Montana State University Bozeman - Montanan Yearbook (Bozeman, MT)

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NINETEEN TWELVE astrously; yet insofar as it can be cut clown without leaving out essential facts and considerations, it is made more readable and acceptable to the critical eye of the average student body of America. To attempt to produce a book, every department and every page of which would be enthusiastically read or viewed by all who either purchased or inspected the book, is lar beyond the hope of even the most sanguine worker on any board of annual editors. So the ideal in the mind of those who have constructed this volume has been to make every page fill the position of either a necessity, or of an interesting feature to at least a few probable investigators. Whatever else may he true of the book which now lies before you, it is certain that everything in it is not original. No pretense to total originality is made. Handicapped by the short time of one year, into which many things have been crowded, and limited by finances, many features which would have added greatly to the intrinsic as well as sentimental value of this book have been abandoned. Plans for some of the. various departments have been greatly hurried and do not represent the true conception of them; others in comparison have been overdone, but probably from necessity. In conclusion, we wish to thank Mr. Xoah Kirbv for his conscientious assistance in the preparation of drawings; Mr. Gilbert Griffith for his valuable work along the same line; Miss Viola Fisher for her pioduction of the copy from which many of the headings in this book were reproduced; Schlccten and Williams for their willing assistance and valuable work; the Bureau of Engraving and the Great Falls Tribune for their expert work; and many others who have contributed largely to the publication. Pclorc closing forever the connection of the present staff with the enterprise designated at The Montanan, they wish to voice a desire that their dealings with the many unforeseen obstacles which confront that institution will have the result of pointing out new paths or of making old ones more passable to those who will succeed them year after year. A great deal of pleasure has been gleaned from the experience, and training achieved which will probably he valuable in future life; and. like their predecessors, the staff here expresses the hope that their creation will not only be appreciated, be successful as tilling its designed place in the school, but will also serve as an additional guide toward the perfection of a better publication in the future. Page it

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NINETEEN TWELVE $ast, $rrsent auit iFuture HROM a very modest beginning in the spring of 1893. the Montana State College of Agricultural and Mechanic Arts lias grown till at the present time it not only sets the pace for Montana institutions in standard, but also in progressiveness and extension. At the time of its beginning there were few who to any degree foresaw the expansion of the institution to its present scope. The financial support at that time was small, the returns from the liberal iand grants of the federal government, amounting to 140.000 acres of Montana’s virgin soil, were at that time negligible. The state, being then in its infancy, could make no large appropriations for buildings and equipment. The direct appropriations of the federal government, limited in use to purposes of instruction, while sufficient for those purposes, could not be profitably applied owing to the lack of buildings and equipment to permit of their use. The location of the college at first was the old academy building, now replaced by the magnificent Catholic Church on West Main Street. Part of the space in the high school building and other buildings in the city were utilized for the accommodation of the e er growing number of students. Finally the institution moved into its newly completed quarters on the hill. Year by year new buildings have been added, old ones have been improved, the campus has been enlarged and all the time this growth has been met with a corresponding increase in. student attendance. In the fall of 1904 the resignation of President James Reid took place and President J. M. Hamilton was called to the position. It was then said that the pioneer days of the institution were ended, that the future would see a development of the institution on the lines already begun, that enterprises then in their infancy had blazed the path for the future. Just how far this is true is merely a matter of opinion. In some respects the institution will always be in its pioneer days so long as it continues to undertake new tasks, so long as it progresses toward a stronger and bigger institution. Its pioneer days arc truly over if that term means infancy and uncertain growth. From a student’s standpoint, the past few years have been almost revolutionary, this year in particular having seen an exemplification of new standards and new ideas. Every organization and every individual connected with the college has under- P a g e 13