The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-06-06

aged nearly 100 years. At the first meeting of the board, March 17th, 1856, Colonel Erwin, chairman of the board. presented the charter. A notable feat
 ure of which is that 1t prohibited the | sale of liquor within five miles of the | corporation limits. At one time mili- | tary force was invoked by the presi- | dent, Dr. Smith, to enforce this ar | ticIe. The charter was vetoed by Gov ernor winston. because he said the | general statute should be so amend | ed that 1t would not he necessary to | cucumber the records with pages of | useless legislatfon for the chartering | of every school and corporation. At | the first meeting $16s,500 was reported as having been raised from two coun- | ties only--Greene and sumpter. | MT Galloway reported amount rais-
 ed s2S2.s79 (IIere Professor Christen-
 berry read the original subscription list. l yellow with age, and recalling members of the past to many presenD, $6.400 was naid for the site and the cornerstone
 was laid June II. 1857. Col. James Mc- Caleb Wiley Grand Master of the 1 Grand Lodge of Alabama Masons. Bish- ops Paine, Andrew and Pierce and were present. ColeDel Hilliard and Bishop Pierce made the addresses. pr. | W-adsworth, chairman of committee to prescribe course of study, etc, as fol- lows; l. Chair of Ancient Languages;
 g. Chair of Moral Philosophy: 3. Chair of Mathematics; 4. Chair of Biblical Liz | erature: 5. Chair of Law; G. Elocution | and Composition, shall be taught through the whole course.
 | Or London c. Garland was first elested President and declined. At this meeting Dr. Wadsworth and Dr. Lup- ton were elected members of the fac | uIty. pr. Lupton was sent to Europe | rhau IT a n amount of s2.000.
 l "rhe college opened It's doors October | 3. 1Ssy. Faculty for first year: Will liam wightman. A. M. Biblical Litera- ture; Thomas N. Lupton, A. M, Chem-
 istry; Edward wadsworth. A. M, Moral
 Philosophy; J. 2. Mills. A M Mathe. m1tics; 0. F. Casey, A. M, Ancient
 Languages: J. A. Reubelt, Hebrew and
 Modern Languages. Professor Casey
 was the last of these to retire from the | institution.
 Tho first commencement was held
 July {. 1860, Benjamin Nj. Huey, form
 erly of Emory College. and James V. Glass were the graduates. Both are still alive. Colonel Hr ey introduced the | first bill in the Alabama Legislature | looking to the founding of a Womans' In lustrial School another alumrus, ". Ellis. late of The Alabama Advocate,
 made the first public address favoring it. But 1t would be like writing the good side of our State and many oth- ers to write tho history of our alumni. The career of the Southern Univer- sity began under most glowing pros- poets, but the war cloud burst upon
 her. Her history for the next fifteen years Is the history of the whole South
 land. Many students went to the war
 and no classes could be formed. At | times the entire income of the college
 was hardly $1,000. In 1869 Dr. Weight
 man was made bishop, but by request
 of trustees remained till arrangements could be made to fill his place. and in 1870 Dr. A. s. Andrews was elected chancellor.
 During these dark days when the college was being sued for foreign
 debts, the faculty unpaid. all the $200,- 900 endowment swept away, and the
 scholarships herewith connected, the
 main building seems to have been all
 that was saved from the wreck. Dr. Andrews twice urged his resignation before its acceptance. Dr. Luther M smith of Georgia was then elected | chancellor. Dr. Smith agreed to take
 the position If allowed to select fac-
 ulty, and guarantee of $25,000 made. The conditions were met. The hnan-
 cial creed of the institution under pr. Smiths administration has held, that nothing was ever to bind the college
 property, but for repairs" and it saved
 the institution. Under this policy the faculty received at times little more
 than half their salary. Dr. Smith de-
 manded payment of all debts and a complete rehabilitation. A committee raised the required $25,000. and though
 each had subscribed already $500, en- dorsed for the rest, and the college was
 again on the way to prosperity. Dr. Smith said without this aid the uni- versity would have to close It's doors. During 1SS0-83, Dr. Lewis and F. M.
 Peterson were acting presidents.
 'In 1SS3 affairs became desperate.
 Suits were being pushed against the
 institution for heavy debts. Hamilton
 Halr' and the Presidents mansion were
 sold and the institution cleared of debt.
 In this condition by request of the
 Alumni Association, pr. Andrews, who
 had tided it over In the dark days of
 the seventies, was elected President
 for a term of five years. The report
 of the Conference of 1883 states that a union had been effected between the Alabama and North Alabama Confer ences by the session of one-half inter- est to the North Alabama Conference Professor Mcconnell, who was elected one of the faculty. under Dr. Andrews's
 administration. has the distinction of
 being the only teacher in the history of the college. not a church member With pr. Andrews as president and Dr. W. c. Mccoy as agent the college made rapid growth in all lines. The buildings formerly owned and sold were bought back and the numbers of students reached the highest in It's history.
 "On account of falling health Dr. Andrews resigned in 1894 and Dr. J. o. Keener was elected president. He inagurated a new financial policy. that of operating the income between the president and faculty. Under Dr. Kee-
 ner the productive endowment was
 greatly increased. though there was a slump in the income by tho with
 drawal of the North Alabama Confer ence in 1898.