Andrew Dickson White papers microfilm reel 35, April 16, 1883-June 20, 1883

Abstract

Charges against the university given to the press by the alumni member of the trustees, John DeWitt Warner, dominate the reel. Newspaper clippings are included among the correspondence. White's address to the students in answer to the charges inspired letters from friends and alumni all across the continent. A June 19 letter from an alumnus attests to the truth of Warner's allegations about the faculty, but is for the most part laudatory. The day before Commencement there were exercises opening new laboratories and gymnasium, laying of cornerstones for Memorial Chapel and a hospital, and the presentation of a portrait of Senator Morrill. The correspondence records the arrangements for these events, and includes letters from the artist Eastman Johnson and Governor Grover Cleveland, who made a speech on the occasion. On May 12 Frederick William Holls wrote his comments on White’s recently published talk, The New Germany, and congratulated him on his appointment to the State Civil Service Commission. White declined the appointment. A good many letters from Germany commented on the German edition of the address, and there was some correspondence concerning the publication of the writings of White's old friend Francis Lieber. White attempted to have Russel appointed chancellor of the University of Kansas, but age proved an insurmountable obstacle.