Seventy Years Of The Worcester Polytechnic Institute: Page 200

were comparatively uneventful; at neither did he announce a program nor outline a policy.

The members of the Corporation at this time were: Stephen Salisbury, president, Daniel Merriman, secretary, Charles G. Washburn, treasurer, George F. Hoar, Charles H. Morgan, G. Henry Whitcomb, Rev. Austin S. Garver, Rev. Spenser B. Meeser, Elmer P. Howe, James Logan, and Mayor Edward F. Fletcher. judge Frank P. Goulding had died in September, and the State Board of Education had nominated Herbert Parker as his successor. Rev. Mr. Meeser resigned his pastorate that year, and his place on the Board was vacant until Rev. L. Call Barnes was elected in 1903. Mayor Fletcher was succeeded by Mayor Walter H. Blodget in 1904, and he by Mayor John T. Duggan in 1906. Washburn, Howe, and Logan were the vigorous members of the group; the others, because of age or a complexity of other interests, were only moderately active.

To replace Mr. Parker, in 1903, the Board of Education named Milton P. Higgins, who seven years before had abruptly severed his faculty relationships. In the interim his status had been materially altered. He had now become one of the industrial leaders of the community. The Plunger Elevator Co. had recently been acquired by Otis Elevator Co., but the Norton Grinding Co. was becoming a national industry. He was also gaining prominence as a proponent of trade schools, and in 1901 had been elected vice president of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.

It was soon apparent that Dr. Engler would not be an aggressive administrator nor a money raiser. He made one attempt in the latter direction at the 1902 alumni reunion, when he sought assistance in raising $100,000 for the construction of a combination gymnasium and student union; which he hoped to see erected on the area within the curve of Institute Road at the south end of the campus. It proved to be merely an after-dinner speech. Students and faculty hoped that he would prove to be a good companion and

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Last Modified: Fri Jul 30 11:15:25 EDT 1999