Wartburg College in Clinton from 1894-1930

SOURCE: Wartburg College, 1852-1952; a centennial history. Pgs 62-74 1894-1930

Clinton, 1894-1930

By 1892, while approval of the Waverly building plans was before the district conventions, two rival projects were suggested. The first of these consisted of an offer to donate to the synod a site of ten acres in Peoria, Illinois, located about two miles from the center of the city, while a local drive was to raise funds to give assistance toward erection of a building. Although the site was inspected, nothing came of this suggestion. The other project was the "Clinton plan" which had been conceived by O. Hartmann, the pastor of the local congregation, and H. W. Seaman, a Clinton real estate man. The plan was inspired by a local boom resulting in rapid expansion of the city and prospects for continued growth. C. E. Lamb, a local lumber magnate, owned a farm of ninety-seven acres near the western edge of the city and in the apparent path of its growth, which was estimated to be worth as much as $75,000, but which he proposed to sell to an improvement company which would handle the college project for $25,000. A campus of seventeen acres would be reserved for the college; the rest of the farm would be subdivided into 384 lots. These would be sold in Clinton and throughout the synod at $300. If all could be sold they would net a total of $115,200, of which $40,200 would go for the purchase, promotion, and subdivision expenses, leaving $75,000 for a college plant.

The plan thus dangled before the synod the prospect of a beautiful site and a splendid plant which could be acquired without cost to the synod, while the buyers of the lots would be making a safe investment which might well prove profitable. Several glowing reports in the synodical organ played up these prospects while a mail vote was taken among pastors and congregations on a proposal to suspend the Waverly building plan and to submit the entire matter to the synodical convention of the next year for reconsideration. After the results were in, the convention was called to meet in Clinton in the spring of the next year. Meanwhile the improvement company had received permission to take an option on the property at its own risk and to promote lot sales, the proceeds to be held in trust pending a synodical decision. In April, 1893, the convention met and heard Mr. Seaman give a detailed analysis of the plan and report that sale of nearly half of the lots was already assured. The members were also taken to inspect the site and given assurance that seventy-five of the lots would be sold locally. The issue was debated at some length, but the decisions were reported to be unanimous. It was resolved to sanction the plan and to take over the property. Building was not to begin until enough lots had been sold to cover all expenses and provide a construction fund of $40,000. The resolutions also covered the separation of the college from the normal school and provisions for their future. Should it prove necessary, the president might order an appeal to meet additional costs.

Before long, however, the panic of 1893 depressed values and interfered with the sale of the lots, both in Clinton and in the synod. Some price reductions were made, but no more than 216 lots were sold for somewhat more than $60,000, and on some of these payments were defaulted, so that the cash yield was little more than $50,000. Once the synod had taken over the property, however, it felt obligated to proceed. Another mail vote in the fall of 1893 secured permission to lay the foundation despite the failure to raise the specified amount. An appeal in the next year raised about $10,000. Construction was completed in time to make it possible to begin the new school year in Clinton. There was, however, a debt of more than $30,000. Despite heroic endeavors this debt was not completely paid until ten years later. Pastor H. Bergstedt deserves to be remembered for his services as collector in connection with the debt liquidation; and gifts of $5000 each from Mr. F. Kohl of Danforth, Illinois, and Mr. F. Schack from Waverly did much to ensure success. The bursting of the boom made the lots largely worthless, and the chagrin of the buyers, chiefly pastors, was a factor in the difficulty of debt liquidation. There also remained a heritage of disappointment and ill will, the brunt of which tended to fall on the college.

The college had acquired an attractive site. The building stood on a hill which sloped gently downward toward the city on the east and south and fell sharply away toward the west into the valley of Mill Creek. As soon as means were available a park was laid out and the immediate site was attractively landscaped. The lot fiasco had the result that a great deal more property remained in the possession of the college than had been planned. Though these holdings consisted of disconnected plots for a time, the missing lots were gradually reacquired through forfeiture, donation, or purchase at tax sales.

The building was a large brick structure with a tower, consisting of a central hall flanked by wings on the north and the south. It had a basement and four stories, of which the attic was left unfinished. Designed to house up to two hundred students, it also contained classrooms, a chapel, the museum, the library, the kitchen and the dining hall, and rooms for the janitor as well as for a resident teacher and his family. The estimate of student housing capacity was probably high, and the failure to finish the attic reduced it considerably. Students were to have living rooms shared by groups of three or four and to sleep in larger dormitories holding up to twenty. There was a central heating plant under one wing, and the building had plumbing and city water connections, but lighting was supplied by a gas machine which had been purchased. Electricity was available but had not been installed, in part because medical advice had opposed it. Since the gas machine proved troublesome, electric lighting was provided in 1907. Four frame residences for teachers had been built on the campus to the westward and before long another was erected. Directly behind the building a brick house was erected a little later for the janitor and kitchen staff.

The first school year began on October 5, 1894, with sixty-six students. Professors O. Kraushaar, J. Fritschel, H. Kuhlmann, and A. Bartels of the Waverly staff had been transferred to Clinton. Newly appointed on the staff were Professors C. Martin and A. Estrem. Pastor F. Richter assumed the presidency as "director." Two local men gave musical instruction, Mr. F. Melchert, teacher of the local parochial school and Mr. E. Wourth, who taught music in the city. There was no change in this faculty until 1900, when C. Martin resigned and Director Richter retired as president, although not as teacher. O. Kraushaar then became director and another teacher was engaged, who left after a year. The position then remained vacant for a year and in 1902 was filled again by W. J. Martin while W. Nolting replaced Richter. Aside from the engagement of M. Gmelin to teach violin, also on a part-time basis, there were no further changes in the faculty until 1907, the last year of Kraushaar's administration.

As at Waverly the administrative organization followed the previously established pattern. The college took the initiative in securing a new constitution in 1902 which transferred the selection of the faculty and control over its salaries to the board, a change that was subsequently also introduced at Waverly. The board of regents normally met only once a year, but it delegated a good deal of detail to its executive committee, which consisted of three local members. A visitation committee inspected the school thoroughly twice each year; individual members of this and of the examination committee made occasional calls for the purpose of visiting classes. Incorporation was also secured. While responsibility for academic matters and discipline was given to the director, the faculty explicitly shared in the management of such affairs and held regular weekly meetings.

The college library numbered about 1200 volumes in 1894, and consistent efforts were made to increase its holdings by purchase and by appeals for donations. At the end of the Richter administration about a thousand volumes had been added, and during the Kraushaar administration the total rose to some 4100 volumes. The library seems to have been intended chiefly, however, for the use of the faculty. During the first decade, students repeatedly requested that it be made more accessible, but it was opened to them only twice weekly for one hour, a practice that remained in effect up to the Proehl administration. Some concession to student demands was made by opening a separate reading room in 1896 in which were housed general reference works, German youth literature and periodicals. Through the Kraushaar period the college subscribed to a dozen periodicals about equally divided between German and English publications and received gratis some two dozen more, chiefly church papers, as well as a number of miscellaneous publications including one or more newspapers. While the reading room was open daily, until 1913 its use was restricted to periods totaling an hour and a half on weekdays and to Sunday afternoons. Thereafter it was open during all free hours. A museum with about five thousand specimens was also brought from Waverly, but its holdings were not increased during the next twenty-five years and no use seems to have been made of it. When the writer enrolled in 1912, it was kept in its locked room and could be visited only by special permission. Curiosity induced him to seek permission, which was readily granted. He spent a pleasant hour browsing among the collections, but never again entered the room during his six years in school.

The removal to roomier quarters made it possible to extend the course to six years and to establish a preparatory class. Entrance requirements as fixed in 1894 were not changed for twenty years and specified a pastoral certificate of good character, a good parochial school training, and examinations for class placement. In practice, entrants who had passed the eighth grade were placed in Sexta, the lowest class of the regular course, and those who had not, in Septima, the preparatory class. Unlike Waverly, there was only one preparatory class, except for one year when there seems to have been a large number of very poorly prepared applicants, for whom a class called Septima B was organized. It may be noted that until 1894 the German practice of ranking student achievements in four groups, 1, 2, 3, 4, had been followed and that then the American grading system by numerals, passing grades running 70-100, was substituted. In 1894 the practice of assigning each teacher to one class was dropped, teachers specializing in subjects of instruction instead. The division into three terms and the old examination system were kept in force about as long as at Waverly and then underwent similar changes.

The introduction of the six-class system made student loads somewhat lighter—class loads varied between twenty-five and thirty hours per week—but there were few changes in the course offerings. Through the years of the Richter administration the student who took the classical course was given six years of Latin, German, and English, four of Greek, and one of Hebrew. He also took six years of Christianity, two or three of geography in the lower division, four of history, chiefly in the upper, and five or six years of mathematics and science. The lower division included the classes through Quinta and was called the preparatory department; it consisted of two or three years, depending upon placement in Septima or Sexta. The last four years were called the collegiate department. Latin was not offered in Septima, but both German and English were, so that seven years of these languages were required from those placed there. Three years of arithmetic were taught in the lower division while the upper offered algebra and geometry. Science offerings were usually given in the upper division and included physiology, botany, zoology, physics, and chemistry. While some science was at first taught in German, English soon came to be used in all these courses, as well as in some of those in geography and in U. S. history. Languages, science, and mathematics were taken four, five and six hours per week, though the advanced courses in German and English might be cut to three. Christianity was allotted three and four hours, the social sciences usually two. Physical training was also given all classes the first year. It was dropped then for several years, probably because of lack of a gymnasium. Then it was resumed during the spring and fall months.

The college catalogin 1894 announced that besides the classical course, intended primarily for those who wished to enter the ministry, an academic, a scientific, and a course in music would be offered. The music course for more than thirty years meant only that students were given instruction in singing alongside of their other work, and that they might take private instrumental lessons, some organ instruction being required of pre-theological students in later years. Students taking the science course were to be excused from Latin, Greek, and Hebrew in the upper division and might take advanced courses instead in mathematics, science and mental philosophy. The academic course exempted the students of the lower division from Latin and substituted bookkeeping, typewriting and civil government. From this arrangement a commercial course was developed, which was offered for several years. But it attracted few students because of the lack of proper equipment, and in 1903 was dropped. The catalogs give no evidence that the scientific course was ever offered during the Richter administration, and mention of it was dropped from the catalog before that administration ended. During this period, therefore, most students took the classical course, a few took commercial training, and some others, chiefly in the academy, substituted mathematics and science for languages and were called eclectic students. Sometimes, however, students taking the classical course also chose to take business course offerings. To the extent that such choices were permitted, electives might be taken; otherwise requirements were rigid.

Under Kraushaar's vigorous leadership rather far-reaching changes were advocated. In one direction Kraushaar suggested a broadening of scope through introduction of coeducation. As early as 1896 this had been recommended to a synodical convention which had taken no action. In 1898 Kraushaar's oldest daughter had been admitted to Sexta and in the next year she and another girl had taken the academic course. In 1899 another synodical convention postponed action on coeducation, which Kraushaar, meanwhile, had publicly recommended in a series of articles in the synodical organ. In the next year, when Kraushaar had become president, a plan was worked out under which a qualified woman would provide room and board in her home in the vicinity of the college for girls who would enroll in its classes. There was much opposition, however, and since whole-hearted support was needed for liquidation of the college debt, these plans had to be dropped.

In another direction Kraushaar kept calling the attention of the synod to the need of changing the character of the college to bring it into conformity with the pattern of American higher education. On basis of surveys he pointed out that the college was attracting chiefly students who wished to enter the ministry, but that it failed to enroll increasing numbers of young men from synodical circles who were preparing for other professions. The aim of the college, however, explicitly was to serve the needs of all the youth of the synod. To fulfill this aim, account needed to be taken of contemporary developments in American education. Again he was able to achieve little. The ideal of a classical education for the ministry was still so strongly entrenched that the synod was in no mood to consider changes which would necessarily affect that ideal. There was little actual change in the curriculum under Kraushaar. Such subjects as logic and psychology were introduced but chemistry was dropped. There was a tendency to move high school mathematics down into the lower division, but it was not yet fully carried through. Both the business course and the broader academic course disappeared from the catalog and the number of irregular students declined. Yet Kraushaar had raised an issue which would have to be faced.

Kraushaar also put much energy into campus and plant improvement. Under his leadership the debt was finally paid and, once this incubus was removed, the president began to solicit funds for scholarships and endowments, for campus landscaping, cement sidewalks, and for additional buildings. The residences previously mentioned were erected, but the major project was a gymnasium; much of the $5000 which it cost was raised in Clinton. Erected of white brick in 1907, its dimensions, 66 x 40, were later to prove too small for basketball, but it was well equipped for the gymnastics for which it was designed. To build up funds for general and specific purposes, Kraushaar enlisted support from synodical members of means and also from alumni, who had been organized into an alumni association in 1894. The energetic director also put much time and effort into student solicitation. The enrollment which had varied between 65 and 76 during the previous administration, slumped somewhat at first and then began to rise, reaching 126 during the school year 1906-1907, and crowding the facilities so badly that the board began to think seriously of erecting another building.

The college suffered a severe loss when ill health forced Kraushaar's resignation in 1907. The accounts of former students describe him as an unusually gifted teacher. No matter what he taught, he was able to put into his teaching an inspiring personality which carried students along and aroused their enthusiasm. As an executive he had shown vision which, if it outstripped his contemporaries, pointed to the path which the school was to follow. He also possessed drive and energy which in material respects was successful in accomplishing much that needed to be done. Withal he was a Christian gentleman, respected, admired, beloved by students and co-workers and in synodical circles.

Professor John Fritschel succeeded Kraushaar as director and held office until 1919. Professor W. J. Martin, who had resigned at the beginning of Kraushaar's last year, was replaced by C. S. Fritschel, and the teaching vacancy caused by Kraushaar's resignation was filled by O. Gamb. In 1910 the death of W. Nolting and the resignation of A. Bartels and A. Estrem created three vacancies. Two of their successors did not stay with the college long, but the third was G. J. Neumann, who then began a distinguished teaching career which still continues. W. J. Knappe joined the faculty in 1913 and in the fall of that year, as rector, took over the position of house-father, which until then had been occupied by the director. Between 1912 and 1919 a number of instructors were engaged, of whom only M. Hueter remained with the college for more than a few years and rose to the rank of professor. Likewise, the first vacancy in the music staff, caused by the resignation of C. E. Wourth in 1913, was filled by instructors who succeeded each other after brief terms of service.

The Fritschel administration was a transitional period, during which the college gradually began to move in the direction which Kraushaar had envisioned, and during which the struggle for change occasioned a good deal of strain. In part the strain was external, resulting from conflicting viewpoints in the synod in regard to the advisability of making changes and the implications of proposed changes. In part it was internal, arising on the one hand from clashing views in the faculty, and on the other from discord between faculty and students over curricular questions and even more over discipline and student activities.

As yet the disciplinary system of the early years, which had grown out of the Loehean ideology, held full sway. Almost every aspect of student life was governed by the bell. At 6:00 A.M. it gave the signal to rise, at 9:45 P.M. it indicated that lights must be out in fifteen minutes. During the day it not only indicated the class periods, or chapel and meal hours, but also leisure and study hours. At stated hours the student was required to attend to his chores, such as sweeping his room or making his bed. He might leave the campus without permission only on Saturday and Sunday afternoons; on the evenings of those days he might secure permission to go to town, but he had to give an accounting of his purposes. The writer recalls an occasion when he was denied permission to leave because he wished to attend a Catholic evening service. During periods when the student had no class, during the weekday evening hours, and on Saturday morning he was required to be in his room studying. Meals could not be missed without permission, and in case of tardiness an excuse had to be presented.

House rules forbade disturbances in terms designed to curb any and all forms of youthful ebullience; tramping, whistling, shouting in the halls were forbidden at all hours. Not only was gambling banned, but also the use of playing cards, though games held to be innocuous, such as Flinch, were permitted. Attendance at movies was allowed but formation of the movie habit was discouraged. A local theatre and its stage productions might be visited only by permission, while a vaudeville theatre was strictly out of bounds. In general, contacts with the city were discouraged except for the local church. Even there, when students in the earlier years sought permission to join the Luther League, permission was made contingent upon the selection of Friday evening by the organization for its meeting.

In 1913 the report of the board to a synodical convention hinted that the time might have come to consider revision of the rules of conduct, but the convention would go no farther than to suggest that some distinction might be made between students of the lower and upper divisions. How difficult this was when both groups lived under the same roof may be illustrated by the rules on smoking. Students past eighteen might smoke with the consent of their parents, but they might not smoke in their rooms which they shared with younger students. In the first years the permission could be applied only on the campus; later a smoking room was set aside; not until 1925, when the upper classes had their own dormitory, was smoking in the rooms permitted. Cigarettes were forbidden absolutely in 1900, and this ban too remained in force until the twenties. But despite all these precautions it was difficult to keep the younger students from smoking.

Other rules also were not always observed. Since the regulations were numerous and detailed, students committing minor violations might escape detection and thus gradually become habituated to evade rules more and more frequently, and they might progress from minor delinquencies to more serious infractions. Rector Knappe in 1915 made an attempt to meet this danger through introduction of an honor system. On his part he would refrain from close supervision; students on their honor were expected to report their own delinquencies to him. The system was successful in so far as it served to obviate the perverted pride of undetected delinquents who had committed minor breaches, a pride which was liable to lead them into gross misconduct. On the other hand, it tended to lead to some degree of disregard of minor offenses. When the student found a given rule inconvenient, he violated it and then reported his action, expecting that punishment would not go beyond a reprimand. Dissatisfaction in the faculty with this development led to the abrogation of the honor system in 1918.

While extracurricular activities continued to be handicapped by a heavy program of studies, they did tend to develop an increasing variety. A German and an English literary society existed from 1894 onward. They held their meetings on Saturday evenings; besides, they built up libraries and sometimes subscribed to periodicals. After some years a room was assigned to them and they were rather encouraged by the college, which, however, found it necessary at times to regulate library contents and other features. In later years a missionary society was founded, and in 1914 a dramatic club came into existence, which flourished for a number of years. It staged performances of Shakespearian plays and sometimes presented them out of the city. In 1907 the students began publication of the Wartburg Quarterly, which appeared as a literary magazine until 1927. A band had been organized by 1901 and an orchestra by 1904. Some years later the orchestra began to undertake concert tours during the spring months.

Athletic competition was first mentioned in the catalog for 1899-1900, when it was noted that anyone might play on the baseball team, while consent of the parents was required for participation in football. The latter was not again mentioned until 1908, when the catalog noted that intercollegiate competition in football was forbidden. In 1900 eligibility requirements for the baseball team were provided, but in 1908 out-of-town games were forbidden, a prohibition that stood until 1912. Basketball began to be played after the erection of the gymnasium in 1907 and soon rose to the level of intercollegiate competition. The college did not provide a coach; student managers were chosen for that purpose. Nor did the college budget make provision for athletic competition; an athletic society financed all teams from student contributions and meager gate receipts. During the Fritschel administration this athletic situation with the limited opportunities which it afforded was a constant source of student dissatisfaction.

So far as the curriculum was concerned, only minor changes were made in the first few years of this period. Additional courses were shifted from the upper to the lower years; geography was cut back to a single course in the preparatory class; more stress was placed on German. The latter change was made because students were increasingly graduates of public rather than parochial schools and knew less German than formerly when they entered. In 1913, however, the board reported to a synodical convention that the time had come to give careful consideration to the broader purposes of the institution. Offering only its classical course, it really served only pre-theological students. Yet, the board pointed out, this was not in conformity with original purposes.

A plan, prepared by the faculty, was submitted under which a scientific course might be given along with the classical course. It provided for a three-year academy and a four-year college curriculum and would therefore extend the existing course by one year. Enough work in science and mathematics was to be offered so that non-theological students might substitute these subjects for the traditional language curriculum. It was pointed out that more laboratory equipment and additional teachers would be required, and that it would be difficult to combine instruction even in the subjects which both courses offered in common, unless English were made the language of instruction, and this was deemed undesirable for pre-theological students. The synod approved the course, and during the next four years an attempt was made to put it into effect. The old Latin class names disappeared and the usual American names were substituted, and the third academic year was added. As had been foreseen there were many difficulties, nor was the enrollment stimulated. From its high of 126 in 1907 this had declined to 100 the next year and then for a number of years had stood in the eighties. In 1917 it had fallen to 68 and was to fall to 65 in the next year.

When another synodical convention met in 1917, the Board of Regents not only had to report these discouraging facts, but could offer little hope that accreditation, which had been anticipated as a result of the changes, could be secured. Indeed, in the academy it could be achieved if still another year were added; but accreditation of the college course would require a curricular revolution which would thoroughly revise the traditional pre-theological course. To maintain that curriculum and to offer also a scientific course which could be accredited, would mean an expansion of the staff large enough to teach the latter separately and, besides, this would draw students away from the classical course. The board, seconded by a special synodical committee, therefore proposed a return to the old order and a college which specialized in the classical training of pre-theological students, though the courses might be open to others who wished to take them. The synod did not accept this proposal, but it resolved to establish an accredited four-year academy and a junior college of two years. It was hoped that the junior college work could be so arranged as to make accreditation feasible. During the next three years preparations were made to comply with this decision, though, pending the completion of the change in the academy, the college course was cut to three years rather than two. The graduates of those years were admitted by the seminary on their certificate of graduation, but did not receive the A.B. degree which the college had been granting at least since 1898.

While these backward steps were being taken, Director Fritschel resigned his office and Pastor O. L. Proehl succeeded him, assuming the presidency in March 1919. Professor Fritschel remained on the faculty until 1935, although ill health curtailed his teaching during the last two years. He was a teacher of rare ability whose courses in the classical languages were appreciated even by students who did not relish having to take them. His efforts were directed toward development of sound scholarship and toward the building of a strong character; he himself exemplified the ideal of the Christian gentleman. In 1935 the college celebrated his fiftieth anniversary of teaching; as yet he remains the only man in its history whose period of service exceeded fifty years. Professor Gamb resigned in 1918, H. Kuhlmann in 1919, C. S. Fritschel and M. Hueter in 1927. In 1919 M. Wiederaenders, who is still in service, joined the faculty. Other new teachers who served on the faculty as long as the college remained in Clinton were C. Kionka (1921), W. Rodemann (1922), G. Nagel (1929), O. Dieter (1928), and F. Schoenbohm (1929). The first woman, Margaret Mussgang, was engaged in 1928. Up to the Proehl administration teachers had been either professors or instructors; during this period the standard ranks were introduced. In 1926 faculty committees made their appearance; in 1928 M. Wiederaenders was appointed registrar, and in 1931 G. J. Neumann became dean of the faculty. Proctors in the dormitories served as student deans.

In the meantime the synod had been induced in 1920 to rescind the decision relating to junior college status. The board in that year reported that since 1917 three years of college work had been offered while the four-year academy was being established, and suggested that a fourth college year be added so that a degree could again be granted. It made no reference to accreditation, but met the objection that eight years was too long a preparatory period for admission to the seminary by suggesting that the fourth college year need not be compulsory for pre-theological students. Although the synodical board of education, created in 1917, reported adversely and preferred concentration on the older type of classical training or the junior college plan, the synod accepted the recommendation of the Board of Regents.

In the year following this decision the new four-year academy course graduated its first class, accreditation for this course with state educational authorities was secured in 1921. The academy offered a classical and a scientific course. The chief difference was that the latter offered three years of Latin rather than the four of the former and two years of German as against four, and substituted additional work in mathematics and in science. The preparatory year was carried in the catalog until 1925, but had no students after 1921, except one in the next year who was sent to the local parochial school. In the early twenties academy enrollment was heavier than that in the college. It declined after 1925, but remained fair for the rest of the decade. In 1931 the first academic class was dropped and in 1932 the academy was discontinued.

It proved rather more difficult to make the adjustments necessary to secure accreditation of the college course. During the years 1921-29 the college offered a classical and a modern language course. The former was for pre-theological students and continued to stress classical languages, requiring three years each of Latin and Greek, as well as four of German and three of English, plus a year of speech. In the modern language course Christianity was the only requirement carried through all four years and numerous electives were permitted. However, accreditation could not be secured because students in the classical course were still required to carry 19-22 hours per week.

In 1927 and 1928 the administration sanctioned a new approach to the problem. The college re-entered the field of teacher-training and to this end offered a revised curriculum, proposed and planned chiefly by Professor M. Wiederaenders. The chief feature of this curricular reorganization, which was also applied to pre-theological students, was a system of group requirements, plus major fields of concentration. Thereupon the Iowa Intercollegiate Standing Committee granted recognition of the work done in the first two college years in 1928 and full accreditation in 1931. By resuming teacher-training the college entered into competition with Wartburg Normal College at Waverly, even as that school had earlier begun to compete with the college by offering liberal arts training on the junior college level. The teacher-training curriculum was directly responsible for the increase in enrollment which was to follow.

The adoption of a standard liberal arts curriculum involved cutting student loads down to the normal 15 or 16 hours per week. It also meant that teachers who had in the past carried between 20 and 30 hours 72 of teaching per week were reduced to similar loads. No doubt they welcomed this, not only because different methods required more time spent in preparation, but because they had always been expected to give considerable time to administrative duties and to publicity work, duties which were increasing rather than diminishing. As a result, of course, the teaching staff had to be increased. Up until 1928 the faculty had for some years been numbering 12; by 1930 there were 21 members. Faculty salaries had slowly risen, especially since the inflationary war years. In 1917, however, the synod had again deprived the boards of educational institutions of the power of raising salaries and had given this authority to a synodical finance commission. By 1930 the college salaries ranged from $1400 to $2000. In addition, residences were furnished to ranking members while younger members received rent allowances.

The old entrance requirements had been modified in 1914 by specifying graduation from a grammar school for admission to the academy and from a high school to the college. Student rates as fixed in 1894 totaled $135 for room, board and tuition. Although a few fees were introduced, only slight changes were made in these charges until 1915, when the total was raised to $180. In 1920 this total became $240 and in 1929 $300 for the academy and $320 for the college. The old custom of granting heavy reductions to needy students remained in force until the Proehl administration began. Kraushaar had gathered a considerable scholarship fund, but its yield was usually devoted to making grants covering all costs to a few students so that but little was left for partial grants to others. Remissions to additional students, therefore, represented losses of income. Proehl renewed the drive for scholarships, which had lagged because of synodical discouragement, in the form of inducing organizations and groups within the synod to make annual grants of specified amounts. If students needed additional assistance the Proehl administration required them to work in the kitchen or on the campus. Thus Proehl secured full payments for every student. The innovation did not proceed altogether smoothly, for the synod showed a tendency to reduce appropriations as student income rose. The needs of the school, however, were too great to make this feasible and Proehl resisted it vigorously. In fact, the subsidies granted by the church showed a steady rise. During the first decade they varied between $5000 and $7000, in the last between $23,000 and $30,000.

Enrollment after 1918 began to climb and reached 111 in 1922. After that it declined again and usually stood around 90, though sinking to a low of 78 in 1927, in part because academy enrollment was falling off. In the next year it rose to 108 and, with accreditation assured, to 155 in 1929-1930. A contributing factor was the introduction of coeducation, which at long last, was authorized by the synodical convention of 1928. The first girls were admitted in September of that year. During this decade the older rules were slowly relaxed and a much greater measure of freedom granted. Student activities also increased their scope. A number of new literary societies and a chorus came into existence, debating and dramatics were introduced or resumed. The Wartburg Clarion, a newspaper, supplemented and then replaced the Quarterly. A yearbook, the Warclinian, was first issued in 1930. The ban on football competition was lifted in 1928, and a physical education instructor served as part-time coach for athletic teams.

When President Proehl began his administration he quickly became convinced that expansion of the physical plant was necessary. The library, which now contained 7000 volumes, had outgrown its quarters, while increasing stress upon student use necessitated facilities which it had never possessed. Plans were therefore drawn for a library building which was also to contain an auditorium, and authorization was obtained from the synod in 1920 to solicit funds for its construction. When, however, in the next few years student numbers increased rapidly, these plans had to be laid aside. During the school year 192223 the Cotta House was erected, a dormitory consisting of two units and adapted to future expansion. This made it possible to house the college department separately and to utilize more of the space in the main building for instructional purposes. A central heating plant was constructed at the same time. The increasing size of the staff led to the purchase of two additional residences and the construction of the president's house in 1928. The library thereafter was housed in the rooms formerly occupied by the president, and the plans for a separate building dropped into the background. In their stead plans were drawn for a science hall and tentative endeavors were made to enlist local support for its construction.

Under President Proehl's vigorous and enlightened leadership the college had taken great strides during the twenties. The readjustment of its curriculum had finally been completed; the school was no longer a replica of the German Gymnasium—it had become an American liberal arts college. Its enrollment was still small, but it was showing signs of growth, and the introduction of coeducation augured well in this respect, as did accreditation with the state authorities. The plant, however, was inadequate for the new purposes and vistas. The additions recently made were only a beginning toward meeting the real needs. The synod would have to face the problem of raising funds on a large scale for plant expansion.

The next part of the book, Clinton and Waverly, 1930-1952, tells of the decline of the Clinton campus due to the depression and WWII and was finally closed.