GIRARD COLLEGE

Philadelphia; | Pa., institution founded by Stephen Girard for the education of poor white male orphans. Many unique provisions were made by the founder, the best known of which is perhaps that which forbids any clergyman ever to enter the institution. This was not designed primarily as a fling at religion but was due to the desire to keep the institution absolutely free from any clerical influence. Other provisions were that boys should be admitted between the ages of 6 and 10 and leave between 14 and 18, and that the education should be chiefly practical and designed to fit the students for immediate employment. Stre is laid on elementary training in English, arithmetic, civics and mechanical trades. The college is a home as well as a school and the inmates are strictly supervised. The pupils number about 1,500. The institution is enormously wealthy. having buildings worth $4,000,000 and other property to the amount of $32,000,000. A large part of the income is derived from investments in Pennsylvania coal lands.