414 AS UNIVERSITY PRESIDENT -VIII 



very opposite of that. In getting ready for the opening 

 of the university in October, 1868, as required by our 

 charter, large sums had to be expended on the site now so 

 beautiful, but then so unpromising. Mr. Cornell 's private 

 affairs, as also the constant demands upon him in locating 

 the university lands on the northern Mississippi, kept him 

 a large part of the time far from the university ; and my 

 own university duties crowded every day. The president 

 of a university in those days tilled a very broad field. He 

 must give instruction, conduct examinations, preside over 

 the faculty, correspond with .the trustees, address the 

 alumni in various parts of the country, respond to calls 

 for popular lectures, address the legislature from time 

 to time with reference to matters between the university 

 and the State ? and write for reviews and magazines ; and 

 all this left little time for careful control of financial 

 matters. 



In this condition of things Mr. Cornell had installed, as 

 ' ' business manager, ' ' a gentleman supposed to be of wide 

 experience, who, in everything relating to the ordinary 

 financial management of the institution, was all-powerful. 

 But as months went on I became uneasy. Again and 

 again I urged that a careful examination be made of 

 our affairs, and that reports be laid before us which 

 we could clearly understand ; but Mr. Cornell, always op- 

 timistic, assured me that all was going well, and the 

 matter was deferred. Finally, I succeeded in impress- 

 ing upon my colleagues in the board the absolute necessity 

 of an investigation. It was made, and a condition of 

 things was revealed which at first seemed appalling. The 

 charter of the university made the board of trustees per- 

 sonally liable for any debt over fifty thousand dollars, and 

 we now discovered that we were owing more than three 

 times that amount. At this Mr. Cornell made a character- 

 istic proposal. He said: "I will pay half of this debt if 

 you can raise the other half. ' ' It seemed impossible. Our 

 friends had been called upon so constantly and for such 

 considerable sums that it seemed vain to ask them for 



