Sicg
n
___...._.,
'l'HE AGlUCULTURAT. COJ.J~EGE. Ita Ruln.Uon~t to the EtlncaUouttlntu.li'la-tea·ln.l Interests oC Uu; Sti\Le. Aadrcss .Dclit~rctl by Hon. J. S. Sltmr,.-:r, Cit Uu: Cbnt.
-tncn<"envnt Etcr(.ise.B oj the Stale Agri.ruUural OJUcye, June 5, 1881.
mo
hn,•e the privilege of deliveringell~ an address to the first graduating
class of this Institution is an honor thatisapprecintcd more than I now cure to express. 'Vhat I shall say will not be all I •bould like to say, _nor said in the manner nnd with t..be scholaatrc finish common and appropriate to such
occa-sions, but ruther the plain, unnuuished talk of a busy man who hopes what he mny say will be practical and use-ful rather than theoretical and orn a-mental, that thus this address may
comport with the general tenor and design of a school that leaches the
scholar how ho or she mny certeinly
succeed in the busy world, tiH\t you, young lacHes and gentlemen, nre, after to-da;r, to enter upon.
'£hmking that but few, if any, of the 11tudents hero assembled, aud in fact, but few of this select and intelligent audience, nro famihnr with the eurly history of the Agricultural College, I have seen fit to epitomjze its fol;nlient points, that the present pupils and those who 1nay come after, tnay know
how persistently and intelligently tho projectors of tlli.· College luwo worked to build up an i11~titution in which they can obtain au education nt a cost thnt approache", if it doe• not n!Jso-I!Olutely ren.ch, the ruinimum.
Years ago, Uack in the decade of t.he sixties, n number or t•nlrrpri~lng citi·
zens of thi~ then •rarsely settled county conc·ch•ed the idea of founding nn u.gricultuntl coll<·g-('. How very Utopian thi!:i idea. mu~t lntvc Appeared t& the nseruge Coloradoan of tbat dn,y, we ha,·e only to remember tbt\t the
territory contained i.>uL nbout thirty thousand people and uinc-lcnths of those euguged or interested in mining n.nd ,·ery few in ngri~ullural or JHechao· icu.l pursuit.sj that in those days very few irrjgut.ing canals h~d be n buHt,
in fact, il rig:ation was but vaguely un-derstood, and that the lenders of public opinion nnd political economy looked with contempt upon the few who were trying to fartu.
'ro inaugurate the mov(•nH.•nt for a college, a. gifL of land wa'i oiJtnined, now the ColleA"r farm. 'rilt' 'l'l'ITitorial
legislature of 1870 w:u; importunCl1 to
recognir.e the fact. It i~ ~om'Jwhat
singulal', hut yet iu an·onluncc with the general spirit of the ideas of so-culled atatrsmrn of Colorado of t.Uat duy, that the legislature thought so little of the idea of nn agricultuml cot-lege, tlmt they did not clotho the
request for the iustitution witb tho dignity of a public or general law, but ineoqJomled it by n prl vale net. Pri-vate, jmleed! The day is fast comine-,
and is ahnost here, when the institu-tion that was th u con tern ptuously rec-ognized will stand before the people of this State ns the one particular school from which 1uen and women are aent,
men and womeu who hnve brains and brawn; wbo cau praetically
demon-strate for the ~rood of the State the les-sons taugb t them here.
Section2ofthls "private act" named as trustees of the College the following gentlemen. James M. Smith, John ·wheeler, 'l'imothy M. Smith, Hu~rh Munson, Jesse M. Sherwood, B. F. \Vhertbee, Samuel Ashcroft, H. B. Bearce, G. Berkley, J. '1'. Lynch, M. Lucero aHd S"mucl H. Elbert. This
act ps·ovided generally for the est ab-lishment and management of an agri-cultural college.
In 1872, the 'l'erritorial legi lature amended section 2 of the "private net" of 1870, by making some change in the trustees, and numed the following 1;entlomen us members of the Board:
r.
M. Sm!lh, li. C. Peterson, J. M.Sherwood, B. H. Eaton, A. H. De-France, amuel H. Elbert; J. Marshall Paul, A. F. Howes, GrnnYillcBerkley,
A. R. Yount, George M. Chilcott, nnd B. F. W'heclhee, gentlemen who nre to-day well known to the citizens of the State.
'£he College in these days wns in embryo, the seed was plnnted and tho pntient, persistent projectors were wait-mg for fruition. This must como by the admission of the Terr-itory into tho sisterhood of States, when they could avail themselves of the gift of 90,000 llcres of land to be inherited from tho pnrent s.tovcrnment.
The 'l'en-itoriallegislnture of 1874 ap-propriated the sum of one thousand dol-lars to aid in tbe erection of buildings ttnd in making other improvementll on the grounds now belonging to the institution. This sum of money was given on the condition tbnt tho trus-tees should raise by subscri/ltion, or otherwise, one thousand do lttrs, the said sum of money to be also ex ponded upon buildings. Those of you who were here in 1874 !mow bow faithfully
this was done. It was but au irHli
ffcr-ent loolting plaut, but from jt hns
grown and is growing a vigorous, thrifty and expanding troo, under Lht> shadow and protection of which nrc germinating useful human plants. From the little rill thus •tnrted i• flow-ing n swelling stream from which tho youth is drinking kngwledge to
ue
disscmim\led for the benctit of tho State nnd of mankind.The next legislntion that is noted in our statutes in relation to the Agricul-tural College is in 1876, au epoch iu the history of our '£erritory >tml Slute. This is the yellr that Colorndo assumcct full-fledged Statehood, on the Centen-nial annivQreary of an hlstori011l event that broke the shaoldes of tyrunts and despots, that announced to the dmvn -troddcn aud en•laved of all nation& the now familiar truism that "all mon are born free and equal."
'£he first general assembly of the State of Colorado in 1876 enacted that a tax of one-tenth of a mill be levied p.nd. coll<arJ<l.dJP.r_J.rudmildlJ•n-~li.'1•M') recollection is, the amount raised by this levy was something less than fort;r-five hundred dollars per year dunng the timo the tax extended,
In 1878 tho eroction of the main
College building was bc~eun; tbe corner stone was laid wlth due and imposing ceremonies on July
27th of that ye:tr, and tl~e 1\rPt etuolJ, ment of scholars was made in the spring of 1879: nut tho annual cata-logues of the school have announce<\ aU these fncts, ns also who were the trustees and teachers of the Collego1 and this is DOL what I desire to talk of. In 1~i9 the general assembly in, cren~ec'l ~he 1IPY;Y of tnxntion fos· tho Colle~e to Oi;e-ftf!h of n mill, ancl lou ned the trustees $0,000
lo
pay upcer-tain inciebtedne>s incuq•e11 ill the ercc,
lion of the main buildiRJl jipd
;nain-tenunce of the school, sni<l ln11n to be repaid to the Slate out of llw II'" to be
collected. The legislature nf 1881
amended tho laws for the man~tretnen~ of the Collc~re, so that ccrtaiJl llefect~ were ,·emoved and more efficienpy WtUI
imparted lo the management, •mllal9A
extended the lc,·y of the tal{ Ill' one, fifth of u mill fur the years l~li\UII
188~.
c s:::;eri.l :u em1Jly of 1883 apprA, t-•" " "tf"Lf!O(l f.-.!' hP PT'N"tin" o•HJ rurumnts g or " sustni:Jio building for~
l!!itg 1c:l ---·· mechanical depurtmeflt !l!Hl a con~er· vatory, as additions to the College; also extended tho levy of the tnx of one-fifth of a mill, so that It be per• petnal, o1· until repealed. I llad for· gotten to mention that in additiOn to the main College, the trustees had built out of the approp1·iations of monies by the general assembly, a large and com -modjous dormiwry for the accommo·
dation of the student., In connec
-tion with lilJS brief recital of the
b~tory of the Agricultural College, it is not inappropriate to note the fact that the friends of thisin•titutlou have always been able, by their alertness and indefatigable indu~try and energy,
to get the legislatiou they desired
through both hou•es so thnt Llie'y are invariably the first laws pa'>Sed. 'l'hey have been able to do this becaus<l, they could bring to befit· such \ml\ns,\ici->;~,ble arguments for the necessities of their demands and could show such useful
and economical expenditures of the
monies given thcn_11 thut all opposition was disarmed. Only one thing is to
be complained of in the aid rendered
the College by tho legislati vc
tLutilori-tles, wbicll was o.n inexcusa.blo neglect of the lower bouse of the United States Qongrc""• for four years to pass the
gill
plll!scd by two senate,, to alluwour!:!tate authorities to selcbt the donnUon of90,000 Mrcs from :tny of the gove
rn-meut lands. 'l'hnn ks to tho energy
an<l help of a meml>er of tho present
Board of "l'rusLees, til is nmch needed legislatiou is 110w a law, nnll at last, or so soon as the red tape man:lgcmcnt of the Land office, or tho dilatoriness of the head executive power of the Oov-crntncnt will p<'rmit it, t.hc Uollege will ha.vc this munificent gift from whic·h to drawn fund to ful'ther in-crease the cfllrieucy of the T n'titution.
I have briefly called yotll' attention to what the f1·icnds and the 'tate have <lone fot· this College, tlmt you may know who to thank and remember,
und to further remind the 1:1tudents that they m~o a duty not only to their parents, the1 r teachers lLnd the trustees of the College, but also to the projectors nud founders of tho school, <IMtl farther to the State for tile OJ)J>Ortu nitics of-fered them for obtaining a practical education. When you go from thio school to enter upon the practical
reali-ties of life, nlwa.ys bear with you tha
remembrance that you n1·e the
custo-dians of the good uan1e und fame of
the institution of whirh you are 0110 of tho alumni; that your good ac~' will ro-ft.cct honor upon your ahnrt Jilflft·,·, tlJat
your bad or inefficient deed; will not only concentrate cl"itirisnt upon your· solves, but upou tho school front which you came. !Iavo a. pride to scorn to be a clrouc in the busy hive of this
life. Emulate the deeds of the good and the true.
'rhis College is a liult in the chain of knowledge that con nccts the IJest of all, the common schooi::J, with wbn.t i!'l
termed a higher education. In many ways tho Agricaltnrnl College, as con-ducted here, is better than the common school. Here are t..~ught bmuches of a practical education that fits the student to enter upon n sphere of usefulness in
the every-chty walks of life. \Ve can
well afford to lenvc to the great col-leges of the land !be task of instruc-ting their pupils in n. l\.nowlodge of
la.ngua~cs that arc dead, for we kuow
that th1s knowledge thnt l:;kcs years of close study to acquire, will l>c dead and forgotten by the pupil in less time than it took tolean1 it. Rutweltnow, too1 tbn.t when the teacher in thi)i RCIJool has taught his pupil!i how nnd when to U.J>ply wnter and fertilizers to growing
crop~, it will ncvm· be forgol t«'n: that when tho scholar has learned how to plant and graft trees, how to plaue n
perfect surface in lvood a.nd iron, to malce a perfect joint, to learn the u e of the saw, tho plane, the chisel, the drill, the plow, the hoe, tho spade, the pruning knife, the needle, tho shcarfol,
the paint brush, tbc grain drill, th~ ren.per, the forgo, and a lo1owlt.:dgc of tile kinds of grains and grasses lo plant on particular soils, nnd the ail-ments and cures for disoaseR of dumb animals, and ah;o has learned from tex& books a proficient knowledge of lunguagc, geography, mat!Jctnatics, botany, chemistry, politir::tl economy,
drafting, ch·il enllincering, helles-let-tres and history sutllcient to OOI'I'ectly trent of either, by written esslly or oral commuDicatioD, I repeat, when we
know our children have lenJ·ncd all these things we ClUJ safely ti'Ust them
to go forth into the busy world, with
an implicit f11ith that they have ol>-tnincd the elementary knowledge of that which will f\t them for usefulness in all ordinary channels of the bu~i ness of this world.
rl'his school is not so select or expcu~
sive buL that any child of ordin:;ry
iatelligencc or n10dorate n1cans may enter its doo~. IIero are taught not
only tho Ideas of tbc l>ooks, but these idoas are pmctically demonstrated. Here idleness of the hands 1\nd body
is forUiddcn, and CYcry student must work unless excused by pllysic·al dis ...
ability. 'l'hc State l1as fostered this schoOl, and fivo yoors from lhe open-ing of its doors to students, it scnd9 forth a graduating class, who will, tUs. believed, be f\n houor not only to them~clvcs and the teachm·s, but also
to the educationalmterests of the Stale,
'rhe relation the Agricultuml Collego IJe::.rs to tho material interests of the
State c:>n well be understood when
yon :rN•Il the studies embraced in its
cnrrienlnnl. 'J'ho student who goes forlb hon1 this institution endowed with R 'knowled&"tO of how to use
any of the Implement,, cmployocl by the best farmer of Jaurl, cannot help being a useful citi7.CII ancl one who will add to the wo!llth of tho State. In additio11 to this, the student is taught a l)()rfect practical l<uowledgo of uses of ho blacksmith's and car. nenter's tools Rnd those of Jnuchinist, nll the fln&ly adJusted i'nSti-i.iYilelfts'"(}'f the oivU engb.tcer, He lc~Hns how to bnlh\ lnl!J!'tlng canals and ditches,
the fu:roo of the flow of 'mler at
differ-ent grades, the lmowledgeofthc proper
amounts of water to d istribnle •n·er growing crops, and the proper time tQ distribute it; he is taught how to plant crops, and how to plant and care for all kh1(1~ of fruits; he has learned how to bent the diseases of dullll> animal~ tb11t m11y oome under his rare. 'l'be fem!lle stlld~>nt is taught, in addition to all the above, how to cut au<i sew
garmolllS tor use, also bow to cook and
bnke, 11nd is fitted to be a wife ''el1 worth having, n. hclptneet, jndeed, a bread winner, if necessary. 1l'l1ese
studies are additional to those taught
iu other s"hool•, nnd cannot help add, ing to tllil material wealth of the State.
Somewber.e ann h;}' Sntl\ebody who is
an authoricy, it is S!\i<l that in this coun-try the value of 1\f\ ordinary laborer is
six hundred dollars. If this is true,
aad I think it is1 for an average cow is
worth fifty dollars, a horse one hun-dred, then how mqch value can be placed upon the average :tble-bodiecJ
student who graduates from this
Col-1ego? Uerlainty, one-. su.eh tnan ot
Bleg 11 _
of the one first mentioned, and in pro•
portion to his increased value are the
material interests of the State en· hanced. One full graduating class is worth to the State all and more than
ha.q been expended; aud the benefits
reach out to all time.
As a farmer, a Inecha.nic, a profes-sional man, a merchant, a capitalist, a
politician, the man or woman is
bene-fited by the education thus obtained, and in the proportion as this educa -tion is the more complet~ does he or ohe add to tha material interest and wealth of the State. "Fuftbe1'nmre, it
is beginning to be an acknowledged fact that the students coming from the Michigan, the Iowa and Kansas agri-cultural colleges are the most useful set of men and women that graduate from
any of the colleges of the land. 'rhe
only schools of this kind that are not In good repute, are those which have perverted the intentions of their found-ers, and misappropriated the funds put iRto their hands, that they might cater to the demands of scholastic vision-aries or purse-proud aristocrat.~.
I shall not dwell longer upon my aubject, but close with a few words of" admonition to teacher and pupil. 'rhe men whom th~ trustees of the school have chosen to teach the boys and girls.
intrusted to their care, have an onerous
duty to perform, anU owe a responsi-
-bility to the State. Having accepted· the trust, there should be uo looking back or complaining of the arduous.
duties to be performed or of too small compensation for the labor doue. Their·
time and abilities are the property, for
the term of their employment, of the
-trustees and students of the College, and theit· efforts should be to do all in, their power for the building up of the·
institution of which they arc the head.
As to what they should teach and how they should teach, I have uothlug to. say, only, that it should be dOlle
lron-68~be"~~~d~J~~~e~~~~cts1J."mcmber that
the school they are attending is the-gift of the State to thcru, and that it is,
not directly a nwney-nu\kiug scherne
s~:~· a~~~~?~i'es~helo~of:~~:·ici
0s~r~~:
'
to honor this College and this common-
-wealth, and every one of you who ..
shall live to receive a diplorna, sbould>t
look upon the bit of parcim1ent given.,
to you ns a commission to do a;ood, to be useful, and thus repay the otate for what it has done for you. You should consider the parchment you may
ob-tain us a higher honor than king or-
--emperor ever beotowed, when by the·
laymg on of the sword was conferred ,
the dignity of knighthood. Remem-. .
ber, also, that however high you may·
otancl in your class, however perfectly you may have mastered your various otudies, you are but entering the portals of knowledge aud learning. What you have learned is ouly preparatory to what you may Jearn and will have
to learn if you obtain eminent aucce!IS.
And you, young ladies and gentle-men, who go forth to-day as the ftrat
graduates of this College, bear with
you ever tho thought that upon your
young shoulders rests the responsibility of never by action or word doing or saying anything that will bring dis-grace to the school that sends you forth. Live lives of usefulness, so that
when your race is run you can lie
down contentedly, feeling confident
that the regrets that may follow you into eternity are only that your days of
usefulness were not louger ~n land of
the liviD!!·
