The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-12-18

own city, with the farm extension serv- ice strength centralized and localized, the Auburn alumni repudiated the po- sition you now take. The natural in- quiry is: Why did you defer speaking for yourself until December 15?
 We challenge you. therefore, with your supporters, to join us at meet ing of the Auburn alumni, at any place, at any time named by you, in order to ascertain the convictions of the alumni on this one question alone: Is Dr. Dowell big enough for the presi- dency of Auburn college? Will you do this? The trustees of Auburn college want facts. They want to know the conviction of every Auburn alumnus in the United States: In order, therefore, that the trustees may have the expressed convictions of every Auburn alumnus on this matter, we think it is only fair that you, as president of the associa- tion, submit the question to a vote. Auburn college should have the names and addresses of every alumnus. We suggest that a card be mailed to each one of the alumni at his present ad dress, requesting that he register his vote Ives" or mo" over his own sigma ture. This would give the correct sen timent of the alumni as a whole. We suggest that you name one of your sup porters; we will name one; these two will name a third and those three shall conduct this campai gn. Perhaps it will be we'll to let each vote be in secret and mailed to some person who will transmit the same to the trustees. We have no hesitancy in saying that, in our judgment, from 80 to 90 per cent +l ,I, president. We respectfully submit that until such vote is taken, you have no right to publish to the world that small number of the alumni are trying to bring about something unwarranted and without foundation.
 Secret Vote of Faculty.
 In like manner we think it expedient to take a similar secret vote of the members of the faculty and of other professors who have recently left Au- burn. We will also take secret vote of the present student body. In this way, every man can express his free, honest. untrammelled and unhampered conviction on this important subject. We have already advised the faculty of Auburn college and student body that we propose to use them as wit neSSeS in the trial of the case before the trustees beginning January 12, 1925, at Montgomery, Ala. Perhaps this secret vote, which we now request and urge, will be the most satisfactory and most efficient method of furnishing the truS- tees of Auburn college the actual facts in the case.
 For your information we may also add that vast ndmber of the leading industrial men in Alabama, who are not connected with Auburn college other than as tax payers for it's support, have the identical opinion that the alumni of Jefferson county voiced on this subject, which we assert is the sentiment of nearly all of the alumni except the small minority dominated and influ- enced by the farm extension service.
 As you are young in the work of an alumnus, we think it would be well enough for you as president of the Au burn Alumni association to become bet ter posted on the subject than you are now before expressing yourself as you did in your article appearing in the Montgomery Advertiser of December 16, 1921.
 X prompt response to this letter and the requests contained herein is con fidently expected by the undersigned committee.
 HENRY T. DEBARDELEBEN,
 JOEL F. WEBB,
 DAN S. MARTIN,
 JERRY W. GWIN, CHARLES F. DEBARDELEBEN