THURSDAY, MARCH 2O, 1941
THE MICHIGAN DAILY
PAGE THREE
City ade U.lof M.,Site 104 YearsAo
-, Gvernor Mason Signed
.Location Bill Two Days
After Organic Act Passage
One hundred and four years ago today, Michigan's youthful gov-
ernor, Stevens T. Mason. signed an historical legislative act locating
the University in Ann Arbor.
Nearly every major town in the fast-growing state participated in
the lively competition for the site of the newly created University.
Local pohticians and businessmen crowded the °legislative halls in the
state building at Detroit, eager to present their forcefully stated claims
of the superiority of the respec- - ------------
tive tow Lobbying Chemical Progress
Officials of the Ann Arbor Land Medical science and industries
Company. a syndicate interested !f all types have been benefited
in developing a new addition to. greatly from the extensive re-
the town plat, offered the state search work which has been and
a tract of land to be used as the is b-ing cosnducted by various
canmus for the University. Im- members of the University's De-
pressed by this offer, the legislat- latment of Chemistry.
ors were persuaded to pass the to- Ae g tine most outsianldin
cation act. which awarded Ann w-risk do-c Wlere which will prove
Arbor the site of the new Univer- of valu° to meicin- is the study
sity. of cancer-prednuing compounds
Trading center for Washtenaw which, it is believed, may play a
County, Ann Arbor with a popu- great part in the discovery of
lation of 2,000 was a typical agri- the causes of this disease.
cultural-commercial community Sex Hormones
of the early nineteenth century. Other studies in this field
Beginning to hum with a rapidly have been the chemical synthe-
developing industrial activity, the sis of the female sex hormone
w town already boasted of a woolen and the discovery of dietary
factory, an iron factory, an ex- flourine in foods and water. The
tensive plough factory and a flour- latter has come into prominence
ing mill with six run of stone. In since it was learned that flour-'
the town were also two banking ine was needed for the develop-
associations, a flourishing acade- mcnt of strong teeth and bones.
my with 70 students and two The chemical flourine is also
printing offices that issued two necessary in fertilizers.
weekly newspapers. Michigan, largely due to the
Organic Act Final work of Prof. M. Gomberg, has
Two days before the passage of played a significant role in re-
the location act, Governor Mason search connected with organic
had approved the so-calied "Or- compounds. During the World
ganic Act of the University," which War such work was instrument-
provided for the formal organiza- al in the production of various
tion of the University. explosives and gases.
Improved Plastics
No real precedent had been Industry has also been assist-
set by the newly formed Western ed by studies here which have
states to guide the legislators discovered the means of getting
..inr e. . _ , n - u0 e4 on sauI mr
Campus As Seen From Air
i ;
llottanist
Aids IDefense
Program
The distinction of being t
first department of the Univ
city to have one of its staff
tively engaged in the gove
ment's national defense progr
belongs to the department
botany.
Dr. C. W. LaRue, a :nemi
of the department staff,}
just returned from South a
Central America where he
expeditions of the United Sta
Department of Agriculture
search of suitable rubber p
ducing lands in Bolivia. Nit
raugua and southern Mexico.
The work was begun afl
the outbreak of the Europe
war had stirred the interest
defense officials in the problc
of supplying raw rubber for t
nation's industries. Most of t
supply now comes from the B
tish Malayan States.
The recent work conducted
Dr. LaRue and others engag
the
Fer-
ac-
rn-
of
ber
hasj
nd
led
tes
i
o-
ca-
ter
of
gem
he
he
ri-
by
ed
ew people cuer see it this way, but this is Ann Arbo from
an airplane. spread out on the carpet below is the University of
M.fichiaitn, an educational plant worth millions in dollars and
inlinitely more in terms of real contributions to American culture,
In the foreground, like a tiny toy palace, stands massisce Asagell
Hall. cemter of the literary college.
E-
We Salute You 00I
FOR YOUR
ONE-HUNDRED-FOUR YEARSS
OF CONTINUOUS SERVICE
I
Ie
RADI & RCORDSllm
Jnc
in their difficult task of estab-
.lishing a state-supported uni-
versity. The puzzling question
facing them was, "Could a new
American state organize and op-
crate successfully an institution
that deserved to be called a Uni-
versity?" Their answer, al-
f la ]%0 dr"ifialb fnv
more otl out of oil sands, more
stabilized pigments which have
improved paints and better
plastics materials which are ad-
vancing greatly in importance.
New analysis methods have
been more accurate and quicker
analyses of metals, ores and
alloys.E
tnougn ater mo iednr u a mew#
rev'isions.. is still the basis of IUniversity
University organization. .
In the beginning the Board of Trains Pilots
Regents was, according to the pro-j
visions of the Organic Act, to be For Defense 3
composed of 12 members appoint-
ed by the Governor and ratified Creating a rservoir of pilots
by the Senate and also a chancel-
lor, who was to act as ex-officio from which the airlines and mili-
tary services have 'sready drawn
president and who was to be chos- 32 men, the CAA at the University
has played an important part in
other board members. the growth of aviation throughout
Only 3 Departments the country.
Also provided in the Act was Prof. Emerson W. Conlon, Co-
the creation- of the three original ordinator and head of the pro-
departments of the University, gram here, revealed yesterday that
stce the instruction began with
those of law, medicine and litera- 2 :tudruts in Macch, 1939,six pi-
lure, science and the arts. Teach- lots have been pieced in positions1
er education and instruction in with manufacturers, nine are fly-
agricultural procedures were ing for the airlines, one has a
stressed as important responsibili- commnrcial job, one has a job at
ties of the new University. Wright Field. and of the 23 in mil-
Criticized as out of proportion itary service, 15 are in the army
to both the ability and needs of and eight are in the Navy.
the new state, the Organic Act Facilities of the aeronautical en-
was at the same time defended gineering department used in pilot
as the only effective means of training provide thorough ground
setting up an important institu- school course equipment. These
tion of higher learning. Only a include a Link Trainer complete
few such persons as Superinten- with instruments' used in the in-
dent of Public Instruction John D. struction of "blind" flying; a gen-
Pierce saw clearly the need for uine airplane set up for demon-
emphasizing large and inclusive stration purposes; small and large
educational concepts and bold wind tunnels; airplane structures
planning on a large scale in es- laboratory, and various types of
tablishing what were to become wings, propellers, engines and in-
the great state universities of the struments also used for demon-
West. stration purposes.
in the project has concentrat-
ed attention on picking out a
fesv areas suitable for rubber in
each country and the selection
of sites for nurseries there. Thej
work consisted further in draw-
ing up agreements with the co-
operating countries in which
they agree to maintain nurseries
for propagating rubber planting
material which the Agriculture {
department will furnish them.
i We Salute You/or/our
ONE HUNDRED and FOUR YEARS
OF SERVICE
The Allenel Hotel takes pleasure in congratulating the University of
Michigan on its fine record. It is an accomplishment the citizens ol
Michigan have good reason to be proud of.
The ALLENEL HOTEL