her history that the proceeds of the sale of section sixteen and other school lands should be used by the State and be constituted into a great irreducible debt held forever by the State at a: fixed annual interest of six per cent., to be paid thereon to the districts from which the moneys originally were derived. Without entering into the analysis of the several items making this fund, which, in a general way, are named after the several surveys, or in any way attempting to be definite, it is sufficient to say that that fund now aggregates a little over four million dollars. In addition thereto the State owes in trust certain university funds, now aggregating something like a half million dollars, on which it also pays six per cent. per annum. The advantages of managing these funds in the manner prescribed by law are very apparent. Our early law-makers were wise hi planning as they did in this matter. Other UNIVERSITY SCHOOL CLEVELAND States, through bad loans, the fluctuations of interests, rates, and the expenses of supervision and-control, are not able to give to the beneficiaries of the funds either so large or so constant returns. In most respects the Ohio plan is without criticism. In this connection perhaps it is well to note, that many districts still retain the control of their school lands, not always to the advantage of the districts. The supervision of the public schools of Ohio rests with a State Commissioner of Common Schools and the different Boards of Education, elected by the electors of the various districts. The new code for the schools of Ohio, enacted by the Seventy-sixth General Assembly, in 1904, does not specify the number of members of the boards, but leaves it to the citizens to determine. So it comes, for instance, that the City of Cincinnati has a large Board of Education, while that of the City of Cleveland is limited to a small - 250 - PUBLIC SCHOOL BUILDING GLENVILLE number. In 1894 the electoral franchise for the election of school officers was conferred upon women, and this law still continues in force, but is not generally taken advantage of. In order to insure teachers of worth and merit, there has been, from a very early day, certain boards for the examining and licensing of teachers. By far the most useful board of this character is what is known as the Board of County Examiners. From 1825 to the present time there has been some style of examining teachers. At present the Probate Judge in each county appoints a board to examine and license teachers. Ten examinations are held each year, not to speak of two examinations for those who seek high school admission from townships and special districts. Under the law county examiners can issue certificates, within the county, for one year, two years, three years, five and eight years from the date of examination. The subjects in which the applicants must be examined are orthography,     reading, writing, arithmetic, geography, English grammar, including composition, the history of the United States, in- OAK GROVE SCHOOL BUILDING CANAL DOVER - 251 - cluding civil government, physiology, and hygiene, including scientific temperance, and the board must also certify to their moral character and that they possess an adequate knowledge of theory and practice. In case the .applicant is required to teach other subjects than those above enumerated, he must pass in such subjects. Besides the County Board of Examiners there are also city and village boards appointed by the Board of Education in districts eligible for such purposes, whose duties correspond for their districts to the duties prescribed for counties. There is also a State Board of School Examiners, appointed by the State Commissioner of Common Schools, Which issues life. certificates, good in any part of the State. Said board issues three grades of certificates, all good for life, the common school life certificates, good only for those grades mentioned therein; the high school life certificate, good in any part of the State, and unlimited; and the special life certificate, rood for the special subject covered by the certificate, as drawing or music. In 1864 the State Commissioner of -Common Schools was authorized to appoint a State Board of School Examiners, consisting of three mem bers. This number was increased to five in 1883. The office of State Commissioner of Cony mon Schools is a statutory and not a constitutional office, the act of March 12, 1836, being the virtual formation of the present school system of the State. Laws previously enacted had not been so broad or liberal in their treatment of education' as this act, which created the office of Superintendent of Common Schools, and provided that the officer should be elected by joint resolution of the General Assembly. The term was fixed at one year and the salary at five hundred dollars. On the 1st of April, 1837, Samuel Lewis, of Hamilton county was duly elected. He filed his first report at the convening of the General Assembly, and on the 15th of January, 1838, that body ordered ten thousand five hundred volumes of it printed. In the following March an act reorganizing the school laws of the State was   CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL TOLEDO passed, and under Section 8 thereof the term of the State Superintendent was fixed at five years, unless the incumbent was removed by joint resolution. The salary was placed at $1,200. On the 9th of March, Mr. Lewis was elected for the term of five years. On the 23rd of the .same month, 1840, the office of State Superintendent was abolished and the duties which he had performed devolved upon the Secretary of State, who was authorized to employ a clerk to do the work at a salary of $400. This law continued in force until the 14th of March, 1853, when the office of State Commissioner of Common Schools was again created. This law provided that the officer should be chosen at the general election, and the term was fixed at three years, the salary being placed at $1,500. The duties of the Commissioner were plainly prescribed and provision made that while he was absent on official visits to the various counties of the State, the State Librarian was to act in his stead and be his Secretary. - 252 - This law was a complete reorganization of the Ohio school system, and, in addition to providing for the present classification of township districts and cities and villages, contained provisions for separate schools for colored children, county boards of examiners for teachers and for school libraries. Subsequent legislation has followed in the main the classification made in this act. On the 27th of March, 1884, a law was passed providing that the term of the Commissioner would begin on the second Monday, of July following his election, instead of the second Monday of January. This change was made in order that the Commissioner's term might terminate, approximately, with the school year. The State Commissioner of Common Schools has supervision of the SCHOOL BUILDING PAINESVILLE school funds to the extent of appointing examiners in cases where misapplication or fraud in the management of the same makes it necessary. SCHOOL BUILDING GREENVILLE The development of the public high schools of the State is interesting and suggestive. In the early days of the State there were many private academies, some of them incorporated institutions. All the larger centers of population, such as Cincinnati, Dayton, Cleveland, Columbus, Toledo and other places, enjoyed the benefits of the did-time academies, long before the formation of public high schools. At times during the early half of the first century of Ohio's Statehood, there were many who advocated public high schools in place of those academies. Governor. Worthington, as early as 1817, recommended that a high school be established at Columbus at public expense, for the thorough education of poor boys for the work of teaching. This recommendation he renewed during the next session of the General Assembly. The law of 1825, cited under the discussion of elementary schools, it will be noted, does not anywhere deny other branches of study besides the: common school subjects. It was often the practice in the early days to employ teachers who were capable of instructing in Latin, Algebra, Natural Philosophy, Engineering and other advanced studies. Consequently, the people were prepared for the advent of the public high school, but the legislative bodies of the State did not respond immediately with necessary provisions for the inauguration and maintenance of that system. It was not until 1853 when the first general high school law was framed. From then up to the present time a continuous progress has been made, and this branch of the State's educational institutions has flourished and become of incalculable benefit to the people. Nearly one thousand high schools are now maintained within the confines of Ohio, a remarkable showing, when we compare it with the statistics of 186o, which show but two hundred public high schools to be in operation in the whole United States at that time. In the high school legislation passed by the session of 1902 there are many matters worthy of note. In the first place, the high school is defined. Section 4007-2 reads as follows : A high school is hereby defined as a school of higher grade than an elementary school, in which instruction and training are given in approved courses in the history of the United States and other countries, Composition, Rhetoric, English and American Literature, Algebra and Geometry, Natural Science, Political or Mental Science, Ancient or Modern Foreign Languages or both, Commercial and Industrial Branches, or such of the above-named branches as the length of its curriculum make possible, and such other branches of higher grade than those to be taught in the elementary schools and such advanced studies and advanced reviews of the common branches as the Board of Education may direct. OLD WOODWARD SCHOOL CINCINNATI FROM AN OLD WOOD CUT - 254 - Under this law there are three grades of high schools, the first grade being equivalent to a four-year high school ; the second being equivalent to a three-year high school, and the third to a year high school. All schools of a lesser rank are denominated elementary schools. By law, the State Commissioner is authorized to classify all high schools and issue commissions under the seals of his office. Despite the earnest recommendation of Governor Worthington, in 1817, numerous resolutions of teachers' associations, and the recommendation of every State Commissioner of Schools for fifty years, it was not till March, 1902, that Ohio finally committed herself to the work of training UNION SCHOOL BUILDING UPPER SANDUSKY teachers at public expense. On the 12th of March, 1902, the bill of Charles F. Seese was passed by both houses of the Seventy-fifth General Assembly, authorizing the establishment of two 'Normal Schools, to be located. at Oxford and Ath ens. The law reads as follows : Section 1. That there be and are hereby created and established two State normal schools, to be located as follows : One in connection with the Ohio University, at Athens, and one in connection with the Miami University, at Oxford. Section 2. The Boards of Trustees of said universities shall, not later than September, 1903, organize at their respective institutions a normal school which shall be co-ordinate with existing courses of instruction, and shall be maintained in such a state of efficiency as to provide proper theoretical and practical training for all students desiring to prepare themselves for the work of teaching ; said normal schools, in each case, being under the general charge and management of the respective Boards of Trustees of said universities. Section 3. To enable the Ohio University and the Miami University to organize and support said normal schools, there shall be levied annually a tax on the grand list of the taxable property of the State of Ohio, which shall be collected in the same manner as other State taxes, and the proceeds of which shall be made part of the "Ohio and Miami University Fund," as already provided for (0. L., Vol. 92, pp. 40-41). The rate of such levy shall be designated by the General Assembly at least once in two years, and if the General Assembly shall fail to designate the rate for any year, the same shall be for the said "Ohio and Miami University Fund," one-thirtieth (1-30) of one mill upon each dollar of the valuation of such taxable property. Section 4. The said "Ohio and Miami University Fund," as herein described, shall be distributed and paid annually, seven-twelfths (7-12) thereof to the treasurer of- the Ohio University upon the order of the President of the Board of Trustees of the said Ohio University, and five-twelfths (5-12) thereof to the treasurer of the Miami University upon the order of the President of the Board of Trustees of said Miami University. Section 5. The Governor is hereby authorized and required, within ninety days after the passage of this act, to appoint a board, to be known as the State Normal - 255 - School Commission, consisting of four judicious citizens of the State, not more than two of whom shall be of the same political party, who shall serve without compensation, and whose duty it shall be to make investigation upon the need and advisability of the future establishment by the State of one or more additional normal schools, and to consider in 'hat manner and to what extent existing educational institutions other than those now supported by the State can be made more active and effective in the better training of persons for service in the public schools. SCHOOL BUILDING LANCASTER Section 6.. The State Normal School Commission shall, prior to the meeting of the Seventy-sixth General Assembly, make full re port of its findings and investigations to the Governor who shall upon the organization of the General Assembly transmit to it said report with such recommendation's as he may deem proper. The State Normal School Commission, appointed by Governor Nash, consisted of the following gentlemen : Chas. F. Thwing, Cleveland; John L. Zimmerman, Springfield; William F. Pierce, Knox County, and Chas. L. Swain, Cincinnati. The schools promptly arranged to open their doors for the reception of students at the beginning of the academic year of 1903. Faculties were chosen and the curriculums - 256 - EDWARD SCHOOL BUILDING TROY planned. During the first year of these schools about twelve hundred students attended. The first law relating to the use of text books in the schools of Ohio was passed on the 22nd of April, 1885. It required Boards of Education to adopt text books and prohibited any change in the same within five years, except by a three-fourths vote. A provision was also made authorizing boards to provide free text books. On the 28th of April, 189o, an amendment to this law was passed providing for a School Book Board, composed of the Governor, State Commissioner of Common Schools, Supervisor of Public Printing and two persons appointed by the Governor. This board was authorized to pass upon all books used in the schools, and to fix a price upon the same not to exceed eighty per cent of the publisher's wholesale list price, and in case no satisfactory books could be secured, the board was authorized to receive bids from publishers and authors for furnishing text books, and report the result of the same to the next session OLD HIGH SCHOOL BUILDING TOLEDO - 257 - of the General Assembly for action thereon. On the 4th of April, 1892, the last mentioned law was repealed, and a new law enacted changing the membership of the "State School Book Board" to the Governor and Secretary of State, with the State Commissioner of Common Schools as Secretary. The principal provisions of the former law were retained, with further provisions in regard to publication of text books by the State and a reduction in the maximum price of seventy-five per cent of the wholesale price list. TENNIS COURT, UNIVERSITY SCHOOL CLEVELAND A law was passed on the 27th of April, 1896, making the State Commissioner of Common Schools a member of the State Book Commission, together with the Governor and Secretary of State, and the main provisions of the former law were retained, and similar provisions are also embodied in the new School Code, enacted by the Seventy-sixth General Assembly. The public school buildings of the whole State are a reflection of the wonderful growth in all directions attained by the great State of Ohio during her century of Statehood. While in former years, owing to the sparcity of population, lack of necessary funds and the paucity of educational ideas, the original school house was limited exclusively to the purpose of elementary education, naturally the edifices were plain and unornamental, reflecting the conditions which governed them. But with the growth of population, ever increasing - 258 - wealth, broadening of the mentality of the people, these conditions kept pace with the times, and, consequently, today the edifices devoted to the all-important subject of education are models not only for the original purposes of their construction, but as well in regard to comfort, sanitation and ornamental beauty. The school grounds are also prettily arranged for their respective purposes, especially in the smaller towns and country districts, where the ground is not so confined as in the larger cities of the State. The tendency at present is in the direction of treating the buildings as educational workshops, rather than places having simply so many rooms devoted to school purposes. Libraries, laboratories, provisions for SCHOOL BUILDING LEBANON physical exercises and gymnastics are hardly ever overlooked in the newer structures, and some of those most advanced are actually supplied with bathing facilities. In some schools large concert halls are retained for purposes of entertainments, with stages, equipped with wings, sceneries, curtains and general theatrical paraphernalia. The artistic instincts of the children in many places are fostered by the school itself. Flower beds are laid out on the school grounds, tenderly cared for by the children, who compete in different plots for beauty of effect, prizes being offered to those who show the most artistic taste. These gentle influences for beauty are reflected in the homes of the pupils, and consequently are considered to be of great value, as they promote a love of nature and natural beauty, as well as a knowledge of plant life. - 259 - From small beginnings the public school has developed into an institution of magnificent proportions, great in its power for good, thorough in its system of teaching, and of which the people of the great State of Ohio can eminently be proud. Private Educational Institutions Among the many private institutions devoted to the cause of education in Ohio, the University Schools of Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati are the most worthy of mention. These college preparatory- schools have done much good in the field of education and fully deserve the patronage given to them. The UNIVERSITY SCHOOL of Cleveland may well be placed in the front rank of the institutions of its kind in the country. It is now in the sixteenth year of its history, and both in its standards and methods it is recognized as one of the educational forces of the Middle West. In its beginnings it established a new type of secondary school, and many of its characteristic features have been copied in somewhat similar schools in Detroit, Cincinnati and Asheville. The school is the outgrowth of a Manual Training School established by the leading citizens of Cleveland at a time when this department of educational training was in its infancy in this section of the country. So well pleased were the parents of Cleveland boys with the earlier school, that it finally became natural and possible to establish a complete school, on broad lines, and on so substantial a basis that the school has attracted the attention of educators in many of the older States. The school has acquired an enviable reputation not only in its college preparatory curriculum, sending its pupils to the leading American colleges with a preparation which has often given the school a first rank in the entrance examinations, but the school has also sustained valuable UNIVERSITY SCHOOL COLUMBUS elementary courses in Manual Training, carrying these courses along side by side with the ordinary text book courses, in such a way that all boys, even those of a literary and classical turn of mind, have been required to gain skill in the use of their hands and in the use of tools, in well-equipped manual training shops. Its graduates have entered. Harvard, Yale, Cornell, Princeton, Williams and other colleges and universities, maintaining conspicuous rank in these higher institutions, and widely advertising the somewhat unique character of the school. Seldom has a more complimentary tribute been paid to any institution than that which was paid to this school by Dr. Reichel, President of University College of North Wales, who visited our American institutions in the fall of 1903 as a member of the Alfred Mosely Educational Commission. In the very complete and elaborate report published by this commis- - 260 - sion, the Cleveland school is the only college preparatory school to which extended reference is made. Many Manual Training Schools in the country were visited by the members of this commission, but in his professional tour among the secondary schools, Dr. Reichel was anxious to find some school of first rank where the liberal course of the so-called classical curriculum was regarded incomplete unless it included a proper proportion of manual training, physical culture and the elements of science. With a conservative regard for the old type of education, based upon the classical standards, Dr. Reichel and many of his fellow educators in England have been anxious to establish the fact that technical training has a strong educational value, and that it must be employed to vitalize and complete the old-time courses in language study. At University School in Cleveland, Dr Reichel claimed' to find the somewhat unique educational principle which he sought, and the professional endorsement received by the school in his personal tribute richly corroborates the theories and the educational system which have appeared in the history of this school. In recent years the executives of the school- have still more intimately- correlated its manual training work with the mathematical courses in the regular curriculum, thinking that manual training is not an end worth seeking for its own sake in a school which sends practically all its boys to the colleges and universities, but a subject which adds a real significance to all of the mathematical and scientific studies of a school, making them doubly effective. In its new laboratories the school comes to recognize also the value of teaching even to young boys in an elementary, and at the same time in a very thorough way, the beginnings of a knowledge of the natural world and its material forces. The school was originally a day school, and it is still sustained chiefly through the generous support of Cleveland citizens. Yet by its own record the school has drawn to itself a number of ambitious students from various towns and cities in the State, and now maintains a boarding department, with dormitory provision for some forty or fifty pupils. The UNIVERSITY SCHOOL of Columbus was founded in 1899, when Mr. Frank Theodore Cole, a noted educator of the State ; Prof. Abram -Brown, for many years principal of the Columbus Central High School, and Miss Alice Gladden established that institution. Prof. Brown became principal and Mr. Cole Secretary of the school, which was located at 106 East Broad street. The institution flourished from the beginning. At the end of the first year of its existence Miss Gladden withdrew. The school then moved to 187 East Broad street, into a building especially altered to suit its requirements. In the fall of 1901, Mr. Brown returned to high school work and Mr. Cole became principal, and still con- SCHOOL BUILDING TIPPECANOE - 261 - tinues in that position. The school has had the assistance of a number of educators of note, and has done much good in its particular field of labor. Of the students who enjoyed the benefits of a thorough preparatory training in the University School of Columbus, a great percentage have entered the most renowned universities of our country ; Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Dartsmouth, Amherst, Williams, Middleburg, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cornell, Columbia, Smith, Wellesley, Wells, University of Pennsylvania, Alfred, Western Reserve, Case, Wooster, Marietta, Ohio Wesleyan, Ohio State, Kenyon, Cincinnati Law School and others. The work done in the University School of Columbus has been of high grade, and its future prospects are very bright. SCHOOL BUILDING GLENDALE The youngest preparatory school of its kind in the State is the University School of Cincinnati, founded in 1903. While the institution is still in its infancy, its future work is well outlined and it is modeled after the University School of Cleveland. While Ohio is blessed with splendid educational institutions supported and fostered by the State, she has also within her confines many private schools, outside of the preparatory institutions mentioned above, and many of which for thoroughness of teaching enjoy a reputation second to none in the United States.. These schools are diversified in their teachings, and work along lines of special attainments. There are schools for the teaching of the Deaf ; the Stammerers and Stutterers ; Music ; Ladies' Academies ; and some splendid institutions devoted to technical knowledge. Among the latter an extended article - 262 - should be written in reference to the leading technical school in the State, the Ohio Mechanics' Institute, located at Cincinnati, whose destiny is presided over by that well known educator, John L. Shearer. The men who founded this school are dead, but their names will be honored as long as the city stands and the early struggles of the "Queen City" are recounted to the rising generation. On November 20, 1828, the constitution was adopted, and on February 9th of the following year the institute was incorporated under the laws of the State of Ohio. Dr. J. D. Craig, who had been giving scientific lectures in connection with Dr. John Locke, called a meeting of citizens, formed a committee, and secured the incorporating act. SCHOOL BUILDING BRYAN The names of those who assisted him are Thomas Riley, Lyman Watson, William C. Anderson, David T. Disney, George Graham, Calvin Fletcher, Clement Dare, William Disney, William Greene, James Brewer, Jeffrey Seymour, Israel Schooley, and Elisha Brigham. For twenty years the school occupied various habitations ; the City Council chambers, the old College Building on Walnut street, the Enon Baptist Church (183o), a private school room, and then the famous Trollope's Bazaar on East Third street. In this latter home (in the year 1838), under the auspices of the institute, were founded the "Cincinnati Industrial Exhibitions," through which the city became known to the whole country as an industrial center. - 264 - Until the great "Centennial" in 1888, the institute devoted a large share of its efforts to the cause of Cincinnati's business prosperity In February, 1838, a Mechanics' and Citizens' Ball was held at the National Theater, and $2,400 was raised for the benefit of the school. In 1839 the institution purchased Mrs. Trollope's "Folly," as the bazar had been styled; $10,000 was the price. Again the institute was unable to hold its property, and in 1847 the bazar reverted. The present home of this grand old institution is over fifty years old, the corner-stone being laid on July 4, 1848. To recount the many important events with which this time-honored structure is associated would fill several volumes. It is the gift of many donors. From twenty-five cents, a day's labor, a load of lumber, a keg of nails, to the gifts of thousands of dollars made by-Miles Greenwood and Marston Allen, ranged the contributions that finally cleared the EVERTS SCHOOL BUILDING CIRCLEVILLE indebtedness. In the year 1900 it was completely remodeled, two additional stories built upon its substantial walls and fitted up with every modern convenience. The purpose of the institute has been from its very beginning the education of the skilled workman. Since 1856 technical class instruction has been carried on, so that more than 17,000 students have gone out to enrich this and other cities by their superior training. There are now more than one thousand students in departments which are of great practical ability in a city dependent so largely upon its manufacturing industries. Machine design, architectural drawing, trade designing of every description, technical chemistry, mathematics, physics and applied electricity, the modern languages, industrial economy, painting, wood-carving and modeling, manual training in a great variety of branches, together with the essentials of a good English high school education, are taught by a corps of twenty-five eminent specialists. - 265 - For many years the class instruction of the institution was limited to evening hours ; now day and evening departments are maintained. The Ohio Mechanics' Institute founded the first public library in the city, and the present Public Library of Cincinnati had its first home in the institute building. The Board of Education also occupied quarters at the institute for a time. The signal tower of the Fire Department was also located on the building for many years. In 1856 "The School of Design of the Ohio Mechanics Institute" was founded, and it was so successful that it led to the introduction of drawing into the public schools. - 266 - COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES The Ohio Institutions of Higher Learning Magnificent Gifts for Educational Purposes. — The First College West of the Alleghenies. — Universities Fostered by the State. —Private and Denominational Universities. — Splendid Educational Opportunities Ohio's Pride. THE ordinance of 1787, which created the Northwestern Territory, also provided for the establishment of institutions of higher learning ; consequently, sixteen years before Ohio was admitted into the Union as a State, the farseeing framers of that great historic ordinance anticipated and provided for collegiate education in this territory. The influence of that ordinance has been without any doubt, of the greatest consequence and importance to the fame and development of the State of Ohio, for by its provisions it arranged a perpetual revenue for educational purposes. A clause in this ordinance reads as follows : "No more than two complete townships should be given perpetually for the purpose of the university to be laid off by the purchaser or purchasers as may be (so that the same shall be of good land), to be applied to the intended object by the Legislature of the State." As there was a superabundance of land, and as the country was pretty sure to fill up rapidly, such an endowment was supposed to be the most staple and almost certain to increase greatly in value. The history of many land grants for education shows, however, that while the expectation of increase in value has been realized, the beneficiaries have not derived the full benefits from this increase, owing to the fact that to obtain immediate and necessary funds they have been compelled to sell part, at least, of the grants. The distinction, of being not only the oldest college within the present State of Ohio, but as well the first institution of higher learning west of the Allegheny Mountains, supported by a public land endowment, belongs to the Ohio University, located at Athens, in 1804. Since that time more than forty universities have been founded in Ohio, and they reflect the spirit of the State in its development. They are not operated on a uniform plan, but rather conform to the requirements of the particular territory in which they are located, or a particular denomination, creed or race. Within the borders of the State can be found an institution of learning which is a sample of nearly every variety of college known to the American people. The Ohio University As above mentioned, the first university created under the provisions of the ordinance of 1787 was the Ohio University, at Athens. The lands to be devoted to the support of that school of learning were located in 1795. The townships were numbers eight and nine, in the fourteenth range, now Athens and Alexander, in Athens County. The first families removed to them in 1797, and settled near the present site of the town of Athens. Two years later the Territorial Legislature appointed three commissioners "to lay off, in the most suitable place within the township, a town plat, which should contain a square for the college; also lots suitable for house lots and gardens for a president, professors, tutors, etc., bordering on, or encircled by spacious commons, and such a number of town lots adjoining the said commons and out-lots as they think will be for the advantage of the university." In the same year Dr. Cutler sent his draft of an act of incorporation for the university. In this draft he said, among other things ; "Forty or fifty thousands dollars can not be too high, as it must be applied to one of the most useful and important purposes to society and government." Passing over some intermediate legislation, we find that the General Assembly of the new State that had just been admitted into the Union, passed, in 1804, an act of which Section I gave to the institution its present name, the Ohio University, and defined - 269 - its object to be "the instruction of youth in all the various branches of liberal arts and sciences, the promotion of good education, virtue, religion and morality, and the conferring of all the degrees and literary honors granted in similar institutions." Section 2 provided for the corporate existence of a Board of Trustees, and also "for the subdivision of college lands into tracts of not less than eighty acres nor more than one hundred and forty acres ; the valuation of them by three disinterested and judicious freeholders as in their original and unimproved state, and the leasing of the same for the term of ninety years, renewable forever, on a yearly rent of six per centum of the amount of the valuation so made by the said freeholders ; and the land so leased shall be subject to a revaluation at the expiration of thirty-five years, and to another revaluation at the expiration of sixty years, from the commencement of the MAIN BUILDING OF MIAMI UNIVERSITY OXFORD, OHIO term of each lease, which revaluation shall be conducted and made on the principles of the first, and the lessee shall pay a yearly rent of six per centum on the amount of the valuation so to be made ; and forever thereafter at a yearly rent equal to and not exceeding six per centum of the amount of a valuation, to be made as aforesaid at the expiration of the term of ninety years aforesaid. * * * Provided, always, That the corporation shall have power to demand a further yearly rent on the said lands and tenements, not exceeding the amount of tax imposed on property of like description by the State." The first building was erected on the northeast side of the present campus and known as the "Academy." It was of wood and has long since been torn down. The first building for collegiate purposes proper was put up in 1817. This is, therefore, the oldest structure of the - 270 - kind in the entire Northwest, if not west of the Alleghenies. It is four stories high above the basement, and though somewhat remodeled twenty years ago, is substantially the original building and is still in use. Twenty years later two additional buildings, also of brick, were put up. In 1881 what was for a time known as the "chapel building," was erected and subsequently removed to its present site in order to make room for Ewing Hall, the newest, as well as the largest of the college buildings. Though the university was chartered in 1804 no instruction was given until 1809. In June, 1808, the Board laid out a course of instruction which embraced "the English, Latin and Greek languages, mathematics, rhetoric, logic, geography, natural and moral philosophy." One year later when the school was formally opened but three students presented themselves. This is not surprising when we consider the sparseness and poverty of the new-comers on the soil of Ohio. It seemed a paradoxical scheme to establish a university before preparatory schools had been provided, yet this has been the history of education from the remotest times—the higher has always preceded the lower, though the latter did not always appear. For some years the university had but one instructor, the Rev. Jacob Lindley, a graduate of Princeton. In 1812 Artemas Sawyer, a graduate of Harvard, was added as a second teacher, and six years later a third was added. The first graduate was Thomas Ewing, w ho was probably the first person to receive a college diploma in all Western America. This document was dated 1815. The distinguished subsequent career of Mr. Ewing is well known. It is identified not only with the history of Ohio, but with that of the nation. The revenues of the university were at first very small, but they would in time have increased to a respectable sum, as the two townships above named contain nearly fifty thousand acres. Unfortunately the Legislature interfered to prevent the revaluation of its lands, notwithstanding the decisions of the various courts, so that the income from the rent duplicate is and will remain at less than thirty-five hundred dollars per annum. This legislative act of 1843 dealt the university a blow from which it has never fully recovered. The loss of revenue it caused may be estimated by the following statement : According to the decennial appraisement of 1900, the value of the land was, exclusive of improvements and inclusive of roadbeds of railroads $1,356,615. Six per cent of this amount would give an annual income of $81,376.9o. Toward the close of the seventies the Legislature began to make 'annual appropriations for the support of the university, and in 1896 enacted the so-called "Sleeper Bill," which has since then given it a revenue of nearly thirty thousand dollars. The "Seese Bill," passed at the regular session of 1902, makes provision for a State Normal College in connection with the university, and gives for its support an annual revenue of about $38,000. The total yearly revenue of the university, from all sources, is, approximately, $85,000. Though the college has been giving instruction from 1809 under the charge successively of Rev. Jacob Lindley and Rev. James Irvine, its first President, as he is usually designated, was not elected until 1824, when Robert G. Wilson, a native of North Carolina, and a graduate of Dickinson College, was chosen to fill the position. His successor was the well-known Dr. William H. McGuffey. For a few years, dating from 1845, owing to financial embarrassments, the institution was closed, but in 1848 it was reopened under the Presidency of Dr. Alfred Ryors. Dating from 1852, Dr. Solomon Howard was President for twenty years, and was succeeded by Dr. W. H. Scott. From 1883 to 1901, Dr. Charles W. Super was at the head of the institution with the exception of two years, 1896-1898, when the position was held by Dr. Isaac Crook. The term of the present incumbent, Dr. Ellis, began on the 18th of July, 1901. - 271 - The government is by a board of nineteen trustees appointed for life by the Governor of the State, and confirmed by the Senate. In addition the Governor of Ohio and the President of the university are members ex-officio. The Miami University The Miami University is the second institution of higher learning established in Ohio and in the immense territory west of the Allegheny Mountains. Ten days after the adoption of the great ordinance of 1787, Congress adopted the report of a committee which provided that the Board of Treasury should be authorized and empowered to contract with BRICE SCIENTIFIC HALL, MIAMI UNIVERSITY OXFORD, OHIO any person or Persons for a grant of certain lands lying to the north of the Ohio River. Pursuant to this John Cleves Symmes made a petition for a grant of land between the two Miami Rivers, and by an act of Congress passed on the 5th of May, 1792, the President of the United States was authorized and empowered to lease to John Cleves Symmes, a certain tract of land, a portion of which should be forever reserved for the support of an institution - 272 - of higher learning. The grant, originally for one million acres, was modified to as much as Symmes and his associates could pay for. In the disposal of these lands it happened that the terms of the contract could not be .literally fulfilled, and by an act of Congress, on the 3d of March, 1803, the Legislature of Ohio was authorized to enter one complete township, west of the Great Miami, in lieu of the original township within the Symmes' purchase, and the trust was vested in the Legislature of Ohio, to be held forever for the purpose of education as set forth in the several articles, and for no other purpose whatsoever. Six weeks later, on the 15th of April, 1803, in accepting the trust, the Legislature passed an article entitled, "An Act to Provide for the Locating of a College Township in the District of Cincinnati." Lebanon, Warren County was first selected by a committee and the report signed by Alexander Campbell and James Kilbourne. The fact that the third member had not met with the committee gave rise to a debate in the Legislature, and the location was finally fixed in Oxford Township, Butler County. On the 17th of February, 1809, the Legislature of Ohio passed an act entitled, "An Act to Establish Miami University." By means of legislative action buildings were erected and the school opened in 1816, as a preparatory school, and in 1824 as a college. The first class was graduated in 1826. Under the stimulus of the land grant, the spirit of the ordinance of 1787, the co-operation of the State and the rapid settlement of the Miami Valley, the college soon became one of the most renowned west of the Alleghenies. Under an act passed by the Legislature of 1809, the leasing of the lands with a revaluation every fifteen years was provided, but the important provision regarding the revaluation was repealed in 181o, and the result was a similar condition of affairs, as narrated in the sketch of the Ohio University. In 1812 another act was passed which provided that the actual settlers should, from a given date and forever after, pay a yearly rent of six per cent, upon the purchase money. Thus by positive legislation, added to the act which repealed the law providing for a revaluation, the university was forever hindered from securing an increased revenue from the lands of Oxford Township. The first President, Rev. Robert H. Bishop, D. D., was a man whose strong personality dominated the ideals of the new college. Associated with him were men equally attached to the classical education. The early curriculum shows the superiority of the men and it is doubtful whether any modern college represents a classical course superior to that offered at Miami seventy-five years ago. The college became noted for its public spirit and the record of its men brought it a national reputation. From time to time some enlargement was proposed, but did not succeed. A law school at one time and medical school at another were proposed, but failed. A normal course was sustained for some time but gradually fell into disuse. The school had been built upon the classical pattern and the alumni regarded lightly any other conception. For seventy-five years it was a consistent and high grade small college of the classical type. The institution had suffered from lack of revenues and became so involved that the trustees closed the doors in 1873. In 1885 the university was reopened. During this time the buildings were leased for a private school and the funds were allowed to increase. In 1885 the State made the first appropriation to repair the buildings and continued small appropriations from year to year until 1896, when a provision was made for the permanent support of the university by levying an annual tax upon the property of the State. An act making an additional levy was passed by the Legislature in March, 1902, to enable the trustees to establish a Normal School in connection with Miami University. The university is thus afforded a permanent and regular income, and the State of Ohio has expressed its purpose to administer, with reasonable liberality, the trust vested by the Congress of the United States. - 273 - Miami University is governed by a board of twenty—seven trustees appointed for the term of nine years, in three classes. These trustees are appointed by the Governor of Ohio, subject to confirmation by the Senate. The Legislature of 1904 again added an increase to the income of Miami University, which is now the second largest of any institution of similar grade in the State of Ohio. The same Legislature appropriated $4o,000 for a new dormitory for women, to be known as "Hepburn Hall." In April, 1905, Andrew Carnegie gave Miami University the amount of $40,000 for a new Library Building, which, when completed, will make perfect the equipment of that university. The enrollment for the year 1904 was seven hundred and twenty-four. The location of Miami University, covering sixty-five acres, is probably one of the GYMNASIUM BUILDING, MIAMI UNIVERSITY OXFORD, OHIO most beautiful of any American college. Outside of dormitories for men and women, the institution, occupies a Main University Building, Brice Scientific Hall, the gift of the late United States Senator Brice, and the Herron Gymnasium. During the war of the Rebellion-, Miami's graduates, almost to a man, were found enlisted or engaged in some form of public service. Many of these men are still hard at work, so that it has been said that Miami has more prominent men among her alumni than any other 'Western College. A strong American sentiment permeates every vein_ of the Miami student or graduate. Miami has been pre-eminently in her history, a college of public spirit. The student catches the spirit of patriotic devotion to the public welfare as a duty, and the graduate feels that he owes something to his country. College spirit has always been identical with a high idea of citizenship. - 274 -