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first used mainly for housing professors and students, and is still put to the same use. No rooms in any other building are now available for this purpose. The great body of students are scattered throughout the city, or find quarters in the chapter houses erected by the various fraternities. The large increase in numbers during the past few years has given rise to some discomfort, but on the whole the demand for suitable rooms has been rapidly supplied by private enterprise, and the university still adheres in practice to its original decision.

During recent years, however, there has been decidedly a stronger demand on the part of the students for dormitory accommodations and a marked desire on the part of university authorities to comply with the demand as soon as practicable. At present there are no funds available for this purpose, and it is doubtful whether there will be in the near future. It is hoped, however, that private generosity will come to the aid of the university in this matter, and that suitable dormitories will be erected on the university grounds, similar to those at many of the other leading Eastern universities. The cost of living in Ithaca has increased in recent years, owing to the increase in the number of students, and it is believed that with dormitories and commons students can live more cheaply and more comfortably than they now do in private houses.1

Reference has been made to the erection of chapter houses by college fraternities. These have, to a considerable extent, supplied the place of dormitories. These fraternities, owing to the increasing number of their graduates, are able to provide the necessary funds for the erection and maintenance of the house. Some of these have been built on private grounds and some on the university campus. They are in general beautiful and commodious structures, accommodating from twelve to twenty men. It is the policy of the university to encourage the building of these houses under proper restrictions, and to this end it has granted sites to those fraternities that desired to build on the university domain.

The Sage College for women has, until recent years, been ample for the accommodation of most of the women students. It became, in later years, overcrowded, and an addition was made to it in 1895. The college is simply a home for women, under the charge of a lady principal, and affords the necessary comforts and conveniences for women residing at the university.

Reference has already been made to the provisions for the physical culture of students, both in the university gymnasium for men and in the Sage gymnasium for women.

'In his report for 1896-97, President Schurman gives the results of an investigation into the prices actually paid by students for board and lodging. His results are thus stated: Forty per cent of the students pay $1.50 or less per week for lodging, and 35 per cent pay from $1.51 to $2.50. For board, 50 per cent pay $3 a week or less, and 40 per cent pay from $3 to $4.

D. SELF SUPPORT BY STUDENTS.

It had been a favorite idea with Mr. Cornell from the first to provide for the self-support of poor students. In pursuance of this idea he published in the New York Tribune a letter to the effect that young men could support themselves at the university by their own labor while carrying on their studies. He argued that if one man could support himself and a wife on the labor of a day, another man could support himself alone on the labor of half a day. In addition to his theory he had the demonstration of his own experience in which he had acquired a fair business education during the intervals of severe toil. On these premises he based the not illogical conclusion that, given a fair opportunity such as he purposed that the university should provide, any energetic young man could gain a college education and support himself at the same time. In his address at the inauguration proceedings he said:

I believe that we have made the beginning of an institution which will prove highly beneficial to the poor young men and the poor young women of our country. This is one thing which we have not finished, but in the course of time we hope to reach such a state of perfection as will enable any one by honest efforts and earnest labor to secure a thorough practical, scientific, or classical education.

Mr. Cornell's idea was adopted, though with some modifications, by his colleagues. In his "report on organization" Mr. White argued that previous experiment had not, as claimed, shown the futility of the plan and that as Cornell would have in this respect advantages possessed by none of its predecessors, it ought at least to try the experiment. In his inaugural address he approaches the subject with more caution and expresses a doubt whether unskilled laborers could do much toward their own support while pursuing a college course. Nevertheless he pledges the university to a fair trial of the experiment and an honest effort to solve the problem, and declares that "no class of students shall be regarded by us with more favor than those who work with their hands that they may work with their brains." The announcements in the first registers, or annual catalogues, were guarded and discreet. It was recommended that no student should come entirely without resources; it was stated that the university could guarantee employment to no one; and in subsequent publications it was announced that the number of students. applying for labor constantly exceeded the number that the university could employ.

The idea of self-supporting labor combined with collegiate studies proved, in spite of this precautionary announcement, a very taking

one.

Great numbers of young men presented themselves, eager to be set at work and to begin their college course. A few of these could undertake skilled labor, but the great majority were unskilled in any trade and a considerable number were unfit for labor of any kind. The embarrassment arising from this proved very great and often

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extremely painful. The organization of the labor corps was in the charge of W. A. Woodward, at that time business manager of the university. A daily record of matters connected with the business department was kept for the first few years by Mr. Woodward and much of this has to do with the difficulties he experienced in providing work for students and in supplying them with rooms and board at terms moderate enough to meet their needs. The following extracts from his record will give some idea of the conditions surrounding the experiment:

October 10, 1868: Several students reported a willingness to have a less elaborate supply on the table if the price can be reduced to $3.

October 13, 1868: We propose to deduct 50 cents per week from the board of each student who will use water instead of tea or coffee. Many students represent themselves as too poor to pay their board without work and large pay. In several cases they demand board, room rent, lights, fuel, and tuition for services. Several notices to quit are served on me. They consent to remain on being reasoned with.

October 14, 1868: A student applies for return of his money. Wants to go home. He is 15 and evidently homesick. Says his head aches and his lessons are too long. Adopted the rule not to return money to students who get homesick or wish to leave the institution. X. reports himself recovered. Concludes to stay and requests that we will not send the letter to his mother.

October 14, 1868: Thirty students were set to work at 2 p. m. Some were employed in taking down the old stone store on Eddy street, others removing timber, shingles, stone, etc. Three were engaged in cutting out the road on Mrs. Cornell's farm north of the bridge across Cascadilla Creek and fifteen or twenty on landscape work, removing the mound of earth south of Cascadilla building and adjoining Mr. Gile's property, removing the earth to grade southwest of Cascadilla building. Several students distinguished themselves for their ability in management of work to advantage, and all work with alacrity. C. is A1. N., R., and many others showed themselves superior to any skilled laborers.

October 15, 1868: Thirty students were employed Directed C. to note the efficency of each workman and report as to value of services. Mr. Cornell thinks that there are some carpenter students who have their tools with them. We can employ all such profitably at fair wages.

October 16, 1868: Repeated my instructions to Mr. B. to discharge his hired waiters and employ students who were willing to do duty. He says he can get plenty of them.

(ctober 17, 1868: Corps of students were employed this morning, using all the too's that we had on hand, and about twenty continued to work all day, while about the same number worked but half the day (Saturday).

October 24, 1868: An increased number of students ask for labor. The matter of labor, as organized, has become quite popular and pleasing to those who perform it. My best success is to organize squads of seven and an overseer who works with them, making eight persons, but to-day the number has so increased as to overflow our squads, requiring more companies, which we are organizing.

The compensation paid to students for work at this time seems to have been at the rate of from $1 to $2 per day, according to the kind and quality of the work. Carpenter work seems to have been paid at the highest rate. The list of labor corps furnished by the superintendent of the grounds and buildings on November 1, 1868, numbers over 70; 20 or 30 more seem to have been employed by other univer

sity officials.

A considerable number of students were employed in the construction of the university buildings. The amount paid for student labor during the first year of the university was from $800 to $1,000 per month.

The university seems to have suffered somewhat from the invasion of doubtful characters, who were attracted by the possibility of earning a living with a few hours' labor each day and at the same time acquiring the honor of becoming connected with a university. Mr. Woodward records that "a fellow from the Rochester penitentiary has given out that he is employed at Cascadilla House," and again, that a student who had been dismissed from Harvard was living in Cascadilla and had failed to meet his bills.

Notwithstanding the difficulties connected with the labor experiment, it was carried on for several years. During the first three years from $8,000 to $10,000 per year was paid for student labor. This fell to about $6,000 the fourth year, and steadily decreased until in 1882-83 only $1,400 was paid. From 1868 to 1883 a total of over $68,000 was so expended.1

Since the establishment of a system of university scholarships and the students' loan fund the university has ceased to offer any considerable opportunities to students for manual labor. The experiment, while it enabled a considerable number of students to pay wholly or in part the expense of their university course, was considered by the trustees a failure. Never having formed any part of the original plan as embraced in the land-grant act or the charter, and having been adopted mainly out of deference to the philanthropic purposes of Mr. Cornell, its failure could arouse no stronger sentiment than a sincere regret that so noble a plan should prove impracticable. Even so, its impracticability seems to consist not so much in the idea of combining self-supporting labor with collegiate studies as in the attempt of the university to supply the necessary labor. Even at the present time it not infrequently happens that students are able to do much toward their own support by laboring a few hours each day in such occupations as are open to them. Those have succeeded best who have been skilled in some occupation for which there is a demand at the university or in the town. During the existence of the university printing office, now discontinued, a considerable number of students supported themselves by typesetting. If a young man in good health has a trade and an opportunity to follow it, there seems to be no reason why Mr. Cornell's idea is not a sound one, so far as such a student is concerned. The failure comes, under existing conditions, mainly in the case of those who can offer only unskilled labor.

Nor can it be said that even as to these the plan is really impracticable. Given the opportunity to labor, and there are many who could, and would, earn enough by working a few hours each day to go far

1Alumni Report, by James Fraser Gluck, 1884, p. 17.

toward their support at the university. There are now men very high in scientific, professional, and educational circles whose opportunities were found not only in lecture rooms and laboratories of Cornell, but also in the trenches dug and the stones chiseled in the making of campus and buildings. Even in the face of the decreed failure of the student-labor idea, it can not positively be said that the plan of combining manual labor with collegiate study may not yet be shown to be not only the most practicable, but even the most useful and the noblest form into which a college can cast its endowments for undergraduate scholarships.

E. FELLOWSHIPS AND SCHOLARSHIPS.

The original endowment for fellowships and scholarships at Cornell grew out of what at first appeared a great calamity. In 1872 the university was in sore financial straits, and for a time it seemed that all new plans would have to be abondoned and even some existing departments curtailed or abolished. It was, perhaps, the darkest hour the university has ever seen. At this juncture Ezra Cornell, John McGraw, Henry W. Sage, Hiram Sibley, and Andrew D. White contributed in the aggregate the sum of $155,000 for the purpose of tiding over the difficulty. Through the thoughtfulness of the Hon. George W. Schuyler, until his death a valuable member of the board of trustees, the condition was inserted in the gift that whenever the university should have sufficient funds for the purpose the sum then contributed by the five trustees named should be set apart for an endowment for fellowships and scholarships. The proposition caused⚫ some amusement when read, but was accepted.1 What seemed so improbable in 1872 was really accomplished in 1884. The total sum of $155,000 was then set aside for the purpose contemplated by Mr. Schuyler's proposition, and in addition $50,000 of Mr. Sage's endowment of Sage College was made available for scholarships for women only. With the income from these sums nine undergraduate scholarships were annually awarded upon competitive examination, each paying the holder the sum of $200 a year for four years.

Subsequently the three scholarships for women were withdrawn, but in 1889 three additional scholarships, open to all students, were added, so that the number still stood at nine granted yearly, or thirtysix in all. The term of a scholarship was subsequently limited to two years, so that eighteen are now awarded annually. Later the Frank William Padgham scholarship in mechanical engineering was endowed by Amos Padgham, of Syracuse, as a memorial to his son, who died while a student of the university. It is open only to students of the public schools of Syracuse.

For graduate students there were first provided seven fellowships, to

1 Unpublished MS. in possession of President White; Annual Report by President White, June 20, 1883, pp. 83, 84.

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