Forming one of the original departments established at the beginning
of the Institute in 1865, when there was no similar department
in this country, it may fairly be affirmed to have led in the
development of instruction in this important profession. It was for
many years in charge of Prof. W. R. Ware, who left the Institute in
1880 to assume charge of the newly established department at Columbia
College. In common with the other departments of the Institute, that
of architecture has developed enormously within recent years. Three
times since 1883 has the department been obliged to change its location
in order to meet the continued need of expansion. From the original
small quarters in the upper floor of the Rogers Building, it has
grown so that it now occupies two and one half floors in the Pierce
Building, besides a large room for modelling in another building. The
drawing-rooms now accommodate over two hundred students. The department
has a magnificent library and a very large collection of photographs
and lantern slides. Under the careful management of Prof. F. W.
Chandler, who at the same time is head of the Architectural Department
of the city and member of the Fine Arts Commission, it has now attained
a most enviable reputation. Institute students competed for several
years for the prizes offered by the New York Société des Beaux Arts,
and in each competition in which they entered they carried off the gold
medal and the highest honors. In the three competitions of ’94-’95, no
less than seventy sets of drawings were submitted by all competitors.
The two gold medals, four first mentions and two second mentions were
awarded to Institute students. Of the nine designs sent from the
Institute, six were placed by the jury among the first eight of the
seventy designs submitted; two received second place and one was put
out of competition because of too great deviation from the preliminary
sketch. This great success is doubtless due to the rigorous training
which the students receive in architectural design at the hands of
Professor Despradelle, himself a graduate of the École des Beaux Arts,
a winner of high honors in Paris, and of the third prize in the recent
Phœbe Hearst world competition for the new buildings of the University
of California, and within a few weeks the winner of the first medal in
architecture in the Paris Salon of 1900. For three years the students
are continually engaged upon architectural design, and the work of each
student is examined and criticised before the class by a jury from
the Boston Society of Architects. Students in architecture have also
the opportunity, if they desire, of taking an option in architectural
engineering, in which they are given a course in the theory and design
of structures as rigid as that received by the students in civil
engineering. The relations between architecture and engineering are
exceedingly close and are becoming closer every year. The work of the
architect, aside from the æsthetic design of his buildings, is becoming
more and more like the work of the engineer, and requires a thorough
knowledge of engineering construction.
During the past year, after very careful consideration, the faculty
has also established an option in the course of architecture, devoted
particularly to landscape architecture, including, besides a large
amount of work in architecture proper, instruction in horticulture and
landscape design, on the one hand, and in surveying, topographical
drawing, drainage, etc., on the other hand. The landscape architect
has heretofore had no opportunity to secure a thorough training in
his profession, except by passing through an apprenticeship, as
was formerly necessary in the older professions. On account of the
steady increase in this country in the demand for trained landscape
architects and the increasing attention which is now being paid by
our municipalities to questions concerning public parks, and also by
private individuals to the beautifying of private grounds, there seems
now to be an unusual opportunity for young men to devote themselves to
this branch of the profession. As usual, the Institute of Technology
is early in the field with a course designed to this end.
[Illustration: HYDRAULIC SURVEYING IN THE ESSEX CANAL, LOWELL.]
The last of the engineering departments to be considered and one of the
largest, is that of civil engineering, a department established when
the Institute was founded, and until 1881 under the direction of that
accomplished scholar and teacher, Prof. J. B. Henck, and since 1887 in
charge of the writer. This department has grown since 1886 from four to
eleven teachers, and from sixty to one hundred and fifty-three students
in the three upper classes. It now occupies the two upper floors of
the Engineering Building, or about twenty-three thousand square feet.
In recognition of the increasing importance of sanitary questions
affecting the health of communities, a new branch of civil engineering
was recognized by the Institute in 1889 by the establishment of a
regular four years’ course in sanitary engineering, in which particular
attention is directed to such problems, and students are afforded
opportunities of studying the bearing of chemistry and biology upon
them. Here again the breadth and specialization of the work at the
Institute was shown, rendering it possible with no change in the
teaching force and with no disarrangement of studies, to establish such
a course of instruction as soon as the need for it became apparent.
Interesting work has been done under the direction of Professor
Burton, professor of topographical engineering, in connection with
the measurement of base lines with the steel tape. After devising
an apparatus for holding and supporting the tape, and measuring the
coefficient of expansion of actual tapes, an application was recently
made of the thermophone for determining the exact average temperature
of the tape. This instrument, which was invented a few years ago by two
Institute graduates, allows the average temperature of the tape to be
measured within half a degree.
An interesting department of the Institute, and one that has of recent
years assumed great practical importance, is that of biology. It was
organized in 1882, as an outgrowth of what was prior to that date
the course in natural history, and now has a teaching force of six,
under the direction of Prof. William T. Sedgwick, and occupies, with
its laboratories and lecture-rooms, one entire floor of the Pierce
Building. There are five distinct laboratories, fully equipped,
with private rooms, store and preparation rooms, and a library and
reading-room, and it is perhaps safe to say that nowhere in the United
States is there so compact or well arranged a series of laboratories
devoted chiefly to the sanitary, hygienic and industrial aspects of
biology. The great advances in sanitary science in recent years have
made bacteriology one of the most important, as well as one of the most
practical, of the biological sciences, and the biologist has taken his
place beside the chemist and the engineer in the study of the science
and art of public sanitation. But bacteriology is of importance,
not only in sanitary science, but also in its industrial relations.
Great industries, like those connected with food preserving, canning,
vinegar making, tanning and brewing, depend upon the activity or the
exclusion of micro-organisms. As might be expected in a school of
applied science, the development of the biological department in the
Institute has been mainly along sanitary and industrial lines, rather
than in the direction of zoölogy. The biological work in connection
with the recent important investigations of the State Board of Health
regarding the purification of water and the disposal of sewage, was
done at the Institute, and early led to special instruction in these
directions. In 1894 a course was established in the micro-organisms of
fermentation, not only new to the Institute, but, it is believed, to
the United States. Important researches had been made in Denmark in
these lines, and in order to become thoroughly familiar with them, one
of the instructors of the department spent a summer in the laboratory
of Alfred Jörgensen, in Copenhagen. In 1896, a more elaborate course,
that in industrial biology, was established, and since that time
special studies have been made in various lines, such as the efficiency
of sterilizing processes, the preparation of canned goods and the
cultivation of butter bacteria. This department is destined to still
greater development in the near future, and its laboratories are finely
equipped in every direction.
[Illustration: FRANCIS A. WALKER, PRESIDENT, 1881-1897.]
Reference to the different departments in the Institute would not be
complete without brief mention of its department of general studies. It
is perhaps seldom recognized, but it is nevertheless a fact that the
Institute, although primarily a technical school, is better equipped
for giving instruction in languages, in history, in economics and
statistics and in political science than many classical institutions.
Indeed, the only important department of study which is found in such
institutions, and for which no provision is made at the Institute, is
that of ancient languages. The force of instruction in the department
of general studies, leaving out of consideration the department of
modern languages, comprises two professors, one associate professor,
three assistant professors, one instructor and one assistant, a total
of eight, probably a larger number than is found in any but the very
largest colleges. In the department of modern languages, there is one
professor, one associate professor, one assistant professor and four
instructors. There are offered ten distinct courses in English, eleven
in modern languages, eight in history and twenty in economics and
statistics and in political science. As already stated, it has been a
fundamental principle in the government of the school that all regular
students should receive a not inconsiderable amount of instruction in
these subjects, but in addition to the engineering and other technical
courses, there is a so-called course in general studies, designed to
train young men for business occupations, in which, besides thorough
courses in chemistry, physics and other sciences, a large amount of
time is devoted to the general studies which have been referred to. The
late president of the Institute, General Walker, whose principal work,
aside from that relating to education, lay in the field of economics
and statistics, took great interest in the development of this general
course, and to him, more than to anybody else, is due its present high
standard. Seventy-eight young men have graduated from the department,
and in many respects its course of study offers advantages over the
usual college course.
Summer schools are maintained by the Institute in the departments of
civil engineering, mining engineering and architecture. That in civil
engineering affords continuous field practice in geodesy and hydraulics
during about a month. That in mining engineering affords students
an opportunity to visit mining or metallurgical works and to become
practically acquainted with the methods employed by actually taking
part in them. These summer schools in mining and metallurgy have been
held in all parts of the country, from Nova Scotia to Lake Superior and
Colorado. The summer school in architecture consists not infrequently
of a trip abroad, with detailed studies and sketches of special types
of architecture.
The Institute also offers extended courses of free evening lectures,
of which twenty courses of twelve lectures each were given during the
past year. These courses, established by the trustee of the Lowell
Institute under the supervision of the Institute, correspond to one
portion of President Rogers’s original plan, and are fully appreciated
by young men who cannot afford the time for a complete and consecutive
education. The trustee of the Lowell Institute also established in
1872, and has maintained ever since, a special school of practical
design, under the supervision of the Institute, in which young men
and women are given free instruction in the art of making patterns
for prints, ginghams, silks, laces, paper hangings, carpets, etc.;
the object being to fit them to engage in the textile industries
especially, but also in other branches of manufacture in which taste in
form and color is an essential element for success.
Mention may be made here of the fact that all work at the Institute is
open to women on the same terms as to men. As early as 1867, among
the Lowell free courses, there were two chemical courses open to both
sexes, and soon afterward women were admitted to the regular work of
the school. The first woman to graduate was Mrs. Ellen H. Richards, in
1873, and since that time forty-eight women have received the degree.
This number, however, is no measure of the part which women have taken
in the work of the school, for a large majority of those who attend are
special students. During the year 1899-1900, there were fifty-three
women studying at the school, principally in the departments of
chemistry, biology, geology, physics and architecture. From the
last-named course eleven young women have graduated, one of whom was
the designer of the Woman’s Building at the Chicago Exposition.
One peculiarity of the Institute which has not been mentioned is
the sub-division of its libraries. Instead of having one general
library, each department has its special library, conveniently located
with reference to its rooms. This involves a slight duplication of
books, but is of the greatest advantage to students and teachers
for consultation. The Institute libraries are not large, compared
with the libraries of many colleges and universities, but they are
remarkably rich along the lines of the special topics to which they
are of necessity principally devoted, and particularly in scientific
periodicals. The total number of periodicals in all languages regularly
received at the Institute, not including a large number of official
reports, is eight hundred and forty-seven. In the engineering library
alone there are one hundred and seventy-three. It is believed that
this forms one of the largest collections of scientific journals to be
found anywhere. The Institute publishes a scientific magazine, known
as the Technology Quarterly, which was established in 1887, and is
the official organ for the publication of the results of tests in the
laboratories and of special investigations by members of the staff
and by students and alumni. The Association of Class Secretaries also
publishes the Technology Review, a more popular quarterly, established
only two years ago, and devoted to the social and general interests
of the Institute. In 1896 the Technology Club was started, occupying
a building near the Institute and affording alumni and students the
social advantages of a clubhouse. The alumni of the Institute now
number two thousand three hundred and thirty-nine; they maintain an
Alumni Association which holds annual meetings, and seven local branch
associations which are scattered over the country from the Connecticut
Valley to Colorado.
[Illustration: JAMES M. CRAFTS, PRESIDENT, 1897-1900.]
In reviewing the success which this school has attained, the question
naturally presents itself: To what is this success due? Let me here
record my conviction that it has been due mainly to the courage and
devotion of its corporation and of the presidents who have directed its
policy. In this respect no institution was ever more fortunate. With a
guiding body possessed of the courage and faith that have animated the
corporation of the institution from the earliest days, and especially
with the able men who have been its presidents, success was assured.
While the school was yet struggling for its very existence, with few
friends and little money, they never faltered. They have not hesitated
again and again to plunge the school deeply into debt when its needs
required it, trusting to the generosity of New England that it should
not be allowed to be crippled, and each time has their confidence been
justified. Poverty has never been permitted to impair the efficiency
of the school. As President Crafts remarked in a recent annual report,
“We are less favored than many neighboring institutions in building
space, but we have always followed the wise policy of keeping in the
foremost rank and in some departments leading the way in supplying the
best methods and apparatus for teaching and for making investigation.
We have run in debt to buy them, and run still further in debt to
build houses to hold them, but we have always had them when the head of
a department told the government of the school that they were necessary
to the most efficient teaching of his science.” With a corporation
acting on such a principle there could be no failure. It is true that
the faculty have stood unfalteringly, even in the darkest days, for
high scholarship; and equally true that the school has been remarkably
fortunate in the character of the young men who have sought its halls,
but no faculty and no body of students could have brought success
with a corporation less broadminded and courageous. Let me here add
my tribute to the work which was done by the late General Francis A.
Walker, president of the institute from 1881 till 1897. Probably no
single person did more to secure the success of the school than he.
His great administrative ability, his wide acquaintance, his accurate
judgment of men, his magnificent courage and his splendid enthusiasm,
were factors in the development of the school whose importance it is
difficult to overestimate.
General Walker was succeeded by President James M. Crafts, who had been
connected with the Institute for many years as professor of chemistry,
and under whose energetic administration the progress of the Institute
has been steadily continued. In fact, thanks to some unexpected
additions to the funds of the school, its material resources and its
equipment have been more enlarged and extended during the past three
years than in many years previous. Only a few months ago, however,
President Crafts, desiring to devote himself more uninterruptedly
to the pursuit of the science which first awakened his enthusiasm
and in which he has attained such eminent distinction, both in this
country and abroad, decided to relinquish his office. The corporation
has chosen as his successor, Dr. Henry S. Pritchett, for many years
professor of astronomy in Washington University, St. Louis, and for
the past few years superintendent of the Coast and Geodetic Survey at
Washington. A more fortunate selection could not have been made, and
the well-known scientific and administrative ability of Dr. Pritchett
will no doubt be the means not only of maintaining the present high
reputation of the school, but of extending and enlarging it.
Unfortunately, the Institute is still unendowed in the sense that
its receipts from invested property constitute but a very small part
of the means required to carry on the school. To quote from one of
President Walker’s reports, “No other institution of our size but has
two, three or four times the amount of wealth to draw upon which we
possess. It has only been exceeding good fortune, combined with extreme
courage, energy and self-devotion on the part of its trustees and
teachers that has more than once rescued the school from paralysis,
if not from extinction.” In 1898-’99, the total expenditures of the
school were about $367,500, while the current receipts were about
$347,500, showing a deficit of about $20,000. Of the current receipts,
$207,000, or 59 per cent, were from students’ fees. Dividing the
total expenditures by the number of students, we find an expenditure
of $314 per student, without counting interest on the value of land
and buildings, while the tuition fee is $200. The invested funds of
the Institute amount to but $1,917,000. All gifts and legacies, with
the exception of this amount, have had to go into land, buildings and
equipment. Between 1888 and 1899 the Institute has been obliged to
spend $350,000 for land, the purchase of which has been a great burden,
and within a few years a further expenditure of $260,000 in this
direction has been made.
[Illustration: HENRY S. PRITCHETT, PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE MASSACHUSETTS
INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY.]
The bearing of these figures will perhaps be realized by comparing them
with similar figures regarding Cornell University, which is largely
a technical school, since nearly one half of its students pursue
technical courses similar to those in the Institute. In 1898 the total
income of that university was $583,000, of which about $121,000, or
only 20 per cent, was received from tuition fees. Its invested funds
amounted to $6,446,818.
The State has generously given aid to the Institute in some of
its most trying times; as in 1888, when it gave $200,000, one
half unconditionally and the other half for the support of free
scholarships; and again in 1895, when it granted unconditionally
$25,000 a year for six years and $2,000 a year additional for
scholarships. Although the school has a very inadequate endowment, yet
the future looks bright. It is significant of the general appreciation
of its work that men and women who have not received a technical
education have devoted a large part of their fortunes to providing such
education for others. Among the recent benefactors of the Institute we
may name Henry L. Pierce, John W. Randall, Mrs. Julia B. Huntington
James and Edward Austin, who, within less than three years have
bequeathed nearly a million and a half dollars to the school. If the
large gifts of recent years are continued, the school will before long
be put financially upon a level with its neighbors. May we not hope
that as the applications of science to the arts enrich the alumni and
friends of the Institute, they may help to make the road easy for their
successors by devoting a part of their riches to the advancement of
technical education?
THE PSYCHOLOGY OF CRAZES.
BY PROFESSOR G. T. W. PATRICK,
UNIVERSITY OF IOWA.
A well-known Washington newspaper correspondent, writing of the recent
Congress of the Daughters of the American Revolution and its disorderly
meetings, says: “It is the unanimous opinion of those who have attended
the congress that, while the Daughters of the American Revolution,
individually, are nearly all intellectual, refined and attractive
women, collectively they are an uncontrollable mob.” Why is the social
conduct of human beings different from their conduct as individuals?
This is the problem of the new science of social psychology. The
following study of crazes and epidemics is offered as a slight
contribution to this science.
By way of preface it might be said that a good deal of the confusion as
to the subject matter of social psychology would be avoided if it were
understood that this science is not the study of any mysterious entity
called ‘the social mind,’ nor the mere study of those individual traits
that make men social beings, such as imitation and suggestibility;
but rather the study of the peculiar and characteristic behavior of
the mind of the individual when under the influence of the social
afflatus. Under this influence we do indeed find that he becomes a
different being, and that his mental processes must be formulated by
different laws; and we are convinced that, as thus understood, social
psychology is just as distinct and legitimate a branch of study as is
the psychology of the child or the psychology of sex.
Now, in what ways is the behavior of man as a social being different
from his behavior as an individual? To answer this question in part,
let us examine his behavior in mental epidemics and crazes. I select
these because they illustrate in somewhat extreme form the influence of
the social afflatus.