The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-11-23
WANT ID REMOVE
 THE UNIVERSITY Montgom0rians Covet Famous Greensboro Institution MOVEMENT IS ON FOOT Police Commission Act Passed by the Recent Legislature Is Declared
 Unconstitutional by Judge
 A. D. sayre.
MOVEMENT IS ON FOOT

Montgomery, November 22.-(Special)- The approaching session of the Alabama Conference of the Methodist church to be held in Pensacola early in Decem- Der is sure to prove one of the most in- teresting of the seventy and odd sessions of this body yet held.
 An effort is to be made to remove the Southern University from the classic lit- tie town of Greensboro to Montgomery. Something like half century ago, this school, which is the property of the con- ference, was located in the beautiful and cultured west Alabama town, and in a great measure the school has helped to raise the town to the equal, if, indeed. not the peer of any other of equal pop ulation in the state.
 Many of the leading ministers of both the Alabama and the North Alabama con- ferences have received their education and training at the institution. But, not alone. have the ministers been prominent among it's graduates. Professional men and statesmen alike honor the roll of it's alumni.
 Feeling of Dissatisfaction.
 But, there seems a feeling of dissatis- | faction among many members of the conference as to the progress of the school. True it is easily the equal of any of the denominational schools of the state, but it does not come up to the | standard of a Vanderbilt or Sewanee. A few years ago the trustees and friends of the school inaugurated a movement to raise an endowment fund of something like a hundred thousand dollars. The progress of the undertaking has been slow. Recently, Montgomery has been agitating the question of great uni- versity, and, recognizing the value of an | already established school over that of an entirely new movement, overtures | have been had to remove the Greens boro school to Montgomery. This action has the hearty endorsement of Bishop Chandler, and, it is said of a majority of the trustees. Montgomerians, ascer- taining the facts, have gone earnestly to work for the purpose of raising sufficient l funds to induce the approaching confer ence to order the removal Prominent members of the board of trustees assert that if Montgomery will give s6O,0Oo for buildings, the school will come.
 Will be an Easy Task.
 To raise this money seems a rather easy task, for it has the city behind 1t, independent of any religious denomina- ton. Committees have been appointed to canvass for subscriptions and to head the list Colonel John J. Flowers the wealthy lumberman and phlanthropist. l has headed the list with a subscription of $10,G00. It is said that wealthy whole sale merchant will also add $10,00O to the 1 fund, while four or five subscriptions of $5000 each are anticipated. To show that | the movement to have a great university | here is popular wealthy Jewish firm offers a site for the university valued at something like $10oO0. A land company | offers a site probably equally as valuable
 The soliciting committee is to report | Tuesday night and it Is confidently ex- | pected that the funds needed will be reported as subscribed.
 Delegation Will be Met. With this result attained a strong dele 1 gation will be sent to the conference at | Pensacola to lobby for the removal of the university. The presiding elder and the six pastors of Methodist churches here will champion the movement, with | the aid it is said, of Bishop Candler The conference will not vote to remove the school without a bitter fight. Greensboro is sure to fight. and the people of that | town are born fighters, knowing no such | thing as surrender, whatever be the un- dertaking.
 1 In giving his reasons for the removal of the university today, a prominent lay man said
 We have found it impossible. or ap- parently so. to bring the school at Greens l boro up to the standard of the other greater universities of the south. This Is not the fault of Greensboro. for the | town has always striven nobly to meet every demand made upon it. Location | is one of the strong points against the little West Alabama town. It is not ac- cessible by railroad. Then. too. the town Is small, and while exceptionally wealthy according to population, 1t can not be expected that 1t could meet such obliga- | tions as Montgomery would enthusiastic cally assume.
 To the Center of the State. ''To bring the university to Montgom- cry would mean It's removal to the center | cf the state. both geographically and in | the way of railroad accommodat ations. The university would here have the support of all the citizens. among the wealthest
 in the south Even should it's support be confined to the Methodist church. which would not be the case, 1t would not suffer from a financial point of view. The Methodist church is strong in Montgom- i cry. and with possibly one exception. I l doubt if there is richer congregation in the state than that of the Court Street Methodist church.
 "If the university is brought here 1t is | to be made a university in fact. Depart ments of law and medicine are to be add | ed and the general curriculum raised We believe that with the university ] located in Montgomery the endowment | can soon be brought up to the point that | is desired. I understand that Bishop | Candler would remove his residence here and make an active campaign for the en- dowment fund. All who know the pro- gressive young bishop know what this | would mean. He Is great money raiser when it comes to church work.
 Has Double Purpose. "By the way Bishop Candler has dou- ble purpose in proposing to bring the | school to Montgomery. and make it great university. He has, since the Cuban war. had special charge of the missionary work in Cuba, and he wants university here where the young Cubans may be educated. with American ideas instilled within them
 Commissioner Appointed. Governor Jelks has appointed H. Espy as commissioner for the Third district of Marshall county MT. Espy succeeds MT. Chambers, resigned.
 Working for Exhibit. President Charles F. Lane of the Ala ton has been here for a couple of days in the interest of the Alabama exhibit at the St. Louis exposition. MT. Lane met with very ready resDonse hera tba 1oaoI