Firstofall，therewasadangerwhichdemandeddelicatehandling。ThisdangerlayinMr。Cornell’swishtoestablish，invitalconnectionwiththeuniversity，greatfactoriesfortheproductionofarticlesforsale，especiallychairsandshoes，thusgivinglargebodiesofstudentsopportunitiesforself—support。Indiscussingthismatterwithhim，Ipointedtothefactthat，inbecomingamanufacturingcorporationweweremakingabusinessventurenevercontemplatedbyourcharter;thatitwasexceedinglydoubtfulwhethersuchacorporationcouldbecombinedwithaneducationalinstitutionwithoutruiningboth;thatthemenbestfittedtomanageagreatfactorywerehardlylikelytobethebestmanagersofagreatinstitutionoflearning;
thatunderourcharterwehadduties，notmerelytothosewhowishedtosupportthemselvesbylabor，buttoothers;
andIfinallypointedouttohimmanyreasonsforholdingthatsuchaschemecontravenedtheactofCongressandthelegislationoftheState。IinsistedthattheobjectofourchartersfromtheStateandNationwasnottoenableagreatnumberofyoungmentosecureanelementaryeducationwhilemakingshoesandchairs;thatforthesethepublicschoolswereprovided;thatourmainpurposemustbetosendoutintoallpartsoftheStateandNationthoroughlytrainedgraduates，whoshoulddevelopandimprovethemainindustriesofthecountry，and，bytheirknowledgeandexample，trainupskilfulartisansofvarioussortsandineverylocality。Mr。Cornell’sconductinthismatterwasadmirable。Tenaciousasheusuallywaswhenhisopinionwasformed，andmuchasitmusthavecosthimtogiveupwhathadbecomeadarlingproject，heyieldedtothisview。
Newquestionsnowopenedastothis``DepartmentofMechanicArts。’’Itwascleartome，fromwhatIhadseenabroad，thatnotallthemodelsIhadsentfromEuropewouldbesufficienttogivethepracticalcharacterwhichsuchadepartmentneeded;thatitsgraduatesmusthaveadirect，practicalacquaintancewiththeconstructionanduseofmachinerybeforetheycouldbecomeleadersingreatmechanicalenterprises;thattheymustbemade，notonlymathematiciansanddraftsmen，butskilledworkmen，practicallytrainedinthebestmethodsandprocesses。
Averyshrewdartisansaidtome:``Whenayoungmechanicalengineercomesamongusfreshfromcollege，onlyabletomakefiguresandpictures，werarelyhavemuchrespectforhim:thetroublewiththegreatmajorityofthosewhocomefromtechnicalinstitutionsisthattheydon’tknowasmuchaboutpracticalmethodsandprocessesasweknow。’’
Ifeltthattherewastruthinthis，but，asthingswere，hardlydaredtellthistothetrustees。Itwouldhavescaredthem，foritseemedtoopenthedoortogreatexpendituresdemandedbyameretheory;butIlaidmyviewsbeforeMr。Cornell，andheagreedwithmesofarastosendtousfromhisagriculturalworksatAlbanysundrylargepiecesofoldmachinery，whichhethoughtmightberebuiltforourpurposes。Butthisturnedouttobehardlypracticable。Idarednot，atthatstageoftheproceedings，bringintotheboardoftrusteesaproposaltobuymachineryandestablishamachine—shop;thewholewouldhaveachimericallook，andwassuretorepelthem。Thereforeitwasthat，atmyownexpense，Iboughtapower—latheandotherpiecesofmachinery;and，throughtheactiveeffortsofProfessorJohnL。Morris，mysteadfastsupporterinthewholematter，theseweresetupinourtemporarywoodenlaboratory。Afewstudentsbeganusingthem，andtogoodpurpose。Mr。Cornellwasgreatlypleased。Othertrusteesofapracticalturnvisitedtheplace，andtheresultwasthatopinioninthegoverningboardsoonfavoredalargepracticalequipmentforthedepartment。
OnthisIpreparedareport，takingupthewholesubjectwithgreatcare，andbroughtitbeforethem，mymainsuggestionbeingthatapracticalbeginningofthedepartmentshouldbemadebytheerectionandequipmentofasmallbuildingonthenorthsideoftheuniversitygrounds，nearourmainwater—power。Thencameapieceofgreatgoodfortune。AmongthechartertrusteesoftheuniversitywasMr。Cornell’soldfriendandassociateintelegraphicenterprise，HiramSibleyofRochester;andatthecloseofthemeetingMr。SibleyaskedmeifIcouldgivehimalittletimeontheuniversitygroundsaftertheadjournmentofthemeeting。I，ofcourse，assented;andnextmorning，onourvisitingthegroundstogether，heaskedmetopointoutthespotwheretheproposedcollegeofmechanicartsmightbestbeplaced。Onmydoingso，helookedoverthegroundcarefully，andthensaidthathewouldhimselferectandequipthebuilding。SobeganSibleyCollege，whichisto—day，probably，allthingsconsidered，themostsuccessfuldepartmentofthiskindinourowncountry，andperhapsinanycountry。Inthehands，firstofProfessorsMorrisandSweet，andlaterunderthedirectionofDr。Thurston，ithasbecomeofthegreatestvaluetoeverypartoftheUnitedStates，andindeedtootherpartsoftheAmericancontinent。
Attheoutsetaquestionarose，seeminglytrivial，butreallyserious。Mr。Sibleyhadgonefarbeyondhisoriginalproposals;andwhenthelecture—rooms，drafting—
rooms，modeling—rooms，foundries，shopsforironwork，woodwork，andthelike，hadbeenfinished，thequestioncameup:Shallouraimbetoproducethingshavingapecuniaryvalue，orshallweproducesimplysamplesofthemosthighlyfinishedworkmanship，having，generally，novalue？Fortunately，ProfessorsMorrisandSweetwereabletocombineboththesepurposes，andtoemployaconsiderablenumberofstudentsintheverybestofworkwhichhadamarketvalue。Thewholethingwastherebymadeasuccess，butitwaitedlongforrecognition。A
resultfollowednotunlikesomewhichhaveoccurredinotherfieldsinourcountry。AttheCentennialExhibitionof1876，anexhibitwasmadeoftheworkdonebystudentsinSibleyCollege，includingasteam—engine，power—lathes，face—plates，andvarioustoolsofprecision，admirablyfin—
ished，eachamodelinitskind。Butwhilemanymechanicspraisedthem，theyattractednospecialattentionfromNewEnglandauthorities。Ontheotherhand，anexhibitofsamplesofworkfromtheSchoolofTechnologyofMoscow，whichhadnomerchantablevalue，——manyofthepiecesbeingofantiquatedpattern，butofexquisitefinishandshowilyarranged，——arousedgreatadmirationamongsundryNewEnglandtheorists;eventheheadoftheMassachusettsInstituteofTechnology，inenthusiasticmagazinearticles，calledtheattentionofthewholecountrytothem，andurgedthenecessityofestablishingmachine—
shopsinconnectionwithschoolsofscience。Thefactthatthishadalreadybeendone，andbetterdone，atCornell，wasloftilyignored。WesternNewYorkseemedaNazarethoutofwhichnogoodcouldcome。Thatsamestrainingofthemind’seyetowardtheEast，thatsametendencytoprovincialismwhichhadsooftenafflictedMassachusetts，evidentlypreventedherwisemenintechnologyfromrecognizinganynewdeparturewestofthem。
AtalaterperiodIhadoccasiontomakeafinalcommentonallthis。BothascommissionerattheParisExhibitionandasministertoRussia，IcametoknowintimatelyWischniegradsky，whohadbeentheheadoftheMoscowSchoolofTechnologyandafterwardRussianministeroffinance。HespoketomeinthehighesttermsofwhatoriginalAmericanmethodshaddoneforrailways;
andtheclimaxwasreachedwhentheMoscowmethods，sohighlypraisedbyBostoncritics，provedtobeutterlyinadequateintrainingmechanicalengineerstofurnishthemachineryneededinRussia，andmenfromtheAmericanschools，trainedinthemethodsofCornell，sentoverlocomotivesandmachineryofallsortsforthenewTrans—SiberianRailway，ofwhichtheeasternterminuswasthatverycityofMoscowwhichenjoyedtheprivilegessolaudedandmagnifiedbytheBostoncritics！
Timehasreversedtheirjudgment:thecombinationofthetwosystems，soablyandpatientlydevelopedbyDirectorThurston，istheonewhichhashappilyprevailed。
FewdaysinthehistoryofCornellUniversityhavebeensofraughtwithgoodasthatonwhichThurstonacceptedmycalltotheheadshipofSibleyCollege。Attheveryoutsethegainedtheconfidenceandgratitudeoftrustees，professors，students，and，indeed，ofhisprofessionthroughoutthecountry，byhisamazingsuccessasprofessor，asauthor，andasorganizerandadministratorofthatdepartment，whichhemadenotonlyoneofthelargest，butoneofthebestofitskindintheworld。Therapidityandwisdomofhisdecisions，theextentandexcellenceofhiswork，hisskillinattractingthebestmen，hisabilityinquietingrivalriesand——animosities，andthekindlyfirmnessofhiswholepolicywereasourceofwondertoallwhoknewhim。And，athislamenteddeathin1903，itwasfoundthathehadrenderedanotherserviceofasortwhichsuchstrongmenasheareoftenincapableofrendering——
hehadtrainedabodyofassistantsandstudentsworthytotakeuphiswork。
AnotherdepartmentwhichIhadlongwishedtoseeestablishedinourcountrynowbegantotakeshape。
FrommyboyhoodIhadaloveforarchitecture。InmyyoungmanhoodthishadbeendevelopedbyreadingsinRuskin，andlaterbyarchitecturalexcursionsinEurope;
andthetimehadnowarrivedwhenitseemedpossibletodosomethingforit。Ihadcollectedwhat，atthatperiod，wascertainlyoneofthelargest，ifnotthelargest，ofthearchitecturallibrariesintheUnitedStates，besidesseveralthousandlargearchitecturalphotographs，drawings，casts，models，andothermaterialfromeverycountryinEurope。Thishadbeen，infact，mypetextravagance;
andapropitioustimeseemingnowtoarrive，Iproposedtothetrusteesthatiftheywouldestablishadepartmentofarchitectureandcallaprofessortoit，Iwouldtransfertoitmyspeciallibraryandcollections。Thisofferwasaccepted;andthuswasfoundedthisadditionaldepartment，whichbeganitsgoodcareerunderProfessorCharlesBabcock，who，atthispresentwriting，isenjoying，asprofessoremeritus，therespectandgratitudeofalongseriesofclasseswhichhaveprofitedbyhisteachings，andthecordialcompanionshipofhiscolleagues，whorejoicetoprofitbyhishumorous，butnonethelessprofound，observationsuponproblemsarisingintheuniversityandintheworldingeneral。
Asregardsthisillustrativematerial，Irecallonecuriousexperience。WhileononeofmyarchitecturalexcursionsthroughthegreattownsofeasternFrance，I
arrivedatTroyes。Onvisitingthegovernmentagentforphotographingpublicmonuments，Inoticedinhisroomssomeadmirablyexecutedpiecesofstonecarving，——capitals，corbels，andthelike，——andonmyaskinghimwhencethesecame，hetoldmethattheyhadbeenrecentlytakenoutofthecathedralbythearchitectwhowas``restoring’’
it。Aftermypurchasesweremade，hewentwithmetothisgreatedifice，oneofthefinestinEurope;andthereIfoundthat，oneachsideofthehighaltar，thearchitecthadtakenoutseveralbrackets，orcorbels，ofthebestmediaevalwork，andsubstitutednewonesdesignedbyhimself。Oneofthesecorbelsthustakenoutthegovernmentphotographerhadinhispossession。Itwasverystriking，representingthegrotesquefaceofamonkinthemidstofamassoffoliagesupportingthebaseofastatue，allbeingcarvedwithgreatspirit。Apartfromitsarchitecturalvalue，ithadahistoricalinterest，sinceitmusthavewitnessedthefamousbetrothalofthesonanddaughteroftheEnglishandFrenchkingsmentionedinShakspere，tosaynothingofmanyothermediaevalpageants。
OnmymakingknowntothephotographerthefactthatIwasengagedinfoundingaschoolofarchitectureintheUnitedStates，andwasespeciallyanxioustosecureagoodspecimenofFrenchwork，hesoldmethisexample，...完整阅读请扫描二维码下载丁香书院APP免费看：