Rollins Aid Fund.

[Extract from the will of Anthony W. Rollins, M. D., dated 1843, and probated December 10, 1845. Prob. Record, Book B., pp. 743-4.]

Item 7. Having felt the great disadvantage of poverty in the acquisition of my own education, it is my will that my executors, hereinafter named, shall, as early after my death as they may deem most expedient, raise the sum of ten thousand dollars, and by the sale of any lands of which I may die seized, and which I have not specifically bequeathed in any of the foregoing items, which sum of ten thousand dollars, I desire may be set apart for the education of such poor and indigent youths of Boone county, both male and female, as are unable to educate themselves.

Items 8. When my executors shall have raised the sum often thousand dollars, in the manner specified above, it is my will that they pay over the same to Alexander Persinger, Gilpin s. Tuttle and James W. Daily, justices of the county court of Boone county, or their successors in office, who may compose the county court of Boone at the time, and that said fund shall remain with, and be vested in said courts as a permanent fund, for the promotion of the object specified in the seventh item of this will above.

Item 9. It is my will that the judges of the county court shall loan out the fund, thus vested in them, at an annual interest of ten per centum per annum, and in every instance upon good personal security, with mortgage upon real estate, at least equal in value to the Sum loaned, and in such manner as will insure the payment of the interest thereon at the expiration of each year; it is my will, further, that three-fourths of the interest thus annually accruing shall be set apart, or so much thereof as may be necessary, to pay the tuition of such page 141 youths as may have entered the Columbia Female Academy or the State University, under the provisions hereinafter named; and the one-fourth of the interest thus annually accruing, and so much of the remainder as shall not have been appropriated for any one year as above, shall be annually added to and become a part of the permanent fund

Item 10. It is my will that the President of the State University of Missouri, and the Principal of the Columbia Female Academy, shall in each year visit the common schools of the different neighborhoods of Boone county, and select from among the indigent boys and girls of the different schools or neighborhoods, such of them as are inclined to avail themselves of the advantages of the fund set apart as above, always having reference in their selection to the moral and intellectual qualities of the youths above; and further, that the President, at each annual commencement of the University, shall direct the public attention to this subject, invite the citizens, who may be present, to subscribe by way of enlarging the fund from year to year, thus appropriated to the education of the poor; and further, that in selecting boys as above, preference may be given to such as evince an inclination to preach the gospel.

Note that—

This fund is held by the county court of Boone county and invested in Boone county 8 per cent, bonds. About sixteen hundred dollars a year are available for aiding students.

As the Columbia Female Academy is defunct, it is the duty of the President of the University to "select" the beneficiaries as students of the University. (Item 10.) This choice is regulated by several circumstances, as that—

1.	The beneficiaries must belong to Boone county, in good faith, and not merely nominally. (Items 7 and 10.)
2.	They may be "both male and female," but must be needy, i. e., "unable to educate themselves." (Item 7.)
3.	Regard must be had to "moral and intellectual qualities." (Item 10.) Hence (a) preference will be given to such as show superior capacity, whether in the University classes or in the schools; and, perhaps, a system of examinations might aid in the wise and impartial determination of the choice. Hence, also, (b) aid from this fund will, in all cases, be withdrawn from students who incur College discipline, or who fail to maintain a reputation for exemplary conduct and scholarship. The incurring of marks of demerit may be considered such discipline, and falling below the required standard of scholarship, in any study, such failure. Disorderliness is aggravated by being a beneficiary, and any part of an apportionment not paid may, on that account, be recalled at any time.
4.	Other things being equal, "in selecting boys as above, preference may be given to such as evince an inclination to preach the gospel." (Item 10.)
5.	Whilst aid is not limited to tuition (Item 7), it is plainly first in the contemplation of the benefactor. (Item 9.) This fund, therefore has in it the virtue of strengthening the University, whilst it provides for the specific and legitimate exercise of its educational functions, in the interest of the needy, in its own immediate locality. The will does not provide at whose direction, nor in what sums, the money is to be apportioned, and this, therefore, is left to the good understanding of the county court and the President of the University. In order to aid as large a number as possible, it is ordered by the court that not more than the sum of $60 per annum shall be appropriated to any one pupil; and, in some cases, it is found that only part of the tuition and contingent fees is needed, so that the aid which has been extended to over forty-during the past year, has ranged from $10 to $60—those receiving the largest sums being exceptional. page 142
6.	If the applicants are "youths" of Boone county, unable to educate themselves, and of good moral and intellectual qualities, whilst a preference is allowed to those having the ministry in view (Item 10), yet there appears to be nothing which excludes such as may have in contemplation any of the professional courses of the University. As the donor, for example, had struggled to obtain his professional education, it would be unnatural to suppose that, by any implication, the "indigent" and worthy professional student would be excluded.

The provision that the one-fourth of the interest must annually be added to the principal of this fund, may ultimately become a question of great magnitude, which will require judicial determination.

Applications for aid from the Rollins fund, must, here after, be in writing; a blank form will be furnished, embracing the points presented above, and when filled, it will be considered and placed on file, for open inspection and preservation. Should any mistake or misrepresentation, of consequence, be brought to light, at anytime, proper steps will be promptly taken. The applicants must appear in person at the opening of the first semester, September 10th, as no reservations will be made.

It is very desirable that those who receive aid from this fund, according to the provisions of the will, should not feel themselves humiliated nor compromised in any respect. The money belongs to the worthy beneficiaries, and they are morally and legally entitled to it, just as if so much of the estate, out of which it has arisen, had been set apart and left to them by name in the will. It is the desire that none, except those entitled to it shall, by mistake or otherwise, appropriate any of it; and, also, that the lawful beneficiaries shall themselves receive, severally, only their just apportionments.

Dr. Anthony W. Rollins, who founded this aid fund, was the father of the Hon. James S-Rollins, who is President of the Board of Curators, and who, when a young man (1839), actively participated in the efforts which secured the location of the Missouri University to Boone county, as set forth on page 12 of this catalogue.