Work On The Gymnasium

Ihe slow progress of work on the gymnasium has been attracting the general attention of the students and others interested in the big building on the northeast corner of the campus. The delay, as has been stated in the Daily, is directly due to the Homestead trouble in Pennsylvania, and the inability of the Carnegie-Frick Company to fuliill its contract and supply the trusses and supports for the roof. The original contract for inclosing the building was let to a Cincinnati company, and for them the Carnegie- Frick Company has the contract for the iron portions of the work. The rolling of the long iron trusses for the roof is a piece of work of exxeedingdifficulty, and the only place in this country where it can be done properly is at Homestead; so that there is, to come down to cold facts, nothing to do but to "sit down and wait.". i Of the 140,000 pounds of iron and steel which are to constitute the roof, 95,000 pounds are on the campus, and as soon as the rernainder can be obtained, the work on the gymnasium will be actively pushed to completion. Everything else is on the ground, the men are htre; and but for this unavoidable delay, the buildingwould now be ready for work on the interior. No provisión has as yet been made concerning the furnishing of the gym. Ot the $40,000 fund that was I originally available, $36,000 will be 1 required to inclose the building The 4,000 left will probably be used to put the building in condi tion for the junior hop, and the other events which will occur in June. About $25,000 are necessary to finish the building, and the Boarc of Regents at their next meeting will probably decide to ask the legislature for an appropriation in entire. The newspapers of Detroit, Grand Rapids and othercities in the state have decided to take the question,. and by agitating it properly considerable influence can be brouht to bear upon the next legislature, which students hope will be more liberal than some of its predecessors. Many comments are being made that the artistic effect of the building is destroyed by the big ventilator which stands out so prominently on the north side, but it must be remembered that the co-ed annex is to be built up close to the ventilator on that side, as the main building is on the south. The entrance is to be at the southwest corner and the whole structure, as seen in the plans and specifications, shows a handsome building, that cannot fail to reflect credit upon a great institution like the University of Michigan. It will probably be one of the finest college gyms in the world. - U. of M. Daily.