The age-herald., 1899-12-20
ply. approved February 5. 1885, among other

ply, approved f6DrudTy D, loc0 aUIOHB OlliSE things, provides as follows:
 "Seetion 2. Be it further enacted, That the said trustees shall have the power to appoint one or more persons not of their own body, one or all of whom may make sales as the trustees may d.cect, whose duty 1t shall be to attend the examination and sales of all the said lands and to re- ceive moneys arising therefrom, and deposit the same in the treasury of the state as the trustees may order and direct; provided that the said persons so appointed shall give bond and good security, to be approv- ed of by said trustees for the faithful per formance of his or their duties, and that they shall receive such compensation as may be allowed by the said trustees"
 Facts and Circumstances or Sale
 In making the sale above referred to, and under the circumstances indicated by the undisputed evidence, it will be shown that further provisions of the law intended for safeguarding the intorosts and protecting the rights of the University have been dis regarded, and powers never conferred, nor intended to be conferred, upon him, have been exercised by the governor, and the regular channels and the lawful authorities disregarded and set aside.
 It appears, upon the statements of reputa- ble persons, that an option had been exc cuted by the governor upon these lands for many months, if not a year, prior to the meeting of September 22d, and this option was renewed from time to time. The gov erno,, having nothing whatever rightfully to do with the land sales had, of course, no power or authority to execute this op- tion, but he asserted and assumed such power without consultation with, or au- thcrity from, those whose duty it was to attend to the sales of the lands, and in di- rect conflict with the resolution of the board of trustees passed in 1896 withdrawing col. h the declared purpose and policy of t1e board of trustees, reaffrmed at it's meeting in June, 1SS9 The governor was present and presided over this June session in 1S99 whoa the report of the president was read in which he strongly advocated the leasing of the lands as against the sale or them and that report was approved by the finance committee of the board and unan- imousiy adopted by tle full meeting of the board. At this time, as we are informed, or.ions were then eXtant under the sigma ture of the governor upon the identical lands embraced in the Sloss-Sheffield ceed, and member of this committee has seen an option signed by the governor upon oth- CT lands than these above mentioned. In fact, while we have not been able to see but one option signed by the governor, yet we arc informed upon reliable auuaorlty that several have been, in fact, given by him.
 It was plainly the governors duty as a member of the board, when a full meeung was held in June of this year, to have noti- fled the board that options given by him were then extent, and to have inquired or them whether or not they should be recall ed but he kept the information to him self in disregard of his duties to, and the rights of, the other members.
 In this connection, 1t is necessary to make some reference to
 Eyx -y y,aty,x. H fap nd
 This company was in process of forma- tion for many nonths prior to the time it was actually incorporated. In August of this year 1t was incorporated under the leadership of Frederick P. Oicott and Charles R. Flint of New York, who mad charge of the scheme. copy of the pros pectus of that company, dated in July, 1899, has been handed to us. Included in this prospectus are 25,OOO acres of land under the name of the Gulf Coal and Coke com pany. We quote so much of the pros pecttls as relates to that company
 Gulf Coal and Coke Company.
 Property consists of about twenty-five thousand (25,00O acres, containing the cele- Drated Pratt seam of coking coal, about four (D feet in thickness, well as a seam of coal known as Horse Creek seam, about eight G0 feet in thickness. This preperty has been purchased from time to time from small holdings, covering a per iod of over twelve years, situated few miles from the junction of the Northern Alabama railroad with the Southern rail- way.
 "Tshe property is easy of development, since both seams of the coal mentioned are above drainage level, and the extension of the road from Parish Junction, Ala, to a point about seven miles south would fur nish sufficient railroad frontage to easily put this property to capacity of five thousand (5,G00 tons per day within a req sonsdble time"
 As a matter of fact, the Gulf Coal and Coke company, whose properties lie in and around the properties of the university did not own anything like twenty-five thous- and acres of land, but did own only about fifteen thousand.
 We are informed by MT. L. B. Musgrove. in a letter to us dated December 16 1899, Ca copy of which is hereto attached marked Exhibit B') that the other ten thousand acres were made up of the lands of the university and lands belonging to, or un- der the control of Governor Johnston, Gen. E. W. Rucker and others. The price at which all of these lands were to be con- veyed to the Sloss-Sheffield company was twenty dollars per acre.
 Governor Johnston was intimately con- nected with the organization of the com pany, having gone to New York more than once on business connected with it and having attended and participated in the
 
 company was set in motion.
 The prospectus of the Sloss- Sheffield Steel and Iron company was signed by Gen. eral Fucker, who is the business associate of the governor in many enterprises, and by other directors of the Sloss Iron and Steel company.
 Afterwards on account of a difference in price, or for some other reason, the proper ties really belonging to the Gulf Coal and Coke company were withdrawn from the deal and the university lands were put in q. twelve dollars and fifty cents per acre. while the lands of the American Coal and Coke company, which lie adjacent and contiguous to the university lands, and which, according to the evidence submitted to us, are, if anything, less valuable than the university lands were put in at about fifty dollars per acre.
 Omission to Notify Advisory Committee
 Some years ago it became apparent that the board of trustees of the university, and the Society of the Alumni of the University. were not as harmonious, and did not move with that concert of action which the sue cess of the university demanded, and which should follow from uniting its own forces for one common end