St. Clair County, Illinois - Chapter 32, 1928

Chapter 32

5./^ RESIDENT JoHN F. Harmon's transfer 1^ to the Kansas Wesleyan in the spring of iQi'i left McKendree again without a president. The Board, taken unawares, had not had opportunity to cast about in search of a suitable man before commencement. Professor J. C. DoUey had been serving as vicepresident for several years, so they placed him in charge of the institution as acting president, until such time as a president could he found. On commencement day of that year, Dr. Harmon presided at the graduating exercises as usual, and after the degrees had been conferred, he made his farewell address and in the presence of the entire assembly turned the keys of the institution over to Acting-President Dolley. Professor DoUey looked after the interests of the college during the summer. He held several meetings of the executive committee, saw that the vacancies in the faculty were filled, directed the campaign for new students and had things m readiness for the opening in September. In the meantime. Governor Deneen and some other members of the Board were on the look-out for a man for president. About the first of September, Dr. H. W. Hurt was suggested to him as a suitable man for the place. After a personal interview with him. Governor Deneen called the Board together in a special session September 15, for the purpose of considering the candidacy of Dr. Hurt for president of McKendree. At the meeting, Dr. Hurt was present and freely expressed his views as to how a college should be conducted. After due deliberation the Board elected Dr. Hurt to the position at a salary of three thousand five hundred dollars, which was the largest salary ever granted to a president of McKendree up to that time. Dr. Hurt was still a young man, not quite thirty-two years of age. A brief sketch of him follows herewith.

Huber William Hurt was born at Princeton, Missouri and educated in the public schools and the Iowa Wesleyan University from which institution he graduated in 1Q04, receiving the degree of A. B. He did graduate work in Chicago University and also spent a year at the Royal University of Berlin. Before taking up the work of the college presidency, he had spent several years as high school principal, first in Oskaloosa, Iowa, and then at Lockport, Illinois. In 191 2, he had received the honorary degree of LL. D. from his alma mater. During the years 1912- 191 5, he had been president of Lombard College at Galesburg, Illinois. So that he came to McKendree with some experience m solving such problems as he was about to face. He was a man of fine physique, well trained in body and mind, an ardent advocate of athletics, a good mixer, a ready and at tractive platform speaker, and reared as a Methodist. So that all in all he seemed peculiarly well fitted for the position he was to take at McKendree. Also Mrs. Hurt was a woman of fine appearance and good social qualities, an excellent vocalist and for years a teacher of voice. These two, with their two small daughters made a dehghtful family, not only suitable to occupy the home of the president of the college, but also a real addition to the social and literary circles of the city of Lebanon. Dr. Hurt immediately brought his family to Lebanon and took up his duties as president. He studied the situation and the history of the institution carefully during his first year and began to put his plans into effect the second. At the meeting ot the Board in 1916, Dr. O. H. Clark paid the new president a very high compliment by the statement, which found its way into the records of the Board, that he had been attending meetings of the Board for forty-four years and had never heard so complete and thorough a representation of the condition and needs of the college as was set forth in President Hurt's report, which was printed and a copy placed in the hands of every member of the Board.

He enlarged the faculty, did expert advertising, and prepared for expansion along all lines. The list of the members of the faculty in the first catalogue published by President Hurt is as follows : James C. Dolley, Latin and Greek ; William Flint Thrall, English; Edwin P. Baker, German; William C. Walton, Philosophy and Education; George R. New, Chemistry and Physics; Henry Reece Brentzell, Agriculture; Arthur E. Brooks, Mathematics; Marvin W. Kruger, Physical Director; Walter Hugh Whitlock, Bible; Edna G. Bacon, Dean of Women; Frank M. Church, Director of Music Department; Latchipell Myrick, Voice; Waclav F. Fransee, Violin; Mabel R. Stiffey, Home Economics; Helen Horner, Expression; Anne E. Wilkinson, Art. The faculty of the

Academy for that year included the following: Edward B. Waggoner, Principal, History and Science; C. Grouse, English and Pedagogy; Joel H. Swartz, Chemistry and Physics; J. W. A. Kinison, Latin; Alice E. Hitch, French and Mathematics.

The next year the following new names are found in the faculty hst: James Rees Ewing, Social Science; Harold P. Kean, Mathematics; William Zinkeisen, Chemistry; N. LT. Nelson, Biology; Horace Gunthorp, Biology; Mary S. Garth, Home Economics; Mary Funfar, Dean of Women and Home Economics; W. H. A. Moore, Director of Music; and Agnes Horton, Art. Some of these were in place of some who went to other positions and others were additions to the number of the faculty. In the Academy faculty we note the following new names: William York Critchley, English; W. C. Levan, Science; Cyrus Gentry, Latin and German; and Mrs. Clara Mason, Home Economics.

People seemed to expect great things of Dr. Hurt's administration. No one could say that he did not perform his duties well, both in the institution and in the wide field of the patronizing territory. He wrought with the hand of a master. He was a veritable bundle of energy and seemed abundantly able to endure the strongest strain that incessant travel and speech-making could place upon him.

But notwithstanding the skillful advertising and the energetic field work, the attendance of students did not increase as rapidly as the president and his helpers had hoped it would. It was about this time that the Wesley Foundation was established at the University of Illinois. Its secretary was a member of the Southern Illinois Conference, and doubtless some Methodists sent their sons to the University who otherwise would have sent them to McKendree. Doctor Hurt was a Methodist and educated at a Methodist college, yet for the three years preceding his coming to McKendree, he had been president of a college sponsored by the Universalists. Very naturally rumors were afloat throughout the conference, that he was tinged with the doctrines of Universalism. And for that reason some Methodists hesitated about sending their sons to McKendree. As a result of these various influences the increase of the student enrollment did not keep pace with the increase of the faculty and the expenses of the institution. So it became harder each year for the college to meet its financial obligations. Dr. Hurt's strong point as a college executive was "standards". Previous to this time the standard by which the faculty members were measured was efficiency, rather than the degrees they held or the number of years of training. And students were granted degrees when they had earned enough credits without regard to the time it took to earn them. A considerable number of McKendree graduates went to the University of Illinois to do their graduate work. The authorities of the university, investigating their qualifications, found that many of our students earned their degrees in three years or a httle more. This led to the university requiring additional work of McKendree graduates before giving them full graduate standing. Dr. Hurt undertook the difficult task of reforming all these irregularities and bringing our standards into conformity with the criterions of the university. This he did quite successfully; and when the time was ripe he invited an inspector from the University. A group of them came and looked over the institution very thoroughly, and gave us a rating of class B in the list of recognized colleges. This was quite satisfactory to McKendree since there were only a very few class A colleges in the state.

This standardization was the great service which Dr. Hurt rendered to the college during his administration as president. He also made and published a survey of McKendree which was one of the most thorough and elaborate pieces of work in the field of statistics to be found anywhere. Dr. Hurt received many compliments' upon his skill in preparing it and other college presidents asked for copies of it as a model of its kind. But its publication cost a large sum of money and there were other expenses whose total far exceeded the in - come of the college ; so that when the Board met in June, 1917 they were facing a big deficit, and it was felt by all the more conservative members that there must be retrenchment of some kind. Dr. Hurt wanted to take a year off to do the additional school work required for him to secure the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. So after much conference it was decided to allow the president a year's leave of absence, though continuing as nominal president of the college he was without specific duty in relation to it, and without salary. At the same time Professor E. P. Baker was made Dean and Acting-president. Dean Baker immediately assumed the responsibilities of the institution and continued in the position of acting-president until the election of Dr. McCammon in 1 91 9. One improvement should be mentioned which was made in the physical plane during Dr. Hurt's presidency. That is the enlargement of the science hall. Up to this time It had only one floor. By means of a piece of careful mechanical engineering, the roof was raised and the walls built up sufficiently to put in two additional floors and make it a three story building. This gave much more laboratory room.

It was about this tmie that an effort was made to secure, by legislative enactment, a dry zone about McKendree College. This was before the time of national prohibition and no one knew how near we were to it at that time. The Joint Board appointed a committee consisting of Dr. Hurt, Rev. W. H. Whitlock, and Rev. Cameron Harmon to secure the passage of a suitable bill by the Illinois Legislature. The bill was prepared and a petition asking for the passage of it, was circulated throughout the patronizing territory of McKendree, and many thousand signatures of voters were obtained. This was sent up to the Legislature with the bill. Dr. Hurt secured the services of Hon. Charles L. Wood, a member of the State Senate, to engineer the bill through that body. It successfully passed the Senate, but in the House the situation was different. No dry legislation whatever was permitted to pass the lower house of the legislature that year and so the Dry Zone bill was lost. At the meeting of the college Board in January, 1917, Dr. Hurt reported to that body that Mrs. Benson Wood of Effingham had promised a gift of $12,500 to build a library for McKendree in memory of her late husband. The Board approved the site which Dr. Hurt had selected for the proposed new building and appointed a building committee to cause its erection. The committee was composed of the following members of the Board, Ira Blackstock, L. C. Haynes, L. C. Wilkm, Frank Condrey, and W. H. Whitlock. But because funds were not immediately available, nothing was done toward the building until later in the year.

At the commencement exercises of 1917, after the degrees had been conferred upon the graduating class, Dr. Hurt introduced Professor E. P. Baker, who had been elected Dean and Acting-President, as the officer to whom had been intrusted the responsibility of guiding the affairs of the college during his year's leave of absence. In a few well chosen words Dean Baker acknowledged the honor as well as the obligation which had been placed upon him, declared his loyalty to the institution and his purpose to "carry on" the work of the college, even in the face of the difficult conditions caused by the World War, and declared his willingness to be known m the years to come as the "War Dean" of McKendree. The year was one of peculiar difficulty. The college was cramped for means. It was difficult to raise money for any purpose, except war activities. Teachers could be obtained only at war time salaries, and McKendree had no means of increasing pay in proportion to the increase of living expenses. One teacher in the faculty at that time demanded and received the same salary as that paid to the acting president. Dean Baker secured the filling of the vacancies m the faculty before the opening of the new school year and as soon as the funds became available he began to push the building of the new library. The contract was let to Mr. Fred Ganschinietz of East St. Louis for $14,706 to be built according to the specifications drawn by Mr. Rinaker of Carlinville, Illinois. Although he is a professional architect, he did not charge the college for his services on condition that he be permitted to place in the building a memorial tablet in honor of his father, General John Irving Rinaker, who was a graduate of Mc- Kendree m the class of iS^i. This tablet may be seen now just mside the front entrance of the building. The work of building was pushed as rapidly as the weather would permit during the winter and the structure was complete, ready for dedication at the commencement of 1918. On account of war conditions McKendree, like many other colleges, held her commencement a week earlier than it was advertised in the catalogue. The dedication of the library occurred the day before commencement, that is, June 5, at three o'clock P. M. Rev. J. W. Webster was appointed to officiate because he was Mrs. Wood's pastor. Dr. C. B. Spencer, Editor of the Central Christian Advocate, also made an address. The state of Mrs. Wood's health did not permit her to be present. She gave $3,000 additional on the annuity plan to finish pay ing for the library. Mr. Ira Blackstock had also contributed $1,000 to help make up the deficit.

The building is of smooth red brick, one story and base ment, with slate roof. It has a large well equipped reading room, besides the stack room on the main floor and abundance of storage room in the basement for less used books. The library is now catalogued and in charge of a competent libra' rian and a sufficient number of assistants to keep it open for the use of students from 8 A. M. until 9. P. M. every day in the week. A library fee of two dollars a semester is charged each student and this furnishes approximately a thousand dollars a year for the upkeep of the library. For ninety years McKendree was handicapped by the lack of adequate library facilities, but now she is able to furnish her students a most excellent opportunity for research in the various fields of literature and science.

In the fall of 1918 in order to have more soldiers in readiness if they should be needed in the near future, and yet not cut them off entirely from the opportunity of getting a college education, the government provided that the boys of eighteen, just out of high school, might go to college instead of to the training camp, wherever a unit of a hundred or more students in that class could be assembled. McKendree secured a unit of that kind. The organization was known as the Students Army Training Corps, and usually referred to as the S. A. T. C. Major Anderson of the United States Army was appointed to take charge of our S. A. T. C, with the assistance of two lieutenants. The course of study was in part prescribed by the government and courses were offered in certain departments of the college which were supposed to be useful to soldiers. Of course miHtary training was a large part of the work of these students. A rigid physical examination was given to each man. All but a very few passed this successfully, but those who did not were rejected from the training corps. They could either return home or enter college as an ordinary stu' dent. The doors were removed from all the rooms in Carnegie Hall and the dormitory was made into a military barracks. The college campus became a parade ground and the soldier's uniform was in evidence in the college class room. The war seemed to be coming to our very doors. Even the members of the faculty felt that in some way they were doing war work, and endured the meatless and wheatless days with philosophic cheerfulness. Things were just getting adjusted and we were becoming accustomed to the military regime when the armistice was signed. The whole country except the profiteers, drew a long breath of relief and looked about to see what was the next thing. Without consulting the colleges the government suddenly decided to reduce expenses by ceasing to support the S. A. T. C. When the government pay checks ceased to come the most of the army training students took their departure.

The classes which graduated during this administration follow, with the degree received, and where we could get the information, the occupation and residence of each.

The Class Of 1919

THE CLASS OF 1919 Chapman, David Elmer, A. B., Business Indianapolis, Ind. DoUey, James Clay, Jr., A. B., Educator Berkeley, Calif. Harper, Thomas Edward, B. S., Pastor St. Francisville