The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-08-16

comments that the words leach of said Boards of Trustees" at the end of Sec | tion of the report be stricken out, l and that there shall be added in lieu | thereof the words "the Board of Trus-
 tees of the Alabama Polytechnic Insti- l tutc. The Superintendent of Educa- | tion shall be ex officio a member of the Board of Trustees of the University; and the said Board shall elect its own | President
 The President pro tem-The question I will be upon the adoption of the mi- nority report. l recognize the gentle | man from Limestone.
 MT. Pe.tus-Mr. President.
 MT. Foster-Will the gentleman yield | to an amendment to be considered at the same time?
 Mir. Pet,us-I will yield to the gen | tleman to offer the amendment. The Secretary read the amendment as follows:
 Amend minority report on Section 9 of Article on Education by strik- ing out of said Sect.on all there
 in that applies to the State University. and by adding at the end of the Sec | tion the following: The State Univer- sity shall be under the management | and control of a Board of Trustees. which shall consist of two members from tho Congressional District in | which the University Is located. and | one frcm each of the other Congress | sional Districts in the State, and the SNperin'endent of Education and the Governor who shall be ex officio Presi- dent of the Board: the members of the | Board of Trustees now existing shall hold office until theil respective terms | expire, under existing law, and until their successors shall be elected and connrmed as hereinafter required. When | the term of any member of such Board
 shall expire. the remaining members l of the Board shall by secret ballot,
 elect his successor. At every meeting
 of the Legislature the Superintendent
 of Education shall certify to the Sem
 ate the names of all who shall have
 been so elected since the last session
 or the Legislature, and the Senate shall
 confirm or reject them as 1t shall de-
 termine is for the best interest of the
 University. If 1t reject the name of
 any member, it shall thereupon elect
 Trustees in the stead of those rejected.
 The Trustees who shall hereafter be
 elected and confirmed, shall hold of-
 flee for a term of six years from the
 date of the!r confirmation or election | by the Senate, and until their success 1 sors shall be elected and confirmed; no
 Trustee shall eeceive any pay or emol- | ument other than actual expenses tn-
 cured in the discharge of his duties as such
 The President pro tem-The question
 will be upon the sdoption of the amend
 ment to the minority report. The Een- | tlenan from Limestone
 Ar. Pettus-Mr. President. I will
 state to the Convention that my first
 idea was to offer some such plan as that
 proI osed by the substitute of the gan
 tieman from Tuscaloosa. Upon a cas-
 ual investigation of the subject, 1t ap-
 peared to me that it might be wise and | proper for the Board of Trustees os the University of Alabama to be made ser perpetuating, subJec. to the con- nrmation of the Senate, but upon a
 more careful investigation of the sub 1ect, and upon an exeminat oil of the
 ia"s concerning other institutions of
 iike character. l can.t to the conclusion
 that the reasons which might be | urged against section or provision
 ilke that were greater than the
 reasons which could be urged for
 sucn plan. ] think, MT. President.
 that one objection which 1 might men, l tlon, taking into consider ation the
 courtesy that holds among bodies of
 that character, is the consideration
 which members of a Board of Trus-
 tees would come to have for each oth
 CT when brought into the social rela- | tons that they would in transa ctinp
 the business that would come before
 tnem l think that the tendency of
 human nature in that regard would be
 TOT them to nominate each other. even
 atter from old age or some other cause
 a member should have become inef-
 ncient. l do not believe that a Board l 1rnGf6a2
 petuate itself in institutions of this
 character. The Board will never get
 to the point where they would turn
 down single member, if he should
 desire appointment, and the Senate
 would not turn down a member recom-
 mended by the Board unless there was
 very serious. grave, or paitisan reason
 Tor their acticn in the matter and I
 believe that in itself is a sufficient
 reason for not adopting this plan. l l have not been able to find any ex-
 emples of this character in other insti-
 tutions My first infoI ma tion was that
 this plan obtained In the University of Virginia, which I believe to be the
 model State Univer ity In the South and l got the laws upon that subject to
 see if the University Trustees had power to perpetuate themselves. On getting the law and Investigating the suDJeCt l ma that the Board of TruS-
 tees of the University of Virginia is
 appointed by the Governor of Virginia
 but thA Governor is not a member of the Board
 Now. MT. President the reason why I | object to the Governor being a member of the Board is not based on any spe- ctal instance, nor on any particular experience, but on the general experi- ence and history of the State I hold
 to the principle that the man who ap- points the Board of Trustees, and to whom that Board reports, ought not
 to preside over it, and In that way be
 able to dominate and control its ac- tions. There Is no question fin my
 mind but what the power that appoints the Board of Trustees, if brought into direct personal contact, by being made the ex officio presiding officer of that
 control it's action. There Is question too, whether CT not this control will always be for the best and highest in- terest of the institution. over which
 he Is presiding. Tn some of the North
 efn Universities, and in some other in-
 stitutions. provisions is made for d | Board of Trustees to be appo.nted or elected, by the alumni of those institu- | tions. It does not seem to me that 1t | is necessary to so as far as that in | framing a section fo- the. University of Alabama, but do believe. Mir. Pres | ident, that the voice of the alumni should be heard upon this subject.
 believe that they have an interest in | this matter that is perhaps greater