Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 64.djvu/361

Rh No instruction either sectarian in religion or partisan in politics shall be allowed in any department of the university, and no sectarian or partisan test, shall be used in the election of professors, teachers or other officers of the university, for any purpose whatever. This article shall be understood as the fundamental condition upon which all endowments of whatever kind are received. Any violation whatever of this article is punishable through the courts.

After the lapse of a year, on the twenty-second of February, a meeting of the incorporators was held, the charter accepted and the institution organized under the name of Washington Institute, which name was further changed in 1857 to Washington University. The name was chosen because of its national significance, having also been suggested by the day, February 22, on which the charter was given. The first building was erected in 1853-4, and since that time the university has had a steady and substantial growth, a new department being added when the circumstances warranted it, until to-day Washington University comprehends six departments and has three preparatory schools organized under its charter and, embracing the whole range of university studies except theology, affords complete preparation for every sphere of practical and scientific life.