The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-09-03
president ANDREWS RETAINED.

Il
The action of the corporation CT
Brown university, in requesting Presl-
dent Andrews to withdraw his resigna-
tion. will be received with general APP
nrobation. The incidents of the cOntrO-
versy up to this date have attracted
wide attention and been the subject of
bitter debate, because of the apparent
tendency to limit the free expression
of a. mans opinions on public ques-
lions. President Andrews is an ardent
advocate of the free coinage Of silver
at the ratio of 16 to /, and took occasion,
during the last campaign, to promul-
gate his views widely and with empha-
sis. These views were naturally dis
tasteful to some patrons of the 1nstltu-
tion and some members of the corpora
tion. and a letter was addressed to him
requesting him either to sever his con-
nection with the University or to refrain
from such publicity of his opinions.
This was certain to stir a chorus of in
dignant protest, and particularly so
on account of the reasons given for re-
monstrating with President Andrews.
1t was asserted that he successful
prosecution of the work Of the universe
ty depended upon liberal financial sup
port, and that such contributions could
not be secured if it were understood by
the foremost friends of Brown thai a
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to be retained at its head.
Of course, the immediate reply was
that President Andrews was to be sac
rifced to bis political opinions, and the
free silver people held him up to the
country as a martyr to their cause
On one side has been urged the argu-
ment that a man does not resign the
right of free thought or free speech by
accepting the presidency of an instttu-
ton of learning, and that to attempt to
restrict his activity is a species of tyr
amy unworthy of any institution de-
voted to the study of the liberal arts.
On the other hand Vas the equally
heated response that the president Of a
university ives it to himself and those
who put him in that responsible posi-
tion to abstain from active participa-
ton in the acrimonies of politics; and
that, in matters of uch Importance, his
views ought to be in conformity with
those of a majority of the corporation
employing him. So the ball has been
tossed back and forth, and matters
have gone so far that Mr.. John Brisben
Walker has announced that he would
found a university all by himself,
and that President Andrews would be
put at the head of it.
These speculations and the high feel
ing that they have engendered are
brought to an end by the admirable
resolution adopted by the corporation
of Brown university. It assures Presi-
dent Andrews that the corporation does
not desire his resignation. The sound,
sober sense of the matter is summed
up in the following expression:
1t was not in our minds to prescribe the
path in which you should tread or to
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or to restrain your freedom of opin-
ion or reasonable liberty of utterance,
hut simply to intimate that it would be the
mart of wisdom for you to take a less active
part in exciting partisan discussions, and
apply your energies more exclusively to the
affairs of the college.
Whatever one may think of the views
of President Andrews upon the finan-
cial question, it is clear that the secret
of his offending lay, not in his cham
pionship of the silver cause, but in an
active entry into political debate at a
time when feeling ran very high. The
president Of a great university owes
something to his position. The stu
dents who come under his charge rep
resent. naturally and necessarily, diff
ferent schools of political thought. II
is not limiting the freedom of thought
or restricting the legitimate area of dis
cussion to say that a college president
ought not to go upon the stump, and
ought not to assume any attitude that
can properly be called partisan. In do