Middletown transcript., 1908-02-22
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AT she Iast sIlss II tl.s Baas1 oi
Trustees q I;ela@aks G1liaea provision
was iaade for the securing u tlifes a5dI-
tional Instructors for lie next collegiate
year, ore Ii Eneiish. one III Matie MATES
and one in Drawing This necessary in-
Increase IA the teacllipg force Of
the College Is doe to tie large number Of
students who entered 10 September.
Seventy four Freshmen are nom enrolled,
u compared with fifty ID 1867.
The very prosperous condition oi the
College this year, at least as far as the
number o. students Is concerned suggests
. looking back into The history Of onr
State College a decide or more, 10 order
that we may appreciate It's steady growth
during That period and tile dieni6ed po-
sition which il can now assume among
the best oi the small colleges o. or
country.
Sncll survey, brief rs il may be,
should canse much satisfaction to the
graduates Of the College and to the eli,
zens Of our State no have a sincere in
terest in tile welfare Of our one institn,
ton Of higher education. Aud. With b.
consideration at the same time Of the
present condition Of the College, it should
lead thoughtful men 10 realize that Della
ware College is just now in position, il
support is genera u given, to advance
With rapid strides toward settled career
OF great usefulness to the State within
whose borders this institution has had SO
long and checkered an existence, and to
so many Of whose sons it has given that
priceless possession-an education which
should enable man to live larger and
more useful life.
Let us compare, for instance, Delaware
College from 1895 to 1898 with Delaware
College Of the years from 1906 10 1908.
In 1856, III students we're ia attendance;
in 1896 z. n; in 1897 9, 9I;; teuyears later,
for the corresponding years, there we're
ll9, l27, and l57. respectively. This IN
crease in the number Of students has
token place, moreover, in the face Of
material advance in the requirements for
admission and very marked stiffenine
Of many of the courses leading to the
Bachelors degree. In 1895, Delaware
College practically had no library, its en-
tire stock OF books, in addition to those
in departmental libraries, consisting Of
Government reports; to-day, the CON.
bined libraries Of the Institution comprise
about 15,O00 volumes. In Literature,
History, Political Economy, Government,
Theology, and General Science fields in
which most general reading is doue-the
College is, comparatively speaking, quite
satisfactorily equipped.
In the matter Of buildings. our own
State has been very generous in the last
ten years. With appropriations from
year to year, amounting to $70,0 900, the
Trustees have enlarged the Dormitory to
twice its size; have erected substantial
brick building in place Of the old wooden
Mechanical and Electrical Engineering
building which was destroyed by FIRE in
1898; and have replaced the antiquated
wooden gymnasium with modern brick
building admirably adapted TO the needs
of the students in the way of indoor
athletic and social entertainments. In
addition to these buildings. the State has
given tile College a farm, from the lack
Of which the Agricultural Course had
been severely handicapped.
Along with liberal appropriations from
the State we find Increased grants from
the United States Government. From
{ M a. sum Of little more thanS5, 600
in 1888, the income grew to s$37 900 in
in 1895, and it has now reached the
amount of $4,000. This amount will
grow with the next three years to S76, 600
II certain bills which are now before Con.
gress should pass, we may expect that
this fund will be increased very largely, |
as one bill alone-that providing for En-.
gineering Experiment Stations would
mean $4,000 for Delaware College. OF
course, these funds from the United
States Government must all be expended
for certain clearly defined purposes, and
each additional grant means an addi-
tional burden on the State, since practi-
caIly none of this money may 60 for
buildings or for general expenses.