Negotiations for the purchase of an organ for Sage Chapel produced extensive correspondence in the early summer. The final contract was dated August 3, and White's letter of the 14th outlined his plan for developing a music program at Cornell. The university crew's victory at Saratoga on July 16 was frequently mentioned. There were letters from the heads of several preparatory schools White wrote to in his search for the right school for his son. The university treasurer Joseph W. Williams went to Wisconsin to investigate the management of the Cornell lands, and his report from Eau Claire was dated August 16. Sage College opened to a small family of girls in September, and a number of distinguished preachers wrote accepting engagements to speak at Sage Chapel. The Catholic Bishop of Rochester regretfully declined. Some famous names on the reel are Phillips Brooks, Francis B. Carpenter, Henry Augustus Coit, Henry W. Longfellow, and Andrew Preston Peabody.