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Caption: Book - History of the University (Powell)
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Struggle for Location 1865-1867 229 the( intelligent reader of the Prairie Farmer the proceedings of these learned men." Mr. Foster accused the presidents of misquoting the law of 1862 in omitting the word "leading'9 from the sentence "support and maintenance of at least one college where the leading object shall b e . " 2 4 Mr. Foster defended Turner against the charge of prejudicing the farmers against the colleges. Mr. Turner in a letter to the Prairie Farmer in January, 1867, discussed fully the question of the intent of the law, the relations of the college to the college and university fund, his own attitude, and much of the history of the movement. The statement of Turner is so illuminating and reviews the whole subject so thoroughly that it is given in full: ' ' The convention of Presidents at Chicago seemed to complain that the people and the common schools are hostile to the colleges. And as, in some of their published strictures, I am especially included among the list of opponents, I deem it important to inquire into the cause of that supposed hostility. "The great good which existing colleges have done to the people of Illinois I presume no sensible man would question; certainly I do not. I t is not needful to disparage sickles, flails and carts, because we now need reapers, threshers and locomotives, even though the former have gone wholly out of use, which our colleges have not done, and, I trust may never be compelled to do. "But whether the political state, as such, is bound to pay those colleges for the good they have done or are now doing, either in part or in whole, as these gentlemen assume in the report, is quite another question. Our manifold churches, schools, academies, workshops and farms, imperfect as they still are, have done immense good to the State; but if the State as such should therefore assume to foot their bills for them, in part or in whole, it would strike not a few ? unlearned 9 people that our taxes might become inconveniently high. "Now, it is the obvious disposition to urge this absurd claim, that has done more to render some, though not all of the colleges obnoxious to the people of this State than all other H Prai>rie Farmer, November 24, 1866.
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