The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-08-13

lege, stating that some assistance was nee
essary and offering to defray the entire ex.
pense of an assistant out of his own salary.
We could not permit this. However high
our regard might be for any professor land
we have the most absolute confidence in
Judge Slack, we did not think it a good
plan to adopt course which would in SUBJ
stance amount to letting the professor
farm the thing out, and we thought the
limit of patience had been reached with
Judge McKinstry. So we instructed our
registrar to send him the following COM
munication:
Dear Sir: am instruc ted by the Board oil
Trustees of Hastings College of the Law to call
your attention to the communication sent you
August 8, 1898, of which copy is inclosed
and respectfully to ask that II you find the
other demands upon your time so great as to
prevent you complying with the communities
ton you will please inform the board at as
early date as may be convenient to you.
"In sending that letter, which we tried
to word as respectfully as possible, we
were simply trying to enforce what we al
ways believed was the understanding with
him when he was employed.
''1t seems to me that Judge McKinstry
might have taken the trouble to reply to
that letter, but he absolutely ignored it.
Now, the members of the board were not
the lackeys of Judge McKinstry that he
to me that he should not treat even his
lackeys so; because respectful commune
cation from even a servant deserves some
kind of notice. But passing that, how is
the board to manage the affairs of the COL
lege if its employees will neither obey its
instructions nor even take the trouble to
notice them? 1t may be that Judge Nc
Kinstry has such contempt for us that he
does not think it worth while to communi-
~ 70 u-ifh OF all hut 70 h =
the require ments of official intercourse for
bid the expression of such contempt.
What were we to do? Were we to let him
pocket this communication for two years
as he did the other? Or were we to go to
him with our hats in our hands and beg
him please to take some notice of our
official communication?
what we did do was after waiting two
weeks to declare his position vacant; and
that we did not take this action two years
ago"
"Will not the loss of the services of
Judge McKinstry be detriment to the
college?"
Speaking for myself, do not think so.
While Judge McKinstry is undoubtedly a
man of considerable ability and learning |
do not think he made success as a pro
fessor. / do not think that his abilities
az VI bndO O10Cly anu QO uOL UclltN6 IldI
his heart was in his work. At any rate it
is the very first requisite of a professor
that he should regard the wishes of the
trustees of the college.
81 see that some of the papers say that
most of the board want the position, but
the fact is, that at the very same meeting
we rendered the position to Judge Slack.
Judge Slack knew nothing whatever about
what had taken place and, of course, made
no effort to get it. The board has the
greatest confidence in him, and believe
that he has done some very fine work in
connection with the college, and without
any suggestion from him rendered him the
position of senior professor with two as
sistants, and Judge Slack has accepted that
position"
''But will not the same objection apply
to Judge Slack, namely, that he will not
be devoting his whole time to the duties of
the college?"
mo; we do not set so much store on get
ting a mans whole time unless we
think we are paying for it. In Judge
McKinstry's case, although the board may
have been mistaken, it believed that it was
paying for his whole time, and therefore it
wanted to get it. In regard to Judge
Slack we shall give him only $4,000 per
year and not require him to give up his
judicial position, and by giving him two
assistants we get the additional force
which seems to be necessary"