The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-07-20

NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.
Polytechnic, the Rensselaer, School of
| Civil Engineering. etc. and that splendid
| system of Immigrant A. and M. Colleges
| existing. today in every State of the
| Union. established through the far-reach-
| ing craftsmanship of the great Senator
| from Vermont. Justin s. Morrill,. OF this
upper class of technical schools, the in
/ stitution at Auburn. the Alabama Poly
technic Institute. islands as the States
| honored representative--an Institution
which. hesitate not to say. has been
developed by the skill and wisdom of Its
| late eminent President DIR. William Lee
| Roy Broun. into the equal OF any college
Of technology in the South.
Now the purpose or aim of these coli
leges-as held by DR.. Broun and as held
| by all the institutions enumerated-is
not to teach trade. not to develop mere
" the individual artisan who is to do
mere manual work. This, II seems, were
a. mere waste of public money. The aim.
| the wiser aim, is rather to develop cap
tains of industry. civil, electrical and
mechanical engineers, chemists, agricul-
turists, metallurgists. men who, as entire
/ preneurs. or as superintendents. or as
executive officers in every field OF indus
Il try, are able to explore and exploit the
llmaterial resources of the land. bringing
tiiWDOA tO6ElHNi hiAthoi SAM
1 land who are able TO plan. organize. and
i ldArect industries of the greatest magni-
Il itude and of the most far-reaching infiu-
| ence upon tie comrnnity. 49,
The Alabama Polytechnic Institute.
/ NAnd now / am sure that. you viii not
| take 1t amiss, II. as the representative
| OF the Alabam Polytechnic Institute. l
pause here to give brief sketch of the
institution, showing what 1t has accom-
pfished and what 1t needs for still fur
| Their development and usefulness. 1t is
your institution. the sole technical in
stitution of the State, and the facts that
I submit solicit your attention and your
| interest. Established In 1872, the insti-
tute has grown steadily and symmetri-
cally. Year by year 1T has strengthened
| both in equipment and in teaching power,
| and Increased, in the number of students
| in attendance until today its halls are
| filled with young men from every section
| of Alabama. and the entire South. At
the end of the first decade. In 1852. the
number of students was 125; while for
the last several years the attendance has
| averaged 400. representing forty-six coun-
| ties in Alabama, thirteen States. and two
| foreign countries. The faculty has in
| creased from six professors and two JIM
structors to sixteen full professors and
4 ten instructors and assistants. Within
| the last decade six distinctively new de-
| partments of technical instruction have
been added to the college: Mechanic Arts,
Biology Electrical Engineering. Physlol-
| ogy and Veterinary Science. Pharmacy,
| Entomology. All of these departments
have proven highly successful and today
have a full patronage.
Roundly. the increase in patronage has
been about go per cent, the increase in
faculty and experiment station staff about
/ $40 per cent, the increase in income not
quite 100 per cent. This is showing OF
/ which the State may be proud.
4 Thirteen thoroughly appointed labora-
tories have been established for practi-
cal instruction In chemistry, civil engin-
eering, mechanical engineering, electrical
| engineering. metallurgy, assaying, tech
/ nical drawing, mechanic arts, physics
botany biology, pharmacy, physiology.
| An agricultural experiment station oil
| ZIG acres was established in 1885, and the
4 high order of work done by the staff In
| this department has been of vast service
| to the farmers of Alabama, and has giver
the Institution a high, frank in scientific
/ circles. The station Bulletins are highly
/ esteemed by both PRACTICAL and scientific
men. s@iR N~ - '''
And what hassbeen the output, the def.
mite result, OF all thai Organization and
| equipment s.e..., - .sur..s.- "a
An institution is known by it's graduates
These graduates are distributed as fol
lows In the various technical professions
Civil engineering. "a: electrical and me-
l chanical engineering IS; mining engineer
| ing. 49,; total number of engineers, 80.
! Architects 10; manufacturers, %; chem
i lists, 20; food inspectors. Instructors, pro-
fessors assistants. farmers. 1872. in gem
4 eral business. 195: teachers. So; profess
sions. 49, Thus it Is seen that the total
number Of technical graduates is 276 or
over so per cent of the entire number.
| The percentage of technical students has
grown larger and larger since the first
ten years of the existence of the college
Towing to the large Increase piAhe facilI-
ties, courses, and instruction in the tech
meal departments. nI 49,.
The high rank taken by many of these
graduates Is Indicated, by a few positions
taken at random: Professors Of. Chemis-
try, Florida Agricultural and Mechanical
College, Alabama Polytechnic Institute
University of Alabama. Agricultural and
Mechanical College of Mississippi, Tulane
University; Professors of Agriculture
Mississippi, Agricultural oand Mechanical
College, University of .eArkansas; pirec-
tors of Experiment Stations. University
of Arkansas, Experiment Station of Mis-
sissippi; Professors of Physiology, Medi-
cal College Of Alabama and of Wander
bilt University; City Chemist. Atlanta;
Professor of Physics. Georgia School OF
Technology; Professor of Civil Engineer
ing, University of Wisconsin; Professors
of Physics and Electrical Engineering
Agricultural and Mechanical Cellege. OF
South Carolina; 26 prominent mining en-
+gineers, civil engineers. architects In JEFF
ferson County. General, Superintendent
Mexican Central Railroad, Resident En-
gineer Southern Railway st4I'
Nearly 5000 young men have attended
college at Auburn sil3e 1872, and these
young men are scattered throughout the
length and breadth of the land, endeavor-
ing in mine and field and forest. in Ia
boratory, workshop and railroad, to build
up the waste places of the South, and es-
pecially of the great State of Alabama.
| This is what the Alabama Polytechnic
Institute has achieved in technical educa-
ton. The record is. inded, an excellent
one, and 4 lasting memorial it will be to
| the educational wisdom of him by whom
It was chiefly wrought. But l repeat,
| II Is offered not in any spirit of COM
placency, but only as a proof OF work
well done by the institution in the past;
| and an earnest and pledge of work that
I will he well done in the future.
| In truth. far from the spirit Of brag,
| I hesitate not to say that the needs of
| the coilege for helm today are imperative