LT'" 1 -■. ■,'' EXERCISES AT THE LAYING OF THE CORNER STONE OF THE SHANNON OBSERVATORY AND PHYSICAL LABORATORY. COLBY UNIVERSITY, SEPT. 26, 1889. WATERVILLE, ME.; PRINTED FOR THE UNIVERSITY. 1889. EXERCISES AT THE LAYING OF THE CORNER STONE OF THE SHANNON OBSERVATORY AND PHYSICAL LABORATORY. COLBY UNIVERSITY, SEPT, 26, 1889. WATERVILLE, ME.: PRINTED FOR THE UNIVERSITY. 1889. L. ■^m 17060 COMMITTEES. 071 Arrangements. M. M. S.MITH, '90, G. A. GORHAM, '91, W. L. BONNEY, '92. On Literary Programme. E. T. Wy-MAN, '90, F. W. Johnson, '91,. 0. L. Hall, '93. On Odes. M. A. Whitney, '90, C. F. Leadbetter, '91 > PRINTED AT THE MAIL OFFICE. Order of Exercises, The officers, students, and many friends of the University, ladies and gentlemen, assembled at the Chapel at 2.30 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 26, 1889, to i^articipate in the Memoi'ial Exercises arranged by a committee from the Senior Class for the purpose of celebrating the laying of the corner stone of the Shannon Observatory and Physical Laboratory, the gift of Col. Richard Cutts Shannon, LL.B., of New York, a graduate of the University in the class of 1862. The services were conducted in the following order, interspersed with music by the military band from the Togus National Home. I. — Prayer , By Rev. W. H. Spencer. II. — Ode Composed by Miss Cornie M. Spear, '90. Air : — America. Friends who have gathered here, We bid you all good cheer In Colby's name. Word that all know so well. Word that all eyes would tell. Word that all lips would spell, "Welcome," we frame. Brothers of Sixty-Two, What noble sons have you In Colby's ranks ! Well is our college proud To sound your jjraises loud, Whom richly you 've endow'd, Receive her thanks. 4 Oh, Colby's joyful throng, The stone place iirm and strong With eager hand. Oh, genius' heart, our own ! Lay firm a corner stone Science may rest upon ]n every land. III. — Address President A. W. Small. IV. — Address Professor W. A. Rogers. V. — Address Professor E. W. Hall. VI.— Oration Mr. George N. Hurd, '90. VII. — Ode Composed by Mr'. A- B. Patten, '90. Air : — Trancadillo. All glory to thee Old Colby our pride — Your progress assured Your blessings abide. Chorus. Then echo, re-echo, ye walls staunch and wide. The name that we honor. Old Colby, our pride. Ah ! gladly we twine I^'or him, wreaths of praise. Who granted this gift : May joy crown his days ! Chorus. A memorial grand This structure shall stand, A herald of triith. With strength in its hand. Chorus. Here Science shall have An altar, a home ; Its truths in the skies Be read from yon dome. Chorus. At the conclusion of the exercises the audience marched to the site of the Observatory and witnessed the depositing of the box of memo- rials by Mr. E. T. Wyman, '90, of the committee, assisted by Professor Rogers. Einclosed in the box were copies of the last annual and general catalogues, the last issue of the Colby Echo and Colby Oracle, the Obituary Record and prhited Charter of the University, other pamphlets published by the University, copies of the local papers, of Views of Waterville, photographs of Col. Shannon and Professor Rogers, and of the Faculty, etc., collected by Mr. M. M. Smith, '90. PRESIDENT SMALL'S ADDRESS. The fact which we celebrate to-day marks a most noteworthy stage ill tlie development of our college. Last evening I listened to an ad- dress by the oldest of our living alumni. He spoke of Waterville Col- lege as he remembered it during the ten years, 1820-1830, when its whole faculty consisted of three professors. These three presided over the three departments, "Sacred Theology," "Languages," "Mathematics and Natural Philosophy." All instruction given by the College was included in these three groups. We can imagine something of the breadth and depth of knowledge imparted under these conditions. Since the first decade of the College, departments have been differen- tiated, as knowledge has grown more special, and ability has increased to give instruction in the methods of investigation peculiar to specific sciences. To-day we celebrate not the recognition of a distinct depart- ment of research ; that has gone before. We call attention to the in- dividuality of another department, by creating for it a distinctive environment. August Comte, the father of modern scientific classifications, declared that inorganic phenomena are the materials of three distinct sciences. 1st, Celestial Physics, or Astronomy ; 2nd, Terrestrial Physics, which is not one science but two, viz., 1, Physics proper ; 2, Chemistry. In the building, whose corner stone we lay to-day, the sciences of Ce- lestial Physics, and of Mechanical Terrestrial Physics, are to find a home. This home is in itself a proclamation of the completed college consciousness that inorganic phenomena are not a jumble, which may be adequately distinguished by the loose and unscientific designation, "Mathematics and Natural History." The day will come when this scientific house of two tenements will be the home of two scientists with their disciples ; the one studying and expounding the phenomena of the heavens, the other observing and declaring the laws of terrestrial mechanics. Till that day comes, we nre fortunate in having our house tenanted by an occupant at home in - and learning co-laborers at Colby shall work for the improvement of the world. PROFESSOR ROGERS' ADDRESS. We are gathered here to signalize the erection of a new building upoa the College Campus — a building made possible by the munificence of a single patron of learning. This aggregation of stone, of bi'icks. of mortar and of heavy timbers ; these rooms surrounded by heavy ma- sonry ; this tower which reaches more than half a hundred feet towards the sky — all these things have a meaning. It will be my purpose dur- ing the few moments alloted to me in the programme of exercises for this occasion, to enumerate a few of the objects which we may reason- ably hope to accomplish through the building whose corner stone you are now to lay. ; First. This building with its equipment of apparatus ought to become an indispensable help to instruction in the regular cui'riculum of the College. To this work both trustees and professors owe their first duty. Work in the class room and thorough preparation for it is the sum and substance of a college education. The professor who does not magnify the routine work of the class room has an important duty to perform, a duty which he ought not to neglect for a moment, viz., to send in his resignation. In the study of the phenomena of nature and in the investigation of the laws which underlie these phenomena, illustrative experiments add greatly to the interest of the student and to a clear comprehension of tlie study in which he is engaged. These experimental illustrations require, first of all, room and conveniences for their successful per- formance, and after this there will always be a demand for large addi- tions to apparatus in order to keep pace wdth the amazingly rapid advances which are continually made in every department of Science. In my own department, the first of these requirements will be fully met in the Shannon Observatory and Physical Laboratory. I have faith that when any definite need of the department in regard to phj^s- ical apparatus is brought to the attention of those friends of the college 9 who have its welfare at heart and who mean that it shall never be one whit behind the best college in the land, special funds will be provided to meet this need. Second. The building is constructed with reference to the needs of the student in the experimental work which he may elect, either in Pliysics or in Astronomy. In this connection it may be well to say that the limitations of time in carrying foi'ward the three studies required in the college curriculum will necessarily preclude the possibility of giving to any one study the amount of time required to become an acknowl- edged specialist in that study ; but two desirable objects can certainly be gained. First, a love of science can be cultivated to an extent which will determine whether its future pursuit will be desirable and profitable ; and secondly, sufficient familiarity with the methods of laboratory work will be gained to be of decided advantage in the further pursuit of the science chosen for further study, at the close of a college course. It will especially be the aim in a modest way to give to students such a practical acquaintance with the subject of electricity as will fit those who propose to pursue this science as a profession to enter with advan- tage the best schools of electrical engineering, such as those of Johns; Hopkins, Stevens Institute, Harvard, The Massachusetts Institute o£' Technology, or the more recently established special schools at Worces-^ ter, Columbia College and Princeton. No field of profitable employ- ment in future life is at present more promising than that which is now opening in this direction. It is possible that with an increase of work- ing apparatus, the student of electricity may find it profitable to remain here one year after graduation, taking the remaining year or two years required, elsewhere. The plan of experimental work thus briefly outlined is in close ac- cordance with my own view of the true nature and scope of a college education. It is not the province of a college to educate as such, either ministers, lawyers, doctors, or specialists in any branch of science, but to give the student that general preparation which will enable him, after his graduation, to enter upon his chosen profession with the best pros- pects of success and to give him just as much special preparation for his anticipated work as can be given without prejudice to the more serious demands of general culture. I know of no college in this coun- try in which this view is more intelligently and persistently followed than in our own college. Here we have a college curriculum which has a beginning and an end, and whose middle is a consistent and an integral 10 part both of the beghinuig and of the end. In most colleges, there .-ire so many courses of study and consequently so many divided interests, that all sense of oneness in college life and work is lost. It may not be improper to say here that my acceptance of the appointment to the Chair of Physics and Astronomy in this college was largely determined by the intelligent symmetry and well rounded completeness of its pub- lished curriculum of study. Third. The most superficial examination of this building will show that certain parts of it were planned with reference to special scientihc investigations. The lower story consists of a single room, 56 feet in length, 30 feet in width and 16 feet in hight. This room is completely surrounded by an air space of sufficient width to admit a free passage of the observer in every direction. In this room will be mounted not only the two comparators for the investigation of measures of length which belong to my private collection, but also the 50-foot standard of length which it is proposed to establish for the purpose of meeting a practical demand for exact and uniform measures of length in land surveying, in geodetic observations and in all mechanical constructions. The building will be heated by the method devised by one of the Trustees of this college, the Hon. B. F. Sturtevant of Jamaica Plain, Mass. Under this system, the air between the walls can be kept in con- stant circulation at a given rate of speed per hour, and it is expected that any desired temperature can be obtained and maintained for any requii-ed length of time. The boiler house is arranged for a boiler which can be used either at high or low pressure at will ; for a steam engine of about 12 horse power, and for a dynamo of sufficient power to furnish 75 lights, or to charge a secondary battery which will yield the same amount of light, or furnish the corresponding amount of power as required. The Observatory will, when completed, be admirably adapted to re- ceive and welcome to a permanent home, the 10-inch equatorial telescope which the friends of the college are anxiously waiting for the privilege of providing. Fourth. This bviilding should be the means of contributing to the enjovment and the knowledge of all friends of the college, especially by the free use of the telescope in viewing interesting objects in the heavens. It will be a pleasure to devote at least one evening a week to this purpose. All friends of the college who may be temporarily in .town, relatives and friends of students, and indeed all who under the 11 most liberal construction have claims to attention, either because they are already interested in the welfare of the college, or because they are persons whose friendship we desire, will always receive a cordial wel- come. There is in Germany a flourishing Astronomical Society which was organized for the sole purpose of creating and maintaining an inter- est in the science of astronomy. It has its own observatorv, which is equipped with all the instruments found in a worliing observatory. It welcomes everybody who is interested in the science. Many of those who join the societ}'^ enter as sight-seers simply, but some of them become amateurs, who in time become professional astronomers. I should be glad to make this observatory serve a similar purpose. Fifth. The building with all its appointments is consecrated not only to tlie students now connected with the college, but to all who shall hereafter enter its walls. It ought to be the means of turning the atten- tion of students to this college, and when they are once matriculated, ii ought to be one of the means of increasing their loyalty to the college. It ought to help make the college known for what it does, rather than for what it promises to do. It will fall short of the demand which may be justly made upon it il it is not the means of awakening a love for scientific pursuits and an ambition to follow science as a chosen profession on the part at least of a few members of each graduating class. From the ranks of these men will come the successful instructors in the natural sciences in our acade- mies. Not a few of them will in after years become recognized author- ities in some chosen field of original research ; and it is upon them that we must rely to fill our places in college work when we go hence. Do you say that it is hopeless to expect great results from a college having relatively a small number of students — observe that I do not sa_\ from a small college — without the advantageous surroundings of more favored colleges in helping forward scientific work, and with a patronage drawn largely from the farm and the workshop ? Those who take this view forget that men who have high aims and resolute purpose make opportunities and compel success. The example of Cornell University furnishes an inspiring illustration of the possibility of creating a great college de novo. Almost withii. the limits of a single generation, a great university has sprung into ex- istence on a high bluff about one mile above the village of Ithaca, N. Y. i a village no larger, and certainly no more attractive, than our own beau ■ tiful city ; simply by the wise use of the means placed at the disposal of 12 level-headed men who saw clearly what was needed, and who had the courage not only to plan,- but to execute, great things. The patronage at Cornell is drawn from substantially the same sources as our own. A large number of successful instructors in the natural sciences, nay even, more men who have become distinguished in science, have been drawn from the farm and the workshop than from any other single source. There are now in this college men of whose future, either as college professors or as original investigators, I should feel absolutely sure, if they have even half a chance after graduation. I am a firm believer in the ultimate success of every young man of average ability, who mani- fests persistent pluck in some chosen pursuit, if he but has the previous training which a college course is desigoed to give. These are the men needed in the pursuits of science ; men full of enthusiasm, men endowed with the gift of patient endurance, men who are willing to acknowledge an error when they make one, but who per- sist, nevertheless, in the search for truth, men who love science not only for her own sake, but for the sake of a world made better and happier by their own inspiring example as worthy citizens as public benefactors, and as representatives of the highest type of Christian manhood. If, in the course of ten years, the department of Physics and Astron- omy can secure its share of a clientage of this character, drawn from the homes, from the farms and from the workshops of this goodly State, I shall be content ; I shall feel that the gift of Col. Shannon has been wisely bestowed. 13 PROFESSOR HALUS ADDRESS. We all I'egret that the donor of the Shannon Observatory cannot be present with us to-cla}^ It becomes mj' duty to introduce him to this audience that you may know something of his history, and what manner of student he was during his college life. Col. Shannon is a descendant of Richard Cutts, whose name he bears, and who served the country with honor in the early days of the Repub- lic, flis home was in Saco, though he entered college from the Port- land High School in 1858. His student life was in the most eminent degree an honorable one. No more faithful student ever sought instruc- tion here, or pursued with greater diligence and delight the noble work of self-culture. He realized that the value of a college course depends lai'gely on personal exertion. Accordingly he refused to receive help in the preparation of his daily tasks, and shrank from no labor which promised to yield discipline of mind. It is not surprising that a student actuated by such honorable motives should take a high rank in college, and acquire the best training for success in the unforeseen jDursuits of his subsequent life. High ambition combined with unswerving rectitude make their possessor an honor and an inspiration to his associates. As his classmate and room-mate I am indebted to Mr. Shannon for much that was beneficial and ennobling in my college life. In those days no provision was made for physical culture, but we had our athletic sports, in which my friend took an active part. Under his leadership a gymnastic society was organized, and some apparatus pro- vided which was the forerunner of the admirably equipped gymnasium in which regular physical training is now given. The chapel services at morning and evening were conducted without the aid of devotional music. Mr. Shannon, whose previous musical education admirably fitted him for the task, introduced into those exercises the service of song which now forms so prominent a part of our daily worship. 14 In 1861 the call came for young men to take up arms in the defence of their country. Obeying the honorable impulses of his nature, Mr. Shannon laid aside his books and enlisted as a private in the Fifth Maine Regiment. He served with distinction in the Army of the Poto- mac until the close of the war, at which time he was Assistant Adjutant General with the rank of Lieut. Colonel. Opportunities to engage in business in South America presented them- selves soon after and he took up his residence in Rio de Janeiro. Always a student, he acquired a knowledge of the Portuguese language, and in 1871 he was appointed by President Grant the Secretary of the U. S. Legation in Brazil. In the exercise of the important and delicate duties of this position Col. Shannon's previous training and experience insured his success. His account of the Paraguayan war, prepared for our government while he had entire charge of the Legation, is a model document, and elicited the commendation of the State Department. Meanwhile a promising American enterprise, which was destined to oc- cupy a new field in Brazil, enlisted his services, and he became President of the Botanic Gardens Railway Co. To the prudent counsels and unwearied exertions of Col. Shannon, the success of that enterprise is laro-ely due. In the intervals of business, and during his occasional visits to this country, he has pursued the study of law, receiving the degree of Bachelor of Laws from Columbia College in 1885, and in the following year becoming a member of the New York bar. Through all these years of activity and experience so varied, he has carried the spirit of a student, as well as in his recent journey ai'ound the world, and while residing in Europe. Like every true son of Colby he gratefully acknowledges his indebtedness for the education which he acquired here. And so, when the increasing usefulness of the college made evident the needs of this department, Col. Shannon gave expres- sion to his gratitude in a way that will inseparably connect his name with Colby University. May this imperfect outline serve to introduce to your acquaintance one, who by this generous gift, and still more by his high personal character, has proved himself an honor and an ornament to his Alma Mater. 15 MR. KURD'S ORATION. THE STUDENT AND THE COLLEGE, The observance of this occasion with appropriate ceremonies is a duty we owe to Colby, to the donor of this beautiful building, and to our- selves. But unlike many of the duties of life this is also a pleasure, for what friend of the college can see such evidence of its prosperity without wishing to express his joy and his thanks in a fitting manner ? It is for this purpose that we are gathered here to-day. Within the solid masonry^ of these walls we place a few reminders of the condition of our time, toif be handed down to our descendants in that remote time when these bricks shall have crumbled to dust, but with these tokens we deposit hopes and wishes that this building may be a most potent factor in Colby's usefulness, and that within this enclosure much may be accom- plished that will be of permanent benefit to science and to mankind. This Laboratory and Observatory is being erected to supply a need : May it also create new wants, a desire for better and more comprehen- sive knowledge of the branches of science here taught and a renewed interest in all scientific studies ! These exercises are inaugurated by the students and are but another exhibition of the spirit which prompted Colonel Shannon to erect this building, namely, — love for Colby. Never in the history of the college has there been among the students a greater affection for the University. Everybody believes that an alumnus honors his Alma Mater, but the opinion is altogether too prevalent that the undergraduates are careless of the honor of the college and reckless of its interests. Such an opinion is erroneous and is not borne out by facts. Does not the child love his mother as strongly and as well when under her care and perhaps vexing her often by his thoughtless pranks, as when in after life the cares of the world are upon him? I believe that the love of the student for the college and his responsibility in keeping up its reputation has not been in general sufiftciently recognized by the officers 16 of this Institution. The sentiment of the students has been one of tlie most potent factors in the maintenance of Colby's reputation as a seat of learning. It matters not how zealous and loyal the alumni are, tliey can do little without the co-operation of the students. Trustees and faculty are alike powerless if rowdyism and irresponsibility prevails among the undergraduates. A tree is known by its fruits, a college by its students. If tliis responsibility were more often recognized by the faculty and efforts made to strengthen it, the relations between the students and that body in our college would be much pleasanter and deeds of recklessness would be far less prevalent. Our modern educators recognize these two facts: first, that the student is a gentlem-an ; second, that he has the interests of the college at heart. Keeping these maxims in view they aim at the development of man- liness and not of slyness and trickerj'. When it comes to a test of these latter powers the student almost always comes out ahead, probably because he has more of the diabolical and less of the angelic in his com- position. To an antagonism developed toward the faculty are traceable the mean tricks of which students are sometimes guilty. At Colby the officers have shown confidence in the students' manliness, and the relations of the students and faculty have in general been pleasant; The adoption of the Board of Conference is a step in the right direction, and one in which the undergraduates will join most heartily. Antagonism between faculty and students there should be none. They are natural allies as inseparably connected as Labor and Capital. By this comparison I do not wish to infer that the faculty get all the capital while the labor all falls to the students. I desire only to show how intimately related the two are and must be. The faculty cannot profitably disregard the wishes of the students nor can the students successfully boycott the facultv- I have spoken of the relation of the undergraduates to the college and to the officers of the Institution and it remains for me to say a few words in regard to the influence of the student upon the student, the re- lation of the undergraduates to one another. The people of a college town may open their hospitable doors to the students and welcome them into their homes, as the citizens of Waterville have always done. The boys may take advantage of these ojoportunities for social enjoyment and culture, and mingle freely with the townspeople, and yet the fact re- mains that the college world is an isolated community, a little state apart with its likes and dislikes, its code of morals with rewards and punishment for observance and infringement. The college code of 17 morals is open to attack in many places. It has some points of striking excellence, and on other points is as strikingly defective, and yet upon the whole it is based upon ideas of true manliness, a detestation of cant and humbug, and a love for the great and the good. President Porter of Yale says, "True manliness in intellect and character is in no other community so sagaciously discerned and so honestly honored as in this community." The free and easy ways of students, the convenient etiquette, the contagion of good fellowship, the quick sympathy that binds all together, characterizes all college communities. Into this little world with its vitalizing atmosphere, its bond of intellectual sympathy, the young student is introduced. Surely, during the four years of his course these influences must shape and determine in a measure the char- acter of the man. We believe that his character is strengthened by these forces. Narrowness and egotism must be blotted out, disagreeable personal peculiarities must be toned down, a hatred for pretension and sham and a love for what is truly beautiful and good, must be implanted during the four years that the student influence is at work. In our views we are supported by eminent authority. One of the most success- ful college presidents of this country says : "The effect of these so varied intellectual, social, ethical and Christian influences is so powerful and salutary that it may well be questioned whether the education they im- part does not of itself more than repay the time and money which it costs, even to those idlers at college who derive from their residence lit- tle or nothing more than these accidental or incidental advantages." College custom is a factor for good and for evil in the working of the Institution. I believe that traditions and customs which have survived the test of time are prima facie good ones and deserving of perpetua- tion. I have a great reverence for antiquity. There is something about age that we cannot help respecting ; a halo which casts its spell over us whether we will or not. An old song which our fathers and their fathers have sung, how we love it! The old seventy-eighth Psalm which has rung forth at the commencement dinner at Harvard for more than a hundred years, what graduate can hear that solemn melody without being deeply moved ! Yon aged dormitories, bare and unadorned save by the memories that cling to them, those ancient halls which resounded to the shouts of students before we were born, yon spreading willows with their gnarled limbs and jagged bark, have they not a majesty which naught but age can give ? But there is a species of age we must guard against. An old tree, dead, and rotten to the core, becomes covered 18 ■vvith a growth of parasitic vines which give it a semblance of life, but it is a sham, a lifeless trunk. So with some of our college customs, their time and occasion have passed, they are dead and it is useless to revive theiii. By "college customs" is generally meant students' customs ; but may we not include faculty and trustees in our broader use of the term ? Narrowness of ideas, slavishness to routine, lack of alertness, these are all college customs that may well be abolished. May we not all, trustees, faculty, students, casting aside what is ignoble and narrow, and cherishing what is generous and true, handed down to us by those who have trod these paths before us, labor together for the advancement of old Colbv ! FJ U*^ U IHE ^mo^ 0E5E-RV10RY AMD PrtY5ICAL lABORATORY (QLBY U^IVtRSITV JOHM CALVIAI 5TeVCA|3 ALBrRT Wl^iLOW COBB, ARCrtlTCCT5 PORTLA'^IR nE. Scale O^i 10 2.0 BA5f/AtA|J 4 LIBRftRY OF CONGRESS 029 919 482 6