Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-10-10
SUCCESS OF THE ALUMNI
Many Holding Responsible Positions
Throughout the World.
NO SUMMER VACATION GIVEN
Course That Usually Requires Four
Years Study Completed at
Houghton in Three.
BY WILLIAM F. CURTIS.
Special Correspondence of The Star and IN
Chicago Record Herald

HOTGHTON. Mich, October 2 1907.
The Michigan College OF Mines occupies
/ group of six handsome buildings aoou'
/ a mile east of the center of Hough'oh' al
/ the end of College avenue, and mas AZ
/ students About two-thirds OF them are
! from Michigan. The remainder are at
| tracted by the special advantages o1ereo
| here from other states, Canada, Mexico
Japan Cuba. South Africa and other parts
of the world. The institution was louhoeo
/ by the late Jay A. Hubbel, who repre-
scented this district in Congress for seVerai
years. and afterward went to the state
senate of Michigan in 1885 for the express
purpose of securing an appropriation Tor
it, The original allowance was small ana
the friends of the institution have worked
hard for everything they have had since
The people of Houghton and the several
mining companies in this district have
been Gerry generous, and have furnished
what the state has failed to provide. Inc
gymnasium one of the handsomest Duiid-
ings on the campus, was erected oy pr
vate contributions. Two more buildings
are In course of erection, library ana
a museum, and the former residence OF
Representative Hubbell Is now being torn
down to make room for them
The college has several peculiar al
vantaees over other institutions, first be-
cause of It's Observation-Disclosures II is ex-
Clusively devoted TO the science or mining
second. its location so near several Ia
nous mines and the facilities afforded the
students by the different mining COM
panies for practical investigation and ex-
perience. Every mine and smelter and
mill is open to them. The members of the
senior class with their professors, are
the only persons, except employees al
lowed to go down the shafts of the Calu-
met and Hecla mine. as / told you In
recent letter. Another advantage is the
well-equipped laboratories. A fourth ad-
vantage is that the faculty is made up OF
practical engineers, who have obtained
their knowledge by experience as well as
by study, and who continue the actual
practice of their profession. so that they
are able TO keep pace with its progress
and have an opportunity to ascertain and
demonstrate the value of new ideas,
methods and new inventions.
The students have an opportunity to
meet experienced and successful mining
men. and they have unusual facilities for
obtaining employment. The managers OF
Michigan mines and some of those in
other states are in the habit of applying
TO the institution for men when they have
vacancies or need additional assistance
Faculty and Board of Control.
The faculty consists of President F. w.
McNair and the following heads of de-
partments:
G. A. Koenig, che mistry.
F. w. Speer, civil and mining engineer
ing.
o. P. Hood. mechanical and electrical en-
gineering.
A. Z. Seaman. mineralogy and geology
James Fisher, Jr, mathematics and
physics.
l.. S. Austin, metallurgy and ore dress
ing.
l.
board of control appointed by the COVER
nor and confirmed by the senate. Every
member of the board is a practical mining
man. and 1t is to the credit of the appoint
ing powers and the state a whole that
politics has never interfered with the
institution; that no politicians have ever
been appointed to the board. 1t is also
fortunate for the school that such men
have been willing to give it SO large a
share of their time and attention
The chairman is William Kelly of Vul-
can, general manager of the Penn Iron
Company. which is the mining end of
the Cambria Steel Company. Mr.. Kelly
is a Yale man and has a mining engineers
degree from Columbia University.
]. NJ. Longyear of Marquette, the mem
Der of longest service. Is heavy owner
Of iron producing lands, and is largely
interested in other lines Of mining
James McNaughton of Calumet, a Uni
versity of Michigan alumnus, is general
manager of all the Calumet and Hecla
properties.
Murray NJ Duncan of Ishpeming is
general manager of the Cleveland Cliffs
Iron Companys interests. He is a grad
uate of the school of mines of Lehigh
University.
DIR. L. L. Hubbard, a Harvard man with
a doctors degree from the University Of
Bonn, Germany, is general manager Of
the copper mines of the st. Mary's Canal
Company.
Walter Fitch. one of the most widely
known mining men of the state, formerly
manager OF the Champion Iron Company,
is now superintendent of the Calumet and
Hecla mine at Calumet.
Singleness of Aim.
The College Of Mines is confined to a
single line Of effort said President Nc
Nair, that of training men to take up
active relations with the work of mining.
Its friends ascribe it's conspicuous sue
cess In no small degree to this concentra-
ton on one field of engineering, and to Its
location in a region whose chief interests
are those for which the school Is training
Its men.
The student lives in a mining atmos-
phere during his entire residence. On
his inspection trips and incidentally ne
meets men from the grade of laborer up
who are actively engaged in the Indus
try which he is studying, with the re-
suit that he catches the spirit of his
| future profession. His interest is great
| ly intensified the effect showing plainly
| in his attitude toward his college work
and In the results obtained from it. A
| like influence is exerted over their fell
| lows by considerable number of ma
| ture men among the studentS-men VINO
| have often been engaged in mining or
| other industrial pursuits for period OF
several years before going to the college
for a technical education. The average
| age of the students is twenty-five and
one-half years, considerably above that
| Of students at the ordinary college.
! The diversity of classes from which
students come is well shown by the oc-
equations of the fathers. Broadly classi-
! fed the students of the last college
year had for parents: Bankers, 8; farm
/ ers, 8; manufacturers, 10; merchants and
statesmen. 81; mining, "a; professional
~: skilled laborers. As: miscellaneous
Is In the earlier days of the college
the distribution in this respect was some
/ what different For the first nine years
4 Of the schools existence II was as fol-
lows: Farmers, 40; manufacturers. "a
merchants. ~; mining, 60; professional
81; skilled laborers, 80.
There is no long summer vacation al
this college. The summer term, twelve
weeks long. occupies the time usually
given TO vacation, and in this term
the students devote themselves to field
practical and actual mill and shop work
Because of this extra term in the yeal
three years at the College of Mines suf
fees to cover the usual four years tech
meal course. This saves the student
year of time for the practice of his pro
fession, an important matter when ex