INDUSTRIAL ARTS BUILDING J. N. Armstrong, who retired from the presidency in 1936, left the nucleus for the modern Harding. His belief in adive Christian education and citizenship has been a guiding light through the yea", and that foundation of wellgrounded policies was the rock upon which the greater Harding was built. As the douds of depression were at their blackest, it remained for a Harding alumnus to return after more than ten years as a missionary in China and lead the way to a dignified and honorable niche in world education. Armed with enviable qualities that have placed him high in national recognition. George Stuart Benson displayed above all an unshakable faith in the American people and the system by which they live. Dr. Benson threw himself whole-heartedly 12 into the task and wasted little time in introducing plans designed and destined to get Harding on the road to recovery and into a prosperous future. He was greeted by a $76,000 debt incurred during Harding's heroic stru991e to survive the rocky years immediately past. He was greeted also with a vote of confidence and a pledge of support by those connecled with the schoolmore than a counter-balance. A five.year plan to liquidate the debt was introduced-and accomplished in three years, the forerunner of accomplishments that were to come. Thanksgiving Day, 1939, is remembered as a turning point in Harding's history. On that day, as hundreds of alumni and visitors watched the ceremony, the last of the $76,000 debt was gone forever in the public burning of a $68,000 mortgage on the school. Harding College was debt· free.
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