xt7sxk84nj8k_157 https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt7sxk84nj8k/data/mets.xml https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt7sxk84nj8k/data/L2021ua019.dao.xml Kentucky University 18.26 Cubic Feet 32 document boxes, 5 flat boxes, 21 bound volumes archival material L2021ua019 English University of Kentucky Property rights reside with Transylvania University.  The University of Kentucky holds the copyright for materials created in the course of business by University of Kentucky employees. Copyright for all other materials has not been assigned to the University of Kentucky.  For information about permission to reproduce or publish, please contact the Special Collections Research Center.  Contact the Special Collections Research Center for information regarding rights and use of this collection. Transylvania University Library. Record Group 5:  Collection on Kentucky University Report from P.P. Johnston to the Senate, from the Joint Special Committee to visit Agricultural and Mechanical College text Report from P.P. Johnston to the Senate, from the Joint Special Committee to visit Agricultural and Mechanical College 2024 https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt7sxk84nj8k/data/L2021ua019/Box_5_27/Folder_23/Multipage6159.pdf 1878 February 21 1878 1878 February 21 section false xt7sxk84nj8k_157 xt7sxk84nj8k £4511} “mmasw’: 1/” “

 

eiu SENATE,

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 1878.

Mr. JOHNSTON, from the Joint Special Committee to visit the Agricultural
and Mechanical College, made the following report, which was ordered
to be printed, viz:

To the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky .-

Your committee, appointed and acting under the following resolution:

WHEREAS, The Governor, in his annual message, called the attention of
the Legislature to‘the condition and relation of the Agricultural and Me-
chanical College of Kentucky University; and Whereas, it is important
that the Legislature should he put in possession of accurate and detailed
information respecting the Agricultural and Mechanical College; there-
fore,

Resolved by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky,
rl‘hat a joint committee, consisting of five members of the Senate and
seven of the House of Representatives, be appointed to visit the Agri-
cultural College, with full power to examine, under oath, officers of the
Board of Curators, Executive Committee, Faculty of the College, and
such other persons as have been concerned or interested in the manage—
ment of said College; and that said committee be instructed to report
to the Legislature as early as'practicable, by bill or otherwise.

beg leave to report that they proceeded to Lexington on the morning of
January 28th, and remained in session at that place until the 31st of that
month, and examined such persons, papers, and records as they deemed
necessary to a discharge of the duties imposed upon them by said resolu-
tion.

In order that the report of the committee may be intelligible, and the
inherent difficulties attending a wise-and a just solution of' the future of
the Agricultural and Mechanical College may be in a measure understood,
the committee deem it proper to state, to a limited extent, the nature of
the tripartite alliance existing between the three co-ordinate branches
which constitute Kentucky University.

1st. Kentucky University proper was chartered January 15,1858, and
is the legal successor of “Bacon College,” which was chartered February
23, 1837.

2d. Transylvania University had its origin in 1780, in a donation by
the State of Virginia of 8,000 acres of escheated land in the then county

 

  

 

2

of Kentucky, for the purpose of a “public School or seminary of learning.”
This donation was followed by others from the State of Virginia and by
individuals, and by the State of Kentucky, by the city and the citizens of
Lexington, the aggregate of which amounted, in 1865, to an endowment
fund of $65,500, and real estate, buildings, apparatus, &c., estimated to be
worth about $100,000. The information of the committee is, that whilst
Transylvania has, at various times, been under the control of various
ecclesiastical denominations, it has never lost its distinctive character im-
pressed upon it by its first creation and endowment.

3d. The Agricultural and Mechanical College has no endowment or
fund, except the proceeds of the land scrip,‘given by the United States
by act of Congress of 1862, amounting to $165, 000, yielding an annual
income of $9, 900.

P1ior to the time the act which consolidated the Agricultural and Me-
charm ‘11 College with Kentucky University went into effect, Tiansylvania
and Kentucky University were consolidated, by a contract made by and
between the authorities of these respective institutions, which contract
was recognized by the act of February 22, 1865. Whilst it may be true
that the State is powerless, if she should so desire, to annul the contract
between these institutions, it is the opinion of the committee that the said
amalgamation of Transylvania with Kentucky University did not operate
to vest Kentucky University with the absolute right to the property. of
Transylvania, nor to destroy its corporate existence; but thatits property
and fund is held in trust, subject to a reversion to the original trustees of
Transylvania, upon the conditions set forth in the act of consolidation be-
tWeen them.

The act establishing the Agricultural and Mechanical College as one of
the Colleges of Kentucky University was based upon the union of Tran-
sylvania and Kentucky University; and since said act of consolidation,
the funds of these two institutions, and the funds of the Agricultural and
Mechanical College, have been applied to the maintenance ofthe Uni-
versity as a whole, under the arrangements and terms hereafter stated.

In order to “aid in putting the Agricultural and Mechanical College

'into immediate operation,” the Legislature, en the 10th day of February,
1866, appropriated $20,000, reserving the right “to reimburse itself for
the amount so appropriated out of the interest arising from the sale of
the land scrip donated by Congress.” This sum was duly paid over to
the authorities of Kentucky University, and the State has never reim-
buised itself of any portion thereof. ,

The testimony taken by the committee shows that about $10, 000 of this
sum) was used in the erection and furnishing of buildings for the use of

 

 

 

  

 

 

3

the Agricultural and Mechanical students, upon the lands owned by Ken‘
tucky University; the residue of the appropriation was used in putting
the Agricultural and Mechanical College into active operation.

The question whether the expenditure for the erection of buildings was
a proper one under the provisions of this act, we submit to the General
Assembly.

We find that the interest on the fund arising from the sale of the land
scrip has been semi-annually paid since the —— day of — , 1867, by
the State to Kentucky University, in compliance with the compact be-

 

tween them.

We have not been able to discover that this fund has been diverted from
the use for which it was intended, but has been used for the payment of
salaries of Professors, and expenses of the Agricultural and Mechanical
College; however, we would state that there are eight (8) Professors of
the Kentucky University, six of whom draw their salaries from said fund,
and about one fourth of the salary of President Patterson is drawn from
said fund; but that the six Professors drawing their salaries from this
fund are Professors of the Agricultural and Mechanical College, whilst
President Patterson is President thereof. Some of these Professors also
fill chairs in the College of Arts, a branch of the Kentucky University
proper.

We find there is a note, executed by J. B. Bowman, as Regent and
Treasurer, in the name of the Agricultural and Mechanical College, fer
the sum of $11,480 72, which reads as follows: ‘

$11,480 72 LEXINGTON, KY., May 31, 1874.

One year after date I promise to pay to the order of the Executive
Committee of Kentucky University eleven thousand four hundred and
eighty dollars and seventy-two cents, amount borrowed of the Endow-
ment Fund, bearing eight per cent. per annum from date, payable semi-
annually, value received by A. & M. College, and secured by crop, stock,
and implements, &C. .

A. & M. COLLEGE,
BY J. B. BOWMAN,
Regent and Treasurer Kentucky University.

rl‘he consideration of this note was for the expense incurred for the
erection of buildings, purchase of machinery, &c., for use of the Agricul.
tural and Mechanical College. This is only a nominal indebtedness, and is
so regarded by all parties, it being the duty of the Kentucky University,
under its contract with the State, to furnish buildings, machinery, and
land for the Agricultural and Mechanical College, and was only executed
to keep proper accounts between the difierent funds of Kentucky Uni-

versity.

l

 

  

 

 

 

 

4

We find that the chairs of the Agricultural and Mechanical College are
filled by a corps of professors, all of whom are eminently and perfectly
competent to the full discharge of the duties encumbent upon them.
Whatever else may have contributed to the apparent decline in the pres—
perity of the institution, certainly no part of it can be traced to inefiia
ciency in the teachers employed by the University.

In order to secure the location of the Agricultural and Mechanical Col—
legc at Lexington, the citizens of Fayette county donated, in private sub-
scriptions, about $100,000, which, with donations made by citizens of
other counties, was used in the purchase of Ashland and Woodland, two
magnificent bodies of land of unsurpassed beauty and fertility, whereon
the Agricultural and Mechanical College is situated, containing 433 acres.
Upon the improvement of these lands, and in the erection of buildings
thereon, a large sum has been expended, coming partly from donations
- and partly from the original endowment fund of Kentucky University.

The title to this property is vested in Kentucky University, who hold
it subject to the claim of the donors of the fund above mentioned in case
a severance of the Agricultural and Mechanical College from Kentucky
University should be had, and subject to the right of user by the State so
long as the present alliance and location of the two institutions continues.

As to whether or not the State. can claim any interest in said land, by
reason of the fact that a part of the donors of the fund subscribed to the
University upon the faith of its alliance with the Agricultural and Me-
chanical College, your committee express no opinion.

The committee found that the Kentucky University had at all times
had more than enough land for the use of the Agricultural and Mechan-
ical students; but they are of opinion that the Agricultural Department
has not proven a success, due in part, as they think, to a want of more
imposing and attractive buildings, in part for a lack of more comfortable
dormitories for the students, in part to the aversion of the students to
manual toil; but whatever the cause may be, the fact is, that the practical
advantages to the student in agriculture have been meager in the ex-
treme.

The Mechanical Department; is not now in operation at all, having been
discontinued.

It is proper to state that a donation of $25,000 was made by Mr. Yost
to the Agricultural and Mechanical College, which sum was given to this
department, with the proviso that the profits, if any, should go to the
University, and that 858,211 66 was realized out’of the gift, which was
used in the erection of one of the buildings on the “Ashland ” estate, known

 

 

 5

as the Mechanical Hall, and this amount the Agricultural and Mechanical
College still owns.

Since the establishment of the Agricultural and Mechanical College, the
attendance has been as follows : ‘

Matriculates, session 1868—7, 190, of whom 102 were State students.

Matriculates, session 1867-’8, 220, of whom 106 were State students.

Matriculates, session 1868—’9, 283, of whom 95 were State students.

Matriculates, session 1869—70, 300, of whom 75 were State students.

Matriculates, session 1870—’1, 212, of whom 57 were State students.

Matriculates, session 187142, 217, of whom 83 were State students.

Matriculates, session 1872—3, 181, of whom 59 were State students.

Matriculates, session 1873—4, 170, of whom 43 were State students.

Matriculates, session 1874—35, 98, of whom 35 were State students.

Matriculates, session 1875—’6, 94:, of whom 38 were State students.

Matriculates, session 1876~’7, 110, of whom 52 were State students.

Matriculates, session 1877-’8.

During the eleven years of the existence of the Agricultural and Me-
chanical College there have been ten full graduates, two of whom were State
students. But whilst the number of full graduates has been small, it is
proper to state that the advantages derived by those who did not actually
graduate is not justly measured by that fact.

For a more full description of the character of the buildings, lands,
course of study, &e., we refer to the Report of the Board of Visitors just
made. >

The committee is of opinion that the numerical decline in the College
is due in part to the financial depression of the country at large, in part
to the springing up of other institutions of learning in different portions
of the country and of this State; in part (so far as State students are
concerned) to the failure of the county authorities to select students from
their districts; in part because a school of manual labor has not become
palatable to the young men of the State; and in part to the unhappy
differences of opinion that have existed for several years between those
who have the deepest interest in, and the control over, Kentucky Univer-
sity. The committee’has not conceived that its duty required it to in-
vestigate into the merits of the controversy, which has become so widely
known, nor into the effect it has had, except in so far as the Agricultural
and Mechanical College has been prejudiced, thereby; and without ex-
pressing any opinion on the merits of that controversy, they do express
the opinion that the Agricultural and Mechanical College has suffered
therefrom more, perhaps, than from any other cause. The University, as
a Whole, has been crippled ; its management is not approved by the mass
of the very large, influential, and wealthy sect under whose auspices it

 

  

 

 

was in' part founded; very many of them are in avowed hostility to its
management by the Board of Curators, and are not, disposed to lend the
institution that aid and support that they otherwise would. Whether
this dissatisfaction is just or unjust, the effect is the same, and the Agri-

. cultural and Mechanical College, as one of the limbs of the University,

has suffered in common with it.

The committee is of opinion that the experieneeof the past eleven
years sufficiently demonstrates the fact, it is unwise for the State to form
any alliance With any religious denomination whatever; that she should
control her own fund absolutely, free from entanglements with any sect
or sects. i *

We are of opinion that the State of Kentucky, standing as she does
midway between the North and the South, possessing a climate of unsur-
passed'healthfulness, free from debt, and almost free from State taxation,
owes it to her present, and to the generations of her sons yet to come, to
erect and endow a great university, which shall rank with that which has
made Virginia scarce less famous than the achievements of her greatest
men. The fund the State now owns should be regarded as a nucleus for
the building up, from time to time, as fast as public opinion and legisla-
tive liberality will permit, of such an institution.

As to the future management and disposition of the Agricultural and
Mechanical College, the committee offer the following suggestions as their
conclusions from the facts elicited in the investigation:

1st. The State, as above set forth, contributes yearly $9,900. This sum
goes toward defraying the expenses of the Agricultural and Mechanical
College. All students of the University have the privilege of receiving
instruction from the chairs of the Agricultural and Mechanical Depart-
ment, and all students of the Agricultural and Mechanical Department
have the privilege of attending the College of Arts of the University.

The only advantage derived by a State student over a student in any
other branch of the University is, that he is required to pay no tuition
fee, and has the privilege, in preference to any other student, of being
allowed work on the farm, by which he may support himself in whole or
in part. .

Owing to the existence in the market of coupons of scholarship owned
by donors to the building fund of Kentucky University, tuition may be
gotten at very reduced rates, ranging from $2 50 to $10 a session. Whilst
this does not prejudice the State student, it makes the actual saving to
the State student over any other student in the matter of tuition very in-

significant, and would seem hardly to justify the outlay.

2d. The University in none of its branches will fully prosper as long as
it is deprived of the patronage and support, sympathy and co-operation,

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of that body of Christians who contributed so largely to the founding of
the original Kentucky University, and who own so large a part of the
University as now constituted, and the committee arenot able to see
much hope of reconciliation under the present management.

3d. The purely agricultural and mechanical advantages heretofore de-
rived have been meager, and we see no prospect of their being increased.

4th. On the other hand, the State, by virtue of her contract with the
University, has advantages which should have their weight. She has, as
long as the contract exists, the right to use the lands of the University;
she has the privilege of having State students attend the College of Arts;
she has the privilege of the appaiatus, &c., of Transylvania University.

’These advantages, however, are impaired somewhat by the fact that the

two places, the Agricultural and Mechanical Department and Transylva-
nia, are situated about one and a half miles apart; and she has the advan-
tage of the buildings of the Agricultural and Mechanical Department.
As long as the present alliance continues, the foregoing are some, but not
all of the advantages and disadvantages of the connection.

If a severance is bad, it is the conclusion of the committee that many i
difficult and delicate questions, touching the rights of various parties in
interest in Kentucky University and Transylvania, will spring up for
settlement, not affecting the Agricultural and Mechanical College, but
affecting Transylvania Univeisity and the power of the State to exercise
any control thereover so long as Kentucky University sees proper to stand
by the compact between them.

But without giving more of the testimony elicited, or more specifically
the conclusions reached by the committee upon the various branches
involved in the investigation, we are satisfied that the facts justify us
in the following recommendations:

1. The repeal of so much of the act of February 23,1865,as establishes
the Agricultural and Mechanical College as one of the Colleges of Ken-
tucky University, and assumption by the State of the absolute control
over the fund heretofore contributed to the Kentucky University; said
repeal to take effect at the termination of the present scholastic year.

2. The appointment of trustees or commissioners, vested with authority
to settle any outstanding differences that may exist between the Agricul-
tural and Mechanical College and Kentucky University.

3. Theappointment of a commission, for the purpose of locating the
Agricultural and Mechanical College at some convenient and suitable
place, under such restrictions as may seem best; but with the condition
that it never be placed under the control of any religious sect or denOm-
ination whatever. The committee will also tender an act embodying the

 

 foregoing recommendatiOns, together with provisions for carrying the
same into effect, the passage Of which they recommend.
All Of which is respectfully submitted.

P. P. JOHNSTON, Chairman, '
GEO. WRIGHT,

D. G. MITCHELL,

DAVID E. MURRAY,
EEANOIS L. CLEVELAND,
J. T. TARTAR,

O. U. MOELROY,

J. M. KASH,

R. L. SPALD‘ING,

J. s. OWSLEY,

HENRY GEORGE,

M. HAMILTON.