Evening Republican, Volume 17, Number 158, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 3 July 1913 — COLLEGEVILLE. [ARTICLE]

COLLEGEVILLE.

Barring unforeseen delays and unavoidable accidents the : Improvements at the gymnasium will soon be in progress. The detailed plans have not yet been approved of but they will shortly be ready for the. contractors. The total expenditure for the addition and the changes will reach upward of $40,000. The first work to be done will be the raising of the entire building twelve feet. The wall will be broken loose from the water table just below the main hall floor and the entire building elevated to the required height by means of jacks. Large windows will take the place of the present small basement windows. This will make the basement practically a first story with a' ceiling height of 18% feet. The old basement floor will also be filled in, thus raising it about two feet and bringing it above the water line and obviating the danger of floods that were not uncommon in the gymnasium basement. The basement will be arranged into an up-to-date club rooms, pool rooms, smoking room, and the large center room will be fitted out with appliances for athletics and acrobatic purposes. It will be a splendid hall for the installation of a batting cage, thus aiding materially in the getting out of a strong batting ball team early in the season. The entire improvement will assist very much in advancing thfe college, teams of all sorts into faster company.

To the west of the gymnasium the addition will be added for science purposes. It will be 101 by 50 feet. In the basement of the addition, which will have a 20 foot celling, will be the necessary shower and tub baths for regular use and for the athletic teams. The large swimming pool, 67 by 27 feet and sloping from 3 to 9 feet deep, wlil also be In this part. The wall of the pool will be of vitrified brick, which is necessitated by the condition of the hard water from the local wells. Steam heating will be used to warm the water. On the second floor of the addition will be the biological and botanical laboratory, and also a large room for band and orchestra rehearsals. The laboratory will accommodate 40 students. The third floor will be arranged for a chemical laboratory with accommodations for 80 pupils. On this floor will also be the large science lecture room. The entire building will be fitted out with the latest modern improve ments and the scientific apparatuses will be the best on the market. Rev. I. A. Wagner will supervise the installation.

Rev. I. A. Wagner, C.PP.S., A. 8., Ph. D., is a graduate of the Catholic University of Washington, D. C., taking a general science course and chemistry as a specialty. At the present time he is engaged in teaching chemistry at ithe summer school of the Catholic University. Rev. Othmar Knapke, C.PP.S., A. 8., and Henry Froning, A. M., are now engaged at the same university. The following letter was kindly sent us by our commencement orator, and it speaks for itself. The college can be proud of the fact that the man whom it chose as speaker for the occasion received such high praise from the second man in the land and country: The Vice President’s Chamber. Washington, June 24, 1913. My Dear Henry: I have taken great pleasure in reading your baccalaureate sermon at St. Joseph’s College. I am glad to know that your mind and mine run along the same lines with reference to the real needs' of the people of this country. Sincerely yours, Signed THOB. R. MARSHALL. Hon. Henry Seyfried, Indianapolis, Indicia.