University of Santa Clara - Redwood Yearbook (Santa Clara, CA)

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14 THE REDWOOD great, however, that it was ex- ceedingly difficult to determine the comparative merits of the applicants. Within the time set almost twenty- three hundred applications were re- ceived. The committee therefore de- cided to remove the limit of one hun- dred and to grant a scholarship to every student who might be certified as eligible for admission to the college for which he applied. Out of this num- ber of applicants four hundred quali- fied for entrance and received scholar- ships. The demand for these scholarships assured the Knights that, if any rea- sonable number of those desiring in- struction were to be satisfied, some more comprehensive plan would have to be adopted. The idea of developing a system of evening schools under the auspices of Councils, groups of Coun- cils, or Chapters of the Knights of Columbus, to be maintained by means of tuition fees paid by students, was first discussed by the Supreme Board of Directors at a meeting in Detroit in June, 1919. To further this a commit- tee was appointed to confer with the leading educators of the country with a view of submitting to the board a plan of procedure. This committee, in conjunction with advisers and prominent educators and members of school boards met in con- ference in New York during the latter part of July, 1919. As a result a plan was submitted to the Board of Direc- tors on August 3, 1919. The report was accepted and transferred to the Su- preme Council. A bulletin issued by the Educational Division which was established at New Haven, stated the plan briefly as fol- lows: That Councils establish courses for members of the Order and for such others as may wish to avail themselves thereof, and that classes be opened to men and boys of good character, re- gardless of creed, and wherever possi- ble, to women and girls. ' ' Under this plan schools have been es- tablished in Councils throughout the United States, and courses have been conducted with great success. This plan called for the payment of tuition fees, but in order that no ex-service man should be kept away for that rea- son, the Committee on War Activities voted to pay the tuition fees of ex-ser- vice men in Council Schools, provided the courses satisfied the Committee. The third and most important phase of the Educational Program, however, was in the establishment of a chain of evening schools in larger cities through- out the country, and holding out oppor- tunities to ex-service men for free in- struction in technical, trade, academic and commercial subjects. These schools are supported entirely out of the resi- due of the funds entrusted to the Knights of Columbus as a Welfare Agency during the War, and are abso- lutely free to ex-service men. Others are not excluded, provided no ex-ser- vice man is deprived of the opportunity

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THE REDWOOD 13 Chateau Thierry and the Saint Mihiel were over. Then the terrible days of the Argonne approached and as the multitude of men marched through mud and fire to victory, Casey was always there, encouraging them, sup- plying their wants and providing what- ever comforts were possible. Cheer was put into the men. It became customary for them to look forward to meeting the ever-ready Secretary. From him sweets and cigarettes could be ob- tained, and always without charge. As the vast army surged onward overseas, the people at home were also doing their bit — giving from their pockets and their hearts without com- plaint. They abstained from many of their former desires and pleasures that their sons, brothers and friends who had sacrificed so much, might have all that they could give them in comforts, conveniences and pleasure. Financial aid was freely forthcoming, and Casey over there was always kept stocked with the necessary supplies. The great war ended. During its progress the Knights of Columbus had received a total of approximately forty million dollars for its war activities, contributed in the great drives and the Unit ed War Work Campaign. With the close of the war there remained eleven million dollars still unexpended. What was to be done with this money which had been received for war and post war purposes? Casey Follows Up. The Knights had looked to the wel- fare of the soldier, sailor and marine during the war. Were they to term their labors completed at this stage? No ! They realized that numerous men were forced to abandon their schooling, or leave their labors to answer the call to arms. The great work which had made life bearable when civilian was turning soldier and during the blood- iest stages of the war, would be incom- plete if it did not assist in the recon- version of soldier into civilian. So, in order to return the fighting man to peaceful ways and serious educational occupation, and to refit him to take part in the most useful fields of recon- struction, the War Activities Commit- tee immediately set about to accom- plish this end. They began by using the eleven million dollars of remaining contributed capital to finance their movements, not realizing at the time what an immense educational program they were about to enter upon. At the outset they offered fifty schol- arships, including tuition and incident- al fees, books, necessary equipment, board and lodging, for a complete tech- nical, scientific, mining, agricultural, or foreign service course ; also fifty scholarships for a complete academic course. Awards of the scholarships were to be made on a competitive basis, the comparative merits of applicants to be determined by examinations con- ducted by the boards of entrance of the institutions where admission was sought. The number of applications was so

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THE REDWOOD 15 of attending any course. To such per- sons a small tuition fee is charged. In undertaking this vast work the free evening shools have had to meet conditions unlike those which are ordi- narily imposed, and which require methods in many respects revolution- ary. The primary essential for instruc- tion such as they must offer, is speed. Mr. William J. Bogan, principal of the Chicago school for ex-service men, and also of the Lane Technical School of Chicago, ably brings forth this need in a paper read in the Knights of Colum- bus Educational Convention: The critical conditions of war seemed necessary to teach a leisurely world that time is money. The war was won by armies that had been taught in a hurry. Officers taught in three months, gunners taught in a few weeks, and men unacquainted with modern warfare performed, under the stress of a great need, a task in which the wis- est had predicted failure. Peace does not require the speed of war, but it requires many of the meth- ods of war. Life is short and man ' s interest in schooling is shorter. The old easy-going, philosophical, discurs- ive method of instruction will not do in our schools, where every student is impatiently awaiting the time when he may give Henry Ford a run for his money. In order to attain this pace, Mr. Bo- gan advises the elimination of all non- essentials. This is no easy task for the best of teachers, for the teacher ' s beset- ting-sin, he continues, is thoroughness. If he is called upon to explain the League of Nations he feels impelled to go back to the League of Chaldea and tell how Sargon, the elder, in 4000 B. C, formed a league from the cities of Babylon and Ur and Nippur and Accad and other cities of the Chaldean plain. If asked to explain the modern ignition and lighting system of the modern au- tomobile he takes his class back to Ben- jamin Franklin and the lightning rod. All this information is desirable for the teacher, and much of it is ex- tremely interesting to the pupil, but with adult men whose time in school is limited, thoroughness may easily de- generate from a virtue to a vice. Speed is the essence of our contract with the ex-service men. To accomplish this end, the Knights of Columbus evening schools have adopted short-unit courses. The plan is not to require a specified term of endurance, as is too often the case with our four-year colleges and high schools. Instead, the aim is to teach, in the shortest possible time, the theo- retical and practical essentials of the subject, so that the student can imme- diately utilize them in earning his live- lihood. The success in enrollment and the ar- dor with which those undertaking in- struction under the Ediicational Pro- gram has well repaid the Knights of Columbus for their endeavors. It is un-