Massachusetts Institute of Technology - Technique Yearbook (Cambridge, MA)

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Institute is supporicd almost entirely by its tuition fees, its endowment being wliolly inadequate to insure against disaster, to provide for tlie future, or to secure the apparatus and improvements necessary in every department to keep abreast of the times. It does seem as thougli an institution of such acknowledged standing and doing the good in the community that Technology does, must receive tlie bounty of ever ' one interested in the welfare and progress of the countr) ' ; but such, evidently, is not the case. Were it not for a generous Corporation (which has stood by us in times of distress), a wise and economical Faculty, and a prudent Executive, Tech. could not possibly occuj y her present proud position. The Annual Report of the President ami Treasurer shows only too plainly the pressing needs of Technology. Through the earnest co-operation of the Societ}- of Arts, the School of Industrial Science matle a small beginning in Februar) ' , 1865. A few rooms were hired in the Mercantile Building, on Sum- mer Street, which was later destroyed by the great fire. The nucleus of what now requires six large buildings and one hunch-ed and twent} ' instructors, was arranged there. One can scarcely refrain from smil- ing as thought returns to that little laboratory, of which almost the sole apparatus was a dozen test-tubes and a glass retort ; th ink, too, of the twenty-seven students there, nearly all poorly prepared, and then consider the eleven hundred magnificent manl) ' fellows who are, twenty-seven years later, the pride and support of Technology I The next fall, part of the new Rogers ' Building was occupied. Mrs. Stinson, the first woman to be connected with the Institute. took charge of the Chemical Supply Room. From the remarks of the students at that time one might suppose that things would go hard for a woman among those unfeeling young scientists, but that large, motherly heart could not long go unappreciated anywhere, and now many a graduate looks back with moist eyes to her kindly assistance and sympathetic words. She loves the whole Institute, remembers the very desks used by prominent alumni, and, if given an attentive listener, will chat for hours completely lost in memories of the past. It is such characters as Professor Rogers, Professor Atkin- son and Mrs. Stinson that make this life worth the living. Gladly would we follow the Institute from its infancy to the pres- ent day ; watch with pride its expansion until two, three, and at last six buildings are outgrown ; sympathize with it in trouble, (for even Tech. has its share); notice the increasing good it performs and rejoice with it in the proud eminence now attained. But we have digressed too much from the history first contemplated and our space is nearly used up. The life of Technology is, perhaps, best

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in c -cry part of the State, distiiiLjuisliL-d in business, ait, science, cult- ure and education, this memorial accomplished its main object. The Massachusetts Institute of Technoloy) ' was incorporated in March, 1861, and one st]uare of land in the Back Ba - was fore -er donated to the Institute and the Society of Natural History. One condition is still attached to this grant, namcl)-, that not more than one-third of the square shall be covered with buildings ; at present this limit is practically reached. The triple functions of the Institute are to-daj- so overshadowed by the School of Industrial Science that but few people are aware of the existence of a Societ - of Arts or of the plan for a Museum of Arts. Through the untiring energ ' of Professor Rogers, who was soon after made President of his own creation, the public liberality was directed toward the new Institute. Through him the people became acquainted with the detailed purposes of this apparently complicated yet simple structure. The Society of Arts, as outlined by him. would form itself into a department of investigation and publication, intended to promote research in connection with industrial science by the exhibi- tion at the meetings of the Society of new mechanical inventions, products and processes ; b} ' written and oral communications and dis- cussions, as well as by more elaborate treatises on special subjects of inquiry; and b) ' the preparation and publication, statedly, of reports exhibiting the condition of the various departments of industry, the progress of practical discovery in each, and the bearings of the scien- tific and other questions which are found to be associated with their advancement. The Museum of Arts has never been made a sepa- rate function of the Institute because the immenselj- valuable collec- tions owned by Technology seem to serve a more useful purpose distributed among the various courses of the School of Industrial .Science. In 1862 the operation of the Institute was begun b - the forma- tion of the Society of Arts. The importance of this branch of the Institute cannot be over-estimated. Since April of that year semi- monthly meetings have been held regularly; the)- have generally been open to an)- one, and at them have been public!)- exhibited for the first time such noted inventions as the Bell telephone, ami ' arious electrical appliances. From 1 86 1 to 1864 ever)- effort was made to overcome the numerous financial straits encountered. Governor John A. Andrew materiall)- aided these attempts, which were doubl)- difficult on ac- count of the peculiar circumstances of the time. Even now the 28

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studied from its Presidents, three men of whom the whole world may well be proud. They, together with our learned and able Profes- sors, would make any school a grand success. We cannot but pause a moment to admire the wonderful fore- sight and broad knowledge displayed by Professor Rogers in his out- line of the Institute . From foreign institutions he adopted few mctiiods. l- rom the outset the instruction in lecture-room and laboratory, in the recitation-room and in the field, has been notably that of an institution that leads rather than follows in the progress of education. Our Institute is almost exclusively the product of that one master-mind. How can we sufficiently appreciate him except by noticing that to-day his plan remains intact! Mathematics, physics and chemistry formed the basis of every engineering course, and what firmer one could be devised ? Perhaps in no more remark- able way is his wonderful grasp of the situation indicated than by the establishment of a General Course of Collegiate Studies which appeared in his original outline. He evidently perceived the broad- ening influence that must be exerted upon an atmosphere of science by the mere co-e.xistence of a collegiate course. One cannot but regard with satisfaction the continuance and constant improvement of this impo rtant, but comparatively little known to the outside world, department of the Institute. It is mainly this Course which distin- guishes Technology from the multitudinous scientific colleges sprin- kled over the United States. To General Walker also, for his untiring efforts to broaden the more purely technical courses, we should be profoundly grateful. Indeed, in view of the varied and broad courses of instruction offered, the Institute has been well styled a Techno- logical University. ' 3°