteriStic address. He laid great stress On
| the Importance of the alumni association.
| The influence exerted by the alumni of any
| institution of learning was great, and the
| members of the Columbian Association
| could accomplish an immense amount of
| good with very little effort. He recounted
| the work already accomplished by the in
| stitution ana what was hoped for it in the
| future.
| President Browns Remarks.
| Mr.. Chapin Brown, the retiring prcsi-
| dent delivered his annual address. II was
| interesting and received with many marks
| of approval. He recited the various mat
| tiers Of interest to the university that
|
| which he hoped would be generally dis
! cussed. There 700 members the
| association rolls and an association had
| teen formed in New York state. 1t was
| TO be hoped that other states would fol-
| low suit especially those having large
| cities, where it would be not only a pleas
| ure. but practicable for resident graduates
| to meet and cement closer together the
| make new friendships with those who
| follow in the order of graduation. Nom
resident members had aided the associa.
| ton and the university as far as in their
| power In a financial way.
| In the Front Rank.
| The Alumni Association was organized
for social reunion of it's members, but
| the principal tie that bound the members
| together was their alma mater.
1--WE note with PRIDE he said, that
the university, under the very efficient
management and direction of President
| Whitman, aided and seconded by the
| able corps of professors and lecturers
| composing the faculties of the various
| schools, has continued to advance until
| 1T now stands in the front ranks of Amer
| lean institutions of higher education In
! fact, when we consider the great advan-
| taSes that many other institutions of
learning throughout the country have had
| ever our own, by way of larger money
| endowments, it is difficult to explain the
| success Columbian has attained without
giving the greater share of the credit to
| its officers and instructors. Too much
| credit and honor cannot be given to those
| who have devoted and are devoting their
| time and, in many instances, their whole
| lives to this noble work. Yet while we
| do not attempt to disguise the fact that
wc are deficient in the way of a sufficient
money endowment, there is an advantage
| that we enjoy that to a certain extent
supplies this deficiency, and that is the
| great educational plant that has been es-
| tablshed at the capital of the nation of
the United States government The gov
eminent departments, and particularly the
Smithsonian Institute the Army Medical
Museum, the United States patent Office
| the Supreme Court and the Congressional
| Library, furnish advantages to the stu
dent here in mis- university course which
cannot well be supplied by other institu-
lions of learning located away from the
| national capital"
No Need of a Free University.
Many well-meaning and publc-spirited
| citizens, he said, had renewed the efforts
made on previous occasions to establish
! by endowment or appropriation by the gen.
| eral government national institution Of
learning for higher education, to be styled
| the United States University" In the
early years of the republic there was no
doubt, great need of such national insti.
| tuition OF learning at the seat of the gov
ernment; but in this age, when this need
has been supplied by institutions supported
| by the various states of the Union and by
religious denominations and large ondow-
mcnts from individuals, the same reasons
do not exist fer national aid to the cause of
higher education.
Notable Events of the Year.
President Brown called attention to the
changes during the year in the closing of
the preparatory school; the extension of
the law school course from two to three
years, and the amendment to the charter
merging the board of governors and the
board Of trustees into single board of
trustees to have control of university af-
fairs. Additional honors had been added to
the university in the selection of two of
the most distinguished members of the
Alumni Association to high positions in tine
educational world, William L. Wilson hay-
ing become president of Washington and
Lee University, and DR.. Andrew p Mon
tague president OF Furman University
Their selection after such long connection
with Columbian showed that the eyes of
the educators of the country were upon the
University and that the world of letters an
preciated fully the valuable work and ser
vices rendered by its instructors.
Reports of Officers.
The minutes Of the last meeting were
read and Professor H. L. Hodgkins. the
secretary, read his report. He was con-
| WINGED the association pursued a proper
policy in keeping in touch with all grad
yates. His mailing list now contained the
names and addresses of 1900 graduates
and officers, an increase of $50 during the
past year. He desired all members to as
sist in completing the list. The total num-
Der of degrees conferred by Columbian
was 1896, and the number of persons re-
ceiving them 3,497. At the time the his
torical catalogue was issued in January.
1892, 3,1S3 degrees had been conferred on
257S persons. Since then lib degrees
have been conferred on 919 persons an in
crease of 35 per cent. It was to be hoped
| that the university would join with the
association In meeting the expense of a
new historical catalogue.
Treasurer John B. Larner's report show.
| ed receipts from all sources during the
| year OF $773.8S and expenditures of $S10.S2;