Page:A History of the University of Chicago by Thomas Wakefield Goodspeed.djvu/74

 48 A HISTORY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO from an impersonal standpoint and to have the denomination express them- selves and commit themselves to a University His chief anxiety now seems to be to have those who oppose the scheme present their objections that he may consider them An arrangement has been made by which he will join me at Vassar College next Sunday, with Mrs. Rockefeller, and we shall then discuss the matter with Dr. Robinson of Brown, who is to preach there. I thought that perhaps Dr. Robinson would be able to present the objections, if anybody could. This struck Mr. Rockefeller favorably, and the arrangement has been completed and will be carried out unless something happens. Something did happen. Mr. and Mrs. Rockefeller were not able to be at Vassar, and President Robinson proved to be "very much in favor of the Chicago plan," and was so far from presenting objections that he not only cordially approved but arranged to urge it upon Mr. Rockefeller whom he was to see during the week. A letter written on November 28 shows that Mr. Rockefeller had been made acquainted with Dr. Robinson's views and expressed great gratification. Mr. Goodspeed, meantime, had, for a number of reasons, become convinced that the large gift he had asked from Mr. Rockefeller in the New York interview was greater than could reasonably be hoped for and had suggested to him a smaller amount. In a letter of November 26, 1888, Dr. Harper wrote: I am afraid you have made a mistake in your last proposition to Mr. Rockefeller. You ought not to have lowered the amount. He is ready to pledge a million and a half to begin on and there ought to be no diminution of the amount. It was as yet impossible for Dr. Harper to understand that Mr. Rockefeller's mind was gradually closing to the thought of estab- ling, at the outset, a university in Chicago, and was as gradually opening to the thought of a college, and that he was therefore beginning to contemplate a smaller initial contribution. The men at Chicago most interested had been for some time in frequent conferences with Mr. Gates, secretary of the new Education Society. They knew that while he had come to the conclusion that the one great, indispensable need of the educational situation was a well- equipped college in Chicago, he would not favor, as the first thing to be done, the establishment there of a great university. He had the needs of a wide field to consider and felt that it would not be