Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1920-01-24
SAT ROTARY
Powerful Address by
Bowdoin President

O"A - L S0kNAS1A&
seeeker ~ Subject The College
anl the etate.- Defines ReIatien-
ship Existing Between institutions
ss Higher Learning and Maine -
Large Attendance at REFUSING
Meeting
May the College ee more useful
to the State: may the State take
more interest il the College" Pres
iden, Kenneth C. NJ Sills Of Bow
cc:n College. who Is Rola-ian.
spoke before the Augusta Rotary
Club on Friday evening at the Au-
gustA House and il an address that
appealed strongly 20 the average
business man. pointed out the -esa-
tionsAip that exists between the Col
iege and the STATE HIS subject was
The College and the State" and at
the very beginning he made il clear
that by College he meant 10 pSrtie-
uiar college, but all higher institu-
t;ons Of learning. and by State, he
meant the public al large
1t vas = scholarly and powerful
address. aad enc of vital significance
and it made deep impression upon
his audience composed largely OF
business men. President Siils in a
very convincing manner told Of the
assistance rendered by the higher
/ :~.>ss,&;rr~ - .r,s-. 4, The Efa.o
20 the welfare Of the State. and Of
the purpose Of the College today.
and his words offered q fine insight
into the ways which such an ins.f-
tuition is able 10 meet the present
day needs
| The Rotary session vas presided
over by its president. Blaine s.
vileS and vas largely attended Mr.
viIss in Introducing the speaker
stated that people Of Maine were
much gratified a ehcrt time ago and
Bowdoin men everywhere were high
lily elated at the selection as the
President Of Bovdo!n College a
young man vh3 attended the inssitu-
ton and who typifies the typical
Bovdoin man in the State Of Maine
and be predicted for Prssiden, Sills
a wonderful future TO be Allied with
service to the coming Young men
Of New England
President Bills said b. way OF
/ opening that a dean OF certain col
I ,ese once said IL Is well known in
college circles that the president
does all Of the talking and the dean
does all Of the work And he said
that he had recently learned the
truth about this statement concern
ing the college president, for this
/ was the 3sth speech he-had deliver
ed in the past two months He then
paid complimentary Augusta
( Rotary. saying that il was quite the
liveliest Rotary club with which he
has yet hed the good fortune 10 be
associated.
! That the colleges cannot get the
: bes. results unless they have The
support and sympathy II the pubie
a. large. he pointed out He said
+, that it would not take long TO sus-
; gest what the college has done for
Maine. Put 1t negatively If YOU
/ will. What would be your feelings
as patriotic men IL there had never
been a college or a university with
in the boundaries OF the State? What
would the history of our State have
been il all the influences direct
and indirect that have eEiriated
/, from our colleges had been with
drawn / am not thinking 50 much
Of the fact that a great majority OF
the men who have made Maine
famous at Washington were college
graduates, though that is Of first
rate importance. am thinking
rather Of the hundreds and hundreds
Of boys and girls all over the State
who have had their whole lives
changed by the possibility Of q col
iege education
President Stills said that not long
ago there was sent 10 him a cata-
logve Of Bowdoin college in the yeay
1891. This catalogue was very
simple afair-one page giving JUS.
the lis; of the faculty and the stu
dents. There were then about l0l
men in college and the faculty con-
sisted OF about six men Among the
students in the college 100 years agJ
were John Appleby, later chief jus
tice Of the supreme court OF Maine;
William Pitt Fessenden. later Uni
ted States senator from Maine
Franklin Pierce. afterwards Presi-
dent Of the United States; Nathaniel
Hawthorne. Henry G. Lonsfeiiow
and Senator Bradbury. Bowdoin
was a small college in those days
and that is Just one instance Of her
contribution to the State. And
without doubt the training these
men received at college under those
six instructors had much to do with
the formation of their character.
Among the duties Of The college as
shown by the speaker was to instill
ideas to make young men and wom-
en- more liberal. more humane, an
to make their life happies and moro
useful. He spoke of the contribu-
ton Of the college to the education
OF the State. In the early days those
going to college were largely men
going into professions.
The statement made by some peo-
pie that. a State like Maine where
the population does not grow much.
has no room for four colleges, was
referred to by the speaker. who
i stated that he thinks Maine is very
well served by these four colleges
and thsre Is an abundance OF work
for all He said it is right that w.,