Repository: UIHistories Project: Book - History of the University (Powell) [PAGE 375]

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History University of Illinois

student will pursue studies in three or more departments at the same time, in order to fully employ his time. But, on special request, he may give his whole time to any one department, if the studies and practice in that department will afford him full employment M Turner acknowledged, however, that the industrial university had worked its way against disadvantages. "If the State would give them $500,000 to begin with, and $100,000 a year through all coming time, then we might expect great things of them." He then went on to state his idea of what such an institution as the industrial university might become. This greatly impressed his audience, as the following from the Gazette's account of the convention shows: "We could have wished the whole state present to hear his eloquent exposition of the sublime scope of the true Industrial University. Without knowing it, (for he had evidently misread the report) he made a most effective defense of the plans of the Trustees, and we count confidently on Professor Turner, as a firm supporter of those plans when he shall give them more careful attention.'* Nor was the writer mistaken in his confident expectation as will appear later. William M. Baker of the university faculty made a statement of what the university was doing, and showed that it was fulfilling the law, according to his interpretation at least. Whereupon the resolutions were passed with but little show of interest. Turner obtained the passage of a resolution declaring it to be the unanimous wish that the constitutional convention should take such action as the honor of the state demanded in behalf of university education. Another member moved that the convention ask the legislature to make liberal appropriations to the industrial university and the convention broke up in the midst of good feeling. It was good feeling that became more pronounced when the committee appointed at the convention visited the university and made an honest investigation. And best of all Turner was completely won over to the new institution of which he had hoped so much. The impossible had happened—the preacher at the head of the university had made good and the Grand Old Man