be appointed to investigate the affairs of the said college. The desire of the board of trustees is that the investigation may be thorough and exhaustive; that the committee be composed of gentlemen thoroughly in sympathy with the higher education of our industrial classes, who will give much time and thought to the duties which will devolve upon them; that the investigation include the details of expenditure in the past, and the necessity for the appropriation out of the income for the present and future; the present scope of the courses of study, and the contemplated enlargement of the same; the quality and extent of the instruction given in the class room, and the facilities afforded in laboratories, workshops, and upon the farm, for practical instruction in the branches of learning which are related to agriculture and the m chanic arts; the practical value of the experimental farms connected with the college, as required by the act of the 19th of February, 1867, and the plans to be adopted to secure greater efficiency in their administration for the future; and, in short, the entire scope, methods, plans, and operations of the institution, in all its varied and various departments. The work being necessarily one of great labor, and involving the expenditure of much time, we respectfully suggest that the committee be allowed to sit after the adjournment of the present and report to the next session of the Legislature. "On behalf of the board of trustees of the Pennsylvania State College, and by the authority thereof. "Therefore, "JAMES A. BEAVER, "President of the Board. "Resolved by the Senate of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (the House of Representatives concurring,) That a committee of thirteen be appointed, consisting of five members of the Senate, and eight members of the House, to be appointed by the presiding officers of the respective bodies, to investigate the affairs of the Pennsylvania State College, as prayed for in the memorial of the board of trustees above set forth. "Extract from the journal of the Senate. "THOMAS B. COCHRAN, "Chief Clerk of the Senate. "IN THE HOUSE, April 14, 1881. "The foregoing resolution concurred in. 66 "HENRY HUHN, Chief Clerk House of Representatives. "Approved the 28th day of April, A. D. 1881. "HENRY M. HOYT." At the first meeting of the committee, an organization was affected by the election of Hon. C. T. Alexander, chairman, and the Hon. George W. Hall, secretary. In order to facilitate the inquiries of the committee, the duty of taking testimony was intrusted to a sub-committee, consisting of Messrs. Mylin and Newmyer, with Alexander, chairman of the general committee of the Senate, and Messrs. Roberts and Hall of the House of Representatives. The said committee, having pursued their investigations, have made to us the accompanying report, which meets with our concurrence and indorsements. We herewith present the same as part of our report, with an appendix embracing the acts of Congress and acts of the Legislature relating to the State College. C. T. ALEXANDER, Chairman. GEO. W. HALL, Secretary. AMOS H. MYLIN, JNO. C. NEWMYER, EVAN HOLBEN, WM. B. ROBERTS, A. WILSON NORRIS. To the general committee authorized to investigate the affairs of the Pennsylvania State College: The sub-committee created by the general committee appointed under the concurrent resolution of the Legislature to investigate the affairs of the Pennsylvania State College, approved April 28, Anno Domini 1881, respectfully report: This sub-committee held numerous sessions at Harrisburg, West Grove, Chester county, at Philadelphia, at the State College, at the experimental farm in Indiana county, and at Bellefonte. They sought by advertisements in the newspapers, by public invitations at their sittings, and by diligent personal inquiries, to bring before them every person who had or was supposed by himself or others to have any facts, opinions, or criticisms to offer which could throw light upon the subject matter of the inquiry, and lead the committee and the General Assembly to an impartial and satisfactory understanding of the real merits of the questions involved. And in justice to themselves, in this connection, the committee feel bound to say that if any facts bearing upon the matter have not been brought to their attention, it has not been for lack of diligent effort on their part, nor because the doors of the investigation were not thrown sufficiently wide open to admit every comer. The resolution inviting communications to the college, was as follows: "Resolved, That all persons who have any complaints or allegations to make against the management of the Pennsylvania State College, be invited to forward to the committee at Harrisburg, on or before March 20, 1882, any statement in writing they desire to make." This resolution was given publicity through the agency of the Associated Press, and besides this general invitation, subpoenas were issued to every person who was named to the committee as possessing information or facts likely to throw light upon the investigation, and notices of the sittings of the committee were published in the local papers. The general field of inquiry was laid out under the following resolution, adopted at the first meeting of the sub-committee, at Harrisburg, January 17, 1882: "Resolved, That in order to facilitate the labors of the committee appointed under the recited resolutions, the committee proceed in the investigation in the manner following: "First. To inquire whether the present management of the college is in compliance with the requirements of the act of Congress of July 2, 1862, and the several acts of the General Assembly of Pennsylvania in relation thereto. "Secondly. To examine into the accounts of the said college to discover whether or not the interest derived from the fund realized from the sale of the land script fund has been duly expended in accordance with the requirements of the said act of Congress above recited. Thirdly. To inquire how the several appropriations made by the several acts of the Legislature of Pennsylvania to said college have been expended. "Fourthly. To examine into all the funds received by said college, whether from individuals' contributions or receipts of students, and ascertain if they have been honestly appropriated and accounted for. Fifthly. To examine the experimental farms, and ascertain the amount of income derived therefrom, and of funds appropriated to each out of the general fund, their usefulness as such, and whether the funds appropriated to each have been honestly appropriated or expended." The investigation thus outlined covers a very extensive field, and while some portion of the testimony offered to your committee was irrelevant and inconclusive, they believe they have embraced in their inquiry every important phase of the subject; and it is due to the authorities of the college to say not only that they have placed before the committee every docu ment or other source of information within their control, but especially that the careful and business-like manner in which the accounts of the college have been kept greatly facilitated our inquiries. I. The Educational Department. Adopting, for convenience, the order of investigation suggested by the resolution quoted above, the first branch of our inquiry is, whether the present management of the college is in compliance with the requirement of Congress and the Legislature of this State in reiatlon thereto. For purposes of reference, these acts are given in full in the appendix to this report, but the sections most strictly pertinent to this investigation are here quoted, as follows: 1. Act of Congress, approved July 2, 1862: "SECTION 4. And be it further enacted, That all moneys derived from the sale of the lands aforesaid by the States to which the lands are apportioned, and from the sales of land scrip herein before provided for, shall be invested in stocks of the United States, or of the States, or some other safe stocks, yielding not less than five per centum upon the par value of said stocks, and that the moneys so invested shall constitute a perpetual fund, the capital of which shall remain forever undiminished, (except so far as may be provided in section fifth of this act,) and the interest of which shall be inviolably appropriated by each State, which may take and claim the benefit of this act, to the endowment, support, and maintenance of at least one college where the leading object shall be, without excluding other scientific and classical studies, and including military tactics, to teach such branches of learning as are related to agriculture and the mechanic arts, in such manner as the Legislatures of the States may respectively prescribe, in order to promote the liberal and practical education of the industrial classes in the several pursuits and professions in life." 2. Act of the Legislature of Pennsylvania, approved April 1, 1863: "SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in General Assembly met, and it is hereby enacted by the authority of the same, That the act of Congress of the United States, passed the second day of July, one thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, entitled 'An act donating lands to the several States and Territories which may provide colleges for the benefit of agriculture and the mechanic arts,' be and the same is hereby accepted by the State of Pennsylvania, with all its provisions and conditions, and the faith of the State is hereby pledged to carry the same into effect." * * * 1. SECTION 4. That, until otherwise ordered by the Legislature of Pennsylvania, the annual interest accruing from any investment of the funds acquired under the said act of Congress is hereby appropriated, and the said commissioners are directed to pay the same to the Agricultural College of Pennsylvania for the endowment, support, and maintenance of said institution, which college is now in full and successful operation, and where the leading object is, without excluding other scientific and classical studies, and including military tactics, to teach such branches of learning as are related to agriculture and the mechanic arts." It will at once be seen that the language of the act of Congress is sufficiently comprehensive to embrace every department of instruction, so far at least as not to exclude any branch of study from the institutions for which it makes provision. The controlling requirements of the act are: (1.) That a college shall be established. (2.) That its course of instruction shall include "military tactics." (3.) That it shall not exclude classical and scientific studies in general. (4.) That it shall aim to promote the liberal and practical education of the industrial classes in the several pursuits and professions in life; and that, to this end, (5,) its leading object shall be "to teach such branches of learning as are related to agriculture and the mechanic arts." By section one of the act of April 1, 1863, the State of Pennsylvania accepted the above-quoted act of Congress," with all its provisions and conditions;" and as if to give its acceptance the highest possible sanction, added, "the faith of the State is hereby pledged to carry the same into effect." By section four of the act, the interest of the funds thus acquired under the said act of Congress was appropriated to the endowment, support and maintenance of the Agricultural College of Pennsylvania, on the express ground that it was already in operation, and so organized as to fulfill the requirement of the United States laws. Neither this nor any subsequent laws of the State made any modification of, or addition to, the requirements of the law of Congress, except as to the maintenance of three experimental farms, a subject that will be considered later. In order to ascertain whether the management of the State College complies with the requirement of these several laws, the committee made a careful examination of its courses of study and its methods of work, both as they now exist and as they have been in operation since the passage of the laws referred to. The institution was opened to students, as is well known, in the year 1859, under a charter granted four years earlier. It was originally called the Farmers' High School of Pennsylvania, a name which originated, as is stated in one of its early reports, "partly in a feeling that the farmers might be prejudiced against the word 'college' as that of a place where boys only contracted idle habits, and partly with the idea of founding a small institution, with a limited course of instruction, similar to the agricultural schools of Europe, which are subordinate to and less thorough than the agricultural colleges there. But the school, on being organized, adopted a course of instruction in mathematics and the natural sciences more extensive than that in any agricultual college in Europe, and a correspondingly longer time was devoted to study and required for graduating. Its organization had been upon a collegiate basis from the beginning, and the trustees only awaited the time in which they would be able to complete its buildings and change its name." The name was accordingly changed, in 1862, to the Agricultural College of Pennsylvania. In 1874, the Legislature having previously appropriated the proceeds of the National land grant to the institution, and the act of Congress, as bas been shown, requiring the recognition of the mechanic arts equally with agriculture in the course of study, and not excluding other studies, the name was again changed to correspond to the wider range of subjects, and has since been known as the Pennsylvania State College. The committee find that the courses of study have, from time to time, been changed to meet the changing requirements of law or of public opinion; but, in its earlier years, the subject of agriculture, both theoretical and applied, always held a prominent place, while other subjects were included in the interest of a broader culture. We find, for example, the earliest printed courses of study provide instruction in political and social, mental and moral science, astronomy, the higher mathematics, and other advanced branches of learning. The courses of study now in full operation are by far more extended and complete than at any previous period of the history of the college, and seem to comply, in the fullest sense, with the requirements of the laws of Congress and of this State. They include two general courses: One in general science, the other in the ancient classics; and four technical courses, viz: Agriculture, chemistry and physics, natural history, and civil engineering. These courses cover a period of four years each, and, in addition, the college provides for the students who are unable for any reason to take a full course, a short special course of two years in agriculture, and a similar course in chemistry. Special students are also admitted for such length of time, and in such branches of study as they may elect, and be qualified to pursue. Military tactics are regularly taught, and all students, unless excused on account of physical disability or conscientious scruples, are re |