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THESE NEARER YEARS
[22]
HOW long a perspective an observer must have in order to write the
history of a period is uncertain -undoubtedly more than a decade. Much
has happened at the Institute in the past twelve years. To sketch the
principal events and changes with broad strokes, and to leave comment
or appraisal to some future historian, seems to be not only a
judicious but a sane procedure. So, this closing chapter contains only
an outline of President Ralph Earle's administration from 1925 to
1937.
The new President spent the entire summer of 1925 on the campus,
getting familiar with needs of the plant, and studying the problems
that he had inherited. By the time college opened in the fall he had
developed a five-point program. His first objective was to increase
enrollment. The others were: improvements in buildings and grounds,
completion of the swimming pool, construction of a dormitory, and the
opening of new markets for the Washburn Shops. In order to direct
attention to various needs he laid out a project list, which he
revised and sent to possible donors each succeeding year.
After the Institute opened for its fifty-eighth year, with an
enrollment of 522 -up nine per cent from 1924 - the attention of the
college was focussed on President Earle's inauguration, scheduled for
October 22, 1925. Much time and
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