Page:A History of the University of Chicago by Thomas Wakefield Goodspeed.djvu/99

 THE BEGINNING OF THE MOVEMENT 73 education. It was to re-establish in Chicago that educational work the failure of which had been a sorrow and humiliation. The chief appeal must be to the Baptists of Chicago. They were a comparatively feeble folk financially. But they understood per- fectly that the responsibility for the success of the campaign rested, in the first instance, on them. To their honor, it must be said, they did not shrink from the great adventure, but welcomed it with enthusiasm. It was not supposed that they could con- tribute the full amount required, but they cheerfully assented to the demand that they raise the larger part of it. The interest among them was intense. The secretaries found them ready and responsive. Almost all were deeply interested and willing givers and aided the movement to their utmost, not only by giving liber- ally, but also by giving at once. They acted on the theory that he gave twice who gave quickly. In these respects indeed a few greatly disappointed and hindered the secretaries. One man, encouraged them to expect five thousand dollars early in the move- ment. Later he led them to hope for ten thousand. He was seen a dozen times or more. He kept the secretaries in uncertainty as to whether he would give the larger or smaller of the sums named almost to the end of the year and ended by giving nothing. Another most liberal man, for some wholly unaccountable reason, declined to do anything, but at last, near the end of the year, after a final solicitation by Mr. Gates, cheerfully subscribed ten thousand dollars. But for the most part the Baptists of the city welcomed the appeal made to them and were ready to respond to it to the limit of their ability. Everywhere the secretaries were welcomed by their denominational brothers as their representatives and agents, working for them in a great business of which they were the owners and the success of which depended on their interest and liberality. The Chicago churches responded with enthusiasm, the subscription in one of them reaching eighty thousand dollars, in another fifty thousand, in another twenty thousand, in a fourth seven thousand, five hundred, and all the rest, in proportion to their ability, did fully as well. So ready was the Baptist response that at the end of sixty days two hundred thousand dollars had been subscribed. Some men were absent from the city, others had not