| Summary: | Minutes of the Board of Trustees meetings held in 1883Alabama Agricultural and Eechanical College
Auburn, Alabarna
June 25 , 1883
+ 155
This being the day designated for the annual meeting of the Board of Trustees of
the Agricultural and MechaniF-al College of Alabama and the roll being cal led', there
were present:
His Excellency E. A. Oneal, Governor of t he State
l11essers Armstong, Superi ntendant of Education
Haralson ,
Hardie
Langdon
Ligon
Malone
, Stansel
,. '
'J
Messers Barnes and Cl opton appeared duri ng the r eading of t he minutes and took
their seats . Mr. Bishop absent .
The minutes of the last meeting were read and approved .
William Leroy Broun, t he President of the College ' being present , wa5 call ed on for
his annual report which was read and submitted, together with the r eports of t he
L. culty and other papers . ,
ON MOTl ON of 1-1r . Barnes , t he, r e' ort of the Presi dent lie on the t able .
The Treasurer of the College bei ng pr esent with the Board, read and submitted his
report of the financial transactions of his offic e of t he year 1882- 3, which,
ON HOTION of Mr . Stansel was r eferred to Committee on Finance .
l"lr . Landgon from the Committee appointed by the Board at its l ast session "To
pr esent to the General Assembly the necessity of erecting suitabl e additional
bui ldings for the College , etc ." made a verbal report of his action thereon, and
informed the 'Board of an agreement , made and entered int o on t he part of a Committee
appointed 'by t he Board of Trustees of t he A & M College of Alabama , and
a Committee on the Part of the State Univer sity, with E. A. Oneal the Gover nor
of the State i n reference to appropriations made by the l ast General Assembly
of this St ate to : the two Colleges named . A copy 'of the agreement was read and
is as fol Jows :
The St ate of Alabama Montgomery County
This writt en i nstrument wit nesseth that a bill�� 'J havi ng passed both Houses of the
General Assembly of Alabama, making appropriations for the benefit of the Univer sity
of Alabama and the Agricultural and' Hechanical College , which bill is now in
the hands of t he Governor, awaiting his approval to become a l aw, and the Governor
and AUditor having serious apprehensions, that if the sai d· bill should become a
l aw, the appropriations made thereby; would emb-arass or interfere with the prompt
payment of the i nterest maturing on the St ate debt vumy 1, 1884 .
----------------------------------------------
156
Now we t he under signed members of the Board of Trustees of the State University
consist ing of a Committ ee duly appointed and authorized by a resol uti on adopted at
a r egul ar meeting of said Board of Trustees of t he State University, viz, Willis 6.
Cl arke, N. H. R. Dunson and Enoch t iorgan and we, H. D. Clopt on , C. C. Langdon and
Rober t F. Ligon , a Committee appoint ed and authorized by a like r esol ution adopted
by the Board of Trustees of said' Agricultur al and Mechru1ical College , on behalf
of said several Boards of Tr ustees , represented by us, ' r espect ively as Committees,
as aforesai d, do hereby covenant and agree with his Excell ency Edward:A. Oneal
as governor of said State ; That no part of t he appropri ations made by sai d bill
f or the benefi t of said several institut ions shall. be drawn from the Treasury of
the State ; That no part of the appropriations made by said bill for t he benefit
of said several i nsti tution shal l be drawn from the Treasury of the St ate , until
t he interest on the State debt accr uing July 1, 1884 is provided f or; and the warrant
i s sued by t he Audit or under the said bill for t he several portions of t he sai d
appropri ations which re payable in~ the year 1883, shall not be pres ented to the
Treasurer f or payment until the said interest on the said tlebt of the St ate f or
July 1884 shal l have been provi ded for, and said war rants i f so required by t he
Governor, to be hel d by such person , until t he same can by the terms of this agreement
be presented f or payment .
And we further respectively ~l edge and bi nd said several Boards of Trustees t o
have a copy of this agreement and covenant entered on the minutes of said several
Boards of Trustees at thei r next meeting as t he terms and conditions upon which
the benefit of said bill a re accepted by said s everal Boa ds of Trustees.
~1itness our aands and seals thi s 23rd day of February A. D., 1883 .
Committ 'ee on behalf of State
/7
W. G. Clarke, Chairman
N. R. H. Danson
University: H. D. Clopton
C. C. Langdon
R. F. Ligon
/1
Committee on behalf of Agr icultural and Mechanical College.
We the undersigned member s of the Boar d of Trustees of the State University, but
not members of said Committee hereby unit e in the pledges and agr eements contained
i n t he forego L~g instrument .
Wi tness our hands and seals thi s 23rd day of February A. D., 1883:
H. Clay Armstrong
Superintendent of Educati on and Ex Officio member
James Crook
~rustee 7t h Congressi onal District
i . S. Thoringtc;m
Trustee from 2nd Congressional District.
ON MOTION of Mr . Barnes, the act ion of t he Committe.e on the par t of the A & M College
is hereby notifi ed aad that the Sec retary be. directed to spread the agree~ent
upon t he minutes of this Board.
-/tl57
ON MOTION of Mr. Haralson; That ~ Committee of three be appointed by the President
t o examine the act of .t he last Legislature of this Stat e at its last ses.sion in
ref erence t o examinati on and analysis of Commer cial Fertilizers and the duties of
the Pro f e ~ s or of Chemistry of thi s I nstituti on in r eference thereto and the r ecei
pt of f ees t herefrom, and to prepare such resolut ions as may ba neces sary to be
adopted by this Board to s ecure for the College the benefits of said Act and repor t
ther eon t o the Board.
The Commi ttee consi sts of Messer s Ha ralson , Langdon and Stansel.
The report of the Librarian was read and ON MOTION of Hr, . A.rmstrong was ref erred
to the Committee on Finance .
ON r:':OTION of Mr . Barnes, That when the Boar d adjourned they adjourn to meet t omorrow
mor ni ng i n secret sessi on as a Committee of the Whole .
Mr . Armstrong read an appl icat ion from Mr . H. T. Frazer" one of the Inst ructors
in the College, in reference t o t he use of a r oom in the College building f or a
Summer School.
ON MOTI ON of Ivlr . Barnes , That the application of Mr . Frazer lie on t he table .
ON MOTICN of Nr . Malone the Board adj ourned until tomorrow morning 8 o'clock .
F. M. Reese
Secretary t o Board of Trust ees
A & M College of Al abama
Auburn, Alabama
June 26, 1883
The Board met accor ding to adjournment and there were the Governor and Messer s : ,
''1
Absent: Mr . Bishop.
Armstrong
Barnes
Cl opton
Haralson
Hardie
Langdon
Ligon
.Malone
Stansel ,
The minutes wer e read and approved.
A communi cation in writing f rom fi l liam L. Broun, Pr esident of the Col lege, i nviting
the Board to visit and inspect the College farm was received. The i nvitation was
accepted .
The Board then went into executive session .
158
The Board of Trustees being in Executive Session . Mr . Haralson a c~ed as temporary
Secretary . On the return of t he Secretar,y t o t he Board, Mr . Haral son delivered t o
the Secretary the fol lowing pr oceedings had by the~ .
ON HOTION of Hr. Barnes ; That t he degrees recommended by the Faculty as contained
in t he Presidents report 'be conferred as f ollows :
For the Degree of Bachelor of Arts
W. H. Bruce
N. P. SaJIlford
T. F. . Mangum
R. L. Sutton
For the Degree of Bachelor of Agriculture
M. L. Harp
A. M. ~klntosh
D. B., Mangum .
For the Degree of Bachelor of Science
A. L. Harlan
E. M. Pac.e
For the Degr ee of Bachel or of Engineering
W. S . Cox
C. L. Gay
W. L. Elli s
The President having recommended for the Degree of Kaster of Arts Mr . E~ R. Rivers.
ON OTION the degree was conferred . Also , ON MOTI ON, The degree of Civil Engineer ing
was conferred upon Messers J . D. Trammell and O. H. Crittenden .
ON MOTION of Mr. Barnes, the degree of Doctor of Divinity was conferred on Reverend
R. B. Cranfor d of Mobi le, Alaba..-na. Adopted .
ON MOTICN of Kr. Barnes, That the degree of Doctor of Divinity be conferred on
Reverend Frederich Howard of the South Western Baptist University of JacKson,
Tennessee , which was adopted .
Of MOTION of Mr. Ligon, That the degree of Doctor of Divinity be conferred upon
Henry Clay Morrison of Loui sville , Dentucky. Adopt ed .
ON MOTION of Mr . Annstrong; That the request of Mr . H. T. Frazer to occupy a room
in the ~ollege Bui lding for a Summer School dur ing the vacation be granted; Provided
he gets the written consent of the companies i n which the building is insured, that
this rnay be done without violating the policies of insurance Govering .the buil ding .
ON MeTION of Mr. Stansel , That t he rules as amended by the Faculty and submi tted
to the Board be referred to the Committee on Rul es .
Mr. Haralson as Chair.man o~ the Commit tee appointed t o consi der the Act of the
Legisl ature establishing a department of Agr i culture for this Stat e submitted t he
following :
~~ereas the General Assembly at its last session adopted an Act entitled an Act
to establish a Department of Agricul ture for the State of Alabama, approved
February 23 , 1883 . Wherein it provided among other things ; That for the purpose
of establishing an experimental f a rm, or station, one third of the net proceeds
- --- -~-- - --- - - - -------
159 '
aIlllual ly accruing from the, sale of tags as herein before provi ded shall be paid
to the Treasurer of the A,& M College on the ap~roval of the Governor, to be
distributed under the direction of the Board of Trustees of this said Institu-
~~ tion, f or the development of ·the Agricultural and Mechanieal Department of said
College ~ Provided; The Trustees of said C olleg e shall cauSe t o be made at such
College all analyses of fertilizers t at may be required under the provision. of
this Act , without any charge t herefor; And provided further that the Trustees shall
establish and maintain an Agricultural experimental, station where careful experiments
shall be made in scientific Agriculture results of which together with all
other needed i nformation shall be furnished the Commi ssioner of Agriculture for
publ ication i n his mont ~ly bulletins and annual reports .
Be i t resolved by the Board of Trustees of said A & 1 College in Annual Session
concurred that we do hereby accept all the provisions and conditions of said Act
necessary to be complied with, in order t o entitle A & M College of Alabama to
the benefits of said Act ; That the professor of Chemistry and all other officers
andProfessors of' the College who may' be changed therewith, be and they are hereby
required to make' all analyses of fertilize rs' that may be required under the pro- '
visions of this Act without any charge therefor.
That the Board of Trustees hereby order anddi rect that an. Ag.ricultural E sperimen.ta~
farm or station such as is referred to in said Act' be and the same is h~ reby established,
and ordered to be maint ained, where caref ul experiment s shall be made
'in 'scientifi"c agiculture , results of w'hi t h together with all other needed i nformation
shall be furnished the Commissioner o'f Ag.ricult ure for publication in hi s
monthly bulletins and annual reports .
That the President 'of the A & M College be , ' and he is hereby directed t o provide
for the Commissioner of Agr icul t ure to be appointed a suitable room in the College
buil di ng to be occupied by him as an office .
ON MOTI ON of }'1:r . Hardie; That Mr . Armstrong be directed to confer with Mr '. J. B.
Gay and ascertain at what price he will sell his pr emises adjoining the Coll ege
lands and to purchase at a price not to e xceed $1800.00; and also to look after
other lands to be connected with the College premises with a view t o the purchase
of the same for the Coll ege; and to take steps t o dispose. of· the 16 acres of l and
belonging to the College and in the cdrporate limits of Auburn, as recommended by
the President in his annual r eport to the Board of Trustees .
ON }'fOTION of Mr. Haralson; That Messers Clopt on, Armstrong, Ha,l'(iie, Barnes and Ligon,
be and they are hereby appointed an Executive Commit tee of this Board to whom
the matt.er of College bui ldings and improvements in the i nterior be specially referred
with power to act.
RESOLVED by Mr . Barnes; That the reorgani z at~on of this College be referred t o a
committee of five. The Committee named are Messers Barnes, Langdon , Clopton,
Stansel and Haralson.
RESOLV~D by Mr . Landgon; That the Be8ird pr oceed at once to eiect a prof e sso~, of
Agricultur,e whose salary sha.ll be $1800 and such additional a;Llowance as Director
of t he Experimental farms or Stati on as will make his' entire compensation $2500
and house rent free .
ON IV10TION of .hr . Armstrong : That J .S;ljew,man be elected Prof essor and Dir ector of
Experimental Stat i on . Mr. Newman was wlanimousl y elected to the places named in
Mr. Langdon's mesoluti on.
Auburn , Alabama
June 27 , 1883 .
The Secretary, having resumed his place with the Board, on call of the roll.
There were· present Messers Armstrong, Barnes , Clopt on, Haralson, Hardie, L~gdon ,
Ligon, Malone, and St ansel. Absent , the Governor and Mr . Bishop.
In the absence of the Governor, President ex officio of t he Board, Mr. Clopton
was called to the Chair .
ON iViOTION of Nr. Armst rong,: That t he 2nd paragraph of the ;Rules and Regulations
of t he Coll ege be amended so as to r ead as f ollows , by stri ki ng out t he last
l ines of t he 2nd paragraph .
The Rules and Regulat i ons ver e t hen adopted asa whole .
On t he suggesti on of the, President; That .portion of the President I s r e ort embraci
ng a number of r ecommendations therein set was t al<en up and considered in~ .thi s
order. Viz;
' 1. Recommendat i on No. 1, . That a t wo year course i n Agr icult ure and a t wo year
Commercial Cour se be est ablished for the_purpose of meeting the wants of those
st udent s who are not able to spend a longer time at College and ,who l ook rather t o
_<" immediate r esults. Upon a satisfactory compl etion of each of· the cours,es or either
of t hem, a certificate of Proficiency should be awarded .
2 .
3.
4.
5.
Recommendati on No.2 . That the degree of Bachel or of Sci ence alone be gi ven
on the completion 9f anyone of the, regular under graduate courses in the College,
t he di pl oma to state the course t hat the ~tudent has taken.
Recommendation No. 3 •• That t he post graduat e degree of Civil Engineer or
¥~ st~r of Science, be awarded thr ee years aft~r graduation only to those student
s who have engaged in tWt1ifessional work upon passing an ey.amination to
be prescr ibed by the Faculty.
Recommendat i on No.4. That the military drill be ~lective with members of the
1st class save when bat talion drill is required . ·
. " !
Recommendation No . 5. That Thanksgi ving day and 22nd Februa ry may be declared
holidays an~ that the evening of each day before the celebratipn of one of the
l iterary societ ies .
6. Recommendat i on No.6. That the 22nd February be also, declared an Arbor Day
and that the st udents be en c our~g ed on t hat day as the Facul t y may deem best to
-) pl ant trees on the College groung;.s.
. ..
7. Recommendation No.7. That the t wo Liter ary Societi es be, permi t t ed each to
have a final cel ebration the one on Monday and the other Tuesday evening of
Commencement week . Al so. t bat t hey be r equi-red before i nvit ing fl. repr esentative
orator f or Commencement , to submit names t o the Fac.-iuty for app~9v al , from
which the selectio!} may be mad~ . And· also that the. priv:Ji.lege n·ow enjoyed, of
el ect ing two speakers f or Comrr.encement f rom the Second Cla~s be withdrawn .
1< 161
8 . Recommendation No.8. That the Literary Societies be required by your order to
hold their sessions on Saturda - ~o rn in gs and that no night meet i ng be allowed
without special permission from the Faculty.
9. Recommendation NO •. 9. That the regulations be madified in accordance with the
manuscript copy herewith presented and t hat a sufficient number be printed for
the use of the cadets and officers of the college.
These several reconunendations were then adopted by the Board .
That portion of the report recommending if the funds of the College will permit an
appropriations of $600 to the Department of Natural Hist ory was ON MOTION of }fr .
Armstr0ng , r eferred to the Executive Committee.
By Mr. Armstrong, RESOLVED, That : hereafter an annual hop be allowed to be under
the charge and marlagement of the Presi dent and Faculty of the College, under such
regulations as they may deem proper.
-By Mr . Stansel ';. RESOLVED , That the degree of- Learned Doctor of Law be conferr ed on
Burwell B. Lewis , President of the Stat e University and upon Isaac T. Tichenor of
Atlanta, Georgia.
RESOLVED , By Mr. Armstrong, That the Treasurer i s hereby directed to pay to F. M.
Reese the sum of $78, due to him as Secretary of this Board on account of discount
on Alabama Certificates.
Mr . Bar nes presented an account of Dr. I. T. Tichenor for money expended by him i n
fitting up the flower garden attached to the College Campus .
ON MOTION of Mr . Haralson, That the Treasurer of the College is hereby directed
to~to I . T. Tichenor $100 heretofore expended by him f or the siad flower garden.
1
- - - ---- - - - - --
~ 162
Auburn ~ Alabama
June 28, ' 1883
The Board met in pur suance of adjournment and there wer e present on call of the
roll: 1-1essers Armstrong, Barnes, Clopton, Haralson, Hardie" Langdon, Ligon,
Mal one, and Stansel. The Governor and Mr. Bishop absent. Mr . Clopton in the
chair.
A communication in writing addressed to the Board of Trustees by several of the
cadets asking an appropriati on to aid them i n t he publishing of a paper to be
conducted by t he students was read .
The Sec r etary was i nstructed to reply, ,which was done and i n his communication in
whi ch he informed them that the Board expr essed their regrets, "That the sheer
lack of f unds compelled them with much regret to decline their request."
By Mr. Armstrong, RESOLVED: That the Executive .Gommittee heretofore appointed are
hereby authorized and direct ed t o take the nec es sary steps to obtain t he f und appropriated
by t he l a'st Legislature for the benefit of the"t Agricult.ural·land ·Mechanical
College; said Committee to proc'eed in that behalf in accordance with the terms
of the Act of the Legi slature and the agr eement made by the Committee with ,the
Governor.
That the said Committee shall also s ee that the bond required by said Act be given
by the Treasurer of t he A & M College is properly executed . wit h good and sufficient
security in the 'sum of $5000; and the Board t hrough the Executive Committee of the
same shall make to the Auditor of the State the quarterly reports requir ed by said
Act to be made by t he :Board to the Auditor. '
By Mr. Haralson, RESOLVED : That t he Executive Committee Gf t his Board appointed
.at this session are hereby charged with the matter of the dr~wing of .the one- .
t hird net pr oceeds, annually accruing from the sale of tags for fe rtili zers as
provi ded i n Sect i on 17 of t he Act approved February 23 , 1883, entitled an Act
t o establish a Depart ment of Agr i cultur e f or t he State of Alabarra. That the Treasurer
be allov-Ted to draw the share of thi s Sol.~ eg e of sai d fund only on t he certific
at e of t he lxecuti ve Commit tee to the Governor that said f unds are required f or
the pur poses of the Col l ege under said Act and that t he Governor be request ed to
order said f unds paid only on the receipt 0f such qer tificat e rom sai d committee
and t hat a'-. copre! . tbi!:v res Qihutiori be f urni shed,"t!fjl tl1e Gover nQr .c -; ! •
By Mr . Ligon, RESOLv.:.c.D, That the Corps of t he A & lii College of alabama be subject
t o t he order of t he Governor a s a part of the military f orce of this State.
Hr. Hardie; at the reques t of Mr . Barnes, t he Chairman of t he Finance Gormni ttee; r ead
a r epor t f rom that Commi ttee as f ollows :
The Fi nance Committee t o whom was ref erred the Treasur er ' s Repor t beg t o say t ha.t
t hey have exami ned the vouchers and books of the Treasurer's Of fic e and find vouchers
f or al l moni es paid out and t hat t he books are correctly and reasonably
well kept and correspond with t he repor t of t he Treasurer.
~e respectfully recommend the f olloyring appr opriati ons for different purposes the
ensuing year ;
Expenses of Prof essors $100.00
Expense Account (Unnames) 250 .00
Print ing 250.00
Milit ary Account
Servant' s hire
Post age
$100.00
200.00
100 .00
- ----- -. - - - ----,
Stationery
Int. and Exchange
Nat . History
}'1usic
$ 50.00
50.00
150.00
100.00
Fuel
Advertising
Speakers
Desk f or Commandant
Frazer's account
_ last year
$200.00
200.00
50.00
35.00
50.00
-It 163
We further recommend that these appropriations are made with the distinct understanding
and requirement that they are in no instance to be exceeded by any office
of the College, That if any Pr ofessor or other person who may be charged with expendit
ure of these appropriations shall violate these injunctions the President
and Treasurer are hereby ordered not to pay the account . In case it becomes necessary
in any instance to exceed these appropriations it shall not be done until the
matter has been first referred to the Executive Committee and i ts Chairman has
made a written order, allo~dng the expenditure which alone shall be a voucher to
the Treasurer . We further recommend that the Treasurer be required to have his
pass book with the Bank with which he may deposit , written up at least once a month,
and in every case at the" end of the fi scal year , so as to be ready f or the examination
of the Board. The r eport was received and adopted •.
By Mr . Barnes, RESOLVED , Thatthe ~ecutive Committee b~ and they are hereby i nstructed
to allow for the purposes of an Agricultural Library for the use of the Col lege such
sum as they may in their judgement think proper for the use and benefit of that
Department of the College .•
ON ·~O TI OIl of ~ir . Barnes , That a committee of three be to consist of Kessers Langdon
, Armstrong, Clopton, prepare a r equest on the part of the various railroads in
this State t o grant to the Professor of Agriculture a pass on their r espective rail
roads for the purpose of aiding and advancing that Department of the College and
the Agricultural interests of the State .
ON MOTION of Mr . Haralson, That the Prof essor of Agriculture be directed to prepare
a plan and submit the same to the Executive Conunittee f or the laying out and ornamentat
ion of the Campus and grounds of the College .
ON HOTION of Mr . Langdon ; That the President of the College, Doctor Broun, be requested
to furnish a copy of such porti ons of his baccalaureate address as he may
elect for pUblication.
ON MOTION of Mr. Clopton, That the Governor be requested to instruct the Adjutant
General of this State to procure for t he use of the Corps of Cadets new and improved
arms and accoutrements suitable f or the pur poses of the Cor ps .
Hr . Cl opton having formerly announced to the Board the r esignation of William L.
Broun as President of t he A & M College
By Mr . Haralson RESOLVED :
--- - - - ----- ------------
That the relations ,between Doctor Hilliam LeRoy Broun. as President of the State
Agricultural and M~hanical College of Alabama and thei Board, has been terminated
by his voluntary retirement t o acc ept service i n his profession in anothe~ State.
His great distinction and recognized fitness f or the Presidency of t his Instituti on
directed our att ention to him in the first instance and secured himthe "l ace without
solicitation on his part . Though his term has been brief with us., hi s fidelity
to this trusts , the intelligence he has· brought to the discharge of his varied and
important duties, and his agreeabl e and most pleasant social im~ercourse and rel at
ions with the Faculty and students, have impressed ·us profoundly and cause us
sincere regret at his retirement.
~/e are unwilling that he should depart from our midst , without bearing with him
to his new ·home some testimoni al of our Iriendship for him as a man and our high
appr eciation of his exalted worth a s a citizen and an e UCE.t r .
,,8 here t en er 1 it'!! and .. his family our most af fe ct i onat e adi eus , commending .hit'il to
the attention and regards of good people everywhere, and in i nvoking upon him the
bles sings of Almighty God •.
The resolution was unanimously adopted.
The Secretary is hereby direct ed to devote a page of the Records t o this memorial
and f ur ni sh a certified copy of the sa~e to Doctor B roun~
Be it ordained by the Board of 'Trust ees: That the follo'iing studies may be pursued
in this College under the t wo degree courses 'heretofore provided in accor dance 'with
recomrnendation of the President of the College:
1. English--History--Political Economy--Hental and Ivloral Science
2. Agriculture and Horticulture
3. Mechanics and , Physics
4. Mathematics and Astronomy
5. Engi neering--I ndustrial and Graphic .Drawing
6. Chemistry--General--Agricultural--Inausttial and Analytic ~l
7. Natural History--Botany--Zoology--Mineralogy--Physiology 'and Geology
, '
8. Latin and Modern Languages: and that the study. of no f oreign :language
(ancient or moder n) shall be requi red to either of the degr ee courses in
this College.
By ¥~. : Stansel, RESOLVED, That t his Board pr0ceedto fill the vac a~tchairs in the
Facul t y as provided f or .in the resolutions adopted this ,day, apranging the same
such officers ·to hold their chairs until the next meeting of this Board. And that
at the next Annual Meeting of this Board, the said chairs shall be vacated and t he
same . filled as this Board .may then .r povide and the members of the Faculty be assured
that under the reorganization to adapt this Institution to the designs of the Board,
it may and probably will be necessary to .dispense with ·the services of some one or
more of them .
2nd, That the matter of the ar rangement of the courses allQwed td be pu.rsued in the
College , bedistributed by the Faculty to toe different Professors and Inst·ructO!1S
as may be deemed best by them.
The Presi dent af the Board announced that the election of President of the College
was now in order. '
Mr. Armstr ong placed in·nomination t hen t he name of Colonel D. F. Boyd as President
of the Agri cultural and Mechanical College of Al abama. There being no other name
put in nominati on
ON MOTION : of Mr. Malone, That the election of Colonel D. F. Boyd be declared unanimous
.
ON HOTlON of Mr . Langdon, That the salary of the President of this College be fixed
at the sum of $2500 and house rent.
ON HOTION of Hr. Barnes, That the Board do now proceed to the election of Professors
in this College.
John T. Dunklin was elected a Professor .
W. C. Stubbs was elected a Profe ssor .
O. D. Smi th was elect ed a Profes sor .
G. W. Haxson was elected a Pr of essor.
P. H. Mell was elected a Pr ofessor.
t 166
ON MOTION of Mr. Armstrong, Tnat General Ja..vnes H. Lane be elect,ed to the chair of
. Civil ' Engineering and Mining Engineering.
General Lane was elected t o that chair.
ON NOTION OF Mr. Haralson, That C. C. Thach be elected Instructor and Tutor with
his present salary, viz, $900 .00.
ON lJiOTION of Mr. Barnes, That E. T. Glenn be elected Treasurer.. Mr. Glenn ldas
elected.
ON MOTICN of Mr . Stansel , That F. M. Reese be elected SecretalJT of this Board of
Trustees with the present salary; "v±z, <$200.00.
By Mr. Haralson ," RESOLVED, That ,~iri view ··of the coti.rses --prescribed' under the. r eorganization
of the College and the studies allowed to be pursued in those courses to entitle
a student to graduation therein; Cffid' of the fact . ,that there are students now
in the Coll ege whose studies have been chosen and pursued under the fo rmer system
who may desire t o pursue these studies for t he :ensuing year, the Boa~d hereby allow
such students to pursue their former studies to graduation this year if the students
so deisre.
By Mr~ Haralson, RESOLVED, That the matter of the, appointfQ.ent of a ssistant chemists
be left to the Professor of Chemistry by and with the cidvise and c'onsent of ,the
Executive Committee at such :compensation as may be determined on by them.
At the suggestion of the President of the Board, That Mr. Armstrong be instructed
to ascertain the amounts expended 'for telegraphing on account of the Board also
charges for hack hire and direct the Treasurer to pay such arnountsall of which
was assented to.
ON MOTION of Mr. Hardie, That the Board do now adjourn to meet on Wednesday at
Auburn on the '19th day of December 1883.
F. M. Reese,
'Secretary to Board of TrUstees
of the A & M College of .Alabama
-1 167
Report of President of the A & M College
To the Trustees of the A & M College
G-entlemen:
I respectfully present the following report of the 11th ses;:;ion of the A & M College
ending June 27, 1883.
During its session 127 students matricul ated with a large percentage in the col
·legiate classes. Of them, . 12 have completed satisfactorily the prescribed courses
and are reco~~ended by the Faculty for the following degrees:
For the degree of Bachelor of Arts:
VI . H. Bruce T.. F. VJangum
N. P. Samford R. L. Sutton
For the degree of Bachelor of Agriculture
H. L., Harp D. B. Hangum
A. M. Hclntosh
For the degree of Bachelor of Science
A. L. Harlan,. E. M. Pace
For the degree of Bachelor of Engineering
W. S. Cox W. L. Ellis
C. L. Gay
The Faculty also recorrunend for the Honorary de-gree of }laster of Arts, Mr. E. R.
Rivers, and. for ' the degree of Civil Engineering, Messers J. D. Tramwell and 0 •. H.
Crittenden. - The two latter ' having submitted theses satisfactory to the Faculty.
The general order and conduct of the students has been worthy of commendation.
No student has . been disIlliss!3d for miscondp.ct.
" . I
With the exception of sickness from the measles from which through the car.eof the
Surgeon no serious consequences resulted. The he~th of the stu~ ents has .been good.
I cheerfully bear testimony to the faithful and diligent n~nner in which the Faculty
have severally discharged their duties during the sess i on .
'The Professor of Chemistry has had charge of the Department of Agriculture and has
i n progress a large number of experiments that may prove of much value in their
results .
For ·special information in regar d t .o these several departments, I .respectfully
refer you to' their respective reports herewith forwarded .
The Department of Physics and .Astronomy during the session has been under > ~y
special charge.
-1\ 168
Object of the College
In regard to the f uture work and growth of the College, I r espectfully call your
attention to the following suggestions.
The l aw to which the Coll ege owes its existence clearly defines t he "leading
object " t o be t o teach, to teach t hose branches that r elate to Agriculture and the
Nechanical Ar ts . The only questi on shoul d be , how can the College best comply
with the law.
This c'an be done by concent r ation, and not by diffusion, . by concen.trating the educational
force of the: College on a few courses that are required by the law under
which it exists ; i n this way there could i n t ime , be built up what the State now
greatly needs and what is necessary to a complete system; an Institute distinct
for teachi ng Science and i ts application, with such auxiliary discipline and
subj ects as ar e necessary and essential to educat i on of any character .
Wi t h continuous effort s to expand only' i n this direction, the College would ultimately
become what it was designed by. l aw to beco;ne, a Polytechnic Institute •.
State Appropriation
The Act of the State Legislature appr~pria t ing $30,000 to the College, already d~f
ines the objects for which it must be used .
It will . require according to the' est:imat.e made by t he Pr of essor of Engineering, to
stucco, paint and repair the College buildings.
Shoul~ the present old chapel be purchased and used in constructing an audience
hall of the same dimensions, the amount required need not exceed $}OOO. It. would
seem the part of wisdom to spend a minimum' amoung for .a building to be .used only
one week in a year.
I would recoITmend that not less than $10,000.00 to $15,000.00 if possible be set
aside for the purshase of apparatus , needed f or teaching science and its applications.
Unwise expenditures are apt to be made in purchasing apparatus without
due consideration . Partial purchases should be made each session four t imes or
four years.
Department of Agric.ulture
The Act of the Legislature whereby the Department of Agriculture is established
appropriates one-third of the tax on fertilizers to the College for purposes
specified in the Act.
A careful 'enquiry made of the different railroads by the Professor of Chemistry
shows that 72,000 tons of· commercial fertilizers were brought 'into this State
between September 12, 1882 and Eay 1883 . From these estimates we may safely conclude
that not less than $10,000 will be received from this source probably by
the 12th of March of each year.
The conditions n~Jed in the 17th Section of this Act requires the establislwent
of an Exper:i.mental Stati on wit h provision for ma,king chemical analyses of commercial
fe rtilizers .
- - - - ----- -
,, ~
1t169
A suitable farm must be purchased as the eighty acres South of the College, a
gift from the citizens of Auburn, wil l not be sufficient for the work,to be done.
,
The 16 acres West of the College now used asi an,';9x.periinental flat would then be no
longer of service and hence could be sold.' It will also he, necessary tostipply ,
means to purchase improved stock, machines and irilplements for the farm, as well as
to rent the necessary buildings.
~ ..
I recommend that the Department of Agriculture be organized by appointing (1) a
Director of the Experimental Station and a Professor of Agricultt1re, (2) a State
chemist who shall have charge of the analytical work, and (3) an assistant chemist
who could also act as adjunct Professo r of Chemistry.
I would direct· yotirattention to Mr. ;I. S. 'Newmanof .Georgia for the position of
Director" of the Station and Professor of Agriculture . I cons:J.der him well 'qualified.
by educa.t. i on and; e}, ~per~'ehceto discharge satisfa~. duties of. . the position.
The Professor of Chem~stry JoS the pr.oper person·,·to bej" apJ.:omted1 cherrust of the ','
StatIon. ' ,. . . C-fort" L'? -\h·~d~ ' , t .l " .:) .'~.
The duti es of these positions will by law involve peculiar r esponsiJbilities and may
be pnerous , lience, they in my opinion should not be imposed without additional com-pens~
t'ioh. ,-,
Teinporary provision mllstbe' made for a special laboratory ·for. the chemist where the
analyses may b'emade' with· that, 'absolute regard for secrecy and non-interference , that
the work will demand. To supply this temporary laboratory with the necessary fur~
naces, balances and general outfit, it is estimated and required an outfit of $800 • . ,
~ , ~. ,
So soon as the means can be obtained it will be necessary to erect a new Agricultur
al1laboratory with improved modern appliances .
With the organization named, the station can begin -work at once. Other officers
can be appointed as time will show them necessary.
The eXperimental station if 'properly conducted w:Ul"not simply be a model farm. Its
office will be to, dis-c'ov'er what, is not known, to'L, dissem;inat~ ' wha.t is known, to 'il.,.·
lustrate to students the improved methods of Agr iclllture, and to protect the farmer
from imposition b':' chemical and microscopic analyses. Hence 'from the· Station if
well organized, large r.e sult.s of great value may be reasonably anticipated.
The same Act of the Legislature also requires that a r oom shall be furnished the
Cormnissioner of AgricUlture in the Col1ege builiing .
- .'. ,:.~ .
Applied Mechanics
After the Department of Agriculture has been rend'erect so complete, as the means 'a-t
your disposal will furnish, it will be necessary ·todevelop the Department of Applied
Hechanics.
The full equipment of this Department with hall and outfit , will require' a large
outlay of funds, hence its development must of necessity be left to the future.
The Library
The Library contains about 1,400 volumes, not well selected for the use of students
or Professors. If possible it_should be largely increased as no College can do
its ligitL"Il.ate work 'without a well founde.d library. Some part of the second appropriation
,by the Legislature must be used in th~ purchase-of additional books,
while the small income from the library fees of students will barely serve to supply
the necessary literary and scientific periodicals.
Secret Societies
By former legislation, students on matriculation are required to sign a pledge that
they will not become members of any ColJege secret societies. My observation and
reflection convince me that there are grave .objections to requir.:ing a youth to
sign a solemn pledge that he may be subsequently induced to violate •• He is' apt to
t.hink the pledge being cornpulso~ is not binding ~'1d thus violence is done at an
early age to his sense of the obli5ation of the pledge, and serious injury -of a
lasting nature to his character may result. Whatever may be your legislation in
regard to t he admi ssio;1 or prohibition of secret societies, I recommend the abolition
of the r;J31edge~ '-" - _" :
The unseccessful attempt to su-o-uress the secret societies among c!-olle~~ '-~tu~en~-~
has in my opinion often been productive of at least as much injury as the open
esixtence has created. I have -never been able to see in: them, the great evil that
others do; though, in regard to this question my colleagues do not all agree with
me.
Special Recommendations
The Faculty unite with me in recorr.mending the following changes, the details of
which are set forth in the manuscript prepared f or the new catalogues which is
herewith submitted ,for approval.
~Note the special recommendations Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 were adopted
by ~he Board of Trustees and are to be found recorded in the regular proceedings
of the B.oard on pp. 222,3 of the rninut.es in this book.(pp.160 ... l6l)
The Faculty also request that your attention be drawn to the possible advantage of
changing the session, so as to begin on the 2nd Wednesday of Septemb.er and close
on the 2nd Wednesday of June. They submit the regulation with recommendation.
The Professor of Natural History, asks' for an appropriation of $-600 to purchase
, models of plants, microscopes, etc. This would add i ncreased interest
to his Department and an appropriation is recommended if the funds will permit.
Several of the sp~cial appropriations granted in -your annual budget to the different
departments have been acoording to the report of the Treasurer somewtlat ,
overdrav.'l1 •. The expenditures were all necessary.
In concluding this report of the years work with the suggestions made for your
con~ideration, I desire in thus surrendering my charge to express my high appreciation
of the honor conferred in entrusting to my care this Institution and to
add the hope that the grand work of the Coll ege may go steadily forward, expanding
in the single direction of science and its application.
Auburn, Alabama
June 23, 1883
Respectfully sub~itted,
William LeRoy Broun
President of A & M College
Colonel William LeRoy Broun , L. L. D.
Presi dent
Auburn, Alabama
Sir:
-A 171
Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical College
Department of Chemistry
Auburn , Alabama
June 15, 1883
I have . the aonor of submitting scholastic report as follows for the ,year just
ending.
The f ol l ovling clC\sses in Gtlemistry have been inst ruct ed :
3rd class 1 hour daily in General Chemistry
2nd class 1 hour daily in Analytical
1st class 1 hour daily in Analytical
1st class 1 hour dialy in Agricul t ural
The 1st and 2nd classes have besides t hese morning reci tations devoted the evenings
to laboratory work under my instructioD and super vision . All of my classes have
made fair progress .
Mr. C. A. Owsl ey, t!, graduate of, this College now professor in College,
Waxahachi, Texas, pursued by consent of Faculty the study of analytical chemistry
under my supervision a part of l ast vacation. The r egular laboratory fee $10.00
was .col lected of him .
Mr . Lee Early Carledge of Hidway, Alabama, was permitte~by Faculty to take special
course in ,Chemistry. He entered upon his studies i n September, and has successful ly
completed the cours e, beside$ pursuing the studies of Pharmacy and Botany--the latter
under Professor Meil, the former under me .
He is a young man of excellent character, studious habits , good manipulation skill
and with a decided predilection for chemical work . He will be r ecommended for
proficiency in thi s course .
I haye received during the year $90 .00 ·in fees; $100.00 in appropriation; total
$190.00. I have expended $219 .72, leaving an excess over appr opriati ons $29. 72.
I Illost respectfully ask that this amount be all ovled .
My accounts appr oved by the President are in t he hands of the Treasurer. I respectfully
ask continuation of same amount , viz , $100.00 and f ees to my Department
for ensuing year.
All of which is r espectfully submitted,
w. C. Stubbs , Pr ofessor of Chemistry
172
Col onel William LeRoy Broun, LL D.
Pr esident , A & M College
Auburn , Alabama
Sir :
Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical College
Auburn , Al abama
June 15, 1883
At your r e uest I have . contin ed t o exercise t he duti es per tai ni ng to Department
of Agriculture. i<I have given dailyinstru6ti on to 1st class in Agriculture , both
in scientific and practical agriculture. I have also made many valuable additions
to the Agricultural Huseum . The large number of specimens accumulat.lng ren ered
it necessary t o i ncrease our gl ass ware accordi ngly •. $ _____ have thus been i n-vested
and t he amount charged to f arm account , though not pr operly a part of expens
e of f arm.
*We have no 2nd class in Agriculture .
Result s of experiment s r eported last year have been off icially gi ven to the public
in a report of Board of Trustees to the Legislature. This report I believe has
been furnished to every member of the Board . The number of these reports available
t o College for distribution was far too small. They have been eagerly sought
by pl ant ers all over the State and am sorry to i nform you that the supply is exhausted
while t he demand continues . (with unsatisfactory r esult s , accordi ngl y . upon
your recommendat i on ) ~
Last ye2.r we rent ed out the f arm o.nd a pertena:.ces 1tT:' +;'~ unsat i sfactory r esults .
·Accor dingly upon ' our recommendation we determi ned upon pol i cy of cul tivat i ng all
our lands wit h hired l abor . On e the 15th November , we hired Fred Bockman at .
$20 per month , and took charge of all the l ands belonging to the College . We had
ther efore to expend much time i n fenCing and clearing. Eleven acres of this tract
have been surveyed accuratel y, s t '1ked and numbered and appropriated to permanent
experiments .
Besides this five or six acres of the farm are i n corn, simply with a view of
raisi ng provender for the stock . The experiments of last year hav.e been i n main.
repeated, while many new ones , l ooki ng to a partial solution of the theoretical
and practical questions invol ved in: Sout hern Agriculture have been instituted .
Seventeen different kinds of wheat i ncludi ng several so-call ed IIRust Pr oof.1I and
standard varieti es of North and West. One variety from .3outh Fr ance -(kindly
presented by Honorabl e Geor ge B. Loring) were seeded wit h a view of t esti ng what
variety, i f any, was adapt ed to our soil and climate . The season has been partially
f avorable and several yarieties give promise of a good yiel d . They have
been all harvested, but not thrashed, and hence resul ts cannot be, given . No
manur e was used .
An acre was pl anted in Irish potatoes . These were sold t o a firm i n Montgomery at
$3.14 per eushal delivered ·at depot . S o~ def ect occurred in contra ct with Lee
Farmers Cl ub under whi ch these potatoes were sold and a dispute has arisen which
must re sult either i n a l aw suit or a compromise.
i<zmproperly inserted at wrong pl ace .
,~.. ~------------------------------------------------------~--------------~~----------~----------~
In either event the above amount will not be realized. Of the four acres in sffi~ ll
grain, two have been followed by peas , one by corn and one by cotton . The acre
in potatoes has also been planted in cotton .
The nTh~ber of experiments now under way are too numerous for insertion here. I
most respectfuliy refer you to arm reco d, a simple classification of experiments
is here given .
1 1/2
2 1/2
1/2
acres in
11 11
11 "
1 "
5 to 6 "
3 11
2 "
1 "
2 "
1 "
1 "
1 "
1/2 11
3 "
1 "
1 "
7 to 9 "
1
2 1/2 "
"
11
"
"
"
"
"
"
"
"
"
"
"
"
"
"
"
Oats
Wheat , to test varieties suited to our s6il and climate .
Corn, with nitrogen of manures .
" _ ,. to test superiority of.
" , to raise food.
Cotton, with nitrogen of manures .
" , phosphoric acid of manures .
" to test proportwn 'of nitrogen to phosphoric acid needed
"
"
"
"
"
"
"
"
" II
Peas
by cotton.
, to test Farmans formula 1 broadcast , 1 drill .
, without Kassit
, with floats as substituted for phosphoric acid.
, cotton seed meal phosphate and kassit as substituted for
Farmans formula (v9J-ue of) .•
, magueria to cotton I'
, varieties of cotton (fi ne seed)
, fol .. owing potatoes
, following wheat
, simply to cultivate the land .
, in I rishf potatoes
, using ash element.
By i ncluding the expense of the Agricultural ~useum , the expenditures have exceeded
appropriations. But then we l1qve a large crop on hand with expenses daily diminishing,
a farm enclosed and partl y cleared and a va.luable set of experiments .
I recommend the sale of the 16 acre farm with improvements . It i s utterly unfit
for ,experiments, on ac count of differnecy of fertility, unknown amount of fertilizers
used thereon in the past , and the. proximity to so many nei ghbors who raise
troublesome poultry .
Other recommendations are relegated' to my successor, who will in' all probability
be appointed by the Board at its next session . With him or any member of the
Board seeking i f ormati on of this Department , I shall be gl ad to confer.
Respectfully submitted,
w. C. Stubbs
Acting Professor of Agriculture
174
lL· Heport .of Department of l"!:athematics
.'
Doctor . W. LeRoy Broun
Presi dent A & M Coll ege of Alabama
Dear Sir:
"
I r espectful l y submit a report of my department of the year just closing . The
foll owing table gives the subjects , number of students , and number of reci t ations
exclusive ~f examinations by classes .
Class
IV
IV
III
II
I .
Corrunercial
Sub j ect
1st Section Al gebra
2nd Section .Al gebra
Geometry, Pl ane &·Sph . Trig .
Surveyi ng, Leveling simple
railroad .curves
Analytical Geometry & Dif.
Calculus
Integral Calculus
Bookkeepi ng & Co~ •. Arith.,
excluding names used twice·.
No . Students No. Recitations
22
22
,'. 24 ·
19
5
.. 175
175
175
105
52
For the purpose of comparison I give the number of students in each class the
past as well as the present year .
b .
Fourth Glass
Third Cl ass
Second Cl ass
First Class
1882-3
44
24
19
_5
92
r
1881-2
17
31
11
.6 :.;
r65 ·
. ,
It will be se.en that al ;though1.l;qhe number of students matriculated this year i s but
little in excess of l ast year, the increase in the college classes. in this de- .
partment i s . from 65 to 92 or 210 per cent • . This is an encouraging i ndication
that students with better reparation are entering college . ~
The fourth class is di vided into two sections in order to secure thorough drill
and grounding in f undamental stud ~es . of the course .
The third class devoted two afternoons of the week duri ng most of the 2nd term
to field work i n surv~yin g , leveling and mining out simpl e railway curves . Pl ans
and profiles of the work are required. They are al so given thorough instruction
in the theory, use and adjustment of cpmpass , l evel and transit. This class
has made excellent progress and accomplished a l arge amount of work .
The first and second classes have com leted their courses creditably .
The constant aim of instruction i n this Depart ment is to combine a maximum of
mental training with rapid and accurate application of knowledge .
All of which is respectfully submitted ,
Auburn, Alabama
June 23, 1883
O. D. Smith, Prof essor of Mathematics
To W. LeRoy Broun 11 D
Presi dent'
State A & M C,oll'ege
Auburn, Al abama
June, 1883
f\; 175
I respectfully submit the f ollowing report of work done in my Department during
the session endi ng June 24, 1883 .
I have taught the Fourth Class the general outlines of Ancient istory, composition
and orthography . }1y. aim has been to give a pr actical knowledge of the grammatical
structure and usage of our language and correct , as far as ~ p o ssible the
defects of early traini ng and i ts elementary principl es. I have bad f requent
exercises in orthogra hy, oral and writ ten and have instructed the class in social
and corrunercial correspondence and forms of business papers .
The class has completed Bloss I Ancient History and Harts Element f ... of Compositi on
and have been constantly instructed in elocution . · Fre uent exercises in declamation
have been re uired both in l ecture room and chapel .
Thirty-four students of the Fourth Cl ass have had five r egular recitati ons per
week .
The First Class in Li terature has completed Hickoks Mental Science and Moral Phil
osophy, havi ng f ive recitations per. week til the middle of the 2nd (These last
two lines belong in another place and are inserted . )
I have taught the 3rd class Rhetoric , Compositi on and El ocuti on and pursued much the
same course as with the 4t h class . They have completed Harts Rhetoric and have had
constant exercises in composition and declamation .
I propose during t he next sessi on to give this class instruction in the onstitution
of the. Unit ed States and the general principles of our Government .
The class has had f ive recitati ons per week duri ng the 1st Term and two duri ng the
2nd. The class contain.s 22 students .
The 2nd class has completed Shaws History of English Literature and Coppee 1s Logic.
The. students' have been requi red to write bi ographical sketches of eminent authors
and criticisms on their work . The class in English Literature numberes 20; the
class in Logic 11, and both classes have had t hree l essons per week during the
Sessi n .
The 1st clas's in Literature has completed Hickok I s Mental Science and loral Phil
osophy, having five rec itati ons per week t i l l the middl e of t he 2nd Sessi on t ill
the close of the Sessi on, having t hr ee reci t ations per week . These ,subjects have
been taught by familiar l ectures in the class room based upon the 8ubjectmatter
presented in the text books .
The student s of the 1st and 2nd classes have each writt en and del ivered three original
orati ons , unless exca sed by proper authority . These clas ses have been submissive
to discipline, courteous , studious and attentive, and have made commendabl e
progress .
I need outline maps and charts , as aids in teaching t he subject of Hist ory.
An appr opriation of $40 .00 \..,roul d supply my l ecture r oom.
Doctor W. L. Br oun
President , A & 1-1 College
Respectfully submitted,
G. W. M:axson
Pr of essor of English
A & K College
Auburn, Alabama
June 2u, 1883
Department of Latin and Greek
I submi t t he f ollowing as ~y scholastic report f or the year now cl os ing .
-1'-: 178
With the a ssistance of Instructor Thach who has quite successf ully t aught the
Lati n of the 3rd class and the 4th clas s , I have been able t o meet all t he other
classes of the College in Latin and Gr eek during the year . The pr ogress of the
classes in these subjects has been good , consider ing the trouble resulting from
an unusually large number ~f ca ses of measles.
The cour se pursued and accomplished by t he several classes is in the main that
outlines by the catalogue or an equivalent amouht . The method of i nstruction
employed l ooks not onl y to the acquisition of the Greek and. Latin l anguages and
liter ature, but also t o t he l ear]li ng of English in its gr~nma r and usage.
The disciplinary uses of t hese sub j ects are sought t o be attained in the cultivat
i on of mem,ory, judgement , taste and t he various f aculties of the mind .
The want of all maps and some r eference books is very much felt. These aids
woul d very much f acilitate t he work of i nst ru.ction as well as as si st the students
in their efforts to att ain t horoughness and accuracy in their pursuits . I f any
. appr opriations are made to render any of the Departments more efficient in their
wor k, I wish something to be done i n the r espect menti oned for · classical study .
Not hing even t o the extent of a map or a s i ngl e 'Teference book has ever been given
t o t hose who l abor i n t he fiel d of t he humanities . No complaint is made on t his
score f or t he past , but only a petition i s put i n f or the future , i n case appropriations
are made . The amount need not be gr eat , but t he additions can be made
year after year and t hese small amounts in course of time wi ll enable t he Instructors
and students in t hi s D ~ partment to have al l t he advantages neces sary for the most
successf ul work . .
In Conclus i on, Doctor Br oun, permit me .to t hank you for your courteous and kind attention
dur i ng the short time of ,your administration and t o express my regret as
well as that of t he fri ends of '~he Col l ege that you find i t to your· i nterest to
sever your connect i on witn us .
----- -- - ----------~-------------- - .- - - ----
r
~i ~'.
-Pr179
You carry with you my best wishes and most earn"est desire' for your-sellf and happiness
i n your,,, new f i.eld of labor, an~ I only; hope 'You may find as many "well 'wisher s and !
fi':rends in YOl!1.r new, home a5" you have her-e.'" _ "3' ,~ > r
r" , , J • • ~ d J
...
, " " J . T ~ Dunkl in ') . '!
. . l
Alabama A & 11 Coll ege
Jun'€! -15 , l SS) .J.. "
Doct.or W. LeRoy Broun
President
Si r:
• 11 i ...
. >
I have the honor t o make the f ollowing r eport \.
~.--, b J Civil Engi neering
! ~.I' .'
....
J
j
I' • 1
j
.... .~
On enter ing on" t he duties he~e at -the beginning ~ f t he pr esent Session, I- ~ound i n
this Department t wo transits and one ro'd, two ' levels and 'two r ods ,-' two s-urveyors
compas s es. and one· chai n and one sextaht. 'One t ran"si t ," both levels and one c'ompass
wer .e out I of order . One of tbe l evels ha been r~paire d . "~,
• ) J • ~ .. i ;,_ roo: 0'
Rankin ' s Ci vil Engineer ing and vJhi ppl e ' s Br i dge Building are the only boeks · of
r ef er ence t o be found i n the Col lege Libr ary •
... 1 r C'
." ,
The ; lstsand 2ndYclasses have r ec'ited 'to me daily. I have -hot changed any of the' -
t ext· books -usee. by my predecess0rs, but have added t o t he' lst class course Allan ' s
St r engt h of Beams under Trahsverse· Lea&s . The t wo cla's ses in '; Engineering have
sent consi derabl e t i me in the f i eld, and have been taught practi cally hew to put
i n curves by def leet ion ang~ e s , - c ,ora~ fingl e s , tangent and chord def l ections and
with t wo trans its wit hout a chain ; how t o put in ordinates , how to run a line of
l evel s , hOvi t o establ ish grade l ines ; how t o set sl ope stakes , and how t o calcul
ate excavat i ons and embankments . P ,," '
The lJepartment needs books of r ef erence , model s , suitabl e l ecture r oom furni ture , etc .
Drawi ng
In t his department I f ound several f olios "i n l andsca e , f igure and classical
sub j ects" which I turned over to t he Li brari an . I also found:
9 French models in carpentry
32 " architectures
12 " masonry arches
14 " geometrical figures
59 of Reservoir Depols, etc.
120 mechanical machines, etc.
,-- The explanati ons to all of the above are in French. The following Ameri can models
1 also on hand, better adapted to our wants:
1
2 pro j ections
5 carpentry and framing
13 mechanics and machines
-{\ 180
There is not in t his Department a single model in pen or colored topography
(irnportant dr~wings to an engmeer) nor a model of any ~ind of a bridge, the
Department needs models,books of referenGe, drawing boards and suitable drawing
tables. I have not changed the text books in any of the classes . The 4th class
has been taught ElementaF,f Freehand and Linear Drawing twice a week . The 3rd
class pr ojection and model drawing twi ce a week. They have also been made to develop
figures from their pr ojections and t Q cut models of the s~~e. The 2nd class
has been taught daily to draw curves, planes and elevations, isometric pr ojections,
perspective and shades and shadows.
The 1st class has been ~nstructed daily i n drawing some of Prang 's Amer i can Models
in Fr aming and l'.iachines and pi eces of Pen Topography and Practical Perspective.
In the absence of suitabl e models, I borr owed a f ew cadet drawings f r om the Professor
of Dr awm g in the Uni t ed States Hilitary Academy at V' est Point, that the
class mi ght see what they ought to do in thi s direction. Hand dravm copies of
some of those have been made by Cadets Cox and Gay,C).
Personal
In addition to being occupi ed the whole of t he six periods allotted by the Faculty
to academic duties, I have returned to Coll ege every afternoon to attend drill
and inspectipns and to finiBh up my work as Commandant. At the opening of the
s ession the keeping .:,f the dai l y demerit r~ cord was also assigned to me by the
Faculty . I kept it t he 1st q,uarter and exh;ibited it weekly to the cadets. I
was then relieved of that d~ty at my own request as I foumd I could not attend to
it and at the same t i me properly discharge the duties of the positi ons to which I
had been elected.
As the Col l ege has only tvm books of r eference on Civil Engineering and none on
Dr awing, I have been compelled to 9uy three or four on my ovm account. I hope it
will be your pleasure to recommend to the Board 9f Trustees that I be allowed to
turn over to the College Librarian at the price paid for them these books.
Respectfully submitted,
James H. Lane
Professor of Ci vil Engineering
- - - - - - - - - ---- - - - - - -------
Doctor W. LeRoy Broun .
President
Sir :
Alabama A & M College
June 16, 1883
fr 181
ivhen I entered upon my duties in t his College as Commandant, I made a careful inspection
of .the Nilitary Department with the following result.
232 Breech loading muskets in very bad order and generally damaged.
189 Bayonets, battered and in bad order generally, many without clasps.
168 Cartridge' boxes in good order considering the service seen.
256 Bayonet Scabbards generally worthless
189 Leather waist belts ,very badly damaged.
187 U. S . plates badly battered some with broken hooks.
24 Sar.geant swords and belts almost worthless.
2 Silk battalion flags , one slightl y the other Q~dly damaged.
6 }I arker flags badly use. a. '
1 Snare DrUm badly used.
1 Bass Drum worthle~s.
On the 9th November, 93 of the guns and 94 of t he bayonets were turned over to the
State by order of Governor Cobb . I wrote to Governor Cobb and Oneal asking them .
for .new cadet muskets and equi prnents which can be had without coat to the State
if Alabama has not drawn her quota of arms from the general government. I do not
know what official action has been taken in this direction.
Onthe matter of the $100 appropriated to this Department, $88 has been spent in
cleaning arms and purchasing cadet plates, drums, drumheads, sashes , etc.
The CQmmandant needs a good desk, all of his writing having been done t his session
on a warped table.
If the college can afford it , we ought to have t wo paid drummers and not two inexperienced
cadets to beat the mi litary c.alls. It would not cost much and it would
certaiilly make the military .feature of the College much more attractive.
NorIT~lly ~e have had 45 minutes drill formations a week, but from a carefully
kept record, I find that we have from various ,causes, bad weather, etc. missed
one-third of thi s time and that we have .actually averaged only 2 2/3 drill per
week.
-f 182
The corps has been drilled in the school of t he soldier, the company and the batt alion,
and it has also been practical ly instructed in guard meetings, inspections,
drill parades and reviews. The 2nd class has united once a week in tactics.
Serious irregularities caused by measles, bad Weather, etc. have prevented the
corps from being as well drilled as I had hoped.
Military Tact ics is required by law to be taught in all colleges and universities
supported wholly or in part by the Congressional Land Grant; and the true meaning
of this expression is to be found in the able speech made by the patron of the
vill creating agricultural and mechanical col~ eges. In 1879, the Hon. Justin S.
llorril, while advocating the additional appropriation for these colleges said that
"while the world is in a transitory state and all lands do not rest from war,
the art can. ot be wholly neglected inasmuch as it is still true that one sword
keeps another in its scabbard, and therefore something of ni litary science and
discipline as an incident of these national colleges is provided for and will be
obtained by all their students supplying in an emergency to each state a valuable
aggregate of available knowledge and that without any charge to the national
government."
In the Conference of Coll ege Pr esidents in 1879, President Orton of the Ohio
Univer sity stated that "those Vlho think that since the days of peace has returned,
our swords should be beaten into ploughshares and our spears into pr.uning
hooks, and our sons be required to l earn the ways of war no more are likely to
yield but a perfunctory obedience to the mandatory provisions of this law". On
this occasion he and five other college presidents, ably and war.nly advocated
compulsory drill in all agricultural and mechanical colleges and that suffieient
time be devoted to it to make i t a success and not a farce •. Only one, President
Laws, of t he University of ~s~i spoke against it and he was manly enough to
admit that "his opposition was but theoretical." I have in my possession the
catalogues of nearly all the colleges and universities of the United States
which are enjoying the benefits of the Congressional Land Grant and I find that
while the old established institutions like Yale, Dartmough, Brown, Rutgers and
Delaware are dodging the law requiring "Hilitary Tactics" to be taught by giving
a few lectures a session on Hilitary cience, the purely agricultural and mechanical
coll eges and the universities generally in the comparatively new states are
carrying out this wise provision of the law by having compulsory drills, 3, 4, 5,
and 6 times a week for all able bodied male students, and that many of them devote
conside able time .to lecture room instruction in Military Science. In several,
the corps of cadets is ~ part of the Militia of the tate and its cadet officers
are commissioned by the Governor. In a fe,v the drill is voluntary and has proved
a failure.
In one of these Commandant reports that "in two years, his battalion had been reduced
from 300 t o 7 membersl! In another it is stated off icial ly that .by correspondence
they have ascertained that in 23 colleges about four fifths of the whole number
having bribed state officers detailed the drill is made obligatory on all able
bodied ale students with marked su~c es s . In the Universit ~ of Ohio, the drill
was voluntary for a short while, it is now obligatory.
~~ erever the military feature has been given a fair and impartial trial , its
merits hav~ at once been recognized. uch a man as Colonel William Preston
Johnston, though a graduate of Yalg1 officially informed the Board of Trustees of
the UniverSity of Louisiana and the worl d, t hat the good behavior of his cadets
was largel y due to the military discipline in that Institute. General Ste phen D.
Lee of ~ i., Pr esident of A & M Coll ege of Mi., writes me that his Facult y were
..;. 183
at first opposed to the mil i tary feature, but are now heartily in favor of i t and
t hat military discipline is carried i nto all the Departments of the Institution,
i ncluding the wor king details wi t h reat success . I : 2, e ,_ - more 1 . ers in , -
sS<3ssio from coll ege pr esidents , rec ently received, which advocate the military
f eat ure in A & F Colleges in the strongest terms.
In view of this array of ,facts and others that might be adduced, and my own large
experience as an educator in colleges , with and without the military feature before
and since the war, I hope it wi l l not be amiss i n me t o respectfull y urge upon the
honorable Board of Trust ees through yeu, the great LT.portance of jealously fostering
the military feature in this College both as to drill and discipline. It may
not be necessa:-y in insti tutions in large cities ' .... here there is a strong and efficient
police, but in colleges located in small towns. like Auburn it is essential
to good order an to the reputation of the colleges at hone and abroad.
Mi litary disc ipline properly and str ictly enforced makes a cadet systematic ,
punctual, at entive ru1d submis sive, and at the s~e time teaches him how to co~nd
all important feat res in the education of our boys in technilogical colleges, who
are eX~.l e c t ed to take charge of surveying and other rai lroad parties and laborers
on fa~s and plantations and in work shops, factories, etc.
The drill does not interfere with academic duties as it t akes place in the afternoon
and as an exercise it is an. excelJ ent substitute for gymnasiums and base ball
~lubs, t o say nothing of its gr eat importance to the state in case of riots, insurrections
and other disturbances. Especially ought eV,ery white person to be
thoroughly drill ed in military evolutions and the use of arms in this state where
the increase of the negro population in the last ten years is enormously large in
couparison with that of the whites .
- --- Respectfully submitted,
James H. Lane
Commandant
-A: 184
Doctor W. LeRoy Broun
President of A & 1-1 Coll ege
Slr:
I have the honor of submi tting to you the following report of the work done in
the Department of Natural History during the year 1882-3.
Geology
The students of the 1st cl ass have been instructed in this subject and it was
gr at ifying t o note t heir interest and the disposition t o aVcril themselves of every
opportunity for improvement. Some of t heir own accord have taken a course of
reading out6ide the regular pr escribed s chedule. With the large geological and
mineralogical col lections in the l'luseum, I am enabled to add much to my lect ures
by obj ect i l lustrations that give the student a much clearer i dea of the text
than many well rounded sentences.
Mineralogy
The courses of Science and gr i culture r equired t his subject. A thorough drilling
was given in the systems of chryst allizations the first half of the session,
and the latter half was devoted to blow pi pe work. Special effort has been made
to acquaint the student with t hose cownon forms of minerals that form t he b~sis
of all our ordinary soils.
Zoology and 3ntomology
A suff i ci ent amount of time was consumed t he 1st part of the s ession in gaining a
general knowledge of the di ffereBt branches of the Animal hingdon. But with the
Br anch Arti culate, or Insect s, much t ime and care was taken to make t he student
f amiliar with t he habits , mo es of multiplication and r emedies best adapted for
destroying t hese insects that are in jurious t o agricultural interests.
Botany
This subject is complet ed in the 2nd class. The latt er part of the session is
devot ed to anal ytical wor k entir ely . The class is pr ovided wi th plants from the
neighboring fields, and taught how to determine thei r speci fic names. This work
is sufficiently exhaustive t o enabl e t he student after completing the course to
name unassisted any of the ordinary breeds and gras ses that he will encounter in
t he fields of t his section.
In order to enlarge the scope of my Department I require microscopes and dissecti
ng instruments for investi gation in mineralogy, zoology and botany. I need also
a set of Auzoux models of plants for class illustrations. I would therefore ask
for an appropriation as Sl on as practi cable of $500 to purchase t hese microscopes
and models.
Hining
One student has ~ited to me during the session i n economic geology and mlnlng
machiner y . I have attempted t o i llustrate as far as possi bl e the needful machinery
and apparatus by means of dr awings and diagr ams that I have hurriedl y sket ched
as neces s i t y r eq~ ired.
-------- -- -------------'
-t1 185
Telegraphy
his has been rather a side issue or annex to my Department being entirely an opt
i onal study, consequently, ·it is rather difficult to keep a full class fter the
novelt y has worn off. Thirty-one students were enrolled at the beginning of the
year, but the class has diminished until now it numbers twelve. Among these I
shall r ecommend for certificates two who are able ~o rec eive 12 words per milinute
and are prepared to take char ge of offices.
It occurs to me mor e satisfactory r esul t s could be obtained if this subject was
made compulsory upon al l those who take the commercial course leaving it optional
t o a l l the ot her students.
French
I have assi sted the Instruct or in l-iodern Languages to some extent during the past
year . Three of students of the 1st class who failed to study r ench in t he 4th
class r eci t ed t o me three t imes per week throughout the year so as to enable them
t o standfue r equisite examination for their uegrees .
~'i eteorology
~i ght een lectures on this subject were given the 1st class during the 2nd term . In
the limit ed t ime allotted t o me I have carried the students as near as possible
through the co plete system adopted by the United States signal service. As the
r esult of my work in this direction, several of our graduates are now engaged as
observers i n the ~ignal Service, holding honorable and r esponsible positions.
One of these has been · sent to the Polar regions accompanying a special scientific
expedition .
I have continued the past ye~r my observations of the weather. Monthl y reports
have been made to the Chief of Si gnal Service. I herewith give a synopsis of this
work, taken f rom r ecords cOMering the year 1882 .
Barometer :
l ean pressure f or the year
ionth of highest mean pressur e
Highest mean monthly
Lowest mean monthly
Month of lowest mean pressure
Date of highest pressure (daily)
Hi ghest daily pres sure
Date of l owest dai ly pressure
Lowest daily pressure
Range of t he year
Thermometer:
ean temperature for the year
Harmest month of the year
Hi ghest range during that month
Average temperature of t he warmest month
The month of widest range of temperature
Dif f erence between max . and mime for t his
Coldest month of the year
Lowest range durin"g this month
Average temperature for this month
month
30 .071
March
30 . 229
29 .723
June
Harch 23
30 . 'f;46
September 10
29 .442
1.104
62 . 60
J une
930
77 . 50
ovember
30 .50
December
14 . 50
420
~ 186
Warmest day of the year
Average t emperature of the warmest day
Coldest day of the year
Average temperature of the coldest day
Temperature range of the year
Pluriameter:
Total depth rain in inches per year
No . of days on which rain fell during the year
Month of greatest depth of rain
Greatest depth in one month
Day on which greatest amount of rain
Greatest amount of r pin one day in inches
Month with most rainy days
Greatest number rainy days in month
The dryest month of the year
Total prec ipitation , for t his month
The number of perfectly clear days in year
Fair days, but few clouds visiple
Cloudy days, the sky completely covered
The number of days in which frost occurred
The last killing frost in Spring
Number days in which ice occurred
The windi est month of the year
The number of quite strong winds
The prevailing wind during the year
Direction of wind producing most frequent rains
Direct ion of wind producing clear weather
umber of calm days during the year
Month of greatest number of calm days
Plum trees beginning ,to bloom '
each" " " "
Foliage begin ing t o turn and fall
Peach trees blooming a second t ime and
apple trees with s econd crop of fruit
Number of thunder storms . during the year
"" " " " "winter
"" " " " "spring
" " "
" " "
" II
" "
"
"
summer
fall
Slight fall of sno,,! Jan • . 29, OV . 25, & Dec. 29
Comet in the East visible 4 O'clock A. M.
Transit of Venue between .9 A. • & 3 P.
June 20
850
December 8
21.70
78.50
64.19
106
Februa.ry
11.305
September 10
7
July
16
June
2.11
22
54
92
21
~lar ch 29
11
February
13
'Nest
N.l • & w.
23
August
February 21
March 3
October 28
November 1
15
3
8
3
1
September 22
December 6
-A 187
Nicrophotography
In comlection with my other work I have experimented tq some extent in miorophotography
with SOlne success . The objects of these experinents is to determine the feasibility
of preparing slides f or the lantern to illustrate on the screen many of the
beautiful specimens of infusorial earth and microscopic organisms belonging to the
museum so that they may be seen at once by a whole class and thus add much to the
interest of my lectures. lost of the apparatus I have purchases oub of my private
funds, come portions I made myself, and the remainder was obtained from the College
coll ection.
I was unwilli ng to draw from the f unds of the Institution until I had succeeded in
making the experiments valuable. I herewith hand you a few specimens of pictures
pr oduced by this microphotographic outfit.
Museum
I take pleasure in calling at tention to the rapid growth of our already handsome
collection. Since my last report the addi t i ons have been as follovTs:
Shells and corals
Minerals
Botanical
oological
Fossils
, Uscellaneous
2,440
221
442
140
1,203
65
4,502
1931 of ~his amount are given by friends of the Institution. By means of exchange,
839 wer e received from scientists in thi s country and 1732 from abroad-I
taly, ~gland , exico and the Bermuda Islands.
In est' ating the number and ~he value of the specimens of the museum, I have made
no mention of a large mass of material in the shape of fis sils and minerals, always
kept on hand for the purpose of exchange. This material is only classified and
labelled as the boxes are packed for sh~pment. It is kept en masse, stored away
in the r oom used for working purposes. All branches of the collection are thus
built up wherever deficiencies occur. For instance, I sent to Missouri a few weeks
since a collection of fos sils and .will r eceive in exchange stuffed birds and skeletons
of animals.
The ncl.ustrial College of rkansas suppl ied t he museum with pl ants of that state,
some of which ar e very rare in exchange for fossils. And the Bermuda I slands have
f urni shed sea shells in large numbers for minerals, f ossils and shells of this
Stat e .
Since I began this series of exchange four years ago, I have supplied every prominent
coll ege and museum in the United States, besides a large number of private
collections with Claiborne fossils and Alabama minerals. I have also sent out
collect i ons to G er~y, France, gland and the Bermuda Isl ands. In the past year
I have s ent out from the museum 2143 specimens all classified and labelled.
To carry out this work r equires a considerable amount of labor outside of the regular
hours fDD college exercises. ~ uch of this is of a delicate character, such as dist
i nguishing between the almost obscure feat ures that create the difference in a
188
scientists eye between the fossils. 1hese slight and delicate differences render
it very necessary that the classificat.i n should be done by myself and not entrusted
to any other hands. It is a work that demands time, patience and the
-- closest attention in order to aVG~d mistakes especially with the microscopic
specimens that require a strong objective glass to bring out their distinguishing
characteristics. I would much desi re to bring in as an aid to the work of
packing and shipping the as si stance of the scientific students; but they have
been unable to give their time to the work on account of the number of exercises
r equired of them elsewhere. I have been willing to undertake this heavy task because
it i s my desire to build up such a useum as wi l l afford a valuable store
for study to the students of this Institution. And while this is my first wish
and expectation still my ambition r eaches further than t his. I long to have at
this college a collection of such a rare and vari ed character as wil l i nduce students
of science in other sections of thi s .and neighboring states to visit this
Euseum for special study as is now done in some of the lar est Inst itutions in
t he Northern 0tates. This I admit is a high aspiration , but have I not sufficient
ground for such a lefty aim? I think if you .. .rill make a casual view of the
growth of the Museum within the few years it has been under my control, you will
at once admi t it only a question of time and but a few years at most, I think
that you will also conclude that the system I have adorted to att ain such an end
is the most expeditious and economical.
The amount of money appropr i ated by the Board of Trustees at i ts meeting l ast
June to t he Department of Natural History was $50 . Of t his sum, $25 was expended
for shelving, bottles and boxes for properly protecting and displaying the
s pecimens and $25 was used to defray the freight charges .
Valuing t hi s collection in accordance with the mar~er in which such material is sold
in hiladelphia, ~ 5eO Mould not purchase the gathering of this past year .
Four years ago the iuseum of this College numbering a little over 5000 spec imens,
while today there are 26,967, or at the rate of over 5, 000 yearly, with so small
an expenditure as not t o be felt by the Institution. At no greater increase than
t his, within the next four years ~"e will have 50,00 specimens on our shelves.
But if the 'yearly appropriation of the funds for the ~ useum could be enlarged,
the Col lection would grow much more ~ap idly . I have been compelled to ' decline to
exchange with several prominent sci entists within the l ast two months because my
appropri ation had been exhausted and I had no means of defraying the necessary
freight charges.
It is my desire to obtain the skeletons of all the domestic animals and mount t hem
in the iuseum for the special study of the agricultural st udents. This of course
will r equire a special appropriation t o purchase the animals . Wi th the proper
encouragement and as istance in the shape of funds , I would l ike to undertake this
work during the coming year.
The 1useum is sadly in need of suitable cases and drawers for the protection of
the specimens f rom dust and too much handling . I would call the attention of
t he Board of Trustees to the matter and re'-1uest that as soon ' as possible a sufficient
appropriation be made to properly accompl i sh. this object.
Nithin t he past few mont hs I have r eceived a letter fro1n a scientist in Sweden
asking for the ~ulf and Atlantic shells in exchange for those of that country.
Unfortunately we have but few of the Atlantic shells in the collection and none
-A 189
for exchange . I wO-clld ask that in order to meet this demand and at the smae time
fill up the conchological branch of the Museum, the customary appropriation to my
Department be placed this year at 150 . If t his mmet s the wishes of the Board I
will visit the coast of Florida this summer or somet L~e during the winter months
and make not only a large collect i on of shells but also pres erve i n alcohol as
gr eat a variety of animals as possible .
During the year I have discovered a ne1'l fos sil from the Claibourne beds of Alabama
Tertiary Formation . This specimen was s ent to the Paleontologist of the Philadelphia
cademy of Sciences f or identification and he has returned it to me , pronouncing
it new t o cience . I have several other specimens from the above formation
that I think are also new, but my tL~ e has been so much occupied by other
matters I have been unable to satisfy my mind thoroughly on this point . I have
placed them asi de for special study at some future t ime .
Before closing this report I will direct your attention to one other means for
enlarging the scope and increasing the usefulness of this Department . If has often
occurred to me that the introduction of t he elementary sciances in our public
schools throughout the tate would greatly aid this Institution in carrying out to
the fullest extent the intention of vongress in establishin , these Colleges, vis,
the education of practical scientists and mechanics .
Now it s eems to me nothing would sooner bring about such a st ate of affairs than
cultivating a caste among the teachers and pupils for the study of nature in the
presence of nature, by collecting minerals , woods , shell s, insect s, and almost
everythi ng that one sees in walkine through the fields in the neighborhood of the
school house. This museum can be made a central office, furn i shing information
c0ncerning the methods of clas sifying t hi6 crude material and exchanging f or duplicates
fro each college labelled spec imens, that are pouring into the different
branches of the Museum from all quarters of the country . In thi s manner each school
may with an hours work eac day build up quite a handsome collection . Information
could be issued from this epartment in the _orm of circulars giving instruction
in a brief and simple manner how to stuff .imals, mount skeletons, collect minerals ,
capture and mount entomological speciJ ens and in fact any desired i nformation that
will assist in developing a t aste for the stud of the Natural Sciences . This i s
not an easy task I must a~~t , but under proper system and regulations, i t can be
conducted quite satisfactorily t o all concerned and certainly if the teachers
throughout the State will take hold with enthusiasm and dete ~nination .
Natural History, Geology and Chemistry are fast becoming important f actors in the
develo; ,ment of Alabama ' s resources and no public school teacher should be found
defici ent in at least a general knowledge of these scientific subjects . The boys
and girls should be i nstructed how to eal l t hings by their proper names for it is
just as easy to say butterfly, moth and caterpiller as to call all insects "bugs"
indiscrimimately. mat greater incentive to t he acqui sition of knowledge in these
branches than gathering together day by day natures treasures and storing them
away in a suitable pl ace for exhibition and study? If t hi s system could be adopted
in the public schools, much of our time now consumed in giving a foundation in
dcience could be as si gned to higher and ore practical work . The last year in
the col l ege course at least could be set aside for less text book work and more
original investigation and r esearch .
The st udents will become thinkers and originat ors instead of slaves to text books .
, hen they leave the Institution they will be bett er able to succ essfully lay hold
and grasp the scientific and mechanical problems that will meet them in their
._--- ---- ------------
J>-- 190
I
professions . If any efforts on my part could bringcbout such a state of affai rs ,
I would more than willingly of fer my servi ces as indicat ed above . And nothing
would give me more pleasure than to fe el tqat my weak ef forts had helped to produce
suc a revolution .
I would respectfully direct t he att ention qf our most excellent state ~upe rintendent
to t his ~atter and r equest that he wil l t ake i t under consi derat i on .
Thanking yo~ Sir , for the many court esies you have extended to .~e in my work
during t he past year , I remain very respect fully ,
Doctor ' i lliam Le oy Broun
r esident A & College of Al~bama
Dear Sir:
• H. lIell
rofessor of Natural istory
A & Ii College
Auburn, Alabama
June 25, 1883
I r espectfully sub 't t o you this my report for t he school year just closin . The
work done in my Depart. ent is shown in the following tabl e:
-Cl-a s-s Subject 'tudents o . Recitat ions
IV Latin 9 138
IV rench 20 138
III German 11 138
III Latin 11 138
The progress in the classes has been generally good in the epartment . The deportment
without exception. The short course assigned to the lodern Langua es
renders the work in that line very unsatisfactory and incomplete . I would suggest
that by some arrangement , t he time each or both of t hese languages be
extended . .
Very respectfully submitted,
C. C. Thach
I nstructor
Doctor " . LeRoy Broun
ear Si r:
Report of T. • Frazer , Instructor
A & oll ege
June 23, 1883
-!- 191
I have the honor of submitt ing- the following as a report of the ~rk done in my
Department during the l ast scholast ic year .
I have had charge of Secti on B of t he 4th class consist ing of twenty-two students .
Besides t hose regularly assigned to that class , I have had a number from ection A
to r eport to me in Algebr a , Ar~t hmetic , Greek and Latin. Below is a list of subjects
taught and the number of students in each class :
mgl i sh Gr a.rnmar
Dr awing
Penmanship
rthography
ureek
rithmetic
Latin
Al gebra
1 [hole section
" " II II
II II
12_4 from Section A
Vhole ection and 9 from A
17- 6 f rom Sect i on
30-10 f rom Section A
The students have made- good progress . The most mar ked impr ovement found in drawing
and perunans i p . t tendance and discipline good t h ough the term.
Respectfully sub -tted ,
T. H. F ra ~er, Instructor
f-' 192
Treausrers ~ e p9 rt
To the Honorable Board of Trustees
Agr icultural and echanical College
Gentl emen :
I erewith present to you the ruillual statement of the financial transactions of
the Tr easurers offi ce f or year ending June 15, 18 3 .
'Receipts
To balance from l ast year
To amount from State Treasurer
I ncidental f ees and urgeon
From Farm
From Diplomas
Fr om he i cal fe es
From Library fe es
Balance
i sburse ents
y amount paid expenses of rofessors
" " epa irs and Improvement
II " lanting trees
II II Expense apc .
" " Printing II
II II ta.tionery apc .
II II Fr eight II
" II Int. Exch . 1I
II II usic "
" " Trustees " II II l-lili tary "
" " .::>peakers " II " Servant hirell
II II Salar ies "
" II Discount " II " Farm " II " Postage II
II II Fuel II
II II ouse rent for resident
II II Insurance apc .
II II Chemical II
II " Surgeon "
" " Advertising apc.
II II Library "
E.
272 .34
20,280 .00
1,872.00
280 .00
60 .00
90],00
240 .00
31 .11
$23,394 .45
105.00
610 .45
50 . 0
180 .18
181 . 51
50 .00
159.18
86 .79
100 .00
163 .90
88 .65
32 .35
205.30
15 , 230 .00
3, 688.25
605.61
130 .34
150 .90
166.66
200 .00
219. 90
515 .00
205. 50
216.44
$23 , 394.45
T. Glenn , Treasurer
-- -.- - - -
-It 193
ccompanying the report of the Treasurer , he , t ogether with the President of the
Coll ege , made the following co~.unication to the Board .
Auburn, Alabama
June 25 , 1883
IJe are authorized to state to the Board of Tr ustees that the old chapel can be
purchased for five hundr ed dollars ( ~ 5 00) , including bui ldin lot , or three hundred
and fifty ($350) dol l ars without lot .
Respectfully,
w. LeRo Broun , President
'I'. Glenn , rea surer
The resident and Treasurer were i nstructed by the Board at t heir annual ses 5ion
1882 to ascertain for what sum the pr operty known as the "Old ' hapel" could be
purchased .
~eport of F. ': . Reese on 'r easurer' s Report
To the Honorable Board of Trustees
of the & 1-1 Gol le e of Alabama
Gentlemen :
& ]vi College
Aubur n , Alabama
June 21, 1883
I ave the pleasure to inform you that I have carefully examined the a ccounts ,
books and vouchers of the Treasurer of the oll ege embracin the fis cal year,
June 15 , 1882 t o June 15 , 1883 .
I find that he has vouchers for the amount di sbursed as shown by his statement
of his financi al transactions for the period of t " e mentioned .
Hi s books 'are neatly kept and preserved wi th such care as the appliances of his
office Eiffords .
Doctor rake , the .:>urgeon of the ollege , ki ndly assisted e i n the invest "gation
and examination of the books and vouchers of the Tr easurer .
Respectfully,
F . ! • Reese
uditing Committee
r 194
Library
Auburn, labaIna
June 20, 1883
To the Honorable Board of Trustees
of the A & College of lab~ma
Having been appointed by you at your last annual session as Librari an, I at once
pr oceeded t o have a r oom in t he college puil ing f i tted up for the purpose and
have rna ked and classified the books therein .
I found belo glllg to the Library 1 , 219 bound voltunes and 681 pamphlets and magazines
. The larger proportion of them.c nsist of va r ious reports , etc . of the
different departr ents at fashington City; also the laws and other papers and
documents of different states , many of which are books of little value .
i nce or ganizing the Library, I have r eceived during the year from Colonel Oates ,
our immediate r epr esentative in Congres s , and direct 'rom the e partmen ~ :
43 vol umes official gazettes, patent office .
14 II miscel l aneous pamphlets
34 II 0enat e House ocuments, United States
5 II Reports commissioner Education
3 II lIar of the ebel lion, Col onel Oates
1 II Large map United t at es , II II
67 II Unbound Eclectic '.agazines , pr esented y iss i'Lary Andrews
85 volumes of Lite ary and Histo ical works have been bought , and we have
subscribed f or and are regularly receiving 22 different scientif i c and
lite:'ary per iodicals .
The st udents are allowed t he use of t he books and peri odicals under rules and
re ulations prescribed by the f aculty . They have generally read the books of
lite ary and historical character and have exh ibit~d much interest in t he success
of t he Library .
It is to be hoped from this small beglilning the College will be able by a judicious
expenditure of the a ropriation which we hope the Board will deem proper
to make at its pr esent session, t o ~{ e thi s an at t r a ctive f eature of the institut
ion .
Respectfull y,
• Glenn
Librarian
' his closes the r eports submitted to th.e Hoard of Trustees at their annual session
in June , 1883 .
F. .~ . Reese
ecr etary to Board of Trustees
Auburn , Alabama
July 26, 1883
195
The Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees of the Agricultural and Nechanical
College of labama having met at Auburn on Thursday the 26th day of July, 1883 .
There were present :
Ab sent , Mr . Barnes.
The Chairman , lvlr . Clopton
Mr . Armstrong
Mr . Hardie
Mr . Ligon
A resolution adopted at their annual meetin providing for the elect ion of an
Assistant Chemist , the name of W. LeRoy oroun , Jr . of ashville, Tennessee ,
having been submitted to the Committ ee. ~
~r. Broun was unanimously elected A.ss1stant rofessor of Chemistry with a salary
of t\-/el ve hundred dollars ($1200) per annur •
The following action was then taken by the Committee:
·H3R£AS , after a careful investigat ion and consultation on the part of the Committee
with the President elect of the College, and those members of the Faculty
present , it was evident to the Committee that certain appropriations were necessary
to be made immediately, therefore ,
R3 ' LV , That there be appropriat ed to pay for lands purchased for the College
the sum of $2, 300 .00
To rofessor Newman to purchase
Pair of Eules
Two horse wagon
To hire and process farm labor
Farm implements
ertilizers
eeds , plants, etc .
epairs to buildings, fences, etc .
Agricultural ibrary
Visiting experimental station and selecting literature
\/agon harness
Inci dentals
For laboratory of tate Chemist
Maps, charts, and globes
To epartment of Che istry with fees
To epartment of thematics
To rofessor Lane t o relinburse him for
books in Department of Engineerinf
money spent for
350 .00
65 .00
540 . 00
100 .00
400 .00
100 .00
400 .00
200 . 00
150 .00
30 .00
15 .00
$2,350 .00
500 .00
100 .00
100 .00
100 .00
22 . 95
R~ LVED , That t-essers Armst r ong, Professors Je· ... T.laIl and Glenn be, and they are
authorized to act as a committee to:
1 . To have new steps and other woodwork where necessary about the coll ege
building.
X 196
2. To have the roof repaired and r epainted .
3. To have the outside walls of the building repainted and otherwise repaired
as they may deem best for the immediate preservation of the building.
4. 0 procure estimates of cost of repainting and painting the outs i de of the
buildi ng and penciling the same.
5. To procure esti~~tes of inside painting.
6. To pr ocure and ascertain cost of removing t he buil ding , heretofore used by
the College on public occasions, as a chapel, to the college grounds and the
erection thereon of a buildin suitable fo r a chapel after .the plans and
specifi cations, submitted by Pr ofessors Thach and Lane; and to have this est
· ,ate itemized .
The Committee then adjourned .
F. 4. Reese
Secretary to Board of Trustees of the
tate Agricultural & echanical College
Auburn, Alabama
October 16, 1883
-fJr197
At a meeting of the Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees of the A & K
College of Alabama hel in _uburn on the 16th day of C~ tober, 1883 - there were
present of the Committee: Hessers Clopton , A strong, and Ligon . l-~ r . Barnes
having business engagements was with the Committeee only a shoTt time . Hr. Hardie,
absent .
The following proceedings were had by the COIIJIl1ittee, R.Z OLVE : 'fhat in view of the
[ resent necessity for arr angements to carry into effect an Act of the General Assembly
of labama providing for the analyses of fertilizers, ~ appropriation of
fifteen hundred dollars ($1500) is hereby made to be expended by • C. 0tubbs,
tate Chemist, in purchasing neces sa r y apparatus, chemicals, materials and fixtures
for a laboratory .
R~ LVED , 2nd: That J. J . N e\~, ~ r ofesso r of Agriculture, is hereby authorized
to s ell the crop raised on the college farm, and to use the same for the benefit
of said farm; and that he is to keep an account of all products sold and expenditures
made and r eport the same to the Board of Trustees at their next meeting.
R 'SC LV~n , 3rd: That Messers Armstrong, Glenn and Newman, are authorized and directed
to have the Colle e building painted inside and out and t o have the same whitewashed
or calso ined as they may deem best.
F. • Reese
ecretary to the Board of Trustees
Agricultural and lechanical College of Alabama
An additional resoluti on handed to me by I r. Armstrong which he overlooked who
acted as ~ ecr~tary to the Committee in my absence .
RES OLV~D , That rofessor Smit h and Lane , be and they are hereby authorized to have
repaired the instruments belongi ng to their respective Departments .
F . 11. . Reese
Secretary to Board of Trustees
--r 198
Auburn , Alabama
December 19, 1883
At an adjourned meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Agricultural and ,echanical
College of Alabama held in Auburn, December 19, 1883; there were' pre sent :
His &xcel lency E. A. Oneal , Governor of t he ~tat e and resident Ex Officio of the
Board , lr. Armsnxng, 'uperintendent of Education , .essers Cl opton , Haralson, Hardie ,
Langdon , Ligon, ~lone . Absent , lessers Barnes, Bishop and ~tar1sel .
The Pre sident of the ColJege was request ed to submit any co wunications he might
desi re to the Board .
The Pr esident handed to the Secretary a corrm_unication pr epared by himself and
one by Professor Stubbs addressed t o the Board of Trustees which were read and
subni t ted and or ~ . C TICN of }'lI' . ialone ,
R ~ OLVED : That the Pr esident ' s report -and accompan ring papers , together with the
report of the Fresident made to the Executive Committee of the Board at their
ses&ion October 16, 1883, lie on the tabl e for t he pr esent, and to be consider ed
in committee of the whole . Adopt ed .
Jr . Haralson, RESGLVED , That the Treausrer of t he College, be and he is hereby
instructed without delay to have t he deed from • R. ' ivers to land to the College
pr obated and recorded ~ and That he have the deed f r om ir e J . D. Gay to the College
also pr obated and r ecor ded, and if t he <leed from Mr . Gay has been rnade to t he
tate of Alabama instead of the Board of Trustees , t hat he be requi r ed t o proceed
at once t o have the mistake cor r ected and the conveyance made to the Board
of Trustees and when made, recorded and placed on file in his office . Adopted .
r . Haralson , t:OV 'D: That the members <)f the Faculty be r equested by the ;:.,ecr etary
t o have an interview wit h t he Board f or the pur pose of consu .t ation .
_I' . Cl ooton, RESOLVED , That in the opinion of the Board of Trust ees , t he number
of weekl y r eci tati ons as at present pr esc r ibed by t he Faculty ar e too numerous
and the F~ c ulty are hereby directed to rearrange the weekly recitations so as
not to r equ±r.e IDorecthan ·15 ±n the regulap cour se per week .
The purpose of this r esolution is t o limit the number of r ecitations in the r egular
cour se , so that the student desiring may take one or more of the optional
studies .
2 . RESCL\r..:ID , THAT in order there may be nothing doubtful , it is es :'ecially declared
that it is the purpose of the Boafld of Trustees t o make t his an Agr i cultural
and Mechanical Col lege , t o fit young men for the practi cal duties of life
in these two departments of Industry . hnd the Faculty are her eby directed so to
arr ange the st ~d i es that those pupils who desire to pursue the sutdy of Latin ,
Fr ench and German, may have an opportunity of so doing . These studies are not
to conflict with the r egular courses or to be so suboroinated as to be excluded .
3 . ~OLV , That the Faculty are hereby direct ed to ca rr~T the object of the
foregoing resolution in effect as early as practicable .
lif,r . ~lon e , R.E:.J >LV ~lJ , That the ~e c utive orrmtittee be directed to contract for
and have erected an assembly r eom of about fifty by one hundred f eet to cost
not exceeding ,;3, 500 . 00 .
.fr 199
2 . RESGLVED , That the cont ract for expenditures by the ecutive Committee includi
g those already mady by them as also by the Board of Trustees shall not
exceed ~ 15,000 . OO .
3. RES LV , Th t the accounts of the ~c ut ive Committee have the approval of
the Board of Trus tees .
lr . Clopton , REu LV 'D, That each professors and all other off icers and employees
of the College , be and they are hereby required to file ~th the Treasurer, a list
of all personal property in their possession, respectively with certificate of
correctness within thinty days •
• Clopton, LVLD : That it shall be the duty of the Treasurer to e ploy servants
in and about the college , and superintend the policing the s e and for this pur pose
he shall not exceed $20 .00 per. month in addition to the amount already appropriated
t her efor .
~ . Haralson, LV : That }essers lopton, Li ~ on and Armstr ong be a committ~e
to whom shall be referred the rules and regulations of the college for their supervi
sion and discussi on and to report such changes as to them may seem proper and
desirable, and to have the same arranged under eads, ect ions, etc., so a's to be
of easy reference and to have pr epared an index theret o . And said committee are
hereby instructe to report at the next re ular annual meeting of the Board .
r . Haralson, ' LVED , That the Board of Trustees , at the instance and request of
the President , have enquired into the recently threatened disturbances on the part
of the students , and for t he pr oper adjournment of which the President and Faculty
addressed themselves . Upon an investigation, the Board i s gratified to find no
occasion for their interposition in that mat ter.
r . Gbpton , RESOLV D, That the appropriation for Commencement expenses in the sum
of $96 .27 be allowed . And that the appropriation for i nterest and eXChange be increased
$50 . That for the Military be increased 50, and for rinting , $50 .
r . rmstrong, ·'SGLV i : That whensoever an appropriations are made by the Board
of Trustees for t he benefit of any e art _ents of the ol l ege' the Professor or
ot her off icer for t he benefit of who e De a rt~ent the appropri at ion is made shall
make his order expending such appropriation throu h the Tr easurer of the Col l ege to
whom all bills must be sent for payment . nd for the benefit of all interested,
the jecret ary is hereby dir ected to call their attention to the resolution of the
Board to be found on pages 225-6 of t he minutes . (Pages 162- 3)
{r . lopton , RES LV31, That the sum of cne hundred dol lars be allowed .::. . T. Glenn
for his services in superintending repairs on coll ege building .
~r . Clopton, R:3 LV~U , That the Pr ofessor of herrdstry be empowered to make any
analyses he may deem proper not re uired by existing laws, on request , using the
laboratory and c emicals of the College for that purpose . That he shall make and
collect proper char ges for the same and pay the proceeds of the same into the
Tr easury . And f or this l abor the Board of Tr ustees will make him sui table compensation
, in gross .
nd t he Board hereby fix and establish the following schedule of charges for such
analyses so made by the Pr ofessor of Chemistry, viz ,
,.f> 200
Plain acid phosphates each
A~~ oniat ed Acid phosphates
It It with potash
Karrit , Ge ,_ an potash , sal t s , nitrate soda ,
sul phate annnonia , gypsum, limestone , etc ., each
0oils , muds , ffiuck , etc . for Agr i cultur al Dept .
(only) , each
!>:ineral waters qualit ative , each
It
I r on ores
Gold It
Coal It
It quantitative
It
It
It
15. 00
2()('OO
25. 00
10 .00
10 .00
10 .00
30 .0
10 .00
10 .00
10 .0
~r . rmstr ong, RE30 Vim, That all College exercises be suspended f r om 4 :30 p .m.
roll call Friday , December 21 , 1883, until 8 :15 a .m. roll call ' ednesday, January
2, 1884 •
. r . Haralson , OLVED : That t he ~e c r.etary be allowed the sum of ten dollars f qr
pr eparing and making t wo copi es of the rul es and r egulat ions .
ir . Haralson , '( LV • That the r eport made by the r esident to the Board at
their present sessi on, an at the session of the Execut ive Committ ee in October
be s pr.ead upon the minutes of the Board .
- ---- ------
t e uest of lr . Cl0 ton to i l e
ber 19, 1683 , have thought
on the minutes .
!-201
Comm~tt ee tabu ate) e emand
r e eren e to op the sa~e
~p e c ial appropr i ati on by the General ssembly of labama : 15, 000 . 00
..i:xpenditures :
For l and ~ 2 , 3 00 . 00
gr i cultural 0ta . 2, 350 .00
Stat e Lab . 1 , 500 .00
Charts , Glopes ,
and maps
~hemi s try
:iathemati cs
Book,s , Prof . Lane
painting wood work
r e airing, etc .
100 .00
144 .00
100 .00
22 . 95
coll ege buil ing 3, 841 .32
Completing re~ai r s 800 .00
$11, 114. 27
-r obabl e cost of
s se bl y room
50xlOO
To balance
$ 3, 500 .00
__ 1:., 500 .00
' 15, 000 .00
Amount forward of appropriation
for 1 3 af ter completing everything
begun and in i mmediate cont
empl ation .
December 19, 1883
-----------------------------
$15, 000 . 00
$ 1 , 500 .00
H. . Clopt on , Chairman
202
Report of the resident of the ollege
Auburn, AJ.abama
December 18, 1883
To the Honorable members of the Board of Trustees
Gentlemen :
I would respectful l y call your att ention to the r eport , wi~h accompanying documents
, which I had the honor to make to your committee i n ctober last . There is
very little to be added to that report, to eive you a f air· account of the condition
of the C 011 ege •
There are now 108 matriculates , 4 of whom have withdrawn f om the insti tution . The
indications are that our number of cadets wi l l be mat erially increased in January .
Fair progress seems to have been made by the cadets in their studies ; and considering
the very materi al change Dla e t hi s session i n t he course of study, the Board
has r oo t o congrat ulate itself upon t he favorable r esults-.
If I am not overstep ing the limits of my authority , I would speak of the ability
and zeal with which the several pr ofessors have done their parts . Either in
wri ting or verbally, they are r eady to give the Board any fur ther information which
may be desired concerning their duties .
It i~ to be hoped the Board will be able to assist by the needed ap ~ropriat ions
the other e ~artments as the A r i cultural and 'hemical Departments were ••• the good
effects of which are so plainly under t he skill full direction of Professors Newman
and tubbs . And for the i brary especially, I ' wish to repeat my intercession
of October last . Something ought to be done t o give our young men pr oper readi ng
matter at this cr itical t i me of t heir intellectual growth .
1 e have now a sub-freshman or prepa r atory class, but we have rec eived so many
smal l boys, of little or no preparation·, that we are not doing good work f or some
of t hem, and some parents are inclined to complain of what they rega d as neglect
(some1"here) of their l ittle sons . There is no help for t his , I think except to
exclude the too young or ill pr e t)ared, or to have a r egular preparatory epartment
attached to t he Coll ege . Nor is the English l anguage sufficiently t aught in
the College classes .
The discipline of the s choul has in general bee pret t y good; a serious exception
however occurred last week and the week before; but as I request the Board to invest
i gate this case , believing that such imvestigation will r esult in good to the
Coll ege , and that it is but just to all concerned , I ought not now pe haps , do
more t han call attention t c i t . In justice to the cadets, however, I should say
there wa~ an outheak, no outward demonstrat i on , of disor der or dissatisfaction .
Still the case was very serious and will merit the attention of the Board and of
the peopl e of labama . I t i s found diffi cult at times t o understand the regulations--
especia ' l y to know what , in given cases may be the duty of the Faculty or
other officers; accompany ' g wil l be found "a request from the acuIty, for a codification
of the rules and regulat ions . and I would r espectful l y suggest as I did
in October last t hat a thorough revisi om of the r egulations is necessary . I have
omitted t o say that their applicati ons have been made for the admissi on of three
young ladies to t he College . The Faculty did not consider that they had the authority
to arunit them as regul ar students, but gave them the privilege of attending
the classes of such of t he r r cfessors as chose vduntarily to instruct them. And
. - - -----~----------.-- - - - -
203
one of them, QSS Payne of uburn , is now attending some of the middle and higher.
classes and atFains to a hi gh rade of profi ciency .
The Library it s eems , has been permanently l ocated by order of the Board in the
Southwest r oom, 1st flo or; I would res ectfully su gest that that r oom and the adjoining
one (next to the office of ~he Commissioner of Agriculture) could be used
most advantageousl:' by the epartment of atural ilosophy if in the opinion of
the Boa d an ther suitable r oom can be found for the i brary. The r oom now occupied
b the Library is immediately over the 'hemical Laboratory and could be readily
and cheaply furnis hed with ,as by that Department . Besides, owing to the irrunediate
proximity ,much of the a pparatus could be used in common and expense saved . Feeling
great need of a suitable off ice desk, I have bou ht on my own account a large sized
(IIWooten ~u een Anne ll ) desk for $118, including fr ei ght from Indianapolis . Its
cost was 165, but was put dovm t o me 33.r.> off . The Board can have the desk at
its cost to me .
\ e have been 310w in getting the cadets in uni form , some are not unifo rmed even
yet . I think the fault is in the contract , which seems to be wanting in the
necessary business checks and guarantees . And on failure to uni f orm the cadets
within · a reasona ly proper time , has given some dissatisfaction.
The health of our cadets has been remarkably good . No sickness among them worth
speaking of . I would respectfully call the at tention of the Board to so much of
my October r eport , as r efers to the relation between the Treasurer and the President
which would s eem to need defining . Pr actically then is a want of proper
checks one on the other . If I can be permit ted to say so, in no spirit of dictation,
I would suggest that it would be better for the President of t he College
to be total ly disconnected from all connection of oversight or responsibility, with
the financial business affair s of the school. That I think had better devolve upon
some member of your own honorable body , who here or nearby may reside . But
if you thin~ differently, then please defi ne again your instructions t o be followed
in lett er and spir i t by both the Tr eausrer and President . Frequently, I have been
call ed upon ~o appr ove payments as President, somet' les aft er the bills were made
a d aid of which I knew nothi ng . This I respectfully submit is not r, ' ht, nor in
justice t o myself can I do so longer . But I do not wish to reflect upon your
Trea~~rer; he is , I learn but following a long usage here . He means ri ht , and I
am sur e , it i s all r i ght so far; but experience showing how easy i t is , for well
meaning oersons to get i nto t rouble , by no~ f ollowing strictly the law l aid down
for their guid~~ ce. I have felt it to be my duty t o call attention to this matter,
especially since I am so vital ly concer ned personally and offi cially .
Havi ng to say the above with much regret , I feel that I would not be doing justice
were I not also to say that in all my long and varied experience in life, I have
never seen an off icer more devoted to his t rust--never one with his heart more in
his work , nor mor e zealously attached to thi institution he ser ves--overzeal
pr ompting to do any and every t hing for the school that he thinks ought to be done
whether it is his business or not seems to be, his danger. I have merely asked that
so valuable an off icer and t ose conducting the coll ege business with him be pr otected
by the necessary checks and balances .
I was about forgetting to call att ention to the necessity of an appropriati on for
fie~d music, drummers and fife . Up to this time the musicians have been paid out
of the military fund which I presume was hardly the intention of the Board .
I am, Gentlemen , very r espectfully, your obedient servant ,
D. F. oyd , President
«204
P. S. Accompanying please find copies of Resoluti ons of Faculty, marked A & B,
also report of Professor Stubbs .relative t o the fitting up of his new Laboratory.
Respectfully,
D. • Boyd
Report of the resident of the Coll ege to the Executive Committee
To the Executive Committee
oard of Trustees
Auburn
Gentlemen:
Auburn, Alabama
October 15, 1883
I respectfully beg leave to forvard the acco panying communicati ons from the
several Professors setting forth in detail some of t he wants of their Department .
I do not know that it is in the power of the Corrunittee to meet the wants therein
set f orth; still it may not be amiss t o call your attention to them .
It is hard for a college t do good work without the necessa ry appliances for instruction;
such as a good Library, apparatus , cabinets , etc; and of some of these necessary
aids , this College is almost wholly destitute. Its Library is virtual Ly nothing
the philosophical apparatus is very scanty and the chenical laboratory needing much
for proper efficiency. e same may be said of the gineering Department , also that
of Natural History, and the Department of A riculture has not beugn . ith almost
everything yet to be done to make it of use . In a word, t o do the great work be-fore
us , we have but f ew facilities; and it rests with the great state of Alabama
and her coll ege representatives to decide whether this College shall be a success
or a failure.
Gi ve your Faculty a fair .chance todo something and I believe so ething will be
done ; refuse out of mi staken notion of school economy to eet thei r working wants
and you will have but a ollege in name .
I earnestly call your attention therefor e to the reco endations of your Professor s .
That they have been selected to do special work m ans that they are the best judges
of the work and of the means with which t o do it . 'rhe Faculty is the College, and
no college has ever succeeded and never can when the utmost deference is not shown
t o the opinion of the rofessor as to his own special chair and every possible assistance
rendered him to work out his own ideas . on ' t elect a Faculty and let
them do nothing for wan of means to do somethin ; nor will professors of roper
spirit long be content doing nothing . I do hope the earnest wor ds of your professors
as to the facilities you should give them to do your work, will be heeded by
you as far as practicable ; and as an old colle e officer of no little experience let
me see more and knmv more of your Faculty, personally and officially than you do .
Invite them to attend your meetings , consult with them, not only about their own
special departments and duties, but also about t he general state of the College .
They are. here day in and day out t he year reound, thinkin g of what is best for the
College. You can be her e but seldom and then only for a few days; and it is r easonable
to expect that your faculty know more about this College than you do, or
205
possibly can know. Then who so well fitted as your pr ofessors to be your advisors?
And I do hope you will consult with them freely and fully . I am sure it will be
for the best all round. And all this I say with the utmost deference and respect
for you as our official superiors , and as distinguished citizens of Alabama, I
mean no di srespect .
The Professors have called attention to the school furniture, needed in the class
rooms, I would also speak of the furniture needed for the offices and hal ls . The
resident's Of f ice is almost vQthout furniture of any kind . The little I found in
the office on taking charge recently, I found it to be advisable to Five up mostly
to the omma~dant and Prof~s s or Thach so that the entire outfit of the Pr esident's
Off~ ce consists of two or three plain cheap tables and some 61d split bottom chairs .
A suitable office desk, book case, letter copying pr ess , large table and one dozen
chairs for Faculty me tings will c6st say 200 . The. study hass or chapel needs a
good plain table and a dozen chairs at a cost say $50. The Library needs another
large table, one dozen neat chairs, and additional caseing for books , altoget her
say 100. And I think the study hall (or chapel) , the library and central hallway
should have neat chandeliers to be l i ghted from gas in the chemical laboratory, but
of. this I have made no est imate of the cost . It is frequently the case. that the
study hall i s used for lectures at night , and to use such temporary lights as we
can command is rude and inconvenient. I found the building very dirty and r equiring
much work to get it in even a tolerable condition of cleanliness . We are still
scrubbing and whitewashing; anQ it will r equire at least three good servants to
keep the building (with the chemical laboratory) in order . It has a demoralizing
effect upon youth to quarter them in foul or badly kept r ooms . Negligence and
filth leaa to immorality and a proper school economy calls for clean class rooms
with neat and comfortable furnitUre . Students respect good furnitUre and deface it
less than bad furniture. A col lege bui lding shpuld be pleasant and attractive within
and without , as homelike as possible .
If the Committee has the power, I would be glad for them to define the duties of
Pr esident of the College . It seems to be difficult t o get a clear understanding
of them.
The records of the Board of Trustees would seem to require the President to have
general .charge of the building and of such duties as usually fall to a proctor or
quarter master, but such charge and duties are practically thrown upon the Treasurer,
without any compensation therefor . If such duties are mine, I wish to
know it . I do not wish any duty of mine imposed on another . ::>till I would ex-pr
ess the opinion that the President of the College has but little time to devote
to the duties of roctor or l.lUarter I-laster . I would also respectfully request information
on this point . I see from the re ulations , t hat it is made the duty of
the Fresidents to order all debits and credits made to the several College accounts
and that no money shall be drawn from t he funds of the College or from the deposit
of the cadets, but upon the order of the President, and upon a check drawn' by the
Treasurer and countersigned by the President, and that the Treasur ers account shall
be subject to the revisal and appr oval of the President . Now oes that mean that
the President shall be an Auditor or ' omptroller of accounts and as such kee ~ the
accounts of the Institution . The Treaaarer only to keep an account of the cash
transactions? till I cannot well see how the Presidentcan have the requisite
knowledge of the accounts, unless that be the case , or the Treasurer thoroughly
subordinated t c the President, and be the bbokkeeper and paymaster of the College
subject entirely to the supervision, direction and control of the President . And
thi s t oo I cannot believe to have been the purpose of the Board, for it would destroy
- _._---- - - ---------- -----
f 206
the necessary independence of the t wo officers and t he indispensable check of the
one upon the other. Please give me information on this important subj ect, for while
I regret that the President has anything whatever t o do with the finances, accounts,
etc., yet if it is his duty I must do it and will do it if I can only know what and
how I am to do.
In connection with this matter I should state that I do not understand how the Board
draws funds from the Bank at Opelika in excess of deposits; in other words I do
not understand the system of "Overdrafts" there as practiced, nor can I learn
(from the r ecords of the Board) of any rightful authority for IT~king said overdrafts.
I have not yet countersigned any checks at all. I would not like to do
so in excess of your deposits without proper legal authority from you to do it.
I presume of course that the Board of Trustees has gi ven the r e4uisite authority
for the overdrafts or virtual loans from the Bank, and that the Bank is furnished
with it in proper l egal shape. The~e seems t o be no record of it here in the office
of the Treasurer or Secretary of the Board.
The number of matriculates this session to date is ninety seven. Being 76 from
Alabama, 12 from Georgia, 2 from Florida, 2 from Tennessee, 2 from Louisiana, 3
from Texas. In the Senior class there are 10, Junior, 9. In the 00phomore, 23.
Freshman, 31 and in the sub-freshman 13, with 11 optional or irregular students.
The total members to date last session was 103, showing a falling off t his year of
6. The 1:0S5 is due to the going away of so many old students. The number of new
students this year is comparatively heavy being 40. Thas would seem to indicate
that the people over the. state at large approve the action of the Board in making
the school more scientific and industrial than fornerly, while those students who
have left us on account of that change now find i t is to be hoped even more and
better literary training at the State University at Tuscaloosa.
It would seem as i f the peopl e of Alabama are at l east gett ing suited in their State
educational facilities. To Tuscaloosa let t he student of general culture go, and
heIl'e·, l .ekthe young man come who, wishes to fit himself for a special scienfific or
industrial pursuit . Alabama needs both her Univer sity and her Agric'ltural College .
1-fa::r both prosper and fill thei r very different and distinct missions . The .discipline
of t he school under existing rules and regulations .. jsin a very dangerous
and pr ecarious condition. I find a military institute un er a f aculty government
which is a contradi ction in terms and al most a nullity in pr actical effect. In
its di sCipline your school is anomaly. You have military requirements enough to
harass your boys and raise a row but not enough military honor in the hands of
your President t o put down a row. You hold him responsible for the discipline
and well being of your College ; yet you give him very little authority to meet
that r esponsibility. Your rules and r egulations are true to no one principle or
method of school government it seems to me , but are a combination of two or more
t otally different and antagonisti c methods. The whole t hing ne ~ ds overhauling
from bottom to tpp; and it cannot be done too soon. Delay in this case is certainly
dangerous. How t hen has not been an explosion in your discipline , a
breaking down of · all control and r estraint over your students, I can only account
for by your fortunate location in this quiet , well ordered community, and ·doubtless
by the special care of a KLnd Providence. I would also call your attention to the
absence of any general inventory of the College property. 'orne of the Pr ofessors
I believe have s pecial lists of some of the more valuable articles in t heir possession
; but I thing it necessary t o have a full list made of all the pe rsonal property
and a money valuation put upon it.
207
Your col l ege buildi ng would s eem t o be very inadequatel y protected against f i re.
Indeed, i n case of fir e , I do not see how t he bui l ding could be saved r You have
no wat er . But t wo l a r ge cisterns might easil y be f i l led from the water from t he
r oof; and the engine which it i s t o be hoped you wil l supply t he Chemical Department
wit h, can be used wit h pr oper hose t o t hrow water t o any part of your house.
I t i s danger ous f.or us t o infer that, because we have been spared f or t wenty f ive
years , we may not burn up tomorrow.
The illness of t he Tr ea surer has prevented his f urnishing me with a balance sheep
showing t he financial condi tion of the CoJ.l ege, i t s a s sets and l iabi lities , et c.
I have a st atement of the last r eceipts and payments from June 15 t o August 31
l ast. I cannot close t has report without beggi ng you again t o consider well the
re com~endat i on s of your Faclu t y and Pr ofessors , especia l l y considering the ob j ect
of t he s chool--it s scientif i c and industr ial character merit t he words of your
s ci ent i f i c and i ndustrial prof essors whi ch should be heeded . No mat ter , how well
all other s conn ected wit h the Institution do t heir wor k, if t he Pr ofes sor s in the
gr i cultural Department fail of succes s ; your-Agr i cultural College will be adjudged
by t he peopl e t o be a failure . And I do not s ee how we can expect success
if we do not gi ve t he Pr ofessors t he means whi ch they declar e t o be i ndispensable
f or t heir wor k .
By resol ution of the Board of Trustees, qua rters have been given to the Commis si oner
of Agr i cultur e in t his bui l ding; and t hat St at e Offi cer is now her e in the perf
ormance of his duties of of fi ce.- He l ooks t o t his Col lege t o have his anal ys es
of fert ilizers made . I t cannot be done , un+ess t he Chemical Department is suppl
ied with mor e and better apparatus , and a separat e l aboratory pr ovi ded f or i t
away from t he pr esent general or clas l aboratory , to whi ch students and ot her s
must have more or less access at all t imes t o do their alloted wor k . This inci dental
r equi sition of the State Department with the necessary chemical work in
your Agr i cultural 3xper iment Station and t he t eaching of general and analytical
chemist ry to your own s t udent s all re~ui r e s a f i rst rate labor at ory equi pped in
t he best style . The State of Alabama has f urnished you the money f or that purpose ;
will you so use it gent lemen. I repeat your Chemi cal Department must be put in
fir st cla ss order for t he f oll owing r easons :
1 . The St at e Commis sioner of Agricul ture l ooks to you t o analyze co~nerc ial
f ert i l i zers as he i s r equi red t o have done under the f ertilizer l B ~ .
2 . He al so desi r es you t o make f or him the analysis of soil s , waters , et c.,
as r equi r ed of him under that same fertilizer l aw.
3. The manuf acturer s of fe r t ilizers and deal( r s in them are r eques t ing your
chemist t o anal yze t hei r f ertil i zer s here for their special benefit in advance
of t he require Lent s of t he law .
They naturally prefer the pr i vate work t o be done here in your l abor atory
si nce thi s is the head quarters of the St ate .gr icultural and Fertilizer
Department .
4. And apart f r om t he work expected of you by t he St ate C o~niss ion er of Agr i cult
ure and conductor of your own Agr i cul t ural ExperLment Station expec
|
|---|
