Seventy Years Of The Worcester Polytechnic Institute: Page 241

it granted $50,000 a year to the Institute for a period of five years. If, at the end of that period, the Institute should have added $350,000 to its resources, the grant would be continued for another five-year period.

The night the bill was signed by Governor Foss there was a wild celebration on Boynton Hill, during which the old Bliss Field barn, with its many superimposed class numerals, went up in a gigantic bonfire, to which there was no faculty opposition. Mr. Washburn took the result more calmly, quickly seeking to impress the Trustees with the magnitude of the task before them. To discuss the financial situation he called a mass meeting of trustees, faculty, and students in May, at which time the needs and hopes of the institution were outlined by James Logan, Professor Butterfield, and Mr. Washburn. It was at that meeting that the president of the Board pledged $50,000, to be paid as soon as the remaining $300,000 had been accumulated. This goal was to be rapidly approached, for by 1913 Mr. Washburn was able to report that more than two-thirds of the fund was in sight. But, he reiterated, "We should during the next ten years increase our endowment by at least $1,500,000 to avoid serious financial embarrassment. "

Additional revenue from the State was immediately absorbed, partially in increased faculty salaries, which were raised about eleven per cent, partially in repairs to buildings that had been urgently needed for several years, and partially in new equipment. Up to 1913, $85,000 had been taken from principal funds to meet running expenses, and the Institute had a floating debt of $50,500.

Desultory desires and efforts of the Alumni Association to provide adequate facilities for physical training and athletics were brought together and fused into a definite program at the annual meeting of 1911. The fire was lighted by the Class of 1886, celebrating its twenty-fifth reunion. Its spokesmen, Edward G. Watkins, Henry W. Carter, and John

241

webmaster@wpi.edu

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