The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-01-01
TWO MISTAKES AT YALE.
OWE OF THEM HAs COsT THE UNI
YERsITY MANY THOUSANDS.

VERsITY MANI THOUSANDS.
A Graduate Tells WIN IL Isn't Always Good
Policy TO Trust to the Shrewdncss of
some Clerrymnn-A 900-Ycar Lease on
Newport Property Given for n Small Sum.
IT see that they are trying to I'LL a Presiden-
tial vacancy In New Haven. y said the Yale'man
renectively. There appears to be some excite
ment rs to whether President DwiRht's suo-
cessor will be n Congregational clergyman or
\ man OF the world. incidentally they are dis
cussing the wisdom OF having the majority OF
the corporation congregational cierRymen or
of turning the management OF the whole uni
versity into the hands OF lnymen. / have
heard the business shire wdness OF these Con-
%necticut clerRymen eXtolled for many years.
and IL Is natural that they should have many
CHAMPIONS at the present time. especially
when they are under fire. Nevertheless. l for
one believe that the business management OF
Yale University has greatly improved as the
result Of introducing six non-clerical graduates
into the corporation. Have you ever heard OF
the two blunders in the MANAGE
.nent OF Yale business affairs which we're made
before the introduction OF this reform? They
are mighty interesting stories and worth re-
calling at the present time.
THE first occurred way back In the last cen-
fury, when Yale College was a very modest
sort Of affair and when these Congregational
parsons had everything their own way. from
the corporation members down to the fresh
man tutor. One OF the early friends Of the
university. as you probably know. was Dean
Berkeley of Westward the course OF empire
takes It's way fame. Dean Berkeley showed
his appreciation Of the New Haven university
by making it a present OF his old farm in New
port. r. l.. known as the Berkeley farm. It
was a great windfall for the infant college, you
may be sure. 1t was to be devoted to a num-
Der OF scholarships In the academic depart
ment to be heldlbv students known as Scholars
OF the House. These scholarships-the ia
nous Berkeley scholarships-are awarded
every year even now. The college realizes q
modest sum from its Newport real estate. all
though there are several people who make a
great deal more. For what do you suppose
these poor old unworldly Congregational min
listers who controlled the dcstinies of Yale in
those days did with the old Berkeley Farm2
They leased it to some enterprising Newport
farmer for the term Of 900 yearsl At that
time they were evidently driving a very shrcwd
BARGAIN and mentally CONGRATULATED them
luckless lessee for such "a long period of time.
They did not foresee what has since hap
pened that the Berkeley farm in the nineteenth
century was &c. be cut up IN building lots and
become one of the finest residential parts Of
erty may be now l do not know. but it is some
thing enormous SevertheIess. the college
EtlS OlJ1 u ItIlD pfVO u II CDUV IL ypuT OUT OF IL.
1t is a very vexing situation, to be sure. any
one would suppose that nipety-nine years
CORPORATION. members. but they preferred a
1000 years lease Instead. or course. we are
pD5 ersga viii be TO w sfSee t Tef leash the ex xpiqs of + fhj js
more likely than not that in the course OF
Loo; poo yea years s,t the Land tha may III, haS Ss lost its present.
Of it no one can f0resee: One thing is certain.
down Rhode Island way. II it were only in q
position to take it up; The heirs OF the Rhode
clinch this bargain with the Yale Corporation
y that day are. Of course. enjoying the benefits
OF II. but the New Haven University itself is
1T made another mistake Of a similar nature
Iillhouse property, bordered by Prospect street
and Whitney avenue. was ,oIered to the suni-
that It would move its headgUarters from down.
town; II would be impossible 70 select, a more
enas t Iro site for T 4 college age than li,i. the old Hill,
hill. and command a beautifulview Of the city
and moat s Sspf,b3dI sTte county " n.y. j. is one q the
YALE dadlfe; campus e. Nevertheless, the corporation
They thought the college could never AFFORD to
sacrifice the, old buildings. and that It would
At that time the college buildings were limited
to the old brick, row. the quadrangle had not
tories and libraries had been thought of. The
development Of the college since that dav
Nearly all the buildings which the corporation
thought they could not afford to sacrifice
then have since been torn down or are doomed
to destruction. and the buildings upon which
the college brides itself and which are des:
tined to be q permanent part of Yale have all
therefore,. how well off the university would
have been If it had this offer.
so that. whenever / hear the business
shrewdness of the clerical members of the cor
p~oratiop dilated upon. always recall these two
Of to-day are more yideawake than
their predecessors of the eighteenth century
and Of thirty years, ago. but still l think that IL
ness men upon these two occasions. these
would never have been made.'