I. To those still in service:
Dr. Crowe...........$2,840.39
Prof. Thompson.......2,353.29
Prof. King...........820.87
Prof. Garritt........1,000.82
Prof. Sturgis.........211.33
II. To persons who had left the Faculty:
Dr. Thomas........$ 727.61
Prof. Stone........1,728.11
H. R. Lott..........211.33
[Page 115]
Prof. Bishop.......1,434.54
Dr. Edwards..........677.73
Total..............$12,006.02
In order to appreciate the predicament of the professors, the reader must recall that salaries were five and six hundred dollars per year. President Scovel was much praised by the Trustees and the public for always closing the fiscal year with the budget balanced. The record of the annual Board meeting in 1847 states that the Trustees were gratified with Dr. Scovel's report as Treasurer, presenting receipts in full from all members of the Faculty for their salaries and naively explaining that he was able to do so because he induced Professor Thompson and Dr. Crowe to relinquish a part of their salaries: Professor Sturgis to accept a "$500 negotiable scholarship" for cash on his $500 salary; and Professor Knox to receipt in full his $500 salary for $100 in cash and credit for $400 on his subscription to the New Endowment fund. The communication of the "President and Faculty of Hanover College" to the Trustees October 1, 1861, is apropos: "The President states to the Trustees that since the last meeting of the Board an eastern friend has made a donation of $600 toward paying his salary for the current year. II. The Faculty at its meeting last week agreed to the following proposition, viz: In view of the extraordinary pecuniary pressure growing out of the state of the country, the Faculty of the College will purchase and pay from their salaries for the current year the following sums in the form of scholarships:
Dr. Wood.......................$400.00 in 2 scholarships
Prof. Thompson................$200.00 in 1 scholarship
Prof. Sturgis.................$200.00 in 1 scholarship
Prof. Garritt.................$200.00 in 1 scholarship
[Page 116] Dr. Scott will relinquish $100 from last year's salary."
Thus, for forty-five years the College disposed of its deficits in large part by passing them on to the Faculty. Since 1872, however, no professor has failed to receive his appointed salary, grievously small though it may be, promptly and in full.
In order to keep faith with its Faculty the Trustees have on numerous occasions been driven to the hazardous expedient of "borrowing" from permanent funds, and as often to borrowing to the limit of its credit from individuals and local banks. But once did the credit of the College fail. In 1878 the Treasurer was unable to borrow $5,000 at 8% interest on a mortgage of plant assets. The funds for completing Classic Hall were borrowed at 10% interest. At the meeting of the Board after the refusal of the banks to extend further credits the following resolution was offered by Mr. John H. Holliday, and defeated by a vote of one:
"Resolved, That Hanover College be suspended for an indefinite period until its financial condition shall have recuperated so that it may be opened as a first class institution upon a self-sustaining basis." It should be added that, since that day, Mr. Holliday gave more money to Hanover than has been given by any other individual.
Other methods employed to make up the deficits included what in the "circuit rider" churches was called "passing the hat" in the Board meetings. Many thousands of dollars, first and last, have been paid into the contingent fund by the Trustees in order to save the reputation of the institution. Churches and individuals were solicited to contribute to "clearing off the debt." In 1879 a horizontal twenty-five per cent. reduction of salaries was adopted as a means [Page 117] of recouping the treasury. Permanent funds have not been used for meeting the current expenses very seriously. Rather, they have been invaded to meet emergencies in the building program, and even then have been fairly replaced subsequently except once or twice. Between 1846 and 1866 the permanent fund was quite regularly invaded. With reference to this practice Dr. Wood makes the following statement in his annual report of 1866:
"In a strict business point of view this is admitted not to be wise and prudent. But in carrying on the College under existing circumstances, some small latitude must be given for a time in managing its financial affairs, until its resources are more ample; or the institution must be suspended. The Treasurer has not acted recklessly in this matter, but with due consideration and generally after counsel with one or more members of the Executive Committee, and as opportunity offered, with other members of the Board. Our liberal and fast friend of the College, William Lapsley, has also been repeatedly consulted on this subject.
"At a meeting of the Board six and one-half years ago, (the second meeting that I attended), one of the Trustees, an energetic and prosperous business man, proposed and advocated the measure of making available immediately, as far as could be done, all the assets of the College, and with them free the Institution from debt. If anything was left to enable the Board to carry on the College, then carry it on; and if not, wind up the Institution. This, he insisted, was the only businesslike way, and indeed, the only honest way of proceeding. And so earnest were his convictions of the propriety and wisdom of this measure that he did not attend another meeting of the Board, because his plan was not adopted. Since that time another trustee advanced the opinion that the College should be managed with as much economy as prac- [Page 118] ticable, by using for that purpose any fund which could be collected, to pay debts and current expenses, and when all the funds should be used up, then if the Churches should refuse to sustain the Institution any longer, bring it to a close. Neither of these courses has been pursued. Money belonging to the Permanent Fund has been applied to the payment of debts when the non-payment of these debts would involve serious pecuniary loss or discredit, and occasionally to the payment of other current expenses without which the College could not be carried on."
During the administration of Dr. Heckman the following resolutions were adopted:
"(1). That all moneys now in the Treasurer's hands, and bills receivable now in his hands, belonging to the College General Funds, and not otherwise specifically appropriated, including the funds from the sale of real estate lately made at New Albany, be and the same are hereby appropriated to the payment of the debts of the College, and
"The Treasurer shall also apply to the payment of said debts, any money not donated for special purposes, coming into his hands, as fast as possible, until all debts are entirely paid; and to extinguish said debts at as early a day as possible, the Treasurer is authorized to borrow of the Permanent Fund of the College, a sum sufficient to pay said debts, taking therefor the note or notes of the Board signed by the President and Secretary; and the Trustees for the payment of said notes and interest thereon, hereby pledge all moneys devised to the College for general purposes, which may hereafter come to the Board from past or future devises, and all other funds coming into the Treasury of the College and not donated or granted to be used for some specific purpose.
"2. That the officers and Executive Committee of the Board be, and they are hereby prohibited from contracting any debts in behalf of the College, beyond [Page 119] the money in hand to meet and satisfy the same at the time of entering into contract."
Since the World War a considerable overdraft in the contingent fund, occasioned chiefly in a necessary building program and to increase the salaries to meet conditions imposed in connection with an endowment campaign, was taken care of by borrowing from the General (undesignated) Endowment. This has largely been replaced.
The College has four sources of income: (1) Fees of various kinds paid by students; (2) Interest derived from invested funds and rents produced by real estate; (3) Contributions to cover current expenses by churches and individuals; (4) Aid by the Presbyterian Board of Education and the General Education Board and similar agencies. The table below shows the rates which have been charged for tuition and other purposes at different periods:
PERIOD / TUITION / CONTINGENT / LIBRARY, GYM, ETC.
1830-1833 / $15.00 / .. / ..
1833-1836 / 20.00 / .. / ..
1836-1839 / 25.00 / .. / ..
1839-1841 / 30.00 / .. / ..
1841-1845 / 20.00 / .. / ..
1845-1849 / *25.00 / .. / ..
1849-1850 / 25.00 / 1.00 / ..
1850-1860 / 30.00 / .. / ..
1860-1867 / 30.00 / 5.00 / ..
1867-1868 / 30.00 / 10.00 / ..
1868-1871 / Free / 10.00 / ..
1871-1873 / Free / 15.00 / 1.00
1873-1880 / Free / 10.00 / 1.00
1880-1885 / Free / 15.00 / 1.50
1885-1887 / Free / 15.00 / 1.00
1887-1895 / Free / 15.00 / 3.00
1895-1905 / Free / 15.00 / 6.00
*German and French extra.
[Page 120]
1905-1909 / Free / 15.00 / 9.00
1909-1914 / Free / 30.00 / 9.00
1914-1920 / Free / 45.00 / ..
1920-1924 / Free / 75.00 / ..
1924-1927 / Free / 100.00 / ..
There have been correspondingly modest fees for instruction in music and laboratory fees which cover the materials used and depreciation of equipment. There is a question whether the student bears an equitable proportion of his education. At all times it has been the policy of Hanover to make the rates low enough that no worthwhile student of moderate means would be excluded. It is a principle of democracy in education that student fees shall not be prohibitive, but in recent years the conviction has grown that the rates should be increased and ample provision made for easy loans to students in need of consideration. In 1818-19 the income of fifty "average colleges" was derived as follows:
From Student Fees...............39 per cent.
Endowment.......................30 per cent.
Annual Gifts....................31 per cent.
With this as a standard it is interesting to discover the percentage of the cost of his education which the Hanover student has paid:
Period. / Percentage paid by student.
1832 / 30 (Estimated)
1848 / 27
1860 / 18
1877 / 10
1900 / 20
1926 / 38
The history of the endowment of the College begins [Page 121] with the administration of President Scovel. The following statements taken from the annual reports of the treasurers will portray the progress that has been made:
Plant Assets....................$14,400.00
Scholarship Subscriptions........12,300.00
Total Assets....................$26,700.00
Indebtedness.....................13,724.55
Balance............................$12,975.45
1. Income for the session:
Tuition..........................$ 424.50
Scholarships, Interest and Donations......629.00
Total...................................$1,053.50
[Page 122]
2. Expenses:
Salaries..............$1,320.00
Repairs, etc...........269.05
Total...................$1,589.05
Deficit...................$ 535.55
Total.......................$68,108.90
2.Liabilities:
Building debts..............$30,959.33
Due on back Salaries..........12,006.02
Due agent.....................998.60
Total........................$43,963.95
Balance......................$24,144.95
Of the net assets of $24,144.95 in the above statement, $16,797.13 represents money borrowed from the Permanent Fund and applied on building of Classic Hall. In the report from which the above statement is drawn the Permanent Fund is represented as amounting to $101,371.75, and consisting of:
Cash.....................$100.00
Mortgage loans............3,378.88
[Page 123]
Used for building..........16,797.13
Used for current expenses...4,895.46
Unsecured interest-bearing
Subscription notes..........76,200.28
Total.......................$101,371.75
As a matter of fact much of the principal and interest on the subscription notes was never paid.
In 1862 the endowment of the College was reported to be $122,523 and included:
Unpaid subscription notes.........$46,000.00
Unproductive real estate...........36,000.00
Absorbed in building and current
expense........................... 34,000.00
Seminary building in New Albany, Value not given.
Indianapolis town lots, Value not given.
1. Assets:
College plant......................$ 41,329.60
Real estate..........................24,596.83
Government bonds.....................14,050.00
Stocks.................................250.00
Mortgage loans........................4,7Ol.91
Cash...................................108.87
Unpaid subscription notes............34,297.40
"President's Fund" notes.............23,015.00
Total................................$154,349.61
2. Liabilities: Not stated, but the following year $5,000 of the undesignated money from the estate of George King of Franklin, was applied on the indebtedness of the College.
[Page 124]
1. Mortgage loans.........................$25,802.00
2. Bonds...................................44,700.00
3. Uninvested cash.........................4,913.29
4. Subscription notes (interest bearing)...7,300.00
Total......................................$82,715.29
In 1879 the total active assets were $68,428.96, of which only $1,450 was in the form of interest-bearing subscription notes.
Cash and securities.......................$177,303.00
Real estate................................3,930.50
Plant assets...............................131,157.62
Total.....................................$312,391.12
Liabilities: None.
Budget for the year 1906-07................$13,295.76
Securities and cash in hands of Treasurer.. $188,792.22
Income producing property.....................31,400.00
Total.......................................$220,192.22
Plant assets................................$156,200.00
Total Assets.................................$376,392.22
Liabilities: None.
Budget for the year 1911-12................$17,664.09
1. Assets:
Securities and cash .... $556,688.71
[Page 125]
Bonds held in trust for College...............10,000.00
Income producing real estate..................92,050.00
Live Assets.................................$658,738.71
Plant Assets.................................233,160.00
Materials and supplies.........................2,8l9.55
Total Assets................................$894,718.26
2. Liabilities: None.
Budget for year 1925-26.......................$73,774.03
Fifteen large contributions have been designated for the endowment of particular chairs. The donor, date of gift and amount at present to the credit of each of these foundations, are shown in the table below:
DESIGNATION / DONOR / DATE / AMOUNT
1. "Alumni Professorship" / Alumni / 1845 / $ 6,260.00
2. Holliday Professorship in Philosophy / Rev. William A. Holliday / 1860 / 20,000.00
3. The Ayres Professorship In Chemistry / Mrs. Mary R. Lapsley,
Silas C. Day / 1871 / 20,000.00
4. The Crowe Foundation (President's Fund) / Many Givers / 1873 / 21,600.00
5. The King Professorship in Greek / Mr. John King / 1873 / 12,000.00
6. Silas C. Day Professorship in Mathematics / Mrs. Mary R. Lapsley / 1878 / 20,000.00
7. The Mary Edward Hamilton Professorship in Modern Language / Mrs. Sallie Donnell / 1885 / 20,000-00
8. The James A. and Sophronia R. McKee Professorship In English Literature / Rev. James A. McKee / 1887 / 22,500.00
9. The Ezra DeWolfe and John
Charlton Clarke Professorship in History Mr. John Clarke / 1992 / 19,046.17
10. The Cogley Professorship
in Physics / Mrs. M E. Cogley / 1897 / 20,000.00
11. The J. B. Garrett Professorship In English Bible / Presbyterian Board of Education, Mrs. C. H. McCormick and Alumni / 1917 / 80,168.91
12. The Holliday Fund / Mr. John H. Holliday / 1918 / 35,000.00
13. The Wiley-Maxwell Chair
of Biology / Dr. Harvey W. Wiley / 1920 / 25,000.00
14. The McCaslin Professorship
In Education / Mrs. William McCamlin / 1920 / 30,000.00
15. Chair of Religious
Leadership / Presbytery of
New Albany / 1920 / 25,000.00
[Page 126] In addition to the foregoing, Mr. P. E. Goodrich has provided for an endowment of $25,000 for a Chair of Home Economics in memory of his mother. This endowment is more than half paid into the Treasury. Mr. Goodrich has also recently endowed the John B. Goodrich Oratorical Prize with $1,000.
Other similar endowments are:
The Eli Mace Essay Prize, Dr. Wm. H. Mace,............$ 500.00
The Dr. E. P. Hamilton Essay Prize, by his children.....1,000.00
The Charles Lathrop Pack Essay Prize....................1,000.00
The Camelia Donnell Rotary Loan Fund....................4,000.00
The Joseph W. Evans Rotary Loan Fund....................1,000.00
The A. H. Young Rotary Loan Fund........................3,000.00
First Presbyterian and Tabernacle Churches,
Indianapolis, Rotary Loan Fund..........................1,000.00
Within the last seven years the Synod of Indiana has designated to and paid more than $50,000 to the Permanent Endowment of the College. The largest single contribution received by Hanover during the century is $150,000, given by the General Education Board of New York, popularly known as the Rockefeller Board. The College has not been a very considerable beneficiary of the Presbyterian Board of Christian Education. President Scovel secured some $500 per year during his administration. Similar small appropriations were made for a few years. An appropriation of $2,000 per year was paid to the College during two years of war time emergency. The Board of Education set aside and holds perpetually $10,000 of a trust fund for endowment of the Bible Chair, the Board thus acting as the agent of the College in order to comply with the conditions of the trust.
The financial history of Hanover College is evi- [Page 127] dence of a rugged constitution and a stout heart. It approaches the second century with far easier conditions, but with no possibility of the self-forgetting patience and fortitude of the fathers who laid the foundations.