428 AS UNIVERSITY PRESIDENT -IX 



vision was also made limiting their term of office to five 

 years. 



During the first nine years the chairmanship of the 

 board was held by Mr. Cornell, but at his death Mr. 

 Henry W. Sage was elected to it, who, as long as he lived, 

 discharged its duties with the greatest conscientiousness 

 and ability. To the finances of the university he gave 

 that shrewd care which had enabled him to build up his 

 own immense business. Freely and without compensa 

 tion, he bestowed upon the institution labor for which any 

 great business corporation would have gladly paid him 

 a very large sum. For the immediate management, in 

 the intervals of the quarterly meetings of the board, an 

 executive committee of the trustees was created, which 

 also worked to excellent purpose. 



The faculty, which was at first comparatively small, 

 was elected by the trustees upon my nomination. In de 

 ciding on candidates, I put no trust in mere paper testi 

 monials, no matter from what source; but always saw 

 the candidates themselves, talked with them, and then 

 secured confidential communications regarding them from 

 those who knew them best. The results were good, and 

 to this hour I cherish toward the faculty, as toward the 

 trustees, a feeling of the deepest gratitude. Throughout 

 all the hard work of that period they supported me heart 

 ily and devotedly; without their devotion and aid, my 

 whole administration would have been an utter failure. 



To several of these I have alluded elsewhere; but one 

 should be especially mentioned to whom every member of 

 the faculty must feel a debt of gratitude Professor Hi 

 ram Corson. No one has done more to redress the balance 

 between the technical side and the humanities. His writ 

 ings, lectures, and readings have been a solace and an in 

 spiration to many of us, both in the faculty and 

 among the students. It was my remembrance of the effect 

 of his readings that caused me to urge, at a public address 

 at Yale in 1903, the establishment not only of professor 

 ships but of readerships in English literature in all our 



