The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1911-05-12
~ RosERr l. KELLY.


President Of Earlham College.
1t 10 evident that many people do
not understand just why II Is that
Earlham has q $4,000 debt. The gen.
eral impression seems to be that the
debt was contracted in the erection of
the library building and the Edwin 8.
Bundy dormitory. and the remark Is
sometimes made that those buildings
should not have been erected on Dor
rowed money. AZ a matter of fact.
the unpaid balance on those buildings
10 not a large sum-not more than
$4,000.
II is well, furthermore. to recall the
circumstances under which those
buildings were erected. The library
facilities Of the college were far be-
low the standard rightly to be expect.
ed from a college of the standing of
Earlham. As a matter Of fact, the IL
brary. housed rs 1t was in a single
small room in Lindley hall. was no
credit to the college. The time for an
advance step was far past due. Earl
ham could not afford to continue much
longer her primitive methods of libra
ry administration. with its inevitably
blighting effect upon the entire educa-
tional work Of the college. When
therefore, Andrew Carnegie offered to
give $4,000 for the erection Of a H.
brary building. the friends of the col
lege rallied to our support in the cam
paign for a $4,000 endowment fund
for its upkeep. But those in charge
OF the enterprise had a vision of a
greater Earlham in the days to come
and they therefore undertook the bur-
den of raising $4,000 in addition to
Carnegie's gift for the building. This
they undoubtedly would have accom-
plished except that in the midst of the
campaign Zenas and Rachel Bundy Of
Greenfield. made an offer Of SIS, 900 for
a dormitory for boys. on condition that
another $25. 900 be raised for the same
purpose. The old dormitory was en-
tirely too small to accommodate the
increasing number of stdents, and va
rious unsatisfactory devices were be-
Ing used to take care of the overflow.
Besides Mr.. and Mr.. Bundy were anx-
ious that the work proceed at once.
and the trustees could not well hold
back under these circumstances. So
II came to pass that the dormitory
campaign began before the library
campaign was completed and the
building was put up before all the
money was subscribed. BY these
means the trustees gained for the col
lege assets aggregating 100000. with
| n NohiNxv - oul. 60 mn Th1e carat n,
ly was not poor business management.
Really 1t would be fair to call the total
asset $4,000 for gift OF $25. 900 soon
came to the endowment which the col
lege In all probability would not have
received except for the confidence pro-
duced in the mind Of the donor by
",e aggressive work chronicled above.
So much for the smallest. fraction of
debt. which within itself would have
been almost negligible quantity.
But at this point an unexpected EN-.
Urgency arose. The old boilers which
for many years had been doing service
lin heating the college buildings gave
out and were found to be permanently
incapable of furnishing the heat need
ed. The trustees had no time to ask
for additional contributions even II IL
had been considered wise to take the
field once more in campaign fol-
funds. A central heating plant must
be provided or the work of the college
must STOP There was only one horn
of the dilemma to choose, and the
heating plant was erected at a cost
including the necessary connections
Of approximately $4,000. There /,
also included in this sum a lighting
; plant which has already paid for Itself
In the saving in the cost of electricity
Evidently no set OF men could have
done anything else than what wal
done by the trustees-unless they haG
J gone down into their own pockets fol
, the money to meet this emergency
} and this the friends of the college
! could not fairly expect.
Another feature of the debt was pro
duced by the necessity of overhaulins
, our sewer system. connecting with the
: recently installed Southwest Rich
, mond system. There should be addet
: to this certain permanent improve
ments of somewhat miscellaneou.
: character. the aggregate total cost be
, ing $1,000.
} The balance of the debt-approxi
} mately $15,O00-is administration debt
} This Of course Is huctuating quaint
: ty. Within the past two years 1t hal
, been as low as $1,000. but since the an
: nual heavy interest became necessar!
on the $4,000 debt mentioned abov,
/ the strain on the administration ha,