LIBRARY 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 Gl FT OF 
 
 Class 
 
I S T O R Y 
 
 OF THE 
 
 EDERAL LAND GRANT 
 OF JULY 2, 1862 
 
 PROVIDING FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT 
 OF COLLEGES FOR THE BENEFIT OF 
 AGRICULTURE AND THE MECHANIC 
 ARTS 
 
 AS RELATING TO 
 
 CORNELL UNIVERSITY 
 
 SAMUEL D. HALLIDAY 
 
History of the Agricul- 
 tural College Land! 
 Grant Act of July 
 2, 1862. 
 
 DEVOTED LARGELY TO THE HISTORY OF 
 
 THE "LAND SCRIP" WHICH UNDER 
 
 THAT GRANT WAS ALLOTTED TO 
 
 THE STATE OF NEW YORK 
 
 AND AFTERWARDS 
 
 GIVEN TO CORNELL 
 
 UNIVERSITY. 
 
 
 1905: 
 
 ITHACA DEMOCRAT PRESS 
 Ithaca. N. Y. 
 
REPORT. 
 
 To THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF CORNELL UNIVERSITY : 
 
 At a meeting of this Board held October 24, 1903, the 
 Chairman of the Land Committee was requested "to prepare 
 and present to this Board" a History of the College Land 
 Grant of 1862. It was soon discovered that to make a com- 
 plete history as requested would involve a great deal of in- 
 vestigation and research. In pursuance of authority after- 
 wards given, Mr. A. B. Zerns, a recent graduate of Cornell, 
 was employed to make that research. 
 
 Every letter, telegram, contract, memorandum or other 
 document in the office of the Comptroller of the State of 
 New York relating to the "Land Scrip" was read and ex- 
 amined by him and the results of his researches were very 
 carefully and very accurately collated. A similar research 
 was made in the Treasurer's office and' in the Library. All 
 available literature of every nature was also examined and 
 interesting information compiled. Largely from the mass 
 of material thus collected, this History has been prepared. 
 
 E. L. Williams, originally as clerk in the Business Office, 
 afterwards as Secretary of the Land Committee and Treasurer 
 of the University, became very familiar with the management 
 of the socalled Western Lands. In fact, it may be justly said 
 that much of the success of the Land Committee, particularly 
 since the death of Henry W. Sage, is due to the thorough 
 knowledge of the lands, the executive ability and the sound 
 judgment possessed by E. L. Williams, its Secretary. The 
 
 1G0622 
 
parts of this history relating to that management were special- 
 ly prepared and written by him. From memory he was also 
 able to furnish interesting events and incidents which 
 naturally would not go into the records, but, if not now re- 
 corded, would soon be lost forever. 
 
 An effort has been made to briefly trace the events lead- 
 ing up to the enactment of the act of 1862. Then follows, 
 a'mong other things, a narration of the efforts of Ezra Cornell 
 to secure this fund for Cornell University. A more particu- 
 lar history of the management of the scrip by the State and 
 afterwards of the lands, first by Ezra Cornell and subsequent- 
 ly by the University itself, is finally given. 
 
 Hoping that this History will be found to be accurate, it 
 is now "presented to this Board" as requested. 
 
 Dated, Cornell University, Ithaca, 1ST. Y., Oct. 28th, 1905. 
 
 S. D. HALLIDAY, 
 Chairman of the Land Committee. 
 
History of the Agricultural College Land 
 Grant Act of July 2, 1862, 
 
 Devoted largely to the history of the "Land Scrip," 
 
 which under that grant was allotted to the 
 
 State of New York and afterwards given 
 
 to Cornell University. 
 
 PASSAGE OF LAND GRANT ACT OF 1862. 
 
 On Dec. 14, 1857, Mr. Morrill of Vermont introduced a 
 bill into the House of Representatives, "Donating public 
 lands to the several states which may provide colleges for the 
 benefit of agriculture and the mechanic arts/ 5 The bill 
 granted to each state, for the maintenance of such schools, 
 20,000 acres of public land for each Senator and Representa-. 
 tive in Congress to which the state was entitled. If these 
 lands could be located within the state itself, then actual 
 grants were to be made. If, however, the state contained no 
 such lands within its borders, it was to receive an equivalent 
 amount of land scrip or land certificates, which could then 
 be sold and the specified amount of land located by the pur- 
 chaser upon unoccupied government land within other states. 
 As in the later bill, no state could itself locate land 'scrip 
 within the borders of another state. The whole measure was 
 practically identical with the Land Grant Act which was 
 passed in 1862. 
 
 The bill encountered considerable opposition in both houses, 
 particularly from the Southern members but, after several 
 
uns 
 
 uccessf ul attempts, was finally passed and sent to President 
 Buchanan for his signature. The President, however, re- 
 turned the bill on Feb. 24, 1859 with his veto and a message 
 giving at length his reasons for so doing. His opposition 
 seemed to be based chiefly upon the ground that the bill was 
 unconstitutional and that it "intermingled national and state 
 affairs in a pernicious manner/ 7 An attempt was made in 
 the House to pass the bill over his veto but failed. 
 
 A change of administration soon afterward took place, 
 and on Dec. 16, 1861, Mr. Morrill introduced into the House 
 a bill drawn upon the same lines as the earlier measure. 
 Some of the arguments which Mr. Morrill used in support of 
 these bills may be of interest. First he laid great emphasis 
 upon the extraordinary interest manifested in all parts of 
 the country, as was indicated by a large number of petitions 
 for such a measure, which had been received from states, 
 societies, and individuals. He next showed how little had 
 been done by the government in aid of agriculture, as com- 
 pared with the important measures which had been taken in 
 behalf of other forms of industry. Finally, he demonstrated 
 that agriculture is the fundamental basis of a country's pros- 
 perity and that, if agriculture is not intelligently carried on, 
 the welfare of the whole country is endangered. 
 
 This second bill was referred to the Committee on Public 
 Lands. "While it was held in this Committee, the majority 
 of which were hostile to the measure, Senator Wade of Ohio 
 was asked by Mr. Morrill to introduce the bill into the Senate 
 and on May 5, 1862, a bill identical with the House bill was 
 introduced by him and referred to the Senate Committee on 
 Public Lands, who reported it back with an amendment May 
 16, 1862. The bill was considered from time to time, and 
 finally passed the Senate June 10, 1862, and the House of 
 Eepresentatives, without reference to committee, June 17, 
 1862." It is important to note, in this connection, that the 
 Southern representatives, from whom had come most of the 
 
opposition to the previous bill, were no longer in Congress, 
 President Lincoln had already promised, before his election, 
 that he would sign the bill if it came before him ; accordingly 
 the measure received his signature on July 2, 1862, and be- 
 came a law. 
 
 The full title of the act is "An Act donating public lands 
 to the several States and Territories which may provide col- 
 leges for the benefit of agriculture and the mechanic arts/' 
 To each state was granted 30,000 acres of public land for 
 each Senator and Eepresentative in Congress to which the 
 state was entitled under the census of 1860. States having 
 a sufficient amount of public lands within their borders, 
 "subject to sale at private entry" at $1.25 an acre, could 
 locate their share of the grant upon these lands. Other 
 states could not locate their lands at all, but received, instead 
 of the lands themselves, a corresponding amount of land 
 scrip. This scrip could ten be sold and the proceeds de- 
 voted to the purposes of the act. The purchasers of the scrip 
 could locate on any of the unappropriated lands of the United 
 States "subject to sale at private entry at $1.25 an acre or 
 less/' with the restriction that not more than 1,000,000 acres 
 of land should be located in any one state, and that no 
 mineral lands could be selected in any state. 
 
 All money derived from the sale of land or scrip was to be 
 invested in stocks of the United States, stocks of the states, 
 or in some other safe stocks, paying not less than 5 per cent 
 upon their par value. The capital of. this fund could not be 
 spent, it must "remain forever undiminished ;" all of the 
 interest upon the fund is appropriated "to the endowment, 
 support, and maintenance of at least one college where the 
 loading 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, in such manner as the legislatures of the States 
 may respectively prescribe, in order to promote the liberal 
 
8 
 
 and practical education of the industrial classes, in the several 
 pursuits and professions of life." 
 
 None of the interest upon this fund could be used for 
 the purchase or erection of buildings, but "a sum, not 
 exceeding ten per centum upon the amount received by any 
 state under the provisions of' this act, may be expended for 
 the purchase of lands for sites or experimental farms when- 
 ever authorized by the respective legislatures of said States." 
 A number of details are provided for in this act, which do 
 not concern us here, but it should be noted that all the ex- 
 penses of the management of the scrip must be borne by the 
 S'tate, and that if any portion of the fund or the interest 
 should be lost the State must itself make up the deficiency. 
 In order to receive the benefits of the act, a State must ac- 
 cept the conditions through its legislature, within two years, 
 and must provide within five years ia college answering the 
 requirements laid down in the act. If the State does not 
 provide a college complying with these requirements, it must 
 pay back to the United States the amount of the scrip pre- 
 viously received. 
 
 APPROPRIATION OP NEW YORK STATE'S SHARE 
 OF PROCEEDS. 
 
 By an act passed May 5, 1863, New York State formally 
 accepted the conditions of the Land Grant Act and author- 
 ized the Comptroller to 'receive the scrip and dispose of it as 
 provided in the act. The question then arose as to what 
 institution or institutions should receive the benefit of the 
 proceeds. Although there were <a number of small colleges in 
 the state, all desirous of receiving a share of the grant, it 
 soon became apparent that the real contest lay between two 
 institutions, the State Agricultural College at Ovid, and the 
 People's College at Havana. In general it may be said that 
 
9 
 
 the former represented the agricultural interests of the state, 
 while the latter represented the mechanical. 
 
 The State Agricultural College at Ovid was the result of 
 a movement among the agriculturalists of the State. For 
 many years those interested in agriculture, and more par- 
 ticularly the New York State Agricultural Society, had been 
 endeavoring to establish such a college. In 1836, they had 
 so far succeeded as to obtain a charter from the legislature 
 and an attempt was made to locate the college near Albany, 
 but the whole matter failed because of lack of funds. Efforts 
 'in this direction were continued, however, and in 1853 an act 
 was passed, incorporating the "New York State Agricultural 
 College," and providing that the state should loan the col- 
 lege $40,000 for twenty-one years without interest, as soon as 
 an equal amount should be raised by subscriptions. An at- 
 tempt to locate the college at Fayette having failed, it was 
 finally determined to establish the institution at Ovid, whose 
 citizens pledged themselves to raise the necessary $40,000. 
 On March 31, 1856, the legislature authorized the loan of 
 $40,000, taking a mortgage for twenty years, without interest, 
 upon the college buildings as security. The corner stone of 
 the main building was laid on July 7, 1859, and the college 
 opened in Dec., 1860. 
 
 The college was intended for instruction in agriculture and 
 for nothing more. Accordingly, although both the practical 
 and scientific aspects of agriculture were taught, no instruc- 
 tion whatever was given in languages or similar subjects. 
 Several prominent men were connected with the institution, 
 among them Ezra Cornell, who was one of the trustees, but 
 the college itself had only a short existence. Its president, 
 Brig. Oen. M. E. Patrick, was a West Point graduate and at 
 the opening of the Civil War he was called to Albany to assist 
 in raising troops, thus necessitating the closing of the col- 
 lege. The intention at the time was that it shoufd soon be 
 reopened, but the fact thait a large number of its students had 
 
10 
 
 enlisted and that it was without funds of any kind, made this 
 impossible, and the college never resumed its work. In 1863 
 the college had been closed for two years. 
 
 The mechanical interests of the state were represented by 
 the People's College at Havana. This college or technical 
 school was the result of what was known as the "Mechanics' 
 Mutual Protection," an association which had been formed 
 in 1843 by mechanics for the purpose of raising themselves 
 to their "true position in society." Originally the plan seems 
 not to have embodied the idea of a technical school, but rather 
 the general diffusion of scientific and practical knowledge in 
 other ways. The establishment of a school of technology was 
 first suggested in 1848-49 by Mr. Harrison Howard, an in- 
 fluential meniber of the association, and afterwards one of the 
 chief promoters of the People's College. 
 
 Mr. Hbw&rd's scheme called for the foundation of a 
 school where mechanics could get such instruction as they 
 needed, without the necessity of so much preliminary study 
 which was required in other colleges and which was thought 
 to be useless. It was felt that none of the established 
 colleges met the requirements and that a new institution 
 must be founded. At first the project met with little favor, 
 but Mr. Howard persisted in his efforts with the result 
 that on August 15, 1851, an association was formed at 
 Lockport for the purpose of furthering the establishment 
 of a mechanical college. Many prominent men were mem- 
 bers of the association, among whom were William H. Seward, 
 Martin Van Buren, and Horace Greeley. Mr. Howard was 
 the secretary. 
 
 This new association was closely connected with the Me- 
 chanics' Mutual Protection, and the combined strength of the 
 two must have been considerable. Before the election of 1852 
 circulars were sent to all candidates for the Legislature and 
 Governorship, asking for their support for the college and 
 those who refused were, in many cases, defeated. As a result 
 of these efforts a charter was granted to the college in 1853. 
 
11 
 
 The Prospectus of the People's College, issued in 1852, in 
 advance of its charter, shows that the institution was expected 
 to cover a broad range of studies. "Its distinctive aim shall be 
 the dissemination of Practical Science, including Chemistry, 
 Geology, Mineralogy, and those sciences most immediately and 
 vitally essential to agriculture and the Useful Arts, 'although 
 instruction in the classics shall be amply provided." The dif- 
 ference between the purpose of this institution and that of 
 the State Agricultural College should be noted. The latter 
 confines its instruction entirely to agriculture; the former 
 is much broader and includes not only agriculture and "the 
 various branches of Manufactures and the Mechanic Arts," 
 but the Classics as well. The original purpose of the college 
 was to be constantly kept in mind, however, by the provision 
 that all students were to be required to engage in manual 
 labor for parts of five days in the week. 
 
 For several years' after the charter was 'obtained nothing 
 definite was accomplished, but in 1857 the decision was made 
 to locate the college at Havana. This was due to the efforts 
 of Mr. Charles Cook, a resident of that place, who held out 
 many inducements and promised financial support if it were 
 located there. In the same year the Eev. Amos Bcown, who 
 had been instrumental in the foundation of the State Agri- 
 cultural College, was elected president of the People's Col- 
 lege, and Mr. Cook was chosen chairman of the Executive 
 Committee. On Sept. 2, 1858, the corner stone of the main 
 building was laid with elaborate ceremonies, in the presence 
 of a large number of people. President Mark Hopkins of Wil- 
 liams College was the principal speaker, and addresses were 
 also delivered by Horace G-reeley and others. 
 
 After this auspicious beginning little seems to have been 
 done for the next few years, except in attempts to get legis- 
 lative aid. The Morrill Bill was before Congress at this time 
 and several supporters of the People's College, including Mr. 
 
12 
 
 Cook and President Brown, went to Washington and exerted 
 their influence in behaU of the measure, the latter being par- 
 ticularly active and working under the personal direction 
 of Mr. Morrill. Several United States Senators have since 
 expressed the opinion that the passage of the Morrill Act was 
 largely due to this work on the part of Mr. Brown. 
 
 As soon as the Act had been passed, the promoters of the 
 People's College transferred their activity to the state and 
 began to exert all their influence to secure the New York 
 State share of the grant for their institution. The other 
 colleges of the state likewise put in their claims and the 
 People's College encountered strong opposition, its most 
 formidable competitor being, as has been said, the State 
 Agricultural College, at Ovid. Largely through the influence 
 of Mr. Cook, who was State Senator at the time, the People's 
 College was victorious and was awarded the whole of the 
 proceeds of the grant. An outburst of protest on the part of 
 the friends of the Agricultural College immediately followed. 
 The advocates of this college, although it had been open only 
 one year and had been closed for two years, considered that 
 it was more entitled to the appropriation than was an insti- 
 tution which had never opened its doors at all. There were 
 many complaints that the award had been made in opposition 
 to the wishes of the classes most interested, that it had been 
 secured through a political trick on the part of Mr. Cook, 
 and that the other college had been unjustly deprived of its 
 rights. 
 
 The political shrewdness and influence of Mr. Cook un- 
 doubtedly were important factors in securing the grant, but 
 it is hardly fair to assume that there were no other reasons 
 for the award. The prospects of the People's College were 
 much brighter than their rivals, the former having re- 
 ceived promise of financial support from Mr. Cook, while 
 the latter had been forced to remain closed because of lack of 
 
13 
 
 funds. This and the fact that the People's College was much 
 broader in scope and was intended to give instruction, not 
 only in agriculture, but also in the Mechanic Arts and the 
 Classics, while the State Agricultural College was to confine 
 its attention entirely to agriculture, are considerations which 
 miay well have had weight in determining the award. 
 
 The whole matter was thought to be finally settled by an 
 act of the legislature passed May 14, 1863. This act ap- 
 propriated the entire proceeds of the land grant to the 
 People's College, but set certain requirements, which that in- 
 stitution must comply with, and which the Eegents of the 
 University of the State of New York must certify to, before 
 the college could receive any of the money. 
 
 These requirements were hardly more than were necessary 
 to comply with the provisions of the Morrill Act. Before be- 
 coming entitled to the proceeds of the grant, the trustees of 
 the college must have on hand ten competent professors to give 
 instruction in branches relating to agriculture, the mechanic 
 arts, and military tactics; they must own and have paid for 
 without encumbrance, college grounds and buildings suitable 
 for two hundred and fifty students, a library, scientific ap- 
 paratus, and cabinet of natural history, a suitable farm of two 
 hundred acres, equipped with stock and implements, and suit- 
 able shops and machinery for teaching the mechanic arts. 
 Three years were allowed the trustees within which to meet 
 these conditions. 
 
 Under such circumstances the future of the institution 
 looked bright. But an unforseen difficulty arose. Mr. Cook, 
 the principal financial supporter of the college, suffered a 
 stroke of paralysis, which so changed his whole nature that 
 he absolutely refused to advance any more money to the in- 
 stitution. The college had been located at Havana, and had 
 received the state appropriation largely with the expecta- 
 tion that the support of Mr. Cook would place it on a sound 
 financial basis. After Mr. Cook's change of attitude, a feel- 
 
14 
 
 ing of dissatisfaction gradually arose among many of the 
 strongest supporters of the college, and the belief became 
 prevalent that it would never be able to comply with the re- 
 quirements laid down by the state legislature. 
 
 About this time Mr. Ezra Cornell who, as a trustee of the 
 Agricultural College, took a deep interest in educational 
 matters, started a movement to unite the friends of the 
 People's College and the State Agricultural College, and to 
 "make up a fund sufficient to purchase all the scrip of the 
 State and locate it for the benefit of both colleges, entering 
 into an agreement for an equal division of the profits to arise 
 from the transaction between the two colleges at Havana and 
 Ovid." Mr. Cornell offered to supply a tenth of the funds 
 necessary to accomplish this purpose, but neither Mr. Cook 
 nor any of the friends of either institution would join him in 
 such a project. The incident is of interest, however, in show- 
 ing that Mr. Cornell had already conceived the idea of pur- 
 chasing the scrip, which he afterwards carried out so suc- 
 cessfully in behalf of Cornell University. 
 
 Unsuccessful in his endeavor to unite the forces of the two 
 colleges and believing that the People's College would never 
 be in a position to avail itself of the grant, Mr. Cornell, in 
 the winter of 1864, introduced a bill in the State Legislature 
 to divide the land grant fund between the People's College 
 and the State Agricultural College. The measure encoun- 
 tered the opposition of Senator Andrew D. White, who was 
 unwilling that the fund should be divided, and the bill was 
 defeated, chiefly by his efforts. 
 
 In the following summer, at a meeting of the State Agri- 
 cultural Society at Bochester Mr. Cornell, who was President 
 of that Society, offered to give an additional $300,000 to the 
 Agricultural College, if one-half of the land grant, equal to an 
 income of $30,000 a year, could be secured. The estimated 
 value of the land grant at that time was $600,000, so Mr. Cor- 
 nell thought that by this offer he would obviate the objection 
 
15 
 
 of dividing the fund. The offer was received with enthusi 
 asm by most of those present but Mr. White, who had been 
 invited by Mr. Cornell to attend the meeting, absolutely re- 
 fused to agree to any division of the funds whatever, probably 
 thinking that the estimate of $600,000 was too low. Mr. 
 White offered, however, to use all his influence in support of 
 the measure, if Mr. Cornell would ask for the whole of the 
 grant instead of only half of it, and would add to it the 
 $300,000. MT. Cornell evidently gave this plan serious con- 
 sideration, for the next fall he proposed to Mr. W T hite to ask 
 for the whole of the grant for the purpose of founding a new 
 institution, and to give $500,000 instead of $300,000 if this 
 grant could be secured. Mr. White then joined enthusiastic- 
 ally into the project and, in conference with Charles J. Fol- 
 ger of Geneva, the charter of Cornell University was drawn 
 up. 
 
 But the fact that Mr. Cornell and Mr. White had joined 
 forces did not mean that the success of the new university 
 was assured. Many difficulties remained to be encountered. 
 The time allowed to the People's College within which to meet 
 the requirements of the legislature had still a year to run and 
 the appropriation could hardly be taken from it if there was 
 any prospect that the college would comply with these con- 
 ditions. It was generally known that such was not the case 
 but, in order to have official information upon the subject, a 
 resolution was passed by the New York Senate on Feb. 4, 
 1865, requesting the Board of Eegents to investigate the 
 People's College and report whether the college was likely to 
 be in a condition to avail itself of the fund within the pre- 
 scribed time. 
 
 In answer to this 'inquiry the Eegents reported, on Feb. 
 14, that they had investigated the college and that, although 
 the college buildings were excellent and well adapted 
 to their purpose, the requirements had not been complied 
 with, the buildings would accommodate only one hundred and 
 
16 
 
 fifty students, instead of two hundred and fifty as was re- 
 quired ; there were only five professors instead of ten ; instruc- 
 tion was being given only in the preparatory course; and no 
 library, scientific apparatus, shops, machinery, farm or stock 
 had been provided. It was clear that sufficient progress was 
 not being made, and under such circumstances there would 
 seemingly be no injustice in appropriating the fund to an- 
 other institution which would properly comply with the re- 
 quirements. 
 
 The bill incorporating Cornell University and appropriat- 
 ing to it the income of the land grant fund had already been 
 introduced on Feb. 7, 1865, and encountered tremendous op- 
 position. Now that the subject of the award was again 
 taken up each of the denominational colleges tried to obtain a 
 share of the proceeds and they succeeded in stirring up a 
 religious sentiment against the act, on account of the proposed 
 non-sectarian character of the new university. The rep- 
 resentative of the denominational colleges and those of the 
 People's College joined forces to fight against the new in- 
 stitution. Traces of this opposition may be found in the 
 charter itself, especially in the case of the two most formid- 
 able antagonists, the People's College and the Genesee Col- 
 lege at Lima. 
 
 The supporters of the People's College were naturally un- 
 willing to allow the fund to be taken away from them and 
 succeeded in bringing considerable strength to bear against 
 the measure. This opposition, however, came from Mr. Cook 
 and those who were at that time associated with him in the 
 management of the college rather than from its original pro- 
 moters. Most of the latter, including Mr. Harrison Howard, 
 who had been very active in the organization of the People's 
 College, had lost all hope in that institution and, far from 
 being opposed to the change, favored it as the best method of 
 carrying out their original idea. 
 
17 
 
 But Mr. Cook and those who remained opposed! to> such a 
 change were still powerful enough to control -a large part of 
 the legislature, and were particularly strong in the Assembly.. 
 Although not strong enough to defeat the bill, they succeededP 
 in inserting a clause giving the People's College 'another 
 chance to retain possession of the fund. It had been esti- 
 mated by the Eegents that $186,500 would be the sum which 
 would be sufficient to insure compliance with the requirements- 
 of the law making the appropriation to the college. Accord- 
 ingly a clause was inserted in the charter of the new univer- 
 sity, providing that if the trustees of the People's College 
 should deposit the sum of $185,000 within three months, then 
 that college should retain the whole of the grant. From one 
 point of view this action cannot be regarded as giving more 
 than a fair chance to the old institution. 
 
 Far more unjust was the demand of Genesee College of 
 Lima, a small denominational college which was afterward 
 transferred to Syracuse and absorbed by Syracuse University. 
 This institution insisted that it was entitled to a share in the 
 land grant fund and demanded that $25,000 of that fund 
 should be paid to it. Advocates of the new university opposed 
 this on the ground that if Genesee College were given a part, a 
 precedent would be established, the other denominational col- 
 leges would demand and secure parts of the fund, the whole 
 fund would be broken up into a number of small portions, and 
 the entire purpose of the act, which was to keep the fund 
 intact, would be defeated. The friends of the Genesee Col- 
 lege then demanded, as the alternative, that Mr. Cornell 
 should agree to pay that institution $25,000 out of his own 
 money. 
 
 Mr. Cornell absolutely refused to resort to any such ex- 
 pedient of buying off his opponents, and insisted that he 
 would agree to no conditions which were not in the bill itself. 
 The representatives of the People's College were undaunted 
 and were strong enough to succeed in inserting into the bill 
 
18 
 
 a clause that Mr. Cornell must pay to their college the sum 
 of $25,000, to establish a professorship of agricultural 
 chemistry, before being allowed to give $500,000 to the new 
 university, and thus securing to it the proceeds of the grant. 
 Mr. Cornell was compelled to submit to this extortion. To the 
 credit of the legislature, it should be said, that they later 
 offered to repay the money to Mr. Cornell, and upon his re- 
 fusal to accept it, voted the sum to Cornell University on 
 Mar. 28, 1867. 
 
 Opposition in the Assembly was much stronger than in the 
 Senate. The opponents of the measure did not confine their 
 attention to merely asserting their own claims, but loudly at- 
 tacked the motives and character of Mr. Cornell. Especially 
 was this true in a hearing before the Assembly committee to 
 which the bill had been referred, in which a lawyer, who had 
 been hired by Mr. Cook, denounced Mr. Cornell as "seeking to 
 erect a monument to himself" and "planning to rob the 
 state." The committee itself refused to report the bill and 
 a two-thirds vote of the House was required to take it from 
 the committee. Hard work on the part of the friends of the 
 measure in the legislature, together with the support of the 
 most influential of the New York editors, such as Horace 
 Oreeley of the Tribune, Erastus Brooks of the Express, and 
 Manton Marble of the World, finally forced the bill through 
 the Assembly. The fight in the Senate, although determined, 
 was not as severe, and the act passed both houses and was 
 signed by the governor, becoming a law on April 27, 1865. 
 
 This act was known as "An Act to establish the Cornell 
 University, and to appropriate to it the income of the sale 
 of public lands granted to this State by Congress, on the 
 second day of July, 1862; also to restrain the operation of 
 chapter 511 of laws of 1863." The object of the university is 
 -stated in practically the same terms as in the Land Grant Act 
 of 1862, namely, to provide instruction in agriculture and the 
 mechanic arts, not excluding classical studies, and including 
 jnilitary tactics, "in order to promote the liberal and prac- 
 
19 
 
 tical education of the industrial classes in the several pur- 
 suits and professions in life." Such other branches of knowl- 
 edge were to be taught as were determined by the trustees. 
 Many details of the organization of the University were also 
 laid down. 
 
 The entire income from the investment of the proceeds of 
 the sale of land scrip was appropriated to the trustees of Cor- 
 nell University, to be used by them as provided in the act of 
 Congress. Before any payment was to be made, however, the 
 trustees must satisfy the Comptroller that $500,000 had been 
 given to the University by Ezra Cornell. There were also 
 the provisions, already referred to, that Mr. Cornell must 
 pay $25,000 to Gienesee College within six months; and that 
 the People's College was to have three months within which 
 to deposit the required sum and so reserve the grant for them- 
 selves. To become finally and absolutely entitled to the 
 money Cornell University must meet tne requirements of the 
 act within two years. 
 
 Even after the bill had been passed, there still remained 
 the danger that the People's College would deposit the re- 
 quired $185,000 within the specified three months and thus 
 retain possession of the fund. That institution, however, 
 was apparently unable to raise the money, and on Aug. 28, 
 1865 the Secretary of the University of the State of New 
 York certified that no such deposit had been made. The 
 conditions of the appropriation of the land grant had already 
 been accepted by the Trustees of Cornell University, at their 
 first meeting, held in Albany on April 28, 1865. A certificate 
 by the Treasurer of Cornell University of the receipt of 
 $500,000 from Ezra Cornell on Oct. 21, 1865, and a similar 
 certificate that the $25,000 had been paid to Genesee College, 
 showed that the requirements laid down in the charter had 
 been complied with, and that Cornell University had become 
 entitled to the proceeds from the land grant fund. 
 
20 
 
 STATE MANAGEMENT OF SCEIP UP TO PUECHASE 
 BY ME. COENELL. 
 
 Eeckoning upon the basis of 30,000 acres of land for each 
 Senator and Eepresentative in Congress to which the state 
 was entitled under .the census of 1860, New York should have 
 received 990,000 acres as her share of the Land Grant Act 
 of 1862. As a matter of fact, the amount which New York 
 State actually received was 989,920 acres, in 6,187 pieces of 
 160 acres each, the loss of 80 acres being due to the fact 
 that no piece was issued by the government for less than 160 
 acres. The total number of acres given to all the states by 
 this grant was 9,597,840, so it will be seen that New York 
 State received over one-tenth of the whole. 
 
 New York State, not having public lands within her own 
 boundaries which could be granted to her, received, in- their 
 place, land scrip to an equal amount. Each certificate of 
 scrip authorized the selection of 160 acres of land from 
 unappropriated public lands of the United States. By 
 the terms of the Land Grant Act, no state was allowed to 
 locate lands within the limits of any other state, although a 
 private person might do so. Hence states which had no 
 public lands within their boundaries could locate no lands at 
 all; their only means of realizing upon the grant was to sell 
 the scrip. 
 
 Nearly all of the eastern states were thus situated, and 
 as most of them desired to realize upon the land grant 
 immediately, the consequence was that the scrip was sold in 
 large quantities to speculators, the market became flooded, 
 and its value rapidly declined. The nominal price of the 
 scrip, at the time of the passage of the act, was $1.25 an 
 acre, but under such conditions its value decreased until 
 its market price was soon only 60 cents an acre and in many 
 cases sales were made for even less than that amount. 
 
. 
 
 or THF 
 
 New York State received its scrip some time during the 
 year 1863. The next year the Comptroller, under directions 
 from the legislature, advertised the scrip for sale at 85 cents 
 per acre. In a few months 475 pieces, 'amounting to 76,000 
 acres, had been sold -at this price, "except that upon the first 
 parcel of fifty pieces sold -a rebate of two cents was allowed, 
 in consideration of certain advantages offered in the matter 
 of advertising in the Northwestern States/' Thus 8,000 acres 
 were sold at 83 cents and 68,000 acres at 85 cents, the whole 
 sum amounting to $64,440, which was immediately put on 
 deposit at 3 per cent, interest. 
 
 But these sales soon entirely ceased, in consequence of 
 other states having reduced their price to a much lower 
 rate. As the Comptroller says in his report for 1865, "It 
 therefore, becomes an important question whether the price 
 should also be reduced here and sacrifices made to insure 
 sales, or the land be held as the best security for the fund 
 until the sales can be made at fair rates." Under one alterna- 
 tive, only a comparatively small sum would be received from 
 the lands ; under the other alternative nothing at all would be 
 realized for some years. A consideration which may have 
 had some weight in determining the proper course to pursue 
 was that an even greater sacrifice would have been involved 
 if New York State had thrown its one-tenth upon the already 
 overcrowded market. Apparently nothing of the sort was 
 done, for no sales at all were made during the year ending 
 September 30, 1865. 
 
 In the meantime Cornell University had been chartered 
 and Mr. Cornell began to consider the ways in which the 
 largest possible amount might be realized from the grant, 
 devoting considerable time during the summer to the discus- 
 sion of the problem. It soon became apparent to him that 
 the lands would increase greatly in value if they could be 
 held until the scrip then upon the market had been dispose! 
 of; and he came to the conclusion that the best solution of 
 
22 
 
 the difficulty would be for him to purchase it himself, 
 locate it, sell the located lands, and devote the entire proceed? 
 to Cornell University. Although the state itself ould not 
 locate lands, there was, of course, no objection to a private 
 individual doing so. In this way the University would re- 
 ceive some immediate returns from the lands without losing 
 the prospect of ultimately realizing a much larger profit. 
 
 Acting upon this principle, Mr. Cornell purchased on 
 November 24, 1865, 100,000 acres of scrip for $50,000. The 
 market price of the scrip at that time was 60 cents 'an acre, 
 but it was felt that this reduction was no more than fair on 
 account of the obligations which Mr. Cornell was taking upon 
 himself for the benefit of the University. He was required 
 to give a bond, properly secured, that all the profits which 
 should be derived front the transaction would be 'given to 
 Cornell University. 
 
 . This purchase was merely the beginning of Mr. Cornell's 
 policy. On April 10, 1866, the state legislature passed "An 
 Act to authorize and facilitate the early disposition by the 
 comptroller of the lands or land scrip donated to this state by 
 the United States." The comptroller was authorized to sell 
 scrip at not less than 30 cents an acre to the trustees of 
 Cornell University, or, in case they did not purchase, to any- 
 one who would comply with the required conditions. These 
 conditions were that proper security must be given that the 
 whole net profits from the sale of the lands should be paid 
 to Cornell University, and that annual reports should be made 
 to the comptroller. 
 
 Since the trustees of the University were not in a position 
 to make the purchase, an agreement was entered into be- 
 tween the Commissioners of the Land Office and Ezra 
 Cornell on August 4, 1866, whereby Mr. Cornell was to 
 take the remaining 5,087 certificates . of 160 acres each at 
 30 cents an acre and comply with the requirements of the 
 
23 
 
 contract. The full amount of the purchase price was to 
 be paid in money, or safe bonds and stocks at not less than 
 5 per cent. In addition, stocks and bonds to the amount 
 of a second 30 cents per acre must be deposited as securities 
 for carrying out the terms of the contract. The interests 
 of the state were further safeguarded by requiring that 
 complete information regarding the location and sale of 
 the lands must be given by Mr. Cornell to the Board of 
 Commissioners of the Land Office. Within sixty days of 
 the loca'tion of a piece of land the Board of Commissioners 
 was to fix the minimum price at which each quarter sec- 
 tion might be sold; thus no land could be disposed of at a 
 lower price than was fixed by the state. The whole of the 
 net profits, which were to be ascertained by deducting the 
 original cost of 30 cents per acre and the expenses of loca- 
 tion and sale from the gross receipts, were to be paid into 
 the Treasury of the State. 
 
 All of these profits were to be applied to the use of Cornell 
 University, but the money was to be divided into two funds. 
 A part of the net profits equal to 30 cents per acre was to be 
 added to the fund which had already been started, composed 
 of the proceeds of sales of land already made and known as 
 the "College Land Scrip Fund/' This fund represented the 
 money actually received by the State from its sale of the 
 scrip. The purpose of having an additional 30 cents per 
 acre paid into this fund was in order to make the amount 
 received for the scrip which had been sold to Ezra Cornell for 
 30 cents an acre, equal the market value of the scrip at the 
 time of sale, which was 60 cents an acre. Thus the "College 
 Land Scrip Fund" represented the amount which would have 
 been realized if the scrip had been sold by the State at its 
 market price. In other words, it represented the proceeds 
 derived from the sale of the scrip, under the management of 
 the state. 
 
24 
 
 The remainder of -the receipts from the sale of these 
 lands was to constitute -a separate fund, known as the "Cor- 
 nell Endowment Fund." This fund represented the profits 
 over and above the 60 cents an acre realized by the State, 
 and was understood to be a gift to the University from Ezra 
 Cornell, at being the amount which his management had 
 added to the original selling price of the scrip. The size 
 of this fund would, of course, depend 'altogether upon Mr. 
 Cornell's skill <in managing the lands and not, in any way, 
 upon the State. It was to be kept entirely distinct from the 
 other fund, although the State was ,to have charge of the 
 principal and was to appropriate the income annually to the 
 University, as in the case of the other fund. 
 
 The difference between the two funds was stated to be 
 that no portion of the College Land Scrip Fund could be used 
 for the purchase, erection or maintenance of buildings, while 
 the Cornell Endowment Fund could be used in any way the 
 trustees desired. The exact status of the latter fund became 
 a matter of great importance later in connection with the 
 Fiske suit. 
 
 In his agreement Mr. Cornell bound himself to purchase 
 the whole of the remaining scrip, to locate the lands within 
 four years, and to sell all the lands within twenty years. 
 Whenever Mr. Cornell located a piece of land he was required 
 to immediately execute a mortgage upon it to the State of 
 New York, as security that he would live up to his agreement. 
 
 The agreement of August 4, 1866, was modified somewhat 
 by the Commissioners of the Land Office on September 18, 
 1866, by the adoption of the following resolution: Eesolved, 
 Tlhat in order to facilitate the location of the Land Scrip con- 
 tracted to be sold to Hon. Ezra Cornell, the Comptroller is 
 
 authorized to receive an assignment of land certificates 
 
 to the extent of 100,000 acres, to be held temporarily in lieu 
 of a mortgage thereon, and as and for a mortgage, until 
 
25 
 
 patents can be obtained therefor, and the same may be mort- 
 gaged by said Cornell, as provided by his 'agreement. On 
 May 15, 1867, this modification was extended to cover another 
 100,000 acres, but, with these exceptions, the management 
 of the lands was conducted by Mr. Cornell as provided in 
 the terms of the agreement of August 4, 1866. 
 
 In a letter written to the Comptroller a couple of months 
 prior to the agreement (June 9, 1866) Mr. Cornell gave an 
 interesting estimate of what the total endowment of the Uni- 
 versity should 'amount to. Comparison with the amount 
 finally realized by New York State from its share of the scrip 
 will show how conservative were Mr. Cornell's predictions. 
 His estimate is as follows: 
 
 First. 
 The amount in the treasury of the State from 
 
 former sales is $114,000 
 
 The amount to 'be realized from the sale of 
 
 800,000 acres of .scrip at 30 cents per acre.. 240,000 
 The amount of profits equal to 30 cents per acre 
 
 on 800,000 acres,, to bring the College 'Land 
 
 'Scrip Fund up to the market value of the 
 
 scrip 240,000 
 
 Total amount of College Land iScrip 
 
 Fund $594,000 
 
 Second. 
 
 A fund to be realized from the (balance of 
 profits -wihidh are expected to arise from the 
 sale of lands located with the 800,000 acres 
 of scrip, after paying the above 30 cents per 
 acre, estimated to foe two dollars per acre. . . 1,600,000 
 
 Third. 
 
 The fund donated by Ezra Cornell to meet the 
 requirements of the act of the Legislature, 
 
 Chap. 585, laws of 1865 500,000 
 
 The amount of profits in 100,000 acres of land 
 
 already .entered ($2.50 per acre) 250,000 
 
 , 750,000 
 
 Total endowment. $2,944,000 
 
26 
 
 Previous to the agreement of August 4, 1866, 1,100 pieces 
 out of .the total grant of 6,187 pieces of scrip had been dis- 
 posed of; 475 pieces had been sold to parties other than Mr. 
 Cornell before he had formulated his plans; while 625 pieces 
 had been purchased by Mr. Cornell under a former arrange- 
 ment. By this agreement Mr. Cornell purchased the remain- 
 ing 5,087 pieces. Thus in all Mr. Cornell purchased 5,712 
 out of the 6,187 pieces which the State received under the 
 land grant, or 913,920 out of the 989,920 acres. 
 
 MANAGEMENT OF SCEIP AND LANDS BY ME. 
 COENELL. 
 
 Mr. Cornell's first idea had been that the trustees of the 
 University should buy the New York land scrip with the 
 money which he had furnished them and locate the lands for 
 the University. The trustees, however, were either unwilling 
 or unable to do so, and he had been forced to proceed with 
 the plan himself. 
 
 Eecords show that from the time of the agreement of 
 August, 1866, up to the end of the year 1867, Mr. Cornell 
 had received from the Comptroller 2,700 pieces of scrip, 
 amounting to 432,000 acres. Previous to this time he had 
 purchased 625 pieces, representing 100,000 acres. Thus 
 scrip to the amount of 532,000 acres had been purchased by 
 him from the Comptroller. 6,080 acres were sold in the 
 form of scrip by the western agent; most of the remainder 
 was located by Mr. Cornell and his agents within a short 
 time, 3,974.93 acres being located in Kansas, 7,968.27 acres 
 in Minnesota, and the remainder in Wisconsin. Of the large 
 part located in Wisconsin, 400,000 acres were timber lands, 
 the rest were farming lands. All of these lands were care- 
 fully examined by agents before being selected, with a view 
 to obtaining only the best. This involved an enormous ex- 
 pense, and when Mr. Cornell transferred the lands to the 
 
27 
 
 University in 1874 it was found that the expense which he 
 had been obliged to meet exceeded the receipts from sales by 
 the sum of $573,854.72. 
 
 During the first part of the year 1.867 the trustees of the 
 University began to be desirous of immediately realizing some 
 profits from the lands, and it was 'also -advisable that measures 
 should be taken to relieve Mr. Cornell from the financial 
 strain involved in continually meeting the expenses of loca- 
 tion and management. But a sale of the scrip, or. even a 
 sale of the located lands, would bring but a comparatively 
 small amount of money and would involve a tremendous 
 sacrifice, since only a small part of the land grant scrip had 
 been sold and each State was desirous of disposing of its 
 share. Scrip was being quoted at an extremely low rate, and 
 hardly any sales were reported. 
 
 It was estimated that if the New York scrip were put on the 
 market at this time it would hardly be likely to bring more 
 than 25 cents an acre. To obtain any reasonable profit at all, 
 the lands must be located and held for a rise in price. At this 
 point Mr. Cornell conceived the idea of realizing a larger 
 immediate profit by means of the organization of the "New 
 York Lumber, Manufacturing and Improvement Company." 
 
 This company was incorporated on April 23, 1867, in the 
 name of Ezra Cornell, Hiram Sible} 7 , Theodore S. Faxon, 
 Charles F. Wells and William A. Woodward. Its object is 
 stated to be "the purchase, improvement and sale of timber 
 and other lands, the manufacture and sale of lumber, the 
 improvement of a town site and water power and the sale, 
 renting and leasing thereof in the State of Wisconsin." One 
 hundred thousand acres of land were to be sold to the com- 
 pany at $5.00 an acre. This $500,000 would relieve Mr. 
 Cornell from the necessity of furnishing money to defray 
 the expenses of the lands, and would relieve the University 
 of the embarrassment arising from its lack of funds, as well 
 as tend to assure the trustees that Mr. Cornell's plan of hold- 
 
28 
 
 ing the rest of the lands was advisable. But the company 
 also had another purpose; it was to be instrumental in build- 
 ing up and developing the country, thus bringing out new 
 settlers and increasing the value of the lands which remained 
 in Mr. Cornell's possession. 
 
 The plans of the company called for the establishment of 
 a town and the site chosen was at a place known as Brunette 
 Falls, on the Chippewa Kiver, about thirty miles from Eau 
 Claire. -It was here that the village of Cornell was to be 
 established. The Prospectus represents it as in the center 
 of the richest pine county in the world, and as having un- 
 excelled natural advantages. The chief profit of the company 
 was to be derived from the cutting of timber and its sale, 
 but after the timber had been cut the land was to be sold for 
 farming purposes, for which it was said to be exceptionally 
 well adapted. Profits were also to be derived from the manu- 
 facture of various articles from wood, and from the increase 
 in value of the lands in the surrounding country, all of which 
 were to be owned by the company. 
 
 How well this plan would have worked out was destined 
 never to be known, for the company never came into an active 
 existence. The stock of the company was to be $600,000, 
 composed of shares of $100 each. Mr. Cornell at first sub- 
 scribed $25,000, and later $50,000, but, although he made 
 earnest efforts to enlist his friends in the enterprise, he was 
 unable to get the stock taken up, and was forced to abandon 
 the whole scheme. 
 
 About 4,000 acres of the land included in Mr. Cornell's 
 plan for a town site, together with small water power at 
 Brunette Falls, were withheld from sale until about three 
 years ago, when they were sold for $55,000, all of the timber 
 from these lands having been previously sold. The pur- 
 chasers of this land and water power have established a town 
 site at this point and named it Cornell, 00 that Mr. Cornell's 
 scheme in this regard bids fair to be in part realized. 
 
29 
 
 It is probable that if Mr. Cornell could have had his 
 own way in the matter no more lands would have been sold 
 at that time than was absolutely necessary to enable the re- 
 mainder to be properly managed. The trustees of the Uni- 
 versity, however, became impatient to have the use of the 
 money. Only about 200,000 acres had been located when 
 they began to urge him not to locate any more lands, but, 
 instead, to sell the scrip so that the University might have 
 the immediate use of the funds. Notwithstanding the fact 
 that these appeals became more and more numerous, Mr. 
 Cornell continued to locate lands, and during the summer 
 and fall of 1867 selected 232,000 acres more. The trustees, 
 however, became more and more impatient, and finally, on 
 December 1, 1867, drew up a recommendation to the Com- 
 missioners of the Land OfBce that Mr. Cornell's agreement 
 be modified so as to allow him to sell the remaining 2,387 
 pieces of land scrip at not less than 75 cents an acre. 
 
 Several reasons were assigned why such a policy would be for 
 the best interests of the University. In the first place, over half 
 a million acres had already been located and this would fur- 
 nish a large sum when it was sold later. It was also said 
 that the full amount of college land scrip which could be 
 located in Wisconsin, Michigan and Minnesota, had already 
 been taken up, consequently any further locations of land 
 would have to be made in States further west or southwest. 
 This, the trustees believed, "would so divide any organization 
 for the further sale of the lands as to affect its efficiency, and 
 perhaps result in our not realizing any more money from 
 the larger quantity of lands thus scattered than we should 
 for what is already located, if our efforts vere concentrated 
 for its sale." And, finally, "the University will be opened 
 in September, 1868, upon a scale that will require larger ex- 
 penditures than our present resources will supply, 'and it is 
 therefore desirable to strengthen our funds as early as we can, 
 "having due regard for the value of the scrip." As the scrip 
 had been selling for two years at from fifty to sixty cents 
 
30 
 
 per acre, the trustees believed that its sale at 75 cents an acre 
 would not involve too much sacrifice. The Commissioners 
 of the Land Office evidently considered these reasons of 
 weight, for they modified the agreement accordingly upon 
 December 18, 1867. 
 
 Mr. Cornell apparently felt bound by these instructions, 
 for he immediately began looking around to find a purchaser 
 for the remaining scrip. The principal dealer in college land 
 scrip at this time was Mr. G-. F. Lewis of Cleveland, Ohio. 
 Mr. Cornell endeavored to sell him scrip at $1.00 an acre, but 
 found this impossible because Mr. Lewis himself had scrip 
 for sale at 60 cents 'an acre. Mr. Cornell then proposed a 
 plan whereby he should cooperate with Mr. Lewis in con- 
 trolling what scrip there was left on the market and concen- 
 trating it in the hands of Mr. Lewis, who was to deal it out 
 to customers no faster than it was wanted for location. If 
 this could be done Mr. Lewis could easily dispose of it at 
 $1.15 an acre, since the government price was $1.25, and un- 
 der such circumstances he could afford to pay Mr. Cornell 
 $1.00 per acre for the remaining New York State scrip. 
 As Mr. Lewis had bought a large part of his scrip for about 
 fifty cents an acre, he would make a large profit out of the 
 transaction, and was entirely willing to consent to such an 
 arrangement. Mr. Cornell immediately set to work, wrote 
 to the Governors of the States which had not already sold 
 their scrip, explained his dealings in the matter, and asked 
 for their cooperation. In several of these cases he was suc- 
 cessful. 
 
 Having performed his part of the agreement, Mr. Cornell 
 proceeded to dispose of the remaining New York State scrip 
 to Mr. Lewis. On April 23, 1868, he sold the latter 625 
 pieces, or 100,000 acres, at 90 cents an acre, and 1,125 pieces 
 or 180,000 acres at $1.00 an acre, receiving in all the sum of 
 $270,000 for 280,000 acres. The remainder of the scrip was 
 reserved for some people in California, who agreed to take it 
 
31 
 
 at $1.00 an acre. These people, 'however, failed to live up 
 to their part of the agreement and the scrip was left on Mr. 
 Cornell's hands. In the meantime Congress had passed a 
 law restricting the quantity of scrip which could he located 
 in any one township to not more than three sections. The 
 effect of this restriction was to lower the price of the scrip, 
 and the consequence was that when Mr. Cornell finally sold 
 the remaining 637 pieces, or 101,920 acres, to Mr. Lewis on 
 December 15, 1869, <he was able to obtain only 86 cents an 
 acre. 
 
 The entire transaction, however, was highly satisfac- 
 tory. The 2,387 pieces of scrip, representing 381,920 acres, 
 had been sold for $357,651.20, -an average price of 93 2-3 
 cents per acre, or 18 2-3 cents per acre higher than had been 
 required by the Commissioners. This was notwithstanding 
 the fact that at the time the authorization was made, the 
 market price of the scrip was only sixty cents an acre. 
 
 The trustees of the University were apparently not sat- 
 isfied with the money realized from the sale of the scrip to 
 Mr. Lewis and continued to urge Mr. Cornell to sell the 
 remainder of the land, so that the University might at once 
 take advantage of the whole of the endowment. Mr. Cornell, 
 however, adhered to his plan of holding the lands for a rise 
 in value rather than selling them at a sacrifice. Subsequent 
 events have justified Mr. Cornell's course and proved the 
 value of his management. 
 
 At the time, however, there were strong reasons why the 
 opposite plan seemed best to many of the friends of the 
 University. The president and trustees had constantly 
 forced upon their attention the pressing needs of the insti- 
 tution, and a keen realization of the dangers which a lack 
 of funds involved. To their minds it seemed desirable and 
 ever necessary to continue building up the University, even 
 faster than the income permitted; it seemed far more im- 
 
32 
 
 portant to get a good start than to receive a large endow- 
 ment a number of years later. So keenly was this felt that 
 they were willing and desirous to sacrifice the scrip in order 
 to attain this end. Mr. Cornell, on the other hand, was not 
 brought into such intimate contact with the immediate needs 
 of the University; his work enabled him to see rather the 
 splendid prospects for an immense future endowment. The 
 trustees had in mind the present needs of the institution; 
 Mr. Cornell its future prospects. Under such circumstances 
 it was entirely natural that their opinions should differ as 
 to the proper course to pursue. 
 
 The demands of the University, as well as the continued 
 expense of managing the lands, made it desirable that some 
 sales should be made, if at could be done without too much 
 sacrifice. Another principle was involved. The future values 
 of the lands would undoubtedly be much higher than they 
 were at that time, but there was no prospect that the lands 
 could be sold at any reasonable price for many years unless 
 something were done in the meantime to bring up their value. 
 The reason was that between these lands and the market lay 
 a large tract of equally desirable land, which would be suffi- 
 cient to meet the demand for timber for some time to come. 
 To obtain any market at all for the Cornell lands the latter 
 rnust be opened up and made more accessible. This could only 
 be done by selling a portion of the lands themselves. 
 
 The question then arose as to whether it would be better 
 to sell a large tract of land at lower prices or to sell picked 
 lands at higher prices. Upon this point there was a differ- 
 ence of opinion between Mr. Cornell and his agent, Mr. 
 Woodward. The latter believed that it would be advisable 
 to sell the lands at retail at a higher price, allowing the 
 purchasers to select the most desirable lands, rather than to 
 sell a large area at a lower price. Mr. Cornell, on the other 
 hand, believed there would be more profit in selling a large 
 tract of 100,000 acres for $5.00, 'or even $4.00 an acre, than 
 
88 
 
 in allowing selections to be made at $6.25. His ifa evi- 
 dently was that these selections would take up all the desir- 
 able lands and that he would be left with worthless tracts inv 
 his possession which could not be disposed of at any price 
 and would thus involve a direct loss. By selling only ihi 
 large quantities the poor lands would be sold with the good! 
 and this loss would be avoided. 
 
 Mr. Cornell was unwilling to make sales at low prices, even* 
 in large amounts, but finally yielded to the insistence of the 
 trustees, and offered the land to <a number of wealthy men, 
 both in this and in other States. No sales were made, how- 
 ever, until Mr. Cornell induced Mr. McGraw and Mr. Sage 
 to purchase a part of the land. These purchases were made 
 more to help the University in a time of need than for any 
 profit which could be seen in the transaction, both Mr. 
 McGraw and Mr. Sage being among the largest early bene- 
 factors of Cornell University, and their gifts having aggre- 
 gated many hundreds of thousands of dollars. Mr. Sage 
 finally paid over to the University his share of the profits 
 which were realized from these purchases. 
 
 The first agreement of sale was made with John McGraw 
 and Henry W. Sage on December 14, 1870, and called for the 
 sale of 100,000 acres of white pine timber land at $4.00 an 
 acre. By the terms of the contract Messrs. Sage and McGraw 
 were to decide within a given time as to which quarter of 
 the Cornell tract they would select their lands from ; they 
 were then to take all the lands within that tract which had 
 320,000 feet of merchantable white pine timber to the lot of 
 80 'acres. Lots of 80 acres which did not contain the required 
 amount of timber were to be rejecteJ, and the expense of their 
 examination paid by Mr. Cornell. A gale of 50,000 acres of land 
 at $4.00 an acre under similar conditions of selection was 
 made to John McGraw, Thomas McGraw and Jeremiah W. 
 Dwight on the same day. On June 23, 1871, another sale of 
 100,000 acres was made to John McGraw 'and Henry W. 
 
34 
 
 Sage on the same terms, except that the price to be paid was 
 to be $5.00 an acre instead of $4.00. 
 
 In making these agreements Mr. Cornell believed that 
 every lot of 80 acres upon his tract would contain the re- 
 quired amount of white pine timber and that there would 
 thus be no selection, this belief being based upon information 
 furnished him by an agent. When the lands were examined 
 by Messrs. Sage and McGraw, however, it was found that 
 only about one-half of the land would come up to this stand- 
 ard, and that a large part of this half would be worth much 
 more than the specified price. This would amount to a selec- 
 tion of the best lands and their sale at only $4.00 or $5.00 an 
 acre, while the poorer lands would remain in Mr. Cornell's 
 possession, and was precisely the result which Mr. Cornell 
 was trying to avoid. 
 
 Negotiations were immediately begun to cancel the con- 
 tracts. Both Mr. McGraw and Mr. Sage were willing to 
 agree to what was clearly for the best interests of the Uni- 
 versity, accordingly on November 27, 1872, a contract was 
 drawn up surrendering the two previous contracts for the 
 purchase of 100,000 acres at $4.00 and 100,000 acres at 
 $5.00 upon the return of the purchase money. In considera- 
 tion of their generosity a new contract was drawn up, pro- 
 vioUng that 50,000 acres should be sold them at $4.00 an 
 acre, to be selected as in the previous agreement. It was also 
 provided that they should finish their examination of the 
 entire tract, the expenses of this examination to be met by 
 Mr. Cornell. Other parties were interested in the agreement 
 of December 14, 1870, to sell 50,000 acres at $4.00 an acre 
 and were unwilling to cancel their contracts. Thus, at the 
 'dose of the arrangements, two sales of 50,000 acres each at 
 $4.00 an acre had been made on terms that practically 
 jallowed the purchasers a selection of the lands. 
 
35 
 ATTACKS UPON ME. COBNELL. 
 
 Throughout Mr. Cornell's connections with the manage- 
 ment of the scrip he was on many occasions exposed to direct, 
 personal attacks, both upon his character and his motives. 
 The most important of these attacks was an editorial which 
 appeared in the Eochester "Daily Union and Advertiser" on 
 October 26, 1867. This editorial had a political purpose, 
 being intended to influence the result of the State election, 
 which would occur in a few days. The constitution of the 
 State had been revised by a State convention which met for 
 the purpose earlier in the year, and the adoption of the re- 
 vised constitution was to be voted upon at the November 
 election. In it had been inserted a new provision that the 
 capital of the College Land Scrip Fund c and the capital of the 
 Cornell Endowment Fund were to be "preserved inviolate." 
 It was this section which brought about the attack upon Mr. 
 Cornell. 
 
 The Eochester Daily Union and Advertiser saw a sinister 
 purpose behind these innocent-looking provisions. Accord- 
 ing to the editorial "these amendments are intended to cover 
 up and perpetuate by their incorporation into the organic law 
 one of the most stupendous jobs ever 'put up' against the 
 rights of the agricultural and mechanical population of the 
 state. The funds which are thus sought to be perpetuated 
 to the Cornell University, belonging rightfully to those 
 classes of the people, and have been wrested from them and 
 put into the hands and management of Ezra Cornell, the 
 founder of the Cornell University, by legislation as rotten 
 as the worst that ever disgraced the state." Then follows a 
 eocalled "history" of the transactions, a history abounding in 
 misstatements, in which every action is misconstrued. 
 
 The general scheme of the article seems to be that Mr. Cor- 
 nell, who was a State Senator in 1865, devised a plan whereby 
 he was to secure control of the land grant scrip, and thus 
 
36 
 
 derive an immense profit for himself and his family. As an 
 excuse or pretext for securing control and to hide his real 
 motives, he put forward his grand scheme of founding a great 
 university. The other colleges saw through his motives and 
 made a strong fight against such a plan but, through corrupt 
 means,, Mr. Cornell succeeded in silencing their opposition. 
 "It would be a waste of time and space to go into all the arts 
 and means used to get this bill through. It is sufficient to 
 state that no appliance commonly used to push ' jobs' through 
 the Legislature was neglected." 
 
 In regard to the opposition of Genesee College it is stated 
 that, although Mr. Cornell made a proposition to buy off the 
 college, he was opposed to inserting any provision to that 
 effect in the charter, desiring instead to "put it off with a 
 promise." Distrust on the part of the trustees of Genesee 
 College forced him to pay the money on the spot, but "the 
 next winter, he being still a Senator, he got the $25,000 he paid 
 to Genesee College back from the state by an appropriation 
 for that purpose. Thus the people were forced to pay the 
 money which had been used -to silence opposition to the wrest- 
 ing of their million acres of land from them." 
 
 Mr. Cornell's management of the land grant is next taken 
 up. The purchase of 800,000 acres of land at 30 cents an 
 acre and the 'separation of the two funds are treated in such 
 a way as to exhibit Mr. Cornell in the worst possible light. 
 Then comes the crowning feature of the attack. "Now, it is 
 of some importance just here to know what Mr. Cornell has 
 done with this million acres of land. By a statement in a 
 late number of the Ithaca Journal, Mr. Cornell's organ, it 
 appears that Mr. Cornell has located 400,000 acres upon the 
 choicest pine lands belonging to the government. These 
 400,000 acres are estimated by Mr. Cornell's organ to be 
 worth $60 per acre, or $24,000,000. One hundred (thou- 
 sand) are located as farming lands, valued by Mr. Cornell 
 at $5.00 per acre, making $500,000. This accounts for only 
 
37 
 
 half the lands and yet we find the value of this half to be 
 $24,500,000 ! Who would not be willing to found a 
 University under such circumstances ? 
 
 "The same article from Mr. Cornell's organ, in alluding to 
 the donation of $500,000 by Mr. Cornell himself to the Uni- 
 versity, states that the University is likely to get two millions 
 of dollars out of these lands. That is enough, in all con* 
 science, for any University more than it can advantageously 
 use for a long period, if ever. But what becomes of the 
 $23,000,000 and over of the balance to be realized out of these 
 lands? The answer is plain. It belongs and will go to the 
 Cornell family. Already Mr. Cornell has been to the Legis- 
 lature to secure the passage of an act incorporating a great 
 land company of which he is chief. To the company he will 
 sell these lands, fixing his own price, and his company will 
 make from twenty-five to thirty millions of dollars. It can 
 be easily seen how a man with little or no money invested, 
 with such an enormous land fund put into his hands to man- 
 age as he sees fit, can afford to divert public attention from 
 his real object by turning it towards a great institution of 
 learning which he is founding. Mr. Cornell's own munifi- 
 cent gift of half a million exists only on paper. It has not 
 been paid, and is only secured to the State by a pledge of 
 Western Union Telegraph Stock. Having passed his bill 
 and secured the fruits of the job, it required vigilant watch- 
 ing to keep the booty secure. Some future legislature might 
 investigate the transaction. The people might find out how 
 they had been plundered and attempt a recapture of some 
 part of the stolen property. All this would be unpleasant to 
 Mr. Cornell, so he hits on the idea of perpetuating the job 
 by putting it in the new Constitution." The motive of the 
 whole article then appears : an appeal to the people to refuse 
 to adopt the new Constitution, and to defeat Horace G-reeley, 
 a trustee of the University, who was running fo*r Comptroller, 
 an office through which most of the land grant business was 
 transacted. 
 
38 
 
 The most of the article consisted simply in deliberate mis- 
 statements and was undoubtedly inspired by a political 
 motive. Its main point, however, had its foundation in an 
 absurd article which appeared in the Ithaca Journal on July 
 27, 1869. The article was evidently written to justify Mr. 
 Cornell's management of the land but it contained such 
 exaggerated statements and was worded in such a way as to 
 arouse suspicion in even an impartial reader. A few ex- 
 tracts will show the source of the Rochester paper's attack. 
 
 "Now a word as to the present value of the timber on those 
 lands (i. e. the 400,000 acres of pine lands selected) and the 
 reader can judge for himself whether or not Mr. Cornell's 
 action in the premises has been characterized by business 
 judgment and sagacity. 
 
 "The quantity of timber is estimated to produce at least 
 10,000 feet of boards per acre as an average of the whole 
 tract, and this is believed to be a low estimate. The market 
 value of the logs during the last three years has exceeded all 
 cost of getting them to market by the amount of $6.00 per 
 thousand. This fixes a value for the timber standing on 
 the land at $60 per acre, which multiplied by the 400,000 
 acres makes the enormous sum of $24,000,000, and still 
 100,000 acres of farm lands worth $5.00 per acre, in addition 
 to dispose of." 
 
 Then follow a few statements as to Mr. Cornell's work in 
 advancing the price of the scrip and the amount of land lo- 
 cated and finally the remark that "When Mr. Cornell under- 
 took this enterprise he explained it fully to the Trustees of 
 the University and assured them that he could make a profit 
 of two millions of dollars for the University and there is 
 little doubt but his expectations will be more than realized." 
 
 The purpose of the article was to justify Mr. Cornell's 
 management of the scrip, but the unfortunate way in 
 which reference is made to an anticipated profit of 
 
39 
 
 $24,000,000 and the prospect that the University would re- 
 ceive somewhat over $2,000,000 would naturally cause even 
 an indifferent reader to wonder what was to become of the 
 rest of the money. The fallacy, of course, lies in the state- 
 ment that the lands were worth $60 'an acre. As a matter 
 of fact, the value of timber lands in Wisconsin in 1867-68 
 was from $2.50 to $4.00 per acre. 
 
 Shortly afterwards Mr. Cornell replied to the attack of the 
 Rochester Union and Advertiser in a letter to the same paper. 
 In remarkable contrast to the editorial, Mr. Cornelias letter 
 consisted merely in a dispassionate account of the proceedings 
 which had taken place in regard to the land grant, but it ac- 
 counted for the scrip which has passed through Mr. Cornell's 
 hands, and effectively disproved the charges which had been 
 ntade against him. Almost nothing is said in regard to the 
 personal charges against Mr. Cornell's character and motives 
 except in the final paragraph where he concludes : "As to the 
 other charge of 'swindling/ 'corruption/ etc., etc., permit me 
 to say that I have lived in this State from my birth more 
 than sixty years. I have had personal relations with great 
 numbers of my fellow citizens, and official relations with all 
 of them. To their judgment on you and me I leave your 
 epithets of 'swindler' and 'corruptionist.' ' ; 
 
 The culminating attack upon Mr. Cornell came several 
 years later. Mr. Cornell's failing health led him to desire 
 to close up his own 'account with the state and transfer the 
 lands directly to the University. For this reason a bill was 
 introduced into the lower house of the New York Legislature, 
 on May 13, 1873, providing for a settlement between Mr. 
 Cornell and the State. Thereupon the representative from 
 the district in which the People's College had been located 
 took occasion to make a bitter personal attack upon Mr. 
 Cornell. 
 
 The charges were much the same as had been made in 
 the Rochester Union, especial reference being made to the 
 
40 
 
 alleged fact that white pine lands in Wisconsin, "which any 
 timber merchant would purchase at $65-$75 an acre," had 
 been sold by Mr. Cornell to 'an associate for the nominal price 
 of $5.00 per acre. The purpose of the bill was said to be 
 to compel the Comptroller to return the bond which Mr. Cor- 
 nell had given, and thus free the latter from any restrictions 
 whatever. The charges, in general, were that the Act of 
 Congress had been violated, in that the moneys derived from 
 the lands had been invested in securities not allowed by the 
 act; that Ezra Cornell was using his position in regard to 
 the lands for the purposes of private speculation and worse; 
 that he had presented no statement of his accounts for seven 
 years ; and that the act of Congress was being violated in the 
 fact that agriculture and the mechanic arts were not the 
 leading branches of study at the University but that only a 
 pretence of them was kept up. The real motive behind the 
 accusation is found in the complaint that "moneys which 
 properly belonged to every institution in the State were 
 secured for Cornell University alone." In conclusion, the 
 demand was made that a committee be appointed to investi- 
 gate the charges. 
 
 In spite of the motive behind the attack and the falsity 
 of the charges, it is evident that the speech made a deep 
 impression. "It is scarcely necessary to say that the feeling 
 produced in the House by Mr. McGuire's speech was most 
 profound. The high character of the speaker, his evident 
 familiarity with the subject he dealt with, even to the details, 
 and the care which he took to give his authority for every 
 statement made the strongest impression on his hearers." 
 
 On the morning of May 15 a resolution, apparently drawn 
 up by Mr. McG-uire, was offered in the Senate providing that 
 the Comptroller, the Superintendent of Public Instruction, 
 and the State Treasurer should constitute a commission to 
 inquire into Cornell's management of the lands and similar 
 matters. All of these individuals were thought to be hostile 
 
41 
 
 to Mr. Cornell. On the evening of the same day Mr. Alonzo 
 B. Cornell, who had heard nothing of the Senate resolutions, 
 asked 'as a personal favor unanimous consent to offer a reso- 
 lution in the House providing for the appointment of 
 Horatio Seymour of Oneida, William G. Fargo of Erie, and 
 Lewis Gr. Morris of Westchester as a committee to investi- 
 gate the affairs of Cornell University and the management 
 of the land grant. Only one objection was made, which came 
 from Mr. McGuire, but that one objection was sufficient to 
 defeat the resolution. This action put Mr. McGuire in a bad 
 light and aroused the suspicion that he was not dealing fairly 
 in the matter. Mr. Ezra Cornell had already written to the 
 governor requesting the appointment of a commission and 
 the matter was finally settled by allowing the members to be 
 named by the governor. 
 
 The Commission, as appointed by the Governor, consisted 
 of Horatio Seym'our, William A. Wheeler, and John D. Van 
 Buren, all men of national prominence, Mr. Seymour hav- 
 ing been Governor of New York and candidate for President 
 while Mr. Wheeler was later elected Vice-President. Both 
 Mr. Seymour and Mr. Van Buren were political opponents 
 of Mr. Cornell. The commission was instructed to inquire 
 as to whether the laws of Congress and the act of the State 
 legislature had been complied with; to investigate the man- 
 agement of the timber lands; and to ascertain whether ag- 
 riculture and the mechanic arts were the leading subjects 
 taught at Cornell. 
 
 A very thorough investigation was made by the commis- 
 sion into all these points and a large number of witnesses 
 were examined and their testimony carefully considered. 
 Mr. McGuire was invited to attend all the meetings of the 
 commission and was given every opportunity to prove his 
 accusations. The commission reported on April 16, 1874, 
 both majority and minority reports being submitted. 
 
42 
 
 A large part of the reports consists of a history of the 
 transactions relating to the disposal of the state land scrip, 
 and Mr. Cornell's management of the same after it came into 
 his hands. This has been treated elsewhere and need not be 
 considered at this point. The majority report, signed by 
 Mr. Wheeler and Mr. Van Buren, and the minority report, 
 signed by Mr. Seymour, differ chiefly in their answer to the 
 instructions to recommend "what legislation is necessary to 
 properly secure said funds (i. e., Cornell Endowment Fund) 
 in compliance with the act of Congress." The majority re- 
 port holds that no action is necessary. The Cornell Endow- 
 ment Fund is considered as a part of the proceeds from the 
 scrip, and as legally the same as the other fund. .The minor- 
 ity report, on the other hand, holds that the division into 
 two funds is a violation of the Land Grant Act, inasmuch as 
 the State is thereby indirectly locating lands within another 
 state, through an agent. Attention is called to the fact that 
 there is no legal way of holding Mr. Cornell to his contract. 
 The report ends wiiii the recommendation that immediate 
 steps be taken to sell the remaining lands and close up the 
 whole business. 
 
 In neither report is there any statement which reflects the 
 slighest suspicion upon Mr. Cornell's motives or actions. 
 The majority report states that it considers the present state 
 of affairs satisfactory. The minority report, which recom- 
 mends a change, specifically exempts Mr. Cornell from any 
 suspicion by the statement that "it is due to Mr. Cornell to 
 state that none of the witnesses or parties who appeared be- 
 fore the committee complained that he had sought to gain 
 any pecuniary advantage to himself or his family in the man- 
 agement of the property under his control." The commis- 
 sion believed, however, that the estimates of the future value 
 of the lands were placed too high and that "if a gain of one 
 million can be made over and 'above taxes and expenses and 
 other drawbacks, it will be a fortunate result." 
 
43 
 
 An interesting portion of the report is the contention that 
 the University does not fulfill the requirements of the act 
 of Congress because it is devoted to general culture, rather 
 than to "agriculture and the mechanic -arts." The agricul- 
 tural instruction was regarded as particularly weak and the 
 commission reported that "Our impression is that no larger 
 proportion of the students of Cornell University, as now 
 organized, go in after life into agriculture, than those of 
 other colleges." The opinion of the committee was that 
 "the grant made by Congress was not for the benefit of men 
 of letters, socalled, or of men who expect to live solely by 
 mental work If the University seeks to impart its 
 benefits to tlhese classes it does not carry out the purpose of 
 Congress. It will become still more than it now is, a school 
 for general learning which does not exclude agriculture and 
 mechanics, rather than a school for these arts, without ex- 
 cluding other kinds of learning." This complaint seems to 
 wholly overlook the fact that a large part of the funds of 
 Cornell University were derived from other sources than the 
 Land Grant Act. 
 
 TKANSFER OF LANDS TO UOTVEESITY. 
 
 Mr. Cornell's motives and actions having been vindicated, 
 the subject of the transfer of the management of the lands 
 from Mr. Cornell to the University was again considered. 
 The first action taken by the University was on July 1, 1874, 
 when a committee consisting of Henry W. Sage, John Mc- 
 G-raw, Andrew D. White, George W. Schuyler and Francis 
 M. Finch was appointed "to consider the relations existing 
 between Ezra Cornell and the State as to lands located by 
 him in behalf of the University, and the accounts growing 
 out of the same, with a view to the settlement of all questions 
 connected therewith and to consider as a part of such settle- 
 ment the transfer of the unsold lands from Ezra Cornell to 
 the University." 
 
44 
 
 On October 14, 1874, a communication was made by Cor- 
 nell University to the Commissioners of the Land Office, 
 in which the University proposed "to take the place and 
 assume the duties and obligations of Ezra Cornell, in his 
 contracts with the State, of November, 1865, and August, 
 1866, accepting from him a conveyance of his entire in- 
 terest and all his rights under such contracts, and of all 
 the lands located by him with college scrip, and paying at 
 once in cash to the Comptroller the full amount of Cornell's 
 bonds to the State, principal and interest, and henceforward 
 assuming the burden of the care, management, and sale of 
 such lands/' This proposition was approved by the Com- 
 missioners of the Land Board and the formal transfer of the 
 lands from Mr. Cornell to the University took place on Oct. 
 13, 1874. The purpose of the transfer was to assure proper 
 management of the lands after Mr. Cornell was no longer 
 able to care for them; that this transfer came none too soon 
 is attested by Mr. Cornell's death, which occurred on Decem- 
 ber 9, 1874. 
 
 In taking over these unsold lands, it was necessary that the 
 University should make arrangements to settle with Mr. Cor- 
 nell for the land expenses which he had met from his own 
 fortune. Mr. Cornell's account was as follows : 
 
 Total- pay'ts for scrip, location, examina- 
 tions, and all expenses for taxes, interest, 
 etc $720,438.36 
 
 Total receipts from sales of land, timber, 
 
 and interest on same 146,583.64 
 
 Balance due Ezra Cornell $573,854.72 
 
 This sum was paid principally from the proceeds of the 
 sale of 100,000 acres which had just been closed for the sum 
 of $400,000 (see p. 34), the balance being taken from the 
 Cornell Endowment Fund. 
 
45 
 MANAGEMENT OF THE UNIVEKSITY. 
 
 Up to the time of the transfer, the land transactions had 
 been conducted by Ezra Cornell, William A. Woodward, who 
 had charge of the locations, management, and sale of lands, 
 and Henry C. Putnam of Eau Claire, who looked after the 
 details of location, tax paying, etc. These parties all kept 
 separate accounts and there was no central office and no com- 
 plete system of records at any one place. 
 
 Upon the transfer of the lands to the University the cor- 
 respondence, such records as had been kept, tax receipts, and 
 other documents relating to the location, examination, sale, 
 and management of lands were given over to the Treasurer 
 of the University. All of this material was in the utmost 
 confusion, much of it having been dumped into huge baskets 
 and left in that form, and it became necessary to classify 
 this mass of documents and from it prepare a complete set 
 of books and records and bring them down from 1866 to the 
 fall of 1874. This work was most ably and satisfactorily done 
 by the Treasurer of the University and his assistants in the 
 land department at Ithaca. 
 
 From the beginning of its control the policy of the University 
 has been to place the lands under the general charge of a 
 committee. On Nov. 10, 1874, the first committee, consist- 
 ing of Henry W. Sage, chairman, J. B. Williams, G-. W. 
 Schuyler, John McGraw and S. D. Halliday, with F. M. 
 Finch acting as attorney of the University, was appointed 
 with power to dispose of the Western lands belonging to the 
 University, and with instructions to report all transactions 
 to the Executive Committee as they took place and at each 
 meeting of the Trustees for approval. 
 
 A land department was established in connection with the 
 office of the Treasurer of the University at Ithaca, where all 
 the records were kept and where all the business connected 
 with the sale and management of the lands was carried on, 
 
46 
 
 the Treasurer having an 'assistant in the person of Mr. Gratz 
 Van Eensselaer, appointed especially to look after the details 
 of land transactions. Mr. Van Eensselaer continued in this 
 capacity until 1882, when Mr. Horace Mack who holds the 
 position at the present time was appointed to succeed him. 
 A land office was also established at Eau Claire, Wis., with 
 Mr. H. C. Putnam in charge, to look after taxpaying, collec- 
 tions, and similar details, and to receive applications for land 
 and timber and forward the same to the office of the Treas- 
 urer of the University, where all prices were fixed and papers 
 executed, under the direction of the Land Committee. On 
 Sept. 7, 1876, Mr. Smith Eobertson was appointed Land 
 Agent at Eau Claire, the appointment to take effect Nov. 1, 
 and on Oct. 21, the resignation of Mr. Putnam was accepted. 
 Mr. Eobertson continued in charge of the office until the 
 winter of 1900 when, on account of advanced age, he was 
 relieved of his duties, and Mr. Charles McArthur appointed 
 in his place. Mr. McArthur held this position up to April, 
 1904, when, on account of the small amount of lands remain- 
 ing unsold, the Bau Claire office was closed upon the recom- 
 mendation of the Land Committee, in order to reduce ex- 
 penses. 
 
 In addition to the office force an expert woodsman was 
 kept in the forests, whose duty was to see that parties lum- 
 bering on adjoining lands did not cut over the line into 
 Cornell timber, to report all trespass, fire, and windfall, and 
 to re-examine the lands from time to time, so as to keep the 
 Cornell University record down to date. This service was 
 most satisfactorily rendered by Mr. Daniel Fitzhugh, of 
 Eau Claire, until 1885, when he resigned and Mr. L. V. 
 Eipley took charge of the work and continued as long as the 
 services of a woodsman were required. The energy, loyalty, 
 and efficiency of these officers, in their various capacities, 
 contributed largely to the success which attended the man- 
 agement and sale of the lands. 
 
47 
 
 The Land Committee appointed on Nov. 10, 1874, retained 
 charge -of the lands until June 20, 1877 when, by resolution 
 of the Board of Trustees, it was abolished 'and its duties 
 transferred to the Executive Committee of the Board of 
 Trustees. This -arrangement continued, important matters 
 being referred to Special Committees to report on, until Feb. 
 1, 1887, when a Land Committee, consisting of H. W. Sage, 
 chairman, Judge Boardman, and Treasurer E. L. Wil- 
 liams, was appointed. In Sept., 1891, Wm. H. Sage was 
 appointed on the Committee to fill the vacancy caused by the 
 death of Judge Boardman and after the death of Mr. H. W. 
 Sage, in Sept., 1897, -and the removal of Wm. H. Sage from 
 Ithaca, a new committee consisting of S. D. Halliday, chair- 
 man, A. B. Cornell, and Treasurer E. L. Williams, was ap- 
 pointed and continued until Oct. 24, 1903, when, upon the 
 recommendation of the chairman, the committee was dis- 
 continued and its duties referred to the Executive Committee. 
 
 SALES OF TIMBER AND LAND. 
 
 For many years following the location of the timber lands 
 there was very little demand for them at any reasonable price. 
 Such a vast quantity of timber was in sight that the impres- 
 sion prevailed that the supply was inexhaustible, and the 
 policy of the mill owners was to buy only as they needed 
 timber to cut, thus forcing land owners to face the problem 
 of carrying the lands, paying taxes and guarding against 
 trespass indefinitely, or to accept such prices as the mill 
 owners were willing to offer. 
 
 The charges for taxation were specially heavy. The tax 
 officials of Wisconsin put almost the entire burden of taxation 
 upon non-residents, and frequent legal contests were necessary 
 to prevent excessive taxing of the University lands. During 
 the years 1875-1880 the taxes alone upon these lands amounted 
 to $198,458, an average of $33,076 per year for six years. 
 
48 
 
 Other expenses ran the average yearly cost of carrying the 
 lands, including the amounts paid on the Woodward Suit and 
 for interest, up to $71,469. During this same period the average 
 yearly sales were only $76,813, being only barely sufficient 
 to carry the lands. In fact, on June 1, 1881, the total ex- 
 penses had 'amounted to $1,062,407, while the sales had only 
 brought in $991,950, leaving -a deficit of $70,457. And the 
 most discouraging feature was that during these years there 
 had been very little increase in the market value of the lands. 
 
 A continuation of these conditions meant a very small 
 profit as a result of all these years of labor and it is not 
 surprising that when, in the fall of 1880, advances were made 
 by a New York Syndicate, looking to the purchase of the 
 remaining timber lands, viz., 275,000 acres for $1,250,000, 
 the majority of the Board of Trustees were in favor of sell- 
 ing for that sum. Mr. Sage alone was opposed, his experi- 
 ence in the land and lumber business gave him faith in the 
 future value of the lands. During the discussion at a meet- 
 ing of the Executive Committee he said, "If I was not a 
 member of this board, so that I would be free to deal with the 
 University, I would pay more than that sum for these lands." 
 Other trustees, however, strongly urged the necessity of funds 
 to develop the University, one of them going so far as to 
 make the statement that $1,250,000 at that time was worth 
 more than five times that amount five or ten years later, as 
 the University was dropping hopelessly behind for want of 
 funds. Mr. Sage finally yielded to these pleas and the com- 
 pany was given an option for thirty days upon all of the 
 lands for the sum of $1,250,000. At its expiration the 
 option was extended for an additional thirty days; this was 
 also allowed to expire and an application made for a further 
 extension. This second extension was granted, but the price 
 was raised to $1,500,000 and this in view of the uncertainty 
 of the syndicate, was sufficient to prevent the sale, and the 
 whole matter was dropped. 
 
49 
 
 The need of more funds for developing the tfnitWsiiy had 
 "been so forcibly urged, however, that Mr. Sage, in order to- 
 prevent the sacrifice of the lands devised the scheme of 
 talizing them into a fund of $1,000,000 and charging 
 with the interest upon this sum annually. The su'iii thus : 
 obtained, viz., $50,000, was transferred to University inco'me 1 
 and was to be taken from sales of land or timber. This, of 
 course, was only paper income for, as shown above, th total 
 sales up to that time had not equalled the expenses, but Mr*. 
 Sage's faith in the future value of the lands was great and 
 he declared that in the next few years they would increase 
 in value far beyond the cost of carrying them, even with the 
 interest charge added. As will be seen later this great faith 
 was fully justified. The capitalization plan was followed for 
 two years, viz., 1880-81, when $50,000 was charged to the 
 land account, and in 1881-82, when $64,000 was so charged, 
 these sums being carried over to University income. 
 
 About this time the reports contained in the forestry sec- 
 tion of the Census of 1880 became public. Among them 
 were estimates of the amount of standing white pine in the 
 four principal pine states, namely, Pennsylvania, Michigan, 
 Wisconsin, and Minnesota, and estimates of the amounts cut 
 in these states during the previous year. The. total amount 
 of standing white pine in these states on May 31, 1880, was 
 estimated at 85,970,000,000 feet; the amount cut during 
 the year ending May 31, 1882, was placed at 7,415,507,000 
 feet. If this rate of cutting were to continue the prospect 
 was that the entire supply of white pine would be exhausted 
 in about 12 years. 
 
 This report was, of course, based upon the plan of cutting 
 then followed, viz., no log under 12 inches being merchant- 
 able. Closer cutting, economy, and the discovery of new 
 tracts has lengthened the life of the white pine timber 
 far beyond the period named by the commissioners, but 
 at that time the report made a great impression upon the 
 
50 
 
 minds of men who had hundreds of thousands of dollars 
 invested in mill properties. They saw that in order to 
 protect their investments in saw mills, it would be neces- 
 sary to control timber for future years' cutting, and they 
 immediately began purchasing large tracts tributory to the 
 streams upon which their mills were located. This created 
 an immense demand and competition for timber, which was 
 of great advantage to the land owners. 
 
 The University first felt the benefit of this increased de- 
 mand in September, 1881, when representatives of the firm 
 of Knapp, Stout & Co. of Menomonee, Wis., appeared at 
 Ithaca and in a few hours made a contract for the purchase 
 of 30,998.97 acres of land for $477,550.00. This sale was based 
 upon a charge of $2.00 per M ft. for the pine timber, the land 
 being thrown in. This was the largest sale in amount and 
 the highest price per M ft. for timber which had been heard 
 of up to that time, and when announced caused a great deal 
 of excitement in land and timber circles. 
 
 But -this was only the beginning. In August, 1882, a 
 contract was made with the Chippewa Logging Company, 
 of Chippewa Falls, Wis., for the sale of 109,600.66 acres 
 of land for $1,841,746.00, this sale being based upon $3.00 
 per M ft. for the pine timber and 50 cents per acre for 
 the land. Widespread comment was caused, not only be- 
 cause of the amount involved, but also on account of its 
 being the first instance where a charge was made for the 
 land, previous sales of timber having always been considered 
 as including the land. These two transactions becoming 
 known, started a lively competition for the purchase of tim- 
 ber by mill owners all over 'the Northwest, and during the 
 :two years, Jan. 1, 1881, to Jan. 1, 1883, the University sold 
 170,939 acres of land for $2,644,564, and the pine timber 
 from 14,638 acres for $98,605, an aggregate of $2,743,169. 
 The price for pine timber had been steadily advanced to 
 $3.50, $4.00, and even $5.00 per M ft., so that within a period 
 
51 
 
 of two years after the option for the sale of the whole body of 
 timber lands for $1,250,000 had expired, the University had 
 sold about two-thirds of the lands for more than double the 
 amount of the option for the whole. 
 
 During the years previous to this increase in value, the 
 University was about the only owner that paid taxes upon its 
 lands after the timber had been removed, the uniform prac- 
 tice being to abandon the land and allow it to go back to the 
 state for taxes. The policy of the University proved very 
 profitable. As timber increased in value and lumbermen be- 
 gan taking timber of smaller size and poorer quality than 
 formefly, timber licenses were sold for a second cutting, and 
 after a few years ! for a third cutting, on many of these lands. 
 In some instances the second and third cuttings each sold 
 for more than the first, by reason of the larger amount of 
 this class of timber and the increased price it commanded. 
 
 The steady increase in market value of timber forced 
 lumbermen to cut the land closer and to take smaller logs 
 than formerly, so that the size of a merchantable log dropped 
 from 14 to 12 and 10 and later even to 8 inches. Sometime 
 before this the Land Committee had felt that the estimates 
 of timber on University lands, made in 1872, were too low, 
 and to make up for low estimates and for growth in the 
 meantime, endorsed upon all of the land plats a memorandum 
 to the effect that selling estimates were 25 per cent 'added to 
 the estimates shown on the books. This was made known 
 to purchasers and sales were made on that basis. 
 
 In 1885 it was thought wise to have a systematic re-exami- 
 nation of the land, and Mr. L. Y. Eipley, of Eau Claire, Wis., 
 and a corps of assistants were employed for that purpose. This 
 work was most carefully and efficiently done, and resulted in 
 the addition, of many thousands of dollars to the University 
 from the higher prices for which the lands were sold. The 
 reports included not only the amount, size, and quality of 
 white pine, but also the amount and size of Norway pine, 
 
62 
 
 hemlock, oak, birch, maple, elm, ash, 'and other kinds of 
 timber and the number of telegraph poles, E. K. ties, fence 
 posts, and cords of wood, and gave the lay of the land and 
 character of the soil, so that in -the office, at Ithaca, by study- 
 ing the streams and railroads and nearness of timber to 
 transportation, every condition effecting the value of the land 
 might be known. This examination also resulted in a large 
 increase in the estimate of white pine upon the lands. Many 
 tracts which in 1872 had been reported to contain no mer- 
 chantable pine were found to be heavily timbered, owing 
 partly to the growth during the intervening years and partly 
 to the fact heretofore mentioned that the size of merchant- 
 able logs had been reduced, so that timber that was of no 
 value in 1872 was merchantable and commanded a good price 
 in 1885. 
 
 Great care was exercised in the fixing of prices. When an 
 application was received by the Treasurer of the University, 
 a study was made of each individual forty acres involved, a 
 list taken of the amount, size and quality of each kind of 
 timber, and any items effecting the value noted. Consulta- 
 tion was then had with the Chairman of the Land Committee 
 as to the price to be fixed. Mr. Sage's advice was to show 
 proper respect for the property by asking something for it; 
 if one did not put a full value on the property, he would not 
 get it. 
 
 As an illustration of the results of following this policy, 
 we may take the socalled Penoke group, consisting of 24,900 
 acres in Ashland and Iron counties, on the extreme northern 
 edge of the University lands and nearly fifty miles north of 
 the point where the bulk of logging operations were being 
 carried on in the seventies. The estimates of 1872 gave 
 67,633,000 ft. of pine on this tract. The first recorded 
 offering of the tract as a whole was on Oct. 1, 1879, at $5.50 
 per acre or $142,450 for the land and timber. This offer 
 was renewed to various parties during the succeeding year 
 
53 
 
 and was universally rejected as too high. On Jan. 31, 1881, 
 the price was increased to $8 per acre or $207,200 and on 
 March 15, 1881, to $222,000. On March 20, 1882, the decision 
 had been reached to -add 25 per cent to the estimates of pine 
 timber, and the price was raised to $325,000, the estimate of 
 pine having been increased to 84,524,000 ft. Objection was 
 made by applicants that the Bad Eiver, to which the timber 
 was tributory, was very rocky and that there were several 
 rapids and falls that would have to be improved at large cost 
 before the timber could be driven out. Mr. Sage always re- 
 plied, "Stick to your price; some one will want this timber 
 before long at a fair price." On Sept. 21, 1882, the price 
 was fixed at $369,289, a basis of $4.00 per M for timber, 
 and $1.25 per acre for the land. On Feb. 9, 1885, the price 
 was raised to $390,600 for the pine timber, the University 
 reserving the land and hardwood. 
 
 During the year 1885-86 this tract was reached in the re- 
 examination then being made, and reports gave 'an aggregate 
 of 97,758,000 ft. of high grade pine. The price was im- 
 mediately increased and on June 28, 1887, the pine timber 
 alone on this 24,900 acres was sold for $513,689.00, the 
 University retaining the land and all timber except the pine. 
 This tract forms a part of the unsold lands at the present 
 time and is valued at $5.00 per acre, which, if obtained, will 
 make a total of $643,189 for land that was offered in 1879 
 for $142,450. This, although the largest in amount, is not 
 an isolated case; in fact, the same policy governed all the 
 University transactions. The settlement, of the State of 
 Wisconsin, building of railroads, improvement of streams, 
 and all conditions affecting values were closely followed and 
 prices regulated accordingly. 
 
54 
 
 POSITION OF CORNELL ENDOWMENT FUND AND 
 
 COLLEGE LAND SCRIP FUND IN RELATION 
 
 TO THE UNIVERSITY AND THE STATE. 
 
 In the eighties an event occurred which brought out more 
 clearly the relation of the Cornell Endowment Fund to the 
 University; that event was the McGraw-Fiske Will contest. 
 Although of importance to our subject only because of its 
 bearing upon the Cornell Endowment Fund, a brief account 
 of the whole matter may not be out of place. The facts are 
 that Mrs. Jennie McGraw Fiske, a daughter of John Mc- 
 Graw, who had been one of the early benefactors of Cornell, 
 died on Sept. 30, 1881, and by the terms of her will, left the 
 greater part of her large fortune to Cornell University, to 
 be used for the foundation of the library. This money was 
 estimated to amount to about a million and a quarter of 
 dollars. 
 
 Unfortunately the University never received the money. 
 Mrs. Fiske's husband, Prof. Willard Fiske, instituted legal 
 proceedings to annul that part of the will which gave the 
 bulk of her fortune to the . University. His claim was 
 based chiefly upon Sec. 5 of the charter of Cornell Uni- 
 versity, which provides that "the Corporation hereby created 
 may hold real and personal property to an amount not ex- 
 ceeding $3,000,000 in the aggregate," contending that the Uni- 
 versity already held property to the full limit of the $3,000,- 
 000 and hence could not take any more. The University 
 claimed, among other things, that it did not hold, "within 
 the meaning of the limitation clause of the charter, any of 
 the proceeds or avails of land scrip issued to the State of New 
 York under the Morrill Act of 1862 'and that, deducting such 
 proceeds, the limits of its charter would not be exhausted by 
 the entire bequests to it by Mrs. Fiske." 
 
 It soon became evident that the main question was whether 
 or not the University actually held the property, whose pro- 
 
55 
 
 ceeds come under the heading of the Cornell Endowment 
 Fund. This fund was formerly in the entire possession of 
 the state, but on May 18, 1880, all the securities, moneys, and 
 contracts which constituted the fund had been transferred 
 to the University. The University contended, however, that 
 the entire proceeds of the Land Grant, including the Cornell 
 Endowment Fund, in reality belonged to the State and that 
 Cornell University had only a conditional right to the in- 
 come, based upon compliance with certain requirements laid 
 down by the state. On the other side, among other things, it 
 was contended that the Cornell Endowment Fund belonged 
 entirely to the University. This was the view taken by the 
 courts, for the University lost its case in the Supreme Court 
 and Court of Appeals and, finally, on an appeal to the Su- 
 preme Court of the United States. 
 
 The result was that the bequest was lost to the University. 
 From our point of view the importance of the decision lies 
 rather in the fact that the position of the Cornell Endowment 
 Fund was definitely settled; it belonged entirely to the Uni- 
 versity and could be used in any way that institution de- 
 sired, being subject to none of the restrictions of the Land 
 Grant Act. 
 
 The position of the Cornell Endowment Fund was thus 
 finally determined, but there still remained a difference of 
 opinion over the College Land Scrip Fund. The chief dif- 
 ficulty arose over the question of charging the revenue of 
 the fund with the premiums paid on investments. The Act 
 of 1862 had provided (sec. 3), "That all the expenses of 
 management, superintendence, and taxes from date of selec- 
 tion of said lands previous to sale, and all expenses incurred 
 in the managment and disbursements of the moneys which 
 may be received therefrom, shall be paid by the states to 
 which they may belong, out of the treasury of said state, so 
 that the entire proceeds of the sale of said lands shall be ap- 
 plied, without any diminution whatever, to the purposes 
 
56 
 
 hereinafter mentioned/' The Act had also provided (sec. 
 4) that these moneys should be invested in some safe stocks, 
 "yielding not less than five per centum upon the par value of 
 said stocks/' and (sec. 5)- that "if any portion of the fund 
 invested, as provided tiy the foregoing section, or any portion 
 of the interest thereon shall, by 'any action or contingency, 
 be diminished or lost, it shall be replaced by the State to 
 which it belongs, so that the capital of the fund shall remain 
 forever undiminished." When New York State accepted the 
 grant in 1863, it agreed to these conditions. 
 
 In the investment of the moneys, after the sale of the scrip, 
 perfectly legitimate expenses were incurred for the premiums 
 paid on bonds. In 1882, $238,394.81 was paid for the pur- 
 chase of $200,000 of U. S. bonds, the excess of $38,394.81 
 including premiums, interest, and commissions. This latter 
 sum was charged as a payment out of the revenue account, that 
 is, it was to be deducted from the revenue which the Univer- 
 sity should receive as interest from the fund, and the Comp- 
 troller announced that no more payments would be made to 
 Cornell University from the future income of the fund "until 
 after the revenue therefrom shall have first made good the 
 revenue accounts for the drafts made upon it as stated above 
 for interest, premiums and commissions on investments 
 already made." 
 
 The University claimed that it was entitled to an income 
 of 5 per cent upon the whole of the fund, and that all ex- 
 penses incurred in the investment of the fund should be 
 met by the state. In order to settle the matter, a mandamus 
 procedure was instituted against the Comptroller to recover 
 the revenue which had been withheld from the University in 
 order to pay these expenses of investment. The Court of 
 Appeals decided, on Jan. 14, 1890, that moneys which had 
 been spent in the payment of premiums for investments "are 
 expenses connected with the management and maintenance 
 of the fund, which should be made good by the state by an 
 
57 
 
 appropriation from its treasury." The University was thus 
 declared entitled to the whole income from the entire pro- 
 ceeds of the fund. In accordance with this decision the 
 legislature, in the following year, appropriated $89,383.66 
 to the University, this being the total amount of the income 
 which had been withheld from the University by the action 
 of the Comptroller. 
 
 The question still remained undecided, however, as to 
 whether the State was bound to pay to the University an in- 
 come of 5 per cent upon the fund, in case investments could 
 not be secured at that rate. The remarks of the Judge 
 writing the opinion of the Court in the above case, also in 
 the McGraw-Fiske case (111 N. Y. 66) made the duty of 
 the state very clear in this matter and in 1894 the legislature 
 passed an act agreeing to take over the fund into the State 
 treasury and pay 5 per cent on it to the University. This 
 act was vetoed but a similar act, passed the following year, 
 became a law. The securities in which the fund was in- 
 vested were then sold and the proceeds became a part of the 
 general fund of the state. A certificate for $688,576.12, 
 bearing interest at 5 per cent, was then issued to the Uni- 
 versity and thus a permanent 5 per cent investment of the 
 fund was secured. The following is a full copy of that in- 
 teresting and very valuable document: 
 
 No. 1. $34,428.80. 
 
 STATE OF NEW YOEK, 
 
 COMPTROLLER'S OFFICE. 
 
 ALBANY, Oct. 1, 1895. 
 
 The COMPTROLLER having sold and converted into cash the 
 securities constituting the fund known as the COLLEGE LAND 
 SCRIP FUND, pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 78 of the 
 laws of 1895, and having credited the amount of COLLEGE 
 LAND SCRIP FUND, being the sum of six hundred and eighty- 
 eight thousand, five hundred and seventy-six dollars and 
 
58 
 
 twelve cents ($688,576.12) to the GENERAL FUND as in said 
 act provided. 
 
 It is hereby certified that the STATE OF NEW YORK will pay 
 to the CORNELL UNIVERSITY, annually hereafter, so long as the 
 said CORNELL UNIVERSITY shall comply with the provisions of 
 Chapter 460 .of the laws of 1863, and acts 'amendatory there- 
 of and supplemental thereto, and of the act of Congress 
 therein referred to, the sum of thirty-four thousand, four 
 hundred and twenty-eight dollars and eighty cents, being 
 five per cent of the proceeds thus credited to the GENERAL 
 FUND in the STATE TREASURY. 
 
 JAMES A. EOBEETS, 
 
 (Seal). Comptroller. 
 
 COMPARISONS WITH PROCEEDS OF GRANT IN 
 OTHER STATES. 
 
 At the present time the entire net amount realized by 
 Cornell University from the Land Grant Act is estimated at 
 $5,764,786.67, or $5.823 per acre of scrip received. Of this 
 sum only $688,576.12 is credited to the College Land Scrip 
 Fund; the remainder represents the proceeds from the Cor- 
 nell Endowment Fund. A comparison of the amount of 
 money which New York State realized from her share of the 
 land scrip, and the amounts which other states realized from 
 their shares, may show something of the skill with which the 
 New York State scrip was managed. The amount of scrip 
 which New York received was about 1-10 of the whole; the 
 amount of money which the state realized was about 1-3 of 
 the whole. When we recall the facts that the average 
 amount per acre realized by the states from their scrip was 
 only $1.65, that only two other states (Kansas $5.57 and 
 California $5.14) received over $5.00 an acre, and only one 
 other state (Minnesota $4.39) over $3.00 per acre, while some 
 states (R. I. $ .41 and Nebraska $ .49) realized less than 50 
 
59 
 
 cents per acre, we can understand something of what Cornell 
 University owes to those who so skillfully attended to the 
 management of her scrip and lands. 
 
 It should be noted also that but few States owned public 
 lands subject to entry with this scrip within their own 
 borders. Two of these were Kansas and California, and the 
 amount realized per acre in those States, as stated above, 
 oame from the fact that they fortunately located their lands 
 within their own States. In no State other than New York 
 did there ever appear a benefactor like Ezra Cornell, who 
 located the lands for the sole benefit of the beneficiary. 
 
 iThese figures regarding the other states are taken from the 
 History of the Aig. College Land Grant, published in 1890. Some 
 few changes may have taken place -since that time, tout the figures 
 are undoubtedly substantially correct. 
 
 DISPOSITION OF SCEIP EECEIVED BY NEW YORK 
 STATE. 
 
 Pieces sold by Comptroller 2862 
 
 Pieces sold by Woodward 52 
 
 Pieces lost in the mails 14 
 
 ' Pieces left on hand when full am't according to law 
 
 had been located in Wis 2 
 
 Pieces located in behalf of University on 511,069,- 
 
 .53 acres 3257 
 
 Total No. of pieces rec'd by N. Y. State 6187 
 
 Fourteen pieces of scrip were lost, presumably in the 
 mail. A copy of the letter from the Land Office at Warsaw, 
 Wis., enclosing the scrip to H. C. Putnam at Eau Claire was 
 the kst trace found. Mr. Putnam had no record of having 
 received them, but claimed that if received, he had forwarded 
 them to Mr. Woodward, as was his custom in such cases. Ow- 
 ing to the feeling engendered by the suit with the University, 
 Mr. Woodward refused to make affidavit that he had not 
 
60 
 
 received the scrip, hence the University was unable to get 
 duplicate copies from the land office at Washington. 
 
 When the land records and papers were turned over to the 
 University by Mr. Cornell antl Mr. Woodward in the fall of 
 1874,, two pieces of scrip were found which had not been sold 
 or located. There was no land in the Central Western 
 states at that time, subject to entry with Agricultural College 
 Scrip, and these two pieces of scrip are still in the possession 
 of the University. 
 
 The 3257 pieces of scrip actually located at 160 acres 
 each would have represented 521,120 acres. The shortage in 
 acres located is accounted for by the fact that a piece of scrip 
 had to be surrendered for each location, whether a full 
 quarter section or not. Frequently an eighty or hundred 
 and twenty acre tract would be found so well timbered that 
 it was more valuable than any full quarter in sight, and 
 would be located with a full piece of scrip. 
 
 LOCATION OF LAND. 
 
 Wisconsin 3182 pieces 499,126.33 acres 
 
 Minnesota 50 pieces 7,968.27 acres 
 
 Kansas 25 pieces 3,974.93 acres 
 
 3257 pieces 511,069.53 acres 
 Land purchased by Mr. Cornell and con- 
 veyed to the Univ. with that located 
 with Ag. Coll. Land Scrip 1,359.40 acres 
 
 Total 512,428.93 acres 
 
61 
 COLLEGE LAND SCEIPT FUND. 
 
 Total sale of scrip, including scrip sold Ezra 
 
 Cornell $603,002.87 
 
 Premium rec'd on sale of securities when fund 
 
 was converted into the certificate 85,573.25 
 
 Total of College Land Scrip Fund $688,576.12 
 
 ' for which the University holds the perpetual 
 bond of the State of N. Y. at 5 per cent an- 
 nual interest. 
 
 EECEIPTS, EXPENSES AND NET PEOFITS. 
 
 RECEIPTS. 
 
 Land $4,385,708.22 
 
 Timber * 2,211,616.59 
 
 Trespass collected 20,063.90 
 
 Hay sold 4,136.14 
 
 Kent on farm land. . 758.05 
 
 $6,622,282.90 
 
 College Land Scrip Fund $688,576.12 
 
 Land unsold at $5.00 per acre 166,112.45 
 
 Total, sales and land unsold $7,476,971.47 
 
 EXPENSES. 
 
 Paid for Land Scrip $309,200.00 
 
 W. A. Woodward, account location exp 160,831.42 
 
 Woodward suit expenses 25,085.52 
 
 Taxes 640,070.66 
 
 Land examination 43,577.50 
 
 Interest 329,039.70 
 
 Salaries 146,219.93 
 
 Commission on sales 14,597.87 
 
 Traveling expenses 7,893.62 
 
62 
 
 Maps, books and stationery 1,888.28 
 
 Stamps and postage 1,149.13 
 
 Surveying 762.24 
 
 Attorney's fees and expenses. 3,647.41 
 
 Exchange 640.72 
 
 Profit and loss 1,520.59 
 
 Location not through Woodward account. ... 845.50 
 
 Legislative investigation 1,584.50 
 
 Paid Viles and Davis for land sold which 
 
 was afterwards decided to be within K. E. 
 
 limit, and C. U/s entry canceled 1,400.00 
 
 Advertising 94.50 
 
 Contingent and unclassified expenses 22,135.71 
 
 Total expenses $1,712,184.80 
 
 Total sales and value of unsold lands $7,476,971.47 
 
 Expenses 1,712,184.80 
 
 Net profit $5,764,786.67* 
 
 * Net results to date, figuring the 33,222.49 acres of cut 
 over lands still unsold at an average of about $5.00 per acre. 
 
 It is worthy of note that in the management and sale of 
 this land and timber, covering a period of nearly forty years, 
 and an aggregate sum of nearly $7,500,000, the only business 
 loss sustained was on two notes of $750.00 each, for sales 
 of timber made by Mr. Woodward before the lands were 
 transferred to the University. These notes were assigned to 
 the University Treasurer and were found to be worthless. 
 After repeated efforts to collect them, the amount of $1,500.00 
 was charged to profit and loss. During all these years not 
 an acre of the University lands was lost through tax sales or 
 any other cause. This shows remarkable care on the part of 
 those having these matters in charge, 'as many of the Wiscon- 
 sin tax officers were settlers ignorant of business methods, 
 and the loss of land through mistakes in preparing tax re- 
 ceipts was not uncommon with other land owners. 
 
63 
 EZEA COBNELL. 
 
 First, foremost 'and at all times the credit of this land 
 scheme is due to Ezra Cornell. It was he who first conceived 
 of the plan of thus increasing the endowment of Cornell. 
 For nearly ten years before his death he devoted much of his 
 time and energies and considerable of his fortune towards the 
 carrying out of this scheme, but men are mortal and life 
 proved too short for the complete execution of his purposes. 
 Next to Ezra Cornell, and only next to him will always 
 stand the name of Henry W. Sage ( as the man who is entitled 
 to credit for the good results following from the plan entered 
 upon by the Founder. In 1874 Mr. Sage, as Chairman of 
 the Land Committee, entered upon the work of carrying out 
 the plans of Ezra Cornell. From 1874 until his death, a 
 period of nearly twenty years, the lands of the University 
 located by Ezra Cornell were under his constant care and 
 supervision, and when he died the scheme of Ezra Cornell 
 had passed beyond all possibilities of >a failure. After his" 
 death there was but little for the Land Committee to do 
 except to watch and care for the remaining lands according 
 to the methods firmly established by Mr. Sage; never asking 
 less -and sometimes increasing the prices fixed by Mr. Sage 
 before his death. Today these lands are all sold except a 
 comparatively few acres of cut over lands, which are now in- 
 creasing in value and will soon be disposed of. 
 
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY 
 
 THIS BOOK IS DUB ON THE LAST DATE 
 STAMPED BELOW 
 
 KAR3G 1916 
 
 91(51 8T I' 
 2Q 
 
 (VPR 30 1931 
 
 
 NOV 5 1953 HI 
 INTERUBRARY LOAI 
 
 JUN 2-1983 
 UNIV. OF CALIF.. BES^K. 
 
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