University of Texas Austin - Cactus Yearbook (Austin, TX)

Page 10 text:

Mid-Victorian The Mmn BiiiiJiiij, tlie Parthenon of the University ' s Acropolis, ani oj tke Gothic Revival period, is tlic oliJest hmliing on tfie campus. AI- tlioiijli tli£ corner stone was Idiil HoDcmlicr 17, 1882, ddsses were licU in tlie olJ temporary Cipilol fcuiUing until tlie u ' csl iiiing 0 tlic present huHd ' ing ivas complctcJ January, 1884. Only tlie u ' estern section of tlic pre- sent l-iiiUing iws erecteJ ori.»imill)i anil here all tlie departments of The Uni- versity ifere housed until 1889. The graduates receii ' cd their diplomas in a down-town theatre. The middle portion and the north ininq (the recently demolished auditorium) were erected in 1889. It u ' as here that President Prather in 1899 estalilished the popularity 0 his immortal phrase, Re- member ,young adies and young gentlemen, the eyes of Texas are upon you. The UJalls of the auditorium reverheratcd with the oratory and cihortations of the Governors of Texas, six of whom addressed the students at the opening 0 the Fall semester. President Theodore Roosenelt, William Jennings Bryan, and Helen Keller were among the celelirated spealiers; Meiha, Schu- mann-Heinck, Alma Gluch, John McCormacIf, and other singers entranced large audiences; Starle Young ' s Curtain Club plays were presented here and hatchet-throiuing Carrie N.ation almost reached its stage. That dear old lady of the hill, not Carrie, hut the Main Building, draped in mported iuy, lilie a Paisley shaud, shrinks in her inharmonious and naltcd surroundings, clutching to her stajf, the tower U ' hose recently ac- quired chimes periodically peal out the hour to the Unii ' ersity community. To this same perwd hlongs old B Hall, originally built for a men ' s dormitory in 1890, and the old chemistry building built in 1891 and de- stroyed byjirc in 1926.

Page 9 text:

UNIVERSITY

Page 11 text:

Governor Q M. Roberts The hfe wofk of Governor Roberts was Law; it was his unsurpassed knowl- edge of law and his Tin altering devotion to tke application of its principles that led him to the Bench and the Governor ' s Chair. As a Judge he achieved a lasting place in tite history of Texas Jurisprudence bv his impartiality, his power of logical penetration, his lucid simplicity, and his courage; qualities that had their roots in character as well as in intellect. During tlie term of his governorship he brought about as great a number of tangible improvements in State institutions as any other governor of Texas had ever done or will have the opportunity to do again. These included the reformation of the free public school system; tlie oMnJmg of a system of normal colleges; the building of a new penitentiary; the establishment of a State Asylum for the Insane; the extension of State charity institutions in general; and the proi;ision and actual contracting for the erection of a new Capitol building. But to graduates and friends of The Unifersity of Texas, Governor Roberts ivill always be honored as the executive who started, supported, and finally affixed his signature to the hill providing for the establishment of this institution. In some dim age when the Capitol has crumbled, in some perhaps dimmer age when there niill be no need for institutions of charity, Governor Roberts will be remembered as one of the most important of those happy coincidences of friendly will plus the capacity to act that have resulted in The Unifersity of Texas.