USA > North Dakota > Early history of North Dakota: essential outlines of American history > Part 71
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On June 16, 1887, a severe wind storm entirely demolished the west wing of the main building above the basement, blew down the chimneys, and destroyed the cupola. Professor Montgomery's collections in the museum were almost a total loss. Fortunately, vacation had begun the day before, and only the janitor's family were in the building. At a public meeting, held in Grand Forks the next
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day to make provision for those in immediate need of aid, resolutions were read voicing a very general sentiment in favor of removing the institution to a site nearer the city. The board of trustees, in view of this feeling and on account of the unexpected burden of expense for repairs thus placed upon them, sent the president of their board, W. N. Roach, to Bismarck to consult Gov. Louis K. Church as to the best manner of dealing with the matter. At a meeting held on June 28th, President Roach reported that the governor did not feel justified in authorizing the removal of the university without legislative sanction, as it would establish a dangerous precedent, but that he would do all in his power to assist in making repairs and would recommend to the next Legislature a special appropriation for that purpose. Upon hearing this report, the board decided to retain the site already selected and to repair Main Building. To meet these expenses a loan was authorized from the local banks not to exceed $10,000. The repairs made considerably altered the original plan, the cupola being omitted and the appearance of both east and west gables much changed.
A dormitory for the young women was also authorized by the regents at this meeting, the funds for which had been provided by an issue of territorial bonds to the amount of $20,000 voted at the session of 1887. This building was first known as "Ladies' Hall," but by vote of the trustees, October 26, 1889, it was changed to "Davis Hall," in memory of a much-loved preceptress, Mrs. Hannah E. Davis, who died at the university, March 24, 1898.
The administration of President Webster Merrifield covers eighteen years, 1891-1909, a period of substantial growth in all lines of university activity. The establishment of a conservatory of music in 1891 brought the student enrollment for 1891-1892 up to 341, and though this increase was not maintained in later years and the conservatory was changed to a department of music, it served to widen the general interest in university work and to attract a new group of patrons from all parts of the state.
The administration, however, was put to a severe test in 1895, when Gov. Roger Allin vetoed the educational appropriations of the current legislative ses- sion. The normal schools at Valley City and Mayville had their appropriations of $24,000 and $24,860 reduced, respectively, to $4,600 and $7,760. The Agri- cultural College received $11,250 out of $19,000. The university appropriation was reduced from $63,000 to $15,980, or merely enough to complete the current college year. Before the veto had been announced a call for a mass meeting in Grand Forks to consider what could be done in the matter was circulated by the university students. The meeting was held on March 19, 1895. The opinion was expressed by several speakers that the citizens of Grand Forks could best show their good will by subscribing to a fund to support the university through the next two years. A committee was appointed to draft a memorial to be pre- sented to Governor Allin. After the veto had been officially announced, a second mass meeting was assembled, April 9th, in pursuance of a call issued by Mayor W. J. Anderson, and a maintenance committee was chosen to solicit funds. This committee, consisting of W. J. Anderson, chairman; M. F. Murphy, secretary ; S. S. Titus, treasurer ; Sidney Clark, R. B. Griffith, Orange Wright, F. R. Fulton, and S. W. McLaughlin, appointed sub-committees in the counties throughout the state and issued an address which set forth the reasons for asking aid. A few quotations from this address will show the nature of their appeal :
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"Shall the University of North Dakota be closed? This is the question which confronts the people of the state. The closing of the university would be a calamity in many ways. It would advertise to the world that North Dakota is either unwilling or unable to maintain for her sons and daughters an institution of higher learning. We believe that the people are both willing and able, and that they will rally to the support of their university. This state is not poor. She has come through the critical depression of the past few years as only few states have-without either crop failures or business disasters. Her debt limit is extremely low. The necessary money could easily be raised by taxation, but for the low tax rate as fixed by the constitution. She encourages immigration to her fertile fields, but she will certainly neutralize all her efforts in that direc- tion by proclaiming herself unable or unwilling to maintain her university which she inherited from territorial days. She has ever been foremost in education. Will she now take her place farthest in the rear? The announcement that North Dakota closes her university will mean irreparable injury to our state in business, population, education and honor. .. During the last twelve years this state has expended large sums of money and the best energy of many men, and as a result has gathered a learned corps of professors, an intelligent clientage of students, a university reputation and educational momentum such as is an honor to a great state. Close the doors for two years and if they ever open again you cannot regather in ten years your scattered forces."
The board of trustees met the maintenance committee in joint conference on May 7, 1895, and voted to accept the funds raised and to give a formal receipt signed by the president of the board. The total sum raised from private sub- scriptions was $25,622.24. The donors of the larger part of this sum received cer- tificates from the board of trustees entitling the holders to repayment when legislative appropriation should be made for the purpose. This appropriation has not yet been made. About two-thirds of the sum raised came from two sources : first, the members of the faculty generously gave up 25 per cent of their salaries, a total of $8,250; secondly, the citizens of Grand Forks subscribed $9,130. Most of the remainder was contributed from the counties of Grand Forks, Walsh, Pembina, Burleigh, Nelson, Ramsey, Cavalier, Pierce, Ransom, Cass and Steele, in sums varying in the order of the counties named. From out- side the state the sum of $1,287.50 was subscribed. On May 4, 1897, the board of trustees formally received and adopted the report of the maintenance com- mittee covering the expenditure of most of the fund raised, with only a small balance remaining.
This episode in the history of the university was not altogether an unfortu- nate one, since it served to bind its immediate constituency closer together by mutual sacrifice for the general welfare. This feeling of solidarity was still further strengthened by the refusal of President Merrifield to accept the offer of the presidency of the University of Montana in the spring of 1895. During these two years the faculty and students of the university and the citizens of the state drew closer together than ever before in their mutual effort to maintain this important state institution unimpaired through the most serious crisis in its history. The need of a permanent source of revenue having thus been shown, the friends of the university devised a plan of a mill tax which was enacted into law at a later session of the Legislature. By an act approved April 28, 1899.
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a fixed revenue for the State University was provided by a two-fifths mill tax. This fraction has been changed by later enactments, but it still serves its original purpose.
By legislative act approved February 26, 1895, the State University was given the duty of making a geological and natural history survey of the state. The professor of geology was named as ex-officio state geologist. Prof. E. J. Babcock had joined the faculty in 1889 as instructor in chemistry and English, and the year following was made professor of chemistry and geology, and became, there- fore, in 1895, the state geologist. This position he held until 1901, when the department of geology was separated from the School of Mines. This has resulted in the appearance of some excellent reports, five in number, dealing with the general geological features of the state. Some of the volumes contain special reports on the valuable natural resources of the state, such as lignite coal, clay, cement and gas, the utilization of which will usher in the manufacturing era in the industrial development of our state.
The library of the university during the college year of 1884-5 contained 742 volumes, most of which were a donation from President Blackburn. During the first year of President Sprague's administration it was made a depository for government publications, and increased to 2,000 volumes. For the first few years the secretary of the board of trustees seems to have acted as librarian ex-officio, but in the catalogue of 1888-89, Professor Merrifield, of the department of Greek and Latin, is named as the first librarian. The office of librarian passed later to other members of the faculty, with graduate students as assistants, until, in the year 1901-2, Cora E. Dill held the position as first regular librarian. At this time the library was located in three large rooms on the second floor of Main Building and contained 8,000 volumes. Marion E. Twiss held the position as librarian for the next two years, and was succeeded by George F. Strong. During his term of service a cataloguer was added to the library force and the preparation of the first regular card catalogue was begun in 1907. In 1908 Mr. Strong resigned and Charles H. Compton was chosen as his successor. The library had grown very rapidly in all departments during the four years of Mr. Strong's service, numbering, in 1908, about twenty-five thousand bound volumes and five thousand pamphlets. For the past four years Clarence W. Summer has been librarian. The present library numbers some fifty-nine thousand volumes. The completion of the Carnegie Library, which was occupied in the fall of 1908, gave the university more space for growth and specialization along lines of development much needed by both faculty and students. Among the special collections in the library may be mentioned the Judge Cochrane collection of 2,000 volumes, donated in 1904 by Mrs. Cochrane; the Hill Railway Transporta- tion collection, donated by James J. Hill; and the Scandinavian collection of nearly three thousand volumes, partly donated by the Scandinavian citizens of the state and partly purchased by a special appropriation provided by the board of trustees.
The erection of new buildings and the perfecting of the general university equipment make the administration of President Merrifield a notable one. The present Macnie Hall, the east portion of which was built in 1883, provided a much needed dormitory for the young men. It was erected on an old founda- tion laid in 1884 for an astronomical observatory. The expense of the founda-
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tion was defrayed from the small portion which could be collected of the original $10,000 pledged in 1884 when the university site was chosen. Budge Hall, now the dormitory for the young men, was built in 1899. It was named in honor of William Budge, a trustee of the university for sixteen years and one of the most trusted of President Merrifield's corps of advisers. The catalogue for 1900 announces, for the first time, the School of Mines, the College of Mechanical Engineering, and the College of Law. Two new buildings were erected to accom- modate the enlargement of the university work thus provided for, Science Hall in 1901, and the Mechanical Arts building in 1902. The president's house was added the next year. The work of the School of Mines was carried on in Science Hall until 1908, when a building was erected for that special purpose. During the same year the new power house, the gymnasium and the Carnegie Library were added. The original 20-acre campus of 1891 had been increased by pur- chase and gift to more than a hundred acres. Of this addition Doctor Merri- field, in 1906, gave twenty acres, lying immediately east of the old campus. On this tract are now located the library, the School of Mines and Teachers' Col- lege. It may be said here that in 1910 the trustees purchased another 20-acre lot lying east of the last mentioned tract. The university commons was com- pleted in 1911 and stands practically in the center of the campus. These mate- rial improvements are manifestations of a deep interest on the part of the state government, and redound to the credit of the university management.
When the trustees of the Methodist College at Wahpeton, acting upon the suggestion of President Merrifield, who since 1901 had advocated the policy, decided to change its location to Grand Forks and sought affiliation with the university, they were received with admirable fairness and liberality. An excel- lent location was secured by the college, just across the street from the univer- sity campus, and the erection of buildings begun in 1906. Provision for exchange of credits on the usual collegiate basis was made in 1905 and the experiment of affiliation launched. The experiment, thus made, has proven a success. It has been watched with interest by educators and it has seemingly added a vital phase to state education, which must necessarily be non-sectarian and, in the eyes of many, non-religious. Wesley College has brought to North Dakota the best of musical talent as well as several leaders in the fields of theological research. Two dormitories, built by the college, have been of service to univer- sity students.
Another matter of considerable significance that came through the initiative of President Merrifield was the creating, in 1895, of the State High School Board, with the president of the university an ex-officio member thereof. This brought the institution into close touch with the schools from which it draws its students and for which it prepares teachers. The important questions of high school credits, examinations, inspection, text-books and curriculum now come to a greater or less extent under the direction or control of this board. The annual high school conference, first held in 1901, the interscholastic meet, beginning with 1903, and the state declamation contest, all of which are regularly held at the university in May, each year, have served to identify the interests of the high schools closely with those of the university.
When it became officially known that President Merrifield had decided to sever his connection with the State University, after a quarter of a century of
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service, the trustees at once began the search for a new head of the institution. Their selection of Dr. Frank LeRond McVey, chairman of the Minnesota Tax Commission, and formerly a member of the faculty of the State University of that state, gave satisfaction to the alumni and citizens of the state, as well as to those more closely connected with the university. President-elect McVey lost no time in making himself acquainted with the special needs and problems of our institution. He visited Bismarck and met many of the members of the Legis- lature then in session, speaking at a joint meeting of the House and Senate appro- priation committees on the needs of the State University and its relation to other educational institutions in the state. He also spoke before a joint session of both houses on the general subject of state taxation. The favorable impression made upon the Legislature at this visit had much to do in securing the generous appropriation of that session. With this introduction to those responsible for the wise expenditure of public funds, the new president assumed the duties of his office in 1909.
The administration of President McVey, has been fully in line with the progressive policy demanded by the changing conditions in the state. The appropriation secured in the legislature of 1909 allowed the erection of two beau- tiful buildings during the two years following, the Teachers College building and the Commons building. The use of a more durable building material and the adoption of a new style of architecture in these buildings has much improved the appearance of the campus and will add much to the permanence and beauty of future buildings on the larger campus that has been provided for them.
At the end of a year's service in the university and after becoming intimately acquainted with the particular problems of the institution, especially from the point of view of the citizens and taxpayers whom he had met during the course of his many lecture trips through the state, President McVey came to his formal inauguration thoroughly in touch with the constituency of the university. In his inaugural address he expressed his deliberate conclusions, drawn from his long experience as university man and a public officer in Minnesota, and from his more recent contact with the new educational conditions here. He said :
"It is time to recognize the fact that a university is a great latent force that can be utilized in many directions. It ought to be closely related to every depart- ment of the state. It should be the medium through which statistics are gathered, information collected, advice given, problems solved, in fact, real part of the state government.
"It is not beyond the truth to say that a university is a beacon light to the people of a commonwealth, pointing out to them, not only where advances are to be made in the realms of commerce and trade, but in the fields of morals, general knowledge, and better living : and vice versa, we may say that there is no clearer indication of the advances a people have made than that set by their university. Once free from political control, and truly of the people in the larger democratic sense, it means that the people of a commonwealth, where such an institution exists, are truly turned toward 'real progress and the light of the lamp of civili- zation."
The State University has been able to accomplish much it its position as the leading educational institution in the state, especially in recent years. Its agen- cies for state service have been very greatly increased during the present admin-
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istration, and their efficiency and usefulness are coming to be universally recog- nized. A brief account of some of the more important of these may very properly come at the close of this general sketch.
Service to the state can be rendered by an institution in many ways other than through direct dealing with the student body. It is now almost universally recog- nized that one of the chief functions of a university is performed through the work of research, investigation, both directly, in the definite scientific discoveries made, and indirectly, through the student thus trained. The University of North Dakota has not been able to throw emphasis upon this phase of the work until recently. Its departments were too broad, and therefore its men attempted to cover too much ground, and its laboratories inadequately equipped. For these reasons and others graduate work had had but little recognition.
Looking in the direction of this larger usefulness, the graduate department was organized during the university year of 1909-10, and every possible encourage- ment is now given to this work, even to making provision for productive scholar- ships and fellowships open to general competition. Many of the departments of the university are co-operating in this important phase of work by maintaining graduate seminars where the results of original research are discussed at regular sessions. A considerable number of graduates of the university have successfully completed graduate work at older institutions in the past five years.
The separation of the department of chemistry from the School of Mines in 1910 allowed for a much needed expansion in the work of the department. This increased opportunity thus given for advanced work in chemistry was speedily justified by Dr. Abbott's discovery of a method for the detection of cocaine used in adulteration of snuff, a problem of the utmost importance as affecting public health and one that had so far baffled some of the ablest chemists of the country. Other constructive pieces of work have been done to jutsify the development of the department.
In 1909 the department of physics was reorganized and enlarged. Three men now give their entire time to the work making it possible to add graduate work of a high order. The department has investigated a series of special problems of great commercial interest, such as the specific heats of North Dakota clays and their thermal and electrical conductivities. It has been discovered in the course of the investigation that these clays prove very satisfactory material for the construc- tion of high grade electric resistance furnaces, which have heretofore been pur- chased abroad. The mechanical department, established at the beginning of the present college year, and under the direction of the department of physics, is proving invaluable to the scientific and engineering interests of the university. In the repair and construction of delicate and costly instruments and apparatus, it has filled a unique place, already contributing to the success of half a score of the important departments of the institution. The work of Dr. A. H. Taylor, head of the department of Physics, in developing a wireless station, has been pro- ductive of large results in the field of wireless research and practical application.
The legislature of 1909, in addition to making appropriations for needed build- ings on the campus, also provided for two new agencies of great value, the Mining sub-station at Hebron, in the heart of the mining regions of the state, and the Biological station at Devils Lake. The former, the Mining sub-station, has already done a notable work, the result of the year's experiments being the discovery of a
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practical mode of briquetting the lignite coal of the state, so as to make of it a high grade fuel. The same process also secures a large volume of excellent coal- gas capable of being used either as fuel or light. This discovery alone is worth more to the state than the entire cost of the maintenance and equipment of the university up to the present time, for it places within reach of the manufacturer a cheap and excellent source of power in our extensive coal beds that underlie more than one-third of the state. Dean Babcock and Dr. Taylor of the physics department have pursued still further an important investigation into the heat values of lignite and other coals, to determine how they may best be utilized for power. The work in ceramics, organized in 1910, has a similar problem to solve with reference to the deposits of clay in the state, and much valuable data is being collected bearing on the manufacture of clay products ranging from the finest grades of pottery to drain and sewer pipe. The results that have now been attained in our ceramics field have guaranteed the existence of a clay-working industry in North Dakota, which will ultimately be of great value.
The problem given the Biological station was the study of the animal and vegetable life of the state, that they might be more fully utilized for scientific and commercial purposes. The station is well equipped with a commodious and well-appointed building having laboratory, library, museum and lecture-room con- veniences, also with all needed apparatus for the successful prosecution of such work as contemplated. The biological work of the summer session of the uni- versity is now regularly done at the station. Although the work is still young, very definite results have already been obtained and much progress made in the in- vestigation of such matters as restocking the lakes of the state with fish, the grow- Ing of trees in a prairie state, the preservation and enlargement of bird life and similar activities.
The head of the department of history, as secretary of the State Historical Society, has made a preliminary archaeological survey of the state and begun the collection of a valuable museum at Bismarck. The State Historical Library at the state capitol, which has been built up during the past ten years, is a very complete collection of historical material relating to the Northwest and to Canada. Four volumes of collections have already been issued by the secretary as editor for the Historical Society. In these volumes are to be found many contributions by uni- versity students of the Historical Seminar, which has been one of the regular features of the work in the department of history since 1905. In the end these labors will result in the production of an accurate and comprehensive history of the state, which is much needed, especially in the schools.
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