Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 35, Number 39, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 20 January 1903 — A Carnegie Library [ARTICLE]

A Carnegie Library

The Great Philanthropist Offers SIO,OOO to Rensselaer An Unusually Liberal Offer In Proportion to Onr Population. For a year or more different parties in Rensselaer have been presenting the claims of onr town to Andrew Carnegie, the great dispenser of libraries, and at last a favorable answer has been received. The letter arrived Thursday night. The sum of SIO,OOO is offered us for a library building, which is about twice as much as, his under r usual rule is in distributing library building funds, as towns of our , population get. The letter making the offer, is as follows: New York, Jan. 13, 1903 In respect to your communications in behalf of Rensselaer: If the city agrees, by resolution to maintain a free public library at a s cost of not lees than SI,OOO per ''year, and provides a suitable site, Mr. Carnegie will be pleased to furnish ten thousand dollars to. erect a free public library building for Rensselaer. Respectfully, James Bertram, Secretary. And now it is up to Rensselaer. It will require a big effort on the pari of our citizens to secure this library. But it is a big prize and worthy of a big effort. It is an opportunity that should not be lost. We have a good library ak ready, but no good place to put it Now here is a chance to get the place. Rensselaer has the reputation of being the weathiest town of its size in Indiana. Of having the 'handsomest court house in Indiana. Of being the best football town of its s'ze in Indiana. Of having the best schools, the best newspapers, the ' finest stores, the strongest banks,'of any town of its size in Indiana. Now here is a chance for the finest library building of any town of its size in Indiana. Let us not turn the offer down Not only our present but our future needs demand that’we secure this library.