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Caption: Book - History of the University (Powell)
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History of the Champaign "Elephant" HOW T H E RING GOT SCOOPED. 518 But I must tell you how we were scooped here at Springfield when we got together to organize. We had—and when I say we, I mean " t h e ring"—allotted the offices out pretty much as follows : A radical senator, whom the boys rather irreverently called "Old Pinkeye", was our man for regent. The persistency and steadiness with which the round of' f rings,'' together with • • other good and reliable considerations,'' pointed him out as the man for the head of the institution. Griggs was to have the treasureship, "with a low b o n d " ; Dunlap the corresponding secretaryship; and Dunlap, Cunningham, and whomsoever the governor should appoint (and we and Scroggs in view) were to be the finance and executive committees. (I may as well confess here that I had my eye on the professorship of moral philosophy and had already got some notes together for a course of lectures on the theory and practice of early piety.) But our plans were knocked endways by the election of Bro. Gregory as regent, the fixing of the bond at $300,000 instead of $30,000, and the choice of Bunnover Griggs. And, worst of all, not a d d solitary man of the Champaign trustees got on the finance or faculty committees, except Judge Joe Cunningham; and he will never set Boneyard brook afire, you may be sure. That's the way they snubbed us and be d d to them! Do you wonder one of " t h e r i n g " turns state's evidence? THE DISPUTED TRUSTEESHIP. Before I end I must tell you about the disputed trusteeship, alluded to by an Urbana correspondent of yours, some days ago. Col. Coles made his threat good that Busey should not be appointed. The governor, (and a better man does not live, nor exemplary, if he has like myself a few Hard-Shell characteristics,) on receiving letters, from Harmon and Somers, both democrats, appointed Scroggs. As soon as this was known in Urbana, a committee of half the town came down here a-howling.—After a great deal of labor Dr. Scroggs consented to send in his resignation j and the governor half promised in case he could, under a just construction of the organic act, that he would, after the first
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