Sacramento daily record-union., 1881-06-16
THE REGENTS AND The UNIVERSITY.

The Regents have had another meeting
but without coming to any conclusion in
regard to the Presidency of the University.
Nominations for the Office of Secretary
were made, and Professor Welcker was put
forward for President; but notwitistand-
ing vigorous opposition on the part of the
minority, who asserted that the majority
had refused to allow any time for consid-
Grafton when the work OF slaughter was to
be done, the election of President was
postponed for two weeks. 1t is rumored
that this postponement is attributable to
the growth of doubts in the minds of some
of the Regents as to the wisdom of making
Mr.. Reid President. 1t had been freely
asserted before the meeting of the Board
that Mr.. Reid had majority OF the Re-
gents pledged to him. This way OF talking
about the appointment of course suggests
the employment OF the ordinary political
methods in the proceedings OF the Board
but such suggestion seems unavoid-
able. The Regents, with characteristic
obstinacy and want of Judgment, persist
in their attempts to keep their pro-
ceedings secret. They have failed thus
far to do this, but they go on
notwithstanding to exhibit their stolid
dislike of publicity at every meeting,
and in so doing they strengthen the sus-
picion and disapproval which the public
have acquired concerning their course. At
the last meeting curious illustration of
their tendencies was given. A petition of
High School boys Of the class of II, against
the election of Mr.. Reid to the Presidency,
was rejected with contemptuous and angry
comments. Another petition, of High
School boys of the class of 70, asking that
MIR. Reid be elected President, was gracious
ly received and placed on file. It is sur
prising that the majority of the Regents
cannot perceive how much harm they are
doing to the University by the course they
pursue, but if they are too stupid to take
advice, and too stubborn to change their
policy, they will assuredly be made to
learn, in very disagreeable and mortifying
way, that they possess no prescriptive
right to use the University as though it
were their private property, and that they
cannot prostitute that establishment to the
qualification of their personal likes and
dislikes without being called to account.
Many very damaging assertions are now in
circulation regarding the GaimiN of the
late removals of professors and instructors.
1t has been stated, and by University
graduates, who may be supposed to have
some insight into the management of the
institution, that cabsl has long been
formed among certain professors and mem
bers of the Board, and that this cabal
aims at the reorganization os the Faculty,
not at all with a single eye to the improve.
nent OF the University, but with special
purpose to subserve personal and selfish
interests. We do not know whether
there is any truth in these charges or not,
and therefore we shall not discuss
them; but we see plainly that there are
motives in operation which on their face
are anything but public motives, and that
the course of the Board is daily alternating
the public from the University, because
the manifestation of these unworthy mo.
tives is so conspicuous. We believe that
the Board of Regents, in fact, stands in.
finitely more IN need of reorganization than
the Faculty does, and we are inclined to
think that public opinion will take shape
on this head very strongly when the next
Legislature meets. One thing is certain
either the University must be managed
with disinterested regard to the highest
educational purposes, or it must be broken
up. Rather than the latter alternative
should be had recourse to We are certain
that most people would agree to the radical
reconstruction of the Regency.