Rensselaer Republican, Volume 20, Number 4, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 29 September 1887 — INDIANA AND EDUCATION. [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

INDIANA AND EDUCATION.

!>< r«uw University, Indiana is a great State. Especially is ' this true as regards its educatitniaHaciti- j tiespnwhichitstandsforefnofit among the! States But how few there are. in com- ! parison to the many, who really know-, "of the advantages offered at,home to those desiring to acquire a first class : education—classical, tfioelogical, profes-' sional, technical or business. DePauw University at Greencastle; Def’auxv College at New Albany; Wabash College at Crawfordsville; ; The State University at Bloomington; Franklin College at Frank-1 lin; Rose's Polytechnic Institute at Terre Haute; State Normal at Valparaiso; Butler University at Irvington; Notre Dame at South Bend; and Purdue (University at Lifayette, are a few of ■ the leading and prosperous institutions that dot the State,.butdxi nut include all or half. ' We will, in the course of the coming few months, endeavor to give a brief history of every important educational institution in the State, It has been the fashion until recently j to look to the East or .to Europe for j higher education, but the Central States j have now leached a develoomentthatputs our institutions of learning upon the same footing as those of older communities, and, in some respects, ours is j measurably in advance of those beyond j the mountains. Here co education is a success, the standard of manhood being such t hat the sexes g i side by side from j the first year to graduation without j any evil consequence, but good, rather. But in the East, where a different order prevails, and where boating and racing are the fashion in the colleges, at tlie expense of true culture, they have not yet reached a condition which in thought makes it safe for this free association of ! young men and Women in the school I room. Eastern schools nearly all travel j in the wide-worn tuts of medisevel standards, while the Western keep pace with the advancing spirit and progress of the age. DEPAUW UNIVERSITY. Perhaps no better illustration can be [ found of tlieabove than in the history of DePauw University, and what is said of it is measureably true of the majority of our Western schools. Oxford, England, i is literally a city of colleges, that have grown from small beginnings until they now occupy a large scope of country. Provision is made at DePauw for a like growth, the grounds being one hundred and fifty acres in extent, and so located as to combine utility with the picturesque. At preseht'they are occupied by different schools or eolleges, which together constitute the University proper. They are, college of liberal arts, school of theology, school of law, school of music, school of art, normal school, school of military science, and preparatory school. There is in addition an Observatory, splendidly equipped with the most modern instruments, and two dormitories where students are comfortably lodged and fed. The principal buildings are known as East College and West. College. The former is as handsome building and contains Mediarrv Hall, the main assembly room, of the University. The latter is the old Asburv College metamorphosed into a structure of greater dimensions and more modern architecture. The other build-ings-hall of music, "hall of art, ladies hall and gentleman's hall—are on contig uous grounds, while McKim Observatory is near by, and all are easily accessible to students. They are warmed by steam, and are furnished with every comfort. Tie- University lus been fortunate in ts chief officers. Mathew Simpson was the first President* serving from 1839 to 1849. He was succeeded by Lucien W. Berry, 1849 to 1855; Daniel Curry, 1855 -44*1359; Thomas Bowman 1859 telS72; Reuben Andrus, 1872 to 187-5, and Alexander Martin, from- 1875, who still

| remains at the head of the institution i which he has done so much to build up. When lie assumed his duties :East College was still unfinished, and there was a debt of SIB,OOO resting upon it. Since then East College has been finished, West College rebuilt, and other structures named have been erected through the liberality of the citizens of Greencastle and the State, and of Mr. W. C. DePauw, of New Albany and Robert McKim, of * Madison. The number of students last year was 850, and of professors and teachers 47. The enrollmen

I’, ' • for this year indicates that the number of students may reach one thousand. I Some of th4in come from New Ham phire on the Eihl to Washington Terrij tory on the West, from Virginia in the ! South to Wisconsin in the North, and j from sundry parts oFtlie old World, j This is a remarkable increase, amh is j due to the fact that the people have 1 come to understand that it is no longer necessary to send their children elsewhere to obtain an education, particularly to the E rst and to Europe. Here they are under the inosl careful saperi vision, which is a matter of the first importance to parents who regard, the future welfare and character of their children. It may be Well for those who seek unusual knowledge in some special ! line of work to go abroad for a post graduate course; but the great majority can do fully as welt here,, and at the amc time be under better influences DePauW University is a denominational institution, but is thoroughly non-sectarian, and there is not the slightest’ effort in any of the departj rnents to proselyte for any branch of the I church. There * is, however, every means provided to lead to a higher life, and the result may be seen every year

in the increasing number of young men arid women who leave its halls mentally equipped to take their places in the higher walks of life, and to become important factors in this most remarkable age of the wmrld’s history.

President- Martin .

W. C. DePauw.