The history of the A. & M. college trouble, 1908

Front matter

Class__852L7

Book

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Chapter I. Student Life

"Know whom ye judge, that ye judge justly."

For one to understand the actions of any nation, state, or group of people correctly, it is necessary that the life, characteristics, surroundings, and daily routine of living be fully understood.

If one does not belong to this group they are either liable to come to a decision as if the party in question was subject to the same circumstances as the one doing the judging, or else proper allowance will not be made for the different conditions. , . . .v, • , +• f ti.^

This principle should have special emphasis, m the consideration ot the A & M College trouble. The boys are students and at the college they are under very different circumstances to any other student body in the state.

T. J. BEESLEY

President of the Senior Class of 1908

CHAS. HOMEYER

Senior Captain of the Battalion 1907-08

Therefore I think it is necesary for one who is not fully acquainted with this college to have a better understanding of the conditions surrounding the trouble before a just and impartial verdict can be arrived at. . ^ . ^ -,

The location of the A. & M. College in a thinly populated district, hve miles from the nearest town, together with the fact that it is not co-educational throws the boys continually in one another's company. The military discipline and barrack life bears toward the same end. There being no fraternities, the divisions of the student body are restricted to the four classes Senior, Junior, Sophomore and Freshman, corresponding to the lengtn of time they have been at college, and the four military companies. A, "B " "C " and "D," according to the individual height of the students.

And as every class has its members practically equally divided between the companies, and the companies have men from all the classes, there are no well-defined lines of division.

The cadets have "company spirit" that prevents class division from being carried to an extrem.e, while the "class spirit" prevents company associations from being carried to a selfish end. Just enough of the two opposing organizations to prevent there being any harmful effects of either, giving a nearly perfect democratic organization, free from clannishness as far as the student body is itself concerned.

In the government of the students among themselves, the class division has a shade the best of the company organization, thus putting the senior class in control. Then follows the .Junior^ Sophomores and Freshmen in order. Although no one class claims or tries to have any influence or control over any other class, yet under normal conditions the classes have respect for the action of every higher class, and to a less degree for each lower class.

Then it follows that the Senior Class frames and directs the policies and movements that are of importance to the whole corps of cadets in all college movements like athletics, clubs, publications, etc. The more important offices go to the Seniors, while the assistants are selected from the leaders of the lower classes; thus continually the system develops new men for the places of control that are each year relinquished by the Seniors on leaving.

There are important reasons why the Seniors should be, and are. the ruling factors among any student body that might be named. They are older, have been at the college longer, and consequently are more experienced. The application of nature's law of the survival of the fittest, leaves twenty per cent of the number that originally entered, and these after four years of the same training and association together find very little difficulty in coming to the same conclusions, and the unanimity of the decisions of .the Senior Class are very characteristic as opposed to the factions and divisions of the lower classes.

In carrying on the work of the organizations and enterprises there is no money consideration but to the one delegated the honor is the consideration, the kind that most appeals to the honest pride of any ambitious young American and he does his duty because it is duty, and is for the good of the class, the student body, and school. He knows no such word as self interest when working for the welfare of the college.

The absence of any temptation for what is usually termed "grafting" gives the better side of his nature a chance to develop a perfect horror for the practices of most men of today who are placed in public positions where they often manage things to suit their social and financial interests.

Between students there exists perhaps a truer form of general respect, one . for another; without the slightest trace of hypocrisy toward politeness than can be found in any other modern social organization. The list of causes which brings a group of persons together as students, does not contain the ever ready spirit to prey on one another. Their motives so wholly differ from those that influence the actions of people in the middle of the fight for existence, that they have an opportunity to build up a character that has an abhorrence for all forms of self worship and in its place holds up self respect. The respect and politeness that exists between students can hardly be questioned as not being the most real and genuine to be found anywhere. Not that it is a set principle to be learned, but because the conditions favor it and it soon becomes an attribute of the student. On account of the large number who are generally subject to the same rules and regulations governing all the duties of all the students, there comes a realization of equality. The lofty are humbled and the lowly are elevated and, so a level is reached,

HISTORY OF THE A. AND M. TROUBLE.

and when this condition is arrived at it may be said by a student "I am as good as any other normal student."

When such conditions as this occur in a social unit, is it to be wondered that favoritism and arbitrary dealings prove highly distasteful. Students

JOE UTAY

Captain Football Team 1907, who holds letter

showiiifr Dr. ilai-rintrtoii broke faith

With Football .Men.

CLARENCE SYMES

President of the Sophomore Class.

will put up with most anything reasonable without a murmur if it applies to all; but there is sure to be a "howl" when there are evidences of partiality and arbitrary actions.

Regarding these principlea, some of which are to be found in all colleges — and I believe that in very few schools are they more pronounced than here — the points favoring such conditions are: This is an agricultural and mechanical college, and this fact alone prevents the student body from contending with the wealthy boy who is merely going to college for social standing. The students who come to the A. & M. to prepare themselves to lead in their calling have added another clause to the old Grecian's answer to what an education is for; he said it was to teach one how to live. We add — and how to make the living.

Other conditions influencing the student body to a better moral development and higher ideals of official management that might be mentioned are, the college is not co-educational and is in somewhat of an isolated position. The strict military discipline and a full schedule; (there being six days of recitation) and a Sunday routine of chapel exercises and inspection that barely leaves time for one to read a Sunday newspaper. It the old saying, that only in an idle mind can the devil build a workshop, be literally true, old Satan has quit doing business among the students of the A. & M. College, on account of them not having any time to spare him, as will be seen by the following official schedule of a day's duties:

HEADQUARTERS CORPS OP CADETS.

College Station, Texas.

February 29, 1908.

General Orders No. 22.

Commencing tomorrow, March 1, 1908, the following list of calls will be observed.

Reveille, first call 6:00 a. m.

Five minutes "setting up exercises" immediately after reveille.

Breakfast, first call _ 6: 30

Sick call, immediately after breakfast.

Guard Mounting, first call 7:25

Call to Quarters, first period 7:55

Second Period — - 8: 55

Third 'Period .- 9 : 55

Fourth Period 10:55

Fifth Period 11:55

Assembly 12 : 00 m.

Recall 12 : 50 p. m.

Dinner Call 12 : 55

First Sergeant's and Sick Call immediately after dinner.

Call to Quarters and Sixth Period 1:55

Seventh Period 2 : 55

Recall 4:30

Drills and Ceremonies, Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

First Call 4 : 40

Recall 5:40

Retreat and Supper, first call 6:00

Call to Quarters, except Saturdays 7:00

Tattoo 10:00

Sunday Morning Inspection 8:30

Chapel Exercises, Sunday, first call 11:20

Chapel Exercises, Thursday, immediately after breakfast. By order of Captain Andrew Moses, Commandant:

D. B. NETHERWOOD, Cadet First Lieutenant, Acting Adjutant.

Bearing on this line of explanations of the conditions influencing student life at A. & M., I will add the following extracts from a late Bulletin of this college:

"The poor man's son and the rich man's son stand on precisely the same footing at the Agricultural and Mechanical College. No professor or instructor in the institution could at any time during the session, unless he were to make a special investigation of the matter, tell who were the sons of poor men and who were the sons of rich men in any of his classes. There is no community in the land in which the line between the rich and the poor is more completely obliterated, or that affords a young man of means fewer opportunities for displaying his wealth. All students dress alike, all eat the same kind of food at the same tables, all have to get up at the same time in the morning, and make their own fires, bring their water, clean their rooms, and during the day all have to do the same kind of work. And there are no social or other occasions when the poorest boys in the corps are placed at any disadvantage on account of their poverty.

"Among the students there is nothing that resembles the caste spirit. A great many of them have to pay a part of their college expenses by doing any kind of work that does not interfere with their regular duties; but this does not in any way affect their standing with the officers of the college, or with their fellow students. Some of the most popular young men in the student body — men who stand highest in their classes and in athletic sports — may be seen in the dining room at meal time, wearing white jackets and aprons, waiting on the tables where their fellow students are eating. One would be perfectly safe in making the assertion that there is Bot an institution of learning in America where it is more nearly true, that each student is judged by what he is and what he does, rather than by his wealth, social position, or family connections."

"As a result of all these and other influences, the morals of the students will compare very favorably with those of any other student body in the land. The students themselves are anxious to maintain a high standard of morality, and to make the reputation of the college a matter of pride to themselves and to the people of the State. There was a time when a great many people had the idea that the college was a sort of reformatory, a place to send boys who were too wild and unruly to be managed at home, and in some portions of the state this impression still lingers. Whatever may have been the foundation for such an impression years ago there is certainly none whatever for it now. Most of the boys who come here have a very definite idea as to what they want to accomplish, and they go about their work with a singleness and seriousness of purpose that would impress even a casual observer. Those who come simply to have a good time soon find that they have come to the wrong place, and it does not take the college authorities long to reach the same conclusion. It is true that many boys whom their parents find hard to control, turn out to be faithful students; but the college has no patent methods of supplying the deficiencies of home training and of reforming incorrigible youngsters, and it is making no investigations along that line."

In writing of the student body some time ago the local correspondent for the Post, said:

"The student activities, his surroundings, his ideals, control very largely the kind of man developed from any college. That there are many things to be desired at the one technological school of Texas is evident, but that the opportunities for a healthful physical development are excellent, that the ideas of the students are sane and wholesome, that their attitude toward moral questions on the whole is good, that they are manly, truthful, clean minded, practical, loyal, and courageous, there can be no question among those who know them best."

BARACK LIFE.

There are five large brick buildings not including Goodwin Hall, and thirty-six tents occupied by the students, usually two to a room. During meals and while corps is away, and during study hours, sentinels are on constant duty, they Tseing posted for three reasons, (1) to carry out the regular army regime, (2) the protection of state and private property against fire and prowlers, and, (3) to insure order and prevent visiting during study hours.

Each floor of a building constitutes a "division," and the highest ranking officer on it is the superintendent of that division.

The superintendent's duties make him directly responsible to the commandant for the good behavior, tidiness and sanitary condition of his division. His inspections are made at 6:30 a. m. and 10:15 p. m. and all irregularities are reported to the commandant. This, together with the inspection of the "Officer of the Day," which comes in the forenoon, and the Sunday morning inspection by the commandant insures perfect order, tidiness and punctuality, — three requirements for the proper formation of an all-round good character.

The troubles that worry a new student may be illustrated by the following statement by a Freshman:

"During the first month I had trouble in keeping house. Before I came to college I had never swept a floor, piled a bed or cleaned a room. I knew absolutely nothing about such work. I tried hard; but in spite of all effort the room would not look decent. I kept on trying and before long I could sweep as well as most anyone; I can arrange my bed neatly, and make my room appear orderly."

I believe that if the cadets were judged by society's test of the neatness of house keeping, as an index to refinement and culture, they would certainly receive a high rating.

Under these conditions it is very unlikely that all of a sudden a body of five hundred men, whose ages range from seventeen to thirty years, (the leaders of thought averaging twenty-four years,) would unanimously and without warning become socialists and anarchists. It is also more unlikely that they would sacrifice their own chances for an education in catering to some leader, either student or other person; yet ignorant and uninformed outsiders and selfish seeking "insiders" have this year made such statements, by way of insinuation, a mode of making charges that does not require the accuser to prove them. And the last charge was made for no other reason than to keep a large number of faculty men and instructors from coming out against Harrington under the penalty of being accused of being at the bottom of the whole trouble.

Chapter II

THE GROWTH OF ANTAGONISM BETWEEN DR. HARINGTON

AND THE STUDENTS.

"You can't keep a good man down."

The first notice of dissatisfaction among the cadets on record is the signing of the petition by the three upper classes on February 5, 1908, which was presented the next morning to the president of the Board by the sergeant of the guard. But this, however, is not the beginning of the dissatisfaction, but was the declaration that matters had become unbearable. The unpopularity of Dr. Harrington dates back to when he was professor of chemistry. However, this old dislike was buried when he became president, and would have never been known to the present students had things went well. In the "Long Horn" of the class of 1903 we find in the "Manual of Ornithology" his characteristics portrayed in the "Falco-Molecularis." (See L'Envoy.)

The antagonism is truly deep-seated and of long standing. A member of the old Board that elected Dr. Harrington states that the serious objection to electing Prof. Harrington to the presidency was his unpopularity with the students and the faculty. This member stated that prior, to the election in 1905 he had personally investigated the charge of unpopularity with students and others with whom Harrington came in contact, and found at that time a prevailing sentiment against him. Three gentlemen of high standing in Bryan who had urged his election, state that the objections the supporters of Dr. Harrington had to overcome were his unpopularity with the students, the disdainful manner in which he had treated those whom he came in contact with, and his unsympathetic attitude towards the social and personal relations of college life.

AT FIRST POPULAR.

In justice to Dr. Harrington it must be said that during his first year, or at least the first part of the first year as president, he was very popular, and it may be said agreeable to the students. He usually spoke when passing a cadet, gave freely to assist student enterprises, attended and spoke at athletic rallies, granted permits and privileges disapproved by the commandant; and in general taking issue with the students against Captain Sargent. An incident within the memory of the present upper classmen is when he sided with the Senior privates when they were trying to get the commandant to excuse them from reveille exercises. Another incident that might be recalled was when the president released from the guard room without conditions a large number of April 1st law breakers whom the commandant was trying to get to promise to behave the rest of the day. These, and many other acts for a time, made the President very popular; but soon the boys feegan to realize that in a large number of cases the president was acting for personal reasons alone. Such transactions as these when uncovered, which happened before the first year was over, resulted in a complete reaction. The boys realized Captain Sargent was right all along, and that the president had been doing as he did, merely for a selfish purpose. Such matters to .a mor^ or less degree happened in other departments.

Numerous changes in the officers of the college did by no means bring the student nearer to the president, but on the contrary many of the changes the students knew resulted entirely from selfish motives on the part of the president. In any college there will be changes, but when the changes become very abnormal, a reason will be looked for, just as an abnormally high death rate in a city calls for investigation, as it indicates that something is wrong somewhere.

Without in any way referring to the changes that take place this year (1908), I wish to call attention to the kaleidoscopic changes during the first two years of President Harrington's personal rule.

Referring to Catalogue, February, 1906, we find:

Faculty of 22: 8 removed. 1 by death, 1 by U. S. Government. Other instructors 21 —15 removed. Officers 11,-6 removed. Station Staff 11,-7 removed 1 by U. S. Government. Feed Control 7,-5 removed. Student assistants 3,'— all removed. Total 44 removed (one by death, 3 by U. S. Government) out of 75.

Now, see catalogue of 1908 and we find:

Faculty 20—7 new. Other instructors 24, 18 new. Officers 9,-4 new; chaplain abolished. Station Staff 15,-10 new. Feed Control 11,-9 new. Student assistants 4,— all new. Total 52 new, out of 83. ^ ,v, •

Now to be more personal I will give a list of the ones that severed their relations with the college during the two years named:

Faculty Changes.

1. R. H. Whitlock, Professor of Mechanical Engineering.

2. F. S. Johnson, Professor of Farm Husbandry.

3. F. R. Marshall, Professor of Animal Husbandry.

4. T. C. Bittle, Professor of Languages.

5. A. F. Conradi. Professor of Entomology.

6. John A. Craig, Lecturer of Animal Husbandry.

7. Howard M. Lanham, Surgeon.

Instructors and Professors. ,i

9. C. S. Potts, Associate Professor of History.

10. E. C. Green, Associate Professor Plant Husbandry, ll". . A. A. Haskell, Associate Professor of Chemistry.

12! Nathan Powell, Adjunct Professor of Languages.

13. W. G. Drummond, Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering.

14. O. D. Hargis, Instructor of Chemistry.

15. G. C. Embry, Instructor of English.

16. L. H. Scholl, Instructor of Agriculture.

17. J. B. Bagley, Instructor of Textile Engineering.

18. W. C. Nelson, Instructor of Drawing.

19. D. E. Earle, Instructor of Carding and Spinning.

20. A. C. Snyder, Instructor of Iron Work.

21. A. G. Harral, Instructor of Wood Work.

22. C. E. Bartholomew, Instructor of Entomology.

23. W. L. Thomasson, Instructor of Mechanical Engineering.

24. J. W. King, Instructor of English.

Officers.

25. J. G. Harrison, Treasurer.

26. Ira Cain, Librarian.

27. J. R. Robertson, Superintendent of Farm.

28. W. E. Bachman, Physical Director.

29. Miss I. J. Craig, Nurse.

30. George Grupe. Superintendent of Light Plant.

31. R. L. Bennett, Cotton Expert.

32. W. A. Price, Assistant Cotton Expert.

33. J. K. Robertson, Superintendent of Beeville Station.

Station Staff.

34. B. C. Pittuck, Feed Inspector.

35. C. O. Moser, Deputy Feed Inspector.

36. M. S. Church, Deputy Feed Inspector.

37. F. T. Foley, Stenographer.

38. Miss M. H. Watkins, Stenographer.

39. C. S. Poffenburger, Stenographer.

40. Miss Patti McLennan, Stenographer.

41. W. E. Berry, Stenographer.

Student Assistants.

42. C. W. Boyce, Assistant Farm Husbandry.

43. J. E. Hill, Assistant Electrical Engineering.

44. H. S. Woods, Assistant Electrical Engineering.

45. R. E. Schiller, Assistant Electrical Engineering.

46. L. Gugenheim, Assistant Electrical Engineering.

What does one notice in these changes? A student who has been at college during the time will see from this list and from the biennial report of the Board, that the number of faculty members continually decrease, yet the number of students here has increased fifty per cent; that the old influential and experienced members of the faculty and other officers of high salaries have gone, and their places filled by young men who are poorly paid at the beginning, and who will naturally feel grateful to the president for their promotion and constant raises in salaries. And if an old student examines closer what else does he notice? He sees that almost without exception, that the ones leaving the college belong to the class of broad-minded, sympathetic men that appeal by their force of character to the love and admiration of a student body. He also sees that of the personal favor-seeking group that every one knows to be merely gratifying self, not one has gone, no matter how inefficient they might be; but on the contrary they have gone up by promotion to the places vacated by the previous named group.

But you may say, "How do you know that every one did not leave on their own accord, or because the Board desired it, how can you lay it at the door of the president?"

To the first I will say that when a well known friend leaves a place or position, his friends are desirous of knowing why he leaves, and he himself generally feels that it is only justice to himself that he explain the reason of his departure. Now, personally I am acquainted with the circumstances attending the leaving of a large number of the persons previously named, and v.ith few exceptions they resulted from differences with the president, one ^^ ay or another.

Now, in I'egard to affixing the responsibility on the Board. In this case the Board has very little personal knowledge with regard to the personnel of the college force other than through the president. And in cases where the Board acted it was at the instance of the president, in whom they had implicit faith (certainly true, or else they would displace him and put in a man they did trust).

On account of the large number of changes the first summer, and circumstances attending some of them which was given publicity in the papers at the time, the students returned prejudiced against Dr. Harrington at the beginning of the session of '06-'07. And perhaps this prejudice is in a manner responsible for the serious way the boys took his epithets of "sneaks and cowards," hurled at the ones who were perpetuating the practice of initiation of new men, and at the rest for allowing it to be done. Now, within another week there was published in the Battalion the clipping from the well-known magazine, "The World's Work," commending Dr. Houston, President Harrington's predecessor, as one of the foremost educators of the South, and

HISTORY OF THE A. AND M. TROUBLE.

praisins? the work he had done for this college while president; and as a result Editor Holloway was called up and severely criticised, by the president who said the article contained false statements and that no one ot ordinary intelligence would have published the article. The student body soon knew of this and the general opinion was that the president's criticisms were unwarranted and merely exhibited uncontrolled jealousy. \eiy soon the promoters of student enterprises reported that the president was not assisting as he had done the previous year. Later some organizations lelt that the president was discriminating between them and some opposing

organization. , , , ., ^, ij c

These things went on. new grievances being added whi'e the old ones smouldered. Arbit'aiy dealings became more pronounced, the more favored cadets, as would be expected, were glad to herald their exceptional privi-

^^7n the meanwhile the president's social relations with the college community were not such as would be calculated in any way to span the gult that now existed between the students and himself.

The students began to avoid the president's office. They would take advantage of permits that were referred to the president without carrying them to him, thus risking punishment rather than face the man they had grown to dislike. Others would refrain from taking in permits that required the president's approval until it was known that the president was absent from tne college, in which case the permits would then be referred to the highest ranking faculty member (Prof. Puryear).

CHAS. PURYEAR

Dean of the Faculty.

R. H. STANDIFER

Major of the Battalion.

Thus the president and the students were traveling along widely diverging ways with no attempt toward reconciliation. The president and individual students no longer met except when absolutely necessary, and then it was usually specially favored students. This fact alone usually tended to make those particular students unpopular with the other students.

So is there any wonder that the time the '0C-'07 session was drawing to a close a movement was started among the members of the Senior class with the purpose or removing the president in view. It was quietly and skillfully planned but the sudden dismissal of school seventeen days before commencement, together with the serious illness of the president himself, prevented the dissatisfaction being communicated to the Board of Directors in June, '07.

More changes, resignations, and dismissals, among the faculty and employes, and many of these kaleidoscopic changes were again laid at the door of the personal rule of the president ; in a majority of cases the changes involved men who were very close to the student body, and usually the students knew the real reasons for their having "to resign." Everyone felt that an attache of the college "could but once cross the path of Harry." No one knew when his time was coming; teachers could not do their best work. For a teacher to do his best work, he should consider his teaching at A. & M. as a life-work, and devise, plan, and lay out schedules for improvement in his particular line of work. But this was impracticable, because as one said, "The period of one's stay here is too uncertain to put the suggestions named into practice."

By the beginning of the session of 1907-08 the dislike and distrust had permeated practically every one at college. As the years had passed the president had less and less friends in the student body; he could no longer find a student leader that stood by him. As the new class came in the antagonism spread to them, and from the president there came not one single act that might tend to bring them nearer together. The students began to dislike and distrust some of the ones that openly stood for Dr. Harrington, while the large majority of the faculty and instructors failed to openly announce either way.

Next came the complaint among the athletic men that the President did not open the Mess Hall, September, 1907, when he had promised the captain of the foot-ball team he would. They also complained to the students that they at times failed to receive extra articles of diet that were being paid for for the foot-ball training table. On inquiry to the steward, B. S'bisa, they were informed that the reason they were receiving condensed cream was that Dr. Harrington had sent over and got what was provided for them. The student waiters began to notice and report that the servants of Dr. Harrington made frequent daily trips to the Mess Hall for different articles, which were never charged up to him. This started the well-known "grafter" charge which has had more to do than any one other thing in causing the outbreak in February.