Rocky Mountain College - Yellowstone / Poly Yearbook (Billings, MT)

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THE POLY and in real life most work is indus- i ' trial. It was with a iirm belief in this i sort of education and a supreme purpose to offer to the young people of the great Northwest section a i training that should fit them for the real duties of life that the founders 4 of the Polytechnic threw their lives into the upbuilding of this institu- tion. THE SCUPE OF THE PULYTECHNIC Because of its open door policy and its aim to meet the needs of all classes of young people for a prac- tical training, the Polytechnic offers a large number of courses. It is its policy to meet the conditions exist- ing in this region and supply the various industries that develop here. At the present time the fol- lowing regular departments are maintained: i-ioN. E. T. EATON, Financial Director The Engineering Department meets one of the most crying needs of the world and especially is this true of the Northwest, where men are in constant demand who are able to handle projects in canal build- ing, irrigation, water power development, mining, roads and water works construction. In this vast country is where that work must be done, here also should it be taught. The Commercial Department supplies an ever increasing demand. Trained men and women in this line are always wanted, anyone trained in its details need never be without a position. Our department is now located in commodious quarters in the Losekamp Conservatory and is even better than ever before capable of the most advanced work. Stenography and Shorthand as the other commercial branches increases in its value to the business world. Located as we are, tributary to a large city, the very heart of Montana's business enterprises, we are especially well situated for anyone interested in this line of endeavor. VV'e offer in this line three, six and nine months' courses and our staff of instructors is especially capable of the best of instruction. Highly trained teachers serve the Nation as perhaps no other pro- fession can. This fact alone brings many patriotic girls into the splendid service. But it is a most pleasant and attractive profession as well and teachers are in every community looked up to as they should be. Our course, under the direction of Miss Emma Johnson, herself a well trained teacher with experience, is especially attractive to young ladies who aspire to this line of work. Agriculture is the oldest vocation of man and the most useful. 'Whereas our fathers followed primitive methods, the world realizes

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THE POLY tion must beprovided for by the establishment of institutions like the Polytechnic, that shall train its young people to grapple with the mighty problems of the country in which they live. To harness its water power, build its railroads, tunnel its mountains, reclaim its arid lands, reforest and preserve its timbered areas, seek out its yet undiscovered resources, build its homes, its factories and its cities,-calls for an army of trained workmen. THE SUPREME PURPOSE OF THE INSTITUTION It becomes more and more apparent as we get a better understand- ing of general education as it relates to the life of the nation, that We must offer to overy boy and girl, rich or poor, native born or foreign born, city dweller or child of the farm and the mining camp, an equal opportunity of training that fits for life. The higher education of the past has been too much for the wealthier and more favored classes and not enough for the wage earning masses. Even with these later days of industrial education, the great tendency has been to establish high grade manual training school and professional agricultural courses, which lead to the higher technical and engineering courses and away from the trade, the workshop and the farm. Yet the safety and strength of our Republic and the world depend upon the education of the great mass of citizens who are to be the real workers and producers, the Wage earners in our factories and the laborers on our farms. The love and capacity for making things and growing things lies at the very founda- tion of the well being of all society. Theodore Roosevelt well expressed this idea when he said, It should be one of our prime objects to put the mechanic, the Wage worker who works with his hands, and Who ought to work in a constantly larger degree with his head, on a higher plane of efficiency and reward, so as to increase his effectiveness in the eco- nomic World, and therefore the dignity, remuneration, and the power of his position in the social world. To train boys and girls in merely literary accomplishments, to the total exclusion of the industrial, manual, and technical training tends to unfit them for industrial work, .if- 1.2 P x ., 5: all rggsv' ca. ll SCIENCE HALL

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THE POLY more and more the necessity of science as the best means of production. To be a successful farmer, one should be as well trained as in the most learned professions. The school's model farm with its splendid man- agement and ideal location in the heart of one of the most productive regions of the World gives our student the best opportunity. to study scientific farming, which will yield many times the cost of his education in the production of his own lands. Manual Training and Shop VVork should be a part of every boy's training, for Whether he aspires to follow out its teachings as a vocation or not, he will find use for the many lessons in every Walk of life. It is operated in close relationship with our Auto and Tractor course and our Engineering course, and its usefulness in both is very apparent. The training is given under an excellent instructor and We are capable of producing the most satisfactory results in this line of Work. Automobile and Tractor Engineers. The world's demand for food answers the question of the value of this course. Horses are no longer capable of giving to the farmer the Work necessary to operate our large farms. The powerful tractors have solved the call, but it remains for schools to supply trained operators for these engines that the most may be gained of their enormous horse-power. The need is a crying one and the young man who elects to take the steps necessary to train himself in this capacity can make no mistake. His success is assured. Our course is directed by Prof. R. B. Howard, a man with Government recog- nition, having served the Nation during the War in instructing our sol- diers in the many necessary details of the ponderous tanks and trucks in use With our army. Certainly no more need be said of the excellence of our service. There has been a long felt need in this section of the country for a high-grade academy or college preparatory school. The county high schools of Montana and Wyoming do not have a dormitory system and are not able to give the proper care and attention to young people who come from smaller towns and the ranches. The Polytechnic offers a thorough course in this line and is accredited with most of the univer- sities and colleges to which our students might desire entrance. THE NEW Y. M. C. A. BUILDING