The letter contains an account of the religious opinions which had taken an “irresistible possession” of his mind. These—which may be inferred from the extracts made—and the offer of ten thousand dollars additional, to the board of trustees, for which they were to draw at their pleasure, as fast as the same could “be wisely used to advance the interests of the institution,” conclude this remarkable letter.
Mr. Cooper continued to assist the Institute in every possible way until his death. In his will he bequeathed to it $100,000. Soon after his death his children notified the trustees that “in accordance with what they understood to be Mr. Cooper’s final wishes, they would in a few months contribute the sum of $100,000 in addition to the bequest of $100,000 contained in his will.”
The trustees—of whom not one has died in the long period of their service, the only death being that of the President, Peter Cooper—give the following succinct statement of the principles upon which they proceeded in the execution of so weighty a trust. They say that they laid down as the fundamental basis of their operations the following principles:
First, that the details of the institution in all the departments should be arranged with especial reference to the intellectual wants and improvement of the working classes. And, second, that as far as might be consistent with the first principle, all interference with the plans or objects of other existing institutions in the city should be avoided. Guided by these principles the trustees arrived at the following broad scheme, as best calculated to instruct, elevate, and improve the working classes of the city:
1. Instruction in the branches of knowledge which are practically applied in their daily occupations, by which they support themselves and their families.
2. Instruction in the laws by which health is preserved and the sanitary condition of families improved; in other words, in personal hygiene.
3. Instruction in social and political science, by virtue of which communities maintain themselves, and nations progress in virtue, wealth and power.
4. Instruction addressed to the eye, the ear, and the imagination, with a view to furnish a reasonable and healthy recreation to the working classes after the labors of the day.
In pursuance of these objects and in harmony with the above comprehensive principles the following departments are maintained at the present time in most effective operation:
1. Free Reading Room and Library. Here between 430 and 440 periodicals are kept on file, and upward of 17,000 volumes are upon the shelves. In 1883 the number of books used was 194,963, the number of patent office reports examined 8,324, and the number of visitors to the patent office room 1,487. In all 559,707 persons visited the Free Reading Room and Library during 1883.