334 AS UNIVERSITY PRESIDENT-III 



Willard Asylum was created, and he became one of our 

 strongest supporters. 



Both Mr. Cornell's financial plans and my educational 

 plans in the new university charter were wrought into 

 final shape by him. As chairman of the Judiciary Com- 

 mittee he reported our bill to the Senate, and at various 

 critical periods gave us his earnest support. Quite likely 

 doctrinaires will stigmatize our conduct in this matter as 

 " log-rolling "; the men who always criticize but never 

 construct may even call it a "bargain." There was 

 no "bargain" and no "log-rolling," but they may call 

 it what they like ; I believe that we were both of us thor- 

 oughly in the right. For our coming together in this way 

 gave to the State the Willard Asylum and the Cornell 

 University, and without our thus coming together neither 

 of these would have been created. 



But in spite of this happy compromise, the struggle for 

 our university charter, as has already been seen, was long 

 and severe. The opposition of over twenty sectarian col- 

 leges, and of active politicians from every quarter of the 

 State where these colleges had been established, made our 

 work difficult ; but at last it was accomplished. Prepara- 

 tions for the new institution were now earnestly pressed 

 on, and for a year I gave up very much of my time to them, 

 keeping in constant communication with Mr. Cornell, fre- 

 quently visiting Ithaca, and corresponding with trustees 

 in various parts of the State and with all others at home 

 or abroad who seemed able to throw light on any of the 

 problems we had to solve. 



The question now arose as to the presidency of the in- 

 stitution ; and, as time passed on and duties increased, this 

 became more and more pressing. In the previous chapter 

 I have given some account of the circumstances attending 

 my election and of Mr. Cornell 's relation to it ; but this is 

 perhaps the place for stating one of the difficulties which 

 stood in the way of my acceptance, and which, indeed, 

 greatly increased my cares during all the first years of my 

 presidency. The death of my father and uncle, who had 



