New-York tribune., 1910-02-06
PRINCETON TANGLE
TIEUS OF ALUMNI.
Trouble May FolLo1C Rejection
Of Proctor Gift.

When the quarrel between Woodrow VIII
son, president of Princeton University, and
a large percentage of the alumni is stripped
of "hot air" rs one graduate put 1t last
night. n is reduced TO fear on the part
of the alumni that President Wilson will in
fuepce the trustees to reject the gift OF
$500 eao from William Cooper Proctor for
the graduate school, and All additional
$500 aao raised among the alumni and friends
of the institution to secure this gift. be-
cause of the conditions imposed
The only connection the present question
has with Dr. wilson's advocacy OF the
quad system two years or SO ago, 1t vas
expiainesi. is that the same officers ana
friends OF Princeton who backed him up
in that project are supporting nun IN ii's
present stand It may be said also, that
the same forces who opposed the estao-
lishment of the quad system oppose 1--WE
presidents position with regard to the
Proctor gift. They comprise Sc sfaaassss
say. the greater part Of the alumni.
Tbree or sour wears ago Mrs Themas
Swami. the widow of former Governor OF
MARYLAND. died, leaving her residuary es-
tate amounting to about s50G,0e0, to estap-
Iish graduate school at Princeton eiS
the university gfsynds. Her idea IN lalle'
ing the latter condition 2'as to insure ths'
erection of buildings and not the pNS hs
of land with her money. \ site fof e''e
new schecl was therefore chosen OIL 'ie
campus but this action tnmealaielE
aroused opposition because many ai1aihl
contended that the particular spot cleseli
would crowd the gra6uate school eeyati'
Feasibility of growth and might make
necessary also the removal of tho pres
dents house, which ie an old landmark
So AIR Proctor offered his S500,esa on the
condition that the graduate school be punt
off the eampus. The best available site on
university ground Princeton alumni say
is or the golf links acreSs the rdlifoae
from the campus and it Is here tnat eh9SS
opposed to Or. Wilson wish the scheal esT
tablished. They say that the executors OF
Mrs. Swann's estate have all signihee thfiF
approval OF the golf links site and that
eminent laNgasrs have said It fulhiea the
conditions Of her Bll. But President VII
son. they declare, is uRalterabiy opposed 10
it and iii favor of the campus site orig
inally chosen.
There seems 10 be division of opinion
ameng the graduates in this city as to
whether ths president opposes the resi-
Dental character of the proposed scheet'
which was vigorously attacked in an edl-
terial in Wednesday, morning paper. An
anonymous statement from some slunnus.
who says he is polcing the sentiments of
large group of graduates. accuses DR.. Viii
sen of having written this editorial
He points, however, to the presidents for
mer advocacy OF just this feature OF the
plans, and to the fact that il would be
applying to the graduate school the same
quad system which DIR. Wilson had
wished to establish in the undergraduate
department. One graduate said last night
that this residential feature Has a part of
the plan for q graduate school eli the cam
pus. which the president faveFs
one result of the present controversy, it
is said, is the estrangement of President
Wilson and Dean Andrew r. West, of the
graduate school. In 1906 Dean West re-
eeiFed call to the presidency of the Mas
sachusetts Institute of Technology. Fhe
trustees, faculty, students and alumni
begged him to remein at Princeton to carry
out the plans of the graduate school. and
he consented TO do so, at a financial aacri--
flee to himself. He now faces. alumni say,
the nuIlifcatian of his work during the last
four years
Those who see a revival of the effort to
establish the quad system at Princeton
iE the present trouble say the present ad-
ministration can never regain the support
SO generously offered by the alumni up 10
the time that proposition was launched. IF
President Wilson succeeds in having the
81, 100000 for the graduate school rejected,
they say, he can whistle for any further
contributions from the graduates.