The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 58, July 1954 - April, 1955 Page: 30
650 p. : ill., maps (some col.), ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Southwestern Historical Quarterly
on the best possible terms, Houston later made a trip to New
England with Lieutenant-Governor George T. Jester, who was
a member of the board of directors, and Professor W. S. Wier,
who had been hired to head the new department. They were
unable to obtain gifts such as manufacturers had given other
schools in the past, but they did persuade some companies to dis-
count the cost of the equipment 50 per cent or more. Houston
estimated, in fact, that $25,000 worth of machinery was bought
for a little over $0o,ooo000.7
The new building, constructed of brick and wood, cost $31,000
and contained a chemical laboratory, a power loom department,
a cloth room, and a finishing department.8 Houston wrote that
while it was an attractive building, "the principles of mill con-
struction were not sacrificed to secure ornamentation." Every
effort was made to preserve "the essential features of a regular
factory," so that students might get realistic training. As another
practical measure, a large part of the job of locating and erecting
machinery was given to the students themselves, since it was val-
uable experience for duties they might later perform as mill
superintendents."9
Houston and the other officials of A. and M. believed that the
special nature of their college imposed responsibilities beyond
merely teaching students who were regularly enrolled. Two ex-
amples of this belief were the creation of special short courses for
farmers and the expansion of the program for distribution of
useful bulletins to farmers and housewives. Farmer's short courses,
first offered at the college in January, 1903, were open to men
eighteen years old or older who desired instruction in stock farm-
ing, horticulture, and dairying but who could not otherwise get
college training. For a ten-weeks course, enrollees paid forty dol-
lars, thirty-five of which went for room and board at the college.40
In 1904, Houston reported that the mailing list for college bul-
letins had reached 2o,ooo,41 which included farmers, stockmen,
fruit-growers, truck-farmers, and even bee-keepers, in every part
of the state.
87Biennial Report, z9o3 and 90o4, pp. 20-21
s8Bryan Eagle, May 5, 1904.
89Biennial Report, 190o3 and 190o4, pp. 20-21.
4ODallas Morning News, December 8, 19go4.
4aBiennial Report, 9go3 and 90o4, p. 24.
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 58, July 1954 - April, 1955, periodical, 1955; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101158/m1/49/: accessed April 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.