|
then perfecting a sprinkler system for fire protection. He taught for
two years, then began the manufacture of the Rockwood sprinkler,
taking with him some of the ablest young men who had been in his
classes. John R. McConnell and James C. Davis, graduates of Purdue,
became instructors in drawing, and Roger D. French, '06, an instructor
in Civil Engineering.
In 1904, the Trustees began to consider the advisability of increasing
the size of the Board. The charter was amended by the General Court
two years later, the number of members of the Corporation being
established at not less than twelve nor more than fifteen members. The
first new members elected, in June, 1907, were Dr. Homer Gage and
T. Edward Wilder, '74. Dr. Gage, a graduate of Harvard, was not only
an eminent surgeon but an industrial leader in Worcester; Mr. Wilder,
third graduate to become a trustee, was a wholesale leather merchant
in Chicago. In 1908, Mr. Kinnicutt resigned as treasurer because of
the pressure of other affairs, but continued as a
trustee. Mr. Washburn performed the duties of the treasurer for five
months, until the election of Dr. Gage to that position. At the end of
the fiscal year 1908-09, the Institute had a floating debt of $32,000,
represented by notes due the bank, and its resources were impaired to
the extent of $67,000. One of the first moves made by Dr. Gage was to
have a firm of public accountants design a new system of accounts. He
also persuaded the Trustees to change the end of the fiscal year from
April 30 to June 30. Dr. Gage, Mr. Washburn, and Mr. Logan were named
as a committee to consider increasing the endowment, which had been
further impaired by selling part of the securities of the State Fund
to meet floating indebtedness. In 1910, this same committee took to
the Legislature another plea for an increase in the annual grant. They
sought $20,000 a year, and after a heated partisan battle, secured
$15,000.
Few gifts were received during this period, the only addition to
invested funds being $5,000 from the estate of
|
![[WPI]](/Buttons/seal.gif){kind=small}
![[Library]](/academics/library/history/seventyyears/Images/lib.gif){kind=small}
![[Contents]](/Buttons/toc.gif){kind=small}
![[Back]](/Buttons/back.gif){kind=small}
![[Forward]](/Buttons/next.gif){kind=small}