The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1909-04-30
LETTER FROM CLEMSON
BY WILLIAM WEIGH
Former Member of Faculty Thinks
Trouble Lies in Failure to Select
Good President for Institution.
To theEditor Of the State:

|
The article by Capt. Minus in The
State of the 18th inst. and your edi-
torial Of the 10th show that the trou-
bic at Clemson college has continued
for more than l3 years and the diff
ferent presidents Of the college have
been blamed for it. I was a member
of the faculty at Clemson when it
opened and am still deeply interest
ed in it's success. [ believe [ can
explain the cause Of the trouble there
but could not claim to know how best
to remedy it.
It is a we'll known fact that when
any one attempts to do something
which he can not do he will appear
very funny to those who can do it.;
and when an able man expresses an
opinion about something he does not
understand he will appear ridiculous
to those who do understand it; but
his opinion will be respected by those
who know less about the subject than
he does. As long as such opinions
are merely expressed they do but lit
tie harm but when they are acted up
on they become most disastrous. One
of the most familiar and important
instances of this kind was at the be-
ginning Of the Civil war when the
generals on both sdes were selected.
President Davis was a military man.
He graduated from West Point, had
been in the army and had been secre-
tarv of wal. He selected Lee and
Jackson and the other very aLlc com
manders of the Confederate army.
President Lincoln was a most honest
and sincere man of great ability as
lawyer and politician, but he knew al
most nothing about military science,
and the only way he had Of telling a
good general from an incompetent one
was to guess at him, place him in COM
mand and when he was thoroughly
defeated he could know that he was
incompetent. He made four bad
euesses in succession-Mc Clellan,
Hooker, Pope and Burnside. Grant
developed himself and he got rid of
Warren and pushed Sherman and
Sheridan to the front. President Lin
coin did not even know enough about
military matters to know whose adj
advice to take and he listened to Hal
leck.
The board of trustees at Clemson
college are all honest, sincere and
able men but they have made four
bad guesses for president Of the COL
lege, and they do not seem to know
enough about a college to know that
the presidents Of the great colleges
Of the country would gladly advise
them in the choice Of a suitable pres
ident and members of the faculty. The
trustees Of Tuskegee institute, Ala
bama, wrote to the president of
Hampton institute, Virginia, and ask
ed him to recommend some one for
president of Tuskegee and he recon-
mended Booker T. Washington. He
did not guess who to recommend. He
knew and Tuskegee's president Is
most successful. Tuskegee seems to
have had competent board Of trus-
tees. The South Carolina legislature
might do we'll to find out how the
Tuskegee board of trustees were Sc
lected. If they do not fancy the col
or of that most successful man they
could do no harm by investigating the
board who selected President D. B.
johnson of Winthrop. The real
cause Of the trouble at Clemson col
leee is the method of selecting the
board Of trustees or it is in permitting
them to select a president and men,
5ers Of the faculty. The legislature
seems to have been able to select
most excellent judges under normal
conditions and it could not do worse
than the board of trustees Of Clemson
college in the choice of president
there. The president Of college need
not be a man of great learning. He
should be a man Of fine sense who is
we'll Informed about the management
Of the best college of the country.
The faculty should all be graduates
of the best institutions of the country
and should be selected by the presi-
dents of those institutions. A profess
sor need not be man of great ability
but he should be man Of great learn
inc in his own subject and should hc
GOOD teacher. These facts are 20
obvious as to seem simple oPt me
board Of trustees Of Clemson co:.ege
bnro ..+a1 ac +horoh tIhpV never &C.