The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-06-19
UNIvERsIrY TRUSTEES.
Rev. Dr. Dickinson Argues Again of
 Electing Them by the People.

Rev. Dr. Dickinson Argues Again of Electing Them by the People.
 Editor The Advertiser:
 | Permit me to present my reasons for the suggestion that the Trustees of the University be made elective by the people.
 CD It does look at first sight that the proposal would throw the Univer- sity but the deeper into politics. But | not so much as one would think. Un- | fortunately we use the word politics with very different meanings. In the sense of the word as denoting civil machinery and civic life I admit that the proposition throws the institution more into politics and make this one of the chief advantages of that policy. It does not seem to me wise to alien- ate the University from the civic or- 1 ganism of the State. Like the Su- preme Court it ought to be a part of civic affairs in Alabama. There is no prospect of ever having but one real | University in this State and it ought to belong to all the people without 1 prejudice towards any. In this sense | it ought to be a part of politics. But if one uses the word politics in the sense of spoils of office our unhappy | experience has taught us to shun it. | Now if the Trustees are elected by the people and made directly accountable | to the people for malfeasance or mis- | feasance in office 1t will free them from the temptation to trade important functionaries of the institution for po- 1 liticai capital for themselves or their political allies. One of the advantages of the proposition is that 1t preserves the connection of the University with | our civil machinery and civic life yet radeems 1t from being a part of the spells of politics.
 l @ Your citing the policy pursued in leading State institutions all over the country seems unfortunate, since most l so-called State universities are only so | in name. but are really only high schools or colleges. The exceptions | you can count on your fingers and chief among these will be the Univer- sity of Michigan. which I am inform ed, has its trustees elective by the people. It is hoped that the proposed | policy may prove wise since it has not been tried in a realm of almost uni- versal failure. It Is true that most of our universities are private corpora tions. Such are Harvard, Yale, Prince ton, Johns Hopkins, Chicago; but 1t will be impossible for a State school to be put in this category without alien atiiIg the property of the people. These great universities are the beQuests of private persons, whereas the Universi- ty of Alabama Is the property Of the people.
 (3) The plan proposed by your editor, it seems to me. could mean lit-
 tie else than the turning over Of the institution to its present management
 in perpetuity since they themselves are
 to elect their own successors in office.
 Without meaning in any way to dis
 parage the present management, l do
 not believe the people of Alabama will
 think their past attainmentS warrant such an absolute grant of power in
 perpetuity. Besides, 1t Is dangerous.
 Some sect or class of citizens might in
 time get possession of a majority of
 the Board and turn the institution into a sectarian or class school and the rest of the people would have no power to
 thwart them. This has happened in
 several eases.
 (D If the Convention does what
 is expected in the way of el-
 evating the suffrage, Alabama will
 have an electorate of superior conserV-
 atism and discretion which may well
 be trusted with matters which under
 other conditions would be preblemat- teal.
 Again, I enter a plea for the resto-
 ration of this institution directly into the hands of the people. Let them feel : and wnow that it is theirs and they
 will come to appreciate and esteem It
 for It's great works sake. They will
 soon see its proper function as the
 crown of our educational system and
 adjust 1t to the normal and other col
 leEes. It will be great inspiration in
 inc world of education. The people ol Alabama are greatly behind those oi some other States in their conception of how far one should pursue his stud
 les in course. The best training whicf yields the largest return for the time
 and labor is just beyond the pom The people need the inspiration Of
 real university in their midst to real . ize this. There is a great field for thu 7 University of Alabama as the universi 5 ty of the people of Alabama ana i """' A. J. Dickinson.