Daily Kennebec journal., 1925-06-22

MAkI0 nErUkI UN
BATES CONDITIONS
Lewiston, June 20.-The report OF
PRESIDENT Clifton d. Gray of Bate.
Coilege to the trustees at their an.
nual meeting Saturday morning marks
the nrst five year period of his admin.
lstratlon and shows a distinct ad.
vance in the welfare of the college
along very definite lines.
fernaps the most important Of these
IS the nnal payment on the condi.
tlonal pledge of 100000 which has
peen received from the General Edu.
cation Board, which means that the
new SbOO,0O0 fund, the income from
which has been devoted to the increase
OF teachers salaries, is complete From
now on the Million Dollar Fund will
De known as the Gymnasium Fund, and
al the money received will be de.
voted to the building and equippins
OF tnat much needed building.
AS usual there are very few changes
In the faculty. only two leaving at the
END or the year. Provision has beer
made for several additional instruc.
tors Tor next year, as, an associate
professor in the department Of Hy.
g1ene Tor women, an associate profes.
sor In the department of economics
and professor Of music.
announcement was also made Of thu
coming of Ward Browning to take the
place of Prof. A. c. Baird. Mr.. Brown
ing Is a graduate of Colgate and ar
old Colgate debater, coming to Bates
from Mercerburg Academy and Texas
A. and NJ. College.
Among those who have died during
the year is DR.. Arthur Given, one OF
the two surviving members of the
class Of 1867, the first to graduate
from Bates College, and who was or
the board of trustees for more thar
half a century.
The housing problem is acute, as
there are about 20 upper class girls
who are without accommodations or
the campus. But the congestion will
be somewhat relieved by the remodel.
ing Of the Cheney House barn into ar
attractive house at a cost Of not more
than $4,000.
The treasurer's books show a credit
balance, even with the $11,S80 spen,
in the installing Of new heating plant
in College Block and in the extensive
alterations in Parker Hall. making II
into two separate dormitories knowr
as east and west Parker. A leading
New York firm has made an analysis
of all investments and have giver
their approval of the investment poll.
cy. adopted by the college.
One Of the outstanding accomplish
ments of the year has been the ex.
change Of land with the Franklin. Com.
pany, which gives to Bates the whole
square on which the college building:
stand. This has been greatly desired
in order to extend Garcelon field sc
that there may be room for two addi-
tional baseball diamonds as well as
other athletic activities.
Another significant action has been
the appointing Of a committee from the
trustees and the faculty to act with
President Cray for the purpose OF
making thorough study Of the curri-
culuna with reference to its fitness for
meeting the needs of today ( This
comnllttee consists of William Tudor
Gardiner of Gardiner and Albert f
Gilmore of Boston for the trustees
and DR.. r. A. +. Mcdonald and Dr. A.
N. Leonard for the faculty. President
Gray in speaking of their proposed
work says: AN annual stock taking
is good business; decennial stock TAX.
ing ought to be good education. The
committee may not hope to make any
original contribution to the numerous
problems arising from the presence
Of q liberal college in the world large
ly given over to business and industry
but 1t may be able to tell how well OF
i'll each and every department in Bates
College is doing its work. 1t Is OBJ
vious that this committee has set fol-
itself no small job. Curricula are not
assembled like automobiles: they
grow. Education is far from being
an exact science. The problem Is not
to be solved by merely studying col.
lege catalogues, which are after al
like railway timetables-one cannot
learn much as to the Golden State lin
tied from a, Rock Island folder beyond
a few facts about it's equipment and
service: one has to travel on It from
Chicago to Los Angeles The most
precious and permanent gift of col
lege to its students is atmosphere
which differs in different institutions
One may be musty and close. another
may be lifeless and oppressive, third
tingling with intellectual ozone. 1t Is
the personality Of the teacher that
determines the atmosphere Of the
classroom Just as it is the combined
personalities of the faculty that very
largely determines the atmosphere OF
the institution as a whole"
A matter of special pride is the de-
batting record for the year, beginning
with the contest with the Cambridge
Union in Lewiston last fall. The
women's team has had two intercol-
legiate contests, one with Massachu-
setts Agricultural College and the
other with Cornell University: both
were victories. The men debated Ore
gon State, Yale University Of Pennsyl-
vania and Colgate in this country and
then turned their attention to univer-
stiles across the water. This is the
second time Bates men have debated
in England, having sent a pioneer
team to oxford in 1921. The 1925
team was sent abroad under the au-
spices of the Institute Of International
Education and the American Unfver-
sity Union, and debates were held
with oxford, Cambridge, Edinburgh
Liverpool. Manchester, Birmingham
and Sheffield, resulting in four VIC
tories out of seven. In reference to