mber 4, 1859.

FIFTY YEARS OF HOWARD UNIVERSITY[516]

PART II

The crisis in the financial affairs of the University, already
mentioned, was the natural result of over confidence in the readiness
of philanthropists to rally to the aid of a needy cause. This
disappointment, however, was a valuable experience, for it became
clear that philanthropists were not inclined to grant very generous
aid to an institution established under the patronage of the Federal
Government, especially in the face of the frequent and insistent
appeals from less fortunate institutions serving the same people. It
was an incorrect assumption, however, that the United States Treasury
was paying the current expenses, for it must be remembered that no
part of the original grants of the Freedmen's Bureau was or could be
invested as permanent endowment or used for salaries, equipment or
maintenance; and that during the first decade of the existence of the
University no public funds were appropriated for these purposes. In
spite of this, its reputation as a ward of the United States
Government was, to its great disadvantage, accepted by philanthropists
as justified.

When, in 1873, the Freedmen's Bureau was abolished, General Howard
resigned from the presidency of the University to enter the army. Not
desiring to accept his resignation immediately, however, the trustees
granted him an indefinite leave of absence.[517] At the same meeting
it was decided to revive the office of Vice-President, which had been
discontinued and John M. Langston, then Dean of the Howard Law School,
was elected to that position. "It had been hoped," says one, "that
the experiment of placing an able colored man in this high position
would stimulate his own race and the minds of white philanthropists to
sustain the institution in its perilous struggles." But the lack of
funds continued. Convinced that a permanent president must be at once
secured, Mr. Langston resigned the vice-presidency in 1875.

An unfortunate combination of conditions that might well baffle the
ablest administrators then obtained. The outlook was so gloomy that it
was difficult to find a person both capable and willing to succeed to
the position left vacant. Upon Mr. Langston's resignation, Reverend
George Whipple, Secretary of the American Missionary Association was
elected president but after due consideration declined the honor. On
December 16, 1875, Edward P. Smith, a trustee of the Univer