Page:A History of the University of Chicago by Thomas Wakefield Goodspeed.djvu/139

THE FIRST PRESIDENT in Society. In pursuance of this plan Dr. Harper met Mr. Gates in New York on January 12, 1889, and they had a long conversation. In writing to Mr. Goodspeed a very full account of the situation, Mr. Gates referred to the matter of the Yale negotiations with Dr. Harper as follows : Mr. Wallace H. Buttrick, then a pastor in New Haven, came down from New Haven by steamer last night in hot haste (I write the words approv- ingly) about those Yale propositions. It seems that last night your nephew, George S. Goodspeed, and himself talked the matter over and concluded that Mr. Rockefeller ought to know about them. So he came down to consult Dr. Morehouse and me. The result of our consultation was that we three con- cocted the following letter to Mr. Rockefeller. "The managers of Yale have recently made several propositions to Professor Harper designed to bind him permanently to that institution. The more important of these proposi- tions are that on the retirement of Dr. Day from the Seminary in one year Dr. Harper shall take his place, while retaining his present position in the University, that he may spend a year in Europe at his pleasure on full salary, and that nine thousand dollars be advanced from his salary for five years to relieve the embarrassment arising out of his connection with the Publishing Company of Hebrew, the money being now tendered and awaiting his dis- posal. "Professor Harper is now considering this question and in our opinion the pressure brought to bear upon him will induce him to accept within a very few days. His acceptance of these propositions, designed as they are to bind him permanently to Yale, will preclude any direct educational work for our denomination. We should regard such a result as scarcely less than a denomi- national disaster. "These facts having come to our knowledge, we have not felt ourselves at liberty to withhold them from you, while at the same time we are unable to offer any counsel or suggestion. "For obvious reasons we think Professor Harper would feel a delicacy in mentioning the matter to you at all, and we write wholly without his knowl- edge, nor shall we mention the matter to him." We sent this to Mr. Rockefeller about noon. Mr. Buttrick had stolen away from New Haven. But soon after my meeting with Harper this after- noon he inquired, "Has Buttrick been down here today?" "Yes." "Is he here?" "No." "What did he want?" (anxiously). Pause. "He is troubled about those Yale propositions." Quickly: "I had a telegram from Goodspeed this morning, saying they must be laid before Mr. Rockefeller, but I can't have it." "I do not think you need to trouble yourself about that matter at all," said I. "If they are laid before Mr. Rockefeller, it will be wholly without your knowledge, and it can be so stated, and further that you