The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-05-24
Again Gather at Their
 Alma Mater.
At Night Students Of The College Per- form seThe Knight of The Burn- ing PestIe" of Beaumont
 and Fletcher.
By wiir T. sheehan.

Marion, May 23.-(Speclal Correspon- dence )-The aluminae of Judson, the fortunate ones. who partook of her | blessing and her opportunities met this morning. They are loyal and devoted to their alma mater, these daughters of Alabama, who found shelter, learn ing and culture within the walls. Of Judson.
 They have in the recent past pre- scented to the college magnificent l auditorium building. No college In ! the State boasts of a finer one. The
 alumnae keep and maintain at Judson two students, as an earnest mark of their love and interest in the historic old institution. The meeting today was enthusiastic and no less than sixty graduates were in attendance.
 The students tonight gave an old English play, with its quaint humor and it's picturesque old English idioms and sentences. These two events, the meeting of the alumnae and the old play by the seniors, were the exercises that marked this day of the sixty eighth annual commencement of Jud- son College.
 Tomorrow Is the fullest and most im- portant day of the commencement ex- ercises. The Board of Trustees meets tomorrow and tomorrow night the baccaIaureaate address will be deliv-
 cred and the diplomas will be handed the young ladies who graduate from Judson College in the year of 1906. The board tomorrow will hear some remarkable figures upon the growth of Judson College in the past ten years Members of the Board of Trus- tees may know the details of Judson's remarkable growth. Educational cir cles of Alabama are well aware that the advance of Judson in the past ten years has been nothing short of re- markable.
 The Past Decade. In this past decade Judson has grown nearly 800 per cent While educa- tional Alabama knows that the college has progressed wonderfully in the ten years that has just gone, 1t is hardly prepared, flor the statement that the
 college has developed 300 per cent in a
 single decade.
 The mind hardly grasps the magni- tude of this progress, even when the figures of comparison are given and
 set opposite each other. These figures show that in the school year which ended in 1896 there were enrolled only 1O1 students and that the teachers
 and officers of the college numbered only twelve.
 Tn the school year which has just closed and which ends the final year
 of tho decade, the students enrolled number 2s0. while teachers and officers
 are now engaged to the number of thirty-three.
 The receipts at Judson College ten
 years ago amounted to only $17.OO0. They have now grown so that they
 reach the splendid total of $64,12491--
 the amount of the last year. Additional and convincing figures are to be had from the books as to the growth and development of the college.
 In the ten years now closing the sum
 of $2S.000 has been paid for an indebt- edness of the college. In addition to all this the property and the equip
 ment of the college has been increased
 $5O,0Oo.
 As to students it may be said that
 during this decade 2.1S9 of them have
 been enrolled. Of this number 32O
 have received diplomas.
 The quoted figures form a splendid commentary upon the administration of Dr. Robert G. Patrick. They are in themselves tribute to his energy, his zeal and his executive cbility. Dr. Patrick's Administration. Dr. Patrick, however, is inclined to give credit In part for this wonderful | growth to the general educational ad- vancement of the past ten years, the most remarkable the world has ever
 known and of which generous share came to Judson. Much of 1t, he says.
 Is due to this and to the improved
 financial condition of the country, and
 much of it was due to the masterful
 management of the late President
 Averett during the most critical period
 in the history of Judson.
 The outlook for Judson," said Pres ident Patrick. lis satisfying and prom
 ising. The Judson seems to be firmly established in the affections of the people of Alabama and Of the surround
 ing States, and our efforts to retain
 their confidence and affection will be
 increased"
 Judson came into being with the be-