USA > Illinois > Cook County > Chicago > Discovery and conquests of the Northwest, with the history of Chicago, Vol. II > Part 46
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The first trustees under the will were James M. Adsit, Henry F. Lewis and Hugh A. White. The estate at the death of Mr. Lewis amounted to about $550,000, and by the terms of his will the trustees were not to begin the work planned for them to do until the estate should amount to $800,000. John A. Roche was appointed a trustee in the place of James M. Adsit, who resigned, and George M. Bogue was appointed to the vacancy caused by the death of Henry F. Lewis. Mr. Bogue resigned, and the estate was in the hands of Mr. White and Mr. Roche. Careful investments had increased the amount to $1,400,000. Upon the death of Mr. White, Christian C. Kohlsaat and John McLaren were appointed, and the board thus constituted ar- ranged to carry out the provisions of the will. This board was especially well adapted for the work to be done. The members represented a broad knowledge of the manufacturing interests and needs of the city, inti- mate acquaintance with social conditions, due to long service in administrative and judicial positions, experi- ence in the management of large interests, and in the
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direction of the public school system of Chicago. Be- fore determining the character of the new institution, the trustees made an extended tour of the eastern states, inspecting institutions of technology, confer- ring with experts in technical education, and examin- ing buildings and courses of study.
A number of prominent citizens, chiefly from the west division of Chicago, were invited to meet the trustees at the Union League Club November 15, 1894, to discuss the subject, " What does Chicago expect of the trustees ?" The answers to this question fell into two classes. Perhaps the majority of the speakers favored a school verging upon the trade school, while the others were in favor of a thoroughly equipped school of technology. All the opinions agreed in this-that the Institute should train the young man and woman to some particular trade, and thus enable them to secure steady and remunerative employment.
After the meeting of November 15, plans were received for a building suited to the purposes specified by the founder as these purposes were understood and interpreted by the trustees. These proposals were the subject of much careful thought and deliberation. Minute investigations were made of the special feat- ures of the several plans and their adaptation to the work of the school. Those of Henry Ives Cobb were selected, and in accordance with them the building was begun. Upon the completion of the building, the trustees, following the provisions of the will, elected Oliver H. Horton and Thomas Kane to their number, and selected William J. Chalmers, William R. Harper, Christoph Hotz, Albert G. Lane and Henry M. Lyman to constitute with themselves the board of managers.
In May, 1895, George Noble Carman, a graduate of the University of Michigan, prominent in western edu- cational circles, and at that time Principal of the Mor- gan Park Academy of the University of Chicago, was appointed director.
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Meanwhile the organization of the Institute had begun. The character of the community in which the Institute was located made it evident that work of the greatest variety would be called for. To confine the attendance to any particular class would be to limit the scope of the work, curtail the income of the school from tuition, and eventually, perhaps, injure most those classes which the Institute was designed especially to benefit. It was found possible to plan the work so that each class contributed something to the good of the whole, preserving the principles of personal independ- ence and democratic association.
The course of study as at first arranged, and at pres- ent continued, comprises three lines of work, known as the courses in Arts, Sciences and Technology. These cover a period of six years and include two years of college work, in addition to the four years of secondary work. The old term, secondary education, applied to courses and institutions midway between the primary school and the college, is in itself misleading. The lim- its of the course are quantitative, and not chronolog- ical ; they are established also by the degree of devel- opment of the student and his or her power for individ- ual and original work. The endowment and equipment of Lewis Institute warrant the step thus taken, while time has shown that this was an advance movement in education likely to be followed in the future.
Another criticism of American education, and espe- cially of American technical education, is that the broad foundations of general intelligence are neglected, that the specialist knows nothing but his specialty ; that he is, therefore, limited in many of his social duties. This criticism has been met to a great degree by a flexible course of study of wide range, easily adapted to the needs of individuals. Among the more important features are the long school day, limitation of the size of classes, possibilities of choice of subjects and the elimination of a fixed time required for the completion of a certain amount of work.
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The possible school day was made eight hours in length, arranged in four two-hour periods, thus decreas- ing the hours of outside study and adding greatly to the capacity of the laboratories and shops. The maxi- mum of individual instruction was provided for by the limitation of the size of classes to about twenty-five students, while the system of electives made possible a course of study determined by the circumstances and necessities of the student.
The Institute grants but one degree, that in me- chanical engineering. The title of Associate is con- ferred upon students who receive the number of credits ordinarily comprised in the six year course, while certificates are granted students who complete respec- tively one-third and two-thirds of that amount.
Instruction is offered in the departments of Eng- lish, history, mathematics, mechanical and electrical engineering, physiography, physics, chemistry, biology, Latin, Greek, German, French, Spanish, domestic economy, and drawing and design. The question of extension is an important one in which safety of solu- tion lies rather in meeting than creating a demand. The table below shows the enrollment for each year in both day and night classes, and the number of mem- bers of the faculty each year in the day and night schools.
1896-9'
1897-98
1898-99
1899-1900
1900-01
1901-02
Members of faculty and assist- ants, day and night classes. Students, day classes
29
38
85
89
434
545
64 614 775
79 790
1,006
1,033
Students, night classes.
260
520
1,190
1,029
1,087
Total number of students
694
1,065
1,389
1,980
2,035
2,120
The equipment of the Institute is ample and well adapted for the practical work undertaken; the labora- tories are large and convenient, the shops, situated in a detached building, are provided with the necessary materials and tools. A new gymnasium, under the
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direction of an exceptionally competent instructor, pro- vides for class and individual work in physical train- ing. The same instructor is also the director of school athletics. Various societies and musical organizations add to the social life of the school, and do much to form a healthy school spirit.
At the close of the first six years, which were nec- essarily more or less experimental, the Institute has established a firm basis for future growth, has inaugu- rated successfully some new ideas in general and tech- nical education, and is prepared to meet demands for further development and extension. The library and reading room contains 10,350 volumes and about 200 periodicals. These have been selected with a view to the present needs of the school and their place in what shall be ultimately a valuable reference library. A definite appropriation is made each year for additions to this collection, making the development possible along well defined lines of growth.
The students in the day classes represent all ranks of society. Among them are to be found not the great- est extremes of poverty or of wealth, but marked differ- ences which are lost sight of in the common interest of school work. The plan of the Institute has been, from the first, so to adjust the relations of school and pupil, that no deserving person, who has the cost of living provided, is deprived of an education through inability to pay the tuition. In many cases, also, students have found it possible to support themselves while doing their regular work. In addition to these provisions made by the trustees there are three scholarships, established by the bequest of Mrs. Hugh A. White. These scholarships are awarded by the terms of her will under the direction of Mr. McLaren, and give free tuition to their holders.
Practical work for young women has been begun in the departments of domestic science and drawing, looking forward to the almost unlimited possibilities of
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designing as applied to the different forms of pro- duction.
Lecture courses have been maintained each year, supplemented by numerous single lectures by experts in some special field closely connected with the scien- tific or technical work of the Institute.
One of the most successful features of the work is the night school, in which a merely nominal tuition is charged.
For the three years ending in December, 1902, over 1,000 students have been enrolled each year. The attendance is of the most varied character, including representatives of most of the trades and professions. Many of the students are present for two or three years in succession, and are seeking to attain some definite point in preparation for special work. Changes are frequent from the night to the day classes, and the opposite, according to the circumstances of the students.
The night school is favored by the hearty support of many of the largest manufacturing and commercial interests of Chicago.
This feature of the work is particularly gratifying to the management of the institution, not only from the standpoints of attendance and popular favor, but be- cause it exemplifies more than anything else the prac- tical idea of the founder, to extend help to those most willing to profit by it, and to afford opportunity for ad- vancement in the trades and mechanic arts, not to be obtained otherwise in the present conditions of indus- trial life. In addition to this work of a purely technical character, there are large classes in mathematics, pure sciences and the languages.
A spirit of intelligent appreciation and active co- operation in extending the work of the night school is shown by those who attend it, thus justifying the wis- dom and foresight of those who have been charged with the inception and management of the institution,
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and offering to others who are interested in matters of similar public advancement an opportunity to assist and further the work now established.
The number of courses offered at night is limited only by the demand for them and the equipment of the Institute. New courses are introduced as they seem to meet the needs of the changing industrial life of Chicago.
So far, then, the plan of Allen C. Lewis has been worked out in the past six years. The trustees are fully aware of the needs of the city and the institution, and feel deeply the weight of responsibility resting upon them in this formative period. The first elements of the foundation, a broad general education, with added technical skill of high grade, certainly are safe bases upon which to build.
CHARLES W. MANN.
ARMOUR INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY.
Armour Institute of Technology first opened its doors to students in September, 1893, but the seed from which it grew was planted as early as June, 1874, when a mission school, supported by members of Plymouth Congregational church, was established on Thirty-first street, Chicago. Mr. Joseph Armour, brother of Mr. Philip D. Armour, was deeply interested in this Sun- day school and contributed to its support. Later it was moved to larger quarters at State and Twenty- eighth streets, and again to still larger rooms at Thirty-first and Butterfield streets, now called Armour avenue. Inspired by the growth of this mission, Mr. Joseph Armour left, in 1881, a bequest of $100,000 to found an institution which should have for its object the care and development of youth. Mr. Philip D. Armour was the executor of his brother's will, and not only made judicious use of his brother's bequest, but added largely from his own resources. As a result, the Armour Mission was founded. Not content with the breadth of work done by the mission, and guided by his own keen insight into the needs of the present generation, Mr. Armour broadened the lines of his work and founded Armour Institute of Technology.
When its doors were first opened, Mr. Armour associated with him as trustees his sons, J. Ogden Armour and Philip D. Armour, Jr., William J. Camp- bell and John C. Black. Rev. Dr. F. W. Gunsaulus was made president and Thomas C. Roney, dean of the faculty. Mr. W. J. Campbell died, and the
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president was selected to fill the vacancy. The death of Mr. Armour, following the death of his son, Philip D. Armour, Jr., was a severe loss. But the ideals of the founder were ably maintained by the widow and surviving son, who have amply provided for the needs of the Institute. The board of trustees is now constituted as follows : Mr. J. Ogden Armour, Mrs. P. D. Armour, Mrs. J. Ogden Armour, Mrs. P. A. Valentine, Mr. John C. Black, Mr. Simeon B. Chapin and Rev. Frank W. Gunsaulus.
The ideals of the institution to-day bear little re- semblance to the ideals set up in 1893. Actuated by a keen perception that what the young man of to-day needs is an exact knowledge of the facts of science and a practical skill in applying them to the needs of mankind, Mr. Armour founded the Institute to work out this idea. The ideals of the trade and the manual training school were soon passed by, as solving only a portion of the problem. At last the idea of a strictly high grade technical school became, in the minds of those who were shaping the policy of the Institute, the only solution of the problem. The aim of the Institute now is to furnish a strictly technical education of four years' duration in the lines of engineering, and to con- fer the degree of bachelor of science on its graduates, thus placing them at par with the regular college grad- uate.
The engineering work has grown to be the main feature of the Institute, and is embraced in the technical college. Here four-year courses in mechanical engineer- ing, electrical engineering, civil engineering, chemical engineering and architecture are offered, each leading to the appropriate degree of bachelor of science. In shaping these courses careful attention has been paid to securing a judicious balancing of the theoretical and practical. The chemistry, the physics, the mathemat- ics, the modern languages are all so co-ordinated with each other, and with the strictly technical work, that
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the young engineer finds himself, after a course at the Institute, well able to advance in his chosen profession to the highest fields of usefulness.
There are to-day two opposite views as to the proper ingredients of an engineering course. One would exclude all but the purely technical; the other would include a portion of the humanities. The policy at Armour Institute of Technology is to follow the latter plan, and consequently logic, psychology, English, his- tory and economics have been introduced into the en- gineering courses. This plan has been adopted in order to develop the cultural side without detracting from the strictly technical. It is believed that students com- pleting these courses are no less educated, in the best sense of the term, than those who pursue the ordinary course in the classical colleges. The day is past when the study of science, either pure or applied, need give reasons for its existence. The burden of proof is no longer upon the scientist and the technical man. While it is not claimed that science and technology will give the same culture and polish that the classics or philosophy may give, yet it is claimed that they give a culture of their own equal to anything the classics can give. Absolute accuracy of thought, intellectual integrity, directness of purpose, and the mental exal- tation which comes with the close union of theory and practice, are virtues strongly characteristic of the student of technology.
Before the passage of the Morrill bill by Congress, July 2, 1862, schools of technology and applied science had a precarious existence. The provisions of the Morrill bill gave to the states public land for the en- couragement of agricultural and technical schools. The passage of this bill was the renaissance of technical education in the United States. Under its provision technical education became firmly established in almost every state of the Union. Following the establish- ment of state schools came the founding of private
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schools, of which Armour Institute of Technology is the latest example. The education offered by the engineering departments of state institutions and by private technical schools was formerly regarded as a substitute for a classical education for such as had not the power to master the Greek aorist or to rise to an appreciation of Plato. But the work of these technical schools, as shown by the success of their graduates in holding positions of trust and responsibility, and their general high standing among men of affairs, has shown that young men trained according to the light of mod- ern science are fully as well equipped as the graduates of the classical college.
In any new movement like the one we are now considering difficulties are encountered which cannot be foreseen. It is a well known fact that in the ordi- nary course of affairs the demand for an article will bring about, in some way, the supply of that article. And in most affairs the regulation of demand and sup- ply can be safely left to private enterprise. But the history of technical education shows that the very op- posite principle has held true-the supply creates the demand. A broader intelligence than that of the mar- ket is needed to see not merely what the people do need, but what they ought to need. To this far-reach- ing intelligence on the part of Philip D. Armour and Rev. Dr. F. W. Gunsaulus is due the original founda- tion and consequent growth of the Armour Institute of Technology. They recognized that the ordinary work- ing of the law of supply and demand was here reversed, and that technical schools must first be founded and their product put upon the market in the form of scientifically trained young men before private enter- prise would understand the need it had for them. The battle has been a slow one, but it is well nigh over, and to-day the value of the scientific man in the mill, the manufactory, the electrical plant and on the rail- road is generally conceded, and the demand for his services is on the increase.
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Armour Institute of Technology.
The technical college of the Institute is now under the charge of Dean Victor C. Alderson. G. F. Gebhardt is professor of mechanical engineering; I. J. Macomber, professor of electrical engineering; W. F. Shattuck, associate professor of architecture; W. T. McClement, professor of chemical engineering, and Alfred E. Phillips, professor of civil engineering.
Leading to the technical college is Armour scien- tific academy, of which Howard M. Raymond is prin- cipal. The work in the academy is on the elective basis, so that each student may select just that com- bination of studies which will best fit him for his future work. No attempt at manual training, as such, is at- tempted in the academy, though much manual skill is acquired in the laboratories of physics and chemistry and in the drafting rooms.
The artistic side of education at the Institute is developed in a manner peculiar to itself. Frequent recitals of a high musical order are given to the stud- ents and their friends. Besides this, the Institute is fortunate in having in its president a connoisseur in art who believes in the constant daily and hourly influence of the presence of art upon the character and taste of the individual. Not only are the walls of the Institute building adorned by masterpieces owned by the Insti- tute itself, but not a day has passed since the first stud- ent entered its doors that there has not been in the corridor to greet him a fine painting from the brush of some master hand. These paintings are loaned by private owners, by dealers, by the Art Institute, and frequently by the artists themselves. Among the emi- nent artists whose works have been on exhibition are : Munkacsy : "The Two Families."
Helberg : "The Missing Manuscript."
Leader : "Scene in Surrey, England."
Leader : "Forest Scene, England."
Cooper : "Sheep and Cattle."
William Watson: "Scotch Sheep."
Van Marck : "Cattle."
John Constable : "The Old Mill."
Francois Millet : "Roman Girl."
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Armour Institute of Technology.
Joseph Israels : "Motherhood."
Artz: "The Fagot Gatherers."
Dante Gabriel Rosetti: "Marion Earle."
Rico : "Grand Canal, Venice."
Rehn: "Sunshower on the Atlantic Coast."
B. Plockhorst : "Madonna and Child."
Another means of general culture and develop- ment is the library of 15,000 volumes, under the charge of Mrs. Julia Beveridge, librarian. A well equipped gymnasium, under the charge of Henry B. Thomas, is the center of the athletic activity of the students. Ath- letic affairs are controlled by an athletic association composed of representatives of the college, the acad- emy and the faculty. Student societies are encouraged in all legitimate ways. They include chapters of the Phi Kappa Sigma and Delta Tau Delta fraternities, a technical society, a camera club, a glee and mandolin club and a branch of the college Y. M. C. A. The students publish The Fulcrum, monthly, and the Inte- gral, yearly.
As a whole, Armour Institute of Technology is but one of the sociological results of the scientific spirit of the century. It is an institution with ideals un- tramelled by local traditions. Its large and constantly increasing number of students shows that it is supply- ing forms of education which are in urgent demand, which can be easily supplied by a new institution, but which are very slowly engrafted upon the long estab- lished curricula of older schools. No effort is made to duplicate good work done elsewhere. The ideals which come from close study and careful thought here have a place for unlimited expansion. With the highest ideals on the part of the president and board of trust- ees as an inspiration, with unlimited freedom in lecture hall and laboratory, the faculty have endeavored to make Armour Institute of Technology not only a con- stant protest against foolish education, but the epitome of the best thought and experience of this age. It might well be called a university of the twentieth century.
VICTOR C. ALDERSON.
THE FUTURE OF CHICAGO.
Twenty-five hundred years ago Greece, the Ionian Isles, and the country around the eastern extremity of the Mediterranean sea, were all that were known of the world of literature and of history and of geography. Athens was then the great metropolitan center of the world's civilization, and this city may be considered as the pioneer in city building ; although Egypt ante- dates this period, yet she has left but feeble records to prove any obligations due her from medieval or modern science and art. Omitting the various lesser cities that intervened between Athens and Rome, the latter made an immense advance into the barbarian darkness of Europe by conquering the southern portions of that continent into the ægis of civilization as it ex- isted during the first century. During this period Rome was the great city of the world in a military and even in a commercial sense. Omitting the regime of the Franks, who built few large cities, let us consider London and Paris the immediate precursors of the American cities of New York, Boston and Philadel- phia. These three American cities were pioneers as commercial cities that had no grip upon the spiritual sentiment of the community or the state for support. Geography now allies itself to commerce to promote city building, and Cincinnati, Detroit, Chicago and St. Louis are the result. We have now before us a fair field of rivalry between the cities of the whole world as to future growth and grandeur ; and the city un- trammeled by commercial restrictions or religious
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In 1893 Mr. Leiter gave his daughter Mary V., in marriage to the Hon. George Curzon, M. P. Subsequently Mr. Curzon was appointed Viceroy of British India, when this young Chicago bride became Vicereine, and, with her husband, is greatly beloved by their subjects and honored by the British government and nation.
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