Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1918-01-25

NNNiAN AHNN'f
went to others and got practically
the same reply from all They insisted
that a college with over AOOOOO en-
dowment and S225,OOO in buildings
ought to derive a large amount from
its students before seeking further be-
nevolence could not deny they were
right,
Nevertheless felt that ! must have
something with which to make a start
toward new building or a new fund
at the very outset, | wanted some
thing to arouse the enthusiasm OF the
alumni and TO fix the college in the
public eye as an object of benevol-
enCe,
A Philanthropist With Heart
So | appealed to good old Dr. d, X,
Pearsons of Chicago, who had given
over Si,O00,000 to small colleges and
who was not in the habit of calling for
reports, He was born III
Vermont and that gave me slight
hold upon him, Some one told me that
he had soft place in his heart for
girls with college ambition, Now Mid
dlebury had admitted girls for some
twenty years, as a duty to the large
number OF most worthy young women
in Nrw England whn could ret fncct
the expenses OF the large women's col
lcgcs So | pictured our Middlebury
girls trudglng through the snow from
homes all over the village and asked
him for $4,000 for a home for them on
the college hill Straight came his
answer $4,000 is not enough You
ought to have 100000 to do the work
right | will give you $4,000 if you can
raise $4,000 in Vermont and other
places.
took that letter to some OF our
trustees, but they said it didn't amount
to anything, They thought we could
never raise $4,000,
My First Success
But it looked to me like a chance and
l resolved to stake my all upon it. !
it at my inauguration, and
while the people were still applauding,
Governor Mccullough put his hand on
my shoulder ! can feel it yet and
said, That's good, Doctor, | am with
you 5000 on that" Before night |
had promises of SD, 100, and one ten
dollar bill from a country school teach
er, the first real cash received for
College. In just a year
to a day we had the $4,000 and Doctor
Pearsons' check for S2j0O0 and now
we not only have Persons Hall, fine
marble dormitory, but also two cot
tages, excellent accommodations for
about l2j girls.
Putting Business into College
The next September we received the
largest class in the history of the col
lege and | gathered the whole student
body in the old village church and told
them we must inaugurate new policy
as to tuition | explained that the col
lege had about $1,000 a year for scholar
ships, the income from funds intruSt-
ed to US to help pay the tuition OF de-
serving students, but ought not to give
away more | asked them to write
home and explain the situation, and
| suggested that if then they preferred
to be independent and pay their
tuition, they should not apply for
renewal of their scholarship. If, on the
other hand, they felt they needed some
assistance, | asked them to come to
me and | promised to deal fairly with
them. Many did not come before the
time, but paid their tuition Those
who came ! asked how large the farm
was, how many cows were kept, how
many other children there were, and
tried to fix scholarship allowance not
larger than was really necessary. | did
not send away a single student with
heavier burden than was borne cheer
fully, but when | was through | had
$1,000 more than had been received the
previous year, The benefits i'll the
morale of the student body were not
less than the financial gain,
Getting Back at Him,
Then went hack to the gentleman
who had told me that Middlebury was
a fine old college, that all the good
teachers he ever had came from Mid
and he started with the same
story. But ! got his finger on the
place in the report where the receipts
from tuition were recorded.
"Why Thomas he said, "how did
you do that
told him and his attitude changed
completely In a few weeks we had an
offer of $4,000 provided we raised
Slj0000 additional 1t was hard work,
but we secured the entire amount with
in the time limit
The policy of carefully sitting all
scholarship applications has been main
tanned and prompt payment of all
bills has been required, so that last
year our receipts from students were
over S37 000 exclusive of charge for
board, a gain of over 600 per cent in
ten years
An Endorsement by the State of
Vermont
For many years Middlebury Col
lege had received a small annual APP
preparation from the State of Vermont
for scholarships for Vermont students.
| submitted to the Legislature plan
for the establishment of a Department
of Education for the training of teach
ers for Vermont High Schools, work
that had been entirely neglected.
The measure met with favor and the
college now receives S2S,SOO annually
from the State, of which $4,000 is for
scholarships and the balance for in