The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1884-04-17
MADISON, WIS. April 8, 1884.

MADISON, WIS. April 3, 1884.
EDITOR PnoT.-An error occurs IN
your issue of last week which, as friend
of the university, yoC viii gladly afford
an opportunity to correct through your
columns. 1t is in relation to the eluab-
BILE in which President Bascom has be-
come involved with some of the local
politicians, in your notice of which you
say that the president has preferred very
damaging charges against considerable
number of the students of the university.
The president certainly does nothing of
the kind in any of the communications
which he has contributed to the contro-
versy which has been carried on through
the city papers for the past two weeks,
nor has he made any statement in any of
them which would endure such an utter
probation. Some such statement as APP
peared 10 your columns was indeed made
In one Of the city papers in az editorial
comment on the presidents first letter,
but the editorial referred II, so palpabiy
misrepresented the communication as to
lay itself open 10 the criticism Of having
been peDned with the purpose OF mis-
leading the readers of the paper i'll regard
to the true nature of President Bascom' S
letter. And the Pilot seems not to be
the only paper imposed upon, so that an
opinion has gone out over the state that
President Bascom has deliberately asser-
ted that many of the students of the IN
iversity are habitual drunkards, for
which opinion the State Journal, in the
belief of the students as evinced by their
action since their return, and not the
venerable president of the university is
responsible. At a meeting of nearly two
hundred representative students held on
Friday, April 4, after careful canvass
ing of the whole matter, the following
resolutions were adopted:
Whereas in the discussion arising out of the law
and order movement II the city, the character and
habits of the students, and their attitude toward
President Bascom have been commented upon;
we the students of the university of Wisconsls
Resolve.
THAT we do not consider President Bascom's
article In the State journal of March 10Th as a
LIBEL ,, upon our institution, or upon the city of
Madison but plain statement of facts, justified
by ITS expressed purpose.
2;-hlat we denounce IN the strongest terms the
malignant abuse and misrepresentation of Pres
ident Bascom by some of the Wisconsin papers.
and in particular by the State Journal as we'll as
the utterly unfounded libel upon the students
which appeared IN the St. Paul Pionee-Press OF
March 30th.
The above will suffice to show what
the feeling among the students in regard
to the matter is, and how we'll were real
lied the predictions of some of the state
papers that an Indignation meeting would
be called upon the return of the students
And now having denied that the presi-
dent has ever made any such charges as
your columns accuse him of making. /
desire to add that had he done SO it
would be totally false. The students of
the university in the opinion of those
who ought to know, are exceptionally or
DERBY and gentlemanly in their conduct.
Mr.. Justice Orion remarked this morn
ing in the hearing of the writer that they
were the best behaved lot of college boys
he had ever met. That this state of facts
as well as the perfect harmony between
the faculty and the students shown by
resolutions above quoted, is due III
large measure to the abandonment of any
attempt to regulate by fixed rules the
conduct of students after recitation
To establish a system of espionage over
young men is always difficult and usually
dangerous as proven by recent exper-
fence.