| Summary: | Minutes of the Board of Trustees meetings held in 188735
State Agricultural and Meclillnical College and Polytechnic ~nstitute Auburn,
Alabama, June 7, 1887
This being the -day designated for ' the r egularTannual meeting of the Board
of Trustees of the Agricultural and Mechanical College and Polytechnic Institut e.
1
On call of the roli there were pre sent:
His Excellency Thomas Seay, Governor of the State
and members
Absent
Solomon Palmer, Superintendent of Education
Barnes
Bishop
Gil christ
Kolb
Langdon
Ligon
Malone
Stansel
Haralson
The President of the College being present with the Board was called on to read
his report, which having been read and submitted,
On motion of Hr. Langdon that the report of the President -and accompan y i ng
papers pre sented by him, lie on the table for the present.
On mQtion of Mr. Ligon t hat E. T. Glen~the Treasurer of the College,
submit hi s report, which was read to the Board and submitted.
On motion of Mr. Pa mer that the report of the Treasurer be referred to the
Committee on Finance.
The Librarian read his report which was received and or dered to lie on the
table.
On Motion of Mr. Palmer that an additional commit·teebe added to the standing
cormnittees to consist of five members ·which shall be known as the Committee on
l1echanic Art when created.
On motion of Mr. Malone that the report of the President be taken from the
table and the subject matters thereof be re~~ed to appropriate committees.
On motion of Mr. Barnes that the report of the President q,nd the -report of
the Profe s sors pertaining to finance and appropriations ,:sked for be referred
to the committee on FL~ance.
On motion of Mr. Barnes that the porti on of the Pre sident' s report having
ref erence t o tne laws· and regulati ons of the college be referred to the Committee
on Revision of"Laws; and that porti ons referr ing to Agriculture and the Experiment
Station be ref erred to the Committee on Agriculture
36
On motion of Mr. Palmer that the portion referring to mechancial art be referred
to the Committee on Mechanic Art when instituted.
A comm:unication from ,.Member G. H. Lamar, Jas. C. Jones and G. D. Samford concerning
a broken chandelier was
On motion of Mr . Palmer referred to the Committee on Claims.
Mr . Ba. rnes -was grante.d leave of absence until tomorrow ~orning . .
By Mr . Langdon--Resolved that the Committee on Finance be instructed to enquire
whether any changes in t he salaries of the professors are necessary to be made in
order to organization and report to this, Board as soon as practicable. Adopted.
On motion of Hr . Barne s--the Board adjourned until tomorrow morning at 12 0 I clock,
STATE AGRICULTURAL AND }fECHANICAL COLLEGE AND FOLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE, JUNE 8, 1887.
The Board met ac cording to adjournment and on call of the roll there were present
Hi s excellency Thomas Seay, Governor of the State
Solomon Palmer, Superint endent of Education
and member s Bishop
Absent
Gilchrist
, Kolb
Langdon
Ligon
Malone
Stansel
Barnes 'and Haralson
The Committee on Finance submitted their report, viz.
The Committee on Fi nance to which' was referred that portion of the Presi~entls report
and other papers touching fina~ce, additio~al appropriations and compensations
have hal;! the 'same under consideration , and_ ,instruct me to report a s' follows:
I . Your committees recommend that the sum of five thousand ($5, 000) dollars
appropriated by the General Assembly of Alabama at their last session be applied to the
purposes and wants of the Mechanic Art Department, and that the Tr easurer of the College
on the approval of the President, draw his' warrant upon the State Trea surer for the
same. Also that the sum of seven thpusand five hundred ($7,500) dpllars in like
manner appropr iated, be eA~ended for the' purposes set out and ~esignated in the report
of the President--viz. , ,
To build c _emical laQoratory
To quip ment in Physic s
Engineering ,
$4, 000 . 00
1,000. 00
300. 00
37
Pri nt ing
Equipment in chemist ry
To other sci ent ifi c departments
to approval of the President.
$ 200 . 00
1, 000 . 00
conditioned by the act of the Legislature
1, 000. 00
and subject
II. That t be salary of Prof essor Charles E. Thach' be $1800 instead of the pre sent
sal ary r eceivee by him ; and t hat of Pro f essor George H. Bryailt be $1300 instead of
the present salary received by him.
III. That each cadet on ent er ing college be required to deposit \;rith the Trea surer
- of t he College the sum of five doll ars as acontin8ent funa to cover any dmnage to
property, for which he lvay be liable, and if no charges are i ncurred by the s tudents
f or specific or genral damage s, t he whole amount shall be ref unded t o him <J,f t er t he
clo se of the sessi on.
IV. That the Board of Trust ees approve and sanc t i on"t he act of Prof essor Snel l in
locating and. operat ing a tele8raphi c i nstrument wi th b a~tery in the college buildings
provided it be used only f or college purpo se s.
v. That the Faculty author i zed t o appoint an additional instructor to the already
allowed two , at a salary not' t o exce ed two hundred and fifty dollars ( $~O ); and ,
that t he President have t he' author ity if the funds of the colle ge permit to engage
and employ add itional help and a s si stance in any department that may be neces sary
at a cost not to exceed two hundred dollars ($200) .
R. F. Kolb, ChaiTffian
The repor t of t he committ ee. was adopt ed.
'1r .' Palmer moved to correct the motion made by Mal one on yesterday, in regard to
a commit t ee "r efe r ence. The motion shows the correction.
On mo t ion of Hr. Palmer t hat the degr ees recommended by the Faculty be conferred, vi z. ,
on A. J . Alexander, Bachelo r of" Science
" W. L. Allen If II II
II Ho C. Armstrong II " " II B. L. Boykin 1/ II II
II w. E. Davis 1/ 1/ 1/
1/ R. C. Jones If II "
" T. H. Jones II " 11
II G. H. Lamar II 11 "
" E. R ~ Lloyd II 11 II
II W. H. Newman I I II If
If F. H. Perry 11 II " II C. w. 'Si..rnmons II II 11
On post graduates, Ma ster of Sci ence
on B. A. Blakley II " II
II " C. J . 'Mell II fl
II I . w. Ingr am II II II
·1
38
And that the Honorary Degree of Ma ster of Arts be conferred E. J . Garrison of
Washington City and. Howard Lamar of Lee County, Alabama.
A request ~as made t hat a communication addressed to the President' of the Board
of Trustees be read, which was done, and on motion the same was laid on the table.
The Board then went into Executive Session--the Secretary requested Mr . Stan sel , t o
act as secretary in his absence.
On the return of the Secretary there was on his table the fo llowing resolutions, viz . ,
RE3JLVED, that the Pre si dent of the faculty fill the vacancy created by the resignat
i 'on of Prcifessor Fleming, which was accepted, by the Board, in the chair of modern
l anguage s a t a salary of seven hundred and f ifty dollars ($750} with the approval of
the executive committee of this Board. Adopted
RESOLVED that the duties of Librarian be discharged by the Prof essor of English.
and Latin and that no separate salary shall be attached to the office, which was
refe r red to the Committee on Finance.
I . RESOLVED that there is hereby created the office of Auditor who se duty it shall
be to auid every quart er the accounts of al l money paid out f or any of ., the departments
of this college to the Board of Trustees at their annual meeting.
II. That the salary of the Auditor shall be referred one hundred dollars ($100)
per annum, whi ch wa s. r eferred . to Cormnittee on Fjmnce.
Hr. Haralson appeare'd and took his seat with the Boar do
On motion of Mr. Langdon that the Board again go into secret session f or the purpose
of art i ntervi ew with the President of the College and Professors Newman, Lane, Lupton,
,Mell, and Smith, and that the secretary notify t hem of the wishes of the Board.
While in Executive Session the Board adjourned, until 3 p.m.
The Board met at 3 o'clock p. JTl. and on call of- the roil there were present :
The President, Thomas Seay, Governor of Alabama
and members S. Palmer, Superintendent of Education
Bishop
Gilchrist
Kolb
Haralson
Langdon
Ligon
Malone
Stansel
The Pre sident under a resolution adopted creating a Committee on Mechanic Art . as one
of the ' ten standing committees named on tha.t committee--members Palmer, Ligon,
Bishop, Haralson, Stansel.
General George Harri,son having requested to appear before the Board was invited
to do so. General H~rrison represented a claim made by Proi essor W. C. Stubbs
against the college.
39
~:-on motion the further considerati·-m of the claim of Professor Stubb s. was
referred to . the Committee on Claims • .
On mo tion of Mr. Palmer that t he report of t he COlMlandant with accompanying
papers be referred to the Committee on the Course of Study.
A communication from E. G. Powers, a former cadet of t his college, was referred
to the Committee on 1'·1echanic Art.
,
On motion 0:( Hr. Ligon the Board adjoux:ned until 8 o ' clock tomorrow.
June 8, 1881, State Agricultural and Mechanical College and Polytechnic Institute
· The Board m~t ac cording to adj ournment and t here were present:
· The Presideqt , Governor of t he State
Hr. Palmer, .Supt. of Education
Barnes
Bishop
Gi lchri st
Haralson
Kolb
Langdon
Ligon
Malone
Stansel
A full Board
The Committe;e on Finance submitted a report as folloVls :
· The Committe,e on Fi nance to which was referred the consideration of the resolution
by which the, duties of Librari an be discharged by the Professor of English and
Latin withou,.t any sal ary attaching having considered the same and recommend its
adoption.
Your Co mmi t~ee also re commend the adopti on of the resolution by which the of fice
of Auditor was created, and that the salary of such officer be one hun(i!r'ed and
fifty ( $150J. in lieu of :jj;100 as named in sai d resolution; and they further
recommend ,:tb,p.t F. W. Reese be appointed to that office . The report of the 80mmittee
was received and adopted.
The Committee on Finance farther reported--
The Committee on Finance to which ,,ras referred a report of the Treasurer of the
Col lege after a consideration ask leave to report to the Board that we have
examined the same apd f i nd vouchers on file and approved covering the various
amounts extended for and on ac count of the ~o lle ge and the di ferent departments
thereof; tha~ there has been disbursed on account of :
40
Expense
Stationery
Military
Trustees
Music
Salary
Servants
Po stage
Fuel
Speakers
Commutation house rent
Insurance
special appropriation
Printing
Repairs and grounds
Chemical Art
Physi cs
Making a total of
Add balance
Total
For building and equipping
Physics alc
alc
II
If
II
II
II
II
II
II
u
II
~ 23, 902 . 36
429. 71
$24,332. 07
foundry
Which covers a balance on hand June 1~1886 of $3384. 24
Di sbursements from receipts on agricultural bureau--
Mechanic art Dept . alc .
Salaries II
E-zperiment Station II
Salary of Director II
Chemical State Laboratory l~
Commutation house rent
Chemical State Laboratory Sala¥y
Natural History ::
Weather Service
Special appropriation to Professor Stubbs
Making
$474.37
45. 40
-105. 82
265. 95
89. 2h
19100. 00
2 13 ~ 0 0
125.00
·220 . 00
50 .00
200 ~ 00
360 . 00
670.00
986. 00
142. 22
255. 00
200. 00
2681. 85
702039
3"3'84. 24
1305. 90
1155. 51
1500 . 90
700 . 00
625.73
150 0 00 .
1100 . 00
50 . 00
99. 83
400000
There is a blance on hand f rom amount paid by the Agricultural Bureau of
$1974. 32.
We find that there was a balance of $570 , on act of a~ alysis alc and that the
re ceipts from that source since 15 June 1886 has been $150. 00
making $720.00
Paid to Prof. Lupton
Bal ance
Balance
300. 00
420 . 00
720. 00
41
That the fees paid on account of the Library has been p272 all-of Hhich .
has been appropriated.
That the bnlance on hand to int. as
College apc
Agricultural Bureau
Analysis
Making a total of
$429 . 71
1974. 22
420 .00
2874. 03--
\Jill add in Your committee conclusion of t his report that the receipts of the
College proper
By Balance
Endo1rMsnt fund
I ncidental f ees
Surzeon
have been from following sources.
From diplomas
From Chemical
Total
fees
All of which is covered as herein reported.
The repor t was adopted.
1117 .07
20280 . 00
2040.00
670 .00
70 . 00
lSS.on
24, 332. 07
Respect flly submitted,
R. F. Kolb, Chairman
By Hr . Langdon--Resolved, that ;thepir ectory of the Experiment Station be r equired
to furnish to the Board of Trustees at their r egular a.rmual meetings a full,
descriptive , cmd comp+ete ,inventory of all the property of Whatever kind or
character belonging to the station and render a statement of all lo sses from
whatever source of any property belonging to the station. Adopted.
By Mr. Haralson--That the Instructor in Hechanic Art Department be required to
furnish to the .Board a fu~l and complete schedule of all property in his department
of wi1atever kind, also a statement of a l~ 10 sses from whatever cause . Said
schedule and statement to be rendered to the Board it their regualr annual
meet ings. Adopted.
By Mr . Farnes--Resolved that during the recess the executive committee of this
Board may authorize the Pre sident of the Coll iee to vi sit and inspect such
industri al institutions and organizatiqns he may deem necessary for the. be ~t
interest s of the College.
Resolved t hat Lanedon Hall shall not hereafter be .used f or any purposes or
o.ccasions other than for the college • .
By. Mr. Barnes-~e so lved that the Professor of Agriculture shall be requir ed
_to devote his time , especially to the duties of his chair and Experiment Station
and that he shall not take any other position of any Agricultural association,
state or other1rlise , which on motion "Jas referred to t he Cormnittee on Agriculture •
.
A paper with items of appropriations was presented by the Pr esident of the College,
which Was re~e rr ed to the Finance Committee .
Eveni ng Session, June 8, 1887.
On call of the roll a f ull Board l.vas pre sent and answered to their nwnes.
The Committee ' on Agriculture submitted a report, viz . :
The Committee on Agriculture qeg l eave to report that they have examined the books
and papers and vouchers of I . S. Ne\vman connected with the Experiment Station.
The amount received by the said Director for the past year running f r om J une ,
1886 to June , 1887- - $2790 . 91. Amount expended in the manageme nt of said station
$2307. 78, leaving a balance in favor of sai d s t ation of ~~483 . 13 . The amount of
sales of products from the sta,tion--$807. 78.
The Committee' has found vouchers in due form for all the expenditures as set
forth on t he ooks of the Director .
On an examinati o~ of the ExperlinentFarm the committee would suggest that the
Director be required to set aside the ten acres of land to be pl ant ed in corn
and the same in cotton to be sultivated so as to demonstrate the result of his
Exper iment s and show the advantages and profits to be derived f rom t he be st
experiment in fertil izing and cultivation of the said crops and that an exact account
of expense be kept.
The Committee r ecommend that the usual annual appropriation of f i f teen hundred
dollars be made said exper iment station.
R. F. Ligon, Chairman
The report of the Committee was received and adopted.
The report of t he Committee on Course of Study was by reque st 0 the chairman
recomrnitted with l eave to report at the next meetin~ of the Board.
- The Committee on Course of Study reported back of Mr . Power s and say t he arne needs
no further consideration by them.
By the Committee on Revisi ng Laws- -Resolved that Section 11 'Of the "Rules and
Regulations" of the State Agricultural and Mechanical College be amended so as to
read as follows :
Sec. 11. No Professor or teacher should, 'ivithout the consent of the President, absent
himself from hi s duties ; or without the consent of th~ Board of Trustee s enzage in
any kind of pursuit of pr ofe ssional or business character that can in any 1rlay
affect his efficiency or punctuality in the discharge of his duties in t he
College . No Professor shall give a certificate relating to the qualification,
st a~di~g , conduct, or character of any student , or concerning the examination
of any candidate for admission except by consent of t he Faculty. - R. F. Kolb , Chairman
Adop.ted "
The Committee on Claims asked for the t i me until the next meeting of the Board
to report on matters refer red to them. The requ~st was granted.
43
The Committee on Finance was recal led. The Committee on Finance to which was
referred the different items or appropriation suggested by the President of the
College, having considered the same and recommend that there be appropriated from
the endowment fund of the colle ge :
For Salaries
For the President
Six Professors @ $1800 each
Adjunct Professors ,
Assistant Instructors 3 each $250
Part salary instructor- -l1ech. Art
Commandant
Treasurer
Secretary & Auditor
For Curr ent Expenses
" For General Exepenses
Stationery
Trustee s
Militai-y
Music
Servants
Commencement expenses
House rent
Insurance
Chemicals
Prirtt i ng
Repairs and grolmds
Repairs Langdon Hall-
'Water closets
Natural history
Engineering
Fr om the Agricultural Fund
$3, 000. 00
10, 800. 00
750.00
150. 00,
600 . 00
500 .00
1, 000.00
300.00
1-7=- ,~o=~o . aa -
500 . 00
. 50 . 00
300 . 00
100. 00
100 . 00
250. 00
100. 00
200 .00
360.00
100.00
400 . 00
100 . 00
100. 00
200. 00
100. 00
50 .00
Past pay Profr. of Agriculture 700 ~00
Instructor i n Mech. Art 700 .00
As st . in 11ech. Ar t (62 . 50 per mo.-) 750 . 00
Chemicals for stat e laborat ory 600. 00
expenses Expt. Station 1500. 00
II Mech. Art 800.00
Profr. of Chemistry 500 .00
Balance on 140.00
Two a sst. in Chemical Laborat liJry StatellOO . OO
6790 .00
All of which is submitted.
The report vJaS re ei ved and adopted.
Resolved t hat each full Professor exdept t hose professors who are already allowed
~ ~xxx:xxxxxxxxx
hou se rent or commutation therefore , be allowed the sum of two hundred dollars
commutative house rent and that the sum of $800 .00 be added to the general
appopriations recommended by the Committee on Finance . A~opted • .
Resolved that the next session of the college sh .ll begin on the ' 15th SeptemrJer
and thereafter the session OL the college shall begin on the Wednesday after the
second Monday in September, and clo se on the Wednesday after the second Monday
in June .
Resolved by :Hr. Barnes that Members Stansel, Haralson, and Malone be constituted
a special committee to which .shall be r ef erred a l~itten communication of
General l A:H'~ , and the entire .subject matter thereof, including differences
bet"ieen members of the faculty with instructions and leave to report at any timeo
The Committee united on Gener?-l LII'Je. and after the conference presented to t he Boa d
a written communication from rim, a copy of which was ordered'rread vfo n the
minutes and which is in follo~ing words, viz.,
To the Han. Board of T ustees
Ala. A & M College
Gentlemen
Alabama Polytechnic Institute
and Agricultrual and Mechru1cial CollefG
Auburn, Alabama, June 8, 1887
Having just learned that my c9mmunication to yOll' Han. Body asking for an
equality of salaries is still ,viewed with displeasure by some , I nOlf r eiterate
in writing what I did to you yerbally--that it wa s not intended to give offense
to any member of the Board or .Faculty, but simply as a statement of 'facts in
which statement I am susta"lneq. by the College books, Catalogues, and other
docl~ents . In the interest of harmony and t he general welfare of the ~o lle g e
I now respectfully ask to be allowed to withdraw said communication.
Respectfully submit tGd
James H •. LAI>J£. Pn.r.f(l, e:t-<.-
The Secretary l-faS reque sted tQ submit to the President of .the College and the
Professor of Agriculture the Qriginal of the foregoing ' co~nunic ation •
.
A verbal message from those ge.ntlemen "Tas reported to the Board by the Secretary
and no further action taken.
By Mr. Haralson--Referring .to the communication of Dr. D. B. ~Villiams addressed
to the Board applying f or the appointment of surgeon o£ t his College . The Board
have to say there is no vacancy in that office and for that reason are unabl e to
consider his claims for· the position at this time.
By Hr. Stansel--Resolved that the resolution adopted by the Board at there June
session 1886 declining to confer the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Divinity be
be and t he same is hereby rescinded. The resolution "l-Jas not adopted.
45
On motion of Hr. Ligon the Board of Trustees adjourned sine die.
F. N. Reese
Sec . to the Board
June 8, 1887
The foll01dng reports were submitt~d to t he Board of Trustees at their annual
session 1887 and ordered of record.
To the Trus.tees of the A & ~1 College
In presenting this ann~al report for the session 86-8J , J respectfully state that
the number of matriculates ~uring the year has been 185, of which there were ten
graduates of this and other colleges who persued special courses of study in
agriculture and ' chemi stry, engineering and mechanic arts. In the fir st class
there were 13; in the 2nd class, 24; in the third cla ss, 56; in the fourth, 55;
and in the subcollege or f ifth class, 27 .
The classification according to the subjects of study shows that dtITing the
se ssion t>lere l .. ere in English 172 st udents; in hi story, 40 ; in French, 14;
in German 10 ; in Latin 44 ; in mental science 11; in political economy 13; in
mathematics 162 ; in chemistry 85; in agriculture 96; in physics 71; in natural
,history 73; in physiology 28 ; in engineerine 16; in draliing 114; in mechanic
arts 90; in printing and telegraphy 42 ;. and in military tactics 162.
~ The classification according to residence shows that there were f rom Alabama 150,
from 'Georgia 24, Florida 4, Virginia 1, \-Jest Virginia:- 1, North Carolinal,
Louisi ana 1, Texas 1, and Scotland 1.
Of the students f rom Alabalfla 47 axe rom the counties north of the western milroad,
and 103 f r om the countie s south of the same line- ,·if the Loui sville and
Na shville Railway is made the line of reference, we find 110 reside east of
said line and 40 we st of it.
The work of the year has been generally satisfactory. Cases requlr l ng discipline
have been dealt "(on th in accordance with the laws and,character of offenses.
Course in Mining Engineering •
In compliance with the action of the Trustees as stated in the last report to the
Legislature the faculty has organized a course of study in mining 'engineering by
which st,udents may qualify themselves for the profession. Thi,8 course is f ully
set forth in the catalogue .
Mechanic Arts
The building f or :the forge and foundry depar tments of Nechanic Arts, ordered at
your last . annual meeting, has been completed and quipped and for a aprt of the
session regular work has been done in the forge room. No work has be en done in
the f oundry owing to unavoidable delay in obtaining its equipment. The cost of
this building of brick ", .. ith monitor roof containing two rooms 30 x 35 feet each
via S ~~1650 , and t he tctal co st of its equi pment i n position amounts t o ~13 01 .
The equipment of this i mportant auxiliary in our educational system i s nOI'11"
approaching completion. To compl ete it in all its departments t he following
46
estimates hmre been made by t he instructor in charge after cOTre s-pondence with
different mnnufacturers in re3ard to the cost of t he machinery required.
Total cost of equipment for machinery -depa tment $5, 000--current e:xpenses
including co st f or -'lorkroom, tank and lu.rnber shed $800.
In the detailed statement of the machines required and co st, :re ferenc e i s made
to the report of the instructor in char ge .
An appropriation to cover this amount i s respectfull y recommended. This can be
made rom t he funds recently appropriated by the State Legislature .
Durine the se s sion S. ~ . 'Pitts, assistant in Mechanic. Art s , h~vB1g received
~n appointment a s engineer resigned his position, and Geor Qe Chattenton, a practical
machini.st was ap ointed f or the r emainder of the se ssion at the same salary.
The importance of thi's department will require that permanent provision be made for
an assistant or more . The instructor in charge ha s exhibited faithf ulness, energy,
and skill wort h of substantial ~nit ion on the part of the Board.
Agricul ture
The repor t "-of the Professor of Agricultur e , as published in the report to the
Legislature , Sh01,1S that he had undertaken last year in a gricu l ture' and horticulture
a' large number of experiments.. Some reports relating to these e:x-periments
have been received and delivered to the Commissioner of Agr~ culture for publicati
on and distribution. These reports relate t o experiment s wit~ oats ,
ve ,ge tables, corn and: cotton, and Here received the first of 'J anuary and .the last
on cotton Aarcb 4. For the number and character of the 'e {perimerrts n01-l in
p rogres s and the improvements and needs of the station, your attention is
respectfully invite ~ t o the report of the Director.
Experiment Station
The recent act of ConGress appropriating to each s t ate ~i' 15 , oOO per year t o
est ablish experBnent station in connection "lith the college s established
by ;the land grant of 1862 will enable you to full y eq lip t he Station} lJith all
the appliances nec ~ary t o S"ECU/l€' the services that may be ()e.ed e4 to fulfill
the requirements of the act . .
By the decision of the ComptDoller t he funds will not be available on October 1
as an·ticipated. -If this decision is upheld by the Attorney General , i t is'
eA'Pected that early in the ne' t session Congress will remedy the defect in
Legislation and the f unds 1vill be available by the 1st January next .
By the Ac t of Crmgress" the l egi lature not being i n sess:i.on , the a ssent of the
Governo r is necessary to the reception-of the money by the Trustees . I
lioul d the refore r ecommend the .application be made to the Governor for his
47
accep~ance of the conditions of the appropriation by Congress and that a special
meeting of the Board be ordered to be held when the funds are available arid a t the
disposal of the Trust ees in order t o make provi sion for fulfilling a~Ll t he
requirements of the act of Congre ss. Thi s act i mposes on the co lleges grave
. responsibilities' and duties which must be clearly understood and full complied
with and u.n dertaken alone in t he intere st s of agricul t ure . " ,
The original ac t of 1862 establishing the college imposed the simple duty of
t eaching; the act e stablishinp; experiment stations imposes the duty of research
of inve stigation. Hel"lce compliance with the re sponsibilitie s impo sed by t his act
will require that provision must oe made for a chemical laboratory and equi pment
specially adap t ed ~~r the purpo ses of research.
"lith the appro~l of the board I prepose for the pur pose of obtaining information
in r egard t o the plans and met hods and at other stfltions and colleges to visit
sone of t he principal 'station and present at the special meeting of the Boar d
a scheme of or ganization f or your consi der ation.
Chemistry
The depart ment of chemist~J occupie s an i mpor tation relation both to the
college in r egard to e du~ati6n and t o the experiment station in regard to
analysis of f ertilizers ~nd resear ch in agricultre . As soon as the funds are
available, a new modern l aborat ory, adopted for inv est i g~tio n and original research
should be constructed. It Ivill be impo s sible when the state appr opriation and the
a, propr iation made by th~ act of Congress are available to reserve a sufficient
amount to build and equip such a l aboratory as the college will t hen require ~
The report of the professor shows that during the pa st year there have been made
.in the laboratory 209 quantitative analyses of f ertilizer s; marls , et ~, over
100 qualitat ive determinations of minerals. Thi s represents an unusual amount
of valuable Hork.
English and Latin
The Professor in charge of the chair of English and Latin created at the l ast
session, by assigning Latin to the chair 0 English, has performed the exac.t:i,ng
duties of hi s of ice in a satisfact ory manner. He has now served the institution
three years, receiving less than a full salary. His merits are wo rthy of
recogni tion, by promotion or an .equali ty with other profe ssors.
The adjunct professorship of modern languages and history Has filled by the
Board last Jurfe by tl:J.e election of 111'. Do 'l'aylor, who having r.eceived and important
position as e n~ineer , resigned at the opening session; with the concurrence of
the Executive Gommittee W. L. Fleming w~s temporarily appointed to dischar ge
the dutie s of the of ice the present session.
Physics
Some additions have been made t o the apparatus in the department of Physics.
A dynamo ha s been :?laced in the l1echanic Art Laboratory and ap l ied to
lighting and electricity--Langdon Hall and the Chapel in the College building.
49
By this dynamo each laboratory lv-ill also be supplied Hith electricity--mth
funds at the dispo s ~l of t his depar tment a valuable collection of skeletons
t reuresen l·n g the mamnall' a ha s been obtained for the college from the well-~nown I - .... t · f ' sta'oll' shment of T ' 11 t · sClen H A '\'Jard of Roche ster, Ne"t'\T York. hlS co ec lon, 1 lC e ·· . L ~ . . ~ It
it is believed, will prove of practic~l value. in the d:apr~me~t OL agrlcu ure .
On it there yet remains a deficiency 'GO be pald amountlng to ~p130 . 80 .
For special inforrnation in. regard to other departments you are respe ctfully
referred to the professors in charge herewith trcnsrni tted.
State Appro p ria~ion
. By act of the General Assembly approved February 28- - $12 , 500 wa,s ap;Jropriated
to t his college li to aid and encourage technical education in the departments .
of science, that relate to Agricultural and Rr\3chanic 4 r t s.!J
Of this appropriation $5000 will be available in 1887 and ~7500 in 1888.
I respectfully reco@uend that this amount be appropriated as follows :
1 . To mechanic art ~p5, ooO . 00
2. To build chemical laboratory 4,000 .00
3. To quipment in physics 1 , 000. 00
4. To engineering 300. 00
5. To printing ~QO . OO .
6. To equipment in chemistry 1, 000 . 00
7; To other ' scientific departments conditioned by the act of the Leg:iS...ature
and subj ect to the approval of the President 1 , 000 . 00 .
I would ~ furt~er recommend that the same appropriated to -mechanic arts be made from
that part of the appropriation availa.ble in 1887.
Rules and Regulations
The rules and regulations have been printed for the use of the officers and
students, a copy of which is herewith appended. They Ivere printed from the manuscript
copy furnished at my election with the alter a tions then made by the Board.
A few verbal alterations by Sec~ion 5 have been made in the sections relating
to discipline ir1 order to correspond with Section 2.
Section 22 is printed as furnished by the Secretary of the Board. Your attention
is called to Sec tion 11 now ,of doubtfuT reading and the p~oper interpretation
of the same is respectfully requested.
College Grounds
The Pro essor of Agriculture at his own reque st was relieved of the care of the
college grounds.
The northwest part could a t little cost be gradually planted in our own forest
trees and in others f rom foreign countries that could be acclimated and be made
an illustration arboretum which would ornament the grounds and be of instructive
value to the students.
I~
49
A permanent concrete house not liable to destruction for water closets should be
built during vacation and if the fu..Tlds will permit, a large cistern should be
constructed as a protection against fire .
Beginning of the Se ssi on
Inasmuch as Commencement occur s on the second Wednesday in June , the session
should begin on the 15th "of September to give the usual number of working days.
An order of t he Boar d to that effect is r ecornmendeli.
Contingent Deposit
As a means of preserving the college property, I recommend that each student be
re ~uired to deposit with the Treasurer on admission to the college a contingent
f es of five dollars to cover any damages to -property for whioh he may be liable .
If no charges are i ncurred by the student for special or general damages, t he whole
amount should be refunded at t he cl ose of t he session.
Artillery
The benefit s the students derive f rom the short artil1eYl.f drill are not sufficient
in my opinion to compensate for t he anxiety and f r equent violations of discipline
caused by the presence of the cannons in an open and unprotected shed. I therefore
respect fully ask permission to request the authorities at vJashington to order the
return of the artillery and 6:J.uipment l .. hich t he college nOl .. possesses.
Inventory
At definite time s eit her annually or biennially there should e t aken a careful
inventoYlJ of the property of the college, especially of that belonging to the
experiment st ation and the mechanic art laboratory. The report s hou~d indicate
annual additions and losses f r om any cause and be submitted to ,lour body for
inf onnat i on.
Printing Of fice
Each stand i n the print i ng office has been occupied by a student during the session.
The ~nnual catalo gue and bulletins f or t he weather service have been printed by
the CRdets and Profe ssor Hill continues to perform the duties of superintep.dent with
Cadet S. M. Thach as foreman. The equipment of the office has been somewhat
increased. A new cutter and additional type are nov! needed and with a sl"Lght
i ncrease in the appropriation may be obtained.
Library
For i nf ormation in regard to the present condition of the Librar y, the number of
volumes it cont ains, the additons by purchase and donations, the number dra10JIl
out by student s during the year, I re spect f ully r ef er you t o t he report of t he
Librarian.
50
Telegraph Office
An office of the No thern Tele graph Company is established with my sanction in the
college building. It is used chiefly by the Professor of Natural Hi story in '
connection with the work of the we a the~ service and for the use of the off ice,
off icial messages are transmitted fre e.
Assistant Instructors
Ihe plan for permitting the faculty to appoi nt two assistant instructors from
our DIm graduates has enabl ~d. them to aid meri tous young men iv-ho have prosecuted
higher stu d i e s and at the same time secure ac ti ve teache rs for the elementary
cla sses. I recommend that they be permitted to employ an additional instructor
making three in all w"ith the compensation of 250--the amount now gi ven. It being
provided that t hese assist antsmay be required to per orm duty four hours each day.
, I also recommend that the appointment of other assistant~ 'be left discretionary
.wi th 'the President, dependent upon the necessities and income of the college.
:F:inances
The report of the Treasurer sho1.vs that there remains in the Trea sury a balance from
the College ndowment Fund of $429. 71, f rom Agricultural Fund $1974. 32, from
Analysis receipts '420.00. 'The Treasurer has also presented supplementary report
herewith transmitted 'in which it is shows that there is yet
Profe ssors in their salaries of the present session the sum of $6100. This report
also shows that there will be in the State Treasury due the college August 1st '
as interest on the Endowment Fund the sum of :iP5070 , an amount 'Hith the balance
now in the Treasury more than sufficient to liquidate the present indebtedness of
the college.
It is very i mportant that all the sal aries should be paid promptly v,hen due and I
respectfully recommend that you order all salaries due for the present session to
be paid August 1st. And that thereafter the salaries of the o_ficers be paid
in f our equal in stallments as follows :
The first quarter on November 1st.
The second quarter on February 1st.
The third quarter on May 1st.
The fourth quarter on August 1st.
Use of College Buildings
Applications are frequently made for use of hall in one of t he colle ge. buildings
for some chari table purpose . I re.spec'tfully r ecommend t hat an order be made
prohibiting the use of any hall f or other than college purposes.
A & M College
J une 6th, 1887
Re spectfully submitted
Wm. Le Roy Broun, President
51
Department Nat ural History and Geology
Session 1886-87
Dr. 1-1. Le Roy Broun, Pre si dent .
I have the honor to hand you herev-li th t he report of the ~'JOrk accompl i shed i n the
dspartment under my char ge during the session just closed.
The effort has been made to car~y t he students beyond the cour se pur sued by those
in f ormer years. Thi s advancement has been made rrio r e in a practical direction t han
other wis& - the effor t bei ng constantly made to reach t he intellect t hrough the
. work of the hands as .. Jell a s through the eye s and ears.
.
The second and f ir st . cl~e s have been instructed in photo graphy t o enable t hose
students in .biology to make photographs o· the sections under study. The laboratory
is very 1vell equi pped for this charac ter of work and t he exercises performed by
t he students ha s been satisf actory. I t i s my intent ion another year to extend this
particular work in the di rection of inve stiations i nto t he habits and be st me thods
for pre senting t he growth of f ungi and t he a t t acks of i nj ur ious i nsects. There
was issued f rom the laboratory the past se ssi on a small pamphlet on the wild
gra sses of Alabama and the methods best adapt ed for their cultivat i on. Copi es
of t his paper accompany this report. This book was distributed among the f anmer s
and apapers of the s t ate and f avorabl e comment ha s been made by sever al of the
leading papers. I t i s my i ntentiQn to issue l i ke Ivorks on scientific subj ects
at ire gular periods i n t he fut ur e.
The investigations in meteorol ogy have been s t eadil y carried on through t he year
and t he wea t her bulletins have been issued through t he printing offic e r egul arly
each month with occasional special paper s on sub j ects. Beginning with May 21
special ,veather and crop bulletins have been sent to t he papers each week. These
r eports 1vill be s ent out every Saturday after noon i n time t o be publ i.shed in the
Sunday papers. They wi ll sho\.J t he effects of t he wea t her upon the cr ops and
wil l be i s sued unti l the close of t he summer. All of t he r epor ts of t hi s ser vice
are enclo sed.
The printing off i ce under my charge has been in suc cessf ul operat i on with a t otal
attendance during the ses sion of 24 students. The cata logues, gr ass circular,
and weather bullet ins will shows t he character of t he vlOrk done . I would suggest
t hat t he facil i ties offered in t hi s office be utilized f or advertisi ng t he
advantages of the institution by the distributi on of circulars ins tead of
spending t he money on .ne1fspaper notice s. A slight addition ha s been added to
the outfit of the e stablishment, butihere i s sad needs of a first- cl ass
paper cutter and a larger assortment of ancy and standard tJ~ es . Plea se .f iQd
herewi th a statement of the amount of money needed to place this office in good
condition and defr ay the r unning expenses during the next year. The telegr aph
instrument and t ypewriter has been under Mr . Howard Lamar ' s char ge since the opening
of the second term. Hi s t ransfer Was made a t your sanction and no funds of the
institution have been used to compensat e Mr. Lamar. In these clas ses t here 1vas
a total att endance of 18 students.
Permit me to sugge st . the propi-iety of placing Mr. Lamar in permanent charge
of the classes in telegraphy and type",rriting as viell as special inst ructor
in some other branche s. He has been f i lling the possition of a ssistant in the
weather servi ce during the pastu-Jo ears, also as local operator for t he Sputhern
Telegraph Company. He will, of course, continue to fill t hese posit ions and
receive corrpensation therefore from the t elegraph company and the State weather
servi ce . This sum amount s to $40 per month. It will theref ore r equire that a
small appropriation f r om t he funds of the college t o give him a living salary and
secure hi s valuabl e services to the inst i tutioYJ. I make this suggestion in order
to relieve me of so much outside IV!Drk t hat i s now required of m~ and thus give
me more time to develope the Department of Natunal History and Geology. 'It will
be m- pl easure to still r-emain in charge of printing, ' tele graphy and typmvriting.
Mr. Lamar is so accurate in his work, so faithful in the dsi charge of his duties
and steady in his habits, full confidence ,viII not be misplaced in him. ' The
following i~ a synopsis of the entire work under my charge.
Subj ects
Geology
Zoology
Entomology
2nd Botany
3 Botany
Advanced Botany
Ivlineralogy
Physiology
Physics
Printing
Telegl"aphy
Typewriti ng
Total
Dr. W • . L. Broun
A & M College Dear Sir
Hours per week
2
4
2
4
2
5
3
3
5
6
4
4
'E
Hespectfully submitted,
R. H. Mell
No . of Students
15
1
7
8
38
1
4
28
36
24
18
180
P~o fesso r of Natural History and Geology
Auburn, Alabama, Hay 31, 1887
The fo l lovdng report for the present session is respectfully submitted.
During the session of 1886- 7s eighty farm students have been enrolled in the Dept.
of Chemistry- - seven in the Ist- -8 in the 2nd, .63 in the 3rd, and 6 post graduates
who have been pursuing special '\.Jork in the Laboratory.
It i s gratifying to note the large increase in the number of students who have entered
t hi s dept. the present se sion and especially the number of post f, aduates who are
I '
53
cont inuing their work. No change ha s been made i n t he course of study or
r equirement s f or graduat ion.
A general improvement in the classes i s notic eable and the work of the qeniors
ha s been very satisfactory.
On account of t he l iIni t ed app r opriati on made to t he apparatus made for experimental
illustr at ion . The r ef erence to t he needs of t he depar t ment I would re spectfully
report as f ollows : To meet the growing demands of t his Department a new laboratory
i s great ly needed as well as additional apparat us. I t i s impossi bl e t o work a
satisfactory enl argement of the ro oms now occupi ed. The want of pr oper
ventilat ion and the impracticability of seeming it in t he basement of t he main
col lege bui lding where the l aboratory is locat ed point t o the nece ssity of the
r oom. in the main bui l ding or the ere ction of a ne~J l aborat ory 'i..Jith all t he modern
applicances for practical in struction as well a s origi nal i nvestiga t i on. The
erection of a new building t hor oughly. equi pped and such as a Polytechnic Institute
of higher learning like t he A & M College of Ala. sholl1d have it seems to me i s
imperatively demanded. The growing intere st in practical work in t hi s Dept . r equires
enlarged f acilites for satifying t he r easonable demands of student s.
~TI ile the ' course in chemi stry is a~ thorough and extensive as in any i nstitution
in this country and more so than in' a majority of o u~ colleges and uni ver sities,
- t her e are special advant ages offered by us which f ew insti tutions of learni ng
possess. I r efer to the St ate Chemical Dept. in connection with the Rxperiment
St ation whose s t udents have an opportunity to become familiar with the application
of chemistry to t he agricultural, manufact uring, and mining inter ests of the State
and whose facil i t es for pract ical scientific work are such as to keep t hem posted
in the progre ss made in t hese gr eat indust rial pur suits.
In the Stat e Chemical Laboratory a large amount of 'lork has been done during the
present se ssion than in any previous year . No l ess than 209 substances have been
analyzed qu ant i tatively and on hundr ed ores and mineral s det ermined qual itatively.
The quantitative work may be clas sified as f ol l ows :
Quanti t ative analyses made in t he St ate Labor atory duri ng the year ending J une 1, 1887.
Comple t e fert i l izers
Acid phosphate s
Kanit
Marl s
Na t rual guanos
Muck
Phosphatic rock and Green sand
Chicken com
Cane j uice syrup
Al kalis
Plaster
Fl oat s
Cotton seed
"
"
" II
meal
hulls
Ask of cotton seed hull s
slag
coal and coke
cl ay
68
33
1
1
9
2
19
1
13
4
1
1
2
1
5
1
2
1
S4
Iron ores
ochres
composts
soils
silver and gold ores
le'ad 0res
Total
6
4
18
2
1
S
7
· 209
Special attention ,is called ;to the extent and variety of the above mentioned analyses
It may not be improper to . add that investigations have also been carried on in the
Laboratory' having for their object the i mprovement of · methods of analysis and that
one i s now in ,progress to show t he composition and value of cotton seed as' .a
f eed stuff and fertilizer , the r esults of which it is believed will be of importance
tothe Agricultural interests of the state .
Abo1{t the first of January Hr. B. B. Ross, 1st assistant ;Ln the State Labo r atory,
resigned hip position in order to accept ,the professorship .of chemistry in the University
of Louisiana. His resignation was accepted and Mr. L. W. Wilkinson, second
assistant, was pr omoted to the place. Mr. B. S. Burton, a post graduate , Was
. placed in the position occupied by fi1r. Wilkinson. I am glad to say that both of
. these young men have given ~ntire satisfaction and are r ecornmended for reappointment.
Very re spectf ully, N. ' T. Lupton
Professor of Chemistry.
55
.
Report of the Treasur~r , 1886-87
Rece;ipts
To bal ance ~une 15, 1886
Endoivment act.
Incidental :fee
Surgeon fees
expense diploma feB
chemical fees
Disbursements
By expense accolli~t
stationery II
military II
trustees /I
music
salary
servants
postage
fule
speakers
/I
" /I
If
II
/I
commutation house rent
insurance act.
surgeon
special ap ropriations
printing
chemical act.
repairs and grounds
physics
$20 , 280
2,040
670
70
155
474. 37
Lf5. Lo
105. 82
265. 95
89. 25
19, 100. 00
213 •. )()
125. 24
220. 38
50.00
200 . 00
360. 00
670 .00
986:00
399;73
255.00
142. 22
·2nO. OO .
Falance
State appropriation
To balance June 15, 18&6
Disbursements
Building and equipping foundry
Physics act.
Agricultural Bureau apc
Receipts
To bal ance June 15, 1886
2681. 85
702 . 39
To amt. due la st year rec I d August,
Fom commissioner
1092. 15
1805. 49
Disbursements .
By -mechanic art Dept apc
/I II " II salaries
Experimental station
Salary of Director
1305. 90
1155. 51
1500.00
700.00
~~ 1117.07
3384. 24
8897 . 6L.
----,9~Obl . 29-
56
Chemical State Laboratory
Natural History
Weather Service
625.73
50 . 00
99. 83
Special appropriation to Profe ssor
Balance
tubbs 400 .00
Analysis .act.
Balance June 15, 1886
Cash from Prof. Lupton
Disbursements
Cash to Prof. Lupton
Balance
Li brary Act.
Cash Library fees
Books paid for
Recapitulation
(:' 300
420
Balance college apc
Balance Agricultural Acct.
Anal ysis Acct .
570 ..
150
- 720
720
$272
272
Total balance
.
Respect~ully submitted
7086. 97
~974 . 3 2
90"61. 29
E. T. G].enn, Treasurer A & N College
To the Board of Trustees
A N Colle ge
Gentlemen
Office of Librarirul, Juhe 4, 18~7
Since my appointment as Librarian there has been added to the Library 235 volumes
and a few pamphlets.
. ' .
xcept 59 vQIQmes consisting of misqellaneous works purchased by myself, the
r emaining aqdi"tions- are entirely public ornaments.
There are now in the Lihrary and departments of the college as reference books
appertaining specially to those departme!}ts approved of , t wo thousand vohunes •
.
On inspection the Board will see that by .far the greater portion of ~ooks in the
Library may be considered of but samll vqlue for a college Library as but few
of them donated by our Congressmen and the departments in itfashington City are hut
rarely referred to . They: serve no other purpose with a limited exception than to
fill shelves and have a depository.
57
I have no immediate and direct knowledge of the Librar,r Fund except $3>075
"Thich-was paid for a 1;i11 of works purchased by me which was. appr oved' by the
Library Committ ee , and the sum of 0ne do11~r ' for stamps and stationery. ' The
balance of the f und arising from the fees paid by the cadets the Treasurer
infonns 'me has been appropriated by the Librar,r Committee' in subscriptions to
periodicals , etc., and the purchase of books ; the Committee above -under their
rules having the right to make selections f or the Library. '
There has been lssued from the Library 875 volumes and periodicals against 445
the last session, which indicates a greatly increased interest on the part of
the students in the Library.
The Library is opened from one to two hours three days during the week, giving
ample time for selections of books and examination of encyclopedias which a
rule of the Library prohibits being taken from t he room. Some few o£ the cadets
have left the college without returning books. If they are not _ound or paid
for I propose to duplicate them myself as they are such books as can be
replaced .at nominal cost.
If not inappropriate, I will suggest t hat a small appropria tion from the funds' of
the college in addition to the regular Library fees will add to its interest and
fac ilities for improved literary ta ste and cuJ.ture on the part of the students .
Report of the Commandant of Cadets
To the Hon. oard of Trustees
A & 11 College of Alabama
Gentlemen
Respectfully submitted
F. H. Ree se , Librarian
Upon reportD1g here Octo er 1, 1885, I learned through the ?resident that the
Board of Trustees desired me to perform the dutie s of Commandant of Cadets.
I still hold the office at your pleasure , but was not detailed by too Secretary
of War to act as commandant as is erroneously stated in the report of the Trustees
of the A & H Co11ee;e 1885- 6. During this year I have kept the demerit record and
at the Presi dent ' s request acted on all official correspondence of
cadets that IoTas submitted to my office and that did not specially require his
act ion. I have endeavored to aid the Pres i dent to maintain discipline •
. After the year' s time I am thoroughly convinced that under the present college
regulations the cadet can do very little in that direction. If it is desired by
your Board to aid discipline by turning to account the valuable experience of
the 'army officers who may from- time to timebe sent here, I recommend tha t the college
r..egulations be revised and that ever'-J person connected with this college and
esp-scially the cadets be furnished ,~i th a copy and be required and be requtred at
'al1 times to comply therewith. '
I recommend the follornng change& as regards the commanaant:
58
That hen:fJe given power to enforce discipline at all times and pONer to execute
all the duties that are by inference from the regulations r equired of him. ~hat
he be given full charge of the Military Dept. with authority to publish and enforce
all orders he may find neceJ3 sary for the government and esprit of the corps of
cadetso That he be given full pOlver to regulate the conduct of the cadets at their
boarding houses and rODms w"i. th power to remove cadets therefr9tn when it becomes
ne cessary for the maintenance of good order. That he be given power to prescribe
and enforce all the details of t he rnilitary systen which is used a s an aid to t he
discipline and"that every~hing in the r egulations in conflict with the above
powers be abrogated and annulled. It is the opinion of the public that the
commandant now has all t hose enumer ated pov18rs, and. he is by t hem held responsibIe
fo r the discipline. You ivill a t once see in what an unenviable po sition he is
placed. ~
y making the chaNges recommended you will make -the office of Commandant of
Cadets as it should be, one of dignity and importance.
and
The Army officers sent here will be glad to act as Com~andant/should be ad~quately
remunerated t herefore. Mo st college s f urnish pay for extra services in some
instances as high as $1200 . The services required of the pommandant at this
college takes up J1is time· and fully occupies his mind and a s alary of at least
$500 per annum should be paid him.
I am, gen tlemen
Very. re~pectfully
Your obedi ent servant,
M. C. Richards
Commandant of Cadets
Report of the Professor of Military Science and Tactics
To the Hon. Board of Trustees
A & M College of Alabama
Gentlemen
In 1885 ~he Board did me the honor to apply to the Secretary of War for ~y detail
to your college . I was accordingl y ordered to report here on Oct. 1, 1885. Since
t hat time I have held the position 01' Prof es sor of Hilita_y -Science and Tactics.
I have given theore.tical in-struction to the 1st and 2nd classes of practical
instruction in the way of military drill to all the able botlied students at the
college who were not for various r easons excused. That the practical instruction
has been beneficial is apparent from a compari son of the bearing and manner of
any member of the corps of cadets when he entered the college with his appearance
no With r egard to t his exercise these f acts are ,conceded- -that it teache·s politeness
and self-contr ol, t hat it gi ves grace to the movements of the body, that it
devel opes the physique and i.ncreases vitality.
The t ime allotted for drill :is three
hours per week, one hour each on Tue sday,
1-
59
Thursday, and Saturday. In my opinion this is too little , considering the
importance of the training. Anyone acquainted with the management of the
gymna~ius or a~~hlet:i.c train:i,ng kno1-\TS that daily exercise is required. It
may require a milita-ry man to see t hat the time is too little to obtain
proficiency in tactical movements, but to him it is ~pparent .
The officers of the corps are selected ~ rom the 1st class, the sergeants from
the 2nd class and the corporals from t he 3rd clt'lss. As the first t l<lO cl asses
are small all the cadets -belone;ing tv them are taken from the ranks and put in
of -L i ce . This l eaves the remainder of the 3rd 'class a.fter takillg out the corporals,
the 4t- class and sub 4th class fo.r_, privates. Of thi's number a majority are new'
men ~-lho know' nothing of military 'serv'ice. Hany of t hem attend college but one
year. - It is i mpossible to imp~r t the kno !lledge desired by the Government as to
mak'e soldiers in this short time, and it is only with the great est efforts on
the par.t of the officers that a public appearance of the corps of cadets can
be made creditabl e. One hour daily drill during the academic year excepting the
months of December and January would do much toward fitting the cadets for the
important requirements of military service should they in after years be called
upon to perform military duty. I respectfully ask you to consider this point.
The time -allotted to theoretical instruction is one hour per week for the 1st
and 2nd classes. It i s devoted to teaching infantry tactics and lecturing on
what is actual practice , i.e. campaigni g, marching, and camping in time of peace
and in time of ~-lar . No doubt tlJ,e cadets are benef'itted by t his i nstruction,
but mi",ht not more time be given to it. The policy of our Govermment is
averse to a large standing arrny. vJar \vill come . The people VJill ·be the army,
Men ,of military education will be selected a s officers. Ought not t his school
which is charged to impart military knowledge to do for its cadets 'all that it
can. - Tha~ .. Till result in t' eir promotion to elevated positions l-vhen the crisis
comes.
There is a pro j ect 'on foot to select the most highly qualified cadet3 at .
colleges when officers are d~tailed for additional appointments to Nest Point.
In my opinion t 1is would have a decided effec t on this colle ge as to attendance
and esprit de corps. I reoommend that its l egislative enactments be encourae;ed.
In connection with the appointment of the time for drill, I sue;gest t hat during
the months of Decem1rer and January the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd classes e t',;i ven 3 hours
theoretical instructi.on 3 hours per '!tIeek by means o.f lectu- es and text books
and the f ollo'Vling subJects: 3rd class orci.."lance and gunnery, 2nd class tacti cs
and army regul a tion s, 1st calss military engineering and art and science of war.
I enclose heredth a communication I am requBsted to submit to your hone body. I
request that it Hith your vievlS f3.S i t i s returned to me .
I am, gentlemen, very re spectfully, 11. C. Richards
2na liout . Prof \1ili t a l"J Science- and Tactics
Report ,of l1echanic Arts
A & M College, Aubum, Al a . , June 4, 1887
To Dr . W. I ,. Bruun, Pres .
Sj r
-The successfu~l operation of the new Dept . of i',lechanic Arts inaugUBated in 1885
has continued t his year. 1Tew interest being added and the \lork greatly eNtended
by the addition of the iron ~vork;ing depts- - forge shop and foundry--during the
past year. The Dept. is noVi fa:iJiy w€ll equi pped for the first two year s work
of the three years ~~e l aid out ; viz, carpentry, turning and -pollen makin~ ,
and moulding, casting, and smith work; and now it remains to equip the machine
shop and it is earnestl y hoped that ' means may be pr ovided for th;i.s pur pose
this year so that the present cB.sses may be able to pursue" the then full course.
WOOD Working Dep t .
The same course substantially in the arrangement of exercises and methods
of instruction has been pursued this year a s la st , the plan and details of which
,vas given in my last report . But fe~v additions to or changes' in the EJ1uipment
have been made during the year . A small sum of mOl'iey -ha s been spent in replacing
tQols lost or broken during the previous year . This shop has 20 ~.Jood-1-iorking
benches and 16 turning lathes and can accommodate classes of 16 and 20
:respectively. Some more lathe£ are needed so -that f ull classes may t e ac rommodated in
hoth branches of the 1ilOrk. One of the most important additions durirg t _e
past year in the line of appara tus ( though not f orming especially a par r
t he department} ha" been the system of electric lighti ng introduced. Tw6 ~
circuits have been run, one for lighting Langdon Hall , the other a part of the
m in buil ding , and have been successfully used uring the past uinter at lecture s,
etc . Mr. Edison1 s incandesoent system is used, the electricity being supplied
.by a dynamo ,. (made by the If. States Electric Col) located in the main sl1op.
Forge and Found ~J Dept.
During t -he last summer and fall a substantial brick building 72 :x:. 32 feet with
monitor roof wa" erected for the forge and foundry shops, each 36:x: 32. The
equipment for the orge shqs consi sts of 12 forges of new and improved design
each with blast and smoke pipes, anvile and set of smith tools. Extra tools
are a l s}) provided for special 1imrk. By a system of blast and sm.oke piping blast
is snp _lied to all the. forge s a Sturterant No . 3 steel steel pressure
bl o';ver while the snoke is dralill into t he hoods and f orced into the chimney
by a Sturtevant exhaust blower, both r un· by pOlver from the engine i n t he
main. shop .
The f011....'1dry equipment consi sts of 12 moulding benche s , each lid th set of moulders
to ols, flasks, etc . a 14 inch cupola furnace with a melt ing capacity of 1000 Ibs.
61
per hour Hi '1 ne ce ssary ladles, etc . Also a furnace Hith mel ting capacity
of 100 I bs. of ''Per charge with t'ltm crucilbles, crucible tongs , etc .
The cupola, thouvh small, has all modern i mprovements and appliance s and is a
first- cl ss piece of apparatus in all reSpects. The bl ast for ~hi s is , s upplied
from piping thr ough the f 0rge shop blo .. Jers.
ThE? entire equipment for these departments with the exception of the blol,mrs,
smiths ' hand tools , anvils, and moul ding benches were made and f urnished to us by
the mechancial department 0 Purdue University at LaFayette, Indi ana .
Space ha s been allowed in the forge shop for 16 for zes and in the found~r for 16
moulding benches and it is desired to complete t he equi pemtn thi s year y t he
addition of four more of each , thus givinG a ccommodation for full classe s . Hore
applications for "lOrk in those shops are received t his year than coul d be accommodated.
The l ate arrival of t he apparatus (in February last) necessitated consider abl e
cu t tine; dOHn of the course of work as Was origi nally laid out, the foundry work
being enti . ely omitted. A trial mel tine l'ii th the cupola only having been run which
however was very satisfactory and the vIhole time since the e rection of the apparatus
(3 months) - has heen spent in the fore;e SlOp . A consi derable variety -of work, hov,ever,
has been given he re--introducing the various op -rations of draiilng, up setti ng, bending,
punchi ng , ' welding, tool f orging and tempering, hardening, etc . , and considering the
l:imi ted time qui te good i-lork has been done. The same general me thod of i nstruction
is fo l lowed as in the wood working as explained in my last report .
During the fall and winter before the arrival' of· the ap)aratus, a course of· work
in pattern akinG vJas given to the iron vierking class . The. work included a
variety of <forms in whole and split fpa;t,'ce r n s , core work, e.:bc . The patterns
made willb used next year in the foundry.
Two series _'Of l ectures to supplement the shop -\fork ,-Jere given also to this class
one on moul d'ing and casting, the other on the metalurgy and practical nature and
use of cast and wrought iron, s teel, etc .
During the 2nd term a spec:m class was org~Dized from among the students of the
3rd class for a b rief study of elementary steam engi ne ering. The instruction
co nsi sted of- a series of lectures , SUPI)lemented by experiments and practice
with the apparatus of the department, :inclu.ding.a eam generation and t he nature
and use of t-he sLeam boiler and its a-ccomp-anying apparatus-- steam a s a motive power
and the f orms and construction and use of the steam engine with the study and use
of the indicator. It is proposed as the Department developes to make t hi s a
re uul ar course in mechanical engineering.
The total numbel~ . of st udents taking shop work during the year i'iaS 90 as follows :
5th class (vJOod lfork) 19, LJ.th class (Hood ivorld 32, 3rd class special (wood "Jo rk)
22, 3rd class re gular ( i ron work) 17 .
In March of t his year my assistant,. Mr. Pitts J re signed to take a position e l seiVhere
and his place was filled f or the remainder of the se ssion by Mr . Geo . Chatterton of
Selma , Ala" ama:} a practical machinist AI. The add:i.tion 0 the new iron lvork dept.
Makes the enp lQ~nent of an experienced practical mechanic of ab solute nece ssity . It is
recommended that the services of Hr. Chatterton as Assist ant be ret ained for the
coming college year.
62
It i i_ntended that the machine shop equipm~nt when obt ained shall be placed in
the unoccupied half of the main shop under Langdon Hall (l eft vacant for that
purpose ) . The cour se will consist of 1st vise work, chippin~ and fi i ing occupying
the first 3 months of the school year ; 2nd machine work during the remainder of
the year. It ishoped t o i ntroduce durinc; t' e year some practical construction
in iron work as a small steam engine .or other machine .
The follovling is a list of machines and other appar atus necessary for the machine
shop equipment iThich is t he estimat ed cost vlhich is figured from pri ces obtained
from best known machine tool manufacturers in the cOl.mtry. The e stimated
running expenses for t he year are also gi ven.
6 - 14 inch engine lathes 2 @ ~' 200
2 ) $215, 2 @ $225
2 - 16 inch engine lathes
1 speed lathe
1 - 20 x 20 inch planes
1 - 15 inch shaper
1 milline; machine
1 - 20 inch upright drill
1 - 15 inch post drill
1· emory to~l grli1der
1 " "small
shch.p supplies, t ools, etc.
Vise bench equipment, benches, vises, etc.
L~ lathes and tools, wood. work shop at 57 . 50
4 forges and to ols for forge s op at 41. 25
benches and tools or foundry
shafting, pulleys , belting, etc .
freight and drayage
Running expense s
Tlash room and tank .
l umber shed
iping
wood shop supplies ~add itional tools, etc . )'
forge s~op and foundry supplies
mater ial f or shop work l umber, pig iron
bar iron and steel
uel, coal coke, etc .
' labor estimat ed
~1300 . 00
550 .00
75. 00
400. 00
280 . \30
320 . 00
200 .00
6o ~ 00
60. 00
45.00
$3290 . 00
670 .00
130. 00
'230 .. 00
165.00
35. 00
175. 00
300. 00 .:~
OOO . OO
200 .00
60 . 00
60. 00
&J .oo
60 .00
140 .00
125. 00
90 . 00
800. 00 --
The fo llowing taken rom the books o.f the Treasurer is a detailed statement of
the expenditures of the department for building nd equiping only during the past
year and does not include freight, drayage , labor, shop supplies, salaries,
or running expenses:
63
Building and forge shop and foundry
12 forge s each with tools and anvils $34. 35
special to ols
piping blast and smoke
shafting, pulleys, belting, etc .
12 moulding benche's each with tools 9. 67
speciai tools, ladles , etc.
cupola stack and lining
shop furnace and aucilbes
He spec tfull
G. H. Bryant
submi tted,
$1650. 00
412 . 20
24. &J
90 . 00
214. 73
116. oL
49. 35
189 . 75
22. 10
29~l.03- ·
-,A & :H College , Auburn, Ala., June 30, 1887
Dr. W. L. Broun, -President
A & 11 College of Alabama
Dear Sir
In ddition to the usual appropri ati0n or running expenses of the chemical
laboratory, please l ay before the Board of Trustees the i mportance of m~(in g an
appropriation for additional equipment whicH is greatly needed . The amount
r equired is about $250 .
Dr. W. L. Broun, President
Sir:
Ver7 r e spectfully
N. T. Lupton, Frofr. Chemistry
A & H College and Polytech...YJ.ic Institute
AuburR, Ala, May 30, 1887
I have the honor to submit the fol101'l'ing report of 'Hork done in my department this
session.
The post graduates v-Tere t aught di r ect leveling, indirect leveling.
64
Barometric l eveling under ground or ~lnlng surveyine, ten sextants and ot her
reflecting io.str uments--mar itime or hydrQgraphical surveyine; and ' sperical surveying
a s geodesy • .
The first clqsS in Civil Engineering were i n structed in building materia~ , the dif erent
kinds of wood, stones, metals, lime cements ,and preservatives--stains treated
m~thematicallY and graphically, strength of beams, frallling" masonry . construction
and the mech~nic s of ma sonry, foundations on land and in wanter, including pneumatic
piles and pn~umatic caisons, trus sed b ridges, tubular and iron plate bridges, a r ched
bridges, --s'usr;ierision ridges ~ moveable and aquadeuct bride;es, different kind s of r oofs
and hOI'; to determine their stra ins mathematically and graphically, diff erent kinds
of c ommon roads with t hei:r l ocation and constructi on, railro ads , canals. . .
The 2nd class in Civil Engineering studied simple railroad curves and hON to lay
them out by defle c tive angl es , by tangent and chord deflections ,.;ith two transits
and no chain, reve sed rnrves, compound curves, vertical cUFves, curving rai ls,
turn outs and c ro s sings on straight lines and on curves:, different' inds of levelling
connection for the earth's cUFvatur e , - elevation of the outer rai ls on ci:rv e~ , _
establishing 8rades, setting slope stakes, cam lati ng excavations and embankments
by the prismoidal formula and other methods; and a large nwnber of miscellaneous
practical problems.
All of the above wer e trea ted mathematical ly. They studi ed in addition Gil lespie 1s
descripti ve treatise· on what common roads ought to be, their l oeation, construction, I
i mprovement of surface and management . Also what railroads ought to be as· to directio~
grade s and cro ss section, their lo cation and construction, . includi ng superstructure ~
and motive powers.
In the field the )ost graduates and t he 1st and 20d Gl a s ses were taght different
kinds of levelling and how to use the transit especially in loping out curves.
During my sickness last f all for four weeks Col. Richard Kindly took charge of my
1st c l ass in the lectUre room qnd Hr. Pitts who graduated under me last se s sion
instructed the 2nd.
The 1st cla ss in draWing has made scale draWings of bridges, roof , machi ne s, etc . ,
and bea11tifully tinted some of them.
The 2nd class in drawing studied Davidson 's building construction and his drawings
for machinists and engines. Some of their work is also beauUi'-ully tinted ,in water
colors and I ndia inko
.
The drawings of t hese
speak for themselve s .
New Orleans Exposition
classe s will 'be on exhibition at the COlTHnencement
This department has; been twice awarded diplomas,
ana last year a t the Alab ama state fair .
and they "Jill
fir st at the
65
Classes
Po st ".ra uates
1st C en ineering
2nd C 1/
1st drawing
2nd "
3rd It
Schedule of Recitations
No . in class
2
;;
11
5
12
~Jo . recitations per week
1
5
·5
;;
5
3
Field work
47
17 3 x 2 - _ _ _ ~
30 hours
The fourth class in drawing has been taught linear drawing and elementary graphical
mechanics by 1'1r . J . W. Mor gan who is nOlf under me in Civil Engineering and drawing
and is one of the tutors.
About three years ago a small appr priation was made to my department, all of which
was not at once expended as I was trying t o Flake my purchases judiciously. This
bal ance lilaS covered into the Treasury and I have never been alloli18d to use it. Since
then I have asked repeatedly for an appropriation, but not one cent has ever been
give t o me. I need a plans ta'.Jle, an optical square, a good steel tape measure
and other things in the Dept . of Engineering. Also fixtures and paper for teaching .
the . l ue process and a few additional articles in the drawing department.
I therefore r espectfully ask a6ain for an appr opriation of about ~BOO .
I am also expected to teach some of the studies in the Depart~ent of Mining Engineering
recently arranged by the faculty in accordance with the orders 0:1 t hE? Board of Truste es.
Should ,fe have a dla ss in that department next session an additional appr opriation
lorill be needed to purchase a minders transit and other instruments .
Respectfully, James H. Lane
Prof. Civil Enginffring and Drawing
Department of Mathematics for the year 1886-7
Df.!. W. L. Br olm , President
Polytechnic Inst itute and A & M Colle ge
Dear Sir
I have t he honor to submit the annual report of work done in this department.
I have had six classes in mathematics during the entire year- - the post graduate
class 2 recitations per Neek, the 1st class 3, the 2nd cl ass and 4 and sub 4
classes each 5 recitations pel" "\<ITeek • . The sec one time I have had an additional
class in geometry, 2 re,citations per "\<ITee~ . The post E; r adua te cl ass numbering 2
completed calculus and solved origi nal probl ems involving the application -of -the
calculus. The first class pursued a cour se in Loomis calculus. The 2 nd cIa s
66
completed sperical trigonometry, the v-Ihole of Loomis analytical geometry and a
portion of cdlscriptive geometry. This class numbered 14 the l'irst term and 8 the
2nd term.
The 3rd class numbering 39 completed solid ge9metry and advanced algebra before the
Christmas r ecess . The r emainder of the year was devoted to a f ull course in
t rigonometry sur veying and mensuration. From 6 to 9 hours per week were employed
in f ield work in w1i.icp tJie c1.ass "llias instructed in the use of the chain, compa ss,
transit, etc . , in the practical work of surveying and i n the mea surement of bridges
and distances . The calss surveyed, plot ted and calculated the areas of several tracts
of land and al so solved a number of problems in triangulation from data obtained
in the f :ELd.
The 4th class numbering 41 the 1st term and 33 the 2nd comple.teq 5 .books of
i.rJendvmrtes geometry and algebra to quadr atic equations . A.n extra class of 10
began geometry the 2 nd t erm. A large portion of this subsec tion is ,'Jell prepared
to enter the .4th class Ln mat hematics next year.
The 1st
6 t o 9
quite a
term I had 25 reCitat i ons, t he 2 nd term 27 recitations per "leek and from
hours . per L<J'eek f i eld wo rk. 'A comparison tt1is year Iii th l ast year '\-;rill show
large increase in t he number pursuing each subj ec t in this depC3;rtment .
Subj ect Ho. t his year No . l a st year Increase
Calculus I !~ 2 2
Analytic geo etFj' 14 2 12
Descri ptive II 9 2 6
'I'rigonometI"'j' ,
surveying, etc. 38 27 11
Solid geometry,
advanced algebra 35 27 8
. Plane geometry 66 40 26
al gebra 77 41 26
Not e :
Thi s statement does not include the classes in mathematics of I n structors Lincums
and Horgan. The post graduate 2nd and 3rd classes have done excellent i'JOrk and
have accomplished more than any previous classes. The 1st and 4th have done moderatly
well.
The depar tment , attendance , and progress 0 the students in my cl asses with a
fe,..r exceptions have been very satisfactor y.
Very respectfully
O. D. $'c, I. th
Prof . of l1athematics
Report of the Department of English and Latin • . C. C. Thach
Dr,!,. H. L. Broun , Presi dent
A & M College
Auburn, Alabama
Sir :
I have the honor to submit to you this my annual report of t he work done for the
67
session of 86-87 i n the Department of Engl ish and Latin.
1s t term--During the f irs t term my number of r eci tat ions per Ive~k ivas 21 . The
number of st udents under me was 113, 22 students pursued Latin, 91 English.
The f ollowi ng t abl e ,vill show t he de tcdls of the work:
Cl ass
1st Engli sh
1st m ntal science
2nd Engli sh
First Term
Sub j ect
(Shakespeare ' s J ul ius Caesar
(Milton 'lemenj:,s of Crit i cism
Hickock
(History 0 Engl i sh Li ter a t ure
(Rhetori c - -Study of Engl i sh poet s
(Gol d smith, Burns, etc .
No . of
Recitations
per week
2
2
3
No . of
St udent s
13
10
13
3rd Engl ish Rhetori c critical study of Ame rican
poets--Longfellow, Holme s , et c . 3
3
5
2
1
55
6
11
5
2 La t in
3 Latin
4 Lat i n
3rd neli h
(Home r , ode s , sati r Bs , e t c .
Cicero, 7 orations, cowpo sitions
Caes?r
Declama t ion
2nd Term--Duri ng second t erm until 1st of Hay I had 26 reci tations per ,'leek , sinc e
t hen 21 per week- - 130 were student s taught by me 20 in Latin, 119 in Engl i sh
T e ' following table 'Inll show the duties of the wo r k .
Class
1st Engli sh .
1 t mental science
2nd ~ng l i s1J.
3rd Ent:;li sh
Lth EnGlish
2nd Latin
3rd Latin
hth T.Ja t i n
Second Term
Subj e ct
.
'\rl[ayland I S pp1i t ical economy
Gregory .
(Cri tic al st udy Poets (Hale)
(Higher rhetoric
Rhetoric , American poets
compo s i tion
Horace
Cicer o- -Composi t i on
beginners until Hay 1
Decl amation
Practical 1"lOrk
3rd class
.
No . of
Reci t at i ons per ~ lljo , of
we ek Student s )
2
2
2
3
3
3
5
5
1
26
12
10
12
52-
31
4
7
7
139
Be s i des the calss r oom limrk I have devo t ed t hree a f ternoons each vJ'( ek t o practice i n
dec1ama tion 'In th t he 3rd cl ass number inc on an aver aze 55 student s . Each of the se
students has dec1aime t hr ee tines in the s tudy hall on Saturday morning, maki ng a t otal
of 165 pu lic declamations . In pr eparation t he number of r e1J.e arsal s las avera ged about
%oM~0~'iQh . stud1nt maki ng a total 0 4/5 rehearsal s . I have also r eceived about 5
b
" t l"lt ,)ns
1
o
t
each member of the 3 r d c l ass and frequent brief paners ill ustrating
su Jec -aug 1 . . the
68
The second class numbering 13 ave each submit ted to 111e blO ori ;:;inal orations
during t he year and such of t l-J.ese as TrIere found suitable (16 in number) have been
Ciielivered in publ i c .
Each mem1:::er of the 1st c l a ss number 2 1ave a l so submitted two orations and 10
of t~ese were delivered.
By wo r k - has been ve y satisfactory a nd the deportment of t he students excellent .
Dr. ~T . L. Broun
Dear Sir
Very re spectfull y submitted,
Charles C. TitPtLlt:, Professor
Auburn, . Alabama, Hay 30, 1887
Heavith I submit c report of t he wo rk done i n mode rn l a ne;au ge s and history. The no.
of students in German 10, LI f rom the senior cl ass 0 the genral course and 6
have taken it as additional st udy. No . in French 14, hfrom senior class of t he
general co ur se, and 10 ha ,Te ta (en ita s add i tional study . T .e cla .3 se s have read
50 aOO pages in both French and German and l earned fairly Hel l forms and si mplest
rul e s 0 Syll ta::' in Frencl.1 and German e,rarrrna r .
I wo ul d respec t f ully ur ge t he extension of t he course t o 2 yearEJ i f possibl e .
In a one year course and pressure of other col l ege duties most st:udents canno t learn
t o read German ".ith a ny ac i l i ty. I t is more d i f.ficult t han French f or t he beginner
for obvious r easons . No one woul d expect to accomplish a g eat deal in La tin
wi t h an untrained mil'ld in one year and German wi th i ts scr ipt is nearly as hard at
f ir s t . I t ,,;aul d b e qui t e possible for most students in a two year COllrse to read
French and easy German. One year could be devoted to t r a ining in the f orms and
commone st i dioms, another year to r eading. The , study wo ul d be discipli ning .
The 4 th cl ass as studied Alexander Stephens ! History of United States. I have taught
two f or Pr of. Heade , 4th clClss Engli h and Latin. I have met 3 t i mes a .. eek t he
fevl who e l ected to s tudy Greek.
Vel" respect ully
~"m . Fleming
State Agricultural and Hechanica l College and
Polytechni c Inst itute
Aubur n , Alabama , June 28, 1887
At a mo-ti."1g of the Bo rd of Tru s t ees of the Agricultural and Hechanical College
and Pol ytech_nic Insti tu t e of Al abama uly called there I e r e present members
Gilch i s t
Kol b
Haral son
Langdon
Ligon
Halone
Pal mer
Au.,sent the Governor of the State Thoma s Se ay, members Barnes, Bishop and Stansel .
In mo t ion of r1r . Pal.mer, Mr . La ngdon read the folloHing repor t .
To the Trustees of A &. 11 College
Gentlemen
I have the honor t o eport "Ghat the college building .. as destroyed b~r ire on the
24t h of June instant . The cont ents of the Presiden t ' s and Treasurer ' s 0 f i c e s , of the
chemica l laborator y , a portion of the Li rary , wer e s icHJE:.:l .
J r e spectfully recommend tha t authority be given to divide by temporary particions
Langdon Hall i nto suitable r o")ms for t he use of the faculty and students.
Provision caR be made t o ,teach two hundred student s wi t hin biO weelcs • . The foundry
and for e r o:m can eadily be converted i nt o a good chemical l abo r tory. The
apparatus is nOv1 arra_ ged in the foundry and in a short t ime its pr ofessor will be
ready or ~~ork .
I recommend that the Treasurer be autGorized to collect the insurance on the college
buil ding am01mt ing to ~p3 0 , 000 . I al so r ecommend t hat the action taken by the Board
at their l a s t meeting in re ~ard to the state appr opriation of ~i>12 , 500 be r econsi dered
and that the amount be appropriated as f o llo~1Ts :
To chemical l aboratory
To engineering
To equipment in accordance with the provlslons of tQe
law, sub j ect to the" discretion of the President .
#5, 000
300
7, 200
Also that. the SUl'1. of $360 appropriated for insur ance--t.he amoun " not used in insurance
be appropriated fo r equipment , that of the ( ~400 appr opriat ed f or printing" J.200 be
appropriated for printing and ~p200 for apparat us, that of ~p7 50 appr opriated fo r
ass t . in mechanic arts, ~~ 250 be appropri ated for assistant and the remainder fo r
appliances r equired in that depqr t ment . Of the ;~ 3 0 , 000 insurance , I r ecommend that
~·5 , 00 be appropr iated to the er ect ion of the chemi ca l l aboratory, rraking in all ~10 , 000
or that building and that the remaining $25, 000 be appr opriated t o rebuilding t he
main college structureo
I al so recommend t hat t here be appoint ed a building commi ttee ~1Tho shall have author ity
1 st t o employ an a rchitec t
2nd to advertise or bids
3r d to make a con t r act for construct ion of the building sub j e c t to t he appr.o'Val of t he
chai rman of t he Ex . Committee.
hth t o employ an expert super v i sor to superint end the 'dork and to do what is nece ssary
t o see that the contract is complied l.rit h .
I regr e t t o state t hat with the l a rge lo ss to t he state by the dest ruc t i on 0 the
buil di ng many of t he professors a l so lost valua le private libraries i ndi spensi bl e
to thei r vTO r k. I am wel l assured that the aculty will do any work t hat is ne cessary
70
to advance t he intere s t pf the college and all are hopef ul and aboundinG in energy.
A & 11 College
June 28, 1887
Respectf ully,
• LeRoy Broun
At the: suggestion of Hr . Larlgdon the r eport of t he President be ;referred to a committee
t o consist of t hree with in.structions to report to this Board on tomorrow on all
matters connected w"ith the rebuilding of the college .
The chairman .named as the committ ee members Haralson, Malone and Palmer.
On mo tion of Hr. Halone the Board adjourned until 9 0 r clock a.m. tomorrow.
J . H. Ree se , Secretary
Aub urn, Alabama , June 29 , 1887
The Board met according to adjournment and on call of the roll " there were present
members Langdon
Ab sent
Ligon
Kolb
Gilchrist
Haralson
Nal olle
Thomas Seay, Governor of the tate
almer"
Barnes
Bishop
Stansel
The special committee appointed a s yest erday through the chairman of the Eame submitted
the following report.
Your Committee to rebuild was referred the President's report with instructions to "
report tdl the Board in detail on all matters connected with rebililding the college
lately destroyed by _ire beg l eave to submit the fo llowing:
First ,ve find that the college building which "l-laS de stroyed by fire on t.~e 24th of
June 1887 was cover ed by i nsurance amounting to j30, OOO distributed amonG various
insurance compani es as f ollows:
1 . Capi t 1 Insurance Company of Hontgomerr,:{ , Alabama for the sum of
Another policy in sa~e company for
2. Home I p.surance Compan~, Neiv York
~;2 , 50o
2,500
5,000 -
--
71
3. ·The _ orth British and Hercantile Insurance .Com.pany of London and Edinburg - ·$7 J 500
4. The Georgia Home Insurance Company of Columbus, Georgia $2, 500
5. The Hotua (Hotna) (?) Insurance ompany of Hartford, Connecticut ~5 , 000
6. The Royal Insurance Company of Liverpool and London 2,500
7. The Hartford Insurance Company of Hartford, Connecticut 2, 500
He are of the opinion that these sums will be paid by these companies without delay
or litigation and "muld r espect .ully recomnend to the Board that the Trffi3ure r , E. T.
Glenn, be aut horized by resolution of the Board to receive and receipt for all of said
in surance money f r om said companies upon giving bond or the security of the same as
requir.ed .by law.
Second, thi s thirty t housand dollafts with the sum of twelve thousand f ive hundred dollar s
recently appropriated by the state to the college constitutes a f und of ~;'42 , 500 , which
will be available for the pur po se of rebuHding and o ther1~ se equipping the college .
Out of this fund we recon~end the following appropriations:
1 . For uilding of chemical laboratory the sum of
( q~5 , ooo from i n surance and .. ~5 , ooo state appropriation
2. For rebuildin~ the main college buil~in g
J. For machinery in mechanic arts out of state appropriation
~10 , 000
25, 000
4, 000
L. For eelL ipping Departm8Dt Physics out 0 state appropriation 1 , COO
5. Eor general equipment of all other departments of the college subject to provlslons
of law under the direction and with the appr oval of the Pr e s i dent of the College
out of state appr opria tion 2, 200
6. For engineering" depar tment out 0
irri ting
s ta te app ropria "j;;ion as alloHed a t t he l a st
300
Third, we further recommend that the resolution adopted at the la st meeti ng
of t he Board appropriating ~p4 (10 to the printine; depart ment and ~p360 f or insurance be
so modified a s to reduce the appropriation Sor printing to ~' 200 and that t he other
;,:200 to gether 1-lith any sum the n appropriated for insurance not nee ed by reason of the
ire be ap_ ropirated for general equipment under the same restrictions a s the ~p 2 , ;::).OO
above 0
Fourth, l,.e recommend tha t of t he appr opri ation of .»;1500 made by the Boare at its
la st me e ting f or the Department Q Agriculture the sum 0 ;lpl OOO be t aken fr om that
appropri "t:ion or machinery department of l1e chanic Art s, making ;;p5,ooo for that purpose
nd tha t the app opriation of ':'1590 t o t he epartment 0 riculture made by this Board
at its last meetin be reduced to '~ 500 .
Fifth, We rec ommend that the President of . t he college be authorized to partition
Langdon Hall a s he may deem necessary to me et the demand s of th college temporarily
with the main college building can be used and t o heat the same by steam.
Sixth, t at the public may under s t and " the true condition of the college, its prospects
and needs, we recommend that the President of the College ~repare and 'publis a s by the
r equest of t he Board an .address to the people 0 the state .
72
Seven--vie recommend further that 't..rm. H. Barnes, Sol omon Palmer, and John Haralson,
Hembers of this Boa,rd, be arid t hey. are being appointed as a COlnJni ttee from t he
Board call ed the tfBuilding C o~mit tee ;1 any t't·w of whom may act, who shall have
authori ty on behalf of the Board and who are directed to procure some competent
architect, to furnish plans, speci ' ications for rebuil ding t he main building of the .college
to be not l e~'ls than three stories high and further erection of a' new chemical laborat ory
both of which t hey 'are hereby i nstructed to erect ; to make contracts for the erection of
the sam~ , to do and perLorm in this ehalf for t he Board all that is necessary and
proper to be done.
igh t - -1r-Je fur t her recommend that the ~ resident, Wm. LeRoy Broun, Professor N. T. Lupton,
and O. D. Smith, members 0 the faculty, be and they are hereby a.opojnted a cOIru'littee
wi th instruct ions t o aid the Building Cormni ttee of this Poard as they 'may be
au thori zeq and directed by said committee in and atout t he business of pr ocuring
pl ans, specificati on s , etc .• , and supervi sing the 1iork of er ec ting, the two buil dings
herein provided to be put up for this college .
Nine--We re commend to the Board the adoption of the following resolutions.
That the Treasurer of the Colleue, E. T. Glenn, be, and he is hereb i ilstructed and
authori zed by the Board to collect from the ' sai d several insurance companies the SUlUS that
they were respectively on said several policies of insurance and receipt fo r the
same and for the safe keeping and proper security of said 'insurance money, be
required before collecting said policies to execute a bond in the sum of ;!p6gOOo
( sixt y thousand dollars) 'payable to the Agricultural and L'1echanical College of
Alabam.a vJi th sufficient security to be approved by the Governor conditioned to fai th-fully
perform this duties as Treasurer ;h,o safely keep and account 'for said money. __
Resolved, that the Treasurer 'be allovIed as compensation for collecting such
policies and disbursing the proceeds two per cent--one per cent for recei ving
and one per cent for disbursingo
Resol ved, that all money accruing from any source and to be laid out and ex1)cnded
under the fore£oing r esol utions for and on account of t he e rection of said buil ding
be paid by the Tr easurer only in the order of the Buildi ng Cormnittee or i ts chairman
aut horized by the President 0 the College .
All of vlhich is respectfully submitted.
Jm Haralson, Sol. Palmer
J . N. Nalone, Co:nrnittee
The report and resolutions Were received and adopted.
By Hr . Hal one --Resolved that the Presi ent of .the College i s herehy instructed to
increase a t once the insurance on the machinery in basement o' Langdon Hall ; and when
other machinery and a- pliances a re received, th:1.t such other additional insuranc.e be
placed on the same a s the President may deem best and proper for the interest and
enefit of t ' e colleGe . Adopted.
-n the eCOlmnepdation of the Pr·:isident, PIr . George Petrie of Abermarle County a:qd
.state of Virginia was unanimously elected Adjunct Professor of Hodern l anGuages -e:t~
Ax: a salary not to exceed seven hundred and .L ifty dollars ( '~ 7 50)' .
---
73
y Hr . Lie;on--Hher ea having received infor mation that the Trustees of the State University
have by formal resolution expressed their sympathy with the college in its recent loss
by fi 8 , and added t ereto the hope that the college Hill be rebuilt a t once , ' therefore,
be it resolved that this oard desire to express their high appreciation of the
sJTIpathy thus expressed and reciprocate t he Id..n . dly feeling thereby indicat8d.
Resolved that the :3ecretary of the oard cO,:Tr:'l,unicate the foregoing' to the Secretary
of t he Board of Trustees 0 the State University.
On- motion the Board adjourne' sine die .
J . N. Reese
Sec., Board of Trustees
AGricl:1tural and Hechanical Collee;e of Ala' ama, Auburn , Alabama, AUuust 1, 1887
t a called meet i ng oJ. the B Iilding Committee of the Board of Trustee of the Agl. and
111. Coll ege of, Ala. there were pre sent f the Com llittee Hr. Ha calson and Hr. :Kolb, in
lieu of Mr. ~ arnes deceased, acting h virtue of appointment of the Governor of
the State , ex officio president 0_ the Board.
1. By H • Tiaralson- -Resol ved that the buildino committee of the faculty be, and they are
1-}ereby authorized to pure ase the lot known as the Chambers property contiguous to and
adjoining the coll ege- grounds , for the S ' I1'J1 of twenty- five hundr ed dollars ( 2, 500)--
five hundred to '. '. e paid :L'1. cash and the bal ance in installments (annual ) 1-vi th j nterest
thereas. -,
2. That the s ai d buil ding coMmittee i n t he event of the purchase of said Chambers lot
are authorized to use the buildines thereon for collee;e purposes and to l ake such
chanzes as -they may deem pr opar for such uses'.
3. Said COIn1'li ttee are also authorized to Erect such temporary buildine;s and at such
locations on the coll ege propert y as they may deem proper.
4. That sai d committee is , furthe r authorized to locate . the laboratory 't o e built
at such site as the college ground as they may select' and agree u)on.
By Hr. Haralson that the building co lIilittee of the' facllty', be , and t hey a re ler8by
aut hori zed to ' adopt' the plans submitted by i'1es rs. ' Bruce and Horgan, ar,chitec ts, of
Atlanta, Georgia, for the laboratory an the main colleoe building, the ' latter to be
three stories and a half high subject to the approval of the buildinz co n1IDittee ;
:that. ttle;)r be authorized to, pay said architects the ,price of tHO per cent in' the con tract
price ~for .said buildmgs, on.e third of the amount e ntracted for to be pai d ' tJhen' t he
contradt or contracts are made ~ one third durine; the construction of sai d buildin",s
and the remainder \flen the work is completed as compensation for pIa 1':' ) specifications,
etc ., of said buildings ; that said. cormnittee be 'author :i:zed to advertiZG f or bi ds ' or
7
t'1e vlOrk to be done , the bids to e submitte to the ap roval of t h'3 Bui
Committee 0 the Board. opted
T 1e Governor ha ing been ispatched to appoint I'lr. Ko l b a member of the
BUilding Committee of the Board of Tru te es , the following reply wa::: received.
uVlst 1st, 1887
te Blount prings
To ~-J . • Broun
Kolb i s hereby appointed a j~,ember of the B ilding Committee vice Barnes deceased.
J. M. Reese
Sec . 0 Board of Tru stees
1ontgome ry, Alabama , Septemb r 5, 1887
. t a meeting of the Buildine; Committee of the Agricultural and Mechancial College
of Alabama held this da in ~10 ntgomery , Ala ama , there '{[ere r esent Messr • Haral.'3on ,
Chairman, and Kolb on the part of the Board of Trustees and W. L. Broun on the part
. of the local cOlillTli ttee an that of the facul t y of the College .
The ob j ect of the meeting wa.s to consider the bi s s lbmi tted for the Er8CtiO
of a nel17 laborator building ·or the colle oe accordi ng to the _lans and specifica ions
by ruce and 1'10rgan, a rchitects , and hereto ore approved by ' the cornfnittee .
After an exami nation 0 the several b i ds which were submitted the Committee
ado t ed t he followine resoluti ons :
F SO VED : That the bi d of Messrs. Floyd and Step~ens of 0 elika, they being
t1.1e lowest b i dders, t he rune is he reb accepted a t the sum 0 "1oney for viJ.lich they
prop')se to do the work, viz., at aild for the sum of elev.en thousand nine hundred olars ,
t hat being t he 8I!lount of their bid--.th ir'.:.een thous nr il' five hundred dollars l ess
f50Q for pai nting and si lmdred for plum ing and 500 on general estimates making
$1600 less than their origi nal b id, leaving their bid for the erection of the . building
complete l ess painting and plQmbing according to plans and speci_ications for the sum
0 _ eleven thousand and nine hundred dollar s .
Resolved : that the lo cal COll1l'ni ttee of the Faculty, vi z . , Nessrs. Broun, Lupton,
Smith, are hereby authorized to employ Bruce and Horgan, architects, to visit arid ins ect
the ,-lark as it progresses to s ee that the same is being done accordi ne; to c_ontract
and to certify the payments as they accrue and a s they ought to be by the college
in accordance Hith the contrac t f or the building.
Resolved that R. F. Kolb, a member of the Boar of Trustee s, be , and 1e is hereby
authorized and dul- a~pointed to execute the contr act on behal of the college
with Floy and Stephen or the erection 0 the uilding according t o plans and
75
specifications and in accordance , .. i th the foregoing resolutions . dopted.
Jno . ' Haralson
R. F. Kolb, Committ ee
Resolved that the President of the College , Wm. LeRoy roun, be re uested and he is
hereby appointe to apply to the Senators and Representa+iv :5 in ,Con8ress to procure
to be passed y Congress such legislat i on as wil ' relieve the col ege of lia ility
for arms a11d accouterment which were urnished by the Uni ted States Ordnance
Depart ment arid tfhich were .destro ed by fire at the time _1e m i n buildi g wa
burned on t _ e 24 th of JUne 1887. dopted. .
The State of Alabama .
1a C01mty Know all men by these pre sents that 'iTe Thos . L.
Frazer and his wife Ella N. Fraze_ for nd 0 a former -beq est b
t he said Tho • R. Fr 2,er and the further consi eration of t e m of ten doll rs the
eceipt Hhe:r:-eof is hereby ackno l edged, do by these presents barga on , sell and con- ey
. to the Agricultm al and Mechanical College of the State of Alabama, located at
Au ur:1, state and COU:1ty a foresaid, the f ol101-TinC described rop rty, to \lit l ot of
lan ying and bein in said town of Ala ama, viz.; on h If acre more or 1 ss,
rontong two __ undred an ten eet ( 210 f eet; on HaiJl' Street , nni ng north and
sout_ an mea urinG back at right ah; l es o~c hu.."ldred ( 0) f eet- to have an t o lold
unto the sai d gricult'r'ual and; l'iochanical Oollee;'e . fe, fu~th'er co:we:1.ant an agree
to arrant and defend the titles to same a t, lnst lawful claims 0 all persons
whomsoever an that '\'18 have a !'iCht t o C'cl.l "':,he ame a aforesaid In '\'Jit ess
~fhereo \-Je have l-}erEmnto set our hands and seal s t_ is loth day f! ugust, 1837 ..
Thc }tate of labama)
Thos. L. Frazer
'"' la N. Frazer
( Se 1]
pal)
~ e County ' I , J . P. GO!'ffian a Notary Pu lic and ex 0 ficio JU5ti of tl e
- sace in an for said county hero ,. 8 _ ti Y that T~o s. L. Frazer and ""lla N. :r:azer
l .. hose names are _i gned to the foregoinG conveyance , l-1ho are Imov,n t o me , aclmo iV1edge
efo re me on thi .. ' day, being informed 0 the contents of the convey nee , t ey
vol untarily executed the same on the d ay t1:J.e same bears date . Gi- en un er '_,y
- an t _ i s 5t- day o. Septel'iiBr , 1B87.
J . T. Gorma.n
• P. , ex officio J .
Fil e 1887
. ecor er, 387 , VJ • AI •
Au urn, aLDma , Octo~er 27 , 1887
At a meeting of the Building Committee of the Agricultural and Mechanical
College of Alabama there were present on the part of the Board of Trustees
Messrs. Kolb and Palmer and .on part of the faculty, W. L. Broun, President
of the College and Messm 'Smith and Lupton.
The sealed bids for the erection of the main college building were opened and
~bmittea; ahd after a consideration of the same it was
Resolved that James Smith of Sparta, 'Hancock County, Georgia, being the lowest
bidder to build the main college building of .the Agricultural and Mechanical
. College of Alabama according to )he plans and specifications of Messrs. Bruce
and Morgan, architects; that the contract for the erection of said building be
swarded to him Wit.h the understanding and agreement that the said James Smith,
Contractor, can use in the erection of the building all sui~able .brick
on the grounds of the college except a suffi ciency thereof to complete the
iaboratory building now in process of erection. Adopted.
By Mr. Palmer--Resolved that R. F. Kolb acting chairman of the Building Committee,
be and he is hereby authorized and empmwered to sign any and al~ contracts
necessary to be signed and which may be, agreed upon on the part of the Bu·ilding
Committee and the said James Smith, Contractor; for said main college Building.
Adopted .
On motion of Mr. Kplb that the bid of three hundred and fifty ($350) dollars
made by Messrs. Floyd and Stephens of Opelika, Alabama, for painting the
laboratory now being erecte~ is hereby accepted; the painting to be done after
the style and manner and specifications prepared by Bruce and Morgan, Architects.
Adopted.
By Mr. Lupton--Resolved that the President of the College and R. F. Kolb, acting
chainnan of the Building Committee, be and they are hereby authroized to employ
a competent supervisor of such building or buildsings as may be 'erected by
order and authorit,y of the building committee, including the laboratory now
being erected whose duty it shall be to faithfully in~ct and pass on the
work on all buildings as they progress in their erection and ionstruction.
Adopted.
Resolved that the Buiidi~g Committee is awarding the contract to James . Smith
agree ~o pay him in accordavce with the terms of the 'contract, to .wit the Sum
of twenty one tho'qsand dollars ($21,000) that being the amount available after
the completion of the building for the chemical laboratory and agree to pay
the remainder of the sum of forty three thousand dollars ($43,9 00) to wit;
twenty-two thousand .fi1(e hundred ($22,.500) when the Legislature of the state
of Alabama shall appropriate the necessary fUnds to discharge said amount.
Adopted.
F. M. Reese
Sec. t~ Board of Trustees
77
At 'the request of W. L. Broun, President of~ theCollege
letter addressed by the Governor of the State to Hon. C:
ordered .,'iiJ. ~I\d upon the reco~ds.
a copy of an original
S. Fairchild was
Chief Executive Office
Subject: .Agricultural Experiment Stations '
Montgomery, Alabama
Novemer 12, 1881
Hon. C. S. Fairchild
Secty of Treasury
Washington, D. C.
Dear Sir
Whereas on the second day of. March, 1887, the' Congress of the' United States
passed "An Act to establish agricultural experiment stations in connection with
the colleges, established in the several states under the provisions of an Act
, approved j~ly 2, 1862, and of the acts ;ru.pplementary ,ther.eto f' and whereas '
by the ninth section of said Act the grant of ~one~ authorized thereby is suvject
to tne assent, of ,the several states vand ,territories to the purposes of said grant;
and whereas the Legislature of. Alabama did adjourn sine die on' t,he' 28th February,
1887, without assenting thereto and the next , regular session thereof does not
~_/ occur with' th~ 13t~ day of November, 1888; and whereas s~id section 9 provi des
in such an "event for the exercise of the discretion 'of the Governpr of 'said
state now therefore, .I, Thomas Seay, ~overnor of the State Qf Alabama, ' do hereby
assent to the grant of the money authroized by the act 'approved March' '2,' 1881.
Very respeqtfully
Thomas Seay ...
Department ~f Agriculture: and proceeding~ relB,ting thereot, February 24, '1888
"
At a. cal~ed meettng ,of the Board of Trustees of t~e Agri cultural land Mechanical
College of Alabama by order of Thomas- Seay, ,Governor of the State, and ex officio
President of the Board, the Board met· in the office of the GovernQr on the
24th od February" 1888. On call of the roll there were present
The Governor Thomas Seay, Pres. ex officio
Absent
Palmer, Sup~ . Education
Bishcip
Haralson
;Kolb
Langdon
Ligon
Malone
Stansel
Gilchrist
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