Colby College - Oracle Yearbook (Waterville, ME)

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iC'oL,i3Y1l19Q520i1QTQa.c1 .1-ei suffused the eyes of more than one member of the Board. Judge Cornish was, I think, the first man to speak. He said, 'I never expect to preside at an occasion that shall thrill me as Col. Shannon's speech has! Mean- while nearly all the members of the Board had risen to their feet. Two of them grasped Col. Shannon's handsg some applaudedg but it remained for Mr. Murray, who, as the secretary recalls him, had remained motion- less in his chair, to arise and say, 'Mr. Chairman:-May Dr. Padelford lead us in prayer ?' The members of the Board stood with bowed heads, while they listened to one of the most eloquent and heart-felt prayers of thanksgiving that ever fell from the lips of man. During the years 1917-18, not much progress on the Endowment Fund was made, because President Roberts felt that in so critical times every effort should be directed in the prosecution of the war and that college mat- ters should revert to second place when it was a question of a national crisis. In 1919, however, at the coming of peace, President Roberts again entered the campaign with renewed vigor. Contributions large and small have been received but the majority of the donations have been for small amounts. It is these small sums, carrying the message of personal incon- venience and sacrifice, which ennoble the task of the whole undertaking and which give the courage to drive on and on until the sum is reached. At the present writing about 325,000 remains to be raised. Commenting on the fact, President Roberts said, and he put it characteristically, too, I don't know where it's all coming from, but we're going to get it. Of a very recent date comes the announcement from the Inter-Church Movement: Colby will receive 5,700,000 for endowment purposes and an additional S150,000 for necessary improvements. This, with the original Endowment, will make a grand total of 51,350,000 Truly, the future of Colby need not be hampered by financial difficulties. Her back has been against the wall for a century, but she has now emerged into the open and is fighting strong. We might have made mention of other matters but they hold, in all reality, a secondary place in President Roberts's administration: of the new location of the library reading room now known as the Seaverns Reading Room, of the growing interest in athletics in the past ten yearsg of the establishment of military training at Colby, of the more than 700 Colby men who served in the Great War. His one aim, since assuming ofiice, has been to make Colby an independent institution, dependent upon her own resources. His success, words are too weak to laud. But he is the man to whom high tribute is due and the man in whom the hopes and aspirations of a century of predecessors are crystallized. Here is the man whose splendid achievement in the matter of the Endowment fund will be history as long as the old College lasts. A person of immature mind cannot realize the magnitude and far-reaching effects of President Roberts's accomplishment on the future of Colby. But a mature mind sees these thingsg more, it perceives the magnanimous spirit, domineering per- sistency, unflagging zeal, and dauntless courage of a son of Colby, who, in face of obstacles which would have downed the ordinary man, has assumed a debt which the gratitude even of Alma Mater herself cannot discharge. 29 Centennial Number

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fc c3L,1CsYlQ,35 20llODACI .RE During the administration of President Roberts, several bequests have been made to the College: in 1913, 375,000 from the estate of Levi M. Stew- art of Minneapolis, to be known as the Levi M. Stewart Fund, in 1915, William H. Snyder of Los Angeles gave a scholarship of 31,500g in 1916, Franklin Simmons of Portland gave a scholarship of 31,500 to be known as the Knox Scholarship. It was in 1915, after due deliberation with the Board and several com- munications with the General Educational Board of Rockefeller Founda- tion, that President Roberts began active campaign for the 5B500,000 endow- ment. The Educational Board pledged S125,000, providing the balance, 1 , s p .Mex ,A Illlrmnrial iliall 95375,000, be raised by June 1, 1919. Du'e to the war, this date has since been changed to June 1, 1920. At the meeting of the Trustees in 1916, President Roberts laid before the members assembled the plans for the endowment. He also announced thepledge of the Rockefeller Foundation. A general discussion by the Trustees followed his announcement. And then took place what we con- sider one of the most dramatic incidents in the history of Colby: Colonel Shannon addressed a few remarks to the Board, and in closing he pledged a sum identical to that which the Educational Board had pledged. We now quote from the minutes of the Secretary of the Meeting: No language of mine can describe the effect of Col. Shannon's announcement upon the Board of Trustees. There was an appreciable silence. Amazement and delight shone in the faces of all, tears of joy 28 Centennial N nmbev'

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