The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1897-09-03
PRESIDENT ANDREws's POSITION.
A Explained in His Letter to the Brown
University Trustees.

The following is the full text of Presi-
dent Andrews's letter to the trustees
Brown University:
Gentlemen of the Corpoi ion:
Wishing to retain your esteem, SO far as
I deserve it, beg to submit the following
statement, the purpose OF which is not to
defend in the least my administration of
the University, but to explain few
points in which, am told, the propriety
of my personal conduct has been called in
question.
The studied effort visible during the
summer to produce estrangement between
the corporation and myself l deeply de-
plore. On my side it has had no effect:
Amid the teeming misrepresentation and
vituperation l have stood calm, deter
mined not to believe i'll of any man I'M
less compelled. None of the criticisms
upbh the corporation in which various
parties have SO freely INDUCED have pro-
ceeded from me or awakened any echog IN
my spirit. have sought only peace, feel.
ing that If the corporation and myself
could no longer cooperate amlcably, we
could at least separate amlcably.
add that have had nothing at all to
do with single one Of the letters, petit
tions or memorials, whatever their source
or nature, which have been directed to
the corporation since June. If, In spite
OF my best endeavOrs to pursue straight
forward course, the surprises OF these
weeks have betrayed me into any lack of
comfy toward the corporation, or toward
any member thereof, l here and now sin
o ee; crave pardon, pleading 1iags the con-
When / learned that the corporation
had raised a committee to confer with
me, foreseeing the danger of my mlsre-
porting them after the conference. re-
quested the committee, through their
chairman, to present me in writing the
substance of their message. They con-
sented without objection. gladly testify
to the extremely kind expressions with
which the committee accompanied the pa
per they placed in my hands; yet could
not gather that they meant in this man
ner at all to modify what they had writ
ten. I endeavored to be as conciliatory as
my co-conferrees, but il they gained the
impression that acquiesced in their sug
gestions and felt able to remain silent in
statu quo till September, decline all
responsibility for such impression except
SO lar as it may have sprung from the
fact that did not during the conference
avow a purpose to resign. But this I
could not have done, for my mind was not
yet made up. The minute given me had
not read. needed time to ponder care
fully its tenor.
After reflection upon that note I saw
only one open path, and this l took, but
made the choice wholly without any
spirit of defiance, anger or vindictive-
ness. I reasoned in this way: The cor
poration must have known the facts; they
cannot mean to deprecate my advocacy of
International free coinage. for probably to
man they voted for that; they have ma
ttonal free coinage in mind; therefore,
what have been doing for national free
oinage, insignificant as it seems to me,
they must somehow regard much more
heresy. They wish "a change; but how
can change, how do less than in the past
without maintaining entire silence upon
the subject, in private as we'll as in pub
lie? / confess that such a request amazed
me; but had been abroad II months,
and could not tell how far political rancor
might not have invaded academic pre-
cincts
Unable to comply with what appeared
to me SO extreme desire, I decided
peaceably to surrender my office; and l
deemed it my duty to proceed at once, in
order to give the corporation all possible
time to elect successor.
If the action bore the appearance Of
haste, this was wholly in consequence of
my desire to guard the University's in
terests.
As little am 1 in fault touching the
publication of the conference committees
minute, for this did not proceed from my
motion. 1t was the wish of the advisory
and executive committee upon receiving
my resignation that, if l published this,
l should also publish the minute Had
deemed 1t possible to keep these matters
entirely from the public till September,
as the advisory and executive committee
thought desirable should certainly have
attempted to do SO, but under the aggra
waiting circumstances which existed l am
sure that the attempt could not have been
successful The contents of the docu-
ments were certain to reach the public in
mutilated form, unless given out in their
correct form. |, therefore, let them go.
Gentlemen of the Corporation. / am not
repudiationist No member of your hon
orable body, not citizen Of the Republic,
insists more strongly than have always
insisted, that the principal and interest
of our public debt shall be paid in gold
dollars Of present legal weight and fine
ness, or in values equivalent thereto.
Moreover, in all that l have ever said or
written for international biInetallisn, the
doctrine of the St. Louis Platforms doc
trine which, admit, I have to certain
extent, publicly advocated-I have always
held that gold as well as silver, should be
basal money in this country. Any propo-
sal which, In my Judgment, bade fair to
place the country's finances on none.
tary basis of silver alone. l should dis
countenance And in any movement by
our country to restore silver to its ancient
monetary character, still desiderate the
cooperation of other nations no less than
/ did previously to 1876, as earnestly as
any man who voted for the ST. Louis plat
form. have simply changed to the be-
lief that United States initiative is the
surest, if not the only way, to secure such
cooperation.
But this changed belief I had, in June,
never publicly advocated by so1nuch as
single word. That is, while on a few oc-
casions privately acknowledging as mine
the theory of United States initiative.
I have been altogether modest and retir-
ing in this, in no sense champion or an
apostle, not even an advocate in the
usual meaning of that word. But for
few personal communications last sum.
mer made at time when no one could
have anticipated the ferocity which the
campaign developed, probably not a soul
in this country outside of my family
would at this moment know that my
view had altered.