The Portland daily press., 1883-12-10
REMARKABLY LAWSUIT.
A Cnse i'm which the Union Mutual Insur
ance Company of Maine is Interested.

Another attack was made Wednesday last on the
$150,000 mortgage of the Union Mutual Life In
surance Company on the property of the University
of Chicago. This was bill fled in the United
States Circuit Court in Chicago, ILL.,. by Mons Arm
strong of Wisconsin, and A. A. Bowen, d. w.
Stockwell, j. O. Hopkins, James Schoonhoven and
D. D. Green, of Illinois, well for themselves as
for numerous and all others similarly situated.
against the Union Mutual Life Insurance Company
of Maine and the University of Chicago. These
complanants are the owners of some Of the 81 900
scholarships issued by the Board of Trustees of the
university prior to the mortgage to the insurance
company. and they claim that some $40 900 in all
of these scholarships were thus issued. For this
reason they claim prior lien to the mortgage.
The history of this case briefly STATED from the
bill is:
In April, 1855, Stephen A Douglass contracted
with John G. Burroughs to convey to a board of
trustees for the organization of university in
Chicago the ten acres of land now occupied by kat
institution. Mr.. Douglass extended the time for
laying the foundations of the university till Octo-
ber !, 1857, on the conditions that the title Of
and no part ever be sold or used for any other
purpose" A board of trustees was organized, to
whom Mr.. Douglass conveyed the land subject to
the above conditions and the trustees solicited and
received donations aggregating $3.50 900.
Expensive buildings were erected and the uniyer-
sty was Incorporated March 80, 1857, the State of
trustee of the institution board of regents having
been authorized and named by the act the special
agreement that none of the lond was to be alena-
ted or sold running all through.
Relying on all these facts the complainants and
some sixty-tiye others purchased scholarships of
the university, whereby in consideration of 81 900
paid by each they were severally entitled to send
one student to the university perpetually without
charge, and these scholarships were negotiable 1t
is therefore charged that the seventy scholarships
are perpetual, equitable lien upon the university
property.
February 8, 1875, the President and Secretary
of the executive committee of the university made
trust deed of the real estate to Levi d. Boone
of the trustees to indebtedness to the I'm
ion Mutual Life Insurance Company of $15O,0O0,
in which document it is provided that in default of
payment of principal or interest at the appointed
times the university grounds land real estate NAV
be sold at public auction to the highest bidder.
1t appears default was made and Boone declin-
ed to sell the premises, and on February Is, 1881,
the insurance company filed bill against the uni
versity and above officers asking that the trust deed
might be declared mortgage and foreclosed, which
the complanants claim would be in violation of the
Douglass grant. The present bill claims that Boone
trustee for the university also the agent of the
insurance company which is thus charged with
knowledge of the conditions Of the Douglass grant,
Hence the insurance company is charged with col
fusion with the university corporation and Boone to
betray the trust and in fraud of the rigns of the
public and of the complainants in the university,
The bill charges further that the legal title to the
university property at the time of the execution of
the trust deed was and still is in the Board of
Trustees of the University of Chicago and was not
in the university corporation. Consequently the
university corporation never acquired or held the
legal title to the real estate in question and could
not legally convey the same. And that the Board
of Trustees has never legally given its consent
approval to the execution OF the pretended trust
deed to the insurance company. The scholarship
holders maintain that the $3.50, 900 mortgage is
void that it is menace to their rights and renders
scholarships insecure and greatly Impairs their
negotiability; and that decree of foreclosure
der the trust deed to the insurance company would
entirely divest them Of their rights and defeat the
charitable purposes of the public and of those who
have donated moneys in aid of the institution. They
therefore ask the court to declare the trust deed
utterly void; to perpetually enjoin the insurance
company from asserting any rights under the pre-
tended trust deed; and that the scholarships may
be declared perpetual lien and charge on the real
estate of The university, aud that the title to the
real estate In question may be declared to forever
remain inalienabe ia the trustees, and shall for
ever be used for the purposes of university, ac-
cording to the original intent of its founder and
cording to the terms of his agreement with the
trustees.