DePauw University - Mirage Yearbook (Greencastle, IN)

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com, Bishop Simpson, and other princes of the pulpit and the bar, could not be otherwise than a training school in eloquence. This accounts in large measure for the life and power of the Literary Societies held in grateful esteem by all the 'fold timers. Many of the characteristics of the enthusiasm for athletics in the modern college were seen in those days in connection with these societies. In the first place, they were expensive. Not all students then, as now, were poor in purse, but all were rich in the generosity begotten of intense rivalry. Each society was determined to have the best hall, the nicest furniture, the Finest pictures and the largest librarv. One society spent over a thousand dollars on portraits. The libraries were of great value, mostly because they were easily accessible. The VVhitcomb or College library was so well preserved that scarcely any one could use it. College politics, factional contests and personal rivalries made storm centers of the literary societies. A con- cluding number in every program was irregular debate. Never did an exercise have a better name and yet men who became famous as e.rfcnzfw0re speakers dc- elared that their maiden effort was when called out in the irregular. Not the least of its irregularities was in the fact that often the war of words continued long after the stipulated hour for adjournment. This excess brought on a crisis. 'it oe- curred during the administration of President Curry. After many expostulationg in the eH'ort to induce the societies to adjourn at a proper time without success, the order went forth that they must meet in the afternoon. This order met with furious protest. Students spanked their hands, shook their fists and shouted that they would die before sunrise rather than allow their societies to suffer such hu- iliation, The town as well as the college was all aflame with the agitation. Nor t ll l lustei NI my students withdrew and went to Illoomington. m .was the excitemcn a J .' '. 2 This was before the day of the honorable dismissal' As the years went by the bitterness of this contest passed away. Nearly all the students were restored to their classes and President Curry continued to advance in the esteem of the Uni- versity, the Church, and the Nation. The Literary Societies came out of the epi- better ideas of their true function and became much more beneficial to sode with their members. v The next event in the life of the University which awakened general interest was its reorganization and change of name from Asbury to Delfauw. Many good friends of the school, as well as distant and ill-informed observers thought this transaction altogether mercenary and disreputable. A prominent minister in Michi- gan made a picture of a sculptor on a scaffold before a lofty monument, cutting out the name Asbury and ehiseling in the word .l3el'auw. The picture was followed with about ten six-line stanzas in which was given a solemn dirge over the awful saerilege. A city paper contained a long protest against the destruction of the in- stitution to which ,llishop Asbury gave many years of arduous toil and the principal part of his estate. ln vain did the friends of the school show that llishop Asbury l efore it was founded, not a dollar of his estate went into it 'ustifitble on the amplest grounds of both necessity and had died sixteen years J and that the change was J .' 2 25 O

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must be made by a majority and not a plurality vote. Rockville and Greencastle then combined forces and the latter was selected. The Rockville delegation stood by the new school most loyally. The very excellent charter was written by General Tighlman A. Howard, a citizen of Rockville, and an elder in the Presbyterian Church. The first Board of Trustees was composed of strong men. The most gifted speaker, possibly not even excepting Ilishop Roberts, whom the late Col. R. W. Thompson declared to be the most eloquent bishop in Methodism, was Tarvin VV. Cowgill, who was undoubtedly instrumental in placing the University in Green- castle. Some readers of this paper may wonder that so little allusion is made to Bishop Asbury in an account of the origin of the school, since it was named after him. The reason may be given in a single sentence. Bishop Asbury had been dead sixteen years before the school was founded, and his name was chosen by vote of the Board from several that were proposed. I-lad the school been named for its chief projector and organizer, it would have been called Roberts Universityf' from Bishop Robert Richard Roberts. lt is poetic, or better, providential, justice that the only formal monument on the college grounds is that which stands in the West Campus at the graves of Bishop Roberts and his good wife. An event of great prominence in the early history of the University was the laying of the corner stone of the first building, the rectangular part of what is now West College. It occurred june 2oth, 1837. lt seems to have attracted much more attention than the dedication of the edifice when completed. Many of the early settlers of the town and county were from' Kentucky. It was natural, there- fore, that a great orator should be imported from that state for the address. A most worthy speaker was secured in the person of Rev. Henry BQ Bascom, D. D., who in 1850, at St. Louis, was elected a bishop in the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. Among the survivors of the corner stone ceremonies is Mr. john Gilmore of this city, who was present, a lad of fourteen, and testifies to the immensity of the crowds gathered from far and near, the variety of means of travel, the entertain- ment of the hosts of visitors, and the fine appearance and splendid eloquence of the orator. lt was said of Bascom that Henry Clay pronounced him the most impres- sive preacher that he had ever heard. Another testimony to his' popularity if not his greatness is in the fact that about that period a very considerable number of boy babies in Kentucky and lndiana were honored with the Christian name of Bascom. The new University enjoyed a great uplift in its first President, Matthew Simpson. Ile became famous at the outset as an organizer, administrator, preacher and writer. Iflis prominence gave the school wide recognition and brought forward many friends and supporters. . It is well to notice here one feature of this formative period which deeply marked the institution and became a leading tradition, viz., the attention to public speaking. A college born in such an atmosphere of oratory as that created by Bishop Roberts, Governor Wright, General Howard, Tarvin Cowgill, Bishop Bas- 24 U

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propriety. The final scene in this transition and advancement took place May 5, 1884. when the name was legally changed in the Circuit Court of Putnam County by the decree of judge Silas D. Coffey. The occasion was considered so important as to justify the suspension of college work. Faculty, students and citizens went in long procession to the court house to witness the scene. The fact is the scene was so brief, simple and quiet that the old name was taken away and the new name put on before half the crowd knew that the proceedings had begun. .llut from that moment a new era dawned in the career of this grand old school, planted in the wilderness by the sturdy pioneers of Indiana in 1837. ' The change of name marked a new epoch :--the coming of the great layman to reinforce and complete the work of the great preacher. Asbury, the pioneer and apostolic llishop, planted the churches in the wilderness which nurtured boys and girls into enterprising Christians. able to found and maintain great institutions. Mr. Del'auw was an eminent example of the great laymen who have brought power and prosperity to the church. As a Christian philanthropist his fame is not dim in comparison with that of the noblest leaders in his church, not even except- ing -Iohn Wesley and lfrancis Asbury. There are many other events in the history of our college well worthy of men- tion here, but this article has already extended far beyond its allotted space. We have given attention chiefly to those incidents not related in the formal accounts of the origin and growth of the University. Little need be said in regard to the occurrences of the last two decades. They are still familiar to the public mind. The best of all is that the institution is now on a sunnnit of prosperity never before en- joyed. liach chapter in our annals brings to mind a sentiment expressed by the late john Clark Ridpath concerning DePauw University: 'l'hus year by year some better thing ensues, Some nobler purpose rising o'er the past: Some budding thought, which Providence renews With dews and rain, and brings to fruit at last. HILARV A. GOIIIN. 26