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About Yale Alumni Magazine | View Entire Issue (Jan. 12, 1899)
Vou. .VilLe No. ia, NEW HAVEN, CONN., THURSDAY, JANUARY 12, 1899. GIFT OF GERMAN LIBRARY. A. L. Ripley, °78, Presents 500 Vol- umes to the Department, The University has just received from Mr. Alfred L. ‘Ripley -of Andover, Mass., a gift of over 500 German books to be assigned as a nucleus of a Semi- nary library to the German Department for the use of the graduate and ad- vanced undergraduate ‘students in a room set apart for private work and study. The books constitute an excel- lent working library, containing the best dictionaries of all periods of the language, including the large Grimm’s Woerterbuch, historical German gram- mars, a considerable number of texts from the earlier periods of German lit- erature, monographs on philology and literature, standard editions of the most important modern classical authors and, what is particularly valuable for a work- ing library of this kind, the complete set of Ktirschner’s Deutsche National- litteratur, which contains over 200 volumes of the best edited texts from all periods of German literature. purpose of housing the library and carrying out the wishes of the donor the University authorities have assigned the rom 117 North College, excellently adapted to the purpose. During the vacation this has been fitted up and is ready for occupation. A TIMELY GIFT. The gift was a most timely one, as the Department has long felt the need of just such a room for advanced work with small classes for which a reference library is almost indispensable. The Department had been further at a dis-. advantage in not having a place for a common meeting ground of instructors and students for the various institutions which the Department has been carry- ing on for a number of years. These include a Periodical Review. Club, which meets every fortnight for the purpose of presenting and discussing reports from the various German periodicals, both philological and _lit- etary; a German Reading Club, which has met alternate fortnights for the treading and discussion of certain special works in German, and a Book Club for the circulation of the latest litera- ture. ae Mr. Ripley’s gift is a generous one and has been given in a very generous spirit. Mr. Ripley, who graduated in 1878, it will be remembered, was an Instructor and assistant Professor of. German in Yale from 1880 until 1888, having entire charge of the Department from 1883 until he resigned his posi- tion to go into business. He practi- cally reorganized the Department, hay- ing been one of the chief promoters of the introduction of the optional system at Yale and of the entrance require- ments in Modern Languages and their study in the two lower classes. Though carrying a heavy burden of work, with large classes and few assistants, he stc- ceeded in putting the Department upon a strong basis. This gift of a large part of his work- ing library is but another indication of Professor Ripley’s effective interest in the University, and especially in that branch of the work which he did so much to further—an interest which he hopes to be able to maintain in the future in a practical and helpful way. The members of the German Faculty are very much pleased at this gift, which they feel has allowed them to take a For the decided forward step in increasing the usefulness of the Department and which opens to them favorable opportunity for further growth. They feel that no more effective interest can be shown in the University than by just such gifts. And they are hoping that other grad- uates may also become interested in the Department and show their interest in a practical way. Every year, libraries of German scholars are put into the market (as just at the present time the library of the late Professor Baecht- hold of Ztirich, an excellent collection of works on German literature), which would prove a most valuable acquisi- tion to the Department and to the University, but for the purchase of which the University has no available funds. Already graduates and others have generously provided the means of buying such libraries, e. g., those of Count Riant and Professor Curtius within a couple of years. The hope is expressed that now Professor Ripley has begun the work and furnished the opportunities for making such a library in German truly useful, other graduates may supplement this gift and make it still more valuable for the future with its ever increasing demands. ad $150,000 Released to Yale. The United States Court of Appeals on Tuesday, Jan. 3, handed down a decision which, if no further litigation is engaged in, will free to Yale about $150,000, from the Fayerweather resid- uary estate. The decision vacated an injunction granted by Judge Lacombe of the United States Circuit Court, re- straining the executors of the will from paying any money of the residuary estate of the late Daniel B. Fayer- weather, to the twenty-five institutions named in the will, of which Yale was one. Yale had already received $300,~ 000, $200,000 of which went into the University funds and $100,000 to the Sheffield Scientific ‘School. At the time of the WEEKLY going to press it could not be learned whether or not the contesting heirs would at- tempt to carry the case any further. ooo Professor Hoppin’s Lectures. Professor Hoppin’s lectures at the Art School for this term are on the following subjects in painting, sculp- ture and architecture: 1. Dante Gabriel Rossetti; 2. Burne- Jones; 3. Study of a Greek sculptor of the Post-Pheidian period; 4. Study of a Greek sculptor of the Post-Pheidian period; 5. Bourges Cathedral; 6. French Gothic Architecture; 7. French Gothic Architecture. The lectures may overrun the limits. They will commence Tuesday, Jan- uary 17th, at 4 Pp. M. and continue on suc- cessive Tuesdays at the same hour. This course is open to all members of the University. ——___+4—___ Kneisel Quartet this Week. The Kneisel Quartet will give its postponed concert in the University Chamber Concert series, Thursday, Jan. 12. The program is the same as that arranged for the concert of November 20th. 1 Winter Term Begun. The Winter term at Yale began with the services at Chapel on Tuesday morning, Jan. 10. Price Tren. Cents. A COMPLETE YALE VICTORY. The Supreme Court Decision im the Tax Case—Passages from the Finding. The greatest battle .Yale -has yet fought for her financial interests has been won. The victory is.complete and so sweeping that there is no chance of a renewal of operations against the University. The decision by the Su- preme Court of Errors of Connecticut was unanimous and so direct and un- mistakably strong for Yale all along the line that the hopes of any better luck by the Board of Assessors of New Haven, in a renewal of the contest in the courts by an appeal to the United States Supreme Court, is of the faintest nature. New Haven is already a bit disgusted with the long and expensive litigation, which has resulted in heavy legal expenses, rather than in increased revenues for the city. There has been for some time a feel- ing that: the court could not possibly construe the law so as to admit of the taxation of the dormitories, but it has been felt that there was some chance that the opportunity might be given to tax the unimproved real estate, held by the University. This again was denied by the court, which admits as possible to be included in the list, over and above the items furnished by Mr. Farnam, one of the Observatory houses and possibly one or two other minor items coming under the same classi- © fication. The attempt was made to add to Yale’s list in the Winter of 1896-7. The University appealed from the Assessor’s list; the Board of Relief overruled the appeal; the University again appealed, and the case, which thus came _ be- fore the Superior Court, was reserved for the Supreme Court, Mr. Charles E. Perkins of Hartford being named by the court as a Committee to make a finding of facts. The Yale list as prepared bv Mr. Farnam amounted to $57,680 and was as follows: 56 Hallhause aves. va Se 2: $19,210.00 24) Work: Ste eS as. 5,000.00 PSRs irk SE xa ee ee 7,300.00 poo Collese “str cs. Bae. 2 ees 5,090.00 se Pi ist fas any ee 7,000.00 EY?s Bimsshoo2 oi Sea 7,200.00 156: Flumephrey vsti es ves. 2. 9 5,080.00 $57,680.00 The list prepared by the Assessors amounted to $380,866, and included White, Berkeley and Pierson dormi- tories, and the Old Gymnasium. The claim of the Assessors was that these properties were not used for strictly collegiate purposes, but came within the meaning of the statute requiring taxa- tion for outside properties yielding a revenue of more than $6,000 annually. Several passages in the finding of facts by the Committee, Mr. Perkins, are of particular interest as showing the revenues and expenses of the College and the amounts appropriated for needy students. A part of the find- ing runs as follows: : “T find that the annual outgoes of the appellant for tuition and the other expenses of supporting, maintaining, and providing for the institution of learning authorized by its act of in- corporation have generally exceeded the annual income from its. invested funds, tuition fees,, and all other sources, including the amounts received for the use and occupancy of the rooms in said White Hall, Berkeley Hall, and Pierson Hall, excepting benevolent and charitable contributions, and for several years past have so exceeded such an- nual income by several thousand dol- lars per annum; which sum has been made up by contributions of divers persons made for that purpose, with- out which contributions there would have been an annual deficit of income over outgoes; and the tax laid on the additions made by said assessors to said appellant’s tax list if collected must be met and paid out of such bene- volent and charitable gifts and contrib- utions, FIGURES OF INCOME AND EXPENSE, “And I further find that in 1886 the income of the appellant, less donations for income, was $276,000, and that the expenditures in that year were $326,000, showing a deficit of $50,000: that in 1894 the receipts of the appellant, less donations for income, amounting to $53,000, were $600,604: that the expendi- tures were $662,338, showing a deficit of $52,734: that in 1895 the receipts of the appellant, less donations for in- come, amounting to $50,000, were $675,226, and its expenditures $713,804, showing a deficit of $38,578: that in 1896 the receipts of the appellant, less donations for income, amounting to $35,000, were $704,445, and its expendi- ‘tures $719,225, showing a deficit of $14,784: that in 1897 the receipts of the appellant, less donations for income, amounting to $35,000, were $719,726, and its expenditures $742,959, showing a deficit of $23,233. “By the words ‘donations for income’ is meant donations for the current ex- penses of the College. In the year ending July 31, 1894, the donations to endowments, by which is meant dona- tions to the permanent invested funds of the College, were $101,000, and dona- tions to be used only for building pur- poses were $142,000. In the year 1895, the donations for endowments were $235,854.66, and for buildings, $30.200. In the year ending July 31, 18096, the donations to endowments were $155,- 546.18, and for buildings, $63,000. For the year ending July 31, 1897, the donations for endowments were $412,- 497.91, and for buildings, $15,000. No donations are included in the _ state- ment of receipts and expenditures show- ing an annual deficit as hereinbefore stated. CHARITIES LARGE AND SALARIES SMALL, “T find that while the whole net an- nual income derived by the appellant from all the College buildings contain- ing study and sleeping rooms, from the students occupying the same, does not exceed the sum of $55,000, the sum of $54,000 and over, from the income of its invested funds and from scholar- ship funds, so called, is annually ap- propriated by this appellant to the use of worthy and needy applicants, to help them to meet their expenses while availing themselves of the educational advantages afforded by the appellant, whereby students to the number of 160 at all times receive their tuition gratuit- ously, without the payment of any money, fee, or reward therefor, while additional students to the number of about 270 have their tuition remitted in part, most of the latter paying only
