The Semi-weekly leader. (Brookhaven, Miss.) 1905-1941, 1908-07-25
AN APPEAL FROM
PRESIDENT HARDY.
GIVES HISTORY OF THE TROUBLES OF
THE AGRICULTURAL AND ME-
CHANlCAL COLLEGE.
Says Many Published Reports Have
Been Grossly Misleading.
Trustees Appointed by Both Vardaman
and Noel Voted for His Exon
Grafton and Retention.
Makes Special Appeal to the Press to
Help Him Build Up the College
Instead Of Tearing it Down.
Starkyille, Miss, July 20, 'o8.

Starkville, Miss, July 20, '08.
To the people of Mississippi:
The board of trustees having
announced their decision in the
Investigation, / am now at liberty
and | feel it my duty, especially
to my friends who have so faith
fully stood by me without any
real knowledge Of the facts, to
make brief statement.
For more than six months there
has been constant fire on me and
my administration, and though it
could have been shown at any
time that every charge was false,
and that every attack could be
traced to those filled with a desire
for bitter personal revenge, yet
from the very nature of the case
my lips have been sealed. as ]
could not afford, as president of
this great institution, to engage
with them in a newspaper contro-
versy, being responsible, as / am,
directly to the board of trustees
for the part of my official acts.
Realizing, however, that the
charges and rumors should be
answered to the board, and
through the board to the people,
I wrote the Governor of the State
February last asking him to call
the board together for a full in
Vestigation of the charges brought
before the legislative committee
on colleges and universities, but
being advised by my personal
friends who thought that charges
from such a source should not be
,digni6edsin such manner. 1 did.
not send the letter at that time,
deciding to wait until the close of
the session In order that the class
work of the college might not
again be thrown into confusion, |
therefore waited until June 3, the
day after commencement, when /
wrote the Governor second time
asking the board through him for
full and open investigation of
every charge and every rumor
from anybody and every source.
When the board convened at the
college June IL, ] went before
them and asked that the charges
made against me by Mr.. Leayell
and Capt. Wellborn be taken up
and investigated in open meeting,
so that the case could be tried not
only by the board but by the more
than sixty members of the faculty
and teaching force and employees
of the college as we'll as by more
than fifty students who are work.
ing here during the summer. All
of these heard every rumor, every
charge, every disaffection, every
dlstrust from everybody and upon
what they were based. They
heard the testimony of every one
brought before the board and they
heard my answers and explana-
tions in every case. To gain a
complete victory, | had to win my
case before all three Of the juries.
The report of the findings and
conclusions of the board in this
investigation given out to the pub
lie today show that che verdict BY
the board and the faculty gave me
a victory at every point. The
victory is equally complete with
the students who attended the
proceedings from beginning to
finish. Had a fair and impartial
report of these proceedings been
given to the public, the decision
Of the public would have been as
favorable as has been that of the
board and the faculty and the
student body.
The reports sent out from here
to the daily papers during this in
vestigation we're partially highly
colored, distorted, misleading, un-
true. For a verification Of this
statement, have but to refer to
The report sent from here that |
had been sustained in the Well
born charges only by one vote
majority and that the vote of the
Governor, when as matter Of
fact, upon two-thirds of the counts
of those charges not u single vote
was cast against me, the remain
ing counts having only one vote
against me. This will show to a
fair and impartial public the char
acter of methods and means that
have been used to prejudice me
and my administration with the
people Of the State. The first in
vestigatlon began on the morning
of June IL, and lasted until the
morning of June IL, the board
working from early ia the morn.
ing until 2 o'clock ait night.
a t the conclusion Of this first
investigation. the board unani.
TnousIy exonerated ME from every
charge brought BY Mr. IeaVeII.
Since Che charges brought BIZ
Capt. Wellborn we're more techni
cal and personal. the testimony In
that case was, therefore, much
more extensive and complex;