226 POLITICAL LIFE-XI 



belongs, and I have always faithfully carried out that 

 injunction, never, in any one of the multitude of nomina- 

 tions that I have made, allowing the question of politics to 

 enter in the slightest degree. But still it has happened that, 

 almost without exception, the candidates have proved to be 

 Republicans, and this to such an extent that at times I have 

 regretted it; for the university has been obliged fre- 

 quently to ask for legislation from a Democratic legis- 

 lature, and I have always feared that this large prepon- 

 derance of Republican professors would be brought up 

 against us as an evidence that we were not true to the 

 principles of our charter. As a matter of fact, down to 

 two or three years since, there were, as I casually learned, 

 out of a faculty of about fifty members, not over eight 

 or ten Democrats. But during these recent years all this 

 has been changed, and at the State election, when Judge 

 Folger was defeated for the governorship, I found to my 

 surprise that, almost without exception, my colleagues in 

 the faculty had voted the Democratic ticket; so far as I 

 could learn, but three besides myself had voted for the Re- 

 publican candidate." President Harrison immediately 

 said: "Mr. White, was that not chiefly due to the free- 

 trade tendencies of college-men 1" I answered: "No, Mr. 

 President; the great majority of these men who voted 

 with the Democrats were protectionists, and you will 

 yourself see that they must have been so if they had con- 

 tinued to vote for the Republican ticket down to that 

 election. All that I hear leads me to the conviction 

 that the real cause is disappointment at the delay of the 

 Republican party in making good its promises to improve 

 the public service. In this question the faculties of our 

 colleges and universities, especially in the Eastern, Mid- 

 dle, and Northern States, take a deep interest. In fact, it 

 is with them the question of all questions; and I think 

 this is one of the things which, at that election in New 

 York,"caused the most overwhelming defeat that a candi- 

 date for governor had ever experienced. " To this the 

 President listened attentively, and I then said: "Mr. 



