THE FINANCIAL HISTORY OF THE UNIVERSITY.

What has been the result, from a financial point of view, of the acceptance of the Government grant and the assumption by the State of the obligations which it took upon itself in this acceptance?

In the first place, it should be said that the State has kept faith with the General Government and with its other benefactors. It has established and maintained, with constantly increasing efficiency, its technical university for a period of twenty-four years. It has appropriated for maintenance, up to this time, the sum of $526,407, or about $22,000 per annum. It has also appropriated of $285,500* for permanent improvements, making a total of the State appropriations since the institution was established of

the

sumi

$811,907.

But what has the State received from the United States and from other donors during this period? Few people are aware of the fact that the State of Indiana has received from sources outside of the State, in money and other gifts, the sum of $1,057,086, to aid it in establishing and maintaining the University. If we add to this the endowment fund, now practically owned by the State, amounting to $340,000, we have the total amount of gifts to the State, $1,396,086.

I place this in tabulated form as follows:

*861,000 of this was appropriated to assist in restoring a building destroyed by fire

in 1894.

Total amount received from the State for equipment. . $285,500
Total value of plant excluding endowment.......

680,000

It is evident from the foregoing table, as before stated, that Purdue has received from the State the sum of $811,907, while from the United States and from private donations she has received $1,057,086, or more than one and one-fourth the amount given by the State. If we add to this amount the $340,000 endowment fund given to Indiana by the United States, which the State practically owns, the sum will be $1,397,086, or more than one and seventenths the amount given by the State. Another important fact should be borne in mind, namely, that the Purdue plant is worth, at a fair estimate, $680,000, or more than two and four-tenths times the amount appropriated by the State for permanent improvements.

Adding the permanent endowment to the value of its permanent equipment, we shall find that in Purdue University the State holds property to the amount of $1,020,000, or $208,093 more visible property than it has invested in the institution.

To state the case in another way-for every dollar the State has invested in Purdue, the institution has received from outside

sources one dollar and seventy cents. In what other way has the State received so much benefit from such an investment?

2. THE INCREASE IN THE VALUE OF EQUIPMENT FOR FIFTEEN YEARS.

The following statement will show the increase in value of our material equipment during the present administration:

Value of equipment in 1883, including build

ings, apparatus, etc.....

$322,000

Science Hall, with equipment, museums, etc.. 33,000

New library and new books...

12,000

The regular income of Purdue University is about one hundred and forty-five thousand dollars per annum, which may be classified as follows:

It thus appears that the State pays less than one-half the cost of maintaining the institution. Of the above amount there is spent for

Deducting the above from the total cost of maintaining the institution, we have as the expense of running Purdue, from its instructional side, $105,000.

In stating the cost of the academic side of the institution at $105,000, I exclude the cost of certain laboratory materials furnished the students as a matter of convenience, and for which they pay. They should not, therefore, be reckoned as an expense to either the State or the Government.

Taking the whole number of students enrolled, which is admissible only as furnishing a basis of comparison with other institutions, we have as the per capita expense of maintaining a student at Purdue University $140. Of this amount the State pays a little more than one-half.

COST OF MAINTAINING A TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY.

I wish now to call the attention of the Board to a few facts in connection with the cost of maintaining a technical university.

1. Our instructors must, of necessity, be well grounded in the theory of their subject, hence they should be college-bred men. They must also have had successful practical experience in their particular lines of work. Now, this combination is hard to find. To the best men, the industrial world is willing to pay good salaries, but it is just such men that we must have for our work, hence the salaries paid must be high enough to attract them.

2. Much of our work is experimental in character. Modern technical methods require for this machinery and apparatus of commercial size. Hence we have been obliged to purchase nearly two

hundred thousand dollars' worth of apparatus in addition to the usual equipment of a college. Owing, also, to the rapid advances in scientific discovery-in electricity, for example the necessity arises for constant additions of the latest and best apparatus. This demand must be met or an institution is soon distanced by others more progressive. Furthermore, delicate instruments and machinery degenerate rapidly, and large outlays are constantly required to keep them in a state of repair.

3. In ordinary college work, particularly under the lecture system, an instructor can conduct an exercise with a comparatively large number of students, but in a technical laboratory the number in each class which can be successfully managed by one instructor must necessarily be small. This is partly due to the nature of the work and partly to the fact that delicate and expensive apparatus in the hands of novices requires very close supervision. Hence, a comparatively large instructional force must be employed.

4. On account of the practical character of our work, we must furnish a large amount of material and must also supply power sufficient to operate extensive machine shops. We have twenty buildings, which must be heated and lighted; twenty-two separate steam engines and thirteen steam pumps, aggregating fifty-six steam cylinders to be supplied with steam; also more than one hundred and forty other machines of commercial size, which must be supplied with power. To keep these in operation we have ten steam boilers, requiring an annual outlay of $6,500 for fuel.

The above considerations must be taken into account by every candid man who wishes to study the cost of maintaining Purdue University.

The history of technical education in Europe will prove very instructive to those who are interested in the industrial growth of the United States. Competent commissions in England and Continental Europe have repeatedly reported, after careful investigation, that the industrial supremacy of the foremost countries of the world has been gained chiefly through technical education.

As a result of this, European countries have expended enormous amounts of money for the establishment and maintenance of institutions for technical education. I illustrate by one historic example:

In 1851 England built a magnificent Crystal Palace, and invited