The Caldwell watchman. (Columbia, La.) 1885-1946, 1914-04-03
VANDERBILT CAN
ACCEPT BIG GIFT
BOARD OF TRUST WINS THE VAN
DER5ILT UNIVERSITY
CONTEST.
RELATIONS TO THE CHURCH
Appointments of Board of Trustees
Subject to Confirmation by the
General Conference.
RELATIONS TO THE CHURCH
Western Newspaper Union News Service.

Western Newspaper Union News Service.
Nashville, Tenn. - The Supreme
Court of Tennessee in a unanimous
opinion fixed the relation Of Wander
bllt University and the Southern
Methodist church, and settled terrific
controversy which has menaced the
determination with threats of a schism
for 40 years.
The decision is against the cOnten-
ton OF The bishops. 1t is in favor OF
the board of trustees. The bishops
contended that the general conference
was the source of authority; that the
church was the founder Of the univer-
s1ty, and that the conference had the
right to fill the vacancies on the board
OF trustees. The contention of the
board of trustees was that the board
was self-perpetuating body: that
Cornelius Vanderbilt was the founder
OF the university, and denied all the
authority which the bishops claimed. !
The decision OF the court was in |
keeping with the contention of the |
board Of trustees, except it held that |
while the board Of trustees had the |
right to elect its own members. the
general rnufnrn"~ hoe ~ o,,:+- tn
she will >haye, money anOIURh, toI
approve or reject such members. But
whatever satisfaction might be CLEAN
ed from that announcement by the
advocates of church control was ruth
lessly shattered by the further hold
ing of the court that the trustees elect
ed by the board have right to act
until rejected by the general confer
ence.
The natural conclusion is that when
members of the board elected by the
trustees are sent to the general con-
ference, they will probably be rejected.
This will result in a vacancy which the
board of trustees may proceed to fill
when the conference shall have ad-
journed In nutshell, the board Of
trustees must hereafter struggle along
with Vanderbilt University as best
they can, without the blessing of the
bishops.
There is nothing in the decision on
which the opponents Of the board of
trustees could base the slightest ap-
prehension. 1t does not alter the
method of control or management,
which has beensin vogue, from thsehs
ginning
The only significant factor of the
decision is that the university energies
from the tangling limitations of secta-
Sianism. Without restricting the uni
versity to the control of the bishops,
the court in its opinion establishes ir-
revocably its relation with the general
conference and Identifies it with |
Southern Methodism so firmly it will |
ever stand as a monument to that de-
nomination.
The animus OF the suit bad its in
ception in the proffer of a gift of ST.
100000 from Andrew Carnegie as an
endowment for the medical depart
ment. The trustees accepted the gift
and the bishops of the church vetoed |
the action and rejected the gift.
The money will now be forthcom.
Ing. 1t will, 1t is believed, make the |
medical department the foremost in
the south and the rival of the best in
the country.
1t will allow the board of trustees to
carry out their plan of forming some
sort Of alliance with Peabody Col. |
lege, which they are said to have I'M.
der contemplation, and add hundreds
OF students to Vanderbilt. On relia.
BILE information it is said that the
trustees have reason to expect gifts
of 100000 endowment for the aca-
demic department. These gifts, ST.
100000 already proffered and $1,000. |
600 reasonably certain, depend on the
outcome OF the law suit An adverse
decision would have mean the reiec. |
ton OF Mr.. Carnegies gift and tho
other would never have been offered