Albuquerque evening herald. [volume] (Albuquerque, New Mexico) 1911-1914, 1912-01-08
When Princeton
Rejected Wilson

aristocntlc college for the sons ~
rich mon, Woodrow Wilson was prac-
tically forced from the presidency ~
that institution. The story OF Will
sons struggle and defeat az Princeton
Is told hy William Bayard Hale IN the
January number OF the Worlds
! Work.
There are no fraternlties at Prince
ton, but there have grown up instead
| twelve aristOCratiC and exclusive stu
dent clubs. These clubs have an av-
erage Of thirty members each, about
$50 in ell only juniors aud seniors
are eligible for them. and there are
bound to be az least 500 members Of
these claascs who cannot get in For
Them there Is no provision outside OF
the common boarding houses ST the
village. and they feel themselves 70
q degrec ostracized
Woodrow Wilson. when he was
president Of Princeton. recognized the
| evils OF this aristocratic system and
planned TO overcome them by the
! establishment OF number OF "coi-
/ leEes' or ''quads," each Of which
should harbor a certain number of
men from every class. with few Of
the younger professors. The quads
were to be residence halls, each with
a dining room and common room OF
It's own--a little world In itself. such
a world as the university was too Blk
any longer 10 be.
The new plan for social co-ordi-
aation' was approved by the truss
tees OF the university In June. 1907.
| Then the wrath of the clubs was
reused and with Il the wrath OF the
| alumni. Without waiting TO give
| Wilson's plan even respectful hear
! Ing they picked up their war clubs
fand their fountain pens and rushed
To the defense OF "the right OF the
student 20 decide for himself with
whom ne will associate" Making
a gentleman chum with a mucker'
was the way President Wilson'S plan
was characterized. The alumni howl
was so loud that the trustees. who
had voted In June to adopt the plan,
backed down IN October and asked
/ President Wilson 20 withdraw IT,
But the fight on Wilson did not die
with the defeat of his plan for more
democratic social conditions. Wilson
was LITERALLY denounced as a confis-
! Gator. socialist and a levcler. And
he fought back
| The innate democracy Of the man
flarcd up," Hale writes. land tho
fight ceased to be debate over odu-
cntional ideals, having become am ir-
reconcllable conflict between domoc-
racy and privileged wealth
Then the question az graduate
college az Princeton became a flam-
ing issue. Prof Andrew r. West. "a
member of the university teaching
staff, had been appointed 10 invcsti-
| gate the matter. He went abroad,
studied systems ana drew up plans
for an institution at Princeton. In
response 20 his appeal. in the spring
OF 1903, William c. Proctor OF Cin-
\ einnatt offered $500. 00O To the unit
versity on condition that the plan OF
Dean West bc carried out and that
the graduate college be built on one
OF two sites selected by Mr. Proctor.
also that another $4,000 be raised,
The West plan was obnoxious Ia
President Wilson 10 called FOR the
erection iu a distant part Of the town
of sumptuous building "where "a
selected group OF young gentlemen oi
peculiar refinement were 90 live in
cloistored seclusion the life OF cult
NE The idea of % scholarly arls-
tocracy was repeilent To- Wilson. Tie
believed the graduate school should
he an integral part OF the university
Just az the university should be an
integral part of the commonwealth.
The trustees. acting with President
Wilson, asked Mr.. Proctor whether
ho wished TO give the half million "a
the university out OF hand for a
graduate school. or whether he would
insist upon the following out OF Bean
Vests plan. Proctors answer was
60 withdraw his offer. 4 large part
az tho other half million had beer
raised-~now 60 no effect.
But the bitter attacks Of his enc
niles did not daunt Woodrow Wilson
for he believed that he had done
right 10 a speech delivered at Pitts
burg. Pa. ho said
THE universities would mako men
forget their common origins. forget
their universal sympathies and Join
a claas-and no class can over serve
America. / shall not Do satisfied
and ] hope you will not be. until
America shall know that the men iu
the colleges are saturated with the
NAAAAN AiAWMNNNAf hANf NNtlAf ~ W lNfAANtN
that pulses through the whole great
body polite"
The trustees stood by him at first
! 70 looked ike Wilson victory But
the within of an old man was ca
! change victory into defeat and thrust
down forever the dream of "a demo
cratic graduate school az Princeton.
Isaac g. Wyman, a graduate Of
, Princeton in the class of lSfS. died
May rs, 1910, leaving more than
three million dollurs 90 establish a
graduato college al Princeton univer-
sity. Andrew +. West originator Oi
the clustered culture idea. by the
terms of the bcuucst was made one
| of two trustees 90 administer the
estate
/ when the trustees mot In June the
Proctor offer was renewed and ace
| ccptcd Woodrow Wilson was beaten
Ia his fight Tor democracy ut Prince
! ton. In September of that year the
! Democratic state convention of New
| Jersey offered the nomination for the
! g0VornoThip to Wilson. who accept
ed 50 and resigned as head Of Prince
ton university
In days TO come" Hale WritcH.