The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-12-16
BY HUGH w. ROBERTS.

and its claims. From 1922 to 1883 there were forty-three different trustees. Gn- der this loose system, nearly all the 46- 070 acres of land were sold. At the mini- mum price of ST per acre. the land would have brought $7S3, ,190. When it is known that some of the land brought prices as
 high as s6o per acre, It is justly esti-
 mated that the total price was great
 deal more than sl00o,0O0
 Financed State Bank.
 The first investment of the money of the l university was made in the Bank of the
 State of Alabama. It cannot be said that
 the investment was made on the volun- tarily action of the trustees. It was made , because the legislature compelled il. This bank was incorporated in 1920, Superntendents appointed to take sub scriptons for the capital stock, met with failure. The superintendents had head quarters at Cahaba, Huntsville, Claiborne, Tuscaloosa. St. Stephens, Courtiand, Montgomery, Mobile, Blakeley and Dem opolis, but no subscriptions were obtained, the reason given was that the bank was l, managed exclusively by politicians. So, In desperation, the legislature which was determined to have state bank, in 1875 passed an act compelling the trustees of the university to invest all the money obtained from the sale of the lands. The sum of $215,977.3 .36 was invested in this manner, the same to draw per cent interest.
 In spite of the fact that the funds of the university were the entire capital stock of the bank, or in other words that the university owned the entire capital stock of the bank, it did not share in tho profits In 1857, the state bank had earned $10S ,962 in excess Of the per cent inter- est it had been paying the university. But as stated, the university did not share IF these profits. This Is an example of the arbitrary manner in which the state bank, and the legislature, inasmuch as the latter
 was behind the former, handled the funds of the state university.
 Two Heavy Blows.
 In 1884, for some reason, the legislature passed an act flor the relief of the pur- chasers of the university's land" Under this act, purchasers who had bought the land under the installment plan were en- abled to get revaluation of the original purchase price. Ii is true. and 1t would have been unnatural had the opposite obtained, that in the revaluation, the amounts owed the university by the pur- chasers of its property, was cut down at rapid clips. Up to the present date. it is estimated by officers of the unyersi- ty that these "easy payment acts have
 cost the university more than sl000.000. III lofS. nbWtNtIB tue ltBISldiHIt ptfpt- trated its great act of "ungodly robbery as 1t was called at that time This con sisted in the enactment of a bill calling for d settlement between the state of Ala
 bama and the University of Alabama. In this, the legislature arbitrarily fixed the sum of S250 GOO the states total indebt- edness to the university. This amount
 was fixed in spite of the fact that at this time the university had s3Oo.Oo0 worth Of bank stock in spite of the fact that the legislature had caused the tremendous losses due to the passing of the relief
 lavsp and in spite of the fact that the
 university had many other tangible claims
 on it's unnatural mother.
 The University Formed.
 The university was tablished in 1891
 The first definite statement made by the
 state comptroller showed that H7Sls5 had
 been spent up to January 1, 1884, In erect
 ing the original university buildings and