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Rutherford B. Hayes and The Ohio State University by WALTER S. HAYES, JR. It was bitterly cold the day former President Hayes arrived in Cleveland in January 1893. He had come from Columbus and was in search of some- one to head the new manual training department for The Ohio State Uni- versity. Both as a member and as the president of the board of trustees he had been actively concerned with the establishment of a good manual training department for the institution. Snow fell and was blown by a wind that must have made the day seem even colder than the four to twelve degrees reported in the newspaper.1 Hayes did not let the weather keep him from his duties, but took a street- car and then proceeded by foot to University School where he had hoped to find the administrator the board was seeking. After staying overnight with his son Webb, he went to the train station Saturday afternoon, the fourteenth, for the return home to Fremont when he was suddenly stricken with a heart attack. Some stimulants were given to him in the waiting room, and against Webb's wishes he continued to Spiegel Grove where he died the following Tuesday.2 His long interest in the University had started when he became governor in 1868 and was still active at the time of his death. During the years he served as city solicitor, congressman, governor and president, Rutherford B. Hayes became familiar with many social prob- NOTES ON PAGE 206 |
HAYES and OSU 169 lems of the state and nation. After his presidential term he worked through private organizations to improve conditions in the United States in the fields of prison reform and education, especially Negro education and man- ual training.3 In the opinion of Governor Joseph B. Foraker this work made him an excellent choice for appointment to the board of trustees of The Ohio State University. Hayes had also been governor of Ohio, in 1870, at the time the original institution was founded under the name of the Ohio Agricultural and Mechanical College. At that time, he had appointed the first board of trustees, whose duty it was to locate the college, decide on the course of instruction, and choose the faculty. He is usually given little credit for his significant role in the founding of the University. The Morrill Act of July 2, 1862, provided the means for the various states to establish agricultural and mechanical colleges using the proceeds from the sale of public land. Each state was to receive 30,000 acres of land for each United States Senator and Representative, making Ohio's share 630,000 acres. Soon after passage of the act, interest was shown by the Ohio State Board of Agriculture, Governor David Tod, and others in taking advantage of the opportunity to start a college. Many times in the next seven and one half years, legislation supported by each new governor was formulated creating an agricultural and mechanical college. Each time efforts failed at some point. Western land did not sell well until the price was lowered in 1866. Also a number of cities and existing colleges wanted to share or totally acquire the funds and determine the location of the proposed college. By the end of the 1860's, however, most Ohioans agreed that the money should be used to establish one institution at a central location.4 |
170 OHIO HISTORY
In his first term, 1868-69, Governor R.
B. Hayes was as unsuccessful
as the previous governors in securing
legislation to establish the college.
The act of Congress of July 2, 1862,
specified that the states were required
to provide not less than one college
within five years in order to qualify
under the provisions of the bill. The
deadline had been extended five years
by Congress on July 23, 1866, but even
this time would expire soon.5
In his annual message of January 3,
1870, Hayes urged the Ohio General
Assembly to act quickly. He said that
Ohio had accepted the land grant
which had created the funds to establish
an agricultural and mechanical
college and warned that it must become a
reality on or before July 2, 1872.
He stated:
Much time and attention has been given
to the subject of the loca-
tion of the College. No doubt it will be
of great benefit to the county
in which it shall be established, but
the main object of desire with the
people of the State can be substantially
accomplished at any one of
the places which have been prominently
named as the site of the Col-
lege.6
This time the General Assembly responded
quickly. On January 12,
Representative Reuben P. Cannon of
Portage County introduced a bill
to establish and maintain an
agricultural and mechanical college in Ohio.7
The Morrill Act had specified:
The leading object shall be, without
excluding other scientific and
classical studies, and including
military tactics, to teach such branches
of learning as are related to
agriculture and the mechanic arts.
Hayes thought that the act should be
interpreted as broadly as it could and
that the best teaching facility possible
should result from it.8 The legis-
lature passed the Cannon bill on March
22, 1870, without limiting the
course of instruction. It left that
problem, along with those relating to the
location of the university and selection
of the faculty, to the trustees. The
act said that the governor should
appoint nineteen trustees, one from each
congressional district.
Hayes was interested in getting a board
of high quality and did not let
a man's views on politics or the ultimate
goals of the agricultural college
interfere with his appointments. Years
later, Thomas C. Mendenhall,
professor of chemistry at The Ohio State
University and editor of Alexis
Cope's History of The Ohio State
University, wrote, in the introduction
to the volume:
It was universally conceded at the time
that in the selection of the
members of the first Board of Trustees,
the men who were to deter-
mine the character and shape the policy
of the new institution, the
Governor (Rutherford B. Hayes) had shown
great wisdom, good judg-
ment and fairness to both sides of the
controversy (which had already
begun) as to whether it should be
"narrow" or broad and liberal in
its organization and sceme of
instruction .... Political affiliation had
been given little attention in making
the appointments and some of
HAYES and OSU 171
the strongest men on the board were
opponents of the Governor in
politics.9
The board as finally approved was a
group of men of great talent and
experience in the areas of agriculture,
education and public affairs. Eleven
of the nineteen had had some direct
connection with agriculture. Six had
had important connections with education
in the fields of teaching or ad-
ministration. Thirteen had been members
of the United States Congress,
the Ohio General Assembly, or both.10
With the appointment of the board
completed, attention was directed
to the business of locating the college,
deciding upon the course of in-
struction, and choosing the faculty. Hayes
called the first meeting for May
11, 1870. The work of the first board
was monumental. Tile members were
almost completely free in determining
the future of the new agricultural
college. At the first meeting, the board
elected as officers: Valentine B.
Horton, president; Richard C. Anderson,
secretary; and Joseph Sullivant,
treasurer. It then set about the main
business.
Joseph Sullivant, trustee from Columbus,
wrote a letter to the citizens
of Franklin County urging that they
raise money to attract the college for
their county. He told them that at least
$100,000 in land, buildings, and
cash would be needed.11 Propositions
were received from Franklin, Cham-
paign, Clark, and Montgomery counties.
Finally, on October 13, 1870, the
Neil farm located north of Columbus on
the Worthington Road was se-
lected as the site of the college. One
of the attractive features of the site
was a natural spring which could be used
as a source of water.12
After the site was chosen, the next step
was to decide upon the course
of instruction and determine whether the
scope of the institution should
be broad or narrow. Ralph Leete of
Ironton, in a letter to Hayes, said the
act of the General Assembly establishing
the agricultural college had not
attempted to bind down the trustees very
closely and that "in one sense
almost every branch of science has some
'relation to agriculture and the
mechanic arts,' for there is a unity in
all science."13 The quotation Leete
used was the only part of the original
Morrill Act of 1862 that defined
what the course of instruction of the
agricultural colleges should be. Hayes
answered that it was the intention of
the law to establish a new type of
educational institution for the laboring
classes. He wanted a broad, liberal
course of study available to the
students. The plan presented by Joseph
Sullivant, which was eventually adopted
by a vote of eight to seven, made
the new college liberal in the way which
Hayes had suggested.14
The Governor received letters from men
who hoped to become members
of the faculty asking that he use his
influence with the board in their
favor.15 He did have some
influence with the trustees since he had been
officially invited on September 6, 1870,
to meet with the board and partici-
pate in its discussions.16 One
appointment that he was actively concerned
with was that of president of the new
college. When Edward Orton was
being considered for the post, he was
afraid that the people of Ohio might
not want him to lead their state
agricultural college because of his radical
172 OHIO HISTORY
views. Orton's study of science at
Harvard had led him to doubt the literal
meaning of parts of the Bible; and,
while a professor of natural science at
Albany, New York, he must have expressed
these doubts to his Sunday
School class. To avoid a scandal, he
then resigned his teaching position and
came eventually to Antioch at Yellow
Springs, Ohio.17 Hayes and Al-
phonso Taft dispelled his fears and
persuaded him to become the first
president of the college.18
During the remaining months of his first
two terms and the one to fol-
low as Governor of Ohio, Hayes had
little to do with the Ohio Agricultural
and Mechanical College, or at least if
he did, such activity is not revealed
in his personal papers, official
letters, or records of the board. During the
next decade Hayes was fully occupied
with problems of a national and in-
ternational nature, but after stepping
down from the presidency he again
took up his work for the cause of
education and The Ohio State University,
as the college began to be called in
1878.
Governor Foraker appointed the former
President as a trustee in 1887.
Hayes was highly praised by those
interested in the University-citizens,
faculty, and students alike.19 He
received letters expressing pleasure at his
appointment and gratification in his
acceptance from several people, in-
cluding the first president of the
University, Edward Orton; trustee Lucius
B. Wing; secretary of the board of
trustees, Alexis Cope; and president
William Henry Scott.20
The letters exchanged between Hayes and
Scott and between Hayes and
Cope provide a great deal of information
about the activities of Hayes in
connection with the University. W. H.
Scott and Alexis Cope continued
to serve Ohio State in their respective
offices as long as Hayes was a trustee
and became his main contact. During the
period, Cope seemed to be the
man who held the University together. As
secretary of the board, he kept
the members informed by letter
concerning the school's problems and
activities when the board was not in
session. Because he was not directly in-
volved in student, faculty, or
administration affairs, he was in a position to
be more objective in his advice to the
trustees about current problems.
The University of 1887 had made much
progress since the days when
Governor Hayes had originally worked on
its establishment. In 1878, in
one of several acts reorganizing the
Board of Trustees, the Ohio Agricul-
tural and Mechanical College was renamed
The Ohio State University.21
The new name corresponded with the ideal
Hayes held for the institution
and probably pleased him very much. The
student body had grown from
254 to 344 in the ten-year period,22
and revisions of the curriculum had
resulted in the creation of new
departments and the abolition of others.
The early years of the University were
marked by sporadic conflicts be-
tween the agricultural interests of the
state and the desires of those, es-
pecially the trustees, who favored a
university controlled by others than
agrarians. This position usually
included a wish that Ohio State might
become much broader than merely a
college for farmers and mechanics.
Hayes joined the board at a time when
the conflict was especially vigorous.
HAYES and OSU 173
In dispute was the control of money
granted to the states by the federal
government under the Hatch Act of March
2, 1887. This act gave $15,000
annually to those states which had
established agricultural colleges under
the Morrill Act of 1862. The money was
to be used to establish agricultural
experiment stations in connection with
the colleges.
The problem in Ohio revolved around the
fact that, on April 17, 1882,23
the General Assembly had created an
agricultural experiment station as-
sociated with the University, but one
administered by a board of control
independent of the University's board of
trustees. The Hatch Act money
was thereupon claimed by each of the two
boards. It was the duty of the
Ohio General Assembly to decide who
should have jurisdiction over the
funds and to pass the necessary enabling
legislation so Ohio could receive
her share of the money.24
The board meeting of November 22, 1887,
was called to discuss the mat-
ter of cooperation between the boards of
the Agricultural Experiment
Station and the University. One obstacle
in the path of cooperation was
the governor's appointment of Joseph H.
Brigham to the board of con-
trol of the experiment station. Brigham
had been the one in the Ohio sen-
ate who had originally urged the
establishment of a separate board for
the Agricultural Experiment Station when
it was established in 1882 and
therefore was not at all popular with
some members of the University
board.25 At the November
meeting Hayes offered resolutions, which were
adopted, to the effect that friendly and
cordial relations between the two
boards were necessary and that a joint
meeting of committees of both
boards should take place, so that their
common goal of promotion of the
agricultural interests of the state
could be more nearly achieved.26 Hayes
thought that the full cooperation of the
University board would help gain
support for the University from friends
of the experiment station.27
The joint meeting of committees of the
two boards was held on Decem-
ber 8, 1887; this was followed by a
meeting of both boards in joint ses-
sion.28 Both sides expected
quite a fight, but Hayes, in the role of peace-
maker, took control of the meeting. In a
quiet, forceful way, he said that
the object of both boards was to serve
the public; that both had similar, if
not identical, aims; and that both
boards wanted the annuity from the
Hatch Act put to the best possible use
for the agricultural interests of the
state. He further stated that the Ohio
State University board of trustees
would be glad to see the Experiment
Station enlarge its activities and
that he was sure something could be worked
out. He then asked the mem-
bers of the board of control what the
trustees could do for them. His
forcefulness and tone stunned most of
the men present but seemed to be
very effective in laying the groundwork
for an agreement. The conferees
then drew up an agreement which reserved
certain land and equipment
for the experiment station and gave the
remainder to the University. Hayes
was satisfied that all points of
difference between the University and the
experiment station were settled and that
the farmers of Ohio would now
give their support to the University.29
174 OHIO HISTORY
This conference settled differences
until 1891. When the board of con-
trol met that year, the members were
still dissatisfied because of the lim-
ited amount of land allotted to them.
They voted to request the General
Assembly to permit the removal of the
Agricultural Experiment Station
to Wayne County. Also they expected the
University to buy the buildings
they had used on the campus for $12,000.
The trustees could not see why
they should buy the buildings since they
were already located on the cam-
pus and the trustees lacked the money or
possibly even the power to buy
them. Hayes was again called to
arbitrate this dispute. Agreement was
made to appoint committees representing
each side to settle property is-
sues and to leave the problem of
disposition of the buildings to the legis-
lature.30
Hayes's first two years on the board
were ones of giving advice on and
mediating problems of concern to the
trustees. This period of activity came
to an abrupt end because of his state of
shock following the death of Mrs.
Hayes in June 1889. Mrs. Hayes had been
stricken while he was on his way
home from a board meeting.31 For some
months he curtailed his activity,
and attended none of the board meetings
until early in 1890.
The business of the board of trustees
included many small day-to-day
problems and dealings in addition to
questions of major importance. Hayes
spent much time on seemingly minor
difficulties which could be resolved
in a short time. Most of his
correspondence on board matters dealt with
such items as requests for appointment
to the faculty, faculty and student
problems, disputes with the townspeople,
and gifts to the University. Most
of it is uninteresting and routine, but
a few examples will show his atten-
tion to details, a side of his
personality not so well known as his handling
of major problems and issues. These
minor incidents, of course, happened
throughout Hayes's entire board career,
and the chronology in most cases
is not important.
As might be expected in a university
town, disagreements arose between
the college community and the citizenry
of Columbus. One such dispute
involved a city thoroughfare across the
campus. In 1890 Neil Avenue ended
at Eleventh Avenue and then started
again on the north side of the campus.
Pressure had been applied over a period
of several years to have Neil Ave-
nue extended through the University
property.32 It was reported to Hayes
that citizens were quite upset over the
matter and threatened to have the
board reorganized, the University moved
out in the country, and funds
withheld from the institution by the
General Assembly if Neil Avenue
were not extended.33 The Board
resisted for a time, but eventually Neil
Avenue was extended.34
In 1891, the city was putting a trunk
sewer through the campus. As had
been predicted by the University people,
the sewer drained the "lakes &
spring" until both became dry. The
city placed Professor Frederick W.
Sperr, a mining engineer from the
faculty, in charge of the sewer con-
struction after he said that he thought
he could fix the damage and restore
the spring. Hayes was very much
concerned about the loss of the spring
and wrote Cope:
HAYES and OSU 175
We must not lose the springs! Too bad!
Spend all effort, time &
money to recover them that can be spent
judiciously.35
Hayes's strong position caused other
board members who had been doubt-
ful about spending money to restore the
springs to come to agree with
him. Hayes met with the city civil
engineer, Josiah Kinnear and members
of the city board of improvement. He
"had a good talk with them about
their damage-doing sewer." The city
was slow to fix the sewer, but by De-
cember 1892, Hayes was satisfied that
the springs were safe.36 It was a
rather minor problem, but much
present-day tradition would not exist
without Mirror Lake.
In 1890 Governor James E. Campbell
thought it would be a good idea to
increase the size of the board of
trustees. Hayes did not mind the idea of
enlarging it, but he thought the action
was being taken as a political move
to give the Democrats control of the
body. He did not want politics to
interfere with its functions and thought
the precedent might make gover-
nors change the number of board members
each time there was a change
of politics in the State House. Hayes
offered to resign so that, together with
the expiration of another Republican
board member's term, Campbell
could appoint two Democrats in their
places and could get a party major-
ity without increasing the number on the
board. The Governor would
thereby avoid setting a bad precedent.
The former President felt the long-
term good of the University was more
important than his board member-
ship and had acted on that basis.37
As it turned out, Campbell had not
intended to use a larger board to
political advantage, but since he did not
want to lose Hayes, lie kept the board
size unchanged.
An important part of Rutherford B.
Hayes's later career as a member of
the board of trustees of The Ohio State
University consisted of securing
legislation that would provide needed
funds for the University and seeing
that it would receive these funds
undiminished once the proper legisla-
tion had been passed. From its
beginnings to 1890 the University had not
been able to rely on a guaranteed income
from outside its own endowment.
The Ohio General Assembly had, from time
to time, set aside a specific
amount for the use of the institution,
but this had not become a regular
practice. Therefore the board could not
expect to get a specified amount
or even, at times, any money at all from
the state. Those responsible for
the continuation of the University
wanted a regular fixed annual income
that would allow the board to plan
future development.
United States Senator Justin Morrill
introduced a bill on April 30, 1890,
which would establish an educational
fund from proceeds of public lands
and railroad land grants to aid the
colleges that had been established under
the original Morrill Act of July 2,
1862.38 It would provide $15,000 a year
to each state to aid these colleges, and
the amount would be increased even-
tually to $25,000 a year, continuing as
long as funds were sufficient.39 This
bill was eventually expected to add an
equivalent of over $400,000 to the
permanent endowment of Ohio State.40
President Scott noted that a man-
ual training department could be
maintained under its provisions. Hayes
176 OHIO HISTORY
had a great interest in industrial
education and wanted to see a manual
training department established at Ohio
State. Scott told him that the bill
had also been introduced in the House,
where it had been referred to the
committee on education and thence to a
subcommittee of which J. D. Tay-
lor of Ohio was chairman. Hayes was
asked to write as strong a letter as
he thought proper to Taylor in order that
the bill might have a better
chance of passing before the close of
the session.41 Hayes wrote to Repre-
sentative Taylor:
I am an intense believer in industrial
education. The bill in aid of
the land grant Colleges will help in
that direction. Please give it your
attention and if you can
conscientiously, your support.42
The Senate passed the bill, and it was
then sent to the House. Once
again Hayes was asked to use his
influence and write to Representative
William McKinley, a member of the rules
committee which would deter-
mine the date the bill would be
considered. Scott asked Hayes also to write
his congressman and all others in the
House whom he knew personally.43
The bill passed the House on August 19
with the addition of an amend-
ment limiting the application of the
funds to instruction in English and
specific technical subjects. The Senate
concurred in the House amendment
the next day, and the approval by
President Harrison on August 30 made
the bill law.44
The trustees were then faced with the
important problem of allocating
their new wealth. The act itself limited
the choice somewhat by confining
application of the funds to instruction
in "agriculture, the mechanic arts,
the English language and the various
branches of mathematical, physical,
natural and economic science, with
special reference to their applications
in the industries of life, and to the
facilities for such instructon." Another
provision excluded any use of the money
for the erection or repair of
buildings.45 Scott thought
that it was too late in the year for the board to
add to the faculty so the money from the
first two installments should be
used for books and apparatus. Many
proposals were made suggesting the
creation of new chairs or the
acquisition of equipment for specific depart-
ments. Cope seemed to rely heavily on
Hayes for advice and influence as
he told him that the board would
postpone consideration of how the money
would be spent until he arrived, Hayes
having told the board he might be
late.46
An unexpected problem was brought before
the board of trustees just
at the time the acquisition of funds
seemed settled. The money bill pro-
vided that, in states where Negroes were
excluded from the agricultural
and mechanical college and there was a
separate college for colored stu-
dents established to teach them
agriculture and the mechanic arts, the
funds could be divided between the
college for white students and the col-
lege for colored students. This clause
had been intended to give Negroes
equal rights to financial support and
had been introduced by Senator
James L. Pugh of Alabama for the benefit
of the Tuskegee Institute of
that state.47 This provision
was seized upon by friends of Wilberforce Uni-
HAYES and OSU 177
versity as an opportunity to acquire
some of the money intended for The
Ohio State University.
Since Negroes had never been prohibited
and there were, in fact, a num-
ber of these students attending Ohio
State University at that time, the
"separate but equal" provision
of the bill did not apply. Hayes wrote to
President S. T. Mitchell of Wilberforce
telling him that he did not think
Wilberforce had a just claim to the funds,
but that he would support an
effort to equip and maintain an
industrial department at Wilberforce no
matter what the outcome of the decision
on the division of the funds. He
thought that Wilberforce could receive
more money from the state direct-
ly than in sharing the Morrill Act
funds.48
The next year, a bill to accept the
Morrill Act and turn all the proceeds
over to The Ohio State University was
passed by the General Assembly
on May 4, 1891.49 Thus, through the efforts of Hayes and other friends of
the institution, funds from the Morrill
Act were secured for the University
undivided.
Also in an effort to gain more financial
support for the University dur-
ing this period, a committee of the Ohio
State alumni association was
formed. It worked toward advertising the
programs of the school and cre-
ating public sentiment in favor of a
proposition to make a permanent pro-
vision for it by placing one-twentieth
of a mill on the grand duplicate of
the state for its support.
A bill to this effect was introduced in
the Ohio House of Representatives
on January 16, 1891, by Speaker Nial R.
Hysell. The prospects for its pass-
age at first seemed good. Soon, however,
opposition grew. Those who op-
posed it wanted to divide the proposed
funds between Ohio State, Ohio
University, and Miami University. The
fight over division of the state
money soon became linked with the
efforts to divide the new Morrill Act
funds between Ohio State and
Wilberforce. Opponents of Ohio State drew
together and a battle ensued. Hayes was
asked by President Scott to use
his influence with members of the state
legislature to cancel the effect of
those who wanted to divide these funds.
In the end, their attempt also
failed, and tax support was given the
University in the Hysell Bill, which
became law on March 20, 1891.50
The next year Senator J. Wilbur Nichols
made another attempt, by
introducing a bill, to have the funds
from the Hysell act divided. Secre-
tary Cope thought that Hayes again would
be the best man to present the
University's side of the case. This time
support for Ohio State also came
from the agricultural leaders of
Ohio--Joseph H. Brigham, Seth Ellis, Wil-
liam I. Chamberlain, and L. H. Bonham.
It was arranged with Senator
Clingman, chairman of the senate committee on
universities and colleges,
to give the friends of the University a
hearing on the Nichols bill in the
senate chamber on Wednesday evening,
February 17, 1892. Cope said that
he and Scott would have all the facts
and figures ready for Hayes to offer
to the legislature.51 In his
presentation Trustee Hayes argued that the
Hysell act was for agricultural and industrial
education including manual
training and that other colleges which
might share the money were not
178 OHIO HISTORY
agricultural and mechanical colleges. He
further stated that The Ohio
State University needed the source of
funds after losing the revenue from
the agricultural experiment station.
Increased enrollment also necessitated
greater financial support. Finally, Ohio
State was the only institution com-
pletely owned and controlled by the
State of Ohio and so the legislature
had a greater responsibility to it than
to other colleges. Hayes felt that
these arguments had been well received
and that he had made a good im-
pression for the cause of the
University.52
Cope reported to Hayes that since the
hearing, prospects for the defeat
of the Nichols bill had improved
greatly. "Your noble speech before the
Senate Committee has had a good effect
and the speech of Senator Nichols
was so mad and unreasonable that it
hurts rather than helps his cause."
Cope wrote later: "The Nichols bill
is dead." Senator Clingman said that
there would not be more than two votes
for it in the senate. In fact, the
bill was never reported out of
committee.53 This was another instance in
which Hayes's legal training and political
influence were vital assets in the
life and future growth of Tile Ohio
State University.
In 1891 authorities were surprised to
learn that Ohio State had been left
a substantial estate by the will of the
late Henry F. Page on his death, Oc-
tober 27. Since Page, a lawyer who had
lived in Circleville, had not had
any known connections or special
interest in the institution during his
lifetime, report of his bequest was, at
first, doubted. Before this time the
University had occasionally received
gifts and loans of books, apparatus,
and specimens for the various
laboratories and museums, but had never
received any large gifts like the Page
estate. The will was contested, but
the University was represented again by
the former President, since Hayes
had been well acquainted with the Page
family. The terms of the final
settlement awarded the entire estate to
The Ohio State University. By 1912
the gross amount received under the will
amounted to almost $217,000.
The board of trustees honored Page by
naming the new law building Page
Hall in 1902.54
During all the years Hayes served as a
member of the board, one prob-
lem continuously hung over the heads of
the members, sometimes openly
and at other times in the backs of their
minds. This was the decision as to
who should replace Scott as president of
the University. William Henry
Scott had become president in 1883 but,
even as Hayes joined the board in
June 1887, Scott tendered his
resignation. The board convinced him that
he should stay until someone else could
be found. This scene was repeated
several times in the following years,
but Scott continued as president until
several years after Hayes's death.
Considerable talk favoring Hayes as the
new president was started by
an enterprising reporter who wrote
falsely that the board of trustees was
considering Hayes for the position.55
Scott told Hayes that he expected to
resign and that he thought the former
President should be his successor.
"You would bring to the office a
rare combination of qualities which would
give strength to the institution both in
its internal administration and in
its relations to the State and the
general public." Hayes also received a let-
HAYES and OSU 179
ter from his old friend T. C. Jones, of
Delaware, whom head once ap-
pointed to the board of trustees. Jones
said he had heard talk of Hayes as
president, but knew he would not
consider that position. He was glad,
nevertheless, that Hayes was on the
board. A week later, The Lantern, the
student newspaper, noted that the
reports that Hayes had been asked to be
president were false."56 These
rumors must have reached his own family, for
he wrote in a letter to his daughter
Fanny:
Papa a College President! A most
respectable and useful station to
a man fit for it. But your papa, in the
words of your mother, "is no
fool." So rest as you were and
denounce the report with vigor.57
This seemed to end the matter and no
further mention of Hayes as a can-
didate for president of Ohio State was
noted.
On one occasion when the board members
were discussing the many
qualities which a president of the
University should possess, Hayes, having
sat in silence, commented:
We are looking for a man of fine
appearance, of commanding pres-
ence, one who will impress the public;
he must be a fine speaker at
public assemblies; he must be a great
scholar and a great teacher; he
must be a preacher, also, as some think;
he must be a man of winning
manners; he must have tact so that he
can get along with and govern
the faculty; he must be popular with the
students; he must also be a
man of business training, a man of
affairs; and he must be a great ad-
ministrator. Gentlemen, there is no such
man.58
Among some of the notable men considered
for the presidency were
Woodrow Wilson, then a professor at
Princeton, Willian Howard Taft,
who was Solicitor General of the United
States at that time,59 and Dr.
Washington Gladden, a very popular
Congregational minister in Colum-
bus and known throughout the country for
preaching the practical applica-
tion of the principles of religion to
current social problems. Gladden had
been approached on the matter at an
earlier time and had not been inter-
ested in taking the position. Later,
however, he had shown interest in the
University and Cope felt that he might
consider the presidency. President
Scott, Cope, and others concerned would
have been pleased to have Glad-
den become the new president,60 even
though they did not know how he
felt about the position, personally.
In the early part of 1892. Hayes and
Cope called on Gladden to inquire
about his possible acceptance of the
presidency of The Ohio State Uni-
versity. The minister expressed his
willingness to accept the offer if the
salary could be raised to $5,000. The
salary at that time was limited to
$3,000 by state law and could be raised
only by an act of the legislature.
It was agreed to leave the matter open
so that the board could act freely.61
Hayes had many meetings with Gladden,
the board, and the state legis-
lature, but the legislature refused to
raise the salary limitation because
many of the members did not approve of
the liberal Dr. Gladden as presi-
dent. Since the hoard did not want to
lose the support of the legislature
on University matters, it abandoned hope
of making Gladden Scott's suc-
180 OHIO HISTORY
cessor.62 Two years later, in
1895, James Hulme Canfield became the fourth
president of the University. At last
Scott's efforts to be relieved of the
presidency were a success.
The one educational subject former
President Rutherford B. Hayes
stressed most was manual training. His
thoughts on the subject are obvious
from his writings and many speeches.
Whenever he had a chance, he spoke
in its behalf. Showing the strength of
his conviction, Hayes wrote:
I would aid no institution which does
not provide Industrial Educa-
tion. Like other men with hobbies I am
radical. My plan is essential.
It is the corner stone. With it an
institution must succeed. Without it,
it must fail.63
Hayes wanted all students to have some
manual training so that, in ad-
dition to their general personal
improvement, all would be able to make
a living with their hands, by skilled
labor if necessary. One of his own
sons attended manual training school. In
the education of the Negro,
Hayes hoped training of the hands would
help raise his standard of living.
He felt the establishment of an
industrial department at Ohio State would
also gain support for the University among
the farm element that was
suspicious of any tendencies to teach
impractical theory. Between 1888
and 1891 Hayes therefore proposed and
the board of trustees passed sev-
eral resolutions supporting the
establishment of a manual training de-
partment.64 He spoke on
industrial education before the Ohio House of
Representatives in 188865 and together
with other board members met
with the appropriations committee of the
two houses in 1889.66 Each time
he was hopeful of favorable action, but
it was not until 1891 that the state
legislature was receptive to the board's
proposal.
As has been mentioned, in March 1891,
the legislature passed the Hy-
sell Bill, which gave Ohio State an
annual levy of one-twentieth of a mill.
The money was not immediately available,
but an act of the General As-
sembly of May 4, 1891, authorized the
board to issue certificates of indebt-
edness to finance the construction of
several new buildings, and the money
repaid from the expected proceeds of the
Hysell act.67 Hayes was pleased
at the liberality of the General
Assembly. The following day, May 5, a
board meeting was held to consider the
matter, at which time he offered
the following resolution:
Resolved, That the interests of the university require the
erection of
three buildings, one for the manual
training department, to cost with
equipment, not to exceed $45,000; one
for a geological museum with
accomodations for the library, to cost
not to exceed, with furniture
and fixtures, $75,000; one for an
armory, assembly room and gymnas-
ium, to cost not to exceed $40,000,
complete; said buildings to be be-
gun in the order in which they are named
herein and as soon as prac-
ticable.68
This important resolution was passed
without dissent.
A committee was appointed to visit
manual training departments in
HAYES and OSU 181 other universities and the manual training schools in Toledo, Chicago, and St. Louis. It was also instructed to collect information to help in the plan- ning for equipment and buildings at Ohio State.69 A Columbus architect, F. L. Packard, prepared some preliminary plans and sketches for the pro- posed manual training building. He appeared before the board at the June 22 meeting and explained his plans to the members. The final selec- tion of an architect and completion of the plans for the building were re- ferred to Hayes, who was also given the responsibility of selecting the equip- ment and faculty for the department.70 On July 22, 1891, Hayes made his oral progress report to the board of trustees. He said he had visited the new manual training building at Cleve- land and had engaged Packard as architect, who then showed his plans, which were accepted, to the board. Hayes's motion to locate the manual training building 200 to 600 feet southeast of the chemical laboratory was approved. The announcement calling for sealed bids on work to be done on the building was sent out September 12, setting a deadline of noon on October 14, 1891. The bids were opened at a board meeting on that day |
and the contract for the structure was awarded to the low bidders, Nichols and Carr of Columbus.71 The board honored Hayes by unanimously adopt- ing the following resolution at the November 17 meeting: Resolved, that the manual training building now being constructed shall be named and known as "Hayes Hall," in recognition of the un- tiring labors of President Hayes toward its establishment, and his devo- tion to the cause of industrial education.72 The former President was especially pleased that the unanimous resolu- tion came from a board made up of four Democrats and two Republicans and was proposed by Dr. Schueller, a Democrat.73 As construction proceeded, Hayes had little to do in connection with the building itself. Secretary Cope made occasional reports on its progress, notifying him as each step was completed. Cope seemed a little disappointed |
182 OHIO HISTORY
at the outside appearance of the
building, but felt it was well built and
substantial. On his own visits to tile
campus, Hayes expressed pleasure with
the new structure.74
After the problems of construction had
been solved, the selection of a
capable man to head the department
became the primary concern. Scott,
Cope, and Hayes seemed to have agreed
originally that a man should be
chosen as soon as possible so that he
could help make decisions on the archi-
tectural design of the building. This
plan did not work out because a satis-
factory candidate could not be found in
time. The board members inter-
viewed many prospective administrators
and sometimes asked for advice on
the building at the same time, as was
done in the case of George S. Rider
of the University School in Cleveland.75
Another candidate, Henry C.
Adams, principal of the high school in
Toledo, was chosen to head the
manual training department at a salary
of $2,250, but he surprised them
and rejected the offer.76 Hayes utilized
his own contacts to find out about
the qualifications of different
candidates. He had relied on letters from his
sons Birchard and Scott to help him form
an opinion about Adams.77
Birchard lived in Toledo and knew
Adams's reputation, and Scott had been
a student at the high school under
Adams. The search continued without
success for some time, and Hayes died
before the board elected Arthur L.
Williston director of the manual
training department in 1893.78
Hayes was honored by the board in
November 1892, when he was elected
president of that body. He was
completely surprised by the board's choice.
He had moved and cast his vote for
reelection of Godfrey, not knowing that
the other members had planned ahead of
the meeting to elect him rather
than Godfrey. Godfrey received one vote
and Hayes the rest.79
The last few days before his fatal
illness Hayes spent working on Uni-
versity affairs. He rose early on the
morning of January 9, 1893, to take the
train for Columbus. Thinking ahead to
the board of trustees meeting, he
wrote in his Diary just before
leaving Fremont, "Let me be pure & wise
and kind in all things."80 The meetings
of the following two days were to
be the first and, as it turned out, the
last meetings over which he presided.
They were rather routine except for the
discussion of law courses for the
next year for which $1,500 was
allocated, as proposed by Hayes.81 His last
Diary entry reports a call he and Cope made on Governor
William McKin-
ley on the twelfth. The board's
secretary recalled later that after they had
seen the Governor, Hayes expressed the
hope that McKinley would someday
be President. They then went to the
station and Hayes boarded the train
for Cleveland. In that city he hoped to
find a man who would head the
manual training department, but he
became ill and was taken back to his
home in Fremont, where he died on
January 17, 1893, at the age of sev-
enty. His last mission had been one in
the service of Ohio State University
concerning his favorite project, manual
training.
The faculty and board of trustees each
held special meetings to commem-
orate his death. Memorials and tributes
were read and plans made to send
representatives to the funeral service.
Classes were dismissed the day of the
HAYES and OSU 183
funeral. The Lantern published a
special memorial issue. The University
community felt a real loss. Hayes had
been a faithful trustee, working hard
to better The Ohio State University.82
After leaving the Presidency, he could
have retired to his Spiegel Grove
home, but his interest in education and
reform caused him to continue
working for such causes until his death.
"He quietly and unselfishly gave
his last twelve years of life to the services
of his fellow men--the prisoners,
the Negroes, the Indians, the poor and
down-trodden."83
Cope appreciated the services Hayes
performed for the University also.
The year before his death, just after he
had helped defeat the Nichols bill
which would have divided the Hysell
fund, he presided at a banquet at the
University. Cope wrote to him
afterwards:
You did the University inestimable
service in coming down to pre-
side at the banquet. My heart smites me
sometimes when I think how
much we have drawn upon your time and
strength to tide us over the
difficulties which beset us.
I trust the reward will come in this
world in the overflowing love
and respect of those you have so nobly
aided. If it does not, I know
it will in the great hereafter.84
The interest Rutherford Hayes held in
the University began before its
beginning. He considered himself to be
"a founder--perhaps the founder"
of The Ohio State University85 and
was widely recognized as the man who
put it on a solid base. The historian,
Edwin Earle Sparks, said, in a com-
mencement address in June 1907, "I
regard this campus and the walls of
this institution, largely the creation
of Governor Hayes."86 A part of the
faculty resolution on his death stated:
Deeply interested in the State
University from its formation he exer-
cised a controlling influence in
moulding its character by his judicious
appointments of its organizing boards of
trustees. Becoming himself a
trustee of the University after
returning from the Presidency of the
United States, he has, during the last
six years, rendered invaluable
service to the institution; bringing to
its counsels a knowledge of men
and affairs acquired during a long
period of distinguished public life,
and adding to this a faith in the future
of the University and a devo-
tion to its welfare and expansion which
can never be forgotten.87
Hayes wanted Ohio State to develop as a
school where a practical, as well
as a liberal education, would be
available to all. To a great extent, this
goal seems to have been realized and
though there have been many changes
since his time, much of the basic
foundation established by Hayes remains
even today.
THE AUTHOR: Walter S. Hayes, Jr.,
a financial analyst for the General
Electric
Company in East Cleveland, is a great-
grandson of Rutherford B. Hayes.
|
Rutherford B. Hayes and The Ohio State University by WALTER S. HAYES, JR. It was bitterly cold the day former President Hayes arrived in Cleveland in January 1893. He had come from Columbus and was in search of some- one to head the new manual training department for The Ohio State Uni- versity. Both as a member and as the president of the board of trustees he had been actively concerned with the establishment of a good manual training department for the institution. Snow fell and was blown by a wind that must have made the day seem even colder than the four to twelve degrees reported in the newspaper.1 Hayes did not let the weather keep him from his duties, but took a street- car and then proceeded by foot to University School where he had hoped to find the administrator the board was seeking. After staying overnight with his son Webb, he went to the train station Saturday afternoon, the fourteenth, for the return home to Fremont when he was suddenly stricken with a heart attack. Some stimulants were given to him in the waiting room, and against Webb's wishes he continued to Spiegel Grove where he died the following Tuesday.2 His long interest in the University had started when he became governor in 1868 and was still active at the time of his death. During the years he served as city solicitor, congressman, governor and president, Rutherford B. Hayes became familiar with many social prob- NOTES ON PAGE 206 |